By Roberto Assagioli and others. Excerpt from the book Creative Meditation.
The meaning and place of prayer today
The word prayer is understood very differently by many today. The most prevalent is that prayer is an inner act that can be expressed in countless ways, such as meditation, contemplation, invocation and heartfelt desires, and it can seem very confusing because of the differences. However, to avoid misunderstandings in this study, the word prayer is used in the sense of an inner act that can be described as an emotion directed towards the higher realities or powers.
But even this limited formulation contains several different types of prayer. It can be, for example, a simple prayer for material things, or a prayer for special help and guidance for oneself or similar prayers for others. It can also be prayers with feelings of devotion and willingness to sacrifice oneself for a higher power, or prayers of an even higher type that lead to immersion in love.
Problems related to materialism
To understand where prayer is placed in the conditions of our time and comprehensive systems in the methods of spiritual approach adapted to the psychological character of present-day humanity, it is necessary to look at the prevailing mentality and tendency in contemporary society, as a paradoxical situation has created serious problems and difficulties.
The masses of humanity have increasingly turned their attention to physical pleasures and to the possession of material things and social progress. They have devoted their energies to the accumulation of wealth and to the exploitation of the resources of the world. But at the same time there has been a very rapid expansion of the educational system and a vast development of the faculty of thought. This marks great progress in the evolution of mankind, but it has also created specific problems, for the development of the mental and critical faculties often leads to intellectual pride and separatism.
Between these two tendencies, the materialistic and the intellectual, lies the level of feelings and ideas which have often been neglected or underestimated and in many cases repressed. But the living forces of human nature cannot be restrained, and any attempt will backfire and cause a return to primitive stages of development with the constant and imminent dangers which these forces can unleash in many destructive ways.
A comment from Jung
This situation has been lamented by many thinkers and critics of modern society, such as Bergson, Buber, Keyserling, Sorokin, Maslow, and Jung. Jung made the following candid comment in an interview:
“In our time, it is the intellect that obscures things because we have allowed it to have too much influence. Consciousness distinguishes, judges, analyses, and points out contradictions. This is of course necessary up to a certain point. But analysis kills, and synthesis brings life. We must find a way to make sure that everything is brought into relation with everything. We must resist the intellectual voice.”
Published in A Magazine of Jungian Thought, Spring 1960
From another point of view, recognition of the functions of human nature, including its non-rational aspects, can have negative and harmful effects. When the human right to express these aspects is given too much attention, all types of impulses can be unleashed, resulting in uncontrolled expressions of desires and ideas, both individually and collectively.
Use discernment.
The inner world of feelings and desires and their expression is immensely extensive, and the many different ways in which they are expressed should be carefully evaluated using the power of discernment. For example, there is a great difference between primitive desire and spiritual striving, between selfish covetous tendencies and selfless love, between the excitement of a crowd at a bullfight and the sublime feeling of listening to the music of Bach. Yet they belong to the same “world”, they all have the same basic property in the same way that a color has many shades – for example, the color red, which ranges from the darkest, slightly murky red to the most refined, light pink.
The transmuting value of prayer
The existence of common basic qualities is an indicator of the possibility of transmuting the lower qualities up to higher levels. One of the most important and pressing problems facing humanity today is how to transmute and redirect the strong and unclear currents of desire for material possessions and power into aspiration towards higher goals.
One of the methods that can bring about this necessary transmutation and redirection of emotional energies is by using the right type of prayer – the hopeful prayer . Excluding the lowest type of ordinary prayer – that is, with demands for material goods or power to carry out selfish goals – all other forms of prayer have a hopeful character, being directed This is true even of prayers for strength, light, protection and guidance, because the attention is directed towards the spiritual soul and higher powers. This is true even more so of prayers for the best for others, as well as in the highest form of prayer – “Thy will be done”.
The two directions of prayer
Here is one of the paradoxes of the spiritual life. When in prayer we express an intense desire that forgiveness of sins may “descend” upon ourselves and others, the upward projection of the demand and aspiration has the effect of “lifting” the center of consciousness to a certain extent to the more subtle levels of the inner world—it is an uplifting process. This upward aspiration has found expression in the world religions with many symbols, eg the mountain climbing, the blazing fire, and the arrow as in the admonition “Let us be like arrows that from a strung bowstring aim towards the sky.”
Three methods
It is not possible to go into more detail about this transmuting and sublimating process of psychological energies, but three methods can be pointed out by which this process can be carried out:
- By changing and refining
- City lifting
- By changing the used
These points can be illustrated by pointing out that strong energies can combat social evils, physical aggression can be replaced by discussions on a mental level, and material weapons can be replaced by a pen or a microphone. But the most significant factor is a primary change and refinement of methods .
