Personal Improvement Prayer

 

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me show love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light; and
Where there is sadness, joy.
Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.”
- St. Francis of Assisi (1128-1226)

An informative old book by Dean Ornish, M.D., "Reversing Heart Disease," 1995, includes a chapter on the power of praying, meditating, and guided thinking.  A newer version of this book came out in 2022, "Undo It."  I quickly browsed and reread some of this useful old book last month.  I have tried to follow his advice for many years.  

Many people told me they prayed for my recovery from my cryo-genic ablation surgery on February 4, 2023.  The positive thoughts from others helped me stay calm, feel appreciated, and hopeful. 

Good and positive thoughts, sayings, prayers, mantras, scriptures, poems, well wishes, and encouragement can help others and ourselves.  

"Don't misunderstand me.  I don't believe in prayer.  I only do it.  Or perhaps it does me."
- Sam Keen

Believing is an important step in transformation.  If you don't believe in achieving your goals and objectives, it is very hard to keep working steadily on actualizing your specific goals.  Your not going to have the grit to stick with a self-improvement tactic unless you believe the tactic is beneficial, useful, doable, and achievable.  

With Beauty Again It Is Finished

"Greeting the Dawn,
This Fruitful Day,
For Sun, Sky, Soil, Water, Plants, Animals, and Mankind
I am so grateful.

Seeing the Light without,
Feeling the Light within,
I walk on. 

Thus joyfully you accomplish your tasks,
Happily will the old men in the fields regard you,
Happily will the children regard you,
Happily will women in their homes regard you;
Happily may our trails lead us in the way of peace. 
Happily may we all return.  

With beauty before me I walk,
With wisdom above me I walk,
With good works around me I walk,
With love it is finished,
With beauty again it is finished!"

Adapted by Mike Garofalo from a Navaho prayer found in Pagan Prayers collected by Marah Ellis Ryan.  

In the summertime, I begin my walk very early, around 5:30, at daybreak.  It is cooler and quieter at this time of day.  A good time for a prayer of thanksgiving to the Great Spirit.  In the winter, as shown below, I walk around 9 am.  

      

I enjoy this painting of a Daoist Sage, an Immortal, smiling, walking in the clouds.  A bottle of magical elixir hangs from his Dragon Cane in one hand, and the Peach of Immortality in his other hand.  There is also a sacred Crane ready to show the way.  

   

"Zen Master Yunmen Wenyan and Shifu Miao Zhang were walking together in the valley behind the temple one cloudy summer morning.  It began to rain steadily on the two old friends.  Yunmen said, “My staff has changed into a dragon and is swallowing up the heaven and earth.  So, my friend, where do mountains, rainfall, rivers and the great earth come from?”
Miao Zhang was quiet for awhile, stopped on the trail, and then held his cane in his hand with the tip pointing to the sky.  He said, “Yunmen, as for the source of their coming, the tip of my cane points to the fecund depths of vast emptiness, the crook end to the endless inter-marriages of ten thousand realities, and my hand grasps the heartwood of the ordinary mind.  So, my friend, Yunmen, where are they all going?” "

-  Shifu Miao Zhang's Koan Collection
   By Mike Garofalo, in Way of the Staff

A repost from 9/2020.  

Fourth of July

On this Fourth of July we celebrate our liberties, the natural beauty and many resources found in America, the millions of women and men who have worked diligently to create peace and prosperity, and the chance to improve ourselves, our homes, our communities, and our government.  

"In the morning, everything is new.
 The day's blank slate lies before me,
 ready for my writing.
 May it be words of beauty I write.
 May it be deeds of grace I do.
 May it be thoughts of joy I think.
 All the Holy Ones, Listen;
 this is what I pray.
 Great Spirits of the Four Realms,
 Holy Ones of the Realms of Minds,
 Kindreds of Yore,
 as I go through the day,
 keep my eyes open wide.
 May I not miss beauty.
 May I not miss joy.
 May I not miss wonder.
 Keep me awake and aware of the world.
 It is my privilege to perform my morning prayers.
 It is my honor to do what should be done.
 As I rise with the morning, fog lifting slowly for my mind,
 I pray not to forget these truths.
 Awen."
 -  Ceisiwr Serith, Book of Pagan Prayer, p. 126
 

A Healing Prayer

 

"We, who need help, pray for the healing of our physical, emotional, and spiritual pains and afflictions. 

Source of all blessings and power, heal us, empower us, and bless us. 

We realize that we can't do it alone, and we ask for blessings from all those who have the power to help, elevate, and heal.

