GF: Welcome to our chat tonight. Before we start, I want to examine the interior Work at the root of our efforts to realize Truth and the real reason why we attempt what we do along these lines.

Virtually everyone will admit they want a spiritual life; for starters this just sounds like something that one should have! But probe a bit deeper and by default, in stages, you will hear various declarations that run the gamut from a belief in some incarnation as a source of their salvation, to the belief that they are, themselves, the living light -- demigods on their way to Godhood.

The former group holds that they have been given the keys to the Kingdom and need do nothing except affirm that this is so, while the latter ones claim that they are not only already in heaven, but that they are making it a better place for their being there! All of these assertions are as silly as they are empty, fear-filled, and vain.

It can be stated, categorically, that any person who believes in such things -- as in a passage to heaven as their right for merely professing some belief -- or who asserts he or she is already being one of heaven's bulwarks -- is not just deluded, but constitutes a real danger to anyone foolish enough to believe in their assertion of having such privileges.

This statement can be made without reservation because the fact of its reality is all around us; our lives are the evidence. The choice of our daily actions testifies to the truth of our (present) spiritual shallowness, so that seen aright these facts verify that few have the spiritual life that they claim -- either in a "time to come" or in their professed "now."

We who would be changed must be willing to examine ourselves. Truth must be our religion. We must look at what it is that occupies our minds and hearts for the vast majority of our time. And this vision is easy to obtain if only we won't turn our heads away from what is before our eyes. Let's look at what is there.

We move from stressful concerns about our tomorrows to resentment towards anyone who threatens our projected peace. We condemn ourselves for our own weaknesses as fast as we fall asleep in them, and then give ourselves over to their destructive pleasures. We would rather dream of better times to come than contend with those bitter parts of our nature that actively contaminate our present.

If we want a Real Life we should make a list of these contradictions in our own consciousness. And to this thought please add the following: Fear not your findings, but if you must, then fear as necessary until you see through these fears. See the Truth of your self in yourself and that Truth -- its Light -- will attend to what you have been unable to do until now: let go of yourself.

The point is made well enough: The suffering that marks our day-to-day lives shouts out the opposite of our claim to a consensual life in the light. Yet, we languish because of the lies we tell ourselves and then turn a deaf ear to the sounds of the world within and around us that proclaim this truth.

"The medicine is bitter, but it heals," said Vernon Howard about seeing these same truths. So, never mind if these words seem stringent or even negative to you. I assure you the ideas being presented here are your Friend. And know this next thought also to be true: It is the nature of Truth to heal -- to help, to correct and confirm what is Good, and not to condemn and criticize. The truth of any discovery about ourselves acts upon us as do beams of light that show us -- at once -- where we stand now, spiritually speaking, and the Way back to the Land of Light from which this intervening Light has its origin.

For those of us who can recognize the reality behind these words, and that they reveal a true need for a real transformation, the time for this change in our consciousness must be Now. The place for this Work must be wherever we are regardless of circumstance. And everything inside and outside of us must be subjected to this awakening intention to become New in the Truth.

Not coincidentally, our study has brought us full circle. Only we are returned where we began with something we did not have at the outset: the understanding that something more than an imagined light must go before us, and that our wish to be New without the work to see it through is like hoping we can hear the seashore by pressing a postcard of the ocean to our ear.

Now we must inquire what is our actual and individual part in this true transformational process? What is it that is required of us if we wish to fulfill this nascent longing that we have to be liberated from the stress, sorrow, and captivity of our shallow self? The answer to these fundamental questions is as short as it is, at first, seemingly bittersweet: We must die to ourselves.

This idea of "losing one's life in order to gain it" is spiritually Timeless, preceding the life of the Christ to whom it is most commonly attributed; and even when considered by the few who dare to wonder its meaning, still it remains widely misunderstood. The question remains: Will we be one of the few who not only explores its telling, but will we do what we are told in our discoveries?

We will look closely at this question and other important ideas concerning our subsequent findings near to the close of our chat tonight. At that time I will send along some additional insights into what it means to give up oneself for the sake of a life in the Light of Truth.

Now we can get started with your questions and comments, but please work to remember that our task here on-line together is to address what is real and what leads us to authentic self-transformation. Let's discuss those issues you are at work upon within yourself. Let's not spend our time wandering through frivolous philosophical questions or imaginary spiritual ideas.

What would you like to talk about tonight? Let's see what we can learn together.

joesmith: I was recently in a situation where my girlfriend and I heard my cell phone ring twice when it was in fact locked in her car (windows shut), 30 feet away. When we were inside the car with all windows shut and air conditioning blasting loudly, we eventually found the phone, and a call was registered at the same time! This is unexplainable. Was this something spiritual, even though the call had no significance?

