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Enlightening articles by Guy Finley on a wide range of topics address practical life issues and deepen your spiritual understanding.
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Shop eCoursesGF: Hello and welcome. Before we begin tonight I would like to introduce you to some new ideas intended to help us transform these disturbing times on earth into something of great spiritual benefit.
If one has any sensitivity, then one must ask: Why is there so much hatred everywhere? What has happened that human beings are so willing to destroy each other, and at the same time feel so justified for the terror they champion? How is it that fear rules the day and drives the world to an edge that it manages to extend with each passing hour? Why can't there be peace on earth?
But to these same questions we must add one more -- a probing inquiry not so easy to entertain because it begins with turning around one's outwardly pointed finger of judgment. We must ask: What is my role in this madness? Am I really just the spectator I imagine myself to be, innocent of the sickness I see everywhere -- or am I part of the ignorance whose pain seeks to destroy peace?
We must not fear such questions, as fear is ignorance actuated. The truth is, and always has been (in its simplest spiritual equation), that we are the world we see; we are each, within, microcosmic versions of the global conflict going on around us. We despise the day that deprives us of our happiness, mentally crushing anyone blamed for our loss. And we are never wrong in our judgment.
So we see, the Wise teach truly: The inner does determine the outer. There cannot be peace (on earth) until one's heart is at peace. A mind at peace punishes neither itself nor anyone else. The work to understand these truths begins with no longer trying to create an imagined peace, but with awakening to what it is within us that believes it already knows the true nature of peace.
Any awakening implies the sudden realization that one has been asleep to another order of reality. So it is true with our wish to awaken to what is wrecking us. And just as a friend might gently nudge us to help bring us out of a nightmare, there have been truths sown into this world whose purpose is to show us where we are asleep to reality and living out a bad dream.
We first meet these timeless and eye opening truths in the form of new and higher self-knowledge such as follows: We cannot make ourselves peaceful, any more than we can make silence. Silence already exists in any space once we stop making noises in it. The same holds true of peace. Real peace is already in place, and we need only stop creating conflict to realize its grace.
Simply stated: We are not at peace within ourselves because we are at war within ourselves. And because we have yet to learn how to enter this interior battle, armed with the one force that transforms dark fires into mild Light, we do not comprehend the actual nature of this internal conflict. Again we meet the need for new and greater self-knowledge, beginning with this Key Lesson:
Until we realize that continually identifying with our own conflicting desires about how to win peace of mind is like using a cannon blast to light a candle, we will only remain at war within ourselves -- all the while blaming the world around us for its insensitive inability to grant us that imagined peace we so desperately seek!
It was said by Christ, which should be self-evident, that "A house divided cannot stand." The problem is, we are not conscious of this division within us, so that we are virtually unaware of our own conflicting desires. This inner struggle continues unabated because the sensation of a pleasure promised by one desire outweighs the pain of its secret opposition.
The obvious note here is that a pain masked by a more prominent pleasure does not end their conflict, and the misery in the soul that suffers this battle remains intact even if the physical body isn't conscious of this continuous conflict. Let's illuminate, by example, a few of these conflicting desires and end their power over us. Our peace will follow as sunlight after the passing storm.
One desire we all share is that we want to be loved and approved of by everyone everywhere. To accomplish this we believe we must be worthy, which requires our becoming a bigger "success" than whomever it is that is seen as competing with us for this craved attention. What other choice have we -- given the importance of our task -- but to step on a few people on our way to the top?
Can we see how our initial desire causes conflict and actually creates an effect the very opposite of the one it intended at the outset? Living in fear that we won't win the approval we seek, we have no choice but to do whatever is necessary to accomplish our end. So we hurt others by running over them to reach our goal. We destroy the very love and respect we wanted on our way to winning it!
Another example of secretly conflicting desires is how we all long to think of ourselves as being free and independent of others. But unseen in this want of ours hides another (and contrary) desire to which we are also attached: We only feel like we have reached this elevated state of independence as long as others recognize what we have done! We require others to confirm our freedom!
There are many other examples of such inner contradictions worth witnessing. There is our intermittent desire to be left alone -- even as we feel left out or ignored if our friends don't call us because they miss our company. The point should be as obvious. We suffer from our own cross-purposes and find ourselves unable (at present) to see our way out from under their conflict.
Before we close our chat tonight, I will highlight some important new ideas about what one must understand (and work at) to realize his or her own soul state of spiritual peace.
What do you feel like discussing tonight? What have you been working on within yourself and how can we use this time together to grow in a new understanding that leads us to a higher inner peace?
James1: When we worry, do we send out some sort of unseen "beacon" to the rest of the world? The other day at the office seemed to degrade so rapidly for everyone when I know personally I became so concerned over something.
