Tag Archive for "life" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘life’

Vayishlach 5775: Family Healing

Posted on: November 30th, 2014 by Alden

In this week’s Torah portion, Jacob attempts to reconcile with his brother. This is a prayer for healing family wounds. Much as Jacob prepared to encounter Esau, this is a prayer for the spiritual willingness to heal. Choices to tailor the prayer to particular family situations are in [brackets]; use these choices or your own language. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Family Healing
G-d of Old,
Our family has been fractured,
Torn apart by _________________ [anger, violence, death, alcoholism, suicide, disease, mental illness, neglect, abuse, abandonment, finances],
Old wounds that have steeped into our bones and our blood,
Our thoughts and our words.
Release me from my anger and my guilt,
So I may see my kin with new eyes –
Their losses and fears,
Their pain and shame –
And therefore find a source of
Forgiveness and renewed love.

Well of Blessings,
Lead us to new vision and new wisdom,
The place where love rests safely in our hearts
And peace waits quietly in our hands.

G-d of Generations,
Grant healing to my family, speedily,
So that we may rejoice together in Your gifts,
With joy and thanksgiving.

Postscript: Here’s the prayer I posted for Vayishlach 5773, “The Descent,” a prayer about wrestling with angels. My prayer “For Family” includes a similar message to this prayer, but more softly stated. Here are prayers of family praise: “For the Patriarch,” “For the Matriarch,” “For Our Sisters,” “For Our Brothers” and “For the Family Historian.” This prayer first appeared on this site on November 8, 2012.

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Photo Source: Pinterest, Family Constellations

Noach: Always this Wonder

Posted on: October 23rd, 2014 by Alden

This is a prayer that our children remember pure joy of laughter and play. It’s a prayer that we remember our own innocence and love. After Noah saw the sea consume the world, he appears to have fallen into a major depression that he attempted to cure with alcohol, a post-traumatic response. The sea became a weapon. He lost sight of the ocean of beauty within. This is a prayer to hold onto enthusiasm for life. Here’s another Noach prayer called “The Flood.”

Always this Wonder
Dear children,
Go outside to play –
In the sunshine and the breeze –
And we will bless your hearts,
Your precious laughter,
Your smiles and your freedom.

Run wild…
Skip…
Twirl…
And we will pray that you remember
Always this wonder.
Then, we’ll remember our own
Care free days,
Our own discovery,
Our own amazement,
Our own joyous hearts.
And you will bless us
With the secret and the power
To discover sacred wisdom
And the sea of happiness,
The sea of joy,
The sea of love,
Waiting within.

Postscript: Here’s a link to a prayer for Parashat Breisheit, “About the Rainbow,” which could easily be used for Noach.

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: Wikimedia Commons / Michael “Mike” L. Baird

Fire and Water

Posted on: August 31st, 2014 by Alden

Love and despair can be like fire. Truth can be like water, keeping the fires that fuel our emotions – the passions that make us human – in the proper balance. This is a quick meditation on love, despair and truth.

Fire and Water
One day
The fire of despair
Will sear your aching heart.
And when you wake
From this dream of death
You will feel a vital new organ
Beating in your chest.

G-d of Old,
Let the fires of grief
Lift me toward You.

One day
The fire of love
Will sear your longing eyes.
And when you wake
From this dream of life
You will see a vital new light
Shining from your face.

G-d of Old,
Let the fires of joy
Lift me toward You.

One day
The still waters of truth
Will sooth your yearning soul.
And when you enter G-d’s word
You will surrender to awe and majesty,
Holiness will fill your hands
With righteousness and charity,
Hope and peace will follow in your path.
And your life will shimmer with holiness.

Postscript: See also “The Cut that Heals” and “Witnessing: A Meditation,” as well as “Doubt,” “Fear,” “Anger,” “Shame.” Please take a moment to learn about my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

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

The Details of Beauty

Posted on: July 11th, 2014 by Alden

A gift for Shabbat. A reminder. A reminder for those in sorrow and grief, those who are tired, numb and especially to those who’ve run to bomb shelters all week. Shabbat Shalom.

The Details of Beauty
Remember
The details of beauty
With your eyes.
The autumn leaf,
A baby’s cry,
Small wonders to remind you
Of joy and wonder.

Remember
The details of love
With your breath.
The soft smile
And gentle hand,
Small wonders to remind you
Of awe and majesty.

Remember
The details of faith
With your pulse,
The quiet prayer,
The hymn of glory,
Small wonders to remind you
Of devotion and service.

G-d of Old,
The details of beauty
Surround us.
Love and faith are
Our inheritance.
Teach us to see clearly in each day
The small wonders
You set before us.
To take them in,
To feel their power
And to rejoice.

Postscript: Here are more prayers with a similar theme: “This Moment “Being Present,” “Leaving” and “Small Moments.” If you haven’t yet, please take a look at my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, and consider ordering a copy, where some of these prayers appear.

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

The Dark Corners

Posted on: February 15th, 2014 by Alden

Fear, sorrow and doubt cannot defeat the light of holiness, unless you let them. This prayer acknowledges difficult moments and emotions, offering the classic Jewish response to facing them with strength and dignity: Torah, tefilah (prayer) and mitzvot (acts of righteousness).

This piece is part of “Three Prayers,” in which three of my prayers are set to original choreography by Lin Batsheva Kahn of the Tikvah Company of Artists and original cello music by Desiree Miller of the Chicago Civic Orchestra. “Three Prayers” premieres 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 performed by Desiree, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

The Dark Corners
Fear lurks
In the dark corners of my heart,
Waiting to convince me
That love will fail.

Sorrow lurks
In the dark corners of my soul,
Waiting to convince me
That faith will fail.

Doubt lurks
In the dark corners of my mind,
Waiting to convince me
That wisdom will fail.

