When you pray, do not think that God is up in the sky. God is right behind your mind.

Sun Myung Moon

When You Pray

When you pray, do not think that God is up in the sky. God is right behind your mind. First you have to battle to focus your mind. As your mind and body become more and more united they rise up, connecting to the realm of resonance.

Sun Myung Moon

Sun Myung Moon, born on January 6, 1920, was a spiritual leader and luminary hailing from North Korea. He founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, better known as the Unification Church, in 1954. Drawing upon direct Prophetic revelation, influenced by the major faith traditions—especially Christianity, but also Judaism, Islam, Confucianism, and Buddhism. He also developed a political philosophy to resist the spread of the anti-religious Communist ideology. Reverend Moon's teachings centered on love, unity, and peace. He aimed to spark a global spiritual movement that transcended religious and cultural divisions, and his vision resonated with followers all over the world. Through the Unification Church, Sun Myung Moon also promoted interfaith understanding and collaboration, striving for harmony among diverse religious traditions.

Reverend Moon's teachings went beyond the realm of the spiritual to touch on the universal human themes of love and family. He emphasized the importance of nurturing strong, loving families as the cornerstone for a harmonious and peaceful world. To this end, he conducted mass wedding ceremonies known as the 'Blessing', symbolizing the unity of all people under God, regardless of their cultural or religious backgrounds. Moon also stressed the value of community service and encouraged his followers to actively contribute to their local communities.

Sun Myung Moon's partner in both life and work was his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. As co-leader of the Unification Church, she is a pivotal figure in spreading their shared vision of a world unified by love and peace. Affectionately known as 'True Mother', she embodies the ideal of nurturing and unconditional love in their teachings. After Reverend Moon's passing in 2012, Hak Ja Han Moon assumed sole leadership of the Unification Church and changed the name to Heavenly Parent's Holy Community. In her leadership role, she has tirelessly carried forward their mission, upholding the church's emphasis on peace, interfaith dialogue, and strong, loving families. Under her guidance, the church has continued to flourish, spreading its message of unity and love to people around the globe.

(1920-2012) Heavenly Parent's Holy Community

Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 799 [Teachings of Sun Myung Moon 306:255, September 23, 1998].

Sun Myung Moon

Theme: Prayer

A Brief Commentary

In the teachings of Sun Myung Moon, prayer emerges as a transformative journey, an intimate dialogue between the human spirit and the divine. This dialogue is not an outwardly projected plea but an inward quest, a pathway that leads to the core of our beings. Here, prayer becomes a purifying force that refines the mind and spirit, tuning them to the divine frequency, to God who is not remote in the heavens, but close, residing just behind our minds. The act of praying, therefore, is not a casual or passive pursuit, but a conscious act of opening the door of our minds, engaging with the divine within us.

In uniting our minds and bodies through prayer, we ascend to a higher spiritual state, a “realm of resonance.” This isn’t a disconnection from reality, but a deeper engagement with it, a shift from living life according to one’s whims to living a life centered around the divine Axis. As we orbit around this Axis, prayer becomes our guiding light, keeping us in alignment, connecting us to God in every moment of our lives. In Sun Myung Moon’s vision, prayer becomes the life-affirming practice that draws us into the heart of the divine, shaping our human experience into an ongoing, vibrant communion with God.

Additional Sun Myung Moon Quotes About Prayer

1. “Prayer is needed to purify the mind and spirit. It is necessary training to purify the mind and to focus the mind on God.”

–Andrew Wilson, editor [World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 797 (Teachings of Sun Myung Moon 181:325, October 3, 1988)].

2. “Do not pray casually, but ask your original mind. Do not pray looking up into the sky, but look into your mind. Open the door of your mind.”

–Andrew Wilson, editor [World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 799 (Teachings of Sun Myung Moon 308:16, November 21, 1998)].

3. “Whether I am in the east or the west, prayer helps me to move in a circular orbit around the Axis. I can then participate in the realm of life where God dwells. However, people usually do not live centered on the Axis. They live a casual life, as they want… Prayer is what tunes me to the center point.”

–Andrew Wilson, editor [World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 799 (Teachings of Sun Myung Moon 171:14, December 5, 1987)].

Sun Myung Moon on The Door of the Mind

“In the mind there is a door, called the door to the mind. God enters through that door. That door does not open only to one direction. Since the mind is in motion, the door is also in motion. For God [a plus (subject partner)] to enter through this door, we should relate to Him as a minus (object partner). Yet if our direction is slightly off, even by just a degree, the door will not open.
There indeed exists a door to the mind of each human being. You can discern it in your prayers. The feeling you get when you pray changes depending upon the time of day. Praying at 1:00 a.m. has a different feeling than praying at 3:00 a.m. Try it yourself, and you will sense the difference. If you pray in a deep mysterious state, you will feel different depending upon what time you are praying. The feelings of your prayers in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening are all different. The same is with the state of our mind. Our emotions change with the seasons, our feelings towards our loved ones change; in such ways the world of the mind is constantly changing. That is why we need to discover the best time to pray. You need to pray when your spiritual senses are keen, so your sensitivity to God will be high. As you enter deeper and deeper into a state of feeling connected to God, you will eventually reach the door to the mind. The door to your mind connects with the door to God’s mind. Once it opens, the way unfolds to experience God’s feelings…

For this reason, what is most important is to find the zero point and reach the door to the mind. Learning how to do this is crucial in our life of faith. Therefore, you should learn to discern when is the right moment to open the door to your mind and how to match it to the door of God’s mind.”

–Andrew Wilson, editor [World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 809 (Teachings of Sun Myung Moon 76:127-129, February 2, 1975)].

Resources

World Scripture II - World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon - Book 2 - Andrew Wilson - 2007

When You Pray

Resources

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