GF: One of the features, gifts, that come to the individual who begins awakening to what is his or her True Nature, is the gradual realization that there is a part of them that is not limited in its awareness by their physical location. Many such encouragements await a person along the path to Real Life, but of themselves, these phenomena only point to the proof that we are capable of being conscious in much wider realms of Reality.

Walkalong: Often while I am working I have this strong feeling that this (my current occupation) is not what I am supposed to be doing with my life. A feeling of depression comes along with this. Is this feeling the truth reaching out to me, or is it a mirage designed to keep me from seeing the truth? Do people have a true purpose in life, aside from finding the truth?

GF: In short, yes, people do have within them certain qualities of character whose fulfillment is found only through finding that craft, that art, that science, whatever, that resonates with this quality best. As far as if you are doing what you should be doing, only you can know the truth of your situation. Be patient, be watchful. Keep your eyes and heart open. Intuition will strengthen and you will see better your path.

njbg: Do I take it that this "character" you speak of is a part of our True Nature, or is it a part of the self that is wanting to be in relationship with the True Nature? And is the True Nature the Light itself? I'm still trying to get the language straight... it can be confusing.

GF: Yes, the language can be confusing, and it's not all that important, to tell you the truth. The character is a part of what is our True Nature, but it isn't that nature itself any more than one wave on the sea is the whole of the ocean. These are features, qualities, expressions of energy, all of which we are intended to be conscious within and to share in their consciousness.

stu: Vernon Howard at times advised dealing with negative emotions by offering them no resistance, letting yourself be overwhelmed by them while doing nothing about them; at other times he indicated we should refuse the admittance of negativities into our minds, which is quite a different approach. Can these be harmonized?

GF: Mr. Howard never advocated allowing any negative state to become a dominating force through identifying with it. Seeing that one is overwhelmed by a dark condition is very different than agreeing or disagreeing with the being that state calls up in a man. Try to see the difference. Stay awake and watchful. Be willing to see what you are without agreeing to "be" it.

Judy: Stating this as briefly as I can, I am in a position where I've been told that I have every right to make a complaint to the state about an insurance agent who lied to us and caused us to lose money. The state will investigate, and he could possibly be fined and even lose his license. I would do this to prevent him from hurting anyone else, but strangely I almost feel sorry for him also. How do I decide whether or not to proceed?

GF: If you know from direct experience that a thief is loose and doing damage to others as was done to you by this person, it is your responsibility, without getting caught up in the conflict of it, to report such a psychopath. Never feel sorry for those who have stolen from you. This doesn't mean, on the other hand, that we haven't compassion. There is a difference. It's compassionate to report him.

seeker: Sometimes the evil in this world demands our attention as staying free in body does these days. What can we do to keep ourselves spiritually alive while attending to pressing matters "out there," and does dying to oneself have anything to do with our obligations to society?

GF: There is no contradiction whatsoever between the Work to be attentive and aware of ourselves inwardly, and attending to the matters that are of a worldly origin. As long as we think our first obligation is to the world out there, we are not living but dying for our mistaken, and in our mistaken, understanding of the purpose of this life.

jaybird: One of your recent Key Lessons on the website states that if we were to work toward becoming aware of the secret sorrow of others, and our part in this, we would "wash away... all useless and dark despair". How does seeing the sorrow in others help us grow spiritually, and what do you mean by "our part in this"?

GF: We cannot see anything in any human being (or in the Universe for that matter) that is not at the moment seen the same as a part of ourselves. Seeing the sorrow in others becomes a natural kind of seeing because we are growing conscious of the sadness in us caused by our spiritual isolation from God. This pain we have we blame on others and therefore wind up being a part of their sorrow. Try to see the whole of this.

BDF: Is there ever a right reason to end a relationship that we think isn't good for us when we consider that all of our experiences with (and of) other people are merely reflections of things in ourselves?

GF: You mustn't confuse the two issues you have brought up here. We must close out relationships that compromise us, whether they are exterior or interior in nature. The fact that other people are reflections of ourselves does not mean that we must agree to embrace people who are inherently self-punishing and otherwise destructive with no wish to be different. See the difference in these two cases.

jill: Recently my dad had some health problems which could lead to something or may not. The thought of losing him crushed me, but I realized that what hurt was the thought of not having him there for me. This terrified me, this selfishness. Is truth showing me this about myself?

GF: This is a good thing to see and I'll help you clarify the lesson. As you said, the pain was the thought of what life would be without him, as opposed to the conception of feeling pain for him because he won't be there. All of us dwell in relationship with our thoughts about people and not the individuals themselves. What you have seen will begin to change your relationships. Keep going.

njbg: What would you say to the idea that our "civilization" is living a story (that we were meant to rule the world) that pits us against life, as opposed to peoples that live in relative harmony with it, and that the individual spiritual/psychological problem[s] that you and others address are a microcosm of this phenomenon? Is it rubbish?

