The core of the Fellowship’s practice rests on two endeavors: to understand a system of keys that provides a method of transmission of knowledge on how to awaken; and to make continual efforts to be present in each moment. These continual efforts have traditionally been referred to as the Inner Prayer, the Jesus Prayer, Inner Yoga or Meditation.
Awakening has been the original focus of all great religions. Religious traditions often hide this message, however, in mysterious forms, which can only be understood through keys that are handed down from one tradition to the next.
A key is a representation of something; it is not the thing itself. This means, for example, that reciting a text or looking at an image is not by itself intended to produce Divine Presence. There is never any substitute for making personal efforts in the moment to awaken. What keys provide is a means of conveying ideas in a way that can both inspire members to make effort as well as deepen their understanding of what efforts to make and how to make them. The inner meaning of any key is always the same: to be present to one’s own life.
It is important to understand that the internal work of actively trying to be present always remains esoteric and “secret,” no matter how clearly the details are elaborated. This is first of all because a person will not attempt this work of awakening unless he or she wants to attempt it. Secondly, knowledge about being present is not the same as understanding what presence and the absence of presence mean. Once a person recognizes this everything changes, but if a system of knowledge remains only knowledge, it can only serve as another form of comparative study.
The Fellowship understands the necessity of learning from spiritual schools of the past and of maintaining similar standards in preserving and clarifying the inner teaching of awakening in order to apply it practically to daily life.