Praying the News Begins by Being Fully Present To It

“Reality shows” can be watched as entertainment.  Genuine news demands that we be fully present to what is and allow it to affect us, even when there’s nothing we can do about it. That means honoring life as a mystery, not as a problem to be solved, but as a paradox where we are called to go deep into the heart of compassion without agenda or attachment to outcome.

Every faith has so much to teach us about surrendering to the wisdom and will of something greater than ourselves, whether or not we use the word God.  I have been particularly touched by the work of the late artist/peacemaker/oral surgeon Frederick Franck, who taught me the Dutch word “schouwen.”  Franck saw this as a way of seeing life in all its dimensions, so perceived separations between us and the other dissolve. This kind of practice, Franck said, opens us to inspiration.  It liberates creativity and builds respect for self and others.

For Franck, schouwen led him to humanitarian service throughout his 97 years of life, authoring The Zen on Seeing and 29 other books, and creating the beautiful trans-religious oasis, Pacem in Terris in Warwick, New York.

One Way to Pray the News

Please join me, right where you are, in praying the news.  As you do so, edit the following prayer as you see fit.

Let us now attune together, heart and soul, as we enter the mystery together.  In the silent fullness of sweet surrender to what’s most eternal and wise, let us rest for a moment and refresh our souls.

Into the heart of this quiet mystery, let us place our care and concern for whatever is happening.  Let us bless it by seeing it just as it is, right now.

Let us bless it by envisioning the best for all concerned (even if we do not yet know what is best); let us bless it again by calling forth the best.

Let us bless our own questions about the news as we reflect: how do outer events mirror our own gifts, faults, etc.?  How are we like the dazed wanderer or the tyrant or the healer we see in the news?

How are we being called to serve this particular challenge or follow this opportunity or vision?

How can we do what calls us, when so much calls?

The News Isn’t Just What’s Reported on “The News”

The real news includes the ongoing reporting of your intuition, your instincts and other elements of your natural genius that are too often quashed. When those gifts come alive, we see life more clearly.

The most dramatic experience of praying my own news happened during what is now known as the Loma Prieta quake in 1989.  Then, I felt the bristles going up and down my spine warning danger long before my mind registered “Earthquake! Big one!” and way before I felt the building sway wildly.

Hyper-alert, one part of my brain reviewed quickly a recent show on “How to Survive the Big One” on the local PBS station.  I saw this information almost as if it were an internet home page, allowing me to skim quickly the various offerings and to click for further information.

At the same time, I surveyed the room for likely dangers and my safest spot.  Almost immediately, my two bad knees (from torn tendons in separate accidents) bent easily, and I was under my desk fast.  I heard the same inner voice that has guided me to my husband, my right work and other good things in life.  “You are now going to learn the difference between fear as a fault and awareness of danger as a gift,” it said.

Under the desk, I became aware of that part of my psyche that some call the mask or persona, which was obsessed with whether or not my crystal glasses at home were safe or if colleagues who were then laughing and talking throughout the quake were going to tease me afterwards.  Underneath the mask level, in what the Pathwork www.pathwork.org calls the “lower self,” I was just furious.  How dare God put me into this situation where I could get killed?

Underneath all that, the quiet voice spoke again.  “You could always die at any moment.  The question is, how are you going to live your life in the meantime?”

In that instant, I surrendered to the choice to live fully in the present, at least for that moment. I was overcome with awe and wonder, as if I was riding the power of earth and feeling how it connected the approximately 7,000,000 of us who live in the Bay Area.

Afterwards, the awe and wonder continued,  as I became more aware of both the power of humans to build with the earth and the impossibility of taming it.  In the weeks to come, it was always amazing to watch buildings that looked irreparable to my untrained eye be made whole again, while buildings that looked safe to me bore the red tag of unsafe and had to be torn down.

Ever since that quake, I have had a clearer touchstone for what it means to see more clearly what is and to be guided by a force much greater than ego or will. This is what it is like, my personal news archive reminds me, to be engaged with life and let it teach me, let it call me to work more from that sense of connection to others and the earth. This is a reminder of how much can be learned and experienced in a short time, for the Loma Prieta quake itself lasted only 15 seconds.

