The gesture of bowing the head is a ritual in all traditions that acknowledges the wisdom of sinking the mind into the heart. The Christian mystical tradition is ancient and includes writings such as the Philokalia (which dates back to the Desert Fathers), The Cloud of Unknowing, and The Way of the Pilgrim. The heart can only be experienced. If there is the tiniest urge to explore this depth, it is the Divine asking to be explored through and as us. The Christian Prayer of the Heart in the West is not all that different from the repetition of mantra in the Hindu tradition. Some diligence and practice allows a particular prayer to become so much a part of our being that it arises spontaneously with our thoughts and breath. This is different than trying to be a spiritual athlete, which can undermine our practice. The Prayer of the Heart is some form of “Lord Jesus have mercy on me.” Hesychia is a Greek word that means tranquility or peace. People have always gone into retreat to find a place of sanctuary, which is so needed in the midst of a stimulated life. Yet, the whole idea of pilgrimage, of opening and searching for wisdom, has lost meaning. The heart is our moral compass. In a spiritual sense, it is not a particular organ but full body consciousness penetrated by the presence of divinity. The Christian monk Thomas Merton recognized that everyone has this divinity, which is like a blazing sun, and that the gate of heaven is everywhere. We can meet each other and know that godliness is in everyone even if it is covered over with many veils. The repetition of the Prayer of the Heart leads to silence and affects the world. To set the heart on fire is to be consumed by love. Prayer is given as grace, as a gift. Regina is the editor of Hohm Press, a workshop leader, retreat guide, and the author of The Woman Awake, Igniting the Inner Life, Praying Dangerously, Only God, and other books.
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The Power of Identification (Red Hawk)
What the Heck Is a Guru? (Rick Lewis)
Calling in Our Angels: Protectors, Friends, Guides and Midwives for Transitions Through Life and Death (Regina Sara Ryan)
Gurdjieff's Aphorisms: Essence of a Teaching (Carl Grimsman)
An Ethical Will: What Values Can We Pass on to Future Generations? (Elise Erro/e.e.)
The Gospel of Thomas (David Herz)
Staying in Love (Vijaya Fedorschak)
Threshold: Spirituality and Ecology, Here at the Changing of the Guard (Mary Angelon Young)
Whatever Happened to Enlightenment? (Matthew Files)
Shadow and Luminosity, Descent and Transcendence (Nachama Greenwald)
The Direct Path: Taking the Backwards Step (Peter Cohen)
The Value and Necessity of Suffering (Red Hawk)
One’s Face on the Path (Jocelyn del Rio)
What If? An Exploration of Transformational Possibility (Regina Sara Ryan)
Cultivating Transparency: Realizing the Emptiness of the Stories You Tell Yourself and Others (Rob Schmidt and Stuart Goodnick)
It’s Not the Fall That Kills You: A Talk on Groundlessness (Juanita Violini)
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Removing Obstacles to Our Heart’s Desire (Lalitha)
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