Those of us who have come to make regular use of prayer would no more do without it than we would refuse air, food, or sunshine. And for the same reason. When we refuse air, light, or food, the body suffers. And when we turn away from meditation and prayer, we likewise deprive our minds, our emotions, and our intuitions of vitally needed support. As the body can fail its purpose for lack of nourishment, so can the soul. We all need the light of God’s reality, the nourishment of His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace. To an amazing extent the facts of A.A. life confirm this ageless truth.
It has become so ingrained in me that I doubt I could stop praying, let alone refuse to.
The prayers I habitually say and learn help remind me of an ideal. The prayers I say under pressure help me turn away from those excesses of negative emotion at least a little bit. Prayer instantly reminds me that I’m a human being with human happenings. It does not, for me, remind me that everything will OK and all things will be set right. I don’t believe those ideas to be true. I don’t feel that God watches out for me or over me anymore than he does anyone else, and bad things do happen to good people.
Prayer can remind me that I’m not in control. It can remind me of the ideal, “absolute” ways I seek to be, to move a little closer to being there.
1 Comment
November 15, 2009 at 9:02 am
Thanks Lydia. i feel the same if the truth be known. I am incapable of idealism these days
hehe
completely off topic, heres something..
here’s a thing i found that you may ? like.
but i just thought id mention it just in case..
ignore it if you want, that’s fine,
Its an anti-discrimination petition for Buddhist nuns..if you feel so inclined
If not, that’s ok too.
http://new.ipetitions.com/petition/bhikkhuni-ordination/
You can remain anonymous online, ie not show your name.
Being a girlee I hate to see any kind of unfairness toward women if they are just as capable as men, and some recent shenanigans in an Australian monastery where a ‘rebel monk’ went against the wishes of his superiors and fully ordained 3 nuns, and was swiftly ‘excommunicated’, have brought this matter to a head, thereby creating a !! perfect opportunity to confront the elephant in the room regarding ‘proper’ female ordination.
So this long overdue issue has the potential to be addressed properly, as those ’superiors’ are going to have to issue a statement and explanation as to the events that led up to the excommunication.
Its an interesting chapter, and there is potential for the discriminatory exclusion of women in this tradition to be overturned, once and for all. But who knows eh. Only time will tell. No harm trying in the meantime..