Category Archives: Prayer

Affirmative Prayer Class Week 1

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This is a long post with a lot of information. You may want to save it, along with the linked outline, for later reference.

Right click this link and choose “Save target as…” or similar to download the post in its entirety, in .doc format. Feel free to contact me for other formats.
Affirmative Prayer Week 1 Notes

Crisis Prayer

To begin, we read this
Crisis Prayer
from Centers for Spiritual Living, another New Thought Metaphysical organization. I ask that you read the prayer and allow it to calm and comfort you as needed.

This prayer was written in response to the acts that took place in Boston and elsewhere earlier this week. As people who study and live metaphysical principles, we can choose not to become caught up in traditional responses to violence. However, we often need to respond in some way. Here, you can experience affirmative prayer as universal, calming and opening. You can also glimpse the best attitude of prayer – one of peace, love and understanding, even though we still don’t condone the acts that have been committed.

Your Personal Background

I asked class participants these questions. Think about your own answers, or even write them down. This is just a starting place to understand your feelings about prayer and any experience you’ve already had with affirmative prayer.

1. How do you feel about prayer in general? I.e. is prayer for the weak? A last resort? A routine in your day?

Do you pray regularly? Do you think you “should” pray, but still don’t do so? Has it seemed like a waste of time for you?

Do you believe that prayer can be a valuable spiritual practice? If not, will you suspend your disbelief? 🙂

2. How familiar are you with affirmative prayer? Have you learned one of the many step-by-step methods that are often a great place to begin?

Do you attend metaphysical meetings where prayer is used? I use prayer in my talks, meetings and services/celebrations. However, our particular Unity doesn’t stress prayer. We have a prayer box and a prayer team. But to my knowledge, no one ever instructed the prayer team in affirmative prayer. Thus this class…

Think about your current understanding of affirmative prayer. Do you understand it at all?

Class Outline

You can download the entire outline in .doc format here. Right click the link and choose “Save target as…” or similar to save it to your computer.
Affirmative Prayer Class Outline If you prefer another format, email me and I’ll make sure it’s accessible for you to read and use.

The sections of the outline we covered are reproduced below, with notes beginning with *. These notes are transcribed from our live class discussions.

I. Other Names for Affirmative Prayer

* These are words you may find in books or other metaphysical settings to describe the method of prayer many of us use.

A. Positive prayer (so named for its positive statements/affirmations)

B. Scientific prayer (often used with step-by-step guidelines for prayer)

C. Effective prayer (more mainstream books use this term)

* Rightly done – that is, with the right attitude, this is the most effective form of prayer.

D. Spiritual Science prayer (used in general metaphysics; I use this term myself sometimes)

E. Spiritual Mind Treatment (often used in Religious Science/Science of Mind)

* What are we treating?

1. Personal consciousness

* There is universal consciousness (God, cosmic Mind, God-Mind, etc). We are all part of this consciousness. At the same time, this consciousness is individualized in, and as, each of us. It’s this personal aspect of universal consciousness that we treat in prayer.

2. Personal mind/ego

* We treat any sense of personal identity we’ve created. You are not your job, your children, your income… In treatment we make this real to ourselves, bringing our awareness back to our true identity. This ultimate reality is Spirit, Source, God, the Universe – and in treating the personal ego, we expand further into Truth.

3. Perception

* Treatment improves the way we see, sense, feel and perceive things. With improved perception come improved feelings. Suddenly, things don’t bother us as much, people aren’t as annoying, and all because we have a new perception after treatment.

Another aspect of perception is size. We seem to have agreed, as a human mass, that some things are bigger than others. Financial problems are bigger than paper cuts. Car accidents are bigger than forgetting your lunch. Manifesting 10 million dollars is bigger than getting a good parking space.

None of this is true! Looked at from the framework of ultimate reality/oneness, nothing is bigger than anything else. There is no big. There is no small. There is desire, and there is fulfillment. Treatment of our perceptions helps us to integrate and live by this Truth.

4. Thinking

* How do you spend your valuable thought time? Are you even consciously aware of most of your thoughts during the day?

Treatment is used to improve our thinking. A positive attitude is essential; so are positive thoughts. However, it’s possible to “fake” positive thinking, to show it off to others, but still have underlying negative beliefs. Treatment addresses the underlying foundation. So improvements are made from the subconscious, outward. With continued treatment, positive thinking becomes more authentic.

Prayer is also called
F. Metaphysical Treatment

G. Prayer Treatment

H. Healing Treatment

* “Healing” refers to bringing your consciousness back to a state of wholeness. It is not a cure or a treatment in the sense of a doctor’s or medical professional’s.

Treatment goes beyond the physical appearance (meta-physical) and lifts up your consciousness which created any physical appearance. When you create from an uplifted consciousness, you create better physical experiences.

I. Treatment (my favorite, for the reasons above)

* I offer the following as further explanation of treatment.

