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The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation
The psychological roots of authentic spiritual life, by one of the great teachers of contemplative prayer. †
56 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
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About the author
Thomas Keating
123 books171 followersKeating entered the Cistercian Order in Valley Falls, Rhode Island in January, 1944. He was appointed Superior of St. Benedict's Monastery, Snowmass, Colorado in 1958, and was elected abbot of St. Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, Massachusetts in 1961. He returned to Snowmass after retiring as abbot of Spencer in 1981, where he established a program of ten-day intensive retreats in the practice of Centering Prayer, a contemporary form of the Christian contemplative tradition.
He is one of three architects of Centering Prayer, a contemporary method of contemplative prayer, that emerged from St. Joseph's Abbey in 1975. Frs. William Menninger and Basil Pennington, also Cistercian monks, were the other architects.
n 1984, Fr. Thomas Keating along with Gustave Reininger and Edward Bednar, co-founded Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., an international, ecumenical spiritual network that teaches the practice of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina, a method of prayer drawn from the Christian contemplative tradition. Contemplative Outreach provides a support system for those on the contemplative path through a wide variety of resources, workshops, and retreats.
Fr. Keating currently lives at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.
He is one of three architects of Centering Prayer, a contemporary method of contemplative prayer, that emerged from St. Joseph's Abbey in 1975. Frs. William Menninger and Basil Pennington, also Cistercian monks, were the other architects.
n 1984, Fr. Thomas Keating along with Gustave Reininger and Edward Bednar, co-founded Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., an international, ecumenical spiritual network that teaches the practice of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina, a method of prayer drawn from the Christian contemplative tradition. Contemplative Outreach provides a support system for those on the contemplative path through a wide variety of resources, workshops, and retreats.
Fr. Keating currently lives at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
December 3, 2014
On the surface Thomas Keating’s The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation has the appearance of being a thought provoking book. It is in fact two lectures he gave at The Divinity School at Harvard University. The problem is Keating brings nothing new to the table and what he brings is a bit of a deception.
The concept that drives the two lectures in this short book has been written many times by many writers over many centuries. At its core is a philosophy that is easily recognized as Buddhist in nature though many schools of thought have latched onto it in one form or another. The driving concept is we must shed our false selves until we reach a state of nothingness at which point we realize our connection to the Divine who then reveals to us who and what we actually are. Only by doing this will we ever be able to find true happiness. It is through the practice of some form of meditation (in this case Contemplative Prayer or Centering Prayer) that we slowly and methodically shed our false selves. We understand however that it is not we who are doing the shedding. By meditation or contemplative prayer we are opening ourselves up to allow the Divine to shed the false selves for us. When we get down to absolute nothing, when there is nothing left of who we thought we were, God then has a clear path to fill us and show us who we are in the Divine Nature.
In many cases in which I have encountered forms of this theme whether it be from a Christian, Buddhist, Science of Mind or New Age perspective there is always the underlying, often unspoken, sometimes blatantly declared idea that anyone who is happy outside of this philosophy is living a false happiness. While that may be true for some it certainly isn’t true for all. I have met atheists who are happy and content. I’ve met Catholics that live a life centered on the symbols and practices of their faith (people who Keating would say over identify with their chosen group) and who never take time for contemplation who are happy as oysters on the half shell. I’ve met people who live lives where no meditation or contemplation takes place who are happy.
It seems to me whenever I read a book along this line that there is always the assertion in one way or another, sometimes conspicuous because of its absence, that anyone who does not follow this path is not genuinely happy. But how can we say that about other people? How can we say that because Joe Smith doesn’t follow the path I’ve chosen his happiness is false? How is it fair to state that because Susie Jones who doesn’t take time for meditation and emptying of herself but instead finds happiness and fulfillment in her family and/or career that her happiness is not valid or complete? We can’t. To say this or to even imply it is a statement driven from conceit and ego, and isn’t that what we’re supposed to be shedding?
