You are not that, you are aware of that. If you hold to the intuition, the sense "I am", and don't allow this to connect with any other concept; if you just let the "I am" incubate in itself, inmediately joy and space prevails. Spontaneously, there is the silent and intuitive conviction: "I am timeless, unbound being." This is not a teaching, it's a powerful inner experience, inexplicable. Thankfully, you don't have to write a thesis about it. Something it is seen, it's enough. You cannot prove it and you needn't prove it. You don't need to talk about it, or even to share it. Keep quiet.
Remain in the natural inner solitude.
Extract from Mooji's book "Before I am", page 26.
God Simply Is...
God cannot be divided. God simply is. The Universe simply is. What is simply is. All our thoughts and concepts divide Is-ness in our minds, and divide our minds from Is-ness.
Awakening is the transition from "religion" with its firm answers, perspectives, and experiences, to realization, the awareness of what IS. Even more important is “Real-ization,” the embodiment of that awareness. The important things in mysticism are not concepts, thoughts, feelings, or even experiences, but the questions and questing for nothing else but this One we call God. Beliefs—in the sense of concepts which must be protected, are not part of Christian mystical life. In this sense, you must not “believe” in God. Instead, just rest in Being. And in being, and being with Being, you rest with God, the Ground of Being. Don't “believe” in the Trinity. Trust the holy and wholly indescribable Reality in whom you “live, move, and have your being”.
The Greek word pisteo is almost always translated “belief” or “faith” in the New Testament. However, it also means trust and is better translated as such. Dare to move from belief to trust.
Slowly, joyfully, lovingly, destroy your concepts and mental images into the burning furnace of just being with the One. Just love what is, seen and unseen. Don't name it. Don't label it. Don't even think about it. Just do what Jesus said: Come as a child.
“Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter into it.”
—Jesus, Mark 10:16...................from frimmin.com
Awakening is the transition from "religion" with its firm answers, perspectives, and experiences, to realization, the awareness of what IS. Even more important is “Real-ization,” the embodiment of that awareness. The important things in mysticism are not concepts, thoughts, feelings, or even experiences, but the questions and questing for nothing else but this One we call God. Beliefs—in the sense of concepts which must be protected, are not part of Christian mystical life. In this sense, you must not “believe” in God. Instead, just rest in Being. And in being, and being with Being, you rest with God, the Ground of Being. Don't “believe” in the Trinity. Trust the holy and wholly indescribable Reality in whom you “live, move, and have your being”.
The Greek word pisteo is almost always translated “belief” or “faith” in the New Testament. However, it also means trust and is better translated as such. Dare to move from belief to trust.
Slowly, joyfully, lovingly, destroy your concepts and mental images into the burning furnace of just being with the One. Just love what is, seen and unseen. Don't name it. Don't label it. Don't even think about it. Just do what Jesus said: Come as a child.
“Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter into it.”
—Jesus, Mark 10:16...................from frimmin.com
A Friend...
A friend is one who does not disturb your mind.
Maintain no friendship with ones who disturb your
mind, no matter how close they are, be it a person,
a place, or idea. Do not accept the invitations of
foolish persons because when you live in their
society Truth will not kiss you.
- Papaji
Maintain no friendship with ones who disturb your
mind, no matter how close they are, be it a person,
a place, or idea. Do not accept the invitations of
foolish persons because when you live in their
society Truth will not kiss you.
- Papaji
ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI...(1182-1226)
Most high, all-powerful, all good, Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honour
And all blessing.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy
To pronounce your name.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through all that you have made,
And first my lord Brother Sun,
Who brings the day; and light you give to us through him.
How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendour!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars;
In the heavens you have made them, bright
And precious and fair.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all the weather's moods,
By which you cherish all that you have made.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,
So useful, lowly, precious, and pure.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Through whom you brighten up the night.
How beautiful he is, how gay, full of power and strength.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother,
Who feeds us in her sovereignty and produces
Various fruits and coloured flowers and herbs.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through those who grant pardon
For love of you; through those who endure
Sickness and trial.
Happy those who endure in peace,
By you, Most High, they will be crowned.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death,
From whose embrace no mortal can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those She finds doing your will!
The second death can do no harm to them.
Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility.
All praise is yours, all glory, all honour
And all blessing.
To you alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy
To pronounce your name.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through all that you have made,
And first my lord Brother Sun,
Who brings the day; and light you give to us through him.
How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendour!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and Stars;
In the heavens you have made them, bright
And precious and fair.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And fair and stormy, all the weather's moods,
By which you cherish all that you have made.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,
So useful, lowly, precious, and pure.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Through whom you brighten up the night.
How beautiful he is, how gay, full of power and strength.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Earth, our mother,
Who feeds us in her sovereignty and produces
Various fruits and coloured flowers and herbs.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through those who grant pardon
For love of you; through those who endure
Sickness and trial.
Happy those who endure in peace,
By you, Most High, they will be crowned.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death,
From whose embrace no mortal can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those She finds doing your will!
The second death can do no harm to them.
Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks,
And serve Him with great humility.
Infinite Mind...
Infinite Mind can have no starting-point, and can return to no limit.
~ Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health
~ Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health
Intuition...
It is quite possible for the thought of another person to float into that field
of which one is conscious, and one may hear it and think it is one's intuition.
From The Teachings Of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
of which one is conscious, and one may hear it and think it is one's intuition.
From The Teachings Of
HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN
Ram Tzu Speaks...
Most of what
You call love
Is just business.
You demand
Sufficient return
On your investment
Or you go elsewhere.
No one likes to
Suffer a loss.
After all,
If you don't manage
Your portfolio
Who will?
It's not the sort of thing
You want to leave to chance.
Problem is
You're always in fear
You're always hedging.
Ram Tzu know this...
It's a losing proposition
Trying to keep that
Which you haven't got.
- Ram Tzu
You call love
Is just business.
You demand
Sufficient return
On your investment
Or you go elsewhere.
No one likes to
Suffer a loss.
After all,
If you don't manage
Your portfolio
Who will?
It's not the sort of thing
You want to leave to chance.
Problem is
You're always in fear
You're always hedging.
Ram Tzu know this...
It's a losing proposition
Trying to keep that
Which you haven't got.
- Ram Tzu
A Friendly Practice...
If you're wise, be foolish.
If you can see, squint.
Though you can hear, sit
dumb as an old rock.
Whatever anyone says,
listen and agree.
This is a friendly practice,
and it leads to some truth.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
If you can see, squint.
Though you can hear, sit
dumb as an old rock.
Whatever anyone says,
listen and agree.
This is a friendly practice,
and it leads to some truth.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Separateness...
As egos they are certainly individual lives and beings. Their separateness is unquestionable. But as manifestations of the One Infinite Life-Power, their separateness from It is a great illusion.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 144........Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 144........Paul Brunton
What are We Seeking?..
You may say that you are seeking Knowledge, but, you are really seeking Happiness.. Happiness is a personal experience.. Happiness is also an ego experience.. Happiness is also a spiritual experience.. So, you have to ask yourself, What is Happiness and why do I seek it?.. Happiness is non- pain, Happiness is non-ego, Happiness is Love, Happiness is God.. This is a natural path that many have traveled before you.. these humans are well known to you.. Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Francis of Assisi, and so on... These others have also sought Happiness.. you are no different.. you must walk the same path as these others.. The secret that these other souls have learned is that to achieve Freedom and Happiness is to throw away that which you believe is most valuable.. "The last shall be first".. This most valuable is "you".. If you understand this deeper meaning, then, this will be your last journey and You will return to Happiness...........namaste, thomas
Starting on the way...
Few people seem to choose mysticism deliberately. It often takes a jolt of some kind from God to wake us up to the fact that there is something there, full of love, wanting to be known. It might come from a beautiful sunset, a shocking dream, a joyous birth, a shattering loss, or a brush with death. But from there, an awareness of an entirely new level of love, truth and goodness begins. But it is indeed possible to begin the mystic journey deliberately, determining to find the One who is the fountain of all being. The starting point of mysticism is encountering the Goodness of God. Not a conditional "goodness," but pure Goodness itself, with a capital G. This is Goodness without opposite or contrast, not the good in "good and evil." Goodness filling the Universe just as God himself does, so overwhelming in Good, that there is nothing possibly non-good there, no matter what appears to be otherwise. Unless we believe that God is Good, why would we even want to directly experience him? Although we may say we believe in his true Goodness, in the core of our beings, most of us do not.
We receive a thousand invitations to swim in this sea of wonder every day, with every sunrise and sunset, every laugh, every breath, every eyeblink. Yet few of us are able to see infinite Goodness surrounding us except in occasional glimpses. What happened?
We were all born natural mystics, eager to see pure Goodness in everything. Jesus said, unless you come as a child, you can not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 18.3) But early on, we are taught that receiving God's Goodness is dependent on our beliefs and actions, so a certain fear enters our hearts. Soon after that, we may try to accept contradictions, for instance, that God is infinite Love, but sends unbelievers to eternal torture in hell, (which is the most destructive and erroneous teaching in the typical Christian world-view.)
We cannot resolve the impossibility of the contradiction, so we back away slightly, believing God's goodness is merely conditional:... if I pray, if I believe, if I'm good, if whatever, then God will be good to me. The development of our belief system often stops there. Our teachers and preachers often say the same things to 40-year-olds as to 14-year-olds, so we carry these conditionings throughout life, and we lose the childlike heart. Many (very many!) adult Christians simply put their spiritual lives on hold out of frustration or a vague sense that something is amiss with the teachings they've received as "Christianity."
And even mystical Christians may find that although they are experiencing the wonder of God in their hearts, intellectually, the beliefs with which they grew up seem insufficient, creating a dichotomy between heart and head. How can we keep a child's faith in absolute Goodness, and integrate it with adult awareness, intelligence, and competence?
Learning and unlearning is necessary. There is a great heritage which mystics have passed on to us which can help the mind grasp what the heart is trying to tell it. For instance, mystics have believed from the beginning that God is in all things. Mystics believe that the nature of spiritual reality is even more real than that of this created world. Many Christian mystics have believed in universal salvation, and that "hell" is not endless. Most mystics have practiced some form of meditation to enter into awareness of God's divine Presence. And from Jesus, Paul, and John to the present, mystics know that the end goal of the Path is theosis, union with God...............from frimmin.com
We receive a thousand invitations to swim in this sea of wonder every day, with every sunrise and sunset, every laugh, every breath, every eyeblink. Yet few of us are able to see infinite Goodness surrounding us except in occasional glimpses. What happened?
We were all born natural mystics, eager to see pure Goodness in everything. Jesus said, unless you come as a child, you can not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 18.3) But early on, we are taught that receiving God's Goodness is dependent on our beliefs and actions, so a certain fear enters our hearts. Soon after that, we may try to accept contradictions, for instance, that God is infinite Love, but sends unbelievers to eternal torture in hell, (which is the most destructive and erroneous teaching in the typical Christian world-view.)
We cannot resolve the impossibility of the contradiction, so we back away slightly, believing God's goodness is merely conditional:... if I pray, if I believe, if I'm good, if whatever, then God will be good to me. The development of our belief system often stops there. Our teachers and preachers often say the same things to 40-year-olds as to 14-year-olds, so we carry these conditionings throughout life, and we lose the childlike heart. Many (very many!) adult Christians simply put their spiritual lives on hold out of frustration or a vague sense that something is amiss with the teachings they've received as "Christianity."
And even mystical Christians may find that although they are experiencing the wonder of God in their hearts, intellectually, the beliefs with which they grew up seem insufficient, creating a dichotomy between heart and head. How can we keep a child's faith in absolute Goodness, and integrate it with adult awareness, intelligence, and competence?
Learning and unlearning is necessary. There is a great heritage which mystics have passed on to us which can help the mind grasp what the heart is trying to tell it. For instance, mystics have believed from the beginning that God is in all things. Mystics believe that the nature of spiritual reality is even more real than that of this created world. Many Christian mystics have believed in universal salvation, and that "hell" is not endless. Most mystics have practiced some form of meditation to enter into awareness of God's divine Presence. And from Jesus, Paul, and John to the present, mystics know that the end goal of the Path is theosis, union with God...............from frimmin.com
A Quiet Mind...
"No matter which path you follow, yoga is impossible unless the mind becomes
quiet. The mind of a yogi is under his control: he is not under the control of
his mind."
Sri Ramakrishna
in Whitall N. Perry
_A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom_
Varanasi: Indica, 1998, (1971), p. 700
quiet. The mind of a yogi is under his control: he is not under the control of
his mind."
Sri Ramakrishna
in Whitall N. Perry
_A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom_
Varanasi: Indica, 1998, (1971), p. 700
Loss of Ego...
If he loses his ego utterly and completely so that no trace of it exists at all, he would have to die, for his body is part of the ego. But he lives on. This shows that what he really loses is not the ego-nature but the ego-will. It is replaced by the higher will.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 215.......Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 215.......Paul Brunton
In Relation...
All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.......Gautama the Buddha
"You" and "your story"...
You can't turn either towards Consciousness
or away from Consciousness.
In fact, "you" can't even "turn" at all because
your life is really only a melodramatic story that
Consciousness has been telling Itself.
And your only choice is whether or not you want
to believe in the validity of your story.
As usual, the ego wants to proudly say, "That's
my story and I'm sticking to it."
Actually, since you and your story arise
simultaneously, your story is also sticking to
you!
Without the historical framework of your time-
based story, though, "you" are really "no-thing."
Actually, being "no-thing" might not be such a
bad idea.
- Chuck Hillig
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Seeds for the Soul
Chuck Hillig
Black Dot Publications, 2003
or away from Consciousness.
In fact, "you" can't even "turn" at all because
your life is really only a melodramatic story that
Consciousness has been telling Itself.
And your only choice is whether or not you want
to believe in the validity of your story.
As usual, the ego wants to proudly say, "That's
my story and I'm sticking to it."
Actually, since you and your story arise
simultaneously, your story is also sticking to
you!
Without the historical framework of your time-
based story, though, "you" are really "no-thing."
Actually, being "no-thing" might not be such a
bad idea.
- Chuck Hillig
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
Seeds for the Soul
Chuck Hillig
Black Dot Publications, 2003
Aum Namah Shivaya...
The book The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony, Volume I defines Om Namah Shivaya as:
"This mantra has no approximate translation. The sounds related directly to the principles which govern each of the first six chakras on the spine...Earth, water, fire, air, ether. Notice that this does not refer to the chakras themselves which have a different set of seed sounds, but rather the principles which govern those chakras in their place. A very rough, non-literal translation could be something like, 'Om and salutations to that which I am capable of becoming.' This mantra will start one out on the path of subtle development of spiritual attainments. It is the beginning on the path of Siddha Yoga, or the Yoga of Perfection of the Divine Vehicle."
"Na" refers to the Gross Body (annamayakosa), "Ma" refers to Pranic Body (pranamayakosa), "Shi" or "Chi" refers to Mental Body (manonmayakosa), "Va" refers to Intellectual Body (vignanamayakosa) and "Ya" refers to Blissful Body (anandamayakosa) and "M" or the "silence" beyond these syllables refers to the Soul or Life within.........from Wikipedia
"This mantra has no approximate translation. The sounds related directly to the principles which govern each of the first six chakras on the spine...Earth, water, fire, air, ether. Notice that this does not refer to the chakras themselves which have a different set of seed sounds, but rather the principles which govern those chakras in their place. A very rough, non-literal translation could be something like, 'Om and salutations to that which I am capable of becoming.' This mantra will start one out on the path of subtle development of spiritual attainments. It is the beginning on the path of Siddha Yoga, or the Yoga of Perfection of the Divine Vehicle."
"Na" refers to the Gross Body (annamayakosa), "Ma" refers to Pranic Body (pranamayakosa), "Shi" or "Chi" refers to Mental Body (manonmayakosa), "Va" refers to Intellectual Body (vignanamayakosa) and "Ya" refers to Blissful Body (anandamayakosa) and "M" or the "silence" beyond these syllables refers to the Soul or Life within.........from Wikipedia
Compassion Came...
I spent my days idly as a vine
growing slowly in some holy place.
Then compassion came,
and I saw the Absolute.
All the names are true,
but I kept repeating that
of my teacher, and OM.
And sometimes I sang Om
Namah Shivaya, the greeting
that gives peace to the world
as well as to the spirit.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
growing slowly in some holy place.
Then compassion came,
and I saw the Absolute.
All the names are true,
but I kept repeating that
of my teacher, and OM.
And sometimes I sang Om
Namah Shivaya, the greeting
that gives peace to the world
as well as to the spirit.
- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
From "Naked Song"
Versions by Coleman Barks
Maypop 1992
Jesus as a Reincarnation of Buddha...
In the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as "the Buddha" (i.e., the Enlightened One), in southern Nepal. The title "the Buddha" is applied to Siddhartha Gautama in the same way that the title "the Christ" is applied to Jesus. The basic teachings and lives of the Buddha and the Christ are so remarkably similar that it is hard to believe they are not the same entity. This web page will present the case that Buddha was indeed a previous reincarnation of Jesus.
Buddhism teaches that the practice of good religious and moral behavior can lead to Nirvana (i.e., the state of enlightenment, kingdom of God within). To attain Nirvana, a person must be subjected to the cycle of reincarnation to a lifetimes that are good or bad depending on one's actions (i.e., "karma", "eye for an eye"). The goal of Buddhism is to achieve liberation from this cycle of birth and rebirth. The Buddhist view of life in this world is summarized in what is called "the four noble truths." They are (1) This world is a world of suffering. (2) Desire and the belief in the importance of one's self causes suffering. (3) The attainment of Nirvana ends this suffering. (4) Nirvana is attained only by following the path of righteousness in action, thought, attitude, and meditation. As it was with Jesus, the Buddha had a community of disciples to carry on his teachings.
Identical Life Experiences
(1) Buddha was born of the virgin Mahamaya, who was considered the "Queen of Heaven." Dean Milman, in his "History of Christianity," stated that "Buddha, according to a tradition known in the West, was born of a virgin" (Vol. I, p. 99, note). Mary and Mahamaya all gave birth to their children among strangers. He was visited by wise men who recognized the divinity of the child. He was of royal descent and his birth was announced by a star.
(2) Werner's Encyclopedia, in its article on Buddha speaks of "the marvelous stories which gathered round the belief in his voluntary incarnation, the miracles at his birth, the prophecies of the aged saint at his formal presentation to his father, and how nature altered her course to keep a shadow over his cradle, whilst the sages from afar came and worshiped him."