Treatment means going within and contacting the God-Presence that is always at the center of your mind.

The only thing we can truly treat, is consciousness. We can intend a treatment for a physical condition, such as a broken leg. However, all we’re really treating, is your consciousness (thoughts and conscious and subconscious beliefs) about that condition.

We don’t refuse to see the broken leg. But we refuse to give it power over us. In treatment we give power back to the Spirit within us. We establish to our own mental satisfaction, that something has more power than the broken leg. We recognize that this Power dwells within us; so how can a broken leg be anything more than an appearance?

We acknowledge that the broken leg, though it may seem so real, is not all there is. It’s not the end of things, not the be all and end all. There is more, beyond this. And we bring our consciousness back to “more” in a positive sense.

Imagine 2 people, each with a broken leg. The first person thinks: I have a broken leg. Guess I’ll do things differently for a while. Some rest might be nice. I wonder what I can read, learn, catch up on, or who I can re-connect with while I’ve been given this time?

The second person thinks: Oh no! Now my leg is broken, and I can’t go to work. I could lose my job. With my job loss I’ll lose my income. How will I provide for my family? What can I do with myself while I’m stuck in bed?

The first person has accepted the appearance and is embracing it for the good that can come out of it.

The second person is climbing up the walls of his/her mind… And can’t get away from it, because the mind is something we always carry with us!

The first person hasn’t given the broken leg any power. Instead, the power goes to, what positive things can I do now?

On the other hand, the second person is letting the broken leg control what is going on in the mind. I.e. worry, stress, concern, anxiety. This person is projecting what could happen, as if it were already true! A broken leg does not need to have that much power over anyone!

During metaphysical treatment, we sublimate negativity into positivity. We take the power of fear away and replace it with love, possibility, understanding and Truth.

An important note about treatment: Someone else’s healing does not come through you! You may be a participant, you may allow God-energy to work through you and flow to that person. But when someone is healed, it’s because their consciousness has risen to that level where the healing can take place. It’s not because of you specifically, or your practitioner.

Parents sometimes have trouble with this. In some organizations it is said that treatment of a child comes through the parent. This is simply not true in the sense that it’s often understood. On this premise, if your child isn’t healed after treatment, you must be a bad parent, or you don’t have enough faith… So how do you feel? Guilty? Unworthy? Pretty rotten, and your child still isn’t healed!

You are not responsible for anyone else’s healing! Practitioners hold the space, a safe place in consciousness where, when the recipient is ready, healing can take place. But the recipient must accept the treatment. This acceptance goes beyond words. A person can say they accept the treatment and are ready to be healed. However, underlying beliefs can still exist, that keep the healing from manifesting right now.

This is why we assert: The only thing to treat, is consciousness.

Metaphysical Practitioners do not heal; we do not cure; we do not treat in any medical or physical sense. Our treatment is spiritual only, unless we are specifically qualified to offer other services in conjunction with metaphysical treatment.

If a Metaphysical Practitioner tells you to stop taking all medications or prescribes any substance (vitamin, pill, etc), perhaps you should find a different practitioner. A good practitioner will respect any choice you make. If you choose medical treatment as well, find a practitioner who respects that choice.

Some people choose only metaphysical treatment. That is their personal choice. However, treatment works in conjunction with any and all other therapies, modalities, medications and anything else you choose as a tool in your return to conscious wholeness.

II. Benefits of Affirmative Prayer

A. Aligns daily attitude with God-Mind

* Why? Because prayer is only as effective as we allow it to be. If we pray 10 minutes daily, and spend 23 hrs. 50 min. doubting our prayer “worked,” that means our attitude isn’t in alignment with our prayer.

Matching our attitude with God-Mind, highest good, the best outcome, allows our prayers to be answered. It’s been said, “God can only do for you, what He can do through you.” This is a true statement.

So what do we get when our attitudes are aligned with God-Mind?

1. Peace of mind

2. Reduced stress (mentally, emotionally and physically)

* I believe that treatments for health are so important. As long as we’re on this planet, we live in physical bodies. And we need to physically care for them. However, we also need to care for them spiritually. Unlike some traditions, Metaphysics doesn’t specifically encourage fasting, certain diets, sexual practices, exercises, programs, etc. What it does encourage, is unity and harmony in the psycho-physical unit, that is, the mind-body.

Treatment for health, and for anything, opens the mind-body energy field, allowing health to manifest. This automatically means reduced stress and a lighter feeling. It may be subtle at first, but meditation and prayer time, is time well spent.

3. Living your true purpose

* It always feels better to be doing something you love! Your true purpose won’t make you feel anything less than great! The more you pray effectively, the more you *easily* live your own purpose. You live on-path, and it’s not a struggle!

