Sara Wiseman blogs on spirituality and intuition in her award-winning Daily Divine blog.

Daily Divine: Do you pray in public?

3/15/2017

My favorite middle-eastern restaurant is family run: the people are friendly and the food is fantastic: home-made hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel.

A few days ago, I headed in for lunch. Near the counter, a worker appeared to be fixing something on the floor.

Except….

He wasn’t a worker.
And he wasn’t repairing anything.

He was the restaurant owner, a man in his late 50s, kneeling on a prayer rug behind one of the dining tables.

He was doing his spiritual practice as is consistent with his Muslim faith: answering the call to prayer. For 1400 years, the devout face east and pray five times each day:

• At dawn, before sunrise
• At midday, after the sun passes its highest
• In the late part of the afternoon
• Just after sunset
• Between sunset and midnight

It was midday. Thus he was praying.

He allowed nothing to stop him. Not the customers in his restaurant watching him, not the demands of a busy workday.

He was praying in public.

And most interesting to me was that even though he was in the midst of his devotions, at the same time, he was fully of this world.

Thus, when I entered the restaurant, he stood up, smiled and welcomed me, mid prayer. When I sat down, he stopped mid prayer and filled my water glass. When he was done with his devotion, he rolled up his prayer rug, smiled again, and came back and took my order.

His devotion was fully integrated. His spiritual life was enfolded into his regular day.

To witness this: a person praying in public, a person who did not separate the Divine from everyday… this was a beautiful thing.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find it hard to find a consistent time to meditate or pray. I get busy, or have appointments or life gets in the way.

Or does it?

Witnessing this man praying in public, reminded me that nothing is more important than connection to the Divine.

Each in our own way. Each with our own beliefs and traditions.
Spirituality not as a separate practice, but as our way of being.

Much love,
SARA

P.S. Our March course of the month is Learn the Practice of Channeled Writing.

28 Comments

Joeine Caffero

3/15/2017 10:21:00 am

? Praying in public for all the world to marvel at. "does not" make a spiritual person and certainly not a fair honest person. It means nothing.

Sara

3/15/2017 10:43:57 am

Of course you are correct, Joeine.

Only heartfelt prayer has meaning; praying in public without true devotion means nothing.

Thanks for bringing this up: making a show of prayer, is not the same as being in true connection.

In this experience, I saw a person praying with devotion. In other experiences, that may or may not be the case.

Marie

3/18/2017 08:01:14 pm

I do not pray in public as I am private in my prayers. I love people that do .

Helene Roussi

3/22/2017 12:49:08 pm

I too sense a tone of hostility, produced by the use of a description with quotation marks (implying something is not as it appears). The strong implication that the sole purpose of a public ritual is publicity, and the sole conclusion that it is worthless are definitely hostile. One can be fearlessly honest about what one sees and still allow room for someone else to see it differently. I could be wrong, but in fearless honesty, I believe the comment was rooted in hostility.

Janet

3/15/2017 10:44:08 am

Joeine, i sense hostility in your comment. Perhaps I am mistaken.

3/15/2017 10:57:31 am

It's okay to have strong feelings. This is a topic that brings up a lot for many people.

If we go back to the idea in the blog, it's about... remembering to have true connection to the Divine. Some people do it through religion. I and many people don't use religion, we use our own direct connection, no middle man required.

The key is: connect, connect, connect.

3/16/2017 07:05:33 am

Yes Janet, you are mistaken. Its called fearless honesty.

Lorena M Richards Poole

3/15/2017 10:34:10 am

I LOVE this!! Thank You.

3/15/2017 10:42:01 am

Thank you, Lorena

Sara Loos link

3/15/2017 10:47:15 am

I love this! The truth is that most people feel they need to hide their faith, that connection requires privacy. I honor that this gentleman had learned to integrate his faith with his everyday life...that he makes this a priority. We all could learn a lot from this simple, yet powerful act!

3/15/2017 10:58:10 am

Thank you, Sara. Yes. To not be afraid to be spiritual in public. Not as a "show" but as who we really are.

Kim

3/15/2017 11:06:56 am

What first came to mind was the New Testament and the Pharisees praying in public and as the story goes, the implied hollowness of their act. Next, I thought about "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone."

None of us can judge the man's heart in the restaurant praying in public or the situation he found himself in. Nor can I judge Sara in what she felt in her heart.

I sounded like he was the only one there and he was between a rock and and hard place - running his business and adhering to his beliefs. Seems he managed both pretty well; and Sara was most gracious given the circumstance.

3/15/2017 01:06:09 pm

Thank you, Kim. I knew this particular post was going to bring up a lot, and it did. It is good for all of us to consider our thoughts and feelings about different ways of spiritual practice.

