Never Underestimate the Power of Prayer

A year and a half ago I had gone to a talk at the meditation center. I was newly separated from my husband and feeling extremely lonely and anxious. I started to feel panicky during the meditation and went to the side room to lie down. I couldn't bear to leave altogether. I needed to be there. I needed to hear the teaching. I didn't want to be alone. Just being there was a comfort.

After the talk, the teacher came to me. I started weeping uncontrollably. I don't even remember his words of comfort and consolation. All I remember was a feeling of really being cared for and held and loved. Even by all the people in the room as they were leaving and passing by me in my misery.

Buddhists practice metta (lovingkindness) meditation. It is a focused meditation on the qualities of lovingkindness, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity. In a sense, it is like a prayer - however, there is no higher power we are imploring help from and there is no sense of attachment to the results of the good wishes we send out for others and ourselves. The goal of this practice is to soften our own hearts so that we may be happy and loving toward ourselves and others.

I have always believed though, that the sort of energy generated from this practice DOES have a palpable result. This energy does have the power to touch those that we send it out to.

At the meditation center tonight, the teacher gave his monthly talk about generosity - about receiving freely and giving freely. I stared at the singing bowl and remembered all I have received in the gift of that place - the people that volunteer, the people that help pay for the retreats I have been on, the beautiful teachings, the support of the community. As I was reflecting on this, I remembered that night a year and a half ago. I thought about how far I have come and how I feel ready to give something back. Last week I proposed to the teacher at the center that I'd like to start a community group for single parents and he loved the idea. I thought about announcing it to the community after the talk tonight and maybe collect some email addresses of those interested, but I'm still reflecting on how that might evolve so I decided to hold off.

After the talk, a woman who I'd seen many times before but had never talked to approached me. She knew my name. She told me she recalled a night when she'd seen me weeping. She told me she had been meaning to talk to me for a long time but didn't know why she hadn't. She has been sending me metta for some time. My jaw just dropped. I had just been thinking about that night and she just came up to me and talked to me about it out of the blue. It was a true and awesome connection. Utterly amazing!

I told her that I had actually just been thinking about that night. I told her that I had been going through a divorce at the time. She mentioned that she has been thinking how nice it would be to have a group at the center to support those going through divorce. Well, it just so happens, I told her, that I am starting one! And I got her email address. She is divorced with a grown son and was just the person I needed to run into to help me form some clear ideas about what kind of group this should be. I want to make sure that all types of single parents are included, even those with grown children. Those are the people I want to talk to and learn something from!

What a wonderful evening!