(3) Both Jesus and Buddha were presented in the temple as infants for baptism. The hymns uttered at both annunciations resemble each other.
(4) Both in childhood discoursed before teachers.
(5) Jesus and Buddha were considered to be divine beings. Buddha is regarded by the Hindus as the ninth incarnation of the deity Vishnu, following Krishna. But Buddha started a new religion which did not emphasize "gods," but rather how people can become "awakened" or "enlightened" to liberate themselves from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth."
(6) The mission of both Buddha and Jesus was proclaimed by a voice from heaven.
(7) Both fasted in the wilderness and were tempted. Supernatural beings ministered to each of them.
(8) Both called their disciples with the command, "Follow me." Both sent out disciples to spread their teachings. Both performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, fed five hundred men from a "small basket of cakes," and walked on the water.
(9) Buddha was "about 30 years old" when he began his ministry. He fasted "seven times seven nights and days." He had a "band of disciples" who accompanied him. He traveled from place to place and "preached to large multitudes." Bishop Bigandet calls his first sermon the "Sermon on the Mount." At his Renunciation "he forsook father and mother, wife and child." His mission was "to establish the kingdom of righteousness." "Buddha," says Max Mueller, "promised salvation to all; and he commanded his disciples to preach his doctrine in all places and to all men." "Self-conquest and universal charity" are the fundamental principles of his religion. He enjoined humanity, and commanded his followers to conceal their charities. "Return good for evil"; "overcome anger with love"; "love your enemies," were some of his precepts.
(10) Buddha formulated the following commandments. "Not to kill; not to steal; not to lie; not to commit adultery; not to use strong drink." This is a similar teaching attributed to Jesus: "Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother." (Luke 18:20) Christ ignored the literal interpretation of Moses and emphasized a spiritualized interpretation of the whole law taken as a whole which is to practice unconditional love. This is similar to what Buddha did with the current teachings of those days.
(11) Buddha preached on the "Holy Hill." Jesus delivered his sermon on the Mount. The phraseology of the sermons of Buddha and the sermon of Jesus is the same in many instances. Both Buddha and Jesus compared themselves to husbandmen sowing seed. The parable of the prodigal son is found in both Buddhist and Christian scriptures. So is the account of the man born blind. Both use the mustard seed as a simile for smallness. Buddha taught: "Perishable is the city built of sand." Jesus taught: "a foolish man builds his house upon the sand." Both speak of "the rain which falls on the just and on the unjust."
(12) A converted courtesan, Mary Magdalene, followed Jesus. A converted courtesan, Ambapali, followed Buddha.
(13) It is said that he crushed a serpent's head. This is also a Messianic prophecy described in Genesis in the Garden of Eden.
(14) He abolished idolatry, was a "sower of the word," and preached "the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness."
(15) He taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all.
(16) The story of the ruler, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, has its parallel in the story of the rich man who came to Buddha by night.
(17) Both proclaimed kingdoms not of this world. The eternal life promised by Christ corresponds to the eternal peace, Nirvana, promised by Buddha.
(18) Both were transfigured on a mount.
(19) Both made triumphal entries, Christ into Jerusalem, and Buddha into Rajagriba.
(20) Buddha was considered the "good shepherd, the "carpenter, the "infinite and everlasting." Buddha was called the "savior of the world, "light of the world," Supreme Being, and the eternal one.
(21) There is a legend of a traitor connected with each.
(22) Buddha is to return to Earth again to restore the world to order and happiness.
(23) He is the judge of the dead.
(24) Buddha commanded his disciples to preach his gospel to all men. Christ commanded his disciples to do the same. In obedience to these commands the world was filled with missionaries, and largely as the result of this the adherents of these religious systems outnumber those of all others combined.
(25) Shortly after Buddha died, two sects of Buddhism were formed. After 400 years there were twenty different sects of Buddhism. Today there are many more. Over the millennia, the teachings of both Jesus and Buddha has spawned many different sects. Each is an attempt to keep the teachings alive under new circumstances. In 1947 in Egypt, early Christian documents were discovered which were hidden for thousands of years at the time when orders from the Church called for all heretical documents to be destroyed. One of those documents was the Gospel of Thomas which is considered by scholars to be the earliest gospel ever written and the most reliable. The Gospel of Thomas resonates with a type of Christianity that remarkably resembles Buddhism. It describes Jesus teaching the disciples how to become liberated from reincarnation. The writings of early Christianity discovered in 1947, show that early Christianity contained much more diversity of viewpoint and practice than later Christians acknowledged or even imagined. Because these teachings were smothered, many Christians today are adamant that the only path to God is via the personality of Jesus and this was considered the orthodox formula.
(26) Connected with the triumphs of these two religions there is a historical correlation worthy of mentioning. About three centuries after Buddha's death, Asoka the Great, emperor of India, converted to the Buddhist faith and made Buddhism the state religion of the empire of India at that time. This emperor did more than any other person to secure Buddhism's supremacy in the East. In the same way, about three centuries after the death of Jesus, Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome, became a convert to the Christian faith and made it the state religion of his empire. Because of this, Christianity reigned supreme in the West.
(27) Remuset says: "Buddhism has been called the Christianity of the East." It would be more appropriate to call Christianity the Buddhism of the West. Buddha, and not Christ, was "The Light of Asia." At this torch Christians lighted their taper and called it "The Light of the World."
(28) Catholic Bishop Bigandet, one of the leading Christian writers on Buddhism wrote: "In reading the particulars of the life of Buddha it is impossible not to feel reminded of many circumstances relating to our Savior's life as sketched by the evangelists. It may be said in favor of Buddhism that no philosophic-religious system has ever upheld to an equal degree the notions of a savior and deliverer, and the necessity of his mission for procuring the salvation of man."
(29) Bishop Jean Paul Hilaire wrote: "He [Buddha] requires humility, disregard of worldly wealth, patience and resignation in adversity, love to enemies ... non-resistance to evil, confession of sins and conversion."
(30) Paul Ambroise Bigandet, the Catholic Bishop of Ramatha, wrote: "There are many moral precepts equally commanded and enforced in common by both creeds. It will not be rash to assert that most of the moral truths prescribed in the gospel are to be met with in the Buddhistic scriptures."
(31) The rituals and religious structure of Catholicism resembles to a remarkable degree after those of Northern Buddhism (Lamaism) which the Encyclopedia Britannica states: "Lamaisnu with its shaven priests, its bells and rosaries, its images and holy water, its popes and bishops, its abbots and monks of many grades, its processions and feast days, its confessional and purgatory, and its worship of the double Virgin, so strongly resembles Romanism that the first Catholic missionaries thought it must be an imitation by the devil of the religion of Christ." The central object in every Buddhist temple is an image of Buddha The central object in every Catholic church is an image of Christ. Holy relics and the veneration of saints are prominent in both.
Identical Teachings
(1) "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31)
"Consider others as yourself." (Dhammapada 10:1)
(2) "If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also." (Luke 6:29)
"If anyone should give you a blow with his hand, with a stick, or with a knife, you should abandon any desires and utter no evil words." (Majjhima Nikaya 21:6)
(3) "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. From anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them back." (Luke 6:27-30)
"Hatreds do not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love: this is an eternal truth. Overcome anger by love, overcome evil by good ... Overcome the miser by giving, overcome the liar by truth." (Dhammapada 1.5 & 17.3)
(4) "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." (Matt. 25:45)
"If you do not tend one another, then who is there to tend to you? Whoever would tend me, he should tend the sick." (Vinaya, Mahavagga 8:26:3)
(5) "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take the sword shall perish by the sword." (Matt. 26:52)
"Abandoning the taking of life, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from taking life, without stick or sword." (Digha Nikaya 1:1:8)
(6) "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friend." (John 15:12-13)
"Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world." (Sutta Nipata 149-150)
(7) "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
"The body of the Buddha is born of love, patience, gentleness and truth." (Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra 2)
(8) "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (Matt. 13:31-32)
"Do not underestimate good, thinking it will not affect you. Dripping water can fill a pitcher, drop by drop; one who is wise is filled with good, even if one accumulates it little by little." (Dhammapada 9:7)
(9) "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Friend, let me take the speck out of your eye," when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye." (Luke 6:41-42)
"The faults of others are easier to see than one's own; the faults of others are easily seen, for they are sifted like chaff, but one's own faults are hard to see. This is like the cheat who hides his dice and shows the dice of his opponent, calling attention to the other's shortcomings, continually thinking of accusing him." (Undanavarga 27:1)
(10) "They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" He said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:4-7)
"Do not look at the faults of others, or what others have done or not done; observe what you yourself have done and have not done." (Dhammapada 4:7)
(11) "Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is full of darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays." (Luke 11: 34-36)
"As a man with eyes who carries a lamp sees all objects, so too with one who has heard the Moral Law. He will become perfectly wise." (Udanavarga 22:4)
(12) "Your father in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (Matt. 5:45)
"That great cloud rains down on all whether their nature is superior or inferior. The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low." (Sadharmapundarika Sutra 5)
(13) "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20)
"Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods." (Dhammapada 15:4)
(14) "If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." (Matt.19:21)
"The avaricious do not go to heaven, the foolish do not extol charity. The wise one, however, rejoicing in charity, becomes thereby happy in the beyond." (Dhammapada 13:11)
(15) "He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)
"Giving is the noble expression of the benevolence of the mighty. Even dust, given in childish innocence, is a good gift. No gift that is given in good faith to a worthy recipient can be called small; it effects us so great." (Jatakamala 3:23)
(16) "Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:26)
"Those who have sufficient faith in me, sufficient love for me, are all headed for heaven or beyond." (Majjhima Nikaya 22:47)
(17) "Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." (Mark 8:35)
"With the relinquishing of all thought and egotism, the enlightened one is liberated through not clinging." (Majjhima Nikaya 72:15)
(18) "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matt. 8:20)
"The thoughtful exert themselves; they do not delight in an abode. Like swans who have left their lake they leave their house and home." (Majjhima Nikaya)
(19) "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:13)
"During the six years that the Bodhisattva practiced austerities, the demon followed behind him step by step, seeking an opportunity to harm him. But he found no opportunity whatsoever and went away discouraged and discontent." (Lalitavistara Sutra 18)
(20) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matt. 5:8)
"Anyone who enters into meditation on compassion can see Brahma with his own eyes, talk to him face to face and consult with him." (Digha Nikaya 19:43)
(21) "Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them." (John 20:26)
"He goes unhindered through a wall." (Anugattara Nikaya 3:60)
(22) "And after six days Jesus takes with him Peter, and James, and John, and leads them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on Earth can white them." (Mark 9:2-3)
"Ananda, having arranged one set of golden robes on the body of the Lord, observed that against the Lord's body it appeared dulled. And he said, "It is wonderful, Lord, it is marvelous how clear and bright the Lord's skin appears! It looks even brighter than the golden robes in which it is clothed." (Digha Nikaya 16:4:37)
Near-Death Experience Revelations Concerning Buddha and Jesus
Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience in 1982. He was dead for over an hour and a half after dying of cancer. At the time of his death, he rose up out of his body and went into the light. Curious about the universe, he was taken far into the remote depths of existence, and even beyond, into the energetic void of nothingness behind the Big Bang. During his experience, he was able to learn a great deal of information concerning reincarnation and the identity of the "Being of Light." His experience reveals an interesting connection between Buddha and Jesus. The following information is an excerpt from his near-death experience.
"There was this light shining. I turned toward the light. The light was very similar to what many other people have described in their near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms.
"As I began to move toward the light, I knew intuitively that if I went to the light, I would be dead.
"So as I was moving toward the light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go."
"To my surprise, the entire experience halted at that point. You are indeed in control of your near-death experience. You are not on a roller coaster ride. So my request was honored and I had some conversations with the light. The light kept changing into different figures, like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs.
"I asked the light, "What is going on here? Please, light, clarify yourself for me. I really want to know the reality of the situation."
"I cannot really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy. The light responded. The information transferred to me was that your beliefs shape the kind of feedback you are getting before the light. If you were a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most people do not."
Comment: Mr. Benedict's near-death revelation suggests that not only are the Higher Selves of Jesus, Buddha and Krishna, one and the same, but all of humanity's Higher Selves are one and the same. Perhaps we are different aspects of the same Higher Spirit.
Edgar Cayce had many near-death experience and revealed information about ancient religions which have been affirmed to be true. The following are some of the revelations he received concerning the connection between Buddha and Jesus.
Christian Gnosticism is the highest form of Christianity according to the Cayce revelations. A close study of Christian Gnosticism shows that this early form of Christianity is more similar to Buddhism than it is to traditional Christianity. For example, both religions teach:
(a) reincarnation, (b) a philosophy of life on Earth as suffering for which we must be liberated, (c) the oneness of all things, (d) the divine light, (e) various afterlife realms to journey through, (f) the human goal of attaining Christhood is identical to the goal of attaining Buddhahood, (g) the distinction between Jesus (the human) to Christ (the spirit of human-divine unity) and the distinction between Buddha (the human) and Dharmakaya (the Clear Light of Ultimate Reality), (h) the concept of karma, (i) and the importance of good works. This is not a complete list.
Other revelations from Cayce are that someday in the future, China will become the "cradle of Civilization." Those who are not familiar with the Cayce revelations are certain that this revelation about China and Christianity has to be false. But, as we have just seen, Buddhism is closer to true Christianity as traditional Christianity itself. If Buddhism flourishes once again in China as it once did for thousands of years, I am sure that this revelation of China being "Christian" will become true.
Cayce revealed that the Christ spirit (the spirit of human-divine unity) constitutes the impelling force and core of truth behind all religions that teach that "God is One" and "all is one". This includes Confucianism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Judaism, Platonism, Christianity and Islam.
And finally, Buddha represents the "Way" to Enlightenment as Jesus represents the "Way" to the Father.
"By giving away food we get more strength. By bestowing clothing on others we gain more beauty. By donating abodes of purity and truth we acquire great treasures." Buddha
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." - Jesus...........................from near-death.com
Buddhism teaches that the practice of good religious and moral behavior can lead to Nirvana (i.e., the state of enlightenment, kingdom of God within). To attain Nirvana, a person must be subjected to the cycle of reincarnation to a lifetimes that are good or bad depending on one's actions (i.e., "karma", "eye for an eye"). The goal of Buddhism is to achieve liberation from this cycle of birth and rebirth. The Buddhist view of life in this world is summarized in what is called "the four noble truths." They are (1) This world is a world of suffering. (2) Desire and the belief in the importance of one's self causes suffering. (3) The attainment of Nirvana ends this suffering. (4) Nirvana is attained only by following the path of righteousness in action, thought, attitude, and meditation. As it was with Jesus, the Buddha had a community of disciples to carry on his teachings.
Identical Life Experiences
(1) Buddha was born of the virgin Mahamaya, who was considered the "Queen of Heaven." Dean Milman, in his "History of Christianity," stated that "Buddha, according to a tradition known in the West, was born of a virgin" (Vol. I, p. 99, note). Mary and Mahamaya all gave birth to their children among strangers. He was visited by wise men who recognized the divinity of the child. He was of royal descent and his birth was announced by a star.
(2) Werner's Encyclopedia, in its article on Buddha speaks of "the marvelous stories which gathered round the belief in his voluntary incarnation, the miracles at his birth, the prophecies of the aged saint at his formal presentation to his father, and how nature altered her course to keep a shadow over his cradle, whilst the sages from afar came and worshiped him."
(3) Both Jesus and Buddha were presented in the temple as infants for baptism. The hymns uttered at both annunciations resemble each other.
(4) Both in childhood discoursed before teachers.
(5) Jesus and Buddha were considered to be divine beings. Buddha is regarded by the Hindus as the ninth incarnation of the deity Vishnu, following Krishna. But Buddha started a new religion which did not emphasize "gods," but rather how people can become "awakened" or "enlightened" to liberate themselves from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth."
(6) The mission of both Buddha and Jesus was proclaimed by a voice from heaven.
(7) Both fasted in the wilderness and were tempted. Supernatural beings ministered to each of them.
(8) Both called their disciples with the command, "Follow me." Both sent out disciples to spread their teachings. Both performed miracles and wonders, healed the sick, fed five hundred men from a "small basket of cakes," and walked on the water.
(9) Buddha was "about 30 years old" when he began his ministry. He fasted "seven times seven nights and days." He had a "band of disciples" who accompanied him. He traveled from place to place and "preached to large multitudes." Bishop Bigandet calls his first sermon the "Sermon on the Mount." At his Renunciation "he forsook father and mother, wife and child." His mission was "to establish the kingdom of righteousness." "Buddha," says Max Mueller, "promised salvation to all; and he commanded his disciples to preach his doctrine in all places and to all men." "Self-conquest and universal charity" are the fundamental principles of his religion. He enjoined humanity, and commanded his followers to conceal their charities. "Return good for evil"; "overcome anger with love"; "love your enemies," were some of his precepts.
(10) Buddha formulated the following commandments. "Not to kill; not to steal; not to lie; not to commit adultery; not to use strong drink." This is a similar teaching attributed to Jesus: "Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother." (Luke 18:20) Christ ignored the literal interpretation of Moses and emphasized a spiritualized interpretation of the whole law taken as a whole which is to practice unconditional love. This is similar to what Buddha did with the current teachings of those days.
(11) Buddha preached on the "Holy Hill." Jesus delivered his sermon on the Mount. The phraseology of the sermons of Buddha and the sermon of Jesus is the same in many instances. Both Buddha and Jesus compared themselves to husbandmen sowing seed. The parable of the prodigal son is found in both Buddhist and Christian scriptures. So is the account of the man born blind. Both use the mustard seed as a simile for smallness. Buddha taught: "Perishable is the city built of sand." Jesus taught: "a foolish man builds his house upon the sand." Both speak of "the rain which falls on the just and on the unjust."
(12) A converted courtesan, Mary Magdalene, followed Jesus. A converted courtesan, Ambapali, followed Buddha.
(13) It is said that he crushed a serpent's head. This is also a Messianic prophecy described in Genesis in the Garden of Eden.
(14) He abolished idolatry, was a "sower of the word," and preached "the establishment of a kingdom of righteousness."
(15) He taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all.
(16) The story of the ruler, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night, has its parallel in the story of the rich man who came to Buddha by night.
(17) Both proclaimed kingdoms not of this world. The eternal life promised by Christ corresponds to the eternal peace, Nirvana, promised by Buddha.
