Tag Archive for "blessing" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘blessing’

Quick Blessing for a Friend’s Departure

Posted on: July 18th, 2013 by tobendlight

What can I say when a friend departs? When his journey moves on? When her path and mine diverge? For me, these moments are rich with history and love, but they need few words. So here’s a quick blessing to give to a friend when your lives move apart. This will appear in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Quick Blessing for a Friend’s Departure
Heart of my heart,
Dear [brother/sister/friend],
Bless you on your journey.
May you find what you seek
And what you need,
What seeks you
And what calls you home.
May the light of health and hope
Carry you toward beauty and wonder.
May the light of holiness
Carry you toward strength and service.
Let peace and joy surround your days.
And let awe and thanksgiving
Lead you on a path of virtue.

Postscript: Other prayers in this series include: “Quick Meditation for Today,” “Quick Meditation at Noon,” “Your Name: Quick Prayer at Dusk” and “Quick Meditation at Night.” See also “Quick Prayer for Healing.”

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Photo Source: Pic Pulp

For Physicians

Posted on: June 23rd, 2013 by tobendlight

This is a prayer of thanks for physicians. It’s from a set of prayers honoring clinicians and medical science. I’ve already posted a prayer “For Nurses” and a variety of prayers regarding organ donation, including “For Organ Donation” and “For Organ and Tissue Donation.” Future posts will include a prayer “For Medical Science.” This prayer appears in my forthcoming book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For Physicians
G-d of Old,
We are flesh and blood,
Imbued with Your divine spark,
Strong, but vulnerable.
You have blessed us with men and women
Who dedicate their lives to health and healing,
Preventing disease, reducing pain,
Prolonging lives, providing hope.

G-d of life,
Watch over our physicians –
And all who work in the healing professions –
As they serve us during times of health and
In the times of our deepest needs.
Bless their hands with kindness,
Their eyes with courage,
Their hearts with sincerity
And their souls with love,
So that they become
A fountain of healing.
Bless them with fortitude and strength.

Rock of Ages,
Bring an end to pain and suffering,
So that all may know
Your compassion and Your grace.

Bless doctors throughout the world
With Your warmth and shelter,
Even as we bless them
With our eternal gratitude and love.

Postscript: My other prayers for healing include: “For Surgery,” “On Waiting for An Organ Transplant,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For Healing the Spirit” and “For a Critically Ill Child.”

Photo Source: UofL Physicians

For Nurses

Posted on: June 9th, 2013 by tobendlight

This is a prayer of thanks for nurses. My family has been blessed by many. The prayer is from a set honoring clinicians and medical science, including several focused on organ donation, including “For Organ Donation” and “For Organ and Tissue Donation.” Future posts will include a prayer “For Physicians” and one “For Medical Science.” This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For Nurses
To those who dedicate their lives to compassion,
To those who dedicate their lives to care,
To those who hold our hearts and spirits dear:
Your work is a blessing,
Your days are a gift,
Your hours are a labor of holiness,
Your moments are a well of comfort.

G-d of life,
Watch over our nurses –
And all who work in the healing professions –
As they serve us in the times of our deepest needs.
Bless their hands with kindness,
Their eyes with courage,
Their hearts with sincerity
And their souls with love,
So that they become
A fountain of healing.
Bless them with fortitude and strength.
Grant them satisfaction and success at work,
And with joy and rest,
Security and peace in their lives.

Rock of Ages,
Bring an end to pain and suffering,
So that all may know
Your compassion and Your grace.

Bless all who serve in the nursing professions
With Your warmth and shelter,
Even as we bless them
With our eternal gratitude and love.

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: Ginny Beeson & Associates

Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem

Posted on: April 28th, 2013 by tobendlight

This 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.

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.

Photo Credit: Alden Solovy

Three Years of Prayer

Posted on: March 22nd, 2013 by tobendlight

Jerusalem, 22 March 2013

I don’t believe in coincidences. Today is the third anniversary
of launching this site, of living my mission to bring holiness into the world by sharing my prayers with you. It’s also the 10-month anniversary of my aliyah, my immigration to Israel, the fulfillment of a dream to live in the land, to live with my people, to challenge myself spiritually in the City of Gold. And when the Sabbath comes in tonight at sundown, it will also be the fourth yartziet — the fourth anniversary — of my wife Ami’s z”l death. Zecher tzadikim livrach. The memory of the righteous is a blessing.

