PASTOR'S LETTER
MARCH 24, 2005
SOME GOOD THOUGHTS ON PROSPERITY

 

Lest some of you might think I am saying all teaching on Prosperity is bad, I feel I have to explain a bit more. There is a line. That line separates the following: one one side, righteous prosperity, and on the other side, evil prosperity thinking that is turning to materialism, greed, elitism, keeping up appearences, pride, looking down on the poor and suffering, and hating oneself when one is poor, suffering, rejected and scorned.

Righteous prosperity might be called positive thinking, realistic, Godly, hopeful, trusting, filled with faith and love thinking. (As opposed to pessimistic, negative, dark thoughts, without trust, faith, hope and going toward despair...thoughts that are against God because they do not believe in and affirm all good.)

I have a long history with Catherine Ponder. I began studying her around 1987 and I have a letter from her thanking me for sending her a nice check. Yes, I studied her and practiced her, and I did thank God every day for all that I had. But I always thanked God. I thanked God when I was in the pit, when I was in Purgatory, when I was rejected, when I was poor and downcast. Always, everywhere, thank God for whatever situation you are in BECAUSE SOMETHING GOOD WILL COME OUT OF IT! (Words of Catherine Ponder.)

I recall clearly making "Catherine Ponder" lists. On the left, were all the things I wanted "crossed out" of my life. On the right, were all the things I wanted to happen. I affirmed all the things I wanted to happen, and everything I prayed for did happen - just about. Some of it will yet take place.

All the things that seem bad in your life, do not give in to negativity because of them. Affirm the good. For instance, if you are in a bad relationship and can't seem to see your way out of it, affirm that either the relationship will change, and you will be getting along, or it will dissolve, and you will both go on to your greatest good. Catherine Ponder taught me that whoever I want loosed from me - even my own relative - I affirm that that person goes on "to his or her greatest good."

Whenever something bad seems to have happened - a car accident, a fire, a death, sickness, pain, rejection, whatever, you step outside the situation and affirm loudly,

"SOMETHING GOOD WILL COME OUT OF THIS!"

Catherine Ponder also taught me to have PRAYER PARTNERS. For a long time my partner was Richard, my best friend and later husband. We prayed every time we were together - which was about thirty five days a year. I noticed that when we stopped praying, we had a breakup of a few months. When we got back together I made sure we kept praying. The praying together brought the grace of God into our lives and into our union. You can even pray with those who are not close to God - but as long as they are saved - much more grace will be gathered. After all,

"One can chase a thousand. Two can chase ten thousand."

Is it alright to pray with those who are not saved? That might be difficult. If you cannot get them saved, they will put a kind of "cloak of darkness" on you as you pray, and it will be hard to break through. However, your prayers might save this person. (I have much experience with this sort of thing and the cloak of darkness can be extreme. It can be as if the sunshine is obliterated from your soul. With the average person not saved it is more like a grey cloud hanging over both of you.)

Right now I have not found a partner for praying - which tells me I have to buckle down and search harder. It will have to be one or more of my phone mates. And by the way, the most "religious" people are not always the best prayer partners. I know extremely religious people, two of them. One will not pray with me, as he is fundamental in another religion. The other is Catholic. When I pray with the extreme Catholic I feel many graces are prevented because he is so rigid in his beliefs, and he judges me a sinner. (He never says anything about the evil priest's sins, only my sins!) Because he does not see me as an Instrument of God, the openness is not there, and therefore, the graces don't come flowing in as much. I can feel a shadow of doubt over us as we pray together.

Mz Ponder also taught me a great principle which coiincides with what I just said: You cannot pray at cross purposes. That is why large groups of people praying together might not work so well. When you get crowds of people together, they are not all in harmony; not all on the same page. So some affirm, and some cross out what the others affirmed, and therefore, the prayers rising up to God are in conflict. You must be in harmony when you pray! Whatever you affirm, be in harmony with your partners!

She also taught me visualization. I read books by yogi swamis about it which did me no good. But the way Catherine Ponder explained it made it real for me. I believe her to be one of the greatest teachers of all time, and certainly the number on this planet Prosperity.

