My thoughts are the biggest obstacles to this way of living my life. Why should I fast or set aside particular prayer times or deny myself in some way when I’ve found the shortcut? If every moment I’m consciously practicing love, doing all things for God’s sake, then I don’t need to worry about these spiritual methods. Their only purpose anyway is to bring a person to union with God. I’ve tried to practice these disciplines, but now I don’t worry about them anymore. But for me, when I tried them, I just spent all my time rejecting my wandering thoughts, over and over. I know these methods work for many people. I have no specific technique I use to meditate. I don’t practice any particular prayer discipline. I quite agree with writer Ellyn Sanna who observes, “At its heart, Brother Lawrence’s practice was simply Zen-a focus on the present moment in order to wake up, to be able to see the Light.” Here are some modern paraphrases of Brother Lawrence’s “maxims,” which offer readers no real methodology, but simple encouragement to be ourselves and to be aware of God’s presence:
Lawrence was a gentle and humble man who, despite his lack of education, just radiated holiness-not from the abbot’s chair but from the kitchen where he worked. One of the simplest methods of contemplation is “to practice the presence of God” as described by Brother Lawrence (1614–1691), a French Carmelite monk of the 17th century.
Prayer is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable toward God.
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