Prayer

[steve_bank]

Christians pray and derive a psycho-physical benefit attributed to a god.

In rehab I had a Christian roommate who listened to religious TV and radio constantly. There was a daily broadcast by the area Catholic radio station that for 30 minutes repeated 'Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with thee...' . I do not see that as any different than a Buddhist mantra.

Christian prayer works the same as other techniques. Puts one in a state Christians call the presence of god or being filled with the holy spirit.

I used to have a book of Tibetan stories and a book of Indian stories.

From the Tibetan. A teacher places two students in huts. To one he gives the traditionaly correct mantra and to the other he makes one up on the spot.

He comes back a few months later. The student who had the correct mantra got no results. The student with the made up mantra was beaming with life and joy.

The moral I took away was it is not what you believe but how you believe it. For Christians it is expectation bias. They expect prayer will bring good feelings, and so the mind creates. Perhaps liked to an endorphin release.

In an interview the Dali Lama was asked about westerners who convert to Buddhism, he responded 'Why not practice the one you have?'

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna....

Chant repeatedly until you bliss out and become a vegetable.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

We're social animals. Talking to yourself is less lonely than not talking at all. Definitely health benefits involved. Pretend you are anything you want and have a conversation. No harm.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

We're social animals. Talking to yourself is less lonely than not talking at all. Definitely health benefits involved. Pretend you are anything you want and have a conversation. No harm.

I talk to the TV, mainly on football Sundays. I mostly yell, actually. I agree that there are health benefits, and it exercises a part of my vocabulary that typically isn't used the rest of the week.

 

[Politesse]

Christians pray and derive a psycho-physical benefit attributed to a god.

In rehab I had a Christian roommate who listened to religious TV and radio constantly. There was a daily broadcast by the area Catholic radio station that for 30 minutes repeated 'Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with thee...' . I do not see that as any different than a Buddhist mantra.

Christian prayer works the same as other techniques. Puts one in a state Christians call the presence of god or being filled with the holy spirit.

I used to have a book of Tibetan stories and a book of Indian stories.

From the Tibetan. A teacher places two students in huts. To one he gives the traditionaly correct mantra and to the other he makes one up on the spot.

He comes back a few months later. The student who had the correct mantra got no results. The student with the made up mantra was beaming with life and joy.

The moral I took away was it is not what you believe but how you believe it. For Christians it is expectation bias. They expect prayer will bring good feelings, and so the mind creates. Perhaps liked to an endorphin release.

In an interview the Dali Lama was asked about westerners who convert to Buddhism, he responded 'Why not practice the one you have?'

I certainly see no reason to distinguish between the cognitive benefits of meditation in one tradition as opposed to another; when this has been examined scientifically, the results have been pretty level across cultures, and scale more with experience and dedication than with the names you invoke. Monks derive more benefit from prayer than laity, for instance, but it matters not whether they are Christian or Buddhist or Taoist. As with anything that goes on in your head, reaching a meditative state becomes much easier with regular practice.

 

[steve_bank]

We're social animals. Talking to yourself is less lonely than not talking at all. Definitely health benefits involved. Pretend you are anything you want and have a conversation. No harm.

I do not have the words to describe how hard I am laughing...thanks.

 

[steve_bank]

Christians pray and derive a psycho-physical benefit attributed to a god.

In rehab I had a Christian roommate who listened to religious TV and radio constantly. There was a daily broadcast by the area Catholic radio station that for 30 minutes repeated 'Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with thee...' . I do not see that as any different than a Buddhist mantra.

Christian prayer works the same as other techniques. Puts one in a state Christians call the presence of god or being filled with the holy spirit.

I used to have a book of Tibetan stories and a book of Indian stories.

From the Tibetan. A teacher places two students in huts. To one he gives the traditionaly correct mantra and to the other he makes one up on the spot.

He comes back a few months later. The student who had the correct mantra got no results. The student with the made up mantra was beaming with life and joy.

