Mom and I were wondering when you worship God, what do you feel is the most important thing, if anything? Is it prayer, daily devotional, going to the church, synagogue, or temple, or something else? Or is it all equally important to you?

Mom and I feel it all has a place, but we feel IF we had to choose just one, we would say prayer because that is communication with God.

Regular contact with nature. Earth, stone, trees, sky, sun, moon, stars.

Regular use of body in communion with such - hiking, biking, yoga - the use of body is a celebration of the gifts of God.

Regular use of senses - ears, eyes, nose, mouth, touch. And mind - using these to engage with the gifts that God has given and expressing gratitude for this magnificent life.

Regular listening to uplifting music, singing, dancing, again, participating to the fullest of my ability.

And all of these things have the element of prayer / meditation attached.

And less so - but still important - communing with others who share any of these practices.

Being still and knowing that He is God. In His presence, quiet meditating on who He is.

I believe in prayer. Sometimes my prayers are like conversations with God - sometimes they´re more wordless meditations, like Anci´s.

I belive in prayer, but mainly I belive in acts. Through how we act and behave do we bring God nearer - and sadly I often fail to behave as I wish. Especially for me I find compassion the greatest act that I (or anyone) can perform. Selfless compassion for our fellow beings - especially animals, children and adults.

It´s easy to be compassionate to those you love - I´m trying now to be compassionate towards those I don´t love (like other drivers on MY roads!!). So instead of immediately having an angry response to someone who cuts me off in traffic, I try instead to imagine that they have a crisis they need to attend to.

And that´s something I talk to God a lot about, because only through God will I be able to get to the point where compassion is my first and only response!

Oh Wolfie - I am definitely not compassionate to other drivers on MY roads in London!!! Especially when I am trying to get home to my kitties from work!!!!

So I see I have to really work at my ideal of compassion....

Marketa, I believe prayer is essential connection to God, and it helps center one as well.

Wolfie, I think we all have trouble being compassionate to the other drivers on the road sometimes. There´s a contemporary Christian song out right now that talks about not knowing what the other person is going through, and how we need to take a minute and stop and the other person might just be going through something, and we need to be more compassionate, caring, and understanding of one another. We are all supposed to be more Christ-like, and part of that is becoming more compassionate. I know it´s something I have to work on all the time...that and being more patient and understanding!

Another thing that´s part of my worship (and you can see some of it in my post about mountains in another thread here) is an occasional attempt at achieving the mystical experience, the union with God as the unknowable. I don´t do it often, and I never have achieved the ecstasy of the union, but I know it´s out there.

This all comes from hanging around in Catholic schools with Jesuits, of course, and reading about Catholic saints such as St. Theresa, and other Catholic mystics. If I had never met that crowd, I suspect I would have long been satisfied with a simpler faith rather than what seems to be a faith that is more complex than necessary.

Yes, Wolfie - I too did some meditation (Zen stuff) and it did kinda work. But I did once - for a split second - enter another dimesion (or became closer to God). But it was not during meditation, it was during very repetitve wooden sword practice. But the concentration was total and suddenly there was this thing happening that I cannot describe. Sadly it lasted very short time and I have never managed to repeat it.
MC: I belive in prayer too - I was just trying to say that, personally, I believe that it is not enough - that how people act and interact with others (whether animal or human) is just as important.

Marketa, I agree it´s just as important how people act and interact with animals and humans.

The Christian Second Great Commandment is: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

And God didn´t say, Love thy HUMAN neighbor as thyself.

Far as I´m concerned, under that "law," I am commanded to love everything. Which is sometimes tough to remember when I´m trying to drive to work and the idiot in front of me has had his turn signal on for 8 miles.

The Christian Second Great Commandment is: Love thy neighbor as thyself.
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Uhm...Wolfie that is from Leviticus 19:18 "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. In other words it is from the Old testament and we Jews believe in it as well, as I think it is also in the Muslim religion. Or basically all the Judeo-Christian religions...

And yes - it is a very tough command!!! LOL.

Marketa, thanks for the citation. I knew that commandment was followed by a number of religions, but I didn´t know exactly where in the Old Testament it appeared.

We humans are so fractious - sometimes I think we like nothing better than squabbling with each other!