(18) Both were transfigured on a mount.
(19) Both made triumphal entries, Christ into Jerusalem, and Buddha into Rajagriba.
(20) Buddha was considered the "good shepherd, the "carpenter, the "infinite and everlasting." Buddha was called the "savior of the world, "light of the world," Supreme Being, and the eternal one.
(21) There is a legend of a traitor connected with each.
(22) Buddha is to return to Earth again to restore the world to order and happiness.
(23) He is the judge of the dead.
(24) Buddha commanded his disciples to preach his gospel to all men. Christ commanded his disciples to do the same. In obedience to these commands the world was filled with missionaries, and largely as the result of this the adherents of these religious systems outnumber those of all others combined.
(25) Shortly after Buddha died, two sects of Buddhism were formed. After 400 years there were twenty different sects of Buddhism. Today there are many more. Over the millennia, the teachings of both Jesus and Buddha has spawned many different sects. Each is an attempt to keep the teachings alive under new circumstances. In 1947 in Egypt, early Christian documents were discovered which were hidden for thousands of years at the time when orders from the Church called for all heretical documents to be destroyed. One of those documents was the Gospel of Thomas which is considered by scholars to be the earliest gospel ever written and the most reliable. The Gospel of Thomas resonates with a type of Christianity that remarkably resembles Buddhism. It describes Jesus teaching the disciples how to become liberated from reincarnation. The writings of early Christianity discovered in 1947, show that early Christianity contained much more diversity of viewpoint and practice than later Christians acknowledged or even imagined. Because these teachings were smothered, many Christians today are adamant that the only path to God is via the personality of Jesus and this was considered the orthodox formula.
(26) Connected with the triumphs of these two religions there is a historical correlation worthy of mentioning. About three centuries after Buddha's death, Asoka the Great, emperor of India, converted to the Buddhist faith and made Buddhism the state religion of the empire of India at that time. This emperor did more than any other person to secure Buddhism's supremacy in the East. In the same way, about three centuries after the death of Jesus, Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome, became a convert to the Christian faith and made it the state religion of his empire. Because of this, Christianity reigned supreme in the West.
(27) Remuset says: "Buddhism has been called the Christianity of the East." It would be more appropriate to call Christianity the Buddhism of the West. Buddha, and not Christ, was "The Light of Asia." At this torch Christians lighted their taper and called it "The Light of the World."
(28) Catholic Bishop Bigandet, one of the leading Christian writers on Buddhism wrote: "In reading the particulars of the life of Buddha it is impossible not to feel reminded of many circumstances relating to our Savior's life as sketched by the evangelists. It may be said in favor of Buddhism that no philosophic-religious system has ever upheld to an equal degree the notions of a savior and deliverer, and the necessity of his mission for procuring the salvation of man."
(29) Bishop Jean Paul Hilaire wrote: "He [Buddha] requires humility, disregard of worldly wealth, patience and resignation in adversity, love to enemies ... non-resistance to evil, confession of sins and conversion."
(30) Paul Ambroise Bigandet, the Catholic Bishop of Ramatha, wrote: "There are many moral precepts equally commanded and enforced in common by both creeds. It will not be rash to assert that most of the moral truths prescribed in the gospel are to be met with in the Buddhistic scriptures."
(31) The rituals and religious structure of Catholicism resembles to a remarkable degree after those of Northern Buddhism (Lamaism) which the Encyclopedia Britannica states: "Lamaisnu with its shaven priests, its bells and rosaries, its images and holy water, its popes and bishops, its abbots and monks of many grades, its processions and feast days, its confessional and purgatory, and its worship of the double Virgin, so strongly resembles Romanism that the first Catholic missionaries thought it must be an imitation by the devil of the religion of Christ." The central object in every Buddhist temple is an image of Buddha The central object in every Catholic church is an image of Christ. Holy relics and the veneration of saints are prominent in both.
Identical Teachings
(1) "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31)
"Consider others as yourself." (Dhammapada 10:1)
(2) "If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also." (Luke 6:29)
"If anyone should give you a blow with his hand, with a stick, or with a knife, you should abandon any desires and utter no evil words." (Majjhima Nikaya 21:6)
(3) "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. From anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them back." (Luke 6:27-30)
"Hatreds do not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love: this is an eternal truth. Overcome anger by love, overcome evil by good ... Overcome the miser by giving, overcome the liar by truth." (Dhammapada 1.5 & 17.3)
(4) "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." (Matt. 25:45)
"If you do not tend one another, then who is there to tend to you? Whoever would tend me, he should tend the sick." (Vinaya, Mahavagga 8:26:3)
(5) "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take the sword shall perish by the sword." (Matt. 26:52)
"Abandoning the taking of life, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from taking life, without stick or sword." (Digha Nikaya 1:1:8)
(6) "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friend." (John 15:12-13)
"Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world." (Sutta Nipata 149-150)
(7) "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
"The body of the Buddha is born of love, patience, gentleness and truth." (Vimalakirtinirdesha Sutra 2)
(8) "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." (Matt. 13:31-32)
"Do not underestimate good, thinking it will not affect you. Dripping water can fill a pitcher, drop by drop; one who is wise is filled with good, even if one accumulates it little by little." (Dhammapada 9:7)
(9) "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Friend, let me take the speck out of your eye," when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye." (Luke 6:41-42)
"The faults of others are easier to see than one's own; the faults of others are easily seen, for they are sifted like chaff, but one's own faults are hard to see. This is like the cheat who hides his dice and shows the dice of his opponent, calling attention to the other's shortcomings, continually thinking of accusing him." (Undanavarga 27:1)
(10) "They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" He said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:4-7)
"Do not look at the faults of others, or what others have done or not done; observe what you yourself have done and have not done." (Dhammapada 4:7)
(11) "Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is full of darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays." (Luke 11: 34-36)
"As a man with eyes who carries a lamp sees all objects, so too with one who has heard the Moral Law. He will become perfectly wise." (Udanavarga 22:4)
(12) "Your father in heaven makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (Matt. 5:45)
"That great cloud rains down on all whether their nature is superior or inferior. The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low." (Sadharmapundarika Sutra 5)
(13) "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20)
"Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods." (Dhammapada 15:4)
(14) "If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." (Matt.19:21)
"The avaricious do not go to heaven, the foolish do not extol charity. The wise one, however, rejoicing in charity, becomes thereby happy in the beyond." (Dhammapada 13:11)
(15) "He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)
"Giving is the noble expression of the benevolence of the mighty. Even dust, given in childish innocence, is a good gift. No gift that is given in good faith to a worthy recipient can be called small; it effects us so great." (Jatakamala 3:23)
(16) "Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:26)
"Those who have sufficient faith in me, sufficient love for me, are all headed for heaven or beyond." (Majjhima Nikaya 22:47)
(17) "Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." (Mark 8:35)
"With the relinquishing of all thought and egotism, the enlightened one is liberated through not clinging." (Majjhima Nikaya 72:15)
(18) "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matt. 8:20)
"The thoughtful exert themselves; they do not delight in an abode. Like swans who have left their lake they leave their house and home." (Majjhima Nikaya)
(19) "When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time." (Luke 4:13)
"During the six years that the Bodhisattva practiced austerities, the demon followed behind him step by step, seeking an opportunity to harm him. But he found no opportunity whatsoever and went away discouraged and discontent." (Lalitavistara Sutra 18)
(20) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matt. 5:8)
"Anyone who enters into meditation on compassion can see Brahma with his own eyes, talk to him face to face and consult with him." (Digha Nikaya 19:43)
(21) "Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them." (John 20:26)
"He goes unhindered through a wall." (Anugattara Nikaya 3:60)
(22) "And after six days Jesus takes with him Peter, and James, and John, and leads them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on Earth can white them." (Mark 9:2-3)
"Ananda, having arranged one set of golden robes on the body of the Lord, observed that against the Lord's body it appeared dulled. And he said, "It is wonderful, Lord, it is marvelous how clear and bright the Lord's skin appears! It looks even brighter than the golden robes in which it is clothed." (Digha Nikaya 16:4:37)
Near-Death Experience Revelations Concerning Buddha and Jesus
Mellen-Thomas Benedict is an artist who survived a near-death experience in 1982. He was dead for over an hour and a half after dying of cancer. At the time of his death, he rose up out of his body and went into the light. Curious about the universe, he was taken far into the remote depths of existence, and even beyond, into the energetic void of nothingness behind the Big Bang. During his experience, he was able to learn a great deal of information concerning reincarnation and the identity of the "Being of Light." His experience reveals an interesting connection between Buddha and Jesus. The following information is an excerpt from his near-death experience.
"There was this light shining. I turned toward the light. The light was very similar to what many other people have described in their near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms.
"As I began to move toward the light, I knew intuitively that if I went to the light, I would be dead.
"So as I was moving toward the light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go."
"To my surprise, the entire experience halted at that point. You are indeed in control of your near-death experience. You are not on a roller coaster ride. So my request was honored and I had some conversations with the light. The light kept changing into different figures, like Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, mandalas, archetypal images and signs.
"I asked the light, "What is going on here? Please, light, clarify yourself for me. I really want to know the reality of the situation."
"I cannot really say the exact words, because it was sort of telepathy. The light responded. The information transferred to me was that your beliefs shape the kind of feedback you are getting before the light. If you were a Buddhist or Catholic or Fundamentalist, you get a feedback loop of your own stuff. You have a chance to look at it and examine it, but most people do not."
Comment: Mr. Benedict's near-death revelation suggests that not only are the Higher Selves of Jesus, Buddha and Krishna, one and the same, but all of humanity's Higher Selves are one and the same. Perhaps we are different aspects of the same Higher Spirit.
Edgar Cayce had many near-death experience and revealed information about ancient religions which have been affirmed to be true. The following are some of the revelations he received concerning the connection between Buddha and Jesus.
Christian Gnosticism is the highest form of Christianity according to the Cayce revelations. A close study of Christian Gnosticism shows that this early form of Christianity is more similar to Buddhism than it is to traditional Christianity. For example, both religions teach:
(a) reincarnation, (b) a philosophy of life on Earth as suffering for which we must be liberated, (c) the oneness of all things, (d) the divine light, (e) various afterlife realms to journey through, (f) the human goal of attaining Christhood is identical to the goal of attaining Buddhahood, (g) the distinction between Jesus (the human) to Christ (the spirit of human-divine unity) and the distinction between Buddha (the human) and Dharmakaya (the Clear Light of Ultimate Reality), (h) the concept of karma, (i) and the importance of good works. This is not a complete list.
Other revelations from Cayce are that someday in the future, China will become the "cradle of Civilization." Those who are not familiar with the Cayce revelations are certain that this revelation about China and Christianity has to be false. But, as we have just seen, Buddhism is closer to true Christianity as traditional Christianity itself. If Buddhism flourishes once again in China as it once did for thousands of years, I am sure that this revelation of China being "Christian" will become true.
Cayce revealed that the Christ spirit (the spirit of human-divine unity) constitutes the impelling force and core of truth behind all religions that teach that "God is One" and "all is one". This includes Confucianism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Judaism, Platonism, Christianity and Islam.
And finally, Buddha represents the "Way" to Enlightenment as Jesus represents the "Way" to the Father.
"By giving away food we get more strength. By bestowing clothing on others we gain more beauty. By donating abodes of purity and truth we acquire great treasures." Buddha
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." - Jesus...........................from near-death.com
Part 2 Realization of Oneness Herb Fitch...
Part 2
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Now generally we take quotations right out of the book here, you know, and we discuss them. But before we go into that this week, I'd like to do something else. I'd like to suggest something you may not be doing.
Now, you'll notice that at the bottom of every page, wherever there's a biblical quotation, the editor has taken the time to tell you where this quotation comes from. If its 2 Chronicles 3 why they don't just give you the quotation, they tell you where from. And all the way through, you have these quotations in the text. And although on the original letters some of the quotations were not annotated at the bottom, in the book they are. And so lets not let that go unnoticed.
In fact, to call it to your attention what I've done then is I've taken a little sheet and I've just jotted down all the quotations from the Bible in this chapter, and where they're from. And the reason we're going to discuss them today instead of quotations other than biblical ones, is I'd like you to develop this habit of reading.
Our basic purpose is to overcome the false mortal sense of matter. And as you try to do that with your thinking mind, you're going to find failure is inevitable. These little words from the Bible are the way you do it. You grip hold of them just as hard as you can and you study them. And you find that the words of Christ are the only way that you can overcome the belief in matter.
In other words, your consciousness is at a crossroad. Is the world-mind life stream entering and is the divine life stream entering? And you've got the wheat and the tares. And to keep out the world-mind you must have truth in consciousness. So that every lie of the world-mind that hits your consciousness hits a truth, which nullifies that lie, rejects it, turns it away and sends it back. So that it has absolutely no power in your consciousness to stay there or to persuade you or tempt you that you're in an imperfect universe.
Truth in consciousness - now what truth should you put in your consciousness? Do you know a better truth than the words of God expressed through the Christ? What good are my words? What good is the opinion of any human being? If I go not away how can the Comforter come unto you? The Comforter is Christ in you. The words of Christ in you are the truth in consciousness. And until you can hear Christ in you, you must take Christ in the Bible - because that was Christ in Jesus, that was Christ in the prophets, that was Christ in Moses, and Christ in Joel Goldsmith.
But basically Christ in you is your goal. And to lead you to Christ in you are the words of Christ out here in the Bible. You see those words were put there for that purpose – to lead you to Christ in you. And how can you then ignore those words? Or even read them quickly and say "Oh yes, that's true." That's not it at all. These aren't words to remember. These are words to be fed into your soul, not to remember with your mind.
These words, fed into your soul, become a living Bible. And the world-mind approaching you is unable to penetrate to defile or maketh a lie. The seeds of evil, of falsity, of disease and disaster that are presented to your subconscious mind, at the unconscious level of your mind are placed there by the world-mind. But there is no consciousness in you to receive them and you do it all without effort. You do nothing. You do not concern yourself with world-mind; you concern yourself with truth in consciousness.
Now, a very interesting thing happened. An individual said to me, a very fine student, one who has caught the meaning of the Word. "Do you believe?" he said, "That this is possible? I have come to a realization that only the presence of God is here. Is that possible?"
Now, that's a mighty important revelation – only the presence of God is here. But the question was "Is that right?" And I had to answer this way. "It was right when Jesus discovered it. Didn't you believe him? Did you have to prove it to yourself? Did you have to wait fifty years to prove it, when it's the Word of God given on this earth? What are we waiting for? Are we going to spend more life times proving that his words are the truth? Of course it's the truth!"
But it was the truth two thousand years ago when he said it. And it was the truth thirty five hundred years ago when Moses said it. And when Isaiah said it "Is there another God beside Me? I know not any." I am that I am, there is no other. I and the Father are one, because there is no other. Isn't that the revelation of the allness of the presence - that the only presence here is the presence? Only the presence is present.
Why should that come as a great surprise to us when it's been in scripture all this time? And think of the time we could save and the effort, and the suffering and the tribulation, if we would simply say, "The Christ said it. I don't want to prove it; I want to live by it. I'm not going to run around with the mind to try to spend fifty years to find out if its true or not. I could spend that fifty years living it out."
That's why these quotations from the Bible are so vital. You don't have to prove them. Are you going to prove that God told the truth? They're given to you so that you can trust them now. Before you can hear them within yourself they're given to you out here in the Bible for you to hear them there. And say "Amen. So be it."
Now, that word of the Father spoken through Christ in the Bible becomes your shepherd. You follow it. You believe it. You act with total faith in it. And it's going to lead you to the Comforter within yourself. There's no other way to find the Comforter within. First you accept the Comforter without. Listen and you'll see what I mean.
Take this one from Deuteronomy. And these are all out of the first chapter called "Pure Being" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind. Now we've heard that five million times. But we don't understand the meaning of loving the Lord. And you can tell by the things we do and say that we don't love the Lord. To love the Lord thy God means to accept a perfect God. A perfect God doesn't make anything imperfect.
When you accept imperfection you're not loving the Lord thy God. You're doing the very opposite. You're saying "The Lord my God did not create a perfect this or a perfect that." And that's what the meaning of love was intended to counteract – this human tendency. With all thy heart, mind and soul is the total acceptance that only God is. There's nothing but divinity. There's nothing but divine substance. There's nothing but divine life. That's how you love the Lord thy God.
Humanly you might love somebody but say "I love him but he's kind of a dunce when you get down to it." But you couldn't do that about God. To love the Lord Thy God is to accept the infinite perfection of God, to accept the total nature of God. You cannot love the Lord thy God and deny the perfect nature of God in any way. And so the minute you've found an evil on the earth you are denying the nature of God.
The nature of God is to be all knowing. When you've found an evil you are saying, "God doesn't know about this evil." Or even worse you're saying, "Here's the evil and God does know about it, but God's not doing something about it, so I will do it. We will form a movement to do this thing that God isn't doing. Because that's what God wants us to do."
Now, you know that's wrong. If God wanted it done, why would God ask you to do it? Why wouldn't it have been done? And it has been done. It has been done perfectly and your acceptance of an evil that you are going to counteract is your un-knowledge or lack of knowledge, your ignorance of the nature of God. There is no evil for you to counteract. Your belief that its there, is the way you are not loving the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind and soul. You're denying the presence of God where you have found the evil. You're denying the omnipotence of God where you have found evil.
You can't say, "I believe in God's nature as being omnipotent but God isn't doing something about this condition." Now omnipotence would have done something about that condition before you discovered it, so what have you discovered? You have been fooled by sense images. They're very real to you – so real that they make you not love the Lord thy God. They make you deny the omnipotence and the omnipresence of God, and the omniscience of God, the qualities of God.
And so you have God permitting somebody to poison His people. You have God permitting somebody to pollute His atmosphere, but it isn't His atmosphere. That's why you think it's polluted, because you thought it was His atmosphere; it isn't. If it were His atmosphere, how could anybody pollute His atmosphere if God is omnipotent? It would be impossible.
How could anybody suffer a disease of any kind if God were omnipotent? And so, what you're saying then is "I have this thing, God is not omnipotent." Or you're going all the way out with the church message that God is punishing you or him or her or that stillborn baby, that God was punishing that baby too. And God was punishing that mongoloid and that imbecile and that one and that one. Ridiculous, of course. There's nobody to punish. There's only God being.