The moral I took away was it is not what you believe but how you believe it. For Christians it is expectation bias. They expect prayer will bring good feelings, and so the mind creates. Perhaps liked to an endorphin release.

In an interview the Dali Lama was asked about westerners who convert to Buddhism, he responded 'Why not practice the one you have?'

I certainly see no reason to distinguish between the cognitive benefits of meditation in one tradition as opposed to another; when this has been examined scientifically, the results have been pretty level across cultures, and scale more with experience and dedication than with the names you invoke. Monks derive more benefit from prayer than laity, for instance, but it matters not whether they are Christian or Buddhist or Taoist. As with anything that goes on in your head, reaching a meditative state becomes much easier with regular practice.

A Buddhist might say 'another turn of the wheel'.. A ritual practice of spinning prayer wheels along the side of the road.

An I hearing you saying what prayer means to you nay not be related to an actual god and may be perfectly normal human physiology?

 

[Lion IRC]

Dogs can hear things not audible to the human ear.
Why would anyone assume our prayers cant be heard by a Higher Being?

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14 (KJV)

 

[DrZoidberg]

Christians pray and derive a psycho-physical benefit attributed to a god.

In rehab I had a Christian roommate who listened to religious TV and radio constantly. There was a daily broadcast by the area Catholic radio station that for 30 minutes repeated 'Hail Mary full of grace the lord is with thee...' . I do not see that as any different than a Buddhist mantra.

Christian prayer works the same as other techniques. Puts one in a state Christians call the presence of god or being filled with the holy spirit.

I used to have a book of Tibetan stories and a book of Indian stories.

From the Tibetan. A teacher places two students in huts. To one he gives the traditionaly correct mantra and to the other he makes one up on the spot.

He comes back a few months later. The student who had the correct mantra got no results. The student with the made up mantra was beaming with life and joy.

The moral I took away was it is not what you believe but how you believe it. For Christians it is expectation bias. They expect prayer will bring good feelings, and so the mind creates. Perhaps liked to an endorphin release.

In an interview the Dali Lama was asked about westerners who convert to Buddhism, he responded 'Why not practice the one you have?'

But you can practice a religion without believing any of it. Christian prayers work regardless if you believe in them or not. It's good to take some time out of the day to be alone with your thoughts.

 

[skepticalbip]

Dogs can hear things not audible to the human ear.
Why would anyone assume our prayers cant be heard by a Higher Being?

Everyone knows that there are dogs so their being able to hear is not being questioned.

But you seem to be missing the point, maybe intentionally. I don't think that anyone is claiming that prayers can not be heard by other people and animals. What is being questioned is if there is a 'higher being' to hear them.

 

[southernhybrid]

Dogs can hear things not audible to the human ear.
Why would anyone assume our prayers cant be heard by a Higher Being?

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14 (KJV)

Let me think. Could it be because there aren't any higher beings?

I'm not sold on the idea that we all receive any benefit from prayer or meditation. It probably does benefit some, but I've never found it beneficial to me. I'm very happy with my own coping mechanisms. I find that doing aerobic exercise helps me a lot. That's one ritual that helps me cope. Why is it so difficult to realize that we all have our own ways of finding peace, love and happiness? If you find it helpful to pray or meditate, good for you. Just don't tell me that I need to have the same rituals as you. Music and the sounds of nature help me as well. In the winter I listen to music as I fall asleep. I actually listened to Mozart's Mass in C minor five nights in a row, before I decided to listen to something else. I sometimes listen to Gregorian chants at bedtime. It doesn't matter what the words are because my Latin is terrible. In the summer, the sounds of frogs and crickets are more soothing to listen to at bedtime. I have all of these rituals so I don't need to meditate. Or maybe some of you would consider what I do as meditation. I'm cool with that.