I have made a lot of charts taught by Catherine Ponder. I made one for the firm my husband worked for, and against all odds, they received the WORLD'S LARGEST AWARD BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, 52 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH CONTRACT FOR AIRPLANES! A friend who was working at the Pentagon said to me,

"They will not get the contract. Their helicopters suck."

But I knew I had made the charts. I wanted to prove to my future husband the power of this type of action. We went to an arts and crafts store and bought posters, glitter, glue, magic markers and a bunch of other stuff. We went through a whole series of magazines to get appropriate pictures. He told me which companies were vying for the contract, and I crossed them out on one poster, affirming they would not win. Then I made another one affirming our aircraft company would win, but I did it in stages, with many pictures. The last one was celebratory. I showed a picture of my husband and myself, and the company, drinking champagne, rejoicing, bubbles and stars all around, smiles, glitter and congratulations. When the President of the company came to make the announcement concerning the contract, that was how he looked. He was beaming. So Rich told me.

Now here is an interesting note:

I never imagined I'd marry this man. He was just starting to be my best friend. But those charts were a portent of my own future wealth. After many years, Rich and I were married. When he died, the money that secured me for life WAS FROM THE VERY COMPANY I MADE THE CHARTS FOR! In a sense, the Universe of God brought back to me, with blessings, what I wished upon someone else...the good I wished on the company came back to me to in great blessings! This money enabled me to start the Church, the same Church site that you are reading right now!

Whenever I worked with charts, amazing things happened. I made charts for a new house in a new place that I believe will happen soon - although I did this work years ago. Blessings do not always happen instantly, but they always happen WHEN YOU BELIEVE.

Now that I am thinking of it, I THINK I WILL MAKE CHARTS FOR THE NEW CHURCH! I want devotees, so I will find pictures of people who look like they want to learn about God. I want people to look upon me as a servant of God, their guru waiting to help them - so I will find guru pictures and put my face in them! Starting soon, I will take photos of me as a guru and put them on the site, and on the charts! I will find pictures of ashrams, churches, and centers of spirituality. I will find the ones I like best, and paste them on posters, affirming with magic markers that soon we will have our place! I will put pictures of Dieties everywhere: Jesus, Mary, Saints, Siddha Yogis, Muktananda, Nityananda, Shiva, Shakti, Kali, and all of that. Everywhere stars, glitter, gold and blue and money. Yes, we need money to do all this! I have to affirm money not out of greed or pride, but the resources which will enable us to help souls. After all, sitting here all alone I can reach out spiritually, but not physically, to souls. I will always help souls in Purgatory and souls from Hell (who do not know I helped them) but I also wish to save those on earth.....not only to save, but to enlighten; to help others find self realization, and absolute Oneness with God. I don't feel the site is enough. I feel we have to have physical contact and start centers that will perpetuate after I am gone.

And so, I will affirm this on charts and look at the charts daily and that will sure buoy up my hopes!

Lately, I have been doing a lot of exorcisms against the following: frustration, isolation, loneliness. I have banished demons of, depression, hopelessness, and the like. This is important. But I had completely forgotten affirmation and charts! Dear Dave from Florida, who sent me the tape on Prosperity, set me on this course of thought again! What a blessing! I can't wait to start the charts and if it is possible, I will put them on the site. (Will have to make them in smaller pieces to be able to scan them in!...I invite you also to send me pictures of ashrams, churches, spiritual centers, gurus surrounded by devotees looking happy, etc......also, make charts for your own life for things you want!) Making these charts SETS THEM FIRMLY IN YOUR MIND for things to happen. Catherine Ponder taught me to make colorful, brilliant, beautiful charts. Two men were planning vacations. She said one made a chart using black and white pictures, small, drab, and that is how his vacation was. Another guy who projected his vacation made it brilliant, and his vacation was brilliant! You get what you wish and believe for, what you affirm and affirm strongly!

Another important factor is your will. Please use your will! Use it strongly and persistently to remove evil and summon good into your life. Do not wish evil on yourself or anyone else (only upon the devil!) If you banish anyone, let it be for their own good, to their own place of improvement or benefit. Do not wish someone harm. Daily wish good upon yourself through your lists, affirmations, and charts. Make charts whenever your spirits are down and project your future. I am going to make charts starting soon. Maybe today. (Let me know how your charts work out!)

