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| Reverses and Relapses Whenever fears or doubts enter your conscious mind, do not deny or suppress them. Stop the thought or feeling immediately. Go within. Do the “breathing prayer” exercise. Reconnect with the Presence and deeply affirm the state or condition directly opposite to the one suggested by the fears. Through an intense spiritual effort we accelerate a thorough cleansing and rearrangement of our mental patterns, and sometimes they begin to rebel. Much like a computer screen prompt, they begin to bombard us with questions like, “Are you sure you want to delete this file?”—implying that we have been satisfied with the pattern for so many years, so why change now? And every once in a while they will give us an experience that is diametrically opposite to the one we have been praying for or affirming just to demonstrate how much power they still have over us, or rather how much power we ourselves have given them. If a relapse happens, don’t panic. With the maximum presence of mind that you can summon make an extra deep effort to consolidate your positions. Go within and do your work there until you have regained peace, tranquility, and spiritual strength. And again pray deeply for healing. Beware of your ego during such an episode. It is a perfect opportunity for it to reassert its supremacy, ”I told you so. Faith doesn’t work. You have to see it to believe it, not to believe it and then to see it!” Do not tell anybody about your efforts to heal with God’s help. Please understand that although it is perfectly normal to want the support and approval of people who matter to you, if their faith is weaker than yours, they cannot help you. Other people’s negativity can weaken your resolve. Skepticism is very contagious. Remember always that skepticism hasn’t healed anybody yet, faith has. If a relapse happens, go within immediately and give it to the presence of God. Tell God that you don’t need the relapse and ask Him to remove the cause of it. When you feel lonely or scared, go within. Do several rounds of the breathing prayer. Immerse yourself in the loving currents of the Presence. You are never alone. Feel the reality behind these words, “You are never alone.” Do the “breathing prayer” exercise throughout the day. You will soon notice that it doesn’t interfere with your other activities. Quite the contrary, it will improve your concentration and help you perform much better. At some point the prayer will begin to pray itself through you, and the real cleansing of your heart will begin. A self-activating prayer is a blessing and a sure sign that you are progressing firmly toward your goal. previous chapter | next chapter |
| © 2003 by S&T Publishing. All rights reserved. |
| Guide to Effective Prayer |