Workshop - The Lord's Prayer
Excerpt from Phoenix Arizona in 1970 Workshop *
(*Audience participation is in parentheses--notations in brackets have been added for clarification )
Audio: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bjsnni9menko397/AAAXm9X-MKTl3XGsaXmrSq08a?dl=0
[When I first discovered this tape on the discussion of the Lord's Prayer, I asked myself what the prayer had meant to me since I was a child. I also asked those nearest and dearest to me what it meant to them. "Our Father" was just saying hello. "Who art in heaven" meant a supreme being that was up there in heaven looking down on me and the whole world. "Hallowed be thy name" didn't make any sense at all, but that was ok. "Thy Kingdom Come" meant that I'd better be "good" before judgment day. "Thy will be done" meant that God was supreme; and during "hard times" I'd heard people say, "It is the will of God", so I came to believe (unconsciously) that God was creating all the illness, troubles, and many of the disturbing things that I observed. "on earth as it is in heaven" kept God up there in the sky somewhere. If I wasn't "good" on earth, then I wouldn't get to go to "heaven" wherever that place was. "Give us this daily bread" I translated beyond the word of food to all my financial expenses. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" meant to me that if I forgive everyone who hurts me, then they would forgive me when I hurt them--even though I didn't mean to. "Lead us not into temptation" meant that I shouldn't do anything that the church, society, laws, parents and teachers said I shouldn't do which usually was concerned mainly with sex, drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. And "deliver us from evil" meant I was asking God to protect me from things that would disturb me or could hurt me, although I never decided whether that was physical or mental. And now we begin with the workshop.............Marsha]
Some people who had been students, asked Jesus to teach them to pray. So he gave them a very short, concise, to the point prayer. Man's been try to figure it out ever since, but he's usually pretty sure it's not quite wordy enough. In order to get it a little better, there as been many versions of it that's had more words tacked on to the end of it; but we'll start with the first two words.
The first two words says, Our Father. Now that does a number of things. First Jesus was the one who taught it, so it made him our brother all the way across the board--each and every one of us. It made each and every one of us brothers and sisters regardless of our color, our creeds, our ancestors, our nationalities, our ideologies, or anything else, we are all his brothers and sisters. If we all have the same father, we're brothers. So he didn't say, my father or the Jewish father, or the gentile father, or the Caucasian father. He said our Father, speaking for all the human race.
So if we only had the first two words of that prayer, we would probably see a considerably different world in which we live. If we only observed the first two words, we wouldn't be having wars and contentions. We wouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves over little insignificant details. We wouldn't be contending at home and all these things because first off, our Father puts us as all one; and that makes us by the same token the brother of Jesus.
Now, furthermore than this, it shows that Christ is in all men. When you find fault with a person, who are you really finding fault with. Huh? Who are you really finding fault with? Christ. When you criticize someone because they didn't do what they "should do"--who are you finding fault with? We call each other dirty names and insult and jump up and down and scream and think "You knew better than that, and went on and did it wrong anyway." Again, we are doing the same thing. When we do anything for any form or person around us regardless of what the name may be, who are we doing it for--if we are conscious and awake?
So the two words, Our Father, comes up with tremendous meaning if we can see the meaning behind the two words; otherwise nothing is accomplished because we have no comprehension. We have no feeling. We have no relationship. We have no association. We just said the word because it was a formula taught by Jesus, and so it must be safe. So I'll just rattle the formula and that's a good magic form; and it'll make things happen. So we say it, and then we put on a whole bunch more because that we think we can get through the things we need to know that he says.
Also when we say "Our Father", we are implying that we are talking to one of greater wisdom than we are; and so we don't have to tell him what to do. We don't have to say you better straighten this out, and be sure and remember to do this. We don't have to say take care of this little thing over here because I know you'll forget it if I don't remind you. We would see that we're talking to Our Father which is then operating this universe; and we don't have to tell him exactly how to run it. Evidentially he's a little older, usually Father's a bit older than the child; and therefore, we don't have to say that things should be different than they are. So when we use this approach, we are also not wanting to change anything.
