Prayer and Meditation
Remember: In Betty’s Love, you are never alone….
Fully manifested Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, some neuroscience experts believe, leave a brain able to perform only two functions. One of them is Prayer.
Whether you define God as Mother, Buddha, or Christ the Son – or as anything that has greater power over your thoughts and Life than you do – prayer to and/or meditation about ‘God’ can be powerful things to help you find Hope, Peace, and Joy in your Alzheimer’s journeys. Ancient, recent, and ever-unfolding studies (even, perhaps especially, by agnostic scientists) laud spiritual prayers, songs, touch, and traditions in calming and elevating people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. ’Divinity’ might also explain:
why Betty could remember and recite ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ (on days when she didn’t know her own name);
why her very last words were of Love; and,
why, in her last hours, my and others’ Prayers calmed her and eased her physical pain.
Everything we do, we do with Love … so, of course, prayer is in there! Join us for Betty’s Love Programs, Events, and Services and experience how Prayer – as you define it and God – will embrace your Spirit. For the second function believed to be among a brain’s final abilities, simply enroll in a Betty’s Lesson-with-Love!
In the meantime, we share with you some of the interfaith prayers and meditations families like yours find effective. We pray they will help you as you journey along your unique and unchartable path…
The Deer’s Cry
I bind myself today:God’s Power to guide me,
God’s Might to uphold me,
God’s Wisdom to teach me,
God’s Eye to watch over me,
God’s Ear to hear me,
God’s Word to give me speech,
God’s Hand to guide me,
God’s Way to lie before me….
—St. Patrick’s Breastplate
It is said to be called ‘breastplate’ from the Irish word, ‘lorica’ – a mystical garment believed to protect the wearer from danger and illness. It is also called and sung, in Irish, Fáed Fíada.
A Prayer to Quiet Worry
“In nothing be anxious.”
—Philippians 4:6
Such a simple prayer! All-too often, such a difficult thing to do. What might help is to read the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of this Letter from St. Paul.
God’s Word in Quran
“Your Lord hath decreed that you worship none but Him,
and that you be kind to parents.
Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life,
say not to them a word of contempt,
nor repel them,
but address them in terms of honour.
And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say:
‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy, even as they cherished me in childhood.’”
—Quran 17:23
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
—Reinhold Niebuhr
This Prayer is world renowned for its effectiveness in ‘helping to heal the human condition’ one day at a time in Twelve-Step Programs. ‘One day at a time’ is one of Betty’s Tenets.™
We also find this additional text to be especially applicable to our journeys. It is, by turns, attributed to Mr. Neibuhr or an unknown author.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as God did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that God will make all things right
If I surrender to God’s Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with God
forever and ever in the next.
A Prayer for Caregivers by Caregivers
Caregiver.
I like that word, Lord.
It says so much about who we are called to be in your Kingdom.
Care indicates the deep regard we hold for others.
Giver echoes the scriptural assurance that you love a cheerful giver.
As giver I will strive to bestow on my patients your special gifts of faith, hope and love.
I will attempt to empower them to use their own abilities and strengths.
I will share with them the belief that your Holy Spirit is alive and well within them
no matter what their physical condition.
Caregiver is who you are to me, Lord.
May I give care to others in return.
So be it.
So be it.
—Patti Normile
The Prayer of Protection
The Love of God enfolds me.
The Light of God surrounds me.
The Power of God protects me.
The Presence of God watches over me.
Wherever I am, God is.
And all is well.
The Light of God surrounds us.
The Love of God enfolds us.
The Power of God protects us.
The Presence of God watches over us.
Wherever we are, God is.
And all is well.
The Light of God surrounds [Betty].
The Love of God enfolds [Betty].
The Power of God protects [Betty].
The Presence of God watches over [Betty].
Wherever [Betty] is, God is.
And all is well.
Amen!
The Prayer of Protection is often used at the close of Embrace Meetings. The third stanza was, we believe, first Prayed at Betty’s bedside as she began her final Journey. In those last hours of her physical Life, as all-too-often over 20-plus years, Betty seemed ‘not there.’ Where could she have been? Join Betty’s Love and learn where, in Betty’s Tenets!
Interspiritual support and enlightnment might be found of The Quran, The Book of Mormon, The Bhagavad Gita, The Daily Word … in history, in fiction, in children’s laughter and breaking waves and a robin’s morning song…. Wherever you are, whatever you need, whenever you need it: Please stop, breathe, and look around. It’s there.
In the meantime, know that, wherever you are, Betty’s Love is her for you. You and your Family are already in our Prayers and, in the Spirit of Betty’s Love, you are Loved, too.
Please share with us your favorite and Inspiring Prayers and Meditations. Send them – and Your Story for Our Stories – to families@bettyslove.org. And, please, join an Embrace Meeting from Our Heartquarters by phone, via Internet, and, soon, streaming live on line. They’re free and always end with you feeling hugged!
Thank you for your generosity and support of Betty’s Vision of Joy. Together with you, our grassroots movement will change the world … one Betty’s Love Family like yours at a time.
Note: Betty’s Love Alzheimer’s Charities is based in Love and interfaith spirituality and welcomes and embraces all faiths, all religions, and all spiritual practices. We neither promote these prayers nor promote their authors. They have been used by and/or suggested to Betty’s Love for the purpose of supporting ourselves and one another along our journeys through Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cognitive impairment, and all Life challenges.