Prayer, Meaning-Making, and Sovereignty
The Nature of Prayer
Prayer is not simply asking for desired outcomes, altruistic or otherwise. Instead, it begins with a reflection on one's capacity to hold and embody the changes they seek. Radical self-responsibility and respect for lifesprout with a prayer in the heart.
True prayer is a process of introspection, where the individual considers: "Am I truly ready body, mind, and heart to accept what I desire - to live out the actions that align with the world I know is possible?"
Rather than pleading for something external, the most powerful prayer involves removing internal blockages and fortifying one's own strength to align with the desired reality. Even if the reality is: freedom from suffering.
This also doesn’t mean that if my desires are not manifest, I conclude I am not aware enough. It simply is what it is - a sort of radical self-reflection. It is a prayer that: I prepare myself to be in resonance with new circumstances by dissolving resistance and building the inner fortitude to meet the growth. It is a prayer to be the version of myself that can hold what I desire, with love.
Prayer is also a well-wish for oneself, or another. From spirit perspective, even the self is “this body” - another version of life expressing. To be well-wish oneself is different than simply desiring also. It is an integration that what serves my deepest wellness, is in service to life!
Meaning-Making and Interpreting Experiences
Our experiences, particularly those that seem misaligned or frustrating, often present opportunities for us to examine the stories we create about ourselves and the world. For example, in the context of dating, if a person consistently encounters others with incompatible values or unfulfilling interactions, the pivotal question is: What meaning am I making of these experiences? It’s easy to label these occurrences as a reflection of broader issues—such as “all men are unreliable” or “people do not evolve.” While there may be elements of truth in these observations, they risk becoming limiting beliefs when they fail to honor the complexity of human behavior and project negative generalizations.
Instead, one can choose to hold a more generous and comprehensive understanding. Perhaps the individual’s behaviors, which seem problematic, are rooted in their own upbringing, conditioning, or worldview. In Vedantic teaching, this is always the generous assumption. Recognizing this complexity allows us to engage with discernment without judgment. It also offers a chance to reshape our interpretation: How can I view this experience in a way that serves my growth and the interconnected well-being of myself and others? This approach is not about condoning harmful behaviors, but about choosing interpretations that do not further entrench negativity or diminish the richness of one's worldview.
Growing Up, Waking Up, and Cleaning Up
Every moment of reframing meaning is an act of growing up. When we encounter difficult experiences and opt to respond from a place of sovereignty—rather than conditioned reaction—we are engaging in a process of maturing. This maturation involves an integration of waking up (realizing the true nature of interconnectedness and self-agency), cleaning up (addressing internal blockages and past projections), and showing up (taking action in the world from this new place of wholeness). I have borrowed some of these human development terms and offered them fresh definition.
By making new, generative meanings, we alter our neural pathways and emotional responses. When we reinterpret a frustrating experience as an opportunity to affirm our values and embody compassion, we shift our entire psycho-physiological state. This altered state changes our hormonal environment, making us more open to genuine connection with others and the world around us.
The Sovereign Being: Agency and Choice
To be a sovereign being is to have agency in the moment—moment by moment—over the meanings we ascribe to our experiences. It is not about attaining some unlimited freedom from constraints but about expressing choice in how we interpret and respond to life’s events. Sovereignty emerges when we choose to see beyond conditioned reactions and hold multiple truths at once: the behavior of another may be incompatible with our values, and yet, we can still honor their humanity without internalizing their actions as indicative of our worth or of reality itself.
When we express sovereignty, we are not just acting freely but doing so with awareness of the intricate web of influences (personal, cultural, societal) that shape our worldview. Sovereignty, therefore, is not a static state but a dynamic practice of presence and conscious engagement with life. Most people choose social survival over sovereignty. In fact, it is shown in adult development research that less than 6% of people have what is considered to be a self-transforming mind – which can integrate differences (Kegan & Lahey, 2009). Crazy right? It is why it’s always important to ask ourselves if we are allowing agency in thought.
Retracting Projections and Transforming Memory
An essential practice in cultivating sovereignty is retracting projections. Our past experiences are often colored by meanings we unconsciously ascribed based on conditioned responses. When we revisit these memories, we have an opportunity to reshape them by bringing awareness to where we made projections that were not aligned with truth or our higher values. For instance, moments where we felt unworthy, undeserving, or unlovable often stem from meanings imposed upon us by past traumas or societal messages rather than intrinsic truths.
Going back and retracting these projections is a way of rewriting our personal narrative. By doing so, we generate new meanings that support a more authentic sense of self. This practice is not merely intellectual but deeply embodied—changing our emotional landscape, creating new cellular memories, and preparing us to engage with the present moment from a place of centeredness and empowerment.
Liberation Through One Moment at a Time
This process of conscious meaning-making happens one thought, one experience at a time. As Byron Katie states, “Liberation happens one thought at a time.” Each thought reflects a memory, a worldview, and a projection of how we believe the world to be. Changing our worldview, therefore, requires us to express sovereignty over each thought, continually choosing interpretations that align with our deepest values.
In essence, every experience invites us to co-create a new meaning and, by extension, a new reality. In some terms, this could be called Post-Traumtic Growth. An essential tool, requiring practice, in times of polycrisis, and loss.
By choosing to make meanings that serve the highest good—our own well-being and that of all interconnected life—we participate in the ongoing evolution of consciousness. Each reframed moment builds a cumulative resilience, allowing us to show up more fully for the co-creation of a more loving and just world.
A Practical Approach to Sovereign Meaning-Making
One practical way to implement this practice is by revisiting challenging memories and asking: What meaning did I make of this situation at the time? What meaning would serve me now? By using the imagination to create new interpretations, we plant seeds for future experiences that align more closely with our true nature and values. This process builds a bridge between our past and future selves, making room for the emergence of a more empowered, sovereign being who is capable of choosing love, compassion, and interconnectedness over fear, separation, and reactive patterns.
The Journey of Sovereignty
Sovereignty is not a destination but a continual unfolding—a process of reclaiming our power to choose, one moment at a time. Each act of conscious meaning-making is a radical affirmation of our agency and our commitment to living in alignment with our highest truth. By engaging in this practice, we transcend mere survival and step into a space of true co-creation, where every experience, no matter how challenging, becomes an opportunity to embody our deepest values and contribute to the collective evolution of humanity.
For most of us the very memories we need to unpack to shape our vision of self and world are held in the body. They are assisted to transform through community belonging (seeing and being seen), movement and inner work that joins self with the animate universe.
Over many years of sadhana, I have seen that most women (and many men) are still living in repressed versions of self, seeking the safe spaces to facilitate courageous change. Which is why I built the S:he - Journey into the Garden of Self to help reframe cultural, and intergenerational mindsets and lead women on journey of liberation and togetherness - in and through the BODY as nature, as Goddess, as Earth!
We begin our prep March, 2025 for the next Cohort in Costa Rica April 16-26th, 2025 - Such beautiful life enriching work!
Hope you join us, and may the inquiries in this article be illuminating for you! Let us know what you discover.
Jenna
Ps. for over 2 decades I have been immersed in Transformative Change Theory and embodiment work, and am always happy to answer questions as to how the Master Course relates to your life and see if you are a match for the group! You can book a Free 30-minute Consult Here.
