If I learned nothing else over the past 15 weeks of family chaos, trials, tribulations and joys, it is that I need to focus when I pray. I have one of those brains that is more like a habitrail than a hamster wheel. My worries and prayers run off on all kinds of tangents, twists and turns until it forms some mobius loop of angst in my soul and functioning becomes difficult.
We don’t have rosaries or worry beads in the United Church Tradition, but as I began to look at how many cultures use beads or stones to help focus for meditation and prayer, this little idea began to grow in the back of my mind.
What if I could create some anchors to help me keep on track as I prayed? What if I could break the basic things I tend to pray about on a regular basis into categories that would repeat in a cycle which I could separate with special beads.
So... I’ve begun to explore the idea, making little shapes out of Fimo. I will have to rummage through my stash of special beads or have an excuse to visit beading places!
I’m not quite sure where this will lead yet, but exploring the Spiritual side of my Creativity is just another fun part of this adventure.
INHALE: Faith is something that we may grow up with, we may change how we experience, we may question or we may finally make our own instead of just accepting the beliefs of our parents. It is something that many of us use as a foundation on which to base our value system, our outlook on the world and even our hopes for the future. Above all, it is something intensely personal, even if it is celebrated in community. Thinking about where we fit in relationship to the world, the cosmos and all things eternal puts us in great company. Many of the most creative people in our history have explored this side of their lives.
EXHALE: Whatever faith you celebrate, or even if you are still asking yourself questions about what you believe, think about how you could practice that more creatively. Could you make a quiet, inviting space somewhere in your house? Could you make a candle to light during your devotional time? Keep a prayer or gratitude journal? The possibilities are almost as the Universe in which we live.
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You might try reading a book called Praying With Color ... which uses some very intentional doodling as a focus for centered prayer. Can't remeber the author's name [the book is in my office library - I run a Parish Religious Education Program] ... there's also a Praying with Color for Children. It is available from Paraclete Press ... a multidenominational religious publishing firm.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, praying with color sounds like it might suit you.