[Leosyndicate]

I feel like starting my week off right.. Here are some prayers that I have connected with, in Recovery. Most of them are about self-forgiveness, compassion, acceptance, and service to others. I find these themes are very relevant in the MMJ community, sometimes moreso than in 12-step mtgs. These prayers do not require that you declare belief in anything... to benefit from them. At least, that is so, in my case.. Enjoy.. and feel free to add your own.

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St. Francis (11th Step) prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred . . . let me sow love
Where there is injury . . . pardon
Where there is doubt . . . faith
Where there is despair . . .hope
Where there is darkness . . . light
Where there is sadness . . .joy

Divine Master, grant that i may not so much seek:
To be consoled . . .as to console
To be understood . . .as to understand,
To be loved . . . as to love
For it is in giving . . .that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned,
It is in dying . . .that we are born to eternal life

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Prayer to the Great Spirit

O' Great Spirit, Whose voice we hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear us!

We are small and weak. We need your strength and wisdom. Let us walk in beauty, and make our eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make our hands respect the things you have made and our ears sharp to hear your voice. Make us wise so that we may understand the things you have taught our people.

Let us learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. We seek strength, not to be greater than our brother, but to fight our greatest enemy— ourselves. Make us always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes, so when life fades as the fading sunset, our spirits may come to you without shame.

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Baha'i Prayer for Peace

Be generous in prosperity,
and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in judgement,
and guarded in thy speech,
Be a lamp unto those who walk
in darkness, and a home
to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light
unto the feet of the erring
Be a breath of life to the body of
humankind, a dew to the soil of
the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.

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Native American Prayer for Peace

Almighty God, the Great
Thumb we cannot evade to
tie any knot;
the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees:
the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees
even the footprints of an antelope on
a rock mass here on Earth.
You are the one who does
not hesitate to respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.

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Sikh Prayer for Peace

God adjudges us according
to our deeds,
not the coat that we wear:
that Truth is above everything,
but higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God when we loveth,
and only victory
endures in consequences of which no
one is defeated.

-----------------

The enlivening Spirit of God is
freely expressive in and through me.
It illumines my mind,
regenerates my body,
inspires me with creative ideas,
empowers my constructive actions,
and easily and harmoniously arranges
all of my circumstances.

Every aspect of my life is now in divine order.



affirmation - roy eugene davis

------------------------

Do everything with a mind that lets go.
Do not expect any praise or reward.
If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.
If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom.
Your struggles with the world
will have come to an end.



insight meditation - achaan chah

-----------

For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.



the way of the bodhisattva - shantideva - 8th century

-------------------------

I will give you a talisman ...

Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen
and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him.



mahatma gandhi

---------------------

And a man said, Speak to us of Self-Knowledge.

And he answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that
which you have always known in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.

And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs
rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths
would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge
with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.

Say not, "I have found the truth"
but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul."
Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.



on self-knowledge - kahlil gibran
----------------------

O Lord,
give us a mind
that is humble, quiet, peaceable,
patient and charitable,
and a taste of your Holy Spirit
in all our thoughts, words, and deeds.

O Lord,
give us a lively faith, a firm hope,
a fervant charity, a love of you.

Take from us all lukewarmness in meditation
and all dullness in prayer.
Give us fervor and delight in thinking of you,
your grace, and your tender compassion toward us.

Give us,
good Lord,
the grace to work for
the things we pray for.



St Thomas More, 1478-1535

[BabyBoomer]

One of my favorites:

"One single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer". -G.E.Lessing

[Lou Weed]

Great thread.

[Leosyndicate]

Originally Posted by BabyBoomer

One of my favorites:

"One single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer". -G.E.Lessing

very nice. thx.

I've been using this one a lot lately. I learned it from Dr. Fu, an acupuncturist I used to visit. She didn't talk much, mostly I believe because of difficulties with the language, but as she attempted to lull me into a meditative trance during one of our sessions, she spoke the following sentences with more directness and clarity than anything else I had ever heard her utter:



"Do not recoil from that which is coming.
Do not pursue that which is fleeting."


-Dr. Fu

[bluntman]

This is a great thread!

Ive always strayed away from religion and most of its aspects. These prayers conjure up a spirituality in me that has never really existed. I think its time to put that kahlil gibran book to use that has been sitting on my nightstand

-blunts

[Leosyndicate]

Originally Posted by bluntman

This is a great thread!

