One of the first things we need to do in order to find our True Self is to admit that our imaginations need cleansing, that they are filled with all kinds of images that do us no good whatsoever and that often lead us into spiritual destruction instead of into spiritual growth.

The second thing we need to do is want to let go of those images. We need to be able to approach Jesus and say   honestly and simply, “I do not desire these thoughts nor do I desire the pleasure I have in the past derived from them. The pleasure I desire is You, and the thoughts and images I want for my imagination are Your thoughts and images. Then I will be happy as You are happy, for I will be living in my true self.”

But if we cannot honestly say these things, all is not lost! We do not need to turn away until we have collected enough courage to give up these images. Rather, we turn even the situation into a prayer. Since all desires for good things are themselves gifts from God, we pray for the desire to admit that our imaginations need cleansing, we pray for the desire to let go of these former sources of illicit pleasure –     pleasure that has hurt us much more than helped us. No matter what inner state in which we find ourselves in life, we can use that state as a springboard to prayer just by turning to God, Who is happy to   accept us in the state in which we find ourselves.

Now I realize that many will claim that their imaginations do not need cleansing and that they don’t realize that they have images which are harmful to them. Even the pleasure of getting even with someone who has offended us is an image which we have incorporated into our imaginations – albeit not deliberately or consciously. We have very little control over our unconscious minds and what gets stored in them.                   Think about this!