Prayer has been a part of spiritual worship since the beginning of time. What is prayer? I like to think of it as a conversation with god. As with any conversation, it shouldn’t be one-sided. There are times that we are speaking and there are times that we are listening. Many times, we forget about the listening part. It can be difficult to determine when we are actually hearing the voice of the Divine as opposed to the some other voice such as our Ego.

This is a very basic model and probably not entirely inclusive, but I think there are four basic formats of prayer. These are as follows:

1.    Formal

These are the prayers that are part of every organized religion. The Salaat of Islam, the Our Father of Christianity, the formalized Shabat ritual of Judaism. These prayers are suffused with an eternal power and strength from long-use by countless generations. The repetition of them, both by the individual and the communities that perform them, creates a vibrational resonance that creates comfort and performs miracles.

2.    Conversational

These are the prayers in which we talk to God. Many times we are asking for something that we want – either for ourselves or for others. Sometimes these are known as intercessory (asking for something for others) or petitional (asking for something for ourselves). Many times they are prayers of Thanksgiving and gratitude for our many blessings. Sometimes they are prayers asking for guidance to do the right thing in a particular situation. They are just as the name conveys, conversations with the Divine, the source of ourselves and all that is.

3.    Centering

This is a style of prayer that is common in almost every religion and spiritual practice. Usually it is a meditative-type prayer in which a word is repeated over and over again either silently or aloud. In Sufism, this is called Remembrance and it is the name of God, “Allah” that is repeated or “La ilaha ilallah” – meaning there is no God but God. In the Christian form of Centering prayer, it can be any word of your choosing. The purpose of this type of prayer is to clear all of our mundane thoughts and keep focusing on God, Allah, the Divine. It is a very calming sort of prayer. Wayne Dyer mentions that the “AH” sound is the sound of the Creator, hence, all of the names for God in various religions or sacred sounds of various spiritual paths have this sound in them. For example, “ohm”, “Allah”, “God”,”Yahweh”, etc.

4.    Listening

This one is more complex but just as, if not more, important than the others. In the other forms of prayer we are communicating or focusing our intentions on something. However, at some point in the “conversation” we need to remember to step back and listen. This can be done in a myriad of ways including silent meditation, mindfulness practices, journaling, dreamwork. Many of us get those flashes from that still, small voice at the least likely moments, such as in the shower or driving to work!

All of these types of prayer serve different functions. I like to incorporate all of them in my daily spiritual practices. It is much like working out your body. You need to do exercises that are cardiovascular in nature to increase your endurance and heart strength, you need to do weight-bearing exercises to keep your muscles strong and you need to do stretching exercises to remain flexible. Some of these types come easier to some of us than others and yet, they are all important.

See if you can commit to a week of doing at least 5 minutes of each of Formal and Centering prayer; and intersperse Conversational and Listening forms throughout your day. You can set a timer a certain period of time to remind yourself to step back and have a conversation with your Divine source.

Of course, don’t be hard on yourself if you find even these few minutes a day difficult. Just remember the words of Meister Eckhart, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

This article was written by Patricia Selmo, an Interfaith seminarian, certified life coach, spiritual healer, teacher and guide. She is the co-founder of the International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders: www.iawsl.com.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline: The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download-as our GIFT to you-the 5 Secrets to Creating Abundance Through Your Calling. You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of information and tips for supporting you in your calling. Just click here: www.iawsl.com

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tweet about it
• Subscribe to the comments on this post

In the Christian tradition, this week is known as ‘Holy Week’ where on what is now called ‘Palm Sunday’, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey with many of the people flanking the streets, placing palm branches on the path before him.  Events through the week culminated in the crucifixion and the resurrection, the latter now commonly celebrated as “Easter”.

While there are many sects within the Christian tradition with each having their own ‘take’ on the teachings of Jesus, I believe there is one teaching upon which all might agree.  That is his entreaty; “Teach only love”.

What does that mean for us as women who are spiritual leaders?

•    I think it means that when we are tired; “weak and heavy laden” that we turn to the Source of Love to “place our yoke” in order to feel that Love and experience peace within ourselves.  To be comforted in the way that only that Love can comfort.

•    I think it means that Love starts with us; that we cannot give it if we do not experience it ourselves.  What do you do to cultivate Love?  Do you have a daily practice where you can get quiet and access that part of you that knows Love?  Are you able to foster a state of awareness of that Love during your waking hours as you go about the experience of living?

