Praying

[Mildain]

is it beneficial to pray for others, like the FOTCM group, or any that are on the path of learning and soul development, to their benefit ?
would it be beneficial to do this in any way, to help benefit all who are on this path?

For the forum members, the reason I am asking is because I feel that I need to contribute in some way. I feel completely useless for the most part, all I am able to do so far is read stuff and absorb a small amount of it, and I do so with great difficulty and poor comprehension of most of it. I refrain from actively participating in the forums because I have no idea what to think or to do. I want to be a part of this, to explore it, but I don't know where to start - so I thought that what I asked above might be beneficial to others who are able to do the work effectively, do so more effectively or benefit from it.

Or am I just asking a stupid question .. :/

 

[Turgon]

is it beneficial to pray for others, like the FOTCM group, or any that are on the path of learning and soul development, to their benefit ?

Hi Mildain,

You can read more about praying by reading the thread Praying. But to answer your question, I think if you want to pray for the well-being of others and this group, I see no harm in that. As long as you are sending those intentions or energy to people who are truly asking for help and assistance. And considering the nature of the network and forum, more help is always appreciated.

I want to be a part of this, to explore it, but I don't know where to start - so I thought that what I asked above might be beneficial to others who are able to do the work effectively, do so more effectively or benefit from it.

Diet is one area you can start. Changing what you put in your body on a regular basis does have profound effects in other areas like cognitive and emotional. You could say by making dietary changes, you're laying the groundwork to be able to contribute in other areas. You can read Ketogenic Diet: Pathway to Transformation? to start off with. It is a lengthy thread but well worth it.

 

[curious_richard]

I think a simple thing is to ask yourself, "Is there some way I can help someone else?" At first, do not expect that you will have an answer. It is hard to know how to help others. But asking the question is helpful. The question helps you. The question leads to important ideas about what exactly is "help". If you are true and want to help others, this will be a big learning experience. I wish you good luck!

 

[ROEL]

Hi, Mildain. As Turgon puts it: "As long as you are sending those intentions or energy to people who are truly asking for help and assistance." That is key.

 

[loreta]

If you read and try to understand and ask questions, this is a sort of participation, contribution. Little by little answers will come and it is not a stupid question at all. I agree that a good start is starting reading the Ketogenic thread or the "life without bread". And don't hesitated to participated and ask questions and give your point of view. Good luck!

 

[obyvatel]

[quote author=Mildain]
For the forum members, the reason I am asking is because I feel that I need to contribute in some way. I feel completely useless for the most part, all I am able to do so far is read stuff and absorb a small amount of it, and I do so with great difficulty and poor comprehension of most of it. I refrain from actively participating in the forums because I have no idea what to think or to do.
[/quote]

Hi Mildain,
I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that the relatively recent thread that you started in the Diet and Health section here was quite useful.

Contributing to the forum comes in various forms. Many times asking questions about something you have read and would like to discuss about is very useful for others. Many topics discussed here including many recommended books are complex and open-ended in nature. I can say for myself that just because I have read quite a few of those books does not mean that I understand the material in them. So I benefit from reading others' views and especially questions related to these topics as it makes me revisit the material and often times get a fresh insight or perspective. So please do not underestimate the usefulness of questions and sharing of experience as productive forms of contribution.

 

[luc]

[quote author=Mildain]
For the forum members, the reason I am asking is because I feel that I need to contribute in some way. I feel completely useless for the most part, all I am able to do so far is read stuff and absorb a small amount of it, and I do so with great difficulty and poor comprehension of most of it. I refrain from actively participating in the forums because I have no idea what to think or to do.

Hi Mildain,
I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that the relatively recent thread that you started in the Diet and Health section here was quite useful.

Contributing to the forum comes in various forms. Many times asking questions about something you have read and would like to discuss about is very useful for others. Many topics discussed here including many recommended books are complex and open-ended in nature. I can say for myself that just because I have read quite a few of those books does not mean that I understand the material in them. So I benefit from reading others' views and especially questions related to these topics as it makes me revisit the material and often times get a fresh insight or perspective. So please do not underestimate the usefulness of questions and sharing of experience as productive forms of contribution.

