At this time of great transition, I believe we are in a collective grieving. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a pioneer in analyzing the process of dying and grief, has articulated for us five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. They are not always linear and in order and there’s no knowing how long they will last. So if you are feeling any of these, you are not alone.
We are in this together and sharing the experience. My work as a minister and bodyworker is inspired here, as I support people through transitions and facilitate their healing, which is also our collective healing.
What you may be feeling is not only about your political attitudes and who you voted for. It’s about the part of each of us that is crumbling along with the old paradigm that supported the illusion of separation, that told us we were on our own as we strove to survive and thrive in an industrialized, capitalistic society. As this framework disintegrates, we are finding our voices, reaching out and offering each other a hand. We are feeling our deep interconnectedness with each other and the Earth.
We are also getting a glimpse of the spiritual dimension that fills us and holds us as everything else seems to be falling apart. Even our religious institutions can’t help but fragment, yet the light at the core of these wisdom traditions and at our own personal core is our sustenance and saving grace.
This spiritual dimension is what infuses our thoughts and actions with inspiration and meaning. Through prayer and meditation we get our marching orders as we take to the streets, sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically through our relationships with all those we touch.
It’s a challenge, letting go of the old way before we know what is to come. Our beliefs and language shape our world. Let’s shape it with inspiration and song. Forgive and release what obstructs us, what closes the door to our heart. Let the door open wide with love, compassion, and gratitude.
Like a radio frequency that we may not always tune in to, the “spiritual” frequency band is
quieter but without sound
bigger but without space
slower but without time
It’s vast and encompasses or includes everything, all of life and death, the past and the future. When I am fully present in prayer, the experience is far beyond the mental, as though the breath of Life infuses my body and doesn’t stop at my skin. It goes on to include the air around me, the earth itself, all that I see and feel. I am being breathed.
Now is the time to pray, sisters and brothers. Now is the time to kneel and touch or kiss the Earth. So how do you do this? How do people pray?
I asked that question in a big way, and in my book How Do You Pray? present the responses of 129 luminaries from different religions and spiritual paths (including no path). Healers, artists, activists, and other lovers of humanity are gathered in one book to share how they connect with the Source of Being, God of their Understanding, the Spiritual Dimension, the Spirit that Unites Us.
How Do You Pray?, which was published by Monkfish Book Publishing Company, is a sanctuary where you can come together with like-minded souls and also is an opportunity to explore and learn about the unfamiliar. Open up to new possibilities. Share it with your friends, families, coworkers, teachers, and government officials. Spread the word.