Zombies and The Welcoming Prayer

I’ve often wondered what’s behind the appeal of the zombie craze, which has shown no sign of abating for the past several years. Even cooking shows on television are having chefs make zombie-themed cakes…the more oozing brains and spurting blood, the better. Finally, I came across a theory that makes a lot of sense. In The Book of Awakening, Mark Nepo suggests that we are so scared of our inner life that we are afraid to look beneath the surface, but because our need to look within won’t be denied, it manifests in a fascination with images of people being cut open in slasher movies and ripped apart by zombies. What is inside will surface one way or another. Thus, if we want to reduce the amount of violence in our society, we need safe ways to examine what we keep inside.

At the Oblate Renewal Day at the Mount on October 1, Dr. Dennie Oades provided us with such a tool—the Welcoming Prayer. Dr. Oades explained that when we are children, it is rare for all our needs for security, affection, and control to be met in healthy ways, so we develop “emotional programs for happiness” based on those needs—for example, we might unconsciously expect to be affirmed for what we do for others or need to be in control to feel safe. When those needs are blocked somehow, we feel frustrated, which is when we can use the Welcoming Prayer. This type of prayer invites us to pause and acknowledge that God is present in the midst of our physical and emotional reactions to events and situations in daily life. This recognition of God’s presence within us gives us the courage to welcome what we are experiencing, for it has surfaced to teach us something. Then we can release our frustration by praying, “I let go of my desire for security, affection, and control and embrace this moment as it is.” Thus we respond to our feelings instead of react to them, which is much healthier for us and for our relationships with others.

As Dr. Oades noted, God is at work through all things for our healing, even our turbulent emotions and physical aches and pains. You can find more information about the Welcoming Prayer at the Contemplative Outreach Web site (http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/). It’s a wonderful way to inoculate yourself against potential zombie attacks!