Grant me the ability to be alone;

May it be my custom to go outdoors each day

Among the trees and grasses,

Among all growing things,

And there may I be alone,

To talk with the one that I belong to.

Origin:

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810), cerebrated rabbinical teacher and mystic of Eastern Europe. He was the founder of Breslover Hasidism.

Options:

• Use as a part of your spring or summertime morning prayer ritual. If praying indoors, arrange a flower or leaf of the season on your altar or praying corner. Press the flower or leaf between two books until dry. Use your pressed flower or leaf as a marker for a missal or spiritual book.

• Try spending a day or morning completely alone — no television, radio, telephone, Internet — no outside contact. Read this prayer at the beginning and end of your Day (or half-day) of Silence.

Frances Sheridan Goulart, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in God Has No Religion: Blending Traditions for Prayer by Frances Sheridan Goulart