Ive always strayed away from religion and most of its aspects. These prayers conjure up a spirituality in me that has never really existed. I think its time to put that kahlil gibran book to use that has been sitting on my nightstand

-blunts

"The Prophet" can be hard to penetrate at first... but there are some pure gems contained therein.. Read it when medicated.. it's better that way.

[bluntman]

Originally Posted by Leosyndicate

"The Prophet" can be hard to penetrate at first... but there are some pure gems contained therein.. Read it when medicated.. it's better that way.

Yep, the Prophet is the one that i have. I have tried to get through the book sober, and sometimes it just seems hard to grasp. I will try to get through when i take my evening medication and see if it makes it any easier. I know medication really helped me understand a bit more whilst reading Carlos Castenada's Don Juan series. I guess i just kind of forgot about The Prophet, but ill bring it back to life tonight

[Leosyndicate]

Originally Posted by Capt. Zigzag

Please consider reading "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge." By Carlos Castaneda

This is a first in a series which literally changed my life.

Read the introduction-->HERE

Listen to THIS MP3. You'll get the idea.

-

Great endorsement!! I will definitely seek that out.. Thanks

[Leosyndicate]

Mitch Albom writes books that make me feel inspired and reassured. He is the author of "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". Sometimes his work can get a little sappy, but overall I really connect with his characters and narrative voices.

He released a new book this year, "For One More Day". It is the story of an ex-pro baseball player, Charles "Chick" Benetto, who tried to kill himself a decade after his mother died. Alcoholism had taken over his life, his family had left and wanted nothing to do with him, and he basically gave up. The suicide was miraculously unsuccessful. He had a profound near-death experience involving one more day with his dearly departed mother. He allegedly recounted the tale to the book's author who wrote the story from Chick's point of view, based on what was told. I'm about a third of the way into the story. I don't want to reveal more about the plot in case anybody wants to read it.

I found this poem in the beginning chapters... I have never attempted suicide, though probably like most folks, I've had years where I dwelled on the notion, far too much. I sympathize heavily with those who reach that level of despair. This short poem really connected me. Perhaps you'll like it too.. I think anyone in Recovery especially, can identify...

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When he went blundering back to God,
His songs half written, his work half done,
Who knows what paths his bruised feet trod,
What hills of peace or pain he won?

I hope God smiled and took his hand,
And said, "Poor truant, passionate fool!
Life's book is hard to understand:
Why couldst thou not remain at school?"



(a poem, by Charles Hanson Towne,
found inside a notebook amongst
Chick Benetto's belongings)


...

[BabyBoomer]

I downloaded and saved the MP3 for future study. For me, it will take a few times through it. Very deep, that is for me. I'm still struggling with Awareness 101 maybe??? Thanks so much for bringing these issues to others.
Blessings to all. Great thread.

[Lou Weed]

I am missing my friends and ability to medicate as I wish very badly today, so this thread is picking me up beautifully. Thank you all.

[BabyBoomer]

May peace be in your heart
May love surround you
And may your day be blessed.

http://www.riversongs.net/dreams/hanging.html

Hang in there Lou.

[BabyBoomer]

Originally Posted by Lou Weed

I am missing my friends and ability to medicate as I wish very badly today, so this thread is picking me up beautifully. Thank you all.

Hang in there tiger.

[Lou Weed]

I will be back in LA the first weekend in November.



I want upon my return is a zoo convoy. What we're gonna do is rent a bus. (Usually, I just steal 'em.) Then we're going to whoop and holler and throw sharp, pointy, shiny objects. Then we'll get off the bus - and give the penguins a hard time.



Tomorrow, I get to go to Epcot. They've got a gorgeous greenhouse and a peanut planting kit for sale. Screw the peanut monopoly, I'ma grow my own. Mister Planter, you can kiss my ass and make it a love story.

[Captain Cronic]

Good thread and very positive in its motivation!!!!!

I hope you recover very soon and that life is not too harsh a mistress for you!!

Good Luck and Get Well Soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Leosyndicate]

When I look at you,
I'm looking into a still blue lake
Seeing a reflection
Not identical to me
Yet, underneath,
The meaning is still the same.

When I look at you,
I'm looking in a mirror,
Or just wishing
That we were more alike.
The words you speak
Are the words I write.

When I look at you,
I see a river
A flowing that never ceases
Spreading love in many branches.
Your silence, your actions,
Have strong undercurrents.



a reflection - lynne milum - universal light