GF: I'm not exactly sure of your question, but I will suggest that what we call our civilization is nothing more than the collective consciousness of the individuals in it all of whom, being spiritually asleep, see one another as being apart from themselves. This unconscious separation is the root of ambition, fear, and ultimately, destructive forms of dependency.

njbg: I'm reading about tribal cultures these days, and it really seems that they don't have the same sort of "problems" that we "civilized" people do. They're not separated from each other or the universe like we are (though only in our heads, I know). So, it seems, this separation from the "Light," our being spiritually asleep… it's a phenomenon having to do with the "civilized" world, is it not?

GF: Yes and no. True enough that social life, civilized man, woman, does not share in life the way tribal cultures may. On the other hand, the simplistic life of a native of any undeveloped region is without many of the developing features personality needs to grow and that Spirit uses for its purposes.

njbg: What are some of these developing features that personality needs to grow, that a native of an undeveloped area doesn't have?

GF: This is a very complex subject and cannot be answered in a simplistic way. Our social personality is “rich” and cannot realize Truth – as a “camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle.” Yet, it is this same level of self that must be sacrificed, “died to” so that Spirit may be “born” in us.

alex: I am trying my best to come awake during each day. I take my breaks at work in my car as often as available, but I am having trouble with the mornings. It doesn't seem to matter how early I get to bed or how consciously I try to fall asleep, I get the worst night's sleep and can't get up. I can't make it to work on time for a solid week. I'm not making excuses and I am devoting as much energy now to this specific problem until its solved. What else can I do?

GF: Get to work on time. Get up in time to do your inner work. Never mind all the parts of you telling you what you can and can't do, or for that matter, how tired or weary you may be in your efforts to achieve this proper interior Aim. We have in us parts dedicated to keeping us captive in the habitual patterns of our present sleeping existence. Walk out. It can be done.

Ruth: Although nothing is calamitous or tragic or threatening in my life now, I awaken each morning with a deep sense of sadness. This often follows nights of wartime type nightmares, where I am with those who are trapped, or fleeing… I banish all thoughts of such throughout the day, but it is recurrent, intermittent. Is there something about mornings that literally has to be waded through, like a river of tears not one's own? I observe all that's necessary for good sleep: No stimulants, plenty of fresh air, movement… it is not on the bio level and appears to have its own timetable, out of the control of willpower.

GF: We are far more subject to negative influences while we are asleep in body. The mind now only has its own content to collect itself by as there is no "awake" self there to choose the right path from the wrong one. The more you work to stay awake and aware in the daylight hours, the new energy that is born in you will guard you at night.

Ruth: "...will guard you at night" YES! As soon as I read it I saw an image created for me by a father who claimed to be a non-believer but was one of the most deeply religious people I knew in a life of 72 years now. The guardian angel IS the new energy whose birth we "attend" to......I say simple prayers night and morning, and now shall add the guardian spirit image and claim it as my own. God bless you, Guy, or rather we are blessed.

GF: Good; now start over. Refuse the despair. All such states are lies whose reality belongs to the self that identifies with aching because it has no other life!

Geralyn: Do you have any advice for "observing" yourself when you work at a job that requires serious mental effort and problem solving? I find myself constantly getting "sucked" into my projects at work and then leave the office realizing that I wasn't present to myself all day.

GF: This is an important question because we must each find ways to live in two worlds at once. There is nothing that should interfere with serious mental problem-solving while at your desk. But when you look up from your paper, use the very movement of your head upward to remind you of the Heaven above you and your wish to be awake in It. Start with this and then find more ways.

DanG: Why is it a good thing not to add our comments to what we see, such as a pretty sunset, a beautiful mountain?

GF: Because what is seen, the nature of it, where it is seen within us, and the parts of us that do this seeing, have nothing in common with the thoughts or sense of self those thoughts cause as they start talking. Stay silent. It's best.

BDF: There seem to be few people who really are interested in finding the "light". Yet, there are many people who spend time in churches. Should we as Truth seekers avoid places like a church? Is there anything good there for us?

GF: Wherever a man goes who has it in his heart to love the Truth, the Truth will be there in abundance for him. No place need be avoided, or for that matter sought out for the purpose of enlarging one's relationship with what is Good and True.

seeker: Wherever a man goes who has it in his heart to love the Truth, the Truth will be there in abundance for him. What a beautiful thought!

GF: Yes it is, and best of all, I can assure you it's the Truth.

looneykin: While going through our day to day journey, we should stumble. Do we dust ourselves off and move on, or examine the cause of why we stumbled in the first place?

