At the Taizé prayer, the area with the altar and candles was inviting. First the silence for about 10 minutes, then the music played, followed by long pauses for praying and reading the scriptures together. The prayer around the Jesus cross in the center was about to begin when a person placed the cross on the ground and next to the cross a pillow for people to kneel and express their burdens. After about ten minutes, the prayer around the cross continued, but this time the cross was moved to a table. People freely approached the cross at the table and placed their heads on it or kissed the cross. After a few more prayers were said aloud, then the final prayer was said followed by a song as the closing. From this opportunity of praying in a group, I learned about the gifts and challenges of prayer while reflecting in silence and listening to the meditative music.
The Taizé prayer is an opportunity to reflect on your day or your life and pray with others together. This was my first time in a Taizé prayer, I have never heard about it before this class. The Taizé prayer is a different way from how I am used to communicating with God. The prayer is centered on a worship group that between silence, songs, prayers, and bible readings, people stand up to acknowledge the cross statue in the center by kneeling in front or kissing the statue. The prayer relates to Kay Lindahl’s contemplative listening or listening in silence to God in Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening since the silence is part of the Taizé prayer. While in silence in the Taizé prayer one is listening to God and creating room in one’s mind for God to guide you through life.
During the prayer, I learned that the peace of mind you feel, a gift of the prayer, is centered in the reflection while in silence or the meditative music playing. The silence and the music playing relax you and prompt you to reflect on your day and life and to stay focused while listening to God. Among all the people at the prayer, a person wearing a red sweater stood out as the leader of the prayer. First her singing, then her silence guided me through the scriptures she read and through the prayers she directed. While praying together as a group later reflecting in quiet, you
The meditation began with violin music as students and teachers entered the church. The music continued for three or four minutes after everyone had found their seats. When the music concluded, the speaker walked to the lectern and began speaking. He started off his speech with an anecdote on his childhood fear of the film, “The Wizard of Oz.” He explained that as a child he felt frightened of even the most benign subjects-flying monkeys led to soiled pants. The meditation then lingered from specificity to a more general theme.
In (Matthew 6:6 NIV), Jesus explains the merits of praying to the lord God and the reward of inner peace, “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret: and your father who sees in secret will reward you.” It is through this conversation with God that Christians pursue peace in their lives. Prayer can either be private or communal, spontaneous prayer is one way that charismatic communities can come closer to God. The act of prayer allows believers to have a personal conversation with God; it alleviates stress attributed to the monotony of everyday life. Besides prayer, meditation is another way of attaining inner peace, it is an ancient practice within the Christian tradition, which has undertaken a recent revival, a global group that reaffirms the concept of praying and meditating for inner peace is Taizé. Not as popular as prayer and meditation, Lectio Divina, generally known as bible studies is a way for Christians to feel connected to God and to finally attain inner peace. The studying of the sacred scriptures on a day to day basis and reflecting on prayers also maintain a continual connection with God. It is vital to maintain equilibrium between prayer and service, whereby an individual fathoms the notion ‘ora et labora’, in order to equally partake in both prayer, and the concept of action whereby ora develops inner peace, which is mirrored through the
As Christians we partake in rituals that consist of prayer, baptism, and the eucharist. Prayer is used on several occasions and for conveying distinct concepts. Prayer can be used as a way
External environments directly influence an individual’s stress level and their capacity to cope. Upon entering a public location, such as the DMV, I find myself annoyed, impatient, and stressed. By performing your meditation experience in public, you presented how efficiently controlling your own stress can affect your mindset. Rather than resting annoyed, you unearthed the beauty in a stressful situation. Through talking and postulating tips to the anxious girl, waiting to take her driver’s test, you possibly reduced her stress furthermore. This displays a growth in character and the start of mindful living.
