~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

July 27

Prayer 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The subject of prayer comes up with some regularity among meditators. Many, if not most, people who come to meditation were exposed to some type of prayer as children, either in the family church or saying grace before meals and "Now I lay me down to sleep..." before bed. Some have kept it up. Some have not, but wonder if it might be helpful. 

Some spiritual programs, i.e. the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, call for prayer and meditation in the 11th Step, as well as mentioning various prayers throughout their literature.

Some people say things like 'prayer is talking to God, meditation is listening to God.'

There are systems of self- and spiritual-improvement that depend on prayer to accomplish the changes their practitioners seek, like Science of Mind and A Course in Miracles.

What does the Veda have to say about prayer? 

There are those who will say that there is only one thing, that God is this one thing and that I am this one thing. If that is the case, then who would I be praying to? Wouldn't I just be talking to myself? And yes, if we are living in Unity Consciousness, full enlightenment, experiencing ourselves as the oneness 24/7, prayer would be rather beside the point. However, if this is my experience...

When might I pray?

If for example I am in fear, by definition I am at that moment identified as the small self and am out of touch with any connection to God. I might use prayer to reconnect to that oneness deep within, if only mentally. I might ask for help, for guidance. I might ask to feel more connected.

If I am feeling weak or overwhelmed, I might use prayer to remind myself of my connection to the field of all possibilities, the field of infinite creativity.

If I am feeling lost, I might ask to be shown exactly what to do and when to do it.

Whenever I am experiencing myself as less than whole, less than valuable, less than connected to nature, I have really three choices. I can:

1) tell myself of course you feel disconnected. You're not worthy of being connected; or

2) make a mood and pretend to feel connected to nature the way I did once upon a time when I had a good meditation; or

3) correct the way I'm thinking and remind myself that I am a pure and beautiful expression of the divine in this world and am worthy of all good. 

Prayer can help us to accomplish #3, if that's what we choose to do. It also can help us to step out of #1 or 2 if we happen to fall into old patterns.

And then there's the Vedic prayer for those times when you know you're at one with Totality, you know God is with you, but you just feel like connecting with your thoughts or with your words, like wanting to call home just to hear the voice of a loved one. I've quoted it here before, but perhaps I need to hear it myself just now:

I know you will anyway, but it pleases me to hear myself say it, please continue to use me. Amen