Wednesday, September 17
prayer
weird how different religions have taken similar approaches to prayer (i thouht of this as i was in a mosque in istanbul).
Islam: prayer times are marked by shouting (singing) prayers all over the city (funny, all the mosques start at a few seconds interval from each other and create a massive mix of song and what sounded like shouting to me). or, if you can't attend the 5 prayers a day (i think it's 5), you can play with a little beaded bracelet. whenever the beads move, you're praying.
Budhism: prayer wheels and flags. while the wheel is turning, the prayers are "going up", or while the flags are floating in the wind (like they do 24/7 in the himalayas), prayers are "going up".
catholocism: burning candles. while the candle burns, the prayers "go up".
While all these ways of praying were probably good ones (good reminders) at the start, they've become a substitute to prayer itself. instead of praying when you're reminded by the beads or the singing, you just play with them and that becomes your "prayer". instead of praying while the wheen is turning or whenever you see the flag floating in the wind, that becomes your prayer. instead of praying while the candle burns, the burning candle becomes your prayer.
Prayer is hard, and the funny thing is, God didn't really give us guidelines to pray. Jesus taught us how to pray and what not to do, but it still remains a hard task which requires years of practice and dedication for something so simple: talking to God!
i think the major difference between religious prayer and talking to the true God (apart from the fact that all other gods are false) is that we can do it in any way or form: out loud or silent, singing or talking, sitting or standing, lying or kneeling, writing or typing, in groups or alone, for hours or seconds and about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. so use things to remind you, make it a habbit, do it daily, go to the same place, do it walking, burn a candle, spin a wheel, hold a rock, draw a picture, sip some tea, wash the dishes... but whatever you do, don't let the thing you do to help you or remind you to pray become more important than the reason you pray or the prayer itself!!
weird how different religions have taken similar approaches to prayer (i thouht of this as i was in a mosque in istanbul).
Islam: prayer times are marked by shouting (singing) prayers all over the city (funny, all the mosques start at a few seconds interval from each other and create a massive mix of song and what sounded like shouting to me). or, if you can't attend the 5 prayers a day (i think it's 5), you can play with a little beaded bracelet. whenever the beads move, you're praying.
Budhism: prayer wheels and flags. while the wheel is turning, the prayers are "going up", or while the flags are floating in the wind (like they do 24/7 in the himalayas), prayers are "going up".
catholocism: burning candles. while the candle burns, the prayers "go up".
While all these ways of praying were probably good ones (good reminders) at the start, they've become a substitute to prayer itself. instead of praying when you're reminded by the beads or the singing, you just play with them and that becomes your "prayer". instead of praying while the wheen is turning or whenever you see the flag floating in the wind, that becomes your prayer. instead of praying while the candle burns, the burning candle becomes your prayer.
Prayer is hard, and the funny thing is, God didn't really give us guidelines to pray. Jesus taught us how to pray and what not to do, but it still remains a hard task which requires years of practice and dedication for something so simple: talking to God!
i think the major difference between religious prayer and talking to the true God (apart from the fact that all other gods are false) is that we can do it in any way or form: out loud or silent, singing or talking, sitting or standing, lying or kneeling, writing or typing, in groups or alone, for hours or seconds and about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. so use things to remind you, make it a habbit, do it daily, go to the same place, do it walking, burn a candle, spin a wheel, hold a rock, draw a picture, sip some tea, wash the dishes... but whatever you do, don't let the thing you do to help you or remind you to pray become more important than the reason you pray or the prayer itself!!
