Ron Roth - Prayer and the Five Stages of Healing

PRAYER
and the
FIVE STAGES
of
HEALING

BY RON ROTH, PH.D.

BOOKS

The Healing Path of Prayer (with Peter Occhiogrosso)
Prayer and the Five Stages of Healing (with Peter Occhiogrosso)

AUDIOS

Healing Prayers
Holy Spirit: The Boundless Energy of God
Prayer and the Five Stages of Healing (two-tape set and six-tape set)

(All of the above are available at your local bookstore,
or may be ordered by calling Hay House at 800-654-5126.)

Please visit the Hay House Website at: www.hayhouse.com

Copyright 1999 by Ron Roth

Published and distributed in the United States by:
Hay House, Inc., P.O. Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018-5100 (800)654-5126 (800) 650-5115 (fax)

Edited by: Jill Kramer Designed by: Wendy Lutge

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews without prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Hay House and the author express gratitude to the following publishers and individuals for allowing inclusion of their work in this book:

Excerpts from Meditations from Meister Eckhart, edited by Matthew Fox; 1983, Bear & Co., Santa Fe, NM. Used by permission of the publisher.

Praying with John of the Cross, by Wayne Simsic. Reprinted from Praying with Hildegard of Bingen, by Gloria Durka (Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press, 1991). Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Praying with Hildegard of Bingen. Reprinted from Praying with Hildegard of Bingen, by Gloria Durka (Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press, 1991). Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen, by Gabrielle Uhlein, 1983, Bear & Co., Santa Fe, NM. Used by permission of the publisher.

Excerpts from Hell Bent for Heaven, by Hilda Charlton, 1990, Golden Quest, Woodstock, NY. Used by permission of the publisher.

Excerpts from Prayer of Generational Forgiveness, by Howard Wills. Used by permission of the author.

God! God! God! by Paramahansa Yogananda. Reprinted from Man's Eternal Quest by Paramahansa Yogananda (Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1982). Used by permission of the publisher.

Quotation by Sri Daya Mata. Reprinted from Enter the Quiet Heart, by Sri Daya Mata. (Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1998). Used by permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roth, Ron.
Prayer and the five stages of healing / Ron Roth with Peter Occhiogrosso.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-56170-551-9
1. Mysticism. 2. Prayer. I. Occhiogrosso, Peter. II. Title. BL625.R58 1999
291.4'3dc21 98-43146

CIP

ISBN 1-56170-551-9

02 01 00 99 4 3 2 1
First Printing, February 1999

Printed in the United States of America

This work is lovingly dedicated to all the saints and mystics
who have taught us how to live in a spirit of profound joy;
and to Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, who taught us to make
the transition to the next life with dignity, grace, and peace.

Contents

I am eternally grateful to the many people whose love has empowered me over the years and whose support has taken me to new heights of service. It is my prayer that all of them be continually blessed by God in such a way that they truly recognize that life is not only a gift, but a celebration.

First and foremost, I am grateful to my family and friends, who form my core support group. This includes my spiritual family, who are committed to pray daily for me and the work entrusted to me by the Divine Spirit.

I am also grateful to Peter Occhiogrosso, who is more than a coworker; he is a true friend and confidant.

To my office manager and secretary, Marilyn Carr, for the efficiency and care she expresses in her work, as well as for being a friend for over 40 years.

To my agent, Muriel Nellis; to my editor, Jill Kramer; to Louise Hay, Reid Tracy, Barbara Bouse, and all my family at Hay House, without whose support for my work this book might not have been realized.

To Kathleen Noone, who has graced my life with her continual love, encouragement, and radiance.

To Rani Stoler, a dear friend whose media expertise has helped bring my message of God's healing love to a wider audience.

To my friends, Carole Dean; Carol Joyce; Alan and Robin Neuman; Dolores Myss, my other mother, who considers me a member of her own family; and to Toni Boehm; Patricia Treece; Ralph Sariego; and the entire staff of The Conference Works.

To all of you go my prayers for continual blessings and God's peace.

One seeks God in books; one finds him in prayer.
Padre Pio

T hese words of Padre Pio, the 20th-century Italian mystic to whom I feel a close attachment, sum up both my dilemma and my only recourse. No book can supply a surefire road map to the Divine; the best one can hope to do is point pilgrims to the path and help them on their way. The journey will be completed only under God's direction. What I can and do hope to accomplish in this book is to establish the link between prayer and healing, and explore the many ramifications of that connection.

When people ask me how to heal themselves, I tell them to pray for others to be healed. They sometimes look at me askance, as if it couldn't possibly be that simpleor that paradoxical. And yet the link between prayer and healing is so direct that if you take the time to learn just a few basic principles about prayer, along with a few uncomplicated techniques for praying, you can change your life completely.

The first principle we need to accept is that we can no longer look at prayer as some kind of adjunct to life, or as a peripheral aspect of the spiritual pathlike that yoga workshop you take every summer, or the occasional weekend retreat. Prayer cannot be something you do only once a week, at church on Sunday, at the temple on Saturday, or at the mosque on Friday. It can't even be something you do for an hour every morning or evening. I am convinced that we cannot make much progress at all along the path unless prayer is as intimately integrated into our daily life as breathing. When St. Paul advised his followers to pray without ceasing he didn't mean that in some metaphorical or hyperbolic sensehe meant it literally.

That does not mean that your lips should be engaged in rattling off preexisting prayers every minute of the day. More than words or formulas, prayer is awareness. You can pray while driving to work in the morning, while changing the baby, making dinner, swimming in a lake, or watching television (although I don't recommend the latter). Prayer is a way of invoking the sacred in your life, and once you acquire the habit of prayer, you can make all of your actions sacred acts.