4. Increased happiness

* Even people who seem unhappy all the time, probably want to be happy deep down. Ultimately happiness is all we really want. The house, the money, the good job, the family, anything we could possibly desire… We only want these things because we think they will make us happy. Or they should, or could be part of our happiness. Maybe they are! But really, all we want is happiness itself.

5. Awareness and acceptance of choices and opportunities

* We’re all familiar with the victim consciousness. I have no choices. Things happen to me all the time. I have to do this. I need to struggle.

Prayer is cumulative. And the more positive prayer energy you accumulate, the more you will move upward from victim consciousness. Now, you’re aware that you do have choices. No matter what happens, you can choose how to respond.

In class I brought up negative trends. “Bad things come in 3’s” and so on. Negative trends probably will happen from time to time in your life. The important thing, and the thing you can control, is your response to them.

It’s not the trend or circumstance that matters, it’s how you respond to it. And that response, is a choice only you can make.

So now you know you always have a choice. Next comes acceptance of opportunities. As soon as you see a choice, you also see opportunities opening up for you. When you accept them, you realize there are more!

6. Achieving goals

* If you’re running a marathon, finishing is a concrete goal. You can even see when the achievement is close; you see the finish line. But many goals aren’t so physically apparent. These goals in particular, are the ones we achieve through treatment. Physical form can’t help but follow the achievements of, say, calm, centered mind, peaceful feelings, spiritual connection above all, and the knowing that, as Einstein said, we live in a “friendly universe.”

With treatment as a tool, you don’t need to struggle to achieve any goal. Whether physically-oriented or not, life flows better, you’re open to possibilities, and goals are achieved more often and more quickly.

Also recognize that goals often have steps. Be grateful for each step achieved! Being grateful allows more good, thankful feelings to come to you. As your appreciation expands with each step toward the “big one,” you come closer to the big one itself. Be grateful for the journey, as well as the destination!

7. More physical and mental energy

* As we allow prayer to work through us, we’re freed up. We’re expanded, and we experience a lightness in mind and body. Gradually we notice we have more physical and mental energy, more time, things don’t take as long as they used to, we’re not as bone-tired at the end of the day, and more.

Along with this, be mindful of what you read, hear, and think before sleep. Every now and then, I still do what I call the sleep experiment. I’ll fall asleep reading an action-oriented novel, a mystery, something suspenseful, etc. And when I wake up, I notice I didn’t sleep well, maybe had bad dreams, and generally feel less rested.

But, when I meditate before going to sleep, read positive poetry or metaphysical things, or listen to relaxing music, I sleep much better. I wake up earlier, feel grateful for the new day, and know the day will be positive.

8. Inspiration and creativity

* Inspiration, by its very nature, is divine! Creativity is divine, too! There are so many ways to be inspired, and to express that as creativity. When we mention creative people, we often think of writers, cooks/chefs, artists, craftspeople and so on. But just by living, we are being creative! We create our lives each moment of each day, through our thoughts, words and actions. And we create *from* what underlies these thoughts, words and actions. TO live our best lives, we must be open to divine creativity being expressed through us. Prayer opens us to creativity, and lets us be open more of the time.

9. Opening to intuitive sensing and knowing

* The God-Power within us already knows. What does it know? Everything! Having a regular prayer practice allows us to tap into that intuition that is already ours in a spiritual sense. Our intellect is not worthless! But for best results, it should be guided by an inner sensing, an intuition from our God-Power. We can live by intellect alone. But we can live well when spiritual intuition guides our lives.

Opening to intuition means just that: opening to what is already there. You already possess divine knowing! You’re not gaining anything; you’re just shifting your awareness, your mind and consciousness, to the place of that intuition. It can be a comfort to realize you don’t have to “go out and get” this. It’s already there; just allow it to be in your life.

10. Expressing Truth in your own unique ways

* Truth is Truth is Truth. That is, ultimate, divine, universal Truth. So why are you here? To express Truth in ways that satisfy your soul’s purpose.

There are billions of musicians in the world! And there is always room for more! Why is that? Because even when 2 singers sing the same song, or 2 people play the same part on the same instrument, they express something different. The notes may seem the same. But the emotion, the energy, the spirit they interweave, is their own.

You are unique, an individualized expression of Truth. And no matter how you seem to be the same as others, know that you are unique. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t exist.

Prayer, along with other tools, can help you express your own uniqueness. When you do, you are happy, you’re living on your purpose, and your light will shine so that others will shine their lights as well.

B. Relieving pressure from the psycho-physical mind-body, so it can be uplifted from the problem, to the solution

* Each of us is a psycho-physical unit. We have a mind (psycho) and a body )physical). They interact as a unit – what the mind does, affects the body; and what the body does, affects the mind.

Prayer acts to relieve pressure from the whole unit. It takes mental pressure off the mind, and physical pressure off the body. The result is that we expend less energy carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.

In relieving this pressure, we let ourselves be uplifted. Whatever you’re experiencing has a level of consciousness. If you’re on the same level as a problem, you will experience it.