GF: I was just talking about this very subject at one of our morning meetings. We can only truly learn what causes us to fall by being conscious in the moment of everything involved as we take that psychological tumble. Thinking back over crashes with life only breathes life into the thought-nature that believes its thoughts about the event are the same as the event. They are not. Choose to be awake now.

Deepa: What is the harm in reliving past good experiences over and over in the mind, and how does one stop doing it?

GF: Simply put, scenes that are revisited produce sensations of life that are not Real Life at all. If a person wants to spend their existence in a dream, then they will have to pay the price of both finding themselves in nightmares that are uncalled for by the dreamer as well as the painful shocks of having their pleasant dream interrupted without notice. Each much choose his own path.

johndbethea: What is the simplest way for staying in the present moment?

GF: It's all a question of where one places and keeps one's attention. The usual mind, the sleeping mind, is always a captive of the thoughts it generates as it considers these thoughts. The mind awakening (do it now) is conscious of its interior and exterior environment. Come awake and know that you are aware of the seer and the seen. That's it. Work at this.

JohnO: Can you elaborate on the difference between Attention and awareness?

GF: Awareness is an undefined field of consciousness and Attention is what connects a person to whatever it falls upon in that field.

JohnO: Can you explain how attention attracts events, i.e., does our errant attention attract misfortune, etc.?

GF: We are, as are all things, under the laws of attraction at all levels. The unconscious thought that recalls a past conflict attracts to it all the content from the mind it needs in order to make the experience "real." When one's mind wanders, it will attract to it qualities similar to the character of the one who walks.

JohnO: Regarding the answer you gave, is Attention created by focusing Awareness upon a specified field?

GF: Awareness is what allows us to realize that what we see, we are. Attention is what connects us to whatever it is in this awareness whose Light is both the field that holds the objects as well as the material of those objects themselves.

JohnO: So commanding our attention upon an outcome will attract/manifest it? How can I practice this in my daily (outward) work?

GF: In a word, yes, but one must become aware of what he or she calls “their” attention. Something will manifest for attention animates, but best be careful what one “asks” for.

JohnO: Spiritually speaking, is our will anything more than the power to direct our awareness and attention?

GF: To answer this question one must first know the nature of the will of God, of Truth, (which does exist) – only then can one understand such things as you have asked. Is the ray of sunlight different from the sun from which it is sent out?

JohnO: What exactly is imagination? Is it a type of attention? Does it manifest positive and negative effects just like attention? For example, if I'm working to find employment… along with the physical work of interviews, etc., I must use my awareness to monitor my attention/imagination to make sure it is focused on the positive, and not misdirecting me through negative imagination/attentions. Would awareness then be there to register negative possibilities/considerations without indulging in them?

GF: What you have said here is a good beginning. But add to your thinking that much of what we call positive imagination is the “fruit” of being fearful of some otherwise imagined negative outcome. So this kind of imagining turns out to be resistance: a source of much unseen suffering, for sure.

Rael: For years I have felt like Joshua walking around the city of Jericho, always returning to the same place with nothing changed. What has changed is that the negative annoyances which once seemed like gnats, are now like killer bees, painful and unrelenting. The negativities have been magnified, but still I see no way out. What is the way out?

GF: The negativities that you are experiencing have not been magnified, but are the direct (and positive) effect of a degree of increased self-awareness. Try to remember this Truth: Darkness that is seen will cry out how dark things are because what is seeing it is New Light in us and the darkness does not want us in relationship with this dawning Light. Keep working. Come visit the Foundation here in Southern Oregon.

Rael: Killer bees, standing in line, fly up and sting me. I am aware of this, yet I have not been able to see any signs of relief from this continual torment. The Prodigal son had the fatted calf, the valley of the shadow had green pastures, yet I remain uncomforted. How long must one endure before being comforted or rescued?

GF: The story goes that Abraham had his hand raised over Isaac – and about to bring the knife down – when at the last moment his hand was stayed (by the voice of the angel). Your question assumes that the self being purified knows when it reaches purity. It cannot known this.

CHERYL: I always think of the lion story in The Secret of Letting Go... to learn about going away from the wrong to find the right, but how do we know what s truly wrong with shades of grey?

GF: Awakening to the Light and in the Light that already lives within us is not just a nice idea. It is the Truth of us. It is what we must realize in this life if we are to become conscious of what is right and bright for us in this life. As you work and do your part in cultivating a God-Centered Life, that living light will grow and increasingly help you discern what is now for you shades of grey.

James1: The other night I was alone on the beach trying to remain in the moment. As I became more aware of myself, I felt what I could only call fear gripping me. What prompted my trip there was an apparent plateau (and frustration) I've hit in my own work. Is this correct or imagination? I believe this fear holds dominance.

