Taking the Pathway To Heaven

In the Christian tradition, prayer often takes place on the knees, with hands together. Native Americans, on the other hand outstretched and facing the sky, while Muslims put their heads to the ground. Beyond this - the basic physical position adopted - few are taught in any detail how to pray. we may even be given the wrong information. I was taught, for example, to pray only for others, not myself. It took me years, and a certain amount of guilt, to get beyond this notion and accept that it was okay.

In the process of praying for oneself, we often learn what it is we truly want, which may be very different to what we think  we want, to tell other people we want. So imagine this: people praying for other people without being in a position to know what they really want! Indeed, we may not be getting what we need because someone else is praying for the opposite!

I often hear of accounts of people who are so distressed at the thought of losing a partner, they sit at the deathbed, sometimes for days, willing the partner to live. The partner may themselves be praying to die in peace, without having to worry about the partner taking it so badly. Any such cross purpose of wills can take many forms, including praying for people who don't actually want to get better.

This may seem an unkind thing to say, but doctors and healers of all kinds are very familiar with this syndrome, when some one puts up an often subconscious barrier to healing. in these cases, it may be better to pray that the person is led to understand why they did not really want to get better.

Often tainted with ulterior motives. Iv'e heard people say they want a loved one to live for ever, or at least until they themselves die, and they pray for that, although the loved one may be in great pain and would prefer to die now. I recall on a woman saying to me, that she didn't want her husband to get well enough to come out of hospital until she'd had a chance to decorate the bedroom; and another who wanted her partner to get better extra quickly so he'd come home in time for her birthday. Better perhaps to pray that the person being prayed for gets their own prayers answered.

Many people find it easier to communicate with a messenger of God, an angel perhaps, because the infinite consciousness is so awesome. Fair enough, but just make sure you don't pray to the angel and make an idol of it. Give the message to the messenger as a message.

Many people find it awkard or embarrassing to pray and for them the written prayers may be an answer. The same sacred place in the mind, as used in thought or spoken prayer , can be used when writing down what it is you want to say  - in a relaxed way aware of the divinity that permeates all existence. Some put their written prayer in a special place; or create a prayer box : or burn the prayer and watch the smoke ascend to heaven.

In the Shinto religion, prayers are written on little blocks of fragrant cypress wood which are kept at the temple  for that purpose, and then thrown in the fire. Essential oils can be used in a similar way: fragrancing the paper kept in a box or elsewhere and being an olfactory reminder of the prayer in that place; or put on the paper-prayer before it's burnt. In the ancient times fragrant materials were routinely burnt  at the time of prayer and, indeed, the origin of the word 'perfume' is the latin, per fumum, which means by smoke'. Alternatively, prayers can be written on a banner, as in Tibet, and hung outside to blow in the wind. These writing methods may also appeal to people who express themselves better on paper than they do verbally.

Some people speak their prayers out loud, others say them silently in their minds; but why not sing your prayer? There is a whole science to sound, the spiritual use of which includes chanting and the repetition of mantras, as well as song. Sound sets up frequencies in  your whole being, as well as in the that connects you to the divine. Singing is a very open activity - it opens the heart, allows and even demands a flow - which tend to make things spontaneous and honest.  Openness and flow help the prayer reach its destination. Prayer can take place anywhere - on top of a mountain, or at the supermarket checkout.

You see those people on the street? Some of them are walking along praying. people pray on the bus, train or plane, or while walking through a forest. Often, when out and about, the desire to pray comes upon us, and when a prayer is spontaneous it comes from a place deep inside. It is a hear felt, and well received. Feel how the prayer rises from the depths of your being and escapes, riding on your emotion, into that space where it can be heard.

Prayer is quite often presented  as a bargain: if this prayed is answered , I'll pray every day, go to church or temple every week, or help out at the hospital, be a better person, and so forth. Such bargains are seldom kept. They may work for a while but then things drift back to normal. The cosmic consciousness that can see our past and future, knows that.

It's fairly  easy to understand  that bribery in prayer will not work. Suppose someone wants something and says, 'Dear God, if you give me that, I'll give a hundred pounds to the local hospice. ' That's a bribe. If it were that easy people could have all they wanted - including love, health and peace - which is just not the case. This isn't to say you shouldn't give the hospice money- but do it because you feel empathy, compassion and love.

Suffering has played a part in certain branches of the Hindu, Muslim and Christian traditions with people wearing hair shirts and beating themselves with whips. On a less dramatic scale, may people say to themselves, If I really suffer , surely God will answer my prayers. God may not want you to suffer. Try to reach for the light  with faith that things will get better, secure in the knowledge that God will help you if you help yourself.

There's no point in praying for world peace if you constantly row at home or at work. Better to pray for peace in your own environment, and understanding as to why disagreements arise. People who have never prayed, or have not prayed for a long time, may find themselves uncertain as to whether they're supposed to kneel, sit or stand, turn on the lamp or light a candle, put on some music or not.

