Preguntas en la oración

I've been missing my church... never EVER would have thought I'd say those words... but I find that whenever it wanders into my mind, the sermons give me exactly what I need. I thought the FoCO one posted its sermons online, so I went on a search. They don't. I was sad. Instead, I found a podcast from a church of the same faith in San Francisco. The following is a list of sentences, thoughts and things I wanted to remember from a podcast that was, as I said, exactly what I needed.

"How to Pray Without Being Religious" - 1st Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco

"Praying" by Mary Oliver

It doesn't have to be

 the blue iris, it could be

weeds in a vacant lot, or a few 

small stones; just 

pay attention, then patch 

a few words together and don't try

to make them elaborate, this isn't 

a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which

another voice may speak.

When asked to whom to Buddhists pray, the Zen Buddhist monk replied this way:

The one who prays and the one prayed to are two realities that cannot be separated from each other. This is basic Buddhism and I am quite sure that in every religion there are those who have practiced for a long time who have this understanding.God is us and we are God. The one who bows and the one who is bowed to are both, by nature empty. Therefore the communication between us is inexpressibly perfect. 

Likewise the prayers of Native Americans are not always directed to a specific deity being or invisible spirit. Instead prayer is often invoked vaguely, say the spirit of a tree or river.

The whole of creation is alive with spirit, the breath of life, with the divine impulse. Why pray to a distant creator when the spirit of life is at your fingertips? or even in your fingertips? When your very heart beats with the force of life? Rivers and trees in the ground often make more sense than deities above the clouds. 

Words from some Christian on prayer:

A reflection on the depths of life. As a way of giving thought and voice to ultimate concerns. And a measure of what we take seriously without any reservation. Those who know about depth, know about God.

Still there are those who consider prayer a conversation with God.

Instead, I pray to seek the deepest ground of my being so as to gain a personal experience of the deepest truths of life and death, and of faith and truth.

• Prayer precipitates action. 1 act of social justice is worth 70 years of prayer. (Koran)
• I cannot maintain a balanced life if I am feeding the hungry but starving my own soul.
• Three questions to answer a problem: What do I know? What does it mean? Then, what do I do?
• Approach that question prayerfully. Don't be afraid to pray. Especially when it's the only thing left to do
• Prayer is mostly silence.
• The voices in our heads can justify just about anything.

"God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer."

A guide to PRAY

• P- praise - offer gratitude, for all that I have, for all that I am. 
• R- "repent" (to turn around)/ relieve - to look for forgiveness, acknowledge my fallibility, encourage making amends
• A - ask - advocate for those who are in need or those you simply care about; name those who get on your nerves, and pray so you can experience their divinity, pray for the causes you believe in, your church, your planet. 
• Y - yourself - introspection and self-care, laugh, weep, complain, call myself to live on higher ground... see what it is hiding behind your reflection. with practice these two selves will merge

Our work is loving the world, accomplished by "mostly standing still and learning to be amazed." - Mary Oliver

Take the time today to be amazed by the world every day. Call on that which you already have to become who you already are.

http://www.learnoutloud.com/podcaststream/listen.php?url=http://www.uusf.org/AboutUUSF/SermonArchive/RSS/UUSF_Sermons.xml&all=1&title=20061

"How to Pray Without Being Religous"