As humans, we are wired for fight or flight responses in times of stress. But today, many of us live with an overreactive stress response as the demands of modern life pull us in all directions, putting not only our physical health at risk, but also the meaningful connections in our lives--connections to our deepest selves, to others, and even to God. But there is good news. New developments in brain science are confirming what spiritual teachers of every wisdom tradition have been telling us for millennia: meditation and contemplative practice can calm that sense of fight or flight and enhance our sense of well-being. In Practice the Pause, spiritual director and writer Caroline Oakes offers new perspectives on the revolutionary potential of Jesus' own contemplative practice, considering this exciting new neuroscience and showing how the "centering pause" of contemplative practice can rewire our brain circuitry to be less reactive, more self-aware, and more compassionate. Combining accessible explanations of recent breakthroughs in neuroscience studies and introductions to perspective-changing ancient spiritual practices, Practice the Pause explores Jesus's contemplative practice as a path for transformation. Through practices such as Centering Prayer, lectio divina, and the seven-second pause, we can radically shift our own consciousness, enabling us to move beyond the overreactive responses of our ego in daily life and toward an awakened, expansive, and divine-centered way of being.
Caroline Oakes is a writer and spiritual director whose essays have been published at On Being, The Huffington Post, and her bimonthly "Mind & Spirit" column in The Bucks County Herald, an award-winning regional newspaper. A student of everyday spirituality, wisdom teachings, and the human spirit, she has a master's degree in ascetical theology from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church and participated in Thomas Keating's Contemplative Ministry Project. She is trained in teaching contemplative practice and mindfulness meditation by Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and by Mindful Schools, Inc. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.
Introduction Part 1: Awakening the Heart 1. We Are Human, We Are Divine 2. It's Not "Repent," It's Metanoia 3. The Jesus Formula: The Centering Pause Practice Part 2: Awakening the Mind 4. Wired for Transformation: Our Brain and Our Mind 5. Flipping Your Lid: A Close-Up Look 6. Contemplative Neuroscience: The Confessions of a Closet Meditator 7. The Spiritual and the Secular: It's About Connection Part 3: Awakening in the Wisdom Tradition 8. Jesus the Rabbi: First-Century Jewish Spirituality 9. Time Alone With God: Jesus Practicing the Centering Pause 10. Contemplation-In-Action: Jesus Practicing Off The Mat 11. Between Fight and Flight: The Third Way of Jesus 12. Ancient Teachers: The Desert Mothers and Fathers Part 4: Awakening Our Innermost Self 13. Just Being, In Quiet, With God 14. Reading With God: When Scripture Shimmers 15. The New Lectio: "Noticing" and The Seven Second Pause 16. The Centering Pause: Nourishing the Roots of Our Essence 17. Centering Prayer: Divine THerapy for the Human Condition 18. The Sacramental Centering Pause: Finding Our Way Home Appendix 1: The Tree of Contemplative Practices Appendix 2: Synoptic Gospel Passages of Jesus at Prayer Appendix 3: Recommended Reading Appendix 4: Discussion Guide
