A Perfect Prayer

A Perfect Prayer

The complexity of the current world has created spiritual practices, philosophies and rituals that no longer honor the beautiful simplicity of a perfect prayer.

Though often guided and instructed by modern-day spiritual teachers, time has not diminished the valuable and succinct lessons of age-old Masters.

One such great teacher, who lived his teachings masterfully in his own life, is St. Benedict.

Born in 480 AD in Norcia, Italy, he spent early years learning philosophy in Rome but was discouraged by the indulgence and corruption of the city and his associates. Preferring to study the life and works of early Christian Holy Men instead, and following their example, Benedict began a life of ascetism and deep personal holiness as a reclusive, solitary monk, whose miracles of healing soon drew attention.

When other men began to follow his way of life, he established twelve communities of monks in Subiaco and finally his most famous monastery in Montecassino. His instruction to the monks was extensive and deeply spiritual; he wrote the “Rule” as a basis for all to follow on the difficult path of personal wholeness, or “Holiness”.

The following is a synopsis of instruction on prayer, taken from Benedict’s Rule:

He instructed that the aspirant first clear the mind of earthly thoughts, freeing oneself from the distractions of “World Mind”; especially with no thoughts of anger toward another, as this emotion disturbs prayer.

With the mind focused on the perfection of God, the goal is a constant and uninterrupted tranquility of mind and a perpetual purity of thought (as much as human frailty allows).

The effect is that this learned, and consistently practiced, state of mind starts working by itself; the result of continual perseverance and dedication to a new way of “thinking”

This state is an ideal; whose ultimate goal is perfect prayer.

One strives for an unchanging inner sense of God, achieved amid the distractions and requirements of daily life.

This is not simply a technique, it becomes a state of prayer so that every thought, every desire, every effort, every undertaking, every love, every understanding, everything that we live, breathe and speak will be of God.

And this unity, this synchronicity we now have with God, will be carried over into our human understanding and mind as God’s perfect love, and we are then so joined with Him in a perpetual unity of spirit, that when we call upon Him as a help in every need, we discover astounding, often unbelievable experiences.

This is a cultivated state of mind; learning to direct the thoughts that are continually jumping around and disturbing our mind with the disquieting and poisonous emotions of rage, anger, guilt and sadness. These emotions create the “hopelessness” that separates us from positive thoughts of joy, gratitude, hope AND the sudden illumination of Sacred and holy Ideas.

You will discover that achieving this state will do wonderful things in every situation; often what the world calls “miracles”.

The “one-word” prayer of Jesus was just a “state of prayer”; achieved and manifested in the life of this great Master Teacher, Jesus of Nazareth; belonging not to a certain religion or belief, but to all His fellow humans, showing the way to spiritual growth and perfection. Jesus achieved the state of prayer as described by Benedict in his Rule to his monks, which means we don’t have to actually say the words; used consistently, daily, this state of prayer begins to pray WITHIN you, without effort.

Unchanging Spiritual Truth

When experiencing our human lives in our earthly adventure as ageless, timeless souls, we forget the unchanging spiritual truths that shed the light of understanding on the sufferings we must endure.

Many spiritual teachers, from ancient prophets, to Jesus to Buddha, to more modern ones such as Earnest Holmes, Charles Fillmore, Thomas Troward, Harvey Hardman, Joseph Murphy, White Eagle and Vera Stanley Alder, seek to assist mankind’s struggles. They urge and inspire us to a more enlightened perspective of often horrendous and seemingly unbearable sufferings. The increased understanding does not change nor alleviate the suffering, yet provides a wider sense; a spiritual view, that gives purpose to the struggle that is beyond "earthly" perspective. It is seeing through new lenses--as if one has an increased prescription of eyeglasses that refines and magnifies the view through those glasses.

Knowledge that the soul's earth life has a plan and a spiritual goal has been substantiated by the scholarly, laborious and scrupulous research of Dr. Michael Newton, Richard Sutphen and Dr. Ian Stevenson whose work reveals profound insight into the purpose of an earthly life.

A close friend, a long-term Buddhist and spiritual devotee, was mourning the recent death of her brother to whom she was very close, and was unable to master the grief and deep emotions of her loss. She contacted a a wonderful psychic who was able to lead my friend past the earthly view and to remember the path of "soul" life.

When my friend called to relate the immensely helpful time with the psychic, she also wanted to share a story the woman had told her that was an example of the sustaining force and impact of previous lives on present earthly experience.

A girl had come to the psychic as a last resort of help; she had spent years in traditional Psychiatry and Psychology; therapy with no lasting relief. Her crippling problems and symptoms remained; never lessened nor alleviated by help from many talented, altruistic professionals. She had been severely abused, in every conceivable way, by her parents since a very early age. During her session with the psychic, the girl went deep into the past where she revealed a terrible past life: World War II in Germany.

She was about 10 years old when their town was bombed and destroyed by the Allies and her parents killed. Unable to care for her in the devastation of their town, the people sent the girl to live in a Concentration camp, not as a prisoner, but to work in any capacity which the German soldiers chose. Her "job" was to smother the little babies that arrived in the camp, with their mothers as prisoners, and were taken away.

