Saying grace

[Redchic12]

Was just sitting here today and thinking about people who still say grace before a meal and thought of a funny situation that happened to me a few years ago. Well funny now but not really at the time.

My friend and I were in America and after kayaking all day we were invited to dinner by a friend of the American woman who was with us.

Well after a day on the river we were absolutely starving and we all (about 8 of us) sat down at the table and then the meal was put in front of us. So when the final person sat down I started loading up my fork with food and just as the fork full of food was half way between my plate and my wide open mouth the host says, “Let us say grace”.

Omg I nearly died of embarrassment and my friend is sitting there with her head bent, giggling. So I plonk my fork down and apologise thinking, Omg he must think us Aussies are a bunch of savages! Which we probably are ha ha.

Anyway what I was wondering is do people still say grace in America, Uk and Europe.

Aussies never say grace and I’ve never been to any meal in anyone’s place in 50 years who do say it.

A bit of a shame really cos I feel it is a nice thing to do.

Oh well hope that gives you a bit of a laugh for the day.

Originally Posted by Redchic12

Was just sitting here today and thinking about people who still say grace before a meal and thought of a funny situation that happened to me a few years ago. Well funny now but not really at the time.

day.

Redchic12,

It was good of you to share that. Our concept of prayer has morphed greatly over time. We now tend to look at prayer as something to utilize as a means of asking for something to answer our needs and seldom as a way of giving thanks for the blessings that we have. “In God we trust” meant something at one time….our trust now seems more dependent on the government to provide for us….to bail us out. Growing up it was inconceivable for us to share a meal without saying grace. My parent’s generation had lived through the Great Depression……..no one assumed that to have food on the table was a given. As a farm family we were acutely aware that our livelihood was dependent on favorable weather and good health. In short, we were very aware that our very existence was dependent on grace…….

[inavalan]

"Saying grace", "praying", "making affirmations" can be effective when you do them knowing what you're doing. Otherwise they're a waste of time, and could even be detrimental.

It isn't a matter of being nice, but of beneficially using your intention power.

Seth:

"The pity of the world’s present situation is that the methods people use often to achieve their desires, are those specific methods that will bring them the opposite." —TPS1 Session 478 April 28, 1969

A 2017 poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that saying grace is a widespread practice in the United States. About half of all Americans take a minute to say a prayer over their food at least a few times a week.

A random sample of 1,686 American adults, 48 percent say they give blessings to God or say grace before meals at least a few times each week. Slim 51 percent majorities say grace in both rural and urban America; in the suburbs, 45 percent say grace regularly.

62 percent of Republicans say grace at least a few times a week, compared with 43 percent of Democrats and 41 percent of independents.

Six in 10 Protestants say grace a few times a week or more, as do 52 percent of Catholics. But the practice is far more prevalent among black Protestants (80 percent) and white evangelical Protestants (74 percent) than among white mainline or nonevangelical Protestants, 31 percent of whom report saying grace frequently before meals.

Overall, about 8 in 10 blacks, about 6 in 10 Hispanics and about 4 in 10 whites say grace at least a few times each week.

Even 11 percent of people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or adherents of no particular religion say grace at least a few times a week.

Reciting a prayer before meals is also traditional in other religions, including Islam, Hinduism, ...

In regards to Seth……some believe in the efficacy of prayer….some do not….and many are set in their positions……

[iamthat]

Thanks for the entertaining story, Redchic12 - it got me thinking.

At my prep school in the UK grace was always said at mealtimes (in Latin naturally - something like Benedicto Benedicatur).

But saying grace before eating does seem to have fallen out of favour in Western households, maybe connected to the fact that nowadays supposedly only 30% of families regularly eat together at a dining table.

For those of us who are spiritually inclined it would seem natural to give thanks for our food and to bless it with light before eating. But how many of us do this? I rarely do. And given the research of Masaru Emoto on how our thoughts affect water then we could be doing this every time we have even a glass of water. It can only be beneficial.

My favourite grace? "God bless the bunch who munch this lunch."

Peace

[inavalan]

Originally Posted by Molearner

In regards to Seth……some believe in the efficacy of prayer….some do not….and many are set in their positions……

My point was, and the Seth quote was in the same sense, that you have to "pray" in a way that it is effective. Looking at the results, it seems obvious that people don't do it right.

It isn't that prayer is effective or not. It is like with meditation, and all other techniques.

EDIT: It isn't about the words, the formulation, the time, the length of a prayer / meditation / ..., but about the right state of consciousness when you do it, and even more important about what you think and feel during the rest of your day.

Originally Posted by inavalan

My point was, and the Seth quote was in the same sense, that you have to "pray" in a way that it is effective. Looking at the results, it seems obvious that people don't do it right.

Some it isn't that prayer is effective or not. It is like with meditation, and all other techniques.

inavalan,

Results smack too much of the prosperity gospel for me. The results that we pray for are not necessarily the results that God gives us….sometimes we lack the wisdom to understand the results. The most effective part of any prayer are simply the opening words…”our Heavenly Father”. By this we acknowledge that God exists….after those simple words anything that follows is up to God.

Proverbs 3:5-6…..”Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

Alternate opening words for a prayer: “Hello darkness my old friend”. When I close my eyes to meditate I enter the darkness of eternity. That ‘sound of silence’ is the absence of perception and thought. I have come into the presence of ‘the small, still voice of God’. It is only later that I find my path….always remembering where that path started…..

[pixiedust]

Molearner

Perhaps it is good that this topic evolved to touch on a point that I've wondered about.

I have always been rather turned off by people or ideals of spirit that are driven by what I'd call self-driven motivations.

I will be good because... I want this
I will do that because ... I fear damnation/my life review.
I pray because it serves me.

However, recently, after a bout of illness, I confess that I felt...OK I will do better because I don't want to be this sick again.

Last night I startled awake and thought someone was showering. I think it was silence but it was louder than usual, perhaps because I was sleeping. It often fades for me during daylight activity and hours and busy-ness.

[Redchic12]

Thanks everyone. Some really great comments there.