Contemplative Practices

“Contemplation is more like a spiral than a line; you keep returning to the places you’ve been, even as you progress on the journey of your life.”
~Carl McColman

St. James’ hosts several opportunities to deepen your contemplative practice.

TUESDAY MORNINGS:

Do you want to reduce your stress and improve your balance? A daytime Tai Chi class is on Tuesdays from 10 to 11:30 am in the Parish Hall. Come and try out this gentle moving meditation which can be practiced standing or sitting. No experience is necessary. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. Both the Tuesday morning and the Wednesday night classes are led by Sylvia Ma. Tai Chi classes are part of the ministry of St. James’ and are open to everyone. No fees. If you have any questions, please contact Sylvia Ma.

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS:

Sitting Meditation 6:00-6:25 pm in the Little Church. Bell for silence sounds at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to join us for this time of silent meditation. Please contact Janet Fischer with any questions.
Tai Chi class led by Sylvia Ma, in the Parish Hall from 6:30 – 7:30 pm.

A Brief Annotated Bibliography of Meditation Resources

Meditation Practices

McColman, Carl. Answering the Contemplative Call: First Steps on the Mystical Path (Hampton Roads Publishing, 2013). This book walks us through the initial steps in leading a contemplative life.
Meadow, Mary Jo. Christian Insight Meditation: Following in the Footsteps of John of the Cross (Wisdom Publications, 2007). Available on Amazon.com. This is an updated version of Insight Meditation for Christians, published in the 1990s.
Gentling the Heart: Buddhist Loving-Kindness Practice for Christians. (Crossroad, 1994). Out of print. Used copies available on Amazon.com.
Saltzberg, Sharon. Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Shambhala Publications, 2011). Anything written by Sharon Saltzberg is not to be missed, but this work on Metta is especially fabulous. A chapter, Facets of Metta, is available online here.
LeShan, Lawrence. How to Meditate. 1974. Reprinted Little, Brown & Co. 1999, available on Amazon.com.
Kapleau, Philip, ed. The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, Enlightenment, 1965 (Anchor; 35h rev. upd. ed. (December 18, 2013).
Nouwen, Henri. Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons (Ave Maria Press; Revised edition 1986).
Famous lecture by writer David Foster Wallace with some suggestions of the benefits of greater awareness: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB122178211966454607
Easwaren, Eknath. Passage Meditation: Bringing the Deep Wisdom of the Heart into Daily Life, (Nilgiri Press; 3rd edition (September 1, 2008). website: http://www.easwaran.org/learning-how-to-meditate.html; home page: http://www.easwaran.org

Anglican Rosaries/Prayer Beads

http://fullcirclebeads.com/ Anglican Prayer Beads
The Rosary for Episcopalians/Anglicans, 2nd ed. (Order of the Holy Cross. Incarnation Priory Press, 2003). Available on Amazon. These prayers are based on the Catholic rosary.
Kristen E. Vincent. A Bead and a Prayer: A Beginner’s Guide to Protestant Prayer Beads (Upper Room Publications, 2013). Updated ed. 2015: Another Bead, Another Prayer.

Centering Prayer & Zen Practice

Carl McColman’s blog.
Mercy Center in Burlingame offers a number of Centering Prayer and Zen meditation retreats. Check out their schedule at http://mercy-center.org.
Centeringprayer.com
Bourgeault, Cynthia. Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (Cowley Publications 2004).
Keating, Fr. Thomas. Open Mind, Open Heart: the Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel. (Continuum, 1995). (Also a 20th anniversary edition available.)
Intimacy With God (Crossroad 1994).
The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation (Paulist Press 1999).
Pennington, Basil. Centering Prayer: Renewing an Ancient Christian Prayer Form (Image 1982).
The World Community for Christian Meditation at http://wccm.org/.

Daily Prayer Practices

http://dailyoffice.org/ daily Morning and Evening prayer, also Compline. Live webcast of Morning Prayer Monday through Friday, 6 a. m. in the Pacific Time zone. Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/119266771440479/
http://www.gratefulness.org/index.htm
Gratefulness.org – Labyrinth, Light a Candle, and much, much more. Brother David Steindl-Rast’s organization. Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/Gratefulness.org
http://satucket.com/lectionary/ The Lectionary from Satucket. Great resource for readings and commemorations.

The Examen

http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/ Daily Examen, lots of variations.
Linn, Dennis, et al. Sleeping With Bread: Holding What Gives You Life (Paulist Press, 1995). A beautifully simple introduction to the practice of the Examen.

Walking the Labyrinth

http://labyrinthsociety.org/resources Links to information and resources for labyrinths.
Artress, Lauren. Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool (Riverhead Books, 1996).
_____. The Sacred Path Companion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Heal and Transform (Riverhead, 2006). Both available from amazon.
Shaper, Donna & Carol A. Camp. Labyrinths from the Outside in: Walking to Spiritual Insight-A Beginner’s Guide (Skylight Paths Publishing, 2000).