The Idea Of Prayer

[Harry]

4 hours ago, Emerald Wilkins said:

@NoOne @Nic @SkyPanther @Harry @Pinocchio

Well, an enlightened person is a person who has woken up to their true nature... that they are not the small egoic self, but the infinite awareness that is aware of all of the content of the sense perceptions and thought. So, an enlightened person lives as the phenomenon referred to as 'god' once they have debunked the illusion of ego.

So, from this vantage point, it isn't too much of a stretch that prayer might work. If you consider that you are a direct manifestation of god itself and the your awareness is god's awareness, then "you" (the higher self) might also have the creative capacities of god and are the creator of your subjective reality. That is, as long as your desires come from the higher self, beyond the ego's small wants. 

Firstly

I may be wrong but your idea of 'the ego' seems incomplete.

At least to me (if 'me' is even a thing), the illusion of the ego encompasses more than just the part of you that has small wants, needs and desires. There is no 'higher' or 'lower' self on a fundamental level, as there is no self in the first place!  There is only consousness. 

• Bare in mind I am not disputing the ideas of higher and lower/egoic self from a psychological, Siegmund Freudian perspective but only in a fundamental sense. 
• I am not enlightened and have not experienced 'the truth of no-self'. So I may be guilty of lacking the 'post-rational' perspective if such a thing exists ( I am not aware enough to see it if it does )

Secondly

I feel like a lot of people in the spiritual community use the word 'God' as a synonym for 'Pure Reality'.

•  

Although there is nothing intrinsicly wrong with this, as it is only a label, I feel like there are a few things that could be avoided by assigning another label (as frivolous an activity as it sounds):

1) It can lead people who are just starting to delve into the nature of their consousness down the wrong path. 

Many have preconceived notions of 'God' as a sort of egoic entity that created and runs the universe. This could cause people to, during prayer or meditation, try to 'connect' with this entity. As such, instead of shining the torch in on their perception of themselves, they search for 'God' as a sort of imaginary being out there somewhere in their awareness. 

2) It pushes a lot of Athiests who could very much benefit for spirituality away from the relm entirely, confusing it with just another kind of religious dogma.

I have to admit that I fell into this trap up until about a year or two ago. 

 

Please do no hesitate to call me out if I am bullshiting myself or being dogmatic in any way. 

 

Edited April 1, 2016 by Harry

[99th_monkey]

46 minutes ago, Pinocchio said:

For what it's worth, the below interview starts with an anecdote about a blessing ritual. I have no idea if the formal expression of intent makes any difference, or whether it requires any formal expression at all. And I also have no idea how much it influences other people. But of course separation is an illusion, and from my own life I have every reason to believe in the power of intent, whether you're aware of it or not. And I'm not religious at all. It's a lot more than just "priming your brain". You are being heard. This is also corroborated by people like Adyashanti, Bart Marshall, Jed McKenna, to name a few.

 

 

 

The power of intent "happens". i'd to hear it be called a belief but unfortunately it is. To me it like.. well ill go back to desire vs. intent again. To truly intend on something, requires openess, and lack of fear. So even an event or situation that would seem negative or detrimental in some way, could still lead to an outcome that is intended. example intending to find happiness, you may lose your job and family in the process, but happiness being the gift of that. i dont think desire shall manifest that way no? if it does all will be lost to the ego and its tantrums.

To piggy back on jed's point a bit. Once you learn the difference and see what intent is. all focus on "egoic" intent fades because its seen through. Like intending to become extremely wealthy, thats not something that the universe provides so it cant be intended (im using this analogy loosely). so you "know" thats not something for you. so theres no waste there. 

Egoic desire fades in light of real existential intent. <~~~~prayer? maybe? 

 

   

[Cuzzo]

I like to pray, even if there is nothing to hear it. It's like saying everything I want to say to a person if I could be 100% vulnerable around them and I knew they would have zero judgement. 

[Ayla]

Prayer is your "actual vibrational state" - what you put out there through your emotions, your moods, your beliefs. That is the actual prayer.

What is commonly known as prayer... is just: "please God (whomever that might be), let MY will be done!"

 

[ImDANiEL]

On 3/29/2016 at 11:11 AM, NoOne said:

Is there a point to it?  It's a beautiful thing, to call out to the universe on behalf of another person who is suffering, but I guess all we can ask is if the universe will bring others to guide them to enlightenment or something like that.  It is an expression of sympathy for a suffering person when nothing practical can be done in the moment and as such it's beautiful and soothing to the person being prayed for and maybe brings them into the moment, which is important.  How can we pray?  Is this something that has been lost to misunderstanding?  What is prayer?

It would seem, that what is termed prayer, would be 'self fulfilling' and not as much as 'giving' to another, yet it may provide one with the illusion that they are providing something beyond their personal powers for another which would give a 'feeling' of being in accordance with the Divine natures of the Universal. In other words, praying for someone else may seem to be of a loving nature but it may be more of a selfish nature in acquiring a sense of accomplishment which may not be enjoyed by such as the 'other' person, in true reality. 

That being said, one who perceives prayer to be a way to interact with god, allows one to perceive the 'non-connection' with, such as, god. Yet, to 'feel' like one is creating a 'goodness' in one's 'heart/soul' would be of value to the 'self', which may be all there is to provide for. Yet, such provisions, as wonderful as they feel as times, is truly only a 'mind game' that plays on one's ego which, in essence, quiets the need to be greater than one's self. as one is able to perceive themselves at such times. 

 

It may be of a greater value to understand that one is part of the ultimate expressions and if one desires to provide something of value to one's self, one may just have a 'conversation' with that 'higher essence' without the need to 'bow before' what would be termed god. Meditation works wonders, if one is able to be truthful in such meditations, for, in such states of awareness, one will ask many questions and if one is truthful with one's self, will eventually find the 'truth' of what lies deeper in one's suppressed consciousness.