PRAYER! - The Conscious & Subconscious

 

God Almighty is so so great - that we cannot fathom His majesty with human senses or human perception or human measurement of any kind. The dimensions we live in, the senses we possess and the knowledge we have accumulated over the few millennia we have been around - are but an iota of what God is! This short paragraph doesn't do justice enough for this vast topic - but it is a deliberate statement to set the tone for this week's short blog to help us live more purposefully.

Our relationship with Almighty God has one umbilical cord - PRAYER.

Prayer is our communication with God Almighty. Prayer is the rope that that binds us to Him and strengthens our faith in Him. So, without prayer the link is severed and faith dies! Thus, prayer is as basic a requirement and necessity as food or breathing or life itself!

Prayer is what differentiates a believing person from a non-believing person. Anyone who believes in God will pray, must pray, ought to pray and has no choice but to pray - in whatever form. This can be openly visible prayers like going to church or mosque or temple and taking part in worship or alone whilst bowing down and praying at home or kneeling down and praying next to your bed. Or it can be a silent prayer said in the mind; like - "Oh God help me overcome this!" --- prayer can be in any form! And all persons who believe in God do this in one way or another!

And in prayer (and not just in prayer but at all times!) - we must and ought to be conscious of the fact that there is God and He is Almighty and is so so great (among many other wonderful attributes!) - and that He is not fathomable in thought nor the dimensions we are aware of - with regards His Majesty. 

Therefore, if He is so so Great and Mighty - then when pray to Him it is mandatory and incumbent upon us that we pray to Him with the respect and concentration God deserves! Afterall; all the life, the myriad blessings, the food, the clothes, the wealth, the homes, the beds, the children, the work, the knowledge etc etc - He bestows upon us for no reward unto Himself. He only asks that we acknowledge Him, that we worship Him and Him only!     Hiyo tu!

When we pray, we often recite oft repeated hymns or verses or set prayers - such as the Lord's prayer or the Fatiha. And because we do this so often, we have memorized these standard verses or hymns or chapters or particular dua. And here the danger lurks - since we have memorised these verses; it becomes almost mechanical - almost like the tongue is not engaged with the mind! 

So consciously we are reciting the prayer or verse or hymn, but the mind is elsewhere - in a soccer game or in thoughts about problems elsewhere or thoughts of what we want to do the moment you finish this prayer, or some outstanding matter which needs our action etc. 

This is common to all of us - but it renders the prayer not complete, not due to Him fully - as it ought to be! Afterall, He is God and this is our right and our duty to Him - to pray to Him, because HE IS GOD!

So, the conscious mind is in prayer but the subconscious mind is elsewhere. And as the picture at the top of this blog shows; the subconscious has much more going at any time than the conscious (just like an Iceberg). 

The acceptance or rejection of a prayer (or part thereof) is the sole right of God Himself - He decides! Our duty is to make utmost effort to be fully engaged in prayer.

So here is what I do, and it works for me - and may probably work for you too.  

Before I commence my prayer - I try in my sub-conscious mind to perceive the Might of God, I perceive His blessings, I perceive the gratitude I have for His blessings, sometimes I try to state them in my mind - such as the skills and knowledge, the children, my family, my wife, my siblings, their children, the love my parents gave me, the food, the clothes, the resources I have at my disposal, the friends I have, the relatives who support me etc --- and this state of the sub-conscious mind helps me achieve a greater concentration towards the prayer. I practice gratitude in my mind as I pray!

Of course, other standard distractions must also be kept away - such as the phone or background music or background conversations. For a prayer to be more effective, I believe silence and being fully present in the prayer are necessary factors. Being still also helps - though I have seen prayers being done is song and dance - maybe it works for them - why not!

Sometimes when I engage in prayer, I recite the prayer and when I sense that my mind is wandering away, I bring both my conscious and subconscious minds back to the prayer - often repeating the entire verse during which I wandered off.

For the subconscious and conscious to be both aligned I feel silence and stillness help me a lot. Being genuinely grateful is a prerequisite. Having genuine belief and faith in Him is absolutely necessary and non-negotiable! And in addition to this it is necessary to be mindful that you are in His presence and that you are communicating with Him and that He is Almighty, greater than any human on earth - and therefore deserves the respect and full concentration from both your conscious and subconscious minds.

Try it ... and may He accept our prayers and our worships!

Ameen