Hello Cynthia,
just finished experiencing “the heart of centering prayer, (non-dual christianity)” or as my spell check keeps reminding me “entering prayer”…. i had given up on trying to decipher “cloud of unknowing” through the books collected because it seemed so beyond me. Through your book i have been able to give it a home as an integral blueprint in the inner workings of CP… wow its all so simple when it touches…
Repatterning of attention is the “work” and this is done to us not by us as a result of spending regular time in the field of kenosis as an act of giving. This awakens heart cognition…. Have i got this right?
Much, much appreciated the clarity & common sense that comes through in your work… thank you.. x
~ John
Hi John…
Yes, but…..with the following fairly substantial proviso:
1. We’re talking about an INNER field of kenosis here, not an outer one. Merely engaging in outer acts of compassion and giving won’t IN AND OF ITSELF repattern the field of perception unless accompanied by some intentional inner work to shift the seat of identity. It’s this inner arena that the author of the Cloud is principally addressing in the “work” of contemplation. From there, a changed perception will percolate out as a changed quality of being in the outer actions…But rarely does it work the other way around: usually only in situations of ultimate upheaval or self-donation. Meditation is the most reliable vehicle nowadays for beginning to engage that inner shift, and meditation by a kenotic practice such as Centering Prayer can reinforce the movement in that direction and bring inner and outer together more seamlessly.
2. It is “done to us” in the sense that the ego is not the agent, but still, we must show up and exert our “naked intent direct to God.”
Thanks and blessing,
