Dear Doug,

Greetings and blessings in the Light of Messiah!

[…]The physical, vital and mental consciousness is inherently dualistic – in the mental consciousness if we fashion a concept of the non-dual or innate unity we can polarize to that concept and it can become an obstruction to the actual realization of the non-dual. You see, in the non-dual recognition there is oneness and multiplicity at one and the same time; there is the absolute sphere and the relative sphere – there is what’s happening, just as it is happening.

[…] You ask how prayer is effective for me and, perchance, effective for others – in the non-dual realization, prayer is a movement of the Light-presence (Christ) and Light-power (Holy Spirit). As I mentioned, it is akin to the natural and spontaneous arising from the Truth Body to appear in the Glory Body and Emanation Body; the silent volition rooted in the Clear Light Nature and the Sacred Heart (Compassion) arises as luminous thoughts and words of prayer, and these become vehicles of the Light-presence and Light-power: hence the Gnostic and Light Transmission. It is all a play of Divine Energy-Intelligence, the Shekinah of Messiah – it is the radiant display of the Holy One, the Bornless One. If it is the wish of Divine or Enlightened Being that sentient beings are blessed and experience Divine Grace, then that wish is expressed as our prayer and our prayer bears the Blessing Power of the Holy One of Being – the True Light, God. In the relative sphere, through the action of study and contemplation, prayer and meditation, and sacred ritual, a circuit of the Desire to Receive joined to the Desire to Give is formed, and thus the Light-presence and Light-power flows – Divine Grace moves.

If we are each a cocreator with God, as it were, emanations of the One, then are not our prayers emanations of the Divine Will and Divine Kingdom – as though magical spells spoken by the One through which great wonders might transpire? It is said that creation is the Living Word spoken by God, and so also are our prayers – how can we not speak our wishes for the well-being and welfare of all, or our desire for the enlightenment and liberation of all? Love compels us, compassion compels us – this holy desire of the Light-indweller in us (Christ Melchizedek).

The words of the prayer are skillful means in the relative sphere, my friend; they are as talismans of the Light-power extended in this realm of sentient existence – and by their nature they may reach into other more subtle and sublime realms, worlds and universes, extend the Divine Light to all sentient beings. It is all a play of Divine Energy-intelligence and, yes, it is all a creative affair, lead by the Holy Spirit, the Creative Spirit; the Light-presence and Light-power give expression to themselves, and we are that Great Gesture.

We are emanations of the Light-continuum, vehicles of the Light-presence and Light-power, and we are here to bring forth the Light and extend the Light – we actively do this through sacred discourse, study and contemplation, prayer and meditation, sacred ritual and good works. It is all skillful means in the relative sphere, while abiding in the holy remembrance of the absolute sphere and the ultimate truth of the Sacred Unity underlying the relative and absolute.

It is true, many of the prayers of the outer and unspiritual church may be too limited for the Gnostic practitioner – we may need prayers fashioned in a more refined symbolic and mystical language. We may need to acquire a larger mystical vocabulary. Of course, when we do, even exoteric prayers will take on new meaning to us, and whether in the assembly of a Gnostic circle or church, or in the assembly of an outer church, it will be the same – our prayers will be filled with the power of the Spirit of Truth and Light. Consider this: If I abide in Union with the Holy One, or I abide in the non-dual recognition, isn’t the Light-presence and Light-power the same, whether in the apparent exterior church or interior church? Is this not also true of the respective prayers – prayers of good wishes, prayers of love and compassion?

Do you get a sense that many of the distinctions we make between “this” and “that” are, themselves, products of dualism and are illusory? In this we discover the problem with the discursive mind and intellect – the inherent dualism of mental consciousness. Thus, we seek to recognize and realize the Nature of Mind, which is supernal or supramental – it is this that empowers the Great Gesture, and that enlightened and liberates.

Even as we speak, within and behind this is a prayer my friend – the wish for the happiness of all beings, the desire for the liberation of all beings. Indeed, in the Light of Awareness, every thought, word and deed is a prayer – the communication of the Light-presence to the Light-presence, the actualization and realization of the Divine or Enlightened Potential. More than the words of a teaching or a prayer, it is the intention and energy within and behind that is most significant. With right intention and energy, merely the sound of Ah is a liberative prayer, just as are the words “Christ have mercy.” The sound Ah is an essential and esoteric understanding of the prayer for mercy that appears in the Book of Common Prayer!

“Christ have mercy” is the Light-indweller shining from within me and an entire congregation – a Body of Vision that may be “put on” as we pray this prayer, and we may envision this Light pervading the whole world and all beings dwelling in it. This, too, is creativity in prayer, yes? This is mystical prayer, and there is great wonderworking power in it!

If a mystic prays a prayer, isn’t whatever prayer they pray mystical?

There is a delightful experience in prayer, as in the creative process, when the thought of the pray occurs only after the words are spoken, and the prayer naturally and spontaneously arises from inmost being – supernal or supramental.

Master Yeshua prays to the Father, yet he also says, “One who has seen me has seen the Father.” We must conclude that the Father is praying in the Son through the Holy Spirit; hence, the Light-continuum is praying as the Light-presence in us through the Light-power. In resurrection St. Lazarus the Master says he has no need to speak, yet he says he has a need to speak for the sake of the people, to glorify the Father – and so it is with us.

I’m reminded of a man who came to the Master, who said, “I believe, Lord; heal me of my unbelief.” It seems his energy was in some way obstructed by concepts in the mind – something all spiritual practitioners struggle with along the way. If we get bound up on conceptual obstructions, the first step is recognizing the conceptual obstruction, then to apply the appropriate remedy.

Perhaps a practice like Giving and Receiving, which aims at the generation of the Sacred Heart and movement of energy might prove helpful – it would be interesting to see after a period with such a practice what experience might arise for you. As the practice develops beyond Giving and Receiving with oneself to include others, it is also an active prayer in meditation. This is a practice of self-purification.[…]

This is the contemplation that was invoked by your letter – perhaps it will be useful to you. […]

May we be set on fire with the Spirit of Yahweh to shine, self-radiant, amen.

Blessings & shalom!