Hello,
And welcome to Methods,
An exploration in guided prayer and meditation.
This is a continuation of our second season,
In which we explore the power of breath as a transformative spiritual exercise.
There is a long history in the Jewish tradition around speaking of God's name.
It might have begun with Moses being told by a burning bush that the name of God was an unpronounceable word composed of only consonants,
Which we often render into English as Yahweh.
In the centuries that followed,
There was often resistance to saying God's name.
Christianity inherited that tradition in the use of the word Lord for God,
All in small capital letters.
You can see this in most translations of the Bible today.
Some rabbis teach that the letters of the Tetragrammaton,
Y-H-W-H,
Or Yod,
Vav,
That we translate as Yahweh,
Were in fact aspirated consonants meant to imitate the act of breathing.
It is a word without vowels,
And such cannot be said but only breathed.
Through the act of breathing,
Speaking God's name is the very first thing we do when we come into this world.
Saying God's name will also be the very last thing we do when we leave it.
We will say God's name repeatedly,
Frantically,
In those times we are lost or excited.
And even when we think we don't know who God is,
In our darkest moments,
We speak God's name thousands of times a day,
Millions in a lifetime.
If speaking the name of God is considered to be a prayer,
Then perhaps this is what the apostle Paul meant by praying without ceasing,
Or when he says,
If we don't know how or what to pray,
It doesn't matter.
He does our praying in and for us.
Praying prayer out of our wordless sighs,
Our aching groans.
Romans 8-26.
The method goes like this.
Create a space of quiet and calm for yourself by silencing your phone and making the temperature comfortable in the space where you typically pray or meditate.
If you need to clean out and dedicate a closet or a spare room for this,
It can be very helpful.
If you don't have the space,
Just section off a corner of a room where you can be comfortable and without clutter.
It's important to be intentional about this space and about your time.
This is where we practice being human,
Or simply being.
Feel free to pause this meditation if you need time to get comfortable.
Place your feet flat on the floor if you're sitting in a chair or on a bed.
Place your hands on the upper part of your legs and just let them rest heavy there.
Inhale slowly through your nose.
Inhale slowly through your mouth.
Feeling the air being warmed by your body.
Inhale.
And exhale.
Place your hand on your abdomen.
Feel your diaphragm or belly rise and fall as you continue with your breaths.
Spend as long as you wish simply enjoying the act of calmly breathing.
When you are ready,
See that the inhale is similar to the first syllable of the translation of God's name,
Yah.
See the exhale as related to the second syllable,
Weh.
Now breathe this name of God aloud and together.
Continue to breathe,
Seeing each breath as a pronouncement of God's name.
Knowing that by breathing in we receive and by breathing out we release.
We cannot help but speak the name of God.
The name of God is the first word we utter in this world and the last that leaves our lips.
Continue this practice for a little while longer.
Imagine God delighting in your faithful repetition of his name.
When you are ready,
Release your conscious thoughts about saying God's name.
Enjoy a time of union with the divine.
God Bless.
You You You You You You You When you're ready come back to the room You Slowly open your eyes Throughout your day today return to your breath Seeing each breath as a calling out to the Creator and the Sustainer of the cosmos Thank you for participating in this episode of methods for more content visit our website at www.
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