Time

Time is not the way we think it is. The seconds fly by and you cant get them back. There are days and years and even precious minuets in the future but  we cant access them until they are in the present.  That is the way we view time. But time is not as set or as linear as we would like to think. Sometimes God lets us step in to time and see it as he does. Always before His face is the time of man. He sees all the future, present, and past. God has promised us all that he has- this includes a eternal view of time.  Christ understood this concept as well as many of the prophets.  Lets  take a look at a few scriptures shall we?

John 16 :33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Notice that this is when Jesus is talking to his disciples in the upper room before the atonement.  The atonement has not happened yet but he speaks as though it has been done already.  Keep your eyes open there are several times when this is done in the scriptures.  We find this kind of  futuristic talk in the Book of Mormon as well.
2 Nephi 1: 5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed.

 Remember that at this point Lehi is still in the desert outside of Jerusalem.  He is speaking as though he was already there. He recognizes that  these blessings  will/ have come to pass.
The Nephites also  view Christs atonement in this manner. They look forward to it as if it had already happened.  There is much we can learn from this attitude.

When we do energy work (Energy Healing) God permits us to do wonderful things with time. We can go back and fix some things, we can  reach into the future for healing and understanding, we can pause the present situations and pray for more guidance before we continue.  Using these time manipulates has changed the way I pray.
Gratitude
Instead of only being grateful for things God has already blessed me with in my past I can thank him for blessings  that are coming for knowledge that is on its way, and like Lehi when I word it in the past tense is shows faith.  So I try to be thankful for the help that will come and speaking of it in the past tense. Since this isnt the way we usually do this lets have an example. We would normally say something like this.
Please Father in Heaven, Help me:
Find my keys
feel the spirit
feel better or get better soon

Lets apply the lesson from Lehi and  change our pleas to expressions of Gratitude  for blessings not yet realized in the present.
Thank you Father in Heaven For helping me find my keys in a timely manner and knowing where to look for them.
Great God of Heaven, Thank you! Thank you, for the measure of the spirit I feel and will continue to feel in my life. And for helping me to know the changes I have made and will make that help me feel the Holy Spirit strongly in my life.
Divine and Master Healer, Thank you for healing me and helping me to over come my sickness. Thank you Father for my wonderful body that is capable of healing, growing, and creating.

It is good to ask for the things we need and we are encouraged to do so. But I have also  felt power in thanking Heavenly Father for blessings that have not come to pass but talking about them as if they had.
Time is not linear anyway so in a way God already HAS blessed us with those blessings  and one can never say thank you too early. 

Are you my Conscious?

Have you ever had the problem where your head and your heart dont agree?  When that happens which do you listen to? Who is right? Is  it better to judge things with the  heart and feeling or with the mind an logic?
Those are all great questions and the answer for you might be different depending on the situation. But read this  quote by  Tony De Mello and see what you think.

"People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is actually done by the heart, which first dictates the conclusion, then commands the head to provide the reasoning that will defend it."

If you have meditated for a while or done any amount of energy work this doesn't surprise you much because you know where your consciousnesses lives.  If you dont know, I mean really KNOW where your consciousness lives  take a min and find it.
Take three slow deep breaths.
Sit in  a royal stature (situp strait with shoulders back and  neck long,  you can smile if you want.)
Continue to breathe in and out slowly and deeply and ask yourself.  Where is my consciousness? Where does it live in my body? If you are good at "seeing things"  your consciousnesses looks like a small ball of light.  If you are like most people you will find that  this ball of energy, this light, your conscious does not live in the area of your head but at your heart.

 Side note....I love the part of Finding Nemo when they are in the dark abyss and Dorie asks Marlin  "Are you my Conscious?"

 As you read the scriptures pay attention to references of the heart... there are a TON of them.

