Prayer

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Affirmations, all i ever wrote, Art as Devotion, Digital Offerings, Facing Challenge, Faith, Grief, Love, Mindfulness, Peace, Personal Growth, Poetry, Prayer, Resilience, Self-care, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Uncategorized

New Offering: Affirmations & Prayers for Empowerment and Solace

Affirmations and Prayers for Empowerment and Solace by Tiffany Nicole Fletcher

It’s my joy to share this new digital download, Affirmations and Prayers for Empowerment and Solace.

This 26-page PDF contains the personal affirmations that have kept me afloat through all kinds of seasons. There are affirmations and prayers for grounding, blessing, self-compassion, navigating grief and sorrow, embodying power, calling in help, blessing, abundance, and protection. One of the themes threaded throughout the affirmations is embodied safety – body as home, as safe home – which makes them particularly soothing for survivors of trauma.

all i ever wrote, Art as Devotion, Facing Challenge, Faith, Healing, Peace, Personal Growth, Poetry, Prayer, Psalms project, Resilience, Self-care, Spiritual Practice, Video

Video: Poetry as Prayer // Tools for Challenging Times

Hello friends! I was recently invited to share a reflection with the One Boat: International Chaplaincy for Covid Times community. My talk is called “Poetry as Prayer: Tools for Resilience in Challenging Times.” I discussed poetry as a form of prayer, as demonstrated by the Psalms, which provide a rich example of not only emotional and artistic expression, but profound and life-changing intimacy with God.

I share other examples of poetic expression as prayer (and as a way to cope with life’s challenges) and give some quick tips on how to venture into the practice.

Peace, Personal Growth, Prayer, Self-care, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality

Surrender: Releasing Your Troubles to the Heart of God

Surrender can be one of the hardest things to do. Yet, it is one of the most powerful and effective spiritual postures there is. We are not meant to carry our burdens alone; we are meant to partner with God (the Divine, Spirit, Goddess – whatever you call your Higher Power or the Source of all Being) as we face the burdens of life, turning over our troubles to God regularly lest we become weighed down from trying to carry more than we are able to. Life involves challenge, which is hard on the spirit, so we must also have a regular means of release and cleansing for our spirit. Surrender is more than necessary.

We are not meant to carry our burdens alone.

The action of surrender is a choice. It’s an inner decision to release and let go, willfully handing things over to the God who loves us, to that which surely desires what is best for us. God can be trusted. And even if you don’t have trust in God, you can still surrender. It is not a feeling or some miraculous moment where the heavens will part, as much as it is a decision. You can keep on choosing it over and over again, as many times as you need to in order to maintain your peace. It’s an action we are meant to take regularly—even several times a day.

It can be helpful to use imagery or tactile methods to symbolize your act of surrendering. For example:

Writing down the things you are surrendering on slips of paper and putting them in a special jar or container kept for that purpose. A “prayer jar” of sorts.
Taking a walk and imagining yourself releasing your stresses or worries to the earth beneath you, or to the trees around you. Nature is the Great Mother and this practice brings healing.
Using prayer beads as you recite The Serenity Prayer or some other prayer of surrender.
Singing a song of surrender, such as the hymn “I Surrender All” or this one, one of my favorites.
Doing breathing exercises where you imagine inhaling love or peace and then surrendering to God on your exhale.

Whatever the method, surrender often.

Whatever the method, surrender often. Many of us are carrying around (and being weighed down by) things we needed to surrender a long time ago. Outdated beliefs, untrue ideas about ourselves and/or others, pain from the past, baggage from past relationships, unprocessed loss, etc. The less we surrender on a regular basis, the more these things will build up.

We tend to resist surrender. Perhaps because the very act of surrender is affirmation of the uncomfortable truth that there is much we aren’t in control of in life. It’s often easier to believe that we are fully responsible when bad things happen in our lives (that it’s because we have failed in some way), because that idea at least maintains that we are in complete control. The truth is that we only have so much agency. There are forces beyond our control, things far beyond our understanding.

Do you want to access the peace of God? Surrender that which is beyond your control.

