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The Lost Secrets of Prayer: Practices for Self-Awakening

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I first read Guy Finley's "The Lost Secrets of Prayer" about a year ago. I didn't really undrestand alot of what he was talking about but I tried doing some of the exercises he recommended. A few months later I read the entire book again and got a little more understanding do to the fact that I was getting some insight into the exercises I was doing. A few more months went by and I read the book again. Two weeks later the impact of one of the exercises hit me like a ton of bricks. I was insulted by a collegue of mine that caused me great anger. I went outside to walk in the cool breeze when I remembered one of Guy Finley's exercises that I was suppose to be doing. It is during one of these angry moments that we are suppose to be doing the exercises but it is precisely these moments that make it the most difficult to do. I forced myself to "look" at the anger, to try to seperate myself from those "waves" that were battering me around when I actually "saw" what I was intended to see. At that very moment my life was completely changed forever. I began laughing at the incredible insight that I had gained and at the blindness that had left me. After many months of trying the exercises I finally had a breakthrough. It wasn't until then that I fully understood the book and its purpose. If this book does not change your life it is because you didn't do the exercises with the deepest of sincerity and a true desire to discover your inner self no matter how ugly it may appear. Guy Finley has walked the path of Self Knowledge and is trying to lead others. It is a very difficult path, one that takes time and patients. Unless you're ready to dedicate yourself to the practice of Self Knowledge a true understanding of the book will remain hidden.

Guy Finley's new book, The Lost Secrets of Prayer: Practices for Self-Awakening, is one of those special books that will last a lifetime. Each rereading will yield new awareness and understanding of the nature of true prayer.

Finley explains that the suffering in our lives results from being "wrongly invested in some relationship . . . "; for mistaking something "as being permanent that was only temporary." He says the "essence of this book is about awakening within yourself to yourself . . .. "

His emphasis throughout the book is on turning within for understanding and awareness of the spiritual energy that resides in each of us.

Finley says that, although most of us don't realize it, we're all engaged in continual prayer. He maintains that hoping or expecting that something will, or will not, happen, is a form of prayer. Most of us "don't know how to request what we really need," often because we don't understand what our true needs are. The key, Finley says, is to ask God to give you what He knows you need. The basic prayer is "asking God to remove the veils from your eyes."

Each chapter of The Lost Secrets of Prayer ends with special lessons for self study. The final chapter presents more than 100 helpful maxims to aid in the journey to self-awakening, such as "Life is not asking you questions--it is giving you the answers!"

Finley is the founder of Life Learning Foundation and author of several international best sellers on self-development. He has guested on numerous radio and TV talk shows.

Readers won't find rote or one-size-fits-all prayers in The Lost Secrets of Prayer. Those seeking to awaken their souls, however, will find the spiritual guidance for which they've been searching.

This is truly a wonderful book. In all my years of listening to preachers I never expected to be reading a book by someone who is quote, unquote not religious but KNOWS more about true prayer than any Pastor I have ever heard. If you need to revitalize that part of your life in your heart that has been missing for so long, I highly suggest you start here. You won't be dissapointed. VT NY

Like all of Guy's books, this one is well worth anyone's time to read. It helps us to understand why our lives are the way they are. Since we are actually "praying" for something in each moment of our lives (most of the time without knowing what we are asking for) - Guy's exercises to increase our self awareness are not only helpful, but necessary, if we ever hope to have a different kind of life than we do now. In this book, Guys says that "response is request" - we are actually requesting something from life, by the way we respond to an event. That's why it's so important to be aware of yourself in each moment. This is a wonderful book, that has been very helpful to me. If you like the ideas in this book, you may also like books by Vernon Howard, J. Krishnamurti, James Allen, and Maurice Nicoll.

I could not put this book down. It held so many original insights that I couldn't wait for the next one. Guy Finley is divinely inspired and he has certainly inspired me. His secrets have made each day brighter and lighter and sweeter for me.

