DailyOM: One of the first homework questions you ask people to do is to spend time thinking about how their past conditioning has led them to think about prayer. Talk to us about this.
Angela: There is a misunderstanding about prayer that goes something like this: Prayer belongs to religious people and is a product of religion. If you do not believe in God within the constructs of a particular organized religion, prayer is not for you.
This could not be further from the truth, and this limited false view of prayer is quite problematic for humanity. As human beings, we are powerful beyond our comprehension, yet also very vulnerable. Prayer bridges the gap between our vulnerability and our greater power, whether you call this power the subconscious mind, spirit, mystery, god, life, presence, being, or something else. It need not involve religion and, of course, it is fine if it does. Prayer belongs to everyone. It is our capacity to reach beyond our limited sense of self and possibility.
Prayer is a healing energy that we can use all day long, every day, and the difference it makes is beyond words. Unfortunately, even the word "prayer" is off-putting to many people because it is associated with judgment, loss, abandonment, and disappointment. It is time to emancipate prayer from past conditioning.
DailyOM: What is the difference between prayer and meditation?
Angela: What prayer and meditation have in common is that both involve a "turning within." When we turn within to meditate, we are interested in space, in growing more conscious by seeing the activity of our thoughts and emotions. We are the witnesses. When we meditate, we are seeing the duality of our thinking, but we are not trying to "fix" this. Instead, we are simply watching and gaining awareness. This is a powerful spiritual practice that more and more people are doing all over the world.
When we pray, while we are still "turning within," it is quite different. Through prayer, we are laying down our fears, doubts, and worries, and delivering our painful perceptions to this greater power within us. In prayer, we are choosing change. We are choosing release from suffering. We are surrendering the dualistic mind to the "one" mind.
When we pray for a moment, even for a second, it is an act of faith. In that instance, something within us opens to the possibility of freedom from suffering. We open ourselves to the higher power of our own understanding to change us and the situation we associate with our pain or the pain of others.
DailyOM: Tell me about how you started this work and how it has changed your own life.
Angela: Wow! Where do I even begin? I was a television journalist. I was traveling and reporting on the human condition: first for ABC News and then for PBS. As I interviewed hundreds of people, I began to feel an inner calling. I don't know exactly how to describe it other than to say I felt an undeniable pull from within. I heard a voice, not audible, but deep inside telling me I had my own story to live and that I should not continue to report others' stories.
I would be covering the news, and while doing so, experience a deeper reality in the midst of horrific car accidents, fires, and other tragedies where people were suffering. Through a series of events and choices, this led me to the work I do today as a spiritual practitioner. In short, I surrendered my life to the love within. I had to trust it.
When my mother passed away, a new level of my calling was revealed. I was told from within that I must offer my body of work to the world. I was told that all I have learned about prayer through praying for thousands of people from all walks of life for what now has been 24 years did not belong to me alone. It belongs to the world, and I must share it. So that is what I am doing.
As for me personally, my own prayer practice has transformed my life. Through prayer, my consciousness has deepened in relationship to all that is important — love, compassion, health, gratitude, peace, prosperity, etc. Also, my beautiful husband and marriage, our amazing daughter, our lovely home, and my relationships with my beloved family and dear, dear friends have all come to me from my prayers.
DailyOM: What is the intention of your course?
Angela: I want to get the whole world praying in a fresh, authentic way that is universal, personal, and powerful. While there are so many wonderful things to practice in life, prayer is probably the most extraordinary vital thing a person can practice. I want to inspire the realization that prayer is a practice as well as an effective first response to any disturbance.
DailyOM: How would your course benefit people if they chose to experience it?
Angela: People will benefit from this course in untold ways. I've received close to a thousand notes of thanks from people who have taken the course, and so many of them tell me that the course has changed their life — that they are doing it over and over as part of their morning ritual. Many tell me they are sad when the last lesson is upon them. They want more prayer lessons and practices.
The world is starving for prayer. It's like being thirsty and not understanding you just need to drink some water. Through cultivating a prayer practice, people will access much lightness of being, comfort, gratitude, and transformation of their lives. Not only that, their prayers for others will be beneficial to those they love. I love that prayer is something we do for others, as well as ourselves.
DailyOM: What type of reaction do you see from people who have taken your course?
Angela: I have been overwhelmed by the feedback. It makes me cry sometimes reading the beautiful personal notes from DailyOM students. I am so grateful to DailyOM for being a platform that is connecting prayer to people who are ready to practice. It has been extraordinary. I deeply believe what Gandhi said, "Prayer from the heart can achieve what nothing else in the world can."
DailyOM: Thank you, Angela. Angela works from her heart, and her words contain such grace and beauty. Through her course, your practice of prayer will grant you comfort, gratitude and love — not only for you but for others. Until next time, be well.
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