Archive for the ‘Gratitude’ Category

 

Meditation on the Eve of a New Year

Posted on: September 24th, 2014 by Alden

Rosh Hashana 5775 Card ChabadA new meditation — written this morning — as the year 5774 comes to an end. May 5775 bring hope, blessing and peace. Instructions for using this meditation are found in [brackets]. May you have a year of health and happiness, joy and laughter, livelihood, sustenance, prayer and love.

Meditation on the Eve of a New Year
G-d,
Dear G-d,
We stand at the cusp of a New Year,
Looking forward, looking backward,
So much accomplished,
So much neglected,
Gains and losses,
Joys and sorrows,
Victories and defeats.
A life.
My life.

You,
G-d of Old,
You are Steadfast Witness,
Source and Shelter.
I bend my heart to You,
Recalling these gifts:

[Part 1: Think about, say out loud or write down blessings in your life, including: people, places, events and things. Be specific: a son, daughter, niece, nephew, brother or sister, by name; a wedding a birth or other joyous occasion, with names; seeing a sunrise or a rare bird; a favorite shirt, a new bed, a home repair or expansion; a new job. See how beautifully detailed and long you can make the list, seeing the many blessings that flow through your life.]

[Part 2: If you can, name the blessings that arose from sorrows, for example: a merciful death, an end to suffering or beautiful eulogy for someone, by name; rebuilding after a disaster; potential new life after a divorce. Don’t force it; be true to how you actually feel, not how you think you ‘should’ feel. If you can, try to see how, sometimes, even in times of sorrow there can be gifts.]

G-d,
My G-d,
For consolation in my grief,
For sunlight and midnight,
For hope in my celebrations,
For warmth and for shelter,
For current and tide,
For family and for friends,
For the flow of beauty and grace,
I bend my life back to You,
As the New Year descends,
In love and in service,
My offering
To Your Holy Name.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here’s a related meditation called “Another Year: An Introspection” and a link to prayers and stories for the Yamim Noraim, the High Holy Days, listed by topic, some of which my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. Please take a moment to explore my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Source: Chabad.org

 

Gates

Posted on: September 20th, 2014 by Alden

Gate Beth EmetStanding before the gates of heaven in prayer – yearning for them to stay open long enough for true repentance to be heard – is a classic High Holy Day metaphor. The inspiration for this prayer comes from Isaiah, the haftorah read on Shabbat Nitzavim. “Pass through, pass through the gates… Tell fair Zion: Your deliverance is coming!” This prayer envisions each of us briefly entering G-d’s holy realm to be restored. I wrote it at the request of my friend Rabbi Andrea London for the 5775 Beth Emet—The Free Synagogue congregational holiday card. I also took the photo used on the card, shown here. My other prayers using the metaphor of gates include: “At the Gates” and “The Entry to Our Hearts.”

Gates
Keep the gates open,
Holy One,
Keep them open a little longer,
So that my repentance and my yearning
May yet enter Your holy realm.

Keep the gates open,
Compassionate One,
So that our hearts may dwell,
To be refreshed in Your sacred space,
To be restored with justice and mercy,
To be nurtured and renewed with awe and wonder.

Rock of Israel,
Source and Shelter,
Keep the gates open,
So that when we leave this holy place
We remember and know
That wisdom and understanding surround us,
That peace and joy will yet follow,
That holiness and love will yet prevail.

© 2014 Alden Solovy, Beth Emet-The Free Synagogue and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: This prayer was written in Israel during the 2014 Gaza war known as “Operation Protective Edge.” The last two lines of this prayer were strongly influenced by the war. I’m grateful to Rabbi London for this opportunity and for her suggestions. My other prayers using the metaphor of gates include: “At the Gates” and “The Entry to Our Hearts.” Here are links to prayers for Elulprayers for Rosh Hashanaprayers for Yom Kippur and prayers for Sukkot. Here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

One Gift

Posted on: September 19th, 2014 by Alden

IMG_8211Each moment brings a new gift, the gift of now. Now is the source of all gifts. G-d is the Source of now. Here are three related meditations: “Leaving,” “Arriving” and “Now.”

One Gift
There is but one gift
That is the source of all blessings:
The gift of now.
Now is the source
Of you, my friend,
Of us, my love,
Of sky and rain,
Of thunder and light,
Of season and harvest,
Of mystery and adventure,
Of awe and wonder.
Now is the source of blessings.

