Centering Prayer and the 12 Steps: A Meeting of the Minds of Bill Wilson and Thomas Keating

For more videos on Centering Prayer and 12 Step recovery, go to the playlists at    • Centering Prayer and the 12 Steps   and    • The Contemplative Dimension of the Twelve ...  . Tom Skinner and Fr. Thomas Keating explore the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous in light of the contemplative practice of Centering Prayer, especially focusing on the first and eleventh steps. Recorded June 12, 2007 at St. Benedict's Monastery. Step One: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.” Fr. Thomas talks about how Centering Prayer helps to open us to this reality. Step Eleven: "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out." Fr. Thomas answers Tom's question about how a person who is non-religious but believes in a higher power can accomplish this step through Centering Prayer. For support in practicing Centering Prayer as part of a 12 step recovery program, visit https://cp12stepoutreach.org/ For support in practicing Centering Prayer in general, visit https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org. In 2001, The 12 Step Outreach program of Contemplative Outreach was established to offer Centering Prayer to people in all 12 Step fellowships as an 11th Step prayer/meditation practice. We help individuals and groups establish contemplative prayer practices through workshops, retreats and formation programs. The practice of Centering Prayer, and the spiritual, historical and psychological basis of it, are described and elaborated in several of Thomas Keating’s works, including "Open Mind, Open Heart" and "Invitation to Love." The practice of Centering Prayer has parallels with other traditional practices, and is simple and easy to do. For those who live by the 12 Steps found in AA, Al-Anon, SCA, OA, DA, NA, GA, and other programs, a Centering Prayer practice can be a key support system in the process of recovery and transformation. Centering Prayer can help deepen our application of the 12 Steps generally, and the 11th Step specifically, through daily immersion in prayer and meditation. We believe that, when applied as a daily supplement to the 12 Steps, Centering Prayer open us to the deepest dimension of spirituality.