Daffodil Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 My son has a fever tonight and I'm trying to go to sleep after giving him some medicine. Though I am thoroughly convinced that nobody is "up there", the urge to pray is intense. It's amazing how the brain reverts so quickly to habit when under stress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yunea Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 I hope your son will feel better soon, Daff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted December 11, 2016 Moderator Share Posted December 11, 2016 Hi Daffodil Funny enough I get that - not feeling well or upset I find myself asking the lord to help me... then do a double take and what the??? It's amazing how long programmed stuff remains inside the brain. Hope your son gets better soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinzon Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 If it makes you feel any better. I still do accidently pray sometimes myself and i deconverted in 09. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Margee Posted December 11, 2016 Moderator Share Posted December 11, 2016 Still happens to me also. I sure hope your son is feeling better real soon hun! (hug) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TABA Posted December 11, 2016 Moderator Share Posted December 11, 2016 Hi Daffodil. First of all I hope your son is better now. I do sometimes get the urge to pray when things get stressful, even though I'm pretty sure there's nobody outside of my head hearing any prayers. During a stressful moment a few weeks ago, as a test I decided to say a quick prayer to Zeus, and I found the same sense of relief that used to come from praying to God/Jesus. Nothing wrong with praying if it helps you cope. Unless of course you still feel torn between belief and unbelief, in which case it's likely to confuse you more. Just pray, like I did, to a god you KNOW doesn't exist! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daffodil Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 His fever is down today and he's feeling better. TABA - that made me smile. I'll have to figure out which deity to pray to. Zeus is out because all those graeco-roman gods were horndoggers! Maybe a Norse god? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Glad to hear your son is feeling better. I agree with TABA. What does it matter if we pray? Christianity has always been primarily a coping mechanism for life. Its ok to admit to ourselves and understand that we are powerless over certain situations. It appears that reaching out for help to a "higher power" seems to be wired into our brains (considering the vast majority of humans do so). I see no issue with praying, if for no other reason than just to help us feel better in a time of need. Do whatever makes you feel better in whatever situation you find yourself in. It isn't wrong or bad. It is what it is: a way to cope with a difficult situation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 There are a lot of psychological benefits to praying, perhaps even if you find it helpful for the anxiety or if it makes your son feel better you can do perform a "non-divine prayer," which is basically just speaking hopeful outcomes over yourself and son. I practice mindfulness medidtation on a regular basis and it has been a more than sufficient replacement for prayer in my life. It is important to note some of the psychological benefits we received from religious behavior. Even though the content was bogus, the effect it would have on our neurophysiology was certainly real, and I think any secular person should pursue practices which help them manage their stress and allow for personal introspection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Margee Posted December 12, 2016 Moderator Share Posted December 12, 2016 There are a lot of psychological benefits to praying, perhaps even if you find it helpful for the anxiety or if it makes your son feel better you can do perform a "non-divine prayer," which is basically just speaking hopeful outcomes over yourself and son. I practice mindfulness medidtation on a regular basis and it has been a more than sufficient replacement for prayer in my life. It is important to note some of the psychological benefits we received from religious behavior. Even though the content was bogus, the effect it would have on our neurophysiology was certainly real, and I think any secular person should pursue practices which help them manage their stress and allow for personal introspection. Excellent point TS. I researched the benefits of praying and no damn wonder the world can't give it up. There is a lot of 'hope' in praying which can chance a person who feels hopeless into a much more positive frame of mind. I loved praying and waiting on god for my answers....even if it was me who brought the answers. And even when prayer didn't get answered, one still can hope while waiting. That's what I miss more than anything...feeling hope. I love to read a lot of positive thinking stuff. I have to. I can always feel the 'sting' of bitterness in my heart and it is so important to stay positive. I really like that concept of ''non-divine prayer''. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 There are a lot of psychological benefits to praying, perhaps even if you find it helpful for the anxiety or if it makes your son feel better you can do perform a "non-divine prayer," which is basically just speaking hopeful outcomes over yourself and son. I practice mindfulness medidtation on a regular basis and it has been a more than sufficient replacement for prayer in my life. It is important to note some of the psychological benefits we received from religious behavior. Even though the content was bogus, the effect it would have on our neurophysiology was certainly real, and I think any secular person should pursue practices which help them manage their stress and allow for personal introspection. Excellent point TS. I researched the benefits of praying and no damn wonder the world can't give it up. There is a lot of 'hope' in praying which can chance a person who feels hopeless into a much more positive frame of mind. I loved praying and waiting on god for my answers....even if it was me who brought the answers. And even when prayer didn't get answered, one still can hope while waiting. That's what I miss more than anything...feeling hope. I love to read a lot of positive thinking stuff. I have to. I can always feel the 'sting' of bitterness in my heart and it is so important to stay positive. I really like that concept of ''non-divine prayer''. I would agree, but I feel in retrospect that the hope one achieved as a Christian was a cheap hope, one where I had to delude myself and so convince myself that this hope swallowed my whole worldview. I think whatever measure of hope we have felt is truly a human emotional capacity, and I think that if you look at the reality of your neurophysiology the fact that we can shape our brains to be healthier and more full of vitality. Yet we'll never be able to escape the fact that despite that there might be a truly complex and unique person in each of us, we are all still organisms; longs gasping for air and mind searching the stars. We are finite and limited in strength, we are not of ultimate significance, the mechanisms by which beings such as us arose were purely natural. Acceptance is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaitingInfinity Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 The praying urge definitely happens to me still. I'll usually roll my eyes and convert what I would have prayed into a hope that I'll speak aloud if alone or say in my head. If alone, I usually use it as a springboard to have some one-on-one conversation time with myself. I find that I work out problems and my feelings about them and discover my options a lot better if I speak about these things aloud. Talking to yourself is actually a healthy behavior! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LogicalFallacy Posted December 14, 2016 Moderator Share Posted December 14, 2016 I had a really bad headache two nights ago. So I decided to pray to the Sun God. I actually felt quite good after it, both in that the pain reduced temporarily, and that I just felt good. Confirm placebo effect works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeCycle Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 My son has a fever tonight and I'm trying to go to sleep after giving him some medicine. Though I am thoroughly convinced that nobody is "up there", the urge to pray is intense. It's amazing how the brain reverts so quickly to habit when under stress. This is certainly one of the comforts prayer can offer... Having some recent issues with my dog reminded me of prayer and how useless it is in the end, but still beneficial in some regards. What a crazy world we live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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