So did we say a prayer today ?

For who ? For ourselves. Did we do something, some ritual that affirmed our faith today ? In what ? In ourselves. Our ability to connect with our inner selves. For if we do not, who is this person that is working, loving, talking etc. It’s certainly not you.


It’s an everyday search for me. For that something that can put me in touch with myself. My connection to consciousness. My connection to loving nature.
Of course many people have faith. Which is a wonderful ability. I don’t have blind faith. I am more of a searcher. Questioner. Good, bad ? I don’t know. No value judgements on any faith or the question of faith. Or on myself.
Some people do it with meditation first thing in the morning. I have never been able to do that. I have to connect to something, however small, however little, to loose my sense of individuality. That’s the daily struggle. Against my own exaggarated sense of myself. I am so used to it. I have relied on it for so many years. So tough to let go now. Not that I have never questioned it before. But now, it is really important for me to be truly ‘active’ rather than ‘reactive’, which is what I have done most of my life. And how do I know what that ‘true’ action is ? Unless I am constantly in touch with something larger, more immense, more universal than myself ?
Yes I know. By letting go. By allowing yourself not to be addicted to the result of your action. By allowing chaos to invade your life. Yes, I agree. All of that. I do allow chaos to prevade in my life. I am impeteous (spelling). But then the individual in me fights back hard.
It’s an everyday battle. This battle to let go of one’s addiction to one’s sense of individuality.
Yet, the smallest of things can provoke the sensing of my flowing into something much much larger. Something infinite.
This morning it was my 5 year old daughter waking me up with a loud ‘Peekaboo’ and the tinkling of an early morning laugh.
Sometimes it;s just getting up early enough to watch the first shades of dark blue brush across the sky. Something deeply stirring about that.
Sometimes it’s unexpected gestures of affection that were not sought. Or given so instinctually that you were not aware of them.
Sometimes, it’s writing a poem. But only if the words are coming from somewhere else. As if something is flowing through you, a river of emotion you can physically feel that flows through your being.
But it is always so unexpected. So much that I am constantly aware now. My senses hightened. Waiting for that unexpected moment.
When something deeper will reach out and engulf me, and give my life, and all my actions, however small, a deeper and all encompassing context. On a daily basis.
So say a prayer for me. And for yourself.
Shekhar

2,076 thoughts on “So did we say a prayer today ?

  1. most of my friends are no longer in my life…

    did i say a prayer today?

    help me with this new way of life…

    aum

  2. i wonder if when people say,
    don’t go into the past
    leave the past behind
    stop dwelling in the past

    if they actually mean,
    don’t bring up, dwell, or think about
    the painful part of your past

    because when people talk about joyous memories,
    adventures, anything that resembles some form of
    delight and pleasure, happiness, no one says
    don’t bring up the past

    what i feel might be going on here is that people
    are so uncomfortable with dealing with pain
    and treating it as if it were a natural way to express
    emotions and feelings, that the only way they could
    avoid dealing with it, is to keep it hidden, and not only
    their own pain, but others too
    it could very well be the conditioning from our
    parents or who raised us, that we were taught
    to suppress our tears, pain, suffering, because to them
    it was a sign of weakness, as taught to them by a previous generation.

    perhaps, notice what you do next time someone
    cries or expresses pain, and see how you respond…

  3. ever try to spend a $10 dollar bill with one side blank?
    it would be considered fake!

    are we missing something by focusing more on
    “the light” and avoiding “the dark”?

    are they one and the same?

    this diwali, i watched the flame rising out of the
    wick in the diya…
    it is always black/dark at the point of where the flame
    comes from
    it seemed as if one could not exist without the other

  4. to begin with
    this is the end
    of the other word before it
    and the start of another to come next

    which word is the actual end and beginning?
    does it end because there is a dot
    or is that dot the starting point until the next time something is written
    whetther it be in this sentence or the next
    half way round the world

    who is to say where anything really started or ended?

    a big bang is not the beginning of something new
    it feels more like the
    extension of an expression
    of energy
    stretching across the sky
    perhaps, a dot

    and the next word has already been written but
    we are not able to see it with
    the view that takes us
    only to the dot
    and not beyond

  5. a depletion of “self worth” can possibly be
    the expression of some form
    of abuse/trauma in early childhood

    a person might express that lack of self worth through

    shyness
    anger
    arrogance
    bullying
    dominance
    manipulation
    agressiveness
    inappropriate sexual tendencies
    excessive drugs/alcohol …etc

