Spirit of Life was written by Carolyn McDade as a prayer. No one prayer is going be meaningful to all of us. But for countless UU’s, this song has been a bridge to the communication and artform of prayer.
“Nam Myho Renge Kyo.” is a prayer that I learned in 1986 while walking across the country for disarmament. On another walk in ‘88, a 10 year old shared his version: “All we are saying is Na Mu Yo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. After decades and many more peace walks, not one Japanese Buddhist monk has ever been able or willing to translate it beyond saying that it is a prayer for peace. On another walk in ‘92, there were many Japanese Buddhists. Every day drumming and chanting all day long. I liked to use our walking time time for the sacred UU practice of having intelligent discussions. I felt annoyed, and just wanted them to shut up.
Two years later, I was working in my yard in a terrible mood. My mind was slave to anger and resentment. Peace seemed far far away. Then “that” chant rose up from inside me. Countless more walks and days spent at peace pagodas have found me drumming and chanting. I guess I’m secretly part of their cult. One of my dearest monks stopped whenever he saw a dead animal on the side of road. He bowed and offered this prayer. I began using it similarly whenever I would pass the scene of a car wreck. I have added the words “blessings upon all concerned.” Japanese words never translated for me became for me a multipurpose tool.
Another prayer that I’ve often drawn upon is something I read years ago. It goes like this: Dear Lord: So far today, I am doing all right. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or self indulgent. I have not whined, yelled or cursed. I haven’t eaten any sweets. I have not charged on my credit card. However, in a few minutes, I am going to get out of bed. I will need a lot more help after that. Amen.
That’s a prayer I can relate to, and judging by your laughter I’m guessing that you can too. Laughter is a great way to advance our consideration of prayer. People get so serious about prayer. They seem to think that to pray, you have to act like some charicature of a religious person.
Years ago, I worked as a package handler for Fed Ex. The guys I worked with cussed all the time. Put downs, offensive jokes and ribbing were the norm. One day in the break room, religion or God was mentioned. A change came over the group. It was weird. They were still the tough guys I knew but now there was this attitude like “mmm hmm I know God, don’t you dare challenge me about that.”
People sometimes take on a very different persona when they are talking about or to Gd. I am sure people do use this to change themselves, and I want to respect that. I just long for more authenticity. I am really excited to being talking about prayer. I’m guessing that maybe not everybody is as excited about prayer as I am. For example if you grew up around people who believed that those with the wrong belief systems deserve to be punished, sentenced to eternity of suffering, that might potentially get in your way of feeling relaxed and open minded about this subject. You gotta admit, it’s pretty amazing that there can be a religious community where we are free to explore without fear of being excommunicated, put out of the community for not having “the right” beliefs. I am going to reaffirm that whether your theological belief system is similar or very different from mine, I want you this to be your sanctuary. You might be an extreme theist, extreme atheist or occupy some creative place between. No one is going to coerce you to profess or do anything that goes against your conscience. And I am confident that someone is going to hear something today that helps them integrate conflicting ideas to live with more peace, joy and compassion. What I have to say today is simple. If we have been thinking of prayer as the act of asking Big Daddy in the sky to use his superpowers to grant personal favors, .. then I want to help you expand your concept of prayer. Perhaps the deluge of different kinds of prayers have already messed with you. Maybe you already have appreciated that there is some power and beauty in prayer even when the language of the person offering the prayer doesn’t work well for you. I’m suggesting that you get to keep your integrity. You can choose to not use the word prayer if you wish. If I use that word, and invite the congregation to enter into a spirit of prayer, you are free to say I don’t really like this part. I am not going to pray. I do ask you to realize that you are also free to define the word in a way that works for you. Substitute the word mediation. See prayer as reaching for your best consciousness. “Can UU’s pray as a group?’” you may ask. To whom are we praying?” When I was in seminary, an Episcopal Priest said “Unitarians pray To Whom It May Concern.” “Yes!, I said emphatically. I was excited that he seemed to grasp our humble approach, our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Unfortunately, he didn’t intend his comment as a compliment. To him, it seemed that we had left out the personal quality that he believed necessary for faith and right relationship with his Gd as he understood that word.
Speaking to God AS IF you were talking to a person is one possible way to pray. Many of us enjoy reaching out in our consciousness to the web of existence of which we are a part. Sometimes we pray to Spirit of Life or Spirit of love, or spirit of justice. Sometimes we address Great Mystery. This is a way to be in awe of how much we don’t know and maybe can’t understand.
We can use prayers in order to adjust our attitude, especially our attitude about being alive. Prayers express how we relate to the vastness of existence. It’s like the way words and names influence our relationships. Do you call your spouse, sweetheart, darling? Do you call them Dingbat or Meathead. Perhaps the worst form of relating is to ignore someone all together.
Our concept of prayer need not require us to believe in a supernatural deity. When I served the UU Fellowship of St. John in the US Virgin Islands I walked on a trail on morning. I was inspired to pray thus: “Good morning blue sky, good morning green leaves. Good morning tree trunks. Good morning rocks and birds. Good morning, ocean.”