GF: Yes, absolutely. Unseen but nevertheless so, is that you are never around another human being without the two "atmospheres" meeting and mingling. This is why it's so important to attend to one's self and one's inner state, as the person most asleep in any relationship is invariably dominated by the "air" of the other person.
Purpleperson: I feel myself getting caught in the vicious cycle of this -- the more problems in the world, the more worried I become, the more worried I become, the more anger and conflict I cause for myself and others around me, and the more things don't "go well", etc. I find myself caught in the cycle and unable (unwilling?) to stop it.
GF: The world feeds on this vicious cycle that it creates through its own unconscious acts. This is why all True teachings have conveyed the idea that we must learn what it means to be in this world but not of it. As far as exiting this sorry circle of social life, it is possible with new understanding and willingness to do the work necessary. At the close of the chat I will speak directly about how we learn to let go of what is tearing the world apart within us.
Matteo: I am from NYC and feel very scared at the progression of events lately. Is my desire to get as far away from here as possible fear or is it practical thought?
GF: It's probably a mixture of both. Work to be as quiet inwardly as you can so that you may rely upon Silence to tell you the difference between self-exciting fears of what may be versus the intuition that understands that certain places naturally attract certain events to them. Do this and you'll become clear on what action to take.
digger: A state of negativity is created in me when someone is being mean to someone I like. I want to lash back at the abusive person to protect the person I like. How do I deal with this kind of situation? How do I deal with myself?
GF: Try to understand that the pain you feel when watching someone be unkind to another is secretly pain that you are placing upon yourself by first identifying with an image of that person and then calling upon the content of your own past pained experiences to tell you what this (imagined) person is going through. In short, we lash ourselves mentally and blame events physically. See this.
kidd1: I am a peaceful person and wish to hurt nobody. I carry a gun as it is my legal right and because of the violence in our society. If I leave it at home I feel something missing. Is this wrong?
GF: Would you ask me this question if you didn't already know the answer to it? Violence resisted can only escalate. Fear embraced crushes the world that looks to it to save it from itself. No negative action can produce a positive outcome for the person who is limited to seeing only things in the dark.
kidd1: Please, with all due respect, have you ever had your life threatened, lived in a violent neighborhood or been faced with the strong possibility of being robbed/lied to/betrayed?
GF: The short answer is yes; but this is not essential to the real question: Why does one remain in a jungle where the likelihood of animal attack is ten times that of a person living outside such an environment?
GypsyHawk: I understand that when someone does something personally negative to the self, one should let it go, drop it, and walk away. However, if one wishes to debate a topic and directs their opinion to you for an argument and you know they are wrong, is it right to continue the conversation with them to show them what you have seen to be true? An example would be the US aggression in Iraq.
GF: As a rule, no. Those who fight with others to prove they are right are in no different state than those who are "wrong" that they would show this to. Christ often "showed" this, and actually spoke it when he said: "Cast not thy pearls before swine."
Randy: You have said that "evil exists in this world." Should we eradicate the evil in the Iraq crisis or must peace and love prevail? We certainly can't "turn the other cheek" in a post 9/11 world. What are your thoughts?
GF: Evil cannot be eradicated by violence, regardless of how well intended these actions may be.
steveb: Do you have an opinion on prophesies that say a nuclear bomb will be detonated on populated cities in 2006, or does it waste our positive energy to consider such dire predictions? Along these lines I wonder what you think about the ugly prospects in the Middle East we are all anticipating?
GF: It is not only a waste of our energy to consider negative predictions, but such considerations secretly help create the very event feared.
JS: I feel that I have no inner strength to protect me from the attacks of ravening others. How can I have true strength (not posturing) that never wavers?
GF: You have to learn what it means to become invisible. What does this mean? Throw a knife at a tree and the knife sticks because the knife and the tree have similar material natures. Throw an angry remark at an awakening person and the anger passes through that man or woman because he or she no longer finds any interest in intercepting such negative forces.
mikejb35: Is it wrong to use constructive imagining to visualize where I want to be in my career and life eventually, or does this automatically engender the "opposites"?
GF: As a rule, the visualization itself is a manifestation of something resisted, or as you said, an opposite. Visualization is effective (I believe) when it comes to healing the body or learning to swing a golf club according to principle. Other uses tend to strengthen the self that calls upon the imagery for the purposes of creating its "future." This future and the self are false, and usually a source of secret conflict.
GypsyHawk: I understand the value in being in the present and staying objective to my thoughts, but if we have career goals we want to manifest, is the practice of visualization of future goals compatible to present awareness? And if so, then would that entail that thoughts can be very positive and practical in the forging of our desired lives?
GF: One cannot dream and be awake at the same time they are antithetical states. The problem with goals in the future is that they exist for the self imagining them as the means to peace and contentment in a time to come. We cannot make peace. We cannot make happiness. We can drug ourselves and excite ourselves, but never know the True solace that comes with an awakened spiritual life.
