The Peculiarities of Prayer

  
A universal belief in a higher being brings with it an almost innate need to adore, thank, please, or supplicate to the chosen deity.

Christians like Catholics, Russian and Greek Orthodox, Presbyterians and others pray to God and Jesus and believe in the trinity--Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Some ask for help from the saints just like they would ask a friend to pray for them.

Muslims pray to Allah (God) and Jews pray to Adonai (God). Buddhists do not believe is any specific god and meditate instead. Hindus seemingly pray to many gods. Shiva is the destroyer of worlds, allowing for rebirth with the god Brahma. He is also responsible for positive death as in the destruction of ego and the shedding of old ideals and attachments. Kali is the goddess of time and transformation.

It is said that there are 330 million Hindu gods, one that is perfect for each person, but if you ask a person who worships one they will tell you they each represent the same divine and shapeless force of one spirit, Brahman.

Some worship dark gods like Satan or possibly one of his lesser demons like Baal, who was depicted as the demon who possessed Anthony Hopkins in the film The Rite. The movie showed the priest played by Hopkins living amongst cats, and frogs were featured frequently throughout the film.

Baal has been depicted as a three headed creature, with one head of a cat, one of a frog, and one a man.

Most religions express love, respect, want, or need to their god of choice through prayer. We are told to express worship through prayer, and to dedicate a certain amount of time daily to this ritual. If you are praying to one of the darker gods there is also a pretty straight forward way to show your love and affection--simply sell your soul! You can do it right here: (NOT recommended) http://demonical.com/sellyoursoul.htm 

It seems it is much harder to pray properly to the Christian God. Although a devotee can pray at home or at church, I have seen endless websites and books based solely on the way to pray properly so this god can hear you, or not take what you are saying the wrong way. http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/BibleStudyAndTheology/perspectives/correct-way-to-pray-luke-18-goodwyn.aspx  Among other things, this article talks about prayers that God cannot hear.

It says He can only hear prayers from the humble. Seems it might be a bit tough if you want to become humble and you are asking for help...

We are told to ask for forgiveness of the sins we have committed, and to be forgiven for the ones we don't even know we have done.  Here is a Wiki list of how to do it right: http://www.wikihow.com/Pray-to-Jesus

Hindu prayers are different than Christian prayers. The chosen god or goddess is invoked through mantras or prayer. He is said to appear as if after a long journey and will be offered water, food, and clothing, and a lovely place to sit and rest. He may be entertained with music, incense, flowers, lights, or candles. He is offered the utmost care and respect, and in return his essence fills the home or place of prayer. This is a form of communion with the divine.

Although I would not call Shinto a religion, many people in Japan follow the ways of Shinto, or kami. Kami is a prehistoric "religious tradition influenced by Buddhism and Chinese religions". Although they do not believe in or focus on one all-knowing entity, the kami are the powers of nature such as the sun, earth, mountains, animals, streams, etc. Offerings are sometimes made to the kami, such as food like fish or vegetables which are later eaten. The spirits of the deceased are also revered and celebrated. 

Shinto shrines can be found in groves of trees all over Japan. All the shrines have sacred gates (torii) and often contain water for symbolic purification of hands and mouth; larger shrines have main halls, buildings for offerings, and oratories. Inside the main hall resides the goshintai (god-body), which is sometimes represented by a mirror, but more often nothing at all. The classic Shinto shrine is the world-renowned Ise Shrine, the primary cult site for Amaterasu, arguably the most important kami. (from www.beliefnet.com)

Many prayers are focused on beings that are long gone and have left and important mark in history. We hear stories of Jesus if we are Christian or Kali if we are Hindu. No one that is alive has seen these beings. Although Mother Teresa died in 1997, her giving nature and offerings of help and caring are relevant to our lives now. Gandhi stood up against a harsh British rule and helped India through peaceful protest to find their way to freedom. Maybe they were both Jains, an Indian religion that focuses on non-violence to all living things.  I don't think it would be a bad thing if we all focused on how to be better NOW and what we could do about it.

I would love to hear your thoughts on prayer.

After thought:  I am not saying prayer is bad or obsolete, but it couldn't hurt to put as much positive thought and action into things that need help right now, and to support those that are currently helping.

