In some of my prayer circles, we speak of the “beauty way.” This expression brings to mind the flowers and the bird songs, as they inspire us to live in harmony, being who we are, and revealing our true colors for all to see. This is called walking in the beauty way.
“I Bloom”
The Vision
This is a song about showing up and doing my best, wherever I am: “I bloom where I am planted.” It's a positive affirmation, stating who I wish to be in the world, and it works a certain special medicine in me when I sing it.
The Story
Our family holds a nightly ritual of singing together at bedtime and this is the song my daughter requests most often. The song's high-pitched melody and its flower references feel feminine to me, stretching me to grow in different areas as I express myself as a human being. I believe it helps me to ease into a calm, colorful, playful way of being in the world, rooting down, sprouting up, and growing together with the people around me.
Our nightly singing ritual looks like this.
The familiar phrase "Bloom where you are planted," is a message I found in my dad's handwriting, soon after his passing, and it continues to inspire me, along with another classic: "From the mud the lotus blooms." Yes, the lotus flower, a.k.a. water lily, roots down in the murky mud at the bottom of a pond and climbs up, up, up, up, and up to the sunlight at the surface, where it opens its blossom with petals pure white. This song brings images like these to mind for me.
Praying this way, through music, is a fundamental way to express and connect. It feels just as natural as smiling and dancing. With this song, I express my vision for myself in a way that brings me closer and closer to actualizing it in my reality. With this song, I connect with my higher self, with my family, and with God. Connections like these are the building blocks for the divine virtues of harmony, love, truth, and justice.
I still appreciate many other forms of prayer too. In the Native American Church, we witness a woman praying over the midnight water, with sacred tobacco allowing us to visualize her prayers through the smoke. In another church I attend, we recite the Rosary in unison, with numerous instances of the Hail Mary prayer, which ultimately becomes a mantra that carries us all in a singular vibration, where the holy peace is deeply felt. I also connect with the spirit realm through a daily "spirit plate" offering, as another form of prayer.
In my childhood, I thought of the tipi as a very faraway, distant part of America's past. I never imagined setting foot inside a tipi until just a few years ago, when I peeked inside one at an art festival. A year after this first glimpse, I found myself living on a ranch with the very same tipi setup right there on the land where I lived. Now, I still think of the tipi as a sacred gathering place, and feel honored each time I set foot inside.
Being inside a tipi is a spiritual experience in itself.
And, of course, I sit in front of an altar, light a candle, close my eyes, and hold my palms together. I pray in the quiet of night and the stillness of dawn. I pray with words and I pray without words, in silent meditation. I pray when my emotional waves rise, and also when they fall. I recite familiar prayers that I know, and I express new prayers for the first time. My feeling is that prayer is an art form, and this is a profound way for a creative person to connect with the Creator.
In my exploration of prayer, I've learned about White Buffalo Calf Woman–a celestial being who appeared to the Lakota people. According to the legend, she gifted the indigenous people of the Americas with a sacred canupa (pipe) that allowed them to reach the Creator directly with their prayers. This became the sword that guided and safeguarded the First Nations on their spiritual paths, even as they faced the spread of the many worldly influences attempting to dominate them.
Our Lady of Guadalupe looks like this.
I see another precious example of “how to pray” in Our Lady of Guadalupe. In her example, this woman embodies grace, gentility, and care. In her image, she closes her eyes, folds her hands together, and radiates light. Through this image, I think of the way she prays for the wellbeing of all souls, notably the souls who are lost and wandering, perhaps forgetting the love that created them. Her story strums my heartstrings with the inclusion of the rose symbol, which may represent the beauty she sees in every soul, along with her willingness to know and hold the thorny parts of us, and she loves us just the same.
I'm guessing the most common prayer in our world today is the Lord's Prayer, which was the way Jesus taught people to pray, according to the Bible's New Testament. Obviously, this is another exemplary prayer. With this prayer, we are invited to: (1) praise the Creator; (2) honor the Creation; (3) ask for guidance and guardianship; (4) purify ourselves through repentance; and (5) free ourselves and others through forgiveness. A brilliant and beautiful way to pray.
The Lyrics
I bloom
Where I am planted I bloom
Layers unfolding
The real me is revealed
I am
A seed and a sprout and a blossom
Life is awesome
Heavenly and lovely
I bloom
Like a sunflower at dawn
The sun invites me to
Shine right where I am
I am
Reaching my roots in the ground
Stretching my stem toward the sky
I am alive
I bloom
Here in the Garden of Eden
Here in the desert
And here inside my heart
My Mother
How I admire Your nature
You remind me to
Find joy in every color
I am
The Process
This song originated on January 17, 2016, following a spiritual work led by Paulo Roberto. It started with a spark of divine inspiration. And then the inspiration gained substance with a melody. Next, the words filled the space that the melody created. With the words came the vibration that could be further carried by the guitar, and the visions that bring beautiful images to mind. The song continues to take shape, with variations on the vocals, the guitar parts, the tempo...
My video is at DLive