천일국 : A Life of Reporting to God

1. 천일국: A Life of Reporting to God

2. 천일국: A Life of Reporting to God We have considered many elements of the spirituality of 천일국 The “fundamental duties” we have as BCFs, given by True Father during his Palace speech Establishment of an ideal family: • mind and body unity (마음과몸 통일) • Husband and wife unity (부부통일) Experience of the heart of God (하나님의 심정) The overcoming of our bad habits and our effort to develop good habits The importance of connecting to the spirit world (영계 연결)) Levels of our attention in our daily life (winter mind/feeling, summer mind/feeling, etc) Daily life at home (practical things about clothes, eating, etc.) Our ritual life, and its importance (의식삶 은 중요한 것이다)

3. One important thing for us to keep in mind, is to maintain an “unchanging” mind toward God and True Parents (하나님 에 절데마음) Our mind is always changing: sometimes we are high, sometimes we are depressed • This is our reality during the course of even one day • How can we maintain an inspired mind? Our effort to develop our attention, and the rituals in which we engage help us to maintain an “unchanging” mind toward God, True Parents, and Heaven. Reporting is another method of seeking to maintain an “unchanging mind” toward God, True Parents, and Heaven What is “reporting”? What is a report? What is prayer? We used to pray in the UC, following the Christian tradition, basically, except that we would pray in the name of True Parents. With the development of the providence, we now pray in our own names, as BCFs. This is a remarkable change. We need to reflect on its deeper meanings. First, let us briefly consider the providential context of prayer/reporting

4. True Parents’ Step by Step Restoration of the Cosmos • 1960 Parent’s Day • 1960 Children’s Day • 1963 Day of All Things • 1968 God’s Day all things of the family restored • 1985.8.15 Il Sung Il 1985 – 1992 = True Father’s responsibility • 1991 True Father embraces M. Gorbachev; Kim Il Sung (elder sonship restored) • 1992 WFWP established centering on True Mother 1992 – 1999 = True Mother’s responsibility • 1992-1997 True Mother’s speech tours worldwide • 1992 Proclamation of True Parents • 1993 Proclamation of CTA • 1994 Family Pledge • 1999.3.21 Satan (Lucifer) surrendered to True Parents (parentship restored) • 1999.5.14 Satan (Lucifer) surrendered to God • 1999.9.9 Liberation Day of Cosmic Unification (end of Satan’s dominion) 1999 – 2006 = Saints responsibility to restore Kingship (nation is needed) • 2000.9.14 Registration Blessing • 2001.1.13 God’s coronation ceremony

5. 1999.3.21 Satan (Lucifer) surrendered to True Parents (parentship restored) • 1999.5.14 Satan (Lucifer) surrendered to God • Lucifer voluntarily surrendered his “position” to God (God held the position He should have held from the beginning) • 1999.5.30: East-West Global Victory (Belvedere, NY) • 1999.6.14: Declaration of True Parents’ Cosmic Victory (Korea) • True Father presented an award to True Mother on that occasion • True Parents had achieved total cosmic victory • True Father immediately “bequeathed” this victory “to humanity” • Horizontal expansion of this “vertical” victory now became very important • This was our (saints) responsibility – we must live lives of “no shadow” • True Father no longer only cared about the actual # of blessed couples • True Father now was concerned about the actual living standard of BCFs • He began to do something about this right after 1999.9.9 • 1999.9.9. 9:09:09 True Father: Liberation Day of Cosmic Unification (end of Satan’s dominion) • This is the 9.9 Jeol (9.9 절): the end of Satan’s dominion over the cosmos • This is the second great pillar of God’s providence (질팔절 was the first: establishment of True Parents on the cosmic level) • The last moment under Satan’s dominion

6. 1999.9.10 at 10:10 am (3.10 절) - a new beginning after the last moment under Satan True Parents (we saints) must restore kingship 1999.9.10 at 10:10 am True Father immediately began to educate BCFs and to bequeath everything to us. In order to be able to inherit what True Father has bequeathed to, and to live properly in this new age, there are certain important conditions we need to meet. True Father bequeathed to us BCFs: • The authority to confer the Blessing • Our style of prayer changed, and later changed again; we now pray in our own name. 1999 – 2006 = Saints responsibility to restore Kingship (nation is needed) • 2000.9.14 Registration Blessing • Before we were categorized as 36, 72, etc. couples; these were restorational groups. • All BCFs now stand on an equal footing; equal before God/True Parents • 2001.1.13 God’s coronation ceremony: we were given three important “laws” • Keep purity • Don’t hurt peoples’ feelings • Don’t misuse public property • Actually, the observance of “absolute sex” fulfills all three laws (as we saw previously)