Here we are being told to empty ourselves in order to find out who we really are. Yet other very successful and apparently happy people follow a path more along the lines of George Bernard Shaw’s advice that “Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” Is their happiness false because of this? The more I encounter the notion that for everyone spiritual fulfillment, happiness, and truth can be found in a little, tightly lidded box, the more I shy away from it. Finding God is a journey, not a destination. God did not make us all with the same cookie cutter. Unlike Keating I find there is more than one way to find happiness and fulfillment. Contemplative Prayer is a wonderful thing for some people but it is not for everyone. To imply that it is the only way to spiritual fulfillment is like encountering a street sign at an intersection that a vandal has spun to confuse the traveler. The sign should read “This way is a possible route” not “This way is the only viable path.”
© 2014 M. Romeo LaFlamme
The concept that drives the two lectures in this short book has been written many times by many writers over many centuries. At its core is a philosophy that is easily recognized as Buddhist in nature though many schools of thought have latched onto it in one form or another. The driving concept is we must shed our false selves until we reach a state of nothingness at which point we realize our connection to the Divine who then reveals to us who and what we actually are. Only by doing this will we ever be able to find true happiness. It is through the practice of some form of meditation (in this case Contemplative Prayer or Centering Prayer) that we slowly and methodically shed our false selves. We understand however that it is not we who are doing the shedding. By meditation or contemplative prayer we are opening ourselves up to allow the Divine to shed the false selves for us. When we get down to absolute nothing, when there is nothing left of who we thought we were, God then has a clear path to fill us and show us who we are in the Divine Nature.
In many cases in which I have encountered forms of this theme whether it be from a Christian, Buddhist, Science of Mind or New Age perspective there is always the underlying, often unspoken, sometimes blatantly declared idea that anyone who is happy outside of this philosophy is living a false happiness. While that may be true for some it certainly isn’t true for all. I have met atheists who are happy and content. I’ve met Catholics that live a life centered on the symbols and practices of their faith (people who Keating would say over identify with their chosen group) and who never take time for contemplation who are happy as oysters on the half shell. I’ve met people who live lives where no meditation or contemplation takes place who are happy.
It seems to me whenever I read a book along this line that there is always the assertion in one way or another, sometimes conspicuous because of its absence, that anyone who does not follow this path is not genuinely happy. But how can we say that about other people? How can we say that because Joe Smith doesn’t follow the path I’ve chosen his happiness is false? How is it fair to state that because Susie Jones who doesn’t take time for meditation and emptying of herself but instead finds happiness and fulfillment in her family and/or career that her happiness is not valid or complete? We can’t. To say this or to even imply it is a statement driven from conceit and ego, and isn’t that what we’re supposed to be shedding?
Here we are being told to empty ourselves in order to find out who we really are. Yet other very successful and apparently happy people follow a path more along the lines of George Bernard Shaw’s advice that “Life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.” Is their happiness false because of this? The more I encounter the notion that for everyone spiritual fulfillment, happiness, and truth can be found in a little, tightly lidded box, the more I shy away from it. Finding God is a journey, not a destination. God did not make us all with the same cookie cutter. Unlike Keating I find there is more than one way to find happiness and fulfillment. Contemplative Prayer is a wonderful thing for some people but it is not for everyone. To imply that it is the only way to spiritual fulfillment is like encountering a street sign at an intersection that a vandal has spun to confuse the traveler. The sign should read “This way is a possible route” not “This way is the only viable path.”
© 2014 M. Romeo LaFlamme
May 31, 2013
This very short, multi-layered book is a primer for getting and staying happy. It’s so rich I felt I should pause after each paragraph and walk around the block to digest it. The two central questions are: Where are you? Who are you? The point is that anything short of the divine will cause us to fall short on happiness. Our primary goal in life should be to realize our deepest self and to connect with the divine. The human condition is that we resist the one thing that will make us happy. Go figure. You don’t have to be particularly conversant with or even interested in Christian mysticism or the practice of Centering Prayer to get a big-time spiritual hit from this little jewel.
October 17, 2010
Read like a sales pitch for contemplative prayer. In the process of rushing to make that pitch he made many definitive assertions without really backing up the statements at all. Since I disagreed with several of those and am undecided on others, I was left feeling unsatisfied with the book. I guessing that he has to present some of the ideas in a better format elsewhere.
