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Introduction

I once had the pleasure of attending a talk by Huston Smith, a preeminent scholar of the world’s religions who first came to the attention of the world when he brought a young Tibetan Buddhist monk—His Holiness the Dalai Lama—to America for the first time. Smith spoke about the continuing impact of religion in our world, most notably, the strife in the Middle East over religious differences. He was at his most joyous when he described his own spiritual practices to us. They were beautiful in their simplicity. Smith said that, upon rising each day, he did Hatha yoga for some minutes followed by reading a few pages of sacred text, after which he meditated or prayed for at least five minutes. He would finish his morning ritual by doing a bit of yard work and some composting, which resulted in rich, dark soil and a beautiful garden that he greatly enjoyed.

The entire audience smiled as they listened to this great and humble man describe the simple spiritual practices with which he began each day. These were Huston Smith’s personal morning rituals. I loved the irony that this premier academic, who has such a deep understanding of all the religious rituals throughout history, had created such an uncomplicated practice for himself. I left the talk inspired and soon felt compelled to gather prayers that could bring meaning into our lives.

Whether people are conscious of it or not, our lives are centered upon daily ritual. Prayer is one of the most important of our human rituals. The Wednesday night pizza and movie with the kids is a family ritual. It could be greatly enriched by adding a spiritual aspect—perhaps children could share the highlight of their week so far, and photos or memories could be added to a family album to be treasured for generations to come. A prayer of grace should happen before the breaking of bread in the form of pizza, too! The Saturday night date is a romantic ritual, knitting circles are a growing trend, and doing yoga is replacing going to the gym as a spiritual and physical workout. People need ceremony to inform and enrich their lives, to deal with stress, and above all, to create meaning in their lives.

Although I was brought up as a First Day Adventist, when I studied history, I kept discovering global prayers and practices from the past that I felt were just as relevant today. The beauty of knowing history is that we can learn from the past and take the best to heart by applying it to our lives. Various approaches to prayer are very much a part of our history and should be studied and applied to our lives today. Prayer gets us out of or heads and back into our bodies. It gets us into a place of spirit. By praying every day, you can grow in wisdom and feel an increasing sense of your aliveness. At the end of this book, I am including the guide that my Gratitude and Grace Prayer Circle used to start our gatherings. I can tell you it works, as we have gotten each other through illness, divorce, pregnancy, sick children, loss of parents, widowhood, job loss, financial crises, and a lot of weddings, babies, holidays, and happy days. Honestly, I don’t know where I would be without this prayerful sisterhood and the deep bonds of love and spirit.

Many blessings to you and yours!

Becca Anderson