Yesterday during a coaching session, one of my favorite things happened. A client wanted to spend his entire session talking about spirituality.
This conversation started with his interest in exploring reincarnation and the afterlife. He expressed bitterness over being made to feel so insignificant and unworthy by the Catholic Church. His church and its leaders had left him feeling empty. As I heard his frustrations, I nodded and admitted having heard similar words from dozens of clients.
How does one respond to a person who has lost their faith? Is there a way to restore trust in God and the power of the invisible? In moments like these, all I can do is to share what I have come to know personally.
I urged this client not to dismiss his church so quickly. What jewels of truth could he take from his religion to comfort and sustain his spiritual life today?
• Favorite Bible Verses
• Stories and examples of Jesus’ life and teachings
• Special hymns and songs
• Priests, ministers and spiritual leaders who have inspired you.
• Favorite memories of church, holidays and rituals
• The Lord’s prayer
I mentioned that I had always loved the Aramaic translation of the Lord’s Prayer and promised to find a copy to send after our session. The Aramaic version is the energetic one that I carry in my heart. It is inspiring and so beautifully captures what I believe Jesus meant. This version also helps me to see how our modern version reflects the truth too. Nevertheless, I find myself in love with the Aramaic translation and share it below:
Lord’s Prayer
A Translation of “Our Father” directly from the Aramaic into English
(rather than from Aramaic to Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English)
O cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration!
Soften the ground of our being and carve out a space within us where your Presence can abide.
Fill us with your creativity so that we may be empowered to bear the fruit of your mission.
Let each of our actions bear fruit in accordance with our desire.
Endow us with the wisdom to produce and share what each being needs to grow and flourish.
Untie the tangled threads of destiny that bind us, as we release others from the entanglement of past mistakes.
Do not let us be seduced by that which would divert us from our true purpose, but illuminate the opportunities of the present moment.
For you are the ground and the fruitful vision, the birth-power and fulfillment, as all is gathered and made whole once again.
Source: Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz, based on the work of Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz
My faith goes well beyond belief these days. The knowing comes because more often than not, I feel God with me. I have been shown miracles and signs demonstrating that there is no limit to what can be created through faith. My beliefs may no longer fully reflect what I was taught in church, but God and Jesus are certainly fully present. I am especially grateful for the words that Jesus spoke in the Lord’s Prayer and will cherish these as my spiritual foundation.
