FFWPU Europe and the Middle East: David Hanna - Deep Prayer and Meditation, Cultivating the Mind

A speech Dr. David Hanna, head of the North European subregion of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, gave at an international prayer meeting on Zoom 23rd October 2024. Slightly edited.

Our True Parents have spoken about and guided us all in the practise of prayer. We’re doing quite a bit of it […] in our new style resonance prayers. That’s very wonderful.

They’ve also, but maybe less frequently, used the term “meditation”. But still, our True Father especially has talked about quiet reflection and Dr. David Hanna speaking Nov. 13, 2022 in Oslo, the importance of being in a state of mind Norway where one can connect deeply with the divine.

In fact, I suppose the Unificationist approach has more to do with active engagement with God through heart-driven action and community involvement, rather than the practise of solitary meditative introspection.

As far as I know, our True Parents never promoted any particular technique of meditation, and you will know that there are many. So why might that be?

I would presume myself the reason for being non-specific, not mentioning any method or technique, is so that that does not become the way that is focused on and promoted above all others in this stage of God’s providence.

It’s more something that is left up to us if we see the need and seek the benefit.

Personally, I like that approach, and it has parallels with other aspects of our life as Unificationists. We can be, and I think should be, what’s often referred to as a “broad church”. Balinese woman praying in Indonesia That’s an expression in English that is not only used for churches, but any institution or organisation that is accepting and embracing of various understandings and approaches, or a range of views, some that can sound perhaps quite fundamentalist, others quite liberal, but all happily coexisting.

Let me share one excerpt from a speech of True Father. It’s back from 1975. He said there,

“Due to the human fall, we lost all relationships - with God, among human beings, and with nature; all were entirely severed.

In order for us to reconnect our relationships, we should always strive to make these connections ourselves. If we do not have the attitude to make connections with others, we cannot improve the environment in which we live.”

And he goes on to say,

“For this reason, you should all have a mind to anticipate new things. When praying in the morning, you should feel, ‘Today, something good will happen.’

But don’t simply think that good things will just happen. You have to seek for them. This attitude of seeking should be your life of faith. Experience and continual practise bring relationships to life. Yet, it all stems from cultivating a dreamlike state in meditation.” (From a speech Father Moon gave 2nd Feb. 1975)

With these words, True Father connects the active aspect of seeking for good things to happen and bringing relationships to life - a lovely expression

It connects that with the starting point that’s to be found in a state of dreamlike meditation. Isn’t that curious? Father Moon in prayer That certainly takes practise. But as with all things, the more we practise, then the more natural it becomes. Perhaps you see that working more successfully in the life of some other “brother” or “sister” than in yourself.

I’m certainly like that, but by my simple thinking, that means I should give it more practise. It would not be right for a person to think, “Well, that may work for some people, but not for me.”

When we think about coming to know the heart of God, probably the heart that we most readily associate or think of is God’s suffering heart. And sometimes we refer to this as God’s heart of the fall.

We should remember, though, that this is not the only character or quality of heart that God possesses. We refer also to the heart of creation, which is the more original, and you could say, lasting heart of God. We also talk about the heart of restoration.

Remember that Champumo-ron [Editor’s note: Literally “Discourse on True Parents”, new teachings being prepared, still unpublished], whatever form it ultimately takes, includes also the entire principles of creation.

Being mindful that the way of referring to the interplay of God’s emotion, intellect and will as three separate hearts is itself an artificial construction, right?

We can do well, then, to meditate on more than God’s suffering so that we can find the power and the drive to do things and develop relationships that truly express God’s truth, beauty and goodness. Mother Moon August 23, 2024 Let me give you an example. I found it an exciting and significant development that True Mother invited a number of musicians from around the world to come to Korea to write songs and music for the opening of the Cheonwon temple, purposefully in an atmosphere of prayer and meditation, and with the opportunity or fortune of a strong connection to the higher spiritual world, we could say this is more of a

focus on God’s heart of creation.