To a certain extent, a transformation and spiritual sublimation are continuously taking place in a way that one is not even aware of, because they are automatic processes in his inner evolution. But these processes are supported and accelerated by a conscious inner activity that can be initiated in various ways – one of the relatively easy and effective methods is hopeful prayer , because it leads to a change in both motivation and activity level. A spiritual teacher once said: “Prayer is a joyful process in which desires become sacred”.
The process of praying
It is difficult to explain the process of prayer in a way that will appeal to all types of people, so it must be a generalization. There are two main groups today. One is those who can be called religious in a broad sense, and who have a natural disposition to prayer, although in the busyness of modern life they do not practice it. The other group consists of more mental types who doubt or even oppose religious or spiritual initiatives and tend to regard prayer as old-fashioned and of little or no value. To this group belong large parts of the youth.
Who should you pray to?
The first question that arises is, “To whom can one pray when there is reluctance to accept the existence of a personal God, as traditionally understood?” Before considering this question, it should be clear that the first “target” or “being” to whom hopeful prayer can be directed is the spiritual soul. This may be surprising, as it may at first seem as if one is praying to oneself, but it is a perfectly normal attitude that the personality and conscious self of man are not considered to be united or identical with the spiritual soul.
The conscious self often ignores and even denies the existence of the spiritual soul. It does not notice it and rejects intuitions and indications received from the higher soul, and shirks the responsibilities that come with it. The main task should be to reduce the feeling of duality and striving, for only when a certain degree of unity is achieved can inner action become effective and outer life become harmless and constructive. Prayer to the spiritual soul for light, inspiration and guidance should therefore complement the emotional nature with the receptive meditation carried out with the faculty of thought. Prayer of this kind corresponds to the prayer that many Christians pray to the “inner Christ.”
In the higher stages of prayer, the personal consciousness and the spiritual soul unite in the appeal to a higher power, and such prayer is devoid of selfish and personal desires, as it is a true expression of the will-to-good.
Augmented reality
In the study of the subject of a higher reality, it is not possible to enter into the many existing concepts on this subject, but it is not necessary, since the immediate aim is to learn and apply prayer, and in that connection there is no need for any form of theology, nor for the acceptance of any particular metaphysical ideology. It is enough to know that there is a great enigmatic and universal reality around and above us, and that it lies beyond the reach of rational perception. This will be denied only by people of a conceited attitude. Although it is not possible to gain direct knowledge of the essential nature of this reality, some of its manifestations can be perceived by the rational mind, and more will be revealed as one becomes able to approach the subject in a more intuitive way.
The cosmic consciousness
The clearest manifestation is intelligence . The more advanced scientists today speak of a cosmic thinking consciousness that controls the extensive physical manifestation and evolution. The clear control patterns that control with precision from a solar system to an atom are proof of this, and no one can deny that there is an intelligence behind it. The beauty in all the kingdoms of nature, from the smallest crystal to the grandeur of a starry sky, also proves that there is a higher thinking consciousness or a being that creates and is the intelligence behind it. In humanity there is genius, selfless love and other qualities that are difficult to explain if the interior is not reflected by the qualities and aspects of a great being.
The cosmic evolution
Furthermore, there are great differences in development among humans, and this applies from the primitive type up to the brilliant types within science and culture, etc. This shows that there is an evolutionary growth towards higher levels of intelligence and states of being, and it indicates that there are higher beings and kingdoms that are far beyond man’s current comprehension. There is therefore no basis for denying their existence simply because one cannot see them. Science is gaining ever greater insight into how limited the physical field of vision is as well as concrete knowledge, and into how many energies and states of matter are invisible to man, but exist in the universe.
Exploration of the inner worlds
When such realities and energies exist, they cannot possibly function in complete isolation, and therefore methods must be found that can establish a connection with them. Countless are convinced that this is possible, and for many it has been confirmed by direct experience and proven facts. But even without this consideration, the unlimited possibilities that exist in the relationship to higher aspects of being and in the urge to want to know more about existence can become strong motives to want to explore the inner worlds and to seek new experiences in spiritual adventures.
Different forms of prayer
As mentioned in previous instructions, there are various ways in which one can approach the great unknown. The present subject – prayer – is one of these ways. The subject of prayer is very extensive because there are many forms of prayer, each formulated in its own way. The common perception is that prayer expresses a humble desire for personal help, and that it is addressed to a higher being believed to have human qualities, but since this form of prayer is the most elementary, it is quite understandable that it seems to express a form of selfishness, dependence and credulity that does not appeal to modern thinking.
