Spirituality

Dr. of Spirituality – The Miracle of Prayer

Rev. Ernest Kayorie

I would like to thank the Reverend Loretta Siani for putting together the materials that have comprised the course on Spirituality and the Miracle of Prayer.  The work that this course required is perhaps the most important curriculum that anyone could engage in during their lifetime. It was an interesting journey into one's own definition of what spirituality can mean and how important it is to apply that to your life.  The conclusion that this writer has achieved did not come without its own brand of pain.

After reading the course faithfully for about six sessions, I came to the conclusion that it was not for me.  The materials were well written and presented in an excellent format, but it didn't make sense to me.  Here was another "do it and you'll feel better" program  and also this one based on the Course of Miracles materials with Jesus as the prime teacher.  Get serious, I thought, I have better things to do then waste my time on this again.  The last time I tried to delve into the Course of Miracles, it didn't make sense.  It was too wordy and convoluted in a lot of ways.  It wasn't me…… on and on and on……

After stewing about this for about a week, the next lesson arrived and I decided to finish what I had started.  I read the lesson and then suddenly, it happened.  The words started to make sense,  It was as if someone turned a light on.  When that occurred, it gave me time to clear my mind long enough to realize that all the while I was protesting, my ego was sitting back self satisfied that it had successfully averted another attack on its supposed supremacy.   Happily the words conveyed in the course abided and their healing energy broke through.  The remaining weeks were an interesting and evaluative experience.

Slowly…. subtly…the words of counsel gleaned from the lessons made continued sense to me and the affirmations reminded me of the strength of those words.  Many of the superficialities that I allowed to become important to me fell by the wayside.  It's amazing how trapped we become by them and by societal standards.  It reminds me of the story related by Joseph Goldstein, co founder of the Insight Meditation Society who stated how difficult it was to remain faithful to his Buddhist vows after he decided to return to the United States after spending many years as a cloistered monk in Asia. 

Although I felt that it was important to mention that Jesus was the source of the knowledge conveyed through the Course, I realize now  that  is not important.  It doesn't matter what your particular philosophy or theology is because this is a curriculum of living and understanding that bypasses all the intellectualizing and hence rationalizing that keeps us "in bondage" slavishly following tired old ways of doing things.  If we just listen to the simple message, we will be transformed and made new and that's what is important.  With this new insight, each day is a renewed journey and hopefully, I can sustain that renewal for awhile. 

I'm re-reading many works that have been put aside and as I do that, I realize that the similarity of their messages is amazing.  .  I don't know whether I have learned anything earth shattering about prayer but I hope by reminding myself of my potential as a "son of God", I will begin to realize the import of that statement that "of myself, I can do nothing, but with God, all things are possible" and that has to be a powerful prayer.

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