Tag Archives: Ambrose Worrall

* Reconsidering “Don’t come uninvited” — again

Uncategorized, ,

The story of the beginnings of the New Life Clinic (link) illustrates again how adamant the Worralls were to “not come uninvited.”

On pages 132-134 of The Gift of Healing,[*] Ambrose Worrall writes:

Olga was visiting a sister in New York City, while I was away on a business trip.  A friend from Baltimore, whom Olga met in New York, told her that she had just read a newspaper article about a minister in Baltimore who had become interested in religious healing.  His first healing service was to take place in his Baltimore church on Tuesday the following week.  Since Olga and I were in this work, her friend was sure we would want to attend this meeting.

* * *

… Olga arrived home in time to attend that healing service on Tuesday morning at the Mt. Vernon Place Methodist Church in Baltimore.  As she came into the church, she met a lady we have both known many years, and they sat together.  After the service this friend suggested that Olga should come up and meet the minister, Dr. Albert E. Day.

After the introduction they talked briefly.  In a hurried sentence or two Olga managed to tell him of her own interest in healing.  Dr. Day suggested that she stop in at his office and leave her name and address with his secretary.  This Olga did — and promptly forgot about it, with no anticipation that she would ever hear from him again.

A series of happenings in our home on Thursday morning changed her entire thinking on this matter.  I believe it best here to let Olga report this as she herself wrote it down, some time afterward, for our records:

“. . . The following Thursday morning, around 8:00 A.M., I found my thoughts dwelling on the minister and the healing service.  I made every effort to dismiss these thoughts; after all, the minister did not call me, so why all the excitement?  However, by 8:30 that morning something that refused to be silenced insisted that the minister had need of my help and experience in the field of healing and that I was to phone him.  I actually felt a strong push in the back that made me fall across the bed as I was making up the bed.

“I called out, ‘O God, please don’t let me make a fool of myself.  I have never forced myself on anyone.  The man has my phone number and if he is interested he will phone.’  This was ridiculous — all the years my husband and I have been doing this work we have never gone to anyone offering our services.  However, this command to contact the minister kept after me until at 9:00 A.M. I found myself calling the church office.  The secretary informed me that Dr. Day was not in, was not expected because this was his day away from the office.

“I thanked the secretary with much relief; now I would not make a fool of myself.  Before I could hang up a voice said, ‘I’m the associate minister — may I help?’  Very briefly, I told him my name and my interest in healing.  Dr. Day’s associate minister said, ‘Oh — we’ve been looking for your phone number — the secretary misplaced it.  May I call at your home to see you?’  I answered that I would rather see him at the church office.  By 10:00 A.M. I was at the church office, wondering all the while what on earth possessed me to be doing all this.

“I explained to this young associate minister what my husband and I had been doing in the field of spiritual healing without benefit of any organ­i­za­tion or group affiliations.  In the midst of this conversation, the door of the office opened and in walked the minister himself, Dr. Day, much to the surprise of the associate minister who said, ‘Why — what are you doing in here today?’

“Dr. Day then stated that he had suddenly felt that there was a compelling reason for him to come to his office even though this was his day to stay at home.  Further discussion brought out my own experience of the morning, when I had felt this force within me urging me to phone the church.  Dr. Day then asked me what time that was, and I said approximately eight thirty that morning.  He seemed amazed, and told me that at precisely that time he was on his knees at his home in prayer, asking God to send him someone who knew something about the healing ministry to help in this new venture he was starting.”

Related:  The New Life Clinic
Related:  Don’t come uninvited.
Related:  Reconsidering “Don’t come uninvited.”
====================================
[*]Ambrose A. Worrall with Olga N. Worrall, The Gift of Healing. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers. Copyright (c) 1965 by Harper & Row, Publishers.

Reblogged 2022-08-11.

* What you “see” is what you’ll get.

Uncategorized, , , , ,

This story from Ambrose Worrall’s The Gift of Healing[*] illustrates that not all prayer, however well-intentioned, will necessarily bring about the desired results. Some prayer may even interfere with obtaining the desired results.

Ambrose Worrall had been asked to intercede for a six-year old girl named Kay, who had developed encephalitis following measles. At the time he began, she was completely paralysed.

Continue reading * What you “see” is what you’ll get. →

* Reconsidering “Don’t come uninvited.”

Bible, , , , , ,

Ambrose and Olga Worrall took the doctrine of “Don’t come uninvited” to extreme lengths — or so I thought. A key story involves their relations with one another.

From The Gift of Healing, pages 118-120:[*]

Some time before our marriage Olga had injured her left hand in a fall on an icy sidewalk. Following this mishap a small lump appeared in the injured area. It did not disappear, but grew larger until it was as big as a good-sized walnut. Continue reading * Reconsidering “Don’t come uninvited.” →

* Choosing to feel good is not a no-brainer

Get on your feet, OUR BEST POSTS, The Way of Peace, , ,

A few days ago, in the “smoke pit” awaiting entry to the homeless shelter where I stay, I sat facing a choice of whether to feel good or feel bad.  I allowed myself to stay in that state for some time so as to examine it.  As I’ve observed many times in the past, it proved to be, apparently, a completely arbitrary choice.

