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Positive Statements 

        The mind out of habits wanders and  sometimes even while doing things with awareness, the mind slips into wandering nature and day dreaming. To prevent that positive statements are used. All spiritual traditions have positive statements which either are short or longer verses. In Vedic traditions the shorter positive statements are called "Mantras" and longer ones, prayers.

        Some of the powerful Mantras or Positive statements that can be chanted throughout the day silently when we fell that the mind is restless, agitated and wanders. While doing any work, if these Mantra or positive statements are chanted silently or loudly (better make sure some one around is not disturbed by your loud chanting) the mind tend to stay in the present and wanders less. In practice we find that chanting the Mantra, makes us to bring back the wandering mind.

Some Mantras from Spiritual Traditions.

Vedic Tradition

Ram....Ram.....Ram ..

Krishna....Krishna .....Krishna...

Sri Rama jeyam

Om Shivaya Namaha

Ammae Naarayana, Devi Narayana Badre Narayana, Lashmi Narayana.

Jewish Tradition

Barauh Atoi adonai

Buddhist Tradition

Om Mani Padme Hum

Christian Tradition

Holy father

Jesus Is love

Islam Tradition

Allahu Akbar

Mantras:
      These positive statements help the mind transcend to Awareness, which then culminate in healing diseases too.  One could pick up any of the above Mantras  according to one's own spiritual tradition. In Vedic Tradition usually a spiritual master (Guru) initiates the Mantra.

   Let us now understand how rituals done along with prayers helps in healing.

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                Source of Grace

      Where does grace come from?  It is a common belief that Grace is a flow of light from a God sitting some where in this universe or outside of it (Heaven?). But a matured mind which is backed-up by the intellect this fanciful idea will not be accepted. The Vedic tradition does not believe in God sitting elsewhere other than the "Self". If God is everywhere, then the closest distance of God should be your own Self. Therefore Grace also must come from within. We understand that pure awareness is the very source of Grace too.

       The immediate question that arises is that , if grace is within, then why is that every one does not grace all the time. Some one who thinks about God or any super natural power resides outside our reach, this Vedic concept is hard to appreciate in the beginning. But through Self experience one can understand that grace comes from once's own pure Awareness state.

Why are eyes closed while doing prayers?

      Prayers are like the cleaning agents that can clean the dirt (Ego) from the mind and let the light of Grace from the self be available from us. This is why while doing  prayers the eyes are closed, so that the awareness is turned inside and not outside. Only through awareness the purification of the mind can be acheived.

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   Prayer - A Powerful Positive statement

       Prayers are powerful positive statement that give right direction to the wandering mind. Prayers are always inspirational and gives a positive outlook in life.

 Look at this Vedic Prayer.

Asa-tho Maa Sath Gamaya
Thama-so Maa Jo-thir Gamaya
Mrith-yor Maa Amri-tham Gamaya

This means

Lead me from untruth to truth;
Lead me from darkness to light;
Lead me from death to immortality.
 

Another Powerful Prayer of St.Francis of Asissi

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, let me sow pardon;
Where there is doubt, let me sow faith;
Where there is despair, let me sow hope;
Where there is darkness, let me sow light;
Where there is sadness, let me sow joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

        The above are just sample prayers from two spiritual traditions. You can chose a prayer from your own tradition and chant  everyday in the morning and in the night before bed. Chanting prayers will remove all the impurities of the mind, which means to bring the wandering mind to the present.

        Prayers have the power to help to transcend to the awareness state, which is also the source of Grace. 

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        Prayer is not a begging statement

       Unfortunately, now prayers done by most of us are begging statements crying for help. Our intellect is so much over thrown by our emotional mind that we seldom realize that our own thoughts create our life pattern  and not anyone else outside. Prayers are powerful positive statements for our emotional minds and not for any unknown God outside our territory. We will discuss about God later in this section.

      If some one believes in an omnipresent  God present outside , even then a begging prayer is an insult to the omnipresent and omniscient God. When God is omniscient how can someone beg for things?

      Prayer in the form of begging statements makes one weak. In deep troubles such begging statements out of ignorance might help initially to lesson the sorrow of the mind. But in the long run, the agitations of the mind still continue and so does sorrows. Without strengthening the intellect and increasing positive thoughts, sorrows in life cannot be overcome. This is why begging prayer statements goes futile.

       All Vedic Prayers and so does other spiritual traditions prayers are powerful positive statements asking for an attitude to know the reality.

God give me the serenity to accept things which cannot be changed  

Give me courage to change things that must be changed

And the wisdom to distinguish from one from the other

      This is a good prayer for purification of the mind that we have been discussing through the Pancha Bhootas or the five steps. 

  A Pagan serenity prayer beautifully summarizes the essence of the five steps of Pancha Bhoota as follows.

Gods and Goddess grant me:

The power of Water, to accept with ease and grace what I cannot change

The power of Fire, for the energy and courage the things I can

The power of Air, for the ability to know the difference.

And the power of Earth, for the strength to continue my path.

And the Power of Space, to know our Real Self (Sakthi's addition)