Staying Spiritually Awake

A Reminder of Simple Prayer

First, There Was The Reminder

One of my favorite online radio programs is The Jeff Rense Show (http://www.rense.com). Paranormal writer Brad Steiger is one of Jeff’s regular guests and I always enjoy the shows because the experience is that of sitting with two old pals who are just talking about off the wall stuff. On a recent show, Brad mentioned that a friend who had written paranormal books in the 1940’s and ‘50s had passed on and asked the listeners to say a prayer for the man and his family. The man was very loved and will be missed by many.

Then Brad talked a little bit about prayer, mentioning that it need not be something elaborate that you only do on Sunday or at special times. It is something that can be done anywhere, any time, and for any length of time. It’s something that really is quite simple. Since I was listening to the show in MP3 format (I have a subscription and download the shows, as they run from midnight to 3am here on the east coast), I stopped the show for a little while and thought about what I had just heard. How marvelous! How wonderful! So simple and to the point.

Then, There Was The Pondering

I found myself thinking about prayer for the rest of the evening and for several days with a flood of ideas bubbling back to the forefront of my thinking. What initially came to my mind was something that I heard Earl Nightingale say one time. Earl was talking about how important it is to be continuously learning new things. But as important as that is, it’s just as important to remember what we already know. He said, “ Sometimes, we need remembering as much as we need learning.”

Most of us were raised with some kind of religious faith or background and are familiar with “saying your prayers.” George Carlin used to do a whole bit on the old childhood standard of “Now I lay me down to sleep...” When I used to do that, I would try to name everyone in my family and all of my friends that I could remember.

When I was in grammar school, there was a Catholic school in the neighborhood. That’s where all the “Catholic kids” went every day. This was in the early ‘60s when people were still concerned about President Kennedy being Catholic. I remember hearing the adults say, “With Kennedy in the White House, is the Pope going to be running the country?!” But the Catholic kids were really different. The boys were real tough scrappers and the kids all had to wear a uniform. That sure seemed strange. But then we hard that the Catholic kids had to go to prayers several times a day. All we had to do was the Pledge of Allegiance before school started.

Years later when I was working as a draftsman, I was talking to an older coworker who was also a minister. One day we were talking about prayer and Ken said, “You know what drives me nuts? When I hear people go on and on, heaping praise on God. You know, “Oh kind Heavenly Father, Creator of the Universe and all the worlds and animal kingdoms and mankind. Provider of our nourishment and our eternal source of Love and compassion and truth...” All right, All Right, ENOUGH! God know who is is!”

Some people even prefer that their prayers be in a language they don’t understand! I was at a friends house for their daughter’s birthday and my friend’s Dad was talking about how irritated he was with the Catholic Church. What really bugged him was when they stopped saying Mass in Latin and started saying it in English. “I really liked hearing Mass in Latin! It’s NOT the same! They ruined it!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t understand it, but I liked how it made me feel.” Maybe all the stained glass, robes, and incense put him into a different space.

Then when my awakening process started in 1977 and began to learn about different kinds of faiths and religions. I began to notice that certain aspects of worship overlap across cultures. Perhaps the most common overlap is the practice of prayer and meditation. Catholic Christians often use prayer as a way to erase one’s sins. Protestant Christians use prayer to save their soul. Muslims are supposed to do their prayers several times a day and you have to bow down in a certain direction. People of the Jewish faith have very elaborate prayers that involve lots of memorization of ancient texts. Buddhists say their prayers and have prayer flags and Native Americans give prayers of thanks to Mother Earth and Father Sky. It seems that nearly everyone is busy praying.

Prayer Meets Science

I thought this was very cool. In 1993, Dr. Larry Dossey, M.D. published a book titled, “Healing Words - The Power of Prayer.” Dr. Dossey was a battalion surgeon in Vietnam, and was decorated for valor. He helped establish the Dallas Diagnostic Association, the largest group of internal medicine practitioners in that city, and was Chief of Staff of Medical City Dallas Hospital in 1982. He was a traditional, mainstream medical doctor scientist kind of guy.

In his book, Dossey says that in the ‘80s he began to notice medical journals publishing results of double-blind studies indicating that the activity of prayer made a significant difference in how quickly patients recovered. The study that really got my attention was one that showed that petri dishes of bacteria that were prayed for, grew faster than petri dishes of bacteria that were not prayed for! I think it’s safe to say that bacteria in a petri dish is pretty unbias when it comes to the power of prayer.

Dr. Dossey’s books and public speaking went a long way towards convincing a “show us the data” public that prayer is real and that it has it’s affects. It clearly showed a skeptical mindset that there really is something to the new age expression of the “mind-body-spirit connection.”

Another scientist who has made significant progress in proving the inter-connected nature of life and the affects of thought, is Cleve Baxter. Cleve in now in his 80s and is mostly known for his work in polygraph testing and training. He’s also at the cutting edge of etheric weather control and the affect of our thoughts on plants. Cleve’s replicated experiments on plants connected to a polygraph machine conclusively proves that plants have the ability to pick up, sense, and react to the thoughts of people around them. Threatening thoughts, such as, “I’M GOING TO BURN YOU!” Cause the plants to go hay wire. Loving thoughts cause them to grow and flourish. Cleve has had similar results with yogurt bacteria.

Mystics through the ages have been telling us that our thoughts are very powerful. The Bible talks about ‘thought, word, and deed” as the process of creation and manifestation.