3/15/2017 01:45:33 pm

We are all so interconnected and evolving and becoming aware at our own individual pace. It was not until I viewed Joseph Campbell's "Many Faces of God" that the shackles of constricted religious thought flew out of my mind. Subsequently, all of the guilt,condemnation, and inadequacies that I felt and had energetically attached to me melted away. I used to tell my counterparts you cannot fit God into a box and we must think outside of the box. I used to belong to a Pentecostal, speaking in tongues, kind of church.....WOW....now I am way more aware.....always growing...but so much more grounded in myself. And - praying consistently does not always happen with me either.....I was just watching a Caroline Myss recording and she offered such a beautiful prayer to her audience. She asked her audience, before retiring for the evening, to look at the beautiful night sky and say (paraphrasing here) Angeles take me to the stars tonight, keep company with me tonight and return me safely to my body in the morning.....is not that a great way to end the night and fall asleep? - In Peace and Light - Kim

Beverly Buncher link

3/15/2017 11:08:00 am

Finding the time to connect is so important and so easy to leave behind. Thank you for sharing this example of an ongoing relationship with the Divine.
I will remember it.

3/15/2017 01:06:50 pm

Thank you, Beverly.

Jeannie Keyes

3/15/2017 11:56:30 am

It's non of my personal business whether or not people are praying in public - I'm sorry that religions have so many mandated do's and don't's. Think our relationship to a or the higher power is extremely private unless one is wanting to share it with one who wants to listen, etc. If we are truly one with all then no outward show of any specific form of reverence will be necessary BECAUSE we are truly conversing with something that is INSIDE of ourselves!

3/15/2017 11:59:05 am

Oops - forgot to press the thingy to hear others' responses.

3/15/2017 01:08:07 pm

Yes...Jeannie... each having our own way of connecting, and being compassionate to another's way. Many paths lead up the mountain.

Andryia

3/15/2017 02:22:13 pm

Sara...I loved your comment. Your last sentence was perfect ... 'Many paths lead up the mountain'. The one Path chosen, or not, by each individual, is his/her perfect Path. It is not for me to judge that choice. My choice is always to respect the individuals who pass through my life.

Cathy

3/15/2017 02:00:42 pm

I would like to add that real Love and True faith is a very personal experience.. I feel that if I was told that I have to bow and place my head to the floor to pray it would be out of fear and being obedient.. or I was told I have to be in a specific building on specific days to know myself and Source, the connection would be quite different than finding my own time when I truly can connect to God/Source.. Having a special needs child and putting me on a schedule would not work at all for me..

3/15/2017 06:33:40 pm

We are all products of our culture and our time. Many have let go of religion as the way to reach the Divine. Many still find this a way that works.

There is more to this story, I just learned today... about the humility and grace of a person in true devotion. I will post that soon. :)

And... if you are taking care of a special needs child, then you are in contact with the Divine every single moment. Especially the most difficult moments. Every soul is here to be loved.

Sakiba

3/15/2017 03:34:27 pm

Thank you, Sara.
So many good comments in this post. If we can view this situation, (a man praying in public) from our heart center and feeling of connectedness and oneness with all beings it will tell us a lot. We will see the divine in action! If we see it through our conditioning it will create disbelief, judgment, lack of understanding... Let's allow the divine to shine.

3/15/2017 06:34:57 pm

Yes, agree. We are so conditioned by our culture, our time, our experiences. And yet... a person in prayer, connecting to his or her Source in humility. That is a beautiful thing. It is a gift to witness.

Debbie

3/15/2017 06:47:30 pm

The timing of your message is truly Divine :) The subject of public prayer has never really come up in my experiences. Then today, a dear friend of mine was telling me a story about how she and a complete stranger - I will leave out the sorted details - came together in a supermarket for a prayer - arms raised to the heavens - kind of prayer and no one in the supermarket noticed them as they walked by. What she lifted up to me was the "cone of silence". Have you ever heard of this? It is when elders pray and a cone covers them so others do not see them. I believe it is from the shaman background. At any rate, then later in the day I read your message. It was interesting to have both messages come so close together.
Message I received is; When you feel moved to pray, ALLOW for the movement no matter what, where, when, how...allow

3/16/2017 09:39:19 am

I have heard the "cone of silence" on the old TV show Get Smart... :)

Yes, you are correct. The idea of intention and energy can lift people to a different dimensional or frequency, so they are not seen or noticed by people in an everyday or different frequency.

Anne Foster Angelou

3/15/2017 06:55:31 pm

I am impressed that several Seattle employers allow space and time for Muslims to pray while working so they may observe the requirements of their faith. Praying in public for the sole purpose of getting someone's attention is not the same as a sincere religious observance. My tradition is Christian. If I wish to "cross" myself openly and in public I should be able to do that. If I wish to close my eyes and pray or meditate in public, I should be able to do so. There is a saying that "what people think of you is none of your business." People choose their thoughts and opinions and it has nothing to do with me or anyone else who is being criticized. Thank you, Sara.

3/16/2017 09:37:53 am

So clearly said, Anne. Thank you.

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