Why Prayers Are Seldom Answered

Asking Questions About Prayers Not Answered

There’s an old proverb that says: “He who cannot ask cannot live.” Life is all about asking questions, and seeking answers from all the questions asked.

Albert Einstein once said: “Thinking is difficult; that’s why so few people do it.”

Thinking is a process of self-intuition through asking relevant questions to create self-awareness and self-reflection. It’s the natural habit of the human mind to try to solve all problems by asking questions. Through the process of solving problems, the human mind may then make things happen.

So, asking all relevant questions is self-empowerment of the human mind to increase wisdom because it initiates the intent to learn, to discover, and then to change for the better.

Here are some of the questions you may want to ask yourself concerning why your prayers are seldom answered, or not answered at all:

What’s a prayer?

Jesus said: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) Is a prayer just your way of asking for something that you want or desire?

Is it your personal request to the Creator to make something happen or not happen in your life?

Is it your conversation or a means of communication with the Creator to further develop your relationship with Him?

Is it your way of seeking advice from the Creator to help you deal with your own life’s problems and challenges?

Is it your asking the Creator for His blessings that you think you may be entitled to?

Or is it none of the above?

How often is a prayer said or offered?

Before getting up, and before going to bed?

Several times throughout the day, such as before your meals?

While attending a religious service?

Seldom, if ever, unless expressing with your condolences to someone you’re feeling sorry for?

What’s spirituality?

For a believer, spirituality is the inexplicable communication and the subtle relationship with God.

For a non-believer, spirituality is the invisible connection to a Higher Being, who seems to have inexplicable control over certain things in life, such as life and death.

Even for those without a specific religion, they may still have a soul or spirit, because their spirituality is their own conscience that intuitively tells them what’s right and wrong, and not just following the laws and orders of their country. 

In many ways, spirituality is like a shadow that follows us: sometimes we see more of it, and sometimes we see less of it; but it’s always there, forever following us wherever we go, whether we like it or not. Spirituality is always present whenever we focus less on ourselves and more on others.

Does God exist?

Many do believe that God exists—but His existence is no more than the existence of the sun, the moon, and the planets.

Few believe that God plays a pivotal role in their daily lives.

Even fewer believe that they can somehow communicate with God in their daily prayers.

WHY PRAYERS ARE SELDOM ANSWERED

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Emotions and Depression

Emotions and Depression

Did you know that as much as 50 percent of diseases may be psychosomatic? Therefore, it is not an overstatement that the mind and diseases are interconnected.

Dr. Caroline B. Thomas, M.D., of John Hopkins School of Medicine discovered that cancer patients often had a prior poor relationship with their parents, attesting to the pivotal role of emotions in the development of cancer. In another study by Dr. Richard B. Shekelle of the University of Texas School of Medicine, it was found that depression patients were not only more cancer prone but also more likely to die of cancer than the other patients. If emotions play a pivotal role in cancer, by the same token, negative emotions may also adversely affect the symptoms or prognosis of any human disease. Thoughts of anger, despair, discontent, frustration, guilt, or resentment are instrumental in depressing the physiological processes, including the body’s immune response—a formula for promoting the development of an autoimmune disease.

According to other studies, strong negative emotions, such as anger, can create destructive mental energy that is health damaging. However, it is not so much in experiencing raging anger as in not experiencing it, or not wanting to experience it that may cause diseases. In addition, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness may also aggravate the symptoms of a disease. When one feels being “trapped” with no way out—such as, when the doctor tells you that there is no cure, except controlling the symptoms of any disease you may have, you naturally feel incapacitated in thinking a solution out of the “dire” situation.

The feeling of being trapped is most destructive in that it incapacitates the mind to come up with a solution to resolve the apparently insoluble situation. This may cause the body to conserve too much oxygen—just like holding one’s breath much too long—that ultimately leads to suffocation, and even death. Continuous feeling of being in a deathtrap deprives one of oxygen, and thus inhibiting the recovery process.

Given the critical role of emotions in disease development, evaluate your emotions, and how your mind may affect them. Tao wisdom, the ancient wisdom from China, may provide guidelines on how to overcome your negative emotions that are the underlying causes of human unhappiness. 

Also visit my site: Anger Management.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Believe to Understand

Believe to Understand

According to St. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo (354-430 A.D.), in life there are certain things we do not believe unless we understand them, and there are other things that we do not understand unless we believe them. To St. Augustine, faith is not opposed to understanding, nor is it independent of understanding. His famous “faith seeking understanding” is an act of believing first, without which unbelief closes the door to further understanding.