•    I think it means that we use that awareness in order to know just how often we do not come from love, for to teach it, we have to be it.  And when the awareness we cultivate shows us that we are not coming from love; we learn to be easy on ourselves.  So often we are quick to judge and berate ourselves because after all, “we should know better”!

•    I think it means also honoring the ‘simple’ acts of kindness, such as when we let the person who is trying to ‘cut us off’, get into the stream of traffic.  When we check in on a neighbor we know is ill.  When we respond to a request for help.  When we pick up trash someone else has carelessly dropped.  And a thousand other acts of kindness.

•    I think it means being present with Love as we listen, really listen to those who are engaged with us in communication.  Our lives move so quickly, and, as we know, there are many distractions.  These facts often contribute to our not being fully there for the other when they require our respect and our presence.

•    I think it means, not only giving Love to others, but also to ourselves.  It is now almost trite to say that we cannot Love others if we do not Love ourselves, and that is filled with truth.  We speak often in our articles about ‘self care’ which is one of the ways we honor Loving ourselves.  How long has it been since you have taken the time to care for yourself in the ways that help you be a conduit for Love?

Jesus taught and lived the meaning of Love throughout his ministry.  To me, the ultimate act of Love was his victory over death.  Now are we free to Love as he Loved and to renew ourselves in that Love as we celebrate with all of our Christian friends, the meaning of Easter!

Love and Blessings!

Ruth

Ruth Reiner, Co-founder and President of The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders is an ordained Interfaith Minister, Spiritual Counselor, Certified Life Coach, and successful business woman.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, PUBLICATION, OR ON YOUR WEB-SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leaving the entire article intact, do not alter it in any way, and include the following: “THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN SPIRITUAL LEADERS” was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download – as a gift to you- THE 5 SECRETS TO CREATING ABUNDANCE THROUGH YOUR CALLING.
You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of tips and information for supporting you in your mission or quest.

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tweet about it
• Subscribe to the comments on this post

For many of us Women Spiritual Leaders, we are familiar with the word “epiphany” in its colloquial meaning…  “a sudden understanding, or insight, especially into the meaning of something”.  As we honor the celebration of the “Epiphany” of the Christian tradition which this year occurs on January 6th, we would invite you to discover, or reaffirm, ways in which we might invite epiphanies in order to help with our ministries, our practices, and our day to day living.

I suggest that they are not unusual, and for spiritual women, may be quite common.

January 6th marks the celebration of “Epiphany” which to Christians of the Eastern and Western churches commemorates the arrival of the Magi and, for some, the baptism of Jesus.  Both acknowledge the ‘Epiphany’ as the “manifestation of Christ to the world”.

‘Epiphany’ is also intertwined with the twelve days of Christmas, the twelfth also known as “three kings day” in honor of the Magi who, biblical and historical scholars think, may have traveled many months and over many miles to visit Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, who by then, had left the manger and had created their home.  Once there, they honored the baby Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh each having its own mystical meaning.

How many times have you experienced an ‘epiphany’ after struggling with a problem or a challenge that had you tied in knots?

Do you remember when the ‘epiphany’ occurred?

What was it that the ‘epiphany’ provided?

If you implemented the solution that the ‘epiphany’ presented, what were the results?

I ask these questions because I believe all of us as women spiritual leaders have had ‘epiphanies’ that could help us answer these questions.

How, then, can we invite those experiences of insights, revelations, and sudden realizations into our everyday lives?

1.    Spend time in reading, study, prayer, meditation, and contemplation which provide the discipline to counteract the distractions which cause the ‘static’ we all experience which interrupts the clear signal which is often searching for our ‘receiver’

2.    Commit to the practice of being in the state of ‘awareness’…

3.    Be cognizant of our thoughts and resultant emotions by allowing and exercising the ‘observer’; that part of us who is constant, unchanging, and not rocked by our thoughts, feelings, and actions…

4.    Practice letting the past and the future go… the present which is all we have, will provide the answers we are searching for…

5.    When preparing for sleep, offer your problem, challenge, or issue… being willing to let go of it and trust that your answer will come…  It may not appear in a dream, though often it does, or upon awakening the next morning;  continue to trust that you will have the answers…

6.    Expect the ‘epiphany’ and when it is experienced by you, offer thanks, and provide the environment and the steps, with guidance,  to put it into action…

As we enter this new decade, may we, as women spiritual leaders and those of us who are awakening to our spiritual natures, experience the clarity and the potential for making a difference in our lives that an epiphany provides!