GF: I can't say this strongly enough: The dark and destructive parts of us only defeat us to the degree that these same unenlightened aspects of ourselves get us to agree and identify with their punishing presence. Yes, it is tempting to feel frustrated, defeated over apparent lack of spiritual success, but don't fall for it. See through it, and you'll leave these parts of yourself behind you where they belong.

jill: How can someone not worry about the future, especially if they have money problems? Is doing what you can in the moment, without the actual worrying taking over the action you could be taking, part of the answer?

GF: Worry of any kind is a self-compromising, life-stealing, energy-draining, confusion-making negative state. It only seems to help because of how strongly its negative force makes us feel at the moment. Drop the worry, come awake, do what is practical. Punishing ourselves is not practical, and clearly counterproductive.

Freedom: Why are we so sick? When I sit in the sun instead of the shade, my body sweats to cool me down without consciousness. The "autopilot" of my body seems to work in my favor, even if deciding to run in the sun was a wrong idea to keep cool. Why don't spiritual truths have a gland that sweats when you are wrong? Why do we get so sick, instead of naturally better?

GF: The good news is, we do have these "parts" in our consciousness that will tell us when we are going about something that compromises our wish for the spiritual life. The task is to awaken in that "body" of which these features that point to what is True are already active and waiting to guide us and keep us in the safety of Spirit.

lonestar: I've recently made a conscious decision to let my guard down with other people -- to try and be myself. Why do I care so much about what other people think and say about me? How can I "Be me -- worry-free"?

GF: The reason that most of us are so concerned with what others think about us is because the unseen way in which we evaluate ourselves when around others is through a process of unconsciously considering what WE think they are thinking about us. This internal considering on our part breeds both insecurity and the self that feels this negative state of concern. See the truth of this.

Alison: I wake up every morning with the intention of prayer, and even many afternoons when I come from work I intend to pick up something positive to read, or even try to spend some time with myself, and I find all these things so hard to accomplish. What can I do to become "One with myself" so as to reach that height I'm trying to achieve?

GF: One of the ways in which we defeat ourselves along the path is by trying to live up to "our" ideas of what it means to be spiritual. Forget all this business about what you can't do and just get busy doing some small part of your wish. Even if it's only for thirty seconds when you get home, do that. If you, your wish for Truth, will lead in this way, the rest of you is sure to follow and your inner life will grow.

looneykin: How can we control lashing out or being defensive with others as with rude remarks or smart-mouthed criticisms?

GF: It is best when possible not to try to hurt someone who has hurt us. This is the Aim, but it is not based in an image we wish to fulfill of ourselves, but rather within our growing awareness that we cannot hurt another without having first hurt ourselves. If and when we fail in this Aim, we must not excuse that we have had our attention and will diverted into self-defeating actions. Start over instead.

seeker: What can we do when we want to observe a recurrent negative thought that keeps troubling us, but the moment we actively turn our awareness on, it scrambles like a cockroach under the refrigerator when the lights get turned on?

GF: Keep the lights on. Our awareness of some particular self-punishing potential in us must be kept with us in vigilance at all times. The darkness can hide, it can run, and it can even shape-shift, but it cannot live in the Light. Again, keep the lights on and the bugs will eventually find another place to dwell.

CHERYL: This reminds me to read again The Secret of Letting Go… all these questions… I have to turn up the light.

GF: Your affirmation about reading the "Letting Go" book again just made me think that if you haven't heard the new tape series "Heart & Soul of Freedom," this would be a wonderful addition to your interior study and work. These talks amplify greatly the "Letting Go" material.

JamesOne: Is Christ's life on earth, death, and resurrection a story of what we must go through personally within ourselves? Are we to go through the internal ridicule and doubt to realize the truth which is somehow already there?

GF: In short, the answer to your question is yes. And, oh, what a story! Everything is on our side if we will only be willing to put ourselves on the Side of the Light that wants us to not just read this Story of stories, but to accept our part in it.

randys: When anger overwhelms me, I know I am out of control and the self I am at the time is convinced it is right to feel that way. I then come to my senses and feel guilt over the incidence. My question is "although I know I am the observer of both selves, in the moment I am one or the other." Does that ever change?

GF: The true act of observing one's self is without being identified with what one sees in the moment. If we suffer over what we see, it is because we are still identified and in many ways absorbed in that nature that we think we are watching. As you work at becoming more self-conscious and aware of yourself in the moment, you will naturally realize greater separation from the various selves that you see.

Freedom: How do I make a list of contradictions in my own consciousness without starting from a false sense of honesty, or falling into one quickly. How do we die without immediately thinking of something to die from?

GF: In a few moments, I will outline some specific ideas that will help you with this task. Be sure and stay for the posting of these insights coming up.

jill: Thinking about something over and over again, whether it be an experience or a spiritual discovery, is the thought nature trying to pull us down again?

