volgadon Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Found a good resource on Hesychasm, which is a mystical tradition in Greek and Russian Orthodoxy that centers around contemplative prayer, uniting the mind with the heart. Eastern Orthodox traditions don't tend to be as well known, so this site presents a lot of material in English.http://www.hesychasm.ru/en/library.htm"Grace abides in us from the time of our holy baptism; but, through our inattention, vanity and the wrong life we lead it is stifled, or buried. When a man resolves to lead a righteous life and is zealous for salvation, the fruit of his whole labour is, therefore, the restoration in force of this gift of grace. It comes to pass in a two-fold manner: first, this gift becomes revealed through many labours in following the commandments; insofar as a man succeeds in following the commandments, this gift becomes more radiant and brilliant. Secondly, it manifests and reveals itself through constant invocation of the Lord Jesus in prayer. The first method is powerful, but the second is more so, so that even the first method gains power through it. Thus, if we sincerely wish to open the seed of grace concealed in us, let us hasten to train ourselves in this latter exercise of the heart, and let us have only this work of prayer in our heart, without forms, without images, till it warms our heart and makes it burn with ineffable love of the Lord."-St. Gregory of Sinai."In the Gospels it is said: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross (Matt. 16:24). If we apply these words to the doing of the prayer, they will mean the following: Whoever wishes to lawfully labor in the podvig (struggle). Having given himself over entirely to the untiring care of God, he must humbly and placidly bear this labor for the sake of the true good which will be granted to the zealous man of prayer from God in due course. Then God, by His grace, will put a limit to our mind and set it immovably with the remembrance of God in the heart. When such a standing of the mind (in the heart) becomes like something natural and constant, the Fathers give it the name "the union of the mind with the heart." In such a state the mind no longer wishes to be outside the heart. On the contrary, if due to some circumstances it is kept from heedfulness to the heart, it will have an irrepressible desire, with a kind of spiritual thirst, to return again within itself, and with fresh zeal will again occupy itself with the building of its interior home. In such an ordering of the heart everything in man's head passes into his heart and then a kind of mental light illumines his entire inward being, and no matter what he does, says or thinks, it is all kind of thoughts, intentions and desires come to him, and will readily compel his mind, heart and will to obey Christ, to fulfill every commandment of God and the Holy Fathers. But he expiates every deviation from them with feelings of heartfelt repentance and contrition, with unfeigned regret and with a humble, aching prostration before God, begging for and awaiting help from on high for his weakness. And God, looking upon such humility, does not deprive him of His grace."-Father Agapit.
shalamabobbi Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12.27?lang=eng
Storm Rider Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 One book I read a few years ago has stayed with me, "The Way of a Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues His Way" translated by R. M. French. I think it can be found now on Google books. I enjoy the concept of pilgrimage and this was a book I used in preparation for the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. One of the contemplative prayers that I use is similar to what is known as the Jesus prayer, "Oh my Father and my God, have mercy on me a sinner I pray in the name of thy son, Jesus, Amen. I found that contemplative prayer leads to a more focused interaction/communication with our Father in Heaven. Cheers,
CV75 Posted November 4, 2011 Posted November 4, 2011 Found a good resource on Hesychasm, which is a mystical tradition in Greek and Russian Orthodoxy that centers around contemplative prayer, uniting the mind with the heart. Eastern Orthodox traditions don't tend to be as well known, so this site presents a lot of material in English.Thank you -- reminds me of practicing what I call "a private, hidden reverence" whether I am alone or with others.
volgadon Posted November 5, 2011 Author Posted November 5, 2011 I enjoy the concept of pilgrimage and this was a book I used in preparation for the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. One of the contemplative prayers that I use is similar to what is known as the Jesus prayer, "Oh my Father and my God, have mercy on me a sinner I pray in the name of thy son, Jesus, Amen.The Jesus Prayeris extremely common in Russia, though most people aren't aware of its significance in Hesychasm. I certainly wasn't while on my mission. Its use among the majority tends to be talismanic.
Mariner Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Driving through Atlanta last week (where it seems that 3 out of 4 radio stations carry religious content) I was fascinated by an apparently well known Christian apologists who railed against contemplative prayer and mysticism in a Q&A format for the best part of an hour. According to this individual and the "host" of the show, these kinds of practices (by what he referred to as "the emerging church") are of no use or value and will not lead one back to God.The entire tirade made me want to find a radio station where they were advocating contemplative prayer and Christian mysticism to see what the competition had to say (surely there must be one somewhere). But alas, I drove out of range of the Atlanta radio stations and had to be content listening to country music.Why is it that the conservatives in the newer forms of Christianity, including the Evangelicals / Southern Baptists, seem so hostile to the traditional forms?These clearly pre-date the particular form of belief and worship now practiced by the Evangelicals. SInce contemplative prayer and mysticism arose much closer in time to the actual foundational events of Christianity, would they not have a stronger claim to being a "true form" of Christianity? 1
Libs Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Regarding those who rail against contemplative prayer and such, I think it is superstitutious fear of being overwhelmed or overcome by evil, if such practices are employed. There are some verses in the Bible about witchcraft, divination, spiritualists, etc, and I think they are mistakenly associating things like contemplative prayer with that.A lot of monks, nuns and others have used contemplative prayer. It's a lot like meditation, in that you take time to "listen" to God, rather than just doing all the talking, yourself. It's a very good practice, IMHO.