One day. Three important milestones. Without a doubt, Ami’s death was the catalyst for my journey into prayer and finding my voice as a poet and a liturgist. Her death also led me back to the Land, first as part of my healing process, then as my path to a new life. The connection among the dates is clear. Perhaps the meaning is, as well. Like the forest fire that yields a meadow of wildflowers, the energy of life, the energy of healing, the energy of beauty surrounds us. Grief and joy can live side-by-side in holiness and love. Adventure is waiting.

As of today, I’ve written more than 300 new prayers, poems, meditations and songs. They’ve been read more than 92,000 times by people in 129 nations. The number of people who have supported me and my mission of prayer has grown too vast to fully list. I’m now working on two books based on my writing: a compendium of prayers called Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing and the story of one man’s journey into darkness and light, told with 50 meditations, called Song of the Spiritual Traveler.

Please take a moment today to say a quick prayer, perhaps this one, a prayer that I will say today more than once: “Quick Prayer of Gratitude.” I’m certainly grateful for all of you. So let me say thank you for your connection and commitment to prayer. Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. Thank you for taking time to read and listen to my words.

With love and blessings,

Alden

———-

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.

Photo Credit: Alden Solovy

Let Us Meet

Posted on: March 7th, 2013 by tobendlight

This is a prayer of invitation. “Let us meet,” Ancient One, in the place where “Your radiance shimmers across creation.” Where is that? Everywhere. I use this prayer for day 34 of counting the Omer, yesod b’hod. This piece appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings from CCAR Press.

Let Us Meet
How can You hear me,
G-d of Old,
How can You hear my voice,
In the chorus of
Song and praise
Reaching toward heaven?

How can I hear You,
G-d of Old,
How can I hear Your Voice,
In the chorus of
Traffic and regret
Weighing on my heart?

Let us meet in the hills at daybreak.
Let us meet in my eyes at sunset.
Let us meet in my labor at noontide.
Let us meet in this yearning at twilight.

My life is a prayer.
Your whispers, a blessing.

Let us meet in sacred moments of holiness and love.
Let us meet in gentle moments of awe and wonder.
Your radiance shimmers across creation.
My words approach You, a song of delight.

Holy One,
Let us meet
In a heartbeat,
In a breath,
In a vision
Of Your holy mountain,
Where Your Word,
Where Your Righteousness,
Where Your Justice and Your Mercy
Blesses and sustains
Us all.

Postscript: See also a related meditation called “Invitations.” My other prayers about prayer include: “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me.” “For Prayer,” “Prayer Released” and “To Pray.”

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: Roseedge.com

Inviting Healing

Posted on: February 11th, 2013 by tobendlight

G-d’s healing power surrounds us. Re’fuat haguf. Healing of the body. Re’fuat hanefesh. Healing of the spirit. This is a meditation on inviting healing into our lives. It’s one of 10 new pieces that I wrote after getting out of the hospital. This prayer appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Inviting Healing
Radiance and awe.
Splendor and wonder.
The energy of being surrounds me
Flowing day-by-day
From the holy realms.

Let me invite these gifts of holiness
Into my hands,
Into my body,
Into the core of my being.

Let me invite the energy of life
Into my limbs,
Into my chest,
Into my heart.

Let me invite this well of healing
Into my breath,
Into my blood,
Into my spirit.

G-d of Old,
Healer and Guide,
You have blessed me with life,
Days of hope and yearning.
Bless me with Your healing power.
Lead me back to
A life of wholeness and peace.

Postscript: My other healing prayers include: “For Surgery,” “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically-Ill Child,” “For a Critically-Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Father,” “For Cancer Treatment,” “Cancer Remission” and two Hospice Prayers. See also: “Quick Prayer for Healing,” “Quick Prayer for My Healing,” “Quick Prayer for Healing (Specific)”and “On Recurrent Pain.”

