The Snowflake Chronicles

I Never Feel

1 Jalal 164 B.E. – Monday, April 09, 2007

NOTE: The following exercise is one suggestion by Oriah Mountain Dreamer as is based on information from her book What We Ache For. I found the exercise on at the website http://www.oriahmountaindreamer.com/creative.html.

I never feel I should be doing something else when I’m praying. The prayers rise from my soul. I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when I am reading or reciting the verses of Baha’u’llah, the Bab or ‘Abdu’l-Baha. My soul attuned to the essence of reality knows without asking the answers to the problem upper most in my mind. Fear and worry disperse and disappear like clouds on the western horizon.

When I pray, I feel free of all worry and fear. I feel that there is not problem that is insolvable. I feel like I could do anything in the world. I feel the presence of God, Baha’u’llah, the Holy Spirit. Even alone I’m not lonely. I have found that by reading one of the revealed prayer enough eventually I learn it by heart and don’t need the prayer book to read it. It helps if I read the prayer aloud rather than silently. That’s why one is alone when saying their prayers, the prayer can be read aloud. The presence of the Holy Spirit is felt strongest when one is along reading the sacred words.

When I pray, I see the unity of humanity, the oneness of God and the basic oneness of religion. All religion comes from the same source. God revealed them through different manifestations at different times because humanity matures from one age to the next. The revelation by a single manifestation assists in this maturing. As humanity matures, different problems and difficulties come to the forefront. Different ages have their own issues, so we need different answers from one age to the next.

When I pray, I discover my true self, my muse becomes more attuned to the creative spirit. My soul listens to the voice of God. The voice of God comes through the revealed word and the still small voice that says make an effort, attempt something new. The voice that speak positive thought. The voice of God comes through other who ask me about Baha’u’llah, it comes through the sacred writings and the scriptures.

I am never lonely when I am in prayer. When I have my prayer book with me I can say a prayer anytime. Sitting in the car with my windows rolled up is like being alone in my room. One doesn’t have to read the prayers out loud, in a car you can read them silently. I keep a prayer book in the glove compartment of the car, in my purse, on a bedside table and by the computer. I am never without a prayer book. I know some of the prayer by heart so I can repeat them silently while I am folding cloths or doing something else. When I get worried or afraid, then I repeat the prayers I know silently.

I ache for prayer, to hear the revealed verse reverberate through my mind. The coffee can get cold, the food can get cold, the outside world goes on without me. Prayer is the soul’s solace, it is light and heat, it is food and drink.

Why do I pray? I pray because I can do nothing else. Thanksgiving is an attribute of light and love. I pray to give thanks, I pray to ask assistance, I pray because prayer is natural to the soul. I say the prayers revealed by the Bab and Baha’u’llah, I say the prayer written by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, I say prayers that I learned as a child, I say prayers that I compose myself. The most powerful prayer are the revealed prayers but one doesn’t have to confine prayer to simply those. One can pray all the time everyday by just talking to God or to Baha’u’llah or to any of the other Manifestations of God’s light.

I never feel I should be doing something else when I’m writing. The words don’t always flow easily, but if I continue to write they come. The best time for me to write is after I’ve said my morning prayers. The words seem to flow easier then. When I write the worry and fear of the processes disappears. I have some bad writing habit. I have a tendency to backspace and rewrite when I’m doing my first, my rough draft of a piece. This takes discipline to over come. I like writing in a word processor better than in a pen and paper journal when I’m working on a long piece. The pen and paper journal is for idea beginnings. The word processor is for composing long pieces and rewriting.

When I write, I feel … [To be continued in a later entry].

When I write, I see … [To be continued in a later entry].

When I write, I discover } … [To be continued in a later entry].

I am never lonely when I am writing. [To be continued in a later entry.]

I ache for the time to write. [To be continued in a later entry.]

Why do I write? [To be continued in a later entry.]

I never feel like I should be doing something else when I’m setting at the computer typing into word, but the cat has different ideas. Troubles gets on my shoulder at this time and purrs. She puts her claws into by breast and kneads her claws are sharp. Right now she is sitting on the back of the chair purring, but she just got down off my shoulder. I don’t know what her problem is this morning. I opened the back door to the patio even before I made coffee.

I never feel like I should be doing something else when I’m petting a cat. The cat (it doesn’t matter which one) will sit on my lap and purr. Sometimes the cat will nudge its head against mine. Usually though the cat sits and purrs while I stroke it. The cats are real pests of a morning, they all want my attention at once. One of them likes to watch me put cloths in the washer. He will sit on the dryer and watch me put the cloths in, but when I go to turn the water on and put the detergent in, he leaves. Another one likes to watch me make coffee, I’ve been making coffee since I was about sixteen. You would think by now I’d know how to make coffee, but the cat seems to have a different idea. I hope I’m making coffee the way the cat thinks I should. It’s a good thing they speak in meows and purrs, they are bossy enough as it is without them talking to me in English or another human language.

When I pet a cat, I feel … [To be continued in a later entry].

When I pet a cat, I see … [To be continued in a later entry].

When I pet a cat, I discover } … [To be continued in a later entry].

I am never lonely when I am petting a cat. [To be continued in a later entry.]

I ache for the time to pet a cat. [To be continued in a later entry.]

Why do I pet a cat? [To be continued in a later entry.]