The Jesus Prayer

Back in July, Maggie Dawn posted as good a set of "instructions" for the Jesus Prayer that I have seen. They are simple, positive, and hopeful. They come from a blog by Kelvin Wright called, Available Light that seeks to follow a spiritual path of discipline. Since I have often found the Jesus Prayer a good practice, I thought I would pick it up from Kelvin through Maggie to you. Sometimes the path of a postModern Pilgrim goes through times and places that were more like today- but were in the pre-modern. Thus, the Jesus Prayer.

Sit somewhere where you are comfortable enough not to move for the duration of your intended meditation. Try and keep your back straight. Close your eyes. As far as you can, try to relax every part of your body; be especially aware of contracted muscles in the face, shoulders and neck. Silently repeat the phrase Lord Jesus Christ Son of the Living God Have mercy on me a sinner. If that seems too long, shorten it. Try just the first 8 words. Or even, just a couple of selected words: Lord...mercy... Repeat the words slowly giving equal weight to each word. I find it helpful to pace the words with my breath. Don't go theologising or thinking or trying to feel the presence of God. Don't worry that you suddenly remember that the washing machine needs turning on or the cat needs combing; it can wait. Don't get all excited by any mental pictures or "profound" thoughts that might burble up from the unconscious: that's just your brain having a dose of gas and it doesn't actually mean anything. If it really is a message from God, he knows your number and he'll get back to you later. If your mind wanders off, it's no big deal. Just pick up your phrase again and continue repeating it. Do this for a reasonable period; 10 minutes would be a good start for a newbie, but 20 would be better. Do it a couple of times a day. Do that every day for a week. See what happens. You might be surprised.