This Tuesday we have a sharing with our sister sanghas. This led to a consideration as to the nature of prayer and its relation to meditation.
If we first consider meditation, we find it means different things to different people. For many, meditation is a means to an end, such as, less stress, lower blood pressure, more peace, etc. This is a valid approach to meditation, and it can be tailored to produce those results. We have always considered meditation as a pointer to Truth. Truth must always be True as Reality must always be Real. Truth is prior to concepts, perceptions, space, or time, and yet, is the substanceless substance giving rise to the apparent existence of all these. Adyashanti describes meditation as, “Let everything be as it is.” Letting everything be as it is dissolves the identification with the story, leaving us as primordial Awareness. This is a prescription beyond time spent on the cushion. It is a direct pointing to living life as Life.
Prayer also means different things to different people. Many use prayer as a means to an end, as well. Many pray for peace, less stress, material gain, or relationship with God. These are also legitimate uses of prayer and it often can produce the desired goal. True prayer, like True meditation, is again letting everything be as it is. True prayer is Thy will, not my will. The humility to allow everything to be as it is does not flow from a humble versus a proud person. This humility recognizes the absence of any entity to be either humble or proud. True prayer is the natural flow of life as Awareness.
Hallelujah, Bec and Steve