Listening to Prayer

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I was listening to myself as I silently recited my prayer:

I Am

I am a point of light within a greater Light,
I am a strand of loving energy within the stream of Love Divine
I am a point of sacrificial fire, focused within the fiery Will of God
And thus I stand.

I am a way by which men may achieve
I am a source of strength enabling them to stand
I am a beam of light shining upon their way
And thus I stand.

And standing thus revolve and tread this way
The ways of men
And know the ways of God
And thus I stand.

As I listened to this prayer, I knew that I am that I am, exactly the words that God spoke when Moses asked Who He was. But since I am a portion of God, as we all are, I too “I am that I am.” And what does this mean?

It means that as I recite each portion of the prayer, I am each of these things. “A point of light within a greater Light,” “A strand of loving energy within the stream of Love Divine,” “ A point of sacrificial fire focused within the fiery Will of God.” Since I am each of these things, and vary accordingly, the constant that I am is the consciousness that I am. And consciousness is, as we all aggregate and realize our portion of the God Self, Consciousness is God; Consciousness is our immortality; Consciousness is the ability to take many forms, and perform many tasks. Consciousness remains even as we join the Altogether, each with the other, and all into God Himself, God Herself, God the “I am that I Am.”

In each of these realizations, hovering over the scene is the Witness. The Witness watches. The Witness is Consciousness. The Witness is the higher and higher consciousness. And all of this increasing realization of our true state of being, all of this progressive realization, is in itself the path of journey of return, the path and journey of joining with each other, and with all creation. And the path that continues while we continue to realize, each in our multifarious forms, that “I Am,” “I continue to be,” “I am that I am,” I am part of “I Am That I Am”.

Prayers, if listened to carefully, speak to the soul; communicate with the soul, are nourished by the soul. Prayers, amongst others, have and continue to feed my soul. They help me to arise. Listen! Enter into the center of the words. Become a part of the greater Soul. They will help you to unite, mingle, enter into and to rise up. Listen. Listen silently. Listen carefully. Listen ....

Listen further to an:

Old Indian Prayer

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.

—Author Unknown

I had sent this poem to a bereaved widow. It was comforting to her, for after all she had not lost her husband. She found him again in the winds that blow, the sunlight, the morning hush. She need not weep, for she too (and we too) will not depart or disappear. We will be and we are the glint of sunlight on the snow.

And listen again, and carefully in these times of trial and terror and conflict, of evil trying to possess us, while we join with the Light to find our way, to a:

Jewish Prayer for Peace

Come, let us go up to the mountain of
The Lord, that we may walk the
Paths of the Most High
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
And our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation
Neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the
Lord of Hosts has spoken.

And listen, - in these times of stress, and fear and anger. Listen to the:

Christian Prayer for Peace

Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS,
For they shall be known as
The Children of God.
But I say to you that hear, love your enemies,
Do good to those who hate you,
Bless those who curse you,
Pray for those who abuse you.
To those who strike you on the cheek,
Offer the other also,
And from those who take away your cloak,
Do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you,
And of those who take away your goods,
Do not ask them again.
And as you wish that others would do to you,
Do so to them.

And finally:

From the Buddha:

“Do not believe in what you have heard; do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations; do not believe anything because it is rumored and spoken of by many; do not believe merely because the written statement of some old sage is produced; do not believe conjectures; do not believe merely in the authority of your teachers and elders. After observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and it is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

And here we listen to the Buddha as he leads us to our inner sanctum of wisdom, our inner guru, the Inner Light of Wisdom.

Maurie D. Pressman, M.D.
200 Locust Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19106
www.mauriepressman.com
Email: mauriedavid@earthlink.net
Tel: 215/922-0204

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Maurie D. Pressman, M.D. is the author of Enter the Supermind, Visions From the Soul and co-author (with Patricia Joudry) of Twin Souls: A Guide to Finding Your True Spiritual Partner. Dr. Pressman is Emeritus Chairman of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Temple University Health Sciences Center. He is Medical Director at the Center for Psychiatric Wellness, clinics that operate in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, N.J. These clinics bridge traditional and spiritual psychotherapy. Dr. Pressman can be reached at 200 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; telephone: 215/922-0204; fax: 215/922-3008; email: mauriedavid@earthlink.net; website: www.mauriepressman.com.

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