[/quote]

I agree with obyvatel and would like to add that since this is a text-based forum where a lot of difficult topics are discussed in-depth, sometimes we can get the impression that all this is very "intellectual". But as we know, the Work is about working on all centers - intellect, emotions and body -, so I think that just sharing "what is", i.e. how we feel about certain things, how we react physically to certain things (like you did in the "Gagging" thread), what our current situation/state of mind is etc. and asking questions about those observations is equally important. In fact, I think it's much more helpful than philosophizing about intellectual concepts without real understanding or corresponding experience, which is a trap many intellect-driven people can fall into (including myself). In other words, when you write that you "read stuff and absorb a small amount of it" and that you "do so with great difficulty and poor comprehension of most of it", it's fairly normal I think and a better place to start than pretending you understand everything. So I would suggest that you do the reading at your own speed, and concentrate on those bits and pieces you do understand - apply them to your life, make connections to situations/feelings/sensations that you experienced, share these here or ask questions if you like... and allow things to fall into place naturally.

Also, the Cs said that giving back can take on many forms and one that was mentioned that I think is very important is sincerity in applying what you learn here to your life. So even if you think you can't contribute much here, taking the knowledge that is offered here very seriously and making sincere efforts to apply it is an important form of "giving back". Just a few thoughts...

 

[Alada]

For the forum members, the reason I am asking is because I feel that I need to contribute in some way. I feel completely useless for the most part, all I am able to do so far is read stuff and absorb a small amount of it, and I do so with great difficulty and poor comprehension of most of it. I refrain from actively participating in the forums because I have no idea what to think or to do. I want to be a part of this, to explore it, but I don't know where to start - so I thought that what I asked above might be beneficial to others who are able to do the work effectively, do so more effectively or benefit from it.

Or am I just asking a stupid question .. :/

I don't think its a stupid question at all. :)

Re. praying, I don't think it would do any harm but maybe best not to attach any specific outcomes to it, leave things open, its maybe the intent that is the thing. Same if we ask for assistance for ourselves in prayer I think, to not anticipate or get attached to anticipated outcomes.

As for the rest, I don't see any problem there either. Its naturally going to take time to cover the material here, but I don't think that should stop anyone from feeling they can't or shouldn't contribute, or especially that their contribution would have no value. I used to find it in myself a lot, that feeling of being unsure whether to hit the 'post' button or not, worrying that it wasn't worth it, had already been said (and better) by someone else or whatever. In the end it is worth the effort to 'push' past that and take part though, and it can help accelerate the learning process greatly too!

 

[Mildain]

Hi, Mildain. As Turgon puts it: "As long as you are sending those intentions or energy to people who are truly asking for help and assistance." That is key.

Okay, i'll keep this in mind - I was kind of thinking this is kind of how it worked best, but I wasn't sure. Since I do not need help or assistance on anything myself that I can think of, I feel that I am free to provide that help to others. However I am not very knowledgeable and that restricts my ability to help others in this way.

But if I can include thoughts and intentions for wellness and being in my daily prayer, towards others, I figure there is a greater benefit to this than praying for myself. Im not really sure why I think this, but im guessing from what I have read from some of the transcripts from the C's, my interpretation of how "the work" is done by all the people involved in the work is that things of a personal nature are "STS" ; and restrict somehow, and that focusing on learning and providing information to others is what opens up more connective energies to "all creation" (that includes us.) This is the best I can do to describe my thinking on this.

Im also thinking what I am going to try is scour the forums for those people asking for help, and try to provide prayer to them in hopes they might benefit from it through their struggles. Also, I think i need to fit in some room for those who are suffering that do not have access or contact with the group, for example, the innocent refugees who have fled Syria (thanks to the psychos in the US government and other forces), the palestinians under brutal living conditions in palestine, the yemeni people who are suffering under the attacks of saudi arabia and other forces, etc etc.

I kind of wonder what would happen if millions of people did this daily .. what sort of effect we could have on the course of events and the whole population of the world ? I guess I will never know .. but in any case, i will at least try anyway, and continue it, and hope it has some benefit as some of have suggested.

Thanks for your input guys, you have all really boosted my confidence in this. :D

 

[Carl]

Regarding changing the world by praying, I don't think it works that way. You don't usually get good results by intention alone.

