Praying to God does not have to be in a specific way. Worshiping God is a connection of the heart. It is from within.

Praying to God does not have to be in a specific way. Worshiping God is a connection of the heart. It is from within. If you do hours of pooja without concentration or bhakti, it is a waste. The main motive of worshiping God is to remove worldly desires and become focused on one Supreme and understand the truth. Your heart should be pure. God is everywhere. So worship everyone, help the needy, show mercy to animals and to everyone around you. But if you sitting for worship and your heart contains malice, then what's the use of worship. Remove all evil from heart and mind. Sit Infront of God, thank him for countless blessings, and he will be pleased. Devotion and surrendering is the key. When you surrender completely to God, life gets easy. There are no rules for worshipping Shiva. Shiva is very simple, very kind and very humble. He doesn't want your money. He is pleased with just little water. Offer him anything with love ; flowers, fruit or even leaf, he will happily accept it. If you do not have ShivaLingam at home, you can mentally worship Shiva. That's Shiva Manasa Puja, worshipping him in your mind, contemplating, either on his form or idol or photo. ‪Remember Devotion and Surrendering is the key. The rules, procedure have their value, but devotion is most important. Treat Shiva as mother or father or spouse or friend, serve him and love him in that way. It is preferable to have bath, purify yourself and perform the Puja everyday at same time and place. Preferably face east or north. But all these are preferable conventions. If someday you cannot perform at the normal time, instead of skipping its better to perform at any other time. You can do Shiva Abhishek with Panchamrit ie water, milk, curd, honey and ghee. Or simple Ganga Jal will do. Shiva will be pleased either way!! Om Namah Shivaya !!