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Scent of Light Episode
by Ken Norton
Prayer
Broadcast on September 13, 2020
Mp3 Player
The audio file above is the spoken word recording
without background music provided to Radio KOWS 92.5 FM broadcast of the
Scent of Light episode for insert into the Radio Spotlight Magazine
with host Andre Marc.
In this episode on the Scent of Light I will speak on
Prayer.
We appeal to a higher
authority with prayer. It is used in the courts to ask a judge to rule in
favor of the party making the prayer. The churches, temples and mosques of
cultures around the planet encourage prayers to the God they revere for
guidance and healing—a God believed to be loving, wise, all-knowing, ever
and everywhere present, and all-powerful.
Somehow in spite of all the
religious prayers our planet has witnessed war after war, often like the
crusades promoting or defending religious beliefs. The mountains of corpse
and multitudes of survivors migrating to a hoped-for haven does not look or
feel very wise or loving, and I wonder if somehow the divine answer is being
distorted by the prayerful.
I pray. I prayed in
composing this episode on Prayer. I was raised with parents who encouraged
prayers for each of my sisters, brothers, and my parents, which I learned to
expand its reach to relatives and friends. I learned the Catholic spiritual
practices and rituals to relate my life with the stories of the Catholic
God. I see the purpose was to have confidence in this God and in the Church
that taught about him. Yes, this God was presented to me as he, him, his, in
juxtaposition with his consort the Blessed Virgin Mother, she, her, hers.
I left my parents’ home to
study at college, old enough to carry a draft card, indicating my student
deferment in the military draft for the War in Vietnam. I felt the War was
not abstract because of that physical piece of paper and prayed for
guidance. With teach-ins, nightly news, and the growing anti-war movement, I
understood the War to be more an offensive jockeying for world dominion in
the colonialist tradition of the founding of our country, rather than a
defense against ungodly communism.
Together with my studies in
science and interest in history, as well as learning from the life of my
mentor, 50 years older than me, by helping him 19 years until his death in
1990 with his memoirs in manuscript and poetry, my beliefs and my use of
prayer changed. And they continue to evolve as I get feedback on their value
from my experiences.
Prayer for me now is
stepping with my conscious mind into a feeling state of unity with Nature,
seen and unseen. In this state, what I call Sacred Space, I begin to form
feeling pictures of my desire, perhaps a healthy body through healing from a
disease, or living on this planet with human practices that can sustain
human life and other life forms. I believe by my putting my mind to this
prayer that I am signaling other energies in the universe to work with me in
bringing this to manifestation, as well as setting my discerning mind up to
be on alert to recognize the resources as they appear, perhaps a person with
key skills or an article of information to take it to the next step. The
allies and resources can be in whatever form or even formless, to enter into
the co- creation of this Prayer’s outcome.
This is Ken Norton on the
Scent Of Light. You can contact me via Ken at KennethENorton.com and I would
be glad to hear from you. The Scent of Light episodes are archived on the
web together with links referenced here at kennethenorton.com. Thanks for listening.
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About the Author and Producer
Ken Norton earned his master's degree in Materials Science from Stanford
University as the Vietnam War was ending. During that time Ken served as the
personal assistant to a poet/sociologist Dr. William Hermanns as he prepared
his writings for publication, exposing Ken to not only the sciences but also
the humanities and comparative religion for making conscious and
conscionable choices.
Ken is a regular contributor to Radio Spotlight Magazine with his episodes
on the Scent of Light.
Ken Norton in practice of Tai Chi Chuan
2018 Photo by Elaine B. Holtz
I co-produce Women's Spaces Show with my loving partner and its host
Elaine B. Holtz. Take a visit. All the shows are archived on the website.
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I am the Trustee and Archivist. Visit the website I built in honor of my
mentor.
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Be still and know,
We're in the flow
Of Love to grow
From seeds we sow.*
Kenneth E. Norton
* stanza from his poem Intuition's Joy
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