Tag Archive for "praise" | To Bend Light

Posts Tagged ‘praise’

Small Moments

Posted on: July 28th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer is about seeking the smallest moments of beauty and compassion. When we seek compassion, our souls bonds with the idea that it is an essential human quality. The prayer was written, in part, as an antidote to another of my prayers, a challenging piece called “Witnessing: A Meditation.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Small Moments
Have you seen the secret nod of understanding between old friends?
Or the first wobbly steps of a child?
Have you heard an old man sigh as he sits down in a chair?
Have you captured, from the corner of your eye,
An act of gentle sweetness,
A fleeting gesture nearly missed as you rushed by?

Listen and hear.
Look and see.
Touch and feel.
Breath and smell.
Taste and remember.

Do you recall the radiance of sunrise?
Or the brilliance of the full moon?
Do you savor the small moments
Of joy and wonder bursting forth around you?
Do you notice the gifts of friendship, kindness and love?
If you do, bless you.
If you don’t, these blessings await you.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Source of daily splendor,
You gave us vision and understanding
So that we can witness and celebrate
Acts of generous spirit,
Expressions of compassion and healing,
The tiniest gestures of holiness and love.
Open our hearts to the precious glories of our days.

Blessed are You, Holy One of Old,
Beauty abounds.

Postscript: I use this prayer for the 20th day of counting the Omer: “Bonding in Compassion.”

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: Good Life Zen

Prayer Released

Posted on: July 17th, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s a meditation asking G-d to help give us voice to the prayers hidden deep in of our flesh and our bones. It’s similar to “For Prayer,” but carries a deeper sense of yearning. So far, I’ve written 11 prayers about prayer, including one to be said “Before Writing a Prayer” and one for “After Writing a Prayer.” To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Prayer Released
There’s a prayer stuck in my throat,
Longing to be given voice,
Yearning to be heard.

There’s a prayer stuck in my limbs,
Longing to be given power,
Yearning to be seen.

There’s a prayer stuck in my lungs,
Longing to be given breath,
Yearning to be given life.

G-d of Old,
Release the prayer hidden deep in my bones,
The prayers that move through my veins and through my heart.
Let my body become a blessing of joy and service.
Let my being become an instrument of holiness and light.
Let my life praise creation with all of my deeds.

Ancient One,
Use my voice,
My limbs,
And my breath.
Set free this chorus of sacred love,
This symphony of
Radiance and splendor.

Postscript: This is another offering in my series of prayers about prayer, including: “For Prayer,” “Prayers of My Heart,” “Whispered Prayer,” “To Pray” and “Prayer for You, Prayer for Me.”

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Photo Source: Sam Mugraby, Photos8.com

Your Name: Quick Prayer at Dusk

Posted on: July 14th, 2011 by tobendlight

This prayer is about naming G-d according to the blessings we receive. It’s another in my series of “quick prayers,” including: “Quick Meditation for Today,” “Quick Meditation at Noon” and “Quick Meditation at Night.” The irony is this: the more time I take thinking about the words of this particular prayer, the more gratitude I receive.

To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below (website only). The text follows.

Your Name: Quick Prayer at Dusk
G-d of Old,
Your name is Peace.
Your name is Justice.
Your name is Mercy.

G-d of Life,
Your name is Compassion.
Your name is Love.
Your name is Hope.

G-d of Blessing,
Your name is Truth.
Your name is Wisdom.
Your name is Righteousness.

G-d of our fathers,
G-d of our mothers,
Your name is in my heart
And before my eyes.

Blessed are You Adonai,
Your name shines throughout creation.

Postscript: Please check out “ “Quick Meditation for Today,” “Quick Meditation at Noon” and “Quick Meditation at Night.” Other prayers of praise include: “Dance Hallelujah,” “Sing Hallelujah” and “In Praise.”

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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.

For Service

Posted on: June 6th, 2011 by tobendlight

A prayer about living a life of service. It appears in my book, Jewish Prayers of Hope and Healing. I have also selected it for use during week six of Counting the Omer. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

For Service
G-d of our fathers,
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
G-d of our mothers,
Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel,
Open my heart to serve others
With joy and thanksgiving.
Remove ego, judgment and self-will
So that I am present with kindness and understanding.
Make me a tool of Your hand,
An echo of Your voice,
And a shining lamp of Your love.
Grant me the wisdom to offer myself willingly, without fear.
Fill me with compassion and grace,
Vitality and endurance,
So that my service becomes a blessing
In heaven and on earth.

Blessed are You, G-d of Old,
You set Your people on a noble path,
To serve with love.

Postscript: Other prayers that touch on the theme of service include: “Giving Thanks,” “To Hear Your Voice” and “To Know Your Word.”

Photo Source: A Project for Kindness

Bird is Bird

Posted on: June 1st, 2011 by tobendlight

Mid-afternoon, late September, on a long forest climb. The mountain trail took a sharp right giving way to a steep exposed slope and an unseen ridge line. At the top, nothing but shimmering blue sky and a lone bird. Sometimes the spiritual traveler will say a prayer with his eyes, with her heart, with his breath, with her being. And it doesn’t sound like a prayer at all.

Bird is Bird
Bird is bird.
Sky is sky.
You are You.
I am I.

Sun in East.
Sun in West.
Morning glory.
Evening rest.

Moon by day.
Moon at night.
Heaven’s mirror.
Earth’s delight.

Bird in air.
Bird in flight.
Holy motion.
Sacred sight.

Blue the sky.
Blue the sea.
Who will listen?
Who will be?

