Pray Your Own Prayer and Make it An Inside Job! (Final of Soul Searching Series)

"A person can live without prayer only when his sins are guiding him, or when he is a saint. One necessary condition for a good life is when those who resist their passions, prejudices, and lies in this world seek a higher understanding of the meaning of love." Leo Tolstoy

1,000,000 monks praying: Shawn Williams

Leo Tolstoy is absolutely right. We truly cannot live happily without prayer.

Many of us miss the mark and the rewards of prayer, because we are not fully aware that deep, sincere, meaningful prayer is done in the silence. It's when you are able to reach to the core of your being and make a click, a connection to the center of you. It's when, according to Tolstoy, you begin to fly.

 "We can and should live in our physical life, but as soon as an obstacle appears, we should spread our wings and start to fly." 

Inside prayer lifts us to a greater understanding of what is before us, so we that even if the answer takes a long time, we build courage. wisdom and strength in the meantime, and eventually, are able to mount with wings of eagles: 

" But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 31

Public prayers in some religions serve the common good and may help soothe the masses.

Forcing people to pray, or praying without touching the inside of you, becomes "prayering."

This is described in Matthew 6:5.

(North Carolina County commissioners sued for trying to make prayers official.))

"But when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward." 

Many people are taught at a young age to pray out loud, upon awakening and before bed. Eventually, though, we should outgrow this form of prayer. These audible morning and nighttime prayers were developed for the convenience of parents to make sure their kids were being obedient. At some point, these audible prayers exhaust their purpose, as our souls naturally guide us to go within. 

"We cannot get to know God by listening to stories about Him. You get to know Him only by following his law, which is written in the heart of every person."

             -Leo Tolstoy

"A little boy once went to bed and asked his nurse to pray for him and continue to play with his dolls while he slept. People have the same childish attitude toward God. They believe they can live bad lives, go to bed, and be prayed for by someone who will continue to play the game for them."

-Leo Tolstoy, Wise Thoughts of Everyday.

People may pray for you ...and it works for a time.
People may guide you on how to pray for yourself...and it may work for a time.
But the greatest prayer you can develop is your own silent, heart to heart, prayer, reaching silently for God without words.

When you recognize God as your source and supply, then you are in essence, praying, without saying a word.
When you're focused on God as your help in every need, you're praying, without saying a word. 
As you recognize and focus on God, you begin to know that all things you do, achieve and desire come from the Source within. 

You don't need to get down on your knees to pray, unless it has become so habitual that this is the only way you can touch the core of your being. Then, by all means get down on your knees to pray.

The main thing you should realize is that prayer is a personal and an inside job.
There is no right way to pray.

I repeat: there is no right way to pray!

Just as you are an individualized Soul on its journey on Earth, that is the same individualized inner work you need to do to connect with your Soul.

People may share how they pray with you, but trying to follow them may only lead you to frustration. Prayer simply is your conversation with God: It is private. It is personal. It is in your own voice.

I ask of you the following:

Do you copy someone else's voice when you speak out loud? Do you try to imitate someone else when you talk about things that matter to you? Then, why in the world would you try to imitate someone else's way when you pray!

(In August, I shared three different preachers, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, and Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith, who have completely different styles yet manage to connect Soulfully with each of us. If you didn't read that piece, please check it out.)

 Esteemed Spiritual Teacher Marianne Williamson spoke on our greatest fear. 

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

President Barack Obama was a black-haired young man when he took office in 2009.
Today, he is gray haired and the weight of the world is on his shoulders. God please bless and continue to be the leading force and guiding light in our president's life!

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
—Marianne Williamson

 I say now: "My greatest fear" is not so much that we differ, but that we all strive to be alike...not creating from our own Souls... but simply imitating and copying...that IS my biggest fear!

These Buddhist monks, notwithstanding: I do not want to wake up to a world of sameness!
Photo Credit: BBC News

So many of us seem to suggest in our behavior that we would lose our way, without copying what someone else is doing. We are so afraid to take our own risks, chances, on where we are being led by our Souls, that we look over to see what and how someone else is doing things, and we pattern their behavior and practices.

This is wrong!

Buddhism chooses unanimity so that monks can achieve focus on their inner prayer work and enlightenment. Sameness works in such an environment and for such a purpose.

Children pray naturally from the heart. Until they unlearn this. 

God truly doesn't want us to be copying each other, patterning ourselves after another.
The diversity of our world is what makes it more interesting. YOU are what makes the world interesting! Would God want each of us to turn out to be monks in training?

No. We all enter into the world with our special gifts. God wants us to use them. Even in monasteries and ministries, people who are called to a cloistered life find diversity among their ranks.   

