I’ve been working recently with a client who, like so many, finds herself trapped in the echo chamber of her own mind. The endless to-do lists, the looping worries, the “what ifs” and “should haves” - they rise up most loudly in the quiet hours of night. Sleep, of course, becomes elusive. Her mind is way too full.

She’s tried mindfulness. And yes, there’s beauty in pausing, observing, and coming back to breath. But when the mind is like a room filled with a thousand buzzing insects, sitting inside it can feel like torture!

So I offered her a different kind of medicine: prayer.

As Transpersonal therapists, we are often drawn to the sacred and the ancient. So why not prayer? It offers us and our clients - a simple, heart-led language and practice. For my client, it was a gentle mantra she could repeat whilst holding prayer beads - something tactile, rhythmic, and deeply soothing.

Holding a string of prayer beads can anchor our thoughts, whilst praying centres us.

Her mind did begin to settle, not because she silenced it, but because she softened into something deeper - her heart.

From Mind to Heart to Spirit

In a world that values thinking and doing, we can easily forget that we are also made for feeling and being. Mindfulness, as it’s often practised, focuses on mental observation. But prayer invites us into a different space - one of relationship and connection wth a deeper truth and knowing.

Prayer isn’t about asking for things. It’s about re-membering. it's an ancient practice connecting the body, with the mind and the spirit / soul. A truly holistic way to live and simply be.

Across traditions and centuries, people have used tools to help shift from head to heart. The mala beads of the East. The rosary of the Christian world. Knotted cords, carved stones, even simple pebbles picked up on a beach. These are more than objects. They are sacred touchpoints. They give the fingers something to hold while the soul finds its way inward.

Perhaps the movement of prayer beads mirrors the spiral movement of the soul - a quiet turning, a return. Each bead is a breath, a beat, a moment of connection.

Prayers for All Peoples

It's easy to get caught up in dogma and feel like prayer is outdated or just for those religious folk over there. Or to feel concerned that we might not know the right way to go about it.  Yet, there is no one way to pray. And there is no one right language. What matters is the connection between our hearts and the words we speak when we pray. Often the more simple and sincere it is, the more powerful it is, like this one...

 A traditional Navajo prayer:

"Peace before me,
Peace behind me,
Peace below me,
Peace above me,
Peace within me."

Imagine saying this slowly, one line per bead, with the breath. It becomes more than a recitation - it becomes a rhythm of restoration. A remembrance of belonging.

The mystic Rumi reminds us:

"Let yourself be silently drawn
by the strange pull of what you really love.
It will not lead you astray."

This too is prayer. A quiet permission to return to love, over and over. And to trust the intuition of our hearts.

An Invitation to Return

Prayer is not about fixing. It’s not about perfect phrasing. It’s about returning - to the heart, to the soul, to what matters.

So if your mind is full, if the noise feels too loud, try placing your hand on your chest. Feel your heartbeat. Let your breath slow. And let a few sacred words rise - not from your head, but from the deeper knowing within you.

You might begin with this timeless prayer, known and loved across traditions:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference."

Repeat it. Breathe it. Let it become a bridge - from mind - to heart - to spirit.

Prayer helps us reach out to the divine, and in doing so we return to the sacred, peaceful home of self and soul.