Let me affirm and visualize what I want for our church and our centers, so you and I can both have it clearly in our minds. I want to help everyone possible. There should be a group of devotees who are truly committed to God, who will be near me. They will be evolved souls. I see myself in a place where I can have darshan with these devotees, and others, on a regular basis. We will sit in comfortable couches and sofas, all covered by the beautiful flower sheets and blankets I have collected. (I have hundreds of them. I buy them for half price one day a week at the Salvation Army. Many are exquisite, truly works of art.) I am into cleanliness, so I like the thought of clean blankets and sheets on all our sofas and couches, laundered regularly! My devotees can sit comfortably, they do not have to force their legs into lotus postures. Everyone can relax, and put their feet up on the couches and sit on their feet, or lean back or even lie down if they want to. I will sit comfortably, in beautiful but comfortable clothing, listening to the questions. I will answer them and we will have these recorded so we will make books called "Satsang with Rasa." They are like the books I read called "Satsang with Baba." (This refers to questions and answers with Baba Muktananda.)

I would like to be available for the devotees and guests a few days a week. There will be some times when I will be out of town lecturing, speaking and doing tv shows. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and my devotees will miss me when I'm gone, and welcome me with arati when I return. (What a fantasy! Incense burning, flowers tossed in front of me, Jai Guru, Jai Guru....Why not?)

These discussions will be the foundation of the devotees learning what I can give them of God. It will be wonderful. When they go to bed at night, they will have dreams of God, and God will be ever coming closer to them, bringing them all good. And I will know I am helping others and that is the greatest joy on earth!

I have been collecting dishes and silverware from a variety of places, including second hand stores, for years, in the hopes of having large feasts. I have enough to seat maybe twenty or thirty people. (And more can be bought instantly if needed!) You see, when I was a child we had a wonderful social life. Every feast day we had at least a dozen guests, and everyone was so happy! I long to recreate that long-lost joy of childhood. Today, what is left of my family never invites me, not even for Christmas. I have spent the last few Christmases, since my husband died, completely alone. (Also Thanksgiving, Easter.) Everyone knows I'm alone - but no one cares...It seems sad, but SOMETHING GOOD WILL COME OUT OF THIS!

I long to have SPIRITUAL FRIENDS sharing meals together. I do not want to be greedy and have food demons on us, but I want to have modest, vegetarian meals together regularly, and they must be healthy. One day a week, we will make our own home-cooked meals, all working together and learning how to cook. (Those who might not be working could watch and learn.) On regular days, we can do like Lithuanians do. They get great bread and cold cuts (we will use all sorts of cheezes, hard and soft ones and tofu things) jams and jellies and other nice spreads, and set the table for tea. I mean the best breads the kind you could eat with nothing on them! I would like to make our own bread once in a while, also. We can have easy stuff like canned sardines, tuna and other fishes, so we do not have to cook constantly, and have more time for meditation and Satsang.) But I do like the idea of a made-from-scratch, work together meal once in a while. I am an expert with soups from scratch, but I need practice with home-made raviolis or pierogis...I can teach you to make the world's greatest potatoe pancakes and Lithuaniana flour pancakes, also.

The idea is, when you have spiritually loving people together, life can be great. Even work can be fun! Have you noticed how working alone is dreary, but together, laughing and talking, makes it go by and you don't even feel the work? There is so much I can do, but I'm too depressed but I know if one friend was here to help me, I know it would be done!

On holidays, like Christmas, we go all out. I will allow meat a few days a year - which is about what I eat. Only Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas and some other holidays. Homemade desserts will be a special treat!

What else do I imagine? I imagine parades. We will get permits and have yearly parades, where we display what our Church is about on floats. We will dress up as saints of both yoga and Christianity, maybe dance around Krishna. Kali will be a wonder, with a belt of arms hanging from her hips, a necklace of skulls, and in her four arms symbols of creation and destruction. We will have some demons we have to kill, the biggest guys painted black and red, with tails, and we'll stomp them and stab them with plastic knives and swords. This should get their attention driving through the main thoroughfares of Los Angeles, and get us good publicity! We will have our followers handing out literature to everyone on the street, if this is permitted, and speak to the press.

TO BE CONTINUED..............

 

Rasa Von Werder March 24, 2005

 

 

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