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I grew up memorizing Catholic prayers… you know, the usual, Our Father / Hail Mary / kneel / sit / stand. As I got older I starting listening to the words and gleaning their meaning. Good start, I think.
Now my prayers come to me, and through me, as I sit and still myself. I Tweet one out each morning. They come to me throughout the day. I ask or I appreciate or I surrender or I allow. It feels to me like reaching out and opening to a greater reality than the one I see. I sense a response from the well of Spirit sometimes… a warmth, a calm. I hear an answer on occasion. I see the results of my prayers in my life manifest in things and people who show up, help out, inspire and support me.
Maybe it’s all in my head and I am not mobilizing my team of angels,
not touching the Peace that passeth all understanding,
not elevating my soul to a higher vibration,
not being guided by a loving force who wants to use me for good in the world,
not reaching the Source of Us All and adding Love and Gratitude to our collective spirit.
I don’t care. It makes me feel better, more calm. It improves my life and makes me a nicer mom, wife, and friend. It makes me more courageous so that I can put myself out there in the world and try to help others.
This poem comes to mind as useful when I think about prayer:
It doesn’t have to bethe blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch a few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak. ~ Mary Oliver
My little daughter knows one prayer. “Thank you, God.”
Good start, I think.
Another very timely blog.
I did not grow up with the practice of prayer. My praying was like’ Dear God, if my father comes home tonight I will believe in you.’ Honestly, I had more faith in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. They came through with the goods! And, as a former agnostic, I have to say that I still stumble sometimes when I read or hear that word ‘God’. For years I trained myself to automatically insert “or whatever is meaningful to you” in the place of ‘God’. As a long time student of A Course in Miracles I realize that we are that God and I have grown a new perspective.
Two days ago I received a book I ordered. ‘Illuminata- A Return to Prayer’ by Marianne Williamson. Maybe I’ll learn some new prayers. Maybe I’ll realize that everything I do is a prayer.
I loved the poem and am going to save it to my favorites. Love and gratitude to you for being you.
I <3 Illuminata. Thanks for commenting Betsy. Sounds like a common experience - how we have to go away and then come back.
xo
Hi Lisa!
I love your blog about prayer! I too grew up Catholic, my middle name is Theresa, named after St. Theresa. No pressure or anything!
I have always prayed. Prayer is what helpped me get through some really tough family stuff. I used to become anxious that prayers were not being answered, or was I just anxious? I used to get anxious just from praying.
Having you as a yoga teacher helpped me to deepen my sense of self and has made my praying even more meaningful. You taught me that when we practice yoga we are opening ourselves up, opening our hearts. It was through this practice that I discovered how to open and how to wait for a response from my body. Because of Meditation and Yoga I am even closer to myself and my God. Prayers come to me now. Many prayers are being answered everyday. I am no longer anxious when I pray. I have learned to trust God and myself.
Thank you for leading me to this wonderful place.
Peace to you and your family
Nancy Bradley
Oh. So sweet Nancy. Love to you too!
Like many of you, I was raised a Catholic and went to Catholic School for 13 years. My search for a God and place of love and understanding led me to finding Lisa. It’s real. It’s so authentic. This is a time of year when memories, wishes, broken and fulfilled dreams scream at me. I believe in the power of God/the Universal Force/a Goodness. I believe in spirit and I struggle. Thank you for giving me permission to do that. Now I feel it adequate that I ‘talk’ to my Higher Power within and outside my body. Thank you, Lisa. Having you on my path helps me keep my footing on unsteady ground. I love you, Marcia. AMEN.
Thank YOU Marcia. Amen. You know I love you back. You are a holy woman, living consciously and lovingly every day.