# Conversations with God

Conversations with God (CWG) is a sequence of books written by Neale Donald Walsch. It was written as a dialogue in which Walsch asks questions and God answers. The first book of the Conversations with God series, Conversations with God, Book 1: An Uncommon Dialogue, was published in 1995 and became a publishing phenomenon, staying on The New York Times Best Sellers List for 137 weeks.
In an interview with Larry King, Walsch described the inception of the books as follows: at a low period in his life, Walsch wrote an angry letter to God asking questions about why his life wasn't working. After writing down all of his questions, he heard a voice over his right shoulder say: "Do you really want an answer to all these questions or are you just venting?" When Walsch turned around, he saw no one there, yet Walsch felt answers to his questions filling his mind and decided to write them down. The ensuing automatic writing became the Conversations with God books. When asked in a recent interview how he opens up to God, Neale stated, "I am reaching out to touch others with this information. When I reach out and touch others with this information, I reconnect immediately with the divine presence."

## Basis of the dialogue

The series contains nearly three thousand pages of material. The second and third books in the trilogy deal with political and social issues.

### Themes

In Friendship with God, Walsch writes that God presents four concepts that are central to the entire dialogue:
* We are all one.
* There's enough.
* There's nothing we have to do.
* Ours is not a better way, ours is merely another way.
Existence is essentially non-dual in nature. At the highest level, there is no separation between anything, and there is only one of us; there is only God, and everything is God. The second statement, following from the first, means that we, in this seeming existence, lack nothing, and if we choose to realize it, we have enough of whatever we think we need (or the means to create it) within us. The third statement combines the first two to conclude that God, being all there is and is thus always sufficient unto itself, has no need for anything and therefore has no requirements of humanity. The final concept puts an end to our need always to be correct. Given that we have and are everything, and there's nothing we have to do, there is an infinite number of ways to experience this, not just the one way we may have chosen so far.
According to the books, God recommends many economic and social changes if people want to make a more functional, adaptable, and sustainable world. The books recommend that more attention should focus on the environment. The conversations also speak of reincarnation and the existence of life on other planets.

### God's motive for creation

In Walsch's first dialogue, God notes that "knowing" and "experiencing" oneself are different things. Before creation, there was only That-Which-Is, which cannot know or experience itself fully without something it is not. It cannot know itself as love since nothing exists but love. It cannot know itself as giving since nothing else exists to give to. It cannot experience itself in myriad ways because everything is one.
In Walsch's viewpoint, this present creation is established by and within God so that sentience can exist, which does not directly remember its true nature as God. Split into infinite forms, all life can live, experience, and recreate its nature as God, rather than "know" itself as the creator in theory. It is essentially a game, entered into by agreement, to remember who and what we are and enjoy and create, knowing that ultimately there is no finish line that some will not reach, no understanding that is not without value, no act that does not add meaning to the future or for others. Walsch claims that God says that we have a common interest in keeping the game going. There is nothing else to do except to experience our existence and then experience more of it, to uncover deeper layers of truth and understanding. There are no external rules because all experience is subjective and chosen. But within this, there are ways that people will gradually come to see their thoughts, words, and actions are either working or not working. A thing is either functional or dysfunctional, not right or wrong. These rememberings take place over "time" and can take hundreds and thousands of lifetimes.

### Nature of the dialogue

* Book 1 (PG.4) argues that words are not the ultimate truth; instead, words are symbols and are open to interpretations. Thus the readers are advised to consult their inner knowing or intuition to determine their truth while reading the book or any other book. Though the books bear the title Conversations with God and the author states in book one that he is "taking dictation" from God, the dialogue is said to be between God and all people at all times. The question, according to Neale, is not to who does God talk, but who listens. This is clarified by the statement that God can communicate with people in many ways (the next song you hear, the next sunset you experience, the next time you hear laughter, the next movie that moves you), and not necessarily through words 'spoken' by God to a person. "All these devices are mine. All these avenues are open to me. I will speak to you if you invite me." (Book 1, PG 58).
* Jesus is said to have sought to lead by example, which is why he said, "I am the way and the life, follow me". Follow me meant that we should follow his example and become one with God rather than become his (Jesus) followers. Jesus and other living things are/were not one with God presently (everything is happening right now with no space/time difference). Jesus is supposed to have said, "The Father (God) and I are one, and you are my brethren". This means that living things are all one (particles of the collective God) (Book 3, Chapter 20, PG. 329-330).
* Jesus is said to have said, "without the Father (God), I am nothing". The Father of all is pure thought, the energy of life (Book 3, Chapter 11, PG. 180).
* In Book 3 of Conversations with God (1998), by Neale Donald Walsch, it is mentioned that Mahavatar Babaji may at one time have resurrected himself from the dead, just like Lazarus, Jesus and other humans. When Neale asks God if reincarnation is a false doctrine, God replies that it is not. Neale then asks why some religions do not know the truth about something so basic. In response, God says that we must understand that humans have many fear-based religions whose teachings surround the doctrine of a God who is to be worshipped and feared. It was through fear that the entire Earth society reformed itself from a matriarchy into patriarchy.
* Through fear, the holy priests got people to mend their wicked ways and heed the word of the Lord. It was through fear that the churches gained and controlled their membership. Churches even insisted that God will punish you if you did not go to church every Sunday. Not going to church was declared a sin - and not just any church, it had to be a particular one.
* One had to attend one particular church. If you went to a church of a different denomination, that too was a sin. That was an attempt at control using fear. It worked. People will always believe in hell and a God who would send them there as long as we believe that God is like man — ruthless, self-serving, unforgiving, and vengeful.