You may want to watch the Knowledge and Being videos, particularly part 5 which discusses intention, action and reality-jumping.

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I don't think it's a bad thing to pray for good, but you may be better off praying for something along the lines of:
"Show me an avenue that I can follow in order to fulfil my potential to help others and make best use of my life".

At the end of the day you can't save everyone, and you have no idea what kind of soul-level decisions people have made. But you can direct your life in such a way that you enter new realities through choices, and perhaps one day you will end up in a reality where things are better. Then it's kinda like you saved the world!

 

[Windmill knight]

I kind of wonder what would happen if millions of people did this daily .. what sort of effect we could have on the course of events and the whole population of the world ? I guess I will never know .. but in any case, i will at least try anyway, and continue it, and hope it has some benefit as some of have suggested.

Hi Mildain. Like others said, I think it's important not to get attached to specific outcomes and to keep in mind the free will of others. The idea of changing the world through prayer is attractive, and many others have tried (New Age or religious types), and the world still looks like a bit of a mess. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, if we consider that this is the set of lessons that we all needed or chose before coming into this life.

There's nothing wrong with praying for the well being of others, but at the level of the soul things may be far more complicated than we think, so our prayers may not work as we expect at all. Especially when we are praying for others, because then it's their lesson plan that is relevant.

When praying I always remember the following:

When I asked God for strength
He gave me difficult situations to face
When I asked God for brain & brawn
He gave me puzzles in life to solve
When I asked God for happiness
He showed me some unhappy people
When I asked God for wealth
He showed me how to work hard
When I asked God for favours
He showed me opportunities to work hard
When I asked God for peace
He showed me how to help others
God gave me nothing I wanted
He gave me everything I needed.

 

[Windmill knight]

I don't think it's a bad thing to pray for good, but you may be better off praying for something along the lines of:
"Show me an avenue that I can follow in order to fulfil my potential to help others and make best use of my life".

I think that's a great idea, especially considering that when we ask, the 'Divine' normally responds through us, if we allow it. That's why sometimes I pray to my own soul, assuming I have one.

 

[Buddy]

is it beneficial to pray for others, like the FOTCM group, or any that are on the path of learning and soul development, to their benefit ?
would it be beneficial to do this in any way, to help benefit all who are on this path?

For the forum members, the reason I am asking is because I feel that I need to contribute in some way. I feel completely useless for the most part, all I am able to do so far is read stuff and absorb a small amount of it, and I do so with great difficulty and poor comprehension of most of it. I refrain from actively participating in the forums because I have no idea what to think or to do. I want to be a part of this, to explore it, but I don't know where to start - so I thought that what I asked above might be beneficial to others who are able to do the work effectively, do so more effectively or benefit from it.

Or am I just asking a stupid question .. :/

If you're gonna go into prayer mode, then consider doing this: without having any particular thing in mind, why not just thank Divine Conscious Mind for having already benefited all who are on this path?

 

[Turgon]

Im not really sure why I think this, but im guessing from what I have read from some of the transcripts from the C's, my interpretation of how "the work" is done by all the people involved in the work is that things of a personal nature are "STS" ; and restrict somehow, and that focusing on learning and providing information to others is what opens up more connective energies to "all creation" (that includes us.) This is the best I can do to describe my thinking on this.

That's similar to how I've interpreted the difference between STS and STO. That the act of learning new information and sharing it with others allows the person to integrate that knowledge into their own life and be of better service to others. Whereas always thinking about things in relation to one's self and not sharing or giving back what the person has learned constricts the flow or channel.

 

[3DStudent]

I don't think it's a bad thing to pray for good, but you may be better off praying for something along the lines of:
"Show me an avenue that I can follow in order to fulfil my potential to help others and make best use of my life".

I think that's a great idea, especially considering that when we ask, the 'Divine' normally responds through us, if we allow it. That's why sometimes I pray to my own soul, assuming I have one.

Not a prayer strictly, but when I think of a question in a kind of inquiring, serious manner, like something I really want to know, the answer is usually revealed to me in my own mind. Usually in the shower. :P No earth-changing questions, but more simple things. And I wonder if I already knew the answer, but was waiting for my mind to process and let it out. "It's fun to see how much you can access."