Prayer is an art. More than reciting words, it is a way to open the heart and connect to the vast unconscious, omnipotent connected intention. Feelings of love and compassion are the key to open the vast book of faith that is the unconscious. In fact prayer begins when we hold the feeling of love in the heart.
I’d like to talk about St. Judes, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, who loved him greatly. He was not Jude the betrayer. St Judes is the patron saint of Hope. He is called upon in times of hopelessness and great misery. He is one of the guardians of Syria. At this time of great peril, I believe St. Jude is watching over us. A few days ago while in a deep meditation, I saw a man standing in front of me. In front of him stood Jesus Christ. He was covered in a spiritual light. He said, ‘I am here to help, my name is St. Jude.’ That experience inspired me to write this piece.
At the time I didn’t understand completely. I remembered the Syrian refugees and wondered if he was here to help us cope with the terrible tragedy of his homeland. Over the next few days, why he was here became clearer. His message, which I am conveying through this blog, is to have hope and continue to pray.
St Jude is often shown to have a picture of Jesus Christ on his heart and a holy fire/spirit above his heart. Holy fire is divine spiritual energy. In this way he symbolizes and teaches us all how to pray.
1. Step One: Clear the heart of everything but love. Imagine all fear leaving your body. Breathe in and out as many times as you can to relax completely. (If this is a problem, some instruction and help on learning to relax or meditate guidance can help. )
2. Whatever your belief system, anyone can focus on love. Love of divine, for example. Religious people can use prayers of their faith. It is advisable to use that which opens and fills the heart with love. Other people can focus on feeling love for anything. Breathe deeply to open the heart to receive what is to follow.
2. Step Two: Imagine or sense a connection on top of your head, almost like a pipeline that goes straight to source.
3. Send your prayer, imagine it going up and out of your head like a shower of light.
Guidelines for prayer:
Step one:
a. Gratitude. Can you think of three things you are grateful for and say thanks for?. When you fill your heart with love, also speak or think of 3 wonderful blessings.
b. When you pray do not ask for negative. For example, don’t phrase your prayer as ‘dear God, please don’t do that!’ Instead ask for what YOU truly /want/ to happen. Take time to write your prayer before beginning. An excellent prayer when you are practicing how to pray can be, “may so and so be blessed’, ‘may I be blessed.’ ‘May I find happiness in my personal life’. Leaving the how, where and what to Source is a wise idea when you are learning to understand the scope of yourself–which is quite an infinitude.
We may want to control the what, why, when and how…but prayer is more about trusting and less about controlling. If you can trust, you may find MORE insight and guidance coming back to you than if you did not trust.
c. Let go by saying thank you. If you let go, you may actually feel a light travel down your head and fill your aura. This is a sign of divine grace. Hold your hands with the intention to receive guidance.
d. Protect yourself. Some cultures actually blow air in their aura. You can also see yourself surrounded by a bubble of light that heals and protects you from negative energy.
Do this as often as you want, especially during hard or difficult or hopeless situations. You can use these guidelines with any belief system or faith. Just know that at this time, no matter how tough things are, positive energy is here to help guide us.
May you be blessed.
Prayer: May all who read be inspired to have hope and heal the suffering in our hearts. Our positive energy will shift our consciousness towards ascension. I pray to divine source and ask for help from the divine. (This is a FEELING. INTENTION is an action of ‘feeling plus thought’ and it is most important here).
In difficult times, sometimes the emotions may be raw. Therefore please be gentle with yourself. Allow yourself to be kind to yourself.
*special thanks to ‘The Energy of Prayer’ –Thich Naht Hahn
**special thank you to the great abrahamic religions who also teach prayer
