In God Makes the Rivers to Flow; An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry & Prose, Eknath Easwaran includes a selection from Dov Baer of Mezhirech entitled “Your Must Forget Yourself in Prayer.” I’ve written the following poem-like reflections inspired by this selection.
The Prayer of Forgetfulness
You must forget yourself in prayer.
Think of yourself as nothing
and pray only for the sake of God.
In such prayer you may come to transcend time,
entering the highest realms
of the World of Thought.
—Dov Baer of Mezhirech
What is the prayer of forgetfulness?
Forgetting the bread and cheese lunch.
Forgetting the letter than needs to be written.
Forgetting the bill that needs to be paid.
Forgetting the money in the bank.
Forgetting the kiss of a lover.
Forgetting the handhold of a child.
Forgetting the morning commute.
Forgetting the phone that needs to be answered,
the call that needs to be returned.
Forgetting the grocery store.
Forgetting the doctor and all those aches and pains.
Forgetting the dentist and the sore tooth.
Forgetting the hair that needs to be cut.
Forgetting the feel of feet in socks and shoes.
Forgetting the sound of laughter.
Forgetting the taste of a peach.
Forgetting the sight of a parking lot.
Forgetting the smell of coffee brewing.
Forgetting the boundaries of the body.
Forgetting the beating of your heart.
Forgetting the breath.
Forgetting what the neighbor said.
Forgetting what you should have said.
Forgetting the wars all over the world.
Forgetting robberies.
Forgetting rapes.
Forgetting violent assaults.
Forgetting fires.
Forgetting hurricanes.
Forgetting blizzards.
Forgetting floods.
Forgetting politics and current events.
Forgetting births.
Forgetting marriages.
Forgetting concerts.
Forgetting plays.
Forgetting the sick.
Forgetting the poor.
Forgetting the brokenhearted.
Forgetting your own broken heart.
Forgetting anger.
Forgetting fear.
Forgetting blame.
Forgetting shame.
Forgetting hopelessness.
Forgetting helplessness.
Forgetting joy.
Forgetting love.
Forgetting peace.
Forgetting hope.
Forgetting grace.
Forgetting wisdom.
Forgetting oceans.
Forgetting mountains.
Forgetting rivers.
Forgetting canyons.
Forgetting beaches.
Forgetting forests.
Forgetting stars.
Forgetting moonlight.
Forgetting sunlight.
Forgetting florescent light.
Forgetting distance.
Forgetting time.
Forgetting thought.
And entering the silence and that bright internal light.
Praying only for the sake of God
can hardly be considered prayer
in the usual sense.
There is no petition.
There is no thanksgiving.
There is no praise.
There is no penitence or repentance.
It could be called contemplation.
It could be called communion.
Forgetting everything but the presence of the one being, one mind.
Making yourself nothing,
And remembering your true self.
