Revisiting - A Prayer for Achievement

Morning Musings

After journaling,
I watered the yard and when
I logged on just now

I discovered that
someone from London UK
had visited an old

post. Curiosity
(or intuition) led me
to click on that link.

February the
25th -2008 ...
relevant today

so I've copied and
pasted here to share once more
... since it's where I am

right now ... once again.
That reminds me of Black Elk
and ANOTHER post

about CIRCLES and
cycles to consider as
I let my light shine ;--)

In ILLUMINATA Marianne Williamson
writes about Achievement in a chapter entitled
"Prayers for Work and Creativity"

"Many times, we are held back by a sense that we are simply not good enough, talented enough or smart enough to do what we want to do. We pray for God to free us from the internal chains that bind us. Self-confidence stems from confidence in Him. It is not we alone who do the work. The work is done by Him who is within us."

then she offers the following prayer
that I've found helpful.

"Dear God,
I feel that my life is less than it should be.
I cannot find my freedom or my passion.
I have so much inside me that stays shut down, that isn't free.
I hurt so much to know I am not living at full force.
My talents are not used as I wish.
My abilities are not fully formed.
My energies are so suppressed.

Dear Lord, I do not know how to break free of
the ways I constantly negate myself.
I hold myself prisoner somehow.
I know I do.
I know it is my own illusion,
this prison in which I live,
yet I cannot break free, though I try so hard.

Please, dear God, break down the walls that surround me.
Melt this prison.
Free my soul that I might be as You would have me be:
Free to live,
To soar,
To create,
To love,
To feel passion for good,
To do the good with passion.
I wish to fly.
I wish to feel Your full abundant spirit in me.
Give me this miracle.
Thank You.
Amen

Thought for Today
"Unlike fine wine, conflicts that are left alone rarely improve with age." Eric Harvey

Monday Motivator - Prayer for Achievement

In ILLUMINATA Marianne Williamson
writes about Achievement in a chapter entitled
"Prayers for Work and Creativity"

"Many times, we are held back by a sense that we are simply not good enough, talented enough or smart enough to do what we want to do. We pray for God to free us from the internal chains that bind us. Self-confidence stems from confidence in Him. It is not we alone who do the work. The work is done by Him who is within us."

then she offers the following prayer
that I've found helpful.

"Dear God,
I feel that my life is less than it should be.
I cannot find my freedom or my passion.
I have so much inside me that stays shut down, that isn't free.
I hurt so much to know I am not living at full force.
My talents are not used as I wish.
My abilities are not fully formed.
My energies are so suppressed.

Dear Lord, I do not know how to break free of
the ways I constantly negate myself.
I hold myself prisoner somehow.
I know I do.
I know it is my own illusion,
this prison in which I live,
yet I cannot break free, though I try so hard.

Please, dear God, break down the walls that surround me.
Melt this prison.
Free my soul that I might be as You would have me be:
Free to live,
To soar,
To create,
To love,
To feel passion for good,
To do the good with passion.
I wish to fly.
I wish to feel Your full abundant spirit in me.
Give me this miracle.
Thank You.
Amen

Note of explanation: Lest you've visited in the last 2 days and wonder how you missed this, I'm chagrined to admit that somehow I created it on Monday (after visiting Yertle's blog and realizing I'd forgotten to do it at Small Reflections), but neglected to publish it (sigh) ... and only just discovered the error this morning when logging on to create my Wellness Wednesday post (on time mind you even though I've been following up on Wordless Wednesday at Small Reflections all morning). I guess it's always something ... and I forgive myself!

Sacred Life Sunday - On Prayer and Transformation

As a child, my parents taught us to say "Grace" before meals and to recite prayers before bedtime. My favorite was not "Now I lay me down to sleep" but rather ...

"Jesus tender shepherd hear me.
Bless this little child tonight.
Through the darkness be thou near me.
Keep me safe 'til morning light."

At the age of 44 ... when I found myself alone at night in the house (except for my 2 year old Keeshond-Terrier mix pup) for the first time ever (after my husband of 21 years decided he didn't wish to be married any longer and left), I cried myself to sleep nightly for months ... reciting this simple childhood prayer over and over ... substituting the words "aging woman" for "little child" ... and as I type this now I'm startled by the lump in my throat & the tears threatening to over take me as if I'm reliving this difficult time in my life here and now.

