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My personal story is thus:

At a retreat run by the local parish priest (who is now teaching at a seminary!), he led us in a "centering prayer" (CP). Being VERY naive, I thought it was 'cool'. Fast forward a few years, and I found out that CP was TranscendentalMeditation with the word "Jesus" spray painted over it - like grafitti on a highway overpass.

I confess that I felt cheated and violated after I found this out. I still do.

Dreher said something very profound:

"Centering prayer differs from Christian prayer in that the intent of the technique is to bring the practitioner to the center of his own being. There he is, supposedly, to experience the presence of the God who indwells him. Christian prayer, on the contrary, centers upon God in a relational way, as someone apart from oneself."

How to pray?

Jesus gave us the model (not a formula) in the Lord's Prayer.

On thinking about the CP controversy I'm having with this friend, I reviewed the Lord's Prayer line by line.

It is VERY -other- directed. The 'other' is "Our Father in heaven".

Thanks for your note! Your honesty and frankness is refreshing.

Thank you. I thought it sounded a little like St. Teresa of Avila and her "interior castle". Maybe there are similarities. Interior castle goes deep within. Believe me, if you are spiritually unprepared to face some unpalatable truths about yourself, you don't want to go deep within without a firm grip on your faith. At least St. Teresa didn't use an invocation in the form of a word. I ended up not opting to go her way because she wrote something about depressed people which I tend to be, so I have to keep things as plain and simple as possible.

I like your explanation of the Lord's prayer. You can't go wrong with that as an outward directed (or upward) prayer. If God wants to go within, He can get in if I let Him.

Somebody now has mentioned Taize. I think that might be charismatic stuff which I now avoid. Somebody else mentions the bishop allows centering prayer (in a diocese very accessible to me). The bishops are allowing a lot of things I refuse to participate in.

There was an outbreak of charismatic activity of some sort shortly before all the slaughtering started in Rwanda. I don't know if there is a connection or not. Probably it was just coincidental.

These are times that try mens' souls (and womens' too). If one is to err, it is better to err on the side of caution.