A Prayer for Trying Times

This week I want to share a prayer my late friend Craig taught me.  It’s very simple:  “Release into Essence.”

Essence was Craig’s word for Divine Energy or God.  It’s a versatile prayer, appropriate to multiple situations, and adaptable to your own circumstances and beliefs.  You may wish to insert your name for God–be it Jesus, Allah, or Krishna; or perhaps the name of a mother goddess, saint or angel whom you wish to intercede for you.

Do you have a pet name for God?  Many people call Jesus, “Lord.”  That works.  I like to say “Sacred Heart,” or even “Dear Heart.”  If you don’t have a pet name for God, this might be a good time to think about inventing one.  God (in my humble opinion) is EVERYTHING—but what is God to you?  Father, Mother, Creator, Prophet, Savior.  It’s not a requirement to come up with something different.  It’s just a thought.  My friend Craig sometimes thought of God as Essence.  He also thought of God as the vibrating crystalline energy within each strand of DNA.  But that’s a whole other subject.

Anyway, I wanted to be brief, but I got all wordy writing this—which is why I made this a separate post!  My purpose is to give you a quick, versatile prayer for these trying times.  So:  “Release into Essence,” or, even more simply, “I give it to God.”  If you feel sad, give it to God.  If you feel angry, give it to God.  If you feel happy, say thank you, and then give it to God.  If you feel tired and worried and out of control, give it to God.

Will this help?  Honestly, I don’t know.  I can only tell you that in my experience, meditation and mindfulness exercises work.  Here’s an idea you might try:  practice slowing down several times a day to take a deep breath and deliberately calm yourself.  If you do this frequently, I believe it will have a beneficial physiological effect on you.  You might try doing this when your clock chimes the hour, or whenever you pass through a doorway, or when you look at your watch.  I guess there are watches and apps now that can remind you to do something like this.

So to recap, my suggestion is to take a break several times a day to breathe deeply and listen to your heart beat.  Then carry on.  The words you say to yourself when you do this don’t matter.  You can count one to five.  Or repeat the word “calm” five times.  Or say nothing, but listen for your heart beat.  But if you want to approach this experiment with a curious mind and an open heart, I urge you to try Craig’s prayer or your own variation:

Release into Essence

Release into the Divine

Give it to God

I don’t know what will happen.  Maybe nothing will happen.  Or maybe the Universe will surprise you.  Be open.  Watch for it.

Original photo taken by this author!