We ask for help from the sacred above us.

We ask for the support of those around us, our friends, families, and communities. 

We pray for the wisdom to find ways to help ourselves.

We ask for guidance to help us ease our way and heal our hearts.

May we open ourselves to the mystery that is beyond us, the source from which we are never apart.

May we be happy and hole.

May energy pour through us for the benefit of one and all.

May we dance and lift up our hands and our hearts in praise and rejoicing."

- Lama Surya Das, Awakening to the the Sacred.  Prayers: pp. 254-291.

"Don't misunderstand me.  I don't believe in prayer.  I only do it.  Or perhaps it does me."
- Sam Keen

A Blessing for Death

"I pray that you will have the blessing of being consoled and sure about your own death.
May you know in your soul that there is no need to be afraid.
When your time comes, may you be given every blessing and shelter that you need.
May there be a beautiful welcome for you in the home that you are going to.
You are not going somewhere strange.  You are going back to the home that you never left.
May you have a wonderful urgency to life you life to the full.
May you live compassionately and creatively and transfigure everything that is negative within you and about you.
When you come to die may it be after a long life.
May you be peaceful and happy and in the presence of those who really care for you.
May your going be sheltered and your welcome assured.
May your soul smile in the embrace of your anam cara."
-  John O'Donohue (1956-2008)l, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, p. 230. 

Death and Dying: Quotes, Poems, Lore 

Giving Away My Prayers

I very rarely have prayed since I was 15 years old.  I figure that I should not bother the Gods or Goddesses with my concerns, and leave more access time for people with really urgent desires to pray or for people in dire circumstances. I do try to be generous in some way to others.  

One Greek philosopher, Epicurus, argued that the Gods and Goddesses seemed seldom interested in human problems (if at all), lived at another level of existence, consider us irrelevant or we are out of their sphere of knowledge, and they lived in a remote and blissful state.  Humans had to figure out how to solve their own problems. Praying was ineffectual.  

Why would Gods and Goddesses be concerned or know about humans?  How do supernatural beings get information about our petty lives.  How do supernatural beings create change in the natural world?  Many say, for the Goddess Guan Yin or Tara or Our Lady of Guadalupe or Lakshmi or Athena, that all will Listen to us, have compassion, and might be able to help us when we are in need.  The Divine Mother: The Essential God Duty.  

It would have been a little too bold in ancient Greece for Epicurus to call the gods or goddesses imaginary, archetypes, an opiate of the masses, or (like Nietzsche) "dead."  However, even many religious believers at times shrug their shoulders in disappointment when everyone's prayers are not answered.  We can't deny the facts of our senses, so maybe our beliefs are less accurate about the results of prayer.    

I am reminded of a story about a farmer and a preacher:

"A farmer purchased an old, run-down, abandoned farm with plans to turn it into a thriving enterprise. The fields were grown over with weeds, the farmhouse was falling apart, and the fences were broken down. During his first day of work, the town preacher stops by to bless the man's work, saying, "May you and God work together to make this the farm of your dreams!" A few months later, the preacher stops by again to call on the farmer. Lo and behold, it's a completely different place. The farm house is completely rebuilt and in excellent condition, there is plenty of cattle and other livestock happily munching on feed in well-fenced pens, and the fields are filled with crops planted in neat rows. "Amazing!" the preacher says. "Look what God and you have accomplished together!" "Yes, reverend," says the farmer, "but remember what the farm was like when God was working it alone!" "

Over the years, other people have invited me to pray in small or large groups.  One yoga teacher, had us chant and recite Hindu prayers.  An abbreviated rosary was said or gospel songs were sung at funerals.  I have occasionally listened to Christian or Hindu or Taoist or Tibetan Buddhist music.  People would recite the Lord's Prayer at sad gatherings.  Likewise, I join in, as is the custom, at ceremonial religious or political gatherings.  It is easy for me to, in appropriate circumstances, to respectfully recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or stand respectfully and sing while our National Anthem is played.  Courtesy and conformity and respect with others are useful at times, when we know their limits.    

So, for five decades, normally, I have not attended any church services or prayed.  

The options of Bhakti Yoga just do not suit my personal tastes, desires, outlook, or needs.  

Since my teenage years, my spiritual focus has been more on Virtue Ethics, Pragmatic Living, and Getting the Job Done Right for me and others, all as a kind of Karma Yoga.  

In addition, for five decades, my spiritual focus has been more on Philosophy, Wisdom, Understanding, Science, Self-Realization, the Big Hinges, all as a kind of Jhana Yoga. 

