Whatever Works

A toolkit for self optimization

6.10 Conversations with God

Access a source of infinite wisdom and love

Motivation

In Neale Donald Walsch’s book Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, the author details his own discussion with God. The book opens with Walsch writing down his most important questions about life, without expecting any answers. To his surprise, he finds himself responding to his own questions, from a different perspective, which he interprets as guidance from a higher power.

This tool can work for you whether you consider yourself a believer, an atheist, or agnostic. The concept of God—or a sense of the divine as the entirety of everything that has been, is, and will one day be—can be an important psychological and spiritual touchstone. You may even consider these dialogues a specific use-case of Tool 3.4: Talk to Your Inner Selves. Connecting with your representation of God verbally can be a powerful way to access meaning and wisdom when encountering personal obstacles or tackling big questions, such as “Why am I here?” or “What is this life about?”

Benefits

Conversing with whatever God means to you can unlock a strong sense of meaning and purpose.
This process can awaken feelings of being loved and accepted unconditionally.
This dialogue may provoke unexpected inspiration and surprising answers.

Challenges

If your skepticism dominates the process, you may find it hard to open up.
You may feel like you’re faking it and that your answers aren’t truly coming from the infinite.

Application

To begin, settle yourself in a quiet place and prepare yourself for a conversation. How you do this is up to you. Neale Donald Walsch wrote out his questions and then allowed God to write the answers through him. You could also utilize other means such as meditation, floating in a pool, talking to yourself out loud, or doing anything that doesn’t require your single-minded focus. Regardless of method, it’s important that you begin with the intention of engaging with a higher power. The key is to open yourself up, release any resistance you may be feeling, and express what’s alive in you . . . and then listen for an authentic response.

Open yourself up and invite replies, as though you are really conversing with a higher power. Let go of any doubts you have about whether God exists and simply surrender to the experience. If you get frustrated with the process or with the answers you receive, that’s okay—express your frustration! Whatever you’re feeling, be as honest as you can and share it openly.

You might ask questions such as, “What should I do with my life?” or “Should I take job A or job B?” and not necessarily like the answers you get. It’s important to understand that God—whether a real being or your psychological conception of the divine—isn’t here to solve your problems and live your life for you. She’s[1] here to be with you and to live and express through you.

According to Neale Donald Walsch, God is the infinite totality of everything, which chose to take limited form and split into finite components in order to experience separateness. Being omnipotent makes it impossible to feel the joys and pains that limited beings experience, which is why you, as a distinct expression of the divine, matter.