Here are a few
  1 Kgs. 3:9-12 The Lord appears to Solomon and promises him a wise and an understanding heart

Proverbs 3:5  ¶Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

So if you are listening with your heart and understanding with your heart  you are paying attention to your conscious. We dont lean unto our own understanding (the mind) but we do what our heart guides us to do.
This is really important when it comes to listening to the spirit. Because the spirit also lives in our hearts.  Check out   D&C8:2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. 
This is great as long as we are doing our best to  listen to the spirit and be close to God. However the Holy Ghost is not the only thing that likes to dwell in the hearts of men.  We read  in Mosiah 3 :6 "And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men."
The devil knows that if he can block our hearts, put up walls around them, (Read about Heart Walls Here) fill them full of fear or possess them all together that our hearts will not work as they should.  The heart and its right to communicate the  promptings of the Holy spirit that dwells there in will fail in its responsibility if Satin and his devils are dwelling  there.  This gives new light to the scritpure found in   D&C 45:26  26 And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth.

In conclusion. Listen to your conscious so that the Holy Ghost which dwells there can  speak to your heart and mind. Keep your heart pure and free from the evil that seeks to inhabit  it. Our hearts will fail in their purpose if we dont make them pureand a place where the Spirit can  dwell in us.

Ways to do just that
Repent
Cast out Devils Demons  heart walls and other things that block the spirit
Be humble and keep your heart soft
Regular practice of Meditation
Yoga for the  4th chakra 
Fasting with intent
Reading the scriptures
Act on promptings even when they dont make sense to your head.
Do anything that helps the Holy Ghost burn in your heart regularly.

Ra Ma Da Sa - and the woman with the issue of blood

Ra Ma Da Sa
Siri Gaitri Mantra, also called the healing mantra or, Ra Ma Da Sa, Sa Say So Hung  is the  is the mantra for the sacred healing meditation first taught in the Summer of 1973.

Here is what the 3HO website has on it. 
 It was also practiced at every White Tantric Yoga® Course for the Mahan Tantric, Yogi Bhajan.This healing meditation is used to pray for healing energy for our friends, family, and ourselves.
Kundalini Yoga practitioners have been using this meditation for the last four decades and I encourage you to try it when you want to send healing energy to a loved one or even to yourself.

Practicing the mudra and the mantra properly will optimize the energy flow and will make this meditation all the more potent.
Posture: Sit in Easy Pose (sitting on the floor, with legs crossed) or in a chair with feet planted firmly on the ground, with the spine straight, and a light Neck Lock applied (chin pulled back slightly).

Mudra:  see my notes for other mudras. The mudra (hand position) is most important. The elbows are bent down by the sides, and are tucked comfortably but firmly against the ribs. The forearms are almost perpendicular to the floor, with the hands extended out at a 45 degree angle from the center of the body. Most importantly, the palms are perfectly flat, facing up, hands bent back at the wrists. You should feel a pull in the lowest part of your forearm as you almost hyper-extend your wrist to make the palms flat. (This tends to be the most challenging part of the meditation so it is important not to let the hands relax out of the position.) The fingers are kept side by side, except that the thumb is spread from the other four fingers.
Eyes: Eyes are closed.
Mantra: This mantra consists of 8 basic sounds:
Ra Ma Da Sa, Sa Say So Hung

This mantra taps into the energies of the sun, moon, earth, and the Infinite Spirit to bring deep healing. It is important to pull the navel point powerfully on the word Hung. Note that the word Hung is not long and drawn out. Rather, it is clipped off forcefully as you pull in the navel. Chant one complete cycle of the entire mantra with each breath. Then deeply inhale and repeat. Remember to move the mouth precisely with each sound. Try to feel the resonance in the mouth and in the sinus area.
Mental Focus: You can choose to mentally visualize the person or persons that you are wanting to heal, as you send this energy to them for their well­-being.
Time: Continue chanting for 11 to 31 minutes.
To End: To end the meditation, inhale deeply and hold the breath, as you offer a healing prayer. Visualize the person you wish to heal as being totally healthy, radiant, and strong. See the person completely engulfed in a healing white light and completely healed. Then exhale and inhale deeply again, hold the breath, and offer the same prayer again. Exhale, inhale, and hold, repeat the prayer, and exhale.
To complete, inhale deeply, stretch your arms up high, and vigorously shake out your hands and fingers for several seconds. Keep the arms up and hands shaking as you exhale. Repeat two more times and relax.
© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan 1

Translation:
Ra means the sun and connecting with that frequency gives you energy.
Ma means the moon and it aligns you with receptivity.
Da is the the energy of the Earth, grounding you in your roots.
Sa is Infinity and as you chant this, your energy rises upwards and outwards drawing in the healing the the Universe.
When you chant Sa a second time, you pull the energy of Infinity into you.
Say is a way of honoring the all-encompassing Thou.  It is personal, like a loving name for God.
So is a vibration of merger.
Hung is the Infinite, the vibrating real.  It is the essence of creation.  (So Hung together means, I am Thou.)2

D&C 88:7-13 Is a cool comparison to this mantra.