GypsyHawk: I write, and would like to publish my work. If future visualization is a dream, then can I use it now to hone my writing in the present?
GF: What you have asked is not clear to me, but here is one good piece of advice: follow what your heart tells you is the best path, but while you walk, learn to watch the results of the steps you are taking. Let no one tell you who or what you should do or be; to do so is to lose your chance to develop.
SJ711: I find myself struggling for hours on particular inner work issues without receiving answers, but don't know if the struggling I'm going through is a product of the false-self or my higher-self doing inner work. I meditate and relax and answers still don't come. Then I say to myself this struggling is my false-self and that I need to let go. When I let go, instantly a voice in my heads tells me I'm avoiding the problem and the inner work. I don't know what to do. Does inner work consist of struggling for the answer in the same sense as we struggle at a complex calculus problem or should I just ignore that voice and let go and the answers will flow in effortlessly and smoothly?
GF: See if this applies: Answers to pains cannot be found at the same level as the pain that makes the request. Thinking cannot resolve thinking no matter how much thinking one does. Don't look for answers, instead try to be conscious of the disturbance within you that then sends "you" (its secret opposite) out looking for an answer. This search is resistance, not the path to realization.
ADB What is the absolute root cause of this nascent pain we all share?
GF: Creation.
ndee: What is the solution?
GF: Conscious relationship.
ADB: Creation.... so this is something that (obviously) we can't do much about as far as ridding ourselves of it. We were born with it? If so, it sounds kind of hopeless.
GF: To the contrary: we are deeply and meaningfully involved in this process, and the true fulfillment of ourselves, of our soul, and spiritual possibilities are all tied to this relationship.
ADB: In last month's chatroom you said: "Desires in themselves are not destructive, it is the sense of self we derive from them that destroys all forms of love." I may have misinterpreted your teachings on this. I thought (you said before) desire equates to being asleep to the resistance to where we are (not). Clarify my interpretive contradiction please.
GF: See if this helps. There are natural desires that are themselves expressions of needful opposites seeking wholeness. Of themselves, these energetic states present no problem nor stumbling block to self-realization. It is once we have become identified with the sensation the desire produces that we form an attachment to its opposite. It is the attachment and the sense of self connected to it that causes self-compromise and self-defeat.
kidd1: I have this obsession with the possibility of contracting HIV. I'm not afraid of dying, yet I'm afraid of this, and it has gotten to the point where I cannot function too well with my loved one because I now see sex as a task and obstacle. How can I put this into perspective without ignoring this very real problem that people contract due to their urges and ignorance? I need real help.
GF: One cannot be careful enough with regards to intimate relationships. Having said this, if you doubt the integrity of the person you are having relations with, then the issue of becoming infected from his or her infidelity should be secondary. That aside, try to recognize that all fears psychologically have their root in negative imagination. Drop the bad movie and you drop the fear.
mobilman: When we have an experience with God and that experience fades into the past, is the memory of that experience something we need to let go of, or is it also "timeless"?
GF: Any true moment of relationship with what is Higher within us changes that nature that experienced that moment to some extent. We must not "live" from remembering such sensations, as it is what is un-living in us that seeks such experience from what was.
mobilman: If we were to forget our experience with the One who has revealed Himself to us how could we remember our Aim?
GF: I never said to forget our relationship with what is Divine. What I said is that we must drop trying to relive any moment of grace that has come our way. We are not on earth to relive anything. We are here to live within the Divine, which can only occur for us once we see through the false pleasure of reliving what was (either pleasurable or painful).
SHADY: You said to not live from past spiritual experiences and that it is the other nature within us that wants that. But the spiritual experience in itself changes us, and shouldn't that be considered an extraordinary moment, one treasured?
GF: The true spiritual life has nothing to do with treasures remembered.
ADB: I'm aware that I'm feeling this very familiar "heaviness." Because I can tell I am in this state, does that mean I am (partially) aware, or am I truly asleep by the simple fact that I am in this state and am (obviously) valuing its purpose?
GF: It's essential to be able to tell the difference between one's awareness of a negative state, or one being absorbed by that same state. One way to tell is that one is aware of a certain kind of suffering versus only being resistant to that suffering and calling this being aware. There is always a certain degree of discomfort in being awake to oneself. This is because what is unenlightened "naturally" recoils at the onset of Light.
ADB So if I'm aware that I have a feeling of being "incomplete," then that starts the downward cycle?
GF: Only if you cling to the negative state that "tells" you "who" you are. You would not hold on to an anchor thrown into the water, so why cling to a dark state that can only pull you down?
bd: My lifelong biggest fear is not having enough money to survive, but whenever I get ahead, I lose it by taking chances to get more. Is this self- sabotage on my part? I've been on the path searching for truth with you and Vernon Howard for several years.