The next phrase is which art in heaven. This would remind us to direct our attention to the invisible realm, spiritual realm or the meaning realm. It would remind us to see meaning in all things. So he's in heaven--heaven being that realm of meaning. The area where everything is harmonious when you see the meaning behind things, there isn't anything you want to change or feel obligated or necessary to make over into your little "pictures senses". This reminds us not to be concerned with what the "senses are reporting", but see the meaning behind it.
The next word is hallowed be thy name. Now hallowed means to hold in great respect or reverence. That it is dedicated to all that's real, and that it is set aside from the profane or from the senses. Be is always in present times, now, the state of being. So it is not "once in a while" or "now and then" or "at some future date", or some "past date" but be is a state of beingingness or meaning right now.
The word--name--does not refer to some name like "Darlene", "Bob", "Joe", "Bruce", etc. The word name in the prayer refers to the nature of something. Now formerly everything that's a name was to represent it's nature. And if you recall in all the names given in the old testament, they always had a great long meaning. It wasn't that it was just the name--well now it is "in" to call kids Robert and then a few years later, it's "in" to call little girls Linda; and then in another few years, you never see a Linda. And then in a little while, they name them Norma. And then Norma goes out of style and something else comes "in" and so it's done by style.
But in these olden days they studied a person and determined the nature of them for using the name. Another way to say it would be hallowed be thy nature. It would begin for us to consider the purposes, or the meaning of, the nature of God. Obviously the nature is that of creating. It is also the nature of having meaning to everything--no profane and no just noise and so forth. So we see the meaning of everything. We see the purpose of things. We also begin to see that Life is all ONE.
Next is Thy Kingdom come. Now there is not a "when" mentioned in the prayer; but most often we seem to imply it, is that right? We seem to put a "when" in there even though it's not there. So thy Kingdom Come. We almost want to put a "when" in our mind--"when" is not there. So let's drop that "when". But you see that we've always read it in our understanding as having a "when".
So the Kingdom is the Kingdom of the invisible spirit, meaning the reality, the existence and what is that to me? It means right now! It's there but let me have it. The Kingdom is here. It is the realm of seeing the meaning or the spirit of everything.
You know if you would do something and somebody said "Well he sure did that in the spirit of kindness." His purpose was to be kind. So his intention was to be kind. So what it's saying is right now. It's asking that thy kingdom come to me right now--consciousness to my consciousness.
It's asking that I see the meaning or the purpose or the reality of things rather than just saying the words.
The next words are: thy will be done. Now this is why we have put in this invisible "when" back here. Is because we're saying "his will is not being done". We're saying that something else is going on now, huh? Now what is the will of spirit? Think about that for a minute. This is the mental exercise that people take so long figuring out. They try to figure out what God wants. They try to figure out what he doesn't like, and what he does like, and what his "will is" as though he's pretty helpless and couldn't have it out even if he wanted it, huh?
One thing it is is balance and that balancing is already being done. The word "be" in the phrase thy will be done is in the present time, which is past tense isn't it? It's already done. And so those two words will be means in the past, present and future. Thy will be done.
Now what is the will of God for me? The will of God for me is obviously to be conscious. That's why he developed me with a conscious apparatus which I have not used too well. So this is another meaning. And I can begin to see the kingdom within me. This will is being created in me. I am doing that. I am exercising my potential or the potential I am given. That I will see meaning, that I will be a spiritual existence, that I will see the reality behind all the sensory expressions in the world. So this would keep us, again, to be aware of what's going on around us. The constant reminding to me of "not telling God what to do". Thy Will be done on earth, which is in the visible realm, the sensory realm, as it is in heaven [which is the spiritual realm].
Now if we could see the meaning behind things, would we begin to act it out in the sensory world? Would you do that? Would you begin to see the meaning of things? Would you then not be all torn up in the sensory world?