When the girl's life ended and she was home in Spirit, she was not "judged" as taught by Church dogma--her soul carried the extreme weight of that experience and she sought in her current lifetime to "balance" what she herself could not bear as a soul. The great and enduring gift of free will allows the individual soul to choose and decide its own path; though Guides and Masters offer help, solace, wisdom and advice.

A great psychic, such as the special woman helping this girl, does not just reveal the soul's past experience; spiritual guidance and insight compassionately provided is meant to shed the light of wisdom and understanding on what has been seen and re-experienced in the psychic session. She urged the girl to view the past life through the lenses of Higher Mind, of Unchanging Spiritual Truth. And the psychic offered the girl an important consideration; that the girl's parents were courageous souls who had agreed while in Spirit to be her parents in this current lifetime to assist the girl in accomplishing the Soul Plan she had planned prior to coming again to earth--knowing that they would be hated and despised as her abusive parents.

As Dr. Newton's many years of work has proven with countless souls, the girl made her plan in Spirit, and fulfilled that plan in this, her current life.

The years she had spent in traditional therapy had not relieved her pain; but in her session with the psychic, a great weight was lifted as she "saw' through spiritual eyes.

The intense emotional, often physical pain we suffer living our earthly lives doesn't change as we apply this view, this insight, this spiritual perspective.

We still suffer and struggle to bear what sometimes seems "unbearable".

But spiritual teachers offer help in the effective "tools" of Prayer and Forgiveness.

Remember that "Prayer" is just an old-fashioned word for a way of "thinking", and forgiveness when continually and intentionally applied is a healing balm whose efficacy may be truly magical as it affects mind, body and spirit.

Climbing the ladder of consciousness means that our human perspective and view of our earthly experience is constantly changing--we begin to see our relationships to other humans through "open" eyes, so that the struggles, the intense difficulties, the abiding pain has a Soul Purpose; seeking to more fully understand that purpose which will ultimately lead to peace, poise, serenity and lasting joy.

Marianne Williamson

In the coming year we will once again choose those who will lead our country. I confess that this process seems redundantly silly and futile to me, but I also acknowledge that its outcome has important implications and affects each citizen’s life, including mine.

So, despite my inclination to dismiss the process, the publicity, and the participants who seek office, I do care about those whom we follow and trust.

For this reason, a person who has expressed a desire to serve and comes forward to present oneself as a potential leader, earns attention and honest evaluation.

I, however, follow neither a particular political “party” nor lean “right” or “left”; instead try to intuitively listen to the thoughts and words, as well as the actions of the person who presents as a potential candidate.

Sadly, there is very seldom one who inspires genuine respect and confidence; the current state of life throughout our country is a reminder that renewed leadership is needed at all levels of government.

Once in a while a special person steps forward to offer insight and hope, a person who comes not from the traditional political forums but from an entirely different perspective; drawing new and valuable attention.

Marianne Williamson is such a person. Her life’s work seems to be a wonderful testimony to her intentional goal of helping others seek and attain a higher consciousness that affects their life and all those around them.

The word “consciousness” may be mistakenly misunderstood as relating to “New Age” thought, when instead it is a concise explanation of how a person “thinks” of him/herself, his/her essential origin, purpose, and relationship to others. One’s consciousness then affects all aspects of one’s life; and is the directing guideline of all actions.

The beauty of “consciousness” is that it is a constantly changing and growing process; beginning in the first years of life and fed by learning, experience and choice, throughout one’s time on earth.

There are special souls, such as Marianne Williamson, who inspire, teach and lead others on this journey of growth and discovery. Stepping forward to offer herself in a very public position of leadership would bring her own higher consciousness into the decisions and policies that impact the citizens she leads.

Her example then, is the greatest principle of her leadership; she is led by a “higher’ mind that intuitively guides and directs. The Source of this higher mind is innately known, though so often hidden, within each soul in the great adventure of Earth life.

Take care here to not mistake this explanation as a “spiritual” explanation relating to either churches, dogma, philosophy….the word spiritual refers to the ageless, timeless soul which has no beginning and no end, has earthly lives, and returns Home to rest and renew at death.

Those who do not yet recognize this old truth and whose consciousness has not grown beyond “earth mind’, will often denigrate what they do not understand (as the Spokesperson recently did regarding Marianne Williamson’s candidacy using words such as “yoga” and “aura” in context).

The predominant “earth mind” is evident throughout our world, and especially in our country; greed and avarice create a climate of great fear which is widespread and highly contagious.

The prevailing leadership displays and supports earth mind; the collective consciousness stagnates, and does not change and grow without dynamic “spiritual” leadership…..which addresses the soul of mankind and elevates thinking beyond the miasma of clouded earth mind.

A uniquely qualified candidate such as Marianne Williamson will choose a different path of leadership; surprisingly practical in that her decisions yet aligned with the powerful wisdom and direction of Highest Mind.

Mankind exists now in a most urgent state, throughout the world and in the disintegrating society of our country; past experience has shown the inefficacy of “world mind” leadership.

I believe that she, Marianne Williamson is being directly inspired and led to step forward in dynamic and powerful leadership, which will be guided by her own great consciousness.