WHITE MAGICK and ENERGY WORK

White magick is defined as magic or incantation for good intentions or to counteract evil.

This, in my opinion, would make it much harder to accomplish than grey or black magic. 

Think about it and remove the magical element from the equation for a second--when we are happy we are at peace. It is generally a feeling of well-being and calm. Of course there are times when we are excited and we spread the joy with hugs and kind words, but happiness is a relatively mild feeling--especially compared to anger. When we are mad, and I'm sure if you are like the rest of us this happens to you often, our emotions can go from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. Sometimes we feel we can't control ourselves and want to hurt others not only with our words but sometimes with physical actions. Our heart rate increases, arterial tension increases, and our level of cortisol, the stress hormone, surprisingly decreases. The left frontal region of our brain is stimulated, an area that relates to feelings of closeness. It is an interesting contradiction because when we are angry we tend to want to get close to and confront the thing that angers us in order to eliminate it.

In other words, it feels GOOD to get angry.

You are experiencing the results of adrenaline and the rapid heartbeat and flushed feeling can be addictive. We think about what angers us over and over again, and it is easier to live in that hyped-up state than to calm ourselves down and forgive and forget. Plus we don't realize how good we feel.

Oooh--that wonderful feeling of putting someone in their place, or telling them how you really feel, or wiping that silly smile off of their smug faces.

How many times have you been happy about something, but someone you know is now jealous? Maybe we have been the envious ones, quietly wondering why the hell WE can't eat anything we want and keep our girlish figures? People say they want the best for us, but we really don't know their true feelings. We might be the accidental targets for negative energy. Some say no form of energy is truly negative, but we are not talking physics.

Have you ever met someone you instantly liked? You feel great around them and talking to them is a breeze. You may not have needed to spend a lot of time getting to know one another because it feels like you already do. It seems to be great to find this kind of person--and you miss them when they are not around. It is said that this type person fills some of your empty energy field--they are from the same soul family as you. You are better when they are around. When they are not that part of your field is opened again, and can easily be filled with with the energy of another--positive or negative.

We can feel negative around another also--an instant discord. They may not have any bad feelings about us specifically, but they feel wrong to be around.

Sometimes we feel it is almost impossible to move on from a hard or traumatic situation. Some believe part of our spirit leaves when something terrible happens and we remain psychically vulnerable. If a person passes away, part of you goes with them. If they are still around but the relationship is over, you may have some type of connection to them, along with a spiritually empty feeling because part of you is with them, but connected in an inappropriate way. 

Energy workers claim that we are connected to everything by cords. These cords are supposedly everywhere, connecting us energetically to friends, lovers, children, parents, and everything else. They say when babies are born they have cord connections to their mothers, physical ones and spiritual ones. The energy cords become less needed as the child grows and eventually fall away--unless theirs is a muddled situation where the proper rates of growth are not met, either by the mom or child. Friends have cords to one another that have grown from a relationship or existed already from generations past. Cords can become filled with negative attributes and get muddied, causing problems in the relationship that could eventually cause its end. Unclear cords can result from arguments, jealousies, dislikes, or simply bad feelings.   

Then there are the people who may be sending negative thoughts and vibes to us. Even if it is done unconsciously, sending this type energy might cause harmful results.  

This is where the positive actions of white magick are said to help.

Many think that any type of magick is the work of the devil. Another faction believes that prayer is merely a form of positive energy work, or benign magick.  

I know someone who was sent a gift from a dear friend. It was a lovely present, but nothing but bad things happened since my friend received the gift. She felt at first it was a coincidence, then weeks went by and she began to feel cursed. My friends eventually threw the gift away and has not been bothered since.

Simple solution, right?

Sometimes it is not so easy.

Whether we are being whammied from a jealous friend, envious co-worker, the "other" side of your family, or are just the unwitting victim of plenty of unfortunate but old fashioned hateful thoughts--sometimes we need protection.

Some turn to prayer, some to confrontation, and some to magick.