St. Anselm of Canterbury, a well-known Christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century, echoed St. Augustine’s statement in his famous motto “I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.”

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (Hebrews 11: 3)

Accordingly, to begin the spiritual journey of seeking God’s wisdom, we must, first and foremost, have faith seeking knowledge to understand God.

How Tao Wisdom May Help

According to Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China, the mysteries of the universe are indefinable and inexpressible. The human mind is meant to see only the manifestations of the things created, but not the mysteries of God’s creations.

“As one, it is unbroken thread with neither a beginning nor an end.

It returns to nothingness: invisible, inaudible, and intangible.

It is the indefinable, the intangible, and the unimaginable.

Stand before it, and there is no beginning.

Follow it, and there is no end.

Only by its grace can we discover how things have been and will be.

This is the essence of the Creator: invisible, inaudible, and intangible.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 14)

To Lao Tzu, seeing is not believing, but believing is the beginning of seeing.

“The more we look, the less we see.

The more we hear, the less we listen.

The more we crave, the crazier we become.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 12)

“When a wise man hears of the Creator,

he immediately begins to do some soul-searching.

When an average man hears of the Creator,

he half believes him, and half doubts him.

When a foolish man hears of the Creator,

he laughs out loud.

If he did not laugh,

there would be no Creator.”

(Chapter 41, Tao Te Ching)

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau 

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Tao Wisdom to Relieve Daily Stress

We are living in a world of stress, especially in this world of technology, which has created a compulsive mind that brings in  all the stress factors.

There are many factors that may directly or indirectly cause stress in everyday human existence, and they are as follows:

Emotional Factors

Anger, bitterness, disappointment, and envy are some of the human emotions that often lead to anxiety, distress, and even depression. 

Environmental and Eventful Factors

A dangerous environment, such as walking alone in the dark or in an unsafe neighborhood, can be stressful.

A work environment with racial discrimination or sexual harassment can be stressful too. According to the American Institute of Stress, up to one million employees’ absence per day are stress related. In addition, work environment may create stress due to feeling unproductive, inability to concentrate on work, unrealistic and unreasonable demands from employers or co-workers.

Stressful life events may also lead to elevated stress levels. Special life events—whether they are positive or negative—can be stressful, such as getting married or planning a wedding, graduation, starting a new job, buying a home, or even going on a vacation.

Financial Factors

Finance is one of the main stress factors in contemporary life and living due to rampant unemployment, not having enough money to make both ends meet, debt from credit cards or reckless over-spending, bankruptcy, and home foreclosure, among other financial problems.

Health Factors

The American Academy of Family Physicians once estimated that two-thirds of all family doctor visits are stress related.

Health problems can be triggered by alcohol, sugar, and tobacco addiction. Chronic health problems, such as autoimmune diseases, cancers and heart-related health issues, are particularly stressful after diagnoses and during treatments..

Relationship Factors

Relationships are often a source of emotional and psychological problems, such as break-up in a love relationship, separation and divorce, dealing with teenager problems, and coping with aging parents.

William Shakespeare once said: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” John Milton, the famous English poet, also had this to say: “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” Both spoke volumes of the perceptions of stress.

The bottom line: stress comes from your mind, or, more specifically, your ego-self. Therefore,  no ego, no stress!

NO EGO NO STRESS is a 134-page book by Stephen Lau on ancient human wisdom for stress relief. Specifically, it is about Tao wisdom, which originates from the ancient Chinese sage Lao Tzu, the author of “Tao Te Ching”—one of the most translated works in world literature. “Tao Te Ching” is popular due to its profound and unconventional wisdom, which is both intriguing and controversial. Learn how to let go of the ego-self to remove all the stressors in modern living due to finance, careers, relationships, etc. and live as if everything is a miracle.

Understanding TAO wisdom may open the doorway to letting go of the ego to let go of stress.

Stephen Lau     

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Let Go to Let God

We all have our individual attachments, such as emotional attachments and material attachments, to the physical world we are living in. Attachments are synonymous with control. 

Every day we face many life problems. Where do our problems come from? They come from the human mind, which creates our own individual problems. Instead of solving our own problems, which are often insoluble, we sometimes even strive to solve the problems of others around us, deluding ourselves into believing that solving the problems of others will somehow solve those of our own. This is control. We try to control others, instead of letting go of our control. 