7. Now that we can understand something about the providential foundation and context on which we stand, we can more deeply understand the meaning and importance of prayer/reporting (보고하다) in the context of a 천일국 spirituality Prayer (reporting to God/Heaven) is another way in which we can nurture the development of our mind and a 천일국 spirituality. (하늘아페 보고하야헤)

8. 기도: On Prayer (Reporting) The question is: what is prayer (기도)? 기도는 무엇입니까? 보고하는것 Traditionally, there have been many different kinds of prayer. Christian history has many varieties: • Jesus prayer • Prayer of simple union • Prayer as primary speech • Personal prayer and group prayer • Unison prayer • Apophatic (re: via negativa, or silent prayer) prayer • Cataphatic (re: via affirmativa, or vocal) prayer • Prayer as communion with God • Charismatic prayer • Mystical prayer • Sulpician prayer (simple, non-intellectual; Jesus before the eyes, in the heart, in the hands) • Supernatural prayer • The Lord’s prayer

9. Adam and Eve, if they had not fallen, would have had direct personal communion with God, their Father. Because of the fall, they became separated from God. Prayer is one of those “helps” which support us as we seek to regain that original relationship with God. Even in FFWPU there are many varieties of prayer. (기도는 여러가지가있다) Some people offer long prayers Some people just speak words, even in their minds Some people have extended liturgies which they follow There are prayer lists also that people sometimes use Prayer is one of those “helps” which supports us as we seek to regain that original relationship with God. What do we do once we have that original position restored? What do we do once we have the position as children of God? What do we do once we have a new relationship with God? We report; we offer a report to God/Heaven. Then the question is: what is a report? What constitutes a report?

10. In the past, we would pray for the things that we thought/felt we needed (하고싶은것) • God’s love • Health • Safety • To accomplish God’s will • Some people even prayed for money and other things. At this point we were still in a restorational mode We now live in a new age, and especially the 천일국 era, the age after the coming of heaven. In this new age, our prayer needs to take more the form of a report than a prayer as such. What does it mean to say that our prayer in this age is actually a report? As citizens of 천일국, our status before God and True Parents is not like what it was before. Our position now, is unprecedented in human history. All the previous concepts and ways and traditions are gone by the way. Reporting is now the mode of our communication with God. What (무엇) are we reporting? And to whom (누구한대) are we reporting it?

11. Reporting is now the mode of our communication with God. • What is a report? • How do we report? • What contents are we reporting? • To whom are we reporting it? • Where does a report fit in, in the context of our everyday life? In all cases: True Father: “Prayer is the concentration of our sincerest heart.” (WGsW, 363) (성실한 심정) True Father; “Prayer is like rain, washing everything, giving moisture to the land so that life might come forth.” (WofT 3, 96) True Father: “Prayer is an absolute necessity.” (WofT 3, 101) (기도는 절대 빌요있다) • Let us look at these one by one: first: what is a report?

12. What is a Report? We know what God’s will is; True Parents have taught us many things True Father has educated us about everything. There is nothing else that we need to know. True Father has told us this several times. We have many tasks to carry out as we walk the path of the restoration of the world. Most important: establish an ideal family, 4 great realms of heart, 3 great kingships Our status and position in relationship to God and True Parents is different from what it was in the past. Dae Mo Nim: Go to the 청심원 and report on your entire life to God. Give a detailed report and that will help you as you seek to overcome many problems. We are not asking for things to be given to us (as we may have in the past). We are already in the position of being able to inherit and receive all things. Our responsibility is to act, to work, to do, to actualize God’s will in our lives. • We must be active (활동적인) • We must make effort everyday (pledge # 5) (매일) • We should have a clear plan of action, be purpose-driven, and with clear objectives • We need to report to God and to Heaven, in detail, what our plan is • A report is a plan of intended action. (분명히 목적)

13. True Father: “Whether or not your prayer is realized depends upon whether it is in accordance with God’s purpose.” (WGsW, 366) True Father: “Only prayer plus action will bring about restoration.” (WofT 3, 97) 기도과활동 --- 회복 True Father: “Whenever you pray, the focus of the prayer should be upon something greater than you: for the world, for the universe and ultimately for God. Do not ask for personal favors, do not worry about yourself, but dedicate yourself to God. Do not ask favors, but ask what you can do for God.” (WofT, 3, 88) 천성경: “When you pray, you should first pray for the nation, then pray for the world, and then pray for the liberation of God.” (1036) 먼저 국가 다음 세계 다음 하나님 해방