However, when you lift up your consciousness, you experience the solution! Your desire is fulfilled; the problem, isn’t anymore, and you’ve expanded your awareness.

C. Allowing the natural healing agency (God) to work through you

* God is wholeness. “Healing” means wholeness. So healing is God’s natural power. This is why we call God the natural healing agency. In prayer we open to that agency, and let it work through us, to flow into our lives.

D. Conversing with your inner God-Power, opening to its full expression as and through you

E. Experiencing God-presence fully (meditation is the highest form of prayer)

* True, meditation is the highest form of prayer. In deep meditation we’re completely open and we let the God-Mind be in control of our lives.

Prayer, as we’re speaking of it now, is only a little less than the meditative experience. It’s a conversation with the God-within. We may not be as completely open to God-Presence as we are in deep meditation. But we’re getting there.

I like prayer for its conversational benefits. Who better to converse with than your Higher God-self? Most effective is to spend time in prayer, and separate time in meditation. This way we benefit from the conversation and the deeply meditative experience where God truly lives as us, and where there is no more sense of personal ego.

Conclusion

We ended with a few moments of meditation. I asked class participants to commit to spending some time in prayer this week. All you really need is positive intention, the desire to converse with your own God-Self, and a little time. Treatment does not take long! It can, especially if you go into deep meditation along with prayer. However, you can pray any time, anywhere.

I ask that you, too, make a commitment to yourself to spend some time in prayer each day.

Prayer Partners

We will be forming prayer partnerships in this class. Two people will pray for each other, using affirmative prayer techniques, starting next week and as long as they wish to continue.

If you would like a prayer partner, please contact me! THhose in the live class will pray together, and online participants will be matched up on a first come, first served basis. Everyone who wants one, will have a partner.

I also provide Metaphysical Practitioner services. Contact me if interested.

As always, if you have any comments, questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me!

Affirmative Prayer: What is it and why Should I Care?

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This live class is just what it seems. We discuss traditional prayer vs. affirmative prayer, describe different prayer methods, and ask ourselves “To whom, or what, are we praying?” Handouts, activities and meditations included.

Online version will be posted the day after each live session.

Details:

* What? Class – Affirmative Prayer: What is it and why Should I Care?

* Why? To improve your relationship to God and prayer, and create a joyful prayer practice that works for you.

* How? Through discussion, prayer/treatment, meditation and hands-on activities

* Where? Unity of Reading
4443 10th Ave.
Temple, PA 19560

* When? Thursdays for 6 weeks, beginning April 18, 2013, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Specific dates are: 4/18, 4/25, 5/2, 5/9, 5/16 and 5/23.

* Cost? Free – donation accepted

* Who? Taught by Rev. Crystal (New Thought Metaphysical Minister)

Prayer for Divine Guidance – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 5

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Divine Guidance – Positive Prayer Poem

We started this last week, and I wanted to keep it to one post for easy access.

In writing this poem, I used the 5-step Spiritual Mind Treatment guidelines. The steps are:

1. Recognition: Tell the Truth about who/what God is.

2. Unification: Identify and unify yourself and your mind with God, knowing you, too, are that which God is.

3. Realization: Because of what God is and who/what you truly are, make real (realize) the declaration of what you want in your life. Declare this as if it’s already done, because in Mind, it is.

4. Gratitude: Give thanks, because it is already done.

5. Release: Because you’ve already asked, believed and received, you let it go.

These steps seem simple, and they are. But we can stay with each one as long as it takes to truly feel it is so.

Some people in our live class said these steps are limiting. What if people think they’re not doing it right? What if I miss one? etc. I acknowledge this can happen. However, I also believe we need to start somewhere, anywhere! So, if you’re coming from a tradition of begging, pleading prayer, or no prayer at all, or something else… it’s helpful to have a guideline for Spiritual Mind Treatment or affirmative prayer. This is that guideline, and it is just that. Use it if it works for you.

As I said, I used it in this poem, and sometimes do pray with the steps in my heart. I don’t say in mind, because they’ve become such a part of me, in a good way, that I no longer consciously think about them.

When you pray metaphysically, as long as it is heart-felt, mindful (mind-full!), and affirmative/positive, you’re on the right track! Does the prayer feel good? Yes? Then it’s fine!

If prayer feels bad, like a chore, or doesn’t end feeling better than it started, you might try this guideline. Stay with each step, or write down your prayer, until your thoughts and feelings are lifted higher.

Keep in mind that the steps don’t need to be in order. You’ll notice that some release comes before thanks in the poem below. If that feels good, it’s right.

With that, here’s Prayer for Divine Guidance with step numbers like this (1) for your reference.

Prayer for Divine Guidance

(1) You, the knower of all things,
Source and substance, guiding star,
(2) I unite my mind with you;
I am wisdom as you are.

