A Prayer of Gratitude in Troubled Times

Dear Earth, our Mother — 

Even as we acknowledge the problems we face and those we have caused others of your children, your living species, we also recognise the many joys and delights in our lives. Being alive on this planet is, above all, a blessing.

Thank you dear Mother for the ground that supports us, the air we breathe to take in life; the water we drink to keep us alive, cleansing us inside and out; the food we eat to sustain our lives; the sun we orbit, warming us, giving us light, making life possible.

We give thanks for small daily joys — the smile of a child, the kind word of a friend, the hug of a family member, the kiss of a lover. We are grateful for jokes and laughter, the healing that comes with tears, the pleasure of good conversation, the useful power of thought; for taste and smell, art and music, the colours of flowers, songs of birds, the ever-changing moods of the ocean. We thank you for our guardian mountains, our companion rivers, the fields and forests filling our lives with beauty. We thank you for this land where we live. Thank you for our being here.

We thank you for major miracles: illnesses that didn’t kill us, accidents from which we emerged still breathing, emotional traumas which have not sent us mad, obstacles we overcame by apparent magic or by strengths we didn’t know we had, fore-ordained meetings which brought important friends and surprising opportunities into our lives. We thank you for experiences we considered bad or unlucky, understanding now they were opportunities, gifts to enrich our lives.

We give thanks for being here now, for whatever part we are called to play in this present crisis and whatever new challenges may come. We ask to be of service to the greater good of humanity, and the whole planet — whether our personal roles appear large or small. We know that every strand in the fabric is not only important but essential. Thank you for this momentous opportunity, and for ensuring we are equal to it.

Thank you for the Love within and surrounding us, making everything possible. Thank you for everything.


Written for the Wisdom Circle of The Goddesses of Shining Light (Murwillumbah, Australia).

Shared with Writers' Pantry #33 at Poets and Storytellers United

The Druid's Prayer

"Grant O Goddess, thy protection
and in protection, strength
and in strength, understanding
and in understanding, knowledge
and in knowledge, the knowledge of justice
and in the knowledge of justice, the love of it
and in the love of it, the love of all existences
and in the love of all existences, the love of Goddess and all Goodness"

— after Iolo Morganwg.

Are We Helpless in the Face of Disasters

Not entirely.

Once the flood, fire, earthquake or tsunami has happened, we can't undo it. But it's always useful to send Love energy to such situations, and to the people in them and the places where they occur.  If you're a Reiki practitioner, Reiki is one of the easiest ways to do that. Beam it at the TV screen when you're watching the news footage — either to the general scene or to individuals who are shown, or both. When you see those scenes in your head later, as you're bound to, again visualise and intend to 'zap' them with that energy or surround them in it.

This is a huge act of faith, as you will never know if it did any good. It is a time to recall the many instances when you have been able to get feedback and to know that Reiki helped a person or situation. Knowing that, trust that it will help in the large-scale disasters also, and remember that some Reiki is better than none.

Sometimes weather magick can prevent threatened disasters. Witches would probably just light a candle. In his book Urban Shaman, Serge Kahili King recounts instances of shamans banding together to successfully turn away destructive weather from population areas. Group energy is very powerful; for that reason it is also effective to take part in such events as world-wide meditations at specific times.

For people who aren't shamans or witches and don't know how to use Reiki, heartfelt prayer is also powerful. So are 'Love projections' where you get into a semi-meditative state and focus Love towards the person / place / situation. You can visualise it as white light if that makes it easier — or rainbow light, or pink light, or green, or gold — so long as you hold the understanding that this light is an expression of Love energy.

Humanity has been told by many teachers over the centuries that Love is the essential for making our lives work, having ourselves and our planet be healthy. It's a very difficult thing to do, to stay always in that state. Most of us have to catch ourselves —eventually! — when we fall out of it, pick ourselves up and start again. It is worth persevering. There is nothing that is so much worth doing.

I am now in my 'senior' years, with a great deal of life experience behind me. It becomes more and more apparent to me that Love is indeed the only thing that really matters. It's vital.

Saying Goodbye

Once we were very close, for a long time. Then some things happened which had us end the friendship. We moved to different parts of the country. Seven years passed. I heard she was very ill. I got in touch via her daughter; did absent healing and got others doing it too; sent her a crystal which was supposed to be good for her condition....

All the time, I felt that she was in the process of leaving. I had an impulse to phone but it turned out she was already in hospital with 'not long now'. I kept picking up that she had come to terms with it and was very peaceful. Others got the same impression. Tapping into that, I have been strangely peaceful myself.

Yesterday afternoon I sat down and communicated via Reiki II, which allows for a detailed conversation. I said the things I needed to, and heard what she had to say.  I felt a very strong heart connection the whole time.  I asked if she wanted me to light a candle for her after she was gone and say the Prayer for the Dead. Yes, she did.

Last thing last night I sat down and wrote my verse for Tanka on Tuesday:

non-stop rain here
the weeks of her dying there
too far away
I say my goodbyes in thought
listening to the rain fall

This morning a friend emailed that D had just passed, at 10.36 am. About an hour later I had myself and the temple ready, and my Spouse sat with me as I lit the candle and recited the prayer:

I light this candle for D. May her spirit pass through the portal betwixt this world and the next and find rest and peace. May her time spent in the land of light be profitable that she may learn the lessons necessary for the next stage of her journey towards God. May D be at peace and at rest. Peace be with you.

I spoke it aloud. He said it with me silently, in his mind, and added — he told me afterwards — some farewell words of his own.

We left the candle burning. It's a flat tealight candle, sitting in a big oven-proof dish with high sides, for safety. Unattended, yes, but I look in now and then. There is no wind in there, and nothing positioned to catch alight. It is burning quietly and steadily. When it is all burned down, the ritual will be complete.

Effective prayer

... probably needs to be heartfelt.

A friend just shared this on facebook:

Anne Lamott (Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith) ~
"Here are the two best prayers I know:
'Help me, help me, help me' and 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'"

The Silent Prayer

Found on the Wild Women page on facebook and reposted with permission:


In my heart, I accept my perfect Being.
I accept that the joy that I have intended is already in my life.
I accept that love I have prayed for is already within me.
I accept that the peace I have asked for is already my reality.
I accept that the abundance I have sought already fills my life...

In my truth, I accept my perfect Being.
I take responsibility for my own creations,
And all things that are within my life.
I acknowledge the power of Spirit that is within me,
And know that all things are as they should be.

In my wisdom, I accept my perfect Being.
My lessons have been carefully chosen by my Self,
And now I walk through them in full experience.
My path takes me on a sacred journey with divine purpose.
My experiences become part of All That Is.

In my knowingness, I accept my perfect Being.
In this moment, I sit in my golden chair
And know that I Am an angel of light.
I look upon the golden tray - the gift of Spirit -
And know that all of my desires already have been fufilled.

In love for my Self, I accept my perfect Being.
I cast no judgment or burdens upon my Self.
I accept that everything in my past was given in love.
I accept that everything in this moment comes from love.
I accept that everything in my future will result in greater love.

In my Being, I accept my perfection.
And so it is.