Welcoming Practice
“I have calmed and quieted myself...like a weaned child I am content.” ~ Ps. 131:2
“To welcome and to let go is one of the most radically loving, faith-filled gestures we can make in each moment of each day. It is an open-hearted embrace of all that is in ourselves and in the world.” ~ Mary Mrozowski
The Welcoming Prayer practice was created by Mary Mrozowski, a student of Thomas Keating and a key figure in the Centering Prayer movement. The intent of the practice is both orienting and reorienting: It can be engaged as a regular contemplative practice that establishes an intention for daily life… and it can also be a powerful way to reset or reorient the soul when you feel hooked and unseated by an afflictive emotion.
Either positive or negative experiences can disorient the soul by drawing us down into the ego, the small, separated self. In response, this practice helps us reconnect with the larger, connected, essential self. The self that is embedded in God and unceasingly secure. Only an all-enveloping, all-loving God can grant us the courage to welcome painful or distressing situations into our lives with the confidence that “all things work together for good.”
I find it helpful to prepare myself for any meditation practice this way: Seat yourself comfortably in a quiet environment in an upright position, feet on the floor, hands loosely open on your lap. Close your eyes and relax your body. Quiet your mind, open your heart, and be fully present to this moment. This practice has three movements…
Notice
Pay attention to how your thoughts and feelings are showing up as sensations or commentary in your body. How is this emotional disturbance registering in you physically? Notice the effects with curiosity rather than resistance.
Welcome
Begin to softly say the word “Welcome” and name the feeling. It is never the circumstance itself being welcomed (the injury, injustice, whatever); it is the felt experience being welcomed. You can welcome things like disappointment, frustration, anxiety, rage, and insecurity because you are welcoming God in the midst of all things. Gently repeat the phrase, “Welcome _______.”
Let go
Now offer this prayer with trust: “I let go of the need for security, affection, and control. I let go of the need to change anyone or anything or even myself. I open to your presence and action within me today.”