Quietly I listen now,
Hearing in me perfect truth.
I receive the word I seek,
Thinking now at one with you.

(3) When to speak and what to say,
All of this I clearly see.
Where to go along my way,
Everything is here in me.

(5) Lovingly I now release
All confusion, fear and doubt.
(3) They are gone and I’m at peace,
Knowing what to carry out.

(4) Thank you, bless-ed voice of all,
Loving, knowing, guiding light,
Flowing like a waterfall,
Never ending, day or night.

(5) I have asked and I receive
That which I have sought to know.
I release this into law,
Where it manifests and flows.
Amen.

As always, if you have any comments, questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me!

Child of Light Prayer – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 4

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Martha Smock’s Child of Light Prayer first appeared in Daily Word in 1975.

The Blessing

First, let’s consider the power of a blessing. To give someone a blessing like “Child of Light, I bless you,” is a meaningful, thoughtful, kind and expansive intention. Words alone may not have the same impact; however, when we say them while feeling their truth, blessings are the greatest expressions of the presence of Spirit within us.

Spirit is within us always, and when we bless someone, we bring that truth into our awareness, and the awareness of the ones we bless.

Giving up Attachment to Others

“I think of you,
I pray for you,
Not in terms of what I think you need or what I think you should do or be or express”

This is an affirmation that we’ve given up our attachment to outcome, behavior, words and actions on someone else’s part. We’re acknowledging (and ideally really meaning) that we have no business directing someone else’s path.

Take our children, for instance, or kids in general. Often, we think we control them. Therefore, we try hard to do that. We direct their physical behavior, expressions of emotions, their actions toward us and others, because somehow we think we can control them. What a laugh!

When they’re small we want them to be quiet, listen, learn what we show them, repeat things, grow properly, etc. As they grow we want them to do their share around the house, get good grades, choose “good friends” – the ones we think they should have, do certain school activities and do well by our and others’ standards… What a lot of pressure we put on our kids! And on ourselves, by using so much energy to direct people who, kids or not, have the same Spirit within as everyone else.

DO I dare say this? We try to direct others, who don’t need directing!

Maybe it’s different if they ASK us. But until they do, our only “job” is to know and affirm the Truth for them.

That Truth is not that they get good grades and choose their friends “wisely” (again, the ones we think are good for them, not by following their own wisdom – because they’re kids for goodness sake! What kind of wisdom could they possibly have! I hope you get the sarcasm here… :o) .

The absolute Truth, that never changes, is in these lines and those that follow:

Lifting our Thoughts

“I lift up my thought about you.
I catch a new vision of you.
I see you guided and directed
By an inward spirit that leads you unerringly into the path that is right for you.”

Note the word “unerringly”. With this we’re acknowledging that Spirit makes no mistakes! One affirmation by Dr. Paul Leon Masters says, “Every seeming negative experience is a signal to my mind to react positively and spiritually.”

So, Spirit does not make mistakes. No experience is bad, wrong, a lost opportunity, or anything negative at all. That goes for experiences in our own lives, as well as others’.

We know, and the more we feel the more we know, that Spirit guides our children and all those we pray for. So the best we can do, is affirm the Truth. Sitting around bemoaning their seeming difficulties is adding negative energy. And that is not our intention in prayer. That is why this prayer is a good tool to show us the right frame of mind for prayer, for all Children of Light – that is, anyone and everyone!

Where does Spirit lead them? Into the path that is right… for us? No! Into the path that is right for them!

We each have our own individual path. It’s true we are all connected, no doubt about it. And we still each have free will, to choose and follow our own paths. So this is a great affirmation, or blessing, to hold in your thoughts for yourself and everyone else. Because what we affirm for “one,” is true for all.

Thoughts Held in Mind Produce After Their Kind (Like Attracts Like)

So, if we don’t create things in someone else’s life – which we don’t… And we only create in our own lives, which we do… What can we affirm for others, while not infringing on their free will? The prayer continues:

“I see you strong and whole;
I see you blessed and prospered;
I see you courageous and confident;
I see you capable and successful.”

Big Finish!

I see you free from limitation or bondage of any kind.
I see you as the spiritually perfect being you truly are.
Child of Light, I bless you!”

Ending with the same blessing we started with, but with an expanded awareness for ourselves and each Child of Light we hold in Mind.

May it be so each time we pray. And as we let it be so, so it is!

Comments? Questions? Feedback? please feel free to contact me!

Prayer of Faith – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 3

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Find this poem and a companion reading and talk here.

Please refer to the poem to contemplate the following, and make your own connection of faith within you.

1. Right before the talk linked above, I play a recording of Unity co-founder Myrtle Fillmore reading this prayer. It must have been made in the 1920’s or early ’30’s. On a record of course… So, this prayer must have been important to Myrtle, because as far as I know, we don’t have many recordings from her. I wonder how much it meant to her, and why…

2. The poem is called Prayer *of* Faith, not Prayer for Faith. So, before saying this prayer cold-turkey, I recommend meditating to the point where you’re in a peaceful state of mind and entertaining the possibility of having faith.