This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God.

Note:
There is more than one mudra for this meditation.  You can do it as outlined above, If you have several people  there you can sit in a circle and place the person to be healed in the middle of the circle either mentally or physically they can sit or lay in the circle and  reap the benefits of the meditation.  Or you can do it this way. 
 Sit in easy pose.  The right arm is bent at the elbow the hand is up by your shoulder with the palm forward  with fingers and thumb close together. Put your left hand on your navel point.

 

Here is my teacher  isn't she lovely?
This is the starting position.  Start here at RA and the slowly in time with the mantra move your arm until it is strait and your fingers, and palm, and arm are level with the floor.

 When you say HUNG   the wrist bends  leveling out your arm in to one strait line  and is the last part of this motion. After Hung bring the arm back to the starting position as you inhale. 3

I did a 40 day Ra Ma Da Sa  with the intention of healing my daughters heart problems.  I also  tried to  heal myseIf. Usually envision things I dont want in my life or things I'm trying to get rid of, ailments, attitudes, thoughts, habits and so on. One day instead of envisioning pushing these things away with my hand, instead I pictured Christ as he suffered in Gethsemane and instead of pushing out all these bad unwanted things with my hand I reached out to him. Like the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48) I reached out to touch him and to have him heal me. I cried through most of the 11 min mediation. Much more powerful for me to reach out for his blessings and healing that come through the power of the atonement than it was to be trying to shove all my problems and inadequacy and ailments out of my life.

The armor of GOD

Here is a guest post

I share Yvonne Withers Russell post on  here with her permission. I will add my thoughts and ideas on a different post called "The Armor Of God Meditation- time with Heavenly Mother."   I just love her line of thought here. She is teaching in UT  so if you live in the area check her out. http://www.energyhealingconference.com/classes.html  and This liberatinglight.com is the website for her energy healing  practice.

On Sunday in Gospel Doctrine we were discussing putting on the Armor of God. I started to realize that each piece of the armor of God protects certain chakras AND that the type of spiritual armor becomes MORE significant when you understand what each chakra influences in your life. I never quite understood the traits/qualities/principles used to protect each body part in this lesson until this past Sunday.
Loins girt about with truth.
*This piece of armor protects the base and sacral chakras. A balanced Base Chakra gives you a sense of security, stability and a feeling of a balanced existence. Truth protects our sense of security, stability and of feeling balanced. The sacral chakra is your pro-creative powers, your ability to co-create children and it also represents your posterity. Truth protects our posterity. When we can recognize the lies we have believed about ourselves and others and instead accept the truth into our lives, we shed the false traditions of our fathers and protect our children from false and limiting beliefs.
Breastplate of righteousness.
 * This piece of armor protects the Solar Plexus (personal power) and the Heart chakras. When we protect our Solar Plexus chakra with righteousness, we do not exercise unrighteous dominion or control over other people. When we protect our Heart chakra with righteousness we increase our ability to have unconditional love for others. Doctrine & Covenants 121: 34-46 comes to mind and a re-reading of those scriptures with an understanding of these two chakras is really insightful.
Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
 *Carol Tuttle teaches in her Chakra 7 series that there is actually an 8th chakra that isn't directly on our physical body. It's purpose is to help us follow through or see our ideas to completion, manifest what we want, and to keep us grounded during meditation or other spiritual pursuits so we don't lose focus.
Preparation of gospel of peace
* This protects our foot chakra by helping us identify clearly the direction we should take in life so that can see our inspired ideas to completion, manifest what we want (a true Zion society fulfills not only needs but also wants), and help us develop the focus needed to meditate or pray.
Shield of faith.