  6. what gifts and creativity lies dormant buried inside of us?

    sometimes finding its way out when in the company
    of a safe and supportive environment

    and
    at times it may push its way out
    so it becomes visible and heard
    and felt
    but
    somehow takes on a new expression
    that can sometimes reveal the pain that simmers inside

  7. creativity is creativity

    it will most likely show up when
    given the circumstances that
    allow it to emerge

  8. a lot like walking on a banana carpet

    constantly slipping on my thoughts

    and falling off the peel

  9. if you say

    “i don’t know”

    does that mean you

    know that you don’t know?

    is that still knowing something?

  10. loaded with questions…

    but where are the answers?

    wow! that sound like another question?

    i must be loaded with questions,

    most people might think they have answers,

    but perhaps, it is the one who answers with
    questions are the ones who increase the
    inquiry and curiosity
    to look for more answers
    that eventually turn into questions?

    example…

    a person can say

    i was born on july 13,
    but what do they really mean?

    i came out of my mother’s uterus?
    or somebody else’s uterus, whom my mother’s egg was put there to
    develop?
    being born refers to the moment of the egg meeting the sperm and
    they begin a new transformation?
    born from the time the head crown emerges, the head, the entire body,
    when the first cry is heard?, etc….
    do we even know what we mean when we say things?

    questions are loaded, to a path of no definite answers?

  11. would you beat your child until they are bruised and bloodied,
    and say to them, you are the story you tell yourself?
    change it, now!

    are people the sole writers of their own stories, or are there
    many contributions added in over the years by hundreds
    of others?

    to speak to someone as if they are the only ones responsible
    for their circumstances sounds more like manipulation and control,
    perhaps?

  12. I listened to an interview with Gordon Lightfoot this weekend,
    he talked about a time when he was in hospital and had to be
    revived from “flat lining” twice, he said he remembered being “dead”
    and it was the most peaceful time in his life he could ever recall.

    So, Shashi Kapoor…wherever your spirit takes you,
    I feel it might be a place that is of the most peaceful feeling.

    The one experience i had with Shashi, in person, was in Toronto,
    while shooting on set. i was an extra, and in between shots, he and i sat
    down at a table and had a short conversation.
    he told me his wife picked out his clothes to wear, and some other things,
    but the impression that i was left with about him, stayed with me.
    Shashi to me, was very pleasant, and friendly. He didn’t come across
    snobby or flirtatious, but as a down to earth person, who loved his wife.
    That was a short encounter, and I don’t know him personally beyond that, but
    look at how a few minutes of conversation can leave such an impression, that
    more than 30 years later, it is what I remember about his character.

    i wonder, how powerful one moment can be in a person’s life, that we can move
    and influence another person’s view about us, without even being aware of it, and
    how the other person interprets what we say or do, is also another part of the
    experience, who can really say what is true and constant?

    Had I spoken to Shashi for 10minutes instead, would i have said the same things about him?

    …and, what really matters?

    the moment, the 10 minutes, all of it, none of it, my opinion, his opinion?

    do our opinions matter?

    im not even sure why i wrote all of this here.

  13. raw…

    bruise…

    out…

    anger…

    rage…

    bliss…

    notice how some words sound like the energy that is typically expressed by them?

  14. celebration another year around the sun…

    72 times dancing around the sun, in and out of adventures unique
    to one such as you!

    good blessings Shekhar!

  15. perhaps, we are the stories we tell ourselves,

    with contributions from all of the other stories

    that unfold around us…

    we are the stories carried by billions of lives connected

    we are also the stories that combine with the stories

    others tell us

  16. eye glasses have a way of making things clearer

    i wonder if friends are like glasses sometimes,
    and
    when you begin to see things in a blurry way when you are with them
    then it’s time to get a new prescription?

    new glasses
    new friends?

    hmmm

  17. what is it about music that can stir the emotions in such a way, that when a particular tune or song is heard, it will trigger or influence the way the physical body responds to the notes and sounds being heard?