To love the Lord thy God then with all thy heart, mind and soul means to accept that there's only God being. Then who are you? I and the Father are one; one being. Then who is sick? The image you have conceived of yourself, because you were asleep and the world-mind planted an image in your mind. And that mind being very versatile, a perfect mirror of the world-mind - it showed it forth as a perfect reflection of the lie - a perfect Xerox copy of the lie.
And you parade around and you say, "I've got this." Where's God? Why isn't God taking it away from you? Why isn't God making you better? For the simple reason that God has already done just that. God has already made you a perfect being. And so be ye perfect.
Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart by rejecting every idea, however it may seem total that you are sick or suffering or lacking or anything of that nature. It's a lie. It isn't loving God. Its not understanding that to love God means to understand the nature of God. You cannot love what you do not understand. The nature of God is perfection in all things.
The nature of God is one, one body. There is only one body and it isn't sick. There's only one substance, it isn't sick. There's only one life, it isn't sick. What is sick? Nothing. N-o-t-h-i-n-g is sick. That's all that can be sick is nothing. And if you persist in thinking that the image is something, it can be sick. Because when you have an image that you think is something, that is what idolatry is all about.
Now, you can take a dumb piece of stone or a dumb piece of wood and pray to that. Or you can take a dumb image and pray to that. Or you can go to the kingdom of God within you and you find you don't have to pray. The consciousness of the Father is your consciousness. The acceptance of that consciousness where you are, as present, alive, alert, intelligent, all-knowing, all-powerful is your guarantee that right now here I am on holy ground.
God is right here. The omnipotence of God is preventing any possibility to that perfection from being less than Itself. The all-knowing mind is perfectly patrolling It's kingdom right here. You're accepting yourself to be the essence of God. And it's essence being pure, perfect forever, to love God is to accept that that which the Father is, His essence, I am and therefore I am pure, perfect forever.
You can't love God and not accept His substance to be your substance. That's the meaning of love fulfills the law. You're accepting God to be your substance, your very being. And then all of you that is not God - get out of it! Get out of the mind that is not God's mind! Get out of the body that is not God's body! Get out of the life that is not God's life! There isn't God life and your life. There is God life, the essence, the perfect essence, being your perfect life. The one you're living in that you think is imperfect is fiction. There is no such life.
And that's the meaning then in Deuteronomy. And that's why, when you come across a passage of the Christ you must not remember it, you must take it into your consciousness and dwell with it.
Now, if we were to go through this chapter or this book in twelve easy lessons, we would have a fine memory course. You can't take the word of Christ that quickly; you've got to abide with it. I must love the Lord my God. I must accept the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul. There's nothing left that I've got to accept with. So how can I accept anything else? There's no room except to accept the Lord. In other words, accept the allness of God.
Do you see that change in consciousness that begins to demand of you "What else am I accepting beside the presence of God? That's got to go! The images out here are going to keep knocking at my door needing help, unless I get into this change of consciousness, which recognizes only God is present. The only presence on this earth is the presence of God. Only the presence is present. Only God is present." Deny it and you're not loving God with all your heart, mind and soul.
So, instead of remembering the quotation, remember the Christ of your being spoke it through Moses. And so get back into your invisible consciousness. Take these phrases and dwell there with these phrases. Explore them. Let them communicate to you. Open them up like a fan and examine every word. Spend time with them. They will become your inner Bible. And then when you have fanned them out and let them speak to you, be still. And they will speak again, in another tongue. In that stillness they will be planted as seeds in your consciousness, just as the seeds of the tares were planted by the world-mind. And let the lie come to you again; it will find that in you is the truth, which nullifies the lie.
And out there in the image world you'll find the divine beginning to express in those images in your world. The uninterrupted flow of the substance of truth in consciousness opens up the capacity of your consciousness to receive the living substance from the Father. The soul feeds you. The mind responding to soul no longer projects the duality of the world-mind.
You don't have to think and think and think; and plan and plan. These words will do it for you if you will live with them, not in your mind but deeper. They will take you to the `above' universe. They are the messengers. They are the way that the way-shower uses to take you out of mind into soul. And so that's why we're discussing them this carefully this time.
Every time you see a footnote saying Luke 15: 27 if you pass it by, don't pretend to yourself that you read that chapter. You didn't. You read it like people read, but not like students of spirit. And that's why we don't read five books and say, "I've read five books of Goldsmith, or I've read them all." We don't do it that way. We sip, we cogitate, we contemplate, we commune. We let these phrases become an integral part of our being. We let them rejoin the Christ within who uttered them in the first place.
You see, these words and the Christ of your being are inseparable. They have never been divided. And they return to their source, which is Christ in you. And if you will follow them you will be led right to the Comforter within. Continue in My words and ye shall know the truth. These are My words and they will lead you to the Comforter who is the fountain of all truth. And you'll find you'll take dominion over the world of images. Yes, even over the physical form.
Don't think that we have just walked by and closed our eyes to the things that trouble us. We haven't done that at all. We've simply learned a better way to eliminate from our lives those things, which are not of God. We're not blind to these things at all. We're so aware of them that the complete dedication of the message is to lead you out of this Egypt of the world-mind in which diseases are, in which problems are. We're not unaware of their presence in the world of images; that's all it's filled with. But we don't have to live in them.
We have an invisible paradise. And as we start to love that paradise we see why the Father is greater than I. Remember the tumbler in this chapter, and the glass? The glass is the substance of the tumbler. One is the form and one is the substance. The tumbler is the form, the glass is the substance. And Joel used that to point out the meaning the Father is greater than I. I, the human self out here, am the tumbler. The Father is the glass. Translated spiritually, the Father is the essence and the Christ is the form.
The essence becomes the form. And they are one - they are not separated. And so the Father and I are one and the Father is greater than I. I am the essence of God made into form. What form? Not this visible form - into the form, which is made of the essence. The essence of God is never visible. So I am spiritual form, formed of the essence of God. And that is my name.
And if you listen to a world broadcast and you look at me, you will see a world broadcast in you, which says that I am physical form. And you will believe it. And you will think I am out here as physical form. And you will be listening to the false broadcast. I'm not out here as physical form. And if I look at you, you only seem to be there as physical form. You are the essence of God. That is your name. That is your substance. And the form of you is formed of that essence. And it isn't the form that my eyes can see, because my eyes are also part of the false broadcast. My very senses are part of the false broadcast. My very physical being is that false broadcast made into visibility.
But inside, in my divine consciousness, loving the Father supremely I can shake off the mortal myth. And you can shake off the mortal myth, until you realize that you are standing in the presence of God every moment of your life. And that presence is the essence of your being. Honor it! Love it! And everywhere you look accept only it – not the pollution, not the poison, not the disease, not the lack, not the limitation. Do not honor them by believing that the image world is real. And come back to the mind that was accepting them as real. And see that the mind, which accepts them is also part of the image world. That little brain, which is aware of that which God did not create, is nothing more than an image. It too is part of the world broadcast.
All of this is to lift us out of the level of human mind into the acceptance of these words, which are the words of truth. And we steadfastly hold to their truth, instead of the truth that the human mind tries to bring to us. Why? Because the truth of the human mind is this inner flow from the world-mind, and we catch it at that level.
Put a little box around it and look at it right inside there and you can see why he could say to Pilate "Thou hast no power." Pilate was just a television broadcast to him. Can you fear something on television? Put a box around it and look at it. That's what the world-mind is broadcasting to you all around. It has no power. It can't step out of the box. There is no other power than the power of the One. The essence of God is where the power is and nobody is pushing that power aside.
Now then, you have the power of that essence, which is omnipotent. And so there is nothing that can enter that can be powerful over omnipotence. There's no other power. There's only the power of good, of perfection. And the broadcast fools you, because it comes out sometimes so close to home that you think its real.
Now, these phrases become very meaningful and potent as you see that they're not just sentences written by an author. They are the word of substance. You can trust these phrases. And you can look at whatever you see and know that because God is present, and God is the power, that power is maintaining its own essence right here.
I am perfect now as my Father. And nothing in the world can ever change that – nothing! There can be a lot of broadcasts, a lot of images saying that I'm not. But nothing can change the fact that I am perfect as my Father - never less, because the tumbler is always made of the qualities of the glass. And the child of God is always made of the qualities of the essence of God. So I cannot be less than my Father. Or if I think I'm less then I am not loving God supremely. Because who is there to be less, if God is one? What other one is there to be less?
How could you be less than God, if God is one? I and the Father are one. There's your secret - in so many ways. When you and the Father are one in your consciousness, you are accepting His statement. Not you're going to become one. His secret was learning that I and the Father are one.
Now, you could spend another fifty years to prove it. Or you could simply say, "I and the Father are one. Now what about me is unlike God? Whatever is, is not that one." This arm isn't like God; it can't be my real arm. The brain isn't like God; it can't be your real brain. Your body isn't like God; it can't be your real body. You're out in the image world. Use that image to its advantage, for its purpose. Wherever it is imperfect take yourself back into your invisible consciousness.
Now out here there's arthritis. In your invisible consciousness there must be a belief in arthritis. Do you see that? There must be a belief there or it couldn't be out here. This `out here body' is the mirror through which you see your invisible consciousness. And a belief is in your invisible consciousness. Now why waste time out here with liniments, or with electrical heating? That's relief. Get rid of the belief out here. How do you do it? That's what these words are. Do you believe in here that you can have arthritis, or do you love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind and soul? Do you love the essence of God you accepted as your essence? Does it have arthritis? Can it have arthritis? No, but it is my essence. All right. Take these two and sit here until you accept that essence - and not the conscious belief that you can have arthritis. Because the you that can have it is saying "I'm not that essence."
Do you see where you've come down to the point where you've got to face it? Either I'm that essence of God or I'm accepting myself as something else. As long as you're something else you're in the world. And the world is not God's creation. Then you're asking for trouble. A greater iniquity can come upon you, and a greater one, and a greater one, and a greater one. Because the one and only sin is not knowing and believing and accepting and trusting that you are the essence of God, and therefore the mind, which denies it is a liar. And you will not listen to that mind but you will listen within yourself. For I and the Father are one essence, today, now, this minute, forever - before Abraham, and after the world.
Continuous essence of God is your name. You can be no other. Every word then is to make you consciously drop every belief that denies who you are. In Matthew 5:48 Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. And there's the statement that God is perfect. God is perfect. 5:48 Matthew. But God is the substance of your being is also revealed in I and the Father are one. Now, how can you be imperfect if you're one with the perfect God? To go on believing you can be is to deny the truth. You suffer from the lie.
You cannot be imperfect. And whatever appears to be imperfect where you are is a lie. The suffering isn't happening. The pain isn't happening. It's happening in this distortion of image. Get out of the image back into the consciousness. The consciousness has received a seed or a tare, a lie -below the level of your knowledge. And now it's showing forth as an imperfection. But use the truth in consciousness. God is perfect. I and the Father are one therefore I and perfection are one. How could imperfection enter perfection? It wouldn't be perfect if imperfection could enter it.
I am perfect. Now why am I not experiencing that perfection? Because I haven't quite accepted that God is the only creation, the only power, the only substance, the only law. And I must do it again and again and again in consciousness, until something springs up inside me - a great knowing. This isn't something I have to make happen. It's the is-ness of being, now.
Let's conclude today's class now with a meditation - letting the fullness of what we have learned permeate our being.
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Now generally we take quotations right out of the book here, you know, and we discuss them. But before we go into that this week, I'd like to do something else. I'd like to suggest something you may not be doing.
Now, you'll notice that at the bottom of every page, wherever there's a biblical quotation, the editor has taken the time to tell you where this quotation comes from. If its 2 Chronicles 3 why they don't just give you the quotation, they tell you where from. And all the way through, you have these quotations in the text. And although on the original letters some of the quotations were not annotated at the bottom, in the book they are. And so lets not let that go unnoticed.
In fact, to call it to your attention what I've done then is I've taken a little sheet and I've just jotted down all the quotations from the Bible in this chapter, and where they're from. And the reason we're going to discuss them today instead of quotations other than biblical ones, is I'd like you to develop this habit of reading.
Our basic purpose is to overcome the false mortal sense of matter. And as you try to do that with your thinking mind, you're going to find failure is inevitable. These little words from the Bible are the way you do it. You grip hold of them just as hard as you can and you study them. And you find that the words of Christ are the only way that you can overcome the belief in matter.
In other words, your consciousness is at a crossroad. Is the world-mind life stream entering and is the divine life stream entering? And you've got the wheat and the tares. And to keep out the world-mind you must have truth in consciousness. So that every lie of the world-mind that hits your consciousness hits a truth, which nullifies that lie, rejects it, turns it away and sends it back. So that it has absolutely no power in your consciousness to stay there or to persuade you or tempt you that you're in an imperfect universe.
Truth in consciousness - now what truth should you put in your consciousness? Do you know a better truth than the words of God expressed through the Christ? What good are my words? What good is the opinion of any human being? If I go not away how can the Comforter come unto you? The Comforter is Christ in you. The words of Christ in you are the truth in consciousness. And until you can hear Christ in you, you must take Christ in the Bible - because that was Christ in Jesus, that was Christ in the prophets, that was Christ in Moses, and Christ in Joel Goldsmith.
But basically Christ in you is your goal. And to lead you to Christ in you are the words of Christ out here in the Bible. You see those words were put there for that purpose – to lead you to Christ in you. And how can you then ignore those words? Or even read them quickly and say "Oh yes, that's true." That's not it at all. These aren't words to remember. These are words to be fed into your soul, not to remember with your mind.
These words, fed into your soul, become a living Bible. And the world-mind approaching you is unable to penetrate to defile or maketh a lie. The seeds of evil, of falsity, of disease and disaster that are presented to your subconscious mind, at the unconscious level of your mind are placed there by the world-mind. But there is no consciousness in you to receive them and you do it all without effort. You do nothing. You do not concern yourself with world-mind; you concern yourself with truth in consciousness.
Now, a very interesting thing happened. An individual said to me, a very fine student, one who has caught the meaning of the Word. "Do you believe?" he said, "That this is possible? I have come to a realization that only the presence of God is here. Is that possible?"
Now, that's a mighty important revelation – only the presence of God is here. But the question was "Is that right?" And I had to answer this way. "It was right when Jesus discovered it. Didn't you believe him? Did you have to prove it to yourself? Did you have to wait fifty years to prove it, when it's the Word of God given on this earth? What are we waiting for? Are we going to spend more life times proving that his words are the truth? Of course it's the truth!"
But it was the truth two thousand years ago when he said it. And it was the truth thirty five hundred years ago when Moses said it. And when Isaiah said it "Is there another God beside Me? I know not any." I am that I am, there is no other. I and the Father are one, because there is no other. Isn't that the revelation of the allness of the presence - that the only presence here is the presence? Only the presence is present.
Why should that come as a great surprise to us when it's been in scripture all this time? And think of the time we could save and the effort, and the suffering and the tribulation, if we would simply say, "The Christ said it. I don't want to prove it; I want to live by it. I'm not going to run around with the mind to try to spend fifty years to find out if its true or not. I could spend that fifty years living it out."
That's why these quotations from the Bible are so vital. You don't have to prove them. Are you going to prove that God told the truth? They're given to you so that you can trust them now. Before you can hear them within yourself they're given to you out here in the Bible for you to hear them there. And say "Amen. So be it."
Now, that word of the Father spoken through Christ in the Bible becomes your shepherd. You follow it. You believe it. You act with total faith in it. And it's going to lead you to the Comforter within yourself. There's no other way to find the Comforter within. First you accept the Comforter without. Listen and you'll see what I mean.
Take this one from Deuteronomy. And these are all out of the first chapter called "Pure Being" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy mind. Now we've heard that five million times. But we don't understand the meaning of loving the Lord. And you can tell by the things we do and say that we don't love the Lord. To love the Lord thy God means to accept a perfect God. A perfect God doesn't make anything imperfect.
When you accept imperfection you're not loving the Lord thy God. You're doing the very opposite. You're saying "The Lord my God did not create a perfect this or a perfect that." And that's what the meaning of love was intended to counteract – this human tendency. With all thy heart, mind and soul is the total acceptance that only God is. There's nothing but divinity. There's nothing but divine substance. There's nothing but divine life. That's how you love the Lord thy God.
Humanly you might love somebody but say "I love him but he's kind of a dunce when you get down to it." But you couldn't do that about God. To love the Lord Thy God is to accept the infinite perfection of God, to accept the total nature of God. You cannot love the Lord thy God and deny the perfect nature of God in any way. And so the minute you've found an evil on the earth you are denying the nature of God.
The nature of God is to be all knowing. When you've found an evil you are saying, "God doesn't know about this evil." Or even worse you're saying, "Here's the evil and God does know about it, but God's not doing something about it, so I will do it. We will form a movement to do this thing that God isn't doing. Because that's what God wants us to do."
Now, you know that's wrong. If God wanted it done, why would God ask you to do it? Why wouldn't it have been done? And it has been done. It has been done perfectly and your acceptance of an evil that you are going to counteract is your un-knowledge or lack of knowledge, your ignorance of the nature of God. There is no evil for you to counteract. Your belief that its there, is the way you are not loving the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind and soul. You're denying the presence of God where you have found the evil. You're denying the omnipotence of God where you have found evil.
You can't say, "I believe in God's nature as being omnipotent but God isn't doing something about this condition." Now omnipotence would have done something about that condition before you discovered it, so what have you discovered? You have been fooled by sense images. They're very real to you – so real that they make you not love the Lord thy God. They make you deny the omnipotence and the omnipresence of God, and the omniscience of God, the qualities of God.
And so you have God permitting somebody to poison His people. You have God permitting somebody to pollute His atmosphere, but it isn't His atmosphere. That's why you think it's polluted, because you thought it was His atmosphere; it isn't. If it were His atmosphere, how could anybody pollute His atmosphere if God is omnipotent? It would be impossible.
How could anybody suffer a disease of any kind if God were omnipotent? And so, what you're saying then is "I have this thing, God is not omnipotent." Or you're going all the way out with the church message that God is punishing you or him or her or that stillborn baby, that God was punishing that baby too. And God was punishing that mongoloid and that imbecile and that one and that one. Ridiculous, of course. There's nobody to punish. There's only God being.
To love the Lord thy God then with all thy heart, mind and soul means to accept that there's only God being. Then who are you? I and the Father are one; one being. Then who is sick? The image you have conceived of yourself, because you were asleep and the world-mind planted an image in your mind. And that mind being very versatile, a perfect mirror of the world-mind - it showed it forth as a perfect reflection of the lie - a perfect Xerox copy of the lie.
