Today I am frustrated! There is so many new things I want to learn and do but there is not time in the day or $ to spend to learn it all. I feel like a cat chasing 300 mice!
It was super windy out but the sky was clear and the sun was shining down with a warm radiance that felt like it came from heaven. I knelt down on the ground outside and shivered from the wind and began to feel the warmth of the sun as I prayed.
As I prayed I was taken to the middle of the ocean in a ship, my ship. I was at the helm looking at a range of 360 degrees of direction I could steer. Behind me was choppy sea and rocks and many things that I had just navigated through. I stood on my deck and looked up to heaven and said "I dont want to drive my boat. I dont want to steer any more." In my heart I had the feeling of knowing that God could steer my ship much better than I ever could. I knew he could, and I knew I could ask Him to take the helm. I let go of the helm and stood back waiting for God to take over.
Then Christ came.
He put his right hand on the helm and what he did next surprised me. Without saying a word he put his left hand at the small of my back and directed me to stand in front of the helm. He then took my hands and placed them on the helm and placed his pierced hands over mine. I stood for a few minutes with Him behind me helping me gently guide my ship. We sailed East towards dark clouds with lighting dancing all through them, but I felt at peace.
The vision faded I was onceagain aware of being outside in the sunshine with tears on my face. Then the words of one of my favorite hymns flooded my memory.
So Grandpa says "It's time for prayer! Everybody be reverent!"
So what happens when this is said at your house?- Well on a good day what happens? The men in the room remove their hats, everyone is quiet, the moms rush to the side of their noisy children to help keep them from ___ ( insert whatever you want here... any thing from eating the food before the blessing is said, to picking up flatware and using them as drumsticks, or talking loudly about how they have a dog that goes to the bathroom in the back yard.). OK but what else happens?
What is everyone doing? Well on a good day in your house they would be bowing their head, folding their arms, closing their eyes, and doing whatever they need to do to keep their feet still. Right? Does that sound like your house on a good day? That used to be my house too until I discovered a better way.
So did you happen to go to college and then get lucky enough to take communications class? Well lets go back to the communications basics and then we will expound from there. What did you learn? You learned about enunciating, turn taking, showing attention and interest, leaving a conversation, and other basic manners. Then they had you practice on each other Right? Well in my class they did. The teacher put us in groups and said #2 you are the speaker here is your topic ... toothbrushes. #1,3,and 4 show great interest in whatever #2 has to say. Then we would review afterwards. #2 how did you know they were interested in your toothbrush information? Then #2 said something like, They were looking at me, they were facing me, they took notes, they asked questions or gave me nods or whatever to show they were understanding me. Good! the teacher would say. Now lets do it again #3 you talk about your favorite book or movie. #1,2,4 you pretend you don't care one bit about anything she has to say. Okay #3 how did it go? What did they do that made you feel like you just didn't want to talk to them any more? Well they didn't look at me, they started talking about other things, they crossed their arms and legs and ducked their head. Right! So then you have this big discussion about open communication and closed communication body language.
We reviewed that open body language means opening the heart center or the area of the chest. Back is straight so not slouchy, hands are open, the face is not down. Check! We got it. Then we reviewed closed body language. And that is folded or crossed arms, slouchy back, tucked chin, crossed legs.
Now you know where Im going with this. Look at the poor boy in the picture above. Now most of us would say look at how relevant that is. But if you look at the nonverbal communication ... he is totally closed off. You know we as LDS members are the only people I know who pray like this. Why? It started way back in primary somewhere as a way to get kids to be still. Being still is great and I recommend it, but being reverent does not mean hugging yourself into a little ball. Being reverent means showing respect. We do this by being open and still and good listeners as a prayer is said.
Are you feeling closed off when you pray to God? Do you feel like you have open communication with him? Do you feel like you are hearing anything He has to say to you? Maybe you are closing yourself off from the communication you could be getting if you were more open when you pray.
Take a look at this and see what you think.
Now praying with your hands at prayer pose with your shoulders back and your spine straight might feel uncomfortable at first. You can also sit in receptive pose. Its like sitting criss- cross- applesauce (Indian style) but then uncross your legs so the ankles lay side by side instead of on top of each other. Sit with a straight back, and then cup your hands lay the back of your hands on your knees.
Try this one simple change in how you pray and see how it makes a difference for you. If you want open communication with God then get in an open position to talk to Him and to listen to Him.
Read more about Bowing Here
Read about becoming a living prayer or praying always below
Become a Living Prayer for the Aquarian Age
By Catalyst Yogi
"The head is a computer. The heart has the power of 108 suns. The Heart Center
is the strongest of all centers. Whenever you pray with the head, it will take
so long—you have to go through the intellect, thought, circumstance,
environment, space and time. Whenever you sing or pray from the heart, it will
be timeless, spaceless and absolutely effective." –Yogi Bhajan
In these tumultuous times on planet Earth, there are many who are suffering
and in some kind of distress and it can seem as though we are moving far from
peace. You too may be feeling a general sense of unease, or know others that
are going through extremely challenging times.
As a teacher and leader of the Aquarian Age, the most effective tool you
have to bring peace to our planet is your power of prayer. Prayer is not
begging or pleading or even asking for help. This is the ego's version of
prayer, “Get me out of this problem and I promise I will go to church every
Sunday.” The ego sees prayer as pleading with God as a savior that you need to
negotiate with in order to get yourself out of trouble.
Prayer is your divine gift to be used to help your fellow brothers and
sisters. When we pray only from our mind, it lacks ‘oomph’ because it takes a
long time to penetrate through the Maya. Bring in the frequency of the heart
and look out – your prayer has just received a rocket booster.
Prayer is a frequency of energy that is created when the heart and mind are
one. In prayer, the frequency of the heart and the thoughts from the mind are
in perfect harmony. This alignment of energy calls on the power of Grace that
does not obey the laws of time and space.
Prayer brings you to a state of Shunyia. It zeroes the ego so that your
mind, body, heart and soul are consolidated as one. That is why we bring our
hands into prayer pose when we pray. Palms come together and this connects the
left and right brain hemispheres and connects our masculine and feminine
energies. This mudra sits at the heart center at a 45 degree angle which links
the heart energy to the Infinite as well as brings our infinite and finite
selves together.
The next time you pray, zero yourself in this way by becoming an empty
receptive vessel. Feel the frequency of your heart and simply allow the words
to surface without mental force to your lips. Then send your prayer out as a
ray of love into the infinite.
Have a prayer on your lips as you move through the world. I remember being
on a bus once and people were loudly talking on their cell phones, arguing, and
the general energy was ungrounded and negative. Instead of listening to the
mental complaining of my ego and feeling powerless to the situation, I chose
something different.
I closed my eyes and went deep within and brought each person on the bus
into my heart. Then, it seemed as though my soul started to spontaneously pray
that each person be at peace. As I came closer to my stop, I opened my eyes and
it felt like a buddha bus—people were quiet, grounded and smiling.
Don't underestimate your power of prayer. Your prayers create miracles in a
hopeless world. Your prayers are a vibration of love that clears the path of
obstacles for others. Your prayers bring you to the YOU inside you—a living
prayer for the Aquarian Age.
