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Archive for the ‘Spiritual Traveler’ Category

Your Light

Posted on: November 4th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer/poem resonates with the love, hope and yearning of the one who is summoned to travel, to leave, to roam. It’s intentionally ambiguous on several levels, like the journey itself. To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

Your Light
Your light
Shines to greet me.
Generous and warm.
Precious and true.
When I leave
Your light follows,
A gentle glow of
Heart and home.

This journey of awe and mystery,
Radiance and wonder,
Summons me across land and sea,
To listen, to look, to feel, to be.
G-d’s wisdom and grace carry me
Across earth and sky
To song and splendor.

Shine brighter, my loves!
So that when my journey ends
I will remember
The way home.

Postscript: See also “To Find Home,” “The Way Home” and “On the Trail.”

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Pray and…: Yoga Meditation III

Posted on: October 16th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a meditation on being, which is a lovely way to begin – or to end! – a day’s yoga practice. It can also be used to begin a meditation session. It has the same rhythm and feel as “Breath: Yoga Meditation I” and “Strong: Yoga Meditation II.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Pray and…: Yoga Meditation III
Pray and feel.
Pray and love.
Pray and heal.
Pray and be.

Breath and feel.
Breath and love.
Breath and heal.
Breath and be.

Hope and feel.
Hope and love.
Hope and heal.
Hope and be.

G-d and feel.
G-d and love.
G-d and heal.
G-d and be.

Postscript: Here are two more pieces with the same rhythm and feel: “River” and “Ethics.” If you like this meditation, you may also like “Come Walk,” “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 use or like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

I Saw G-d

Posted on: September 27th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is the third piece – written in the voice of the spiritual traveler – that loosely follows a meter and a rhyming pattern, which is not my typical style. The others are “Come Walk” and “Each Day.” The three pieces fit together loosely as a series, although this piece and “Come Walk” are more closely connected.

I Saw G-d
I saw G-d in the color of the rainbow.
I saw G-d in the color of the sky.
I saw G-d in my mirror.
I saw G-d in the color of your eyes.

I heard G-d in your laughter.
I heard G-d in your breathless cry.
I heard G-d in my heartbeat.
I heard G-d in your secret sigh.

I felt G-d in the quiet morning.
I felt G-d in the lonely night.
I felt G-d in your gentle breathing.
I felt G-d in your holy light.

I know G-d as Source and Shelter.
I know G-d as the Rock of Love.
I know G-d as Grace and Wisdom.
I know G-d as the Rock of Life.

Postscript: Check out “Come Walk” and “Each Day.” Other songs, prayers and poems of the spiritual traveler include: “Leaving,” “Remember,” “About the Rainbow,” “Bird is Bird” and “Soarbird.”

If you like this prayer, post a link to your Facebook page, to your blog or as part of a tweet. And don’t forget to click “like” on this page. Thanks. For reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column.

Photo courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

I Am Breathing

Posted on: September 24th, 2011 by tobendlight

This is a meditation on the simple joys of breathing, hearing and seeing, but it’s really about the hope to embody in my own life the simple, gentle act of being. Here’s the piece, along with a photo I took of a sunrise over Lake Michigan one summer morning. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below.

I Am Breathing
I am.
Breathing.
I am breathing.
A prayer runs through it.
A prayer of hope.
A prayer of love.
A prayer of wholeness and heart.

I am.
Hearing.
I am hearing.
A song runs through it.
A song of joy.
A song of wonder.
A song of thanks and praise.

I am.
Seeing.
I am seeing.
A light runs through it.
A light of hope.
A light of love.
A light of wisdom and grace.

I am.
Being.
I am being.
My life runs through it.
A life of mystery.
A life of awe and splendor.
A life exalting G-d’s Holy Name.

Postscript: Other songs and prayers of the spiritual traveler include: “Come Walk,” “Leaving,” “Remember,” “Bird is Bird” and “Soarbird.”

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 Source: Alden Solovy

Soarbird

Posted on: September 17th, 2011 by tobendlight

A flight of fancy. A song of the spiritual traveler. A few words from the one who prays in song, in rhythm, in metaphor. It’s a companion piece to the prayer/poem “Bird is Bird,” which begins this way: “Bird is bird. Sky is sky…” Both are flights toward quiet, toward calm, toward peace.

Soarbird
Soarbird, sing.
Heart music.
Drum beat. Chest beat.
Magic rhythm.
Secret song.
Magic flight.

Soarbird, wing.
Sky music.
Pulse beat. Heart beat.
Magic thunder.
Wind song.
Magic whisper.

Soarbird, rest.
Night music.
Silent. Still.
Magic being.
Love song.
Magic becoming.

Soarbird, sing.
Sun music.
Light. Air.
Magic motion.
Freedom song.
Magic sight.

Postscript: See also: “Bird Song at Midnight,” “First Bird” and, of course, “Bird is Bird.”

Photo by Alden Solovy

Strong: Yoga Meditation II

Posted on: August 20th, 2011 by tobendlight

This meditation is for use at the end of yoga practice to set the intention of taking a strong, loving, peaceful heart into the world. As an alternatively to reciting the meditation, try repeating each line or stanza to build on the meditative state created in practice. “Breath: Yoga Meditation I” is for use at the beginning of practice. See also “Pray and…: Yoga Meditation III.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Strong: Yoga Meditation II
Calm and strong.
Peace and strong.
Vital. Vibrant. Alive.
Loving heart.
Graceful mind.

