Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in dogs.
Welcome to another in our series of breath prayers.
As always,
Before we begin,
Just allow yourself to arrive slowly.
There's nowhere else you need to be right now.
No need to rush into prayer,
No need to produce anything.
Just allow yourself to be fully present in this moment.
As we begin,
Notice the sounds around you.
Near sounds,
Distant sounds,
And without labelling them good or bad,
Just listen.
Now notice the sounds within you.
The movements of thoughts,
Of feelings,
The quiet hum of the mind.
Again,
Not resisting anything,
Just noticing.
Now there's a prayer from the story of Samuel.
Speak Lord,
For your servant is listening.
It's a prayer of openness,
Not certainty,
Not having all the answers,
Just availability.
And listening's difficult for us,
Isn't it?
Most of the time,
Our attention's scattered.
And even in prayer,
We can spend the whole time speaking,
Thinking,
Planning,
Reacting.
But this prayer gently shifts us from speaking into listening.
And this isn't necessarily listening for words either,
But listening with the heart.
Listening for presence,
For truth,
For the quieter moments within us.
So today,
Our practice is going to be just a little more spacious,
A little quieter.
Again,
You don't have to force anything to happen.
But just be attentive.
As our prayer is simply,
As you're breathing in,
Speak Lord.
And as you breathe out,
Your servant is listening.
And let the words just rest softly on the breath.
And between each repetition,
Just allow a moment of listening.
Maybe even a breath in and out without the prayer,
Just to listen.
So let's begin.
Breathing in,
Speak Lord.
And breathing out,
Your servant is listening.
And again,
Breathing in,
Speak Lord.
And breathing out,
Your servant is listening.
Notice the silence between the breaths.
And know that this isn't an empty silence,
But it's actually a living silence.
As we breathe in,
Speak Lord.
And breathing out,
Your servant is listening.
And if thoughts arise,
Just don't feel them.
Don't feel the need to chase them away,
Just notice them and then return.
Remembering that most of practice is simply returning.
And also realize that listening isn't the absence of thought.
It's learning where to rest your attention.
Breathing in,
Speak Lord.
Breathing out,
Your servant is listening.
When you're listening,
You may hear nothing,
And that's okay.
Quite often prayer works gently and quietly and slowly shapes our awareness over a period of time.
Breathing in,
Speak Lord.
Breathing out,
Your servant is listening.
And now,
Just for a few moments,
Let the words fade completely and just sit in quiet attentiveness.
Let's pray.
Speaking God,
Teach us to listen with more than our ears.
Quiet what is restless within me.
Slow the constant movement of my thoughts and help me become attentive to your presence,
To truth,
To love,
And to the quiet invitations that are unfolding within our lives.
And as we breathe this prayer,
Form in us a listening heart that is humble,
Open,
And awake to you.
And may grace,
Peace,
And love go with us and remain with us today and always.
Amen.
When you're ready,
Just return fully your awareness to where you are.
And as you go into your day,
Carry this posture of listening.
Where might you hear God speaking to you today?
Until tomorrow,
Peace be with you.