This really puzzled, and puzzles me.  Choosing to feel good creates light.  Choosing to feel bad creates darkness.  There is so much “darkness” in the world, and I want to understand how it comes about.  Can it really be as simple as a wholly arbitrary choice? Continue reading * Choosing to feel good is not a no-brainer →

* Prayer course syllabus

Bible, ,

Below appears the syllabus for the course on prayer that I’m teaching at my church.  Today we completed Week 2.

===================================================

Effective Prayer

DESCRIPTION

Many people long to love and serve God — whatever that means — in ways more meaningful than mere ritual practices. This course will teach ways to focus one’s altruism so as to attain greater harmony within oneself and in one’s relationships. Anticipated outcomes:

– improved self-acceptance
– improved functionality
– improved employability
– improved ability to set goals
– improved ability to work toward goals
– enhanced sense of personal efficacy
– intrapersonal coherence (integrity, “faith”)
– enhanced affect management
– greater harmony in relationships
– It just plain feels good.

The course will treat all religions as equally valid.  Students are likely to hear prayers to “Allah,” “Jesus,” “Vishnu,” etc.  There will be no effort to promote any one belief system over any other.  It is suggested that students take the meditation course, “Mindfulness for Healing,” first.

BIO

William Tell, “The Homeless Blogger,” lives in Baltimore.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1

– Topic:  Tolerance and intolerance:  Students will discuss their willingness to engage in interfaith prayer.
– Text:  “Prayer Primer,” by William Tell
How do people become “lights” to this world?
– Text:  “Your Heart’s Desire,,” by Emmett Fox
What’s at stake in choosing one’s affects (feelings, emotions) intentionally?
– Homework:  Watch for moments when you can choose your feelings.

Week 2

– Text: “The Way of Peace,” by William Tell
Introduction to meditation, the principal tool for learning to choose one’s affects.
– Text: “Essay on Prayer,” by Ambrose Worrall
“Every thought is a prayer.”  What does this mean?
– Homework:  Establish a regular daily time for study and prayer.

Week 3

– Text: “Meditation and Contemplation,” by Ambrose Worrall
What are meditation and contemplation?  How are they different?
– Text: “Silentium Altum (Deep Silence),” by Ambrose Worrall
What is the use of “deep silence” (contemplation)?  What can one expect from that state?
– Discussion:  Pros and cons of organized religion
– Homework:  Seek to love people you don’t like.

Week 4

– Text: “Un[b]locking the Spirit,” by William Tell
Why should one pray for oneself first, before praying for others?
– Text: “When prayer backfires,” by William Tell
What are some common mistakes and misconceptions about prayer?
– Homework:  Practice bathing people in light.

Week 5

– Text: “From my diary: Learning to pray,” by William Tell
What is “doubt?” How can one overcome it?
– Homework:  Seek to become “heart and soul” as to your heart’s desire.

Week 6

– First session: Topics: Housekeeping; Trash day; Prayer in spirit
Exercises for “cleaning up” one’s emotional context, and praying for another person in   words.
– Second session: Topics: Prayer for enemies; Dealing with haters; Following guidance
Exercises in prayer for enemies, prayer about saboteurs, and obtaining guidance in intercession.
– Homework:  Practice following guidance in prayer.

Week 7

– Text: “Philosophy and Methodology of Spiritual Healing,” by Ambrose Worrall
An in-depth examination of the methods and processes of practical prayer, from the perspective of the 20th century’s foremost American expert in the field
Homework:  TBD

Week 8

– Topic: Prayer with the laying on of hands
Students who are interested in, and willing to participate in, the laying on of hands, will learn and practice it.
– Homework:  Let your light shine!

Reblogged 2021-09-09.

* Becoming William Tell

Career goals, Get on your feet, Homelessness, Motivations, The William Tell Show, , , , ,

This begins with an e-mail exchange between follower Vikkilyn and myself, back in May.

Wednesday, 05/21/14:  Me:  Recent events[1] suggest it’s time for me to get more serious about “becoming” William Tell.  There are some emotional obstacles there, so it’s going to take some work, and seeing this, it’s easy for me to grasp why William Tell hasn’t “happened” yet.  I’ll get through it.

Tuesday, 05/27/14: Vikkilyn:  Not sure what you mean by “becoming” William Tell?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell  What part of William Tell do you want to be?  (I realize that is your “stage name” but you must have picked it for some reason, after all you have written a lot about the power in a name.)

This post includes many footnotes. To get to any footnote, click on the link in the body of the text. When you’re done reading the footnote, ALT+LEFT will return you to your original place in the text.

Continue reading * Becoming William Tell →

* Grief and sublimation

OUR BEST POSTS, , , , , , , ,

R.I.P. Brian Williard, a.k.a. funnyphilosopher.

Homey died yesterday.  Earlier in the week, he had consumed too much alcohol in too little time, and stopped breathing.  Help did not arrive in time.

My grief surprised me, given that, when my mother died in 2011, I never grieved at all.   However, that occurred in special circumstances.  (Link)

Continue reading * Grief and sublimation →