Meditation for Health is a secular medical program that’s suitable for people of all faiths and philosophies. However, forms of mindfulness practice can be found in all the world’s great religions, and many of our graduates continue their mindfulness practice within spiritual life.
Books by Scholars & Teachers of Christian Meditation & Prayer
Below is one of the optional bibliographies that we developed for interested participants in our program. These bolded titles link to the editorial review/sales page at Amazon.
- The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous; (14th century)
- The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence; (17th Century)
- The Way of a Pilgrim by Anonymous; (19th Century?)
- Mystics and Zen Masters by Thomas Merton; (1961)
- Zen and the Birds of Appetite by Thomas Merton; (1968)
- Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton (Introduction by Tich Nhat Hanh); (1971)
- Finding Grace at the Center: The Beginning of Centering Prayer by M. Basil Pennington; (1978; 3rd edition 2012)
- Awareness: Conversations with the Masters by Anthony De Mello; (1980)
- Centering Prayer: Renewing an Ancient Christian Prayer Form by M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O; (1980)
- Word into Silence: A Manual for Christian Meditation by John Main; (1980)
- Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Christian Zen and the Inner Eye of Love by William Johnston; (1991)
- Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit: The Place of Zen in Christian Life by Robert E. Kennedy S.J.; (1995; revised 2020)
- Centering Prayer in Daily Life and Ministry by Thomas Keating (editor), Gustave Reininger (editor); (1997)
- The Power of Meditation and Prayer by Michael Toms (editor) (includes an essay by Jon Kabat-Zinn); (1997)
- The Diversity of Centering Prayer by Gustave Reininger (editor); (1999)
- The Gethsemani Encounter: A Dialogue on the Spiritual Life by Buddhist and Christian Monastics by Donald W. Mitchell & James Wiseman, OSB (editors); (1999)
- A Taste of Silence: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Centering Prayer by Carl J. Arico; (1999)
- Happiness Here and Now: The Eightfold Path of Jesus Revisited with Buddhist Insights by Elizabeth West; (2000)
- Pray Without Ceasing: Mindfulness of God in Daily Life by Wayne Simsic; (2000)
- Prayer of Heart and Body: Meditation and Yoga as Christian Spiritual Practice by Thomas Ryan; (2001)
- Arise, My Love: Mysticism for a New Era by William Johnston; (2002)
- The Dart of Longing Love: Daily Readings from The Cloud of Unknowing by Robert Llewelyn; (2002)
- Finding the Still Point: A Spiritual Response to Stress by Tom Harpur; (2002)
- Foundations for Centering Prayer and the Christian Contemplative Life by Thomas Keating; (2002)
- Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition by Richard Smoley; (2002)
- Search for the Meaning of Life: Essays and Reflections on the Mystical Experience by Willigis Jager; (2002)
- The Way of the Prisoner: Breaking the Chains of Self Through Centering Prayer and Centering Practice by Jens Soering; (2003)
- Zen Contemplation for Christians by Sister Elaine MacInnes; (2003)
- Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening by Cynthia Bourgeault; (2004)
- Zen Gifts to Christians by Robert E. Kennedy S.J.; (2004)
- Benedict’s Dharma: Buddhists Reflect on the Rule of Saint Benedict by Patrick Henry (Author), David Steindl-rast (Afterword); (2005)
- Christian Insight Meditation: Following in the Footsteps of John of the Cross Mary Jo Meadow (editor); (2007)
- Christian Meditation: Your Daily Practice by Laurence Freeman; (2007)
- The Future of Wisdom: Toward a Rebirth of Sapiential Christianity by Bruno Barnhart; (2007)
- The Heart of the World: An Introduction to Contemplative Christianity by Thomas Keating; (2008)
- Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard Foster; (2008)
- The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind — A New Perspective on Christ and His Message by Cynthia Bourgeault; (2008)
- Intimacy with God by Thomas Keating; (2009)
- The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton (author), Dalai Lama (Preface) ; (2010)
- Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr; (2011)
- Centering prayer as an alternative to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression relapse prevention. Knabb JJ; in J Relig Health. 2012
- The Practice of the Presence of God in Modern English by Brother Lawrence; (2013)
- Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian by Paul F. Knitter; (2013)
- Science and Spiritual Practices: Reconnecting through direct experience by Rupert Sheldrake; (2018)