Spring Cleaning

The Pause that Refreshes
This week our spiritual practice is prayer, and discovering what living a prayerful life can mean to each of us individually. In examining prayer, it’s important we consider a basic truth about life. For instance, mind creates what it contemplates. Mind creates what it contemplates? The old Unity phrase is “thoughts held in mind produce after their kind.” Well, almost nearly but not quite hardly. When Emerson was asked, “what is prayer”? he responded, “Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view.” That’s an important point but it’s missing something.

Have you ever been handed “the diagnosis?” Some examples might be, “you have cancer,” or, “your grades are not good enough for you to graduate,” or perhaps, “I’m really sorry but I’m not happy. I want a divorce.” Maybe the worst one of all is, “I have some bad news about your kid.” Facing devastating news like this leaves most of us unable to pray in any way other than “Oh, God, please, no!” That is a kind of prayer which focuses on life from the scariest point of view, which is not only less than useful, it can actually be destructive, and I’ll tell you why. “Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind” is only half the formula. The other half of the formula resides in two words, “with feeling.” The sacred marriage of mind and heart, thought and feeling, must take place for prayer to be effective.

Now here is the gift. When we receive “the diagnosis” our loving Creator protects us from manifesting the worst of our fears by sending an angel with numbing juice for our minds. We can’t pray. Our feelings may be running wild and contemplating the worst, but we lose the ability to marry mind and heart, thought and feeling. We can’t even think clearly. How many of us can focus on the highest point of view when faced with a child in trouble or devastation in our relationship? Our answer comes from two directions. The first is to surround ourselves with a trusted circle who can hold a vision of the highest outcome and who will pray with us and for us. Hopefully that circle is a part of our lives before we need it, and never forget the rest of the circle needs us as well.

The second is, in the words of early New Thought leaders, to be “prayed up.” Fill your spiritual tank with your prayer practices when life is calm and you can use your mind for visioning and your heart for filling the vision with love and delight. You wouldn’t attempt a coast to coast trip without putting gas in your car. Please don’t attempt life without gassing up your soul! But we’re all so busy! Where will the time come from? It takes no more time than is required to breathe if you are present in the moment.

As you button your shirt in the morning, use that time to deliberately connect mind and heart, then, reach for Spirit. Waiting for a traffic light or an elevator, holding on the phone, waiting for the microwave to heat your cup of water, standing in line anywhere…..you get the idea. Pause and connect. Pause and connect. Learn to use the time you usually spend on what I call the mindless merry-go-round and create a power pause. You will be amazed at the strength and serenity you will possess when life challenges you. Get prayed up while building your trusted circle of prayer partners, then when life throws you a steep uphill challenge, as it will, you will have the gas to make it.