Dear Reader
I think of prayer as a kind of communication - a conversation with God, and writing this dissertation has been something of a prayer. It's a communication that goes one way via language and the other (hopefully) via something else. It asks questions that will be answered from within, by some process that I might not even recognise. Whether you believe in God / Allah / Buddha / Creator / Universe as an external or an internal force, the act of Prayer is about communicating. The Writings of Baha'u'llah say "We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high..." (Baha'u'llah, 1873 p. 38). Perhaps this is one of the reasons that I strive to use music to help my spiritual as well as physical communications.
There are two pieces in this document that draw words from the Sacred Writings of the Baha'i Faith. Know This has it's own page, and comes from the Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah. A third, Never Left You is very much "about" my faith.
Make Firm our Steps is a piece I made deliberately to express what prayer is often like for me, with some tweaking to give it meaning for others. You will find the more technical discussion in the Music Room.
Praying is one of those delicate balances. If I use the mind too much it gets dry and unsatisfying. If I "let go" I get wet - which is not always unpleasant.
But it is not always pleasant either.
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