There is but one Source
For this well of blessings
This flow of now:
You, G-d of All Being.
You are the Source
Of friendship and love,
Of tide and bounty,
Of endings and beginnings,
Of Torah and wisdom,
Of radiance and splendor,
Of holiness and healing.
You, Holy One, are the
Source of all gifts, the
Source of all blessings, the
Source of now.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Consider using this prayer on Thanksgiving. Please take a look at my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Sacred Cargo

Posted on: May 15th, 2014 by Alden

800px-Kuindzhi_Red_sunset_study_1890_1895This new meditation is a reminder, a reminder that G-d gave us each gifts that are amazing beyond imagination: our souls, our bodies and our ability to bring holiness into the world. It can be used as a kavanah before prayer or engaging in a spiritual practice, such as yoga, or can be used as a reminder of our gifts from G-d before performing an act of tikkun olam, an act to better the world. This meditation will appear in my forthcoming book, Prayers for Healing the World.

Sacred Cargo
You carry sacred cargo within,
Your ruach, your nefesh, your neshama,
The spirit and breath of holiness,
Given to you by the One,
The Source,
Hakodesh Habarachu,
Blessed be G-d’s holy name.

You carry sacred cargo within,
Your heart, your lungs, your blood,
The vitality of holiness,
Given to you by the One,
The Source,
Hakodesh Habarachu,
Blessed be G-d’s holy name.

You carry sacred cargo within,
Your hands, your voice, your strength,
The instruments of holiness,
Given to you by the One,
The Source,
Hakodesh Habarachu,
Blessed be G-d’s holy name.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: I also have several pieces specifically designed as yoga meditations, including: “Breath: Yoga Meditation I,” “Strong: Yoga Meditation II” and “Pray and…: Yoga Meditation III.” If you like this meditation, you may also like “Come Walk,” “Bird is Bird” and “Leaving.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Fresh Delights

Posted on: February 5th, 2014 by Alden

IMG_6281This is a short meditation about the simple beauty that surrounds us day-by-day. It ends with a reminder that the wonder and the majesty that fills the earth – from the first bird of morning to the awe that surrounds us – “blossom” in praise of G-d’s Holy Name.

Fresh Delights
Life is a garden of fresh delights,
Blossoming with wonders,
Large and small.
The first bird of morning,
The fresh smells of dawn,
And the promise of awe and adventure.

Holy One,
Help me to see, to love and to cherish
This harvest,
This bounty of gifts,
This flow of  sights.
Let me feel the rushing river
Pulsing in my veins.

Let me know the sacred sunshine
In my beating heart.
Let me thank you and bless You,
G-d of Old,
For Your steadfast love,
Day by day.

Life is a garden of fresh delights,
Blossoming with praises
For G-d’s Holy Name.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: If you enjoyed this meditation, you might also like: “First Bird,” “Come Walk,” “All is Well,” “River,” “Bird is Bird” and “Leaving.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

For the Gift of Music, In Memory of Lou Reed

Posted on: October 28th, 2013 by tobendlight

Lou_reedMy prayer “For the Gift of Music,” reposted today in memory of Lou Reed. Here’s a favorite: “A Walk on the Wild Side.” This prayer from my series on creativity, a short and sweet one about music with a different focus than “For the Gift of Song.” That post explains the common structure of these prayers. To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Gift of Music
G-d, we give thanks for the gift of music,
For horn and flute,
For strings and drums,
For crescendo and staccato,
For the gift that gives our spirits a divine voice.
Hear this prayer for those who write music, arranging sound, seeking beauty.
Hear this prayer for those who play music, creating sound, releasing beauty.
Make their music Your vessel.
Let heaven pour joy and sorrow, love and loss through them
So that they overflow with Your most secret prayers for Your people,
Drawing others to Your blessings.
So that when we hear their music
Our souls turn back to You for shelter.
Together, we offer our voices back to heaven,
And rejoice.

© 2010 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: This prayer first appeared on May 12, 2010. Please check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Words,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Art,” “For the Gift of Laughter,” “For the Gift of Torah Scholarship” and “For the Joy of Learning.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Receiving Blessings

Posted on: July 31st, 2013 by tobendlight

you are blessedThis prayer is about opening my heart to receive blessings. Why? For me, it is easier to bless than to accept the blessings of others. Even with years of writing gratitude lists, even though I know that life is a “Garden of Blessings,” fully taking in a compliment, a good word or a blessing is still a challenge, something I must practice. So, with this prayer I ask for G-d’s help in receiving blessings.

Receiving Blessings
Ancient One,
Open my heart to receive
The blessings around me,
Kindness and wisdom,
Friendship and understanding,
Tenderness and compassion,
Moments of holiness,
Messages from heaven.

