Amethyst Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I pray to an extent. I don't do the "God, give me a million dollars!" prayer, it's more like, "God, give me the ability to earn a million dollars while I'm still young." I remember reading Conversations With God, and it had a really good "formula" for prayer. It says that by our thoughts, words, and actions, we call things to being in the Universe. If we say, "God, I want a million dollars," the answer is that you have called the act of wanting a million dollars into the Universe for yourself. Rather, one should command and know - KNOW - in total faith that what one calls into being, becomes. Do not doubt your faith that it will come, otherwise it won't. One should declare to the Universe - "I HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS", and know that you already have it, and that it already is yours. If you doubt that, that thought will affect the universe and thus make the prayer null and void. It's difficult to explain in words, but I do personally know people for whom this has actually worked. The idea is that we have more power, and we are more in control, than we could ever imagine now, in our present states. We can affect the universe in such a way, so long as we KNOW we can. I guess you'd have to read the book to get it. One of my friends, Bill Tucker, actually wrote a book about his experiences, Miracles Made Possible. You know, this sounds a lot like Christians who said "Well, you/they just didn't pray or believe hard enough!" when I tell them my mom died from cancer even though I prayed hard for it, and so did everyone else. (Which is pissy because they are essentially blaming ME and everyone else who prayed for my mother to get better for her death instead of nature.) Believing in things doesn't make them happen. But then, if you tell a Christian that, they just say "well sometimes God just says no, but that doesn't mean Jesus doesn't exist." And yeah, you may earn a million dollars in your lifetime, but if you are like most people, you will have spent most of it on rent, groceries, and bills by the time you retire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khdetw Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 I do personally know people for whom this has actually worked. The idea is that we have more power, and we are more in control, than we could ever imagine now, in our present states. We can affect the universe in such a way, so long as we KNOW we can. When it appears that prayer works, I think it is more likely because the person praying has, consciously or not, managed to align themselves with the universe in such a way as to pray for what is going to happen - not the other way around. OTOH, life is interconnected in ways we don't yet know. I expect someday we'll have a much clearer understanding of how that works. For now, the consensus seems to be that prayer does appear to be effective in some circumstances, but not predictably so. My career has brought me into close contact with several leading televangelists and their organizations, designed to "fleece the flock" under the premise that certain "anointed" persons prayers were more effective. They are not! In all the instances I have personally observed, when it was not outright manipulation - as it often is - it could be better explained by other factors, or mere coincidence. In any case, I'm convinced that there are no supreme beings involved. Perhaps some unscrupulous ones :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taphophilia Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 When it appears that prayer works, I think it is more likely because the person praying has, consciously or not, managed to align themselves with the universe in such a way as to pray for what is going to happen - not the other way around. OTOH, life is interconnected in ways we don't yet know. I expect someday we'll have a much clearer understanding of how that works. For now, the consensus seems to be that prayer does appear to be effective in some circumstances, but not predictably so. My career has brought me into close contact with several leading televangelists and their organizations, designed to "fleece the flock" under the premise that certain "anointed" persons prayers were more effective. They are not! In all the instances I have personally observed, when it was not outright manipulation - as it often is - it could be better explained by other factors, or mere coincidence. In any case, I'm convinced that there are no supreme beings involved. Perhaps some unscrupulous ones :-/ Not to hi-jack the thread, but your post is pretty damn interesting. You will have to enlighten us sometime on your experiences. I don't pray anymore, but I talk to myself ALL the time. Taph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khdetw Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Not to hi-jack the thread, but your post is pretty damn interesting. You will have to enlighten us sometime on your experiences. Taph Ha! I will get around to posting my story soon. I laughed because you - among many others here - have posted so many interesting things that lead me on so many tangents that I find myself having even less time to post myself, then I had when I was doing the full time college/work thing for the last three years :-/ (like that amishabuse story - wow! - not to mention Osho) The real short version is that around 30 I started to emerge from the fog. I did it mostly on my own (... a lot of talking to myself as you said). It's fascinating to "meet" so many people who had such a similar path. My life has been pretty good, both before and since deconversion, so I didn't perhaps have the driving force to deconvert that some had. It's more gradual, less dramatic. My extended family is mostly still Xian, but rather tolerant, at least on the surface. My situation with my mom is similar to yours in some respects, but she is not in ill health. I have some great dialog with my brothers, one of whom is an Assembly of God preacher, another an atheist. Oh ... sorry. now ~I'm~ hi-jacking the thread ... god (SIC) forbid. Love your display-name BTW. I am too technical - mine is just a hash of my name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ghost In The Machine Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 I would like to ask those people here who still feel they have a spiritual side if they still pray? And if so how and what for? No, I no longer pray. I do a lot of heavy-wishing though, and it seems to get exactly the same results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
☆ TexasFreethinker ☆ Posted February 19, 2006 Share Posted February 19, 2006 My last prayer was three or four years ago. I told biblegod exactly what he could do to convince me that he exists (a la Gideon). Nothing has happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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