Prayer transcends religious boundaries. It's an intimate engagement, and its essence lies in your personal stance and ease with contemplating the cosmos, the fabric of spacetime, the enigma of consciousness, our collective mind, the origins of the universe, or any conception of a source—be it a divine creator, an intelligent force, god, a higher power, or whatever resonates with you—as inspiration to elevate your spirit and dispel the shadows that may cloud your thoughts.
Your lifetime is an opportunity to forge a deep connection with your own mind and body. There's a consciousness within you that perceives everything, though it defies the limits of language. It’s something understood through layers of lived experiences and a profound sense of unity that comes from feeling the interconnectedness that simply is. This oneness is the interlinking of all things, across every dimension and moment.
The old adage, "there are no atheists in foxholes," strikes a chord with me. Throughout my life's lowest ebbs, I've found solace in prayer, even as someone who might be called a skeptic. At times when friends, literature, wealth, or distractions failed to liberate me from the grasp of negativity and obsession, I found myself in a state of humility and reverence, kneeling, hands joined, seeking something to help me persevere in my journey. Whether it was the depths of addiction or the chaos of a broken heart, I discovered the profound impact of prayer.
Describing the influence of prayer on my life is beyond words. In moments of reverence, it brings me peace to softly remind myself that some grand design or entity brought all of this into existence. Its mysteries remain perpetually obscure, and while I peer into the vast expanse of the universe through the lens of my own ego, I yearn to believe in a force that sustains me beyond the tangible world. The mechanics of it are a mystery; I have no prescriptions to offer, no convictions to impose. My intention isn't to leave you adrift in these reflections, except to express my longing to find faith, to be uplifted, to strive for betterment, to experience serenity, to nurture compassion, to feel secure, to love and heal, to achieve greatness, and to share the richness I feel within that I believe the world deserves. I may stumble, I may falter; the outcome is uncertain. But my desire is to persist, to gather strength to remain present, to act with integrity, to maintain positivity even when faced with adversity. I seek that strength to find what I'm looking for. And so, I pray, unabashedly sharing this with my fellow skeptics. I advocate for the exploration of prayer before it becomes a necessity.
