What it is. Sacred Noticing is a contemplative practice for daily life, built on one rhythm: Notice · Pause · Respond. Between what happens to you and what you do about it lies a space; this practice teaches you to find it, expand it and use it. It shapes your spiritual footprint, the lasting presence you leave in every encounter. It is not three sequential steps but one disposition, practiced in ordinary moments rather than only at set times of prayer.

Where it comes from. Michael J. Cunningham, OFS, D.Min., developed Sacred Noticing through years of contemplative practice and retreat leadership in the Franciscan and Centering Prayer traditions. It draws on prosoche (attentiveness of the heart), Evagrius Ponticus’s practice of nepsis (watchfulness), Celtic spirituality, and Keating, Merton and Rohr. Like St. Francis, it looks for thin places in ordinary life. It is set out in full in The Practice of Sacred Noticing (Contemplative Company, 2026).

Before you begin

  • No special place or time is needed. Your ordinary life is ready for this practice.
  • Start with one familiar situation each day: morning coffee, the walk to the car, a conversation at home.
  • Watch for Yellow Light Moments: a traffic light, a phone ringing, an email notification, the move from one task to the next. Each is a chance to choose response over reaction.

The movements

From the Sacred Noticing Method Guide (download the full method, PDF):

  1. Notice with contemplative awareness what is present. Not what you expected or hoped for, but what is actually here, outside and inside you. What am I feeling? What is happening in my body? What else might be true that I’m not seeing?
  2. Pause to create sacred space before responding. Either simply wait with whatever suits you best: silence, more listening, reflection. Or use the Three-Breath Method. Breath 1 interrupts the reactive pattern. Breath 2 grounds you in this moment. Breath 3 opens you to wisdom: What does this moment need from me?
  3. Respond from integrated awareness. Let the response come from the wisdom found in the pause. It may be words, an action, or simply staying present. Ask: what does love, wisdom, truth or service ask of me here?
  4. Repeat the rhythm through the day until it becomes a natural way of being.

Gentle reminders

  • Even distracted breaths count. The pause is the practice.
  • Sometimes the wisest response is not to respond, but to remain present.
  • Sacred Noticing heightens sensitivity to beauty and to pain. Practice sacred self-compassion.
  • It is not a relaxation technique or a quick fix. It is a path of ongoing transformation.
  • It does not replace your other prayer. Centering Prayer gives us interior silence; Sacred Noticing asks what we do with it when we walk back out the door.

Try it: an example

The moment: a conversation at work. A colleague’s voice changes, and you feel the urge to defend yourself. That is a Yellow Light.

  1. Notice. My shoulders have tightened and my jaw is set. I’m assuming they are blaming me. What is their core need right now? Maybe they are under pressure themselves.
  2. Pause. Three breaths. Leave three seconds of silence after they finish speaking. Soften the face and shoulders.
  3. Respond. Instead of the defense already forming, ask: “What feels most important to you right now?” or “Would it help if we slowed this down?”
  4. Footprint check. Afterward, ask: did they feel heard and respected? What trace did I leave in that room?

At the end of the day, look back on one moment: Where did I pause today? What trace did I leave that I want to repeat?

Going deeper

Keep going

Sacred Noticing is offered freely to the contemplative community. When teaching or writing about it, please attribute: “Sacred Noticing by Michael Cunningham, OFS.” Copyright 2026 Michael J. Cunningham OFS