Even Your Breath Can Be Your “Sacred Word”

A reader of this blog submitted this question:

How explicitly Christian does the prayer word need to be in contemplative prayer (e.g., Centering Prayer)?
My quiet-time practice is a hybrid of Lectio Divina with the Liturgy of the Hours. “No problem” with the three discursive steps of Lectio, but when I get to the non-discursive contemplatio, I struggle with monkey brain… Frankly, zazen’s breath counting “works” best for me over the years. I’ve tried using the Jesus Prayer, infused with my breath...