Calm and strong.
Peace and strong.
Radiant. Luminous. Wonder.
Merciful heart.
Hopeful mind.

Calm and strong.
Peace and strong.
Grounded. Grateful. Healing.
Faithful heart.
Joyous mind.

Postscript: Here are two more pieces with the same rhythm and feel: “River” and “Ethics.” If you like this meditation, you may also like “Come Walk,” “Bird is Bird” and “Leaving.”

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Breath: Yoga Meditation I

Posted on: July 22nd, 2011 by tobendlight

A friend asked if I had a prayer to set the mood for yoga practice. I didn’t, but the idea took hold. I wrote two: this meditation is for use at the beginning of practice. Each line can be said once or may be repeated to build a meditative state. The second meditation, “Strong: Yoga Meditation II,” is for use after practice. Later on, I wrote this: “Pray and…: Yoga Meditation III.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Breath: Yoga Meditation I
Quiet and breath.
Stillness and breath.
Ready. Silent. Waiting.
Easing into warmth.
Gliding toward surrender.

Quiet and breath.
Stillness and breath.
Patient. Open. Willing.
Easing into calm.
Gliding toward release.

Quiet and breath.
Stillness and breath.
Present. Here. Now.
Easing into body.
Gliding toward soul.

Postscript: Here are two more pieces with the same rhythm and feel: “River” and “Ethics.” If you like this meditation, you may also like “Come Walk,” “Bird is Bird” and “Leaving.”

Photo Source: Yoganonymous.com

A Heart That Hears

Posted on: June 19th, 2011 by tobendlight

Combine the vision of the spiritual traveler with the voice of admonishing prophet and the result is a stark warning about the dangers of the mystical journey. This prayer ends with the seed of hope that even in despair G-d is available to us. This is part of a series, including “A Heart of Vision” and “A Heart of Love.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

A Heart That Hears
I cannot hear Your Voice with my ears.
I cannot touch Your Glory with my hands.
Only my heart can know,
Your justice and mercy,
Your law and command,
The deafening blast of Your Shofar,
And the hushed whispers within.

Listen dear sisters,
Dear brothers!
Do not be quick to pray
To hear from the center of your being,
To perceive from the inside out.
When your heart beats with the music of the ages
You will dance in the heavens.
But when silence empties your grieving heart
You will lie vacant and hollow before the tent of G-d.

Postscript: Other prayers incorporating the voice of the prophet include: “Let Love,” “Let Joy,” “Let Truth” and “Let Holiness.”

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To Find Home

Posted on: June 17th, 2011 by tobendlight

Day five in Israel. After two days in Tel Aviv, I’m now in Haifa. On a solitary up-hill walk, it became clear that I’m here looking for something, but have no idea what it is. I don’t even have the words yet to ask the question, let alone find an answer. Then, suddenly, it struck me that I’ve lost the definition of the word ‘home.’

Addendum 12.16.2011: A week after I wrote this, still in Israel, the antidote to the yearning of this prayer came in the form of another piece called: “The Way Home.” I’ve been back in the US for six months and will return to Israel in less than three weeks.

To Find Home
Ancient One,
Without mast or sail,
Compass or sextant,
Tiller or anchor,
Stripped of pretense,
Raw and naked,
I look to You
To guide my way.

What shall I call home?
A land, a topography, a geography?
A place? A people?
History and memory?
A dwelling, a building, a house?
Safety, security, comfort?
A space inside of me?

G-d of Old,
The One who sent our ancestors on their journeys,
Lead me on a steady path,
A path of wholeness and love.
The path to my name.
The path to my home.

If the struggle is long, Amen.
If the struggle is swift, Amen.
When the path is rough, Amen.
When the path is smooth, Amen.
If the way is darkness, Amen.
If the way is light, Amen.
When I am lost, Amen.
When I return, Amen.

Postscript: One definition of home is clear: wherever I leave a piece of my heart. So there will always be a piece of home with my daughters, with my sisters, with my Mom. Perhaps that’s why my heart aches when someone leaves or dies. This is the second prayer that I’ve begun on this trip and the first that has reached a reasonable draft. Related prayers include: “Being Lost” and “For the Lost.”

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Each Day

Posted on: June 13th, 2011 by tobendlight

A simple meditation on days of sweetness and joy, courage and valor, pledging a life of service to G-d. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

Each Day
To start this day with joy.
To end this day with peace.
To start this day with longing.
To end this day released.

Live each day with wonder,
With kindness, awe and grace.
Live each day with courage,
With trust, with hope, with faith.

Hold fast to sacred moments.
Hold fast to precious love.
Hold fast to one another.
Hold fast to G-d above.

Hold courage through the hours,
And humor through the tears.
Hold G-d above your sorrows.
Hold G-d above your fears.

To You I must surrender,
Oh G-d of hidden spheres.
You are Source and Shelter.
To You I pledge my years.

Postscript: Here are two prayers about the gifts of life – “These Blessings” and “Morning Blessings” – and one with the same sing-song cadence of this prayer, “Come Walk.” This prayer was written prior to my current trip to Israel.

Archive for the ‘Spiritual Traveler’ Category

Your Light

Pray and…: Yoga Meditation III

I Saw G-d

I Am Breathing

Soarbird

Strong: Yoga Meditation II

Breath: Yoga Meditation I

A Heart That Hears

To Find Home

Each Day

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