Turning Within

The practice of meditation and interior prayer in the Christian past has deep roots in the Byzantine Tradition. The Jesus Prayer and Noetic Prayer come from this tradition and have much to offer the collapsing structure of modern Christianity.

While there are many Eastern faiths teaching meditation and interior prayer, so few of the Christian denominations have a clear cut understanding of an anthropology of man and a layered teaching of the psyche that accompanies that anthropology.  We are much more complex than we often acknowledge.

How to pray the prayer, to meditate and how to feel comfortable in our own skin is what this small text is about.  It shares a handful of wisdom on how the various portions of our lives work together in the aggregate.  It teaches the reliance on a routine and singular practice for the inception and development of our spiritual lives.  It aims to integrate and unify the many paths of spiritual formation and direction.

This is a must read for anyone who strives to meditate in the Christian Tradition.

"The greatest challenge to the inner journey is taking the first step. This journey, as all oth­ers, can begin only when we set out. Every day we must make time to go within. Every day we must struggle to look for Jesus in our heart.

At first, the way in which we do this turning within must be familiar and pleasant to us. If it is not, we will not wish to pursuit it. If it is not, we will not return to this practice with any regu­larity.

Find a quiet space in the home or around the house. Perhaps even a chapel, if there is one close at hand. It must be a place where you can get away from noise and people. Noise and people are very valuable for our lives, but without removing your­self from them in order to meditate, you will not become whole enough to live amid them in health. We must find our center if we are to live in Jesus, for our center is Jesus."                          

- from the book

Many thanks to my Publisher - Praxis Institute Press - for allowing me to make this digital edition available to a larger audience.

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