PRAYER how does it work?

Why does it transform people?
What is "Spiritual Growth?"

I suggest that God is not some Super Magician in the Heavens. So prayer for me is not a means of inducing the Mighty One to cause changes in one’s situation. I do not mean that God cannot work miracles. But I believe that praying to God for a miracle, that is, something extraordinary is not what prayer is about.

Yet most people understand prayer just like that, asking for something beyond natural intervention. "There are no atheists in foxholes." They don’t pray precisely for miracles, but they do expect some miraculous outcome--that God "help" them be relieved, or change some situation. To the extent this is true nothing more can be said to this mentality.

Prayer is rather about getting ourselves in tune with God, not getting God in tune with us or to "do something for us."

If prayer to God is not a way of inviting a miracle, what is the meaning of "prayer to God"?

When we talk about this mystery of God, we are often talking simply about radical openness to Otherness, Something beyond our ken, and asking that Mystery to be accomplished, or "done," in us. This means that the effect of prayer is in ourselves, not in God.

What is that effect? The stillness and quiet of trusting prayer leave room for the heart to open. Said more psychologically, quiet allows us to be sensitive to the power of the human spirit expressing itself in emotions, images and memories.

To remain with this spiritual awareness in openness to being transformed (here the believer may say "to God’s Presence) begins a transformation of the layered "stuckness" of the personality. An inner resonance and resilience slowly develops.

More of our inner selves gets exposed to the Light, we could say. When this gentle process of transformation continues over periods of time, increasingly the leadings of spirit guide and form the layers of the personality.

Thus, regular prayer is one way to further human growth that is, in fact, spiritual growth. Such growth is an increased awareness of the inclinations of the dynamic inner spirit. More regular assent to those inclinations (leadings) means increased human authenticity.

The process can begin to snowball. Spiritual growth can serve to release human powers that are innate but rarely actualized. In this way prayer can be said to "work miracles."

Spiritual growth, then, we can describe as an increasingly deliberate entrance into the natural functioning and unfolding of the universe. (Positivist view). But said in theist terms, this growth is a growth in holiness–an ever more fine tuning and firm commitment to God’s plan operating in the universe, deepening both courage, compassion and commitment.

Perhaps, "Good-Orderly-Direction, in Divine sync, with a responsiveness that is unique and authentic? "

Much writing from the Society of Friends Quaker Tradition can make this process even more clear. This we will access later.

–notes here taken from Helminiak, p. 275-76.

PSYCHE & SPIRIT sources

Psychology and Spirituality
Two books we will be using and quoting here, each a classic, IMO, of its own, are:
The Human Core of Spirituality, (Mind as Psyche and Spirit) by Robert Helminiak (State University of New York Press, 1966)
and
A Spiritual Strategy for Counseling and Psychology by P. Scott Richards and Allen Bergin (APA, 1997).

Allen Bergin’s name will be familiar to any of us who have been trying to keep up in this interface subfield of Religion and Psychology, as he has been the author in Psychology Abstracts of the Ten Year Reviews of Progress in this field, at least twice, if old memory serves.

Helminiak holds two doctorates in both psychology and theology, and has several books on this interface. His book is highly reviewed. See www.sunypress.edu.

The rich scholarship, inclusive humanity and diversity of application that has gone into both works make them books that can hardly be used enough for our purposes of extending an appreciation of spirituality into the larger arena of psychology, psychotherapy, counseling, health and wellness, and the science of the mind.

Another source, of course, is the Newsletter of APA Division 14, Psychology in Religion. I would hope psychologist - readers in conversations here might have some familiarity with these sources. I am not suggesting they must or that I already do, but these texts cover the basics as well as "the waterfront." Hopefully I will be referring to both texts, by name of author alone.

Can Sunny Thoughts Stop Cancer? (No. .yet. . .)

Excellent short article in Time magazine, January 17, 2005, p. A14, same title.

Some doctors have encouraged patients to think happy thoughts and visualize their immune system blasting away tumor cells. Studies supporting this have mostly be found either flawed or inconsistent. However a review of 37 studies in the British Medical Journal showed that a positive outlook does correlate with less pain--a real benefit.

Coping styles and positive thinking show no clear effect on cancer, but we do know well that mental states like depression and chronic anxiety have physical effects on the progression of many illnesses, such as heart disease and diabete.

Some believe that studies will ultimately prove a link between stress and the progression of cancer. Dr. David Spiegel of Stanford says the picture is complex,"It is not a matter of 'Fix it in your mind and you fix it in your body,' but it would be strange if what goes on in our minds did not affect how our bodies deal with illness."

Most all of us could improve our skills for coping with stress. Dr. Baute has taught the Relaxation Response, meditation, NLP re-programming and self-hypnosis for many years for a variety of purposes, e.g., stop smoking, anxiety, phobias and sports performance enhancement.

Lots of good thought-provoking articles in this issue of Time on "The Science of Happiness." January 17, 2005.

What Makes the Human Heart Sing? (Would you believe FAITH can?)

Happy Coincidences
" A Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous..." -anon.

Serendipitous Beginnings:
Within a few days of beginning this web log, we have this week a special issue of Time magazine on the Science of Happiness, with special articles on why religious people are less stressed and happier than non-believers, etc.

I am excited about this happy coincidence because psychology has mostly neglected these subjects and this publicity can spur a larger conversation. Look likes good reading all. I have tried to include links from my email.

