• Contemplative Prayer

  • Traditional Christian Meditations for Opening to Divine Union
  • By: Thomas Keating
  • Narrated by: Thomas Keating
  • Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (210 ratings)

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Contemplative Prayer

By: Thomas Keating
Narrated by: Thomas Keating
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Publisher's summary

"The Cloud of Unknowing" is one of Christianity's enduring mysteries, a meditative state where God is experienced on the deepest interior level. To move beyond thoughts and feelings and into the arms of the divine spirit, we have been given the gift of contemplative prayer.

In Contemplative Prayer, Father Thomas Keating introduces you to this method for inviting the grace of God into your life, to discover the treasure of holiness always present in ordinary events. Join Father Keating as he teaches a complete workshop on this system of Christian meditation, as it has been practiced in the cloisters and monasteries of Europe since medieval times. Contemplative prayer, like a freshening wind, is an uplifting event that can help take you to the starting point of the true spiritual journey.

©1995 Father Thomas Keating

What listeners say about Contemplative Prayer

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A new world of prayer

I started using Lectio Divina several months ago and have found a new and exciting committment to pray. As many who strugle with prayer, Lectio and this book on contemplation is a must for those looking to be active in prayer or to jump start your current prayer life.I always spent time in a monologue with God...now we have a dialogue.It is very comforting to rest in the silence of the King.

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24 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Original sin is really bad parenting

I don't mean to be so hard on this book, but I used my free book credit to get it and I would have learned more from another. He seems to wish he were a psychologist rather than a priest. I would have wished that he had spent more time on other, older writers on contemplative prayer. This isn't really a book. It is a lecture he gave. I felt that his point that our desire for God, Augustine to the contrary, comes from a bad pregnancy rather than the calling of a lonely God for his wandering lambs.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Where Heaven and Earth Meet

As I listen to Father Thomas I am transported to 'where Heaven and Earth meet' What a joy to spend time in his presence

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb!!!!

I heard the ole timers in Alcoholics Anonymous used this book for spiritual reading. Awesome book, worth every penny. you should see for yourselves :)

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The best introduction to centering prayer

I have read about centering prayer and toyed with the idea of doing it for years, but was not committed enough to start a regular practice until I listened to these talks. They contain a wealth of useful and practical advice, the explanations are crystal clear, and Father Keating's voice is extremely pleasant and easy to listen to.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Practical application.

Where does Contemplative Prayer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was the first book I ever listened to on this particular subject. In my personal spiritual journey, this was one of the missing links. No more.

What did you like best about this story?

This book is particularly based upon Biblical premise but any can be beneficial to anyone who has some interest in hearing God.

What does Thomas Keating bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Listening to the audio book was like he was personally speaking to me. His humour is subtle and effective.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Loved this book. Even though the book is delivered in a catholic setting but any Christ follower will benefit from it. Silence is a discipline in any religion but Father Keating completely explained the logical reason why we should practice this discipline and how to do it. I am in 2nd day of such practice , all I can say is that has noticeably benefitted me.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Deep Insights, Background on Contemplative Prayer

Fr. Thomas has spearheaded the modern Contemplative Prayer movement. He has other, very simple and effective methods of Centering Prayer, a contemplative prayer form introduced by Thomas Merton, a fellow Trappist. Fr. Thomas also firmed a worldwide support and promotion group, Contemplative Outreach, that continues his work. As a brilliant mind, Fr. Thomas often delves VERY deeply into the psychology underlying contemplative prayer. Personally, I find the lengthy, complex details interesting but very distracting to the beautiful simplicity of Centering/Contemplative Prayer.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

Father Keating's talks are extraordinary. I highly recommend this work during these very troubling times

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A Bit Prim and Proper, But Still Full of Substance

What a funny dance it is to talk about prayer. We want our opinion taken seriously, so we bring a bit of the ego-academic in, and we also want to touch upon truth, for which the academic must finally resort to poetry. Keating dances this dance a little dryly and stiffly for my taste, which my ears hear as that classic British rhetorical tradition of wry mock of the piteousness of the human condition,

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A game changer for my life.

Have been searching for a peace for all my life and had given up on whether my life would ever find it. This book as given me a path to finding this path to that "peace that passes all understanding." Wonderful read.

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