Thomas Keating

1:Humility is the forgetfulness of self. ~ Thomas Keating,

2:The root of prayer is interior silence. ~ Thomas Keating,

3:Perhaps the shortest and most powerful prayer in human language is help. ~ Thomas Keating,

4:To see everything in God and to see God in everything normally takes a lifetime of practice. ~ Thomas Keating, [T5],

5:If one completes the journey to one's own heart, one will find oneself in the heart of everyone else. ~ Thomas Keating,

6:God seems willing to act as the most sublime psychologist, psychotherapist, or even psychiatrist if we are willing. ~ Thomas Keating,

7:In centering prayer, the sacred word is not the object of the attention but rather the expression of the intention of the will. ~ Thomas Keating,

8:God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of His life in us. ~ Thomas Keating,

9:Nothing is more helpful to reduce pride than the actual experience of self-knowledge. If we are discouraged by it, we have misunderstood its meaning. ~ Thomas Keating,

10:What I really wanted was to fall in love with God. It's amazing what obstacles there are within us, or at least in me, that seem to slow this process. ~ Thomas Keating, [T5],

11:We rarely think of the air we breathe, yet it is in us and around us all the time. In similar fashion, the presence of God penetrates us, is all around us, is always embracing us. ~ Thomas Keating,

12:To live in the presence of God on a continuous basis can become a kind of fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, forming an invisible but real background to everything that we do or that happens in our lives. ~ Thomas Keating,

13:Psychotherapy is what God has been secretly doing for centuries by other names; that is, he searches through our personal history and heals what needs to be healed - the wounds of childhood or our own self-inflicted wounds. ~ Thomas Keating,

14:The fact that we experience anxiety and annoyance is the certain sign that, in the unconscious, there is an emotional program for happiness that has just been frustrated. ~ Thomas Keating, The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation,

15:Just by the very nature of our birth, we are on the spiritual journey." ~ Thomas Keating, (1923 - 2018) American Catholic monk known as one of the principal developers of Centering Prayer, a contemporary method of contemplative prayer, Wikipedia.,

16:To live in the presence of God on a continuous basis can become a kind of fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, forming an invisible but real background to everything that we do or that happens in our lives. ~ Thomas Keating, On Prayer,

17:When the presence of God emerges from our inmost being into our faculties, whether we walk down the street or drink a cup of soup, divine life is pouring into the world. ~ Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel,

18:For human beings, the most daunting challenge is to become fully human. For to become fully human is to become fully divine." ~ Father Thomas Keating, (1923 - 2018) American Catholic monk, known as one of the principal developers of Centering Prayer, Wikipedia.,

19:Gregory the Great (sixth century), summarizing the Christian contemplative tradition, expressed it as "resting in God." This was the classical meaning of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian tradition for the first sixteen centuries. ~ Thomas Keating, On Prayer,

20:As St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) taught, whatever we say about God is more unlike God than saying nothing. If we do say something, it can only be a pointer toward the Mystery that can never be articulated in words. All that words can do is point in the direction of the Mystery. ~ Thomas Keating, On Prayer,

21:The striking discoveries of contemporary science are continually telling us new things about how material creation came to be and how it continues to evolve. Although we do not have all the answers, we are clearly going in a direction that transcends the cosmology in which the great world religions came into existence. Our vision, understanding, and our attitudes about God inevitably must change. ~ Thomas Keating,

22:St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the conviction that we bring with us from early childhood and apply to everyday life and to our lives in general. It gets stronger as we grow up, unless we are touched by the Gospel and begin the spiritual journey. This journey is a process of dismantling the monumental illusion that God is distant or absent. ~ Thomas Keating, Fruits & Gifts of the Spirit,

23:The Kingdom is most powerful where we least expect to find it. God does not take away our problems and trials but rather joins us in them. Such is the profound meaning of the incarnation: God becoming a human being. The Kingdom will manifest itself, not because of our efforts to keep trying, even when all effort seems hopeless, but because God loves us so much that God won't be able to stand seeing us struggle and always failing. God will do the impossible. He will give us a new attitude toward suffering. Such is the heart of the Christian ascesis, or self-discipline, and the mystery of transformation. It is the meaning of the Gospel as Therese perceived it. ~ Thomas Keating, St. Therese of Lisieux: A Transformation in Christ,

