If you were going to rehab an old, dilapidated house, the first thing you would need to do is clear out all the debris and garbage that’s in the way. From there you could begin deciding what to keep, what needs to be restored, and what needs to be thrown out.

Imagine for a moment that you have all the finances, time, and energy that you need to rehab this home. You have a team of the best architects, contractors, and builders that can be found. I invite you to feel as excited about clearing out the old God and getting a new one as you would if you really were building the house of your dreams.

God, You're Fired!

I created an exercise many years ago where I ask people to write a termination letter informing the old God he is no longer needed. He has served his time, but the job is over. This can be a fun exercise as well as deeply meaningful and transformational.

Here’s an example:

Dear Old God,

Effective immediately your services are no longer required. I have spent way too many years under your punishing and shaming control, and it is over! You were never there for me when I was a kid and needed you.

I felt so deeply afraid of you and your judgment. You never comforted me or made me feel good about myself. You did a really bad job of helping me feel and see you.

I’ve never felt loved by you; instead, I mostly felt not good enough and like I had to continually jump through hoops to get your attention and make you happy. I never could be good enough, and I am done trying.

I am done feeling unworthy and afraid around you. You are a delusional, needy, scary, unforgiving, unavailable God who no longer gets to have residence in my mind, body, spirit, and life. It is time for me to become free of you and time for you to be on your way.

Your termination is effective immediately. There will be no severance pay and no opportunity for you to return. This charade is over, and you are out!

Setting Yourself Free

Surprisingly, when I have students read out loud the letters they have written, their classmates find themselves laughing. Why? It can be painful, but often it is humorous to realize that when it comes to God, they’ve been riding a tricycle for far too long and they can do something about it.

As you can see, it’s important to be strong; not to take it out on God, but to get in touch with any anger or resentment that may be lying dormant. It’s important and powerful to use your voice to set yourself free.

This exercise is simple, but it can also be deeply transformational if you will let it. I’ve had some people write pages, leaving no stone unturned in order to set themselves free.

Get It All Out!

I encourage you to tell God what didn’t work for you and how you may have felt abandoned, judged, afraid, or alone. Get as specific as you need to, and don’t hold back. This is your opportunity to get it all out.

Be sure to take all the time you need to write your termination letter. Even if you don’t perceive this being a big issue for you, I ask that you go as deeply into your psyche as you can to detox yourself of any and every negative, separating idea of God that is in there.

Be specific. If your parents divorced and God was not there for you or did not bring them back together like you wanted, then write that down. If you were abused or neglected, put that in there too. The point of this exercise is to allow the young, unenlightened part of you to have a say.

After you have completed your letter I encourage you to seek out a trusted friend, therapist, sponsor, or beloved family member to share it with. Part of the healing process is to be seen and witnessed. Ask this person to listen with their hearts and to be a space of total acceptance of your freedom. I’m certain the work you’ve done will bless and set him or her free, too.

Remember, before you can build your expansive, beautiful new home in which you will live safely and happily, you need to get all the junk out.

Create a New God

Once we have terminated the old God, our next step is to create a new one.

In our society we have decided that someone else who is more qualified, more holy, or more educated about spirituality in some way knows God better than we do. That’s ludicrous and simply untrue. Absolutely every person is individually wired to know God in a way nobody else ever will. The more I understood this, the more it became vitally important for me to take the time to deeply know my God—the God of my being.

Trust me, you know the God of your being. You really do. In fact, nobody can be more of an expert in your God than you. But the key is getting you back to this amazing, perfect connection you have always had.

Getting a new God is not going to be easy—especially in the beginning. The resistance of the ancient mind, the ancestry that is encoded in your being and your own conditioning, is going to fight back. Know that these old voices are going to scream and argue, “Who are you to make up who God is?” “What if you’re wrong and God really will throw you into hell?” “Why don’t you play it safe and just go to church on holidays, show up when you have to, and just squeak by?”

Fear will rise up quickly, but pay it no mind. It’s time for it to dissolve into the nothingness from which it came.