Otherwise, saying this prayer could really stir up angry feelings. Which wouldn’t be bad! Then you could release those – that is, if you could step back, observe the feelings, and choose to let them go. Often that is not the case, and we get caught up in anger. Begin using this prayer when you’re already in a good place, so that when you’re not, you can remember how it felt to pray this when you had a better-feeling thought. Then the prayer, having prior good feelings for you, can bring you back to that state of mind/heart.

3. This is a well-known Unity prayer. However, I’m personally not sure whether the author was a member of Unity, or if Unity “adopted” the prayer. Either way, we discussed in class how these lines appeal to a much wider audience than Unity. Christians in general, and many people of other religious and spiritual paths, accept these lines as Truth and take comfort in them:

God is my help in every need;
God does my every hunger feed;
God walks beside me, guides my way
Through every moment of the day.

4. Now we come to more metaphysical, Unity lines. Here, we affirm our oneness with the all-providing, ever-present God we’ve already brought to mind. We affirm our wisdom, truth, patience, kindness, and love, which we have and are, because God has and is:

I now am wise, I now am true,
Patient, kind, and loving, too;
All things I am, can do, and be,
Through Christ the Truth, that is in me.

Again, Christ appeals to a Christian audience. In traditional Christianity, Christ is a man, and in metaphysics, a state of being/consciousness. Our similarities are interesting, and it’s good to become aware of them.

5. Next are lines that prove my suggestion to meditate first! If you affirm these lines when you’re feeling bad, chances are you’ll get more bad feelings. Your feeling is strongest, not your words. So always, when using prayers or affirmations of any kind, come to a good-feeling place first, through meditation or whatever works for you. Then, affirm, as you feel the affirmation to be true. In this way you maximize the power of feelings and words:

God is my health, I can’t be sick;
God is my strength, unfailing, quick;
God is my all, I know no fear,
Since God and Love and Truth are here

I address this in the talk I linked to above. You may appear sick right now. But know that sickness is not who and what you are. It is not your being, your worth, your life. It is what it is: just an appearance. As I said, affirm this in a peaceful state of mind! Meditation has cumulative results. The more you tip the balance of your life in a positive direction, the more appearances in your life will improve.

For at least 8 years, from the remembered, conscious choice to begin a spiritual practice, until 2 years ago, I would not meditate. I could not. Because I thought it was too hard, complicated, I couldn’t do it, needed tools, and so on…

So for me, now, to recommend meditation to you, is not just a recommendation as something you “should” do! It’s because of my personal results. I now meditate daily, and I feel off/unbalanced if I don’t. I value the inner connections I make during meditation. When we get our ego, or monkey mind, quiet, we make great discoveries, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

Don’t take my word for it! I always say, no one can create an experience for anyone else. I cannot create a meditative experience or good feeling for you. But I can encourage, affirm, and hold quiet space for you. And that is what I do. The true power in your life comes when you, yourself, meditate or make inner connections of your own.

Prayer is for us. It is not for God/Spirit. It’s a connecting tool, so that we can become consciously aware of our oneness with God. Meditation is the listening tool. Prayer is the talking tool. They are 2 sides of the same coin. The coin itself, is life, or consciousness. Prayer and meditation both, are important aspects of that consciousness. Use them, change them, make them yours! Because the power is in your consciousness, aka your state of being, awareness, or focus.

Comments? Questions? Feedback? please feel free to contact me!

The Weaver’s Prayer

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I meditate and pray every day. For me, meditation is listening, and prayer is talking. This affirmative, sometimes funny, and always true prayer is what came through my prayer time today. I have to say, I’m glad I actually wrote this one down, because it can be very amusing!

Oh God, I thank you for yarn! You are the yarn, You are the loom, You are everything! Heck, can I say that to You?, You are the weaver! You are Me! And I am You! And so, knowing this, I consciously adjoin myself with You, at the hip, like a Siamese cat, I mean twin, and declare: I am one with my Creator!

In this oneness, I know I can do all things that are mine to do. I know I can enjoy all things. I know I can hope all things. And I know I can believe all things. That’s what Love does. And since You are Love, that’s what You do. As I am one with You, that’s what I do, too. Love never fails. So, I never fail, because You never fail, and You are in me!

So back to the yarn, thanks for being the yarn. Thanks for being the loom. Thanks for being me, and for giving me these tools that I so enjoy using to create more manifestations of–You guessed it!–You!

God, I wonder what these manifestations create? Does a handwoven have a divine purpose? I know that it does. But I can hear people say no, it’s “just” handwoven. Or “just a scarf” or whatever it appears to be. But isn’t that the key word? Appears? Just because a handwoven object may appear as no more than what we call it, that doesn’t make that all it is.