Mariner Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Regarding those who rail against contemplative prayer and such, I think it is superstitutious fear of being overwhelmed or overcome by evil, if such practices are employed. There are some verses in the Bible about witchcraft, divination, spiritualists, etc, and I think they are mistakenly associating things like contemplative prayer with that.A lot of monks, nuns and others have used contemplative prayer. It's a lot like meditation, in that you take time to "listen" to God, rather than just doing all the talking, yourself. It's a very good practice, IMHO.Thanks for your answer. Would like to hear more about how you came to your present understanding of this issue, and if it played any role in your moving to the status of "Former LDS". Apparently, Southern Baptists and others in the South really have a hard time with what they see as any kind of variation in the rituals and practice of religion. This narrow minded view also seems to be reflected in their generally hostile attitude towards Mormonism and the LDS Church.
Libs Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Mariner, no, contemplative prayer had nothing to do with my current status, as former LDS. That's a whole different story. I first learned about the concept of contemplative prayer from Fr. Thomas Keating. I watched some of his videos and have read a lot about it on the internet. I, currently, belong to an organization that practices meditation, which is contemplative prayer's cousin, IMO. Contemplative prayer was just one of the many things, I explored, on my way back to a church that I had belonged to many years ago (basically Hindu philosophy)..
Mariner Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Mariner, no, contemplative prayer had nothing to do with my current status, as former LDS. That's a whole different story.I first learned about the concept of contemplative prayer from Fr. Thomas Keating. I watched some of his videos and have read a lot about it on the internet. I, currently, belong to an organization that practices meditation, which is contemplative prayer's cousin, IMO. Contemplative prayer was just one of the many things, I explored, on my way back to a church that I had belonged to many years ago (basically Hindu philosophy)..Acknowledged.Thanks.
Bill Hamblin Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) An interesting question I haven't explored is whether there is such an idea as contemplative prayer in the Bible, and, if not, when does it first appear. My impression is that biblical prayer is always petitionary or doxological. (On the other hand, the ideas of "always remember him" and "pray always" may imply contemplative prayer.) As far as we can tell archaic prayer was originally always spoken, not silent. (Reading books was also originally done vocally; Augustine was amazed when he saw Ambrose reading silently (Confessions, 6.3)). The beginning of "Inner" or silent prayer is probably part of the phenomena. Edited November 6, 2011 by Bill Hamblin
Libs Posted November 7, 2011 Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) That's very interesting, Bill.I think the best verse in the BIble, which supports contemplative prayer, is Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God"... Edited November 7, 2011 by Libs
Storm Rider Posted November 7, 2011 Posted November 7, 2011 An interesting question I haven't explored is whether there is such an idea as contemplative prayer in the Bible, and, if not, when does it first appear. My impression is that biblical prayer is always petitionary or doxological. (On the other hand, the ideas of "always remember him" and "pray always" may imply contemplative prayer.) As far as we can tell archaic prayer was originally always spoken, not silent. (Reading books was also originally done vocally; Augustine was amazed when he saw Ambrose reading silently (Confessions, 6.3)). The beginning of "Inner" or silent prayer is probably part of the phenomena.I don't see how one can really pray unceasingly without some form of contemplative prayer. Further, contemplative prayer was not always silent. Russian Orthdoxy provides examples where some prayed aloud when alone. I book I noted above on the pilgrim was one example. He learned to pray silently and then learned the benefit of praying aloud when walking alone.
HiJolly Posted November 7, 2011 Posted November 7, 2011 Mariner, no, contemplative prayer had nothing to do with my current status, as former LDS. That's a whole different story.I first learned about the concept of contemplative prayer from Fr. Thomas Keating. I watched some of his videos and have read a lot about it on the internet. I, currently, belong to an organization that practices meditation, which is contemplative prayer's cousin, IMO. Contemplative prayer was just one of the many things, I explored, on my way back to a church that I had belonged to many years ago (basically Hindu philosophy)..SNO? I love reading the thoughts of Vit Van. HiJolly
Libs Posted November 7, 2011 Posted November 7, 2011 SNO? I love reading the thoughts of Vit Van.HiJollyNo, SRF (Self Realization Fellowship), Paramahansa Yogananda.
Recommended Posts