Welcoming Practice

The Welcoming Practice or Welcoming Prayer is a method of actively letting go of thoughts and feelings that support the false-self system.

Developed by Mary Mrozowski, one of the founders of Contemplative Outreach, the Welcoming Prayer invites God to dismantle the emotional programs of the false-self system and to heal the emotional wounds we’ve stored in the body.

The method of the Welcoming Prayer includes noticing the feelings, emotions, thoughts and sensations in your body, welcoming them, and then letting them go. Practicing the Welcoming Prayer offers one the opportunity to make choices free of the false-self system — responding  instead of reacting to the present moment.

The purpose of the Welcoming Prayer is to deepen one’s relationship with God by consenting to God’s healing presence and action in the ordinary activities of daily life.

Instructions

When you have an overly emotional experience in daily life, take a moment to be still and silent and follow these steps. This practice can also be done as a way of checking in and aligning all three intelligent centers: body, heart, and mind.

  1. Focus. Feel and sink into the feelings, emotions, thoughts, sensations and commentaries in your body.
  2. Welcome. Welcome God/Spirit/Source/Life in the feelings, emotions, thoughts, commentaries or sensations in your body.
  3. Let go. One by one, let go of each sensation, emotion, and thought you’ve identified.

Resources