His genius was to recover and re-present a way into the contemplative experience for ordinary people within the Christian tradition. In the teaching of the Desert Fathers on pure prayer he found the practice of the mantra. Realising that this way of prayer could further the search of many modern people for a deeper spiritual life, he recommended two regular daily periods of meditation to be integrated with the usual practices of Christian life. The World Community for Christian Meditation was called into being and formed into a flexible structure by the participants at the John Main Seminar held in New Harmony, Indiana, USA in 1991. The WCCM is legally registered as a charity in the United Kingdom.
Similar councils are in place around the world.
This is primarily realized through more than a thousand local meditation groups meeting in homes,religious institutions, colleges, hospitals, prisons and other venues in more than 40 countries. Approximately twenty-five Christian Meditation Centres in eleven different countries participate in and contribute to this Community each in their own way. The coherence of the Community is found in the teaching of John Main and this creates a bond for dialogue and meditation with other faiths and traditions. A wide variety of expression and new forms of community are encouraged. The link with the monastic tradition, particularly the Benedictine, is highly valued.