Who do we pray to?

Good point Asar.
I guess we pray to whatever energy surrounds us, and is us. Different cultures believe in different religions and powers, therefore I don't think that we all pray to the same thing. I have seen some prayer boards where people don't really believe in prayer at all.

Sue

Thank you for your interesting post Asar.
Like Sue said, there are different cultures with different religions, so we probably don't all pray to the same thing. I need to think about this a little more.

Love
Vicky

Dear Asar Imhotep,
I believe that it is all right to pray to an energy, no matter whether it is internal or external. I think that the energy that we call "God" is all around us and within us.

On the topic of different cultures and religions, I believe that we just give different names to the same "God". This variation in God's name ,unfortunately, has been the cause of many wars.

Like Vicky, I need to think about this a little more.

Inda

I pray to wisdom (itself he he..) to continue blessing our boards.. Hey, you answered my prayer Asar Imhotep!

quote:

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Originally posted by Asar Imhotep:
If God is essentially us and we are eminations of the one supreme being, is it wrong to pray to something we think is external, when according to tradition, we are that essential essence called "God?"

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If you are asking specifically "is it wrong to pray to something we think is external..." then that is a deep philosophical question.

Meaning perhaps, that praying to God "out there" somwhere is demonstrating the belief that God is not internal, in a sense implying and stating that God is not within!

But what does one do with the millenia of conditioning to pray to an Icon, a Buddha, even a nonesistence...

Funny backhanded compliment you give Asar Imhotep, bonking us for praying to something external - while reminding us we ARE God! I like this...

If I wish a war to cease, I pray to the external forms of myself, the warriors, to come to the awareness that war is futile (and I also ACT on my prayer). But then, I know that the external and internal are connected, one, so to speak.

But then I practice Brahma type of awareness, the seer seeing the seen, "wrapping around to experience itself" as Deepak Chopra writes...

Allow me to pose a question to you Asar Imhotep, would you suggest that people don't pray to something external and instead pray to essential essence within?

Love and light being, Teo

Oh! And the biggest warmest heartfelt WELCOME to our Om, Givnology!

I want to let AIRBODY know, http://www.MochaSuite.com is an awesome site, and http://www.MochaSuite.com/forum/default.asp the discussion forums there are excellent as well!

this is cool, I always wanted to meet Asar, and Imhotep...


Great to meet you!

Thank you for posting.
This is food for thought.

Sincerely,
Gisele

Thank you all for the comments. I am sorry I haven't been here to respond. Just been busy.

I think that if God is mind and the universal substratum of creation, then all is God including self. So in a way the question is asking if prayer is even beneficial since we are that which we are praying to? Should we just live and work hard to make things happen? Or should we do both (work hard at our intended goals and pray for the sake of praying)?

Asar Imhotep
http://www.mochasuite.com

This whole topic is making me think more.

We are here to fill a purpose in life. I think that we should keep on doing things to reach our goal with as much joy as possible.
We should also pray to the soul for inner wisdom, clarity and faith.

When we pray, I think, we consciously connect to the Divine essence residing within us too.

When we see God as separated from us, the process of perception of His perfection will be full of obstacles and slow. When we know that He operates within us and that we can identify with His perfection we can relax into Him and know that all is well as it is.

St. Paul recommends that when we pray we should "do as if we had already received". This is the TRUE POWER!

A senryu forms now in my mind:


Your essence Divine

lights our hearts and makes us strong

in Your love we bloom


Love and Joy.
Margherita


Woman surrounded by the Light (www.drnature.net)


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Sir Asar,

I'm really glad you posted this funny question. It really makes one think! (troooouble! he he..)

I have been so many years aware that the external and the internal of the self are integrally connected, so to me it is not unusual to "project" or "externalize," since they are basically one, there would be no individual without being part of the whole and so forth...

This post has reminded me of meditations I read years ago of visualizing being a solar system. The sun like, in the heart, and the planets orbiting the body. Then it reminds me of a musical idea that each human body is actually an orchestra - and in ways this is even proven fact. So now I am thinking that each human body is possibly an entire galaxy..

It is funny to me that a little question like you posed could expand ideas so... wow!

I have been reading Wayne Dyer's "Manifest Your Destiny" and he talks about how talking to God is an inner conversation and the church has co-opted the idea so that you have to use their methods to communicate with God, and the problem with that is that one creates the division. It is not very different from what you are stating. It is a strange thing, to say to someone "God is within," to try and say that, words are lousy means for getting the idea across! People will always find some unintended meaning and ... it ends up not worth trying to say it!

But I like how you pose a question, "Who do we pray to?" and in that question the reader has to reevaluate so much! Preeeety slick I'd say (that is supposed to be a compliment). I really like your Givnologizing!!!

Love and light being, Teo

quote:

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Originally posted by Imhotep:
I think that if God is mind and the universal substratum of creation, then all is God including self. So in a way the question is asking if prayer is even beneficial since we are that which we are praying to? Should we just live and work hard to make things happen? Or should we do both (work hard at our intended goals and pray for the sake of praying)?

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Your specific wording here: "So in a way the question is asking if prayer is even beneficial since we are that which we are praying to?" Very interesting. Well I use a lot of visualization, for example before going through the door to an interview I visualize perfect outcomes and such.. I believe that visualization technique is very helpful.

As a musician one hears the whole orchestra even when working on one small part. This is all to say that prayer in some ways is just a focus and clarification in some ways. And being clear and focused is often half of the job!

Now at the same time I truly see what you are saying with this: "Should we just live and work hard to make things happen? Or should we do both (work hard at our intended goals and pray for the sake of praying)?" Many people just pray, light a candle, say a chant, but don't act. I'm playing with a new word, "actitate." Some need to "med" or heal their "tating," so they med-itate. Some are very busy in activity, actions, and the old Buddhist idea of "mindfulness" or "active meditation" I concatinate to my new word: actitate but then, since I'm on the subject, I like levity - not only silly thinks, but also "raising awareness," but levitation doesn't mean that, or does it? Well anyways back to your question it seems you have given two specific options:

• Should we just live and work hard to make things happen?
  
• Or should we do both (work hard at our intended goals and pray for the sake of praying)?

Is it silly when an athlete wears special "good luck socks" or someone spills some liquid for ancestors? I guess your question is, should we be putting the prayer energy-and time and resources-into our actions and hard work, eh?

I loooooove the question! I have no real answer (that is for everybody). And I am very impressed that you have the gumption to ask such an incredibly personal question.. wow! But then I like my preconceptions challenged, things that make me have to rethink or overview thinks.. he he..

I pray to the deepest inner wisdom (which is also externally manifestation of life in the universe), that questions and dialogs that help us fine tune our intentions and spiritual energies do truly help us achieve our positive aims more and more making us better individuals and a greater whole. Amen.

peas

teo