Sacred Breath: 40 Days of Centering Prayer

by J. David Muyskens

When life takes an unexpected turn that leaves you reeling, sometimes you have to remind yourself to just breathe. But God is closer than the air you breathe. Grounded in scripture and Christian tradition, Sacred Breath walks you through the practice of Centering Prayer and helps you breathe in deeply the presence of God.
Learn how to present yourself to God in silence twice a day without any agenda. Forty days of practical, encouraging meditations will help you get started in the rich experience of living in the awareness of God's love. The first 10 readings focus on receiving God's love, the second 10 on obstacles to our relationship with God, and the last 20 on the rhythm of receiving and giving in our walk with God. Sacred Breath includes scriptures, breathing exercises, and an outline for group meetings.

Genres: Religion, Prayer

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of good stuff in here and I plan to go through it again. I read it and tried to practice it during Lent but wasn't always good about doing it every single day. It can be done any 40 days and provides great topics for centering oneself in quiet contemplative prayer and meditation. It also got me in the habit of practicing "lectio devina" when reading scripture.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An invitation to peace and calm as we become more and more aware of what we cannot control.

[Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a tough book to wade through.

Muyskens' 40 days of guiding a person to pray in a quiet way was interesting at first, tough to finish.

The concept of Centering Prayer is new to me. It is tough to be quiet and silent and focused for 20 minutes twice a day. I never did do it twice a day (how does one stop at work and do this?).

Four Guidelines:
1. Chose a sacred word as a symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within.
2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly, and then silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God's presence and action within. (so this was confusing --- to chose a word here, use it for a long term in one's life was contradictory to reading the chapter/devotional for the day, reading a short scripture passage and then to chose a thought from that passage, at the same time of thinking having this primary word or symbol)
3. When engaged with your thoughts (which includes bodily sensations, feelings, images, reflections), return ever so gently to the sacred word.
4. A the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

So some of the quotes from Christian historical figures was interesting.

I may try the concept further, with a different author.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book with great depth. I really savored it. It is a lovely book to step through one day at a time. It gave me an opening to deeper spirituality and helped to make my days more fruitful. I recommend setting aside time to enter into this journey. You will be a better person for it.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book followed Muyskens' first book, and it can stand on it's own merit. Beginners and those practicing centering prayer will find this very useful for their meditation.
Highly recommend!