Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

FROM THE TIME OF OUR INFANCY we live awash in a sea of prayers made either by us or by others on our behalf. Some wishes manifest, others don't. Wouldn't you like to sneak a look behind the curtain of creation and find out how God decides which petitions to grant and which to deny?

If your answer is yes, read on. At the request of my celestial attorneys, however, I must ask you to first read through and agree to the following caution (think of it as an acceptance policy):

The information contained herein is intended solely for educational purposes and is not meant to be construed as a substitute for lower- (third-) dimensional remedies to unwanted conditions which may, from time to time, be practiced upon our planet. The utilization of the principles disclosed herein will alter lives and cause significant changes in spiritual, emotional, and physical conditions. Consequently, readers are urged to use extreme caution and discretion before applying them. By continuing to read this article, you have attested to your understanding and agreement of the above terms and conditions.

Indeed, the material about to be revealed will turn your thinking inside out. It will also shift you into a position of greater accountability. By putting this information into practice, you will begin to get what you wish for. Please don't let this newly found power go to your head, and please use your expanded ability to effect change wisely.

Begin by considering this: Who do you pray to? Any given edition of my local newspaper usually includes a few ads posted by believers who are imploring St. Jude to intervene on their behalf. Worldwide, millions of souls light candles or incense, spin prayer wheels, drink from sacred springs, kneel before icons, recite supplications, and keep statues of saints on the dashboards of their cars. Cultivated, intelligent, and generally delightful people worship deities in the form of elephants or monkeys, multi-armed dancing beings, sitting, reclining, standing, or sleeping Buddhas, likenesses of ascended masters, unicorns, mythical cups, trees, stars, or volcanoes. And names - my God, we have thousands of names and, in those traditions where God's name should not be verbalized, euphemisms for God. How can each of them be right?

This, of course, is the question driving the religious conflicts that have plagued humanity throughout history. The question arises only because we stubbornly insist on regarding God as a noun. In our view, He (or She or It) exists as a Thing separate from us. We then assume we can worship, appease, propitiate, and above all pray to this separate entity, and if we worship and pray fervently enough, our prayers are answered - veritable proof, we argue, that our version of God exists and is all powerful.

But what if there isn't a God? What if, instead, there is only GOD? This subtle twist of wording provides an insight into the Mystery that, as the disclaimer says, can change your life forever. For it tells us that God is not a noun. He, She, or It does not exist as the creator of All That Is. God is All That Is. God is Oneness. There is nothing throughout the infinite vastness, manifest or as yet lying in the invisible potential, that is separate from this Oneness. Every elephant, every monkey, every icon, star, volcano, or grain of sand, is God. That is not to say that God is in all things; rather, God is all things. Throughout the entirety of creation there is only God.

However, all expressions of the Oneness are not identical. We only have to consider the nature of the creation itself to understand this. All things differ with respect to shape, size, purpose, and a host of other factors great and small that defy counting. The prime, underlying purpose of creation is to allow the Oneness to experience itself infinitely, that is, through every conceivable combination and permutation of circumstance and expression. Thus the Oneness has split itself into myriad points of presence scattered throughout the many omniverses in a range of consciousness levels frequently called dimensions or densities.

Each human being is the embodiment of one of these divine projections. You might think of yourself as a single fractal in an infinite cosmic hologram, continually receiving and feeding information back to what is poetically called the Heart/Mind of God. The nature of human experience is to perceive ourselves separate from Source, abandoned, and in need of help or salvation. When overwhelmed or confronted by phenomena too grand for our minds to grasp, we understandably reach toward the heavens (or wherever else the deity who provides comfort in such situations resides) and beg assistance. It's all part of the Oneness's game of self-discovery.

There are, in fact, two points from which to view. From the standpoint of being a separate, embodied point of presence, you are small, helpless, and in need. From the perspective of the Oneness, there is only you. It is you playing the part of the one praying, the one listening to the prayer, the one who decides, the one who gives or withholds, and the one who receives the result. All of them are aspects, higher or lower as we say from our human point of view, of you.

Now comes the big question: which one of these parts of your infinite essence gets to determine whether some unwanted condition persists or changes?

As Albert Einstein once said, "God does not play dice with the universe." In other words, nothing happens by chance. Every illness, every war, every unwanted condition was purposefully created. Before requesting that it be altered to suit your present view, wouldn't it be wise to ask why so much effort was expended to bring this situation into your life? Are there lessons yet to be learned? Is some higher purpose still being served despite the suffering or inconvenience?

If you are fully satisfied that the unwanted condition has no more gifts to give, then pray that it be changed. And pray that the change is not just for your own sake but for the highest good of all concerned - another suggestion from my cosmic attorneys to keep you from acting out of a limited point of view. Then give it the full power of intention. Here's how it's done:

1. Tune fully into yourself. Be fully present with your prayer; have no other thoughts or actions going on at the same time.
2. Tune into the higher part of your infinite being, however you conceive this - an angel, ascended master, higher intelligence, or the vast Cosmic Onion - and ask for its presence. It will immediately join you and become aware of your request.
3. Consciously complete the circuit by tuning into and envisioning the recipient of your prayer. This may be another being, a situation, or yourself. Visualize, as fully as you can, the changed state the person or situation you are praying would be experiencing. Know that the instant the circuit between yourself, the aspect of your higher consciousness, and the recipient is complete, the healing, miracle, or whatever else you are requesting is already manifest.

Do these three things, and the first star you see tonight must use its considerable nexus of consciousness to support whatever you have asked.

© 2007, Jean-Claude Gerard Koven, All Rights Reserved

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Jean-Claude Gerard Koven is a writer and speaker based in Rancho Mirage, CA. He is a featured weekly columnist for the UPI (United Press International) Religion and Spirituality Forum and the author of Going Deeper: How to Make Sense of Your Life When Your Life Makes No Sense, recipient of both the Allbooks Reviews editor's choice award and the USABookNews.com award for the best metaphysical book of the year. For more information, please visit: www.goingdeeper.org.