“There are so many doorways into contemplation and doorways into God - prayer, meditation, mysticism. How do we make use of all these doorways without getting lost? I think that’s one of the evolving aspects of the contemplative community and particularly among young people who grew up in an interspiritual environment…..they recognize there is wisdom there to learn from and it’s a critical component. We all arrive at Centering Prayer through different doorways.” - Keith Kristich

On today’s episode, we will explore the changing needs of Christian contemplatives through a thought-provoking conversation with our guest, Keith Kristich. Keith is a writer, retreat leader, and founder of the online contemplative community, Closer Than Breath. His mission is to help people unlearn rigid religion, reimagine what is divine, and see God everywhere. Keith is a commissioned presenter of Centering Prayer through Contemplative Outreach and trained with the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in leading contemplative prayer groups and retreats.

“If the Spirit is one, the people are one. If we are open to the Spirit within us, we are going to find that within.” - Keith Kristich

In this episode:
- Like many others, Keith found Centering Prayer by Divine grace. He wanted to explore oneness and union with God but his evangelical background did not provide the language needed for contemplation. Once he was introduced to the method of Centering Prayer through Father Thomas Keating’s teachings, he began to practice meditation and prayer in a centering environment and it changed his life.
- Keating’s teachings gave him a how-to manual and a map of the journey with an interspiritual lens. Through this method, Keith learned there were resources and insight into the evolving contemplative community.
- Keith wanted to be part of a contemplative community but there was not one available in his area, so he created an interspiritual community himself, Closer Than Breath.
- Keith believes people are hungry for diversity. It’s like salt and pepper for their spiritual lives. He feels it’s important to be rooted in a tradition but recognize the wisdom that comes from others which enhances our practice and our faith. We can have more respect for others when we connect with those that think differently, believe differently and live differently because we are coming from a place of unity.
- Keith shared that our thoughts are persistent. This path is one of surrender and grace is at the heart of it. The battle we have with our inevitable thoughts makes Centering Prayer difficult but it is also revolutionary, therapeutic, transformative, and healing. We learn to let go of the thinking mind and approach it with grace.
- He says letting people know that you don’t have to be a Christian to practice Centering Prayer validates the tradition and opens the door to a younger generation of seekers.

“If there were a widespread renewal of the practice of the contemplative dimension of the Gospel, then the reunion of the Christian churches would become a real possibility and dialogue with other world religions would have a firm basis in spiritual experience and the religions of the world would bear a clearer witness to the human values they hold in common.” - Father Thomas Keating

For all episodes to date, go to    • Contemplative Outreach Podcast:  Open...  .

To learn more about Father Thomas Keating’s guidelines for service and principles visit http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/....

To connect with Keith Kristich:
- Follow Keith on Instagram:   / keithkristich  
- Check out his personal newsletter, "Daily Mystic": https://keithkristich.com/newsletter/
- Visit the Closer Than Breath website: https://closerthanbreath.com/

To connect further with us:
- Visit our website: http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org
- Find us on Instagram:   / contemplativeoutreachltd  
- Like us on Facebook:   / contemplativeoutreach  
- Check out our YouTube channel:    / coutreach  

Season 2 of Opening Minds, Opening Hearts was made possible by a grant from the Trust for the Meditation Process, a charitable foundation encouraging meditation, mindfulness and contemplative prayer.

This episode of Opening Minds, Opening Hearts is produced by Crys & Tiana LLC http://www.crysandtiana.com

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