These young Buddhist monks are being prepared to keep the lights burning for so many of us who would walk the world in darkness. They are trained to seek Peace. We need their preparation and prayers. 

Our diversity, our uniqueness is what makes our world interesting, our life worth living. We fight hard to express our individuality, our uniqueness in public debates and forums, then  give it up by secretly and silently copying how someone else does his/her walk through life.

God doesn't have ears to hear your prayers, neither does God have eyes to see your prayers. God does, however, feel your prayers, as you do when you make the "connection" and get that "knowing" feeling within. So, like a person who is blind, mute or is disabled in some way, you can choose to stand silently, sit silently and pray silently.

Admittedly, though, in some churches, the sweetest thing you will hear on a Sunday morning, is the prayer of the pastor: There is nothing sweeter than a heartfelt prayer from a good, solid preacher.
But  after listening to the preacher,  we go home. That's when we should: Pray Alone.
Or stay in the church. Pray alone. Or if in a group, reach inside you so the prayer touches your core. 

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

"But when ye pray, use not van repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."

Be not ye therefore like unto them..."- Matthew 6: 6-8

The "Our Father" is my sweetest prayer. I will never stop saying that prayer and enjoying and feeling it each time I say it, whether out loud, on my knees, or in silence.

I thank God for the people before me who created this prayer, as well as the 23rd, 27th, 30th,
 46th,  51st and 91st Psalms. I thank God for them!

As a Unity student (Unity School of Christianity, Lee's Summmit, MO), I learned another prayer that serves me always and in all ways:

 The Prayer of Faith, 

by Hannah More Kohaus:

God is my help in every need;

God does my every hunger feed;

God walks beside me, guides my way

Through every moment of this day.

 I now am wise, I now am true,

Patient and kind, and loving, too;

All things I am, can do, and be,

Through Christ the Truth, that is in me.

 God is my health, I can't be sick;

God is my strength, unfailing, quick; 

God is my all, I know no fear,

Since God and Love and Truth are here.

 (Please also enjoy this same prayer, with some additions, as shared by Rev. Sallye Taylor: Prayer of Faith, As Shared by Rev. Sallye Taylor on youtube.com)

Whether we're praying or "prayering," we're seeking the same results: solutions and answers.

In attempting to reach a higher power for assistance, what you should be most concerned about is making a real connection to the Soul. Therein lie answers and solutions and the only true, and often fastest method, to lay your burdens down.  

Namaste',

Che'

NOTE: Sometimes, we may find ourselves unable to pray for ourselves. That's when I recommend you reach out to others to pray with, or for, you. I have high respect and strongly recommend the following prayer lines: Unity 24-Hour Prayer Line: 800-669-7729 (from United States) or 01-816-969-2000 (International); Unity is open 365 days a year, 24 hours, and Kenneth Hagin Miinistries, Tulsa, Oklahoma: 918-258-1588 ext.3 for prayer. This is open 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday.

When Preaching is more than Talk! (Soul Searching Series)

Bishop T.D. Jakes is among an elite group of preachers who are able to communicate directly from their Souls to Yours! 

Bishop T.D. Jakes heads up The Potter's House," Dallas, TX 

In November 2010, I had the opportunity to sit and chat one-on-one with the master preacher, Bishop T. D. Jakes, for close to two hours. The meeting was held the day before Thanksgiving, so I considered it a Thanksgiving Gift from the Universe. The time spent with Jakes was an extremely soulful period in my life and left an impression on me that there are "preachers," and then there are those who do "preachering."

Bishop T.D. Jakes lights up your life on any given Sunday.

T.D. Jakes, with his fascinating and inspirational style obviously falls into the first category. He is one of those truly gifted speakers, able to talk directly from the Soul and to hit a deep resonance within others. He does it time after time when he speaks at his church, The Potter's House, Dallas, always hittmg a home run with his audience.

Joel Osteen is pastor of  Lakewood Church, a megachurch in Houston, Texas

What is it that preachers like T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen,  and  another of my favorite preachers, have that others don't? Why is it that some preachers  people inspire others and others have people playing with their iPhones (See July 7, 2013 this blog) or falling asleep, rather than listening?

Jakes and Osteen speak from Truth that they have experienced directly, or seen up close in their interactions with others. Speaking from Truth allows them a level of authenticity and freshness those who do "preachering" don't. Some of those "preachering," too, can't take the success of real preachers! (OUTRAGEOUS ARTICLE: Why I called out Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer)

Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith

The key difference with preachers and others is that they may prepare a script before they get up on stage, but you get a sense that they are speaking directly from the heart. So, it doesn't matter if their talk was scripted: They are able to deliver their message from the Soul.

