How can we change the world we live in, just by changing our beliefs about God? CJ interviews Neale Donald Walsch, author of the “Conversation with God” series.
Book Review: God’s Message to the World
by C.J. Liu
Our thoughts and beliefs motivate much of our behaviors, decisions and day-to-day reality. Are your thoughts serving you the way you think it should? Are you happy with the life you created for yourself? How about the world you live in? These are the questions that Neale Donald Walsch poses in the interview below. If you aren’t happy, then Neale encourages us to start the journey of questioning our beliefs. Neale Donald Walsch’s newest book “God Messages to the World” suggests that our beliefs about God have become part of our cultural norm and has created dysfunctional behavior as a society.
While I was not raised with a religion as a child, it became clearer from reading Walsch’s book just how much my life is still shaped but what others believe about God. Neale’s book takes some of the beliefs many hold as sacred (e.g.- God is to be feared, God is vengeful, etc) and then examines how these beliefs are taught and become norms, and how adjusting them could change our lives.
My personal take away from the book was a better understanding the thoughts contribute to my fear-based way of looking at the world. Walsch’s “God’s Message to the World” exposed the cracks and fissures that exist in my psyche and helped me begin the journey of developing my own personal truth about God and life. This book is a quick read and is well worth the few hours to start examining your own life.
Below you will find Neale’s answers to the most frequently asked questions about God with answers pulled from his Book, “God’s Message to the World”. Check out the provided links to the YouTube video so you can quickly jump directly to Neale’s thoughts about God shared during the interview.
Our God is greater: Is it ok to kill in the name of God? What would God say?
During recent conversations with Neale Donald Walsch, author of the Conversation of God series, I asked him about his thoughts on the violence perpetuated in the name of Mohammad. Here’s what he said during our interview: http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=2m36s
Here are some quotes from his recent work that are relevant to the happenings of today, including the recent killings in Paris. Source: Walsch, God’s Message to the World, (2014)
“A “reverence for life” exists at the core of every sentient being, and the only way to get such a being to act against this internal impulse is to convenience that being that it is doing “good” by acting in a way that the entity itself would call “evil” if the same actions were taken against it” (pg 99).
“The idea of intrinsic good vs. inherent evil has thus become a foundational element of the human cultural story, as has the notion that God is in a struggle with the Devil, which struggle justifies and allows God administration of horrible-beyond description punishment to those that fall prey to Stan’s temptations and don not seek forgiveness in a specifically prescribed manner. It is what gives human beings the moral grounds to administer horribly-beyond-descriptions punishment to those whom they designate to be their enemies” (pg 100).
How do I deal with my own shock, anger, or fear that I feel from acts of violence?
It’s pretty easy to look at any act of violence and cast judgment on others. It’s natural to feel shock, anger, or fear, but how can we move these emotions to a place of love? My course of action has been to do some self-reflection and examine my own beliefs.
While I’m pretty confident that I would not kill someone to justify my beliefs, I mused on just how far I would go to defend them? For instance, I believe that “family comes first”, but what would happen if someone attacked my ability to live true to this value, or better yet, if I made choices that went against this belief? Would I get angry, get confrontational, blame others, say something I would later regret to another person, or descend into self-hatred? If I reacted in these manners, wouldn’t I be perpetuating the cycle of hatred and fear?
Some may ask, what other choice do I have if my behavior is a reflection of my personal beliefs and ultimately, who I am? The crux of the problem is that we identify and attach who we are to these beliefs. Check out an interview with Don Miguel Ruiz who explains this beautifully here. Our challenge is separating our beliefs (e.g. family comes first) from defining who we are. We fear if we don’t have this belief, we aren’t being true to ourselves. It is from this place of fear that we harm others, say hurtful things, pass blame, and even kill.
How can we prevent reaching this place of fear and prevent violent reactions? Although, governed changes in security is helping to resolve the problem of violence, such as setting up more surveillance and strengthening gun control policies, the one thing we should do for ourselves is a personal surveillance. Imagine as if we could scan for our weapons such as fear, intolerance, and hatred and leave them behind instead of becoming defensive. It’s in these moments that it becomes critical to stop and ask yourself, is this idea more important than the people and relationships I’m fighting against?
It’s really these personal acts of nonviolence that we can practice day by day that will shift things both internally and externally. While adopting a state of peace and love when in the face of hatred and fear is hard, it is the ultimate weapon that will save us all and restore our humanity.
What are the steps we need to take as a society to start shifting our beliefs?
Neale makes an impassioned cry to join the national event on March 12th and start the conversation about creating a set of unifying values that can join us as a nation. Listen to Neale Donald Walsch’s ideas on how you can make a difference. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=10m29s.
What dialogue should we start to create a new Cultural story? Listen to Neale Donald Walsch’s idea here. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=19m25s
How do we begin our own journey to create a new way of being human in your day-to-day life?
