My First Practitioner Session
My heart was battered by abuse,
Closed off by an impassable wall,
No connection from walled heart
To mouth or mind:
I couldn’t ask for help;
I could not ask for prayer,
But it was my birthday.
Practitioners prayed for you on your birthday,
And so I sat across from one,
Our knees nearly touching.
As her voice spoke her prayer,
I felt wrapped in love,
Lifted by the power of the prayer,
And I wanted to do that,
To be able to give that love to me,
To give that love to others.
Practitioner Stole
I needed to finish two years of classes to qualify for practitioner studies. Then I applied and was interviewed to assess my suitability. I didn’t do well the first time. Success came the second time. After two years of classes and a test, I became a licensed religious science practitioner.
I still had not healed the emotional baggage of my childhood. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction helped me and many people with very different challenges than mine.
Stoles were de rigeur in those years. After the purple velvet practitioner stole, following training and testing, I was given a red ministerial stole. Indeed, when I am ordained, I’ll receive another stole.
How can we direct the power of our prayers now? We can pray for anyone who asks for prayer. We can pray for peace and prosperity in the world. Besides prayer, we can give generously.
To make our lives and the world a better place for all, we use our gifts and talents the best we can as often as we can.