Contemplative spirituality would agree with the devotional school of spirituality in saying that constant change or conversion, the biblical reality of Metanoia, is a necessary imperative in the spiritual life. But whereas devotional spirituality would want to think of such change as primarily in terms of behaviour, contemplative spirituality, without being unmindful of this kind of change, would tend to stress the need for change in consciousness. It is not enough that we behave better; we must come to see reality differently. We must learn to see the depths of things, not just reality at a superficial level.This especially means we need to see the non-separateness of the world from God and the oneness of all reality in God: the Hidden Ground of Love in all that is. Prayer is a kind of corrective lens that does away with the distorted view of reality that, for some mysterious reason, seems to be my normal vision, and enables me to see what is as it really is.
-From Silence on fire by William H. Shannon
