[email protected]
PRAY FOR OUR ENEMIES
Do you believe in the power of prayer?
We�ve spoken before in this column about the metaphysical Law of Attention: that what you put your attention on, you get more of. We�ve even talked a bit about how we queer people help create our own enemies with our attention. (How�s that for self-defeating behavior!) So now, the question is, �Can we use the power of our attention to heal instead of divide?�
Whatever your faith tradition, or lack thereof, from Christianity to Pagan and from Buddhism to modern physics, almost every mode of belief affirms the power of human beings� thoughts to effect exterior, phenomenal outcomes. Different belief systems hold that this power is applied in different ways: simple Observation (modern physics); Meditation (Buddhism, Christianity, etc.); Magic/Manipulation of Forces (Pagan, traditional sciences); and, most predominantly, Prayer, which features to some extent in almost every faith tradition. Whether you believe specifically in Prayer, Observation, Meditation, Magic or something else, I will use �Prayer� to mean your way of using your consciousness to exert influence in the external world.
Some traditions hold that prayer is supplication; that one pleads with Higher Power to intervene in certain circumstances. Others believe that prayer is one�s primary means of communing with an inner divine guide, inviting Inner Power to manifest the highest good in one�s life. Prayer is also seen by many as a conduit of praise and gratitude from human being to Universal Whole. Of course, many of us believe in more than one of these types of prayer, using a combination of direct forces of consciousness that results in unforeseen positive outcomes.
Unfortunately, we also tend to hold back from using these �direct forces of consciousness!� In some situations, we are more than eager to invite assistance or attempt to influence results through prayer--when a life is threatened or when we have exerted all our ordinary effort to no avail--but too often we give in to the feeling that �we have to handle this without any help from unseen forces.� This means we deny ourselves access to our full arsenal of transformative tools, and let�s make no mistake, we Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Intersex and Ally people need all the help we can get to claim our full, natural and abundant lives in this world!
Our sisters and brothers around the state (and around the world) are working very hard to block anti-queer movements and violence by using traditional activism--voter education and registration, lobbying, speaking out, increasing queer visibility, writing letters to the editor and so on. The work they are doing is indispensable. At the same time, whether or not you and I are directly involved in that work, we can help arrange the ground for queer victory by unleashing our �Power Tool�--Prayer.
�Ah, Ko,� I hear you asking, �But what will we pray for?� Personally, both my secular commitment to nonviolence and my spiritual faith in the presence of the Sacred in every being convict me to act with positive intentions. In other words, if voodoo were my prayer model, I would not be sticking hat-pins into an enemy�s effigy! Well, the real question for us is, �What do we want to happen?� I hope that we all wish the best for our enemies as well as for ourselves. In an ideal world, what Dr. King called a Beloved Community, we and our enemies are friends, so praying for the healing of their afflictive thought forms and a dramatic transformation of the relationship between queer folk and anti-queer folk, from animosity to reconciliation, is best.
Let�s experiment. Will you join this Queer Victory Movement and commit to praying, whatever that means to you, for an anti-queer �enemy� daily for one month? You already know which individual enemy to pray for. Ask your friends to join you, and let me know that you�re participating by emailing me at [email protected].
What will happen because we pray? I don�t know, but I believe it will be good.
For your convenience, here is a basic prayer model to use, alone or in a group:
1. If you have a photograph of the anti-queer �enemy� you are praying for, it may be helpful to look at it while praying. Otherwise, if you know what she or he looks like but don�t have a picture, or if you have never seen the person, close your eyes and visualize them. You can visualize their physical appearance or their name and actions.
2. Don�t be worried if negative feelings about the person come up for you at first. This is normal since you have felt directly or indirectly threatened by this person. Be patient with these feelings and they will pass. It may be helpful to greet the emotions: �Hi, Anger! This anger I am feeling is only energy passing through me.�
3. Try to form a positive image of the person in your mind. [This was very helpful when I prayed sitting among Fred Phelps� family last February. I had such a clear image of his daughter and I having a beer and laughing!] Begin forming this positive image by visualizing warm and gentle light around or emanating from within the person. It may be helpful to imagine the individual as a baby, innocent and unspoiled by miseducation. I sometimes imagine my favorite Teletubbies (no, not Tinkywinky) laughing and tickling and dancing with an enemy, but any image can work: Jesus giving them a hug, fairies giving them butterfly kisses, whatever works for you and, in your mind, makes the enemy beam with delight.
4. Holding this positive image, say to yourself, �I see you as my friend, so that we can release the separation between us and each come to know her/his true happiness.�
5. Form a positive affirmation wishing the other incredible health, happiness and prosperity. Smile at them and end the prayer with �A-men.�
[Return to LGBT Columns]
[Return to Spirituality Columns]