Ways of Centering Down to Enter Quaker Worship

We speak of centering down to enter into Quaker worship, yet few, if any of us have ever been actively taught how to do this. We are expected to find our own way. This is far from helpful, and the experience of trying (or being forced) to sit through Quaker worship without the benefit of knowing how to center needlessly turns many seekers off, losing the gift of their presence.

So what does it mean to center? What state are we after? We are looking for entering into a place of being relaxed in body and mind, and open in spirit. When we are centered, our brainwaves actually shift. We are looking to find a state where we are open in our heart, the seat of our emotion, and unattached to our thoughts. We actually seek to get to the space beneath our thinking, to create a space in which the Divine Spark within can find voice. We can’t find that when our mental space is full of chatter or interesting reflections.

I once thought worship was something I do, but for many years now it has seemed as if worship is actually a state of consciousness which I enter, so that I am immersed into a living, invisible stream of reality which has always been present throughout history. ~Bill Taber, Four Doors

Here are some different techniques for finding the gift of this state, but these will only get you so far. This is something we can’t make happen. It is grace. Humility and surrender of self-will will get you further than any technique.

1. Focus your heart on awe or reverence, bringing up past experiences or present things which take you to a place of genuine awe.
2. Focus on gratitude, opening your heart to the many things in your life for which you are grateful.
3. Open your heart to the Divine, and when your thoughts intrude, keep bringing your focus back to the bodily sensation of an open heart.
4. Engage in a “letting go” breath pattern. First, become aware of your breath. Then, allow your throat to open and relax, and breathe deeply, all the way down to your belly. Take long, slow inhales, hold for a brief pause, and then release your breath all at once. Release any tension with each exhale.
5. Mentally chant a mantra, or a short chant set to music. As these techniques are designed to “fill up” our mental space in order to initiate a state of being centered, they should be discarded once one has entered a centered space, to allow room for the Divine to be present.

For a more extensive guide on centering, please see Christopher Sammond’s 3 page version in our library. Please ask permission before copying or sharing. If you have questions about our worship practice, feel free to contact the clerk at pr.clerk@gmail.com.