Ascension Network New Age Metaphysical Spiritual Resources

The Forgotten First Step of Prayer

by Aluna Michaels, MA

Over the past few years, researchers have begun to study the power of
prayer in scientific studies. They are discovering what spiritual people have
known all along -- that prayer works. Creative visualization is also a practical tool for
manifesting changes in our lives. Eventually, however, we all run into a time when prayers and
visualizations don't seem to work.

Many clients I see in my practice often feel hopelessly discouraged
about praying for the release of an entrenched personal habit. Maybe they've prayed
for the discipline to stick to a diet, or the patience to treat their irritating mother with
more kindness, or the ability to attract a soul mate instead of the same old dead-end
relationship. They pray, visualize and affirm to no avail. What's going on in these instances?
When we are obviously prepared to make a change in our lives and yet
remain spiritually stuck. We shouldn't abandon prayer and visualization,
thinking they don't work at all, or not for us. Neither should we assume that Spirit isn't
hearing us, or else doesn't care about our personal issues. We don't need to prayer "harder" or
"better", but we do need to pray more effectively.

Ponder this analogy about a dingy truck-stop diner. The employees don't
clean the restaurant well at all. The coffee is especially terrible. Each time the
waitress makes fresh coffee, she never washes the coffee pot out thoroughly. She makes
pot after pot with the dregs of yesterday's, lasts week's or last month's coffee still
in it. No wonder the fresh coffee tastes so awful. We've got a similar situation going on in
our minds when we struggle with prayer and get unfulfilling results.

Before we venture into the realms of prayer, visualization and affirmation, we
have to scrub our minds clean to prepare for the new circumstances we're
longing for. We've got to "disinfect" our thinking of the "thought germs" that
continue to poison our lives with toxic situations. The metaphysical term for this spiritual
preparation procedure is "denial". In this context, denial does not mean ignoring the truth. In her
classic book, Lessons in Truth, Emilie Cady writes, "It seems important to acknowledge
the appearance of a circumstance but deny its power over us". We must refuse
to grant any power to the conditions and subconscious thoughts that keep our lives in
a negative pattern. For affirmations and creative visualizations to be most
effective, they need to be preceded by denials. Denials scrub our "mental coffee pot" so we will be
happier with the fresh possibilities our affirmations usher in.

Unfortunately, cleansing ourselves before we ask to be filled with new options is
all but forgotten in spiritual circles. Yet it is crucial! When we are craving a change in
our lives and personal habits, what we are actually craving is a higher level of
consciousness -- an expanded state of awareness where events flow smoother, we make
better choices and attract happier circumstances. It is a good beginning to be able to
desire that new consciousness. But before we bound forward, we must be absolutely sure
we are not trying to drag garbage or unfinished business from the old, unsatisfying
consciousness into the new one. If we've been bludgeoning ourselves with affirmations,
pummeling Spirit with incessant prayers, and pounding on a door that won't open, we
should consider the likelihood of harboring a hidden germ in our subconscious garbage
pail that will fester in the future.

What are the messages of these "thought-germs"? -- subtle, subconscious self-
sabotage. If we're trying to lose weight, they quietly, yet relentless inform us that we've
never accomplished our goal and we won't now either, so we should just eat junk food. If
we want a better job, they frighten us with images of never finding other work and being
homelessness. If we desire a soul mate, they convince us we're too old/ugly/poor/boring.
Uuggh! This is what we're up against. Moreover, these forms of subtle sabotage will
become stronger and more insidious as we attempt to move away from them and into a
new level of consciousness.

How do we go about utilizing the healing energy of denials? First of all, it is
important to "know our enemy" by examining our subconscious thinking. In order to
overcome them, we should, ironically, address and acknowledge the presence of these
voices and the power we have given them up until now. Next, we must use the power of
denials by forcefully telling these thoughts, "No! You are not telling me the truth! I will
no longer listen to you! You have no power over me! No! No! NO! NO!" After this
show of spiritual strength, we may then begin our affirmations, confident that blessings
do await us in the future. In her book, How To Let God Help You, Myrtle Fillmore states, "We must
learn to forget the false sense [of these thoughts]. This false sense is the
great gulf between us and the kingdom [of Spirit]." When we pray without manifesting our
dreams, it is not that Spirit is rejecting our wishes. Rather, the delay is a loving reminder
that we must be entirely ready to receive the good the Universe holds for us.

Aluna Michaels is a second generation astrologer and has been teaching
and consulting for more than a decade. She also holds a Masters in Spiritual
Counseling. Aluna is available for readings in her home, by phone, or on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Saturdays from noon - 6 p.m. at Candle Power and Light, 7305 W 80th,
Overland Park. Call (816) 524-8550 to set an appointment. Her website is
www.ascension.net/aluna. Look for Aluna's books, "Spiritual Gifts of the 12 Astrological Signs"
and "Spiritual Collections" at Border's!

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