GF: Clearly this is self-sabotage. The idea that more of anything can make us happy belongs to a certain part of our psychology that is so totally inculcated, it does not know the difference between the promise of happiness and its fulfillment. Save your money. This one small act will help you see the wild and squandering self presently passing itself off as you.
ADB: Is it possible to have a keen understanding of a Truth teaching yet still be asleep to that teaching? I can relay some of these Truth teachings rote, yet still have areas of my life that are obviously untouched. Clarify please.
GF: The answer is yes. Truth Teachings are only words and mental structure. They do not bring the Truth they talk about; they merely point to such truths. One's task is to recognize the immense gulf that exists between how much he or she knows of such teachings and how little one's being reflects the wisdom of these teachings.
ADB: So the continuation of the recognition is simply to "just keep going/ persist"?
GF: Yes, we must persist with our work. But we must not just blindly struggle to "win" some imagined battle. Persistence purifies the one who will be awake to his actions, while it can punish someone who practices punishing himself with unconscious actions.
kidd1: Despite my accomplishments and growth, I seem to supplement my lack of a normal physical relationship with pornographic websites on a regular basis. I know this is wrong. How do I stop something that seems OK and self-serving? Please excuse the nature of this question.
GF: All sexual compulsion is the negative expression of energies meant for one's use having become twisted and turned to other (self-serving) uses. Only the Light of true self-seeing can restore this incumbent darkness to its natural state where it can be transformed for other purposes. With this in mind, see the following: There is no such thing as a compulsive pleasure, as anything one is made to serve, that makes him a slave of that state he is subjected to. See the truth of this.
jaywheel: I too suffered terribly with sexual addiction for over thirty years and have found freedom from lust through a 12-step program. I actually owe my life to the 12 steps and the Power that has released me from that particular bondage. This really works for those who are addicted. Could you please encourage those with this affliction to seek out recovery?
GF: I encourage anyone who is in pain to learn the real reason behind that pain so that the Truth they discover will free them not only from the pain that burdens them, but the former self that couldn't live without that pain.
Langston: Does addiction also thrive via unseen opposites within us (me)? If so, does the understanding/seeing of this truth serve as a pre-cursor for extinction?
GF: Yes, quite so; however "extinction" is not quite the right word. Better stated is that the Light transforms the darkness, and what remains is no longer destructive to us, but has become a new part of our understanding.
James1: Have you read "Power vs. Force" by David Hawkins? He describes measuring truthfulness through applied kinesiology. He explains how the body is connected to the collective consciousness. Comment please.
GF: There is no part of the world, let alone the human body as a microcosm of the universe itself, that does not reflect all principles, whether they are employed favorably or against the organism they inhabit.
JS: I feel that I am not being rewarded by life. Is pursuing one's dreams more likely to bring happiness than the practicality of working solely for a paycheck?
GF: If we can do what we love, there is nothing in the universe that can stand in the way of our success. By success, though, I mean a quiet mind, an opening heart, and agreement with Love itself to purify us and perfect us according to its nature. No other relationship in this world can touch this.
Roy: From your Tape of the Month talk entitled "Know Danger Hidden in Ideals," I see how I've always followed one ideal after another. I see that I've followed a thought-created image of my ever-changing ideals, and I feel now the punishment of that constant comparison. But if I drop these ideals, what then will be my guideposts? I aspire for a higher life outside of thought and time. Is that an ideal of a higher order?
GF: This is a certain point of the Path for those who persist, wherein they realize they must no longer provide for themselves any direction whatsoever taken from anything imagined. The intellectual nature is terrified at this prospect because it only knows motivation through sensation. However, there is a kind of Celestial current that runs through the soul, which we are invited to let carry us if we will simply stop driving ourselves.
Matteo: I come out of my body almost every night and travel all over the country, sometimes often meeting and "hanging out" with other beings. Is astral projection anything to be concerned about?
GF: If what you say is true, and this is a natural occurrence (meaning you are not taking unnatural steps to produce your perceived experience), then this is nothing to worry about or spend time thinking about. Watch, learn, and be patient. Keep your wish to be safe in Truth before you at all times.
Rael: The realization has been growing that I love daydreaming. I love the feelings I get of being the hero, wisely informing others, confronting the bully. For years I have tried to give up daydreams, but see that is only a false ruse. I see I am using these soothing feelings as places of refuge from the secret pains hidden within them -- pride, fear, guilt, etc. -- yet I remain attracted as a bee to honey. How can one be free from what he obviously loves?
GF: No man or woman will ever consciously compromise their own capacity for a relationship with the Higher. Daydreams can be as addictive psychologically as is opium physically. You must stop feeding the self that is serving this addiction as it is. Find an exercise in attention that will allow you to observe the daydream impulse instead of being carried away by it. You must work at this if you want freedom from it.