My mother used to pray silently. It probably helped her cope with my nutty father. My husband's late grandmother was an Arabic Catholic, who was extremely fond of her rosary beads. She liked to pray and say her "Hail Marys". She was a lovely person who always saw the best in people. Perhaps her rituals helped her. My ex husband was a Baha'i. There is a prayer called "The Remover of Difficulties Prayer". It is very simple and ritualistic. I can see how it might help calm some people if they shared the belief that god is the remover of difficulties. I've known people who talked to their dead spouses, knowing full well that the dead spouse couldn't hear them. But, they said it made it easier to cope by imagining the spouse was still present. We all have our own ways of coping with life. Meditation is just one thing that benefits some people, but I don't think it's necessary or helpful for all of us. Plus, some people need medication, not meditation.

 

[Lion IRC]

Stating that you personally don't think there's any benefit in prayer/meditation and that you personally don't think anyone hears prayer doesn't do much to persuade millions/billions of us who do.

Can you see those Magic Eye hidden images? 3D Dolphins, horses, etc

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

We're social animals. Talking to yourself is less lonely than not talking at all. Definitely health benefits involved. Pretend you are anything you want and have a conversation. No harm.

I do not have the words to describe how hard I am laughing...thanks.

I'm taking that as you're feeling a lot better. Life really can be a bitch so I am glad to have lightened the load for someone.

In other news, a glass of homemade wine is still great tonic for whatever ails ye, even be it nothing in particular.

Dogs can hear things not audible to the human ear.
Why would anyone assume our prayers cant be heard by a Higher Being?

"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14 (KJV)

I certainly believe in Dog. Unquestionably one of the most calming interactions known to man.

 

[southernhybrid]

Stating that you personally don't think there's any benefit in prayer/meditation and that you personally don't think anyone hears prayer doesn't do much to persuade millions/billions of us who do.

Can you see those Magic Eye hidden images? 3D Dolphins, horses, etc

Are you talking to me? If so, I never said that prayer or meditation didn't have any benefit for some people. I said it didn't benefit me. I have no idea who you were referring to in your post. If you were referring to me, you obviously either didn't read my post or you have terrible reading comprehension. If you were talking to someone else, never mind.

 

[Lion IRC]

I was talking to the person who wrote;
"I'm not sold on the idea that we all receive any benefit from prayer or meditation"
"Could it be because there aren't any higher beings?"
"I've never found it beneficial to me"
"I don't think it's necessary or helpful"

 

[bilby]

Prayer (when directed to the Abrahamic God) requires the simultaneous beliefs that:

1) There is an all powerful and all knowing entity; and
2) He needs you to advise Him.

As such it is the pinnacle of narcissism, and demonstrates an ability to suspend reason in favour of your ego that is quite terrifying.

God is the ultimate power in the universe and knows and controls everything, according to His perfect plan; But He has overlooked or fucked up something, and you need to bring that oversight to His attention so He can fix it.

That's not totally fucking batshit crazy at all.

 

[Opoponax]

Prayer (when directed to the Abrahamic God) requires the simultaneous beliefs that:

1) There is an all powerful and all knowing entity; and
2) He needs you to advise Him.

As such it is the pinnacle of narcissism, and demonstrates an ability to suspend reason in favour of your ego that is quite terrifying.

God is the ultimate power in the universe and knows and controls everything, according to His perfect plan; But He has overlooked or fucked up something, and you need to bring that oversight to His attention so He can fix it.

That's not totally fucking batshit crazy at all.

And, he already knew you were going to pray to him about this. Not just yesterday, not just last week, or the month before. No, he's always known about it. A trillion years ago he knew you were going to pray about it. Now that is truly horrifying. I don't know what could render existence more thoroughly meaningless than an omnipotent god.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Higher being...hmmm...would that be the being who showed me where my lost Playstation remote could be found, but freed nobody from Auschwitz?

 

[steve_bank]

The Abrahamic god is the ultimate alpha male. Something I picked up from the Power Of Myth series on PBS.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

The Abrahamic god is the ultimate alpha male. Something I picked up from the Power Of Myth series on PBS.

An alpha male lacking intellect it would appear.