 *Roman soldier armor does not have a piece of armor that covers the throat. And so it is with the Shield of Faith that we need to protect our Throat Chakra. The Throat Chakra is linked to our ears, and our ability to hear – both physically and intuitively. It is linked with understanding and being understood.
Our throat chakra is also a gateway or bridge between our psychological and spiritual selves. Our lower chakras represent our physical body (first chakra), emotional body (second chakra), mental body (third chakra), and relational self (heart chakra). Our third eye and crown chakra are linked to our intuitive, occult, and spiritual levels of being. Our throat chakra serves as the bridge between these two groups of chakras, just as our neck bridges our torso and head. When it is blocked we may feel as if we can not integrate spiritual experiences and insights into our daily awareness. For example, we may feel peaceful, calm, and wise within meditation or prayer, but not experience an increase in these feelings when we are off our meditation cushion or away from a house of worship. It is through exercising faith and sharing our testimony that we hope to be understood by those not of our similar religious beliefs. It is through faith that we gain understanding of all eternal truths. It is through exercising faith that we create spiritual experiences throughout our daily lives.
Helmet of salvation.
 *The helmet protects the Brow/Third Eye chakra and the Crown chakra. The Brow/Third Eye chakra is responsible for our intuition, or our ability to listen and heed the still, small, voice. The Crown chakra is our conduit to Heavenly Father. By protecting these two chakras with "Salvation" or through the Atonement of Christ, we can ensure that we are our lines of communication to and from the Godhead does not become infiltrated or corrupted by Satan's counterfeits.
Sword of God’s Spirit and His word through revelation. This does not directly "protect" our individual chakras, but by the Spirit and His word through revelation, we are better able to support each other. An enemy that is charging at my neighbor on the battlefield can be stopped by the sword I wield as I rely on the Spirit and God's word through revelation.


Watch  Carol Tuttle's  Chakra 7 series mentioned above  HERE

Connections

One day  I heard about a sister in my ward whose husband was deployed for the first time leaving her home with her two  young sons.  The news came that her mother had died.  I just ached for her.  I wanted to scoop her up, and  let her cry, and  bear her burdens with her. But  I  didn't know her well

enough and  all though I would have had no problems doing this I felt like with her personality she would not feel comforted but more uncomfortable because we were not close at all. I did everything I could for her ... gave her a long hug at church, placed her name on the temple prayer roll, prayed for her night and day. My thoughts were always with her.   After asking God how I could best help her and bear her burden and make it light and mourn with her in a meaningful, way the way we covenanted to to when we are baptized. (see Mosiah 18: 8-9) He taught me about  connections.
 Here is a bit of background on connections. When you are doing Energy Work for someone you are connected.  In fact you can with permission of the other person assume that persons energy for a while to help you do you work and muscle test in their behalf.
Because I knew a little bit about energetic connections  God was able to teach me about  certain connections that we can pray for. Here are my notes from that night

Energy Work Connection

This is a connection established with God or Christ as the center link in the connection. I am connected to Christ and  then Christ is connected to the person I want to heal. All healing and questions are transmitted through the center link. I know this is not the way every one does it, but it is the way I prefer to do it.  I know that God and Christ know the answers I need even better than the patients subconscious  does so I  ask for God or Christ to be the connecting link when I work with others.
This connection should be severed or  broken when done.

The Comforting Connection
  This is different than your typical healing energy connection in that it is not a two way connection. When you pray and ask Heavenly Father to give you a comforting connection to a person, you are connected to them, but they are not connected to you.  This connection is  temporary and only sends your  comfort and love and allows you to mourn with those who mourn and  comfort them. The connection breaks at night  when the giver is  asleep and therefore must be prayed for every day that you want to send love and comfort. You can also send out  this connection to more than one person at a time. I will interject a little caution here though. This  does pull from your energy so if you try to connect to too many people you will feel drained. So be prayerful and follow the spirit when you make this  connection.
I made this connection with this sister every day for weeks.  Some days  I could feel the comfort and love just being sucked out  of me. Her  FaceBook posts at the end of those days were full of discouragement and sadness with a  little  note at the end that she could feel comfort from the Lord.

A  few  days  after being told about the comforting connection  I read farther in  the Emotion Code and read this.

