This Contemplative Prayer Journal consists of messages that emerge from my almost-daily contemplative prayer practice. Contemplative prayer can encompass many forms of prayer and reflection. Centering prayer is a basic practice, as taught by Father Thomas Keating in his many books, including Open Mind, Open Heart. Contemplative prayer groups can be found at churches and in multidenominational outreach settings.

Another ancient practice is called Lectio Divina, in which the practitioner reads a Gospel or Bible passage several times, progressively reflecting on its meaning as scripture and as it speaks to the individual. Many messages on this site start with Lectio Divina reflections on the daily Gospel reading in the Catholic or Episcopal lexicon.

Another approach to quiet prayer is that practiced by the Quakers at Friends’ meetings. In fact, it is quite likely that all the major world religions include some form of contemplative prayer practice, and the list would be very long if I tried to be exhaustive.

Starting in late 2023, I began to receive messages, words, and images that seemed inspired by the Holy Spirit. I heard that these messages were not only for my own spiritual benefit, but also could be valuable to share with others. During the spring of 2024, I started to get more and more insistent promptings to set up a blog site to share these “messages for a modern world.” The messages about peace and justice seemed to be the most prominent, although many other themes also emerged.

A little about me. As a teenager, I met an Asian Zen master and practiced intensively with his group for about twenty years. Eventually, I became the student of a Tibetan Rinpoche and received further teachings. Through meditation practice, about twenty-five years ago I encountered the Holy Spirit in which I had a vivid experience of two angels pulling me up to heaven to show me God the Father. A few years later, I realized it was time to be baptized at an Episcopal church. Eventually, I was received into the Catholic church and completed a master’s degree in theology from a well-regarded university. Now I mainly attend a very welcoming Episcopal church.

I write under the pen name Mirror Lake. I can be reached at contemplativeprayerjournal@gmail.com.