Meditation and prayer Ceremony by Jean H.

We have a very talented prayer leader in our Spirit Mind Body Group. Jean H. leads us in guided meditation and prayer several times a year. This morning Jean moved us all by conducting such a service/ceremony. She wished our spiritual potential would grow into much more than we think we are and she hoped this ceremony would enable that goal.  Calmed by music (first one of my favorites Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata) and Jean's calming voice, we relaxed our body piece by piece, joint by joint and got ourselves ready for the prayer service. Then Jean guided us in "relaxing our heart", that is opening ourselves to receive the serenity of the occasion. We used our breath to guide us in this opening segment. Jean said, "Breath is spirit and spirit is life!"

Then we spent a short time in silence to let Jean's many guiding words soak in and to become as serene as we possibly could, escaping from the whirlwind of this season into this small Mindfulness Center with our friends from our Spirit Mind Body Group.

Jean usually conducts candle lighting with her ceremonies because the light is so calming and symbolizes in many religions serenity, spirituality and opening of the heart, to make the light shine within.

Jean then lit her candle and spoke of a characteristic or quality within herself for which she is thankful. She then passed the light on to the person next to her, lighting that person's candle. Then that person and each in his/her turn passed the light around the room each recognizing and giving thanks for an inner quality for which they are thankful. It is easier to thank and recognize others for their gifts, but sometimes it is difficult to recognize, confess and be thankful for inner qualities that we all have and recognize them as allowing us to move forward in our spiritual evolution.

After all the candles were lit and each of us had spoken our little piece, we randomly spoke the name of people that we wanted to include in our prayers. Then we mindfully and prayerfully placed the candle in the receptical near the altar prepared by Jean. We observed a moment of serenity with these candles all lit. Each person had taken a message from a small dish. These messages were single words that might be a beacon for going forth from this ceremony. Perhaps it would apply to something we had to accomplish, or to something that we wanted to achieve, or to our current meditations. They were single words like honesty, clarity, courage, resilience, happiness, joy, serenity, hope etc. The group broke up discussing their word and how it applied to them or their current activites in life.

Jean recommends the Jesuit prayers and chants at the following website: http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/

Following are some photos of a sacred place that you might contemplate with your meditations: These are photos of the Cologne, Germany Cathedral.