### History of purgatory

Most people could not envision a God who may rise above all of that, so they accepted the teachings of many churches to fear the awful retribution of God in the past. It seemed as though people couldn't rely on their own inherent motivations to be moral and behave properly. To stay in line, they had to invent a religion that taught of a vengeful, punishing God. The idea of reincarnation threw a monkey wrench into all of that. The church was proclaiming that you better be nice or else—and along came the reincarnationist saying you have another chance after this and another chance after that and still more chances, so don't worry, try your hardest, do not become so paralysed with fear that you cannot budge, make a commitment to yourself to improve and proceed. The early church could not accept such a thing that did two things. It denounced the doctrine of reincarnation as heretical and created the sacrament of confession. A churchgoer could have a second chance through confession, which is what reincarnation offered but there was a catch: God could not provide this absolution immediately. It had to pass via the church, where penances were mandated by the priests. Usually, the sinner was obliged to offer these prayers. You now have two reasons to continue attending church. Confession was seen as such a good drawcard by the church that it was soon deemed a sin to avoid it. At least once a year, everyone was required to do it. If they did not, God would be even more enraged. A growing number of regulations, many of which were arbitrary and unreasonable, were issued by the church. Unless, of course, failure was admitted, in which case God's forgiveness was granted and condemnation was avoided, every direction carries the weight of God's eternal condemnation. Another issue resulted from that. As long as they admitted it, people deduced that this must imply that they could do anything. The church found itself in a dilemma. The people were no longer afraid. Church membership and attendance declined. Once a year, people came to confess, performed their penances, were absolved of their sins, and continued living their lives. The matter was beyond doubt. Purgatory was created in order to find a means of reviving fear in the heart. It was said that purgatory was a location that was similar to hell but not endless. According to this new theory, even if you acknowledged your faults, God would still punish you for them. According to the doctrine, depending on the quantity and kind of sins committed, God predetermined a specific amount of suffering for every imperfect soul. Both venial and deadly sins existed. If you don't confess your mortal sins before you die, you'll go straight to hell. Again, church attendance skyrocketed, as did collections and, most importantly, donations, because the purgatory dogma allowed one to purchase their way out of pain. One could get a special indulgence, not directly from God but only a church official as per the teaching of the church. These unique indulgences liberated an individual from the torment in purgatory, which they had accumulated through their sins or at least a portion of it. These exemptions were given to only a small number, such as those who made significant contributions to the church. For a considerable amount, one could acquire a full indulgence. This indicated zero time in purgatory whatsoever - it was a direct pass straight to heaven. This unique blessing from God was accessible to even fewer people, possibly including royalty and the extremely wealthy. The church received vast amounts of money, gems, and land in return for these plenary indulgences. The uniqueness of this caused immense anger and bitterness among the public. The most destitute peasant had no chance of obtaining a bishop's indulgence, leading the common folk to lose trust in the system, with attendance at risk of falling once more. After that, they introduced the novena candles. Individuals could visit the church and ignite a novena candle for the souls in purgatory. Through the recitation of a novena (a sequence of prayers said in a designated manner that requires some time), they could significantly decrease the duration of the sentence of the beloved deceased, freeing them from purgatory earlier than God would have permitted otherwise. They were unable to take action themselves, but they could still pray for mercy for those who had passed away. Certainly, it would be beneficial if one or two coins were inserted through the slot for every candle they lit. Many small candles were glowing behind numerous red glass pieces, while many pesos and pennies were tossed into various tin boxes in hopes of prompting God to alleviate the suffering endured by souls in purgatory.

## Parallels in other belief systems

The dialogue presents many philosophical ideas that prominent Eastern and Western thinkers had already advanced earlier. Still, Walsch explains the information in language for modern readers and does not explicitly cite these philosophers. Walsch claims that he had never known most of these ideas before his revelatory experiences. Since the beginning of the series, and especially in the later volumes, Walsch and "God" acknowledge that most of the concepts presented are previously known to humanity but are profound enough to warrant being explored repeatedly and put into this cohesive, unified form. Since humanity is still mired in strife and conflict, there is value in their restatement. Fundamental parts of Walsch's writings are also mirrored within other well-known spiritual writings and traditions:
* All things are one, there is no polarity, no right or wrong, no disharmony, but only identity. All is one, and that one is love/light, light/love, the Infinite Creator. (Advaita/Sikhism)
* Souls reincarnate to eventually experience God-realization (Hinduism/Bhagavad-Gita/Sikhism).
* Feelings are more important as a source of guidance than intellect (Rousseau/Sikhism).
* We are not here to learn anything new but to remember what we already know (Hinduism/Plato/Sikhism).
* Physical reality is an illusion (Hinduism/Buddhism's concept of maya/Sikhism, as well as Christian Science).
* One cannot understand one thing unless he or she understands its opposite (Tao Te Ching).
* God is everything. (Hinduism/Spinoza/Brahman/Sikhism/Pandeism/Pantheism)
* God is self-experiential, in that it is the nature of the Universe to experience itself. (Hinduism/Hegel/Sikhism/Pandeism, and process theology as first outlined by Alfred North Whitehead)
* God is not fear-inducing or vengeful, only our parental projections onto God are. (Sikhism)
* Fear or love are the two basic alternative perspectives on life. (Drewermann)
* Good and evil do not exist (as absolutes, but can exist in a different context and for different reasons). (Nietzsche/Sikhism)
* Reality is a representation created by will. (Schopenhauer/Sikhism)
* Nobody knowingly desires evil. (Socrates/Stoicism/Sikhism) (see: Moral intellectualism)