October 7, 2020
My condition.
Deep inside of me is the peace of God. It’s vibration can be felt by me every time I reach out to someone. This was a wonderful read for someone looking for a deeper relationship with God. Yes, it certainly is.
Deep inside of me is the peace of God. It’s vibration can be felt by me every time I reach out to someone. This was a wonderful read for someone looking for a deeper relationship with God. Yes, it certainly is.
September 4, 2008
My introduction to silence and "meditation" in the christian tradition.
February 9, 2012
There is not a single part of this book that I do not love. There was not a single page on which I did not learn something. I cannot recommend this book enough to everyone I know.
February 15, 2022
"The Human Condition" is a two-part lecture Abbot Keating gave at Harvard in the 1990s. It's essentially establishing the psychological and emotional necessity for centering prayer. Now, the only other piece I've read by Keating is an essay on centering prayer that I found very provocative. It's a Buddhist-style stripping away of language, images, thoughts, concepts, and anything else that gets in the way of prayer. It's almost a way of unpraying, of entering a "God-space" or "God-consciousness" and doing away with the various tools one has relied upon in the past to connect with God, and likewise the masks one has worn before Him or the role one has acted.
I thought that this little book would have given more of a background on Keating's practice and, perhaps, on how a Cistercian abbot has come to find centering prayer to be one of the greatest ways to deepen one's relationship with God. It wasn't so much an explanation or investigation of the prayer, however, as the need for such a prayer. Keating says that centering prayer is a way to help with our "acute psychic indigestion." He shows that underneath the surface we've got our life-baggage that we're constantly reacting against and protecting ourselves from. In this reaction we're adopting various personas, various "false-selves." Contemplative prayer is a softening of the inner self; it's like loosening up the soil, pulling up the weeds, preparing the garden for the great planting and harvesting that God has in store. It's a release of the bad to God, the Gardener.
There's a simplicity to Keating's style and spirituality that I like. He writes, "God has not promised to take away our trials, but to help us to change our attitudes toward them. That is what holiness really is" (21). In another place: "The spiritual journey is not a career or a success story. It is a series of humiliations of the false self that become more and more profound" (38). This type of prayer-approach is all about falling away, stripping down, digging out. It's apophatic. In this it is helpful, but I believe a more positive, perhaps Ignatian and imaginative approach, is necessary as well. Keating would probably agree; I haven't read all of his work so I don't know, but I bet he would agree. But this positive, cataphatic experience is also God-given.
I thought that this little book would have given more of a background on Keating's practice and, perhaps, on how a Cistercian abbot has come to find centering prayer to be one of the greatest ways to deepen one's relationship with God. It wasn't so much an explanation or investigation of the prayer, however, as the need for such a prayer. Keating says that centering prayer is a way to help with our "acute psychic indigestion." He shows that underneath the surface we've got our life-baggage that we're constantly reacting against and protecting ourselves from. In this reaction we're adopting various personas, various "false-selves." Contemplative prayer is a softening of the inner self; it's like loosening up the soil, pulling up the weeds, preparing the garden for the great planting and harvesting that God has in store. It's a release of the bad to God, the Gardener.
There's a simplicity to Keating's style and spirituality that I like. He writes, "God has not promised to take away our trials, but to help us to change our attitudes toward them. That is what holiness really is" (21). In another place: "The spiritual journey is not a career or a success story. It is a series of humiliations of the false self that become more and more profound" (38). This type of prayer-approach is all about falling away, stripping down, digging out. It's apophatic. In this it is helpful, but I believe a more positive, perhaps Ignatian and imaginative approach, is necessary as well. Keating would probably agree; I haven't read all of his work so I don't know, but I bet he would agree. But this positive, cataphatic experience is also God-given.