Regular prayer eventually irons out these questions, and personal routine is found: one you have evolved naturally and feel comfortable with. The prayer can start out extremely simply, and then just be repeated, until you feel you want to add another, different element. As time goes on the whole process will become more refined.

In my practice, iv'e often heard people say they're worried they won't be able to kneel in church because of their arthritic knees. I say, 'Really, I'm sure God won't mind,' but they still worry, so indoctrinated are they in the 'right' way of doing things. it's sad we should think that there is so little understanding in heaven, and God is surely too flexible to worry about a knee that is not. All our prayers will be heard, if they are genuinely said.

As we ask to be forgiven, so too can we forgive: and accept and contribute to universal forgiveness. We must be honest though, to ourselves as well as God. This may be hard to start with, but, from shy and hesitant beginnings, eventually the whole truth will come out and we'll feel better for it. Prayer should not be a duty, but something truly meant. We could read from a standard religious text, or turn to a beautiful poem or passage from a book that strikes a spiritual resonance in us. It's important to be relaxed in prayer, and that is easier when we're genuine and follow our needs.

Prayer has always been a wonderful aspect of human experience, and there seems to be a space reserved in our minds and hearts for it. From this innermost space we travel along a pathway of light, free from mental clutter and genetic memory, past the anguish and the fear, so that place of infinite peace that awaits us like  a shelter in a storm or, on a good day, the most brilliant sun. What gets us there  most surely is love: the most powerful voice or force in the universe. If the message is to get through, it needs love behind it. God is love, and love is what God hears. 

Reference: The Fragrant Heavens : Valerie A Worwood

Dear God....'

What are the thoughts and entreatise that fill the space between God and Us? In the news week survey, 73 percent thought prayers asking for help in finding a job were answered. 'Give us this day our daily bread,' they prayed, as Jesus said we should do in Luke 11:3, With the emphasis placed today on monetary success, it's hard to believe that the space between us and the diety isn't clogged with millions of prayers asking to win the lottery, but 36 per cent of the respondents said they never pray for financial success, Probably they realize those thoughts have little importance in the spiritual world, whereas 'show me a way to transcend my present situation' has.

we can commune with the universe, ask questions, tell our sorrows, our joys, the good things, the funny things. What we truly wish to pray for often emerges in the process of prayer itself. we might give thanks, say ' please', ask for guidance to be shown a better way of doing things, a better way of understanding, a way to feel more forgiving, or to be able to feel more love, compassion and empathy. And in making the request, we have already taken the first steps towards feeling these things.

Reference: The Fragrant Heavens: V A Worwood

Prayer - 2 

In scientific terms these are significant results, and show that the mind can influence living matter.

How this may come about is, of course, the big question. In prayer, we invoke change by using thought, sometimes accompanied by the sound of our voice. Both thought and thought/sound go out into the ether, carrying their vibrational patterns, and causing change. The emotion behind the thought gives an additional charge to the vibrational pattern. Perhaps all this can be picked up or received by higher beings, who operate outside our usual visual range and physical realm.

These celestial messengers may be angels or guardian spirits, who transmit  - by ever finer vibrations - to the next realm and beyond, until our thought makes contact with the universal whole or God. Perhaps God hears our tiny voice in the ether, with no messengers in between. These things remain a mystery.

Science is equally mysterious though. After years of experiments exploring notions around John Stewart Bell's theorem - which states that reality is non-local - physics now claim that subatomic particles that were once in contact always remain in contact, even if on opposite sides of the universe or planet. This can be measured because a change in one such particle elicits the same change in the other, whatever the distance, and instantaneously. If we all came from the same atomic source, even a very long time ago, we are all related to the ultimate source - which some call God. Some subatomic  molecules are now more related to others, but ultimately, we all came form the same place.

Is it then possible to conceive that - to varying degrees  - all molecules of the universe have this bizarre  (but natural) ability to communicate instantaneously with each other, and act upon each other?  We've heard it in theology and poetry  -' that we are all brothers and sisters under the skin' - but now science is now working towards proving it true.

The word 'pray' derives from the Latin word precare, to entreat. This word carries a humble, supplicatory connotation, and in times of great need we may appeal to God in some desperation. More usually though, prayer is like talking to a good friend on the telephone, a reassuring, happy time. The difference is that, unlike any human friend, the friend at the end of the universal telephone line knows everything about us anyway, so there's no point in trying to hide anything and we can be totally frank and honest.

Prayers are not always answered. Earthquakes, tidal waves, tornadoes and hurricanes sweep the planet and cause loss of life and destruction, despite prayers. People become ill and die, although they lead exemplary lives and are needed here on earth. These facts have deeply disturbed people, and given rise to much spiritual despair.