Again - to quote True Father - he says,

“Eventually everyone is to be connected to the spirit world, reaching the realm of God’s heart and feelings. Unless you experience such things in your life of faith, you cannot carry out God’s great will on the stage of your own life.

Therefore, I do not trust believers who have not had actual spiritual experiences. Please understand how important it is for you to have these spiritual experiences for cultivating your life of faith.” (From a speech Father Moon gave 2nd Feb. 1975)

“Brothers” and “sisters”, remember, we cultivate external determination based on our internal determination. We need training in the way we think and the way we use our minds. And meditation and prayer are two well proven methods for cultivating the mind.

I wish you a very wonderful and victorious week, and I thank you for listening.

Related to prayer and meditation: Essence of God

More, related to prayer and meditation: God and Human Beings

Also related to prayer and meditation: The Day When Heavenly Parent’s Dream Comes True

More, related to prayer and meditation: Preparing Holy Temple for God and Becoming One

More, related to prayer and meditation: “We’re Small, But Mustn’t Forget That God Is Great”

More, related to prayer and meditation: 2025 Dedication: Sanctum to Feel Holiness of God

More, related to prayer and meditation: Teachings Make Great Strides in New Version

And more, related to prayer and meditation: In a Nutshell

Yet more, related to prayer and meditation: Brief about the Teachings

Still more, related to prayer and meditation: The Mission of the Only Begotten Daughter

Even more, related to prayer and meditation: Gender-Balanced Understanding of God and Christ

And yet more, related to prayer and meditation: God as Our Heavenly Parent (Father and Mother)

And still more, related to prayer and meditation: History of God: From Yahweh to Father to Parent

And even more, related to prayer and meditation: Religious Truth as Progressive Revelation

Also related to prayer and meditation: Essential Motherly Part of Messianic Mission

Also related to prayer and meditation: The 3 Blessings and the Process to Fulfil Them

Also related to prayer and meditation: Unchanging Truth and Its Changing Expression

Also related to prayer and meditation: The Meaning of History from Viewpoint of God

Also related to prayer and meditation: Failure of Key Persons Related to Jesus

Also related to prayer and meditation: Amazing Parallels to Jesus and Holy Spirit

Also related to prayer and meditation: Unification Principles

Also related to prayer and meditation: The Kingdom of Heaven

Also related to prayer and meditation: True Love

Lawyers Rely on Hazy Cone ( 11

JAPAN • MEDIA • RELIGIOUS FREEDOM • COMMEMORATING • VARIOUS • REVIEWS •

Restoration Providence The painstaking work to recreate the original good world - the restoration providence The phrase “restorat ion providence” describes the painstaking work that God has had to carry out as a result of losing mankind, His children, when the first man and woman followed the rebellious archangel Lucifer away from God and created a world that did not belong to fu1Q, a world ful l of sin and evil.

The wo rd “restorat ion” implies that God wants to bring the world back to its originally intended state or condition.

The wo rd “providence” refers to the plan that God has implemented to save humankind. e God want s to restore the original ideal wo rld he intended from the beginning. The Korean word bokkui (~-,l-l) , ,1, wo11< • · Original state which normally is translated as “restoration”, may also mean return, comeback, reinstatement, regain. Restore ’ •’ ’ •

It is a key word in Unificationism, and is indeed a key concept to understand human history. History was intended to begin in a certain way, but did not when the first humans, who held the key to how history would unfold, were manipulated to go in the wrong direction.

Up t hrougho ut the restoration providence, God has constantly invested himself and called human beings to assist him in t he enormous work of restoring the original good world He wanted to realize when He created everything. The work of restoration began as soon as the fall of the first humans had occurred. God already tried in t he family of Adam and Eve, to set right what had gone wrong. However, this was unsuccessful as t he individuals in the first fami ly did not make the right conditions.

In the evil world that developed, God therefore had to find new individuals with whom to work. That is why he called many up through t he ages, e.g. Noah, Abraham, Moses, John t he Baptist and chosen people right up unt il the present days.

Back to ConceR.ts

Text: Knut Holdhus