GF: Yes, anytime we find ourselves being drawn back into past experience, it is the nature of thought at work for the purposes of at once confirming the sense of self this revisitation produces even as it relishes the safety of these self-produced dreams.

Legacy: I am fascinated with your books and spiritual teachings. How did you become so spiritually enlightened? The reason I ask is that I want to become spiritually enlightened myself.

GF: We are all on this earth to realize a Relationship with what is Whole, True, Divine, and Light-giving. This Relationship is at once present within us even as we must work to fulfill its Promise for us. Nothing can stop the sincere man or woman who wishes a life in God more than they want to fill themselves with the life of themselves. This is true. I know it.

randys: I find it incredibly difficult "to come awake"! I am convinced that the "I" that needs more money, sex and power is all there is. My higher self shows up very infrequently. What do you recommend? Meditation? Or will there come a point when enough is enough?

GF: We all need constant reminders and encouragement to do the work of becoming conscious of ourselves in ourselves. It is very difficult without this kind of help. If you are not a Tape Club Member already, or if you have not listened to various talks on tape whose title resonates with you, get these things. If you don't like them, send them back, no problem. But do take a step towards the Truth. It will put out Its hand.

Kaye: Do the concepts in "THE FOUR AGREEMENTS" blend with this path of awareness and being awake, not dreaming?

GF: I have no idea what these "Agreements" are and therefore I can't answer the question the way you've stated it. On the other hand, I will say that if this material you've mentioned does not blend with awakening from the dream life, then I would be in disagreement with its concepts. We must awaken. That is the beginning of everything Real.

Peter: How do you lift yourself above loving someone who does not love you? (However, they did give me a gift in understanding love better.)

GF: If you've really received the gift you speak of, then can't you see that for this gift of deeper understanding you have been lifted above someone who does not love you?

Roy: Although a day doesn't go by that I'm not working with these ideas, even if it's just "thinking" about them, still I have this almost constant gnawing that tells me it's not enough. Do we have a way to measure real progress to bring contentment from knowing we're moving forward? Can we see the process of our transformation, or is it like the butterfly that never knows it was a caterpillar?

GF: We cannot know our own progress – other than through a strange realization (from time to time) where, after an event in which our usual “I” used to act in one way is not there doing its usual (negative) behavior.

Bluerose: In speaking about emotions, for example grief, when a loved person dies, I understand that we must go through a grieving period. When is grief a good grief and when is it not?

GF: See the difference between crying for the loss of someone vs. crying for your self. One is natural and passes naturally. The other is unnatural and never goes away because that self needs the stimulation to exist as it imagines it does.

Walkalong: Sometimes while I am dreaming, I dream that I am daydreaming and wake myself up, or even while asleep I am aware of my thoughts about myself as if I am awake. Is this a real sign that I am beginning to wake up?

GF: Such breaks in the cloud covering of thought indicate the sun is having an impact on the day. Keep going.

Smokey: I have also had dreams that I'm daydreaming. I even had one where Guy Finley was sitting in a chair beside my bed saying "wake up, wake up!" Remembering the dream has helped me stay awake spiritually. Is this progress? Thank you, Guy… if it is!

GF: Anything that helps us awaken serves what is true within us. Within all of us dwells the Light that is constantly trying to break through.

FAUST: Have you ever accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior?

GF: I have a number of comments to make regarding this question, and my comments are for those with “ears to hear.” All questions like this presuppose that the one asking it has a real interest in the Life of the Truth that he or she professes to have (by asking what they have). Such questions are not inquiries, but demands for confirmation of the self asking them; a confirmation it receives, incidentally, regardless of the question being answered in the affirmative OR the negative. Further, if one looks closely at such questions, one can see that in them is a secret form of intimidation based upon an “either/or” mentality: either you agree with my assertions or you are an “outcast” amongst those of us who are special enough to know the right words to affirm. So, seeing as how Christ Himself was (is still) an outcast because he would not submit to answer questions that posited “either you embrace the Commandments given by God to Moses as they are, OR you are a devil and a defiled creature,” I am happy to place myself on the side of Christ and tell you that this question (as asked above) is as meaningless (in itself) as is the sense of self that it provides for anyone who asks it while already knowing the answer they thusly demand.

rousseau: I sometimes feel as if I don't know the right questions to ask. But I do feel pangs in the body. I practice being aware when they arrive and am trying to develop a sense for their nature. Specifically, a chest pain has been continuing, but it's a good/bad feeling and feels best after meditation. Any comments?

GF: These sensations and movements in the heart, head, or along the spine are natural and not to be feared or resisted. Watch them as you would anything in yourself. If you have a history of heart problems, consult your physician.

steveb: Do you suggest meditation of any kind as a means to quiet the mind?