Like many others, I have explored these questions through various spiritual traditions : some of which explain it by karmic law and reincarnation; others by divine retribution and 'the sins of the fathers'; others believe that God does not intercede in the lives of individual people; while some think in terms of 'life lessons', or 'their purpose being served'.

The natural events are fairly easy to understand, as the planet - upon which we all depend - must be allowed to move and breathe at its own pace. It takes precedence over us. As for unwell people, that is the mystery - not surprisingly as we can't see the whole picture. If we knew everything , perhaps even their suffering would make sense. Plus a good deal of suffering is brought upon oneself or is the result of other human beings acting on us - 'it's all people's fault', and God punishes us collectively.

All this is very difficult, but, if nothing else, it makes us question things, including what we do to our selves, to other people, and the planet. This dynamic may work like this; if there is a cluster of child leukaemia cases in a particular location, society questions the cause and a nearby nuclear plant is thought to be the source of contamination and its closure is recommended.

In the short term, the planet may benefit. Although the children and their parents might think they are suffering alone, we are thinking of them and they are providing the fuel of determination  which drives many an anti-pollution campaign.This is just an example of cause and effect, the parameters of which are difficult for individual sufferers to see.

There are many other such examples, and examples of suffering which seem totally needless.

But there may be factors in the equation we cannot guess at, even perhaps that which we tell our children when someone dies: The angels needed them.'

Given that not all questions or prayers can be answered, prayer still offers many benefits. It gives people peace and spiritual upliftment; offers hope for good health and help in all forms; a chance to express thanks for our blessings; the space to question ourselves or our situation; and the courage to change.

In prayer, we arrive at a quite place, a place of spirit. This place is in our hearts, there when we need it, and it has been a sanctuary for many people on this earth who have suffered greatly - as hostages or when under torture, for example - who say that being able to escape to that place of prayer was the thing that pulled them through.

it's easier to contact the higher vibrational beings when we have the atmosphere, the peace and relaxation, when no everyday thoughts crowd our minds and we can be still; for it is in the stillness that God's love and peace can be felt. And, perhaps, in that stillness we can hear the voice.

Reference: The Fragrant Heavens / Valerie Ann Worwood

Prayer

A woman who did not believe in God went into labour. A couple of hours later she was oblivious to everything in the delivery room, unaware of how many people were there or what was going on. She was in another very deep space, and started repeating the words, 'Oh God, Oh Jesus'. She prayed for help when it was most needed. Many people turn to prayer in times of great need, almost unwittingly.

Other people have faith every day - they consciously believe in something or some One; and when they pray they have a direction in which to focus their thoughts. Faith is like love - it's either in you or not, to a varying degree, and some-times it is hidden deep within.

Someone might ask, 'How can you believe in God  - and who has ever seen Him?' Yet this same person might believe there are 'wormholes' in space, because scientists have calculated so - although nobody has ever seen one. Some people acquired faith in childhood, because it was all around them and they felt it too. Other people find faith suddenly, it hits them like a thunderbolt; while others feel a shimmer of faith within them and seek to expand the light.

Prayer is a way of contacting and tapping into higher spiritual knowledge, a connection to higher realms, the means by which we connect to the heavens and God. It's an interface between us and the universe, a way in which the small voice may be heard. We give thanks, or ask for miracles. People reach for the intergalactic telephone every time grace is said at dinner, either alone on the private line or with the family making a conference call. Jesus said we should ask for our daily bread, ask for forgiveness for our trespasses, and that we be delivered from evil. This many people still do: asking for a rise at work, forgiveness for doing what is known to be wrong, and protection from the hard world outside.

Throughout the millennia, all over the world, people have sought help, and some have had their prayers answered. In 1997, the American magazine Newsweek published the results of their prayer survey: 87 per cent said God answered their prayers.

In scientific experiments involving humans, sceptics can always say that psychosomatic influences are involved; The human mind imagines things. This can't be said with plants. It is, then, interesting to know that when plants are prayed for - to grow healthy and lush - they respond positively.

Author of the book The Power Of Prayer on Plants, Revd Loehr, carried out 100,000 measurements on 27,000 seedlings, resulting from 700 experiments involving 150 praying people. He concluded that plants that had been prayed for, in relation to the control groups, germinated earlier, grew faster and with more vigor, had a better chance of survival, and had more resistance to insects.

Since the 1960's there have been around 3000 scientific trials exploring the possibility that the human mind can affect living matter at a distance. In 1990 Daniel Benor reviewed 131 trial reports in a paper entitled Survey of Spiritual Healing Research. The subjects influenced during the trials included humans, mice, plants, red blood cells, fungi/yeast enzymes and bacteria.

The positive results of the trials were found in fifty-six cases to have less than one chance in a hundred of being due to chance, and in additional twenty-one studies the chance was between two and five chances in a hundred. In scientific terms these are significant results, and show that the mind can influence living matter.

Reference: The Fragrant Heavens / Valerie Ann Worwood…...Read More....Prayer - 2