Spirituality

Dr. of Spirituality Final Essay

Rev. Dennis Zerull

I first once again wish to thank the ULC Seminary for having the insight and forethought in offering this wonderful course written by Dr. Loretta Siani. Dr. Siani has a great God given gift as a Spiritual Teacher and Counselor and I am grateful to the ULC Seminary and to her for providing me with the opportunity to become ever more enlightened on my spiritual path.

This course has taught me a great deal about prayer and I can more effectively use prayer in my life of form on this Earth. Jesus prays frequently in the four gospels, addressing God personally as his Father. Jesus tell us that we too can ask God for anything, and that our prayers will be answered. I have found this to be true. I have had my prayers answered and have experienced miracles by becoming more miracle minded. I do try and change my mind about the world and

let go of ego which serves no purpose but to create a false identity and separates me from God. Sometimes the answers to my prayers I thought were no. This used to be of great concern to me because of ego but then I realized that prayer is clearly a powerful communication tool. It serves as my way to tell God not only what I want in terms of guidance but allows me to communicate with Him at the most personal and sacred level. The level at which I know that I am his Son and that his mercy and miracles are at hand for me to experience.

Often times man uses prayer for all things today, yet in an age of doubts, it is difficult to believe that prayer can achieve as much as Jesus claims. For Him, prayer has no limits. whether one prays to the Father or to the Son, Jesus is absolute that no request will be denied which is demonstrated by the most famous prayer in The Bible, the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's prayer in

essence asks for Heaven on earth. Deepak Chopra in his book The Third Jesus

states "That God could grant this seems idealistic to the point of impossibility. Our world may have progressed since the first century, but the Lord's Prayer hasn't delivered Heaven on this material plane".  This may be true but he further states "that one thing that can make the

Lord's Prayer real is enlightenment". I could not agree more.

The basis for A Course in Miracles and other enlightened materials written by either revelation or inspiration from God points to the fact that a person in God-consciousness would address the Father exactly like Jesus does. The basic principle of prayer is "ask and you shall receive" is the theme that Jesus comes back to time and time again. In this course my prayers have changed as I have progressed on the spiritual path, becoming more powerful on the basis of consciousness. As I stated before I thought that God gave me answers of negative content but I now realize that God doesn't grant or deny prayers, nor does He hear some and turn a deaf ear to others. These were appearances seem from my level of awareness. I know that Jesus put the blame for unanswered prayers on the one who prays rather than God. This is an acceptable fact for me and one I have discovered while taking this course.

Prayer is not magic. It is however applied consciousness. One cannot expect God to fulfill requests unless there is an intimate connection with spirit. "Jesus was keenly aware of this, since he lived from the source of reality and therefore could change reality at will". The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra. I have a knowing that the closer my connection with God, the greater my spiritual power becomes. In Buddhism, "mindfulness" has a central meaning of being aware. Remembering who we truly are, living to be worthy of God and praying so that we will be connected to Him. I have learned or and am trying to learn to speak from the heart instead of using rhetoric. To be sincere as Jesus tells us. To pray in faith. "Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." Matthew 21:22

It seems that for centuries that prayer has been the litmus test for faith. In the past it has been hard for me to utter a prayer without feeling a twinge of guilt and doubt. This is once again because of the level of my God-consciousness. At the lower levels I always begged for help and at the highest level my prayer is no different from any other thought because all thoughts bring about a result with focused attention and surrendered doing. Jesus knew this and knows this because he tells us to believe that our prayers will come true. What a valuable lesson to be learned at any level of consciousness. I know that Jesus is telling the truth because Jesus is truth. Therefore prayer is meant to be answered. Further if prayer is meant to be

answered then praying can bring about two results. Either prayer brings about results or there will be obstacles that block a response. Obstacles and resistance to what is exist in ego and unconsciousness and therefore can be cleared away. So instead of being a litmus test for faith, prayer shows us what we need to do on the spiritual path. that is to open the channels of communication with God. Jesus assures us that the channel is never cut off but only temporarily blocked.

I cannot attest as Dr. Siani say's that A course in Miracles is a revelation from God. But the broader implication is that spirit communicates not through words but through direct experience. We all learn this from the time we are infants as we begin to experience life. Yet we sometimes believe that we can learn about God secondhand through authority and scripture. Jesus underscores the need to be in the presence of spirit, God consciousness or being yourself and to be affected by it personally. I can tell you from personal experience

that this is truth.

My goal is not to imitate Jesus but to be part of Him or as he said to abide in Him. I strive for this by not becoming part of the process that turns into separation but that which turns into unity. Not what I do but how I do it will determine how I fulfill my destiny and the level of my God-consciousness. My level of prayer is also dependent on three things. Acceptance, Enjoyment, and Enthusiasm.

Acceptance is my willingness to accept this moment, this situation and what it requires me to do and do it willingly.

Enjoyment when I link into the universe that God created which turns into a great sense of aliveness and joy.

Enthusiasm which is a deep enjoyment in what I do plus the added element of a goal or a vision that I work toward.

These three modalities working hand in hand with prayer and mediation will not allow ego to control reality. Ego cannot coexist with acceptance, enjoyment and enthusiasm. It has no hold and doesn't like this fact. Just as Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." The meek are the egoless. The ones who have awakened to their essential true nature and recognize all other life forms. Living in a surrendered state as Jesus did seems an impossibility in our modern day life.

However I submit that it is possible achieve a level of God-consciousness and that prayer is one medium by which the door can be opened. And once it is opened and you walk through it a new world will manifest itself to you. One of presence, stillness and love.

Dennis W. Zerull

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