I read that anyone can do magick; you don't have to be a Third Degree Wiccan to protect yourself. In fact, all you need is intention. Read how to protect yourself here:  http://www.spiritofold.co.uk/magick/bos/protection.htm

Several years ago I was told by a friend that they visited an energy worker. She said they removed generational curses, murky cords, and even say a demon or two lurking in her field. I had to see this for myself, and ended up going to the same woman. The house she was renting was almost all white and enormous. There were statues in the high ceilinged rooms and despite the white paint and lofty ceilings I was creeped on even on the bright and sunny day it was. We went to a tiny room on the second floor and I was instructed to close my eyes and let my ego go so I could "experience" the guided spiritual tour. About ten minutes into it I could not take it for another second, and told the poor girl that I felt the experience was a bit too much for me, and was feeling ridiculous. She told me that was part of my problem, and all the "monsters and spirits" around me had a pretty good hold.

Hmmmm.

Now I was really creeped out. So I left.

Nothing changed much in my life, so those devils might still be hovering around.

Once again I cannot discount magick, prayer, spells, cords, or anything that has to do with energy work completely. 

But as an experiment, I will do a home-made protection spell tonight, under the almost full, almost pink moon. 

I'll let you know what happens next week.

Wish me luck--and let me know if you have any experience with spells or white magick.

**FREE** today: 100 UNFORTUNATE DAYS--click below.

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A DARKER DISNEY and some LOST DISNEY RIDES

Disney has done nothing but gain popularity since it first opened its magical gates in 1955. The Jungle Cruise, Mark Twain's Riverboat, and Peter Pan's Flight were all working attractions on this memorable first day, and patrons could visit Tomorrowland, Frontierland, Main Street U.S.A, Fantasyland and Adventureland. 

One of the reasons for Disney's timeless popularity is its family friendly atmosphere. There have been a few rides that did not make it to Disney's roster because they were too scary, and some because the story line did not quite work. One of the rejected rides, Museum of the Weird, was to have a grandfather clock decorated in human bones, a haunted organ played by a spooky skeleton, and wallpaper that seemed to stare at the guests. Read more about it here:
http://theweek.com/article/index/242416/6-rejected-disney-theme-park-rides

The youngest of kids can enjoy the scariest ride at Disney, the Haunted Mansion.

Waiting in the line is fun. An interactive wall, a slightly spooky graveyard, and a maze effect makes the time breeze by in a pleasant way.

But wouldn't it be divine if there was a Terrorland?

I always wondered what Disney could be like if it was just a touch darker. Yes, they have incorporated the world of Tim Burton and Jack Skellington to a point, but what if they put up a section that was truly scaaaary.

Zombies hobbling around is fun in the local theme parks, but Disney could make it epic. With an unequalled special effects team and a seemingly bottomless pocketbook, the Disney team could create a Terrorland could strike fear in the most daring of Mickey Mouse fans.

I envision the Haunted Mansion a bit less friendly. The graveyard outside could contain a maze similar to the end of The Shining. The pressure to find your way would be multiplied by the chain saw and axe wielding apparitions. The purple and blue lighting and dense fog would enhance the lightning bugs you are supposed to be following, and when you finally arrive winded but safe in a spiderweb filled clearing a series of doors would manifest. The happy lightning bugs would vanish--and you would have to choose an entrance before Mama spider appeared to feed you to her young.

The door to the left would be painted dark scab-red and be surrounded by Gothic black iron. When reaching for the hand-shaped door handle, a voice would subtly whisper there is still a chance to choose another door. You reach for the handle anyway and the wrought iron hand reaches out and grabs you, administering a mild but startling electric shock. The door opens inward and you are pulled into an almost black, candle lit and cinnamon scented chamber by gauze draped ghostly arms. You have chosen the door that takes you through a witch's house, and you will meet her face to face momentarily.

The center door would look very modern and sterile with a distinct hospital feel, with a hand print of blood smeared across its center. The third door would be more like the entrance to a tomb.

All of the doors would take the guest on a different tantalizing journey through hell. The scares could be more psychological--inferred horrors and subtle mind-screws that might get you later on in the night.

There could be a few dark-themed restaurants in Terrorland. For instance, The Bates Motel Diner could serve Mother's Favorite Stew and Norman's Nachos. Lady Fingers would be the expected dessert.  Hell's Kitchen would take on a whole new meaning here.  Just Desserts would feature lovely Sundaes like Vendetta Vanilla and Cape Fear Chip.

