Prayer Beyond Words
Examples of qualities of consciousness in motion: Purity, Protection, Resilience, Comfort, Coherence, Durability, Functionality, Support • SCI Full House Carpet Pad
One day during our build, we were faced with an especially long must-do list. My husband drove me to the lumberyard to look at closet rods while he went off multi-tasking to the paint store.
When he didn't return quickly as planned, I found myself angry and indignant. “I am so busy! How can he be so disrespectful! This anger is his fault!” And on and on and on. "After all," I silently fumed, "how long does he think it takes to pick out closet rods?"
There was a swing outside on the porch of the lumberyard that quietly beckoned. As I sat down to swing and wait, I realized I’d better pray or be completely overtaken by anger.
By prayer, in this instance, I mean the kind of silent prayer that begins—not with the problem—but with quietly listening for inspirations of divine Truth. In other words, it's a humble listening for what God knows to be eternally true, rather than our personal viewpoint of what appears to be going on at the moment.
Some call this transcendental prayer because it arises from transcendental pure consciousness, a field of absolute Good. Some call it scientific prayer, because instead of analyzing the darkness—which is nothing more than the absence of light—we turn our attention to the eternal light of Truth, with results as scientific as turning on a light switch in a dark room.
Whatever the name or description, it's distinctly different from prayer where we ask God for something, or tell the All-Knowing what It should know.
The first thought that came to me was that time is a concept, not a quality of the eternal ‘here and now.’ This was accompanied by a sense of calm.
Then the thought came that I am always in my right place, and always about my spiritual business—and that this is true of my husband as well. With this came a deeper calm and welcome reassurance.
Then I remembered that Omniscience, the consciousness that knows All, could never forget anything—including me! This literally brought a smile to my face.
Suddenly I found myself unable to continue with even silent words because the inner peace was so immense I could only sit in awe and enjoy. I couldn't even swing. In fact, I could barely breathe.
You may notice that my prayer was not about the problem, rather it was a zooming forth of the spiritual facts exactly opposite to my seeming problem. Also,
This prayer was not
a plea for something,
a statement of positive thinking,
or a repeated affirmation;
it was simply a conscious acknowledgement
of what is eternally true.
As a result, all thought of the problem melted away, leaving me with what the Bible describes as,
The peace of God
which transcends all understanding.¹
—Philippians 4:7 NIV
This prayerful experience felt akin to what 7th Century Orthodox Christian mystic St. Isaac the Syrian is said to describe:
We pray with words
until the words are cut off
and we are left in a state of wonder.²
I was truly in a state of wonder!
At some point, I glanced over my shoulder and noticed a roll of carpet pad near the corner of the porch. This was interesting because it was exactly the same non-toxic carpet pad we were soon to install at our job site.
And it was especially interesting in light of how difficult it had been to find a supplier for that particular underlayment, known especially for its purity and comfort. We had to order ours from another state.
Although I noticed the roll, I didn’t think more about it because the peace so far surpassed my interest in anything else at that moment.
Finally my husband arrived and I forgot about it until later in the day, when I discovered an error in my calculations for the carpet pad. We were one roll short!
Immediately I called the lumberyard, but the clerk said, “Sorry, we don’t sell carpet pad. What you saw was ordered for the owner's personal use.”
Then the idea came to call the owner of the lumberyard directly to see if perhaps his project was scheduled for a later time. If so, I thought, maybe I could buy his roll and he could order another. That seemed like a small-town creative solution. But he was never in the store when I called.
Then I was inspired to call one more time. The owner was in! And as soon as I explained my situation he said, “Oh, that roll? It’s left over from my house—I was wondering what to do with it. I’ll sell it to you at my cost. Just a minute!”
As he left the phone to check on his invoice price, I felt the presence of God so fully that I could barely speak when he returned.
Waves of gratitude welled up—not for the carpet pad—but for such clear evidence that God is in control, things are in their right place, events are timely, and needs are met. I also saw so clearly how
Every ‘thing’ is
a manifestation of consciousness.
My feelings of gratitude were—and are—indescribable.
Now there's more to the story. Some years earlier I had a tooth capped, but when the procedure was complete, it was painful to chew. Although I prayed about the situation, the pain continued and I began to eat on the other side of my mouth.
When I went back to the dentist he determined that the tooth was cracked and that the only solution was to perform a root canal. He did, however, hint that a tooth can be healed. I decided to decline the procedure and continue to pray.
To be clear, my prayer was not an attempt to fix a tooth, but rather to awaken more fully to divine reality.
Ever since this experience with the carpet pad and the resulting clear glimpse that consciousness is all there is, I have been able to eat without any pain in that tooth.
This experience taught me the importance of cultivating the habit to think as God thinks, to know as God knows. It also underlined the importance of not bowing down to 'false gods' such as anger, fear, resentment or discouragement.
Whatever the problem or need, God’s answer always exists. But we won't see it if we're overwhelmed with anger or other emotions, nor will we have the spiritual vision to see creative solutions.
Another important lesson:
What spiritually blesses one aspect of creation,
blesses all of creation.
What's needed is to be consciously aware of the quietude of our own pure consciousness—the great calm in the eye of what seems to be a storm—to see and hear divine inspiration which, in turn, appears to us in whatever manner is required at the moment.
This conscious awareness of Truth is our firm foundation; it is the ‘spiritual underlayment’ required for all Blissful Building projects.
Waves of the Ocean
[1] Philippians 4:7 NIV
[2] Evagrius of Ponticus, On Prayer 61, in the Philokalia http://www.truthisone.org/docs/majorpaths/ceasingthoughts/nothoughts-christianity.htm • 05.02.2003 / for further study: https://www.saintsophiadc.org/prayers-st-isaac-syrian/• 01.12.2022 / also: https://jbburnett.com/resources/alfeyev_prayer-in-isaac-syr.pdf • 01.12.2022
Copyright © 2003 Joy Hirshberg All rights reserved.
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