Control is basic human instinct. Out of fear of the unknown, our ancestors living as early as in the Stone Age strove to control their environment in order to survive, and thus developing the fight-or-flight human instinct. But if we could let go of our control, we would be able to live a life of peace and harmony. Remember, control—just like power, money, possessions—define who we are, or satisfies our ego-self. We want to “control” how people think of us by driving a certain car, or living in a certain neighborhood. All our attachments are the substances with which we form our ego-self.

Letting go of our attachments—such as control, power, careers, money, and relationships, among others--to the physical world we are living in is not easy. Letting go has to do with human wisdom. The human mind has great potentials. To empower and fully utilize its potentials, human wisdom is a prerequisite. We need human wisdom to overcome our reluctance to let go. Therefore, have the human wisdom to understand that nothing is permanent, and that nothing lasts. More importantly, we must let go before we can receive. Finally, God is in control, no matter how reluctant we are to let go of our attachments. 

“The only things we can keep are the things we freely give to God. What we try to keep for ourselves is just what we are sure to lose.” C.S. Lewis 

Get the TAO wisdom of let go of all material attachments in the physical world. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The Wisdom of Letting Go

Living in the physical world creates many material, emotional, and mental attachments that have created our thoughts, and thus the so-called “realities” of our lives. The art of living well is to let go of all these attachments—after all, everything is impermanent.

Letting go is the way to go! Let go to let God! Live your life in perfect harmony with self and others!

To get your copy, click here. 

Don't Worry!

Don’t Worry!

Of all human emotions, worry is perhaps the least useful and serves no purpose at all, except causing unnecessary anxiety and developing a depressive mood. The problem with worry is that it focuses on an imaginary future.

According to Lao Tzu, “Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”

Seeking success and avoiding failure are no more than pride and fear; they are only expressions of the human conditions erroneously perceived by the human mind.

“Success is avoiding failure; avoiding failure is seeking success.

Both originate from fear and pride: the source of human suffering.”

(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 13)

According to TAO, everything follows the natural order of things; that is, everything is in its proper place and will work out the way it is supposed to work out, irrespective of your worrying and regardless of your deliberate interference to make things happen the way you want them to happen.

Remember, worrying will never change the outcome. According to Lao Tzu, if you water your dreams with worry and fear, you will produce weeds; if you water your dreams with optimism and solutions, you will cultivate growth and success. Remember, you manifest not what you want but what you are and what you think

Worry is one of the negative human emotions responsible for human depression.

My Way! No Way! Tao Is the Way!

Stephen Lau     

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The First Chapter of TAO TE CHING

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu is one of the most translated books in world literature. TAO wisdom—the wisdom of Lao Tzu—is profound human wisdom that is intriguing, perplexing, and paradoxical.

To illustrate, the first chapter of the book is short, but is capable of many multiple interpretations and translations.

"The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

As nameless, it is the origin of all things; As named, it is the mother of 10,000 things

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery of all things.

Ever desiring, one sees only their manifestations.

And the mystery itself is the doorway to all understanding."

(Lao Tzu,ally  Tao Te Ching, chapter one)

If we could understand the Creator or explain His ways, then He is no longer infinite and eternal.

What it really means is: Human wisdom is limited and therefore we can never completely understand the ways of Nature or the Creator.

Mankind, once given a name with an identity, is only the source, but not the creator, of all things.

What it really means is: Man invents but does not create something out of nothing; only the Creator, who is nameless with no identity, creates everything out of nothing.

Ever humble, we see the mystery of all things in the Creator's realm of creation.

What it really means is: With humility, we may understand why certain things were created.

Ever boastful, we see only the manifestations of all things created.

What it really means is: With pride, we see the wonders of our own inventions, but not the mystery of the Creator’s creations.

And the mystery itself is the pathway to attaining greater spirituality and further understanding of the Creator.

What it really means is: Not knowing everything leads to further understanding of the purpose of creation by the Creator.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Biblical Wisdom and Money

Money is the second most powerful god. Beware of money—or rather the enticement or the love of money!

The following from Proverbs (1:10-19) may enlighten you:

10 My son, if sinners entice you,

do not give in to them.

11 If they say, "Come along with us;

let's lie in wait for someone's blood,

let's waylay some harmless soul;

12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

13 we will get all sorts of valuable things

and fill our houses with plunder;

14 throw in your lot with us,

and we will share a common purse"-

15 my son, do not go along with them,

do not set foot on their paths;

16 for their feet rush into sin,

they are swift to shed blood.

