Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 2:02am
E = MC prayer
Column: Writing Down Your Soul
We live in a spiritual universe, governed by spiritual laws. That statement comes as a surprise, if not a shock, to many of us raised in traditions that seemed to say that we, as humans, are mired in a human condition that makes it difficult to have a spiritual life. Growing up in an orthodox Christian setting, it seemed that the whole point of spirituality and prayer was to prevent me from succumbing to my human tendencies — whatever they were. Remember hearing about the "sins of the flesh?" In second grade, I wondered what in the world the priest was talking about. But by high school... okay, got that one!
And what tools were we given to counter this troublesome humanness? Why, prayer, of course. Prayer was presented as the shield against wickedness. And so I prayed. Once in a while I'd speak for myself, but for the most part, my prayers were the prayers of my religion's traditions, memorized and repeated. And things seemed hunky dory in grade school. A little shaky in high school, but still okay. But by the time I got to college, my prayers stopped working. I didn't feel protected or shielded or connected. Truth is I didn't feel anything. And so, like hundreds of thousands of other young adults, I stopped praying.
In my forties, I felt an overwhelming urge to rekindle a spiritual life. Like a salmon heading upstream or an osprey returning to the same nest spring after spring, I just had to do it. The birth of my son at 41 was the catalyst. And I responded mightily. I read books on spirituality and prayer. I listened to recordings of great spiritual teachers of all stripes. I explored different spiritual practices. I attended workshops.
It was in a workshop that I first heard Teilhard de Chardin's famous quote: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Bowl me over! That was news to me. All along I thought we were sin-filled humans trying desperately to become more spiritual so we could connect with the divine.
I thought it was our very humanity that prevented us from achieving our spiritual potential. And, after we died, our soul would shed this human body and we'd finally be complete and happy with God. Okay, that's a simplified grade school version, but that's the essence of what my grandparents, parents, siblings, and peers were taught. And, most likely, what you were taught.
So, wait a minute. If we are really spiritual beings attempting to live human lives, then the key to our spiritual communication — a.k.a. prayer — lies in the spiritual realm which is governed by spiritual law. Well, what, pray tell, is that?
Remember Einstein's theory: E=mc2. (Energy = mass times the speed of light squared.) No one has disproved it, and Einstein was, after all, seeking "to know the thoughts of God," so let's start there. I'm no quantum physicist, but everything I've read and heard sounds like Einstein and all of modern physics is saying: It's all energy. We are energy. Tables and chairs are energy. Look deep into the subatomic structure of a rock and you'll see nothing but energy.
At our core we are a mass of vibrating energy. Neurobiologists tell us that when we think a thought, little zips of energy leap across synapses in the brain producing what look like minuscule fields of lightening.
When you think a thought or say a word, you initiate energy, creating an energetic field — a magnet — that basically says, "This is me. This is what I believe." If your thoughts or words are negative, you become a magnet attracting more of the same negative energy. If your thoughts are full of fear, you attract more fear. We are little spiritual magnets creating and attracting energy. So, if you want your prayers to be effective, be careful, very careful, what you say.
Are you worried about finances? Then, don't pray from a place of fear about money. Instead, think of yourself as an energetic magnet for what you really want — abundance — and state your prayer in the positive. Instead of praying something like, "Please, dear God, we don't have enough money and I can't pay the bills," substitute something like, "I am a child of the all-loving God who protects and supports me and my family always."
Worried about a relationship? Shift your old prayers that probably sounded something like, "Please, dear God, make Tom come back to me," (which not only confirms that Tom is not with you, but also asks God to fill the role of hit man forcing people to change their behavior) to "I am with my perfect partner and there is peace and joy in my world." Can you hear the difference? Can you imagine the different energy the positive prayers would produce over the negative prayers?
Think back to your typical prayers. When you prayed were you creating a negative magnet or a positive one? Where you praying for the good thing, or expressing fear of the bad thing? It's instinct when we are fearful to repeat our fear. It takes vigilance to catch ourselves praying negatively and conscious effort to translate our words into the positive thing we want. Try for one day — just one day — to stop any negative thoughts or words.
You'll be lucky if you make it through the first ten minutes of the day. It's an astonishing exercise. And just think, if we are a mass of vibrating energy, and every thought or word is a prayer, how many negative prayers do we send out compared to the few conscious attempts be a prayer magnet for the peace, love, prosperity, and joy we really want? The answer is probably 90 percent negative to 10 percent positive. And we wonder why our prayers are not effective!
Promise yourself for one week to consciously shift your energy and thoughts to reflect the glorious life you truly want. Once you begin this kind of prayer practice, you will, over time, find yourself changing your daily thoughts and words. You will become a positive magnet for all the good God has in store for you. And you'll discover what was true all along: You had only to ask. The difference is, you now know a better way to ask.
(Next week: Where is prayer: in your heart or your mind?)
— — —
Janet Conner, S.E. (Spiritual Explorer), is an expert on the power of practical spirituality to heal your broken heart and transform your world. She is the cartographer of the map of spiritual healing and author of the seven travel guides in the Spiritual Geographyseries. In addition to divine dialogue, she welcomes human conversation at {email janetconner@tampabay.rr.com}janetconner@tampabay.rr.com{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Janet Conner
— — —
UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum is a big tent for all expressions
of faith and spirituality, neither excluding nor favoring any.
