Prayer
The most important and fundamental element of Essene Christianity is prayer. Prayer allows us to quieten our bodies and minds. This means we can start to feel the natural connection to God that all of us share.
Through conscious prayer, we begin to experience a compassionate interconnectedness and a loss of our individuality and ego.
As our experience of this prayer grows, it begins to become a part of our daily life. We start to consciously feel this connection while we are active; working, conversing, conducting daily life.
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The Essenes practised prayer each morning and evening, as well as other times during the day and during ceremonies and rituals. This was the most important part of their day and faith. It is the time to ignore all thoughts, and surrender to the experience of silence. This is why Jesus says: “You will worship the father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:21, 24).
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The Essenes saw life as a spiritual journey, experienced partly through physicality. This meant they had no more than they needed, and respected and loved their physical possessions with their heart. We follow this practice by owning only what we need, and having gratitude for what we do have. We do not wish to fall into the trap of consuming more, whilst appreciating less.
They were vegetarian – they did not wish to kill any living being, because God to them meant oneness: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). How one acts towards any fellow consciousness affects the whole of mankind. We follow this practice and feel that to be vegetarian is a compassionate and Christian way to live.
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The Essenes did not see women and children as inferior to men, as is the case in most societies. Everyone was equal because we all share the same heart, which is our bridge to God. We practise that women and men are equal in every way.
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We do not wish ourselves and especially our children to be exposed to the violence that many children see through the technologies of the modern world. Through a belief in God as love, there would be no desire to be violent or watch others be violent. As Jesus says: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) and “If anyone strikes you one the right cheek, turn the other cheek also” (Matthew 5:39). Essene Christianity is built on compassion, for ourselves and for others.
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