It is
always a great pleasure to be with someone who can talk well. It increases the
joy if the person can speak about philosophical matters in an interesting
manner. It doubles the bliss if the
person can speak about spirituality, human laws and universal truths that interconnect
different faiths and generate great thoughts linking it to today’s world. I
have such a friend – let me call him Zack,
as he doesn’t want the real name to be mentioned in this blog - with whom I
spent one evening recently in a coffee shop in Dubai. We explore and think out of the box; we don’t
talk about ordinary stuff; we try to keep the conversation engaging by challenging
each other’s ideas. Of course, it is not only thoughtful but delightful as
well. The summary of the conversation is the topic of this blog.
People
say pray intensely; also there is a school of thought in motivational gurus
that if wish to have something, have intense desire. Both works sometimes; it
is just a probability. Why so? This is because of the role of subconscious
mind. Even if you pray or desire intensely, it may just hover in your conscious
mind. Your subconscious mind is already conditioned – usually with past
experiences of right and wrong, fears and confidence, emotional experiences of
sorrow, happiness, etc. If the thing you intensely desire or pray is against
your ‘subconscious conditioning’, better to stop your prayer and forget your
desire.
For
example, Zack has been praying for a life partner and has intense desire as
well. He is well qualified and has a good executive job. But despite attempts
spanning more than a decade, he is not married yet, although he has met more
than 50 possible life partners. He believes somewhere in his ‘subconscious
conditioning’, there is an element that sabotages the conscious efforts.
Is there
any hope?
Yes; if
you can change the ‘subconscious conditioning’, your intense prayer and desire
will be successful. However, how to change the ‘subconscious conditioning?’ It is very hard; very very hard. Probably, it
would be easier to straighten the bend of a dog’s tail than to change the ‘subconscious
conditioning’.
May be
some psychologists agree that some kind of ‘crucible experience’ of mixed deep
prolonged experiences may change the ‘subconscious conditioning’ but no guarantee.
Our
conversations continued with rich thoughts while our coffee dwindled. Our
arguments continued; however we agree that, subconscious mind is below
conscious mind. We think, act, plan, scheme, take decisions and do many things
with conscious mind and we are aware of it. But your subconscious mind is
beyond your reach; you cannot control it; it will control you. 90% of the mind
is subconscious mind. So if intense prayer and desire are to yield result you
have to work on your subconscious mind level.
You can
control subconscious mind by managing the spirit in you, because one level underneath
is the spiritual mind. No one else has spoken about the importance of ‘Living
in Spirit’ than St. Paul, one of the key theological gurus of Christianity.
What did St.
Paul meant when he admonishes his followers to ‘Live in Spirit’?
Has it
got something to do with the power to change ‘subconscious conditioning’?
Lacking
our expertise in these matters, we turned online and came across a fantastic
essay by Pope Benedict XVI ‘St. Paul and
the Spirit’ (http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/b16ChrstChrch24.htm)
Some of
the paragraphs in the article are close to our thought pattern i.e.”Paul teaches us another important thing: he
says that there is no true prayer without the presence of the Spirit within us”.
In
order to get the results for prayer or desire, one should have Spiritual life
because Paul writes that "The Spirit
helps us in our weakness*; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the
Spirit himself intercedes for us with
sighs too deep for words. And ................" (Rom 8:26-27). (* in our view weakness means subconscious blockades….)
So,
when you pray and you sigh, don’t be ashamed. Instead you should be happy.
(Even Jesus sighed when he prayed to bring out Lazar from death to life, a few days
after his burial)
Pope
Benedict XVI went on to explain that “It
is as if to say that the Holy Spirit, that is, the Spirit of the Father and of
the Son, is henceforth as it were the soul of our soul, the most secret part of
our being, from which an impulse of prayer rises ceaselessly to God, whose
words we cannot even begin to explain.
The prayer or desire in Spirit will be accomplished; it removes the ‘subconscious
conditioning or blockades. Pope Benedict XVI is hundred percent correct when ge say In fact, the Spirit, ever alert within us,
completes what is lacking in us and offers to the Father our worship as well as our deepest aspirations”. This,
of course, requires a degree of great and vital communion with the Spirit.
What it
means to all of us?
Interested
readers may read the full article written by Pope Benedict XVI. However, it is clear from Pope’s article that
being a spiritual person* is the best way to do away with the ‘subconscious
conditioning, blockades, etc’ and get what you pray for and desire. When you
pray or desire, do it in Spirit; much better if your spirit intercedes for you
with sighs!
* there are other benefits being a spiritual
person i.e. love, joy, peace", etc. (Gal
5:22). "Be aglow with the Spirit" and "Repay no one evil for
evil" (Rom 12:11, 17).