Beckycs: I can sense the truth in "the inner determines the outer" and I also believe that the physical body, given the correct nutrients, can heal itself. I have been suffering a lot from physical pain for the last ten years, in spite of all the different things I have tried. Is it a true course to even desire healing to take place?
GF: It is natural to want to be whole. This being said, it is given to us to understand that most of the pain we are in when it comes to physical ailments, has to do with the pain born of not wanting to be in pain. One can use everything, including pain, to realize greater and higher degrees of wholeness. Resistance divides, awareness encompasses.
bruce57: I have heard strong testimonials on affirmations. One such teacher believes you could make things happen by increasing your mental pictures and make things work for you. I don't like the way this sounds, and it seems ungodly, however I have noticed some things working in that direction within my own unconsciousness. Can this really work, and is this right?
GF: Your intuition that such actions are ungodly is founded in Truth. We imagine that we know what we need, and even when we get it, fail to see that we then imagine why it didn't fulfill us, and then turn to imagination again to restart this cycle. This world, and all things in it that can be imagined, is incapable of helping a person (through its objects) find peace of heart and kindness of soul.
Diojeneez: If we can be aware in any circumstance, any place, and at any time, then is there really a need to intellectualize everything? Even in our confusions, can't we just be aware, since it all comes down to awareness anyway?
GF: Yes, of course. How can the darkness of confusion resolve confusion over anything? Darkness begets darkness. Light not only begets Light, but it changes whatever darkness it enters into by clarifying its matter. Clarity is spiritual wisdom.
Purpleperson: How does one know if they are really giving things over to God, or just "justifying" things by saying it must have been God's voice?
GF: There's an old saying that goes something like "by their fruits you will know them." There is no substitute for action when it comes to wishing for Truth to be one's guide. We start the journey, Truth finishes it. If after a few steps you fall in a hole you didn't see, get rid of the guide.
Rousseau: What is meant by the phrase "physician heal thyself" in terms of our work here?
GF: The passage you refer to was an instruction Christ gave when speaking to someone who was judging and condemning someone else. The point being that no one can heal another individual of something they have not already been healed of themselves. Then, if a correction is given, there is no harshness in it, but is born of the humility of having seen the same sickness in himself.
bruce57: You have said that "future cannot be seen due to the level of conscience that wants to see it." Is this level of conscience the same limitation as in not "getting" certain truths at certain times when studying or worshiping (despite your repeated efforts)? What can I do to always be receptive besides remembering to be awake?
GF: Vernon Howard often gave talks based on the principle that "resistance to the disturbance is the disturbance." When we see the truth of this dark play of the opposites within us, then we let go of wanting what one side of this pair of punishing thoughts said would answer the pain. At that moment, both the self that was seeking and the solution sought after fall away. Stay awake and watch.
mikejb35: I would like to redirect the path of my career at this time. I know what is coming up in my present career path is not to my interest, but there is something else which interests me greatly. How do I proceed?
GF: There is a chapter in my book, Design Your Destiny, entitled "Take the Conscious Risk." It applies perfectly to your present position. May I suggest you read this if you have the book, or order the book if you haven't yet seen it. As always, if the material doesn't shed valuable light on the problem described, you may return it to the Foundation for a full refund. Contact Chris through this website.
ADB: When I went to the Grand Canyon this summer (one of your talks inspired me), I found myself experiencing voices that seemed to appear when I let myself stand near the edge (not close) and become aware of the true space below me. When I did this, I heard voices saying to me "jump," and I actually envisioned myself doing this. That scared me.
GF: We must learn what it means "not to do the devils work" (for him).
digger: Any thoughts on what is a good way to share my Work with others, particularly my kids?
GF: Be as consciously kind as you can be, which means to not express (but watch instead) your negative states. Be as encouraging as possible without producing false hope. Speak the truth at all times without being cruel or unnecessarily over-correcting. And when asked for what you think is right, dare to speak it in spite of the consequences.
jaywheel: Here is something, seemingly small, but I experience a great deal of pain and conflict in it. Perhaps an example would be best: Our kitchen needs a cleaning. I visualize myself enjoying the process -- very pleasant -- until I actually am in the kitchen! Then an anxiety and resistance takes over, and I am compelled to put it off for another time when I will be more in the mood. How to take action? What does this tell me about what I need to be working on?
GF: Your observations are clear and good. All negative states, including those of resistance to work needful of being done, are produced by a part of ourselves that would have us believe a greater pleasure exists elsewhere than where we need to be working. See that it uses pain to get you to walk away from what needs to be done. Now go through this pain. On the other side of the resistance is the flow. But you must walk through the state to negate it.
bd: If we seek Truth and stay in the present moment, and really mean it with all our heart, will Truth suddenly envelop us?
