Spiritual Things Matter

I raise my hands in adoration
to You my dearest God.
I worship You in all Your Beauty,
Your Holiness, I stand in awe!

I bow before You humbly -
my dearest Lord - You are to me.
I seek to understand Your Simplest Truths
Your living sacrifice I wish to be.

Teach me to pray,
my Holy God,
my times are in Your Hands.
Let me discern what is True - and what is not
piercing through false pretense.

I seek Your face, Your Holiness,
transform me now I cry,
Teach me love - as You are Love,
transforming ignorance - through Your Light.

Wipe my tears with Your tender kiss,
bring clarity, I pray.
Give me courage to trust You now,
surrendering my heart today.

Oh, how I long to see Your Face,
I long to know You more.
Teach me to love You
my dearest God,
and teach me how to pray!

~Viola Jaynes
2007

“Prayer makes your heart bigger,
until it is capable of containing the gift of
God himself.” ~Mother Teresa

Prayer is one of my greatest desires. Two things I always ask God: teach me to pray and teach me to genuinely love. Prayer is one of the simplest things in life one can do, yet it is one of the most powerful spiritual gifts one has at their disposal. I believe prayer to be the foundation of any spiritual journeyer.

Prayer is very personal. Each person may have their own style of praying. That matters little! God is a big God and He welcomes ALL. When words fail us, He understands our sighs, He understands our groanings, and He understands our tears. Sometimes all that is necessary in prayer is to simply sit and listen.

As we experience our own powerlessness and the powerlessness of leaders today, it is of utmost importance that we realize what is happening in the spirit realm today. I believe with all my heart that God is preparing people for spiritual work as never before. Let us still ourselves to cultivate a hearing ear, a seeing eye, and a heart that is wise to understand.

Anselm Gruen, a monk of the Benedictine Abbey in southern Germany, says this: “The faith that confronts us with our powerlessness also shows us ways of using and dealing with it creatively, instead of seeking refuge in resignation or depression. This faith tells us how we can actively accept the demands that powerlessness makes on us, and how we can use prayer to shape our world in more human and Christlike ways.”

I have always been convinced that our prayers do make a profound difference in our lives and the lives of those around us. However, never have I been more convinced of this truth until I started to read Dr.David Hawkins work as he explains that as spiritual seekers, by virtue of his desire to surrender and dedicate his personal life to God, already has made an impact on this world. Dr.Hawkins says this: “The invitation of spiritual pathways is to subjectively reaffirm those spiritual realities upon which the survival of humankind actually relies, knowingly or not.”

It is my conviction, that even though many of us are in different “camps”, we are all saying the same thing. Our energy changes. By sheer virtue of dedication to God, seeking a higher understanding of what it means to be a spiritual seeker on this earth, will lead us to greater love and compassion for all things. This will then lead to greater and more effective service towards mankind, for its energy is spiritual. That is living prayer!

Pray without ceasing, for this is the will of God!

Viola Jaynes

Console thyself, thou wouldst not seek Me, if thou hadst not found Me. ~Blaise Pascal

Faith, I would say, has been one of my constant guides. I marvel at its expressions and its movements. It is so subjective and so personal. Saint Augustine once said, “Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.” One can have an inward vision and yet not be able to verbalize it. One may think they have gone mad, yet that vision, that desire, will only grow stronger. Faith is acting on one’s deepest beliefs, one’s deepest convictions, often only expressed in prayer to God - until the time is ripe. Faith that is kept alive in us, grows stronger the more it is practiced. Eventually that faith will be manifested and one will marvel at God’s wisdom and grace.

I think we all live by faith or we simply do not live at all. Everything we do in life is a leap of faith on some level. When we start a business, it is a leap of faith since we do not know if it will succeed or fail. When we choose married life, we risk marriage or else we stay single. When we dare tell someone, “I love you,” we risk rejection. When we face mountains of opposition, we seek clarity and answers. When we are faced with personal pain and personal crisis in our lives and have no one to turn to, we turn to God for help.

I came across what Harry Emerson Fosdick said and I could not agree more: “I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.” Life brings unending possibilities of growth and insight if we simply recognize those moments. Let us embrace faith to understand our mysteries!

The famous actress and authoress, Helen Hayes says this: “Yes, I have doubted. I have wandered off the path. I have been lost. But I always returned. It is beyond the logic I seek. It is intuitive - a intrinsic, built-in sense of direction. I seem to find my way home. My faith has wavered but has saved me.”

Because I have grown up without parents in my life and had to find my own way much of the time, Helen Hayes’ expressions are words that I trumpet as well. It is beyond explaining. I can not. I only stand in awe at God’s grace and with faith in my heart, I bow in adoration to Him.

Enlightened love is the universal medicine.
~Manly P. Hall

A few years ago, I read a book that changed my way of thinking about the human body. If you have never read, “Molecules of Emotion” by Candice Pert, I would highly recommend this book to you. It gave me a greater understanding of how emotions affect our health. When we feel strong emotions, something takes place on a cellular level. Cells are replaced with other cells and our entire structure can change. Consciously we are often not aware of it, but if we pay attention to our bodies, we will see the results, often very quickly.

Studies have time and again proven to us, that when we focus our thoughts on someone or something we love, the rhythm of our hearts even out and becomes healthier. Hormone levels change and even normalize. Heart disease and other stress related conditions can be reversed.

There is a beautiful section in scripture that I particularly love because it coincides so beautifully with this.

Whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things. ~Phil. 4:8

I believe we are living in one of the most exciting times in history. I believe the medical field is waking up more and more to the potential that is yet to be unfolded. I believe the alternative health field has started in that path and the possibilities are simply astounding. The potential to heal oneself is being uncovered by some of our finest. There is so much we don’t fully understand yet, though at the same time we instinctively are beginning to know that it can be reached. An attitudinal shift is so important in this discovery. What we think about and how we think about them can heal us, or it can make us sick.

Dr. Christiane Northrup would also be a good author to read. She, I believe along with Dr. Deepak Chopra, Joan Borysenko, Dr. Larry Dossey, Dr. Bernie Siegel and Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz, are some of our finest- among others - and worthy of our attention. Take time to read and learn what lies within your reach.

Viola Jaynes