Tag Archives: prayer

Holding Space With the Sacred

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It’s a funny thing, this world of ‘blogging.’ Doesn’t even sound right: blogging. So often when I’m walking or driving I find myself dictating posts in my mind, sharing with you so many things that amaze and inspire me. There are AHA! moments and wonders of this beautiful planet we inhabit; thoughts about what is and perhaps what might be. And yet, I sit to write and all those thoughts drift away leaving me to turn inward and seek the words waiting to be whispered. 

Today let me begin with THANK YOU. Thank you for taking the time to read my writing, to share your thoughts, to engage on the conscious level required to live authentically. Thank you for walking by my side as I explore the ‘good, the bad and the ugly.’ Thank you for your willingness to take this journey through the waves of emotion and uncertainty that accompany living our truth. Thank you. Whether you move silently with me or stop to post a comment and let your own voice be heard–we have a community of connection here in this space, for which I am deeply grateful. 

‘Inner Self’ by Elena Ray

It’s like prayer, I realize. We don’t have to get down on our knees and fold our hands, we don’t have to sit in yoga poses. We simply have to be, to allow, to ask, to receive. It’s quiet, subtle. The movement at times is like the crescendo of a symphony, and others sleek as the moon shining into the darkness. It’s always happening, though. Whether we are aware of it or not. The energy, the power, pulsating beneath what we see with our human eyes or ‘know’ in the recesses of our human mind. There is, however  a much deeper intelligence that senses it, craving its Presence, waiting for the very radiance of its Light to break through even our darkest moments. 

Finally (!) it feels as though the darkness has eased and broken for me. I can’t say I know when such a state has come upon me in the last several years. Surely we all go into this space? Unknowing, clear in our thoughts yet so muddled in our emotions. Unable to grasp anything that bonds us to the Divine even while we desperately ache to make the connection. And in truth, my friends, the stark reality is there’s not really a damn thing we can do to change it. Our tools are prayer, awareness and perhaps most of all a spirit of allowing. We cannot make sense of it through accessing the mind and all the training and knowledge we’ve accumulated thus far. The option that lies before us is to ask for help, to surrender into the gentle Flow and allow IT to move US. In some way, we are powerless. 

But that’s not true on the level of our souls, either. While we are powerless to control the emotional disconnect of it all, we are always able to choose how we will respond to whatever it is we may encounter. Seems we’ve been raised to believe that if something doesn’t feel right–well, you just do this or that and it will be better. Oh, no loved ones–this is not the dialogue of our souls. Our power there lies in trust, faith, openness. Always, always there is purpose. Always, always we are held in the arms of the Divine. Even when we cannot feel it, we are given the choice to trust. Trust we are loved. Trust the Divine is there, even when we feel separate. 

Words struggle to convey this truth. It seems so simple, and yet while in the midst of it, there is great angst soothed only by the comfort of prayer and faith. How strange for ME to lean on these two, for after the tumultuous experience with religion in my teens, I cast off all connotations to my childhood faith. They hold a different energy for me today than they did then, and yet I can see the delight my soul took in being One with the sacred even then. Ah, but that’s a story for another day. 

For today, remember this sacred truth: there is purpose in every moment. Every word is our prayer. And we are always held in the arms of Grace. It feels like a trinity of truths…holding space with the sacred…..if we choose. 

 

Dear God

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I’ve heard it many times in 2012 especially – ask for what you want. Energy is moving so much more quickly, there isn’t a space of months or years during which we are meant to heal, but mere moments, hours, days. The mystical climate of our consciousness is undergoing tremendous transformation. Just take a quick scan of the new television programs, articles in print, movies, etc. Even the media is on board with the spiritual energy that is becoming more and more apparent and ‘mainstream.’ 

Ask for what you want. The message keeps coming, in different ways. Ask your angels, your guides, loved ones–call on any of your team that you feel connected to. They are waiting in the wings to assist you, but it’s important to ask. 

All prayers are answered. I believe that truth. Even when the ‘answers’ don’t look like what we think they will. We have a direct connection to the Universe, God, the Divine. Ask for what you want.

It’s beginning to feel different to me now. I’ve never been one to look far beyond today and articulate just what I want. And yet, specific things have come to mind these last few days. I’m asking. Even more important I’m trusting. Just typing these words, I’m feeling how difficult that is. The words are easy in the mind, aren’t they? Yes, I trust. But drop it down a moment, feel in the core of your being what it is to be so vulnerable as to say – Dear God, I would like _____. And to trust that God is listening, and you could possibly even have _____. It’s not about cars or houses or money. It’s about the desires that live in the purity of your heart. 