GF: All things Divine are between God and the one to whom he chooses to reveal himself.
noww: I have found from your help that I love nothing more than God, truth, and growing daily. Thank you! I am still working at this despite my financial problems. I'm flat broke, late on all bills, and still staying on the path. What's wrong? I know truth has nothing to do with currency, but it can't be too right to have this much wrong. Any suggestions?
GF: Apart from doing what you must to take care of what is practical and essential, i.e., a small place to live, decent food to eat, and clothes for warmth, never mind the rest of it. No one can ask Truth for help with a sincere heart and not receive an answer, even if that answer is to show that person that their sincerity was not as deep as he had imagined. Either way it's an answer, and leads to the next step.
SHADY: When you see someone close to you crying out because of a weakness you now realize they have (where before you would argue with this person over this situation), what is the best way to handle their insecurity so that they can maybe see that their insecurity isn't real at all?
GF: Because we fear space within ourselves, we often deny it to those around us. Give everyone that you can all the room they need (meaning don't interfere with their development) in order to witness themselves as they are without having to add resistance to you in the moment.
Bill: I work in computer software. At work today I was struck by the tremendous will to believe in magic solutions that software will bring. Can you comment on our desire to believe in magic?
GF: Whatever magic we call on to free ourselves from pain is black magic.
noww: Do you feel it's OK to pursue business solely for financial gain? I thought I had an interest due to my aptitude, but see nothing but darkness in the financial workings. Should I drop business?
GF: It isn't business that has to be dropped, but the sense of self that is produced through identifying with whatever it is that thinks that "business" can change its life. Anyone who lives strictly for financial gain loses everything, including the possibility of a God-centered life.
LarryY: I have been aware of the truth since I was five, however my mind persists on judging negatively. I have made persistent efforts to be quiet, i.e., meditating. Perhaps I need to be noisier, i.e., socialize, work hard, create work through the emotional baggage which seems to be unable or unwilling (I'm not sure which) to let go of.
GF: If you will read through the ideas (and the insights they hold) in the closing comments to this chat, I believe you will realize something new that will help you to take new steps towards authentic self-liberation.
Langston: I am noticing how I react to my own reactions to what the Light reveals. If I see dishonesty, I react with fear that I could have been so negative. Then I react with condemnation for being fearful of that negative state. Then I react with condemnation for being dishonest in the first place, for if I weren't so dishonest, I wouldn't have to deal with the initial fear of that negativity. All this constant chatter goes on and on. Is identification of the initial negative state the cause of all this chatter? Do I have to learn what it means to see dishonesty without becoming it whether that means to just be dishonest or condemn myself for it?
GF: The answer is yes, identification with the initial state observed drives the machine now making you miserable. Drop the second reaction to what you see. The first reaction will be unavoidable for a while. The second reaction, i.e., the chain of judgment and self-incrimination, is only taking place because you consent to the conflict it produces. Stay awake.
TRUTHLOVER: I read some of your bio and noted your time with Vernon Howard. Did you relocate for this? If so, did you leave family and friends, or were you blessed with proximity to such availability? Would you recommend one relocate if they have never before left home, job, environment?
GF: I would always recommend that one do all they can to be as near a source of Truth as possible. If however one has family or responsibilities due to past involvements, clear up these issues and then draw near to what the heart longs for. For those who long for Truth, there is no substitute for giving up what Truth asks for that relationship.
SJ711: How do we distinguish and discern if a spiritual teacher, group, or organization operates out of the manipulation and persuasion of a cult? For now I just stay away and stick to authors like you, but when some groups are brought before me, I'm not sure at all and I feel fear because I can't discern. So now after years of meditating I don't go to any groups or teachers. I just listen to my inner feelings and they guide me, but I honestly feel like I don't know if certain gurus and groups are acting out of truth. Now I feel like I'm not participating, and I feel guilt for not getting involved. How do I discern?
GF: There is no doubt that many (if not most) so-called teachers and groups these days are promulgating in the dark because they secretly strengthen dark parts of those drawn to them. Caution is necessary, but fear is counter-productive. Learn to trust the "taste" you receive in encounters, and do not second guess such intuition because of a secondary need to feel like you "belong" to something. Psychological fears protect the fearful self.
noww: What is your understanding on tithing? The Bible speaks about it, and it sounds great, but I don't understand how people who do the exact opposite are loaded with money. They obviously do not contribute.
GF: Give because you know it is right (in some instance) -- or because you feel gratitude for something you have received from some organization of your choosing. Never give for fear someone disapproves of you, or especially if a group "demands" these gifts.
