Prayer....As Part of Living, Hosted by Oiseau

Prayer And Meditation

Prayer and meditation are similar practices in that they both offer us a connection to the divine, but they also differ from one another in significant ways. Put simply, prayer is when we ask the universe for something, and meditation is when we listen. When we pray, we use language to express our innermost thoughts and feelings to a higher power. Sometimes, we plumb the depths within ourselves and allow whatever comes to the surface to flow out in our prayer. At other times, we pray words that were written by someone else but that express what we want to say. Prayer is reaching out to the universe with questions, pleas for help, gratitude, and praise.

Meditation, on the other hand, has a silent quality that honors the art of receptivity. When we meditate, we cease movement and allow the activity of our minds and hearts to go on without us in a sense. Eventually, we fall into a deep silence, a place that underlies all the noise and fray of daily human existence. In this place, it becomes possible for us to hear the universe as it speaks for itself, responds to our questions, or sits with us in its silent way.

Both prayer and meditation are indispensable tools for navigating our relationship with the universe and with ourselves. They are also natural complements to one another, and one makes way for the other just as the crest of a wave gives way to its hollow. If we tend to do only one or the other, prayer or meditation, we may find that we are out of balance, and we might benefit from exploring the missing form of communication. There are times when we need to reach out and express ourselves, fully exorcising our insides, and times when we are empty, ready to rest in quiet receiving. When we allow ourselves to do both, we begin to have a true conversation with the universe

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Sha3 - 11:28am Apr 12, 2008 PST ( 2786.) * Mark Reply

A prayer request...

My sister-in-law has just been diagnosed with cancer of the bladder and I was hoping that this group might work some of their magic and add her to their prayer list. Her attitude is great but she needs some extra help and I was hoping I could count on all of you for that.

Thanks so much for any and all help that you can give.

Blessings for a healthy and happy 2008 xoxoxoxoxo

without supplication for any particular situation so I will jump in with personal necessities.

Dear Lord, please help me endure pain with less of an edge. I have noticed that my tolerance levels have diminished quite a bit and that I tire of pain killers that don't seem to lessen the acuteness.

By changing my daily practices of participating in un-Christian activity I may then find some solace in Peaceful endurance.

In your Holy Name.........

All motive and action affects the cosmos in some way. The principle of cause and effect is the truth that allows us to change ourselves and the world around us for the better. However, this same universal law is also at work when change is not at the forefront of our minds. Our intentions flow forever outward in the form of energy, affecting both the people closest to us and billions of individuals we will likely never meet. For this reason, we should strive always to speak, think, and behave with great thoughtfulness and compassion. The virtues we choose to embody can inspire joy and integrity in the lives of countless people, whether we touch their existence directly or not.

The influence we wield is infinite. In an effort to internalize our conscious understanding of the nature of cause and effect, we can never truly know how our thoughts, emotions, words, or actions will manifest themselves on the larger universal stage because it is likely that the furthest-reaching effects will fall outside the range of our perception. We can only look to the guidance of our conscience, which will help us determine whether each of our choices is contributing to humanity's illumination or setting the stage for unintended troubles. When we are in doubt, we need only remember that the cultivation of altruism inevitably leads to a harvest of goodwill and grace. Motivated by a sincere desire to spread goodness, we will be naturally drawn to those choices that will help us express our commitment to universal well-being.

Nothing you do, however minor or mundane, is ever exempt from the rules of cause and effect. From the moment of your birth, you have served as an agent of change, setting forces beyond your comprehension into motion across the surface of the earth and beyond. You can exert conscious control over this transformative energy simply by examining your intentions and endeavoring always to promote peace, positive energy, and passion in your ideas and actions. While you may never fully comprehend the extent of your purposefully heartfelt influence, you can rest assured that it will be universally felt

For more information visit dailyom.com

So many are suffering weather conditions, let us pray for them.

So many have perished in Peru due to this latest earthquake, let us pray.

So many indigenous people in Iraq have been slaughtered because they don't practice Islam, let us pray.

If any here have special intentions please
let them be known.

I know that you believe in God and in the power of prayer. So, I'm asking that you remember these two during your prayer time.

A neighbor of my daughter has had a massive heart attack and is in intensive care. A heart cath will be done today. This man has had previous heart attacks; but this one has left damage to his heart. He has been under a lot of stress lately.

Bob's Grandpa was working alone on a piece of farm machinery and it fell on him, fracturing his pelvis in eight places. How he did it we don't know; but he managed to get himself out from under the machinery and to the phone. He is 81 years old. He is at home but is in a lot of pain.

Please ask, believing, that these men will be healed and that they will gain in wisdom; especially Bob's Grandpa! Young at heart and very stubborn.

REMEMBER to say a prayer before you read the poem. That's all you have to do. There is nothing attached.

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of reward. (Did you pray?) Make sure you pray, and pray believing that God will answer. This is your last opportunity before reading the poem.

May today be all that you need it to be today.

May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight and conquer all your fears.

May God manifest himself today in ways that you have never experienced.

May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer and your prayers be answered.

I pray that faith enters a new height for you,

I pray that your territory is enlarged and

I pray that you step into your destiny within the ministry.

I pray for peace, health, happiness and true and undying love for God.

But those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings like Eagles.

Isaah 40:31

We Are One

I pray we,

all children of the earth,

no matter our path to enlightenment,

come to realize that we are one.

We may walk our own paths,

but we are not alone,

for we walk at the same time,

toward the same end/beginning.

From our individual perspectives,

be we Pagan, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddist, Taoist, or Hindu, are the same.

I pray that we all feel the love of our Creator(s) and by example learn to see each other as brothers and sisters,

allowing the boundary lines of religion to fade away.

May the Lord and Lady bless your path.

May you always have enough, and may you give enough in return.

Blessed Be.

Remembering our darling Nettie.