Reverend Ruth Reiner is an ordained Interfaith Minister, spiritual counselor and coach.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, PUBLICATION, OR ON YOUR WEB-SITE?  You may, as long as you commit to leaving the entire article intact, do not alter it in any way, and include the following: “THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN SPIRITUAL LEADERS” was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions.  We invite you to download – as a gift to you- THE 5 SECRETS TO CREATING ABUDANCE THROUGH YOUR CALLING.
You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of tips and information for supporting you in your mission or quest.

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tweet about it
• Subscribe to the comments on this post

Today, the first Sunday in Advent, we celebrate with our Christian friends who look toward the “coming” of the birth of Jesus.  Although largely symbolic considering that Jesus has been born, there are those within Christianity who anticipate the second advent, or coming of Jesus.
Each Sunday preceding Christmas is marked with the lighting of an “advent” candle; four in all, usually contained within a wreath or other shapes of evergreens.  Advent is considered to be the start of the liturgical year in Western Christianity.  The celebration is alive with tradition, from the colors of the candles and the banners within the churches and raiment worn by clergy and other spiritual leaders, to the hymns and in songs sung by choirs and congregations alike.  The air is expectant, and the congregants eagerly look forward to the culmination of the festivities in the celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas morning.

For those of us women who are spiritual leaders in our respective religious communities; for those of us who have solo or partnership practices as spiritual counselors, energy and other holistic healers; and for those of us who are feeling the flames of longing to birth our own entities, “advent” could be pregnant with enormous meaning.  In order to “birth” whatever it is in each of us, I offer the following:

1.    Each Sunday of this “advent” season, or other day of your choosing, commit to spending time cultivating your spiritual roots.  Whether it be in prayer, meditation, chanting, yoga, singing, drumming, dancing, being in nature, studying in your tradition, or writing… the very idea that you have committed to and have actually created an outlet and time for it, will alter your mindset and your attitude.

2.     Each Sunday of this “advent” season, or other day of your choosing, commit to spending time contemplating your goals in anticipation of 2010.   In order to be effective and successful women spiritual leaders, we need the direction that is contained within the framework of goal setting.  For those of us who depend upon the guidance that comes from our spiritual practice, being aware of our goals keeps us alert to the opportunities that may appear at any time and place.

3.    Each Sunday of this “advent” season, or other day of your choosing, commit to spending time evaluating where you spend your energies.  Are you, like most, spending time on the 80% of your activities that produce 20% of the results?  Or have you, like other successful women spiritual leaders, cultivated the art of identifying which 20% of your activities produce the 80% of results?  It is not difficult to achieve…  it takes the willingness to look at the big picture and to seek help in learning the tools…

4.    Lastly…  each Sunday of this “advent” season, or other day of your choosing, commit to spending time “weeding out”; letting go of what is no longer working in your life and/or in your practice.  As women, and as spiritual leaders, we each know what that means in our own lives.  As natural born intuitives,  we know what needs to be examined in light of its usefulness and contribution to our lives and/or our practices.  As women, and as spiritual leaders, we often feel that in letting go of that part of our practice/business that is no longer effective, or that relationship/s that is draining us of energy, we may inadvertently hurt people by our decisions to “let go”.  And… it is likely that people may be hurt by our decision to “let go”.  And therein lies the meaning, for me, of “advent”.  When we “let go”, it allows for whatever it is to be born… in us, and, if they so choose, the people who may be affected by our “letting go”.

May each and every one of us as women spiritual leaders experience this time of advent… expectancy… as a time of dedication to our spiritual paths, to identifying and to committing to goal setting, of evaluating our lives and practices for the “80-20” concept, and to intuiting/examining our lives and practices for what needs to be “let go”.

This article was written by Rev. Ruth Reiner, an ordained Inter Faith minister, spiritual counselor, coach, nurse, former wife, mother, grandmother and entrepreneur.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you commit to leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and include the following byline: The International Association of Women Spiritual Leaders was founded to support spiritual women in living abundantly while serving their unique missions. We invite you to download—as our GIFT to you—the 5 Secrets to Creating Abundance Through Your Calling. You will also be registered to receive our weekly newsletter full of information and tips for supporting you in your calling.

• Bookmark on Delicious
• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• share via Reddit
• Share with Stumblers
• Tweet about it
• Subscribe to the comments on this post