Trust. That it’s ok to even ASK. I’m not sure I’m fully past this step. It’s ok to ASK. Ask for what you want. That means it’s ok to WANT? It’s ok to want, to desire. Why does that feel so unnatural in this respect? There’s an old dialogue – we should feel blessed for what we have rather than always wanting more. It feels selfish, greedy to be asking for more when there’s so much abundance in my life already. Who do I think I am?? Asking for something when I have so much. Already I can feel the esteemed ‘judge’ and ‘lecturer’ getting started on me. Besides ‘what makes you think you DESERVE?’

Tears warm my eyes. Ah, here it is. One of those old wounds being fed by the conversations I have with myself. Someone in my energy field, some part of me has decided she is the ruler over whether or not I deserve more. Some being other than the Universe–God–is now deciding what is right for me, what I deserve, how ‘good’ I am, what worth I really have. Without mercy. There is no grace here. Only checklists of what I’ve done and not done. Criteria that determine how I’m rated overall. I can’t possibly measure up. 

The greatest wound is feeling inadequate. ~ Iyanla Vanzant

We all have it – somewhere – in our subconscious. It’s been with us through centuries of human existence. We carry it in our DNA. I believe now is the time we are being called to heal it. Not only within ourselves, but on behalf of the planet. 

Ask for what you want. I want to see myself through the eyes of God. I want to stop being so hard on myself and to let Jackie breathe a bit. I want to see love reflected in the eyes of those around me, rather than begin the list of shortcomings I believe they see. I want to heal. Not only for myself, but for my children and their children. For the generations that came before us and have felt unworthy, rejected…not good enough. I want to stand tall in all of who I am. To raise my head up and know that I am perfect as I am. I AM enough. I want to have such compassion for me that it can’t help but overflow to everyone I touch in any way. I want to be used as a channel of grace. I want freedom to let every emotion flow without censor. I want healing on our planet. 

I could go on, as I’m sure could you. I’m asking. Now and going forward. These words are my prayer. Our time is now–for healing, liberation, compassion. Ask for what you want, my friends. And then dig deep inside yourself to find whatever tools you need to trust that it is so. I believe by our very awareness, we are instruments of healing. The more aware we are of what we feel and what we desire, the more we are able to step into our purpose and allow our gifts to be used to uplift and honor ourselves and our planet. Ask for what you want.

This is my prayer. Amen. 

Whispered Prayers

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Every child has known God,
Not the God of names,
Not the God of don’ts,
Not the God who ever does Anything weird,
But the God who knows only 4 words.
And keeps repeating them, saying:
“Come Dance with Me, come dance.”

~ Hafiz, 14th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic ~ 

Beyond Our Own Belief

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“What God intended for you goes far beyond anything you can imagine.”  ~Oprah, Master Class~

Can you find in your life where this has proven true?  It goes along with having our prayers “answered.”  What we expect to be the answer isn’t always what the Universe lovingly holds for us.  And yet, sometimes we’re so sure we KNOW how something’s supposed to turn out. 

As I’m contemplating this quote by Oprah that I love so much, I’m reminded of my own marriage.  At the age of 20, I was sure I knew what I wanted in a partner.  A few years into our marriage, I was equally as sure I didn’t have it!  We embarked on a rocky road that lasted for some time, albeit through some very good ups and not-so-great downs. 

About five years ago I realized what is so true in so many ways in our lives:  God gave me what I needed, and what my HEART wanted.  He intended for me to have a partner who is loving, committed, patient, compassionate–and yes, as strong and determined as I can be.  All of what I thought I was missing those early years was surface, the “niceties” if you will.  When this whole time, the qualities that matter most were always here for me.  I just wasn’t grown enough, open enough and healed enough to receive them. 

What God intended for me went far beyond anything I could have imagined when I began this relationship journey.  I couldn’t have known, and yet I was so sure I did.  For a bit I was cross with the “powers that be” for putting me in a relationship that offered NONE of what I wanted.  What on earth had happened?

It’s amazing to me now, from here, to look back and remember that feeling.  But what is so much greater than that feeling is the *knowing inside of me that the Universe gave me the best possible partner, filling each of us with a Divine Love to carry our marriage through the most difficult of times.  For here’s what’s true:  there is no human love that could have fulfilled such a tall order. 

I am so very blessed.  And while much of this seems about my marriage and my own journey, it’s truly about what is possible and how we fool ourselves.  I was in some ways very ignorant to something so much greater than me.  Indeed, I couldn’t have known.  For so long I believed that God wasn’t listening, wasn’t answering, wasn’t there.  And yet, all through the most difficult of our struggles, Divine Presence was the “glue” that held us together.  For that was in no way of ourselves. 

