The Secret of Prayer

                When the book and subsequent movie ‘The Secret’ came out, people everywhere were buzzing about its’ revelation: the Law of Attraction. Revealed as the key to the prolific success of some of history’s greatest minds, like Michelangelo and Thomas Jefferson, the Law of Attraction is a powerful insight into the workings of nature that can be consciously, intentional used as a tool for manifestation. A tool whose ideas underlie the manifestation processes.

                However, utilizing the guidelines surrounding the Law of Attraction can be obtained via invocation and evocation; invocation being the safer ‘white magic’, and evocation the ‘black magic’ requiring a sacrifice. The sacrifice evocation requires is one of placing power outside the center; outside the divine within. It is equivocal to worshiping false gods. There are better ways to utilize the guidelines that the Law of Attraction lays out. It is only through lack of wisdom, knowledge and a dwelling in the dark that we are caused to error, which brings about lack and suffering. We can obtain our desires and pay a price for obtaining them if we use an evocation method; but the price is not necessary if you have the wisdom of divine perspective. The Law of Attraction works whether or not we dwell within the light.

                Neville Goddard taught causative imagining. The premise is that we can ’create’ our futures by ‘imagining’ what we want with feeling, gratitude, and the absolute belief that what we wanted ‘presently’ exists. We need to give our imagined ‘post-end’ all the tones of reality in our imagined experience. It needs to be real, a ’present’ experience of what we desire already existing. This is what the Bible said in the ancient Aramaic, according to Neil Douglas Klotz (Prayers of the Cosmos, pages 86-87; also noted in Braden's ‘Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer’, pages 166-167).

                According to Klotz, John 16: 23-24, has been expurgated and this method was removed in edits. The passage originally said:

"All things that you ask straightly and directly from inside my name you shall be given. So far you have not done this. Ask without hidden motive and be surrounded by your answer. Be enveloped by what you desire, that your gladness be full."

"All things that you ask straightly and directly from inside my 'name' you shall be given (name/face/nature/imagination). So far you have not done this (asking with our voice is not doing this: we need to ‘ask’ by ‘imagining’ the condition we want). Ask without hidden motive (i.e., do not be judgmental, but forgive the present with grace) and ‘be surrounded by your answer (in fervent, vivid, '3D' imagining). Be ‘enveloped’ by what you desire (the end-state having already been established), that your gladness be full (belonging to you)."

"The great secret of prayer is ‘thinking from’, rather than ‘thinking of’.”

- Neville Goddard

This form of utilizing the Law of Attraction that Neville Goddard proposes is technically an invocation. This is the practice most who practice the ritual and spell-work of the Law of Attraction utilize. However, to do so without spiritual discipline and acceptance of all things will often result in detrimental possibilities being drawn to you as well as your desires. This is the universe presenting lessons to you in order to widen your perspective. It is our duty to grow spiritually by widen our perspective, and once obtaining acceptance of all things, to not fall from that divine state; to continue to pray without end.

                I Thessalonians 5: 17 commands, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” How can we pray without ceasing? Does it mean we should be uttering a prayer all the time mentally or orally? No, it most assuredly does not mean this, for that would be absurd vain repetition. But prayer without ceasing does mean turning our heart toward God often in our daily lives.

                We pray successfully when we do not ask amiss by asking for something to spend upon our selfish pleasures; that is upon our ego needs. Our egos hunger for approval from the world. Ego needs are thus always centered upon objects such as persons, accomplishments, situations, things, money, etc. We center upon objects because we are looking for approval. All object or ego centeredness is based upon fear. The preacher wants the successful church so he can have more approval. You may want a new situation to increase your approval rating.

                James 4: 3 speaks to ego centered prayer. He says it is asking amiss or missing the mark. He says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it upon your pleasures.”

                Proper prayer, and proper invocation of the Law of Attraction, is to be filled with and project compassion. Compassion is the language of God and the universe. Feeling and projecting compassion is the way to pray successfully without ceasing at all times. In the Old Testament it is said, “Be holy for God is holy!” But Jesus teaches, “Be compassionate for God is compassionate!” Consistently throughout history, spiritual teachings must be reworded to fit the language of our times.

                Compassion is the key to praying successfully because our thoughts and emotions have the power to influence matter. The universe was created and is sustained by a ‘mind over matter’ principle; as taught in the first Hermetic Principle of Mentalism.

                Three major experiments in the 90’s proved that our thoughts and emotions can affect our DNA’s behavior instantaneously. In each case, extracted live DNA was taken from a subject’s cells and placed in a vacuum tube and moved from 100 feet to 350 miles away from the subject. Then the subject was exposed to material that evoked emotions that ranged from horror and revulsion to ecstasy, love and compassion. An atomic clock was used to time the response of the DNA’s response to its’ owner’s thoughts and emotions. In each case the DNA responded immediately to the subject’s reactions. Feelings of horror and revulsion twisted the DNA into a knotted like mass. Feelings of joy, love and compassion relaxed the DNA into its’ relaxed ladder like position.

                Prayer and meditation that focuses on love and acceptance works wonders. We live in a magical enchanted universe because the Divine Conscious Spirit and source field that creates it connects everything together. Quantum physics has demonstrated that our observation actually changes the behavior of sub-atomic particles. A photon is ordinarily a wave of light but when we observe it, it becomes a particle. Deciding to usurp a feeling of sincere compassion can affect the nature in which we live, move and have our being.

                An outstanding Tibetan Buddhist monk was asked by a computer scientist, religious and philosophical researcher Greg Braden “Is compassion a force of creation or is it an experience?” Thoughtfully, the monk answered with great force, “It is both a force in the universe as well as a human experience.”

                Truly, all thoughts, feelings, emotions and acts we choose are forces within the universe as well as human experiences. These are the primal forces that surround the center.

                Living in non-judgment of all things with deep compassion is the most exciting adventure we can ever enter into. Do not judge what the answer to your prayer should be; just live envisioning your prayer as if it is already answered. Live the answer as if it is a current reality. See it in your imagination. Feel it with compassion for all concerned, including yourself. Stay open to all possibilities. Do not judge what exact possibility you should receive. Accept with thanksgiving whatever comes; because the frequency of your heart will draw in its’ match, and the result is the fulfillment of the prayer.

                We receive what we need in order to grow spiritually; and if we’ve grown spiritually we receive our comforts that sustain that divine outlook. We do this at all times, just as Osiris judges the hearts of the dead by weighing them against a feather. The spiritually dead receive detriments to widen their perspective.

                Jesus said, “Therefore I say unto you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Little do most of Jesus’ followers know, that they are always praying. The marriage of thought and emotion is what manifests in the world around us. Utilizing compassion and feeling our desires fulfilled is akin to making your eye one. When we do this we can move mountains. Let us illustrate this from two other writings.

                John 16: 23 says, “And in that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I say unto you, whatever you ask the Father in my name; He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full.” What does it mean to ask in Jesus’ name? And how may your joy be full?

                An ancient Aramaic translation of John 16: 23-24 gives explanation of these words and what asking in Jesus name means and how your joy may be full. It says, “All things that you ask straightly and directly…from inside my name you will be given. So far you haven’t done this…so ask without hidden motive and be surrounded by your answer. Be enveloped by what you desire, that your gladness be full.”

                Asking in Jesus’ name means asking according to his character, his way of life and his attitudes; it is to align oneself with divine consciousness and act as the Messiah yourself. (W.W.J.D.?) As we have said, this means first getting your selfish, fear based ego desires out of the way. Ego repels the power to receive desired results; it is asking with hidden motives and not straight and direct. Selfish motives receive ‘nothing’ or ‘darkness’; acting from the ego self still attracts the intention of the heart, and that is detriments from the universe.

                Your joy becomes full by you surrounding yourself with your answer. This is done by practicing the greatest principle in psychology, the “as if” principle. You must live and think always as if you have the answer already, surround yourself with your answer. Do not demand any certain answer. Just live as if you already have all that you need. Surround yourself constantly with this assurance. Envelope yourself with the feeling of already having obtained your desires. Though negative possibilities exist, you do not repel them, but thank them for their perspective and accept them as being possible. Focus on the feeling of health, wealth, success or material things that you want. Surround yourself with the sense and belief that you have what you desire already. This draws the answer, solution to you.

                Be open as to what form the answer shall come in and then accept what comes with gratitude. To demand the answer in a certain form causes you to miss it and reap detriments. You must live with the uncertainty of how your answer will come to you but with the certainty that the correct answer that is best for your soul will come. This enables you to live with peace, knowingness, and compassion for all. Being enveloped with compassion is praying without ceasing.

                The only prayer we were told to utilize according to Jesus is the ‘Our Father’ or ‘Lord’s Prayer’. It is appropriately dubbed the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ because it is a method of the Law of Attraction utilized by wise and knowledgeable ‘lords’. This is a nod to the fact that we are the ones responsible for our position in life. This is an interpretation of it as found in Matthew 6:

“Our Father (progenitor) that resides within the center (heaven), hallowed be your name (face/image), your kingdom come (what is built upon the center), your will be done (becomes manifest), on earth as it is in heaven (mirrored energy/ as above, so below/ the tesseract like quality of the cosmic egg). Give us today our daily bread (deliver nourishment). And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

                In Matthew 6 is a wonderful interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer. It identifies more properly in the English language the feelings our consciousness should take on to better understand and utilize the Divine source and manifest our desires. The word ‘debt’ instead of ‘sin’, as used in Luke 11, reflects a better understanding of the weight we put on our hearts. It also more appropriately identifies evil to be a singular concept, as there is but one cause to evil; and that is darkness. Where there is lack of light, lack of knowledge and wisdom, there is fear and misinterpretation. Speculation in darkness and acting on fear is the cause which makes us sin against one another. Acts of fear adds the weight of a karmic burden that must be relieved in order to dwell in the light once again. The sense of guilt we put on ourselves makes us feel like we don’t deserve our desires, and so to with ones who we blame. This is why forgiveness of self and others is so important.

                So what is the secret of prayer? In a nutshell: you’re doing it right now. You’ve always been praying, and you will always continue to pray. The secret is to always be mindful of what you’re praying for, and to develop a method of self control.