Tag Archive for "beauty" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘beauty’

River

Posted on: November 19th, 2010 by tobendlight

This simple prayer/poem is an extended metaphor for the interior landscape of challenge and change. It will appear in my forthcoming book, Song of the Spiritual Traveler. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

River
River and free.
River and free.
Current and rapid.
River and free.

Ocean and gone.
Ocean and gone.
Storm and gale.
Ocean and gone.

Tide and return.
Tide and return.
Whitecap and wave.
Tide and return.

Eddy and flow.
Eddy and flow.
Headwater. Backwater.
Eddy and flow.

River and free.
River and free.
Boat and paddle.
River and me.

Postscript: Please click here to read other prayer/poems from the voice of the Spiritual Traveler.

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Photo Credit: U.S. Forest Service / John Hutmacher

To Know Your Word

Posted on: October 28th, 2010 by tobendlight

Connecting with the divine is the theme of this series prayers including: “To Hear Your Voice,” “To Seek Your Glory” and “To Seek Your Love.” I use this prayer during week 6 of counting the Omer. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This piece appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings from CCAR Press.

To Know Your Word
Divine teacher,
Source of knowledge, wisdom and insight,
Well of secrets,
Creation sings your praise.
Sea, earth and sky proclaim your majesty.
Your word resounds around us,
And Your voice echoes throughout the universe.

G-d of ancient secrets,
Holy One of Old,
Open my heart to Your guidance
And my mind to Your teaching,
So that I may know Your word
And live by Your holy command,
So that I may be of service to You,
Your people,
And Your Torah.

Blessed are You, Rock of Truth,
Your word resounds from the heavens,
Your teachings fill the earth.

Postscript: Please read the related prayers: “To Hear Your Voice,” “To Seek Your Glory” and “To Seek Your Love.”

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: The Sefer Torah Recycling Network

For A New Vision

Posted on: October 26th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer about believing in abundance, both physical and spiritual bounty. One of my most ardent wishes is reflected here: to see the world through G-d’s eyes. This is the source of enduring compassion, the source of living and loving boldly, honestly, without hesitation. I use this idea in “The Path of Righteousness.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the slider bar below. The text follows.

For A New Vision
With new vision
We see the abundance of Your world,
Blessings of heaven and earth.

G-d, help us to see the world through Your eyes,
And each other,
And ourselves.
For joy and peace,
For love and light,
That we may bring holiness into Your world.

Blessed are You, Adonai,
G-d of all worlds,
Who creates moments when heaven touches earth,
Allowing us to hear Your word,
To feel Your radiance
And to see Your divine light.

Postscript: I use this for Omer Day 18: Endurance in Compassion. If you connect with this prayer, please read “The Path of Righteousness.”

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: D’vorah Horn, Omer Series 2010

These Blessings

Posted on: October 21st, 2010 by tobendlight

This prayer celebrates the blessings in my life, in our lives. To listen along as you read, please click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

These Blessings
For the blessings in our lives,
The blessings of our lives,
And the blessings of the people who are part of our lives,
We give thanks.

These gifts heal:
Silence, stillness, enthusiasm and joyful noise.
Awareness, insight, energy and resources.
The gifts of parents and children,
Of students and teachers.

These blessings nurture:
Joy, gratitude, freedom and bravery.
Trust, strength, humor and sweetness.
The blessings of honesty and kindness,
Of faith and love.

For the gifts and blessings of our lives
We sing and dance,
We shout and laugh,
And we pledge our lives in service to each other,
In celebration, in wonder and in awe.

Praised are You, G-d our Maker,
Source of gifts and blessings.

Postscript: Here’s another prayer with a similar theme: “An Amazing Life.”

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.

About the Rainbow

Posted on: October 5th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is from a series of prayer/poems written in the voice of the spiritual traveler; specifically, it’s the voice of one who has a question that doesn’t need an answer. Other prayers in this series include “About the Heavens” and “About Shabbat.” This piece appears in This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer from CCAR Press.

About the Rainbow
Majestic Sovereign,
Source of beauty,
When did You decide
To create the rainbow?
Was this Your design?
Or perhaps it was a
Fantastic discovery
The moment Your Divine Light
Burst through the firmament of heaven?
Did You know that
Your Glory
Could be refracted
Through a simple lens of water?
Or were awe and wonder created
When You first saw
Your own colors,
When You gasped
At Your own brilliant light
Arching across a deep blue sky?

Postscript: Other prayers in the voice of the spiritual traveler include: “Come Walk” and “Rejoice!”

Photo Credit: ScienceBlogs.com

For the Gift of Words

Posted on: September 29th, 2010 by tobendlight

This is a prayer for writers and orators, another in my series of creativity prayers, including “For the Gift of Song,” which describes the common framework used in this series. To listen along as you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Gift of Words
G-d, we give thanks for the gift of words,
The gift of language,
The gift of insight and emotion,
The gift of sacred communion through communication.
For it was You who spoke and the world came into being.
It was You who carved tablets on the holy mountain.
Hear this prayer for those who write to explore the mysteries of creation.
Hear this prayer for those who speak to unlock Your divine secrets.
Make their words Your vessel.
Let heaven pour wisdom and love through them
So that they overflow with Your glory,
Drawing others to Your truths.
So that when we hear these words
Our souls turn back to You in love.
Together, we offer our insights back to heaven,
And rejoice.

