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Simply meditate as a form of "worship" or as a method of communing with your concept of God or of the Creator?
Although I consider myself Christian, and follow many of the tenets of the Christian faith, I also follow some elements of my ndn heritage........smoke as a blessing or petition, white sage and sweetgrass smudge among them.
But the fundamental element of all my spiritual practice is to do as Matthew 6: 5-8 says do:
Quote:
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
I have to note that I do not recall Jesus ever "going into a room and closing the door" but instead he went out alone into nature....the Garden of Gethsemane, the wilderness, etc. And this is where I, too, go. A walk in the woods, a period of quiet solitude, with the presence of the creator all around me.
And in maintaining the lesson taught by Jesus as stated above, I refuse to pray in public (in front of other people) such as a prayer before a meal, a promise to "pray for you" (effectively, in my mind, a form of bragging). Although I do some charitable efforts, I do so in complete anonymity unless it is to get someone else to participate (such as adopting an abandoned animal).
But the focal point of my spiritual life is in those quiet times, in the woods and prairies where I meditate/pray.....without religious dogma or trappings.
And I was wondering how many others use this as a significant part of your spiritual life........
I never make a prayer for myself and I never make a prayer for something that I can not do myself. I pray for guidance and understanding, I'll pray for the Creator to watch over all of his creation and that is all that can and should be asked for.osay
I guess I should mention that I do all my praying within my sacred circle, to me it is a sacred place and it is out in the middle of nature and all its surroundings.
The Beauty, The Quiet and The Power Of Something Greater Than I
I most feel the power of God when I am out in nature. I have found too that the feeling of something greater than ourselves can best be explained to someone else by doing exactly as described, getting out into nature and feeling the power of the creator. I have a personal relationship with God. I love and appreciation all God's creations. I have great peace in what I believe, priceless!
I never make a prayer for myself and I never make a prayer for something that I can not do myself......
Some day I hope to visit your circle. Perhaps with an Irish friend.
Your comment is right on the money and in concert with what is taught to Christians.
Quote:
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him
But I do believe that in seeing the troubles of others, and acknowledging them is important. Burdens placed on the heart are not placed there for no reason. And in asking the creator to address a situation is not in error. Asking for a specific outcome is not acceptable. Again, the Christian teachings expresses this in the concept of "Thy will be done."
These concepts that I call Christian are universal among those who know the Creator. There is no conflict.
Simply meditate as a form of "worship" or as a method of communing with your concept of God or of the Creator?
Although I consider myself Christian, and follow many of the tenets of the Christian faith, I also follow some elements of my ndn heritage........smoke as a blessing or petition, white sage and sweetgrass smudge among them.
But the fundamental element of all my spiritual practice is to do as Matthew 6: 5-8 says do:
I have to note that I do not recall Jesus ever "going into a room and closing the door" but instead he went out alone into nature....the Garden of Gethsemane, the wilderness, etc. And this is where I, too, go. A walk in the woods, a period of quiet solitude, with the presence of the creator all around me.
And in maintaining the lesson taught by Jesus as stated above, I refuse to pray in public (in front of other people) such as a prayer before a meal, a promise to "pray for you" (effectively, in my mind, a form of bragging). Although I do some charitable efforts, I do so in complete anonymity unless it is to get someone else to participate (such as adopting an abandoned animal).
But the focal point of my spiritual life is in those quiet times, in the woods and prairies where I meditate/pray.....without religious dogma or trappings.
And I was wondering how many others use this as a significant part of your spiritual life........
I do. I attend a church and pray with others, but in praying with the congregation, I don't really "feel" the praying the way I do when I go to the woods or the ocean, both of which are spiritual settings for me.
I have no ndn heritage, but thanks for sharing yours. I do light candles at times when praying or meditating, because I have a fascination with fire and have had life experiences with fire that affecting me both disastrously and positively.
Thanks for your post, Goodpasture--just repped you somewhere else and so couldn't do so again on this one.
I never make a prayer for myself and I never make a prayer for something that I can not do myself. I pray for guidance and understanding, I'll pray for the Creator to watch over all of his creation and that is all that can and should be asked for.osay
I guess I should mention that I do all my praying within my sacred circle, to me it is a sacred place and it is out in the middle of nature and all its surroundings.
This is interesting.
I have prayed for specific things for myself, and shortly after I was shown that I already had what I'd asked for or that I didn't need what I asked for. It was an interesting lesson.
...And in maintaining the lesson taught by Jesus as stated above, I refuse to pray in public (in front of other people) such as a prayer before a meal, a promise to "pray for you" (effectively, in my mind, a form of bragging). Although I do some charitable efforts, I do so in complete anonymity unless it is to get someone else to participate (such as adopting an abandoned animal)...
The Gospel that you quoted is the reading used for Ash Wednesday and in the homily the priest usually says that today we are going to disobey Jesus by putting ashes on our face. Catholic humor.
........in the homily the priest usually says that today we are going to disobey Jesus by putting ashes on our face. Catholic humor.
He is right. you are. thankfully the creator isn't hard Moderator cut: edit just realize that when you put ashes on your face and someone says "you are doing good" that that is all the reward you will get for your effort.
Simply meditate as a form of "worship" or as a method of communing with your concept of God or of the Creator?
Although I consider myself Christian, and follow many of the tenets of the Christian faith, I also follow some elements of my ndn heritage........smoke as a blessing or petition, white sage and sweetgrass smudge among them.
But the fundamental element of all my spiritual practice is to do as Matthew 6: 5-8 says do:
I have to note that I do not recall Jesus ever "going into a room and closing the door" but instead he went out alone into nature....the Garden of Gethsemane, the wilderness, etc. And this is where I, too, go. A walk in the woods, a period of quiet solitude, with the presence of the creator all around me.
And in maintaining the lesson taught by Jesus as stated above, I refuse to pray in public (in front of other people) such as a prayer before a meal, a promise to "pray for you" (effectively, in my mind, a form of bragging). Although I do some charitable efforts, I do so in complete anonymity unless it is to get someone else to participate (such as adopting an abandoned animal).
But the focal point of my spiritual life is in those quiet times, in the woods and prairies where I meditate/pray.....without religious dogma or trappings.
And I was wondering how many others use this as a significant part of your spiritual life........
Hi Goodpasture,
You don't post as much as you used to....miss seeing you around here. Maybe you'll remember my trip to the mountain a while back and how awe-inspiring and educational it was for me. I learned what it meant to meditate and to "be still and know that I am God". Some "Christians" really have a huge problem with "meditation" as they see it as some form of satanic chanting or something but meditation, to me anyways, is just simply being at one with God and nature and being quiet. Emptying your mind, body and spirit and opening yourself up to receive. It's very cleansing.
I do better meditating rather than praying because of the way my mind works. I've thought the same things about praying over a meal or telling someone that you'll pray for them, like God doesn't already know the need or understand the thankfulness. My prayers are very brief and sporadic, mostly asking for forgiveness of my sins and to be led in the right direction. So I understand what you're saying about prayers and that it should be a very private matter.
Meditation is highly misunderstood and very under appreciated. A walk or hike in nature - alone - will do a soul a world of good and will bring you closer to God than one might think. I completely agree with all that you have said. I tried to convey that in my thread about the trip to the mountain but it really was misunderstood as some kind of "new age" thing I was trying to push. Good grief, since when is nature "new age"???
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The Beauty, The Quiet and The Power Of Something Greater Than I
