In the last post we talked about the three factors which shape an individual. The true self, the world, and the ego. The most important and necessary part of the individual is the true self. Without God’s divine essence residing in our heart, we would not be able to connect with Him. We would truly be alone in the world, as none of us would have a connection to God and, therefore, no mutual connection to one another. Not only is the true self capable of connecting with God, it is designed to connect with the divine essences of all other parts of Creation. We can connect with animals and plants, as well as the heavens and what lies beneath our feet. The true self is also designed to enable us to connect to ourselves – that is to bring the ego and the true self into harmony, so that their wills are the same, with the will of the true self being the primary influencer.
The will of the true self is the will of God. Since it is a part of Him, it only desires the same that He desires – love, peace, truth, and communion. God wants us to commune with Him and with each other, in righteous love, so that we will live by only what is true, which will bring about peace. God has made this rather easy for us. To love another person is natural. Loving everyone is natural, as well, but the interference of the ego and it’s distorted perception of reality cause us to repress the true self, as the ego protects itself from suffering. The true self never suffers, as God never suffers.
The ego brings about its own suffering, because it does not understand spiritual things. The ego is born of, lives through, and passes from the physical into death. The ego does not survive death. On the other hand, the true self does not die. It is like energy, where it can not be created or destroyed, only transferred. When the ego dies, the true self will either retain its proper consciousness, or it will recommune with God, and it will no longer have any qualities which will distinguish it from God, Himself. In terms of physical energy, the lesser energy of the true self will be reabsorbed into the Greatest Energy, which is God, or the true self continues to exist, in an environment created only for it (The New Earth, as promised to us by God through Jesus).
The endeavor of full communion begins with the knowledge of the true self and ego. Once you are able to differentiate between the will of the true self and the will of the ego, you will be able to exert more control over the ego. The ego will fight to keep its place as the preserver of itself and the true self, but the true self seeks to be sustained by God. As the true self seeks spiritual sustenance, the ego temporarily placates the true self’s desire to commune with God by engaging in physical appeasements. God is spirit, and those who want to have a relationship with Him must seek Him in spirit.
Prayer to commune with God and meditation to discover the true self are the most basic means to achieve full communion. These are two things you can do at the same time, but not simultaneously. Prayer is designed to be the primary means of communication between God and His children. Meditation is designed to enable people to quiet the ego in order for them to completely discover the true self. These are not activities we have discovered over time and then put into practice, rather God has instilled into all His children the innate ability to do these things, perfectly. If our brains were computers, prayer and meditation would be two factory pre-installed apps, like breathing, eating, and sleeping. Free of charge, no ads, final version, open-source.
Prayer is simple. Having a conversation with God is just that. Jesus gives us a definitive prescription of how to pray, which is detailed in this post.
To get the most out of prayer, ideally, you should go into a quiet place, where you are alone and secure, so that you will be uninterrupted. Just as you would speak to a friend over the phone, talk to God, keeping in mind that He is your best friend, He knows what you need before you ask, and He is ready to reciprocate. Tell Him whatever you want to. Tell Him all that bothers you, the things that cause you to suffer, about your successes and failures, your allies and those who do you harm. Tell Him about your plans for the future. Tell Him anything you want! He wants to hear you, and He has all the time ever created to listen to you. As small and insignificant as we may feel we are at times, God places infinite value on His children. Speak, and He is listening.
And do not forget to ASK! Ask for help, for peace and comfort, for clarity and direction. Ask Him to show you reality from His perspective. Ask HIm to show you how to love people like He does. Ask Him to heal you and others. Ask whatever your heart desires, and He will give it to you. He already has your physical needs covered, so move on to the heart’s needs.
Practice constant prayer. Being In a relationship with God is more than simply setting aside private time for you and Him to commune. Since He is always with you, you can converse with Him anytime you want to. Speak to God often, and you will hear Him more and His voice will become more clear. The more you invest time and effort into loving Him, the more you will see the fruits of that love manifesting in your life. Tell Him “thank you” whenever good things happen to you, and ask Him to guide you through the bad times. Do things for others, but let only God see you help them, and He will reward you much more than those who see can reward you. In the smallest of ways, give people more respect than you feel they deserve. Praise God when others receive their fruits, and show others how to receive theirs. Be in constant prayer, and He will tell you what to do, so that you will be the light He calls you to be.
And, as you are speaking, listening, and asking, also obey. But never think of “obeying God” as a negative thing! We have the perfect Father, and nothing He desires for us will harm us. Obedience to God’s calling is only for our own good. We are never slaves to God. Disobedience does not always come with condemnation, but it always comes with consequences. When we do not love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we spread suffering. This is not tolerated well either by God or by our fellow brothers and sisters. Even one iota of sin affects someone else. Minimize the impact our innate sinfulness has on yourself and others by obeying God’s command to love.
Developing and deepening your relationship with God through prayer, meditation, and acts of love will reveal more and more of your true self to you, so that you will soothe the ego to the point that your true self may be unhindered to enjoy living. In these endeavors you may still be hindered by the ego. Since the ego is rooted in the flesh, we can also use the flesh to soothe the ego to a point where we can relish in the true self. Meditation is the act of controlled breathing coupled with mindfulness of and control over one’s thoughts. There will be a post to follow which will go into more detail about meditation.
The more the ego is soothed, the fuller you will develop into a manifestation of only your true self. This is why Jesus tells us to “Be perfect!” We may never attain complete perfection, but so long as we are continuing to develop our relationship with God, we will grow more like Him, therefore, always becoming perfect, manifesting your true self, living in the Kingdom of God.
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