24:Hence, it's obvious to see why in AA the community is so important; we are powerless over ourselves. Since we don't have immediate awareness of the Higher Power and how it works, we need to be constantly reminded of our commitment to freedom and liberation. The old patterns are so seductive that as they go off, they set off the association of ideas and the desire to give in to our addiction with an enormous force that we can't handle. The renewal of defeat often leads to despair. At the same time, it's a source of hope for those who have a spiritual view of the process. Because it reminds us that we have to renew once again our total dependence on the Higher Power. This is not just a notional acknowledgment of our need. We feel it from the very depths of our being. Something in us causes our whole being to cry out, "Help!" That's when the steps begin to work. And that, I might add, is when the spiritual journey begins to work. A lot of activities that people in that category regard as spiritual are not communicating to them experientially their profound dependence on the grace of God to go anywhere with their spiritual practices or observances. That's why religious practice can be so ineffective. The real spiritual journey depends on our acknowledging the unmanageability of our lives. The love of God or the Higher Power is what heals us. Nobody becomes a full human being without love. It brings to life people who are most damaged. The steps are really an engagement in an ever-deepening relationship with God. Divine love picks us up when we sincerely believe nobody else will. We then begin to experience freedom, peace, calm, equanimity, and liberation from cravings for what we have come to know are damaging-cravings that cannot bring happiness, but at best only momentary relief that makes the real problem worse. ~ Thomas Keating, Divine Therapy and Addiction,

* WISDOM TROVE *

1:The root of prayer is interior silence. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

2:Motivation is everything in the spiritual journey. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

3:Just by the nature of our birth, we are on the spiritual journey. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

4:Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

5:The chief thing that separates us from God is the thought that we are separated from God. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

6:Only when we can accept God as he is can we give up the desire for spiritual experiences that we can feel. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

7:For human beings, the most daunting challenge is to become fully human. For to become fully human is to become fully divine. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

8:The best way to receive divine love is to give it away, and the more we pass on the more we increase our capacity to receive. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

9:Faith is opening and surrendering to God. The spiritual journey does not require going anywhere because God is already with us and in us. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

10:When the presence of God emerges from our inmost being into our faculties, whether we walk down the street or drink a cup of soup, divine life is pouring into the world. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

11:The fact that we experience anxiety and annoyance is the certain sign that, in the unconscious, there is an emotional program for happiness that has just been frustrated. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

12:You should not take prayer too seriously. There is something playful about God. You only have to look at a penguin... to realize that He likes to play little jokes on creatures. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

13:We rarely think of the air we breathe, yet it is in us and around us all the time. In similar fashion, the presence of God penetrates us, is all around us, is always embracing us. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

14:To live in the presence of God on a continuous basis can become a kind of fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, forming an invisible but real background to everything that we do or that happens in our lives. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

15:Interior silence is one of the most strengthening and affirming of human experiences. There is nothing more affirming in fact, than the experience of God´s presence. That revelation says, as nothing else can, You are a good person, I created you and I love you. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

16:As St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) taught, whatever we say about God is more unlike God than saying nothing. If we do say something, it can only be a pointer toward the Mystery that can never be articulated in words. All that words can do is point in the direction of the Mystery. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

17:Don’t judge centering prayer on the basis of how many thoughts come or how much peace you enjoy. The only way to judge this prayer is by its long-range fruits: whether in daily life you enjoy greater peace, humility and charity. Having come to deep interior silence, you begin to relate to others beyond the superficial aspects of social status, race, nationality, religion, and personal characteristics. ~ thomas-keating, @wisdomtrove

18:Teresa of Avila wrote: &

* NEWFULLDB 2.4M *

1:Humility is the forgetfulness of self. ~ Thomas Keating,

2:Humility is the forgetfulness of self. ~ Thomas Keating,

3:The root of prayer is interior silence. ~ Thomas Keating,

4:The root of prayer is interior silence. ~ Thomas Keating,

5:Centering prayer is a training in letting go. ~ Thomas Keating,

6:life, you will fill me with joy in your presence. ~ Thomas Keating,

7:God's first language is Silence. Everything else is a translation. ~ Thomas Keating,

8:It's obvious that humanity continues to be torn by religious violence. ~ Thomas Keating,

9:Just by the very nature of our birth, we are on the spiritual journey. ~ Thomas Keating,

10:Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation. ~ Thomas Keating,

11:Silence is God's language, and it's a very difficult language to learn. ~ Thomas Keating,

12:Perhaps the shortest and most powerful prayer in human language is help. ~ Thomas Keating,