What’s Your News?  How Does It Call You to Live and Act?

In the days to come, I pray for the renewed commitment to keep praying the news, to find my best service for Haiti, for my hometown, and elsewhere. Without prayer, it feels impossible to take in the news.  With prayer, I can sometimes see how the little I can do, the little I can give, can grow and be enough.

What’s your prayer?  What does your prayer guide you to do?

As always, many blessings,

Pat McHenry Sullivan

And then there are days like today.  Days like this Monday morning after Thanksgiving that came way too early. Days when it’s so unclear about what to do first and how to stop wasting time and energy in stewing and fretting. Days that call not for dramatic breakthrough wisdom but for the smaller, moment-to-moment acts of protecting what I know to be true from such threats as perfectionism or wanting to avoid doing something that just must be done.

Days when the only prayer I can say is “God Guide me,” when I haven’t the foggiest notion of who or what God is.

Sometimes, the Simplest Prayers are Best

If you’re like me, it’s so easy to get drawn to drama.  Last night while I was watching yet another version of Ebenezer Scrooge’s dramatic breakthrough from workaholic miser to loving and guided human being, a neighbor knocked.  He and his girlfriend had just been robbed at gunpoint and needed help.

The part of me that loves drama could spin details about the whole event into endless scenarios of how awful it is, how hopeless it is to try to do anything.  The part of me that can actually do anything is much humbler and more willing to feel the vulnerability of the whole situation.

So in these moments when I am in my right mind, the prayer is simple.  God — whoever or whatever you are — help me see more clearly.  Help me be with these neighbors in the best way possible.  Help me join with all my neighbors to keep each other be safe amidst forces that aim to harm us or who just cause harm because they don’t give a hoot about us.  Help me see my piece in the whole job of building peace in my local community and in the world around us.

And as I take on more of the work of peace building, help me do my usual job of earning the income we need to meet our worldly needs.

Sometimes, the Best Spiritual Practice is Just Muddling Through

I can’t say that this mornings’ prayer over what’s on my plate has brought beautiful, eloquent wisdom.  I can only say that my plate is quite full.

A church we used to attend always had a ceremony of lighting candles for joys and concerns.  Today, among my concerns are my hurting neighbors as well as the robbers who must also be hurting underneath their bravado.  There are also concerns about some client projects that need to be completed, marketing and sales work which needs to be done more efficiently, and health concerns that require me to do a much better job of taking care of myself.

And there are so many joys: a loving marriage, growing friendships, deepening relationships among far-flung family, clients who write back “thank you” when I send out their bills.  New opportunities, new hopes, even more grounded hopes for peace in a currently hurting world.

Since there’s no room on my desk to light a candle for every joy and every concern that meets me this Monday morning, I light now only one, with the ongoing prayer, “God guide me.  Even when it’s not clear what help I need or what help I am called to give others.  Just guide me, whoever or whatever you are.  Thank you, and so be it; so it is.”

As always, many blessings,

Pat McHenry Sullivan

I really want that right now, not just around the ever-present health care financing issue, but around everything else that’s dominating the news today, like how hard it is for many of us to make a living right now. Like how many people we know are stuck in painful jobs they hate but don’t dare leave. Or for those of us who are entrepreneurs, where the next clients are coming from in a time when so many are still cutting back.

Healthcare financing and all our other money or work issues could benefit from some individual and collective deep breaths.

Won’t you breathe with me right now? Just take one breath, then another, and feel your energy rising. As you breathe, listen to the silence. Trust that you’ve got something worth saying, starting with yourself, so make that commitment to hear yourself.

Listen more than speak to yourself. Listen past your own assumptions and beliefs and pet projects into the stillness of your own heart. And when you are ready, share what’s true for you with another.

One thing I know for sure is that whenever two or more of us come together long enough to really see each other, to really listen to each other, we are wiser. Confusion becomes clarity. Enmity becomes dialogue, then collaboration. Money wasted, lives harmed turned into money used well for the best of human and earthly life.

