Are You Correctly Located And Faced For Prosperity?

As a child, one of the first things I learned about Islam was that Muslims were supposed to face Mecca when they prayed. What I didn't know is that there are also other religious practices that dictate how we face and where we are located. Some cultures pray facing east, while some do it facing west, and there is even a religion in China whose members pray facing north or south. And this wasn't just random wishful thinking-there's actually some logic behind the choices! Based on what you want to achieve in life (e.g. business success, social or financial status, or even your marriage and family), you could also think about whether you are correctly located and facing for prosperity.

The first thing to note is that there's a difference between prosperity and success. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, being successful means achieving a goal or purpose, whereas being prosperous means having the capacity to provide for oneself and one's family in the future. With that in mind, let's examine how different cultures position themselves when praying and how this may affect their prosperity.

People from Western cultures like America typically pray with their heads tilted towards the east because it is believed to be connected with sunrise (and sunset). This is because of a Christian belief that Jesus rose in the east and will return to the east (i.e. Saudi Arabia) to resurrect on Judgement Day. Hindu culture also faces east while praying because they are seeking dharma (a religious path), where they believe there is a food spirit named "Raghu" that controls the sun, moon, and all life in the universe. In fact, it's believed that if you stand with your back to the light, you cannot see yourself clearly during meditation!

With that in mind, these beliefs suggest that Hindus may be facing north, which is also thought to correspond with dharmic or good energy. In contrast, ancient Chinese prayed facing the four cardinal points (north, south, east, and west), which corresponded to the four divine powers of heaven (Di Jun), earth (Di Ge), humanity (Di Ren), and ghosts and spirits. The logic is that by facing one of these cardinal points, you would be able to better attract the corresponding power.

Nowadays, it's also common for people from Western cultures to pray facing an icon or idol of their religion, such as a statue representing a spiritual leader like Jesus Christ. Because of this idea that God is everywhere, it's believed that you can face all four directions naturally when your head is bowed; hence no need to physically face a certain direction.

Finally, traditional tribes in the Australian outback used to turn their bodies around to face what was considered west for prosperity. People in this culture also believed that the roots of trees helped them grow and prosper as well.

It turns out that many of our core beliefs about religion are not only pagan and silly, but they can also have effects in our daily lives! To be fair, there's also a lot of evidence that people from different cultures and religions (e.g. Muslims, Christians, Buddhists) practice their faith differently (e.g. praying with the head inclined towards Mecca or the mountains). But it is interesting that these differences can affect us on a deeper level as well.

If you want to know more about the best way to pray and where, here are some books to check out: What's Your Heaven? by Roberta Kalechofsky and Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana.

-JZ

28th May 2016 from Mindful Magazine

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

Fair Use Notice: This copyrighted material has been posted here for educational purposes. Any unfiltered data you see on this page comes from Wikipedia, and is used under the fair use clause of the Copyright Law. We believe that it would be a fair use for academic research and similar purposes, under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Copyright Law. For more information go to: http://fairuse.gov/Copyright.

Please help support our efforts in keeping this site free and paysite for everyone by using the PayPal Donation button below! Thank you! If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much! If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much!

Copyright © 2016-17 | All Rights Reserved. No part of this website or its original content may be reproduced without express written permission from MindfulMagazine.com | The Mindful Way Newsletter™ is published by mindfulhq@mindfulhq.com

Your support is important! Please help us grow with your kindness, comments and donations! Copyright © 2016-17 | All Rights Reserved. No part of this website or its original content may be reproduced without express written permission from MindfulMagazine.com | The Mindful Way™ is published by mindfulhq@mindfulhq.com

Please feel free to link to this article and share it on social media or via email for noncommercial purposes, but you must cite the author and source in order to do so. If you teach a class on mindfulness and would like to use this article in your course, please contact us at: [email protected] . Thank you for your interest and support for our work.

Please feel free to link to this article and share it on social media or via email for noncommercial purposes, but you must cite the author and source in order to do so. If you teach a class on mindfulness and would like to use this article in your course, please contact us at: [email protected] . Thank you for your interest and support!

If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much! If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much!

If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much! If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much!

If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much! If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much!

If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much! If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much!

If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much! If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal . Thanks so much!

If this page was useful, please consider a small donation through PayPal .

Conclusion.

There's a lot more to your morning routine than getting ready in the bathroom.

If you're like me, doing these morning practices helped me look at the day with a fresh perspective and feel more focused throughout the day.  By taking time to wake up, I felt better equipped to respond to inevitable conflicts and challenges with ease rather than reactively on autopilot. 

I've also noticed that when something does happen, I can let go of it sooner since I'm not holding onto it for so long. Also, even though these practices feel like they take up my entire morning routine, they don't eat into the rest of my day.