13:Perhaps the shortest and most powerful prayer in human language is help. ~ Thomas Keating,

14:God is a tremendous supporter of creation, especially of all living beings. ~ Thomas Keating,

15:For us to remain in this world, our animal brain has to be there to support us. ~ Thomas Keating,

16:The chief thing that separates us from God is the thought that we are separated from God. ~ Thomas Keating,

17:Divine life is basically the inner freedom to choose the right and the good spontaneously. ~ Thomas Keating,

18:I venture to say that it's not enough to respect and tolerate religions other than our own. ~ Thomas Keating,

19:To see everything in God and to see God in everything normally takes a lifetime of practice. ~ Thomas Keating,

20:To see everything in God and to see God in everything normally takes a lifetime of practice. ~ Thomas Keating, [T5],

21:If one completes the journey to one's own heart, one will find oneself in the heart of everyone else. ~ Thomas Keating,

22:If one completes the journey to one's own heart, one will find oneself in the heart of everyone else. ~ Thomas Keating,

23:Only when we can accept God as he is can we give up the desire for spiritual experiences that we can feel. ~ Thomas Keating,

24:The divine therapy helps us integrate our animal nature with the new possibilities of rational consciousness. ~ Thomas Keating,

25:God seems willing to act as the most sublime psychologist, psychotherapist, or even psychiatrist if we are willing. ~ Thomas Keating,

26:God seems willing to act as the most sublime psychologist, psychotherapist, or even psychiatrist if we are willing. ~ Thomas Keating,

27:Becoming fully rational is not enough anymore; evidently it can lead to distortions of all the great human possibilities. ~ Thomas Keating,

28:In a crisis of choice when you are perplexed and do not know which way to go, it might be good to consult several persons. ~ Thomas Keating,

29:The wisdom of all religions has to be respected. The discoveries of science are also essential for our time and the future. ~ Thomas Keating,

30:For human beings, the most daunting challenge is to become fully human. For to become fully human is to become fully divine. ~ Thomas Keating,

31:We need to develop the intuitive capacities of the brain that some geniuses have manifested over humanity's lengthy history. ~ Thomas Keating,

32:All religions proclaim the advantages of peace, loving one another, and "doing to others what we would like them to do to us." ~ Thomas Keating,

33:In centering prayer, the sacred word is not the object of the attention but rather the expression of the intention of the will. ~ Thomas Keating,

34:In centering prayer, the sacred word is not the object of the attention but rather the expression of the intention of the will. ~ Thomas Keating,

35:Science and technology has tried to offer an alternative to religion by making a god out of human reason, but that didn't work out too well. ~ Thomas Keating,

36:God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of His life in us. ~ Thomas Keating,

37:God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of His life in us. ~ Thomas Keating,

38:Finding out what particular insights mean to people in other traditions enables us not only to respect but to love the wisdom of other religions. ~ Thomas Keating,

39:As the years go by, I find myself experiencing God's extraordinary concern, consideration, healing, and what I call in my books, the divine therapy. ~ Thomas Keating,

40:Nothing is more helpful to reduce pride than the actual experience of self-knowledge. If we are discouraged by it, we have misunderstood its meaning. ~ Thomas Keating,

41:What I really wanted was to fall in love with God. It's amazing what obstacles there are within us, or at least in me, that seem to slow this process. ~ Thomas Keating,

42:‎"Nothing is more helpful to reduce pride than the actual experience of self-knowledge. If we are discouraged by it, we have misunderstood its meaning. ~ Thomas Keating,

43:The acceptance of all that God has given us and the willingness to let it go - to give it back to him at a moment's notice - that's true human freedom. ~ Thomas Keating,

44:Union with God is really possible. Unity with God I presume, is what is meant by Heaven, but that too is available in this life for the humble of heart. ~ Thomas Keating,

45:What I really wanted was to fall in love with God. It's amazing what obstacles there are within us, or at least in me, that seem to slow this process. ~ Thomas Keating, [T5],

46:The complementary movement towards divine love is growth in humility which is the acceptence of the reality about ourselves, our own weakness and limitations. ~ Thomas Keating,

47:One of the great purposes of religion itself is being hindered by an exclusive-ism that doesn't take into account the common elements and values that we actually share. ~ Thomas Keating,

48:It is essential for world peace that the world religions make peace with each other. If they don't, we can hardly expect the nations of the world to lay down their arms. ~ Thomas Keating,

