Practices for Learning How to See

The prayer/intention used for Conspiracy Bias, as heard on Episode 6, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Mike: Companion who walks with me in light and darkness,

Gigi: help me guard my heart from stories and theories

Brian: that cast me as an innocent victim or virtuous hero,

Paul: while simultaneously casting someone else as villain or enemy.

Mike: Instead, help me join your cosmic conspiracy

Gigi: of kindness, justice, joy, and peace for all,

Brian: seeing myself and all my neighbors

Paul: as equal beneficiaries of your boundless, merciful love.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Cash Bias, as heard on Episode 6, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Mike: Cosmic witness who cannot lie,

Gigi: keep me vigilant against con artists for whom lies and truth are spoken with equal confidence,

Paul: and who tell me what I want to hear

Brian: so that I will do what they desire.

Mike: Protect me from surrendering to others

Gigi: my responsibility to think for myself.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Cash Bias, as heard on Episode 5, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Gigi: Beloved One who loves me,

Mike: help me to hate money in comparison with you,

Paul: and help me see in the love of money

Brian: the hidden root of all kinds of evil,

Gigi: so that I may see and cherish what has true value,

Mike: freely giving what I cannot keep

Paul: to gain what I cannot lose.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Catastrophe Bias, as heard on Episode 5, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Gigi: Holy Light who illumines what is real,

Brian: help me to see danger that is all the more threatening

Mike: because it unfolds gradually,

Paul: and likewise, help me to see possibility that is easily missed

Gigi: because it emerges slowly and subtly.

Mike: Grant me, I pray, the long view.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Comfort Bias, as heard on Episode 4, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Gigi: Spirit of truth who sets us free by the truth,

Paul: please strengthen my desire for truth

Mike: So that I will face rather than reject

Brian: truths that will inconvenience me.

Gigi; Grant me resolve to welcome the pain that often comes with wisdom.

Paul; Help me choose empathy over apathy.

Mike: Help me choose courage over complacency.

Brian: And help me to abhor the bliss that accompanies ignorance.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Conservative Liberal Bias, as heard on Episode 4, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Gigi: Holy Source of both surprise and consistency,

Mike: help me never to be held captive by rigid ideology on the one had

Brian: or addiction to novelty on the other.

Paul: Do not let me be blinded by conformity or loyalty

Gigi: to any political party or economic theory.

Brian: Help me always to do justice persistently,

Paul: love kindness cheerfully,

Gigi: and with unflagging sincerity,

Mike: to walk in humility with you, Living God.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Consciousness Bias, as heard on Episode 3, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Mike: Voice who beckons me toward growth,

Paul: help me see what I am mature enough to see right now,

Gigi: and not only that: help me to know now how little I can know

Brian: until I grow more mature.

Mike: Grant me curiosity and awe

Paul: so that I may honor the bottomless, limitless wonder,

Gigi: and the beauty, glory, and mystery

Brian: That permeate this world.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Competency Bias, as heard on Episode 3, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Paul: Wellspring of all self-knowledge,

Mike: give me humility so that I do not overestimate my competence.

Gigi: Save me from both excessive confidence and a lack of confidence;

Brian: instead, please grant me proper confidence,

Paul: to see myself, my abilities, and my limitations

Gigi: with a clear eye and sound mind.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Contact Bias, as heard on Episode 2, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Paul: Revealer of insight,

Gigi: do not let me be satisfied to see only what is visible from my limited perspective.

Mike: Grant me insatiable curiosity to understand

Brian: what my neighbors can see from their different vantage points.

Gigi: Help me draw near to them, to walk with them,

Mike: to see through their eyes, hear through their ears,

Brian: and feel through their experience,

Paul: so our shared horizons will be broadened.

© 2021, Brian McLaren

The prayer/intention used for Complementarity Bias, as heard on Episode 2, Season 2 of Learning How to See.

Mike: Spirit of wisdom,

Gigi: protect me from being misled by those whose words are full of flattery, familiarity, and false promises,

Paul: and keep me humble enough to learn from those

Brian: whom I am tempted to dismiss as strange, difficult, or unfriendly.

© 2021, Brian McLaren