Interestingly my writing buddy called just as I finished typing the previous sentence and we've been chatting for about an hour. I'm grateful for the interruption & interaction with her (allowing me to recenter myself) and the "verbal hugs" she always leaves me with at the end of our weekly calls. Hopefully I'm ready to continue writing and publishing this post before Molly and I go for an afternoon walk together. Last week I shared a couple of prayers that I find personally meaningful and helpful. Today I intend to provide a context for them after the fact.

I opened this post with this story from my past because I'm vividly aware that no one ever taught me how to pray ... until I encountered Marianne Williamson's lectures, tapes, and books. Each time I have attended one of her lectures, she uses a variation of the "visualization" that follows (and that appears at the beginning of ILLUMINATA) entitled:

A WAY IN

"I see in my mind a little ball of golden light.
I watch this light as it begins to grow larger and larger,
until now it covers the entire inner vision of my mind.
I see within this light a beautiful temple.
I see a garden that surrounds the temple
and a body of water that flows through the garden.
I see that the inside of the temple is lit by this
same beautiful golden light, and I am here,
For I have been drawn here by the power
and in the presence of God.
I dedicate my days and my relationships
and experiences to You.
May Your Spirit, which is within me,
so guide my thoughts, my feelings,
and my perceptions of all things
That I might grow into a happier,
more peaceful, more loving human being.
Illumine my mind, illumine my life.
Amen

I'm grateful for the example of her plain yet familiar prayers that seem like conversations with God, and I return to her words even now when I need a kick-start for my own prayerful meditations.

In ILLUMINATA Ms. Williamson writes of a "Spiritual Renaissance" occurring in the world, and she encourages each of us to seek "daily renewal" through prayer & meditation as a means of "cultivating a sense of the sacred" so that we might be "transformed" in such a way than we can in turn be spiritually ready to "transform the world" ... suggesting we take into account the following principles:

1. Invite God's spirit into every situation, which means to ask for the highest level of thought, guidance, and unfoldment to occur for all concerned.
2. Ask God to remove from your mind all thoughts that are not of Him.
3. Ask God to show you the love and innocence within all people.
4. Ask that only God's purposes be served in every situation.
5. Be honest. Be humble. Be serious.

... and she concludes by suggesting that we remember always that "God is not our judge, but our healer."

If, as many have come to believe, we're on the cusp of a significant evolutionary change ... and if our individual minds create not only our own reality but also a collective reality ... then might we not be wise to at least consider the possibility that Marianne Williamson is correct when she writes:

"...we may be ready to take responsibility for the world by taking more seriously our individual contributions to it. Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one."

And so .. on this Sacred Life Sunday, I choose to express my gratitude to each and every one of us engaged in "personal transformation" ... As we each honor our discomfort and shed the oppressive weight of cultural nonsense, may we each respect ourselves (and one another) enough to equally honor what we know within ... allowing our hearts to lead the way to becoming who we are truly meant to be.

"You have two types of energy. One is physical; the other is mental and spiritual. The latter is by far the more important, for from your mind you can draw vast power and strength in time of need." Napoleon Hill

Blessed be ... and so it is!

A Blessing and a Morning Prayer

Recently at Perfectly Imperfect, Yolanda shared this "Blessings award" together with a call for prayer for those affected by last week's tornados & an amazing Tribute from Union University. I encourage you to watch this video when time permits, offer up your own prayers, and pass the award and information on to readers at your own blog.

In 1994's
ILLUMINATA
Marianne Williamson shares
"Thoughts, Prayers, and Rites of Passage"
and this is one of my favorite
prayers for the morning.

"Dear God,
I give this day to You.
May my mind stay centered on the things of spirit.
May I not be tempted to stray from love.
As I begin this day, I open to receive You.
Please enter where You already abide.
May my mind and heart be pure and true,
and may I not deviate from the things of goodness.
May I see the love and innocence in all mankind,
behind the masks we all wear
and the illusions of this worldly plane.
I surrender to you my doings for this day.
I ask only that they serve You and the healing of the world.
May I bring Your love and goodness with me,
to give unto others wherever I go.
Make me the person You would have me be.
Direct my footsteps, and show me what you would have me do.
Make the world a safer, more beautiful place.
Bless all Your creatures.
Heal us all, and use me dear Lord,
that I might know the joy of being used by You.
Amen."