49:The capacity for emotional sobriety belongs to everybody in the human family and leads to a fully human response to the adventure and goodness of the gift of human life. ~ Thomas Keating,

50:When the presence of God emerges from our inmost being into our faculties, whether we walk down the street or drink a cup of soup, divine life is pouring into the world. ~ Thomas Keating,

51:Your relationship with God, others, yourself, and all creation keeps changing for the better. Most of the world's religions have developed maps to describe this process. ~ Thomas Keating,

52:Difficulties arise whenever a committed relationship is succeeding. Love makes you vulnerable. . . . Your defenses relax and the dark side of your personality arises. . . ~ Thomas Keating,

53:The fact that we experience anxiety and annoyance is the certain sign that, in the unconscious, there is an emotional program for happiness that has just been frustrated. ~ Thomas Keating,

54:You should not take prayer too seriously. There is something playful about God. You only have to look at a penguin ... to realize that He likes to play little jokes on creatures. ~ Thomas Keating,

55:The word "emptiness" for example, is a very important word both in Christianity and in Buddhism. It has shades of meaning however, that are different in the respective traditions. ~ Thomas Keating,

56:We rarely think of the air we breathe, yet it is in us and around us all the time. In similar fashion, the presence of God penetrates us, is all around us, is always embracing us. ~ Thomas Keating,

57:We rarely think of the air we breathe, yet it is in us and around us all the time. In similar fashion, the presence of God penetrates us, is all around us, is always embracing us. ~ Thomas Keating,

58:Trappist monk Thomas Keating once said, “The cross Jesus asked you to carry is yourself. It’s all the pain inflicted on you in your past and all the pain you’ve inflicted on others. ~ Brennan Manning,

59:The great treasure that interreligious dialogue among the world religions could unlock is to enable people to get to know and love other religions and the people who practice them. The ~ Thomas Keating,

60:The Trappist monk Thomas Keating once said, “The cross Jesus asked you to carry is yourself. It’s all the pain inflicted on you in your past and all the pain you’ve inflicted on others. ~ Brennan Manning,

61:The best way to understand another person's religion is to listen to the story of what particular practices helped them to deepen and to embody their religion, especially its spirituality. ~ Thomas Keating,

62:Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy. It's a time to look what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are. ~ Thomas Keating,

63:In the Christian perspective, the love of God and of all other human beings invites us to share and enjoy not just the best of the human potential as it evolves, but participation in the divine life itself. ~ Thomas Keating,

64:Every time you have a major breakthrough in self-knowledge, and see the way the divine works within your own psyche, external events, and interior experiences of the divine, you are transformed in some degree. ~ Thomas Keating,

65:We are kept from the experience of Spirit because our inner world is cluttered with past traumas . . . As we begin to clear away this clutter, the energy of divine light and love begins to flow through our being. ~ Thomas Keating,

66:To live in the presence of God on a continuous basis can become a kind of fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, forming an invisible but real background to everything that we do or that happens in our lives. ~ Thomas Keating,

67:To live in the presence of God on a continuous basis can become a kind of fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, forming an invisible but real background to everything that we do or that happens in our lives. ~ Thomas Keating,

68:Technology isn't fulfilling its promise of unlimited progress and solving every problem through technology. With the Enlightenment and its aftermath, there already was a general loss of confidence in the Western religions. ~ Thomas Keating,

69:Psychotherapy is what God has been secretly doing for centuries by other names; that is, he searches through our personal history and heals what needs to be healed - the wounds of childhood or our own self-inflicted wounds. ~ Thomas Keating,

70:By deepening the spiritual dialogue between the spiritual traditions of the various religions in a spirit of friendship, one begins to understand just what the classical terms of the various spiritual traditions really mean. ~ Thomas Keating,

71:Psychotherapy is what God has been secretly doing for centuries by other names; that is, he searches through our personal history and heals what needs to be healed - the wounds of childhood or our own self-inflicted wounds. ~ Thomas Keating,

72:Religions have a special responsibility to encourage and inspire people to love planet earth, which as far as we know, is the only place in the cosmos that works in such a harmonious way that it can support intelligent life. ~ Thomas Keating,

73:Science and technology have been embarrassed by two world wars, many smaller ones, and the spread of weapons that could destroy humanity. As a result, there is some loss of confidence in the great achievements of technology. ~ Thomas Keating,

