When I began this post last Friday, the temperature in L.A. County had soared to 90º, not the weather for struggle. Now, the heat has settled somewhat, simmering in the 80's, while this Sunday, the President's birthday, simmers with politically-charged protests (No Kings and supporting events) across the country, and the White House promotes a Martial Arts Competition. Quite an agenda for a Sunday. My intention is to re-route your attention to a spiritual perspective as the day, and the week ahead, unfold. The heat and the political competitions have had me seeking a spiritual shortcut until I remembered Larry Morris' practice of the simple prayer, "Help!"
Larry's spiritual cries for "Help" were usually very funny, but he also told stories of his desperation, when the only solution he could manage was a prayerful cry of "Help!' In one story, after a long day and late night of research, he left the University of New Mexico library, exiting the building through a side door with no nearby lighting. In the deep dark, he tripped and fell, painfully dislocating his ankle. He couldn't get up. In shock, he sat awhile on the concrete, despondent, not knowing what to do. All that came to him was the word "Help." "Help" became prayer. Unexpectedly, another nearby door opened in the dark and a man appeared. In the shadowy light, Larry recognized him as one of the Philosophy professors. The professor was able to help Larry stand, and, with his car nearby, drove them both to the emergency room. The professor stayed while the staff (more help) assessed and treated the injury, and then he drove Larry home. The accident sparked a 30 year friendship. In another story, Larry was embroiled in an impossible on and off relationship, full of youthful angst and drama. One evening, he walked to a nearby park, and lay in the summer grass. He was emotionally drained, still unable to take any action to change things. He looked up a the sky and exhaled the prayer, "Help." This time, he added from some depth within, "I'll do anything to get out of this." Then he dragged himself home. In a few weeks, the whole configuration had dissolved, and he entered a new phase of life.
These types of experiences pull us into the core of relatedness--not just some imagined spiritual realm, but a spiritual realm that includes the interweaving of lives, of creatures, of uncountable forms that are all expressions of this Life. The prayer for "Help" is a form of petitionary prayer. The heart of traditional religious prayer is our dependency on a Larger Field of Life, beyond our individual capacity to manage a situation. We frame that dependency in various ways, based on religious upbringing or other exposure to the collective idea of God, or a Higher Power, along with ideas of guiding Angels and/or Saints--something/someone, greater than our own capacity in the moment of need. New Thought, on the other hand, encourages affirmative prayer--a confident expression of our capacity to manifest the Good directly; it affirms ownership of our minds and hearts, as unique expressions and vital aspects of God. These two paths can blend into each other, in the greater Mystery of Life and Transcendence.
But maybe the value of the prayer of "Help" is it's simplicity and humility. Not a humility that strips us of dignity, but rather an acceptance that we reach our limits when we view our circumstances as singular. The "Help" prayer reconnects us to the human condition. We rely on other. We discover "other" is never truly other. Other is more like brother, like mother, like lover, sister, father, child--other is even self. Consider this week, the simple prayer for Help. (Susan Nettleton) for poetry: https://www.thebeatles.com/help-1 https://poetandpoem.com/Dame-Edith-Sitwell/Answers https://optimisticbeacon.com/2025/05/28/helping-a-poem-by-shel-silverstein/