So here are some examples of how I use this eight word prayer in an average day: - I wake up "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now" I have a new day in front of me and can create of it anything I choose. - I do some form of exercise "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now." What an amazing thing this physical body is. Notice how it moves magnificently, how the ever present breath of life is drawn in effortlessly almost as if I am being breathed instead of doing the breathing. I feel the energy that is stagnant upon waking, begin to flow and radiate as I move and breathe. What a gift this body is- though temporary and mortal- perfect for the purpose it was created for. And what did I do to "earn it"? Nothing- other than choosing at some point to come here to earth to be in it for a while. So I have a sacred stewardship to care for this body- to maintain it in good health through my creative choices to exercise it and feed it with positive energy (breath, thought, and food and water). Instead of letting my mind wander to the tasks of the day or flitter around in its self created projections of past or future, I am reminded to keep my attention here now, in the body, in the breath. - I help get the kids off to school. "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now." How lucky am I to have a beautiful wife and five wonderful children. How fleeting is time and how soon will these children be grown and not here. But they are Here, Now and I can enjoy this age and this day. Through the hustle and bustle of gathering books in backpacks, signing some form for a teacher, packing lunches, having family prayer, eating breakfast, reminding them to empty the dishwasher, and waving good bye, I feel a deep sense of gratitude and joy. - I face a challenge at work. Something that I had planned on falls apart and doesn't go my way. "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now." Even though something isn't currently going the way I planned, I am grateful to have the opportunity to be doing this work, and not be sick in bed, or incapacitated mentally or physically. I have a chance to test my creative muscle instead of going unconscious and reacting with anger, worry or fear. What opportunity is being presented here? What lesson is being taught? - I have lunch with a friend. "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now." I focus my attention on the person in front of me- really listening to them and genuinely curious about what they are going through right now. As my attention wants to pull away from here, now to things I have to do later (in the future), I use my will to keep my attention focused here, now. I try to be fully present with that person while I am with them. - After dinner, my 4 year old wants to play outside with me. "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now." I try to see the world through his eyes. My attention wants to move on to "more important" things, or more pressing things than pushing a tire swing or kicking a soccer ball. Again, I have an opportunity to stay here, now and keep my attention focused on my 4 year old. There will be a better time to think about the challenges of the day and the to do list of tomorrow. This is a much more fleeting opportunity to be fully present with my son right now, right here in front of me. His playfulness is contagious and I laugh out loud. - Later that night two of the boys start fighting over something and it goes to full out punching and kicking. "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now." Emotions are running high- reactions are on automatic with the boys- no space between stimulus and response- unconscious reacting. Thank You Father that I can see that now- I'm sure there were many times when I was a boy that I couldn't and I was reacting just like I am witnessing by boys react here, now. I know that this will soon pass and I can watch with a healthy level of amusement and detachment. What a golden teaching opportunity there is here too! A smile in my heart and on my face as I pull them apart and encourage them to take some deep breaths. Some questions to ask: "How does it feel to be on auto-reaction pilot instead of in control?" "You hate your brother, is that really true?" "What could you do differently next time to avoid this?" I know that much of the teaching moment will be lost on them right now, but I also know that somewhere- it's being recorded and stored and will have an impact, and someday all too soon, they will be watching their own boys pulling punches over something and have the same smile in their heart and on the faces as they pull them apart. I take a walk around the neighborhood with my wife after dinner. "Thank You Father That I Am Here Now." What a beautiful evening. The air is cool, the breeze is fragrant with the sweet smell of orange blossoms in bloom. We hold hands and breath together and move together and talk together. It dawns on me that I am already in heaven- here, now. Thank You Father! To me this is what it means to "pray always." I never really understood what that meant until I received this prayer and started using it. Of course like all great truths, there are many meanings to the principle of "pray always", but this is one meaning that I have found to be very practical and useful in my daily living. Now what about when something really bad happens? A child is seriously injured. A business fails. A lower back disc slips and causes extreme pain for months. These are a few of the tougher challenges I've had to face personally and the little eight word prayer has helped me through those times. Fortunately that's about the worst that has happened to me personally. If anything "worse" happens in the future, I hope that the habit I have made of saying this prayer throughout the day, every day will carry me through even the toughest of times. I have learned by my own experience that this eight word prayer has the power to transform anything I've experienced thus far into a positive. That doesn't mean there aren't things that are bad or that I may wish were different, but it does mean that I can choose to create a positive meaning to anything that happens. What are you going through now? Try it for a few days and see if it helps you to feel more gratitude in your life. Thank You Father That I Am Here Now.
John Groberg writes on a wide variety of topics related to personal and spiritual growth. His slogan is Grow. By Choice™. His articles draw out principles of personal and spiritual growth common to the world’s ancient wisdom and spiritual texts as well as many of the great philosophers, poets, and writers of ancient and modern times. These principles are then put to the test in his own life with an emphasis on simple, sustainable practices we can apply in our daily lives to more effectively deal with the stresses and struggles of modern life and to more fully realize the benefits of deliberate growth. John developed a model called the Divine-Align-Shine model as a way of visually organizing the principles, practices and the overall process of personal and spiritual growth. His writings are cataloged and organized on his website, www.johngroberg.com where contact information is available.
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