74:The fact that we experience anxiety and annoyance is the certain sign that, in the unconscious, there is an emotional program for happiness that has just been frustrated. ~ Thomas Keating, The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation,

75:The Trappist monk Thomas Keating once said, “The cross Jesus asked you to carry is yourself. It’s all the pain inflicted on you in your past and all the pain you’ve inflicted on others.” I believe that’s true. My cross suddenly ~ Brennan Manning,

76:To live in the presence of God on a continuous basis can become a kind of fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, forming an invisible but real background to everything that we do or that happens in our lives. ~ Thomas Keating, On Prayer,

77:In human relationships, as mutual love deepens, there comes a time when two friends convey their exchanges without words. They can sit in silence sharing an experience or simply enjoying each other's presence without saying anything. ~ Thomas Keating,

78:Gregory the Great (sixth century), summarizing the Christian contemplative tradition, expressed it as “resting in God.” This was the classical meaning of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian tradition for the first sixteen centuries. ~ Thomas Keating,

79:When the presence of God emerges from our inmost being into our faculties, whether we walk down the street or drink a cup of soup, divine life is pouring into the world. ~ Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel,

80:Perhaps 90 percent of its desires, psychologists say, are unconscious; in other words, many of our deepest commitments to symbols of security, power, and affection in the culture are rooted in desires that are absolutely impossible to achieve. ~ Thomas Keating,

81:Gregory the Great (sixth century), summarizing the Christian contemplative tradition, expressed it as "resting in God." This was the classical meaning of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian tradition for the first sixteen centuries. ~ Thomas Keating, On Prayer,

82:While doing centering prayer, the practice is to let go of any thought or perception. The priority is to be as silent as possible and when that is not possible to let the noise of the thoughts be the sacred symbol for a while, without analyzing them. ~ Thomas Keating,

83:If you accept the belief that baptism incorporates us in the mystical body of Christ, into the divine DNA, then you might say that the Holy Spirit is present in each of us, and thus we have the capacity for the fullness of redemption, of transformation. ~ Thomas Keating,

84:We may experience moments of profound inner peace, a sense of oneness with nature, or a sense of something that is more important that we're not reaching by the usual goals of human society. Perhaps we could say there's a common heart to all the religions. ~ Thomas Keating,

85:As St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) taught, whatever we say about God is more unlike God than saying nothing. If we do say something, it can only be a pointer toward the Mystery that can never be articulated in words. All that words can do is point in the direction of the Mystery. ~ Thomas Keating,

86:Over time we are able to undermine habitual modes of thinking formed by our self-made self in early childhood, which tries to squeeze happiness from the gratification of our desires for the symbols in our culture of survival and security, power and control, and affection and esteem. ~ Thomas Keating,

87:As St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) taught, whatever we say about God is more unlike God than saying nothing. If we do say something, it can only be a pointer toward the Mystery that can never be articulated in words. All that words can do is point in the direction of the Mystery. ~ Thomas Keating, On Prayer,

88:The whole immigration issue suggests the inevitability of people in our time seeking economic security that they can't find at home, which usually involves bringing their religion with them. One's children are going to be married to people outside their religious traditions as well as inside. ~ Thomas Keating,

89:To become who we are as creatures made in the image and likeness of God, we have to be nothing and everything at once, since this is what God is. ... If we accept who we are, we are manifesting God and radiating Christ. The latter unfolding of the divine life within us does not need to go anywhere ~ Thomas Keating,

90:they introduced me to extended communities of faith through writers I had never heard of before . . . Along with the writings of Gerald May and Thomas Keating, whom I had not known before, I was encouraged to explore or revisit a few other writers, including Richard Rohr (Adam’s Return and The Naked Now), Thomas Merton (Thoughts ~ Peter Enns,

91:One of the values of centering prayer is that you are not thinking about God during the time of centering prayer so you are giving God a chance to manifest. In centering prayer there are moments of peace that give the psyche a chance to realize that God may not be so bad after all. God has a chance to be himself for a change. ~ Thomas Keating,

92:The spiritual traditions of all the religions have certain similarities that are unmistakable. They share many of the same basic practices like sacred reading, spiritual guidance, moderation in eating, drinking and sexual expression, and above all, trying to be aware of the presence of God in other people and in everyday life. ~ Thomas Keating,