Ohio Psychologists: please note: Spirituality Workshop, Feb 18-19
OPA website: www.ohpsych.org,

COVER STORY. TIME
Ahead of Time for Time subscribers.
January 9, 2005
he New Science of Happiness

What makes the human heart sing? Researchers are taking a close look. What they've found may surprise you
Read the Cover Story
The cover package also includes:
The Biology of Joy
Scientists know plenty about depression. Now they are starting to understand the roots of positive emotion
Dancing to Evolution's Tune
The good news: we're born for fun. The bad news: it's not built to last
The Power to Uplift
Religious people are less stressed and happier than nonbelievers. Research is beginning to explain why
Is There a Hitch?
Does marriage make you happy? Or do happy people tend to be the marrying kind? The facts about wedded bliss
Chasing the Evanescent Glow
Happiness is not cozy. It gleams most vividly against a background of black
The Paths to Pleasure
We all know what it feels like: the delight in a mouthful of chocolate, the afterglow of a good workout. A look at two systems in the brain that, with the right natural or artificial stimulus, conjure
Thank God It's Monday!
If workers feel engaged and content at work, they're more productive. How to make jobs so satisfying that employees want to say
... The Real Truth About Money
Why we remain keen for green even though it often gives us more social anxiety than satisfaction
Does God Want Us to Be Happy?
How American believers allowed themselves everyday joy
Beyond Happy? You're Exuberant!
An extravagantly upbeat writer discovers that even joy has its ups and downs
Behind The Thrill Of Victory
We root like maniacs because we are compelled by our tribal ancestry to do so. And because it's fun
The Importance Of Resilience Why do some children bounce back from adversity better than others--and can that quality be taught?
That's What I Call Funny One of America's hottest comics on how he translates sore points into comic relief
The Funny Thing About Laughter It's no joke: laughing may be one of nature's cleverest tricks for keeping us healthy and safe
It's a Glad, Sad, Mad World Where you live, as much as how you live, is a key influence on the feel-good factor
How Full Is That Glass, Really?
What Pets Bring to the Party
What Makes The Stars Twinkle?
Get Happy A Smile Doesn't Always Mean Happy
Can Sunny Thoughts Halt Cancer?
Learning the Yoga Way of Laughter
Odes To Joy

WHAT IS "SPIRITUALITY"?

I offer here some ideas and invite your feedback.

Spirituality is living one's life from the realization that the body/mind/ego personality we have been taught to identify with is just the tip of our iceberg, our little head sticking through the window of the senses into this world, whereas our true body is the universe.

It is recognizing that our perceived world is mostly an illusion, a shared dream we are asleep in, and that the goal of life is to awake to our real Self which is vast and multidimensional--already intimately connected with all of creation, with a twin shadow self that is already scripted, mostly primitive, and hidden from us, but that this whole Self is already One with this mystery we call God/dess whose essence can hardly be understood, but to which we give names as God, Allah, Eternal Wisdom, Ultimate Reality, Birther of all Life, She Who Is, etc.

Our spiritual journey is interpreting the precious meaning of this unique life given to us and, hopefully, recognizing and living this Oneness, brought to us in many forms by the great teacher, Life itself, relationships, nature, in all its various crises and transitions.

Maybe it would help to realize that we are so made as humans that we need and yearn for the ultimate in our lives, the TREMENDUM MYSTERIUM, and that if we don't find it in this mystery we call God/dess, we are bound to create it by worshiping some thing in our exterior, material worlds, or even some idea (=ideology) or, possibly, ideas about God.

Many are of such orientation and persuasion that THIS DIVINE ENTITY needs to be definitive, nailed down, with all parameters set and explained. Some end up worshiping their way to God, rather than this mystery we call "God", and as a result, judging all others by their way to God, thereby judging others as further from God than they. Someone said that we must leave "religion" to find God. This is mostly true: I must leave all my preconceived ideas about God to find God. I prefer to think of this Mystery not as a noun but as a verb, always new: the
possibility of each new moment. It is the Birther of all Life, Ultimate Reality, Eternal Wisdom, Unconditional Love, Relational Aliveness, Beauty being birthed in awareness, etc.

The problem is that many end up worshiping their own CERTAINTY, or the singularity of their belief system, not the unfathomable Mysterium. Gregory of Nyssa in the 4th century said it well: "Concepts create idols, only wonder understands anything."

Religion is about certainty, spirituality is about wonder. Many escape into religion in order not to be challenged by God. Christians may have made Jesus into the only Son of God in order not be confronted with his prophetical challenges to a vast new way of living and who he was as a human being.

Jesus Before Christianity (before the Christians got hold of him) by Albert Nolan (Maryknoll, Orbis) is an excellent start. Because we do not want to have to continually rethink
things, most of us prefer our illusions and private idols to reality and mystery and challenge.

"Church" is only one of the messes we've made out of "Jesus." It is unlikely that he meant to establish any of what we have today in "church" as organized religion.

Religion attracts those of a Guardian type personality--needing certainty. Spirituality attracts those of a more Pilgrim type of personality--more open to learning, wonder, mystery. These "types" are more bearings on a dimension rather than a dichotomy. Wholeness means having both, integrated, but ever new, never fully "arrived." More becoming, as a verb. Jesus invited us to the journey, not to "church", certainly not to organized religion--which he opposed.
Jesus gave the Reign of God back to ordinary folk without the need for official intermediaries.

The uses and misuses of belief and power fascinate me as a psychologist interested in mystery, spirituality, the human shadow self, the role of grace, chaos theory & cyberspace.

Namaste! (=The Divine Mystery in me welcomes and salutes the Divine Mystery
in You. ) Copyright © Paschal Baute. 1995

Discussion, anyone?