11 Prayer for Clarity
PRAYERS FOR HEALING A Prayer for Clarity “It's (An a-Ha! Moment) a moment of clarity, a defining moment where you gain real wisdom wisdom you can use to change your life.” -- A Mutual of Omaha commercial.
I really like the definition from the Mutual of Omaha commercial as a moment where you gain a level of clarity and insight – real wisdom - that changes your life. Oprah is such a believer in the value of acknowledging the power of clarity in our lives that she includes a feature at the end of each issue of O Magazine describing an Aha! moment of a celebrity or respected figure. The following story from O Magazine is an account by actress Julianna Margulies. Julianna was one of the stars of ER and the current television series, The Good Wife. She describes an Aha! moment that changed her life. It took an exhausting night, complete with a crying baby, for the actress to understand in an instant what her mother had been telling her for decades. Here’s what she had to say: “I went back to work last summer when my son, Kieran, was 5 1/2 months old. In my business, we work 17 or 18 hours a day, and I was exhausted. And when you're tired, your emotional self sings the loudest, so you don't always think clearly. One night Kieran woke up at 2 A.M; my husband was away, and I had a 6 A.M. call time to be on set. I didn't know what was wrong with him—maybe gas pains—but whatever it was, this baby was not happy. I worked myself up into a complete state of anxiety about how I wasn't going to get enough sleep, how I was going to be late for work, how tired I'd be when I got there...all of which only made things worse. Just then, I heard my mother's voice in my head saying what she'd always told me: "Honey, this is only a moment; it's not the rest of your life." When you're young, you tend not to listen to your parents. Then you become a parent yourself and you think, "Ohhhh, so that's what she meant." I never really understood what she was talking about until that night. It was so poignant, because I got it in one second. I immediately calmed down. As I held Kieran, I thought, "What's the worst that can happen? So I'll have bags under my eyes; that's what makeup people are for." As I relaxed, so did the baby, and at last I could put him down and go back to sleep. Was I tired when I went to work after three hours of sleep? Sure. But I got through the day. At any given moment, we're usually thinking about what has happened in the past or what's going to happen in the future. I'll be in the middle of a scene at work and
think, "Oh my God, I didn't tell the nanny she needs to come early tomorrow!" I constantly have to reel myself in because I'm a doer, and I'm always thinking about what's next on my list. We're always being reminded to stay in the present moment, but when that present moment is a stressful one, you think it's going to last forever. My mother's saying put things in perspective for me in a remarkable way, because it made me realize that all moments pass quickly, the good ones as well as the bad. I became cognizant of that the night I sat there, tired, holding my crying baby: "Before I can blink an eye, he's going to be 14 and not letting me into his room!" Since that night, I say to myself at least once a day: "This is just a moment; it's not the rest of your life." I say it to my niece, who's 19 and isn't sure what she wants to do with her life; when she's 30, she'll wish she had just enjoyed being 19. I tell it to my friends who are having babies. I say, "Enjoy all of it, even the stressful things, because you'll never have that time with them again." What people say is true: You should live in the present. Instead of making difficult times hard, make them loving. Knowing that this is just one moment, whatever kind of moment it is, is a more peaceful way to live.”
Julianna Margulies’ story is a powerful example of an Aha! moment – a moment of clarity where you have an insight, a moment of real wisdom that is life changing. It also has some of the core components for clarity. Before the moment of her insight, she was in a state of stress and confusion. She couldn’t think clearly. She was at the mercy of her emotions and believed that the state she was in would last forever. When we don’t have clarity, it’s like we are in a fog. We can’t think clearly. We can’t act or move forward or make effective decisions. We are in a state of reaction and paralysis. All we can see is our limited perspective and we can’t see other possibilities. Clarity requires awareness and awareness occurs when we are in the present moment. Julianna Margulies admits that she is “a doer” like so many of us and is often not present but living in the future or the past. Her moment of insight brought her into the present moment and she was able to appreciate life in a whole new way. Clarity also requires that we see what we haven’t seen before. That is only possible when we let go of our point of view long enough to be able to perceive something else. When we look at the surface of a lake we're only seeing a tiny fraction of the reality that is present. Below the surface, the lake is teeming with life and activity. The fact that we can't see all of that from the shore or even from a boat doesn't mean that life and activity isn't real or present. In the same way, we need to be open to the possibility that there is more to life than meets the eye. In Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet," Hamlet says to his friend Horatio, "There are more things in heaven and
