Creative Ways to Transform Challenges:
Praying

Healing 9-11 Through Prayer  June Soyka, Excerpted from her e-mail course, Holistic Prayers: Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit Through Prayer
 
When I despair,
I remember that all through history
the ways of truth and love have always won.
There have been tyrants, and murderers,
and for a time they can seem invincible,
but in the end they always fall.
Think of it - always.
- Mahatma Gandhi - early 20th century

Twenty years from now, the collective memory of the world will likely recall "life before 9/11" and "life after 9/11" - so shocking and devastating were the events of this day. For now, the memories are still raw and many people are still coming to terms with the loss of loved ones, a secure way of life and fear of what the future holds.

Some spiritual healers and leaders have called 9/11 a "wake-up call." Could it be that the great loss of human life that day (on a soul level) was their "gift" to humanity? Would you agree that only such massive devastation would "wake-up" the world from its complacency towards our fellow man and woman, and awaken or renew our spiritual connection with the Divine?

During World War II, Tudor Pole, advisor to Winston Churchill, initiated "The Silent Minute" in which the people of Britain collectively prayed in silence for a minute each night as Big Ben stuck 9 PM - just before the evening news. After the war, Nazi records noted the Britons had "a secret weapon connected to Big Ben." The Nazis never uncovered the nature of this secret weapon.

This is a wonderful illustration of the power of collective consciousness. To many, it is unfathomable that we could have this kind of power because we have remained separate from our divine essence and each other for so long. By uniting together - in prayer and simple acts of kindness - the collective consciousness will evolve creating a more harmonious, a healthier world for our children, our grandchildren and us. Allow prayer to play a part in your healing and the world's healing.

In his book The Hundredth Monkey, Ken Keyes, Jr. tells us how scientists observed the Japanese monkey for a period of 30 plus years. In 1952 the scientists dropped sweet potatoes in the sand of the Island Koshima. The monkeys liked the taste of sweet potatoes but not the sand. One of the monkeys, Imo, discovered that this was remedied by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this behavior to her mother and playmates, who in turn taught their mothers. The scientists observed as more monkeys learned this technique. But what surprised them most occurred in 1958 when the behavior jumped over the sea and colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys began waking their sweet potatoes. Ken Keyes supposes that the addition of just one more monkey, say the 100th monkey is what shifted the consciousness of island monkeys to monkey's elsewhere.

Keyes said, "the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it remains the consciousness property of these people. But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!"

Could the next person that reads and embraces this awareness be the 100th monkey and in effect raise all human consciousness towards inner and global peace? Let's pray so.

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life. That word is love."
- Sophocles

Prayer Selections:

Violence never again!
War never again!
Terrorism never again!
In God's name,
may all religions bring upon earth
justice and peace,
forgiveness, life and love!

His Holiness Pope John Paul II
January 24, 2002


Lord, take me where You want me to go;
Let me meet who You want me to meet;
Tell me what You want me to say; and
Keep me out of your way.

Father Mychal Judge - FDNY - died 9/11/01

Copyright © 2002 June Soyka. All rights reserved. Article reprinted by permission of June Soyka.

June Soyka Cook is the founder of Self-Healing Expressions. This web site provides free and nominally priced self-paced email courses on personal growth and holistic topics including “Holistic Prayer: Healing the Mind, Body and Spirit through Prayer”, a free e-course.  The site also features guided imagery and articles. For more information, visit www.selfhealingexpressions.com.