Simple Prayers Wherever You Go

Kindle ebook

It has stayed with me for more than a quarter of a century, James Madison Barr's "I don't pray, but if I did, this is what I would say..."  (Barr, now decased, was longtime humanist Unitarian minister in Memphis.)


Prayer isn't among my personal spiritual disciplines, at least formally.  But when my adult daughter, a member of the Anaheim, CA UU society alluded to her prayer life, I put together a little book for her as a Holiday gift.  I called it Simple Prayers.


In the brief introduction to my ten simple prayers, I spoke of prayer as a matter of self-transcendence.  I explained I sought to strip prayer to its essence with the hope that those who use my offerings will be able to use a particular prayer throughout the day.


Here's one of the ten simple prayers:

9

Mercy and Forgiveness,

Scour my mind and rectify my heart.

I think the resulting book, published on Create Space and available on Amazon, is handsome.  It includes blank pages for journaling--keeping a record of one's prayer life..  It's the sort of book one might keep on the home desk or on a bedside table.

Recently I turned it into a Kindle ebook.  This is the sort of resource to keep with one during the day, easily accessible for immediate inspiration/succor.  Hence, I gave this edition the subtitle Wherever You Go, fulfilling the longstanding UU admonition to make one's life a "prayer without ceasing." 

The Kindle edition has the additional  advantage of making my little book more private for public reading/reference. 

We're Not Done Yet

10 years ago, when  Jeff Briere was intern minister at UCH, we collaborated on a description of Unitarian Universalistm: 101 Reasons I'm a Unitarian Universalist.  (Jeff is now minister in Chattanooga.)  

Jeff and I each wrote 50, one-paragraph reasons, interesting and informative tidbits of UU practice, history, and lore. Originally produced on a photocopy machine, a few years ago, I turned it into a paperback book and self-published it on Lulu. This summer Lulu formatted it as an e-book and submitted it to Apple’s ibookstore. (It had languished as a paperback book, but as an e-book‒an iTune‒it immediately sold a dozen iPad downloads.) It's now available on Kindle, Amazon's e-bookstore.

A decade after its creation, I find 101 Reasons to be a cunning and effective portrayal of Unitarian Universalism, as good a brief introduction as there is, relative to being consumable and entertaining.  

At the time, Jeff and I compared our design to a pointillist painting. We wrote this introduction:

Dear Reader,

To explain how so many different people

could practice one religion

in so many different ways

is daunting.

Perhaps the difficulty lies

in attempting a verbal explanation,

when painting a picture

would better communicate

the nuances of Unitarian Universalism..

Think of this collection

as a pointillist canvas

upon which are 101 spots of color.

In turning the pages,

you can see each little dot.

Stand a few feet back

and the dots blend in monumental images.

Then you can begin to see

larger shapes and forms

that create the tableau

of the living tradition of

Unitarian Universalism.

Wishing you meaning and purpose.

Jeff wrote the conclusion, the one hundred, first reason and arguably the most compelling reason for being a UU:

101

We aren’t done yet. That’s a phrase you hear now and again. We aren’t done yet. But when have you heard that in reference to religion? Unitarian Universalism isn’t done yet. We talk about a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. A search. An on-going organized plan to find something true and meaningful. And when we find that true and meaningful something, there will be another search, because there isn’t only one true and meaningful thing out there to find. We aren’t done yet. [JB]

As I think of Unitarian Universalism at age 50, remembering the hopes voiced in 1961 for a new and improved liberal religion, Jeff's conclusion resonates for me, "We aren't done yet." 

Simple Prayers: Wherever You Go

My daughter Katie, who lives in Orange County, recently joined the UU fellowship in Anaheim. Katie’s in her early 40s and has two young children. Her midlife return to the liberal religion of her youth, though somewhat predictable, nevertheless, pleases me.  My chosen faith is now her chosen faith.

She's become quite involved in her little congregation. She teaches religious education and is on the religious education committee. She's a worship assistant, too.

Now when we talk, the theme is frequently about religion. True to her upbringing, she's an explorer and has eclectic tastes. I'm proud to say, she's her father's daughter.

In one of our conversations she revealed that now and again she prays. So, last Christmas, I compiled a book for her titled Simple Prayers.  Its  brief introduction describes prayer as a means to self- transcendence. The actual prayers are 10 mantra like utterances – each featuring an attribute of the Divine. I also included blank lined pages for recording prayer experiences – prayer journal.

I used the on-demand resources of Create Space, an Amazon subsidiary. I chose a distinctive format, 8 1/4 inch square. The cover illustration was a gnarly old white church door, inviting entry to sacred space.

I liked the end product so much in content and attractiveness,  I made it available for sale as a paperback book on Create Space and Amazon.  Now, I'm making it available in the e-book marketplace. It's on (or soon will be on)  Amazon.com as well as Lulu.com – another online publisher.  The Lulu edition can be read on a variety of popular readers.

Here's my marketing copy:

Simple Prayers is a unique guide, reducing the practice of prayer to its very essence as a private act with powerful affect. In an extraordinary economy of words, the ten prayers touch varied aspects of human aspiration and need.

Created by a seasoned Unitarian minister known for his practical approach to the contemporary spirituality, these simple prayers address aspects of the Universal. It is a suitable resource for persons of all faiths and persuasions.

As a teaser, I present the first Simple Prayer:

1

Providence,

My gratitude is boundless.

Now available as an Amazon Kindle book or in a Lulu e-book edition: Simple Prayers: Wherever You Go. Only $1.99.