“Welcoming Prayer”
A few weeks ago, I was leading a spirituality group session in a setting where everyone had in their past been homeless and is now in chemical dependency recovery. The session went very well. There was a positive spirit about things and those present seemed to be supporting each other in their spiritual growth.
As the session neared its end, two of the men quickly escalated from a disagreement to a moment of threatened violence. They were in each other’s faces and not about to back down. Instinctively, I jumped up and placed myself between the two of them. In retrospect, I realized how much risk I had taken. One of the men has post traumatic stress. Both grew up in an environment with a lot of violence.
What surprised me the most was how quickly things moved from conversation to violence. I have heard many participants describe their challenges with anger and violence on the streets, but had never seen in person how quickly a situation can change.
Earlier this week I was introduced to the practice of “Welcoming Prayer”. It is a practice predicated on the recognition that most of our emotions have been cultivated over a lifetime and that deep seated pain and suffering underlie much of it.
Loyola Spirituality Center Newsletter, article by Terry Shaughnessy, page 8
Fr. Thomas Keating talks about three patterns that falsely drive us to seek happiness; through power and control, affection and esteem, security and survival. The “Welcoming Prayer” acknowledges and transforms these patterns. It works in three movements.
The first is to focus and sink into the body sensation connected to the upsetting emotion. The second movement is welcoming the afflictive emotion and its impact on our body. The third and final movement is letting go - of our need for power and control, affection and esteem, and security and survival.
The Practice of Welcoming Prayer, By Cherry Haisten
Yesterday, I found my day filled with some kind of unnamed anxiety. No matter what spiritual practice I employed, the anxiety remained. This morning, I decided to use the “Welcoming Prayer.” Within minutes, I felt a level of serenity that had been evading me.
As I finished with that prayer practice, God seemed to bring back to me the memory of the participants from several weeks ago that almost came to violence over a simple disagreement. At the time, I almost couldn’t fathom how they could have escalated that quickly. In the glow of the aftermath of the “Welcoming Prayer”, I could see that I too have unconcious reactivity within me that I at times can not control. How much more so within persons that have grown up in a life of violence and poverty on the streets. Suddenly, not only was I feeling serene, but also connected to those participants, feeling compassion for myself and for them. I know now I will introduce this form of meditation to them in my next group meeting and see where it goes.
O Holy One, thank you for the gift of this “Welcoming Prayer”, and for your gift of compassion and connection with the poor that helps me to see my neediness. Amen.