What struck me as beautiful was the way they called out names for those who needed special prayers. I have seen this done before, but not this way. It was breath taking because they paused and took turns speaking there was great order. Now I’m not sure who the worship leader was, if it was the young lady that started off the service, if so she did a great job setting the tone. What I did learn is that there is religious worship service that are not over takin by an individual that makes it a one man show. What I learn that I will take away from this is that it’s not about being in the spot light, it’s about letting Christ shine through
My ancestral background belief is focused on spirituality and prayers hence, this lecture was a reinforcement towards my daily practice of prayers in my life.
As the sunrises over the crisp fall horizon, followers begin to surround the sacred space in anticipation for what is about to take place. The sacred space is soon surrounded by people who are dressed in the sacred colors, some wearing necklaces of their totem, while others wear headdresses that adorn with their sacred symbol. People begin to drink, play music, and prepare a banquet feast for each other, creating a festival atmosphere in hope that today’s ritual will be a success. As the ritual gets set to begin followers begin to crowd into the sacred space, surrounded with pictures and names of those who have reached greatness. As the ritual begins, music is played in order to bring everyone together and prepare for the events that
Each night, there is a point where the day falls to silence, a silence that encloses you in your own thoughts and reflections. For as long as I can remember, my dad always told me "that is when you pray." His words matched the ones of every Sunday school teacher, but their voices faded as my worries grew. It seemed there were some stresses a man on a cross could not eliminate. Bible stories where Jesus cures people from their pain and problems appeared no different from the storybooks I stopped reading years ago, unrealistic and improbable. I vacillated between the faith instilled in me and the plausibility of things occurring by chance, not by Christ. As each day came to a close, I struggled to thank a voiceless God for a day I wasn’t grateful
Focusing on The Fruit of the Spirit Patience (Long Suffering) will help some see the positive aspect of Patience (Long Suffering) because of God’s unconditional love. Throughout the course of the training, the veterans will be able to relate to the loving-kindness and the gentleness of God, which can lead to spiritual inner peace and joy. Also, during moments of meditation, the veterans will realize, that it was their faithfulness in God that helped them to survive during the time of war and their military service. The ability of the veterans to maintain self-control during the time of war was advantageous for each to utilized a mode of survival.
Guided Meditation: Consider everything that’s going on simultaneously around the world. From complicated political campaigns to the worst of human nature being exposed in the level of violence we see, it can be difficult to just quiet our minds and “be”. Rich and Marci provide guided meditation sessions as a way to find a more peaceful and seamless state of being. Make no mistake: this is a growing trend with many national and even global companies now offering meditation as part of their company wellness
The value of practicing silence and solitude is peace. When being still in the presence of the Lord there is peace. A sense of calmness comes upon you, and you can actually think. I always start off with
Spending spiritual time in silence can be difficult for many individuals because it gives them time to think and be present in the moment. Being silent also requires solitude
As a group, they would read from the prayer books, which were small excerpts of the Torah, and prayed together. They bowed along and even turned their backs together, in unison, as a
As I took off my shoes before entering the main temple before the first worship session began, I began to feel a sense of peace within myself as well those that were attending the worship session. Inside the main temple was a huge statue of Buddha surrounded with white silhouettes of the Lotus flower, which seems to be the symbol of peace. Tens of incense jars filled with sand litter the alter the room. The room smelled like incense, pleasant and peaceful. There were twenty rows of small cushions that were used for kneeling and sitting, and twenty rows of small raised shelves that were used for holding the prayers that were going to be recited during that session. People were filling the room really quickly, and seats were being taken
Having been a Christian for many years I thought that I had a fair knowledge of what it meant to pray. I was amazed and humbled by the idea that through Jesus’ restorative act on the cross I am able to come into God’s presence - and not only come but be welcomed and even longed for. I believed that prayer is a powerful tool to petition God , a vehicle to praise Him , and an instrument to increase our intimacy with Him . I understood that people pray in a variety of ways, based on the teaching they have received, their experience, and even their personality. Most commonly, I engaged in prayer as a conversation with God.