James Allen wrote in “As A Man Thinketh,” “ Good thoughts bare good fruit... bad thoughts bare bad fruit. As soon as we encourage good thoughts, no hard fate shall bind us down to misery and shame.”

In “Conversations With God,” God reminds us that every thought can be a prayer. And if you want to have your own conversation with God, all you have to do is talk in plane, simple language.

In Don Miguel Ruiz’s wonderful book, “The Four Agreements” he outlines four ideas that if you live by and integrate into your moment-to-moment life experience, you can not help but be walking in constant prayer. These ancient Toltec concepts can be simple stated as such: 1. Be impeccable with your word. Always use your words and your speaking to create peace, understanding, kindness, and love. 2. Don’t take anything personally. What others say and do, it the result of their own dream of reality. 3. Don’t make assumptions. Communicate clearly and honestly as to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. 4. Always do your best. When you always do your best, you will never experience self-judgement, self-abuse, or regret. This is one of the most powerful, divinely inspired writings I have ever read. It is simple, although not easy to do moment to moment. But like all things, with practice, it can become second nature. Then, you will be walking in constant prayer.

Greg Braden has tapped into a very unique form of prayer that he calls the “The Isaiah Effect.” He describes this as “the lost mode of prayer.” The usual way that most of us pray is what some call a “prayer of supplication.” In other words, you’re praying for something that is currently not there. Such as, “Please God, help me get a new job.” or, “Dear Lord, heal my illness.” The in the moment statement declares that something is not there.

This lost mode of prayer is actually a declaration of what is - such as, “my work is gratifying and enjoyable.” or, “I experience robust health and joy in my life.” It’s actually very close to Affirmation technology. Here’s the challenging part. Since we are constantly thinking thoughts, and all thoughts can be considered as prayers, the negative, condemning, judging thoughts can easily overwhelm the positive, growth oriented thoughts. Although this sounds simple, it really an advanced mode of prayer that has deep spiritual implications that are essential to the success of the method. You not only have to “walk your talk,” you have to “think your talk.”

Then there are the ancient Hawaiian Hunas who had an expression that I’ve adopted as a personal credo. Their insight is this - “Where Attention goes... Energy flows... and Results show.” The mental quality of “attention” acts as a focusing device. Once focused, your energy flows in that direction. With enough applied energy, things happen. This has been a big help for my experience of Reiki.

When I practice Reiki, I use the pre-session protocols to clearly set my intention and align my focus for the highest and best good of the person I’m working with. This activity creates a sacred space to step into. It’s a form of active meditation and prayer, as I am fully in the moment, feeling, and listening to my inner guidance.

Simple or Complex... It’s Up To You

The really great news is that prayer need not be long winded, complex, rigid, only done in special places, and on special days. Every thought is really a bundle of energy that we get to choose which way and how we spin as we pulse it out into our surroundings moment to moment. If your neighbor has just been sent to the hospital, you can pray for her while sitting at a traffic light or standing in line at the supermarket. Your prayer can be in the form of a conversation such as, “Please God, help her to get well.” or “I want you to know that we are all thinking of you and are sending you our love and affection.” You can spend a half hour or 10 seconds. You can do it once a day or many times throughout the day in little increments.

While you are at it, don’t forget that you can call upon your guardian angels and spirit guides. Our agreement with them is unique because of the over riding principal of Free Will. They will only assist us if we ask. It’s a simple thing really, but we tend to forget to ask. They are with us always and are delighted to help. Also remember that you can call for assistance from the Fairey and Elementals Realm. They’re also here to help us.

Many of us have been culturally conditioned to think of prayer as something special (which it is) and therefore should only be done in very special ways. Remember, we are all living in the Eternal Moment of Now. The moments I have been in writing this are just as golden as any other moments. The time you have spent reading this is just as special as any other. We have always been, and will forever be, in the Eternal Moment of Now. So any “now” is an appropriate time to say a prayer.

Since the Eternal Moment of Now is mind-numbingly short, my sense is that the short prayers are most likely to be the most powerful. Imaging, throughout your day, an ongoing stream of loving thought-energy prayers flowing out of your Being to the people you love and care about. To the people and places you see in the news who are experiencing tough times. Thought prayers being sent into the on coming future time to smooth the way, or into your past to heal old wounds and forgive.

It’s all just a thought away and we all have everything we need.

*********************************************

K. Scott Teeters is a Reiki Master and author of" It’s Time To Wake Up: Reiki & Other Essential Tools For Spiritual Awakening" published by Llumina Press. Scott’s website is a metaphysical candy shop loaded with essays, insights, awakening tools and tips, amazing images, and more. The site website address is: http://www.itstimetowakeup.com

Scott and his wife Karen have just launched a new online metaphysical store, “Free Spirit Gift Shop.” It’s loaded with all sorts of fun, cool metaphysical gifts: Gemstone Merkabs, Sacred Geometry Pewter Pendants, Fairy Figurines, Chakra Stone Kits, “My Favorite Chakra Shirts, and much, much more. Stop by for a visit at: http://www.freespiritgiftshop.com

Scott lives in Medford, NJ with his wife and business partner Karen, Spudz their beagle dog, Mittins the tuxedo cat and Twiggy the tabby cat. He’s always working on their websites, as well as the follow up book to “Wake Up,” titled, “101 Ways To Stay Awake.” The new book will be out Summer ‘05.

RETURN