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The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 7-12 reads:
Jesus is giving us a lesson in practical magic-- or, rather, two lessons.
Ask, and ye shall receive-- receive, and ye shall have asked
Lesson 1 is simply this: Whatever you ask for, you shall receive. And so ask-- God is the source of everything, and he will give.
Two things to note, especially given the audience that I know I have here:
First, we don't need to consult the I Ching, the tarot, or the geomantic oracle before praying to God for a blessing. We don't need anyone's permission to pray, and we don't need to do a divination to be assured of success-- doing that just shows our own lack of faith. (That's the case regardless of any other value that divination might have.)
Second, on some level, this also means that whatever we have received, we have asked for. If our lives are miserable, and if we find that most of our thoughts are negative, tending toward envy toward others, or self-hatred, or similar negativity, then we need to realize that we've asked for our misery. God is Spirit; thought is closer to spirit than matter; what we think we have a causal impact on our lives.
In particular, if we spend our time wallowing in hatred, we should not be surprised when misery comes our way.
This is true even if we feel justified in hating the people and things that we hate.
This is true even if we claim that our hate is directed only at the political system, or our religious enemies, or people we regard as really, really bad.
If we replace thoughts of hate and vengeance with thoughts of love and blessing-- and, yes, prayers for the same-- we can expect blessings and abundance to manifest themselves in our lives.
Watch the Therefore
And here is Lesson 2.
Jesus says that we should ask God for what we need, and God will provide. And he then says "Therefore, treat everyone the way you want to be treated."
If God were a vending machine, dispensing goodies, then all we would need to do to get the goodies is to put our quarter in.
But that isn't it; God's not somewhere else. God, according to Jesus here, is and must be manifest in every human interaction. There are many forces at work in the world, for good and evil. We have a choice as to which forces we participate in.
If we want blessing, then we must participate in the forces of blessing. If we participate in evil, then we will receive evil, as sure as night follows day.
Our Minds Are All Connected
One reason I'm emphasizing this is that I've been watching my mind more closely lately, and realizing just how out of control it often is. The last few years of my life have been chaotic beyond anything I could have imagined. I've known joys that I didn't know were possible, especially the birth of my daughter, but I've known sorrow and misery beyond anything I've ever experienced before. Sometimes I wallow in despair. Very often, my inner monologue goes in very dark directions, imagining sorrow and failure and argument and pain.
And I've got to tell you that I often struggle with rearranging my inner mental chatter. Shall I instead imagine things happening the way I want them to? By what right do I ask for what I want or the fulfillment of my petty desires? Am I God?
No, I'm not. But Jesus tells us here: Ask and it shall be given to you. Therefore, do unto others as you would have done unto you. Every thought is an ask. Every thought is an action.
We already know this. Our minds are not isolated. Our thoughts are not isolated. All mind is connected. Mind is higher than matter, closer to the divine, and exists in a causal relationship to matter. If we spend our time thinking misery, we shall reap misery. If we spend out time thinking ill of others, we must not be surprised when ill fortune comes to us and others treat us badly without even knowing why they are doing it. The Chaldaean Oracles tell us that,
That's one translation, anyway. If you've been paying attention so far, you know what Greek word is being rendered into English here as "mind," and how inadequate the English word is.
Prayer Request
A good friend of mine was released from the hospital today. He has advanced lung cancer. His 39th birthday was a few weeks ago, and he's been struggling with cancer for the last 5 years. He is a good man, a devout Christian; in fact, he is one of the most sincerely spiritual people that I know. He is at peace with what may come, because he knows God and loves God. But he would still like to have more time on Earth with his wife.
I'd like to ask my Christian readers to please say a prayer for him. All things are possible with God.
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Practical Magic
Jesus is giving us a lesson in practical magic-- or, rather, two lessons.
Ask, and ye shall receive-- receive, and ye shall have asked
Lesson 1 is simply this: Whatever you ask for, you shall receive. And so ask-- God is the source of everything, and he will give.
Two things to note, especially given the audience that I know I have here:
First, we don't need to consult the I Ching, the tarot, or the geomantic oracle before praying to God for a blessing. We don't need anyone's permission to pray, and we don't need to do a divination to be assured of success-- doing that just shows our own lack of faith. (That's the case regardless of any other value that divination might have.)
Second, on some level, this also means that whatever we have received, we have asked for. If our lives are miserable, and if we find that most of our thoughts are negative, tending toward envy toward others, or self-hatred, or similar negativity, then we need to realize that we've asked for our misery. God is Spirit; thought is closer to spirit than matter; what we think we have a causal impact on our lives.
In particular, if we spend our time wallowing in hatred, we should not be surprised when misery comes our way.
This is true even if we feel justified in hating the people and things that we hate.
This is true even if we claim that our hate is directed only at the political system, or our religious enemies, or people we regard as really, really bad.
If we replace thoughts of hate and vengeance with thoughts of love and blessing-- and, yes, prayers for the same-- we can expect blessings and abundance to manifest themselves in our lives.
Watch the Therefore
And here is Lesson 2.
Jesus says that we should ask God for what we need, and God will provide. And he then says "Therefore, treat everyone the way you want to be treated."
If God were a vending machine, dispensing goodies, then all we would need to do to get the goodies is to put our quarter in.
But that isn't it; God's not somewhere else. God, according to Jesus here, is and must be manifest in every human interaction. There are many forces at work in the world, for good and evil. We have a choice as to which forces we participate in.
If we want blessing, then we must participate in the forces of blessing. If we participate in evil, then we will receive evil, as sure as night follows day.
Our Minds Are All Connected
One reason I'm emphasizing this is that I've been watching my mind more closely lately, and realizing just how out of control it often is. The last few years of my life have been chaotic beyond anything I could have imagined. I've known joys that I didn't know were possible, especially the birth of my daughter, but I've known sorrow and misery beyond anything I've ever experienced before. Sometimes I wallow in despair. Very often, my inner monologue goes in very dark directions, imagining sorrow and failure and argument and pain.
And I've got to tell you that I often struggle with rearranging my inner mental chatter. Shall I instead imagine things happening the way I want them to? By what right do I ask for what I want or the fulfillment of my petty desires? Am I God?
No, I'm not. But Jesus tells us here: Ask and it shall be given to you. Therefore, do unto others as you would have done unto you. Every thought is an ask. Every thought is an action.
We already know this. Our minds are not isolated. Our thoughts are not isolated. All mind is connected. Mind is higher than matter, closer to the divine, and exists in a causal relationship to matter. If we spend our time thinking misery, we shall reap misery. If we spend out time thinking ill of others, we must not be surprised when ill fortune comes to us and others treat us badly without even knowing why they are doing it. The Chaldaean Oracles tell us that,
Not in matter did that Fire which is in the First Beyond enclose its active principle, but in mind, for the framer of the fiery worlds is the mind of minds.
That's one translation, anyway. If you've been paying attention so far, you know what Greek word is being rendered into English here as "mind," and how inadequate the English word is.
Prayer Request
A good friend of mine was released from the hospital today. He has advanced lung cancer. His 39th birthday was a few weeks ago, and he's been struggling with cancer for the last 5 years. He is a good man, a devout Christian; in fact, he is one of the most sincerely spiritual people that I know. He is at peace with what may come, because he knows God and loves God. But he would still like to have more time on Earth with his wife.
I'd like to ask my Christian readers to please say a prayer for him. All things are possible with God.