So the sensory world would become as harmonious as the internal one when we see the meaning first. That's why it says "seek first the kingdom of heaven and then all these other things will be added unto you" because that is the balance for it, huh? So when we see the meaning behind things rather than arguing and contending with that first decision [wanting to be non-disturbed] which is interested in which realm?--the sensory one. The sensory is the one we spend all of our time trying to get. But when we see that in the kingdom of heaven that everything there is balance, and we see the relationship and the balance and harmony in it, then the sensory realm begins to take place. But which one do we start on? We try to do it the other way around.
So we're being reminded here that, first it's in heaven and then on earth. First comes the spirit of things, and then the sensory. Now the visible thing or the senses tells us just backwards, doesn't it, huh? The senses tells us backwards from this. The truth of the matter is that when you see beyond the physical, the spiritual one comes first. Which one comes first? The spirit comes first.
Now with this, if you will find Paul's writing somewhere, you'll find he writes on conflicting levels sometimes. Sometimes he's writing from the spiritual level, and sometimes he writes from the worldly level. He says the earthly comes first, and then the spiritual. That shows you where he gets kinda "hung up" sometimes. Can you get me a house built before you have a plan of it or an idea of it? I'd like to see if you can do that someday? I would like to see most anything you could come up with before you can conceive it in the spirit level, huh? I'd like to see that. And I'd like to see a human body that didn't have a spirit to build it. So you kinda see these things will get crossed sometimes. Now which comes first, the spirit or the sensory, huh?
Here were asking that things will be on earth as when thy kingdom come, and I begin to see where thy kingdom is. Then all the things down here in my everyday affairs will begin to be as orderly and harmonious as they are in that invisible relationship. So I'll see the spirit of things first then we will experience the sensory or physical level of things out here. Our everyday affairs will begin to be like the spiritual is, ok?
What's the next line? Give us this day our daily bread. Now that means not tomorrow, not yesterday and not for the future, but give us this day our daily bread. Now that word "bread" is not necessarily just the old stuff you eat over here, wholesome whole grain. This refers to all that man lives by.
And way back down the road that word said transubstantial, supersubstantial and a number of other things. It has been used to say this is what is meant by the bread taken in communion, but it's not quite that either. It is all that man lives by. It's asking for the truth that he needs for today, not for tomorrow. You only need enough wisdom for today. Now, you don't need any for tomorrow, do you? Because it said that tomorrow will have it's little challenges that we'll need the wisdom for.
So we're asking only for the wisdom for today. Now this is one thing that we're told that men can always pray for and never be left off. We can ask for wisdom for today, huh? So shall we say give us this day our daily wisdom. Wisdom meaning to see the relationships and etc. We're asking to have the awareness to do this day adequately and see the relationships of everything I go into so that I can respond harmoniously rather than to react sensorially.
The next line is: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. You know most of us ask for forgiveness; but that's about where we stop. We're only interested in getting saved so we don't have to burn. So we say, "Forgive me". But this line is saying see agape, does it not?
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. This is to see that whatever "I'm doing", is just like whatever "you're doing". I feel it's right, proper and justifiable. So if I'm asking Father, forgive me, and don't rattle me over here because I did whatever I did. I thought that it was right or proper or justifiable at the moment. For instance I say "I saw that big stump and I was sure it was a bear"; and I want you to say, "Yes I thought it was a bear too when I saw it". But we go on and say, "Now that other guy is just a bold-faced liar out there. "He's a prevaricator" "He's been trying to pick on me." So this phrase in the prayer says, Let's have agape. This is a reminder to have agape, is it not? Remind me that I can only do what I feel is right, proper and justifiable at this moment, and you can only do what you feel is right, proper or justifiable at this moment; so how can I hold anything against you.
Now I can think, "You knew better than that, but you're pretty mean." I can try to be good and forgive you. I say I forgive you, but under my breath I'm thinking, "If he does it again I'll ........[any amount of threats]" Perhaps I heard somewhere that I should forgive seven times, but then I think, "Let him do it two more and then I'll........, huh? Is that agape? No, nowhere near it. So this is only asking us to have Love. And we're asking for ourselves to have Love, is that right? That's for us to have Love.
