The Art and Science of Prayer

The terms prayer, manifestation, visualization, incantation, etc. are all closely related. They all involve the willful act of bringing something into reality, attracting a situation or circumstance or creating something from seemingly nothing. Not all concepts of prayer or prayer practices are equally effective.

The questions have been asked: Why are some prayers not answered while others are? Why do some people seem to have their prayers answered while others don't?

There are two ways to look at prayer dynamics. This derives directly from the concept of two paradigms.

(1) One type of prayer involves being connected to the Source or to God. Prayers of this type are "in harmony" with the Divine Intent of creation. This perspective is what we as individuals are part of the greater whole and can, therefore, draw upon the greater power to create. Through this greater consciousness or being, creation can occur where none existed before.

(2) Prayer is a magical creation, the result of our application of will and energy to shape our reality. In this perspective, "reality" is the mirror of our beliefs, our assumptions about what is true and what is not. In this perspective, "manifesting", casting "spells" or "incantations", and "creating through visualization" all represent a version of prayer that is the application of will and energy. The limitation of this perspective is that it is only as powerful as our beliefs, our personal energy, and our will.

Both of these concepts produce results. The difference between these two concepts and their techniques is only in their intent. In the first, one recognizes a greater wisdom than one's own ego and defers to the greater wisdom. The first is far more powerful and requires that we act in harmony with the higher Intent of the rest of creation. Edgar Cayce often said, "Why worry when you can pray?" Worry will accomplish nothing. Prayer works. It influences situations, people, and outcomes.

Gregg Braden in The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy (Amazon Link) a valuable observation. By studying ancient scriptures like the Dead Sea scrolls and Tibetan Buddhist practices, he found that prayer was accomplished through feeling, gratitude, acknowledgement, and acceptance. The "lost" mode of prayer, from Braden's perspective, is a form of prayer that has no words, no outward expression, and is based simply in feeling. One of his examples is a Native American man who "prayed rain" (not prayed for rain) by stepping into a medicine wheel circle and "feeling" the rain on his skin, "smelling" the moisture in the air, "feeling" the mud between his toes, and acknowledging that reality. Specifically, this mode of prayer invites us to feel the appreciation and gratitude in our heart, as if our prayers have already been answered, even if the world appears to show us otherwise.

The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what Heaven's kingdom is like." He said to them, "It's like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, but when it falls on prepared soil, it produces a large plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky." - Thomas 20 - the New Testament apocrypha in the Nag Hammadi library (Wikipedia Link) or Nag Hammadi library (Amazon Link)

It is not the Intent of this mode of prayer to "make" something happen in a situation where we may not agree with what life is showing us. The ancients understood that to use prayer is an "abomination" when used to impose our will where our will is not in harmony with the greater good. To impose our idea of what should or should not be, anywhere in the world or upon another person, is a form of manipulation and a misuse of our gift of prayer when we are acting against the greater good or the Intent of Creation.

Energy is required to accomplish manifestation or effective prayer. It also requires appropriate application of that energy. So, what is appropriate application? An appropriate application is conducting prayer actions that are in harmony with the greater good of all concerned. The greater good, in this sense, means acting in harmony with the Spiritual purpose of the individual. So, how do we know what is in harmony with our Spiritual purpose or that of others? The best way is to ask. That can be done through meditation. Where there is a difference in the purpose and intent on the Spiritual and conscious levels, our first obligation is to respect the Spiritual level.

The Huna Perspective on Prayer

Recall the three minds model of the consciousness of the human being. For effective prayer (or effective anything else), the three minds must be aligned.

The conscious self has the ability to think, evaluate and make choices. The conscious self must be very clear on what it is conceiving and submitting to a prayer action. The conscious self must also still its ego and thought processes in order to "know" the greater wisdom within and to follow it.

The subconscious self is endowed with memory, imagery and emotion. Braden's "lost mode of prayer" is a method of addressing the subconscious self rather than the conscious self. The subconscious self may also be encumbered by complexes such as guilt, judgment, and other limitations which block the flow of thought and energy between the conscious self and Superconscious self. These complexes must be resolved for the individual to be healthy and able to function effectively as a whole being.

The Superconscious self is that part of ourself that is closest to "God" or the "Source". The Superconscious self holds the perfect image of our physical and etheric bodies. The Superconscious self also holds the memory and awareness of our connection to the Infinite collective consciousness.

The Huna Prayer

A key concept of the Huna prayer is to empower the prayer action with energy, or mana. One of the huna methods of accumulating energy is called the Ha rite. There are many ways to do a ha rite, and all of them work. A Ha rite is simply breathing deeply with the intent to accumulate a mana surcharge in the physical and etheric bodies before prayer, then select a prayer picture and feeling, then send the prayer picture, feeling and intent with the mana surcharge to your 'Aumakua or Superconscious self. It need not be more complicated than that. Here is a basic description of the Ha rite.

The Ha Rite

Cup and hold your hands so that your finger tips are about an inch or two apart, and spread your fingers so none of them touch one another (this prevents you from grounding the energy back into your body). Recall that in meditation we keep out fingers and palms in contact so that we do ground the energy in our bodies. A good time to do this is at the conclusion of the meditation. Slowly pull the hands apart while breathing deeply and with the intent of building a surcharge of mana between your hands.

You should slow your breath to 5 breaths a minute or less compared to the normal 15-18 breaths a minute. The tradition is to use four sets of four breaths or even 10 sets of four breaths to build a mana surcharge for the prayer. Visualize your prayer picture. The more mana you pour into the prayer picture the brighter and more realistic the prayer picture becomes. Use intent to put mana into the space between your hands.

When you feel the mana surcharge growing between your hands, you will feel a pulsing, tingling, heat, or a dense force between your hands. When you are satisfied with the mana surcharge, and prayer picture or intent, expel a quick burst of breath and visualize it going around the prayer picture and the mana surcharge binding them together. Then separate your hands and allow the prayer picture and mana surcharge to float away to be taken by your Superconscious mind. The same sense of "feeling" is applied here as described above.

Perhaps this is the same process described by Edgar Cayce when he said:

"Thy prayers ascend to the throne of God, and the angel of each entity stands before the throne to make intercession. Not as a physical throne, no; but that consciousness in which we may be so attuned that we become one with the whole in lending power and strength to each entity for whom you speak and pray." --Edgar Cayce Reading 3954-1

Recall that the subconscious mind communicates through images and feelings and a "sense of understanding" and not language. Does your prayer picture and feeling maintain harmony and balance? Is there any element of competition, conflict or ego in your visualization? Does the visualization acknowledge that the prayer has already been answered? Have you illuminated the visualization with mana?

The concept of the two paradigms applies to the Huna model of prayer. When a prayer is made that is in harmony with the Source, all three selves are in alignment and the effect is powerful indeed. When there is separation from the Source, the three selves are not aligned and the energy and power available for manifestation is limited.

Once the prayer has been visualized, felt, filled with energy, and acknowledged as reality, release it and leave it alone.

Application of Prayer

Formulate four prayers, send them out, and recognize the results when they appear:

(1) For understanding something that you have a desire to understand.

(2) For new knowledge and understanding about something important but presently completely unknown by you.

(3) Something specific for the benefit or healing of another.

(4) Something specific for the benefit or healing of yourself.

The Path is a book about the Spiritual journey that we all take. Who are we, why are we here, what is consciousness, what is enlightenment, how do we grow Spiritually? There are detailed instructions on basic and advanced meditation and the Kuji-In or nine syllables meditation from Hindu, Buddhist and Ninja traditions. There are also instructions on using forgiveness and recapitulation to recover energy and resolve karma.

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