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Archive for the ‘Spiritual Traveler’ Category

Every Beginning

Posted on: December 9th, 2012 by tobendlight

Here’s prayer/poem that celebrates both love and loss as essential elements of our lives. This piece appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings from CCAR Press.

Every Beginning
Every beginning brings an ending.
Every ending brings a beginning.

Ancient One,
This is the joy and the grief,
The plenty and the famine,
The dance and the dirge
Of life
Alive and awake
In Your world.

How wonderful is this living?
How glorious the light from heaven?
How stunning the radiance that surrounds you
My beloved,
Holy and new, luminous with wonder?
How marvelous this place where earth and sky touch?

How strange is this dying?
How melancholy that one day we will
No longer hear sweet voices,
See sweet faces,
Share whispers and secrets,
Laughter and heartbreak?
How much more, my darlings,
Should we love today?
How much more, my children,
Should we savor and rejoice?

Every beginning brings an ending.
Every ending brings a beginning.
Blessed is G-d’s Holy Name.

Postscript: Here are two of my favorite prayers about the spiritual journey: “Messengers” and “On the Trail.” Click here for more meditations in the voice of the Spiritual Traveler.

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 Credit: Hasseblad

Lech Lecha: The Journey

Posted on: October 21st, 2012 by tobendlight

“Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you.”
– Genesis 12:1.

A brief meditation on answering the call.

The Journey

There will come

A moment when

You must leave

What you know

On the journey

To find who

You can be.

You can be

One who finds

On the journey

What you know

If you leave

The moment when

Your time comes.

Postscript: Here are two more prayers about the spiritual journey: “Messengers” and “On the Trail.” Click here for songs of the Spiritual Traveler. Click here for more prayers and meditation about Journeys.

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: Alden Solovy

Unlock Your Heart

Posted on: August 5th, 2012 by tobendlight

This is part prayer, part insight, part inspiration. It’s about the yearning for a certain kind of nobility that comes from allowing G-d’s gifts to enter our hearts, the kind of nobility that requires self-confidence, self-care and self-discipline. I use this prayer for the 14th night of the counting of the Omer, Nobility in Discipline.

Unlock Your Heart
Come,
Unlock your heart,
Open the gates
So your soul may enter.

Splendor.

Radiance.

Awe.

Let the spark of holiness
And the gift of humanity
Meet in the core of your being.

Wisdom.

Glory.

Truth.

Let the echo of the ages
And the yearning for tomorrow
Sing a duet of eternity.

Mystery.

Majesty.

Wonder.

Then, dear sisters and brothers,
Your hands will become a fountain of blessings,
And your eyes will become wells of love.
Your words will resonate with Torah,
And your deeds will glorify G-d’s Holy Name.

Postscript: Other songs and prayers of the Spiritual Traveler include: “Come Walk,” “Bird is Bird,” “River,” “Soarbird” and “I am Breathing.” Click here for more songs of the Spiritual Traveler.

Please check out my ELItalk “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: Pieces to a Complicated Heart

All is Well

Posted on: July 10th, 2012 by tobendlight

This was inspired by the following quote from Fr. Anthony DeMello: “Spirituality means waking up… All mystics — Catholic, Christian, non-Christian — they’re all unanimous, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion, they’re all unanimous on one thing. That one thing is: All is well. All is well. Everything’s in a mess. And all is well. Strange paradox. But tragically most people never get to see that. They never get to see that all is well because they’re asleep…”

All is Well
In the hills and in the valleys,
In the wind and in the clouds,
In the rivers and in the oceans,
All is well.

In the rain and in the rapids,
In the storm and in the gale,
In the tempest and in the squall,
All is well.

Oh, to live in this music.
All is well.
Oh, to live in this song.
This loveliness. This beauty.
This knowing.
This dance.
The chill at dawn and
The breeze at dusk.
These endings. These beginnings.
All is well.

