For many people, the word “God” is a stumbling block rather than a doorway. It carries too many old associations — too much argument, too much religious baggage, too many unanswered questions. But what if you did not have to start with that word? What if you could begin simply by opening your mind to a Power Greater Than Any Human Power, and let the understanding of what that means develop on its own terms? That is exactly what this approach invites. And it begins with three words.
The Three O’s: A New Framework for God
The term “a Power Greater Than Any Human Power” resonates more reliably than other phrasing for many people. This term leads eventually to the word “GOD” — one that many of us cannot quite wrap our heads around in its traditional form. But there is a great way to start to get to know what that word needs to mean for you personally. That way has been expressed in three words: Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent. These are what we call the Three O’s.
You do not need to know all the specifics to begin. All you need is to open your mind to something other than the self — with the intention that one day you hope to know this Power in a very intimate way. To begin, simply recognize that your mind is always Self-Talking: carrying on a dialogue in your head, often in a very negative way. What if you directed that same dialogue — that same internal conversation — toward something greater than yourself? You would not be doing anything different than you have always done. You would just be directing that talk toward something you are learning to call God.
Learning to Talk to God Instead of Yourself
As you go through the day, instead of talking to yourself, talk to something other than yourself. In the beginning, simply invite that Power into your mind as much as you can. Consciously remind yourself to talk to this Power, or God. Make the decision to ask this Power into your life when you feel fear. Use that fear as your first trigger. The more triggers you use to reach out for God, the more conscious contact you maintain, and the more soundness of mind you experience.
The words can be simple and honest at the beginning. “Can you be with me right now? Can you show me how to feel you?” Ask for help from this Power whenever you get tied up during the day. Drive in the car with quiet music — or none — and use that time to talk to God.
What Happens When You Try This
Two things happen when you begin to talk to a Power-Greater-Than-Any-Human-Power instead of yourself. First, you realize how often you are in trouble — much more often than you would have guessed! The only way to know this is to reach out for something other than yourself when you are in distress. It becomes apparent very quickly: when you talk to God, you have soundness of mind. The mind goes quiet. The racing stops.
Second, you begin to see how much your mind goes into the gutter with negative self-talk. The internal dialogue becomes clearer and louder as you develop awareness of it. By yourself, you have a very fault-finding mind — automatically looking for what is wrong with people and places. The price of this is misery — and out of misery you do it even more.
Do not panic when your mind goes into the gutter with fault-finding and negativity. When you start to see how much trouble is in your mind, it means you are getting better — you are becoming aware of what has been happening for a long time. Awareness is the first step toward true change.
Soundness of Mind
Soundness of mind — thinking clearly, feeling balanced, acting from a place of genuine wisdom rather than reactive fear — is the goal. And it is achieved not by getting your mind under control through willpower, but by inviting something other than the self into the mind. Every 15 minutes, ask a Power-Greater-Than-Any-Human-Power to open your mind and come in. Give credit for the good things in your life to the Power that provided them. Acknowledge and affirm: “I cannot wait for the next great thing to happen.”
Be happy when you try this. Enjoy the freedom and the great gift of coming to believe in a Power-Greater-Than-Any-Human-Power. It is within reach for anyone willing to stop the internal debate and simply open the door.
- The Three O’s — Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent — are a practical framework for beginning to understand what God means to you personally
- You do not have to resolve the concept of God before you begin; you only have to open your mind to something other than the self
- Direct your internal dialogue toward God rather than toward yourself — the mechanics are the same; only the recipient changes
- Use fear as a trigger: whenever you feel afraid or tied up, reach out to God rather than inward to the self
- When you talk to God, the mind goes quiet; when you talk to yourself, the fault-finding increases — the contrast becomes obvious quickly
- Becoming aware of how troubled your mind is means you are getting better — you cannot be free from something you cannot see
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