tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10494827.post3838024728784766716..comments2023-08-06T11:27:32.984-04:00Comments on on chanting: 418. Jacob, part 2alto artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07101176587462737940noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10494827.post-51151010336865668682006-12-12T10:30:00.000-05:002006-12-12T10:30:00.000-05:00I envy those, like you, who have so much trust. I'...I envy those, like you, who have so much trust. I'm not there yet. I trust that my prayers are heard, and if I fill up the universe with enough good intentions, I will somehow find others who think along these lines. But I guess my prayers are always offered under the assumption that their fulfillment can't rely upon God alone. All of us down here are God's agents; I believe that we need each other equally so God can do what God has to do. I guess I think of prayer more like a promise entered into by both parties, me and God, with a good chunk of the answer relying upon work done by God's creations. I guess, now that I think about it (I don't usually--thank you for raising this question!) I believe strongly in the power of prayer as a way to focus my intentions--but then I must exercise the image of God that's inside of me in order to bring them to fruition.<br />--aa.alto artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07101176587462737940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10494827.post-73507470958830426592006-12-11T23:17:00.000-05:002006-12-11T23:17:00.000-05:00I go back and forth on this -- both of us come fro...I go back and forth on this -- both of us come from traditions that mandate action, although I believe your tradition has been better at it overall in some ways than many branches of my tradition -- but what I go back and forth on is how to make sure the waves go as far as they can -- sometimes that means I must do something overt (pray about relief to the hungry AND give them food, or the means to food, for example)-- sometimes it means that I must also sit inside trust, and trust that the work of prayer will be done - that prayer IS something very powerful in its own right, and that as a friend of mine is fond of saying "Intention is Healing".Mata Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04097615918403870130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10494827.post-42928365487323222542006-12-11T08:05:00.000-05:002006-12-11T08:05:00.000-05:00Ah--you are so wise, and so right. Thank you.
I g...Ah--you are so wise, and so right. Thank you.<br /><br />I guess my challenge, then, is really about what to do with the waves that radiate out, because Judaism is about action--making sure those waves reach as far as they possibly can.<br />--aa.alto artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07101176587462737940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10494827.post-70543060071342486882006-12-10T23:39:00.000-05:002006-12-10T23:39:00.000-05:00You say "My challenge now, as always: to figure ou...You say "<i>My challenge now, as always: to figure out what this means in the context of the rest of my life, all the other stuff that has nothing to do with prayer.<br /></i>" but here is the secret:<br /><br />EVERYTHING has something to do with prayer - there is no place where prayer winds itself out of the tapestry. I see prayer as a small pebble dropped into a large and elegant spiderweb -- it makes the whole web shimmer and shake. Everything it touches, touches something else.Mata Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04097615918403870130noreply@blogger.com