Handwovens are You. Even though the knitters won out, because the Bible translators say, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb,” You, oh weaving God, could have just as easily, and maybe more easily, woven me together in my mother’s womb! And I bet You did, too!

So about the appearance, I do believe, with Your guidance, that each handwoven thing I have a hand in weaving, has a divine purpose all its own. It is not just my purpose for making the thing, but Your purpose for creating the thing through me. I give thanks for their purposes, for mine, and for Yours! I affirm that I will live out my purpose with Your help, making manifest Your glory. And I will do whatever is my part so that the handwovens I joyously create with You, will be their highest selves and live out their divine purpose.

For this commitment and realization, this day and every day, I give You thanks! And so it is!

Prayer for Protection – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 2

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This is the second of two very widely published poems by Unity’s Poet Laureate James Dillet Freeman. It also explains why he is called “Poet Laureate to the Moon.” Along with “I Am There,” a copy of this prayer was left on the moon by Apollo astronauts. 🙂

The Prayer for Protection is well-known and loved by people of all faiths, religions and belief systems. Remember that Jim Freeman’s work was not only published by Unity. This affirms the universal truth of his writing.

Prayer for Protection – Contemplations

No questions here, just personal observations… My intention is that you will read the prayer and find its personal meaning to you.

We discussed in the live class that each line is an affirmation. These affirmations start general – we all basically accept that “The light of God surrounds me,” etc.

However, about the time we come to “The Mind of God guides me,” it gets more personal. Had Freeman started the prayer with this line, it probably would not have been as effective. People wouldn’t have been able to relate to a blanket statement, “The Mind of God guides me.” But with the foundation of the more general affirmations, already knowing they are true, the conscious mind accepts this one more easily. It’s as if Freeman is preparing the mind to “go all the way” to feeling the truth of Spirit/God’s presence. These affirmations are a tool for the conscious mind to get used to the Truth.

We talked a lot about “The laws of God direct me.” These laws are universal, rather than human laws, religious laws of any kind, or even things we culturally accept to be morally “right.” God’s laws are love, good, truth, beauty – because these are what God is. Call it the law of attraction, law of mind, law of love… It’s all the same law, and it’s all God’s laws.

Are you truly directed by man-made laws? No! If you choose to be, you can be directed by the laws of God. You can also choose to ignore them, but they are still at work. The thing is, if you choose to work with them, using your creative power in harmony with God’s laws, you will manifest/experience good in your life. If you choose to ignore the laws, or don’t know how to use them for the highest good, you will likely experience negativity.

As a result, it’s a powerful affirmation to say and feel, that “The laws of God direct me.”

“The power of God abides within me.” We know this in metaphysics. But how often do we feel it? Again, I find it no coincidence that this affirmation appears where it does. If we started with this, it could have less impact. But as we’ve already accepted so many truths, we can’t help but accept this one as well. God’s power is within you.

The next 3 lines expand on the power of God by also affirming that we have God’s joy, strength and beauty. “Under circumstances” – though I have no idea why we’re under there! – we sometimes feel anything but joy, strength and beauty. So to affirm we have them, in prayer and meditation, brings them to mind when we need them in life. The more we practice this, the better we feel and the better our lives reflect it.

And the big one: “Wherever I am, God is!” ‘Nuff said!

I recommend meditating on this prayer. At Unity we say it every Sunday. But as rituals can, sometimes it becomes a habit, and we no longer feel what we’re saying. I encourage each of us to feel this prayer, to make it real for ourselves, and to make it part of our accepted core beliefs.

As always, if you have any comments, questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me!

Daily Blessing – Affirmative Prayer Song

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I wrote this song on 1/1/2011. Since then it’s been my joy to consciously accept and manifest (make visible to myself and others) the blessings in each year, each season, and each day.

Remember: Even when you seem to be having “a bad day,” you can still choose how to feel, what to think, and what to see/perceive and say in this very moment. So this isn’t just a daily affirmation or prayer, but a moment-by-moment awareness.

Daily Blessing – Lyrics

Instrument: Lady – tenor Flea ukulele

(A)
I accept the blessings of this brand new day,
Open to its possibilities!
I see the world in a brand new way,
Unlimited and free!

Repeat (A).

(B)
Every moment, every day,
I intend the very best.
What to think and do and say,
All stem from love and rest.

(A)

(B)

(A)

I see the world in a brand new way,
Unlimited and free!
I am unlimited and free!

James Dillet Freeman – Poetry and Prayers of Unity Week 1

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We started off Poetry and Prayers of Unity with Unity’s best-known poet, James Dillet Freeman. This week’s poems were “God Bless your Birthday,” as a member celebrated her birthday, “How do I find what Life’s About?” and the classic “I Am There.”