Being At One With Your Creator

Today, because I have taken the time needed to actively transform my beliefs and ideas about God, I now live in a completely new and expanded reality. I feel so free, loved, supported, protected, and at one with my creator. I have a loving, personal relationship that is alive, interactive, co-creative, and deeply fulfilling.

I believe in myself more because I know at a deep level that God, the Infinite, the great I Am presence is within me, for me, all around me, forever. And yes, this new experience of God absolutely has freed me from suffering.

Exercise: Hire Your New God

I’m going to take us back to the exercise about firing the old God. If you haven’t completed that yet, please take the time to do that now, because it leads perfectly into this next part — creating a new, more expansive, only-for-you God. We do this by writing a God-for-hire advertisement. (If you need help then ask for it, right?) And how do you specifically get what you want, in God, and in life? By being specific and clear, of course.

This exercise, which I have done with countless people, is meant to be fun and transformational. This is where you get to create a God that is perfect for you. Remember, this God knows your every wish, desire, and need. This God loves what you love and wants you to experience and have what you love.

Create a God You Can Count ON!

This God, your God, is here for you. So if you love to shop, ask for a God that loves to shop. Create a God that loves to make love, eat chocolate, drive fast cars, surf, help others, paint, sing, dance. Create a God you can count on!

I want you to experience God as much as possible throughout your days, and the way to do that is to realize that when you are doing what you love, and your life is filled with joy and purpose, then you are one with God. There is a simple and very deep equation that sums this up:

When you feel good, you are feeling God.

Why? Because your God is your good. They are one and the same. I mean feeling authentically, naturally, and wholly good. I mean feeling goodness that makes the world a better place. Your God never can or will cause harm to another. Feeling your good must multiply the possibility for others to feel theirs. Otherwise, it’s not the real deal.

Now it’s time to write your God-for-hire ad. Here’s an example for you.

God for Hire

This job is available to be filled immediately. This God must be 100 percent accepting of me and all my foibles, and must love me not only in spite of them, but including them. This God must leave no part of me unloved or unappreciated. This God must be available every day—morning, noon, and night.

This God must be bigger, bolder, and louder than any fear. This God must give me clear direction and turn up the volume so I am certain not to miss it. And when I choose to not listen, this God must immediately expand His/Her/Its love and make His/Her/Its message of care and guidance even clearer.

This God must love and accept absolutely everyone. Nobody can be left out of the eternal plan of freedom and happiness. This God must lead me to forgiveness quickly and easily. This God must especially help me know I am loved when I am feeling needy, insecure, and afraid.

The God of my being must have a great sense of humor, show magnificence in all things, help me be honest with myself and others, and never ever allow me to feel bad about my body, my weight, my age, or anything about me. Help me to take things lightly. Help me to always share. Protect me from the storms, and if I need to go through them, by all means, help me get my raincoat on and my umbrella up long before it’s too late.

Apply in person, in my sleep, in the wind, or anywhere you want to. Just make sure I see it and feel it. This is a lifetime job with amazing benefits . . . me!

Now you write yours. Let it flow, and make it fun and meaningful. Feel free to copy parts of mine, but mostly make it your own and make sure you feel good after you’ve completed it. Read it out loud to yourself and say a huge YES to this. Read it often to help get you deeply related to this new, expanded declaration that says you are ready to be loved, supported, and connected to your God.

©2014 by Mark Anthony Lord. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Hierophant Publishing. www.hierophantpublishing.com

Article Source

Thou Shall Not Suffer: 7 Steps to a Life of Joy
by Mark Anthony Lord.

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About the Author

Mark Anthony Lord is the founder and spiritual director of the Bodhi Spiritual Center in Chicago. An internationally recognized speaker and workshop presenter, his teaching style is engaging and experiential, using humor, current events, and personal examples to encourage people to ask the deeper questions that allow genuine transformation. www.markanthonylord.com

Watch a video: Getting Unstuck with a New Commandment: Thou Shall Not Suffer (with Mark Anthony Lord)