I heard someone say the other day about writing his autobiography that we learn things about ourselves as we write, the Divine inspiration comes through the process.  And I’ve just learned something–well, I’m sure I *knew it, but I’ve just learned a new language for it.  Thinking about how this relates to the whispers of our hearts, I realize it wasn’t my heart’s whispers that cried at night when I felt so unhappy and empty inside.  For yes, the heart whispers are our heart and soul speaking to us.  The unhappiness I felt–that was the pain, the space of my heart that required healing crying out to ME.  It wasn’t about my husband at all.  I couldn’t hear those whispers, the pain was too great and had to be lovingly healed.

The journey of self and Spirit amazes me always.  We have so much to learn, and so many places in which to surrender what we think is true.  For behind the scenes and indeed–beyond the veil–there is a greater Force at work.  She is the Divine essence of Love.  She is always with us, even when we believe it to be otherwise.  We have only to surrender our hurt, our pride, our desire to hold onto pain…and let it all go.  For in its place lives a beautiful, loving embrace of what is true. 

And so my friends, know this:  wherever it is in your life you feel your prayers are unanswered, your wishes unheard and your deepest desires discarded–THAT is where Spirit is working the most on your behalf.  She holds a space in which exactly what you long for is already available to you, waiting for you to know, to be present and to be able to acknowledge it without judgment and old wounds getting in your way.  Wherever you are in this process, call on Spirit to whisper her Love into the space of your heart in a way that allows you to move forward.  Some of us are in the healing process in a very direct and deep way, creating shifts of change in our lives that are long overdue.  Others of us presently move with the Flow and feel the next step of our journey unfolding. 

However you find yourself today….whatever is your truth in this moment…..Divine Love is ever with you.  She forever lives in the whispers of your heart…..and will hold space for you to meet her there……

Your Words Are Your Prayers

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In the most traditional sense to many of us raised in the Western hemisphere–prayer consists of getting on your knees, finding just the right words and the right “way” to ask God for what we need in that moment. All too often the desire to “pray” arises out of the desperate need to have a greater power quickly create miracles on our behalf. But truly, does not this concept of prayer at times feel empty, disconnected and without the loving intimacy of joining together with the Divine? Where is the joy? Absent is any sense of being embraced by one who supports us in becoming our most authentic and empowered selves. Instead, it feels as though we stand in front of The Great and Powerful OZ–hoping to be acknowledged and heard, willing to do anything to earn his assistance.

What I believe to be true is that we are always loved and nurtured by All That Is. The Universe WANTS us to find happiness, joy, passion and delight over the course of our lives. Spirit journeys with us into the darkest of our shadows, and celebrates our Divine light of being as our inner spirit shines and thrives. Through all of these experiences, we remain in the arms of Compassion, carried into the depths of who we truly are, with the Universe ever-present as Guide and Caretaker on the journey.

We are Divine, born of the Divine Mother and Father to this entire Universe. The Divine lives IN us–IS us. And so, all of our words, our thoughts, our actions–each one is its own prayer. Indeed we live in a world Divinely created, and so whether we interact with another person or creature, it’s the heart of the Divine whom we meet and engage. If prayer is “speaking to God”–or in our language–talking to the Divine, then it’s true that every word we utter is prayer.

Spirit is always with us, always available to connect with us in whatever way we allow. It’s not something we have to earn or prepare just right for it to happen. It’s our birthright, naturally a part of who we are and what our life IS. We don’t need to do good deeds, sit in the right pose or say the right words to share in the power of Spirit. Nor are we “entitled” to it–it simply IS. Our only choice–to allow it to be so. Wherever we are, whatever we may be doing, we are in a state of prayer–spiritual prayer. A very different form of praying from any religious standard. This is not to say we don’t all have our own rituals, our own preferences and natural style of dialogue. But there are NONE that are necessary to connect to Spirit. That my friends is GRACE in action.

I would invite you to visit the website of a friend, Virginia Ellenson and her site Labyrinth Journal. Virginia has created a unique way of allowing our words to organically form into prayers, much like the meditative walk into the center of the labyrinth and back out. In her labyrinth writing, words flow and create a form of their own that becomes a beautiful prayer. When your heart most feels the desire to deeply connect and you aren’t sure just what the words are, take a moment to visit the Labyrinth Journal and try Virginia’s practice of writing your prayers. All that is needed from you is to allow the words to flow, and you’ll be amazed at what you find within yourself.

What prayers are in your heart today? For these often offer the most profoundly intimate of connection with the Divine. We hear the truth of ourselves, understand our deepest desires and enter into the sacred space of healing through the heart chakra. And the pathway there, loved ones…..is through the quietest and most gentle whispers of your heart…..