Food for thought
Praying for your own self gain.
A lot of people seem to have difficulty praying for their own good, benefit or gain. It's almost like a mindset that people find hard to break.
If our every thought defines our reality, then our life is very much a reflection of our beliefs. Even if it's the belief that we have no control and there is no God, such will be your experience. Another popular one is that everything happens for a reason, and while that is true, it doesn't mean that the reason is always for your highest good.
When you bring free will into the equation, (and if you don't believe in it, then you will experience a life without it, as that is your belief system, hence your free will!) then this means that you don't get anything you don't ask for. If you did, then it would be contrary to your free will. If you accept that, then everything that occurs to you isn't random (unless you believe it is), but a product of your thoughts and prayers.
And those thoughts and prayers create our belief system.
Our belief system is certainly something we cherish and hold onto, and even might defend to our dying breath.
We might feel powerless, but the thing is that all have enormous power, though few of us really understand it and see how our personal world relates to what we are creating.
How many people reading this have heard the words in their mind 'You don't know just how powerful you are?'
So should we pray for our own benefit?
An interesting observation I've made is that in many of the spiritual philosophies, it's, it's considered an abuse of power to pray for yourself and generate positive outcomes. I certainly used to follow such a philosophy which was taught by Tuesday Lobsang Rampa, who claimed to be a Lama from Tibet. But while he had many wise and useful things to say, he was a product of his own belief system, and beleived that using powers for ones gain was pure abuse.
Also in the new age philosophy, we are told to not acknowledge the negatives and at the same time, you are told that if you use your powers for self gain, you are abusing them. However, we create either way and it seems insane to think that creating negatives just because positives are considered abuse is somehow considered to be better.
People can find much difficulty in praying for abundance, believe they are not worthy or that they will be punished karmatically if they do. (This is also a belief system, and thus, they will indeed experience such a reality.)
From the Conversations with God point of view, life is not a hard school, but a way to experience ourselves and who we really are. In order to do that, we have been given free will. Free will is our greatest gift and at the same time, can be our greatest hindrance when you are not aware that you are creating your circumstances.
We have been given free will so we can create the exact circumstances in which we wish to live. If people tell you that you must not use your powers for your own good, then that is very much like telling a building to create a house and then denying him the materials in which to build it.
From my own point of view, if you wish to use your powers to better your world, go for it. Just remember to let every thought and action reflect who you are and who you wish to be.
Sometimes you've got to throw out what no longer works and start over again. (This is also the basis of the Bach Flower Remedy Sweet Chestnut state.)
Life is for living. We have the tools and the blessing to do it. So go for it. Be blessed and abundant.