93:is a process of inner transformation, a conversation initiated by God and leading, if we consent, to divine union. One's way of seeing reality changes in the process. A restructuring of consciousness takes place which empowers one to perceive, relate and respond with increasing sensitivity to the divine presence in, through, and beyond everything that exists. ~ Thomas Keating,

94:The modern world lies under a pervasive sense of anguish, of being abandoned, or at least experiencing God as absent. Yet events that seem to turn our lives upside down and inside out are part of God's redemptive plan, not only for us, but for the world in which we live. God may be preparing a great awakening for the world, if God can find enough people to cooperate in this mysterious plan. ~ Thomas Keating,

95:The striking discoveries of contemporary science are continually telling us new things about how material creation came to be and how it continues to evolve. Although we do not have all the answers, we are clearly going in a direction that transcends the cosmology in which the great world religions came into existence. Our vision, understanding, and our attitudes about God inevitably must change. ~ Thomas Keating,

96:The striking discoveries of contemporary science are continually telling us new things about how material creation came to be and how it continues to evolve. Although we do not have all the answers, we are clearly going in a direction that transcends the cosmology in which the great world religions came into existence. Our vision, understanding, and our attitudes about God inevitably must change. ~ Thomas Keating,

97:Don’t judge centering prayer on the basis of how many thoughts come or how much peace you enjoy. The only way to judge this prayer is by its long-range fruits: whether in daily life you enjoy greater peace, humility and charity. Having come to deep interior silence, you begin to relate to others beyond the superficial aspects of social status, race, nationality, religion, and personal characteristics. (OM, 114) ~ Thomas Keating,

98:We're obviously at the edge of something quite new in humanity's experience. That is this globalization process which isn't just economic or social, but involves the interpenetration of cultures, people moving to different places several times in their lifetime, traveling for business or pleasure, and marrying people of very different cultural backgrounds, all of which was almost impossible a hundred years ago. ~ Thomas Keating,

99:The false self is deeply entrenched. You can change your name and address, religion, country, and clothes. But as long as you don’t ask it to change, the false self simply adjusts to the new environment. For example, instead of drinking your friends under the table as a significant sign of self-worth and esteem, if you enter a monastery, as I did, fasting the other monks under the table could become your new path to glory. ~ Thomas Keating,

100:St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the conviction that we bring with us from early childhood and apply to everyday life and to our lives in general. It gets stronger as we grow up, unless we are touched by the Gospel and begin the spiritual journey. This journey is a process of dismantling the monumental illusion that God is distant or absent. ~ Thomas Keating,

101:St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the conviction that we bring with us from early childhood and apply to everyday life and to our lives in general. It gets stronger as we grow up, unless we are touched by the Gospel and begin the spiritual journey. This journey is a process of dismantling the monumental illusion that God is distant or absent. ~ Thomas Keating, Fruits & Gifts of the Spirit,

102:If our value system doesn't allow us to enjoy anything without putting a price on it, we miss a great part of the beauty of life. When we bring this value system into the domain of prayer, we can never enjoy God. As soon as we start enjoying Him, we have to reflect, "Oh boy, I'm enjoying God!" And as soon as we do that, we are taking a photograph of the experience. Every reflection is like a photograph of reality. It isn't our original experience; it is a commentary on it. ~ Thomas Keating,

103:the deeper one's awareness of one's powerlessness and the more desperate, the more willing one is to reach out for help. This help is offered in the next two steps. You turn yourself over to a Higher Power who you believe can heal you and work with you in the long journey of dismantling the emotional programs for happiness. They are the root causes of all our problems. We try to squeeze gratification or satisfaction out of the symbols of those three emotional programs in the culture to which we belong. ~ Thomas Keating,

104:The Kingdom is most powerful where we least expect to find it. God does not take away our problems and trials but rather joins us in them. Such is the profound meaning of the incarnation: God becoming a human being. The Kingdom will manifest itself, not because of our efforts to keep trying, even when all effort seems hopeless, but because God loves us so much that God won't be able to stand seeing us struggle and always failing. God will do the impossible. He will give us a new attitude toward suffering. Such is the heart of the Christian ascesis, or self-discipline, and the mystery of transformation. It is the meaning of the Gospel as Therese perceived it. ~ Thomas Keating,