And you parade around and you say, "I've got this." Where's God? Why isn't God taking it away from you? Why isn't God making you better? For the simple reason that God has already done just that. God has already made you a perfect being. And so be ye perfect.
Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart by rejecting every idea, however it may seem total that you are sick or suffering or lacking or anything of that nature. It's a lie. It isn't loving God. Its not understanding that to love God means to understand the nature of God. You cannot love what you do not understand. The nature of God is perfection in all things.
The nature of God is one, one body. There is only one body and it isn't sick. There's only one substance, it isn't sick. There's only one life, it isn't sick. What is sick? Nothing. N-o-t-h-i-n-g is sick. That's all that can be sick is nothing. And if you persist in thinking that the image is something, it can be sick. Because when you have an image that you think is something, that is what idolatry is all about.
Now, you can take a dumb piece of stone or a dumb piece of wood and pray to that. Or you can take a dumb image and pray to that. Or you can go to the kingdom of God within you and you find you don't have to pray. The consciousness of the Father is your consciousness. The acceptance of that consciousness where you are, as present, alive, alert, intelligent, all-knowing, all-powerful is your guarantee that right now here I am on holy ground.
God is right here. The omnipotence of God is preventing any possibility to that perfection from being less than Itself. The all-knowing mind is perfectly patrolling It's kingdom right here. You're accepting yourself to be the essence of God. And it's essence being pure, perfect forever, to love God is to accept that that which the Father is, His essence, I am and therefore I am pure, perfect forever.
You can't love God and not accept His substance to be your substance. That's the meaning of love fulfills the law. You're accepting God to be your substance, your very being. And then all of you that is not God - get out of it! Get out of the mind that is not God's mind! Get out of the body that is not God's body! Get out of the life that is not God's life! There isn't God life and your life. There is God life, the essence, the perfect essence, being your perfect life. The one you're living in that you think is imperfect is fiction. There is no such life.
And that's the meaning then in Deuteronomy. And that's why, when you come across a passage of the Christ you must not remember it, you must take it into your consciousness and dwell with it.
Now, if we were to go through this chapter or this book in twelve easy lessons, we would have a fine memory course. You can't take the word of Christ that quickly; you've got to abide with it. I must love the Lord my God. I must accept the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul. There's nothing left that I've got to accept with. So how can I accept anything else? There's no room except to accept the Lord. In other words, accept the allness of God.
Do you see that change in consciousness that begins to demand of you "What else am I accepting beside the presence of God? That's got to go! The images out here are going to keep knocking at my door needing help, unless I get into this change of consciousness, which recognizes only God is present. The only presence on this earth is the presence of God. Only the presence is present. Only God is present." Deny it and you're not loving God with all your heart, mind and soul.
So, instead of remembering the quotation, remember the Christ of your being spoke it through Moses. And so get back into your invisible consciousness. Take these phrases and dwell there with these phrases. Explore them. Let them communicate to you. Open them up like a fan and examine every word. Spend time with them. They will become your inner Bible. And then when you have fanned them out and let them speak to you, be still. And they will speak again, in another tongue. In that stillness they will be planted as seeds in your consciousness, just as the seeds of the tares were planted by the world-mind. And let the lie come to you again; it will find that in you is the truth, which nullifies the lie.
And out there in the image world you'll find the divine beginning to express in those images in your world. The uninterrupted flow of the substance of truth in consciousness opens up the capacity of your consciousness to receive the living substance from the Father. The soul feeds you. The mind responding to soul no longer projects the duality of the world-mind.
You don't have to think and think and think; and plan and plan. These words will do it for you if you will live with them, not in your mind but deeper. They will take you to the `above' universe. They are the messengers. They are the way that the way-shower uses to take you out of mind into soul. And so that's why we're discussing them this carefully this time.
Every time you see a footnote saying Luke 15: 27 if you pass it by, don't pretend to yourself that you read that chapter. You didn't. You read it like people read, but not like students of spirit. And that's why we don't read five books and say, "I've read five books of Goldsmith, or I've read them all." We don't do it that way. We sip, we cogitate, we contemplate, we commune. We let these phrases become an integral part of our being. We let them rejoin the Christ within who uttered them in the first place.
You see, these words and the Christ of your being are inseparable. They have never been divided. And they return to their source, which is Christ in you. And if you will follow them you will be led right to the Comforter within. Continue in My words and ye shall know the truth. These are My words and they will lead you to the Comforter who is the fountain of all truth. And you'll find you'll take dominion over the world of images. Yes, even over the physical form.
Don't think that we have just walked by and closed our eyes to the things that trouble us. We haven't done that at all. We've simply learned a better way to eliminate from our lives those things, which are not of God. We're not blind to these things at all. We're so aware of them that the complete dedication of the message is to lead you out of this Egypt of the world-mind in which diseases are, in which problems are. We're not unaware of their presence in the world of images; that's all it's filled with. But we don't have to live in them.
We have an invisible paradise. And as we start to love that paradise we see why the Father is greater than I. Remember the tumbler in this chapter, and the glass? The glass is the substance of the tumbler. One is the form and one is the substance. The tumbler is the form, the glass is the substance. And Joel used that to point out the meaning the Father is greater than I. I, the human self out here, am the tumbler. The Father is the glass. Translated spiritually, the Father is the essence and the Christ is the form.
The essence becomes the form. And they are one - they are not separated. And so the Father and I are one and the Father is greater than I. I am the essence of God made into form. What form? Not this visible form - into the form, which is made of the essence. The essence of God is never visible. So I am spiritual form, formed of the essence of God. And that is my name.
And if you listen to a world broadcast and you look at me, you will see a world broadcast in you, which says that I am physical form. And you will believe it. And you will think I am out here as physical form. And you will be listening to the false broadcast. I'm not out here as physical form. And if I look at you, you only seem to be there as physical form. You are the essence of God. That is your name. That is your substance. And the form of you is formed of that essence. And it isn't the form that my eyes can see, because my eyes are also part of the false broadcast. My very senses are part of the false broadcast. My very physical being is that false broadcast made into visibility.
But inside, in my divine consciousness, loving the Father supremely I can shake off the mortal myth. And you can shake off the mortal myth, until you realize that you are standing in the presence of God every moment of your life. And that presence is the essence of your being. Honor it! Love it! And everywhere you look accept only it – not the pollution, not the poison, not the disease, not the lack, not the limitation. Do not honor them by believing that the image world is real. And come back to the mind that was accepting them as real. And see that the mind, which accepts them is also part of the image world. That little brain, which is aware of that which God did not create, is nothing more than an image. It too is part of the world broadcast.
All of this is to lift us out of the level of human mind into the acceptance of these words, which are the words of truth. And we steadfastly hold to their truth, instead of the truth that the human mind tries to bring to us. Why? Because the truth of the human mind is this inner flow from the world-mind, and we catch it at that level.
Put a little box around it and look at it right inside there and you can see why he could say to Pilate "Thou hast no power." Pilate was just a television broadcast to him. Can you fear something on television? Put a box around it and look at it. That's what the world-mind is broadcasting to you all around. It has no power. It can't step out of the box. There is no other power than the power of the One. The essence of God is where the power is and nobody is pushing that power aside.
Now then, you have the power of that essence, which is omnipotent. And so there is nothing that can enter that can be powerful over omnipotence. There's no other power. There's only the power of good, of perfection. And the broadcast fools you, because it comes out sometimes so close to home that you think its real.
Now, these phrases become very meaningful and potent as you see that they're not just sentences written by an author. They are the word of substance. You can trust these phrases. And you can look at whatever you see and know that because God is present, and God is the power, that power is maintaining its own essence right here.
I am perfect now as my Father. And nothing in the world can ever change that – nothing! There can be a lot of broadcasts, a lot of images saying that I'm not. But nothing can change the fact that I am perfect as my Father - never less, because the tumbler is always made of the qualities of the glass. And the child of God is always made of the qualities of the essence of God. So I cannot be less than my Father. Or if I think I'm less then I am not loving God supremely. Because who is there to be less, if God is one? What other one is there to be less?
How could you be less than God, if God is one? I and the Father are one. There's your secret - in so many ways. When you and the Father are one in your consciousness, you are accepting His statement. Not you're going to become one. His secret was learning that I and the Father are one.
Now, you could spend another fifty years to prove it. Or you could simply say, "I and the Father are one. Now what about me is unlike God? Whatever is, is not that one." This arm isn't like God; it can't be my real arm. The brain isn't like God; it can't be your real brain. Your body isn't like God; it can't be your real body. You're out in the image world. Use that image to its advantage, for its purpose. Wherever it is imperfect take yourself back into your invisible consciousness.
Now out here there's arthritis. In your invisible consciousness there must be a belief in arthritis. Do you see that? There must be a belief there or it couldn't be out here. This `out here body' is the mirror through which you see your invisible consciousness. And a belief is in your invisible consciousness. Now why waste time out here with liniments, or with electrical heating? That's relief. Get rid of the belief out here. How do you do it? That's what these words are. Do you believe in here that you can have arthritis, or do you love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind and soul? Do you love the essence of God you accepted as your essence? Does it have arthritis? Can it have arthritis? No, but it is my essence. All right. Take these two and sit here until you accept that essence - and not the conscious belief that you can have arthritis. Because the you that can have it is saying "I'm not that essence."
Do you see where you've come down to the point where you've got to face it? Either I'm that essence of God or I'm accepting myself as something else. As long as you're something else you're in the world. And the world is not God's creation. Then you're asking for trouble. A greater iniquity can come upon you, and a greater one, and a greater one, and a greater one. Because the one and only sin is not knowing and believing and accepting and trusting that you are the essence of God, and therefore the mind, which denies it is a liar. And you will not listen to that mind but you will listen within yourself. For I and the Father are one essence, today, now, this minute, forever - before Abraham, and after the world.
Continuous essence of God is your name. You can be no other. Every word then is to make you consciously drop every belief that denies who you are. In Matthew 5:48 Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. And there's the statement that God is perfect. God is perfect. 5:48 Matthew. But God is the substance of your being is also revealed in I and the Father are one. Now, how can you be imperfect if you're one with the perfect God? To go on believing you can be is to deny the truth. You suffer from the lie.
You cannot be imperfect. And whatever appears to be imperfect where you are is a lie. The suffering isn't happening. The pain isn't happening. It's happening in this distortion of image. Get out of the image back into the consciousness. The consciousness has received a seed or a tare, a lie -below the level of your knowledge. And now it's showing forth as an imperfection. But use the truth in consciousness. God is perfect. I and the Father are one therefore I and perfection are one. How could imperfection enter perfection? It wouldn't be perfect if imperfection could enter it.
I am perfect. Now why am I not experiencing that perfection? Because I haven't quite accepted that God is the only creation, the only power, the only substance, the only law. And I must do it again and again and again in consciousness, until something springs up inside me - a great knowing. This isn't something I have to make happen. It's the is-ness of being, now.
Let's conclude today's class now with a meditation - letting the fullness of what we have learned permeate our being.
Instant Insight...
You seem to want instant insight, forgetting
that the instant is always preceded by a long
preparation. The fruit falls suddenly, but the
ripening takes time......
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
that the instant is always preceded by a long
preparation. The fruit falls suddenly, but the
ripening takes time......
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
Truth...
"Truth is not one side of opposing ideas, nor is it a combination
of opposite ideas, but exists only in impersonal awareness, which
is above all human opinions."
Vernon Howard..... The Power of Esoterics, p. 112
of opposite ideas, but exists only in impersonal awareness, which
is above all human opinions."
Vernon Howard..... The Power of Esoterics, p. 112
Being Saved...
We have all heard the expression, " you are your own worse enemy",, they say
this not knowing how True this statement is.. They are speaking of your ego, but
they do not know the deepness of this Truth.. "Being Saved", is the expression
that means that you have been saved from your "self".. No one can save you but
your "Real Self".. This is the Divine Consciousness that You already Are, but
have forgotten.. You have been saved from ignorance and pain when you have
disolved the false self and Recognised the Real Self.. So, in Truth, Salvation
means Recognition of Self.........namaste, thomas
this not knowing how True this statement is.. They are speaking of your ego, but
they do not know the deepness of this Truth.. "Being Saved", is the expression
that means that you have been saved from your "self".. No one can save you but
your "Real Self".. This is the Divine Consciousness that You already Are, but
have forgotten.. You have been saved from ignorance and pain when you have
disolved the false self and Recognised the Real Self.. So, in Truth, Salvation
means Recognition of Self.........namaste, thomas
Self-Knowledge...
You need both clarity and earnestness for
self-knowledge. You need maturity of heart
and mind, which comes through earnest
application in daily life of whatever little
you have understood. There is no such thing
as compromise in Yoga.
If you want to sin, sin wholeheartedly and
openly. Sins too have their lessons to teach
the earnest sinner, as virtues - the earnest
saint. It is the mixing up of the two that is
so disastrous. Nothing can block you so
effectively as compromise, for it shows
lack of earnestness, without which nothing
can be done.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
self-knowledge. You need maturity of heart
and mind, which comes through earnest
application in daily life of whatever little
you have understood. There is no such thing
as compromise in Yoga.
If you want to sin, sin wholeheartedly and
openly. Sins too have their lessons to teach
the earnest sinner, as virtues - the earnest
saint. It is the mixing up of the two that is
so disastrous. Nothing can block you so
effectively as compromise, for it shows
lack of earnestness, without which nothing
can be done.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
This quotation is from:
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
In Summary...
"In summary, do these two things:
1. Let go of the false.
2. Endure to the end the temporary increase in anxiety
created by the vacuum.
That is all there is to it. That is all you need to do and can do.
The miracle then happens of itself. The True, having been made
welcome by your conscious acceptance of the vacuum, comes to you
with quiet power."
The Power of your Supermind, p. 125......Vernon Howard
1. Let go of the false.
2. Endure to the end the temporary increase in anxiety
created by the vacuum.
That is all there is to it. That is all you need to do and can do.
The miracle then happens of itself. The True, having been made
welcome by your conscious acceptance of the vacuum, comes to you
with quiet power."
The Power of your Supermind, p. 125......Vernon Howard
Shabistari/The Real and the Unreal...
"The imagination produces phenomenal objects
Which have no real existence,
So this world has no substantial reality,
But exists as a shadowy pageant or a play.
All is pervaded by Absolute Being
In its utter perfection.
There are many numbers, but only One is counted."
Shabistari
Florence Lederer, Translator
_The Secret Rose Garden Of Sad Ud Din Mahmud Shabistari_
London: J. Murray, 1920, p. 48
Which have no real existence,
So this world has no substantial reality,
But exists as a shadowy pageant or a play.
All is pervaded by Absolute Being
In its utter perfection.
There are many numbers, but only One is counted."
Shabistari
Florence Lederer, Translator
_The Secret Rose Garden Of Sad Ud Din Mahmud Shabistari_
London: J. Murray, 1920, p. 48
Wisdom...
Wisdom is intelligence in its pure essence, which is not necessarily dependent
upon the knowledge of names and forms.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Often people confuse the two terms intellect and wisdom; sometimes they use the
word intellect for wisdom, sometimes wisdom for intellect. In point of fact
these are two different qualities altogether. The knowledge which is learned by
knowing names and forms in the outside world belongs to the intellect; but there
is another source of knowledge, and that source of knowledge is within oneself.
The words 'within oneself' might confuse some people. They might think 'within
oneself' means inside one's body; but that is because man is ignorant of
himself. Man has a very poor idea of himself, and this keeps him in ignorance of
his real self. If man only knew how large, how wide, how deep, how high is his
being, he would think, act, and feel differently; but with all his width, depth,
and height, if man is not conscious of them he is as small as he thinks himself
to be.
The essence of milk is butter, the essence of the flower is honey, the essence
of grapes is wine, and the essence of life is wisdom. Wisdom is not necessarily
a knowledge of names and forms; wisdom is the sum total of that knowledge which
one gains both from within and without.
Intellectual knowledge has much to do with the brain, while wisdom comes from
within the heart. In wisdom both head and heart work. One may call the brain the
seat of the intellect, and the heart the throne of wisdom; but they are not
actually located in the brain or in the heart. Wisdom may be called spiritual
knowledge but the best definition of wisdom would be perfect knowledge, the
knowledge of life within and without. How does one pursue the wisdom which is
within? By first realizing that intuition exists within oneself....
It is not meant by this that everyone should become a kind of super-being. It is
not meant at all that people should be able to perform wonders or miracles; it
is only intended that they should live a fuller life and become real human
beings, in order to bring about better conditions in the world. What do we want?
We want human beings. It is not necessary that everyone should become religious,
or exceedingly pious, or too good to live. We want wise men in business, in
politics, in education, in all walks of life; those who do not live only on the
surface and those who do not believe only in matter, but who see life both
within and without. It is such souls who will produce beauty; it is such souls
who will harmonize the world, who will bring about the conditions we need today.
upon the knowledge of names and forms.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:
Often people confuse the two terms intellect and wisdom; sometimes they use the
word intellect for wisdom, sometimes wisdom for intellect. In point of fact
these are two different qualities altogether. The knowledge which is learned by
knowing names and forms in the outside world belongs to the intellect; but there
is another source of knowledge, and that source of knowledge is within oneself.
The words 'within oneself' might confuse some people. They might think 'within
oneself' means inside one's body; but that is because man is ignorant of
himself. Man has a very poor idea of himself, and this keeps him in ignorance of
his real self. If man only knew how large, how wide, how deep, how high is his
being, he would think, act, and feel differently; but with all his width, depth,
and height, if man is not conscious of them he is as small as he thinks himself
to be.
The essence of milk is butter, the essence of the flower is honey, the essence
of grapes is wine, and the essence of life is wisdom. Wisdom is not necessarily
a knowledge of names and forms; wisdom is the sum total of that knowledge which
one gains both from within and without.
Intellectual knowledge has much to do with the brain, while wisdom comes from
within the heart. In wisdom both head and heart work. One may call the brain the
seat of the intellect, and the heart the throne of wisdom; but they are not
actually located in the brain or in the heart. Wisdom may be called spiritual
knowledge but the best definition of wisdom would be perfect knowledge, the
knowledge of life within and without. How does one pursue the wisdom which is
within? By first realizing that intuition exists within oneself....
It is not meant by this that everyone should become a kind of super-being. It is
not meant at all that people should be able to perform wonders or miracles; it
is only intended that they should live a fuller life and become real human
beings, in order to bring about better conditions in the world. What do we want?
