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.

Healing Prayer Service: July 22, 2010

     Healing prayer service conducted by Jean.  She set up her altar with a hydrangea bouquet, candles, incense and the famous "Old Testament" Holy Trinity Icon of the Rublev style. (See below, first footnote under "Read More")  She led us in her usual expert way, first to develop concentration, to relax all parts of the body and center our prayerful thoughts on the heart. The group read together the following prayer from St. Bernadette Chapel, Lourdes, France. (See below, second footnote under "Read More")

     Lay your hands gently upon us,
     Let their touch render your peace,
     Let them bring your forgiveness and healing.
     Lay your hands, gently lay your hands.

     You were sent to free the broken-hearted,
     You were sent to give sight to the blind,
     You desire to heal all our illness,
      Lay your hands, gently lay your hands.

     Lord, we come to you through one another.
     Lord, we come to you in all our need.
     Lord, we come to you seeking wholeness.
     Lay your hands, gently lay your hands.


    Then we sat in guided meditation for those who needed our prayers for healing. We went around the group and pariticipants named those, either themselves, or loved ones, or friends who needed prayers for healing. Finally Jean annointed with oil  (See below, third footnote under "Read More" below) and prayed for any of those of the group who needed prayers for healing. Music was used to add beauty and soulfulness to the proceedings.  We closed with singing, and reciting the Lord's Prayer or Our Father together.

Healing Prayer Service for the Gulf, Jean Hausman. Article by David Spangler on the Gulf

     We were to have a Healing Prayer Service for Todd, but he couldn't be present. Therefore Jean led us in guided prayer for the Gulf.

     First, she passed around photos of ice crystals from various forms of water from badly polluted to crystal clear. Photographs of the water crystals over time demonstrated an effect of prayer on those waters as well, making the crystals more as they should appear, like snow flakes. Following is the web address for these photos:  http://www.wellnessgoods.com/messages.asp. If you didn't have time to peruse this handout at the meeting, view it at this website. The concept is very interesting.

Photo of water, Fujiwara Dam before prayer                      Fujiwara Dam water, after prayer

   











 Then we took turns reading the following article by David Spangler, posted on his blog. David Spangler was a founding member of the Findborn Foundation, a Scottich charitable trust which formed one of the largest communes in Britain which was started in the 1970s to attempt as a community to practice spirituality in every day life. This was a group of people who believed that plant growth could be influenced by earth consciousness. They practiced organic gardening and positive thinking methods applied to all forms of daily life. The ecovillage still associated with this Foundation has approximately 3000 people living and working there from all over the world. The Foundation supports many educational opportunities on site and conferences. The Findhorn Ecovillage is intended to be a tangible demonstration of the links between the spiritual, social, ecological, and economic aspects of life.

      Jean led us in guided prayer taking all the following article into consideration. It was very moving; I had tears in my eyes.

Click below to see the entire article by David Spangler that we read at the June 21 meeting.

Mysticism by Nic P. March 25, 2010

,     Our top secret presentation this morning was by Nic P. His topic was Mysticism. The whole group became very engrossed in Nic's self deprecating but moving presentation of some examples of mystical experiences that he has had.