Praying…. 11/6/2016

I used to think that I wanted to pray like a fella in my prayer group. When I shared that with him, he set me straight. He told me that my “talk time” with God was not supposed to be like his.  He then told me whatever I had to offer to God in prayer was 100% acceptable to God.  It took a long time of thinking about that and coming to believe it.

Sometime later I spoke with a trusted spiritual guide.  I shared with her that I felt guilty for not taking the time to pray the way I thought I should. She asked what I meant and I told her that I had good intentions of setting aside time but then I got caught up in the things of the day, my work and didn’t get to it.  I did tell her that I prayed in church and sometimes with certain clients.  She asked me if I had conscious awareness of God throughout my day. I told her yes, that often I think of Him in the “inter-stitches” during the day, times between activities, times when I’m in my car, and times when I’m in transitions. She simply said to me, “That’s prayer!” I was taken aback, but as I reflected on it, I realized she was right. She also told me not to worry about the structure and the amount of time. She also asked how God communicates with me. I told her in different ways – sometimes an idea in my head (“aha”), sometimes something from my reading, sometimes in a song or the words of another person, sometimes in what I see and, at times, just a sensation in my heart.  She also pronounced this as fine and told me I was on the right track.  I was relieved, but it still took me a while to work this through and to let some of the guilt dissipate for not doing it “the right way.”

“The power is in the One who hears it.”  The receiver has all the power. He is a better listener than I!  He hears and knows everything, even my weak and sometimes infrequent attempts to communicate with Him.  He loves me just as I am, with all my shortcomings, blemishes and character defects – I’m still trying to wrap my head around that one!  He doesn’t judge – He just loves me for who I am.

Be mindful of God’s presence in your life and you are already praying.  Your prayers are not wasted.  Be humble, contrite, thankful and ask on behalf of your self, and others. When in doubt, to paraphrase Mother Teresa, “Pray anyway!”

Of Mouths and Ears….. 6/7/15

This one is definitely for my friend Dave!

God, in his infinite wisdom, definitely knew what he was doing when he created us.  There is definitely a power in silence.  Not only can we hear ourselves think, but we can also hear others speak.  Active listening is difficult.  I often find myself thinking about what I’m going to say next and not fully hearing what is being shared with me.  That’s definitely a “no-no” for a counselor, and it isn’t very healthy for family and personal relationships either!  I need to practice what I preach more!

Want something to think about?  I know someone whose parents and sister were born deaf! Think about how challenging communication is in that family…

Listening helps us be more present (“be here now”) and less likely to go back into the past, or worry about the future.  Listening gets us beyond ourselves and connected with those around us.  In that sense it helps curb loneliness.  Being an active listener also curbs our tendency to over-communicate which is usually based in our insecurities and anxieties.

Here’s a different way of saying that quote, and one which I’ve used for a long time: “God gave us two ears and one mouth and expects us to use them proportionately!”    Peace, John

        I am actively involved in planning a daylong conference for professionals entitled: “Medical Marijuana: Clearing the Smoke on Fact from Fiction.”  This will be held in Wallingford all day on Thursday, June 18. CEUs & PDHs are available. It is a wonderful opportunity to obtain current information and to learn the pros and cons of the debate on medical marijuana from Connecticut experts in the field. For more information and/or to register, please click on the following link:

http://cteapa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/June-2015-Conference-Flyer1.pdf  

If you have any difficulty with it, please contact me. Finally, please consider sharing the information about this conference and link. Thank you!