The Spiritual Exercise of the Jesus Prayer

I am delighted to be here with you this week, because we get to explore and practice the Jesus Prayer, one of the oldest forms of meditation and contemplation in all of Christendom.  I have practiced this form of meditation for roughly the last 50 years.  During that time, it has taken me deeper and deeper, coming to a wordless contemplation of God.  It is suitable for almost everyone, from beginners to very experienced practitioners.

Last week we explored a bit about monologistic prayer and the history and development of the Jesus Prayer.  This week we will actually start our practice with this very special form of meditation, which has the power to take us deeply into God’s holy presence.

The Jesus Prayer

1.  Position your body comfortably, spine erect, on a chair or cushions.

2.  Ground yourself in your physical sensations.  Close your eyes and slowly become aware of the sensations of your physical body.  Feel the sensations as they flow through you.  The sensations in your head...in your neck and shoulders...your elbows...your wrists and the palms of your hands...the sensations in your knees...your ankles and the soles of your feet.

3.  Now open your awareness to feel God's Presence right here with you.  Feel that Presence all around you...within you.  Breathe in the Divine with every breath.  Breathe God out.  Let yourself rest in this Presence.

4.  Be aware of the sensations in and around your head.  You probably are aware of a sphere of energy around your head.  This is where most of us 'live.'  Let this sphere of energy begin to get heavy and drift downward toward your heart center.  When you begin this, it may be a little difficult.  We are so accustomed to having this energy in our heads that we don't know what it would feel like somewhere else.  But let that sphere of energy gradually grow heavier and heavier.  Let it sink down into your heart.  If you have trouble with this, imagine that with each inhalation this sphere of energy is pushed down about an inch or so.  With every breath, your head energy is moved downward, until your head rests in your heart.  Anchor yourself here, so that you are able to perceive through your heart.

5.  Now, in your heart and from your heart, say the words, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me...Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me."  Let your heart repeat these words over and over again, feeling God's Presence right here with you.

6.  When your attention wanders, be patient with yourself.  Gently bring your attention back to the three operations of this meditation: feel God's Presence; put your head in your heart; and say the words, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me."

(To close your meditation)

7.  When you are ready, let yourself come back to this place.  Let the feeling return to your feet, your hands, and your face.  Take a deep breath, and open your eyes.

The Interior Movement of the Jesus Prayer

The practice of the Jesus Prayer will take us on a predictable interior journey.  At first, we are likely to have difficulty engaging in the three operations of the prayer simultaneously.  While each of these operations is relatively simple, the first two are unusual for us in this culture.  We seldom try to experience the Presence of God in a deliberate way.  And we never strive to put our attention into our heart!  So there will be a period of some frustration, as we try to keep each of these three things going at once.  It can feel a bit like juggling, trying to keep three things in the air at the same time.  Once you get the hang of it, though, the experience seems quite natural and enjoyable. 

During the initial time of frustration, you will find yourself distracted, as with the previous practices.  Your attention, while strengthened, is still not a focused tool.  As you become aware of your distractions, the initial impulse will be to punish yourself: to engage in the punitive internal dialogue which emphasizes how inadequate you are to accomplish even the simple tasks of this prayer.  This sort of  inner dialogue is basically garbage!  It is your ego, fiercely defending itself and its control over you.  The best way to view this negative self-talk is to see it as just another distraction.  You obtain no benefit from it, so simply withdraw your attention from these distractions, and re-engage in the three operations of the prayer.

The complexity of the Jesus Prayer, with its three specific and simultaneous operations, is actually a substantial aid toward the development of a stable attention.  These three operations place such a load on conscious awareness, that it rather quickly moves beyond distraction.  You notice I said 'rather quickly.'  I mean this in relationship to other meditations which do not have this loading effect.  Your progress may still seem slow to you.  After continual practice, two things begin to emerge.  First, you are more and more able to do all three operations of the prayer simultaneously.  Second, the number and intensity of distracting thoughts and feelings seem to diminish.  There is a gradual quieting of the mind, as if the intellect becomes content with the discursive activity of the prayer, while deeper changes are occurring in you beneath the words.

The Arising of Spiritual Phenomena.  As your practice continues, several phenomena may arise that are important to understand.  While there is no specific order to their occurrence, in my experience, they tend to follow the order described here.  