Postscript: Be sure to check out the other prayers in this series: “For the Gift of Song,” “For the Gift of Dance,” “For the Gift of Art,” “For the Gift of Music,” “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.

Life as a Banquet

Posted on: August 29th, 2010 by tobendlight

The banquet of your life is full. Rejoice in the blessings. Share the bounty. This is one of four prayers that begin with a reflection on human limits as the gateway to rejoicing in Divine gifts. And sharing them. Here’s a link to more prayers appropriate for Thanksgiving.

Life as a Banquet
G-d of sacred time,
Source of sacred space,
Creator of holiness,
Divine light of wonder and awe,
My vision is clouded,
My sight limited,
The horizon of this world binds my perceptions.
What I see and what I know are tied to my awareness.

Heavenly hand of wisdom,
Guardian of realms above and realms below,
You who give understanding and insight,
Grant me the grace to live my life as a banquet,
A river of abundance and blessing
That yields food and clothing and shelter,
That I accept with humility and thanksgiving.
Give me the strength and compassion
To share these gifts with those in need,
To become an instrument of Divine bounty.

You who provide gifts beyond measure,
Guide me with Your love,
Teach me with Your holiness,
Show me the path to charity and service,
So that I live a life of dignity and honor,
With reverence for Your creation.

Blessed are You, G-d of time and space,
Providing bounty to be shared.

Postscript: Please check out these related prayers: “Life as a Symphony,” “Life as a Ceremony” and “Life as a Garden.”

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: Taste With the Eyes

Come Walk

Posted on: August 26th, 2010 by tobendlight

The spiritual journey requires humility to see with new eyes and willingness to listen with a new heart for the beautifully possible impossibilities that are all around us. I use this in week five of counting the Omer.

Come Walk
I know a man who lives in a rainbow.
I’ve heard the poet who lives on the moon.
I’ve heard the secret that sings all around you.
I know a man who can teach you the tune.

Hear the music among the lilies
And whispers in the blades of grass.
Hear the thunder beneath the ocean.
Feel the love that will always last.

Come walk the sacred sunshine.
Come walk the Milky Way.
Walk gently through the heavens.
Walk gently through each day.

Put your head upon my shoulder
And your hand upon my chest.
Put your hope above your sorrow.
Give yourself a time to rest.

I know a man who sings from the mountains,
And another who sings from the seas.
I’ve heard the man who sings from his glory,
And the man who sings on his knees.

Come walk between the layers of clouds.
Come walk the spirals of stars.
Walk gently through joy and sorrow.
Walk gently, walk holy, walk far.

Postscript: Here are more prayer/poems from the spiritual traveler: “All is Well,” “River,” “Bird is Bird” and “About the Rainbow.” Thank you to Ira Scott Levin, Julia Bordenaro Levin, and Tracy Friend. Their music helped me find this voice. Thanks also to Ros Roucher for her comments on earlier drafts.

Photo Credit: Salt Lake Tribune

Life as a Symphony

Posted on: July 5th, 2010 by tobendlight

Compassion gains an element of nobility when developed as a spiritual practice. This prayer is about living a reverent and compassionate life. It’s from a set of prayers including “Life as a Garden,” “Life as a Banquet” and “Life as a Ceremony.” Each calls for the introspection to see life as a glorious gift. They appear in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Life as a Symphony
G-d of ancient secrets,
Source of life,
Creator of beauty,
Divine light of sacred truth,
My strength has its limits,
My power its purpose,
The energy of life flowing from a secret well beyond my reach
And beyond my imagination.
What I find and what finds me are a mystery and a miracle.

Heavenly hand of radiance and hope,
Author of all being,
Grant me the wisdom and understanding to live my life as a symphony,
A river of majestic music that blesses and sustains life
With holiness and love,
That I repay with kindness and charity.
Give me the passion and the patience to hear the rhythms of Your glorious creation.

You who bring beauty and song,
Guide me with Your power,
Teach me with Your kindness,
Show me the reverence for Your secret truths,
So that I live a life of joy and celebration,
With gratitude for Your creation.

Blessed are You, G-d of salvation and splendor,
Creation sings Your praise.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 21th day of counting the Omer: “Nobility in Compassion.”

Photo Credit: UNCW Randall Library

For the Gift of Art

Posted on: July 2nd, 2010 by tobendlight

From Impressionism to Dada, from sculpture to photography, from Michelangelo to Chagall to Hokusai, the visual arts are amazing. Here’s another prayer celebrating creativity. It follows the same structure as other in this series, which is explained in the introduction to “For the Gift of Song.” To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For the Gift of Art
G-d, we give thanks for the gift of art,
For pencil and paint,
For glass and fabric,
For metal and stone,
For the gift that sees wisdom and beauty hidden in Your works,
For the skill and love that creates and crafts
Releasing divine radiance for others to see.
Hear this prayer for those who fashion art to reveal the secret glories of Your creation.
Make their works Your vessel.
Let heaven pour its vision through them
So that they overflow with Your light
Drawing others to Your glory.
So that when we see their works,
Our souls turn back to You in appreciation.
Together, we offer our gratitude back to heaven,
And rejoice.

Postscript: Be sure to 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 Music,” “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.

Posts Tagged ‘beauty’

River

To Know Your Word

For A New Vision

These Blessings

About the Rainbow

For the Gift of Words

Life as a Banquet

Come Walk

Life as a Symphony

For the Gift of Art

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