All opinions expressed belong to the writer alone, and are
not necessarily shared by UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum.
And what tools were we given to counter this troublesome humanness? Why, prayer, of course. Prayer was presented as the shield against wickedness. And so I prayed. Once in a while I'd speak for myself, but for the most part, my prayers were the prayers of my religion's traditions, memorized and repeated. And things seemed hunky dory in grade school. A little shaky in high school, but still okay. But by the time I got to college, my prayers stopped working. I didn't feel protected or shielded or connected. Truth is I didn't feel anything. And so, like hundreds of thousands of other young adults, I stopped praying.
In my forties, I felt an overwhelming urge to rekindle a spiritual life. Like a salmon heading upstream or an osprey returning to the same nest spring after spring, I just had to do it. The birth of my son at 41 was the catalyst. And I responded mightily. I read books on spirituality and prayer. I listened to recordings of great spiritual teachers of all stripes. I explored different spiritual practices. I attended workshops.
It was in a workshop that I first heard Teilhard de Chardin's famous quote: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Bowl me over! That was news to me. All along I thought we were sin-filled humans trying desperately to become more spiritual so we could connect with the divine.
I thought it was our very humanity that prevented us from achieving our spiritual potential. And, after we died, our soul would shed this human body and we'd finally be complete and happy with God. Okay, that's a simplified grade school version, but that's the essence of what my grandparents, parents, siblings, and peers were taught. And, most likely, what you were taught.
So, wait a minute. If we are really spiritual beings attempting to live human lives, then the key to our spiritual communication — a.k.a. prayer — lies in the spiritual realm which is governed by spiritual law. Well, what, pray tell, is that?
Remember Einstein's theory: E=mc2. (Energy = mass times the speed of light squared.) No one has disproved it, and Einstein was, after all, seeking "to know the thoughts of God," so let's start there. I'm no quantum physicist, but everything I've read and heard sounds like Einstein and all of modern physics is saying: It's all energy. We are energy. Tables and chairs are energy. Look deep into the subatomic structure of a rock and you'll see nothing but energy.
At our core we are a mass of vibrating energy. Neurobiologists tell us that when we think a thought, little zips of energy leap across synapses in the brain producing what look like minuscule fields of lightening.
When you think a thought or say a word, you initiate energy, creating an energetic field — a magnet — that basically says, "This is me. This is what I believe." If your thoughts or words are negative, you become a magnet attracting more of the same negative energy. If your thoughts are full of fear, you attract more fear. We are little spiritual magnets creating and attracting energy. So, if you want your prayers to be effective, be careful, very careful, what you say.
Are you worried about finances? Then, don't pray from a place of fear about money. Instead, think of yourself as an energetic magnet for what you really want — abundance — and state your prayer in the positive. Instead of praying something like, "Please, dear God, we don't have enough money and I can't pay the bills," substitute something like, "I am a child of the all-loving God who protects and supports me and my family always."
Worried about a relationship? Shift your old prayers that probably sounded something like, "Please, dear God, make Tom come back to me," (which not only confirms that Tom is not with you, but also asks God to fill the role of hit man forcing people to change their behavior) to "I am with my perfect partner and there is peace and joy in my world." Can you hear the difference? Can you imagine the different energy the positive prayers would produce over the negative prayers?
Think back to your typical prayers. When you prayed were you creating a negative magnet or a positive one? Where you praying for the good thing, or expressing fear of the bad thing? It's instinct when we are fearful to repeat our fear. It takes vigilance to catch ourselves praying negatively and conscious effort to translate our words into the positive thing we want. Try for one day — just one day — to stop any negative thoughts or words.
You'll be lucky if you make it through the first ten minutes of the day. It's an astonishing exercise. And just think, if we are a mass of vibrating energy, and every thought or word is a prayer, how many negative prayers do we send out compared to the few conscious attempts be a prayer magnet for the peace, love, prosperity, and joy we really want? The answer is probably 90 percent negative to 10 percent positive. And we wonder why our prayers are not effective!
Promise yourself for one week to consciously shift your energy and thoughts to reflect the glorious life you truly want. Once you begin this kind of prayer practice, you will, over time, find yourself changing your daily thoughts and words. You will become a positive magnet for all the good God has in store for you. And you'll discover what was true all along: You had only to ask. The difference is, you now know a better way to ask.
(Next week: Where is prayer: in your heart or your mind?)
— — —
Janet Conner, S.E. (Spiritual Explorer), is an expert on the power of practical spirituality to heal your broken heart and transform your world. She is the cartographer of the map of spiritual healing and author of the seven travel guides in the Spiritual Geographyseries. In addition to divine dialogue, she welcomes human conversation at {email janetconner@tampabay.rr.com}janetconner@tampabay.rr.com{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Janet Conner
UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum is a big tent for all expressions
of faith and spirituality, neither excluding nor favoring any.
All opinions expressed belong to the writer alone, and are
not necessarily shared by UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum.