Talking to God a.k.a. prayer has never played a big role in my early life. Simply for the reason, that the way it gets presented by worlds religions and throughout our upbringing always felt off to me. Something simply didn’t feel right, but I didn’t know why.
Only much later, after studying this worlds wisdom teachings and getting in deeper touch with A Course in Miracles, my view on prayer changed altogether.
What prayer isn’t
Here are some things I learned about prayer and what it isn’t:
1. Prayer isn’t asking God for help in the world
This is the main point we learn in our upbringing, on how and why to pray: „Talk to God and he eventually will fulfill your wishes (if you are not naughty or have done something against his rules!)“ In case you didn’t get your wishes fulfilled, it has to mean, that you were a miserable sinner and have gloriously failed. So it’s your fault, right?
No, it isn’t. God is not your wish-fulfilling grandpa in the sky. The reason for this is not, because he wants to see you suffer or teach you a lesson, but because God doesn’t know about your world at all! This world is made as a projection in our mind and out of the belief, that we are separated from God. The whole universe is made up by the part of our Mind, that we call Ego. It’s an insane imagination of the impossible. The world is insane, because our belief in the insane part of our Mind is so strong.
When we ask God for help in the world, we are making it real. We are basically saying: „Look, I have made this world and it sucks. Now please come and help me!“ You know, what God answers? He asks you: „What world? What the hell are you talking about?“ God has no idea of what „a world“ is. He didn’t create something that is ruled by pain and suffering and eventually leads to something like death. If God had really created a mess like this, he would be insane or a failure himself. So to ask God for help in a world that doesn’t exist, beside as an imagination in our mind, is futile.
2. Prayer isn’t a talk between persons
Another point in praying is, that somehow we believe, that „we“ are talking to „God“ (or Jesus or whomever). We think of ourselves as a person and imagine talking to another person (even if the other person is not necessarily an old guy with a big white beard in the sky). Our split and confused mind called Ego, can only think in some kind of „form“. Since we see ourselves as form, we also see God (or one of his representatives) as form in one way or the other.
God is not a person though and doesn’t share any personal qualities. He doesn’t have borders or qualities that are separated from other qualities. There was also never a person called Jesus outside of an image in our mind. Jesus is simply a symbol for the oneness with God. He is a symbol of Truth. Even more though, „we“ are not a person either! We are a mind that imagines to be a personality inside a body. So never was prayer a talk between persons…
3. Prayer is not asking for forgiveness for our sins
Asking for forgiveness would make your sin real. You have to believe in sin and that you have failed to play by some imaginary rules, to even ask for forgiveness in the classical sense.
Forgiveness as thought in A Course in Miracles is the total opposite. It is realizing that we can not sin, because we are making this whole world (and all its rules) up. Nothing ever happened. We never have separated from God and therefore sin is impossible. That’s the meaning of innocence.
Seeing yourself, and with that the whole world, as innocent is forgiveness. So you don’t have to ask for something, that isn’t the case anyway.
What prayer is
1. Prayer is spending time with your right mind.
First and foremost prayer is spending time with your right mind. Your right mind, is the part of your mind, that has never left God. It’s the teacher of Love and Oneness. The more time you spend focused on your goal, the closer you get. If you focus on Love, Peace and Oneness, so you will become.
2. Prayer is a reminder of our true being
When we pray, we remind ourselves of our true being in God. It’s a reminder of our eternal innocence. When we pray, we know, that we have never failed, we are not guilty or sinful. We are exactly as God made us and are simply a little bit confused. We have decided for the wrong view and therefore believed to be a human in a body that is going to die and is therefore suffering.
The more we truly pray, the more we can see clearly, that this was simply a mistake in perception and we gently correct this view by deciding to listen to the right minded teacher instead of the insane teacher that only sees separation and „one against the other“, called ego.
3. Prayer is stillness
Only when we become still and gently look and wait and don’t judge, we can get in resonance with Truth. Prayer is not talking. It’s letting God or the teacher of God in our Mind do the talking, while we listen in stillness.
4. Prayer is Love, Peace and Oneness
The more we pray in stillness, the more peace, love and oneness we will experience. These are not given to us as gifts for our right behavior, but are the language of God.
5. Prayer is asking for help to change your mind
You have an ally in the right mind and you can ask it for help anytime. It’s the part of you, that is aware of its oneness with God. There can’t be a better teacher.
Don’t ask for help in the world, but to change your view on the world. It’s not wrong to ask, but ask for the right thing. Prayer is like asking a good friend for help - the best friend you have - in stillness and listen to its gentle answer, that will guide you on your path.
The more time you spend in true prayer, the deeper your holy relationship with the right minded teacher will become.
Love and Blessings,
Atmos
————————
Posted from my blog https://atmos.black/how-to-talk-to-god/ via #steempress