Prayers and Meditations

The Call

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By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I have heard it all my life,
A voice calling a name I recognized as my own.

Sometimes it comes as a soft-bellied whisper.
Sometimes it holds an edge of urgency.

But always it says: Wake up my love. You are walking asleep.
There’s no safety in that!

Remember what you are and let this knowing take you home to the Beloved with every breath.
Hold tenderly who you are and let a deeper knowing colour the shape of your humanness.
There is nowhere to go. What you are looking for is right here.

Open the fist clenched in wanting and see what you already hold in your hand.
There is no waiting for something to happen, no point in the future to get to.

All you have ever longed for is here in this moment, right now.
You are wearing yourself out with all this searching.
Come home and rest.

How much longer can you live like this?

Your hungry spirit is gaunt, your heart stumbles. All this trying.
Give it up!

Let yourself be one of the God-mad, faithful only to the Beauty you are.
Let the Lover pull you to your
feet and hold you close, dancing even when fear urges you to sit this one out.

Remember- there is one word you are here to say with your whole being. When it finds you, give your life to it.

Don’t be tight-lipped and stingy.
Spend yourself completely on the saying.
Be one word in this great love poem we are writing together.

 

Oriah Mountain Dreamer is a Canadian writer and mystic.

Do It Anyway

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Credited to Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

 

St. Mother Teresa was an Albanian-Indian Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. 

Teach Me

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Author unknown

Teach me to treasure much
The simple things of life.
The touch of wind and snow, of rain and sun;
And when the hours of work are done,
The quietness of rest, the fair
And healing sustenance of prayer.
Help me keep a shining, singing gladness deep
Within for blessing yet to be
Through all eternity.

At the dawn of a new Millennium:
In a world of darkness, give us your light;
In lands of war and prejudice, grant us peace;
In a world of despair, give us hope;
In a world of sadness and tears, show us your joy.
In a world of hatred, show us your love:
In a world of arrogance, give us humility;
In a world of disbelief, give us faith.

Give us courage to face the challenges
of feeding the hungry clothing the naked,
housing the homeless, and healing the sick.
Give us the power to make a difference in
Your world, and to protect your creation

Prayer for a Diverse Community

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By Catholic Center for Concern’s Education for Justice

Creator of all races and ethnicities,
help us see that a diverse community is the way
to deepen our lives and to know you more deeply.

Guide us to see that entering into a vital and just relationship
with others who are different from us
is the way to make ourselves whole.

Guard us from fear of the other,
from the fear that our own security is threatened
if we become truly willing to make a place at the table for all.

Open us to live out what we profess to believe:

That our true security is in You and in your call to justice and peace,
That we are a part of your global family,
That, because of your Incarnation, the human dignity of everyone is sacred,
And that we are constantly called to conversion and inclusive community.

We pray that you help us recognize any forms of racism in our hearts,
And in our legal systems and social structures.
Forgive us our sins of exclusion.
Heal our souls and spirits.
Ground us in compassion for all through your grace.

Help us take the steps you call us to take
To build a more just community,
Where difference is respected
And where we can all join hands
And rejoice in the common good.

Through the mercy of God, we pray.

Amen.

What Shall I Render Unto God?

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By E. Hammond Oglesby

In a world divided by hatred, render love.
In a world smashed by fear, render faith.
In a world burdened by ethnic strife in eastern Europe,
Render kindness over cruelty.
In a world torn by the Wall of shame,
Render the refreshing spirit of Glasnost and perestroika.
In a world smeared with the pain of hunger and homelessness, render food and shelter.
In a world tormented by the demons of sexism and racism, render equality and liberty.
In a world cursed by apartheid,
Render the joybells of freedom.
In a world that disvalues our children,
Render protection and compassion.
In a world unsure about the future,
Render the cup of salvation;
Render the shield of faith. Pay your own vows unto the Lord.

 

E. Hammond Oglesby is a Baptist Minister, author, and professor. 

Closing Guided Imagery

eamaya1 Guided Reflections, Prayers and Meditations ,

Opening: Close your eyes. Take a restful posture and a deep breath. Let go of any tension which you may be feeling. It is important that your mind be quiet, restful and peaceful… allow images and feelings to come freely…During this meditation we will look back on some important feelings and themes from the past days.

