Life of Prayer II - Lesson 2: Relaxation

Reading:

1. Effectual Prayer: Chapter 3 — Relaxation

1. REVIEW THREE PHASES OF MIND

1. Superconscious: Christ awareness
   Infinite intelligence
   Spiritual ideas
   All knowing
2. Conscious: Thinking awareness
   Reasoning mind
   Decision-making faculty
   Free will
   Objective in nature
3. Subconscious: Feeling awareness
   Seat of memory
   Speaks in language of imagination
   Subjective in nature

The objective of prayer is to find at-one-ment with God. The product of at-one-ment with God is peace, health, happiness, abundance of all good.

2. WHY RELAXATION

The mystical way of life involves the body as well as the soul. In old ways of thinking much attention was given to saving the soul, but the body received little attention.

We prepare for meditation and prayer by relaxation:

1. to bring the physical under control (get the body out of the way).
2. to prevent the physical from detracting us from the work of the mental and emotional nature.
3. to subject the physical to the blessing and healing power of Spirit.

3. WHAT RELAXATION DOES

1. It brings the body into a natural state of comfort. In the part of prayer we call relaxation we gain a better understanding of our body. We learn to let go mentally of inharmonies.
2. We learn to let go physically so that the mental purity that we contact in prayer or meditation may enter into the flesh and make it perfect.
3. To relax is to become open and receptive.
4. In relaxation the body, obedient to the soul, is eager and ready to receive the Truth teaching.
5. In relaxation the mind is always in control. Relaxation is not inertia.
6. Those who are prone to live at high tension will find great benefit in the relaxation drill.
7. The body is the clothing of the soul,and the soul is the clothing of the Spirit. A body so cramped that it cannot let go and relax is closed to the beauty and life that Spirit seeks to express in it.

4. DRILL IN RELAXATION

Follow drill as outlined on pages 42 to 47 (Effectual Prayer), omitting any part if it seems too long.

May Rowland succeeded Myrtle Fillmore as Director of Silent Unity in 1916 and kept that position for fifty-five years until her retirement in 1971. Fifty-five years. What she learned and taught about spiritual healing is given in her talk Come Ye Apart Awhile. It is a two-step prayer process that begins with complete relaxation of the body, followed by affirmations to realize the Christ spirit within. You can follow the written tract or the audio presentation. The first part, relaxation, has been clipped and is available by clicking on the audio player to the right. The second part of Come Ye Apart Awhile is in the next section on Concentration.

5. CLOSE WITH A PRAYER

1. The prayer on page 48 (Effectual Prayer) is good to use.
2. Or, some statement such as: GONE IS ALL TENSION, STRESS, OR STRAIN. I AM RELAXED.
3. DAILY WORD for Thursday, May 22, 1969 on relaxation is good:

   GONE IS ALL TENSION, STRESS, OR STRAIN. I AM RELAXED, I FEEL RELAXED.

   I RELAX, for God is here. I relax, for there is nothing to fear. I relax, for there is a law of good at work in my life and affairs.

   I relax, for God's healing life is now filling my body and flowing through every part, bringing restoration and renewal.

   I relax, for God's harmonizing love is blessing me and all that concerns me, bringing peace, understanding, joy, and forgiveness.

   I relax, for God's all-providing good is always at hand. There is abundance for my every need; there is a way of success and prosperity open to me.

   I relax, for God is with my dear ones; His power is at work in their lives; His light is shining on their paths; His wisdom is guiding their footsteps.

   I relax, for there is time enough to do all that needs to be done. With God's help I move through this day easily, happily, and successfully.

   Gone is all tension, stress, or strain. I am relaxed, I feel relaxed.

4. Drill in the Silence (tract) and Come Ye Apart Awhile (tract) or audio.