Neale Donald Walsh offers advice on the questions we should ask ourselves and whether change is needed. Get motivated by listening to his answer here. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=30m27s.
He asks in the interview to do some self-exploration: “Is my life working right now?” “Is how life is showing up for the largest number of the people in the world working for you? If your responses to these questions are less than favorable, then you have a place to begin. What could change? What could change in our collective reality?
Now is the time to have these conversations. Raise consciousness by attending one of Neale Donald Walsch’s discussions and incite a larger conversation with other people. Check out where he’s presenting here.
Who, What, Where, and When of God? What is God’s Plan? What is my purpose in God’s eyes?
God is love? Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Without faith, is it possible to please God? Is God for us?
In Neale Donald Walsch’s book “God’s Message to the World” he asks us to challenge such beliefs as “God is to be feared”. Here are some quotes from this section of the book: Source: Walsch, God’s Message to the World, (2014): p 99
“Love is not something God commands. Love is what God is. God does not command us to love God. We can love God if we want to, but God does not need us to, require us to, or command us to. God experiences what God is whether we know it or not”.
The passage goes on to challenge the idea that “God expects certain things- and that love is therefore a quid pro quo proposition”. Neale concludes that there are five fallacies about God: First, that God needs something. Second, that God can fail to get what He needs. Third, that God has separated you from Him because you have not given Him what He needs. Fourth, that God still needs what He Needs so badly that God now requires you, from your separated position, to give it to him. Fifth, God will destroy you if you do not meet His requirements.
What is God?
God is energy and a “source of intelligence…that places at our disposal, certain energies and the instructions on how to use those energies.” http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=35m37s
Neale Donald Walsch suggests that the more critical question is to ask “What is God not”? Get curious, click here to find out what Walsch believes God is. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=43m7s
Where is God? Where does God come from? Who made God?
“Nobody made God… God is not something that didn’t exist and was suddenly created…but always was and always will be.” Click here to find out more on Neale’s ideas of where God came from. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=42m23s
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
– Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio”
Does God Exist? Is God Real? Is there a God? Proof of God. Why does it matter?
Neale Donald Walsh asserts that there is an extraordinary intelligence present in all of life at the cellular and sub-molecular level and at a macro level with the universe. This proves to him that there is something behind these creations.
“What this adds up to is that there are three elements in the “system” that we call “life”: intelligence, design, and power. It is difficult to look closely at any aspect of life as we observe it- either at a micro level of the sub-molecular world or the macro level of the cosmos-without conceding that the manifestations of physicality are simply too sophisticatedly complex, too tightly interlocked, intermixed, and interwoven, too marvelously and massively intricate and interactive, to have been the result of random chance” (P48).
Throughout the book, Neale suggests that it’s critical to come together as a society and form a common set of values. In this passage, he provides his rationale on why a belief of God helps us as a society form a set of shared values.
“The second most damaging idea is that some humans hold about God is the thought that God might not even exist. Why this is damaging is that it stops all atheists and many agnostics from using God’s power, even as the whole of humanity seeks to work collaboratively to create the life we all say we want for everyone on this planet… If the entire world believed without question that a Higher Power exists, out of which life on the earth emerged, it would create a universally accepted context, a sacred or theological basis, of humanity’s collective formation of fundamental values. Right now, the values guiding the behavior of our species are not collective or uniform. Without a common belief in the existence of a Deity and a shared understanding of what is true about and for that Deity, we can’t even agree on a reason for living, the purpose of our existence, the experience-if any- that follows death, and the basis for life’s largest decisions” Source: Walsch, God’s Message to the World, 2014.
Is God separate from us?
A way we can resolve our human-made problems is by truly understanding and living as if we understood what Neale Donald Walsch states in his book, that God is a part of us.
Hear what he said during our interview.: http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=36m10s
Source: Walsch, God’s Message to the World, p187
“ All things are One Thing..For life in all its manifest forms is what The One Thing is. All that is physical or non-physical, seen or unseen, known or unknown, is part of life, and hence is a manifestation of the Totality that is here called God”.
“While God exists as a singular reality, it is capable of manifesting in multiple forms. This multiplicity of forms should not be confused with a multiplicity of things. God is a single thing, revealing, demonstrating, and displaying Itself in endless variation. This is accomplished through a process of differentiation…Differentiation is not separation, but simply individuation- even as the fingers of a human being are differentiated, but not separated by the hand” (p189)
“Imagine how you would treat God if God was standing in front of you. Now carry that over to your human encounters and imagine how you would treat everybody else if you held them as divine. And imagine a world in which everyone treated you as if you were divine. In such a world, would you not treat them in the same way? “p182
God has a plan for me? What is it?
What is our purpose here on earth?
