God and Prayer

It's Sunday, here's what Seth has to say about the God concept and prayer in Session 81 of the Early Sessions (Book 2):


"The God concept, however, is true and not true. Myths and symbols are often closer to reality than what are called hard facts, since so-called hard facts are often distortions of the outer senses. These distortions however are necessary frameworks for existence of the inner self in the material universe.

"Again, then, even the hard facts are true and not true. An open mind therefore or an open spirit, must be large enough to contain within it room for what may seem to be utterly opposing data. Myths and symbols often are closer to reality, again, than so-called hard facts.

"This is true. But so-called hard facts, that may seem opposed to symbols and myths, are not necessarily untrue, since they may be necessary distortions without which the inner self could not survive in the material universe.

"I have decided to tackle this to some degree here and now.

"The myth of God, as given in Christian theology, is too clearly seen by the intelligent adolescent to have evolved and changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

"The mature adolescent, even, in his mental and emotional framework, knows that no one male deity, no one super individual, exists in some will-insulated heaven, where he yet is personally concerned with the most intimate affairs of man, mice, mosquito, and sparrow.

"For one thing, the adolescent is turning aside from the domination of both mother and father. For another thing, this is a space age for you. Is heaven on Mars or Venus? How many stars will man explore before this archaic heaven be found?

"To the intelligent, even the symbolism of the Crucifixion is abhorrent. Does this mean, however, that such a crucifixion did not occur? It may not have occurred, in one place and in one time, and to one called Christ; but because man has created the myth, he created the Crucifixion out of his own need; and this Crucifixion, which historically did not occur, as the myth says it occurred, nevertheless has as much reality, and more, that it would have had, had it occurred in so-called hard fact.

"So the intelligent adult now knows, does he not, that no one individual but superior being exists as God in some heaven, threatening hell to the sinners and disbelievers? For many reasons the idea does not make logical sense. ...

"So the hard fact would seem to be that there is no God. There would seem to be a point of departure. Either you believe in the myth or you believe what would seem to be hard fact.

... "The hard fact, to all intelligent minds, must be that there is no God. The myth insists that a God exists, and the intelligent man finds himself in a dilemma that does not exist for the unintelligent. This is merely coincidence.

"The fact is that the myth comes nearer to reality than the fact.

... "The myth represents man's psychic attempt to understand facts that he must distort in his existence on the material plane.

"He must distort them simply because existence on the material plane, necessitates a way of focusing his abilities that will not allow the larger scope of focus to operate. This focus, which I have mentioned before, has been chosen by him to meet the circumstances of this existence.

"Now. Prayer once enabled the intelligent man to focus his psychic abilities, because the hard fact, taken for granted by all in Western civilization, was the belief in such a God. The so-called hard fact has changed.

"The truth behind the myth still exists. Mankind has been engrossed in dreams of a god who is like himself, except that he was considered to be superior and possessed of the highest qualities that man admires in himself.

... "The God myth enabled him, man, to give his higher so-called instincts an objectivity, and the God concept represented and still represents a link with the inner self.

"Now. As far as hard facts are concerned, there is no God as mankind has envisioned him, and yet God once existed as mankind now envisions him.

"What he is now is not what the religious think he is. Yet once he was only what they think he is now. For in fact he did evolve, and was not complete, but represented a supreme will to be from the beginning.

"He is not human in your terms, though he passed through human stages; and here the Buddhist's myth comes closest to approximating reality. He is not one individual, in your terms, but is a psychic gestalt, an energy gestalt.

"If you will remember what I have said about the way in which the universe expands, that has nothing to do with space, then you may perhaps perceive, though dimly, the existence of a psychic pyramid of interrelated, ever expanding consciousness that creates simultaneously and instantaneously universes and individuals that are given, through the gifts of personal perspectives, duration, intelligence, psychic comprehension, and eternal validity.

"It is this that your God concept hints at.

"Now. This absolute, ever-expanding, instantaneous psychic gestalt, which you may call God, if you prefer, is so secure in its existence now that it can constantly break itself down and rebuild itself.

"Its energy is so unbelievable that it does indeed form all universes; and because its energy is within and behind all universes and all planes and all fields, it is indeed aware of each sparrow that falls, for it is each sparrow that falls.

"This does not deny the free will of man, which is indeed misinterpreted. That supreme energy does indeed fight for existence in whatever form it shows itself; and justice, for your information, is only a human term, shortsighted at best. You would both do well to remember this.

... "I am not going to keep you much longer. Nor have I any intentions of starting a new religion. I am, however, trying to tell you the truth, and this material is perhaps the most important of any so far, in that comprehension of it will allow the intelligent man to avail himself of energies and abilities once utilized in prayer.

"Prayer is now shunned. Why prayer if there is no one to listen?

"The prayer contains within it its own answer, and if there is no white-haired, kind old Father God to hear, then there is instead the initial and ever-expanding energy that forms everything that is, and of which every human being is part.

"This psychic gestalt may sound to you impersonal, but since its energy forms your person, how can this be?

"If you prefer to call this supreme and absolute psychic gestalt God, then you must not attempt to objectify him in terms of material, for he is the nuclei of your cells, and more intimate than your breath.

"I know this much and no more. He is not human. He is not "he", if you are thinking in terms of sex. Nor is he "she". Such separations and designations are merely arbitrary in your field. He is individual in the term that many energies are focused into one; and indeed there is one infinite personality, but it is a gestalt.

"There is, then, truly no beginning or end, because we are speaking in terms of an expansion that has nothing to do with space or time, an evolution in dimensions of which you and your kind have not yet even dreamed. As an idea expands, changing a world but taking up no space, and unperceived by your scientific instruments, so does the ultimate and instantaneous absolute gestalt, which you may if you prefer call God, exist and expand.

"There are those who will say that such a concept represents an escape from reality. These men, however, follow their outer senses slavishly. They ignore and fear the inner reality, and the inner ideas and dreams which have actually formed the reality of which they are so proud.

"It is true that undisciplined, hysteric flight into such realms can be dangerous, at least in the short run; but disciplined, balanced, curious and open-minded pursuit will lead to self-fulfillment, betterment of the race in general, and will be the means for releasing innate, inhibited energy toward constructive ends.