During all that time, I never dared to sit down to pray unless I had a book close at hand. My soul was as terrified of praying without a book as it would have been if thrown unarmed onto a raging battlefield. Books were my companions, my consolation, my shield against the explosion of thoughts.
If I didn't have a book, I would suffer from terrible aridity. THe minute I found myself without something to read, my soul would become immediately agitated and my mind would start to wander. But as soon as I started reading, the words acted like bait to lure my soul, and my thoughts began to collect themselves again.
Sometimes it was enough just to know that I had a book beside me; I didn't even have to open it.
-St. Teresa of Avila
Contrary to what some people think of as the goal of meditation or contemplation, we think and it's pretty impossible to totally EMPTY the mind of thoughts and remain conscious. On the other hand, when one goes into prayer or meditation, it quiets down the usual part of the brain that is active.
It gave me great comfort to realize that even the great mystic and saint St. Teresa struggled with intruding thoughts when she would try to pray, and that she felt she needed to have a prayer book next to her (even if she didn't open it up) just in case.
We really don't NEED anything external to have a prayer dialogue with God, but it's comforting to pray a rosary (Catholic or Protestant), to light a candle, to do something as a ritual or touchstone that places us into a contemplative space. Even so, I will find myself "zoning out" sometimes and thinking about something else in between a couple of prayers, or find myself saying the "wrong" prayer on a bead. (There are no wrong prayers, just a different one than assigned to that bead....)
So I asked the angels to speak about praying and they said:
You don't need to feel guilty about drifting off. The automatic nature of the more contemplative, rather than active, prayers, are conducive to being in a state of receptivity to God. Of course, this state of receptivity can also be akin to sleepiness, or it can lead to receptivity to your own ego mind's thoughts rather than God's thoughts.
Notice the thoughts, release them, forgive yourself and MOVE ON. Berating yourself for anything, including thinking, IS THOUGHT. And God wants you to be prayerful--not fearful about praying.
Find a practice that helps you. You can write out your prayers if it makes you more comfortable, think your prayers, read from a prayer book, pray set prayers.... there as many ways to pray as there are people. The main thing is, that GOD LOVES YOU and wants to be in relationship with you.
Prayer can be communal in a church or group setting, but it is extremely important to pray alone too. If you read the gospels in the New Testament, notice how many times Jesus goes away alone to pray. If Jesus feels a need to retreat into prayer alone, then you can feel safe in following his example.
The main thing we would like to tell you is that you can't get it wrong. Sincerely intending to connect with God, whether you reverently walk in nature and have gratitude in your heart, or memorize a liturgical prayer format, is the main thing. God is both the magnificent, ultimate, and beyond understanding--and the still, small voice within. Prayer can commune with one or both aspects of the Creator....
Pray. It can be no words, many words, sitting or standing or kneeling.... The form matters not--the heart does. Feel your prayers and you will feel God touching you, breathing you--Holy Spirit indwelling you.
***
To contact Sue to get angelic guidance, to contact your animal companions both here or beyond the veil, to schedule a shamanic healing session, or simply to say "hi" and give me some feedback on my blog,please click here to email Sue. Please go to http://budurl.com/grcn to follow my Twitter feed. My rates are in the "About Me, My Rates and What I Offer" section in the Links Section to the right of my page. Many blessings and thanks to you!
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