Beckwith, pictured with his wife, Rickie.

Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith, head of Agape Church, another megachurch in  Culver City, Calif., is also one of those rare and gifted speakers. He can preach for hours, without running out of fuel.

All three men, Jakes, Osteen and Beckwith, preach in completely different styles. Yet, inspiring is too mild a word to use to describe these three guys. (Of course, there are many others whom I have not had the privilege of hearing speak directly, like Rev. Kevin Bacon of San Diego).

The "preacherers," though, quote the bible and reference scripture profusely, using these as their props since there is a void in directly connecting to with the Soul.

When you don't have a divine connection, then props and other materials serve just fine to influence your audience.

Truth needs no props. Truth does not even need the bible.

Truth is from the Spirit and the Soul.

As we traverse various levels in life, we may find the need to have "preacherers" who can guide us through scripture at appropriate times. But to be truly inspired and to walk out of churches feeling transformed, we need honest to goodness "preaching!" We need leadership that brings reason in moments of doubt and crises. See this:  (Black Preachers Wear Hoodies for Trayvon Martin)

Preaching has no educational requirements. If someone is operating from the Soul, then he/she already is doing so from the highest degree of their humanity.No further education is necessary. Some may pursue higher degrees, such as those offered by Sofia University (Mind, Body, Spirit programs offered by Sofia University) and receive Ph.Ds in Divinity and/or Religion at any other. But the education will do very little for them, unless as they connect what they're learning to what's going on inside them. The application of knowledge is what matters in "soul" work.! No one can teach you how to walk through the final road to connecting with your Soul!

Bishop Jakes and his wife, Serita, on a Sunday at Potter's House

The essence of Spirituality can't be taught, only LIVED! If you're not prepared to dig deeply into your Soul, dare to take real risks, then you'll continue to be that much separated from your Soul. It doesn't matter how much reading, studying or listening to "preachering" that you do.

When preachers like T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen and Michael Beckwith and others of that caliber reach within, they don't talk...they listen. They feel. They touch Truth.

 Photo Credit: Resim & Fotoğraf & Eftelya

When people touch Truth, you can tell this when you're in their presence: they begin to talk less as they become so receptive to what's coming through them.
Words become inadequate to express Truth. In fact, it can't be communicated, only lived and shared..
Truth begins to resonate within these people...in all they say and do.
They begin to be transformed from the essence of being. People see and know this and respond.

The energy of Truth that we see from preachers is palpable. We know and recognize it when we hear it.

Can we now understand now why the sick woman felt that all she needed to do to be healed was to touch the hem of Jesus' garment? (Matthew 9:20 ) So powerful was the energy emanating from Jesus' persona, she knew all she needed was to touch any part of that energy to make it hers!

Energy is substance. Energy is material.
Energy is God in action.

The best way to reach this energy is to dare live life fully... to believe the Spirit within you and stretch beyond the boundaries of where you believe you can go!

That's what authentic preachers do! They have pulled and stretched their insides, until you can feel their inner beings on the outside.

These preachers are resonating at a higher level of frequency, because they have lived authentically from the inside to out for so long.

It's not that preachers don't need to use the Bible for their own inner props and support. But it seems that when it comes to communicating a message, they are able to touch the core of their being to provide a delivery that often, were they to try, could not even be duplicated by themselves.

Each time preachers speak, they are fresh. For each time, something new pops to the surface from their Souls.




I respect the work of the "preacherers," as they, too, work hard. But to reach that higher level of being in the preaching world, aspirants must put down their training and their bibles and start digging deeply within their Souls.

They must DARE to believe what they are preaching, not just mouth it!

I have been witness to many who  fall into their latter category. Truth is...I've just stopped listening.

I can tell when I'm hearing only "words," and when I'm exposed fully to "Truth."

The latter needs no explanation. You feel it, as it resonates deeply within you.

For you readers, who are perhaps more exposed to "preachering" on an ongoing basis  than to preaching and/or preachers, begin to do your own digging and find your own Truth.

When you get a message on a Sunday or any other day that refers to a biblical quote, yes, look it up. But go deeper within your Soul to see if you can apply what was communicated to you in your own life.

If you're reaching from the core of your being, you won't need to sit in bible class to have anyone interpret "Truth" to you.

Like preachers, you will know the Truth of what the bible verse says, as it would resonate fully within your being.

This leads me to our next blog post, "Prayering" vs. Praying or Soul Searching. (Now scheduled for Sept. 1, 2013)

Until then, begin to reach deeply into your Soul, you just might "hear" what preachers like T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen and Michael Beckwith are communicating.