17 How useless to spread a net

in full view of all the birds!

18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;

they waylay only themselves!

19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

it takes away the lives of those who get it.

The second most powerful god is money, which is controlled by Satan, or rather by our own greed. Money is even more powerful than Satan himself. Here are a two scriptures regarding "money-lust":

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:10.)

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." ( Exodus 3,4.)

We all need money, and we cannot do without money. This reality may make money become a god if you have a lust for money. EVERYTHING you buy with money is only with you while you are on this earth; once you die, you cannot take these "things" into heaven. So, why would you want to worship money? "Things" only last for as long as you live on this earth. On the other hand, everything you'll ever need is waiting for you in heaven if you choose to worship the One and Only God. Do not worship money, and beware of money!

Buddha, too, said: "Craving is the root cause of all human miseries." So, just beware of money.

Stephen Lau
Copyright © by Stephen Lau

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The Wisdom of Letting Go

The Wisdom of Letting Go

The pursuit of human happiness is forever elusive and evasive. Why? It requires human wisdom to ask the right questions, and spiritual wisdom to seek self-enlightening answers to the questions asked throughout our life journey.

Human wisdom comes from the mind: an empty mindset with reverse thinking; mindfulness living in the present with no expectation and no picking; and spontaneity with understanding of the natural cycle of all things, that is, what goes up must also come down. The ancient Tao wisdom from China may enhance human wisdom.

With human wisdom, one may see the wisdom of letting go of all attachments in the material world. Attachments are the raw materials with which we often create the self-delusive realities of the ego-self. Letting go of the ego and all its attachments may let us see the true nature of everything: who we really are, not who we wish we were, and what we really need, not what we desire.

The ego is the human flaw that not only undermines the natural human wisdom but also distorts the lens through which we see the world around us. Therefore, we need spiritual wisdom to complement the inadequate human wisdom, to guide the soul on our life journey. Spiritual wisdom can only be attained through trust and obedience to the Creator, which is letting go to let God.

The above is what this book is all about.

If this book is right for you, click here. 

Stephen Lau

Control and Out of Control

Control and Out of Control

Letting go is difficult because there is one thing that most of us have overlooked: the wisdom of letting go to let God.

Life is all about living—it comes with some hard work, simple integrity, and, above all, the wisdom in living. If life is all about living—not just about making and spending money—then it is not about regrets and dreams.

Regrets look back at the past; dreams look forward to the future. Unfortunately, both are not within our control. If the value of money is solely based on accumulation of wealth, or the acquisition of material things, then living indeed becomes a labyrinth of regrets and dreams—regrets over the wrong investment decisions in the past, and dreams of the great fortune yet to come in the future.

A life journey is forever paved with many challenges and losses, many of which are beyond human control because they are often sudden and unpredictable.

Physical loss, including loss of vision and mobility, both of which may affect the quality of life with respect to independent living, may make living beyond control.

Material loss may include loss of property from natural disaster, such as flooding, tornado, and wildfire, loss of place and space, such as moving from a house to an apartment or to a nursing home. Downsizing also means the loss or forced disposal of treasured possessions that many are reluctant to let go of.

Memory loss may result in a severe loss of organizational ability and the ability to plan and function, resulting in loss of independence, which is a major setback for the elderly.

Loss of loved ones due to accidents or natural causes are devastating. Spousal loss is often the most devastating in that the oneness in marriage is forever broken, resulting in isolation and loneliness.

Losses that come in many different forms often become sources of unhappiness, but losses are no more than life challenges that are beyond human control.

But living, to many, is about controlling self and others; more specifically, purposely controlling the destiny of self, as well as directly or indirectly controlling the destinies of others around. The truth of the matter is that we are only humans, and we cannot control what is controlled by God. Being finite, with only limited intelligence, we are limited in our capability to control what is beyond human control. God, who is infinite, is in absolute control of everything. Our constant desire to control is displeasing to God—an expression of our lack of trust, and our disobedience.

Humans are always given a choice: continuing to control one’s destiny, or letting go to let God control. 

God has given each one of us a unique life and destiny that only we can complete it.

“Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

(Psalm 139: 16)

However, the completion of that life and destiny in our life journey is according to His way and time, and not according to ours. In other words, it is all about what He wants for us, and not what we want for ourselves.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau