Prayer—‘Tis the season…
My recent work has me looking—at my relationship with feelings. With taking an “impression” of myself in an inner, collected moment, and in a moment of interaction with others. And the glue of why and how to keep working at these things in an active way.
Somehow, I sense there is a connection with prayer amongst all this which has to do with the glue.
I’ve already spoken of Wish, as nurturing a seed for work.
Most of us are familiar with prayers of intersession, wishing for something. But in my practice, I’ve experienced a different energetic regarding wish that is beyond the for. It’s beyond naming—deeper than that.
Opening to Prayer
Looking at prayer in this way, it feels like an opening into something. A connecting to that which I cannot name. There’s something in me that wants to connect with a greater something that is both within and without me. Since I am in this physical body, the connection necessitates a physicality. An intentional physicality. So, my prayer needs to incorporate my physical self, my spiritual self, and my ordinary self.
This is beginning to sound like three-centered work, like how I work at the Great Prayer, one of Gurdjieff’s movements. Before I begin, I spend time coming into a quiet space in myself. I then ask my mind to stay focused on the gestures, of my feelings to be open, and of my body to move in time with the music. When these three centers do their work without getting distracted, there is a sense of being nourished in a way I can not comprehend. I think that is the essence of prayer.
My work is to stay out of the way and allow something else to happen. Part of my work is in not needing to understand what that “something else” is. At times I recognize the taste of it. This is the glue that I speak of, which connects me to my wish and makes my efforts real and meaningful for me.
I believe each person has their own version of what makes the Work real for them. Teachers and teachings purvey knowledge and technique, but only an individual can make something of it for themselves. That is where the glue of true prayer enters in. Because we can’t do this by ourselves, and our teachers can’t do it for us.
Making Room for Prayer
This kind of prayer involves inviting something beyond myself to enter in. Just like the nativity, with the image of the Christ child in a manger, we need to make room, no matter how humble the dwelling.
To make room, I must work at getting myself out of the way. To get out of the way, I need all three centers engaged in their proper functioning. The head brain focused, not chattering, the body relaxed and present, and the feelings quiet and available. Open to what wants to come in—to prayer.
Beautifully put, Roberta. Gurdjieff once said, “Without paste, nothing will stick.” You address this very nicely. Oh, the levels . . . may Real Prayer be a focus of my day. Thank you.
Thinking of you, Barbara!
Your post has reminded me of the place and importance of prayer in the work. I have reached a realization that we need to ask for help (from above) because human ability alone is not enough. I recently came across a pertinent extract from Mrs Popoff’s book “Gurdjieff-His Work On Myself, With Others, For The Work” It provides additional information that supports working with the Four Prophets exercise which you described in your book.
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I understood Mr. Gurdjieff to tell us once, at the Wellington, that all people who, pray and believe in a finer, higher life release a great deal of energy when they pray. It was then that he mentioned that it would be most useful for us to think often about this kind of enerqy; to imagine it arising from the earth to the upper regions, as high up as our thoughts could reach, trying to direct them to some point well known to each of us, way up in heavens-a group of stars, a constellation, anything. To imagine all this energy, originating from all believing humanity past, present, and future, reaching this place above and concentrated there. To this unknown place in outer space we should then direct our thoughts and, wishing with all our hearts, we should feel that we were charging ourselves with this energy thus released and accumulated by lofty aspirations from all directions of the Earth; that we were storing it for the purpose of working on ourselves so that it would help us to grow into ‘men made in the image of God. And having done that,” he added, “promise yourselves that you will pay back for the energy you have stolen, through conscious efforts and intentional suffering, when the time comes for you to pay”