“A wise man’s heart is at his right; but a fool’s heart is at his left” (Ecc.10:2).
A wise man is some one who enjoys the best that life offers. The Bible contains extra-ordinary wisdom as it is God’s revelation to man. It contains promises for life here and life here-after. “for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come” (1Tim.4:8). If one would follow all regulations of the Old Testament about food, sanitation and morality, one could be sure of a healthy and a happy life here on earth. The New Testament, on the other hand, offers the way to enjoy eternal bliss.
The verse quoted above was written about 3000 years ago by King Solomon who is considered the wisest of men. What he said at that time is discovered by modern scientists now with exact accuracy about the way how the human brain functions.
It is a common knowledge today that our brain is divided in to left and right and each has essentially different functions to perform. It is also known today that our brain produces electronic pulses as it vibrates regularly. When our eyes are open and when we do any physical activity our left brain vibrates at 14-21 cycles per second (cps). When our eyes are open, it is the left side of our brain which is activated usually and it is analytical in nature and activity oriented in function. But when we close our eyes and begin to concentrate on some thing, the right side of our brain begins to be activated and the vibration is reduced to 7-14 cps. This is the center of our brain and it takes us to the strongest part of our mind power which is on the right side. When we sleep the cps reaches 4-7 and in a deep sleep it is 0-4 which is a kind of unconscious stage. In our sleep right side of our brain controls all our internal organs.
The activity of our brain between sleep and wake up, that is, the position with eyes closed in a relaxed mood when we concentrate on some thing, is the creative and intuitive part of our mind and it is the center of our brain’s activities. It is called the Alpha mind. If some one is able to cultivate the habit of remaining in this position of the mind for some time regularly, it is said to have enormous effect on one’s active life. Unfortunately, though the Bible talked about it long before the modern scientists discovered it, the Bible believers do not get the benefit out of this ancient Bible revelation.
How shall we get practical benefits from this Bible revelation about how our mind works? This is what we exactly do when we pray. Christ who is the Eternal Word lives in our hearts by faith (Eph.3:17) in all believers. When we close our eyes and concentrate on Him we get in to direct touch with Him. All we need to do now is to discipline ourselves to strict timings and for regular practice for this contact with the divine in us.
1. Twice a day set apart a minimum of fifteen minutes each as soon as waking up and just before going to bed.
2. Sit up straight with your legs stretched and body straight and the body relaxed. A kneeling position with hands and head slightly lifted up with eyes closed is found to have tremendous effect for prayer.
3. Concentrate your mind on God and on His goodness to you and thank Him for all good things you enjoy in life one by one. Say it loudly to yourself so that you could hear what you say so that your concentration is not lost. Do it for the first five minutes. You may sing a song of praise at this time instead, with eyes closed and with full concentration. We are told that He lives up on the praises of His people (Ps.22:3).
4. Then for the next five minutes repeat to yourself a verse of Scripture which assures you of God’s wonderful work in your life. You might say it aloud to yourself, “I am a child of God through Christ”, or say “God has blessed me with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” or say, “The Lord is my shepherded, and I shall not want” or “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. And visualize yourself as safe and sound in the hands of the Lord. Do this for a minimum of five minutes. And never entertain any negative thought any time in your life (Ph.l.4:8,9). It is called positive affirmations.
5. Continue with eyes closed to pray for others and pray for your own needs for the day. And take your time for it. Our Lord said, “For truly I say to you that whoever shall say to this mountain, Be moved and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said shall occur, he shall have whatever he said (Mk.11:23). It is called creative visualization.
6. Do it at the same time daily with out fail with eyes closed and in full concentration. Force yourself to do it by discipline for the first three weeks. If you can do it for three weeks, it would become a habit with you and you could do it with out much difficulty later on.
What actually happens is that when we close our eyes and concentrate on some thing, our right brain gets activated and our subconscious mind gets the message instantly. Because the vibration level there is lower, it affects our whole system positively. Our tension would be relieved and problems related to tension would begin to reduce slowly. If we practice it daily just as we have our food at the correct time or just as we take medicines prescribed by a doctor, we would soon find that our bodies become healthier and our dependence on other medicines would be reduced to a minimum. Many have benefited from this practice. I invite you too to enjoy life at its best and be wise as God expects us to be.
May I add one more word. The more time you are able to spend in this condition is better for you and for others around you. And it would bring glory to God ultimately as we are actually in touch with Him all the time we are doing this. In other words, when we pray we are functioning like a fully charged mobile phone with the right connections. We are sending the power of God as electronic pulses to the recipient (the one for whom we are praying) through our minds. The only difference is that when we are sending the message (i.e. when we pray) we are also charging our batteries at the same time!! So less time in prayer means a poorly charged battery. And no time in prayer means batteries are fully discharged. So I suggest a minimum of one hour daily as ideal for every one. But with out fifteen minutes at a time twice a day it might not yield much desired results at all. Try this out and share with us how it has worked for you. Thanks.
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