Religious and Non Religious Prayer?

[The7thMaude]

I was raised Catholic (my parents had a mixed marriage Jewish and Catholic neither were especially religious) I haven't been to mass in years now although my husbands family are also Catholic. In my teens I got interested in aspects of pagan religions and as I've got older I have been interested in Buddhism and aspects of the Hindu faith. I do believe in something, some form of connectedness or higher power but I tend to view religion as an attempt to describe what that something is but that none is the one true way.

It could be viewed as that awful pick and mix spirituality thing and maybe it is but my spiritual practice involves prayer and meditation mostly. When I pray I try to trust in and feel connected to some higher power and I pray for the world, people I know and I pray sort of in discussion with that higher power. It is strange but when I do this it isn't a very different experience to just mulling over a problem or meditating I do feel like I get answers very quickly and that changes that take place internally during prayer seem to take root deeper and more quickly inside me.

My feelings about prayer is that you open yourself up to something better and bigger than yourself, you are totally honest, you place trust in the process and you then take action on the revelations you receive in the act of prayer.

One think that was very powerful for me was in asking for direction in life and help in moving forward and receiving the guidance to begin just to work, to show that's I was a working outlet for the love and creativity of God and once I had grease the wheels so to speak, the will of god, the universe would make itself apparent and flow through me and I really feel that is what happened. All these inner barriers I had collapsed and I was able to love and create in a way I could not before. I don't know if I would have got there without prayer.

Does anyone else feel this about prayer, whether tied to a specific faith or not?.

Prayer, meditation, cosmic ordering, writing a list, NLP. Its all a way of getting things out if your head and ordered in my view.

If you chose to call it a higher power thats fine, i just think its more to do with psychology and how we organise our thoughts into actions.

I dont believe that 'god' is responsible for things in the world and to be honest I really don't really like it when people have the 'I prayed really hard and all of a sudden everything started going right for me' mentality. What about the people starving, dying or suffering, why would a higher power see to it that you get your out of body higher experience that everything is 'ok' when others are left in despair? Its because you're special, you 'get it' and you alone just really feel it don't you?

I don't think prayer can magically change reality its more that it can alter how you respond to it. I know a lot of people who have been hungry, in desperate pain and close to the end who have used prayer and it helps them also. Its not about waving a magic wand, its about drawing comfort and strength from something you feel and trust in bigger than yourself and no writing a list doesn't have the same effect, not for me anyway.

I never said I was special, I just said prayer helped me sorry it seemed to annoy you.

I find it's amazing how many coincidences happen when I pray.

Just because writing a list (among the other things I mentioned) doesn't help you doesn't mean it is not useful to other people. I found hypnobirthing to be some kind of miracle, but other women hate it, so it would be wrong to preach it will help everyone. Thats the element of prayer i find annoying, not really your op.

I get worn out when i hear about someone having a crisis, particularly of faith, and the advice is 'pray pray pray'

Ollie, if you get worn out by people talking about praying, perhaps prayer discussions in the Religious forum aren't for you. Just as Helpful Hypnobirthing threads wouldn't be for someone who got annoyed by Hypnobirthing.

You mean like showing up on a thread called "Atheists Corner" when you are not an atheist, Dione?

Not remotely your place to tell people where & what they can post. This has been pointed out to you before.

Maybe focused prayer (as opposed to ritualistic mumblings) is a kind mindful meditation, a being in the moment, that helps you find your own route through a problem.

Extraordinary how some atheists are obsessed with god.

Well, I'll bite since that's what you're clearly aching for.

Atheists aren't "obsessed" with god (whatever that is).

Some of us are appalled and embarrassed at the scientific ignorance and medieval thinking of rather a lot of our fellow species & are willing to engage in discussions that will, hopefully, put an end to it for all our sakes.

We also take exception to the fact that believing in (frankly idiotic) myths confers special privileges within our society & forces itself into our lives whether we like it or not, most notably via our children's education.

Since this is our country too, we're entitled to a say. We are, of course, entirely used to the irritating habit of many theists accusing us of being "obsessed with god" but understand that there's few other available paths to head down when every illogical argument has been monumentally squashed.

It must be crap being a theist in this age of reason and science so I have a certain sympathy.

But you see it as black and white. That prayer=god=someone else is responsible for all the crap. It's not necessarily that way. You can pray/meditate/chant/wish well/be thankful without directing it at an omnipotent, omniscient deity Who Must Be Obeyed.

And even if someone does believe that implicitly, what is it to you? Why is it your job to attack their belief? It's not as if they're claiming that their belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster entitles them to impose that belief on others. Well, not for most believers. Most people just want to live and let live.

And for those who do feel that they are entitled because of their belief system, it is the sense of entitlement and the actions that it leads to that need to be addressed.

"It's not as if they're claiming that their belief in the Flying Spaghetti Monster entitles them to impose that belief on others"

The problem is that they do. In lots of societies. And even in ours. Christians hold significant privilege in British society. If they didn't, they could carry on with their Popish (and other)Practices and good luck to them.

Used to believe in "God" no longer do in that sense but I still pray and some higher power seems to function through it whether it's just me ordering my thoughts or anything more to it. Not sure what or who I pray to anymore... I still do and gain from it though

Sorry I didnt realise this thread was theists only

I agree with dustin and (as usual) bertrand on the priviledge issue, and on the children's education issue.

But back to prayer: I've got no problem if it helps someone to believe that they are putting their troubles in the hands of a deity, but it can be really tiresome for people who don't believe to be told to pray or 'I'll pray for you'. People who do not believe also engage in helpful personal reflection.

Exactly. It's the actions that need to be challenged where they impinge upon others, not the belief.

Anyway, Olli, who's telling you to pray? The OP was talking about her personal feelings.

And I gave mine in response...

I honestly didnt realise the op just wanted to talk about spiritual religious prayer, the title of the thread was 'religious and non religious prayer' I offered examples of non religious reflection and how I don't share the op's belief in god's creativity but still gain insight from other means of personal reflection.

Step

Lots of people believe lots of shit that I don't - astrology, ghosts, homeopathy, psychics et al - and the only time I even talk about such things is when they initiate conversations about them. Generally, I don't care because such rubbish is peripheral to my life.

If astrology was being taught as an alternative to astronomy, homeopathy in chemistry lessons, if the only available state school in my area was "Psychic High" (requiring a daily act of Doris Stokes worship), if Mystic Meg was allowed a seat in the HoL just because or if Derek Acorah (Mary loves Dick) was consulted on matters of national importance...yeah, I'd say something. And so would you.

I just wish religious beliefs were peripheral to my life too....but they are currently not.

Why can't the belief be challenged?

You mean that thread that claimed to be a place for "respectful chat" but that turned into a wee bitching session Dustin? The one that said people of faith obviously welcome in the OP?

I only showed up to point out an amazing piece of hypocrisy from a poster. You used it as an opportunity to segue into a very silly, totally irrelevant but deliberately provocative remark about atheists.

And Olli is right...the title talks about the non-religious. No one should have been smarmily telling her to leave the thread.

Oh, sorry...thought it was the other one.

Well, Dione...having seen you tell multiple atheists, on multiple occasions, that they have no business whatsoever on the R&S section regardless of the subject matter, it I was quite astonishing to see you there.

In any event, bitchy or not, it is a fact that it is not your place to try and get people off threads. Never has been never will be.

Its alright, ill back away slowly!

dustin see you on the atheism thread :D

Can you link to the threads/posts where I have told "multiple atheists on multiple threads that they have no business whatsoever" on the Religion and Philosophy forum Dustin?

OP, I get what you're saying.