Source and Shelter,
Why can I bless others
With the fullness of my being
With joy and thanksgiving,
But struggle to be blessed?
To release my heart?
To take in these gifts?

Rock and Redeemer,
Grant me the ability to see and to hear
The blessings around me,
A fountain of love
To fill my soul
With gratitude and courage,
With joy and peace.

© 2013 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Here are prayers with a similar theme: “An Amazing Life,” “These Blessings” and “Unlock Your Heart.”

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. Please take a moment to explore my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Source: The Poached Egg

Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem

Posted on: April 28th, 2013 by tobendlight

IMG_0678This is a private meditation. That is, I don’t expect that it speaks fully to or for anyone but me. I wrote it several months ago, but it didn’t feel complete. The final thoughts came to me this morning during my run. I added three lines and rearranged the paragraphs. Some of these rules only apply to my life in Jerusalem; some only to my life in Israel. Perhaps this will change as the depth of my experience here grows.

So, if it’s private, why am I posting it? To encourage you to write your own “Rules for Being You” meditation. I’m glad that I finished this piece before Yom Yerushalayim, which is May 8, 2013.

Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem
Smile at everyone.
Or, at least, nod in their direction.
Some may even smile back.
Don’t take offense if someone
Simply looks away,
Or never makes eye contact.
They aren’t used to it.

Speak your truth,
But only when it adds love
Or a blessing to the world.
Live your truth always.
No matter what.

Before Shabbat,
Put a loaf of bread where
Someone needy can find it.
Say a quick prayer for abundance,
Yours and theirs.

Look at everyone as if you can see
Directly into their hearts.
Their hearts hold joy and grief and love.
Like yours.

See the best in everyone,
Even when someone chooses to show you their worst.

Smile at women with babies. And men.
Not for them, for you.
You are seeing the future,
And it is beautiful.

Say Shabbat Shalom to everyone,
Even men without kippot.
We all deserve rest and peace.

Breathe.
There is holiness in the air.
Malchut and Tiferet
Are within your grasp.

© 2013 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: If you write your own “Rules” meditation, please take a moment to share on this page what it was like to write it. See also: “Jerusalem: A Meditation” and other prayers about Israel.

If you use this prayer, please click “like” on this page and subscribe. Please take a moment to post a link to your Facebook page, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Thanks. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!

Photo Credit: Alden Solovy

Quick Prayer of Joy

Posted on: March 29th, 2013 by tobendlight

joy-with-white-backgroundJoy. Wow. What a gift. This is a prayer of gratitude for joy, including a reminder to live joy as a daily spiritual practice. It’s another in my series of meditations for use when prayer time is brief. Here are two more prayers about joy: “For Joy” and “Let Joy.”

ADDENDUM, March 6, 2017: An this prayer appears in my new book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press as “Prayer of Joy.”

Quick Prayer of Joy
G-d,
Thank You for joy and delight,
For wonder and awe,
For moments of gladness and celebration.
Grant me the ability to breathe gentleness
Into my hours and seasons,
So that I live awake to beauty,
To holiness,
To the radiance that surrounds us.
Grant me the wisdom to arrive each day
With passion and humor,
With song and dance,
With smiling eyes,
In service to myself,
In service to others,
In service to Your Holy Name.

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers For a New Day

Postscript: Here’s a link to “Quick Prayer for Healing,” as well as two adaptions of that prayer. Others in the “Quick Prayers” series include: “Quick Prayer of Gratitude,” “Quick Meditation for Today,” “Quick Meditation at Noon,” “Your Name: Quick Prayer at Dusk” and “Quick Meditation at Night.”

Please check out my Meet the Author video and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: ThyBlackMan.com

Prayer of Gratitude

Posted on: March 20th, 2013 by tobendlight

grateful-heartThis is another in my series of meditations for use when prayer time is brief, like waiting in line at the grocery story or when your in a car stopped at a red light. The series now includes eight prayers. This prayer will appear in my forthcoming book, which has yet to be given a title.

Prayer of Gratitude
Today is a gift,
Oh my G-d,
To know Your world,
To receive Your blessings.

Rock of Ages,
Your works surround us,
Daily signs of awe and wonder,
Daily guides to joy and service.
Bless me with hands of strength,
A heart of courage,
A mind of understanding.
Bless me with a voice of praises,
A life of gratitude,
Days filled with hope and love.

© 2019 CCAR Press from This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings

Postscript: Here’s a link to “Quick Prayer for Healing.”

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Credit: Women of Faith

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