Fr. Thomas has written articles and books that deal with contemplative prayer, especially Centering Prayer. He has presented the Centering Prayer method and its related mystical theology to gatherings of non-Christians, Protestants, and Roman Catholics worldwide. He has also taken this ministry to seminarians, priests, lay people, and prisoners.

Quotes from Thomas Keatings' Open Mind, Open Heart

On Contemplative Prayer

[Contemplative prayer is the world in which] . . . our private, self-made worlds come to an end; a new world appears within and around us and the impossible becomes an everyday experience. Yet the world that prayer reveals is barely noticeable in the ordinary course of events. (Page 13)

On Centering Prayer

[Centering prayer] is . . . a journey into the unknown. It is a call to follow Jesus out of all the structures, security blankets, and even spiritual practices that serve as props. They are all left behind insofar as they are part of the false self system . . . The false self is an illusion. Humility is the forgetfulness of self . . . (Page 72)

Centering prayer is a method of refining one's intuitive faculties so that one can enter more easily into contemplative prayer. It is not the only path to contemplation, but it is a good one. As a method, it is a kind of extract of monastic spirituality . . . you have to keep up a certain level of silence in the psyche and nervous system if you want to obtain the benefits of contemplative prayer. (Page 34)

Click here to view Thomas Keatings' bibliography.