Diojeneez: I have a terrible attitude towards high school which I think is sloth. My motivation comes and goes. Sometimes I feel I'm not even learning. I end up goofing off with friends and throwing paper balls in class. I feel like a total wreck at times. What can I do with myself to fix this?
GF: Get weary of being used by sloth-like parts of yourself that want you to believe you can grow by doing nothing to learn. Leave anyone behind who encourages you to act in this negligence. These people want friends to fall with.
GypsyHawk: I would like to know if I am on the right track: I seem to have been seeking approval from people my mind tells me I cannot have approval from, and I have been catching myself in this. I now look at the world objectively, without concerning myself with what it means to me, but rather what each person or thing means to itself.
GF: This sounds reasonable, and will not damage your work as long as you are not pretending not to care about these things through the mechanism of this kind of separation.
TRUTHLOVER: After watching a show on TLC, I realized how much of "not us" there is than "us." I must admit, this made me feel like my work of 4-5 years has not yet even begun. What would you recommend to someone who wishes to touch the infinite and enter into the spiritual world as much as possible, gain insight, understanding, limitlessness, and utilize God's creations for the good that exists?
GF: Wake up.
mikejb35: I can "hear" a thought pop up in my mind very quietly, and then "hear" my mind repeat it louder. What is this a manifestation of?
GF: Thought amplifying itself for the purpose of strengthening the opposites in order to stimulate sensations in the mind, etc.
SJ711: Why did the church use fear to control the masses around 500 A.D. by condemning metaphysics, the natural laws of the universe, and psychic ability, etc.? What happened? Billions are still blinded by this persuasion. I also heard that it's a possibility that Jesus didn't die on the cross and that he and Mary Magdalene went to Rennes (the château in France) where they married and gave birth to children. I would appreciate your comments.
GF: You will know the answers to these questions when you discover the parts of yourself that are one and the same with the council (then and now) that worked to destroy Christ's teachings. Such awakenings are essential to true rebirth.
Ringo: I am working on an anger problem. I feel it bubble up and I try to watch it until it fades, but I seem to explode. What can I do to overcome this?
GF: Stay with your wish to watch this condition instead of being used by it. Remember we are not trying to become stronger than the savage in us, but to bring this un-regenerated nature into the Light that does the work "for us."
Diojeneez: There are mystics who say we become like those who we surround ourselves with. But if you are in the Light, how can you become like those in the dark?
GF: A true mystic would no more hang out with dark souls than an eagle would be found in a cave with bats!
Diojeneez: The son of Sirach says "Call no man happy before his death, for by how he ends, a man is known." Wow, can you explain?
GF: Perhaps this refers to the fact that we are only real when all that is false in us has died a spiritual death that is either accepted willingly (on the part of the aspirant), or not at all.
DebbieE: A friend of mine goes to a church where she has been assisting partly by feeding and clothing the poor. They feel that this is a ministry they should be involved in, but she is questioning it because she can't continue and keep herself and her only son healthy. She wonders when it should end. She sees herself assisting in what she once thought was "loving her neighbor," but the handouts keep going out and none seem to be changing and weaning themselves from the handouts. She says that it is becoming a perpetual cycle. Can you add any understanding to this issue of assisting others?
GF: Our problems today are because of spiritual ignorance of ourselves, and (necessarily) of those around us. Any act done in ignorance to resolve a problem can only acerbate the problem, whereby the dependent become more so, and the "do-gooders" unconsciously contribute to both their destruction (of soul) as well as their own. "Physician heal thyself" . . . and then you will know what might be done to help others. Most of us "do" good because it is a lot easier than doing the inner work to discover where we are a part of the problem we want to "heal".
GF: Let me now give you my remaining notes on what we must see if we would let go and know the peace for which our innermost heart longs.
First, a few points from our opening comments concerning the secret forces at work within us that are sabotaging our potential to know personal peace as well as a global harmony. The following paragraph is the main Key Lesson from my earlier notes:
Until we realize that continually identifying with our own conflicting desires about how to win peace of mind is like using a cannon blast to light a candle, we will only remain at war within ourselves -- all the while blaming the world around us for its insensitive inability to grant us that imagined peace we so desperately seek!
We then touched on a few of these conflicting desires, and how they wreck the soul identified with them. For instance, that endless want for a special someone to always "be there" for us -- committed to our happiness -- even as we fear that this same person, now empowered with our trust, may turn on us and hurt us. We see that Love and fear are antithetical, as are bulldozers and flowers.
So we discovered that these kinds of worldly desires deliver us into the hands of unseen opposing forces -- a condition where the peace of mind we had planned for not only fails to appear, but whose remnants create still new forms of conflict along with their would-be rescuing desires. The truth is self-evident:
One request after another, we ask for what we believe will bring us some measure of peace, only to find ourselves either in pain over what did not materialize, or in fear of losing what we fought to gain. And surely we have seen that certain of our longings please only one small part of us while punishing the rest, like overeating or indulging ourselves with destructive addictions.