It’s not easy to find money or work wisdom in a noisy, divisive world.

Even in my quiet office with candles burning, it’s hard to put aside all sorts of ideas and assumptions so I can be present to a deeper Presence. Even with years of practice in hearing what really matters most to others and myself around spirit, work and money, it’s hard to hear the one thing I need to hear right here, right now.

The wisdom I find in the silence calls me down from my high horse and holds a mirror to truths I’d rather evade. It calls me to say or do things I’d not otherwise dream or dare, things that risk ridicule or failure or even scarier, a hope and awe that make me tremble

And so, being human, I often run from the silence, and I bet you do, too.That’s why it always helps to have companions on the journey of dealing with what matters, whether on the mundane or spiritual level.

The world is filled with tips and resources for finding wisdom for money, work and other spiritual or mundane issues.

As a kid, I loved watching my mother and her best friend share everything from recipes to laughs to prayers to tips on sewing and how to handle us kids. As a business plan writer and teacher, I love sharing resources and ideas for how to turn a dream into thriving reality. As a writer and speaker in the field of spirit and work, I’m passionate about sharing tips and resources from all the world’s faiths for all types of work.

Here are some favorites you may try:

Go to the place where you feel most attuned to your wisdom source. For most people that’s the bathroom (no.1 according to a survey of business executives, especially the shower), a place of worship (not necessarily your own religion) or nature. If you can’t actually go to your wisdom place, go there virtually. (www.workwithmeaningandjoy.com/ww_-_retreat.pdf)

If you are under time pressure or are uncomfortable with meditation, run or do whatever else that helps you get your body, mind and spirit into a non-competitive zone. Many lawyers I know find that answers that eluded them during hard thinking come easily on the run.

Work off your anger or frustration safely, like our grandparents did while chopping wood or beating rugs over the clothesline. Some friends and I one had a great time working off some political fury by smashing yard-sale chipped pottery against a concrete wall. By the time we had carefully swept up the shards, we had a lot more energy that we could focus positively.

Tomorrow, by request, some tips from writers and speakers about how to get your most meaningful points across in a noisy, crowded world.

As always, many blessings. And come back again real soon,
Pat McHenry Sullivan

“A mind at peace, a mind centered and not focused on harming others, is stronger than any physical force in the universe,” says Wayne Dyer, author of many practical spiritual books.  That’s true whether you’re dealing with work, money, or personal issues. Fortunately, the same skills and attitudes that help us stay centered in our personal and spiritual life are also applicable to all practical, worldly challenges.

A recent health scare led Kim Weichel to the following reflections on staying centered:

Staying centered when things are going well is often not difficult, yet the real challenge is to stay centered when your world suddenly changes, when fear strikes, when chaos reigns, or something potentially terrible happens.

Several weeks ago I was drying off from a cold shower on a hot, humid night in Washington DC, when I suddenly felt a lump on the outside of my right breast. I froze, prayed it was my imagination, but to my horror felt it again. And again.

Terror quickly enveloped what had been an otherwise delightful evening. Might this be cancer, given my family’s history with cancer? How far along was it? Would I feel pain?

I fought back tears and decided not to say anything to my husband for fear that I was overreacting. I also hoped the lump would disappear by morning.

Moving from off-center to centered is usually a process, not a one-time transformation with no back-sliding.

As I got in bed I took some deep breaths and focused on how grateful I was for my great health these 57 years, and calmed myself down knowing that whatever happened I would be OK.

Still, I awoke many times that night in a deep sweat. What if I only had a few years to live? How would my life change? So many questions without answers.

The next morning I wanted to call my doctor, yet we had just moved to the Washington area and were not yet members of our new health plan. I swallowed hard and knew I needed to be patient and wait until we were accepted. Weeks went by.

There’s no better opportunity for some spiritual growth than uncertainty.

We all have challenging moments. How we handle them is the real test of character. I’m blessed with many years of training and practice in centering and other spiritual disciplines. So, each day I had to wait, I prayed and focused on all that I had going for me. I visualized the lump disappearing. Each day felt special.

