Day 15: Contemplative prayer, part II

Here are some books about contemplative Christianity that were recommended. I have yet to read all of these, but they look interesting:

The Cloud of Unknowing

Will and Spirit

New Seeds of Contemplation

A Place Apart

Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel

Here's an excerpt from that last one (Open Mind, Open Heart) about facing your "dark side" via contemplative prayer:

As the deep peace flowing from contemplative prayer releases our emotional blocks, insights into the dark side of our personality emerge and multiply. We blissfully imagine that we do good to our families, friends and business or professional associates for the best of reasons, but when this dynamism begins to operate in us, our so-called good intentions look like a pile of dirty dish rags. We perceive that we are not as generous as we had believed. This happens because the divine light is shining brighter in our hearts…When God turns up the voltage, our motivation begins to take on a wholly different character, and we reach out with great sincerity for the mercy of God. That is why trust in God is so important. Without trust we are likely to run away or say, “there must be some better way of going to God.”

Self-knowledge in the Christian escetical tradition is insight into our hidden motivation, into emotional needs and demands that are percolating inside of us and influencing our thinking, feelings and activity without our being fully aware of them…When you withdraw from your ordinary flow of superficial thoughts on a regular daily basis, you get a sharper perspective on your motivation, and you begin to see that the value systems by which you have always lived have their roots in prerational attitudes that have never been honestly and fully confronted. We all have neurotic tendencies. When you practice contemplative prayer on a regular basis, your natural resources for psychic health begin to revive and you see the false value systems that are damaging your life…

The inner dynamism of contemplative prayer leads naturally to the transformation of your whole personality. Its purpose is not limited to your moral improvement. It brings about a change in your way of perceiving and responding to reality…as you experience the reassurance that comes from interior peace, you have more courage to face the dark side of your personality and to accept yourself as you are.