GF: Yes, by all means. Meditation should, and can be, a whole way of life, not just a daily duty. A quiet mind sees. A noisy mind cannot discern anything.

njbg: With all due respect (genuinely), let the product sell itself, right? I've always believed that. Isn't that the test of a true product? If the public really needs it, then it shouldn't be necessary to dress it up (with capital letters and exclamation points) and/or shove it in our faces (I'm referring to the advertisements thrown in by the Chathost). I don't mean to sound hostile, it seems like your foundation is genuine, but I wonder sometimes because of all the advertising.

GF: Your comments are appreciated. It (advertising) is always a question before us and I take full responsibility for the results you see. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, nor should anyone deliberately shine a flashlight into the eyes of another. Where the line rests is a constant inquiry here at Life of Learning Foundation, as it exists solely through the support of others buying products and making donations. If you have any ideas how to succeed in telling the public that there is a Way out without advertising that such a Way exists, please e-mail the Foundation your suggestions. We are willing to learn a better way at all times.

JStarr: My spouse is an emotional powder keg who has no interest in inner change (she DOES seem to enjoy the social aspects of religion). How can I minimize the effects of the damage that she inflicts on my children?

GF: Be the truest, most kind and awake man you can be – not only to her, but your children who (ultimately) determine what is real through the actions they see, not the words they hear. What is True always wins out; be true to what you know and are willing to work for. The rest will work itself out.

FAUST: In light of all the recent developments since Israel became a nation in 1948, it's clear to see that the prophecies in the books of the Bible (mainly Revelations) are coming to pass. What do you make of the fact that there is an asteroid predicted to maybe hit earth in 2017? The Bible says a star will fall on Earth in the Tribulation. Does this give you pause to think?

GF: Not even for a moment.

Ruth: Can you please repeat now what you once said, that the clear water of our own well AND the walls of that well (where we find ourselves in life) are one, that we are meant to be and act just where we are? It reminds me of an Eastern saying: "The heart of holiness lies in the actions and interactions of daily life." Have I got your message straight?

GF: Yes, as long as you do not rely upon the comfort of its imagery to keep you living under psychological conditions contrary to your wish to be free.

steveb: Have you spent any time in India? If you listen to travelers' talk of their experiences there, there seems to be a special quality to life there that promotes spiritual understanding… or is that a myth?

GF: I have spent time there; it is a place of dire contrasts… mostly myth (at this point in time), but the explosion of myth is the birth of truth.

joan: Reading your messages always enlightens me during the most down points of my life. Thanks for your spiritual messages that give me strength.

GF: There is comfort in the Truth, no doubt, but (as I suspect you already know), the same Truth comes “not to bring peace, but with a sword.” I will trust that you understand that what is to awaken us must, necessarily, shake us from time to time!

MikeD: Vernon Howard suggests we do our day to day tasks without emotion. What is the role of our emotions in our spiritual work?

GF: See the difference: Not tasks without emotion, but to be free from drawing upon these various emotional states for a sense of self through unconscious identification with them.

JStarr: Is it possible to have a BIG life-altering (awakening) experience? Daily work seems like such a slow and unsteady process. How can we move faster along the spiritual highway?

GF: Our task is to do the work to see that the ground of ourselves is prepared as best we know how to do. What comes out of this ground, how, when, and in what degree, should be left to the One who moved us (in the first place) to begin sowing the Seeds of Truth.

GF: The appointed time for our chat has about run its course and I want to be sure we have the time to finish sending you my remaining notes on the nature of our spiritual Work of dying to self.

We are asked by Truth, shown, as it were, by its perennial Light in us, the need for losing what we have mistaken as being our life. In exchange for giving up this lesser life we may realize the unmistakable influx of a Timeless Spirit whose Loving Wisdom makes Its home in us. And contrary to popular belief this exchange of one life for The Life is non-negotiable.

But what exactly does this perennial Truth -- to "lose one's life in order to gain it" -- mean? How does this idea strike us, and what part of us responds? Are we like Nicodemus of the New Testament who, when told by Christ that to enter the Kingdom of Heaven a man must be reborn in Spirit, interpreted this literally and asked "does this mean one must re-enter his mother's womb?"

To understand what it means to "die to our self" we must first investigate what it means to be "living" from what we presently consider being our self. The following description, while necessarily brief, does not come up short in its accuracy. Do take the time to consider what is shown in the following insights.

Essentially, what we experience as being our "self" -- for the most part -- is our many-layered registrations of whatever sensations we may be having in the moment due to our perception of the conditions around us; a necessarily limited consciousness that works out to be little more than a constantly changing sense of self created by our various reactions to events.

Even more interesting is the realization that the true and unseen nature of these events in our life -- the actual character of what is perceived by us as being external to us -- is neither what we think it is, nor is the whole of it taking place outside of us. What we are actually experiencing, as our reality, is what our thoughts and feelings are "telling" us about the event.