If this was lived by, world affairs on earth be pretty decent. Would we have wars? Would we have contentions? Would we have cheatings, and all these things? But how many times have we said it with just about as much meaning to ourselves as the bishop did that was hung on the brainwave machine. It didn't make a bauble. It didn't make a wiggle. It didn't make a squiggle on that little thing. But when he tried to multiply 368 by 13, it just bumped all over the place. So he was really putting some effort in that. And how much did that amount to? This would have had tremendous effort if he would have really been thinking it. Would it make a difference in your everyday life? If you really went through this prayer with meaning instead of seeing how quick I can rattle off ....................[He says the entire Lord's Prayer as fast as he can where you can barely catch the words].
Carl, did I say it exactly right?
(That's right)
Just right, and the people respond ....(hail Mary.......He, again, says that prayer very fast so you can barely catch the words) right back. And it goes through so fast that it sounds like the old chipmunk songs. That's a great formula isn't it? You think the formula works, huh?
We're talking about all of us. We're saying "us" when we do this because we've all run through the prayer quickly because it was a form; or, probably better said, it was a ritual. We've had about as much consideration of the words when we're saying it as when we're doing any of our daily rituals.. Now a lot of other times maybe off on the side, we've tried to have a good royal discussion as to what it meant. Maybe we pick hairs, and split hairs and poked at a few points about all these little ideas, but when we're doing it, how much meaning have you really put on it, huh? That right? How much comprehension is accomplished? You see how quick you can get it over with. If you say 10 of them it's better than just one, isn't it Carl? You get ten times as much of whatever it is you get. I think ten times zero, still equals zero, huh?
The next line is: Lead us not into temptation. What would be the greatest temptation that there could be. To get us so comfortable that we'd go to sleep soundly. So if we got what we generally would pray for, we would go to sleep. If we received what our mind is thinking of when we say the prayer, we would be led into the temptation of sleep. Don't ever disturb me. And the greatest temptation that we have is to go to sleep. [We have what we want in the physical world and forget about the spiritual or real realm.]
So would you, then, at the same time of saying the prayer, be so thankful for all these little disturbances that come along. Some of these challenges are fair size. These challenges of every day keep you "disturbed". But please be thankful, so you don't go to sleep, huh? How about that Missy Murel?. More and more, be thankful, because if you don't, you'll go to sleep.
Lead us not into temptation. The greatest temptation that anything could be done is that we would get carried away and ask that we be non-disturbed--the first decision made at birth. Don't let us live by that one because if we do, we go to sleep; and what greater temptation is there then to go to sleep when everything in our everyday world is quiet and serene and smooth, huh? Yeah. Danny, you've begun to be thankful even when your old tommy brain jumps around a little bit. At least you're staying awake and saying "Well look here, something's going on, I better look, huh.
But we think we want to be non-disturbed. What we're asking for is for the Lord to lead us into temptation. That's what we hold as being good, is it not? Is that everything would be so serene. And the minute you get so serene, what do we do? We go to sleep. We don't want that. So we would then realize that, while we're saying lead us not into temptation, that we're being reminded to be thankful for all these little challenges, disturbances, annoyances, and aggravations that go through the day--including the little physical pains. They do remind us to, at least, stay awake. It's like every time you went to sleep, X says, "Hey Meryl, wake up." But you see we want those to go away, don't we Meryl.
So when we ask, Lead Us Not Into Temptation, we are, for a little while, thankful for all disturbances that come around that aid us to stay awake.
But deliver us from evil. That's all that's vile, which is "conditioning". Now, X is quick to deliver us from "conditioning" if we will but confess it or be aware of it. So that gives us a reason to check over and be aware of all the little "bits of conditioning" we have rambling around in our mind. Most of us have so little anymore, but you know there may be a little poke of it gets up there every once and awhile and says, you know, "complain a little bit", not much, but just a little bit. Maybe it says, just gently "stick up for your rights". There's a little of it left. Maybe it kicks us a little bit and gets us to "doing what the authority says". And maybe "it" tries to get us to do a little bitty bit over there of "blaming". Very seldom I'm sure anymore. But at least the awareness could say, "Here it is". I still remember that the "bits of conditioning are up now and then; and I see that only You can forgive me. Get rid of the evil, huh? Deliver us from evil.
