Stop, listen and pray

The cable channels and networks, radio, Internet, etc. are replete with news and pundits spewing doom and gloom about our economic recession, analysis of Mideast, Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, winter storm threats, etc. As I’ve traveled the country recently, Anchorage to Boston, I’m alarmed by the distraction level displayed of many of us. We seem to experience “entertainment addiction.” An addiction seriously affects relationships, work, civic awareness and participation, engagement in communication, active listening, etc. I wonder, too, if we have an emotional life that includes a sense of “centering” or spirituality, so it becomes possible to balance the barrage of “incoming” doom and gloom with healthy life choices that enhance our quality of life.

Here are some suggestions:

• During your busy day, stop in a quiet place like a park, or take a walk, ski, bike, etc. for 15-30 minutes.

• Withdraw iPod headphones, turn off cell phone, put laptop screen down to sleep, turn-off Blackberry, etc. Stop all technology, including radio and TV. Everything off.

• Then, feel the warmth of a room on a cold day; appreciate nature’s wonders (sound of wind, rays of sun though trees), view its beauty (blue sky, Northern Lights ), attend to its creatures (birds, squirrels, moose, eagle), etc. Embrace the sanctuary of life.

• If inclined, pray for peace, abundance, safe and warm home, friends, enemies, etc. Say the words conversationally, if you will.

A prayer recited by Rev. Rick Warren at President Obama’s Invocation, which I’ve used in my rounds as a Spiritual Care Volunteer at Providence since 1996, is the “Our Father.” There are literal and figurative applications in this prayer universally adopted by many. The “Our Father” works for me as a focal point for prayer. Any conversation with a higher power is considered prayer. So, be spontaneous, too, and create your own.

Our Father

“Our Father who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

On earth and it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive

Those who trespass against us and

Lead us not into temptation, but

Deliver us from evil - now and forever.”

Amen.

If you pray with others, then we have a community prayer — more power for peace. My greatest fear for our future as a community is not the state of the economy and doom and gloom, but that we forget to pray daily and walk the talk of prayer with each other.

Paul Maguire, Ph.D. lives in Palmer.