May 25, 2025
As I’ve alluded to in previous reviews, I’m so happy to start this off by sharing that my reading slump is officially over. So… as I looked through my bookshelf on what I should read next, my mind found itself intrigued by the title of this short little book: The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation. For some time now, my soul has been clamoring for hope, meaning, truth, beauty, and understanding. I’ve recently started a full-time job that gives me a lot of stress and anxiety, so connecting with God whenever I have a free moment has never been more important for my overall sense of well-being. This book has introduced me to contemplative prayer, which I will gently implement in my daily life.
April 13, 2024
some really interesting stuff in these pages. what i love about it is Keating’s willingness to cut to the quick and give a greater glimpse of what truth actually is. his treatment of the self and how we free ourselves from the prisons of even our own ideas about “us” is inspiring.
a favorite quote from within:
“The spiritual journey is not a career or a success story. It is a series of humiliations of the false self that become more and more profound.”
this rings so true—we must lose ourselves to find ourselves, and the only way we can really get “lost” is in the depth of who God is, and exploration of that reality is the truest form of humanity that we could ever strive for.
a favorite quote from within:
“The spiritual journey is not a career or a success story. It is a series of humiliations of the false self that become more and more profound.”
this rings so true—we must lose ourselves to find ourselves, and the only way we can really get “lost” is in the depth of who God is, and exploration of that reality is the truest form of humanity that we could ever strive for.
September 6, 2024
A short read, but by no means quick or simple. This book searched me deeply and turned up points about the inner self, the dark night, and the contemplative life that I may not be ready for, but deeply need.
Keating has such a deep understanding of the spiritual journey and developmental psychology and how these ought to work together for us to uncover what needs to be released to become who we are truly made to be. Keating reveals well not only what contemplation is, but what it does to us and how we ought to engage and respond to its work--that is, the work of the Holy Spirit.
This one requires some revisiting and repeated readings as one walks the path of the spiritual journey.
Keating has such a deep understanding of the spiritual journey and developmental psychology and how these ought to work together for us to uncover what needs to be released to become who we are truly made to be. Keating reveals well not only what contemplation is, but what it does to us and how we ought to engage and respond to its work--that is, the work of the Holy Spirit.
This one requires some revisiting and repeated readings as one walks the path of the spiritual journey.
March 22, 2020
A short, heady read whose focus is to have you consider the questions "Where am I?" and "Why am I hiding" as you navigate through various stages of your spiritual journey. Specifically, to consider how the responses that are formed by the unconscious, which took shape between birth and adolescence, form the truest response and define our "false self."
Through a contemplative journey, we are provided with the guidance and tools to shed our false self and embrace our true self as God's word and manifestation of unconditional love.
Through a contemplative journey, we are provided with the guidance and tools to shed our false self and embrace our true self as God's word and manifestation of unconditional love.
February 5, 2021
Un mensaje al espíritu, pero al espíritu de lo cotidiano.
Thomas Keating me mueve a buscar la felicidad en lugares en donde si podría encontrarla. Me gusto la historia del hombre que busca la llave perdida en la calle bajo la luz del farol, no porque esté ahí, sino porque es el lugar en donde puede ver, el resto de la calle esta oscura.
Cuando es más importante conectarme con DIOS que estar siempre en lo correcto, entonces la práctica de estar En ÉL, CONTEMPLAR se vuelve esencial en mi vida cotidiana, la de todos los días.
Thomas Keating me mueve a buscar la felicidad en lugares en donde si podría encontrarla. Me gusto la historia del hombre que busca la llave perdida en la calle bajo la luz del farol, no porque esté ahí, sino porque es el lugar en donde puede ver, el resto de la calle esta oscura.
Cuando es más importante conectarme con DIOS que estar siempre en lo correcto, entonces la práctica de estar En ÉL, CONTEMPLAR se vuelve esencial en mi vida cotidiana, la de todos los días.
April 12, 2019
A 30 min read and reread that stays with you long after the last page. Keating is simple yet deep, humble yet wise. A man whose writings reflect the transformational hand of God in the soul of a single person for the benefit if others. Centering Prayer is powerful and true spiritual therapy, consenting to the work of the Spirit to bring each one to Christlikeness. A beginners window into the human condition.
