Life Prayers : From Around the World : 365 Prayers, Blessings, and Affirmations to Celebrate the Human Journey

by Elizabeth Roberts, Elias Amidon

An eloquent anthology honoring the wonders and challenges of life on earth and celebrating the seasons of our lives. The mysteries and delights of life on earth are illuminated in this richly eclectic collection of poetry, wisdom, prayers, and blessings from thinkers and writers around the world. Here you will find the poetry of Hildgard of Bingen and Gary Snyder; the political wisdom of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr.; a treasury of women's prayers, classical verse from China and Japan; and beautiful chants and prayers by Native Americans. A joyous affirmation of the human journey in all its forms, in all its struggles and glories.

Genres: Poetry, Religion, Nonfiction

464 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 1996

Reviews

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this little paperback book, "Life Prayers" at the local library sale and it jumped off the table into my eagerly awaiting hands. If you love anthologies which introduce you to new and old favorite authors, you'll love this book! I am too blessed, too fortunate, to have these amazing words which are beyond prayers, but are affirmations of life's longing for itself. The poem I have posted below (in itself worth the price of the entire book!) is from this book which boasts works from over 100 authors! It's a literary feast to be slowly and deliciously devoured and digested.

Here are the chapter headings:

1. Affirmations and Invocation

2. Kinship With All Life

3. The Dark Night of Our Soul

4. Prayers for Solidarity and Justice

5. Womansprayer

6. Initiation (Birth, Coming of Age, Courtship, Marriage Vows & Blessings, Healing Prayers, Midlife, Growing Older, Death).

7. Moments of Grace and Illumination

8. Earth Praises

****************************

Before Jesus Was His Mother

Before Jesus
was his mother.

Before supper
in the upper room,
breakfast in the barn.

Before the Passover Feast,
a feeding trough.
And here, the altar of Earth,
fair linens of hay and seed.

Before his cry,
her cry.
Before his sweat of blood,
her bleeding and tears.
Before his offering,
hers.

Before the breaking of bread and death,
the breaking of her body in birth.

Before the offering of the cup,
the offering of her breast.
Before his blood,
her blood.
And by her body and blood alone,
his body and blood and whole human being.

The wise ones knelt
to hear the woman's word in wonder.
Holding up her sacred child,
her God in the form of a babe,
she said: "Receive and let your hearts be healed
and your lives he filled with love,
for This is my body,
This is my blood."
~Alla Bozarth

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will make you proud to be a human being, Larry Dossey, M.D.

It covers prayers for affirmations and invocations, Kinship with all Life, The dark night of our soul, Prayers for Solidarity and Justice, Womansparyaer, Iniantions: birth, coming of age, courtship, marriage, healing, midlife, growing older, and death; Grace, and Earth praises.

The book includes people from around the world affirming the unity of nature and spirit. Some of my favorite poets were here like Walt Whitman and Wendell Berry.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this through twice now. It's a book I will keep by my bed and leaf through like an old friend. I especially appreciated the prayers on nature.

[Moonstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely bedside book.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it many times. From my colleague friend Linda Petersen

[Riley Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of prayers and wisdom that can be used by an person of any faith and background. It is truly ecumenical.

[R. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently made myself a to-do list. Not of errands and chores. A to-do for my humanity, my way of being in the world. A reminder of what activities make my life the life of me. "Write," it says. "Look at stars." "Consult oracles." "Commit beautiful prayers to memory." Some other stuff.

That last, about the prayers, is the vestige of my Judaism. Any devout Jew has at the ready, in case of many different events, various specific, old, studied-over, fussed-over, polished-to-profundity prayers. Being able to express my feelings with gorgeous, skilled words even in a state of shock was pretty much the best thing, for me, about practicing that religion. So I'm going to keep it. I'm going to commit beautiful prayers - Pagan, Jewish, secular humanist, whatever - to memory so I have words for all kinds of occasions. Words that don't sound dumb. Words that treat the core of me and soothe my humanity.

Finding such words has proven trickier than I immediately imagined. When the internet didn't even seem to know what I meant, I ordered every non-denominational collection of prayers that Amazon was selling for less than $0.02. This was one of them, and this has turned out to be my favorite.

It's the smallest. It's the most diverse. It's the wordiest. These are mostly poems, not prayers, lengthy discourses, not breathy utterances, but tucked in to them are turns of phrase that will be perfect for so many things. Marge Piercy and Sharon Olds and that sort of wisdom-speaker are carrying most of the weight in here, with just a few of the Dalai Lama and "Ancient Native American - Anonymous" type.

Reading through the whole book, all 365 good pieces, was healing. It was a review of my life with an eye to appropriate wordage for connecting my soul to all other souls experiencing like things.

I liked it. This is a good'n. I don't even think I'm going to keep the others. This one's got everything covered.

[Green Heart Guidance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Life Prayers from Around the World: 365 Prayers, Blessings, and Affirmations to Celebrate the Human Journey by Elizabeth Roberts. The collection is grouped by topic rather than daily prayers as one might expect from the “365” in the title. While it includes prayers and thoughts from many traditions, earth based spirituality is prevalent throughout. The collection has many thought-provoking poems as part of these prayers. Topics covered include all parts of the life cycle, moments of grace, justice, crisis and more. I was captivated by most of the included works from start to finish.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I very much like reading anthologies of prayers and poems because, not only does the reading often center my day, but it introduces me to writers and poets I might not otherwise encounter. (This is how I first encountered the poetry of both Rumi and Wendell Berry.) I would recommend this book to anyone else who similarly enjoys starting (or ending) their day with a bit of beautifully reflective thought.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost as wonderful a collection as the first, Earth Prayers.