James Dillet Freeman Biography

This link will take you to a PDF document of a Unity publication called Music of the Soul. You will need Adobe Reader or another PDF-accessible program to read it. Music of the Soul

“God Bless your Birthday” – Contemplation Questions

After reading “God Bless your Birthday” in Music of the Soul, think about your own answers to these questions.

1. Would you send this poem to someone you love, without altering it? Is there anything here you would not wish for someone?

2. Do you see any references to getting old, giving up, negative changes, etc?

3. What feeling do you have when reading this poem?

4. Would you like to receive this poem on your birthday? How would you feel after receiving it? What would you do as a result of that feeling?

5. Do any words or lines stand out to you in this poem? For me especially “smilestone in eternity>’

“How do I find what Life’s About?” – Contemplation Questions

Find this poem on Jim’s bio page, linked above. After reading it, think about your answers to these questions.

1. Did you sense the meaning right away, or did you get carried away by the rhythm and rhyme of the poem?

2. What could you “venture farther out” from?

3. What do we often do when “something in me is not content”? I.e. suppress it, think something is wrong, etc?

4. Is something wrong when something in us isn’t content? Do we have a right to follow it and see where it leads?

5. What does it mean to you to hear “Something affirms that I am meant for more?” How do you feel knowing, or trying on the belief, that this is true?

6. How can we “fly?” What does it mean to you to fly in life?

7. Do you feel that “venture farther out” from line 2, and “going beyond the edge of things” from line 7, are related? How so? Or why not?

8. A basic metaphysical principle is in the lines about wings. Think about what it means to you, to have wings “being mainly in the mind.”

9. What “more” can be found in you, from the last line?

I Am There – Contemplation Questions

Read this poem on Jim’s bio page above, or the Prayer section of www.unity.org.

This is one of the most powerful metaphysical poems I’ve ever read. And it’s not just me! 🙂 This poem has been left on the moon, distributed through publications and on CD through Unity, and read by billions of people. Inspiring, comforting and meditative, I ask that you meditate on “I Am There” if you feel lead.

1. What is the “I am” in this poem?

2. How do you feel knowing that an invisible power sees, hears and feels through you?

3. What is the “self” we must get beyond, and later “get yourself out of the way,” in order to know the “I am?”

4. How can we know this presence?

5. Even in denial, fears, pain, loneliness and lack of prayer – this presence is there. Knowing this presence is only good, how does that make you feel?

6. Why do you think the presence has faith in us? To me, it is because we are its creations, and Spirit/God/Universe would not create something unless it knew that creation was good. I.e. all creations are good because they all come from and are made of the presence. Therefore, Presence must have faith in us. What an affirmation: God has faith in me!

7. Just an observation… How powerful to be called Spirit’s beloved! Who says that…? We get honey, sweetheart, love, dear, blah blah blah… And from other people. But to be the Beloved of the Universe? And not just be it, because you are, but when you truly feel that… Now there’s a partner!

This poem, to me, is an intellectual exercise. I don’t know what James Dillet Freeman thought when he wrote it. Technically, it could have ended at the beginning: “Do you need Me? I am there.” End of story.

But because we have a personal/ego mind that holds onto things, gets obsessive at times, and needs to be convinced, Freeman goes on. He offers so many affirmations, aspects and descriptions of the I Am, that by the end of the poem, your “logical” conscious mind can’t help but be convinced that, yes, this is Truth. This is why I highly recommend meditating on this poem!

We had a lot of great discussion on all 3 of these poems! I tried here to offer the basics of that. However, as I said in class, especially with “I Am There,” we need to experience God ourselves. Others can, as I intend to, hold the space and know others’ good. However, getting your own personal feeling of God, when you can know, with or without words, that “This” is the Presence, that’s what I believe metaphysics is about. Not intellectual understanding, etc, but about feeling, and thereby experiencing a better life, because you know God.

If you have any comments, questions or other feedback, please send a message using the contact page. Thank you for participating!

Live Class: Poetry and Prayers of Unity

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Beginning tonight, Thursday, 1/10/13, I will be teaching a live class at Unity of Reading.

The poetry and prayers of Unity are well-known throughout New Thought, metaphysics and in general. However, sometimes they become so habitual that we don’t stop to feel what they mean when we say or read them. This class is part poetry appreciation, part meditation, part contemplation and discussion of what the poems and prayers mean. We will discuss what the author meant, or may have meant in writing them, and what they mean to us as individuals and as a spiritual community.

Poetry and Prayers of Unity will be held from 7:00-8:30 p.m, beginning tonight and every Thursday for 6 weeks. The last week will be 2/14/13. Handouts will be provided.

Can’t make it? Discovering this after the fact? No problem! I will not copy others’ poems here, to honor copyright laws. However, I will link to online sources where available. If you want the interaction of the live class, please comment here or contact me via the navbar link, and I’ll see about setting up a forum for this!

I look forward to hearing from you, either in person or online!