c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Body & Soul is a regular column exploring the interplay between spirituality and psychology. Pythia Peay is the author of the forthcoming”Putting America on the Couch,”to be published by Riverhead Books.)

UNDATED _ The year will soon be over and a new one is waiting to be born. Such times of transition often elicit conflicting emotions: joy at the prospect of a new beginning; regret for what was left undone; sadness at the impermanence of life. But the new year can also be a holy time, an opportunity to consecrate the beginning of a new cycle with prayer and blessings for the future.

Now more than ever, there is evidence that people are deepening their spiritual awareness. Perhaps they have been disappointed by the unfulfilled promises of materialism. Perhaps it is because the millennium is just a few short years away. Perhaps people have been soulful all along and the rest of us are just beginning to notice.

Whatever the reason, expressions of personal spirituality are on the rise. And among the most interesting phenomena are prayer circles _ groups of people from various religious traditions who pray for one another either separately at appointed times or in regular gatherings. This network of communal devotion is spreading across the country, notes Dr. Larry Dossey, author of”Prayer is Good Medicine”(HarperCollins).

How do people join prayer circles? Sometimes it’s as simple as families and friends coming together in times of crisis. Sometimes prayer circles form in a neighborhood, or among members of a local church, mosque, or synagogue. To access prayer circles in cyberspace, Dossey suggests perusing religion offerings on various on-line services and requesting information on ongoing prayer groups.

Belleruth Naparstek, a psychotherapist in Cleveland, says she has been touched by prayer circles in the human and the virtual realms.

A friend who suffered from a painful heart condition told Naparstek about how he could physically feel the prayers his family and friends were offering for him.”He said he felt waves of warmth all over his body _ a kind of harmonious, blissful feeling,”Naparstek said of her friend, who ultimately recovered from his ailment.

When her brother-in-law began mysteriously wasting away after barely surviving open-heart surgery, Naparstek’s sister began frantically e-mailing everyone she could think of, asking that prayers be said on behalf of her ailing husband.

Within weeks the patient had gained 30 pounds. And Naparstek says his family is certain that the combination of medical care and loving prayers aided her loved one’s recovery.

Of course, not all people are healed of the ailments that beset them. And prayer circles will not banish pain, bereavement and loss. In fact, some prayer circles exist not to change reality, but to embrace it.

Several times a year, says Naparstek, who is the author of the forthcoming”Your Sixth Sense”(Harper SanFrancisco), she and her friends come together purely for the purpose of praying for each other. The group is composed of women of varying ages and faiths _ some who attend a church or synagogue, and some who don’t.

Naparstek says prayer circles provide a form of community worship that may be lacking in the lives of those who belong to no formal religion. Yet prayer circles also”fill the need for more direct, intimate support”for those who do attend church regularly. Many formal religious services, Naparstek says, don’t provide an opportunity for someone to ask for help with a painful life situation they may be facing.

Are prayers more powerful when they are recited collectively? The argument over whether it’s better to pray singly or in groups has engaged theologians for centuries _ with no conclusive outcome, Dossey says. Current studies do show, however, that no one method of prayer works better than any other. What matters most, Dossey says, is that people pray authentically, with love and compassion.

Group prayer, Dossey says, aids concentration, balances tendencies toward self-absorption and can even be a spur to social action: praying for our neighbor’s health, world peace or the environment, for example, helps people connect to what’s going on in the world around them.

Offering prayers for the welfare of all beings, says Tara Brach, an American Buddhist teacher of Vipassana meditation in the Washington, D.C. area, is central to the Buddhist practice of”Metta,”or loving-kindness. Due to Buddhism’s growing popularity, it is a technique widely practiced in many places these days, she says _ even by the minister of the Unitarian Church in her hometown of Montclair, N.J.

This”simple and beautiful”prayer, Brach says, is based on the contemplation of four phrases that are initially offered to oneself:”May I be happy; May I accept myself as I am; May I love myself unconditionally; May I rest in natural peace.” These thoughts are then extended outward in an ever-widening circle of compassion _ to friends and relatives, enemies, to all living creatures on the earth, and the universe-at-large.

For those who face the new year with feelings of despair, or who are ill, or who are troubled by global tragedies, joining with others in prayer can help bring healing balm to troubled souls. It may even help the world become a better place.

MJP END PEAY