In this guided imagery, I am going to invite you to reflect on various themes, various memories. We will reflect on these individually now and communally later.

Challenge: Can you recall an experience when your heart went out to another person? A child rejected by his peers… a lonely old woman… a disabled beggar… a desperate addict… a scene of dehumanizing poverty? What did you feel at that moment? Does this scene continue to haunt you? Have you prayed about it? Has it remained in your memory?

Loneliness: When did you feel lonely? Did you miss your family? Was there a friend you longed for? Were there birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, or deaths which accentuated your distance from what you know as “home”? When did you feel alone?

Fear: What made you fearful? What kept you awake at night and occupied your mind during the day? A particular class or relationship… conflict in community… an issue in your family or at home… something that happened over the last four months—or may happen in the future? Did you share these fears with another person, your community, or with God?

Peace: When did you feel peace? Think of a time when you experienced consolation—a feeling that: “Yes, this is the right place for me to be right now. There is no other place I would rather be in the world.”

Anger: What made you angry? An absurd situation… an argument which escalated… a strained relationship… a rude stranger? Perhaps you perceived an injustice—was it an injustice to you or to another person? When were you angry? Do you tend to keep your anger interior, or do you express it? When did you lash out at an innocent bystander or talk viciously about another person? Were you aware of this violence?

Anxiousness: When did you feel stress? How did it manifest itself? Physical tension… restlessness… obsessing… preoccupations during prayer? Was this resolved or does it remain unresolved? When were you stressed? What could this anxiety teach you about yourself?

Joy: Remember a time when you felt joy? What were the circumstances? Did you feel gratitude? How frequently do you feel content to this degree? Most days… occasionally… rarely? When did you experience joy?

Sorrow: Was there an occasion when you felt sorrow? Perhaps you hurt someone or were hurt by someone… Perhaps someone you knew was treated cruelly? How did you respond to this sadness? By journaling… walking alone… thinking… praying? When were you sad?

Friendship: Is there a person here you can call your friend? How has the friendship developed? What qualities do you find about that person? Have you become a closer friend with God? With yourself?

Courage: Can you remember a time when you acted courageously? When you stood up for another person or an important value? Perhaps, there was a courageous position to take but you realized that it wasn’t your stand to make? Were you able to step back?

Humor: What memory of our time together has brought you a good laugh? Were you able to laugh at yourself? When were you laughing?

Adventure: What types of adventure attracted you and brought you to this place? As days became more routine, did you still find “newness,” or did you resign yourself to the tedium? Did you wait for the excursions and breaks to find adventure, or were you able to find excitement in your everyday experience?

Love: Have you experienced a deepening of love and appreciation for another person… for a group of people… for God… for yourself… or life itself? How have others shown their love for you?

Closing: Take a moment to sit with these memories… Now open your eyes… with your imagination fresh with a spirit of gratitude… Spend a half hour in quiet considering these questions. Feel free to journal. We will have the opportunity to share some of these experiences as a community later today.

Adapted from closing reflection with Casa de Solidaridad, 2003

In Beauty May I Walk

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In beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.
Beautifully will I possess again.
Beautifully joyful birds.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.
With beauty may I walk.
With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me may I walk.
With beauty above me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
It is finished in beauty.

 

Prayer from the Navajo People.

Learning to See Each Other

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations

A guided mediation for closings.

This spiritual exercise is adapted from the Buddhist practice of the four Abodes: loving kindness, compassion, joy in the joy of others and equanimity. It helps us to see each other more truly and experience the depths of our interconnection.

Sit in pairs facing each other (you can mill first so that people do not feel “not chosen”). Ask people to look into each other’s eyes.

In many cultural settings, it is considered rude to look directly into another’s eyes. In high schools and colleges, sustained eye contact may provoke embarrassment. In such situations, suggest that the partners still sit facing each other, but with their eyes closed, picturing the other’s face in the mind’s eye. Then, from time to time as they wish, they can open their eyes and look at the other’s face to refresh their memory, for as long as it comfortable. Then read the following:

Face your partner with eyes closed, remaining silent. Take a couple of slow breath, centering yourself and exhaling tension.