 "On one occasion, I had been using the Emotion Code to help a woman who lived in Cleveland. Her sister had been a patient of mine for some time at my clinic in California, and would act as proxy for her sister on occasion.
I once made the mistake of not breaking the connection between the two of them at the end of a session. The next day my patient came back to the office and said, “Something is wrong. I feel like I’m turning into my sister. I’m feeling her emotions, I think. It’s weird. Could I still be connected to her?” I immediately realized my mistake, broke the connection, and she felt like herself again. When you are finished, thank the person who has acted as proxy. To break the connection, simply have the proxy state their own name and muscle test them until they test strong. "pg 311 

 This really got me thinking about taking on energy of others and emotions and attitudes of others. I noticed when I meditate I feel like Im connecting with God or some days my savior, and I feel full  of love and light, and I am a better person. But the feelings only seem to last during meditation and they fizzle  as the day goes on.
 I had pondered on the things I had read and the things I knew and meditated on it. I then had this great idea. I wanted to be connected to Christ. An Open connection that was not severed. I wanted to  feel what he would feel for others, I wanted to see others the way he would.  I prayed about this desire of my heart and got an answer called the Christ Consciousness.

Christ Consciousness
Pray and ask Father in Heaven to  connect your consciousness with Christs. Then leave this connection  open with the intention of becoming more Christ like.  I found that when I do this I am flooded with love for myself and others. I am more patient, and I can see other peoples point of view more clearly than I could before.  I also noticed when I would lose my temper, or be judgemental or think bad thoughts about others this connection would dissolve. I would have to repent and ask to be reconnected.  This connection also only lasts for the day and needs to be asked for daily and then reinstated if broken through out the day by sin.

I then asked Heavenly Father if there were more connections out there. The answer was yes and I learned about three more  that I would like to share.

The Testimony Connection
 I have a loved one who is no longer living the gospel.  He has distanced himself  pretty far from the church and its teachings.  Sometimes I want to  take him by the shoulders and shake him and say  with all the love in my heart for him "You KNOW the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, please come back." But  that is not going to be effective. Like Alma  the Elder(Alma 27:14) I spent years praying for  him to remember the testimony that once burned inside him and be brought to the knowledge of the truth.  I know that I am stirred inside by others when they bear powerful testimony when guided by the spirit.  I also know, when guided by the spirit, my testimony has changed others and strengthened their testimony as well.  This is what God told me to pray for. A Testimony  Connection.  You ask God to make this connection to a specific person. This sends  the person the light and energy of your testimony.  I like to think of it in my mind as me standing there sharing my testimony with him all day long :) Over time this helps them remember their own testimony , and can strengthen it.  Again this is a temporary connection and will be lost once the sender falls asleep and needs to be asked for every time you want to send it.

The LOVE Connection
This one was interesting here are my notes.  The Love connection communicates love for that person. Mothers have a love connection with their children that does not need to be established each day. It is permanent from conception. This  connection is a gift from God to all mothers.  Even though fathers do not have a permanent love connection to their children they do have a permanent ( as in it does not  need to be asked for each day) connection to the mother of their children.  Wifes must ask for a connection  to their husbands and Fathers must ask for a connection to their children.  A childs love for both parents is a permanent connection.  This is not to say that  fathers love their children any less than mothers do, or that wives love their husbands less than husbands  love their wives.

Scripture Connection
When you read the scriptures ask for this connection and  you can get specific with what you want. You can ask to read between the lines or see the intent of what was  written. Ask to connect to the prophet who wrote the record.   Ask that the words connect with  your spirit, mind, and memory. Ask to connect with the past or future and see with  spiritual eyes what is/was/will happen(ing) at the time the record is being written or what the record is about.

 There are many more connections out there that we can pray for and obtain. I would  love to hear of any that you know of.
  

Jesus Savior Pilot Me

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.

Lyrics

1. Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life's tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treach'rous shoal.

Chart and compass came from thee;

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

2. As a mother stills her child,

Thou canst hush the ocean wild;

Boist'rous waves obey thy will

When thou say'st to them, "Be still!"

Wondrous Sov'reign of the sea,

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

3. When at last I near the shore,

And the fearful breakers roar

'Twixt me and the peaceful rest,

Then, while leaning on thy breast,

May I hear thee say to me,

"Fear not; I will pilot thee."

Text: Edward Hopper, 1818-1888

Music: John Edgar Gould, 1822-1875

Prayer- and how to get more out of it.

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.