In my courage and in my fear,
In my honor and in my shame,
In my silence and in my thunder.
The hawk and the owl,
The egret and the crane.
The updraft and the horizon.
The downdraft and the breaking sea.
Soaring, soaring.
All is well.

Postscript: Anthony “Tony” de Mello (Sept. 4, 1931 – June 2, 1987) was a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist who became widely known for his books on spirituality. If you like this piece, be sure to check out “Come Walk.” Other songs and prayers of the Spiritual Traveler include: “Come Walk,” “Bird is Bird,” “River,” “Soarbird” and “I am Breathing.” Click here for the entire list of songs of the Spiritual Traveler.

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 consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Library

Inside the Light

Posted on: May 22nd, 2012 by tobendlight

Another song of the spiritual traveler, whose secret hope is for you to feel the light, to hear the light, to know the light, to become the light. This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

Inside the Light
A rainbow shines
Inside the light.
If you could be the dew drop
You would always see it.

Stillness waits
Inside the light.
If you could be the sky
You would always feel it.

The sunrise dawns
Inside the light.
If you could be the horizon
You would always find it.

Freedom flows
Inside the light.
If you could be the wind
You would always ride it.

Beauty rises
Inside the light.
If you could be the sparrow
You would always reach it.

Mystery pulses
Inside the light.
If you could be the wonder
You would always know it.

Majesty reigns
Inside the light.
If you could be the wisdom
You would always hear it.

Faith rests
Inside the light.
If you could be the eagle
You would always hold it.

Your soul glows
Inside the light.
If you could be yourself
You would never leave it.

Postscript: I wrote this on the airplane from Chicago to Newark on my way to Israel to make aliyah in 2012. Other songs of the spiritual traveler include: “Come Walk,” “Bird is Bird,” “River,” “Soarbird” and “I am Breathing.”

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: WikiMedia Commons

Ethics

Posted on: April 15th, 2012 by tobendlight

This quick meditation takes literally the idea of embodying our ethics. It’s written as a meditation for general use. I’ve also selected it for use during week six of Counting the Omer. This piece is part of a collaboration with Lin Batsheva Kahn of the Tikvah Company of Artists and Desiree Miller of the Chicago Civic Orchestra called “Three Prayers,” using my words, original choreography and dance by Lin and original cello music by Desiree. “Three Prayers” premiered in Jerusalem in June 2014 as part of an evening of dance and poetry by Miriam Engel’s Angela Dance Company. To listen to the music to Ethics, written for dance and performed by Desiree, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Ethics
Strong and sure.
Gentle and soft.
The ethics of my hands.

Awake and bright.
Aware and kind.
The ethics of my eyes.

Brave and true.
Solid and steady.
The ethics of my legs.

Open and willing.
Able and ready.
The ethics of my arms.

Present and engaged.
Receiving. Giving.
The ethics of my mind.

Joy and tears.
Comfort and hope.
The ethics of my heart.

Postscript: Here are three yoga meditations that have a similar rhythm to this prayer: “Breath: Yoga Meditation I,” “Strong: Yoga Meditation II” and “Pray and…: Yoga Meditation III.” See also: “For Service” and “On Making a Mistake.”

Photo Credit: Lindsay Olsen

Correction: Two Years of Prayer

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012 by tobendlight

Early today I posted a thank you to readers to mark the second anniversary of launching this site. Several of the links in the subscriber email are incorrect. They’ve been fixed online. Click here to read the corrected post. I apologize for the inconvenience and the extra email. Let me take this moment to thank you, once again, for your support.

בשלום

Alden

Two Years of Prayer

Posted on: March 22nd, 2012 by tobendlight

We pray. Why? Many reasons. To connect with G-d. To connect with others. To connect with ourselves. And we use prayers in unique ways. Prayers from To Bend Light have been used in worship services, memorial services, 9/11 commemorations, in hospital rooms, Veterans Day services, as an introduction to a family genealogy, in a cookbook/fundraiser for first responders, two rabbinic theses and even as an epitaph on a headstone. (For complete information on reprints, permissions, using and posting these prayers, see “Share the Prayer!”)

