Direct Dominion

Lesson Objective: Understand the meaning of God’s direct dominion and how people living within the realm of perfection will lead the world to its ideal form.

Divine Principle Reading:

What is the realm of God’s direct dominion and what is its purpose? Human beings abide in the realm of direct dominion when, as subject partner and object partner, they unite in the love of God to form a four position foundation and become one in heart with God. In this realm they freely and fully share love and beauty according to the will of the subject partner, thus realizing the purpose of goodness. The realm of direct dominion is the realm of perfection. It is essential for the fulfillment of the purpose of creation.

What is the meaning of God’s direct dominion over human beings? Once Adam and Eve had perfected themselves as individuals centered on God, they were to live together as one, forming the four position foundation in their family. Living in oneness with God’s Heart, they would have led a life of goodness, sharing the fullness of love and beauty with Adam as the head of the family. In the realm of God’s direct dominion, people will intensely experience God’s Heart within themselves. Hence, they will know His Will and carry it out in their actions. Just as every part of the body spontaneously moves in response to the subtle directions of the mind, people will spontaneously carry out the Will of God in accord with the deeply felt intentions of His Heart. In this state of perfect resonance, the purpose of creation is realized.

Activity: Becoming One with God

1. Explain:

• Living within the realm of God’s direct dominion means that we are one with God’s heart; it does not mean that we are ruled by God.
• Because of that loving relationship with God, we’re able to choose right, act right and love right.
  1. Within God’s direct dominion, we don’t become mindless robots, rather, we become spiritually mature individuals and can live creatively.

2. Getting to the “Perfect” You

• Ask the youth to spend some time thinking about what the ideal version of themselves would look like. Ask the youth to write down phrases, goals or pictures that represent this version of themselves. Some things to consider might be:
  1. Character/Personality
  2. Family
  3. Career
  4. Lifestyle
  5. Hobbies
• Have each youth share a few points from their paper with the rest of the group.

3. Explain Perfection

• Now that we’ve imagined what our “perfect” self might look like, we see that perfection is not stationary. Instead, perfection is the point at which we can truly begin living. Once we’ve become the person we want to be, then we can truly enjoy our lives.
  1. Becoming a black belt doesn’t mean you have learned everything there is to learn, it just means you have the foundation which allows you to use your skills freely.
• In terms of the Three Stages of Growth, reaching “Perfection” is about knowing God and relating with God naturally and freely so that God can live together with you.

4. Practice Becoming One with God

• Set up a short walk outside in nature.
• Along the way post these prompts on trees or fixtures.
• Have the youth walk the path in prayer and focus on the quotes and questions. Encourage them to bring their notebooks with them if they would like to reflect that way.
• Prayer Walk Quotes:

  Take a step back and see your life from a broader perspective. Where do you see God working in your life?

  What part of your life experience can you invite God into? What will you let God experience through you?

  What is distressing you? What is stopping you from knowing your Heavenly Parent?

  What problems do you want to offer to God? What do you need His/Her help with?

  Let God into your heart and mind. What is God telling you now?

  1. Where is [God] then? He is in the place nearest to us. That is why we cannot See Him. He is so extremely close to us that we cannot see Him. ~ Sun Myung Moon
  2. God wants to caress the things of creation through the hands of the person whose heart is one with His. ~ Sun Myung Moon
  3. When the mind and body are united, we do not feel distress. But when the mind and body are disunited, when they are not balanced horizontally, we feel inner torment. ~Sun Myung Moon
  4. God is also the only one who knows everything we are pondering, and the only one, the Absolute Being, who can solve our fundamental problems. ~ Sun Myung Moon
  5. God is not a fantasy. He is not just an idea or an abstract concept. He leads and guides our daily lives. He is always with us as the master of our daily circumstances. He does not exist just so that we can attend Him, but to live together with us, sharing love. ~Sun Myung Moon
• If you feel the mood is right and it would benefit your youth, have a brief sharing about how the prayer walk was for them and what they got out of it. If not, it’s not necessary!

Concluding Point: Reaching perfection and God’s direct dominion is about understand God’s heart in such a way that you naturally live a heavenly lifestyle. This time period is one of freedom and creativity in which we can truly enjoy life at its fullest because our Heavenly Parent is it enjoying it through us.

Divine Principle Reading:

What will the world be like when the natural world abides under the direct dominion of human beings? When a fully mature person relates with the diverse things in nature as his object partners, they come together to form a four position foundation. People who are in total resonance with God’s Heart will lead the natural world in the free-flowing sharing of love and beauty, and the entire universe will realize goodness. In such a manner, human beings will exercise direct dominion over all things.

Activity: Leading the Ideal World

1. Explain:

• When people are able to understand God’s heart and act based on that understanding, they will build industries, policies and processes that form the society God has been waiting for.

2. Split the youth into three groups and assign them one of the following sectors:

• Government
• Science & Technology
• Social Work

3. Give each group a poster board or paper and 15 minutes to brainstorm and create a display on these topics:

• Possible projects that their sector might take on
• How those projects might positively impact the larger society

4. Have each group present their display and ideas to the rest of the group.

Concluding Point: Once we are able to reach God’s direct dominion, we will be able to lead society towards creating the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth in a practical way.