Gardening, Walking, Sex, Travel, Teaching, Yoga, and Science have all led to mystical experiences for me.  

I taught Hatha Yoga for 16 years in Red Bluff, California.  I taught 3 or 4 yoga classes each week, and two Taijiquan/Qigong classes per week.  I loved sharing these body-mind-spirit practices with persons in these hundreds of classes.  

In different ways, we all can do some kind of good in our lives.  Others will occasionally tip their hats to us.  

And, all the Gods and Goddess would indeed be complimentary of all of our good deeds if they knew about or cared about 7 billion humans and trillions and Mega-trillions of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, insects, bacteria, plants, life.

I think that there is even too much for Gods and Goddesses to care about.  And, their being so busy with billions of incoming prayers, they just can't get around to everyone.  

So it goes: roll with the flow.  

Three Jewels of Goddess Tara

Homages in Twenty One Verses to Arya Tara
A Tibetan Buddhist Scripture

Verse 9

"Homage to you beautifully adorned
By the Three Jewels' gesture at your heart.
Your wheel shines in all directions
With a whirling mass of light."
-  Translated by Thubten Chodron  

Hail you whose heart is beautiful
with hands in the Three-Jew'l gesture,
Their exquisite royal wheel-marks
Shining their light-rays everywhere!
-  Translated by Robert Thurman

"Homage, Lady holding her hand over her breast
with a gesture that symbolizes the Three Jewels,
her palms adorned with the universal wheel
radiating a turbulent host of its own beams."
-  Translated by Stephan Beyer

"Home to her whose fingers in the mudra symbol
Of the Three Jewels adorn the heart,
Who by radiating the rays of her own light,
Adorns the wheel of all directions."
-  Translated by Bokar Rinpoche

"Homage! She adorned with fingers,
   at Her heart, in Three-Jewel mudra!
Wheel of all quarters adorned,
   filled with masses of Her own light!"
-  Translated by Martin Wilson 

"Homage, Mother, her hand adorns her heart
In a mudra that symbolizes the Three Jewels.
Adorned with the universal wheel
She radiates turbulent light."
-  Translated by Anna Orlova
 

The Goddess Arya Tara (Green Tara or White Tara) holds the long stem of a lotus flower.  The lotus flower (Padma) has been used since ancient times as a key symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism and other religions.  The lotus is most often held in the left hand of Arya Tara.  Her left hand is held near her heart.  The huge bloom of the lotus typically appears above her left shoulder.  Tara is often seated on a lotus.  She typically holds the stem of the lotus flower between her left thumb and left ring finger, and the other three fingers are gently held open.  This particular ritual hand position or symbolic hand gesture (mudra) is referred to as the Prithivi Mudra which recharges the root chakra (Muladhara) aligning it with earth energies (Gertrud Hirschi, Mudras, p.84).  "Her left hand is in the gesture of the Three Jewels, with the thumb and ring finger touching and the other three fingers stretched upward.  These three fingers represent the Three Jewels [Buddha, Dharma, Sanga].  They indicate that by entrusting ourselves to these three objects of refuge and practicing their teachings, we can actualize the unity of compassion, bliss, and wisdom, which is symbolized by the joining of her ring finger and thumb." (Ven. Thuben Chodron, How to Free Your Mind, p. 21)  The Hindu Goddess Lakshmi also holds a lotus flower or is standing on a lotus.  

Goddess Tara: Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, 21 Praises

  

So, what are your Three Jewels?  Your three essential principles of faith?  Your three core values? 

Spenta Armaiti - A Bounteous Immortal

"Spenta Armaiti, Mother of all humility,
Wisdom, piety, and benevolence are yours,
Love, serenity, and service are yours,
Devotion, tranquility, and peace, are yours,

May these traits also be within me,
May these traits reside in my heart and spirit,
Blessed Armaiti, amplify these traits within me.

That I might continue to serve the Kindred in devotion and reverence!
That I might continue to serve the Folk in love and joy!