Public rest rooms can be creepy to begin with, but with "glass" floors that provide a window to the troll and demon infested bottomless pit below, and ghostly shadows peeking from the dark and cordoned off back corner, a visitor might decide to wait for a calmer visit to the powder room in the Magic Kingdom.

And for the brave kids that DO decide to venture into Terrorland, they would be able to see how they would look aged after 100 years of bad living and debauchery in the Dorian Grey Portrait Room, and get a digital print out to hang in their rooms when they get home so it can haunt them forever. Parents could use it as a discipline tool and remind the little hooligans to always do the right thing because they would not want to sell their souls and end up like Dorian.

Instead of It's a Small World After All playing over and over in your head, you might leave the park with the theme to Halloween on your mind. Listen here:   http://youtu.be/Nq6pekM6sZQ

Just as the rest of the parks in Disney have the happy and friendly characters like Mickey Mouse and Ariel walking around and greeting guests and stopping for pictures, Terrorland will have the same. The mass murderers, ghouls, and other terrors like Freddie Kruger, Pennywise the Clown, and Michael Meyers running around Terrorland will probably be best captured for a photo-op by a Go Pro video camera that does well with running action shots.

Hop on kids!

The subterranean boat ride on the river Styx would take you on a reaper-guided ferry through the nine circles of hell which of course would include snake pits, fire raining from unnatural clouds and pitchfork poking, the basement of a funeral home with all its tubes, tables and formaldehyde, and give you a possibly unwanted underground glimpse of what happens below the ground in the glass coffins in a graveyard.

Oh, the fun I imagine we would all have!

Although I don't think Disney will ever go this dark and indulge me in my wildest haunted fantasies--a girl can dream.

I would love to hear any ideas you might have for Terrorland. Maybe we can gather them up and send them off to Disney on some Jack Skellington stationary. :) Looking forward to what you think.

GATHERING GHOSTS

According to some cultures, ghosts are not only real, but can be troublesome.

Here in the United States we tend to believe in ghosts and they are sensationalized on television shows like Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State. According to these shows, ghosts can do things like decrease the temperature in a room, cause orbs in pictures, occasionally move things like curtains or chairs, and speak in difficult to hear voices that are picked up on EVP recording devices.

If the entity haunting the house is demonic, supposedly it is much more dangerous to the inhabitants of the home. A demon or devil can possess a person and take over their lives.

There are many different types of ghosts according to Chinese culture, and even Confucius said: "Respect ghosts and gods, but keep away from them."

If a person died from hanging by either suicide or execution, or far away from home, a wrongful death, or was drowned, he will leave behind a spirit that is vengeful or evil. They can come to the party that wronged them or even seek to harm them.

Some ghosts are benign like Gui Po, who takes the form of a kindly old woman and helps around the house.

During the Ghost Festival, on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar year, ghosts and spirits visit the earth from the lower realms. People are told not to go out alone on festival night if they can help it or swim on this day for fear that a malicious ghosts will attack them or drown them in dark water as revenge. Those born during this month are said to be more sensitive and have the ability to see ghosts and apparitions.

According to folklore in Bali, ghosts clutter where it is dark and not many people walk or visit. If you have many useless papers or a dusty mess beneath your bed spirits may hide there in the quiet and interfere with your sleep. It is said we fear the dark not because of what we can't see, but what we CAN feel. 

Almost everyone feels a little trepidacious when walking down the basement stairs. The darkest corner is exactly where we do not want to go. That creepy corner of the yard by the fence that gets no light from the street lamps...you will probably get someone else to go and look what that noise was.

A Feng Shui practitioner might hang a wind chime in the dark corner of your yard to attract motion and rid the area of ghosts. According to Kartar Diamond, in certain instances hanging a wind chime can actually attract ghosts. (A great book on Feng Shui by Kartar Diamond: http://www.amazon.com/Feng-Shui-Skeptics-Kartar-Diamond/dp/0967193788  In a future post I will be talking about my own experiences with Feng Shui and Kartar Diamond after a long-distance consultation.)

Living too close to a cemetery can cause a property to attract more than its share of spirits also. There is a slang word in Chinese for cemetery because it is said the ghosts that inhabit the graveyard come "to life" at night, like at a nightclub.

