Well. I learned this morning through Fr Richard Rohr's "Daily Meditation" that there is a Welcoming Prayer. I've considered Thank You to be just that, but a nice part for me is I've been doing the welcoming shtick for years...I did not know it was a prayer.
The fact is, my hated anxiety got turned into my angel purely through my welcoming experience one morning years ago. I was on the Metro heading under the Potomac River when I felt anxiety about to storm my soul. Since there's no escaping the in-motion Metro, I know not how I knew to just silently say, "Welcome, Anxiety, sit right here with me." Which I repeated all the way under the Potomac. It did not hold my anxiety at bay which was all I dared hope for...it disappeared it for that moment.
After that, I used welcome. make yourself at home to any perceived and dreaded event or even thought until I came across Meister Eckart's Thank You prayer...which consists of Thank You. And it does indeed suffice. Clearly, neither prayer disappears our nemesis du jour forever, but they do walk us through our fear to peace Now.
I confess I have never stopped recommending that others use "welcome" because, face it, saying Thank You in the face of a perceived disaster is a tish daunting to start with. Even with Meister Eckhart's pedigree backing it up.
To the reasoning mind, "Welcome" is a nice starter, "Thank You" is an understandable finisher...don't push it.
Hey! That could be the secret code for still more spiritual growth...push it. Push away our want to study, ponder, analyze. As is explained in Rohr's "Meditation," Any kind of analysis will lead you back into attachment to your ego self.
Welcome and Thank You...the provable power of resist not evil. Ah, but provable only if we use them.
Thank you.
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