Sunday, February 19, 2012

Sanctioning A Pray Day: a tool for sculpting your life

Neither the pious church goer, nor the priest has a patent on prayer. Prayer is gift given freely to us all by a kind and generous creator. It is a tool the universe longs for us to use. Prayer is our lifeline to the creator, and the vehicle through which we invite the universe to create beauty and blessings in the world through us.  

Several years ago, my life  changed when I read a book written by author, spiritual activist, and lecturer Marianne Williamson. The book, A Return to Love: A Reflection on a Course In Miracles opened a window into a world I had always longed for, but never knew how to access. One way I learned to access that wondrous place of love, beauty, and abundance in my everyday life was through prayer. Like a novice sculptor given her first chisel, I began to pray my way through the marble of my life–the results were breath-taking.


I have found that prayer is a somewhat ironic activity: it gives one confidence, but unless one remains humble one can forget the source of the blessings.

More than once I have given in to my ego: I would pray, have my prayers answered, and my self-confidence would increase. As my self-confidence increased, my ego would begin to inflate. But the thing I have discovered about prayer is that in order for me to ask for God's help, I would need to be humble enough to know that I needed my higher power. Whenever my ego gets too big, I no longer seek  my higher power's wisdom because I think I can handle it all on my own. I convince myself I don't have time to humble myself. And this is how I fall–alone.

When I am not co-creating with the universe, little by little my dreams turn into nightmares of my own making. 



I have been praying lately, but not as much as I would like. So I decided to do an experiment.

Yesterday, I chose to sanction as a "Pray Day". That did not mean that I sat in my house all day and prayed. No, life is dynamic and prayer is meant to be integrated into it. 


The Pray Day was an intention to devote myself to pray before any encounter, before any serious decision, after an argument or uncomfortable feeling, and any time I remembered throughout the day. The resultant peace was remarkable; a reminder to me of how valuable the simple act of prayer is to my life. 

What does praying look like for me? Praying for me takes many forms: when I awaken in the morning I get into child's pose and do a couple of memorized daily prayers turning my will and my life over to the care of God. Throughout the day my prayers may look to others as a deep breath with eyes closed or open; sometimes I open my arms to the sky like a chalice, other times I gaze at the floor, rarely do I clasp my hands in prayer. 

I may pray waiting in line at the grocery store or driving my car. Most of the time my prayers are internal and sound short and intimate: God, please bless my words that they may be truthful and loving; Universe, remind me of your love for me; Great Spirit, protect my children and keep them safe, healthy, and well. God, guide my thoughts and bless my beloved that he may be aware of your love for him. 

In my experience, the universe does not need perfect words or a perfect ritual, only an open heart willing to receive the blessings waiting to be given. Consider experimenting with a Pray Day: a day you invite the universe into every aspect of your life. 


After working with the tool of prayer, I have a suspicion that sculpting your life with your human hands alone will seem like rolling a boulder up a hill waiting for a statue to appear. With the chisel of prayer in your grasp, you may find that with a little tap here and a little tap there, your life will gracefully transform into a wondrous piece of living art. 





"The spiritual path-is simply the journey of living our lives. Everyone is on a spiritual path; most people just don't know it." ~Marianne Williamson 

"Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart." ~Mahatma Gandhi

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