But we have to confess it without condemning it or justifying it, just see that "it's" there. It says, X is quick to remove it.
And only X can remove it 'cause if I try to get rid of it, what happens? If I try to get rid of "blaming", who do I start "blaming"? If I find I'm "blaming them" a little bit, and I try to get rid of it, who do I begin "blaming" then? I begin "blaming" me. So I get into a place where I am all tied up. All I can do is ask X to remove it, you see. But I've got to be conscious of what's going on.
[In "The Place of Language in the Teachings, evil is defined as: "An event: producing or threatening sorrow, distress or calamity. As a personal trait: depraved, inclined to sensuality. In working with the prayer, it has developed an additional meaning for me. I ask to be delivered from the evil of "setting an ideal" for myself, others, or circumstances. Delivering me from setting or accepting "shoulds" and "ought-tos" for myself, others or circumstances. When we ask, "What should I do?", we are tempted to complain, stick up for our rights, please, quote authorities, try to be different and blame which results in our not being responsible for our own inner state--the only thing we do have dominion over. This results in contentions, arguments, fights in my sensory or physical world .........Marsha]
And the next one is? Well, that's the end of it for me. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever, amen. Now that part we don't go with. That line got written into the prayer by a monk in 400 A.D. You'll have to just leave me off of that part. The phrase, "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen", was added in by a monk who was copying the prayer. They didn't have printing presses then, not even an offset from Dick, or addressograph or a multilith. So they had to copy these prayers by hand. Some monk remembered this sentence. The sentence was also in the old testament. He thought that it would be appropriate to be in the prayer, and so he added the line of "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen."
The next copyist came along and said, "We'll he put it in there; and so I'm going to put it down here also." So he kept it in, and it's been there ever since. But it is not in the original one. It is not in all the original manuscripts. The first manuscript that line showed up in was after 400 ad; and that's the one they brought over on this side way back down the road.
Are there any questions on that? Any questions about the meaning of any words phrases etc in the prayer.
(But it's so much longer when you think of it.)
It's a whole lot longer than the way it's been being done. We did it here real quickly, didn't we? See if we'da done that the general way; and really got with it, we could have had the prayer said over several hundred times by now. The thinking is that every time you say one of those, you get a temporal indulgence of 40 days out of purgatory or something like that, isn't it?
(You get off the hook.)
You get off thirty days of your sentence, or if you want to apply it to somebody else, you can have it done vicariously for them. Why sure, if we all just got busy with it, we could get most everybody out of purgatory, you know--vicariously that is.
(When it was talking in the scripture about how Jesus prayed all night, it was more or less symbolic of how this is the prayer we carry.)
We'll I think you that could take all night to say the prayer if you really considered it.
(Couldn't you also carry this here prayer with you at all times as a conscious prayer?)
Well, I think that would be about right. I think if you were aware of the principles in the prayer, that you would forever be in a state of prayer. You'd be living a prayer, right. It would take many hours if you took a word and thought about all the meanings in those principles and how it related to your affairs. Would you always be in a state of prayer, huh? Always. Without ever going into any other prayers, ok?
Another question.
(What is prayer, I don't know any more.)
Achieving a higher state of consciousness
Prayer is achieving a higher state of consciousness. Prayer is not getting. Prayer is not a gimmee. It's degenerated in our mind into a gimme formula. It is an attempt for the person saying the prayer to achieve a higher state of consciousness. Then it is worthwhile. If it's just gimme, gimme, gimme; then, of course, it is an attempt to use it as a magic invocation to get what you want.
(Then prayer would be not saying a word.)
Right. It's all in the attention. Where is your attention at this moment? You got to raise your consciousness unceasingly. It doesn't matter about the words.