We want human beings. It is not necessary that everyone should become religious,
or exceedingly pious, or too good to live. We want wise men in business, in
politics, in education, in all walks of life; those who do not live only on the
surface and those who do not believe only in matter, but who see life both
within and without. It is such souls who will produce beauty; it is such souls
who will harmonize the world, who will bring about the conditions we need today.
Realization Of Oneness...
Herb Fitch's talk on Google Videos
Our function in this class is to delve into the higher mysteries. You may find
that less and less we're not going to discuss any personal problems. We're not
going to be concerned about the world not created by God. And that may be very
difficult for some but it has to come. There has to be a time when we're no
longer saying "God, heal me of this and heal me of that!" There has to come a
time when we're no longer saying "God, you've withheld this from me, and you've
withheld that from me." There has to come a time of acceptance, not of seeking
but of acceptance. And this concerns the higher mysteries, the `above' universe,
the universe right where the visible universe seems to appear.
Today, it will be well if you can learn what makes an image. For you have one
image called `the world' and in it are many images, all part of the same image.
And so we want to burst that bubble today so that some of you who have been
living in the mind-universe, trying through the power of your mind to find some
kind of peace, some kind of tranquility, some kind of solution, will discover
that you've been living in the wrong universe and in the wrong body and in the
wrong century; seeking in some way to improve God's perfect universe because
you're unaware of it.
We see Jesus on his hands and knees and he's washing the feet of Peter. Yes, the
Master seems to be washing the feet of a student. And this is drawing the
curtain to the inner mystery of Christ within Peter. This is drawing the mystery
into visibility, by telling you and telling me that if you wish to walk in the
universe of God instead of the kingdom that is this world, not of the Father but
of the sense mind, you too will have to wash your feet. Not only yours, but the
feet of the world.
You'll have to see that the Master is revealing the secret of his great work is
not his personal ability, but his capacity to say "The only me here is the inner
Christ, there is no human me. I wash the feet. That which walks upon this earth
I am dissolving in my consciousness. I am recognizing the inner Christ of Peter
and in so doing, the inner Christ of every man, woman and child on this earth.
And I, who seem to be the Master, am but the servant of this inner Christ. And
therefore when thou seest me thou seest the activity of the inner Christ, not of
a man. And the inner Christ that I glorify as I walk this earth, is the inner
Christ of Peter, the inner Christ of Bill, the inner Christ of Mary, the inner
Christ of everyone who walks this earth."
And therefore it behooves Bill, it behooves Mary, it behooves Betty, it behooves
Herb, it behooves every individual on the face of the earth to get on his hands
and knees, which is the surrender of humanhood until in that yielding of self,
the invisible Self is brought into activity in the visible experience world.
Of mine own self I can do nothing. And as long as I continue in the effort, I
will fall into the image world. And while I am under the belief that I am loving
God supremely, I am actually accusing God, condemning God, condemning God for
the evil He leaves on the earth, accusing Him even of creating it.
Now, you know that condemnation has by now become very small in your
consciousness. You can see the thief without accusing him. You can see the
corruption in government without accusing. You can see many facets of the
imperfect human life without condemnation, and probably you pride yourself upon
it. What we don't realize too often is that we are condemning God. We have risen
to that level where we do not condemn our neighbor, but instead we condemn God.
How? Take the crusader. I don't mean back in the medieval times. I mean today's
crusader – for good, for improvements. How do we improve anything except by
recognizing that which needs improvement? And therefore what have we said? We
have said there are two creations – God's creation, which we will accept as
perfect, but there is also a creation that needs improvement. And so we are
going to crusade for the improvements. And we're stuck with two creations. We've
fallen into the trap of believing that God is aware of these things that need
improvement in this earth and is doing nothing about it, so we're going to do
it. Of course, we are in a human consciousness. We've fallen into the trap of
human images.
Most of you have never heard what I'd like to tell you. It's about this world of
images and what makes it so.
There's a process in photo engraving where you make a photograph of any object
or person, and then in order to reproduce that, lets say in a newspaper, you
make a photograph of the photograph. And when you make a photograph of the
photograph you put a filter or a screen between the object you're going to
photograph and your camera. And so now you get a new photograph of a photograph.
This one is filtered or screened so that the photograph is broken down into all
kinds of little dots. And then you photograph this onto metal and you put
emulsion on the metal and you put acid on the emulsion and finally you get these
dots so they're raised up. And that's all that's raised up; the photograph of
the original photograph broken into dots, raised up. And then you put ink on the
surface of these raised up dots and you turn the metal over and you print on a
newspaper. You print those dots.
And every time you pick up a newspaper and look at a face, you're not aware of
it, you think that's Richard Nixon, that's Chou En Lai, that's John Mitchell,
that's John Lindsay. And every time you look at these photographs in the paper
you're looking at nothing but little blobs of ink that are separated; they're
really little dots. And in about one inch there are about thirty-six hundred to
four thousand little dots; that's really what you're looking at. Your eye
doesn't know it; your mind doesn't know it. You're looking at dots but you think
its John Lindsay, Richard Nixon. And really it takes just as many dots to make
Richard Nixon as it does to make John Lindsay.
You can take the same dots and re-arrange them and make a hippopotamus. You can
make an elephant. If you re-arrange these dots you can make anything on this
earth. You can make a battleship, a spacecraft. In other words, your eye doesn't
see the dots. But if you take just a normal magnifying glass and look at any
photograph in the newspaper, that's what you're going to see. Hold it there,
raise it up or down until you see "Why it's only made of dots and I thought it
was a man's face!" The face is the image formed by the dots but all that is on
that paper are little black dots and they're all identical. Put a few more on
one side and you get a cluster of them. A few less on the other side and you get
what seems to be a lighter tone. But they're all the same black dots.
When I do this privately and give a magnifying glass to somebody and they look
and see the dots, they're so much surprised that they couldn't see it with their
naked eye. And that's how we all are able for fifty years to read a newspaper
and never know that we've never really seen a photograph, we've seen dots that
appear to our human eye as faces and things.
And then you can take this and take it to your television screen and see the
same process. On the television screen you're looking at electric dots, dots of
electricity. But you cannot see the dots. And as the electric moves you see the
image move but you don't know it's the movements of electrical dots. So you say
the horse is running. It isn't running, there's no horse there. You're looking
at electrical dots to simulate a horse running. No horse is going to run out of
that screen, its am image on the screen. And the method is electrical dots, so
fine that no human eye can see them. And so you get the forms.
Now you go to the motion picture house. There's a giant screen and the same
thing happens, dots. They are still electrical dots. And you can have Cleopatra
and a barge draw up. You can have the complete spectacle of Rome. And it's all
made with electrical dots. Electrical dots that to the human eye appear as
images called people doing things.
Now these processes are human inventions. The Father does it much more subtly.
When you come to the human scene you find that the same process is going on
around you. But now the dots are points of light, so fine that they have fooled
the greatest religious and intellectual and scientific teachers of the world -
points of light. And you watch these points of light move and you call them
living forms. They are the very same process in a more sophisticated way for He
hangeth the earth on nothing.
Now, what you are looking at and calling forms then are points of light moving.
You're seeing the tree grow up but you're not. You're seeing the slow motion of
points of light below the level of your perception. You see the horse run on the
track but you're not. You see boys go out to war, on battlefields. But you're
looking at points of light. And when that cannon roars and a boy falls down and
the blood pours, you're looking at points of light.
You know you're not looking at God's creation. And there are not two creations.
What are you looking at? You're looking at points of light in the cosmic mind.
Wherever you look on this earth that is all you will ever see – points of
light. You cannot find one thing on this earth made by God, not one. Now that is
important. And however revolutionary it may seem to the human mind it was a
necessary step in the revelation of the allness of God, in the eternal life that
comes into the experience of all who know God aright.
Now, what you've been looking at and calling forms, people, things, places,
conditions are points of light in a cosmic telecast. And it has its purpose. And
that purpose was explained to you in the Bible, but we walked by.
In these points of light you see the dying soldier, you see the accident on the
freeway. You see the long inventory of disease and disaster not created by God.
You're looking at the image world of the mind, And often of accusing the Father
of putting it there. "Why did you do this to my daughter? Why did you do this to
my son? Why don't you change this and change that?" But the Father doesn't
change this and change that, for the simple reason that the Father does not see
what you are seeing. The Father does not look at points of light in motion,
seeming to us as real conditions of a real world. The Father is not dreaming;
the Father is awake. The dream of mortality is where we see these points of
light.
Fortunately we have them; they have a grand purpose. You have thought that
everything wrong in your life couldn't possibly be attributed to you. As a
matter of fact we discover that most of us are pretty good human beings. And
then we say, "Well, if I've been so good why have I been completely isolated
from happiness, health, abundance, the things and joyful relationships that a
child of God ought to have? Why am I besieged by this endless parade of things
that I have to keep solving? When does the day of solving stop? When can I relax
and say `At last, I've made it'?" And then suddenly there comes another problem
out of nowhere. And it has a name.
And yet in spite of all - you've been reading your Bible, you've been listening
to tapes. You've been as faithful as you know how and as dedicated. Some put in
as many as twenty hours a day and still have things turn up that you would think
after all this time and effort and dedication, would be impossible.
And that's why we go back to the story of the wheat and the tares. Nobody plants
weeds; you've never planted any weeds. You certainly wouldn't do it
intentionally. And neither did this man in the Bible, he planted wheat. But it
wasn't long in season where there was wheat and tares, wheat and weeds. Couldn't
figure it out, he hadn't planted any tares. So he went to his friends and they
told him "Well what really happened of course, is that your neighbor down the
way who you had that argument with last month, he got even with you. While you
were asleep he planted the tares." And so asleep this man got weeds in his farm.
And asleep we get problems in our consciousness.
The tares, planted while the farmer was asleep, are the beliefs planted in you
below the level of your conscious awareness, meaning in your sleep. You do not
know what the world mind is broadcasting into you. You haven't the vaguest
notion, how could you? You have a certain level of consciousness. If something
comes in, in your unconscious how can you be conscious of it? And so seeds are
planted, seeds of belief. And the only time you become aware of them is when
they grow up into form. And you can then look out and say, "Why did I get
arthritis? Why did my business fail? Why did my marriage prove such a disaster?
Why this, why that, why the other?"
You're only seeing these things on your screen of consciousness now, as images
– broken homes, broken marriages, broken bodies. But they began in the
unconscious level where the world-mind planted in you a seed. And each seed
planted in you must become a visible experience. That visible experience you
then give the label and say, "This is what I've got." But you haven't got that
at all. What has happened is that from the invisible of your consciousness a
seed you did not know was there has grown into a tree, and it is now dropping
fruit. And that is in your visible world.
The image world is where you have seen the fruit of the tree of good and evil.
And that fruit is very untasty at times. And it grows because the seeds of
belief in your consciousness are there, unknown to you. You did not know they
were coming in. You did not know that they were growing up. You did not know
about them until you began to suffer.
The cause did not begin in you; the cause began in the world-mind. And so a very
intelligent, infinite mind has provided you with a screen, a television screen
called `the world.' And from the invisible of your consciousness you
automatically project the quality of your consciousness. You project into the
world of images, the fabric of your own consciousness. And when you label it
this or that, you're really saying, "This is the nature of my invisible
consciousness. " Because be sure of this, it isn't someone else's consciousness
appearing on your screen. The problems you manifest are nothing more than your
consciousness turned inside out like a reversible raincoat, from the invisible
to the visible.
That's what this world is all about – a place where you can project your
consciousness. And then looking at the world of images you can go back to your
consciousness, which is the land in which the wheat and the tares are growing
side by side - in duality.
And finally you come to the realization that there is no thing in this world,
which does not begin first in an invisible world. There's no child in this world
that doesn't first begin in the invisible, no tree, no seed, no fruit, no
flower, no animal. No animal, vegetable mineral or human begins in the visible,
they begin in the invisible. And everything in this visible has a beginning in
the invisible. That's what we all have in common. And therefore if we were to
live only in the visible we would continue in the world of effect, never going
into the cause of things, which is the invisible.
And what is the cause of this imaged world that you live in? Your world is your
consciousness. My world is my consciousness. And whoever is in this world is
really in their own consciousness made visible. And so this is where the effects
are – in the world. That's the television screen where we can pick up what's
right or wrong in our life.
And now we go back, go back into the invisible, into our consciousness, because
there we're going to find what's happening to make our visible world of good and
evil. It is there where we are going to determine a way of dominion over the
outer world of experience. Now, we look at our consciousness and we see that
it's subject to two forces. We're no longer dealing in the world of problems,
because if you meet a problem in the effect world of problems, you are never
going to get to the cause of it, which is in your consciousness.
So you're in the invisible of your consciousness. And you discover that your
consciousness has been fed by the wrong life stream, by the world-mind. And that
has brought forth the first print -you, the image you. Your consciousness has
brought forth the image you have called `yourself'. And your consciousness,
which brought forth this image, has not been able to see reality directly,
because between your consciousness and reality, between your consciousness and
the divine there is the world-mind, the glass darkly.
And you're looking at the divine through the glass darkly of the world-mind. And
just like that photo engraving process I told you about, you're trying to make a
photograph of the divine with your human consciousness. And there's a filter or
screen between your human consciousness and the divine. And so you break the
divine down into little dots, little dots of light. And then your consciousness
projects these dots of light into the world as the image called `you'.
These little dots of light, you know by now are the atoms identified by science,
little dots of light. Little worlds of electrical energy so placed together that
they look exactly like you. And you call those little worlds of atoms `you', not
knowing that is the image cast forth onto the screen of time and space by your
consciousness. And that it is your consciousness where you must live and you
must learn to tune out that world-mind, which is between you and the divine to
let - not the dots, not the filtered light come through - but the direct divine
light of the Father.
And there's a way to do it. And the way is the only way that is prescribed by
those who have done it. You'll find that when your mind, your consciousness, has
developed the capacity to be a vacuum; that it no longer receives the filtered
light of the world-mind. It is closed to the filtered light of the world-mind
and it becomes a clear plate of glass, crystal-clear glass. And just as Jesus
walked through a wall that was only there to the human consciousness, the divine
walks through the world-mind and through the clear crystal glass of your
consciousness, bypassing the activity of that world-mind, which breaks things up
into little atoms; coming through the crystal-clear glass of your consciousness,
which has been purified of thought. And that divine light is no longer separated
atoms, no longer separated dots of light - but is the fullness of the Father,
the wholeness of the Father - not little points of separation. And all that was
missing out here in
the image form in the world of this human experience was nothing more than gaps
of light, which the divine now brings through.
You become a living embryo in the womb of the Father. That new spiritual womb of
silence is really no different than the womb you inhabited as an embryo before
you became an imaged human self. We really duplicate that condition. No mother
has consciously fed the child in her womb. No embryo in the womb has consciously
said to the mother "Feed me!" It's an automatic process; it happens.
And when you have found the crystal-clear consciousness of silence, the vacuum
of no-thought, when you have been able to put away the thousand and one human
concepts that cram the brain, when you have been able to accept truth, divine
truth, and have reached that place where the mind is at peace, then you are like
the embryo. You are no longer saying to the Father "Give me! This is what I
want! This is what I need! This is my will, that you fulfill my will here!" But
rather you are resting in the womb of infinity with trust. Wanting nothing,
needing nothing, seeking nothing, just like a child in the mother's womb.
That spiritual embryo is the method in which you defeat the world-mind. As long
as you have a thought, an idea, a plan, a scheme, a will, a belief or an
acceptance of anything in this world that you consider real, you're not ready
for that womb. You still have house cleaning to do.
To be an embryo in the womb of the Father you must be the pure at heart, willing
to seek nothing of good and nothing of evil in the dream of mortality. For the
Father is source, and the source is pure. And that pure being, which is the
Father, is the essence of your being. And you must be fed by the essence of your
being, not something else. You rest in the conscious awareness that the pure
being called the Father, is here as my life.
And I, even past the point then of saying "Speak Father, Thy son heareth!" but
rather there is no `you' to say that. You go past that point and you see the
real meaning of what Samuel said. He had so purified himself that there was no
Samuel there. And then the Christ within Samuel said to the Father "Speak
Father, Thy son heareth!" When you hear the words within you, it is Christ
saying this to the Father who is greater than I. These words are the sign that
you have stripped yourself of the dream. Not that you have said them humanly.
But that they have been said within you by the Christ to the Father.
And now the revelation of oneness takes place. In your silence of humanhood
there is no place for world-mind to go. You are not a receiver for the
world-mind. It can plant no tares in your consciousness. It can plant no seeds
in you that will become tomorrow's problems. You are still. And now the essence
of being, not broken into little dots of light, flows through your stillness.
And the Father feeds the son, as the mother feeds the child in her womb. This is
soul feeding.
I am the bread. And the real substance that feeds you as a spiritual embryo is
the essence of God, the substance of God, the will of God, the power of God, the
love of God – all become your hidden manna, your meat the world knows not of.
You are fed by the divine. There's nothing more to do. The feeding takes place.
And now, this is what you image forth into the world - as a better body, a
better mind, a better life, a better demonstration. You are glorifying the
Father.
You are not saying to your mother "Feed me this way or that way, here's what I
prefer!" You're saying to the Father "Let me have Your food. I'm silent to the
food of the world." And the food of the Father is His own being. "All that I
have!" The very life of the Father flows through you. And so essence flows
through your purified consciousness and becomes imaged form. The outer form then
is manifesting the qualities of the new substance. And the new substance is pure
wheat. It isn't divided. It isn't good and evil.
Now, the purification, which enables Christ in you to say to the Father "Speak
Father, Thy son heareth" is the working in the invisible, in your consciousness
to consciously turn it away from the duality of the world-mind. In other words
you tune in by tuning out of the world-mind. You tune out of the world-mind to
tune in for your divine feeding.
The you of you is forgotten in the image world. That's going to be the result of
how well you're fed in the inner. And if you've learned your lessons properly,
you don't let that outer image self tempt you to fulfill its ambitions, its
will, its needs. You are out of the imaged world. You are working on the level
of consciousness.
Now, this is the meaning of washing the feet. I who stand before you, washing
your feet Peter; I am showing you that within you is a consciousness, which is
pure. And it is the actual life of God. And I am serving that life of God in you
and in myself and in everyone I meet, letting that life live itself through my
conscious awareness of its presence; keeping my consciousness on that life - not
on duality, not on a denial of the presence of that life, but rather on the
presence of that life.
