In December, I thought I’d feature a few other voices on Mindful Monday because 1) I don’t want you to get sick of me, and 2) I’m learning so much from other mental health bloggers and authors these days. I want to share their wisdom with you. This is my Advent activity–a way in which I can share the truth in other people’s lives and celebrate the holiness of this season.

Today I am featuring an original piece–written specifically for Beyond Blue!–by New York Times bestselling author Kathleen McGowan. I loved her newest book, “The Source of Miracles,” because she tackles the false promises presented in books like “The Secret,” and places the real miracle in its proper place of scripture. In so doing, she gives readers real hope and inspiration, a blueprint for spiritual change. Here she is! Join the Source of Miracles community on Facebook by clicking here.

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One-third of the planet’s population recites the Lord’s Prayer during their lives.

The two billion souls who call themselves Christians often differ in more ways than they are alike, yet this single prayer is the common ground for all of them.

Jesus was the author of this most perfectly constructed blueprint for spiritual change. In the New Testament, one of the disciples asks Jesus to “teach us to pray.” And teach us he did. In doing so, he gave us this priceless treasure: a set of simple and unchangeable directions, in the form of a prayer, for discovering the real secret of how to have the life you truly desire; a life filled with love, happiness and yes, even wealth. The prayer shows us that all of these wonderful gifts come about through an increase in faith: faith in God, faith in ourselves and faith in our fellow humans – in that order.

Jesus said, “Ask and it is given, knock and it is opened to you.” But that phrase has been widely misinterpreted. Unfortunately, those who quote the “Ask and it is given” verse for the purposes of instant manifestation rarely discuss it in the context that Jesus presented it. The passages that precede it contain extensive instructions for living a good and responsible life so that we may then “ask” – and subsequently “receive” – as a reward for living in harmony with God’s plan.

Jesus was giving us the key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe through perfecting our souls and answering to God. He did teach us that we can manifest everything we need and want in our lives, if we follow the rules set out for us. And he also gave us the tools to use for that purpose.

The skeleton key that unlocks every door is the Lord’s Prayer. When it is broken down into a regular spiritual practice, it contains six primary lessons, with a seventh meditation on love. This makes the prayer practice easily adaptable, meditating on one lesson for each day of the week. You can change your life – and even the world – in about five minutes a day by simply following the very specific instructions given to us by a master teacher.

While this prayer was first taught by Jesus Christ, you do not have to be a practicing Christian to use it. One of the more revolutionary aspects of Jesus’ life was that he did not discriminate in his teachings, and preached that the kingdom of God was for everyone. Jesus found everyone worthy as he recognized us all as his family under God. Thus there is a pure, universal nature to this prayer and the practice that accompanies it.

The lessons in the prayer break down as follows:

Lesson 1: Faith 

OUR FATHER
WHICH ART IN HEAVEN
HALLOWED BE THY NAME

Faith is the starting point for this and all prayer. Within the first lesson, you are asked to contemplate your connection to God, but specifically your role within your Creator’s plan.

Why are you here?

You entered this life with a destiny that is unique. As such, you have a specific role to play and made a “promise” to God before you were born. While working through the first lesson, you are challenged to answer this most challenging question: what promises did you make to God before your birth? What role did you accept and vow to fulfill?

Affirmation for Lesson One: God is all good, all the time.

Lesson 2: Surrender 

THY KINGDOM COME
THY WILL BE DONE

Once you have accepted that you made a promise to fulfill your unique purpose in God’s plan, you must surrender to it. Turn over your day to God when you wake up each morning by embracing the affirmation “Thy will, not my will, be done.” 

Surrender the worries and pain in your life to God, who is far more able to cope with them than you are. Your reward for surrendering to God’s will is the greater gift of surrendering your pain. When you align yourself with the idea that everything is happening according to a higher divine plan, your anxieties will be immediately reduced.

Affirmation for Lesson Two: If you believe everything happens for a reason, you will never have a bad day!

Lesson 3: Service 

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

We are asked to create heaven on earth through our actions and behavior. It is through service that we change the world. We are reminded how that we must treat our brothers and sisters on earth as exactly that – our large human family. If we all embrace that simple ideal, we will transform the world into a far more peaceful place.

The third lesson requires us all to take a vow of service, and to pledge specifically what action we intend to take to improve the lot of our global human family. Our abundance, the popular subject of the fourth lesson, is tied directly to our generosity on the path of service.

Affirmation for Lesson Three: Every act of service eliminates an act of oppression.

Lesson 4: Abundance 

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD

Lack is not a natural state; it occurs when we are spiritually out of balance. Abundance is our natural state and it occurs effortlessly when we are in harmony with our higher power.

There is no judgment about what you want and when you want it. But as you are not alone on this planet, your material desires need to take into consideration the well-being of other humans and mother earth. The enduring “laws of attraction” are activated when you are aligned with your higher mission to serve God and make the world a better place. It’s that simple, and monumentally effective.

God wants you to have what you desire, wants your greatest joy and abundance to come to you easily and without suffering. As your divine parent, God will always provide exactly what you need – and what you ask for – once you fulfill your spiritual promises and keep your service commitments. You cannot have effortless abundance unless you earn it – and you earn it through faith, surrender and service.

Affirmation for Lesson Four: Everything I need and desire to live my bliss is available to me through God’s support.

Lesson 5: Forgiveness 

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES
AS WE FORGIVE THOSE 
WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US

Each person who disappoints you in your life provides you with an opportunity to prove how unconditionally you can love. It is easy to love those who love you, but as Jesus reminds us, it is very difficult to “bless those who curse you.”

Often the forgiveness must begin with you, which is why the prayer contains the line “forgive us our trespasses.” It is so important that you turn that power of forgiveness inward and rid yourself of the shame-based emotions that build up to create the spiritual equivalent of toxic waste.

Forgiveness is the great equalizer. It costs you nothing, but buys you everything.

Affirmation for Lesson Five: People are doing the best they can with what they have.

Lesson 6: Overcoming 

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL

That which keeps you from accomplishing your mission and fulfilling your divine promise is defined as evil. It is not an exterior force, rather it is the failings of your own nature. Often, this definition of temptation falls within one of the corrosive “deadly sins”: greed, anger, laziness, lust, over-indulgence, ego and envy. They are called deadly for a reason. Those are the evils that you must be delivered from in order to stay in harmony with your highest and most divine nature. Those are the temptations you must resist if you are to attract everything that you desire into your life, and keep it there.

Affirmation for Lesson Six: My faith and commitment to my life path gives me the strength to overcome any obstacle.

Lesson 7: Living as Love, Realized and Expressed 

Each practice must be
done with love in order to be truly effective. Do all things with love and love will do all things. Your faith and surrender must be done out of love for God, for yourself, and for your fellow humans. Your service commitments must be carried out with love, and not duty. You will attract more abundance in all aspects of your life as you become more loving, and forgiveness falls naturally into place when you are coming from love. Evil does not exist in a place where love is strong.

Affirmation for Lesson Seven: The instruction to LOVE MORE is the solution to every problem.

The Lord’s Prayer addresses the issues that hurt us, confound us, and impede our progress, and illuminates the way in which we can overcome these obstacles. The prayer is our guide to purifying our spirit of anything that troubles it and holds us back from functioning at our highest potential, a potential that leads directly to happiness and abundance. Using this prayer regularly as a spiritual practice creates real and lasting change at the soul level, change which becomes manifest in very earthly, visible ways.

When spoken with faith and intention, these literally magic words are the source of miracles – real, personal and unlimited miracles. Regular use of this practice will result in a joyous life for yourself while creating heaven on earth for others. Amen!

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