Surrender can be hard, but it ultimately brings peace. Do you want to access the peace of God? Surrender that which is beyond your control. One of the best prayers I’ve ever heard is simply: “You are God and I am not.” Surrender puts you in your rightful place in relation to God. We are not meant to live as if we have the full power of God. We are meant to do what we can and then release the rest to the Great Knowing, the Comforter, the one who longs to help us and give us peace.

Art as Devotion, Morning Pages, Prayer, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality

My Favorite Spiritual Practices: Part I

Spiritual practices keep my soul tethered to what really matters. They keep me centered, offer healing when I need it, and remind me of the active and loving movement of God in my life. Every last one of these practices are always available to me and at no cost, which means that the ability to connect with God and center, calm, heal, and refresh myself is always within reach. This is truly empowering.

Even if you participate in institutionalized religion (attending services led by clergy, for example), it is so important to have spiritual practices that you participate in and have access to on your own. That you are not dependent on others as your ultimate source of spiritual nourishment and growth. If you do belong to a spiritual community, devoting yourself to personal spiritual practices will create a depth of connection in you that you can then contribute to that community. It’s all win-win.

Having a spiritual practice is a gift we give ourselves. A statement that we are worth the time to slow down and surrender, regularly. Loving ourselves is the ultimate statement of devotion to our Creator.

Here are some of my favorite forms of spiritual practice:

Morning Pages

Morning pages, as named by author Julia Cameron, were my first consistent, long-term and intentional spiritual practice. Three pages of longhand freewriting, done first thing in the morning. Morning pages helped me empty my mind of any concerns, learn more about myself, and over time, find deeper connection to God.

Morning pages changed my life and I won’t even try to explain how because I believe the process is quite mystical and special in a different way for each person who truly makes the commitment to it. I would say there is magic in doing morning pages, but maybe it is simply that God is always working and when we commit to paying attention closely and regularly, we become more aware of the “magic” happening in our lives.

Talking to God, and listening. Turning to God as one would to a good friend, as if our concerns do matter to the Creator. Doing it regularly. Making it a way of life: “Pray without ceasing.” Surrender.

Some people like to speak their prayers aloud, some pray silently. Some find that writing their prayers feels best to them. (And art is prayer too: we can sing, dance, play, write, paint as prayer!)

Prayer is the opposite of control. It is a practice of letting go and letting something larger respond to our concerns with the ultimate balm: presence.

Dancing

I started dancing as a little girl, swinging my arms and pounding my feet to the beat of a live drum in African dance class. Remembering this recently, I decided to devote regular time to dancing freely. This dance practice was also inspired by a Five Rhythms workshop I attended.

I turn on the music (current soundtrack: Essential Djembe Rhythms by Budhi Harlow) and let my body flow and move how it wants to—there is so much freedom in this! As adults, we live with very controlled, composed bodies in daily life, which is the opposite of how we lived as children. Children run and skip and shout and move their bodies very freely. Devoting regular time to letting your body be, just letting it be free, is a true spiritual practice that brings joy, freedom, and ease.

Singing

I have also been singing for as long as I can remember. Every time I sing, I feel sweet release and freedom and I end up smiling and laughing regardless of how I felt when I started singing. When I sing, I surrender. I lose track of time and enter a space where it’s just me, the notes, and the silent spaces in between. Singing, when done with consistency, is a spiritual practice. Any serious, passionate musician understands this. And I believe that all musicians need to engage their practice regularly; it keeps us happy and connected to ourselves.

However, singing as a spiritual practice is not about getting notes right or giving your best performance; it’s about devoting regular time to this act for the sheer joy of it, and for the time with God. You can also pick specific songs of spiritual devotion and sing those – worship singing as spiritual practice. I’d have to write a whole post on that alone!

The Practice is Key

What makes a spiritual practice powerful is the practice. Commit to regular devotion through one of these practices and over time the practice will shape you. Reveal God to you. Reveal you to you. Center you, enlighten you, and if nothing else, give you a refuge whenever you need it.

Stay tuned for the rest of my favorite spiritual practices in my next post!