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earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." I believe this is true for all of us. When we have a moment of clarity, we realize how limited our understanding is and that there is so much more that we know. It is both humbling and awe-inspiring to realize that there is a vast Intelligence surrounding us that offers us so much more than we can know. When we are in a state of indecision or confusion, the more able we are to let go of our judgments and opinions and open up to other possibilities, the more opportunity we have to tap into this vast Intelligence and experience fresh insights and clarity. When we lack clarity it affects our ability to set clear intentions and to manifest what we want to experience in our lives. We can’t use our co-creative abilities to the fullest. We end up manifesting what we don’t want or what others want for us by default. When I counsel new clients, I find that they often will stay in a place where they do nothing or take no action because they are confused or not sure what to do. This is particularly true when they are not clear about their life purpose or what they are meant to do. So they do nothing and meander through life letting whatever happens happen, feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. Some of you may be experiencing something similar right now in your life. In those circumstances, we pray for clarity, we pray for guidance and trust that the infinite Power that created you will give you signs and direct you. In the meantime, it is important to remember that there is a perfect pattern within you that is seeking to be expressed. For some of you it may mean there is some particular thing you are here to do, for others it may be there are certain gifts that you are here to express. But for all of us it is about the quality of our living and our willingness to express our gifts and talents and hold nothing back no matter where we are. It is wonderful to follow your bliss and find work you love. But while you are looking for your bliss, or you’re working until you can follow your bliss 100%, find every opportunity to share the gifts of yourself. Do not withhold yourself and do a 50% job. Give 100% to whatever you are doing, while you are preparing yourself for where you are going; while you are waiting to have clarity about where it is that you are going. By doing that, Spiritual law is activated and you will be met by 100% of what you desire when that a-Ha! Moment arrives.
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PRAYER Infinite Spirit, Lift me out of the fog of confusion and indecision. Help me to see beyond appearances Help me to look below the surface of things Help me to see past my limited perspective. Give me the ability to “see” through your eyes So I can see what I cannot see. Expand my mind and my heart So I can go beyond the edge of what I know and discover possibilities that I didn’t even know were available to me. How good it is to recognize that there is an all-powerful Intelligence that surrounds me of which I am a part. And that the more I think I know, the less I really know at all. How grateful I am to let go of what I think I know so I can discover what You know You give me the clarity to make good decisions and wise choices that empower me and honor others. Thank you, Spirit! You help me be true to myself and not to be swept off course by other people’s opinions I am so grateful! I now choose to see myself just as you see me. Perfect, whole and complete. Recognizing that this is the truth of who I Am I choose to love more deeply Give more generously And live life more fully I choose to share my gifts and my talents and give myself away Thank you, Father, Mother, God. And so it is. And so I allow it to be.
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I really like the definition from the Mutual of Omaha commercial as a moment where you gain a level of clarity and insight – real wisdom - that changes your life. Oprah is such a believer in the value of acknowledging the power of clarity in our lives that she includes a feature at the end of each issue of O Magazine describing an Aha! moment of a celebrity or respected figure. The following story from O Magazine is an account by actress Julianna Margulies. Julianna was one of the stars of ER and the current television series, The Good Wife. She describes an Aha! moment that changed her life. It took an exhausting night, complete with a crying baby, for the actress to understand in an instant what her mother had been telling her for decades. Here’s what she had to say: “I went back to work last summer when my son, Kieran, was 5 1/2 months old. In my business, we work 17 or 18 hours a day, and I was exhausted. And when you're tired, your emotional self sings the loudest, so you don't always think clearly. One night Kieran woke up at 2 A.M; my husband was away, and I had a 6 A.M. call time to be on set. I didn't know what was wrong with him—maybe gas pains—but whatever it was, this baby was not happy. I worked myself up into a complete state of anxiety about how I wasn't going to get enough sleep, how I was going to be late for work, how tired I'd be when I got there...all of which only made things worse. Just then, I heard my mother's voice in my head saying what she'd always told me: "Honey, this is only a moment; it's not the rest of your life." When you're young, you tend not to listen to your parents. Then you become a parent yourself and you think, "Ohhhh, so that's what she meant." I never really understood what she was talking about until that night. It was so poignant, because I got it in one second. I immediately calmed down. As I held Kieran, I thought, "What's the worst that can happen? So I'll have bags under my eyes; that's what makeup people are for." As I relaxed, so did the baby, and at last I could put him down and go back to sleep. Was I tired when I went to work after three hours of sleep? Sure. But I got through the day. At any given moment, we're usually thinking about what has happened in the past or what's going to happen in the future. I'll be in the middle of a scene at work and
think, "Oh my God, I didn't tell the nanny she needs to come early tomorrow!" I constantly have to reel myself in because I'm a doer, and I'm always thinking about what's next on my list. We're always being reminded to stay in the present moment, but when that present moment is a stressful one, you think it's going to last forever. My mother's saying put things in perspective for me in a remarkable way, because it made me realize that all moments pass quickly, the good ones as well as the bad. I became cognizant of that the night I sat there, tired, holding my crying baby: "Before I can blink an eye, he's going to be 14 and not letting me into his room!" Since that night, I say to myself at least once a day: "This is just a moment; it's not the rest of your life." I say it to my niece, who's 19 and isn't sure what she wants to do with her life; when she's 30, she'll wish she had just enjoyed being 19. I tell it to my friends who are having babies. I say, "Enjoy all of it, even the stressful things, because you'll never have that time with them again." What people say is true: You should live in the present. Instead of making difficult times hard, make them loving. Knowing that this is just one moment, whatever kind of moment it is, is a more peaceful way to live.”
