Yeheyu l’ratzon…
— May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, my Lord and my Redeemer.
I say this a lot, though not for reasons of piety. Rather, I recite this to myself for focus, to get through a difficult moment, to find calm, sometimes to escape great fear or pain. I suppose my use of this phase in this way somehow suggests that I believe God wants me to survive, find focus, escape great fear or pain; that my thinking thoughts that will help me to survive is more acceptable to Her than thoughts that might prevent my survival. But really I think I believe nothing. I only know from experience that it works. This prayer will help me survive.
Afterwards I lay on a beach, like this man, having arrived on the other side. The pain washes over us like waves, and then recedes with the tide, leaving us drained and maybe momentarily, free.
Holy Moriah: A Kabalah 