105:The Kingdom is most powerful where we least expect to find it. God does not take away our problems and trials but rather joins us in them. Such is the profound meaning of the incarnation: God becoming a human being. The Kingdom will manifest itself, not because of our efforts to keep trying, even when all effort seems hopeless, but because God loves us so much that God won't be able to stand seeing us struggle and always failing. God will do the impossible. He will give us a new attitude toward suffering. Such is the heart of the Christian ascesis, or self-discipline, and the mystery of transformation. It is the meaning of the Gospel as Therese perceived it. ~ Thomas Keating, St. Therese of Lisieux: A Transformation in Christ,

106:Perhaps the shortest and most powerful prayer in human language is help. —FATHER THOMAS KEATING A hardness we can't see, cold and rigid, begins to form between us and the world, the longer we stay silent about what we need. It is not even about getting what we need, but about admitting, mostly to ourselves, that we do have needs. Asking for help, whether we get it or not, breaks the hardness that builds in the world. Paradoxically, asking even for the things that no one can give, we are relieved and blessed for the asking. For admitting our humanness lets the soul break surface, the way a dolphin leaps for the sun. One of the most painful barriers we can experience is the sense of isolation the modern world fosters, which can only be broken by our willingness to be held, by the quiet courage to allow our vulnerabilities to be seen. For as water fills a hole and as light fills the dark, kindness wraps around what is soft, if what is soft can be seen. So admitting what we need, asking for help, letting our softness show—these are prayers without words that friends, strangers, wind, and time all wrap themselves around. Allowing ourselves to be held is like returning to the womb. As you breathe, try to relax and soften your guard for these brief moments. Breathe slowly, and feel your pores open more fully to the world. Inhale deeply, and let the air and silence get closer. Inhale cleanly, and allow yourself to be held by what is. ~ Mark Nepo,

107:Hence, it's obvious to see why in AA the community is so important; we are powerless over ourselves. Since we don't have immediate awareness of the Higher Power and how it works, we need to be constantly reminded of our commitment to freedom and liberation. The old patterns are so seductive that as they go off, they set off the association of ideas and the desire to give in to our addiction with an enormous force that we can't handle. The renewal of defeat often leads to despair. At the same time, it's a source of hope for those who have a spiritual view of the process. Because it reminds us that we have to renew once again our total dependence on the Higher Power. This is not just a notional acknowledgment of our need. We feel it from the very depths of our being. Something in us causes our whole being to cry out, “Help!” That's when the steps begin to work. And that, I might add, is when the spiritual journey begins to work. A lot of activities that people in that category regard as spiritual are not communicating to them experientially their profound dependence on the grace of God to go anywhere with their spiritual practices or observances. That's why religious practice can be so ineffective. The real spiritual journey depends on our acknowledging the unmanageability of our lives. The love of God or the Higher Power is what heals us. Nobody becomes a full human being without love. It brings to life people who are most damaged. The steps are really an engagement in an ever-deepening relationship with God. Divine love picks us up when we sincerely believe nobody else will. We then begin to experience freedom, peace, calm, equanimity, and liberation from cravings for what we have come to know are damaging—cravings that cannot bring happiness, but at best only momentary relief that makes the real problem worse. ~ Thomas Keating,

108:Hence, it's obvious to see why in AA the community is so important; we are powerless over ourselves. Since we don't have immediate awareness of the Higher Power and how it works, we need to be constantly reminded of our commitment to freedom and liberation. The old patterns are so seductive that as they go off, they set off the association of ideas and the desire to give in to our addiction with an enormous force that we can't handle. The renewal of defeat often leads to despair. At the same time, it's a source of hope for those who have a spiritual view of the process. Because it reminds us that we have to renew once again our total dependence on the Higher Power. This is not just a notional acknowledgment of our need. We feel it from the very depths of our being. Something in us causes our whole being to cry out, "Help!" That's when the steps begin to work. And that, I might add, is when the spiritual journey begins to work. A lot of activities that people in that category regard as spiritual are not communicating to them experientially their profound dependence on the grace of God to go anywhere with their spiritual practices or observances. That's why religious practice can be so ineffective. The real spiritual journey depends on our acknowledging the unmanageability of our lives. The love of God or the Higher Power is what heals us. Nobody becomes a full human being without love. It brings to life people who are most damaged. The steps are really an engagement in an ever-deepening relationship with God. Divine love picks us up when we sincerely believe nobody else will. We then begin to experience freedom, peace, calm, equanimity, and liberation from cravings for what we have come to know are damaging-cravings that cannot bring happiness, but at best only momentary relief that makes the real problem worse. ~ Thomas Keating, Divine Therapy and Addiction,

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