Rock of Jacob,
Teach me to shine
The light of mitzvot
Into the dark corners of my mind,
So that I face my fears with courage
Redeeming them with awe and wonder.

Song of Miriam,
Teach me to shine
The light of tefilot
Into the dark corners of my soul,
So that I face my sorrows with strength
Redeeming them with righteousness.

G-d of Old,
Teach me to shine
The light of Torah
Into the dark corners of my mind,
So that I face my doubts with honor
Redeeming them with holiness.

Postscript: This prayer will appear in my forthcoming book, Prayers from the Heart of Darkness.Consider using this as a slichot meditation during the month of Elul. Here are links to prayers about specific challenging emotions, including “Doubt,” “Fear,” “Anger” and “Shame.”

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Fresh Delights

Posted on: February 5th, 2014 by Alden

This 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.

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

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Complications after My Surgery

Posted on: January 30th, 2014 by Alden

I wrote this yesterday after receiving news that a friend is now dealing with a post-surgical infection. There are seven prayers about surgery in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing, including: “For Surgery” and “Upon Recovery from Surgery.” This prayer will appear in a future book, most likely Prayers for Healing the World.

Complications after My Surgery
G-d of Old,
My [surgery/recovery] has not proceeded as planned.
As I endure unanticipated complications, treatments and setbacks,
I face a new [and difficult] set of decisions
On my journey toward wholeness and healing.
The path [which once seemed so clear,]
Is suddenly more dangerous,
And my fears have returned.

Bless my doctors with wisdom and skill,
With compassion, focus and dedication,
As we work to overcome this challenge [these challenges].
Bless my family with ease and comfort.
Give us energy and endurance, tranquility and peace.
Remind them to care for themselves and each other,
Even as their hearts and prayers turn to me.

Source of life,
Bless my body with strength,
My spirit with courage,
My thoughts with hope,
And let me return to a full life with renewed purpose.
Grant me a full and speedy recovery.

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

Postscript: My other healing prayers include: “For a Critically-Ill Child,” “For a Critically-Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Father,” “For Cancer Treatment,” “Cancer Remission” and two Hospice Prayers. Most of these prayers appear in new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

Unseen Lands

Posted on: January 5th, 2014 by Alden

Adventure. Joy. Love. Holiness. Gratitude. These are the themes tied into this short meditation on the joy and beauty of moving physically through the world and spiritually through life. You might guess that I was looking out of an airplane window when I wrote it. In fact, the morning sun was radiant over the Ionian Sea.

Unseen Lands
So many unseen lands
Arise from the glorious earth.
So many unknown peaks
Rise from my beating heart.
This is the journey.
The place where we climb
Above the clouds,
The place where we enter
Our own wisdom and grace,
To see the sunrise,
To watch the sea shimmer
With morning light,
And to meet our holiness,
Our love
And our surrender.

G-d of Old,
Guide me through unseen lands,
The territory beneath my feet,
And the horizons that call my soul.
Let my passage be for righteousness.
Let my passage be for healing.
Let my passage be for wisdom and grace.

Postscript: My other prayers for physical travel include: “On the Road,” “On the Trail” and “Being Lost.” My prayers for spiritual travel include: “Come Walk,” “River,” “Leaving” and “Sweet Cake.”

Photo Source: WikiMedia Commons

After My Child’s Surgery

Posted on: November 3rd, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is to be recited by a parent after a child’s surgery. It is a prayer of both gratitude and petition, thanking G-d for seeing the child through surgery while asking for healing. It also asks that G-d watch over all children recovering from surgery. It appears in my new book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. There are seven prayers to be used before and after surgery in my book, including “For My Child’s Surgery.”

After My Child’s Surgery
G-d of renewal and strength,
Thank you for seeing my/our son/daughter
Through the many traumas of surgery.
Bless him/her with the gifts of comfort,
Healing and recovery,
As his/her body and spirit use Your Divine energy,
Endowed by Your loving hand,
On the journey toward wholeness.

Ease his/her pain.
Remove his/her suffering.
Grant him/her courage and endurance throughout these challenges,
Moments of joy and humor,
Happiness and love.

Bless [my/our] [son/daughter]
And all children whose recovery is not yet complete.
Erase their worries,
Strengthen their parents,
Fortify their partners
And bring peace to their families and friends.

May the One who heals with holiness and love,
Grant recovery to my son/daughter and to all children in need.

Postscript: Other prayers for healing include: “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

Source: WikiMedia Commons

After My Surgery

Posted on: October 23rd, 2013 by tobendlight

This prayer is to be recited by an individual after surgery. It asks for recovery and healing for all in need. This prayer appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing.

After My Surgery
God of renewal and strength,
Thank you for seeing me
Through the many traumas of surgery.
Bless my body with the gift of vitality and renewal
As I move through the process of recovery.
Grant me rest, comfort and healing.
Bless my body and spirit with Your Divine energy,
Endowed by Your loving hand,
On the path to wholeness.

Bless all of us whose recovery is not yet complete,
All whose future remains uncertain.
Erase our worries,
Console our children,
Strengthen our parents,
Fortify our partners
And bring peace to our families and friends.

May the One who heals with holiness and love,
Grant a full and speedy recovery to me and all in need.

Postscript: Other prayers for healing that will appear in include: “Upon Recovery from Surgery,” “For a Critically Ill Mother,” “For a Critically Ill Child,” “For a Critically Ill Father” and “For Healing the Spirit.”

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.

Source: WikiMedia Commons

Posts Tagged ‘life’

Vayishlach 5775: Family Healing

Noach: Always this Wonder

Fire and Water

The Details of Beauty

The Dark Corners

Fresh Delights

Complications after My Surgery

Unseen Lands

After My Child’s Surgery

After My Surgery

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