Words are powerful. You can hurt or uplift someone’s spirit with the energy behind your verbal expression. But when words become prayer, they shape a bridge reconnecting you to your true cosmic nature, devoid of ego. Of course, you can use words, mantras, yantras, visualizations, emotional intent, or the concentration of a quiet mind to pray.
When you do, you worship Divine Consciousness within and around you. That is, you surrender the ego-mind to it and accept it as the real director of your life-movie (and this collective play) with humility and love.
Master Meher Baba put it so clearly when he said, ‘Things that are real are given and received in silence.’ This inner silence is the true power of prayer. It’s not so much the absence of sound, but the absence of ego I’m referring to here. When you pray, you reclaim your child-like nature and place yourself in the hands of your Divine Mother, or the Mother of the Universe.
No matter what you call her or how you relate to her (as God, Goddess, a saint, a master, an angel, an avatar, etc.), you’re surrendering to Love, which is the Feminine principle of Consciousness. Because your prayer is a deep yearning for this infinite Love, and as such it carries the power to heal and liberate you from egoic illusions.
It’s not just the recitation of words you’ve memorized or come up with, nor the group energy behind a prayer or mantra that has been repeated for centuries; although these are important aspects, it’s your attitude, your devotion, your willingness to drop any resistance and the pride of ‘doership’ of ego that effect a shift in your perception, thus in your experience of reality (see Bhakti Yoga or Yoga od Devotion).
When you pray, you recognize how insignificant the ego really is in the big scheme of things, but at the same time you strengthen the faith that keeps you always guided and supported. One of my favorite quotes by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj says,
“Wisdom tells me I am nothing.
Love tells me I am everything.
Between the two, my life flows.”
Spiritual healing, which is what we each reincarnate for—and all souls or spirits seek in all dimensions of experience (not just physical)—is the integration of these two aspects of Divine Consciousness. Because you’re God incarnated but not all of God—only a spark growing through self-awareness to eventually merge back with its infinite Source. When you meditate or pray, you establish points of connection with this Source, and as a result you gain glimpses into your divine nature.
Regardless of how you choose to do it, harness the full potential of prayer to free yourself from ego and realize that you’re never alone, you’re always loved, and you have everything you need within you to be happy; that you’re a self-directed soul and your real direction should be inward, toward your true Self. Here are a few suggestions to help you discover the true power of prayer:
- Be honest and innocent like a child: the higher being(s) you pray to hold(s) no judgment toward you, only love.
- Release any dogma or resistance about prayer; there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way, just your way of doing it.
- Realize that God has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with Love.
- Be humble with your words and intentions when you speak; turn your life into an ongoing prayer.
- Cultivate silence and focus: silence is prayer and concentration is worship (i.e., emptiness of ego).
- Meditate daily to quiet the mind and seek guidance to develop emotional and spiritual freedom.
There are as many ways to pray and as many prayers as there are people trying to reconnect to Divine Consciousness—in whichever form they relate to. But only a few cultivate the inner silence and peace that is true prayer. The ego-mind gets in the way and disrupts the process, to keep you stuck in the same suffering you’re praying to be free of. So contact me today to discover what it takes to reclaim the original innocence and love your soul is made of, and redirect your path toward the realization of your own divinity!
© 2018 Yol Swan. All rights reserved.
2 comments for “The True Power of Prayer”