A Million Little Pieces Of My Mind

Metaphysics

Prayer

By: Paul S Cilwa Page Views: 3,369
Hashtags: #Metaphysics #Spirituality #Prayer
A series of essays on developing one's ability to pray effectively.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (99 words)

Prayer flags flying in Tibet. Each flag is a prayer that is sent to Heaven with each flap.

If it is true there are "no atheists in foxholes" (debatable), then pretty much everyone has said at least one prayer in their lifetime. (And if "God damn!" counts, then that would be everyone.)

But, if you are like most people, and are honest (two independent requirements), you'll admit that your experience with prayer has been intermittent at best.

This section contains essays, based on my own personal experience, on how to increase your personal odds of getting your prayers answered.

The Annoying Power of Prayer

By: Paul S Cilwa Posted: 6/28/2006 Page Views: 6,013
Hashtags: #Spirituality #ReligiousPolitics #Metaphysics #Prayer
Why are Christians upset that science has proven the power of prayer?
Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s) (456 words)

In 1999, the prestigious journal Archives of Internal Medicine published the results of a double-blind study in which it was shown that coronary patients who had been prayed for—even though they didn't know it—were more likely to recover than those who were not.

Effective Prayer

By: Paul S Cilwa Posted: 5/19/2009 Page Views: 5,394
Hashtags: #Metaphysics #Spirituality #Prayer #HeartMeditation #Meditation
Once one accepts that prayers do work, one then comes right up against this brick wall: They don't always seem to work. How can one improve the success ratio?
Estimated reading time: 13 minute(s) (3028 words)

I've written before about the "annoying power of prayer". Annoying, because the studies that proved prayer works offended both atheists and Christians. Atheists, because the studies showed that something they couldn't put in a jar seemed to exist; and Christians because the studies showed it didn't matter to whom one prayed: Prayers to Jesus were neither more or less effective than prayers to Buddha or Matthew McConaughey.

Praying in Private

By: Paul S Cilwa Posted: 8/18/2009 Page Views: 3,555
Hashtags: #Spirituality #SchoolPrayer #Prayer #Christianity
I find it odd that a secular organization such as the ACLU should find itself trying to legally force Christians into doing what their Christ told them to do anyway?
Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s) (581 words)

It was a beautiful day in early spring near the Sea of Galilee, one of those days between the rains of winter and the heat of summer when people who had no choice were glad they lived here and people with a choice came for their vacations. On this day, over a hundred people had gathered in one of the natural amphitheatres in the hills overlooking the sea, to hear a very popular itinerant preacher in this era when that was a viable career choice, and there were few other sources of entertainment for a good Jew.

Binding Spell to Prevent Harm

By: Paul S Cilwa Posted: 2/24/2017 Page Views: 4,375
Hashtags: #Metaphysics #BindingSpell
A timely spell to prevent any imposters in the White House from harming themselves or others.
Estimated reading time: 7 minute(s) (1499 words)

It has come to my attention that many metaphysically-oriented persons are organizing to cast a "binding spell" on the man currently illegally occupying the White House. The problem is, the spells I've seen include elements of outrage, which not only weaken the spell—they can strengthen the person at whom the spell is cast, which is obviously the opposite of what is desired.