January 24, 2023
Concise and short. Readable in a few hours or taken a few pages at a time. The main concepts are laid out and two pertinent questions asked of a personal spiritual journey. Thomas Keating spoke the contents of this book at a Harvard Divinity School lecture. It is a blessing to have the talk in print. Easy to read but heady enough to spark conversation in groups and in solitude. Books to read further would be “Divine Therapy” and a book on Centering Prayer such as by M. C. Richards.
October 20, 2024
A crucial aspect of personal growth is the ability to release any identity, no matter how valuable, that you associate yourself with. You are not defined by your feelings; you are not your physical form. You are separate from those aspects.
This book thoroughly explores how we can engage with our subconscious through Christian philosophy and relinquish our personalities to discover our authentic selves.
This book thoroughly explores how we can engage with our subconscious through Christian philosophy and relinquish our personalities to discover our authentic selves.
November 3, 2020
A must read for us all during these difficult times. There is Hope.
There has never been a more deliberate call to connect spiritually with God and one another than in our current time of dualistic thinking, anger, and frustration. Here is a practice of prayer and contemplation that promises Hope.
There has never been a more deliberate call to connect spiritually with God and one another than in our current time of dualistic thinking, anger, and frustration. Here is a practice of prayer and contemplation that promises Hope.
July 3, 2024
A great little book for anyone on the spiritual journey. It’s simple, short and concise but also profound. It centres on contemplative prayer (periods of silence resting in God) and frame this interaction as divine therapy. It’s a book that will stay with you long after you read it. It will likely be a re-read for me.
September 20, 2018
Esta obra del padre Thomas Keating es bastante práctica y fácil de leer. La misma sirve como introducción al mundo de la oración centrante/contemplativa.
Sin desperdicios para aquellos que estén buscando una manera diferente de orar y de crecer en su espiritualidad.
Sin desperdicios para aquellos que estén buscando una manera diferente de orar y de crecer en su espiritualidad.
March 13, 2019
A small book with larger typography, easy to read and contains some good descriptions of the psychological process that unfolds when one meditates, and the “profound healing” possible. I loved the story of the monk with the lotus.
May 20, 2020
Thought provoking.
Dr. Thomas Keating beings a deep understanding of his , and our own, spiritual journey. This is a thought provoking read that will intice you to a further study of his philosophy and works.
Dr. Thomas Keating beings a deep understanding of his , and our own, spiritual journey. This is a thought provoking read that will intice you to a further study of his philosophy and works.
September 16, 2021
“The bottom in the spiritual journey is also the top. To be no one is to be everyone. To be no self is to be the true Self. To be nothing is to be everything.”
A short yet vital text that pairs psychology and the search for jungian individuation with spirituality and the reclaiming of one’s soul.
A short yet vital text that pairs psychology and the search for jungian individuation with spirituality and the reclaiming of one’s soul.
December 26, 2024
A short, piercing, and beautiful reflection on the experience of centering prayer, with a focus on "divine therapy." Keating explains how stillness can allow repressed pain to float up, and walks us through the spiritual and practical dynamic of what healing looks like.
March 17, 2025
While I personally have some points of theological disagreement, Keating is masterful at breaking down a quite difficult topic. This will be a book that I reference in the future in my work as a spiritual director.
October 8, 2018
A short book with some powerful ideas.
May 2, 2019
Amazing Insight
Going thru strategies to capture true self Father Keating writes in a way that allows us to encounter God not just read about HIM. Bravo.
Going thru strategies to capture true self Father Keating writes in a way that allows us to encounter God not just read about HIM. Bravo.
August 22, 2019
Fine work with several great nuggets of truth. That said, nowhere near the best exposition on the subject of the human condition.
January 17, 2020
Short and sweet but packed full of punch and thoughtful ideas.
April 6, 2020
An incredible book. Only 45 pages but filled with a lifetime of wisdom to meditate on. I liked it so much I just ordered 5 more of Keatings books
May 20, 2020
Intense and contemplative. Comforting in its simplicity and at the same time enormous to comprehend. I will refer to this again and again
August 7, 2024
A punchy little book. Lots to mull on.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews