Salah

5 times daily the adhan flows out from loud speakers around the city summoning Muslims to formal prayer. I can't help but think that the regularity and discipline of this prayer culture must have a powerfully transformative effect on those participating in it.

I know how quickly my moods, desires and thought patterns veer off the course I want them to be on and how quickly I can rediscover God's presence when I become aware of that veering and have enough strength of will to let go and receive God's grace. But that awareness is not automatic and it can be hours, days or weeks before I realise where I am and have been. 

It seems to me that disciplined regular centering/meditative/prayer practices could be at the very least powerfully fruitful in the journey of one intent on living in a particular direction and perhaps even more than that. I am beginning to wonder whether consistent fruit is possible without them. Does a successful farmer tend his crop when he feels like it? When it is convenient to him? When he happens to remember? Or at regular intervals when it is needed?

Another facet of Islamic prayer which has caught my attention is how Muslims use their whole bodies in prayer, moving through different postural positions in a disciplined manner. With modern science (completely unreferenced) showing how powerfully bodily posture can influence the mind, I think this disciplined use of the body is another area worth exploring.

Chris