Tips On Prayer

                The purpose of prayer ...is not to influence God to grant you special favors,

                but rather to remind yourself that you are always connected to God.

                                                       -Dr. Wayne W. Dyer 

Being raised Catholic and going to an all girls school at a young age with the nuns, I have always had a close personal relationship with prayer, and with a God of my own understanding. I often walked to church, on my own as a little girl, to commune with God and get some time away from my nine siblings, and the mayhem that accompanied such a large family. 

Fast forward to the early nineties when I began a strict regime of prayer, meditation, and daily yoga, I got deeper and deeper into studying many paths. I loved reading about Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Muslim, and New Age ideas.

I collected some wonderful tips on how to pray along the way and would love to share them with you!

First of all, I would read some meditation books every morning that would create beautiful insight for me.

Then, I proceed to write a letter to God to empty my mind of fears, regrets, insecurities, resentments, and guilt. I would look at what my part is in the negative feeling, and then see if there is any action I need to take to make the wrong, right. I would erase the negative and replace it with faith and belief that the Universe has my back. After that, I write down three things that I “did well” the day before, three things that I am grateful for now, and three things that I surrender to the Universe.

   Secondly, I close my eyes and begin to meditate. If my mind is busy, I would do Japa meditation and begin to quietly chant the word “God” in my mind. If my mind is not busy, I begin to sink down into this beautifully, soulful, and eventually silent meditation that created deep intimacy with God.

   Thirdly, if I am praying for someone. I play the end game. I see this person already healed, happy, or serene from the end. I'll give you an example. When my son was a toddler he never liked to be touched. So in my prayer I would imagine him embracing me with such deep affection. Well, after three months of prayer he would constantly ask for a hug and today is known to ask for three or four hugs a day!

   Finally, there are a few other tips that have been helpful along the way. When I pray, I pray soft.... not hard. I want to pray using faith not fear. Also, remembering not to pray like a parrot, reciting prayers over and over without emotion or enthusiasm can become rote or meaningless. When praying, mix it up a bit and have fun. When we're having fun the ego is less likely to get involved in the process. Being joyful, light, and fun in prayer is a beautiful reflection that God, Higher Power, Universe or whatever you want to call it working through us in magnificent ways