  18. chains

    around

    my

    neck

    like a dog

    taken for a walk to the place of your choice

    pulled and tugged, ignored a lot of the time

    while you are on your cell

    and when im done

    leaving some mess behind

    back to your place again

    and

    even though the chain is off my neck

    still

    i have to follow your orders

    make you happy

    listen to your problems, stories, complaints, anger, cries, and joys

    if i bark for more than 15 sec, you tell me to stop

    you are constantly telling me what to do

    when to do it

    how to do it

    when does this all end?

    and how come you call me

    your best friend?

    is this what we do to our best friends?

  19. in rage there is age (the length of time that a person or thing has existed)

    in rage there is rag ( a piece of old cloth which you can use to clean or wipe things)

    in rage there is ra (sun god)

    in rage there is ge (the chemical element germanium)

    in rage there is … more than we feel, see hear, or know

  20. for my brother, who turned 72 on Nov. 1

    after surviving a collapse, and near death experience…

    love and prayers of healing, peace, and good health

    aum

  21. frustrating…

    people give loads of advise and expect you to do it as if
    you automatically know how.

    to tell a person who is deeply depressed to cheer up and see the light, be happy, why aren’t you grateful for what you have? etc.

    is like telling a toddler to go drive a car

    not only you can’t reach the peddles to make the car stop or go,
    you can’t even see the road

    so there’s no point, and then you’re telling them to do something they can’t, so then you are setting them up to feel like a bigger failure, i feel.

    i feel, it makes more sense to be with the person and let
    them know you care for and love them, and perhaps,
    ask if they need for you to do anything

    that’s a more appropriate and realistic first step

    i feel, advise to a deeply depressed person sounds like a foreign
    language, it just doesn’t computate

  22. Good Blessings and love to my Son,

    Aaravinda Raphael Dev

    that his health and well being

    is improving and getting better everyday…aum

  23. seeds do not need our help to regrow, otherwise
    there would be no forests…

    centuries upon centuries ago, we were not the ones who put the forest there
    by planting seeds, the forests were already there…

    we are the ones who cut down the forests though!

  24. i wonder about parents thinking its ok for
    children to sit on a strange man’s
    lap, take photos with him, let him whisper
    whatever he wants into their ears,
    and sometimes give them candy,

    all in the name of how marketing “Santa”
    has conditioned people into thinking its ok to do that to their children.

    i feel, most of the time we are not aware of the
    messages we send to our children by the actions, choices,
    and decisions we make.

    a prayer for more awareness…

  25. maybe not being interested in anything is not such a terrible thing,

    what if it was a natural phenomena to just ‘be’ ?

  26. depression is like a virus, in my experience,

    difference with this is,

    people wouldn’t tell you to get over the measles, ebola,
    bird flu, chicken pox, etc. and talk to you as if you were pretending
    or as if you were in control of it,

    instead,
    what a lot of people with depression get is…

    why don’t you just shake it off
    keep yourself busy
    trying to cheer you up, when your brain can’t relate
    making stupid jokes
    i know how to heal you
    i know how to make you feel better
    aren’t you tired of being sad?
    why don’t you appreciate or be grateful for what you have?
    etc.

    depression is visible only to the person who is experiencing it,
    so it is harder for others to understand or identify it.
    its hard for the person who has it to identify it also,
    because deep depression takes you to such a deep place,
    you don’t even recognize yourself anymore

    there’s a numbness
    there is extreme pain
    torture
    helplessness
    lost
    overwhelmingness
    scared
    afraid
    vunerable
    weeping
    thoughts of ending life
    feeling of no use to anyone or self
    a sense of not belonging

    i don’t think there is a vaccine for depression…

  27. “Love yourself, so others love you.
    Believe in yourself, so others believe in you.
    Respect yourself, so others respect you.
    In short,
    the way you treat yourself
    sets standards for others.”:)
    by Anupam K.

    I was wondering, would an adult say this to a child and expect them to do those things, or would an adult simply show those qualities, by example, and the child would naturally learn it that way?

    Who does this advise really apply to?

  28. it seems as if it is only when a person has personal experience with a specific event,
    it is then they can truly relate and have a better understanding of what it might be like for
    another person with a similar experience, otherwise, no matter
    how much knowledge, how much intelligence, how much comprehension and cognitive
    abilities a person has, still…it is not as actually having the experience itself, i feel.

