I go on a prayer walk with my dog every evening. We walk down the country road where I live. Sometimes we go into the woods, sometimes we walk around the fallow fields. I pray for all the things on my mind, I pray for friends and family by name, I pray for crisis situations that I'm aware of, and specific situations in my life.

One evening as I walked along I was thinking about a great book my husband just read that I'm now reading, by Lynn Grabhorn, entitled, "Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting -- the awesome power of feelings." The essence of the book goes beyond the positive thinking books, into a realm of imagery that connects excited, joyful feelings to the things we want to make happen, which she calls, "the power of attraction". So I decided to apply the principles in my prayer that night.

My prayer to God was different that night. I said to him, I see the world clean and bright. I see the oceans churning with life, the waters are tumbling clean and new as they were when they were first created. The atmosphere around the earth is transformed and clean. I see healthy people walking the earth on every continent. Everyone has plenty to eat and a beautiful place to live. Everyone is teaming with health and a sense of well being. Trees, flowers and grass are growing everywhere. I see the whales populating, and the tigers and eagles and elephants, all habitat lush and growing and clean, and all natural systems working harmoniously as when they were first created. The dwelling places of people fit into the landscape and everyone has a home that reflects their personalities and spirits.

The earth is healed worldwide, and natural resources are being used in a balanced way for the sake of the whole world. Sustainable farms cover the earth. Cities are bright, clean and safe. Every man has the woman he was born to love, and every woman has the man she was born to love, and parents are loving their children and children are loving their parents.

I see the realm of Heaven opening on the earth and I see huge sprawling lawns with gigantic trees and tents under the sunshine, family reunions of 100 generations or more meeting each other and feasting. Gentle ponies wander the hills giving rides to the children. After all the relatives meet and get to know each other they wander over to other lawns with huge shady trees to other family reunions. The men and women of all races and cultures greet each other like brothers and sisters. Every impulse of reconciliation, forgiveness and repentance has long since been transformed into a deep sense of the eternal "familyship" of all mankind. Every soul has been resurrected, every person brought into the sunshine of the deepest love for God and from God, and love for every other human being and every living thing. We can hear the sighing and breathing of the trees. Little birds land on our fingers and we stroke their throats and listen to their songs. We can ride the backs of elephants, camels and horses, and watch the pups and kits of various animals tumbling over each other.

There is only one realm in the spirit world and that is the realm of the heavenly kingdom. Where ever I walk I hear songs from the flowers, songs from the birds, and am stunned over and over by the beauty of the mountains and lakes and waterfalls and meadows.

The thousands of family reunions laughing and talking and singing pause in stunned and tearful joy as the spirit of God moves close to His children, moving in shining light which emanates unspeakable love to each individual. The feeling of relief and utter joy is shared by every soul on the earth and in heaven at the same time. Every person who was ever born since the beginning are there. All enmity has long since been solved and forgotten, the heart of God beams his warm heavenly love among us and we respond with unutterable gratitude and love in return. The planets and stars of the cosmos emit a strange and beautiful cosmic music, as if every existing entity of the universe vibrated to the same tuning fork. All are included, all are healed, all are vibrating in one empathetic heart of love.

And that was my prayer that day. Praying like that, I felt as inspired as I did the day I was touched by God's love almost 30 years ago, when I first heard about building the Kingdom of Heaven on earth as it is in heaven. I felt that there is nothing else I want to do but live my life for that purpose. As we can imagine something, so can we realize something. I prayed that that common hope could pulse in every human heart at the same time, and the mechanics within all of us could be set to the inevitable impulse of love that was meant to tick in our hearts and that inevitably will multiply and multiply until no one can help themselves but live by the impulse of love.

I realized that we can work and work and have a vague sense of what we're working for, but when we realign the goal of our lives with a crystal clear vision of that goal, and feel it, experience it, and make it tangible at least in the realm of our feelings, it fortifies our motivation, our daily efforts and our priorities. It made me long all the more for the realization of God's purpose for creation. One day it will be a reality that we all took part in and that we can all enjoy forever.

[ Written on April 9, 2004 ]