In late August and early September 2017, we have seen an unprecedented series of category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. Harvey and Irma created massive damage when they made landfall, and as of this writing, Jose is following in their wake. We have prayed about the people, animals, plants, and even the buildings that have been affected. But what about the hurricanes themselves?

Dr. Jerry Epstein is a physician, a pioneer in mental imagery, and an authority on the Western spiritual tradition and its application to healing and therapeutics; his work is available at www.drjerryepstein.org. In The Encyclopedia of Mental Imagery, he compiled a collection of some 2,100 exercises from his teacher, the late Colette Aboulker-Muscat of Jerusalem, who understood that the images we have in our minds can be used to heal and transform our lives. He has contributed an imagery exercise for taming Hurricane Irma, which can be used with any hurricane or extreme weather event.

And so we pray this news . . .

Taming Hurricane Irma by Dr. Jerry Epstein

Imagery is a form of non-verbal prayer.

There is a large body of research showing the efficacy of communal prayer in creating physiological change in individuals suffering with life threatening illnesses — even when they did not know they were being prayed for. Likewise, imagery can be used to help shift global events as well. Many participate in these prayer groups.

Here is an imageryto help diffuse the power of Hurricane Irma, modified from an imagery that my beloved teacher, Colette, taught me.

Intention: To dissipate the force of the hurricane

Frequency: Morning and Night until the Hurricane leaves shore.

  • Close your eyes and breathe out and in three times slowly.
  • See the hurricane from above.
  • Now, quickly tie it up in a Gordian knot (i.e. a knot that cannot be undone),
  • See this knot holding the hurricane’s force within itself propelling it eastward to the ocean far from land where it dissipates its force and disappears.
  • Breathe out and open your eyes.

Next Post: A Prayer for a Sober View of Disaster