Richard Foster and Contemplative Prayer

"[W]e must be willing to go down into the recreating silences, into the inner world of contemplation. In their writings, all of the masters of meditation strive to awaken us to the fact that the universe is much larger than we know, that there are vast unexplored inner regions that are just as real as the physical world we know so well. They tell us of exciting possibilities for new life and freedom. They call us to the adventure, to be pioneers in this frontier of the Spirit." (Celebration of Discipline, 1980, p. 13.)

"Richard Foster advocates a prayer movement that indeed can be proven to have strong links to Eastern mysticism. And incidentally, this prayer method does not have its origins with the Desert Fathers, as some believe, but rather dates back much further, probably as far back as the early days of mankind."—Ray Yungen from: Richard Foster - Promoting Eastern Mysticism
By Way of Proxy"

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From Renovare's Perspective Newsletter:
"Spend some time this week listening to contemplative music designed to quiet you, settle you, deepen you. (Compact discs and tapes from the Taize Community, John Michael Talbot, and the Monks of Weston Priory are especially helpful.)"

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Richard Foster Speaks Out About Those
Who Are Contemplative

Agnes Sanford
"I had the privilege of being in Agnes Sanford's home and hearing her speak on numerous occasions, and I was always instructed by her good sense ... more than once I saw Agnes Sanford praying with great intensity and power one moment and laughing at a homespun joke the next ... such experiences freed me to be at home with God. I believe it will do the same for you." (Spiritual classics)

Thomas Merton
"Thomas Merton tried to awaken God's people."
(Conversation with Ray Yungen)

"Thomas Merton has 'priceless wisdom' for the
spiritual life of the Christian."
"Thomas Merton has perhaps done more than any other twentieth-century figure to make the life of prayer widely known and understood ... his interest in contemplation led him to investigate prayer forms in Eastern religion ...[he is] a gifted teacher ..." (Spiritual Classics - p.17)

Tilden Edwards
(founder of Shalem Prayer Institute)
On Edward's book, Spiritual Friend, Foster says "an excellent book on spirituality."
In this book, Edwards says, "This mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality"

The Cloud of Unknowing
(Caution! Not a Christian site)
"Why does this little prayer of one syllable pierce the heavens?" (Spiritual Classics -p.45)

John Main
(Caution! Not a Christian site)
"Dom John Main understood well the value of both silence and solitude ...Main rediscovered meditation while living in the Far East." (Spiritual Classics - p.155)

Meister Eckhart
"Today Eckhart is widely read and appreciated, not so much for his theological opinions as for his vision of God." (Spiritual Classics - p. 206)

"Apprehend God in all things for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God." Meister Eckhart

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"[I]n your imagination allow your spiritual body, shining with light, to rise out of your physical body. Look back so that you can see yourself lying in the grass and reassure your body that you will return momentarily ... Go deeper and deeper into outer space until there is nothing except the warm presence of the eternal Creator. Rest in His presence."
Richard Foster in the 1978 edition of Celebration of Discipline, pp. 26-27