Julianna Margulies’ story is a powerful example of an Aha! moment – a moment of clarity where you have an insight, a moment of real wisdom that is life changing. It also has some of the core components for clarity. Before the moment of her insight, she was in a state of stress and confusion. She couldn’t think clearly. She was at the mercy of her emotions and believed that the state she was in would last forever. When we don’t have clarity, it’s like we are in a fog. We can’t think clearly. We can’t act or move forward or make effective decisions. We are in a state of reaction and paralysis. All we can see is our limited perspective and we can’t see other possibilities. Clarity requires awareness and awareness occurs when we are in the present moment. Julianna Margulies admits that she is “a doer” like so many of us and is often not present but living in the future or the past. Her moment of insight brought her into the present moment and she was able to appreciate life in a whole new way. Clarity also requires that we see what we haven’t seen before. That is only possible when we let go of our point of view long enough to be able to perceive something else. When we look at the surface of a lake we're only seeing a tiny fraction of the reality that is present. Below the surface, the lake is teeming with life and activity. The fact that we can't see all of that from the shore or even from a boat doesn't mean that life and activity isn't real or present. In the same way, we need to be open to the possibility that there is more to life than meets the eye. In Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet," Hamlet says to his friend Horatio, "There are more things in heaven and
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earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." I believe this is true for all of us. When we have a moment of clarity, we realize how limited our understanding is and that there is so much more that we know. It is both humbling and awe-inspiring to realize that there is a vast Intelligence surrounding us that offers us so much more than we can know. When we are in a state of indecision or confusion, the more able we are to let go of our judgments and opinions and open up to other possibilities, the more opportunity we have to tap into this vast Intelligence and experience fresh insights and clarity. When we lack clarity it affects our ability to set clear intentions and to manifest what we want to experience in our lives. We can’t use our co-creative abilities to the fullest. We end up manifesting what we don’t want or what others want for us by default. When I counsel new clients, I find that they often will stay in a place where they do nothing or take no action because they are confused or not sure what to do. This is particularly true when they are not clear about their life purpose or what they are meant to do. So they do nothing and meander through life letting whatever happens happen, feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. Some of you may be experiencing something similar right now in your life. In those circumstances, we pray for clarity, we pray for guidance and trust that the infinite Power that created you will give you signs and direct you. In the meantime, it is important to remember that there is a perfect pattern within you that is seeking to be expressed. For some of you it may mean there is some particular thing you are here to do, for others it may be there are certain gifts that you are here to express. But for all of us it is about the quality of our living and our willingness to express our gifts and talents and hold nothing back no matter where we are. It is wonderful to follow your bliss and find work you love. But while you are looking for your bliss, or you’re working until you can follow your bliss 100%, find every opportunity to share the gifts of yourself. Do not withhold yourself and do a 50% job. Give 100% to whatever you are doing, while you are preparing yourself for where you are going; while you are waiting to have clarity about where it is that you are going. By doing that, Spiritual law is activated and you will be met by 100% of what you desire when that a-Ha! Moment arrives.
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PRAYER Infinite Spirit, Lift me out of the fog of confusion and indecision. Help me to see beyond appearances Help me to look below the surface of things Help me to see past my limited perspective. Give me the ability to “see” through your eyes So I can see what I cannot see. Expand my mind and my heart So I can go beyond the edge of what I know and discover possibilities that I didn’t even know were available to me. How good it is to recognize that there is an all-powerful Intelligence that surrounds me of which I am a part. And that the more I think I know, the less I really know at all. How grateful I am to let go of what I think I know so I can discover what You know You give me the clarity to make good decisions and wise choices that empower me and honor others. Thank you, Spirit! You help me be true to myself and not to be swept off course by other people’s opinions I am so grateful! I now choose to see myself just as you see me. Perfect, whole and complete. Recognizing that this is the truth of who I Am I choose to love more deeply Give more generously And live life more fully I choose to share my gifts and my talents and give myself away Thank you, Father, Mother, God. And so it is. And so I allow it to be.
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