Mighty Aramaiti, accept this gift, a reflection of my devoted heart. Be it so!"
-  From Reverend Jessie Olson, ADF Priestess, Chico, California

Prayers to the Goddess  

Summer Solstice Celebrations 

"Spenta Armaiti is one of the Amesha Spentas, the seven "Bounteous Immortals" of the Zoroastrian tradition. These are emanations of the one God Ahura Mazda, which are sometimes personified and sometimes considered as abstract concepts. Of all the Seven, Spenta Armaiti is perhaps the most difficult to translate and explain. The term Spenta is itself hard to translate into English; it means "increasing" or "growing" but with a connotation of goodness, holiness, and benevolence. Ali Jafarey translates it prosaically as "progressive." Armaiti is even more difficult to convey in English. Scholars of Avesta have rendered the name as "divine wisdom," "devotion," "piety," "benevolence," "loving- kindness," "right-mindedness," "peace and love," or even "service." Jafarey, using the later Persian word aramati or "tranquillity" as his model, translates Armaiti as "serenity." Thus his translation of Spenta Armaiti is "Progressive Serenity," a rather opaque term. Dr. Farhang Mehr has translated Spenta Armaiti with the more gracious "universal bountiful peace.""
-   Hannah Shapero
 

A Morning Prayer

"In the morning, everything is new.
 The day's blank slate lies before me,
 ready for my writing.
 May it be words of beauty I write.
 May it be deeds of grace I do.
 May it be thoughts of joy I think.
 All the Holy Ones, Listen;
 this is what I pray.
 Great Spirits of the Four Realms,
 Holy Ones of the Realms of Minds,
 Kindreds of Yore,
 as I go through the day,
 keep my eyes open wide.
 May I not miss beauty.
 May I not miss joy.
 May I not miss wonder.
 Keep me awake and aware of the world.
 It is my privilege to perform my morning prayers.
 It is my honor to do what should be done.
 As I rise with the morning, fog lifting slowly from my mind,
 I pray not to forget these truths.
 Awen."
 -  Ceisiwr Serith, Book of Pagan Prayer, p. 126

Wishing for a Pleasant Voice and the Ability to Gladden Others

"May my insight be unobstructed!  May my knowledge prosper in textbooks, verses, magic books, doctrinal books, and poems.  So be it: mahaprabhave hili hili mili mili.  May it go forth for me by the power of the blessed goddess Sarasvati!  Karate keyure keyurabati hili mili hili mili hili hili."
 

A mantra (dharani) and petitionary prayer in honor of the Goddess Sarasvati from the Golden Radiance Scripture, circa 400 CE. 

Translated by Miranda Shaw, PhD.  

Buddhist Goddesses of India  By Miranda Shaw.  Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 2006.  Bibliography, notes, index, 571 pages.  ISBN:  0691127581.  VSCL.   Sarasvati mantra on p. 238.  For anyone interested in Buddhist and Hindu Goddesses of India, this scholarly book is an outstanding resource and very stylishly presented. 

Sarasvati (pronounced sah RAS wah TEE) is the Hindu and Buddhist Goddess who is the patron of students, scholars, speakers, musicians, poets, singers, artists, worshipers, and magicians.  Her iconographic images typically include a beautiful woman, with a lustrous white moonglow coloring, and she is holding a stringed instrument, a book, and a rosary.  She is surrounded by flowers, shown near a river or lake, and accompanied by a large bird (a swan, duck, or peacock).  Her main holiday is on the vernal equinox. She is the focus of Sanskrit alphabet rituals.  

"One will become learned in all scholarly treatises.
One will have no problem writing, debating, or teaching.
Any who pursues the five sciences (grammar, logic, art, medicine, and metaphysics),
Clarity of mind, mental stability,
A pleasant voice, and the ability to gladden others
Should practice Sarasvati."
-  Buddhist Goddesses of India, p. 242

Sarasvati should be the patron Goddess of bloggers.  

A Prayer to Lakshmi

Prayer to Shri  Maha Devi Lakshmi

               