Now, some of you have been involved in worldwide movements to do good in this
world and have thought that you are really doing good. But you haven't known
that you are working in the creation that is not the creation of God. What can
you find in a divine creation that needs improvement? You've been working in a
world of images. You've been working in the world that is not your Father's
kingdom. And even when you succeed in it, all you can do is change an image in
the world that is not your Father's kingdom to a better image. And it is still
not your Father's kingdom when it is a better image.
Whereas the way of the Father is "Is there a place now where I am not? Why not
purify your consciousness of the belief that there is a place somewhere where I
am not? Instead of trying to correct a world of images."
The world of images isn't to teach you that it needs correction. It's to teach
you how to purify your consciousness of the belief that you're not in the
kingdom of God. As long as in the world of images you see something wrong, you
are not accepting in your inner consciousness that this is the kingdom of God.
That's the purpose of the world of images. As long as you can see imperfection
out there you must face it with the knowledge that it wasn't created by God. And
if you still think it's real, you have invented a second creator. Who could put
the imperfection there if there's no other creator? Who could take God's perfect
creation and make it imperfect? And so as long as you're still improving things
you've missed the point.
The things that you want to improve don't need improvement. The consciousness
that put them out there needs improvement. And that doesn't mean somebody else's
consciousness that means yours. Because the things you see out there are your
consciousness made visible. Whoever else sees them that is their consciousness
made visible. Our function is to purify our consciousness so that we become
aware of God's kingdom here on earth.
And to clarify the picture then: you have a perfect divine creation here and
now, and there is no other. You have a perfect divine being, an infinite being,
not divided into little finite beings. And that infinite being is the life that
we call God, and that is the only life there is. While you are dwelling in the
inner consciousness to tune out the world-mind, you must tune out the belief
that there's another life here beside the life of God. Where would it be if God
is infinite? If this house that we're sitting in now were infinite, could you
ever be in another one? If God is infinite can you ever be outside of infinity?
If you're always in infinity and God is life you're in infinite life. Where does
it divide? Where does this infinite divine life become anything other than what
it is? And so we come out into the imaged world and we see four billion forms
instead of knowing the one life.
We are talking now in words and you are hearing these words. And it is your
belief that you are hearing them from somebody sitting up on a podium in front
of you. I'd like you to realize that isn't what's happening. You're hearing them
inside your own self right now, just as I am hearing them inside myself right
now. That's where you're hearing them. We're both hearing at the same fountain,
although it appears that someone outside of yourself is talking to you.
Every experience in your life is an experience within yourself that appears to
be an external one. You cannot have an external experience. There is no such
experience. Every such experience is a false belief. Whatever you see, you see
in yourself and think you're seeing it out there. Whatever you taste, you taste
within yourself and think you're tasting out there. Your complete experience is
within. It appears without, because it's simultaneous. You can't catch it. But
that's how it's happening. Usually mortal mind in you is talking to or hearing
mortal mind in someone else. Or divine mind in you is hearing divine mind in
someone else. Or a mixture, a shadow of divine mind. Always your experience is
within, and you're thinking it's without.
And so I want you to do this: Take an individual in the outer world, and see if
you can catch this idea that that individual that you think is out there, is
within yourself; within yourself just like a little TV screen within yourself.
And see that individual within you on a little TV screen. And now let that
person talk. And what's happening? They're talking within you on a little TV
screen. No matter what they say or do, that's within you on a little TV screen.
And if you saw this same person on TV and they complained to you about a
problem, you would look at the TV and say "Why that's just an image on a TV
screen." That's precisely what this world of images is. Every image is on the
inner TV screen of your brain, which you think is out there.
Now those of you who can dwell with this awhile will begin to get the idea that
your dominion and your purification of consciousness, is to see that every evil
in the world is nothing more than a little TV screen inside your consciousness
that is broadcasting a lie, an untruth. And made you believe it was external
when it couldn't possibly be, in the creation of God.
When you reduce the images of the world into this little TV screen, you will
find the whole world is on this little TV screen. And you will find if you don't
let it get off the TV screen, but can keep your consciousness knowing its only
on an inner TV screen it can't be real out there, because God didn't make it.
If you can never let it get off that TV screen you'll find you're beginning to
feel the message of dominion. And I don't care what you have out there in the
world, if you won't let it get off this little TV screen inside, you'll have
caught part of what the Master was teaching all the time. To the man on the
cross standing beside him, about to be crucified like himself "I will take thee
today into Paradise." To the bond servant of the centurion "Go thy way, he
liveth." Why? All that was in the inner little TV screen, the lie about the
Father.
The allness of God is the rule, the law, the fact. Where is there a thief then
on a cross? In this little TV screen of the mind. Catch it at that level. Don't
fight it out there it isn't necessary. Don't fight Pilate out there it isn't
necessary. Catch it inside. Because it's coming through there, at the same time
as you see it outside.
Everything has to come through your consciousness before it can appear out there
to your consciousness. And you catch it at the level of it happening in
consciousness, you'll see the nothingness of it. All evil in the world is in the
human consciousness, that's the only place it is. It isn't in the world; it's in
the human consciousness. There is no world. There is only the kingdom of God.
Now, what we're at today at this moment, is something that comes only from years
of dwelling with it, until suddenly it announces itself to you. And you possibly
may have sensed something along these lines at one time or another. But you'll
discover your dominion is to be able to look at this world and everything in it,
and bring it right back to this little television screen inside your
consciousness. Maybe one inch big if you want to visualize it, just a little
one-inch screen. And whatever it's complaining about, its nothing but a little
TV broadcast coming from the world-mind. That's the place to say "Sorry, the
Father didn't bring you into this world. Is this of God or is this the
world-mind?" It's not of God you know, if its evil. Where is it? Who created it?
No one. It's just a television broadcast and if you leave it on, it's going to
project itself. It's going to demand attention.
Now, in the purification of your consciousness then, you're saying to these
broadcasts from within, which have appeared to you as images of the world
without "Get thee behind me!" God is a pure being. God is the essence. Is there
another essence? Is there another source? Can anything formed of that essence be
less than the same essence? How can you dilute the essence of God? You can't.
How can you change it? You can't. How can you pollute it? You can't. How can you
poison it? You can't. How can you kill it? You can't. How can you give it a
disease? You can't. Then what are you giving these things to? To nothing, to
nothing whatsoever. The essence of God is omnipresent. You simply have been
fooled by a world broadcast within yourself, which makes you think it's out
there.
And don't think for a minute that I'm trying to build a picture as a sort of a
comparison or an allegory or a symbolism. I mean it factually. What isn't
created by God cannot be out there. And by reducing it to a little broadcast
within yourself, you'll find you can throttle it at the level of conscious
acceptance or conscious rejection. You can throttle it. And turn your mind, your
consciousness to the presence of God. And watch how that little fellow inside
begins broadcasting the truth.
Every world image regardless of its name is an inner telecast that you are
receiving, which seems to be out there. We're all wired to the same world-mind
and we all receive it, almost simultaneously. It's no different than six billion
TV sets. In your home you get it. In someone else's home they get the same
thing. Here you're getting it right inside yourself at the same time as they're
getting it inside themselves. And that's what makes everyone see it, more or
less the same.
Don't meet it out there. Any more than you would go to a television set in your
home and smash it because you didn't like the face of somebody on it. You
wouldn't heal anything on a TV set screen. Get it right here at the level of TV
and see the nothingness of it. That's all it is.
The Bible calls it "the arm of flesh." Christian Science calls it "mortal mind."
Others will call it "universal mind." Others will call it "Maya." Some will call
it "hypnotism, mesmerism." But the nature of it is that it mesmerizes you by
appearing to be out there, when it isn't. And why does it come through you?
Because you have also accepted the image of you as a reality, instead of knowing
that you are a living soul.
Now, in our rebirth out of this image, we're not going to throw the image away,
its very useful. But we are going to live in the consciousness of the presence
of God, so that in our soul feeding we are one with the One; that the one
essence can flow into form instead of the duality of the world-mind; so that we
are not divided from the essence, so that the substance forms us.
The Father who is greater than I, is the essence. And I am the form of that
essence. And the form of that essence that I am is the infinite Christ. The
substance of the Father flows as the infinite Christ. And you find your
spiritual form, which is not little pieces of light held together by magnetism;
which is independent of the images of the world, independent of the flood and
the fire, independent of world conditions. Why? Because world conditions only
occur in the image world, where the image form appears.
And we must learn to walk through these images, right through these images, by
that consciousness, which opens itself to the pure essence. And lets the essence
do the work. Now, how we're going to do that, how we're going to open our
consciousness to the essence of being, to overcome the false dominion of the
world and its two powers, is going to constitute all of our work.
The real freedom will only come as we learn to look at the world of images
knowing what it is, so that we fear it not, so that its false powers mean
nothing to us, so that we can consciously walk in oneness, in the acceptance
that God is pure. And that purity, which is infinite, is the purity of my own
being. That purity overflows and overflows and overflows throughout its kingdom
as my self, my being. And I can live in my pure being independent of the image
world, which has been necessary to lift me and my consciousness above the level
of duality.
Those images, those wheats, those tares have been very important to me. They
have helped me locate the unconscious beliefs I have entertained. I have seen
those beliefs as images. Now I see them not as images, but as invisible beliefs.
And now I can watch them and reject them. And turn my consciousness to the
Father and rest in oneness.
Now, after three or five of these sessions, including the second half of this,
we are going to be developing our conscious awareness of the presence of God. We
have been given all of the weapons we need to do this. Nothing has been
withheld.
Our function in this class is to delve into the higher mysteries. You may find
that less and less we're not going to discuss any personal problems. We're not
going to be concerned about the world not created by God. And that may be very
difficult for some but it has to come. There has to be a time when we're no
longer saying "God, heal me of this and heal me of that!" There has to come a
time when we're no longer saying "God, you've withheld this from me, and you've
withheld that from me." There has to come a time of acceptance, not of seeking
but of acceptance. And this concerns the higher mysteries, the `above' universe,
the universe right where the visible universe seems to appear.
Today, it will be well if you can learn what makes an image. For you have one
image called `the world' and in it are many images, all part of the same image.
And so we want to burst that bubble today so that some of you who have been
living in the mind-universe, trying through the power of your mind to find some
kind of peace, some kind of tranquility, some kind of solution, will discover
that you've been living in the wrong universe and in the wrong body and in the
wrong century; seeking in some way to improve God's perfect universe because
you're unaware of it.
We see Jesus on his hands and knees and he's washing the feet of Peter. Yes, the
Master seems to be washing the feet of a student. And this is drawing the
curtain to the inner mystery of Christ within Peter. This is drawing the mystery
into visibility, by telling you and telling me that if you wish to walk in the
universe of God instead of the kingdom that is this world, not of the Father but
of the sense mind, you too will have to wash your feet. Not only yours, but the
feet of the world.
You'll have to see that the Master is revealing the secret of his great work is
not his personal ability, but his capacity to say "The only me here is the inner
Christ, there is no human me. I wash the feet. That which walks upon this earth
I am dissolving in my consciousness. I am recognizing the inner Christ of Peter
and in so doing, the inner Christ of every man, woman and child on this earth.
And I, who seem to be the Master, am but the servant of this inner Christ. And
therefore when thou seest me thou seest the activity of the inner Christ, not of
a man. And the inner Christ that I glorify as I walk this earth, is the inner
Christ of Peter, the inner Christ of Bill, the inner Christ of Mary, the inner
Christ of everyone who walks this earth."
And therefore it behooves Bill, it behooves Mary, it behooves Betty, it behooves
Herb, it behooves every individual on the face of the earth to get on his hands
and knees, which is the surrender of humanhood until in that yielding of self,
the invisible Self is brought into activity in the visible experience world.
Of mine own self I can do nothing. And as long as I continue in the effort, I
will fall into the image world. And while I am under the belief that I am loving
God supremely, I am actually accusing God, condemning God, condemning God for
the evil He leaves on the earth, accusing Him even of creating it.
Now, you know that condemnation has by now become very small in your
consciousness. You can see the thief without accusing him. You can see the
corruption in government without accusing. You can see many facets of the
imperfect human life without condemnation, and probably you pride yourself upon
it. What we don't realize too often is that we are condemning God. We have risen
to that level where we do not condemn our neighbor, but instead we condemn God.
How? Take the crusader. I don't mean back in the medieval times. I mean today's
crusader – for good, for improvements. How do we improve anything except by
recognizing that which needs improvement? And therefore what have we said? We
have said there are two creations – God's creation, which we will accept as
perfect, but there is also a creation that needs improvement. And so we are
going to crusade for the improvements. And we're stuck with two creations. We've
fallen into the trap of believing that God is aware of these things that need
improvement in this earth and is doing nothing about it, so we're going to do
it. Of course, we are in a human consciousness. We've fallen into the trap of
human images.
Most of you have never heard what I'd like to tell you. It's about this world of
images and what makes it so.
There's a process in photo engraving where you make a photograph of any object
or person, and then in order to reproduce that, lets say in a newspaper, you
make a photograph of the photograph. And when you make a photograph of the
photograph you put a filter or a screen between the object you're going to
photograph and your camera. And so now you get a new photograph of a photograph.
This one is filtered or screened so that the photograph is broken down into all
kinds of little dots. And then you photograph this onto metal and you put
emulsion on the metal and you put acid on the emulsion and finally you get these
dots so they're raised up. And that's all that's raised up; the photograph of
the original photograph broken into dots, raised up. And then you put ink on the
surface of these raised up dots and you turn the metal over and you print on a
newspaper. You print those dots.
And every time you pick up a newspaper and look at a face, you're not aware of
it, you think that's Richard Nixon, that's Chou En Lai, that's John Mitchell,
that's John Lindsay. And every time you look at these photographs in the paper
you're looking at nothing but little blobs of ink that are separated; they're
really little dots. And in about one inch there are about thirty-six hundred to
four thousand little dots; that's really what you're looking at. Your eye
doesn't know it; your mind doesn't know it. You're looking at dots but you think
its John Lindsay, Richard Nixon. And really it takes just as many dots to make
Richard Nixon as it does to make John Lindsay.
You can take the same dots and re-arrange them and make a hippopotamus. You can
make an elephant. If you re-arrange these dots you can make anything on this
earth. You can make a battleship, a spacecraft. In other words, your eye doesn't
see the dots. But if you take just a normal magnifying glass and look at any
photograph in the newspaper, that's what you're going to see. Hold it there,
raise it up or down until you see "Why it's only made of dots and I thought it
was a man's face!" The face is the image formed by the dots but all that is on
that paper are little black dots and they're all identical. Put a few more on
one side and you get a cluster of them. A few less on the other side and you get
what seems to be a lighter tone. But they're all the same black dots.
When I do this privately and give a magnifying glass to somebody and they look
and see the dots, they're so much surprised that they couldn't see it with their
naked eye. And that's how we all are able for fifty years to read a newspaper
and never know that we've never really seen a photograph, we've seen dots that
appear to our human eye as faces and things.
And then you can take this and take it to your television screen and see the
same process. On the television screen you're looking at electric dots, dots of
electricity. But you cannot see the dots. And as the electric moves you see the
image move but you don't know it's the movements of electrical dots. So you say
the horse is running. It isn't running, there's no horse there. You're looking
at electrical dots to simulate a horse running. No horse is going to run out of
that screen, its am image on the screen. And the method is electrical dots, so
fine that no human eye can see them. And so you get the forms.
Now you go to the motion picture house. There's a giant screen and the same
thing happens, dots. They are still electrical dots. And you can have Cleopatra
and a barge draw up. You can have the complete spectacle of Rome. And it's all
made with electrical dots. Electrical dots that to the human eye appear as
images called people doing things.
Now these processes are human inventions. The Father does it much more subtly.
When you come to the human scene you find that the same process is going on
around you. But now the dots are points of light, so fine that they have fooled
the greatest religious and intellectual and scientific teachers of the world -
points of light. And you watch these points of light move and you call them
living forms. They are the very same process in a more sophisticated way for He
hangeth the earth on nothing.
Now, what you are looking at and calling forms then are points of light moving.
You're seeing the tree grow up but you're not. You're seeing the slow motion of
points of light below the level of your perception. You see the horse run on the
track but you're not. You see boys go out to war, on battlefields. But you're
looking at points of light. And when that cannon roars and a boy falls down and
the blood pours, you're looking at points of light.
You know you're not looking at God's creation. And there are not two creations.
What are you looking at? You're looking at points of light in the cosmic mind.
Wherever you look on this earth that is all you will ever see – points of
light. You cannot find one thing on this earth made by God, not one. Now that is
important. And however revolutionary it may seem to the human mind it was a
necessary step in the revelation of the allness of God, in the eternal life that
comes into the experience of all who know God aright.
Now, what you've been looking at and calling forms, people, things, places,
conditions are points of light in a cosmic telecast. And it has its purpose. And
that purpose was explained to you in the Bible, but we walked by.
In these points of light you see the dying soldier, you see the accident on the
freeway. You see the long inventory of disease and disaster not created by God.
You're looking at the image world of the mind, And often of accusing the Father
of putting it there. "Why did you do this to my daughter? Why did you do this to
my son? Why don't you change this and change that?" But the Father doesn't
change this and change that, for the simple reason that the Father does not see
what you are seeing. The Father does not look at points of light in motion,
seeming to us as real conditions of a real world. The Father is not dreaming;
the Father is awake. The dream of mortality is where we see these points of
light.
Fortunately we have them; they have a grand purpose. You have thought that
everything wrong in your life couldn't possibly be attributed to you. As a
matter of fact we discover that most of us are pretty good human beings. And
then we say, "Well, if I've been so good why have I been completely isolated
from happiness, health, abundance, the things and joyful relationships that a
child of God ought to have? Why am I besieged by this endless parade of things
that I have to keep solving? When does the day of solving stop? When can I relax
and say `At last, I've made it'?" And then suddenly there comes another problem
out of nowhere. And it has a name.
And yet in spite of all - you've been reading your Bible, you've been listening
to tapes. You've been as faithful as you know how and as dedicated. Some put in
as many as twenty hours a day and still have things turn up that you would think
after all this time and effort and dedication, would be impossible.
And that's why we go back to the story of the wheat and the tares. Nobody plants
weeds; you've never planted any weeds. You certainly wouldn't do it
intentionally. And neither did this man in the Bible, he planted wheat. But it
wasn't long in season where there was wheat and tares, wheat and weeds. Couldn't
figure it out, he hadn't planted any tares. So he went to his friends and they
told him "Well what really happened of course, is that your neighbor down the
way who you had that argument with last month, he got even with you. While you
were asleep he planted the tares." And so asleep this man got weeds in his farm.
