How To Pray

Our religion is how we live, our prayers are what we are feeling. What are you sending into the Universe? Personally, I haven't been doing such a good job (and I'm the one writing this, lol).

Praying FOR something doesn't work. This is what validates the opposite of what we are actually praying for. If we pray FOR peace - we are validating there is none. If we pray FOR a job - we are validating that we don't have one. If we are praying FOR a relationship - we are validating our aloneness.

Close your eyes - get to a quiet place and FEEL what you are actually trying to bring into your life. The hardest thing to be is JUST QUIET. And this is what you must first practice if you are to get any further. You must quiet that chattering monkey (your own thoughts). All the books that say to meditate, all the inspirational music that's out there, all the religion's masters that spoke of a quiet heart and mind - they are not misleading you. You can not get around this - you must do it.

Begin by being in comfortable clothing that has no stress points on the body. People have said that they do this best without clothing, but personally I get cold easy so I like to make sure my clothing is loose fitting and weather appropriate. Next you need a comfortable, quiet place; a chair, laying down, any place that you are totally comfortable and there are no stress points on your body. I've had a lot of people tell me that doing this outside is best. I have had some wonderful experiences outside - and some disasters. Keep in mind that outside is not a controlled environment and there are a lot of factors that can pull your thoughts in one direction or another (like bugs). Although music may help you as you get better at this - to begin with I strongly suggest total quiet.

Your point of concentration should be your own breathing and your own heart beat. Don't panic if you can't hear your heart beat - just concentrate on your breathing. Breath slow and deep. Don't try to do mega breaths (you'll get dizzy) just breath slowly in ... and slowly out ... breath deeply in (fill your lungs) ... breath deeply out (empty your lungs) ...

The easiest way to quiet your mind is not by 'trying' not to think of anything, but by letting a thought come in, and letting it go back out. Your mind is used to thinking all the time. It is going to take A LOT of training for it to be quiet. So when your mind drifts to, "I have to change the oil in my car," let the thought be there - DON'T FOLLOW IT. Just say, "okay," to your self and let the thought go back out as you focus again on your breathing. When your mind wants to start making the grocery list think, "I can do that later," and let the thought fade back out - going back to concentrating on your breathing.

Once you are in a good quiet state of mind, you can begin your prayer. PRAYER IS FEELING!

Here's a good example of HOW to pray, taken from the book "Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer", by Gregg Braden

Looking back at David, I asked, "If you didn't pray for rain, then what did you do?"
"It's simple," he replied. "I began to have the feeling of what rain feels like. I felt the feeling of rain on my body, and what it feels like to stand with my naked feet in the mud of our village plaza because there has been so much rain. I smelled the smells of rain on the earthen walls in our village, and felt what it feels like to walk through fields of corn chest high because there has been so much rain."
David's explanation made perfect sense. He was engaging all of his senses - the hidden powers of thought, feeling, and emotion that set us apart from all other forms of life - in addition to the senses of smell, sight, taste, and touch that connect us to the world. In doing so, he was using the powerful and ancient language that "speaks" to nature. It was the next part of his explanation that touched my scientific mind, as well as my heart, and truly resonated with me.
Following the prayers of rain, he described how feelings of thank and appreciation were the completion of the prayers, like the "amen" of Christianity. Rather than giving thanks for what he created, however, David told me that he felt grateful for the opportunity to participate in creation. "Through our thanks, we honor all possibilities, while bringing the ones we choose to this world."

YOU / I / WE have a lot to do to get rid of the prayers we send out EVERY moment of our lives - and replace them with the prayers that work.

If life isn't what is wanted - it's because you / I / we are not praying for what is actually wanted - you / I / we are praying for the opposite, by our very thoughts.

TODAY IS THE DAY TO CHANGE THAT!