Introduction

It was while we were on vacation at the glorious Lake Tahoe in Northern California that this book was born.

We had decided to spend this day climbing the Holy Mountain there, Mount Tallac, in order to offer prayers for world peace. It was a long, arduous climb of over three and a half hours, but the view was breathtaking and the energies we felt in the mountain were equally spectacular. We had both climbed many Holy Mountains in different parts of the world. We knew this one was particularly special, imbued as it was with highly spiritual energies of peace and love.

As soon as we reached the summit we began our prayers and felt the surges of spiritual power flow through us out to the world. This was not a new experience. We have been serious exponents of prayer for over fifty years between us. We don't just mean an occasional prayer in which we ask for something. We mean serious, heartfelt prayers for world peace and enlightenment and for the healing of friends, relatives and strangers alike.

Over the years we have had many spectacular results from our prayers. We have experienced the wind stopping around us, as if we were encased in a globe of light. We have seen the darkness of evening light up like the switching on of a light bulb. We have seen the Sun break through a dark, thickly clouded sky many times. We have seen broken bones almost instantly heal as a result of prayer: one even healed beneath its plaster cast. We have seen and felt massive swellings reduce. We have known cancers to subside. We have felt the elements swirling around us, and we have felt the response of the kingdom of Nature Spirits to our heartfelt prayers of gratitude for their bounty. We have felt waves of love coursing through our hands, making them tingle and even burn at the fingertips. We have felt our hearts blossom with joy and have felt fleeting Oneness with the Divinity within. We are not unusual; we are not special in any way, but we have dedicated many years of our lives to learning the secrets of prayer – and to feeling its amazing power. We believe that each of us has within us the power to perform miracles.

We had been praying on Mount Tallac for about thirty minutes when, suddenly, the idyllic Californian weather turned bad. The wind sprang up and began howling piercingly. From nowhere, clouds appeared on the horizon moving rapidly towards us, punctuating their intent with angry lightening bolts and deep-throated rumbles of thunder. The howling gusts blew icy blasts of needle-sharp rain into our faces, drenching us quickly and thoroughly. It was as if the joyful delight of this beautiful sacred place in Nature had been encroached upon by a strange darkness. As if the nature spirits and devas of this holy place and of the winds and rain were in mourning, for some reason unbeknown to us at the time. As if unseen forces of were determined to push us, violently if necessary, out of our sanctuary.

Not wanting to be caught in the midst of a violent thunderstorm in this exposed location, we stopped our prayers and rushed to get off the mountain as soon as we could, feeling as if we had been forcefully evicted! Within minutes we were freezing cold and enveloped in a strange, rapidly approaching darkness. We moved quickly down the steep slopes with the wind and rain at our heels.

Finally, we reached a quieter place sheltered from the elements and despite our freezing, wet bodies, we both felt strongly impressed to continue with our prayers. Despite the menacing conditions above us, we now knew we would be safe. As we continued with our prayers there seemed to be an increasing urgency that we did not understand. As our concentration deepened, the words of the prayers seemed to fade into the background and we both felt extremely spiritually inspired and powerful, as if we were part of something much larger. It was as if we had plugged ourselves into a tremendous source of power and light.

We descended as quickly and safely as possible but kept feeling the need to stop and pray with our hearts and souls for world peace and healing. Finally we turned a corner on the trail and the parking lot at the trailhead came into view. Shortly we were back in the safety of our warm, dry car. We had made it safely down. We looked at each other blankly and realized that our usual delight in this spiritual pilgrimage had been dampened by what we didn't know. The atmosphere felt tense and cautious. The gloom was tenable even in this remote untouched beauty of nature. What was going on?

As we proceeded along the west shore of Lake Tahoe, back to our accommodations, we realized something was indeed happening. There were police cars everywhere; flags at half-mast. We became increasingly concerned. When we arrived back at our bed and breakfast, our worst fears were confirmed. The day was September 11, 2001 and we learned of the monumental tragedies that had happened in New York and Washington, D.C. We wept along with the rest of the civilized world. We prayed again as we had rarely done before.

It was on this fateful day, filled with tragedy, horror and shock, that we were inspired to share the powerful technique of prayer taught to us by our spiritual teacher, Dr. George King, an enlightened Master of Yoga. After witnessing on television the moving and inspiring words and actions of thousands of caring, good-hearted people around the world wanting to help alleviate the suffering of this day, we knew that prayer was one solution.

We had personally witnessed Dr. King's dynamic prayer technique, which is the central part of our Power Prayer plan, perform miracle after miracle for many years. We had seen it heal the types of soul-wounds suffered on this day. We also knew that anyone with a burning desire to help could easily learn this outstandingly simple, yet profound and powerful, method of prayer.

The seeds of this book were born from the ashes of that awful monument to human degradation: which has since become a lasting tribute to man's innate spirituality.