Open your eyes in soft focus and look upon your partner’s face…. If you feel discomfort, just note it with patience and gentleness, and come back, when you can, to regard your partner. You may never see this person again; the opportunity to behold the uniqueness of this human being is given to you now.

To enter the first abode, open your awareness to the gifts and strengths that are in this being… Though you can only guess at them, there are behind those eyes unmeasured reserves of courage and intelligence… of patience, endurance, wit and wisdom… There are gifts there, of which even this person is unaware… Consider what these powers could do for the healing of our world, if they were to be believed and acted on… As you consider that, experience your desire that this person be free from fear…. Experience how much you want this being to be released as well from greed, from hatred and confusion and from the causes of suffering… Know that what you are now experiencing is the great Loving-kindness… closing your eyes now, rest into your breathing…

Opening them again, we enter the second abode… Now as you look into those eyes, let yourself become aware of the pain that is there. There are sorrows accumulated in that life, as in all human lives, though you can only guess at them. There are disappointments and failures, losses and loneliness and abuse… There are hurts beyond the telling… Let yourself open to that pain, to hurts that this person may never have told to another human being… You cannot take that pain away, but you can be with it. As you draw upon your capacity to be with your partner’s suffering, know that what you are experiencing is the great compassion. it is very good for the healing of our world…

Again we close our eyes, opening them as we enter the third abode. As you behold the person before you, consider how good it would be to work together…on a joint project, towards a common goal…. What it would be like, taking risks together…conspiring together in zest and laughter…. Celebrating the successes, consoling each other over the setbacks, forgiving each other when you make mistakes… and simply being there for each other….. As you open to that possibility, you open to the great wealth, the pleasure in each other’s powers, the joy in each other’s joy..

Now entering the fourth and last abode, your eyes open, let your awareness drop deep within you like a stone, sinking below the level of what words can express… to the deep web of relationship that underlies all experience…. It is the web of life in which you have taken being and which interweaves us through all space and time… See the being before you as if seeing the face of one who, at another time, another place, was your lover or your enemy, your parent or your child…. And now you meet again on this brink of time, almost as if by appointment…. And you know that your lives are as inextricably interwoven as nerve cells in the mind of a great being… Out of that vast web you cannot fall… No stupidity, or failure, or cowardice, can ever sever you from that living web. For that is what you are… Rest in that knowing. Rest in the Great Peace…. Out of it we can act, we can risk anything.. and let every encounter be a homecoming to our true nature.

From Coming back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World by Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown. 

Parable of the River

eamaya1 Prayers and Meditations

Once upon a time there was a small village on the edge of a river. The people there were good and life in the village was good. One day a villager noticed a baby floating down the river. The villager quickly swam out to save the baby from drowning. The next day this same villager noticed two babies in the river. He called for help, and both babies were rescued from the swift waters. And the following day four babies were seen caught in the turbulent current. And then eight, then more, and still more.

The villagers organized themselves quickly, setting up watch towers and training teams of swimmers who could resist the swift waters and rescue babies. Rescue squads were soon working 24 hours a day. And each day the number of helpless babies floating down the river increased. The villagers organized themselves efficiently. The rescue squads were now snatching many children each day. While not all the babies, now very numerous, could be saved, the villagers felt they were doing well to save as many as they could each day. Indeed, the village priest blessed them in their good work. And life in the village continued on that basis.

One day, however, someone raised the question, “But where are all these babies coming from? Who is throwing them into the river? Why? Let’s organize a team to go upstream and see who’s doing it.” The seeming logic of the elders countered: “And if we go upstream who will operate the rescue operations? We need every concerned person here.” “But don’t you see,” cried the one lone voice,” if we find out who is throwing them in, we can stop the problem and no babies will drown. By going upstream we can eliminate the cause of the problem.” “It is too risky,” said the village elders.

And so the numbers of babies increase daily. Those saved increase, but those who drown increase even more.

Of course, we need to do our part in rescuing those babies floating down the river. But we also need to take the risk of raising our voices and asking why.

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