In the past, I’ve written several articles on the subject of prayer. In Deep Prayer I discussed the difference between the Petitionary prayer of asking for something and an Intercessionary prayer of surrender; the prayer of faith, of Thy will be done. Adyashanti called this second kind True Prayer. It’s ideal when you’re approaching a shift and need to let go of the old.
I also explored different 5-step prayers, blending them in a hybrid 7-step process. That can be useful when starting out, to get an idea of the variables, but a big process gets cumbersome in practice. What can we best use for day-to-day living?
Last night I was at a talk by Hannelore and she mentioned a simpler way that rather blended the 2 approaches. First she illustrated that if we’re asking for what we want, the subtle energy that creates is “don’t have”. It feels contracting. She instead suggests a prayer of gratitude, of thanks for already having it. Not asking, thanking.
Hannelore asks we notice what it would be like as ‘already so’ and ‘feel’ the joy of this as already a reality. If you’re a visual person, visualize it in all its detail.
If you have trouble believing you have it, you might want to start with smaller things, like a parking spot. Hannelore also suggests starting from joy. Think about what we love, then from that place, bring in the thanks. This is critical if we want the support of the universe/nature. It is through feelings that we “feed” our support team.
Finally, release it, turn it over to the universe. This step is about letting go, about surrender and trust. if we hold on to expectations of how it should show up or when, we can get in the way of it.
so:
1 – go into joy, think about what you love
2 – prayer of thanks for what you desire, visualize in gratitude
3 – release it, let it go.
If you struggle with this, pay attention to how you feel. If you feel resistance coming up, let your attention go there and allow the feelings. Don’t go into them and don’t engage a story about them. Just allow them to be experienced directly. This will help them resolve quickly and clear the old barrier. If instead your mind is throwing up barriers, you might want to explore what aspect needs attention.
Be sure not to skip the first step. Follow your bliss. It may take a little practice if you’ve not spent much time enjoying. Like Harry Potter had to dig deep to find the feeling needed for a patronus. Coming from love & joy gives power to gratitude. This process also helps avoid the ‘dark side’ of wanting, entitlement. If the desire is driven by something other than the ‘good’, it will fall away in the light of love.
Afterwards, don’t forget to Act as-if. As the sages tell us, if you want results in the world, act in the world. By doing, we create openings for opportunities to arise. As Vasishtha tells us, there is no fate or divine dispensation. What is called fate or divine will is nothing more than the self effort of the past. All action arises from the field of action itself. Hannelore expressed this by quoting Paul J. Meyer:
“Whatever you…
Vividly imagine
Ardently desire
Sincerely believe
And enthusiastically act upon
will inevitably come to pass.”
Thanks, Hannelore
Davidya
Last Updated on April 8, 2014 by
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