AEWCH 284: HOW TO LIVE IN 2025: PRAY with BASTIAAN BAAN
Jan 14, 2025
auto_awesome
Bastiaan Baan, a teacher, author, and former Christian Community priest, delves into impactful themes surrounding prayer and spirituality. He discusses the transformative power of prayer, exploring its ability to purify and connect individuals to their divine spark. Listeners hear poignant stories of resilience through suffering and the healing that prayer can bring. Baan emphasizes personalized morning prayers and the importance of creating sacred spaces, helping individuals navigate uncertainty with intention and hope.
Bastiaan Baan emphasizes that genuine prayer transcends words, fostering profound connections within communities and with divine forces.
The podcast highlights intercessory prayer as a vital practice that bridges suffering, uniting individuals in shared humanity amid global turmoil.
Listeners are encouraged to create personal morning prayers to align their intentions and cultivate mindfulness for daily personal growth.
Deep dives
The Essence of Prayer and Its Misunderstandings
Prayer is often seen as either a powerful tool for connection or a mere gesture without meaning. It is noted that while some perceive it as a superficial practice, others, like Bastian Bonn, argue for its real strength. The podcast explores how prayer can be both deeply personal and profoundly impactful on a wider community. Notably, the conversation highlights that genuine prayer transcends mere words, revealing deeper truths and connecting individuals to a greater collective experience.
The Transformative Power of Prayer
Prayer has the potential to change our understanding of time and space, as illustrated by insights from spiritual teachers like Martin Buber and Angelus Silesius. They suggest that genuine prayer immerses individuals in an experiential realm, allowing them to touch the eternal present and connect beyond physical limitations. This transformative aspect emphasizes not just the act of praying, but the deep connections it fosters within communities and with divine forces. By embracing prayer's profound nature, individuals can navigate challenges with renewed strength and perspective.
The Role of Intercessory Prayer
Intercessory prayer, or praying for others, is emphasized as a crucial practice amid global turmoil. The podcast illustrates how prayer can bridge gaps of suffering, uniting individuals in their shared humanity, regardless of personal circumstances. It discusses the concept of direct prayer for those in conflict and even away from common understandings of enmity, emphasizing the importance of selflessness in such acts. This practice not only benefits those being prayed for but also enriches the spiritual journey of the one praying, creating a symbiotic relationship of support and understanding.
Prayer's Connection to Nature and Elemental Beings
The podcast addresses the healing and redemptive capacity prayer has for nature and elemental beings, urging listeners to consider their relationship with the environment. By invoking prayers that engage with the elemental forces around us, individuals can cultivate a deeper sense of connection to nature and its spirits. The conversation encourages listeners to create supportive atmospheres for these beings through conscious actions and words. This interaction not only nurtures the natural world but also enriches one's spiritual practice and understanding.
Creating Personal Morning Prayers
Listeners are guided to develop personal morning prayers as tools for aligning with their daily intentions and spiritual goals. The suggested format is simple yet profound, encouraging individuals to incorporate elements of attentiveness and openness into their morning routines. By consciously connecting with their aspirations and desires for the day, individuals can cultivate mindfulness and readiness. This practice helps ground individuals in purpose and reinforces their commitment to personal growth and engagement with the world around them.
This is the second in a series of episodes on HOW TO LIVE IN 2025, focusing on the thoughts, feelings, and actions we need to thrive, develop, create, and resist. At the end of each of these episodes, I’ll offer an exercise - a thought exercise, spiritual exercise, or practical exercise - that brings an experiential dimension to what I and the shows guests talk about.
This episode's theme: PRAY and my guest, BASTIAAN BAAN.
Bastiaan Baan is a teacher, author, and was a Christian Community priest in the Netherlands. His many books include the just-released Trust in the Future: Facing Uncertain Times With Confidence; his book on the relationship between Christianity and the elemental beings, Lord of the Elements: Interweaving Christianity and Nature; and his exploration of christian paths of meditation, Ways into Christian Meditation. He also speaks around the world on spiritual topics.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