First, there is the arising of internal heat.  You will be sitting in meditation and you will become aware that your body is very warm, sometimes it even feels hot.  You may begin to perspire profusely.  This is one of the spiritual fruits of the deepening of your interior prayer.   It is the action of God within us, burning away the subtle interior obstacles which keep God veiled from our awareness.  You may find this warmth so intense that you become frightened of it, thinking that something is wrong.  Don’t worry.  You are simply tasting the first fruits of the interior life.  As this experience comes, you may need to loosen your clothing before you meditate, or even wear lighter clothing, so that you are not too distracted by the heat.

The second phenomenon which frequently occurs is known as the gift of tears.  This is the experience of inner grief and compunction, which seems to arise spontaneously as you explore your interior depths.  This experience is cause for rejoicing, because it signifies a deepening of the interior cleansing which usually begins with the experience of interior heat.  

The gift of tears may begin with a feeling of grief or sadness, centered in the heart or the throat.  You may find tears beginning to trickle out of your eyes.  On occasion, there is full-blown weeping, but more often it is just a sweet-sad grief which causes these tears.  When this occurs, don’t be surprised if your tears continue, even beyond the period of your meditation.  You may find your eyes 'gently leaking,' producing very small amounts of moisture throughout the day.  Usually no one will notice this but you.

A third phenomenon, which is more rare than the first two, and which typically follows after a long period of practice, is the experience of interior light.  There arises within your heart an interior light that carries with it such tender sweetness that you will marvel at its intensity.  This is your first clear sight of that great Light that is Christ the Lord.  Words do not suffice to describe it, nor the interior feelings which accompany it. 

These three phenomena cannot be sought after.  This is very important for you to understand.  These phenomena accompany the deepening of practice in a natural way.  So do not strive after the phenomena.  Your striving after these 'markers' of experience will only serve to keep you from them.  Instead, strive to be present to God at all times.  As our Lord says, "Do this, and all else shall be added to you."  As you continue your practice, you will find that your mind begins to quiet down.  There is a gradual dawning of interior stillness.  This occurs both within the practice of the Jesus Prayer and between the formal periods of practice.  

Within the practice, your recitation of the words will be broken, from time to time, by a vast stillness.  It is as if you have been traveling along a heavily wooded road in the mountains, where you cannot see anything because of the thick forest.  Then suddenly the road breaks out of the forest and a stunning vista opens before you.  You stand, dumbstruck with awe, held suspended in the vastness of all that you survey.  

This is what interior silence is like.  Your recitation of the words of the prayer will, at times, spontaneously cease, and you will stand in the Presence of God in awe.  There are simply no words, only stillness.  This deep experience cannot be achieved by 'wishing' it, by imagining it, by striving for it, or by promoting yourself beyond the reach of your own experience.  It lies within you, awaiting your discovery.  You can do nothing to hurry it.  You can only open your heart to God, and fix your attention there.  God will give you His grace in His own time, not in yours.

With the arising of this deep inner stillness, you begin to approach contemplation.  The contemplative process is different in character than all the spiritual exercises that go before it.  We will explore the contemplative process at a later time.

*  *  *

Let’s bring our meeting to a close for now.  You have received the basic instructions for one of the most powerful meditative prayers that has ever been developed.  It has the power to take you deeper and deeper into an intimate relationship with the Divine.  

I encourage you to set aside time to practice the Jesus Prayer on a daily basis.  I typically practice in the morning, on arising, and in the evening before I go to sleep.  This form of practice provides me with spiritual bookends for my day, and this practice seems to make my days go more smoothly.  I would encourage you to enter into this interior space throughout the day as well, even if it is just for a moment or two.  The ultimate aim of all spiritual practice is to dwell in the house of the Lord, so why not move in today?  LOL

Have a great week, and remember, if you have any questions about your practice, please drop me a line at [email protected].

With love,

P.S.  Several of you have expressed the desire for an online meditation class.  If there is enough interest, I will try to figure out how to hold a group class on the web.  If you have an interest, please write me at [email protected]. 

Humility as a Tool  → Letting go → Fear → Openness →  Acceptance & Growth

If you are finding this newsletter course helpful, you may want to consider Dr. Kaisch's latest book, Inside the Invisible:  The Universal Path to Spiritual Transcendence.👇

To access the other newsletter editions of the “Inside The Invisible Newsletter,” or if you’d like to read ahead or go back.

Please Note: These newsletters are meant to be read in order.