Sacred Life Sunday - Prayer for the Evening

In 1994's
ILLUMINATA
Marianne Williamson shares
"Thoughts, Prayers, and Rites of Passage"
and this is one of my favorite
prayers for the evening.

"Dear God,
Thank you for this day.
Thank you for my safety and the safety of my loved ones.
As I enter sleep, may these hours give me peace.
May they bring healing to my mind and body.
While I sleep, dear Lord, please bless the world.
Where there is pain,
where there are people who have no place to sleep,
who suffer and who die,
may Your angels come unto them and minister to their hearts.
Dear Lord,
Please let the light stream in.
Please use my hours of sleep.
Please prepare me, during these hours of rest,
for greater service to You.
May the light that surrounds me, tomorrow shine through me.
Soften my heart.
Thank You, Lord.
Amen."

On Obstacles, Forgiveness, and Light

Tuesday's "daily email message" from Renaissance Unity said:

"You'll encounter many obstacles along the road to living your dreams. Some obstacles may be real, some imagined, some may be tangible, and some may be intangible. Some of those obstacles will be created by others, and some will be self-imposed. However they manifest, you will always be given the choice as to whether you give them power."
~Francine Ward

The affirmation suggested was:

I am able to move around, over or through every obstacle with God's help.

I'm not sure they had in mind what's been happening with my computer and my challenges with Blogger, but it sure fits. Most of these seem real, but who can say for sure? :)

Today's message seems like excellent advice. It reads:

"The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good." ~Catherine Ponder

And the Affirmation says:

I release my hold on the past and its problems.

It's positively uncanny how often these daily email messages "hit the mark" and I supposed that's why I continue to subscribe, even though my email box contains more messages than I'm ever likely to read because I tend to ignore much of what's there most of the time.

Yesterday's message was my favorite of the three:

"...this by the tender mercy of our God who from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us, to give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."
~Luke 1:78-79

The accompanying affirmation:

I am lifted up out of darkness and into the Light by the power of God

This message (and it's accompanying affirmation) seems all the more appropriate as we prepare for Christmas celebrations and remembrance of Christ's birth. Each daily message also contains a prayer. Yesterday's was:

Dear God,
You are the light of the world and the light in our hearts. At this holy season may we all remember to share our love with everyone. Help us make room for You and for each other in our hearts and in our lives.
Thank You, God.

I think I'll make this MY walking prayer today.

Day 29 Coincidence and Grace (My Sacred Life)

All too often, the things I believe I want in my life just aren't good for me (though this awareness usually shows up long after the fact). The older I get, the more grateful I am that God's simple response to my most fervent (yet often foolish) prayers is a loving "No" ... because I've come to know that her vision for my life is greater than anything I might imagine for myself (a most humbling recognition of how "grace" works).

“How do you know which of your intentions is likely to be fulfilled? The answer lies in paying attention to the clues provided by the nonlocal mind. Notice the coincidences in your life. Coincidences are messages. They are clues from God or spirit or nonlocal reality, urging you to break out of your karmic conditioning, your familiar patterns of thinking. They are offering you an opportunity to enter a domain of awareness where you feel loved and cared for by the infinite intelligence that is your source. Spiritual traditions call this the state of grace." ~Deepak Chopra

I've heard coincidence defined as God's way of remaining anonymous. I've come to see coincidence as grace in action ... something we learn to recognize over time through experience ... and pass on (or not).

GRACE
The beauty of grace
is that you receive blessings
for no reason.
As above, so below.
PRACTICE random acts of grace.
Give to others for no reason.
Offer kindness to those who are undeserving,
love those who no one else loves.
Practice grace.
Daniel Levin, Zen Cards

These days ... I realize how much better my daily life becomes when I pray ... "not my will, but thine, be done" ... simple, but not always easy.

"Slow down
and everything you are chasing
will come around and catch you."
~John De Paola