Prayer

While there is the TOTJO liturgical book, I'm not sure how indicative that is of the average Jedi's personal practice. Do many Jedi here engage in prayer? I have done a lot of meditation, but I don't generally pray to the Force. For those of us who do, what do you generally do when you pray? Is it a significantly different action than focusing on something in meditation? Do you use the TOTJO liturgical book?

Meditation focuses inward. Prayer focuses outward.

Great question ! As Jedi , we are able to choose our own practice and our own faith as well as our own definitions. I look foward to the diverse answers that may surface.
In my practice : ( my real life)
I am 100 percent Jedi. My direct family - wife son claim Jedi ism but that’s it. Bring me , I am often asked to say “ grace “ or the “blessing” over our meal by my family who are Sunday school teachers in their own faith and head members of their church. - it took me some serious meditation and some good practice about the result is “a blessing on the hands that prepared and the hearts that will share . May we be thankful and practice our faith and show the world the light that shines in all of us can shine outward for those who need it. May we do five by the example of forgiveness we have may wenlove like we have been loved - not all in the same prayer of course ! Lol but I always end it with - “and every body said? “ I’m not a big Abrahamic faith type of person but I was raised one.
Prayer is a key thing in some faiths.
I myself light a candle and as it burns meditate on subject. Aka , if I light one for you, I am thinking and hoping and dedicating that time till it’s out to you. Helps me concentrate and hone - if you will- my craft. I have to share this world with others - my thought isn’t it time to share and act like an encouragment rather than a stick in the mud. It’s tough but possible .

I haven't prayed in private to a God/Goddess or otherwise in over 6 years, but I pray at the dinner table with my family pretty regularly.

I don't direct it toward any deity though; it's more just a prayer of thanks for the food and that we went another day (or sometimes only an hour or less) without driving each other nuts.

Before my kids chow down like pigs in a trough I feel it's nice to direct their thoughts outward for a few moments during a prayer of thanks.

Huh...that is odd , when i pray i do so to my Deity , but anything connecting to the Force i call meditation , i always see them as equal , but different , my favourite meditation on the Force is this one , its turned inward and outward again , so probs a meditation prayer :silly:

My Meditation Prayer:

May the Force be with all living beings

Every being has struggles and sorrow ,
Let us hold them with loving feelings and kindness
Let us forgive ourselves and others that have hurt us

Lets open our heart and forgive the sorrow and hurt
brought to ourselves or to others , may we be forgiven
may we forgive others

May we be well , filled with loving Kindness , safe from inner
and outer dangers , may we be well , peaceful and truly happy

May all beings be well , especially our enemies , the difficult ones
the discarded ones , may they be safe and well in body heart
and mind . peaceful and truly happy

May the Earth heal from her wounds , may we treat our environment
with love and kindness , may we bring peace and happiness

May the Force be with us , May the Force be with Earth

Have a blessed day

I pray and I meditate daily and I often will use the same mantra/prayers/words however you wish to define it. Here are the two that I use either daily or with regularity:

Prayer for others:

May your connection to the Force bring Peace

May your study of the Force grant Knowledge

May your adherence to the Force lead to Harmony

May immersion in the Force give you Serenity

At the end may you know there is no death but only the Force.



Prayer to the Force:

I give thanks to the living Force for the life and health that I have

I give thanks to the unifying Force for the wisdom and knowledge it grants

I give thanks to the cosmic Force from which all things flow and to which they return

I think whether someone prays or not mainly has to do with his / her personal beliefs. I don‘t believe in an intelligent being out there that‘ll help me if I pray to it, so I don‘t really pray. I do meditate occasionally (used to a lot but I have issues focusing, so I rarely manage to reach deep meditative states). I can see that people find comfort in prayer and whatever helps, right?

To me prayer only comes from fear, as a deformation of self into a projection of greater self. As strange as it sounds.... but I think it depends on how you relate to what ever it is you think your talking to ie equals, lesser or greater. My point of reference for prayer is Roman Catholic.

Though how I was taught to pray as a Catholic achieved this without any reference to fear.... and I had never even heard of 'God fearing' and had thought it was 'God faring' for example - it was all just love and connection as far as I knew. But as I explored the practice and results I found that fear to be integral to the practice as the pavement of the path to be walked in a deeper process of result from prayer in terms of connection. Nothing to do with fearing God though, rather it was just how we experienced confronting seemingly divine.

I imagine it is not the same thing for targets of prayer that might be perceived as equivalent or lesser - in some context of power or divinity etc. And in this regard I think it becomes more a psychological construct rather then a process of manifesting visionary experiences.

As silly as it might sound I don't have the time/energy to do prayer at the moment because I'm too buried in my spiritual meditations to create the space for a distance between me and the target..... something which I feel might be needed for some type of relational formations to develop with sufficient meaning to manifest as experience in the self ie depth.

How does that relate to the Force.... depends if one associates a will to it I guess, and the nature of that will.