Every Sunday in 2007, Balanced Life Center will focus on prayer. Spiritual practice is key to having a balanced life. These posts will focus on prayer and meditation. The objective is to explore different traditions and types of prayer so that you might incorporate some of it into your life.

There are as many ways to pray as there are people in the world. Some people have rituals associated with prayer, like kneeling at bed before sleep at night or saying grace before a meal, other people pray on impulse. Some people have active prayer with drumming and dancing, others pray silently and still. Some people pray to one God, others pray to Spirits in different objects. We will be exploring as many types of prayer as we can in this year.

I don’t profess to be an expert on prayer, meditation, or religion, but I did want to create a space for discussion. As such, I’ll be calling on all of you to share your traditions, your styles, your rituals, even your prayers, so that everyone may benefit.

January will be the introductory month. The first discussion will be on the who, what, where, and why to prayer. Next will be a discussion on how we pray. Then, I will share my first prayer experiences. I invite you to share yours as well. Finally, I would like a few parents to talk about how they teach their children to pray. If you are interested in sharing your experiences in this arena, drop me a note.

A note on language. As I am talking about prayer, I will use the word God a lot. I also use the words Spirit, Consciousness, and Universe. I am most comfortable referring to God with the masculine pronoun. That may not work for everyone. Next week, I will talk more about my understanding of God. I recognize that everyone will not see God that way. I respect your beliefs whatever they may be. In your discussions, please respect everyone else’s.

Now, let’s embark on this adventure.

In Spirit,
Nneka