Prayer for Permanent Peace

by Savitree Kaur
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Did you know...​

...that "[i]n a joint resolution approved on May 11, 1950, Congress requested the president to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as "a day of prayer for permanent peace"? I read this this morning on Deseret News, an article titled, Memorial Day has a Spiritual Side, by Scott Taylor (May 29, 2010). 

Every Memorial Day morning, I teach my usual morning classes, and this morning, we discussed what is prayer, exactly? Some answers: It's an ask. A desire. An intention. A thought. 

At the beginning of my yoga journey, I read that...

Yoga prepares us for meditation, and 
Meditation prepares us for prayer.

As a recovering Christian (I hope you know what I mean by this), this was really unsettling for me. What do you mean, prepares us for prayer?? I thought I moved away from that!

Let's take a look: 

Yoga (movement) prepares our bodies to be focused, to be at ease and in stillness, even while moving. Our bodies are, in fact, the vehicles for our spirit. With our bodies primed, we can get better grounded and centered, with enhanced ability to open up our neutral mind, and connect with something greater than us. 
That is meditation. It plugs us into the Divine. 
And when that happens, we change our minds. Our small minds: the minds that project through the dramas of our lives and from our past, work from lack, and demolish our potential. An entire community of small minds... what can that create?

When the mind is changed, when we move away from the negative self-talk, we think differently. And we see differently. Which is the same thing as we pray differently. Our minds and thoughts, which turn into actions, then, project something different. Something much more whole, inclusive, expansive. Wanna change the world? Change your mind. Change your prayer. 

In observance of this Day of Prayer for Permanent Peace, let us not react by pointing the finger at our politicians for their shortcomings, or to those that 'voted for the wrong person'. Because by doing so, we need to ask ourselves,how are we contributing towards Prayer for Permanent Peace? In hating the other side, and thinking how stupid they are, what prayers are we putting out there? Same within our own sphere of influence: in our families, our friendships, our workplace. 

It starts with us. If we are [internally] at war against our opposition, then we are a part of the war. 

Not being at war against the other doesn't mean we are saying that the wrong that's happening out there is okay. Just like if my child does something wrong, I don't go to war against him. But that's exactly what we are doing when we war against our opposition.

What is the solution? I believe in us. We can start with a more creative discussion. Like when I was younger, and we played games like, "how long can we go without using a contraction? We do not know, and it will sound really awkward, but let us try."   🤪
Let's humor ourselves. Create some discussion rules. Let's do it for Permanent Peace. 

Want a mantra to help with this? Click here, and I'll share it with you!

Much love, grit and gratitude,

Savitree