(Well, prayer to me now, is that all I can say is "Thanks a lot for what I've got.")
And then the next thing would be to see what can Miss Ellie do about raising consciousness a little bit. That's the best way to say thank you, isn't it? Isn't it? So, that would be the best way of saying "Thank you". You sure look pretty this morning this morning, lady.
(Praise to them. They talked about it being more effective to ask for someone else.)
Asking for something for them instead of for "self"?. So if you did do any asking, it would be for them; and the only worthwhile thing to ask for anybody is what? Consciousness! It's not worthwhile to ask that they get all the goodies they want and so forth.
(In light of the attitude/action of the people involved at the time.)
Consciousness still went up after a while, didn't it? So if you ask properly.......... It says you ask and you do not receive because you ask amiss. You ask that you may spend it on your fashions or your senses. And if you ask properly, it's always answered which is to raise the consciousness.
(If you ask for someone else .....)
Non-Verbal Communication
Did you ever hear of non-verbal communication? It kinda works dear. If you put your consciousness raised up, you can be in communication with another person. And sometimes all the words in the world don't get that communication. But if you are doing some straight-line internal raised consciousness, you can connect with their portion of consciousness, and that can raise them to that level.
(Even if they're not........)
Aw, even if they're not at the moment. But now they had to ask!
In other words, first, you remember, they had to ask.
That's why you don't invade anybody's privacy with non-verbal communication no matter how nice you think it would be for them. huh?
Don't do it unless they ask.
Miss Cookie?
(What are so-called prayers that have been answered?)
They were answered, weren't they?
(I don't understand?}
I didn't think you did.
(I mean about the non-verbal communication?)
It's the only real communication there is, but go ahead.
(I'm a little confused here about......if you non-verbally communicate with somebody.)
Well, it might happen, but you didn't do it intentionally.
(What I'm wondering about is the correlation between that and agape where you have understanding of what they're doing and why they're doing it)
In that case, you're not trying to communicate; honey, you're just communicating with yourself there.
(They seem to respond.)
Oh yes, because you're not throwing out little invisible daggers all over the place. But you know they feel that. Did you ever see someone... I'll try to illustrate this with a point. Did you ever see someone who hates dogs go where there where there was a nice old loveable hound around. What did the old hound do?
(He bit them.)
Right. In other words, they were communicating the other way. But we would certainly not try to have anything. It's bound to be there.
(I've proved that a thousand times because I'm afraid of them.)
Right and you've been bitten hundreds of times.
(Is a conscious experiment a true prayer?)
I'd say that's a very definitely acting out the prayer. That's a form of prayer. That means one is acting on faith. And when you're asking, "What should I do?", you're praying to the sub-conscious mind or the "devil", and that always gives you two answers and let's you go. When you ask "What should I do?" you begin a conflict because you're trying to go in two different directions at the same time.
And you ask, "What am I doing?" X will tell you what you're doing. Then it's up to you to see what your doing. So everything depends on how you pray on things. When you can ask, "What am I doing?" Well all this prayer is talking about is what am I doing? It keeps reminding us as to see what am I doing. Otherwise, when we are wanting to "work for the senses', we say "What should I do?" You know who answers that one don't you? Those little guys [not i's from A-side and B-side] down there come running up and give you two answers every time, ok?
I was thinking my little three-year-old, she's come up with her favorite blessing which is appropriate, and she says, "God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food.")
And let's eat. Right. What more does she need? That's telling her, well, maybe she understands that the words don't............... Well, if you think on those words, they're as good as any. Maybe they are better. Some of the prayers I've heard are so long that the food all got cold.
One time I went to a place where there was about four or five people in a row that said prayers before different meals. They got up and reminded the Lord to remember everything that was going on over in the Orient. They prayed to be sure to look about the Japanese, and about the Cubans, and get the Russians straightened out, and all the relatives fixed up. By the time the prayers were over, the food was cold.
So it came the turn of a young minister down the way to be the one that would say the blessing; and so he stood up and and said "Off your feet, on your seat, let's eat, thank the Lord."