14. How do we report? Reporting does not mean to be vague, ambiguous, abstract or conceptual • “Please help those people” • “I pray that this will be a good day” • “Please take care of us” • “I pray that I can understand Divine Principle” This kind of prayer is too general (어렴풋한것 않입니다) True Father: “Don’t pray empty prayers.” (WofT 3, 106) True Father: “There are two kinds of prayer. One is for a particular person and the other is for the realization of a public purpose.” (The Way of God’s Will, 360) The first can be a very specific report. The other, also as specific as possible, can be connected to our mission. In either case, we need to report as specifically and as concretely as possible. (일정한)

15. What contents are we reporting? We must be as detailed as possible, as concrete as possible (the more so the better) • We need to report centering on time, place, feeling, motivation, etc. • We need to report in as much detail as possible our plan • Exactly what it is that I plan to do (무엇을) • Exactly who it is that I plan to meet (누구) • Exactly when it is that I plan to meet this person (언제) • Exactly where I plan to meet this person (어디) • Exactly how this person may be feeling, or thinking, or expecting, or worrying about, or concerned about • Exactly how I plan things to go (어따게) • Exactly what result I plan to bring forth from this particular situation (결과)

16. Any parent prays about their children in such a way, often with tears • True Father: “Show your utmost sincerity. Those parents who show their utmost sincerity can intuit unfortunate accidents which happen to their children who are not nearby.” (WGsW, 366) • We need to report this kind of specific detail, while we are keeping our heart/mind centered on God and True Parents, and God’s Providential will • Our ancestors can work more effectively based on this kind of prayer • When you have a real-world conversation with someone, you must talk in certain detail; reporting is a similar case.

17. To whom are we reporting? When we report, we are offering this report to: • God (하나님) • Heaven (the spirit world in general) • We may not be aware of the resources available to us from the spirit world, especially in the case of angels, guardian angels, etc., who are willing and ready to help us, if they know what we are in need of • Ancestors (선조) • Dae Mo Nim has clearly indicated that oftentimes our ancestors know better how to deal with problems and other situations than we do; often they are involved or responsible for those problems • If we know about our ancestors, it is better than if we do not know about them • Many people have genealogies of their ancestors, and at least know their name • We can even mention their name in connection with our reporting prayer • Myself (나) • By vocalizing myself in a reporting prayer, I am helping myself to understand more deeply the nature of my life, my situation, my needs, my strengths, my weaknesses, etc. • My conscience (양심) • A report prayer is one aspect of speaking to one’s conscience

18. Where does a report fit into my life? We should keep ourselves in a prayer state of mind at all times. True Father: “Always pray in your life. As you walk, pray that you may be able to live according to God’s words, and that they may be transformed into flesh and blood and move within you.” (WGsW, 361-2) (기도언제나) True Father: “You will have no time to pray kneeling down before God, but you can pray as you work. From early dawn you can be prepared and work, work!” (WofT 3, 92) We should act as if God is with us, and we are talking, discussing, sharing with God, asking His opinion or His idea about things. We can ask Him questions, share insights with Him, ask Him what He thinks about this or that, and so on. As we develop this habit or consciousness, we become more and more used to prayer or reporting. Of course, most of this would be done silently in our mind. We don’t want to be like a “crazy’ person in New York (walking down the street and apparently talking to ourselves)!

19. True Father: “Without leading a life of constant prayer, you cannot go the way of God’s will. Do not think of money in your daily life; you should first think about God’s will.” (천성경, 1060) [That does not mean that we absolutely cannot think about money! We will consider this point soon.] True Father: “If you pray unconsciously in everyday life then undoubtedly you are becoming sons and daughters of prayer (i.e. a person with a 천일국 spirituality)

20. The Benefits of a Reporting Life Life is very uncertain • We do not know when we might go the spirit world • We do not know when we might have a serious accident • We are sometimes separated from our beloved families (wife, children) • When separated, we have no real control over the lives of our family members • We do not know if we are truly accomplishing God’s will or not True Father encourages us to have: • Absolute faith (complete (100%) conviction that results will come) • Absolute love (complete (100%) living for the sake of the other) • Absolute obedience (complete (100%) self-denial) Through our prayer-report we can have some assurance that • Our family is protected • Our children will be okay • We are doing the right thing/s [especially since our conscience becomes more sensitive]