If your house is very 'yin' it will attract ghosts also. A yin house is dark, damp, and possibly covered in plants. It could be built into a mountainside or have an overgrown garden or landscape.

If someone died in your current house before you lived there, the previous owner might decide to come and visit. If the death was particularly violent, the spirit might have a hard time detaching from the magnetic pull of the place where the death occurred.

If you have a long empty hallway make especially sure not to collect clutter there. The Chinese believe ghosts can only move in a straight line and call anything too straight a poison arrow. 

Ghosts dislike children and animals, especially if they are noisy and funny--so keep them laughing and busy!

Here is a list of things you can do to keep ghosts away:

* Burn crushed and dried orange peels

* Fu Dogs or Fu Lions placed at the front door keep away ghosts

* Placing a penny in the corner of each room in the house deters evil spirits. Copper conducts love. Even a jar of pennies in a room that seems a bit haunted could be the equivalent of psychic Raid.

* Play music in your house

* Live plants and flowers deter ghosts. Dead plants can give them a place to hover.

* Simply ask the ghosts to leave

* Keep the home immaculate. Fix dripping faucets and clogged drains. Get rid of clutter and pick up crumbs.

* Clean your mirrors and windows until they are spotless. Ghosts cannot inhabit them if they are clean

*Clean gemstones until sparkling and then cleanse them in salt

* Open your windows during the day--let in the sun and the air

* Take down pictures of people that give you any kind of bad feelings. Pictures of the dead can attract negativity and 'bad vibes' too

* Keep the entire house and yard well-lit

* Have your house blessed

* Place lines of salt before the windows of doors of your home. Supposedly ghosts cannot cross them and they cannot get in

* If ghosts are haunting your dreams sleep with a bowl of water beneath your bed. In the morning empty the bowl outside the house

* Remove suspicious or old items--dolls recently purchased from an antique store, ring that belonged to a deceased relative. Ghosts can cling to old items

Although the jury is still out whether ghosts actually exist or not, I will NOT be walking around on July 15th this year without a burly escort. For all I know a ghost could be looking over my shoulder right now...and wondering who is reading this.

If any of you have had any ghostly experiences I would love to know about them. I would also like to hear of any ways you keep the ghosts OUT. :)

More ghostly thoughts from 100 UNFORTUNATE DAYS: 

Day 57

Every single basement has a dark corner or room no one likes. Maybe the whole basement is dark and scary. Spirits collect in dark and cluttered spaces. They hide and wait for you because they are stuck. Some people can see them. Some people see the long thin black wispy figures with arms ten feet long that unfold as they slowly reach for you in the dark because you have to go down there to get something or fix a light bulb or retrieve a screwdriver. Part of you revs up and moves really quickly to get out of there because you know if you wait long enough and the arms fully unfold, they can touch you and then part of you belongs in the black corner in the basement. Then it will be very hard to be normal again. You will wake up in the middle of the night, and you won’t be able to get back to sleep because you will worry about all the things you have done wrong and how you are hurting people.

You can’t get this out of your mind now and you think that maybe if you count and envision each number in your head as you say it in your mind; you can block some of the bad thoughts. Or maybe you can pray—say the Lord’s Prayer over and over and over and God will surely be there to help you because you are saying his prayer.

But it doesn’t help. God doesn’t give a fuck when you are miserable—he doesn’t care if you pray. You can pray until there is blood dripping out of your mouth and nothing will change. God is an asshole that way. Even a relatively rotten person will assist you if you are begging for help. But your thoughts will just revolve through your mind over and over until you want to take a gun like the lead in Fight Club and shoot them out of your head. Maybe someday you will, but for now, you are trying to figure why God is such a jerk and you have to live like this. You wonder why you feel forsaken—well it’s probably because you have been forsaken and you don’t know how to live in that state. Because when you are a kid somebody probably told you everything would be all right, and now you realize they lied.

So you keep lying to yourself, telling yourself it’s not such a big deal, but actually it is. Because now the dark corners in your basement have started to get darker. And bigger. The arms get longer and longer and pretty soon there won’t be anywhere you can go where they can’t touch you. So you start to drink or take pills or do some other kind of drug so you can’t tell when you get touched. But now the problem is you get touched all the time, but you don’t know it.

At least now you don’t care.