And asleep we get problems in our consciousness.
The tares, planted while the farmer was asleep, are the beliefs planted in you
below the level of your conscious awareness, meaning in your sleep. You do not
know what the world mind is broadcasting into you. You haven't the vaguest
notion, how could you? You have a certain level of consciousness. If something
comes in, in your unconscious how can you be conscious of it? And so seeds are
planted, seeds of belief. And the only time you become aware of them is when
they grow up into form. And you can then look out and say, "Why did I get
arthritis? Why did my business fail? Why did my marriage prove such a disaster?
Why this, why that, why the other?"
You're only seeing these things on your screen of consciousness now, as images
– broken homes, broken marriages, broken bodies. But they began in the
unconscious level where the world-mind planted in you a seed. And each seed
planted in you must become a visible experience. That visible experience you
then give the label and say, "This is what I've got." But you haven't got that
at all. What has happened is that from the invisible of your consciousness a
seed you did not know was there has grown into a tree, and it is now dropping
fruit. And that is in your visible world.
The image world is where you have seen the fruit of the tree of good and evil.
And that fruit is very untasty at times. And it grows because the seeds of
belief in your consciousness are there, unknown to you. You did not know they
were coming in. You did not know that they were growing up. You did not know
about them until you began to suffer.
The cause did not begin in you; the cause began in the world-mind. And so a very
intelligent, infinite mind has provided you with a screen, a television screen
called `the world.' And from the invisible of your consciousness you
automatically project the quality of your consciousness. You project into the
world of images, the fabric of your own consciousness. And when you label it
this or that, you're really saying, "This is the nature of my invisible
consciousness. " Because be sure of this, it isn't someone else's consciousness
appearing on your screen. The problems you manifest are nothing more than your
consciousness turned inside out like a reversible raincoat, from the invisible
to the visible.
That's what this world is all about – a place where you can project your
consciousness. And then looking at the world of images you can go back to your
consciousness, which is the land in which the wheat and the tares are growing
side by side - in duality.
And finally you come to the realization that there is no thing in this world,
which does not begin first in an invisible world. There's no child in this world
that doesn't first begin in the invisible, no tree, no seed, no fruit, no
flower, no animal. No animal, vegetable mineral or human begins in the visible,
they begin in the invisible. And everything in this visible has a beginning in
the invisible. That's what we all have in common. And therefore if we were to
live only in the visible we would continue in the world of effect, never going
into the cause of things, which is the invisible.
And what is the cause of this imaged world that you live in? Your world is your
consciousness. My world is my consciousness. And whoever is in this world is
really in their own consciousness made visible. And so this is where the effects
are – in the world. That's the television screen where we can pick up what's
right or wrong in our life.
And now we go back, go back into the invisible, into our consciousness, because
there we're going to find what's happening to make our visible world of good and
evil. It is there where we are going to determine a way of dominion over the
outer world of experience. Now, we look at our consciousness and we see that
it's subject to two forces. We're no longer dealing in the world of problems,
because if you meet a problem in the effect world of problems, you are never
going to get to the cause of it, which is in your consciousness.
So you're in the invisible of your consciousness. And you discover that your
consciousness has been fed by the wrong life stream, by the world-mind. And that
has brought forth the first print -you, the image you. Your consciousness has
brought forth the image you have called `yourself'. And your consciousness,
which brought forth this image, has not been able to see reality directly,
because between your consciousness and reality, between your consciousness and
the divine there is the world-mind, the glass darkly.
And you're looking at the divine through the glass darkly of the world-mind. And
just like that photo engraving process I told you about, you're trying to make a
photograph of the divine with your human consciousness. And there's a filter or
screen between your human consciousness and the divine. And so you break the
divine down into little dots, little dots of light. And then your consciousness
projects these dots of light into the world as the image called `you'.
These little dots of light, you know by now are the atoms identified by science,
little dots of light. Little worlds of electrical energy so placed together that
they look exactly like you. And you call those little worlds of atoms `you', not
knowing that is the image cast forth onto the screen of time and space by your
consciousness. And that it is your consciousness where you must live and you
must learn to tune out that world-mind, which is between you and the divine to
let - not the dots, not the filtered light come through - but the direct divine
light of the Father.
And there's a way to do it. And the way is the only way that is prescribed by
those who have done it. You'll find that when your mind, your consciousness, has
developed the capacity to be a vacuum; that it no longer receives the filtered
light of the world-mind. It is closed to the filtered light of the world-mind
and it becomes a clear plate of glass, crystal-clear glass. And just as Jesus
walked through a wall that was only there to the human consciousness, the divine
walks through the world-mind and through the clear crystal glass of your
consciousness, bypassing the activity of that world-mind, which breaks things up
into little atoms; coming through the crystal-clear glass of your consciousness,
which has been purified of thought. And that divine light is no longer separated
atoms, no longer separated dots of light - but is the fullness of the Father,
the wholeness of the Father - not little points of separation. And all that was
missing out here in
the image form in the world of this human experience was nothing more than gaps
of light, which the divine now brings through.
You become a living embryo in the womb of the Father. That new spiritual womb of
silence is really no different than the womb you inhabited as an embryo before
you became an imaged human self. We really duplicate that condition. No mother
has consciously fed the child in her womb. No embryo in the womb has consciously
said to the mother "Feed me!" It's an automatic process; it happens.
And when you have found the crystal-clear consciousness of silence, the vacuum
of no-thought, when you have been able to put away the thousand and one human
concepts that cram the brain, when you have been able to accept truth, divine
truth, and have reached that place where the mind is at peace, then you are like
the embryo. You are no longer saying to the Father "Give me! This is what I
want! This is what I need! This is my will, that you fulfill my will here!" But
rather you are resting in the womb of infinity with trust. Wanting nothing,
needing nothing, seeking nothing, just like a child in the mother's womb.
That spiritual embryo is the method in which you defeat the world-mind. As long
as you have a thought, an idea, a plan, a scheme, a will, a belief or an
acceptance of anything in this world that you consider real, you're not ready
for that womb. You still have house cleaning to do.
To be an embryo in the womb of the Father you must be the pure at heart, willing
to seek nothing of good and nothing of evil in the dream of mortality. For the
Father is source, and the source is pure. And that pure being, which is the
Father, is the essence of your being. And you must be fed by the essence of your
being, not something else. You rest in the conscious awareness that the pure
being called the Father, is here as my life.
And I, even past the point then of saying "Speak Father, Thy son heareth!" but
rather there is no `you' to say that. You go past that point and you see the
real meaning of what Samuel said. He had so purified himself that there was no
Samuel there. And then the Christ within Samuel said to the Father "Speak
Father, Thy son heareth!" When you hear the words within you, it is Christ
saying this to the Father who is greater than I. These words are the sign that
you have stripped yourself of the dream. Not that you have said them humanly.
But that they have been said within you by the Christ to the Father.
And now the revelation of oneness takes place. In your silence of humanhood
there is no place for world-mind to go. You are not a receiver for the
world-mind. It can plant no tares in your consciousness. It can plant no seeds
in you that will become tomorrow's problems. You are still. And now the essence
of being, not broken into little dots of light, flows through your stillness.
And the Father feeds the son, as the mother feeds the child in her womb. This is
soul feeding.
I am the bread. And the real substance that feeds you as a spiritual embryo is
the essence of God, the substance of God, the will of God, the power of God, the
love of God – all become your hidden manna, your meat the world knows not of.
You are fed by the divine. There's nothing more to do. The feeding takes place.
And now, this is what you image forth into the world - as a better body, a
better mind, a better life, a better demonstration. You are glorifying the
Father.
You are not saying to your mother "Feed me this way or that way, here's what I
prefer!" You're saying to the Father "Let me have Your food. I'm silent to the
food of the world." And the food of the Father is His own being. "All that I
have!" The very life of the Father flows through you. And so essence flows
through your purified consciousness and becomes imaged form. The outer form then
is manifesting the qualities of the new substance. And the new substance is pure
wheat. It isn't divided. It isn't good and evil.
Now, the purification, which enables Christ in you to say to the Father "Speak
Father, Thy son heareth" is the working in the invisible, in your consciousness
to consciously turn it away from the duality of the world-mind. In other words
you tune in by tuning out of the world-mind. You tune out of the world-mind to
tune in for your divine feeding.
The you of you is forgotten in the image world. That's going to be the result of
how well you're fed in the inner. And if you've learned your lessons properly,
you don't let that outer image self tempt you to fulfill its ambitions, its
will, its needs. You are out of the imaged world. You are working on the level
of consciousness.
Now, this is the meaning of washing the feet. I who stand before you, washing
your feet Peter; I am showing you that within you is a consciousness, which is
pure. And it is the actual life of God. And I am serving that life of God in you
and in myself and in everyone I meet, letting that life live itself through my
conscious awareness of its presence; keeping my consciousness on that life - not
on duality, not on a denial of the presence of that life, but rather on the
presence of that life.
Now, some of you have been involved in worldwide movements to do good in this
world and have thought that you are really doing good. But you haven't known
that you are working in the creation that is not the creation of God. What can
you find in a divine creation that needs improvement? You've been working in a
world of images. You've been working in the world that is not your Father's
kingdom. And even when you succeed in it, all you can do is change an image in
the world that is not your Father's kingdom to a better image. And it is still
not your Father's kingdom when it is a better image.
Whereas the way of the Father is "Is there a place now where I am not? Why not
purify your consciousness of the belief that there is a place somewhere where I
am not? Instead of trying to correct a world of images."
The world of images isn't to teach you that it needs correction. It's to teach
you how to purify your consciousness of the belief that you're not in the
kingdom of God. As long as in the world of images you see something wrong, you
are not accepting in your inner consciousness that this is the kingdom of God.
That's the purpose of the world of images. As long as you can see imperfection
out there you must face it with the knowledge that it wasn't created by God. And
if you still think it's real, you have invented a second creator. Who could put
the imperfection there if there's no other creator? Who could take God's perfect
creation and make it imperfect? And so as long as you're still improving things
you've missed the point.
The things that you want to improve don't need improvement. The consciousness
that put them out there needs improvement. And that doesn't mean somebody else's
consciousness that means yours. Because the things you see out there are your
consciousness made visible. Whoever else sees them that is their consciousness
made visible. Our function is to purify our consciousness so that we become
aware of God's kingdom here on earth.
And to clarify the picture then: you have a perfect divine creation here and
now, and there is no other. You have a perfect divine being, an infinite being,
not divided into little finite beings. And that infinite being is the life that
we call God, and that is the only life there is. While you are dwelling in the
inner consciousness to tune out the world-mind, you must tune out the belief
that there's another life here beside the life of God. Where would it be if God
is infinite? If this house that we're sitting in now were infinite, could you
ever be in another one? If God is infinite can you ever be outside of infinity?
If you're always in infinity and God is life you're in infinite life. Where does
it divide? Where does this infinite divine life become anything other than what
it is? And so we come out into the imaged world and we see four billion forms
instead of knowing the one life.
We are talking now in words and you are hearing these words. And it is your
belief that you are hearing them from somebody sitting up on a podium in front
of you. I'd like you to realize that isn't what's happening. You're hearing them
inside your own self right now, just as I am hearing them inside myself right
now. That's where you're hearing them. We're both hearing at the same fountain,
although it appears that someone outside of yourself is talking to you.
Every experience in your life is an experience within yourself that appears to
be an external one. You cannot have an external experience. There is no such
experience. Every such experience is a false belief. Whatever you see, you see
in yourself and think you're seeing it out there. Whatever you taste, you taste
within yourself and think you're tasting out there. Your complete experience is
within. It appears without, because it's simultaneous. You can't catch it. But
that's how it's happening. Usually mortal mind in you is talking to or hearing
mortal mind in someone else. Or divine mind in you is hearing divine mind in
someone else. Or a mixture, a shadow of divine mind. Always your experience is
within, and you're thinking it's without.
And so I want you to do this: Take an individual in the outer world, and see if
you can catch this idea that that individual that you think is out there, is
within yourself; within yourself just like a little TV screen within yourself.
And see that individual within you on a little TV screen. And now let that
person talk. And what's happening? They're talking within you on a little TV
screen. No matter what they say or do, that's within you on a little TV screen.
And if you saw this same person on TV and they complained to you about a
problem, you would look at the TV and say "Why that's just an image on a TV
screen." That's precisely what this world of images is. Every image is on the
inner TV screen of your brain, which you think is out there.
Now those of you who can dwell with this awhile will begin to get the idea that
your dominion and your purification of consciousness, is to see that every evil
in the world is nothing more than a little TV screen inside your consciousness
that is broadcasting a lie, an untruth. And made you believe it was external
when it couldn't possibly be, in the creation of God.
When you reduce the images of the world into this little TV screen, you will
find the whole world is on this little TV screen. And you will find if you don't
let it get off the TV screen, but can keep your consciousness knowing its only
on an inner TV screen it can't be real out there, because God didn't make it.
If you can never let it get off that TV screen you'll find you're beginning to
feel the message of dominion. And I don't care what you have out there in the
world, if you won't let it get off this little TV screen inside, you'll have
caught part of what the Master was teaching all the time. To the man on the
cross standing beside him, about to be crucified like himself "I will take thee
today into Paradise." To the bond servant of the centurion "Go thy way, he
liveth." Why? All that was in the inner little TV screen, the lie about the
Father.
The allness of God is the rule, the law, the fact. Where is there a thief then
on a cross? In this little TV screen of the mind. Catch it at that level. Don't
fight it out there it isn't necessary. Don't fight Pilate out there it isn't
necessary. Catch it inside. Because it's coming through there, at the same time
as you see it outside.
Everything has to come through your consciousness before it can appear out there
to your consciousness. And you catch it at the level of it happening in
consciousness, you'll see the nothingness of it. All evil in the world is in the
human consciousness, that's the only place it is. It isn't in the world; it's in
the human consciousness. There is no world. There is only the kingdom of God.
Now, what we're at today at this moment, is something that comes only from years
of dwelling with it, until suddenly it announces itself to you. And you possibly
may have sensed something along these lines at one time or another. But you'll
discover your dominion is to be able to look at this world and everything in it,
and bring it right back to this little television screen inside your
consciousness. Maybe one inch big if you want to visualize it, just a little
one-inch screen. And whatever it's complaining about, its nothing but a little
TV broadcast coming from the world-mind. That's the place to say "Sorry, the
Father didn't bring you into this world. Is this of God or is this the
world-mind?" It's not of God you know, if its evil. Where is it? Who created it?
No one. It's just a television broadcast and if you leave it on, it's going to
project itself. It's going to demand attention.
Now, in the purification of your consciousness then, you're saying to these
broadcasts from within, which have appeared to you as images of the world
without "Get thee behind me!" God is a pure being. God is the essence. Is there
another essence? Is there another source? Can anything formed of that essence be
less than the same essence? How can you dilute the essence of God? You can't.
How can you change it? You can't. How can you pollute it? You can't. How can you
poison it? You can't. How can you kill it? You can't. How can you give it a
disease? You can't. Then what are you giving these things to? To nothing, to
nothing whatsoever. The essence of God is omnipresent. You simply have been
fooled by a world broadcast within yourself, which makes you think it's out
there.
And don't think for a minute that I'm trying to build a picture as a sort of a
comparison or an allegory or a symbolism. I mean it factually. What isn't
created by God cannot be out there. And by reducing it to a little broadcast
within yourself, you'll find you can throttle it at the level of conscious
acceptance or conscious rejection. You can throttle it. And turn your mind, your
consciousness to the presence of God. And watch how that little fellow inside
begins broadcasting the truth.
Every world image regardless of its name is an inner telecast that you are
receiving, which seems to be out there. We're all wired to the same world-mind
and we all receive it, almost simultaneously. It's no different than six billion
TV sets. In your home you get it. In someone else's home they get the same
thing. Here you're getting it right inside yourself at the same time as they're
getting it inside themselves. And that's what makes everyone see it, more or
less the same.
Don't meet it out there. Any more than you would go to a television set in your
home and smash it because you didn't like the face of somebody on it. You
wouldn't heal anything on a TV set screen. Get it right here at the level of TV
and see the nothingness of it. That's all it is.
The Bible calls it "the arm of flesh." Christian Science calls it "mortal mind."
Others will call it "universal mind." Others will call it "Maya." Some will call
it "hypnotism, mesmerism." But the nature of it is that it mesmerizes you by
appearing to be out there, when it isn't. And why does it come through you?
Because you have also accepted the image of you as a reality, instead of knowing
that you are a living soul.
Now, in our rebirth out of this image, we're not going to throw the image away,
its very useful. But we are going to live in the consciousness of the presence
of God, so that in our soul feeding we are one with the One; that the one
essence can flow into form instead of the duality of the world-mind; so that we
are not divided from the essence, so that the substance forms us.
The Father who is greater than I, is the essence. And I am the form of that
essence. And the form of that essence that I am is the infinite Christ. The
substance of the Father flows as the infinite Christ. And you find your
spiritual form, which is not little pieces of light held together by magnetism;
which is independent of the images of the world, independent of the flood and
the fire, independent of world conditions. Why? Because world conditions only
occur in the image world, where the image form appears.
And we must learn to walk through these images, right through these images, by
that consciousness, which opens itself to the pure essence. And lets the essence
do the work. Now, how we're going to do that, how we're going to open our
consciousness to the essence of being, to overcome the false dominion of the
world and its two powers, is going to constitute all of our work.
The real freedom will only come as we learn to look at the world of images
knowing what it is, so that we fear it not, so that its false powers mean
nothing to us, so that we can consciously walk in oneness, in the acceptance
that God is pure. And that purity, which is infinite, is the purity of my own
being. That purity overflows and overflows and overflows throughout its kingdom
as my self, my being. And I can live in my pure being independent of the image
world, which has been necessary to lift me and my consciousness above the level
of duality.
Those images, those wheats, those tares have been very important to me. They
have helped me locate the unconscious beliefs I have entertained. I have seen
those beliefs as images. Now I see them not as images, but as invisible beliefs.
And now I can watch them and reject them. And turn my consciousness to the
Father and rest in oneness.
Now, after three or five of these sessions, including the second half of this,
we are going to be developing our conscious awareness of the presence of God. We
have been given all of the weapons we need to do this. Nothing has been
withheld.
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