Still, concerns crept in, sometimes in the middle of the night. I practiced recognizing them, acknowledging them, and then saying a prayer. That helped me to let it go.

Finally our new health plan was in place. I prayed again before going to my new doctor and did some deep centering work again in the waiting lounge. I felt deeply held in God’s grace. Though the lump turned out to be just a benign cyst, I knew that I could meet gracefully whatever happened.

Here are some tools that can help you stay centered in any challenge.

1) Prayer: Prayer will help you get off the fear or stress treadmill and into a space where you can hear the quiet voice of wisdom within. Prayer is a very powerful healer for mental and physical ills. Studies have suggested that people who are spiritual seem to heal faster or cope with illness more effectively than do the non-spiritual.

2) Gratitude: This practice increases happiness because it reminds us of all that is working in our lives. It does not deny the difficulties of life, but it’s always helpful to switch our focus (like changing TV stations) from our fear or scarcity channel to our gratitude channel.

3) Visualization: Visualization is more than just faith, and it’s been used effectively by athletes, entrepreneurs and spiritual leaders. When you visualize, and believe in what you are doing, healing takes place. You see how to deal with challenges and manifest your work, life and money dreams.

You might ponder the following questions about your faith and ability to stay centered:

What pulls you off track?

What works for you to get back on track?

How can you remain centered during the challenging times?

What support do you need?

May you remain centered and grow from your tough times,

Kimberly Weichel

Kimberly Weichel is a social pioneer, educator, author and specialist in global communications, leadership and peacebuilding. She is co-author of “Healing the Heart of the World” and director of the Institute for Peacebuilding. www.kimweichel.org.

Grandmother’s Kitchen and Garden as a Model for Spirit and Work

From my Grandmother Mary Stephenson Lee’s kitchen comes a picture of what it means to work with meaning and joy. Although she often served “store-boughten” bread, at least once a day the hand-hewn bread trough was pulled out of a cupboard and placed on the countertop to the right of the sink. Into it were poured her ingredients. In the time-honored Southern way, no measuring utensils were used.

Mixing the ingredients was easy, but kneading the dough took hard and skilled effort. Starting at the front of the trough, Grandmother would press down with her palms while she rolled the dough away from her body, stretching its mass past several breaking points. Then gracefully, her fingers gathered the dough back toward her for many more cycles of fold and stretch, gather and reunite.

For Grandmother, the bread trough was a place of prayer. Here she worked out many of her troubles and worked in her blessings. Here she enfolded matter with meaning, then made it ready for transformation into a new form of love.

Grandmother’s spirit was also worked meaningfully into form in her garden, where she retreated after clashes during her seventy-two-year marriage to a man as strong-willed as herself. Whatever thoughts she worked out as she pulled weeds, she mostly kept to herself or to Grandaddy, but her gardens flourished for as long as she could tend them. So did the marriage, until her death at the age of ninety.

Everyday Creativity Is Another Venue for Spirit and Work

Southern women were once trained to keep their hands busy, even while visiting someone else’s home. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop” was one popular saying. “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” was another. For Grandmother, busyness took shape through crochet. It was always fascinating to watch her take a plain ball of thread and turn it quickly into something else: doilies, large and small; a thick mat in popcorn stitch to keep Grandaddy’s hair oil from staining the fabric of his rocker; tablecloths; bedspreads. Beauty.

She tried to teach me this craft. I learned enough to know that crochet is based on very simple maneuvers that can turn into complex patterns by subtly changing the way thread meets needle. I also learned that patience and an even rhythm made all the difference between my lumpy messes and Grandmother’s elegant creations.

One of my most precious legacies from my grandmother is her dough trough. Another is her King James Bible, bought sometime in the 1920s and used at least into the mid 1970s. Held together with electrical tape, it bears the marks of decades of loving use. In its pages are various photos, clippings, and other items. Many people tell me that they also place items in their Scriptures as a way to pray over all they represent. While writing Work with Meaning, Work with Joy, I sometimes put the chapters of my book into Grandmother’s Bible as a way to pray that these words from my mind and the meditations of my heart do her the honor she deserves.

