cross cultural collective prayer

[wil]

Because I was unaware that atheists pray.

(this coming from a nontheist christian)

 

[Tao_Equus]

Because I was unaware that atheists pray.

This one does not 'pray'. Though I do sort of meditate.

 

[wil]

This one does not 'pray'. Though I do sort of meditate.

Ok, I"m with you now. In my view prayer is talking to G!d/the universe/higher self, meditation is listening.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Because I was unaware that atheists pray.

Strangely enough, a few do. They don't pray to God, of course, but pray as if there was a God listening.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[nativeastral]

or even more 'tuneful' and harmonising why not meditate/pray chanting?

Kirtan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Netti-Netti]

I love prostration positions... but they put me to sleep.

Interesting. To me they signify the most intense religious feeling.

 

[Tao_Equus]

Interesting. To me they signify the most intense religious feeling.

.....lead me not into temptation......

 

[path_of_one]

Interesting. To me they signify the most intense religious feeling.

I'd imagine it's different for each individual. The most intense religious feeling makes me want to stand up with my arms outstretched to the heavens.

Prostration, for me, either makes me think I will be sleeping soon (if I'm happy/calm) or that I'm extremely exhausted and sad (if I'm stressed).

 

[Snugglepuff]

I thought I might chip in here, if that's ok.
I'm going to try and give a reasonably round reply.

From a very young age I was Christian. I used to pray for barbie dolls and to not to get bullied at school. But as I grew older I started to pray for my families well being, I prayed that my friends would be protected.

Later on in life, I disbanded from Christianity and turned to Wicca after many years of debating whether to do so. I learnt so much from being in this religion but in the end it just didn't suit me.

The driving force behind a spell or an offering, is your will. The energy you put into behind your words can affect what happens. Whether it be a psychological, subconscious effect or whether it is real energy manipulation, energy is the real power behind prayer.

If you think of the world as being a web of energy, all of it connected. Sometimes, you can manipulate that energy and cause a ripple in the web to meet your needs/desires. It'll probably sound a bit bizarre to some people but think of it almost like Ki in Reiki.

Prayer or spells share the same goal (most of the time), the desire to have something, or the need to protect something/someone. Therefore, regardless of what your faith is, I think you can collectively pray for something because you are wishing/desiring/praying/wanting the same outcome. How it happens may occur differently though.

That's what I would have said when I was Wiccan and probably when I was Christian too. As long as you have a common goal, it doesn't matter what faith or how you do it... the desire is there

Hope I don't sound like a complete nutjob. Lol!

 

[citizenzen]

Hope I don't sound like a complete nutjob.

What? Have you read some of the stuff here?

You're going to have to try a lot harder than that!

 

[Snugglepuff]

Oh good lol I'm glad Im not too crazy

 

[Netti-Netti]

Here's another Buddhist in prayer.

Does anyone have info on the meaning of the palms turned up?
Resident Buddhists?....

 

[Sancho]

Hello to all. I haven't been on-line much lately. I'm glad to see that this thread has been revived.

My personal opinion is no it doesn't matter, we are all praying to the same entity no matter how we view/name Him.

Something I try to pray for every day is to remove the fear/dispair from the hearts of people that are oppressed in the world ... maybe someone would like to join me in that one?

Muslimwoman, this sort of uniting in prayer for the good of humanity is what I have been hoping people would be interested in. I will join you in this and hope others will as well.

 

[nativeastral]

palms showing..openess; also point of energy in/out

l think there are collective prayers happening at regular [point of power at the same moment] times on this very prayer, wonder if thats on google...

 

[Dream]

Collective prayer represents a harmony of opinion. Praying people like to discern between what prayer accomplishes and what they accomplish themselves. In this regard, it helps to know that we are all affected by inductive processes, but that should not be what prayer is about! When we believe an event is taking place or is inevitable, we take action. In a way, this can cause the event to take place. Prayer is (or should be) different. Induction is not the same thing as collective prayer but mass motivation through awareness manipulation. In management and retail it is called 'Managing expectations', and in politics it is called 'Leadership'. Collective prayer is a completely different concept.

• To help visualize this: a physical example of an inductive process is a fluid induction bilge pump. Powerful pumps are needed to pump lots of heavy water (and flotsam) quickly out of a ship belly. Vacuum pumps cannot do the heavy lifting, so induction pumps are used. These are large pipes with powered water jets embedded in their walls that squirt water away from the open end and towards the receiving end. (A normal pump is used to force water down a smaller pipe to power the jets.) At first it may seem odd to pump a small amount of water down to get a lot back up, but it works really well! The pool of water is 'Inducted' into the pipe and forced upwards under high pressure, even carrying large objects up with it. That's management for you.

 

[wil]

Is this cross cultural collective prayer enough?

The Unity approach to prayer is affirmative, based on positive prayers and affirmations that have universal, interfaith appeal. Silent Unity is available 24/7 ready to offer you free confidential prayer support whenever you want it.

Silent Unity: Your 24/7 prayer resource