Please consider purchasing my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. 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. Also, please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Credit: University of Cincinnati

For a Child’s Surgery

Posted on: January 8th, 2013 by tobendlight

This revision of “For My Child’s Surgery” appears in the new book, Mishkan R’fuah: Where Healing Resides published by the CCAR Press. I am grateful to the editors who made some important suggestions regarding the emotional content and theological implications of this prayer while remaining profoundly respectful of my work. Gender choices are identified with a “/” slash. It appears as “Before My Child’s Surgery” in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

For a Child’s Surgery
G-d of health and healing,
I surrender my daughter /son to the physician’s hand,
The surgeon’s skill,
The nurse’s care,
Placing her / his body into the cradle of others,
Just as I pray for you to hold her / his soul with Your loving hands.

Bless her / his surgeon with a steady hand,
Keen vision and a passion for healing.
Bless her / his caregivers with focus and compassion,
With wisdom and dedication.
Bless our family with comfort and kindness,
Energy and endurance, tranquility and strength.

Source of life,
Bring Your healing power to _______________ (child’s name).
Remove her / his pain,
Relieve her / his distress,
And restore her / his body, mind and spirit,
Renewing her/him to wholeness and peace.
Bless her / him with vigor, courage and hope
So that she / he may enjoy life and health,
Joy and love.
And grant her / him a full and speedy recovery.

Blessed are You, G-d of mystery,
Source health and healing.

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Postscript: “After My Child’s Surgery” also appears in Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. Here’s a related prayer “For a Critically Ill Child.”

Photo Credit: CCAR Press

Shemot 5773: Finding G-d

Posted on: January 3rd, 2013 by tobendlight

“And the angel of Adonai appeared unto him in flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: ‘I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.’ And when Adonai saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush…” – Exodus 1:2-4

What does it take to see holiness in a burning bush? What does it take to see G-d all around? This is a meditation about waking up to find G-d. This prayer echoes the theme in another piece called “Seeking G-d.”

Finding G-d
Finding G-d is
As simple as
Breathing in
The morning air,
As simple as
Seeing
The light
Around you,
As simple as
Feeling
Your heartbeat
Fill your chest.

Ah, my dear ones,
Learning to breathe, to see, to feel
The presence of holiness…
That is the secret.
That is the journey.
How quiet and still,
How open and aware,
How ready and willing must we be
To see the
Extraordinary
In the mundane?
Before we can see a
Bush in flames
That is not consumed?
Before we take off our shoes
In the light of awe and majesty?

Finding G-d is
As simple as
Breathing in mystery,
As simple as
Seeing the radiance around you,
As simple as
Feeling glory fill your limbs,
And wonder fill your chest.

Postscript: Other prayers about finding G-d include: “To Hear Your Voice,” “To Seek Your Glory,” “To Seek Your Love” and “To Know Your Word.”

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 Credit: Geabler

After Writing a Prayer

Posted on: December 23rd, 2012 by tobendlight

Here’s a prayer to be said after writing a prayer. The intention is to express gratitude for the ability to be of service to G-d and to humankind by writing a prayer. Here’s a link to a companion piece called “Before Writing a Prayer.”

After Writing a Prayer
Thank you for this gift,
G-d of Old,
For this moment of blessing,
For this moment of bringing prayer
Into Your world.

Help me to remember that You
Are the Author of all things,
The First and the Last,
The One who created the Universe
With Your Word.

Bless me with humility and compassion,
With understanding and with love,
So that I can continue to serve You
And Your People,
In the name of holiness and healing.

Postscript: Prayers about prayer is a recurring theme in my work, including: “Invitations,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me,” “For Prayer,” “Prayer Released” and “To Pray.” And here are four related prayers: “For Devotion,” “For Humility,”“For Joy” and “For Service.”

Photo credit: Living a Life of Writing

Posts Tagged ‘blessing’

Quick Blessing for a Friend’s Departure

For Physicians

For Nurses

Rules for Being Me in Jerusalem

Three Years of Prayer

Let Us Meet

Inviting Healing

For a Child’s Surgery

Shemot 5773: Finding G-d

After Writing a Prayer

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