The Prayerfield: A flow that connects us

As I shared and collected prayers from hundreds of people for my book How Do You Pray?, I realized that I was part of a prayerfield—and so are you. It’s an energetic flow of love for ourselves, each other, the Earth, and “the divine,” by any name we acknowledge that.

The constant flow of love

There are always people praying, any time of the day or night, in every language and religion, with words and without, keeping the vigil of prayer.

We know through the principles of quantum physics that energy follows intention and that everything is energy vibrating at different frequencies. As our prayers and intentions join and amplify, this energetic template translates in the physical. Our prayers do touch the Earth. The ancients knew this field as the Web of Life and had awareness and respect for our interconnectedness. This “communion” is known as “prayer.”

Many forms

Yesterday I revisited a Qi Gong form that I had not done in a long time. The movements, remembered in my body, had a meditative quality. Gathering and circulating the energy of Earth and the Cosmos, I aligned with a lineage thousands of years old. I dropped into a slow, deep, palpable awareness of a continuum of this Taoist form that has been practiced since before recorded history.

Last night I went to a meditation in one of the oldest Buddhist stupas in North America. It had been constructed and blessed by many lamas and rinpoches from different lineages and is unique in that the temple serves all forms of Buddhist practice.

Sitting in this sacred building opened a portal to a timeless dimension cultivated through years of meditation practice. As we sat, I observed the activity and stillness of my mind. During the walking meditation I deeply felt the field that I was a part of, inhaling with one small step and exhaling with another as we walked around the room. The attention to that foot touching the Earth was sacred and opened a profound depth of presence.

As we dedicated the merits of our practice to the welfare and happiness of all sentient beings, I became rooted in a realization of my participation in this prayerfield of love and support.

The natural web

As I walked in Nature this morning, I heard the constant chirping of the crickets. I listened with total attention. This seemingly mundane noise resonated like the primordial sound of the universe. My mind stopped and my awareness expanded. I became aware of everything alive around me. The trees emitted energy and fragrance like the cedar perfume that floated on the thick hot air. It filled me with delight.

I heard a bird but didn’t know its name. Its very namelessness helped me fully resonate with its sound. I heard an ancient mystery and familiarity in its message. I felt my feet in communion with the Earth and my sight reached to the farthest tree and beyond into the clouds and sky.

These trees around my home have grown for hundreds of years. The indigenous people of this land looked at them through their eyes as I now look at them through mine. They breathed this air as I breathe it now. I walk in their footsteps and feel their presence all around me. We are this Web of Life and connected to all that came before, and we are the seeds of what’s to come. Our ancestors prayed us into being and gave us life.

As my awareness of the prayerfield expands, every breath becomes a prayer of blessing and gratitude.