Prayer is the universal language of the soul. It has been used in all the different religions, throughout the ages. The Buddhists use their prayers to find freedom from materialism and the illusions that bind us; the prayers of both Judaism and Christianity share ritual grace, the ecstatic Native American prayers delight in the world of glorious Nature and the divine forces both seen and unseen which shape our lives. If we were able to wear mystic goggles and look down from space at planet Earth, we would see all the heartfelt prayers from people of every faith rising up like pinpricks of light and love, joining to encircle and harmonize our world. Unlike dogma, prayer does not divide people into this religion or that religion, it is a common thread that binds us all.

The technique in this book resonates to the age in which we live: it is practical, effective, and crosses over the boundaries of all faiths. It takes prayer a step further – into the place where science and religion meets. It hones prayer into a tool that can transform your personal world and the world around, us quickly and effectively. Power Prayer is a non-denominational method to enhance the prayers of anyone of every religious belief and background. It is a powerful technique to bring more love, light and healing into our world, and a greater sense of peace, joy and fulfillment in our own lives.

This method (and the majority of the spiritual techniques and mystic visualizations in this book) was taught by our spiritual teacher, Dr. George King, as a means to radiate the energy of Love in a very potent manner, which he called Dynamic Prayer. This radiation of Love, which he called "spiritual energy" is extremely important. Spiritual energy is like a healing balm that can balance and change conditions for the better; bringing healing and dynamic change into our lives. Spiritual energy– love energy–prayer energy–what you call it does not matter; it is a power just as real as electricity and far more important. It is a power that we can channel from an infinite, universal supply.

Dr. King was an extremely unusual and advanced man who really lived his belief in the power of prayer. At the age of eleven, he went into the woods one day and was inspired to send healing to his mother who was very seriously ill. As a young boy he had been brought up with a belief in psychic phenomena and he sensed that his mother was getting worse throughout the night. He felt "a strange urge" to at least try to do something about her condition.

The urge was so strong that guided only by the feeble flickering of an oil lantern (this was in 1930 in a small village in Northern England), and braving the howling wind, teeming rain, and pitch blackness, he headed to the woods he knew and loved so well. Tired and soaked to the skin he came to a clearing. He had no idea of what he was going to do or even why he was there, only that he was following a strong inner urge to visit the place. He set the lantern down on the wet, muddy ground and stood shivering with cold wondering what to do next.

Then suddenly the thought struck him that he should say a simple prayer. The old oil lantern finally "gave up the ghost" and with one last puff, went out – enshrouding the whole scene in the blackness of a wet, blustery night. He felt immediately fearful, as would any eleven-year old in the same situation. However, he kept his ground and despite his agonized thoughts about how he would find his way back in the pitch darkness, he started his prayer. In Dr. King's words: "Spiritual determination is greater than any other determination and this overcame my immediate desire to run – and keep running." He started to pray with greater earnestness and expressed out loud his heartfelt thoughts while visualizing a picture of his mother lying in her bed. The visualization came easily and he felt that, instead of putting his hands together as he had been taught to do in Church, he should lift them in front of himself with palms facing the general direction of his house. He found it easier to pray in this way. There were no restrictions as he had felt with his hands clasped together. He continued his simple prayer, praying to God that his mother would be well again. And then the vision came.

Gently, at first, he became aware of a presence, unlike any other presence he had come into contact with. His eyes were tightly closed but he felt a tremendous urge to open his eyes. At first he resisted, but curiosity or fear, or a mixture of both, finally took the upper hand and he opened them and for a moment stared wildly at what he saw.

Standing about ten to twelve feet away from him was the figure of a man. He had a flowing robe and long hair and seemed to be illuminated in some mysterious way from within, for he carried no lantern in his hand and yet could be seen very clearly. Dr. King closed his eyes tightly and opened them again, and the Being became even clearer to his normal vision. He was very tall, with long brownish hair and flowing robes that seemed to be luminous in the darkness. He smiled a wonderful, all-knowing, fatherly-type of smile. He made no attempt to announce his identity, but pointing with his right hand, index finger outstretched, simply said: "Go, your mother is healed."

And then, as rapidly as the Being appeared, he dematerialized in front of his shocked eyes. The young boy rushed back in the darkness, as if imbued with an uncanny sight and sense of direction, knowing what he would see in his house before he did so.

For the first time in days, his mother was downstairs being served food. She looked up at him, her blue eyes reddened by emotion, held out her arms and held him tightly. She said that she knew he had gone into the woods, was praying for her and had a vision of what she called "an Angel."

The next day, his mother related the experiences to the specialist and her local doctor, both of whom were dumbfounded to see her up and about preparing a large Christmas cake. They could not deny that a healing had taken place by some means not described in their medical textbooks. More than once after that, the old country doctor consulted his mother about other patients who were desperately ill, and together the young Dr. King and his mother would send healing with often startling results. Such occurrences, commonly regarded as miracles, became a part of Dr. King's everyday life.

Extract from Power Prayer: A Program to Unlock Your Spiritual Strength, Adams Media, Inc., October, 2003.

© Chrissie Blaze and Gary Blaze