It is of little doubt that most of us have tried, in any number of ways, to let go of these deceptive and disturbing desires only to find ourselves overpowered by their overwhelming gravity. And who hasn't thought they have let go of one problem only to find they have picked up another by mistake! Which brings us to this next important spiritual truth:
We do not have to choose which, or any, of these conflicting desires to let go of; it makes no difference. What we must now see is that whether it is wanting to be approved, acknowledged, or to feel oneself secure in another's love -- all such desires are false in that they have no power to grant us the peace they promise.
We must see that these desires are liars, even though their fires feel real enough. They do not belong to us, even though they are with us everywhere we go. I can almost hear you asking, "How can this be true?" Here is the startling answer. They are not our desires. They do not originate with us, and the will they impose upon us (to fulfill their longings) is not our own.
"Then whose desires are they, if not my own?" They belong to a world that has lost the means to know peace as was always intended, as it is given (to us) to live within. They are the contorted fragments of answers to heartaches that didn't work in their time, and that were passed along from one generation to the next until they have become so inculcated in us we see them as our own.
All such desires are false answers to equally false aches born out of ignorance of our authentic nature. They belong to a self that has been programmed to search for a sense of success carefully outlined and defined by the values of a world lost to the influences of the Higher Life.
And whoever wins this world loses his way because he unknowingly answers the call of a socially contrived will: a nature that needs its "tomorrows" in order to feel alive today. This sense of self has no existence apart from the future it imagines in which it will be whole at last. Now to these thoughts we must add one more all-important truth:
This unconscious "will of the world" that is at work within us, that always seeks its peace in a time to come, lives in opposition to a will greater than its own. Our careful study of this last insight is pivotal in our search for true peace.
If this will of the world within us -- with all of its conflicting desires -- is the one true governing power that we have come to accept it as being, and it alone is responsible for one's providence in life, then there could never arise any conflict between what one wishes for and the arrival of that sought-after state of self-peace. To the contrary, this is not how reality works.
The fact that a greater will exists is revealed to us every day, only we are unable to see it. The evidence of it rests in the very conflict we experience as we yield ourselves to the longings of this lesser will through the pull of the world within us. We could not know the lesser without the unseen presence of the greater that serves to reveal it, just as a shadow proves that a light is nearby.
And our pain in this life because of our misunderstanding of this order of reality is not a "punishment" by the greater of these wills, far from it; we are being invited to give ourselves, to surrender our self, to this greater will so that we may realize that within it already dwells the peace we seek.
Which brings us to this question: Given our present situation, saturated as we are with these worldly desires and blinded to them by their promises of better days to come, where do we find the will, the spiritual strength, to let go of them and give ourselves over to something Higher? Here is the surprising answer:
Learning to let go of the worldly will now active within us is not an act of power, but comes naturally on the heels of seeing where it is that we have been deceived into giving away our divine right to be at peace. It is this Higher Self-Wisdom that empowers us to leave our former self behind, that grants us peace, much as spring clouds bring gentle rains to wash everything clean.
One last thought and we will have the knowledge we need to know true peace. There can never be real peace in any world wherever opposing wills contest what the nature of that peace will be. And if this is true with two people at war over "how" or "what" peace is to be won, how much more so is it true when it comes to the conflicted will of this world as it opposes the peace of God?
To see the truth of these ideas and to marry them with our own experience is a conscious act of peace. God's will is being expressed in every new moment, and is secretly the heart and soul of each moment now being newly expressed. We need only be aware of ourselves in the moment to know the truth of this and then to allow this Light to teach us about the peace that passes all understanding.
Following are what may be called the "The Three A's of the Peaceful Life." Welcome them as special work reminders to let God's will be as your own. If you will take these new intentions and inner attitudes with you into your day, then you will soon realize what it means to let go and know peace.
Work to trust in the Goodness of God's moment, so that instead of trying to dig into it with a psychological pick-ax -- hoping to extract something from it that you think you must have to be happy -- allow the moment to give you what you need. Your key intention here is to "allow" God's will.
Work to watch the whole moment as it unfolds, so that instead of focusing only on what you want to see -- a self-limiting perception that separates you from all that the moment might have to show you -- agree to see everything the moment reveals about you and your present life. Your key action here is to "agree" with God's will.
Work to welcome whatever the moment brings to you, so that instead of resisting its natural seasons for fear of the passing of spring or the onset of a long winter's night -- accept the moment and let it live and die as it would. The key intention here is to "accept" God's will as your own.
Guy's Monthly Chatroom Classroom - February 2003
Posted by Guy Finley in 459 Galice Road, Merlin, OR 97532 on , and updated on .
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