Love & Light & Vibes & Prayers

Let's start with this: I believe in both the power of prayer and the power of reiki / energy healing. I don't understand either one of them, and in fact, I suspect they're closely related to one another. Maybe we can break that down - or build it up - in another post, but there's the basic fact.

When Rowan was born, we asked for prayers. Thanks to the diverse circles in which I find myself of late, we received a healthy dose of promises for prayers to Jesus, and an equal amount of promises for healing vibes sent our way. Depending upon your religious persuasion, I'm guessing you think one of those worked and the other was useless. Or maybe that neither one of them served a purpose, and all credit is due to Rowan's physiology and the capabilities of neonatology. Or, I don't know, maybe you think it was solely the breast milk. Like I said - diverse circles.

In the early weeks, I was most aware of the way our immediate, practical needs were met. Food, childcare, shift coverage, house cleaning. Every bit of it was wonderful and deeply appreciated and oh crap there's still a stack of thank-you notes that need addresses and stamps . . . hold on . . .

Now then. Having reached a very loose kind of equilibrium in our day-to-day life, I've started to ponder the vibes sent and prayers said on our behalf. In crisis mode, I did not take the time to appreciate them fully. It was, you know, "nice." But now I'm beginning to realize what an enormous gift it is to have others approach the force / Being that governs the universe - or the universe itself, if you prefer - on behalf of my family and my child. Seriously. And I wonder: Do we realize that's what we're doing when we pray? Are we fully aware of it with reiki, even? There is a profoundness and a depth to either practice that is all too easy to gloss over. Then again, if we thought about it too much, most of us would probably be too intimidated to even begin.

I sense that this goes back to what I pondered before, from a less content place, that making requests of a higher power is not a cut and dried, if-then kind of practice. Results are not guaranteed, and for good reason: Because we're just players (no, not pawns) in a story too large to comprehend with feeble earth-bound minds. Prayer, reiki, whatever way you commune with the spiritual realm - that's not a trite little practice. Yet in my world, it usually gets reduced to the mundane. Kids' bedtime routine: 1. Put on jammies. 2. Brush teeth. 3. Say prayers. Done.

As an aside, this is one area where I think more formal denominations have an advantage over evangelicalism. When I go to my sister's Episcopal church, or attend a Catholic mass, there is a sense of reverence and awe that I think we lose in our attempts to make God accessible. God is amazing. God loves me profoundly. God is not my buddy. Nor yours.

My new challenge for myself, as I sort through all the other changes life has so recently brought: If I say I'm going to pray, or send good vibes, or, for that matter, if I sign something "with love," I want to think about the gravity of what I'm promising. I want to take it off the to-do list and appreciate it for what it is. And I want to sense the privilege of it.

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