Keep it simple - 30 March 2012

There is now a large and ever growing volume of writings about contemplative life and prayer, certainly more than I can keep up with. Much of it is from America. We used to be more or less in the desert, as it were -- you really had to hunt around to find anything new being taught. And in a way that was good because the best prayer is what we do ourselves, and the best experience is what we discover ourselves. But now there is no end to what we can find in print and on the web. Some of it is junk. The word contemplative is in danger of being hijacked. Some writers can’t help trying to “add value”, as we say, to what actually needs nothing of the kind. Some can’t help lapsing into sentimentalism, and we get nice photos of roses and sunsets. Others can’t resist trying to formulate rules, recipes and spiritual flow charts -- you must do this or that. Yet others, of the psychology persuasion, seek to describe what is happening in our psyches in the stillness and silence, and tell us about it. I do however have a more kindly feeling towards the historians, who need to show us how contemplative teachings have always been there, down the centuries. A lot of this is admittedly interesting, and any of us could spend the rest of our days getting more and more informed. The trouble is, it’s not the way to learn to pray.

We say again, we learn to pray by doing it. And mostly, by following the advice of Jesus -- behind closed doors, in secret, in silence. As we rapidly find out, there are all manner of practical issues about that. Our own programme and busyness. Grandparent duties. Most family homes are set up for just about everything but prayer. And of course, external interruptions and internal distractions. I recall one meditator who was very keen, but she said, there was no way she could disable the phone. The idea was anathema. Someone might be trying to get her. And I can see, for her that fact would be an overwhelming distraction -- someone needing her and she wasn’t there. She could not conceive her finger off the response and control button for 25 minutes. I am happy to report that it dawned on her that she was not indispensable after all, and that the world could struggle on for that brief time.

Fr John Main’s most famous teaching is, “Just say your mantra.” It comes down to utter simplicity. Be still. Be quiet. Be attentive. Be fully present, here and now. Stop trying to control the universe.