True. Right. Lasting.

Blog Post #101

Written pysanky prayer-symbols are spiritualized by the thought of God. According to ancient Ukrainian folklore, these symbols are talismanic — a magical word that easily describes God’s transformative grace.

(Part1: Guidelines and Circles).

A circle began this pysanka, invoking God’s eternal, no-beginning, no-end nature. Circles became ladders with their prayerful intent to achieve a greater understanding of this Eternalness. The cross symbolically seeks wisdom: What is True? Right? Lasting?

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Beloved Lord,

What is life’s true mystery? Life’s true joyous duty?

True

Contemplative Prayer

A silent, receptive way of being present with God. An inner stillness that quietly focuses on an aspect of God to understand, to intuit, the truth of its divine wisdom.

“God loves me unconditionally. His love is unending.”

DIY: For the duration of writing/waxing (in this case the yellow prayer symbols), let your chosen thought/aspect of God (e.g., His unconditional, unending love) be the center of your attention; writing these silent words/thoughts in symbolic form to God. Bring the mind back to that chosen thought if it wanders or gets distracted, gently, without any annoyance or fanfare.

Lace

Signifies prayer for an inner awareness of Truth, attained in meditation, contemplation.

Pussy Willow

Signifies prayer for new growth, new perceptions of understanding.

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Is the true mystery of life, dear Lord, solved with the understanding that an unending, unconditional love really does exists?

Is life’s true joyous duty seeking a tangible experience of this unconditional, unending Love?

Right

2. Conversational Prayer

DYI: Use the time spent writing/waxing, in this case the red symbols, to silently talk to God with heartfelt sincerity and devotion, and to listen for His response. Inner peace is the first sign of His response to prayer. The second is an inner awareness of happiness.

Having a concept of God that resonates as meaningful, personal, approachable and loving is very important.

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Why must Thou remain so mysterious? Hidden in supposedly plain sight?

Lord, Thou must answer my prayer to know Thine unconditional, everlasting love. If this is not a rightful prayer than I don’t know what is.

Help me. Give me the spiritual strength to empower faith and trust in Thee, that I may be receptive to Thine ever-loving presence!

lasting

3. A Prayer of Surrender

What is surrendered?

All the negativity, all that interferes with the understanding of divine Truth.

DYI: As the pysanka, in this case, settles into the black dye, allow your mind to settle back on God with a prayerful conversation of surrender.

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Thou, O Lord, dost know all things in Thy vast-beyond-measure cosmos and the reason such darkness exists in this world of human existence.

I offer to Thee the darkness of any disbelief I may have in the existence of Thine unconditional, unending love.

Help me. Fill the void of my surrendered disbelief with the everlasting light of Thy divine love.

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Remove the darkness of my ignorance.

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May I gain a true, right and lasting understanding of life’s joyous duty.

May I gain a true right and lasting understanding of Thy unending, unconditional love for me.

Amen

Ukrainian folklore characterizes pysanky as a symbolic, talismanic writing that invokes a higher Universal Power for help, while believing with faithful certainty that It will. The contemporary version of this characterization is a paper-and-pen journaling practice called prayer writing that develops a personal relationship with God.