I was told by a friend yesterday that on EWTN, Christian TV station based in AL, I believe (I don't watch TV), had someone on who was saying that Centering Prayer is a big "No No", because of it's orgins in the Hindu religion. I was under the impression that Centering Prayer originated from the Dessert Fathers. If someone knows more about this subject, I would appreciate hearing what your thoughts are in this matter.

Yes, EWTN has been kicking that around for awhile. They point out similarities between CP and transcendental meditation, but their analysis is pretty superficial and ignores huge amounts of literature from the Christian mystical tradition.

Unlike TM, which is a concentrative form of meditation, CP is receptive/volitional. The sacred word in CP expresses one's consent in faith to God's presence and action within, and so it is a prayer of surrender rather than a technique for clearing out mental clutter. It DOES accomplish that, to some degree, but that is a secondary fruit of the prayer, the primary being to deepen one's faith relationship with God.

CP finds its rooting in the 13th C. treatise, The Cloud of Unknowing, written by an anonymous British author. It also resonates with some of the writings of the early Desert Fathers, as well as with St. Teresa of Avila's prayer of simplicity (or simple regard).

So, not to worry about CP being a Hindu practice, nor leading away from Christ. It should be used in concert with Lectio Divina (meditation on scripture). If you need more teaching on Lectio, go to the Shalom Room from the Shalom Place home page and you'll find a short teaching on it there.

Let's hear from others on this topic, which was so controversial several years ago that the good people of Contemplative Outreach made a formal response to it.

Phil