Spiritual Practices

Classic Spiritual Practices

Here are resources for prayer-based practices that Christians and other religious people have engaged in for centuries. Although they have often been peripheral in Western Protestant traditions, they have a rich history in the Christian tradition. These practices are closely related to mindfulness, which now has ample evidence backing up its effectiveness, both inside and outside of a therapeutic context.

• Website: An Introduction to Christian Spiritual Practices

• Website: Richard Rohr’s Contemplative Appendix to Daily Meditations

• The Examen: A Daily Prayer

• Book: Jeanne Guyon Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ 

• Book: Martin Laird Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation

• Book: Anthony Bloom Beginning to Pray

• Book: Thomas Merton Contemplative Prayer 

• Book: Richard Foster Celebration of Discipline

• Book: Matthew Kruger Spiritual Exercises for the Postmodern Christian

• Book: Mark Williams and Danny Penman Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World