Some of Our Best Spiritual Teachers Are People Who Challenge Us

My relationship with Grandmother was often difficult. I could be as stubborn as she was determined to direct me, particularly after my mother—her daughter—died when I was just thirteen. In many ways, our relationship was also a microcosm of the upheaval in the ’60s and ’70s. She stood for tradition, and she was not interested in talking about the things that most fascinated me, like diverse forms of spirituality, art, psychology, the civil rights and women’s movements. To her and countless others like her, spirituality was meaningful only in the context of religion.

There were long periods when I thought Grandmother had nothing more to teach me, or that she could not possibly understand a spirituality that was meaningful to me if it was expressed differently from hers. Yet, the harder I tried to express the most basic meaning of spirit and work, the more memories of Grandmother interrupted my thoughts. By embracing these memories and praying over their meaning for many days, a new framework for talking about spirit and work evolved.

Authentic Spirit at Work: accessible, ordinary, practical

To be authentic, spirit at work has to be as accessible and ordinary as Grandmother’s bread trough and crochet hook. It has to be as strong and pliable as bread dough, so it can withstand many cycles of stretching and breaking. It has to be as simple to understand as basic crochet stitches, yet even more capable of being crafted into complex forms.

To be useful, spirit at work needs to be practiced until it becomes both a skill that can be engaged with minimal or no rational thought, and an opening of our consciousness to new wisdom that surpasses current understanding. Spirit at work has to be relevant to the task of the moment, while anchoring us in the eternal. It needs to be enfolded in the most authentic teachings that we know, then unfolded into our work.

What about you?

How do you now enfold spirit into your work?

Who models spirit and work in your life as simply as solidly as Grandmother does?

What can you learn from Grandmother or your own role model?

Work with Meaning, Work with Joy: Bringing Your Spirit to Any Job is available wherever books are sold.

Affirmative prayer is a powerful tool for reversing the effect of many bad attitudes and decisions about money. Unlike the “God, fix it for me” type of prayer, affirmative prayer combines a statement of faith with a commitment to partner with God or Source or whatever other name we use for the mystery of life, death and what becomes before and after.

Here are some of my favorite affirmative prayers regarding money:

I choose to see clearly how I now pollute or bless my relationship with money. I ask for guidance to create a wiser, sounder and more compassionate relationship to money.

I am grateful that my need for increased income matches another’s need for the very services I am called to offer. (Note: this prayer is adapted from one shared by Rosanne Roberts, a human resources consultant in Santa Fe, www.robertsresources.com.)

With the help of the Universal Ways and Means Committee and the Universal Marketing and Sales Committee, I choose to see clearly how to connect with those who can best use my help. (Note: this prayer is adapted from one shared by Rev. Sarah Hargrave, an entrepreneur and former corporate executive [http://www.ggcsl.org/hargrave.html].)

Oh God, you have shown me many times that I try to take on too many things for too many people, and you have shown me that underlying this tendency are faults like pride or lack of faith. Help me to do what is mine to do and to release what is not mine to do. (This prayer is inspired by many sermons by Rev. Dr. Patricia Keel of Unity of Berkeley, www.unityberkeley.org.)

On the inner level, prayers like these help me see more clearly into my financial challenges and also to see better opportunities for creating ethical abundance. If I am patient enough, such prayers always lead to guidance. Sometimes the guidance calls for more patience. Sometimes the message is to learn nitty-gritty skills, such as marketing and selling or how to create a blog. Sometimes the inner voice insists I take on challenges that I would rather avoid, like picking up the phone and making a sales call. Often, the guidance is about being more disciplined and completing mundane tasks like filing or bookkeeping.

I find that unless the guidance of prayer is followed by affirmative action, prayer and affirmation about money or anything else are useless. Grounded in prayer, action can be powerful.

How about you? What’s your affirmative prayer for your particular situation? How are you called to act in alignment with your values and vision?

Many blessings for your journey of enriching your personal economy, insight by insight, action by action, in a way that truly supports yourself and others.

Come back real soon with your own insights and inspiration,
Pat McHenry Sullivan