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For the last few weeks, The
77% Weekly has featured the homespun and
wonderful Simple
Prayers that my friend Larry wrote. [Thank
you, thank you,
thank you, Larry — Brian.]
Fittingly, I’d like to share with you a little of
what I know about prayer and then give you some
simple, straightforward directions on how to pray.
A few notes on
prayer:
- There are actually fewer rules than you
might have presupposed with regard to prayer.
- Prayer isn’t always about
asking.
- Prayer can be about gratitude or
just having some honest time with (the) God (of your
understanding).
- Real prayer effects the
pray-er. (You don’t have to believe in an external,
active diety to pray — really.)
- You don’t even have to like your prayer
when you are done with it.
How to pray:
- Start out by naming God with whatever name
you want to use to identify that which cannot be
named: “Higher Power,” “HaShem,” “Jesus,” “Allah,”
“Jevovah,” “Tao,” “Mother,” etc. (You don’t have to
always use the same
one.)
- Pause.
- Send your active mind
to do a quick survey of how you feel, give some
attention to your physical body, your thoughts, and
your emotions.
- Breathe.
- Repeat the
name you’ve chosen for God.
- Let go of your
inner critic and just allow yourself to start
talking either aloud or in your
heart.
- Pause.
- Breathe.
- Optional:
say, “Amen.” (Amen comes from
the Hebrew root word for “faith.” It is customarily
said as an expression of
concurrence.)
The first time you do
this — if this is not something that you are used to
doing — it will feel awkward. But, as they say about
push-ups, “You only get good at ’em by doing ’em.”
The idea of directly addressing God felt like an
anathema to me for years. And, I will tell you that
when I’m “alone” and do so, I still feel goofy.
Larry’s Simple Prayers really inspired me.
And now, I’m praying — not rote Hebrew prayers, but
improvised, heart-felt prayers — more than ever before.
And, so, fittingly, let me conclude this issue of The
77% Weekly with a prayer:
God.
Thank you.
Thank you for all the many blessings in my life.
Thank you for my wife and my son.
Thank you for being with me on this journey — in my
life as a while and in this somewhat eclectic
ministry.
I’m really happy these days.
That’s it.
Thanks again.
Brian
With love,
![](http://www.religion-outside-the-box.com/Images/Rabbi
%20Brian%20Name%20Written.jpg)
Rabbi Brian
And, if you care to, click here
to see comments on
the streetprophets
site where this article went up last week.
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