All traditions

Every stream here has fed people across centuries. Most of us draw from more than one. This is a map, not a membership card.

Christian streams

Contemplative

The prayer of quiet. The sacred found in stillness.

Centering prayerLectio divinaDaily examenSitting in silence

Thomas Merton · Thomas Keating · Henri Nouwen · Meister Eckhart

Liturgical

The daily office. Ancient rhythms, kept.

Morning and evening prayerThe Daily OfficeFixed-hour prayerLiturgical seasons

Thomas Cranmer · Phyllis Tickle · Robert Benson · Kathleen Norris

Charismatic

The Spirit moves. Stay open to what comes.

Spontaneous prayerWorship and praiseIntercessory prayerListening prayer

Smith Wigglesworth · Jack Deere · Francis MacNutt · Graham Cooke

Evangelical

The Word. Everything is measured against it.

Inductive Bible studyMemorizationExpository readingSystematic prayer

John Stott · D.A. Carson · Eugene Peterson · N.T. Wright

Justice

The prophetic tradition. Faith in motion.

Contemplative actionCommunity organizingLament as prayerSolidarity practices

Oscar Romero · Dorothy Day · Walter Brueggemann · Howard Thurman

Sacramental

The incarnational path. The physical is holy.

EucharistConfessionAnointingThe rosary or prayer beads

Thomas Aquinas · Alexander Schmemann · G.K. Chesterton · Robert Barron

Celtic

Thin places. The sacred close to the surface of things.

Creation prayerWalking as prayerThin-place pilgrimageBlessing practices

John Philip Newell · Esther de Waal · Noel Dermot O'Donoghue · Ian Bradley

Quaker / Peace

The Inner Light. Simplicity. Gathered silence.

Gathered silenceCentering in communitySimplicity as spiritual disciplinePeace witness

Thomas Kelly · Parker Palmer · John Woolman · Elton Trueblood

Universal traditions

Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, UU, and secular paths — each with its own practices and teachers. Not add-ons to the Christian list. Full streams in their own right.

Sufi / Islamic Contemplative

Dhikr — remembrance of the Divine. The heart as the place of return.

Dhikr (sacred remembrance)Salah (five daily prayers)Sama (sacred listening / music)Fasting as presence practice

Rumi · Hafiz · Ibn Arabi · Hazrat Inayat Khan · Kabir Helminski

Jewish Contemplative

Torah, Shabbat, and the practices of a people who remember.

Shabbat observanceHitbonenut (contemplative reflection)Torah studyJewish meditation (yichudim)

Abraham Joshua Heschel · Adin Steinsaltz · Zalman Schachter-Shalomi · Nehemia Polen

Theravada Buddhist

The original teachings. Breath, impermanence, and the path.

Vipassana (insight meditation)Loving-kindness (metta)Noble Eightfold Path practiceMindful observation

Thich Nhat Hanh · S.N. Goenka · Ajahn Chah · Sharon Salzberg · Joseph Goldstein

Zen

Beginner's Mind. Zazen. Nothing extra.

Zazen (seated meditation)Koan practiceKinhin (walking meditation)Working with the ordinary as practice

Shunryu Suzuki · Thich Nhat Hanh · D.T. Suzuki · Pema Chödrön · Charlotte Joko Beck

Bhakti / Devotional Hindu

The love path. Devotion as the highest form of practice.

Puja (devotional ritual)Mantra and japaBhajan (devotional song)Darshan (sacred seeing)

Mirabai · Ramakrishna · Sri Aurobindo · Mata Amritanandamayi · Ram Dass

Unitarian Universalist

The living tradition. Searching is the practice.

Interfaith studyCommunity service as practiceSmall group ministryCovenant keeping

Parker Palmer · Forrest Church · Rebecca Parker · Sofia Fahs · James Luther Adams

Secular Mindfulness

Presence without metaphysics. Paying attention as the whole thing.

Breath-based meditationBody scanNature as contemplative anchorJournaling as inquiry

Jon Kabat-Zinn · Marcus Aurelius · Epictetus · Mary Oliver · Oliver Burkeman

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