Are you aware that you are constantly praying? According to Guy Finley, the author of THE LOST SECRETS OF PRAYER: Practices for Self-Awakening, expectancy is a form of prayer, and our minds are forever in a state of expectancy, desiring one thing after another or hoping that certain events will or will not occur. We even verbalize these expectancies in our formal prayers, and this kind of prayer, Finley believes, is the least effective. So, if you do not like what you see when you look out on the world you have created through all your expectations, then change the way you pray.

It is Finley's contention that true prayer is not an appeal for what you think you want or what you hope will happen. Rather, it is to bring you to a point where you are no longer blocked from seeing that all you need is already in your life. All you need to feel happy and fulfilled is present within you this very moment. The problem is that daily life, by its very nature, often draws us into a world of possessions and pleasure and away from our inner nature and any kind of relationship with our Higher Awareness. Instead of praying to be inwardly connected, we pray for what seems to be outwardly lacking. This sets us up for even more disappointment as our prayers or expectancies are not answered or they only bring us a fleeting, momentary pleasure.

Finley states: "Prayer is the study of truth...No man, no woman ever prayed heartily without learning something. To know ourselves is to know the need for prayer, and the heart that knows this need, that longs to be released and renewed, is teacher, teaching and taught."

Anyone who is familiar with Finley's work or who has attended one of his lectures knows that he always stresses two vital points: letting go and realizing we already have all that we need to be content. This work is no different. Offering a variety of affirmations, exercises and sample prayers, Finley focuses on letting go of the desires that are driving us in circles as well as our fears, resentments and other emotional baggage. Rather than helping us acquire what we think we need to possess or accomplish, Finley's insights and prayer practices are supposed to aid us in reaching higher levels of self-awareness. Just how effective these practices are you will have to discover for yourself. Two things, however, are certain: Finley's methods are quick and varied - just in case you lead the hectic, fast-paced lifestyle that the author would like us all to avoid. In fact, THE LOST SECRETS OF PRAYER has to be the fast food smorgasborg of self-awareness practices. For example, Finley reduces one prayer down to a simple mantra, MOTLOM, ideal for the ceaseless repetition which Finley recommends. He also devotes a chapter to seven short silent prayers which are actually not prayers at all but seven rules that Finley would like people to live by such as "doing what you don't want to do when you don't want to do it." Do I hear an Amen out there?

Written in a discursive yet conversational manner that is somewhat reminiscient of J. Krishnamurti, THE LOST SECRETS OF PRAYER presents a very rudimentary yet thoughtful and congruent approach to self-awakening. Should your awakening require a jump start from inspirational quotations and aphorisms, you will find plenty of them here. Could I have another slice of Motlom, please, with some Ralph Waldo on the side?

From the editorial and some of cusotmer reviews, I had high expectations for this book. But this book didn't meet my expectations even half way. What Guy Finley wants to stress has been succenctly pointed out from time immemorial by quite a few authors: Ramana Maharshi, the anonyous authors of "the upanishads", the mystic poet Kabir, the brilliant Rjaneesh, and the erudite Englishman, Douglas Harding, etc.

The best prayer is total surrender, total surrender to God's will who has no will. If you want a transformation, turn around and turn inwards. Guy Finley strsses these in a very roundabout way. You will do well to read the brilliant book by Douglas E. Harding, "Look for Yorself". Doglas Harding writes with great clarity, and his English style is impeccable and captivating. I hope Guy Finlay reads this book; it will induce him to improve his writing skills

Love and best wishes.

This book gives you the answer to your problems. I would also recommend the book An Encounter with A Prophet as a companion book.

This book is even better than The Intimate Enemy, what can I say, the more I read books like this the more understanding I have of Scripture. I would recomend this to religious and non-religious alike. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED COUSIN VINNIE NY

This book is a useful tool. Finley teaches you how to help yourself. His message transcends both culture and religion.

The most valuable parts of the book for me are where he teaches you how to move beyond past hurts and disappointments. He also is very good at explaining the meaning of prayer and how to reap its benefits.