Where is Prayer in Your Life?

I’d love to know whether prayer is important in your life.  Not prayers, per se, but the act of praying.

Is there a place you feel more spiritual?  In synagogue, outdoors in nature, at home?

And how do you define the difference between prayer and spirituality?

For you, is it more important to be in a group setting or do you prefer solitude?

If you wear a prayer shawl (tallit), does that help you feel closer to prayer?

If you’re in a synagogue, does your relative proximity to the entrance — and the distractions of all the comings and goings — hinder your focus?

I felt a connectedness to spirituality during the Havdalah ceremony at summer camp, during which elements of the senses came together in beautiful harmony.  To say goodbye to the end of the Sabbath (Shabbat), we stood in a circle in the oncoming darkness, with the flicker of candlelight illuminating the center of that circle.  We sang songs.  We passed a container holding fragrant spices — cinnamon and cloves.

A friend who was raised Catholic, but left that faith, still had a powerful urge to drop to her knees when she wanted to pray.

What about you?