"I bow to you, O Mother of All Worlds, O Lotus Born, O Four-Armed Giver of Boons.  
Gently floating on the Shatki Seas, sitting firmly on the Heart of Vishnu.
O Maha Devi, sitting on a pink lotus, thank you for letting us see Your beauty, elegance, exquisiteness, perfection.
Thank You for showering our soils with abundant rain, and for the millions of petals, flowers, fruits, seeds, nuts. 
Praised be you, Loving Devi, shimmering in golden adornments and wearing a splendid red silk gown.  
You are Shakti, Siddhi, Svadha, Svaha, Sudha.
You are the purifier of this world.
You are the evening, the night, the light, the darkness.
You are Glory, ecstasy, joyfulness, intelligence, and devotion.
You are Sarasvati. 
You are Maha Devi Lakshmi. 
You celebrate with us and You bring to us flowers, baskets of delicious food, a golden pot of coins, sacred plants, your beauty, your smile, the world as it is right now.   
You are the Knower of Great Truths, the Watcher of the Here and Now. 
O Auspicious One, you fathom the Secret Knowledge and are Supra-Insightful, Supra-Intuitive, Supra-Genius.
You are the Science of the Self, O Devi, and you are the giver of the Fruit of Freedom (Mukti).
Logic, the knowledge of all Vedas, the Tantras, worldly knowledge, and Raja Neeti are all yours.
You are fully filled and are present everywhere in this world within and without your ideal, grandiose, or fierce forms. 
O Devi, who other than You could reside in the Hart of the Him who is the real form of all Yajyas, who is contemplated by all Gods and Yogis.
O Devi, when you give up these entire Three Worlds, this entire creation goes to destruction, and then You Yourself choose to play with possibilities of an alternative world, compelled to give life anther spin again and again through dozens of Kali Yugas.   
By your grace only, a person gets a Wife, Husband, daughter, son, house, family, prosperity, peace and friends.
Those upon whom You, O Devi, bestow your kindness, they are so favored with good health, prosperity, safety, peace, and happiness.   
You are the Mother of these entire worlds, and the Goddess of Gods. 
Vishnu and You, O Mother, are present everywhere in this moving and unmoving creation. 
Please favor us with continued work, good health, wealth, home, farm, animals, enjoyables, clean water, and food. 
O Vishnu-Vaksha-Stal-Vaasini, help keep us Loving relations with our Wife, Husband, daughter, son, parents, family, spiritual community, alter-egos and friends. 
O Devi, Protect our valuables, books, tools, applicances, art, jewelry, personal belongings, and home life.   
O Pure One, your presence moves us to now celebrate purity, kindness, truthfulness, and goodness. 
You help us, O Devi, to become admirable, virtuous, brave, fortunate, full of goodness, and intelligent.
O Devi, even Sri Brahma Ji is not capable of praising Your greatness.
Thus, Maha Devi Lakshmi, may You be satisfied with us and don't ever leave us."
-  Adapted by Mike Garofalo from Shri Lakshmi Prayers, Celestial Timings

Lakshmi - Wikipedia

"Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. The word ''Lakshmi'' is derived from the Sanskrit word Laksme, meaning "goal." Lakshmi, therefore, represents the goal of life, which includes worldly as well as spiritual prosperity. In Hindu mythology, Goddess Lakshmi, also called Shri, is the divine spouse of Lord Vishnu and provides Him with wealth for the maintenance and preservation of the creation.

In Her images and pictures, Lakshmi is depicted in a female form with four arms and four hands. She wears red clothes with a golden lining and is standing on a lotus. She has golden coins and lotuses in her hands."
-  Bansi Pandit

Lakshmi is also called Shri, Thirumagal, Maha Devi Lakshmi; and is associated with Sita, Radha, Rukmini.  Lakshmi is a personification of the positive, productive, and life enhancing aspects of our good life the world, abundance, plenty, wealth, health, success, happiness. 

Tantric Yoga 
 

Make Our Hearts Fertile Fields for Your Bounty - A Prayer

In Honor of Frigga  

"Shining Lady of Asgard,
All-seeing, all-knowing,
at Your command worlds are born,
at Your nod and tender smile, life burst into being.
Valiant Goddess, ruthless foe, cunning Queen,
Illuminate your wyrd.
Strengthen our hamyngja.
Make us fruitful in all things, like the barley and flax
   that is your gift.
Nourish our souls, God-Mother,
Pour forth from Your cornucopia of abundance
and in return we will give You our devotion,
   our praise, our industry.
Holy Mother of all life, foremost amongst the Asynjur,
   bestow upon us Your wisdom.
Make our hearts fertile fields for Your bounty, and
   on Your spindle of shimmering starlight,
Weave for us a joyous fate."
   
Galina Krasskova.  Exploring the Northern Tradition: A Guide to the Gods, Lore, Rites, and Celebrations from the Norse, German, and Anglo-Saxon Traditions  New Page Books, 2005.  Quote from page 44.  

Raven Caldera and Galina Krasskova.  Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner: A Book of Prayer, Devotional Practice, and the Nine Worlds of Spirit.  New Page Books, 2009.  

Robert Ellison.  The Solitary Druid: A Practitioner's Guide.  Citadel, 2005. 

Gardening and Spirituality

One Old Druid's Final Journey
Spring Celebrations Preparation
Last night, we enjoyed a full moon.  The moon will be at its brightest on Monday night.