21. Heavenly law (natural law and spiritual law) operates absolutely If we do our best to follow spiritual law, and are in accordance with God’s divine providence, then the cosmos moves to protect us • Suppose you drive a car, for example: • If it is in good mechanical order and functioning well (tires, engine, safety, etc.) • If you are well-versed in the rules of the road (driving regulations) • If you drive safely, with care, and are well-rested and not tired, etc. • If you have good plans, know the road, and directions, and where you are going • Then, the cosmos functions to enable you to have a successful drive • There are guardian angels watching over you, and protecting you • If we prayer for our children, for example: • If they are faithful and working hard (in accordance with God’s will) • If they take care of their health (good discipline) • Then, we can have some assurance that “Heaven” will watch over them, and our anxiety and worry is reduced. • In some instances, we simply must turn all things over to God, and believe in His care • This is why, in some instances, a person who is sick (i.e. cancer), after giving their lives over to God, can be healed. [this has been documented; The Dawning of a New Culture, 193-195]

22. True Father: “Equip even your face with spiritual dignity through a life of prayer. If you dominate the spirit world and are in accordance with the Principle, you will become confident.” (WGsW, 361) Spiritual dignity – this is an interesting concept A life of prayer – not just at 5:00 am but all the time; keep God in the picture Dominate the spirit world – be in complete control of your emotions, intellectualizations, and volitional tendencies in any situation In accordance with the Principle – a Principled life (S, O, relationship) Confidence – assurance that God is with you, and you will have the power, energy, and ability to say, do, etc. just about anything, anywhere, anytime

23. The flow of heavenly fortune and heavenly blessing True Father (and Dae Mo Nim) often speaks about heavenly fortune and heavenly blessing. The cosmos which God created is a beneficent (friendly) cosmos If we are in accord with God’s will, then the cosmos “protects” us We must have unity and harmony on all levels: • Of most importance is unity between my mind and body (conscience and body or spirit mind and physical mind) [this is foundational and critical] • We sometimes feel overwhelmed by our environment (too many “things” happening at once; all this can be calmed down, and dealt with if we have mind/body unity • Unity between husband and wife • Unity between parents and children • Unity between my family and other families • Unity in society, etc. • Unity can be realized on progressively higher levels • Heavenly fortune and blessing can flow smoothly if there is harmonious give-and-receive action on all these levels • If there is any breakdown at any point, the flow of HF and HB is/can be blocked

24. Prayer and reporting helps us to create unity by helping us to clear up all the problems, difficulties, etc. which might be confronting us in our mind, our family, etc. Once we begin to establish this harmonious kind of interaction between mind and body, husband and wife, between people, etc., heavenly blessing and fortune begin to flow freely. Our lives in 천일국 need to be in complete harmony, balance and equilibrium • This is what attention helps us to achieve • This is what ritual helps us to achieve • This is what reporting helps us to achieve • Once we begin to achieve this condition, the entire spirit world (God, angels, ancestors, etc.) and the entire cosmos “conspires” together to support us, protect us, energize us, and guide us. • This is what True Parents have experienced their entire lives • This is what we can begin to experience; this is heavenly fortune and blessing.

25. The reason for the remarkable success of such books as • The Secret (by Rhonda Byrne) • Think and Grow Rich (by Napoleon Hill) • Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (by T. Harv Eker) is because they have caught on to this powerful idea, although they do not realize the full ”ontology” of it. They do not necessarily understand about spirit world. According to Unification Thought, we are created to resemble God. When God first created, He did so on the basis of: • Absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience As we come to resemble this nature of God, the entire cosmos responds to our mind (and all its wishes, hopes, dreams, etc.) All the books mentioned above, address the incredible power of the human mind, and human thinking. What we think (with conviction, sincerity, passion, and with absolute belief), that becomes our reality.

26. Hill (Think and Grow Rich) states: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Conceive: formulate something into a concrete and specific thought (a “plan”) Believe: have total conviction and confidence that something is/will become real • Endow your thought with passion and conviction (emotional content) • True Father: “When you pray, your heart should be as earnest as a baby who cries for his mother’s milk” (WG’sW. 359) • Believe in it absolutely, without any doubt in your mind Achieve: Realize the thought in everyday life; make it a reality All authors state that our environment, which surrounds us, conforms itself to our thoughts and brings into reality that which we are thinking. We are the “boss” “Think” health ------ become healthy [consider what it means to “think”] “Think” angry ------ become angry “Think” worry ------ many small problems happen in life Our thoughts do become self-fulfilling prophecies. [Buddhism knows this clearly]