Today marks the second anniversary of sharing my prayers online. So far the prayers, poems and stories posted here have been read more 42,000 times by people in 49 nations. Thank you for your connection and commitment to prayer. Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. And thank you for taking time to read and listen to my words.

The site now has 272 posts, including 215 original prayers and 12 short stories. I’ve also begun posting notes to help readers use these prayers, such as lists of prayers related to specific holidays and seasons like Passover and Counting the Omer, or to find specific topics, like Prayers for Social Justice and Yizkor and Memorial Prayers.

Here are a few of my favorite new pieces posted this year:

My Liturgy for 9-11 was read most often in the past year, driven in large part by the 10^th anniversary of the attacks.

Special thanks to Rabbi Ruth Abusch-Magder, Brenda Epstein, Alan Schwartz, Gail Hopke, Susan Diamond, Rabbi Paul Kipnes, Fran Rossi Szpylczyn, Rev. Naomi, Rev. Jennifer Danielle Crumpton, Boysen Hodgson and Pastor Austin Fleming, as well as Prayables, RJ Blog, Tzeh Ulimad, A Concord Pastor Comments, Bechol Lashon, Beth Emet: The Free Synagogue, Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, The ManKind Project Journal, BeliefNet, Positive Jewish Living, Odyssey Networks and Sacred Journey as well as everyone else I thanked last year or those I may have inadvertently missed, for your support, encouragement and partnership.

With love and blessings,

Alden

——————————–

Sadly, also new this year, instances of theft of this material, which leads me to post this additional notice:

Notice
These prayers may be used and shared only as described on this site. For complete information on reprints, permissions, using and posting these prayers, see “Share the Prayer!” No other uses are authorized and are in violation of the author’s copyright. All content on this site is copyright material of Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights are reserved.

A Heart of Love

Posted on: December 11th, 2011 by tobendlight

What’s the response to spiritual heartbreak, to the deep longing that remains when G-d seems distant? This prayer/poem combines the vision of the spiritual traveler with a voice of warning. The result: a stark reminder about the risks of total surrender to G-d’s love. It ends on a brief note of hope, acknowledging that even in despair G-d is available to all of us. This is the third in this series, including “A Heart of Vision” and “A Heart that Hears.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

A Heart of Love
I cannot hold Your love in my arms.
I cannot find Your presence with my hands.
Only my heart can know Your radiance and splendor,
Your compassion and forgiveness,
Your laughter and Your light.

Listen dear sisters,
Dear brothers.
Do not be quick to pray
To embrace life from the center of your being,
To connect from the inside out.
When you hold love in the cradle of your heart
You will drink at the oasis of joy.
But when sorrow dries up your aching chest,
You will be parched and faint
Before the fountain of G-d.

Postscript: The following prayers tackle the same theme with a call to action and a softer edge: “Let Love,” “Let Joy,” “Let Truth,” and “Let Holiness.” And here’s a prayer called “For Healing the Spirit.” Please consider purchasing my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Summon My Heart

Posted on: November 6th, 2011 by tobendlight

G-d is all around us, in every moment and every breath. Yet the Holy One of Old still calls us to seek and discover the glory and the might, the wisdom and the word. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Summon My Heart
There is no summit,
No peak,
No mountain top
For me to find G-d.
G-d has already found me
In small moments and quiet breaths,
In the howling winds and the raging sky.

There is no road,
No trail,
No path
For me to find G-d.
G-d has already found me
In toil and in rest,
In the moonlit night and the glow at daybreak.

And yet,
G-d of Old,
You summon me
To wander and roam,
To journey, to discover.
To know You in all things.
To see You in all beings.
To love You with every breath.
To serve You with a full heart.

G-d of wisdom,
Grant me adventure and wonder,
Joy and amazement,
Seeking Your holy Word,
Praising Your holy Name.

Postscript: Two more prayers of heart: “This Stubborn Heart” and “My Heart Knows What it Needs.” And a prayer about wandering: “Your Light.”