Click here to find out one theory on why you are here: http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=45m34s
While many of us believe that God gave us specific talents to accomplish a mission, and fulfill a distinct purpose over the course of our lives, Neale Donald Walsch has another message for us. Neale suggests that we should let go of the endeavor to figure out what we are supposed to do, i.e. God’s plan for us. He also believes that we should stop seeing certain occurrences, coincidences, and confluences as a “sign from God”. For me, this was a bit of a showstopper, until he clarified the difference between purpose and plan. Here’s what he said:
“Why would God have a specific plan for every individual in the world? What divine purpose would this serve? Would it not serve a greater divine purpose for God to simply supply the power and to provide the mechanism with which all sentient beings might decide, declare, express, and experience for themselves who they wish to be, instead of having to follow a plan set in place for each of them ahead of time? There is a divine purpose being served by life. But a purpose is not a plan. A purpose is the reason we’re going to do things. A plan is an outline of things we’re going to do. The agenda of God is that all life forms in the physical realm express divinity…Each separate physical expression of a soul’s infinite life offers it an opportunity to select and express any aspect of aspects of its divine nature that it chooses. Thus, the soul comes to each lifetime with an agenda, but not with a pln. The soul’s agenda may be to express and experience compassion… But the soul does not come to physical life with a predestined decision to do so by becoming a nurse. An agenda has to do with purpose. A plan has to do with process. It is a specific way to achieve a purpose, to follow through on intention. God and the soul have an agenda, but neither God or soul dictates or plans how a particular person should, or is going to, fulfill that agenda. ” p 130.
A Personal Look into the Life of Neale Donald Walsch
How Neale Donald Walsch starts his conversation with God?
Neale shares his daily conversation with God. Learn how these 4:30am conversations led to writing his books.
Find out how you can make your own connection to God here. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=24m34s
Who is Neale Donald Walsch talking to?
Who is Neale Donald Walsch talking to when he is conversing with God? Neale explains how he talks to the divine intelligence and the Source here.
How has Neale Donald Walsch’s life changed as a result of these conversations?
Examining and questioning your beliefs about God can change your life. For Neale Donald Walsch, it not only changed the way he behaved, from being wrathful, righteous, and judgmental, but it also changed the way he moved through life. It introduced a new way of being human. Find out more here. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=27m46s
Does Neale Donald Walsch ever worry that some may consider his views as blasphemous?
Check out Neale Donald Walsch’s surprising reply here. Does he ever worry about his life as a result of spreading these revolutionary ideas? http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=33m43s
Neale Donald Walsch talks about his experience as a homeless person.
http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=38m49s Also, check out this longer interview with Eckhart-Tolle. http://www.eckharttolletv.com/Neale-Donald-Walsch-in-conversation-with-Eckhart-Tolle
What does it mean when people say “I am that I am”?
Is there a missing comma? I am that, I am. http://youtu.be/gLdLE9Isv_U?t=40m20s
Author of the Conversation with God series- Neale Donald Walsh
Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger whose words continue to touch the world in profound ways. With an early interest in religion and a deeply felt connection to spirituality, Neale spent the majority of his life thriving professionally, yet searching for spiritual meaning before experiencing his now famous conversation with God. The Conversations with God series of books that emerged from those encounters has been translated into 37 languages, touching millions and inspiring important changes in their day-to-day lives.
Neale has written 29 books on spirituality and its practical application in everyday life. Titles in the With God series include: Conversations with God, Books I–III; Friendship with God; Communion with God; The New Revelations; Tomorrow’s God; What God Wants; and Home with God. Seven of the books in that series reached the New York Times Bestseller List, CWG-Book 1 occupying that list for over two-and-a-half years. His most recent books are When Everything Changes Change Everything (2010), The Storm Before the Calm (2011), The Only Thing That Matters (2012), What God Said (2013) and GOD’S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD: You’ve God Me All Wrong released in October, 2014.
Conversations with God has redefined God and shifted spiritual paradigms around the globe. In order to deal with the enormous response to his writings, Neale has created several outreach projects, including the CWG Foundation, CWG for Parents, Humanity’s Team, the CWG Helping Outreach, and The Global Conversation — all accessible at the “hub” website www.CWGPortal.com, and all dedicated to help the world move from violence to peace, from confusion to clarity, and from anger to love.
Neale’s work has taken him from the steps of Macchu Picchu in Peru to the steps of the Shinto shrines of Japan, from Red Square in Moscow to St. Peters Square in Vatican City to Tiananmen Square in China. And everywhere he has gone — from South Africa to Norway, Croatia to The Netherlands, the streets of Zurich to the streets of Seoul — Neale has experienced a hunger among the people to find a new way to live, at last, in peace and harmony, and he has sought to bring people a new understanding of life and of God which would allow them to experience that.
Neale has a home in southern Oregon where he lives with his wife, Em Claire, one of America’s newest poetic voices (www.emclairepoet.com). They travel extensively throughout the world, speaking to audiences and sharing the messages of theConversations with God material, as well as offering the healing messages held within Em’s poetry.