Joel Osteen and his wife, Victoria  

You will feel your Soul reach out to greet you. 

Indeed... 

 "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free"- John 8: 32

...and begin to live at a new level of being.

Namaste',

Che'

Seeking The Truth in Church (Soul Searching Series)

Photo Credit: Обичам да съм Турист. И зная как. 

Стаята на Пауна (The Peacock Room), Castello di Sammezzano е Реджело, Тоскана, ИталияAdd caption

On Good Friday this year, I coined a new term,"Churching." 

The term came to mind when I noticed a man strolling his iPhone throughout the service and seemingly not  

paying attention to a word the priest was saying.

"Churching" was born: People who show up in church just to be there, out of a sense of obligation, or by believing that just showing up they are making a commitment of some sort.

The way I see it, "Churching"  is done for some specific reasons:

1. To gain respect in a local community.
2. To teach children "church" values.
3. To make social and business connections.(Really!)
4. To create peace in the household.



"Churching" is so different from "Going to Church," as this should involve Soul Searching and going
deeply within ourselves to find answers to life's troubling questions.

Photo Caption: Collection of Dr. D. Ash. http://chantalbethel.com

"Going to church" sometimes can mean going into an empty church, as pictured in the cover photo, simply because we find solace there. My best moments, actually, are spent in empty churches or monasteries. That's where I find so much peace exuding from the energy within the walls and the "spirit" of those who have prayed before and, those who will pray, after me.

Empty churches help me remember that the Spirit within me lives in everyone else, and that we're all just outplaying our individuated Souls' roles on Earth...through the ONE spirit!

 I get connected to my Soul easily in empty churches this way, and  real "soul searching" can begin. (I also can do this during my meditation periods at home. But why not go into a building, too, and feel it?) 

Understand... I don't really knock people for "churching." Everyone is at a different stage of evolution in his/her life's journey.  (Maybe, as this author suggests, the person just may be looking up bible verses. Judging people who use iPhones during church.)

Showing up at  a church at least gives recognition to the fact that there is a higher power at work in our lives. Even this small attempt at recognizing a higher being can bring peace to many people.

I also don't want to dismiss the importance of the iPhone user based on the surface of things, either:
Who knows if this man didn't need a distraction while truly absorbing all details of the priest's message?

The man's presence on Good Friday suggests that even if he's not there, yet, his Soul/Spirit is trying to guide him and is waiting for him to want to know more of the truth.

It simply may be, as noted above, the man went to church to please his wife, who was sitting beside him. If it brings peace in the house, why not?   So... "churching"... can give others hope of things to come.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Hebrews 11: 1

What is it about "going to church" or churching that brings us hope and promise?

For one thing, we can be sure that both these activities give our lives some guidelines and parameters for living.

This is the blessing of religion.

It sets limits on our potential human excesses. It gives us a sense of decency and a recognition that we have an obligation to live our lives in a pattern that dignifies our humanity.

 It's not the building!Sharing & participating in "community" is another aspect of going to church.

People who don't "Go to church" or go "churching" may be just as spiritual, just as committed to decency and the dignity of our human experience... perhaps even more so. But the very act of going into a church suggests to the world that we recognize the existence of a higher being, and we're ready and able to submit.

The only problem I have with those who are able but don't go "churching," to church, or don't care about the spiritual or anything greater than themselves,  is their seeming belief that the world begins and ends with the way they view it.

"No man is an island." We need human interactions for spiritual growth.

Our egos are the rulers of our personalities. We cannot let them reign.

If we allow our egos to tell us that the world begins and ends with us, i.e. the personalities that we are conscious of being, and that there is no greater power within our lives, operating our lives, then eventually, we're headed for trouble.

The ego camouflages all of God's (Spirit within) work and that of our Souls, which direct our ways and walk in the world. Being the "presenter" of our "beingness" to the world, some egos would have us believe that what we see begins and ends there.

Solitude IS good for spiritual growth.
But be careful in not making it a permanent state!

This is far from the truth.

Our egos...our personalities...are the least powerful parts of ourselves.

Real soul searching begins only when we allow our personalities to crumble, allowing our real selves to begin to shine through our human exteriors.

The truth of our being is hidden from the world, indeed,  even from ourselves.

By taking a step into a church, whether to do soul searching, as those "going to church," or even "churching," we are saying to the world and ourselves that we recognize this truth: "There is a greater power at work in the world and in our lives as our lives."

So let's welcome all "churching" people into our mosques, synagogues, churches, temples and monasteries.

Doing so just may be the start of something BIG for that man or woman!

Namaste',
Che'