Hi Friends! Welcome to Episode 14 of the Reaching Hurting Women Podcast: A Contemplative Path of Recovery. Here we are learning new ways of coping with our daily struggles. My name is Tamara and I will be your host. Today we are talking about: Contemplative Practices
As I stated in the introduction here at Reaching Hurting Women we are taking a Contemplative Path to Recovery. By that I mean we are using contemplative spiritual practices to help us cope with the challenges of not only addiction recovery but also the challenges that come with every day life in general. 
What are contemplative spiritual practices? Well they are ways where we can be intentional and deliberate about matters of the soul. They are tools that help us become more aware of God’s presence in our normal life; they inject the sacred into activities that might otherwise be ordinary. By applying contemplative spirituality we can take anything we might be doing: like cleaning house or gardening for instance, and turn them into a sacred spiritual experience.
Contemplative prayer is at the heart of the spiritual practices where we open ourselves to the mystery of Jesus Christ. What we are talking about is taking the essence of contemplative prayer and applying it to other activities so that we are keeping God’s presence at the center of whatever we are doing.
Now let’s talk about the different categories of contemplative practices and the various activities included in them. I have Eight Categories of Contemplative Practices and the different activities in each of the categories. I’m not going to go into detail about most of them, because we will be learning more about many of them in the months to come. But this will give you a nice overview of contemplative practices. As I list them off, be thinking about how you can apply these activities and practices to help you cope with your daily struggles. Let’s get started…

* Stillness Practices: Connecting with God in quiet reflection.

* Silence
* Centering Prayer
* Meditation
* The Jesus Prayer
* Lectio-Divina
* The Daily Examen
* Breath Prayers
* Journaling

* Movement Practices: Connecting with God through your body in motion.

* Walking Meditation
* Yoga
* Tai Chi
* Dance
* Sports
* Labyrinth walking
* Pilgrimage

* Creative Practices: Connecting with God through creative expression.

* Painting
* Writing
* Gardening
* Sewing/Knitting
* Sculpting
* Music/Singing/Chanting
* Cooking
* Calligraphy

* Relational Practices: Connecting with God by being present with others.

* Worship
* Visiting
* Listening
* Communion
* Conversations
* Telling Stories
* Volunteering

* Learning Practices: Connecting with God through intellectual exploration and discovery.

* Reading the Bible
* Studying Christian Doctrine
* Studying Christian Church History
* Reading inspiring books
* Having Theological Conversation

* Influencing Practices: Connecting with God as an agent for change.

* Voting
* Attending a protest
* Coaching
* Teaching
* Leading a team
* Writing a letter

* Serving Practices: Connecting with God by sharing your gifts and re...