12 Step Outreach

What is 12 Step Outreach?

12 Step Outreach was established within Contemplative Outreach to offer Centering Prayer to people in all 12 Step fellowships as an 11th Step prayer/meditation practice. We help individuals and groups establish a contemplative prayer practice through workshops, retreats, and formation programs.

What is the vision and purpose of 12 Step Outreach?

The vision of 12-Step Outreach is to pass on the gift of Centering Prayer and related spiritual practices to improve our conscious contact with a God of our understanding, wherever there is a desire for deeper healing from anyone in 12-Step recovery. Our purpose is to support one another in the process of spiritual transformation through the practice of Centering Prayer.

How does Centering Prayer parallel other practices?

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.

What are the guidelines for Centering Prayer?

1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within. (The sacred word is sacred not because of its inherent meaning, but because of the meaning we give it as the expression of our intention and consent. Examples: Love, Let Go, Serenity, Peace, Silence, Faith, Trust, etc.) 2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within. ("Sitting comfortably” means relatively comfortably so as not to encourage sleep during the time of prayer.) 3. When engaged with your thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word. (Thoughts include body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections. By “returning ever-so-gently to the sacred word” a minimum of effort is indicated. This is the only activity we initiate during the time of Centering Prayer.) 4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

Fr. Thomas Keating Centering Prayer Intro