  29. some of the greatest scientists
    are the women and men who cook
    in a mindful way,
    using ingredients as chemical compounds
    to create new tastes, experiences, feelings,
    thoughts, experiences,

    the kitchen becomes the lab
    the pots and pans become
    the petri dishes

    scientific cooks who knew what to make in order
    to heal, cure, sooth, relieve, relax, excite,
    calm…and so many other uses
    that can bring all kinds of experiences to the palate

    my grandmothers were scientists
    my mother was a scientist

  30. T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the dwellings,
    everyone was stirring, getting last minute stuff done, this and more,
    is what holds us to traditions, all through the years, and we also reflect on
    other ways to be grateful, kind, and caring, from far or near,
    still…we all circumnavigate the same sphere!

    Here’s to the one called, Jesus, and some crafty story tellers, creative marketing,
    and traditions that gave us a reason to make an effort, that we otherwise may have not,
    to show gratitude to those who matter to us.

    T’was the night before Christmas,
    While a slow snowfall coats the world white,
    Speed in the dwellings as lights remain bright.

    Through condos and homes,
    through and through,
    The places we share with loved ones,
    old and new.
    Together, to gather,
    to share, to listen.
    We finish our wrapping and remember old traditions.

    The hand tics, the day draws near,
    together we come,
    members of the same sphere.
    Reminding us that we are but a part of
    a greater whole,
    The story incomplete in the absence of a goal.

    On this Eve O’er Christmas,
    That goal to appreciate,
    To gratify our attitudes,
    Reworked to gratitude.
    We strive to be better,
    As the quiet snow falls,
    In this calm Winter weather.

    written on December 24, 2017, Christmas Eve, in Toronto
    by Cinda (Mama, 54) and Aaravinda (Son, 17)
    as we were many blocks away from each other, on the same night!

  31. bleeding with joy and sorrow

    flying and drowning

    singing and wailing

    blind into seeing all that there is

    nothing in everything

    powers of weakness

    far over the hills of wanting

    and greed and longing…that

    knowing is not knowing

    where to turn

    thoughts are speeing so fast they appear still

    as in the darklight..iam…iam not

  32. what are stories?

    words singing to us about

    the picture we paint using

    strokes of sentences

    dotting commaing questioning

    exclaiming….

    beginning and endinging

    and

    some stories just ride on a continuous thread of stretching the inquiring mind of not having all

    of the details, but leaving you to make up your own

    story from the few snippets given?

  33. into the fullmoon, 2018,
    not one fullmoon but two…wuuuuweeee!

    to all of us who take care of children,
    that we learn how to provide a safe and
    loving environment, and serve children
    by example of how we
    would like this planet to
    evolve in healthy, caring,
    and patient loving ways

  34. why do we feel like we must have the thing
    that we desire, and not just be content with
    admiring it for what it is, and leave it at that?

    is it something conditioned into us?

  35. i can’t stand to see anyone being forced to do something…makes me sick to my stomach

    one person forced, leads to them forcing others…and so on and so on…

    when does it stop?

    may the force not be with you…

  36. maybe i just ask too many questions, but what is this

    “god”

    we speak about, as if we know what we speak about?

    everywhere, no where, some places, all places,
    only with some beliefs, with all beliefs….

    what do we really know about what we speak about?

  37. It was most inspiring and moving to witness this 75th Golden Globe Awards,
    consciousness and awareness being brought to the forefront,
    as we move through time and help each other to be authentic and truthful
    to ourselves and others, stretching from within our own hearts and souls
    across the entire planet to our global human families, and all other creatures
    and the lands, and bodies of water, the air be breathe, and all other inanimate
    entities, power and presence to ALL of us, as we each travel with our own stories,
    remembering everything else plays a role in how those stories are experienced
    and unfolds, revealing elements from past memories, present events, and with
    hope for a better healthier future!
    Good Blessings…and thank you, in the deepest way possible!
    Aum

  38. ALL CHILDREN have the potential for complex and competent thinking skills.

    They grow up in families who have nurtured and educated them with experiences

    and knowledge based on their personal and individual upbringing.

    Every child is entitled to feel safe, a sense of belonging and valued, in the learning

    environment presented to them for development and growth in all areas of life.

    When we recognize children as worthy members of society and our future for building

    a better world, we are more likely to provide opportunities that reflect our care and importance

    for their wellness, health, creative curiosities, abilities and skill building to live fairly and inclusively in a diverse world.

    The examples children see, hear touch, taste, feel, is what they will learn most from, so if we are going to

    show up for them, show up with that in mind!

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