To pray is to extend ourselves. Some of us reach out to Gd as we conceive of Gd. Some of us reach out to life that is vastly greater than us.
Fear of appearing or being foolish can be an obstacle to prayer. Maybe we have been suckered too many times. Maybe we resent the stupid and horrible things that superstitious religious fanatics have done. Rather that adhere and conform to outdated traditions we want them to get a grasp on reality. For me revering truth means admitting reality is bigger than I can grasp. That’s why I sometimes pray by addressing “Great Mystery.”
Some people think prayer must sound aristocratic, gentile and polite. Any of you who remember Tevye from “Fiddler on the Roof,” know the Jewish tradition of talking plainly to God. Years ago a friend Cody and I received news that our good friend David had been diagnosed with a rare disease, and would be dead within six months. Cody seemed shocked when I said” “One day, God is going to have to answer to for all this garbage.” Cody roared with laughter. He later told me he found it freeing that a minister would say that. Why not address Life with an authentic voice? Stand in the place where you live.
Affirmative Prayer is another powerful and time honored way to direct consciousness. By affirming our faith, stating what we trust and value, we move in that direction. We unleash intuition and inspiration. We can accept more of what life has to offer us.
Saying grace at mealtime is a simple and powerful way to tune into an attitude of abundance. We shift from our sympathetic nervous system to a parasympathetic response. We shift from rushing or fight/flight into a state of wellbeing. We send the message to ourself that all is well. We become better able to digest and assimilate our food. Prayer creates peace.
For many of us the biggest hurdle to prayer is theistic language. We hear prayer language that attempts to make us submit to the authority of a god that seeks to dominate us. Or we see human demagogues use Gd language to coerce conformity to their selfish will. UUs won’t accept prayer that offers an escape from reality or responsibilty. We insist that it empower us to face reality and make difficult changes. Liberal religion fosters a generous spirit. It also asks for discernment. We pay attention to the direction we are being directed. We want to cultivate attitudes that serve life. We insist our religious practices nurture consciousness and promote healthy powerful attitudes toward life. We can use prayer as a tool to bring our intention into alignment with our highest values. Sometimes prayer can move us beyond thought. Sometimes it’s about getting unblocked to allow new inspiration. Some refer to the source of inspiration as Gd. We might call it the amazing flow of life that inspires us to overcome limits of fear, hate or prejudice.
There is a story. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year. It’s taught that on this day God seals fates for the year ahead. For some reason, Rabbi kept the congregation praying far longer than was customary. Finally, he brought the prayers to a close.
He had been having a vision that the congregation’s prayers were trapped in the building and weren’t going up to heaven. He said that fortunately God had been moved by the purity of one person’s heart. Gd reached down to receive the prayers. The rabbi identified Ovie, as the one who had brought this blessing upon the congregation. The people began to wonder. Who was Ovie? Did he mean Avraham, the wise elder? Rabbi continued. Ovie is a five year old boy sitting in the back of the congregation. Ovie hasn’t learned Hebrew. He doesn’t know traditional prayers. He hasn’t been instructed how to pray. Ovie only knew to recite his A, B, C’s. Ovie asked God to take the A,B,Cs and make a beautiful prayer for him. The Rabbi said, thank you Ovie for reminding us how to pray.
Chanting is one way that I’ve experienced unblocking that allows a new flow to move through me. I chanted Niggunim, wordless Jewish melodies. I have chanted Hindu, Native American, Pagan, and Asian chants. I often don’t know the meaning of the words I’m chanting. I feel the spirit, the vibrations. It brings peace into me and into this world. A reading in our UU hymnal by Abraham Heschel says “Prayer cannot bring water to parched land, nor mend a broken bridge, nor rebuild a ruined city, but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.” Yes, Rabbi Heschel, we know that prayer directs and changes consciousness, and this is powerful! Prayer is a spiritual practice. With it we can gain awareness of our deepest held values. Or awareness of the interconnected web of life. We pray because want to experience connection. Language and concepts of Gd don’t speak to all of us. However all of us know connection. All of us know estrangement. At times we become estranged from our loved ones, from our communities, from G*d or our sense of sacred. we may even become estranged from ourselves.
We also all know longing for connection. Beyond words and theology prayer is about the life inside us reaching out to connect with life outside of us.
One of my favorites ways to pray is to visualize light, energy, power and love pouring down upon a dear one facing adversity. I end my prayer by saying “for the greatest good for all concerned.” In this way, I remind myself that I have a limited perspective. Rather than plead or demand that life conform to my expectations, I affirm my care, and that there is something at work that is so much bigger than me.
Do our prayers affect those we pray for? I trust that they do. We don’t control outcomes. What can we do? We can plug into energy that sustains us and moves us to love more deeply.
Listen Brothers. Hear me Sisters, life is calling us from a fullness of splendor, glory and power! “Can we hear or feel this call? How will we answer?” What shall we do with our consciousness? How will we address and what will we express to our biggest sense of what is?
May our prayers move us to awe, hope and righteous action. May the meditations of our mind and of our hearts bring us to a deep and lasting peace. May we access transformative power and be part of the healing of our world!
Let’s see what happens then!
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