"Mantid" derives from a Greek word meaning "prophet" or "seer."

As I sat contemplating my upcoming online course, I spied a Praying Mantis on the clematis vine growing outside my kitchen bay window. I was so happy to see her arrival, since each summer for as long as I can remember, the Mantis return to lay and hatch their eggs near my back door. Invariably we find one in the same proximity on a nearby bush or vine each August.

When my children were young, we would celebrate and take pictures of the Mantis. My son had a deep fascination and wrote stories about the Mantis arrival, which he shared as a school project. After receiving a high mark, his fourth grade teacher rewarded him with a life-like Mantis that he still keeps on a shelf in his bedroom. He is in college now, but each time I see his ‘pretend’ Mantis and with each summer’s arrival of the next ‘real’ hatchlings, I stand in wonder.

Filled with intrigue on this sultry August day, I stole outdoors, creeping softly to catch a closer glimpse of the Mantis. She was smaller than those I remembered, and must have been a younger hatchling. I crept closer and she turned her head to look at me. We shared a moment. She didn’t move and I thought to myself, how still she is.

Later, I did a Google search and checked my copy of Animal Speak by Ted Andrews. It was one of those enlightening moments where my heart leapt in excitement as I realized the Praying Mantis is the perfect archetypal energy for the theme of my new online course. What better totem for Intuitive Prayer than the Praying Mantis!

The Praying Mantis is associated with much mystery and myth. From its prayerful position of its front legs, to its powerful show of energetic poise, this creature has guided Kung Fu practitioners and yogis down through the centuries. In Chinese martial arts, the praying mantis movements are done in a manner that helps the individual connect with their personal energy or chi. During the online course we will be working a great deal with the chakra system of the body. To help us visualize the balance required to move into a state of intuitive prayer, we will call upon this marvelous archetypal guide to assist us in our quest.

Finding balance at the center of the wheel of life is a continual pursuit, and when those moments of equilibrium arrive, the flow of intuitive prayer is natural and unimpeded. The praying mantis, with its huge capacity to consume a large amount of insects, does its part in helping to maintain ecological balance. When to prey upon its food source and when to retreat is part of this amazing creature’s instinctual nature for it lives forever poised in the present moment. The Mantis knows at a gut level when to move and when to be still. Legends tell us that she lives outside of time and space and can move freely at will into the realm of spirit. A dancer between the worlds, this creature is associated with time travel and can teach us much about our own biorhythms. Our human self can emulate many of these characteristics of the Mantis, so we may better center ourselves in our bodymind and move our consciousness into the realm of higher awareness.

Intuitive prayer relates to the perception of the higher realms of spiritual awareness and is achieved through stillness in mental contemplation, deep meditation, and dreaming. To be able to channel grace and spiritual guidance, one must learn to become very still, like the deep unmoving water below the surging tides of thought and emotion. The Mantis can remain still for very long periods of time, connecting to the instinctual flow of energy within and without, so that when the time comes to move, it is done without the intervention of thought. Through this skill of deep stillness, the Mantis can connect and blend into its surroundings, becoming an invisible one. She is a master shapeshifter, who understands the mysteries of materialization and dematerialization. She can teach us how to walk between the worlds, shifting our assemblage point out of every day reality and into the flow of universal and divine knowledge. With every breath, we are a channel of eternal wisdom.

photo credit for praying mantis, www.noaa.gov

Since we were very young we have been told to remember to say our prayers.

Do you pray to get Spirit’s attention? Do you pray only when you are in great need? Is it when all else fails that you pray? Do you feel confident that you know how to have a conversation with God/Great Spirit/Goddess Mother? Do you believe that angels, spirit guides, power animals, saints and ancestors show up when you pray? Do you feel you have to call on them in order for them to come to you? Even when the voice of your personality is not engaged in your unique practice of prayer, do you believe or sense that your soul is always engaged in prayer? When is your soul not in communication with Source? When are you not praying?

Guidance is constant. You are always praying.

The stream of soultalk is constant and yet, we often only hear it when we quiet ourselves and find moments of stillness. We commune with nature at these times or sit in meditation with the intent to be in communication with Spirit. Even though we are always, in every moment, with every thought and feeling, in communication with spirit, we often fail to hear the eternal stream of our soul's guidance. We separate from spirit with our minds and hearts, but spirit never separates from us. Spirit is always there, in communication with us. We feel cut off from Spirit when we fail to listen and fail to realize that every moment of our lives is a form of communication with the Divine. The wind in the tree branches, the call from a neighbor, the stopped-up toilet, the balancing of the checkbook, the fight with a friend, are all forms of divine communication. Divine guidance comes in the smallness of life, the aspects of insignificant living. Each inhale is a prayer, and each exhale is the prayer's answer.

Opening to the channel of overflowing guidance is the act of intuitive prayer. It arises out of stillness, peaceful relaxation, dreaming and meditation, which are techniques we use to get out of our own way. For it is our ‘way’ that creates the illusion of blocks to the constant flow of guidance. We are never blocked. We simply buy into the illusion that we are blocked, so we develop techniques to unblock our illusions of being blocked.

Caroline Myss says we are not creatures with a soul but we are creatures of the soul. We don’t have a soul, we are a soul that is one with Source. The act of prayer is the opening of our channel for grace. It is our way of stopping for a moment, stepping out of the activity of the day and saying, “Hey, Spirit, I’m here, sending you a voice. I’m open to your inspiration because in this moment, I am touching you, I’m connecting and acknowledging the sacred.”

And that feels good. Our emotions tell us so. When we touch into the divine flow that is constantly guiding us, no matter the outcome, it feels really good in the moment of prayer. You know it does, because you have experienced these moments of grace. That feeling of real goodness is all the feedback we need. For a moment we are relieved, revived, recharged with what is real and true and cannot be denied. We are soul and as such, we cannot “Not Pray”. It’s impossible. And we cannot “Not Receive Guidance”. We can ignore it, tune it out, dismiss and determine it invalid. But we cannot stop the channel of grace, for it is life force itself, and it is our forever companion on this path of life.

The power of intuitive prayer comes from simply sitting with God. It is, in the words of my wise teenage children, hanging out. To hang out means to be with another with no agenda, no plan, and no expectations. Teens get together the way I sense we could and should join with God. They hang out in communion with their friends in the present moment and just see what transpires.

What if we tried to hang out with Source? Just hang out with Spirit without a reason why. I wonder, what we would discover?

Landings is now available for purchase in my online store. If you wish to reserve an autographed copy of my new book, I invite you to place your order today!

Here's what some readers have to say so far...

"There were so many clues that were connections for me. I have always felt I lived in two worlds, always having to choose. But, then you also mentioned things that are so very personal to me like Home, the fracturing, the black pearl, the tree of life, the pillar and many other things that symbolized for me the connectedness I have with your message. My soul purpose has been discovered - to mature my spirit. To move from the child of manifestation into a spirit of maturity, where I can now use what I know and pass on what I've learned and love what I have and have lost." -- Candice McCreery

"Landings shows that multiple approaches to healing trauma have validity, and can be integrated for a healing of not just psyche or spirit, but psyche AND spirit." -- Barbara Braham

In private consultations, Margaret has assisted hundreds of people in releasing the blocks that are holding them back from achieving their goals and visions of fulfillment. To set up an appointment with Margaret, please email her at info@wisdomwalks.com or visit her online store at www.wisdomwalks.com.

Margaret is working on a new website! Coming soon is www.margarethartlewis.com. Keep checking wisdomwalks for updates!