Higher forms of prayer
However, there are higher forms of prayer where one seeks connection with beings or energies that express the highest values that one can perceive – ie energies of intelligence, beauty, love, goodness, etc. – and which have the purpose of adapting oneself to the properties of these energies and opening oneself to their influence. In such a prayerful connection one can also seek to become a channel for these beneficial energies to others – in religious terminology this is called intercessory prayer . And finally, there is the form of prayer where one does not ask for anything, but where one strives to increase the connection and cohesion with the higher realities or with the Most High.
As previously mentioned, it is the use of energies of an emotional nature that characterizes prayer and distinguishes it from other forms of “inner action,” since it is various forms of emotion that give “wings” to prayer. For example, an inability to cope with situations and to solve personal problems can often drive a person to pray for strength, light, and guidance. Compassion that arises from seeing the sea of suffering that envelops humanity—whether physical, emotional, or mental—can encourage an inner work of intercessory prayer as well as outer service, and the community and love that grows out of an essential sense of identity can also encourage prayer for those to whom one feels a special inner connection and for all those fellow human beings with whom one shares origins, characteristics, and goals.
Cooperation with all living things
When one succeeds in reducing the bonds of self-centeredness and in quieting the loud selfish desires and fears, one begins to understand and appreciate all that one has inherited from the natural kingdoms and all that humanity has accomplished. Appreciation of the beauty and wonder of the world around us, as well as the grandeur glimpsed in the universe, produces a sense of awe of the highest order.
One could also call it “joyful admiration” of the unknown life or of the reality that has created and is leading the universe and all its components – including humans and every smaller entity – towards a mysterious and magnificent goal. This feeling is innate, and when released, it leads to cooperation with the highest reality and with all living things.
Comments by Immanuel Kant
It is not only religious or mystically inclined people who can acquire knowledge of a greater relationship. Many artists, scientists, and philanthropists, and men and women who have no religious beliefs, have felt it and expressed it in various ways. A remarkable illustration of this is described by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who had one of the sharpest thinking abilities and whose work became a milestone in the development of modern thought:
“Two things always fill me with new and greater wonder and awe the longer and more often I reflect upon them: the starry sky above me and the moral laws within me. I do not have to look for them or suppose that they exist… I see them before me, and I relate them instantly to the understanding of my existence.”
“The first (period) begins in the place I inhabit, as it extends my connection to the outer world, where I see an unlimited vastness of worlds after worlds, and systems after systems, and also of unlimited spans of time, of periodic movements, their beginnings and their durations.”
“The second begins from my invisible soul, from my personality, which presents me with a world which truly exists infinitely and which can only be penetrated by the intellect, and I know that I am necessarily and universally connected with it.”
“The first picture of an infinite number of worlds diminishes my importance as an animal being who must return to the planet (an insignificant point in the universe) the matter from which my physical body was formed and which was given (one knows not how) vital energy. The second picture, on the other hand, emphasizes the eternal in my value as an intellect manifesting the moral law in a life independent of animal nature and also of the entire visible world – from which one can deduce the fact that the existence of the faculty of thought is conditioned by purposes which are not bound to the conditions and limitations of this life, but extend into infinity.”
Immanuel Kant: Critique of Practical Reason
The heart’s approach to a higher reality
In summary, prayer initiates the approach of the heart to a higher reality and to higher beings. It is a vital and direct approach, which should be understood and practiced especially by those for whom the mental approach – concentration and meditation – is the preferred method. It must be remembered that the most effective “inner activity” is a combination and synthesis of all the different ways of approach, but before one can do this, one must learn to know each of these ways and methods and be able to practice them individually. This applies to prayer as much as to concentration and meditation. In prayer, other psychological factors such as thinking and will, which are linked to feeling, are also involved, and they should not be excluded as long as the emphasis is on the activity of the heart and on the application and appropriation of feeling to the spiritual goal.
Classification of prayer
Thus, prayer is beneficial in two directions: as a special activity initiated by a significant aspect of human nature, and as a necessary preparation for the synthesizing inner activity that is the result of the whole person’s striving towards the spiritual goal.
Prayer can be classified as follows:
- Spontaneous prayers , corresponding to the momentary inspiration
- Formulated prayers , tailored to the individual’s purpose and needs
- Existing prayers, those prayers that are used in various religions and spiritual movements, or that are written for special purposes.
Experiments should be made with the different types, and the one found most suitable selected. For example, many will think that spontaneous prayer is best suited for individual use, and that formulated group prayers are best for meetings or in connection with common subjective tasks. For the latter purpose it is suggested to use an invocative prayer, which has the character of universality, and is used by a large number of people throughout the world today. Such a prayer is quoted here, and comments on its meaning, and on how it can be most effectively used, will come in a later instruction on Invocation and Evocation.
How to move forward
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Also read the article Psychosynthesis an Integral Psychology and the biography of Roberto Assagioli
Read the introductory article about energy psychology
Read the introductory article about integral meditation
