Thank you, dear Anne Downer, for the idea
If I ever start a religion I hope its defining feature will be ‘hyperbaric prayer’. As far as I can see, present religions have supplicatory prayer and adorational prayer both of which involve some pressure. But it is the pressure of human needs. They do not, I think, adequately reflect the pressure of spiritual needs. Humanity is in dire need of greater spirituality right now. How would that be enhanced by hyperbaric prayer?
Let me make it clear that I have no intention of starting a religion. I am quite suspicious of institutions of all kinds. I have watched national and international bodies with the highest principles slide into self-perpetuation, competitive annihilation and rotten self-interest. The high-minded aspirations we all have from time to time are easily compromised by the lure of power and the love of luxury.
But we have a deep-rooted and genuine need for a spiritual side to our nature. It is felt when we love, confirmed when we appreciate and consummated when we care. It appears to have no prayerful outlet in spite of the fact that communication is the natural communion of our species. I do not doubt the sincerity of those who say they hear the voice of God. Nor do I wish to denigrate the very real supplications people have for desperate needs. They require faith.
Experienced mentors and coaches know that believers show a marked advantage in handling life over those who have no rooted faith. But faith is a gift not an option. Those without it have no less need for spirituality. I would go further and say that non-believer spirituality is the only credible route to faith for many people and has a quality or virtue entirely of its own.
You can have a beautiful soul without faith.
Life teaches us that pressure is one of the biggest drivers of our existence. We also discover that too much pressure can lead to catastrophic, sometimes irreversible, decisions. With age comes the understanding that the greatest pressure of all happens when there are no good reasons – in other words, when there is no rational pressure. A system used to pressure cannot survive unless it has some. But what if the “some” is not enough?
My old friend Sir Humphrey Prideaux, who left us a long while back, had to undergo hyperbaric treatment for a medical condition. He described it to me as very painful. And yet the pressure treatment helped him cope with his condition and for that he was grateful.
When our spirituality gets soggy, and whatever sort of faith we have drains away from us, maybe we should resort to hyperbaric prayer. Hyperbaric prayer could be the soul’s survival in a pressurized faith chamber.
Maybe it is where Divine Breath meets Human Ache?
Good morning
John Bittleston
If you have a friend who you think might benefit from this, please pass it on to them.
Please feel free to tell me it’s piffle if you think it is. I like learning.
Your views always welcome at [email protected].
02 August 2025