27. The Divine Principle teaches that mind is subject and that body is object • The human mind is so incredibly powerful • It is meant, by God, to control the body [that is the original design of its creation] • The fall has disordered our mind to an “incredible” degree • The human mind has the ability to resonate with God [“all feelings and emotions”] • Prayer/reporting is one way we can connect to God • If we pray and report with this kind of attitude, our prayer/report can have incredible power. • True Father comments how our prayers begin to come true; how we experience in real life what we experience in prayer, etc. (see the Hoon Dok 12 volume series)

28. But, it is important to realize that if our report is “self-centered” it will not be effective. We must have absolute obedience (no self) • Don’t pray: let me get rich, etc. etc. True Father: “A selfish prayer is just a dirty prayer, a beggar’s prayer. We ought to offer the prayers of comfort and inspiration and encouragement to God, not the prayers of beggars.” (WofT 3, 98) We must be focused on something greater than myself; on the providence of God; on an unselfish motivation

29. True Father: “Pray, “Father, I would like to give to all people, so please enable me to do so.” (WGsW, 362) • I could do “this” and “that” if I had $1,495,102.37 and you might just get it! • If it is public-centered; God-centered; centered on the providence • We are God’s children; we are important to God and to the providence • Dae Mo Nim (Azalea Festival): pray and ask: God, what can I do for You? When your desire, and God’s desire, and the thing that you really want and like to do, and get excited and inspired to do, then that will surely be realized. [this was expressed by another one of the CGST faculty just recently; but it is this point that is being expressed]

30. When things don’t turn out the way we hoped After we have planned our activity in detail, and reported to God what our plan is, and then we act the best we can, and tell God what we are doing, and then make our best effort to accomplish our plan, what we believe/know to be God’s will (good family, good contacts, etc. etc.), and try to actualize it in real life…. Then, don’t worry. True Father: “Prayers are only answered to those who try their best to fulfill that for which they prayed.” (WofT 3, 91)

31. At the end of the day, we need to reflect on what we have done, and what we have accomplished. And what we didn’t do and what we did not accomplish, and why we could not do or accomplish. We need to reflect on our weaknesses, inadequacies, and flaws (why am I like this? How can I change myself?) We need to offer a full prayer report to God, again reporting in detail what happened, how things went, what we felt, what our motivations were, what we said and how we said it, what we did and did not accomplish, how we could have done better, how things could have different, etc. We need to repent for those things we are deficient in, and ask continued guidance and support for when we need it. In this way we are nurturing, in some detail, a continuous communion with God, with the spirit world, with our ancestors, etc. Eventually, this communion will become more and more real, vital, continuous, and an integral part of our continuing life experience. This means that we are approaching a 천일국 spirituality.

32. Just words? Or is our passion there also? Now, there are various levels on which these things can be done. • You can give a prayer report to God using basically just words (like a lawyer) • You can give a tearful report to God using emotion (like a saint) We previously spoke about being in touch with God’s heart, and about the various levels of “attention” If your report to God can be offered with a heart that resembles His (if you can feel what God is feeling) your report can have a much more profound impact If your report to God can be offered with the level of attention we talked about previously, you can learn and gain many insights from your report An experiment: in your prayer sometime, get mad at God. Stop being so polite and proper. Shout at Him, and get angry, and express all your resentment, bitterness, frustration, anger, hostility, and heartache. At first, it will be artificial; then, you may begin to actually feel it; then, you will unleash things you could not imagine; then, there comes a point where you will break down in tears. You will have experienced something of God’s heart: a parent who knows all these things about you already, but still listens quietly to your sincere prayer, longing that you can overcome and return to Him Who never stopped loving you, no matter what.

33. You cannot deceive God; you can only deceive yourself! We must be “brutally honest” with ourselves. True Father: “Prayer life consists in reporting to God honestly.” (WGsW, 367) [stop being “polite” and start being “honest” (especially with yourself)] True Father: “It is not good to pray by keeping something from God but you should give reports to Him reporting your struggle and fight…” (WofT 3, 92) We must pray with utter sincerity. True Father: “Utmost sincerity is more fearful than poison.” (WGsW, 567)

34. The more sincere and attentive we are in reporting to God, the more we can be potentially affected and influenced by our own report. In various ways our report is for our own benefit. Because God does not live “in heaven,”He lives inside me. True Father: “When you pray, you must be able to receive grace from your own voice of prayer. It becomes the source of grace.” (WGsW, 364)

35. End