Postscript: Other prayers of the spiritual traveler include: “Come Walk,” “Leaving,” “Remember” and “About the Rainbow.”

Photo by: Alden Solovy

Offerings

Posted on: May 22nd, 2011 by tobendlight

In this simple set of rhythmic, parallel verses we affirm the connection between G-d’s gifts and our responses. The result is hope for a lasting dialogue with G-d. In communal worship this can be used as a congregational mediation or it can be read responsively. I use this prayer during week five of counting the Omer. It appears in This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Offerings
When G-d offers love, I offer my heart.
When G-d offers wisdom, I offer my mind.

When G-d offers beauty, I offer my senses.
When G-d offers silence, I offer my patience.

When G-d offers challenge, I offer my strength.
When G-d offers trial, I offer my faith.

When G-d offers pain, I offer my dignity.
When G-d offers fear, I offer my courage.

When G-d offers grief, I offer my endurance.
When G-d offers shame, I offer my amends.

When G-d offers death, I offer my mourning.
When G-d offers life, I offer my rejoicing.

When G-d offers joy, I offer my thanksgiving.
When G-d offers awe, I offer my wonder.

When G-d offers righteousness, I offer my blessings.
When G-d offers holiness, I offer my praise.

Postscript: Other prayers about G-d’s gifts include: “This Bounty,” “These Blessings” and “In Plain Sight.” This “Meditation After the Yom Kippur Vidui” is also about offering ourselves in service to G-d.

Photo Credit: The Word in Hebrew

G-d’s Plan: An Introspection

Posted on: May 14th, 2011 by tobendlight

A prayer/poem about surrender, about the dance of grief and joy, the paradox of of love and loss, the duet of doubt and faith, the unbreakable bond between life and death. To listen along, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows. This prayer appears in my book This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day.

G-d’s Plan: An Introspection
If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would have no scars on my skin
Or in my heart.

If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would not have felt the fire or the ice,
Heard the beauty or the terror,
Seen the new bud or the dying leaf.

If G-d’s plan
Followed my plan,
I would not have learned to grieve or to cherish,
To hope or surrender,
To be broken and still be whole.

What, then, keeps me locked in fear,
In dread of yielding to Your great works,
Your awesome love,
Your radiant power?
What small desire,
Petty hope –
What yearning of self –
Blocks my service in G-d’s holy name?

G-d on high,
Release me from my judgments and designs.
Open my heart to You fully,
Without reservation.
Cast out my doubts and shames,
To receive Your divine wisdom and strength.

G-d of All Being,
Wise and true,
Make my limbs Your tools and
My voice Your messenger.
Make my heart Your tabernacle,
A dwelling place of holiness
And splendor.

Postscript: Related prayers include: “This Wound,” “Seeking G-d” and “Near the End: A Meditation.”

Photo Source: Alden Solovy

Breaking Bonds

Posted on: April 18th, 2011 by tobendlight

Here’s another Passover prayer, written Erev Pesach 5771. It’s about breaking free from the chains that I’ve locked around myself. As such, the theme parallels “Egypt Inside,” although this piece follows a standard rhythmic structure, while “Egypt Inside” is a meditation set as prose poetry.

Breaking Bonds
To break the bonds of anger,
To live with gentle pride.

To break the bonds of shame,
To live with humble strength.

To break the bonds of envy,
To serve each other in joy.

To break the bonds of guilt,
To accept all G-d’s gifts.

To break the bonds of fear,
To love with fullness of heart.

To break the bonds of lust,
To love with fullness of being.

To break the bonds of loneliness,
To receive a hand of hope.

To break the bonds of neglect,
To reach out a hand of help.

To break the bond of tears,
To see with awe and wonder.

To break the bonds of loss,
To rejoice in all G-d’s works.

Postscript: Click here for an annotated list of all of my Passover prayers, with links. This is the first prayer that I’ve written specifically to be used as a responsive reading.

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Photo Credit: What’s On Karen’s Plate

Let Love

Posted on: April 6th, 2011 by tobendlight

What if we could embody love? Love would light up our days, our lives and the lives of those around us. Together, we could light up the world. This is from a series of prayers that invokes a prophetic voice, the voice of spiritual challenge, calling on us to embody all that is good. The series includes “Let Truth,” “Let Joy,” “Let Holiness” and “Let Torah.” To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Let Love
Let love wash over your face,
Caress your eyes,
Brush your lips.

Let love pulse through your heart,
Warm your lungs,
Fill your chest.

Let love strengthen your bones,
Ignite your nerves,
Awaken your flesh.

For love is in the air and in the wind,
The current and the waters,
The flow of gifts from G-d’s creation,
Divine bounty and grace,
Calling out to you dear sisters and brothers:
‘Awake you slumberers!
Awake you who walk warily into the day and dejected into the night.
Have you forgotten My gifts and treasures?
Have you forsaken the beauty around you?
Have you surrendered your joy and passion?’

This, then, is G-d’s command:
Let love wash over you,
Pulse through you,
Pour strength into you.
Let love carry you into luminous days
And radiant nights.
Sing and dance,
Laugh and play,
Lifting your life with passion and hope.
Let love be your messenger and your message.

Blessed are You, G-d of love.

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Photo Credit: Epic Love

Posts Tagged ‘praise’

Small Moments

Prayer Released

Your Name: Quick Prayer at Dusk

Each Day

For Service

Bird is Bird

Offerings

G-d’s Plan: An Introspection

Breaking Bonds

Let Love

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