(If you can show children how to have faith in the father............)
To have faith? What is faith, Faye? She was talking about teaching your children to have faith in the Father. What would you teach them? [his definition of faith is: ability to make up the mind from "The Place of Language in the Teaching"] Well, I think I would just go through and tell them the meaning. If you only took one phrase, you could start with the first one. That could last them until they're 12 or 13 maybe 50. The first two words, Our Father, might last them for a long time. I've run into a lot of people that are 50 that haven't "gotten it". They haven't got the first two words yet. And you might stay on that for several years. When you got that understood, you might go onto the next one, ok? Did that answer your question. I'm not being a smarty Faye.
(I remember in my life that even though I was saying it wrong it would help me to ....)
Keep the habit. Ok. I'll agree to that. It kept you habitually doing it. Does that really amount to very much or did you just have a habit.
(Well, I probably had a habit, but)
So you had an acceptable habit, and it was well worthwhile for you. I think if you had really discovered the meaning of Our Father somewhere along the way, that it probably would have had more meaning than just being a habit.
(We've got a little child that I gave this blessing to. We'll, we've been saying this all our lives.
What's it mean? I don't think children .....)
They've been saying it all their lives. They know the words.
(They've been saying it all their lives, but it doesn't mean anything.)
It's just some words. It's like a nursery rhyme, isn't it. It's like saying, "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall" or "Jack and Jill ran up the hill" or something similar? It all means about the same. There is no comprehension of it. It's just something you said, huh? You're just going through a ritual.
(I just realized something sitting right here, right now. What I've been praying for is Father, please don't expose my conditioning!)
Right, in other words you're saying, "Father be sure to lead me into temptation.", is that right? So from now on why not just start off by saying "Father lead me into temptation so I can sleep" and then you're being honest with it, and then X will have something to do.
[The question was too far in the background for the mike, but what I could hear said]
(in____all children have to make all seven of these_____________)
I don't know Miss Cookie. Ask some authority. Experiment and see. I think they'll have them all made though, but you can struggle all you want to. It wouldn't be any great advantage. I'd be just as easy to get rid of seven as it is one. So I wouldn't fret about it. I don't think that's a real relevant question.
So when we take this prayer or any semblance of it, if we can say it honestly, fine. If we say it without being honest, then we are really doing it with the idea of being non-disturbed. In that case, I think we'd better take George's prayer and say. "Father, tempt me with sleep, will you please, don't bug me man." and let it go at that. You'll be a whole lot better off than you would be to go through the prayer and thinking you are saying your prayer for one purpose, when really what you're doing is asking for non-disturbance. After all, our purpose, our intention, our motive communicates to X far more than the words.
Like Miss Diane said, the kids are taught that it's not nice to start gobbling up your food without saying a prayer first. So it's like washing your hands or brushing your teeth after a meal, it's a ritual to go through. We just feel bad to not do the ritual. We give about the same amount of thought to the words as we did as to whether we really got the hands clean or whether we just got them wet and wiped them off on the towel. That is about the way kids do it, isn't it Linda? They just get them wet.
And the prayer is about the same effectiveness when it is done as a ritual. But, it is the greatest thing in man's life if he uses it to raise his consciousness. And this prayer that's called the Lord's Prayer is probably the greatest series of concepts. if a person really considers them. That would result in a raised consciousness or a higher awareness level than I have ever seen or that I could ever conceive of. So, I think it's extremely valuable. But if you haven't got at least 30 minutes to work with it, don't bother with it.
[I have been working with this understanding of the Lord's Prayer for a long time. It has turned my "unconscious thinking" or "reactive thinking" to unfolding events that "I don't like" into considering more about What's going on? in the total experience of that event--at that moment. This purposeful change in my thinking has created a change in the event. I realize that at the event there are usually other people around who are reacting; but the event still was different because I didn't continue with the mechanical reaction. I've found this workshop very valuable since I began working with it; and wanted to share it with you......Marsha]