And what also remains unseen is that these same thoughts that are actively describing our present moment to us are themselves creatures of the past; un-living constructs of memory, bits and pieces of "what was" drawn together through mechanical association and then referenced and deferred to so that we may "know" what has happened to us and what should be done about it!

Of course it may be argued that our thought nature is a "living" system, for it is. But, there is living in the blast furnace of relentless thinking with its dark effect that includes a "time self" born of the opposites, and then there is the possibility of Life outside of time in the birth of our eternal being realized in the Light. So dying to oneself implies not only understanding what must be sacrificed in us -- this time nature and its sufferings born of its own ceaseless selfish considerations -- but, for this dawning realization, to be willing to do the true inner work that our new discoveries direct us to undertake in their cause.

For the purpose of bringing this study "down to earth" we will now look at some of the "ways" in which we may each begin working to consciously die to our self. It will be most helpful if we can keep in mind what was stated earlier as regards what actually constitutes the make-up of our present sense of self -- with all of its unconscious causes generated in our sleeping consciousness.

Here is the key idea we will work with, and then I will give some explanation of what it means along with a few exercises for its implementation. We must die to the "I" in us, that familiar sense of our self that derives its life through its relationship with whatever it picks up and holds in its "hands" for the moment. For instance here is one meaning of what this last idea entails:

When we are angry, the active sense of "I" in us -- a simmering self that stands there holding onto a heated state -- has its "life" in us for only as long as it is enabled to fuel the fires of certain negative thoughts and feelings. This self searches for what to do about the burning it feels, even as it clings to and unconsciously fans the very states that it feels singeing it!

To die to this "I" means we must drop -- consciously end -- our relationship with the negative states that support this same sense of self. When we will dare to let go of these sensations that manifest and support our "right" to be self-destructive -- in that same moment goes with it our mistaken sense of "I." It has no life apart from the unconscious machine that makes it appear and ache.

Here are a few other areas where we can work to lose ourselves for the sake of gaining our Real Life: Maybe you can catch yourself about to run off in an anxious state to try and quell some fear of a negatively anticipated moment to come. Deliberately step out of that dark flood of fearful, rushed feelings, and into your awakened awareness that this stressed condition, its conflict, and the sense of self it is generating, are secret conspirators. You can do this once you realize that these punishing and punished parts of you are indeed "one for all" -- but that none of them are for you!

Die to the threats of any unwanted moment, and that fear-filled sense of "I" that lives only to resolve them will fade away as well. Then true Fearlessness itself will take the place of this shaking self. Lastly, here is an advanced lesson in this special inner work of dying to oneself: Try to see the self that loves to revel in suffering. Watch your self about to take center stage in the dark drama of something you are sure has been pressed upon you, and right there, right then, walk off the stage. Pull the curtains closed on these self-pitying feelings and you shut down the theater of the absurd -- the belief that the self that suffers can rescue the suffering self!

We must each find our own ways and means to do this work of dying to self even though the actual inner task is always the same. And of this you may be assured: There is never a shortage of self-stuff to see when it comes to opportunities to lay our self down for the sake of Truth.

Let me remind you, once again, of the Key lesson that sits at the heart of this study: It is not your True Self that fades away when you agree to lose your life in order to gain it. No, it is only your thought-supported sense of self that disappears from view, much as a dark cloud that obscures the sun is dissolved into transparency as the warming light rains down upon it.

You have been given the insight and special knowledge you need to proceed and succeed at what few before you have ever had handed to them. Use these Truths to make True your wish for a real Life in the Light. Nothing can keep you from doing the Work it takes to be free because Freedom Itself stands behind these Truths now in your hands.

Our time has run out for now. Until we meet again, Thursday, September 5, remember yourselves, your Aim for a God-Centered Life, and above all your right responsibility in this wish for the Eternal to have its day of dawning in you. Good night.

GF: Welcome to our Fourth of July chat. All over the US today people are celebrating Independence Day. We will honor it too, only not with fireworks that sparkle for a few moments and then fizzle out. Tonight we will work to realize the true nature of Freedom and what it takes to not just ignite this Living Flame within us, but to have its Life become as our own. To this end, to help all of us better understand the nature of real Freedom, I have written a short new piece on the True Nature of Peace.

There can be no true Freedom for us without knowing true Peace, even though these sublime states are basically two wings on the same dove. Nevertheless, as we shall see, before we can enjoy the spiritual freedom for which we are intended, and whose heart already beats within us, this Peace we speak of must be realized. A moment's reflection shows us the truth of this eternal order.

Peace is the foundation, freedom the form built upon it. We must never forget this relationship. To do so is to spend our lives searching for freedom through our relationship with forms -- an act that effectively builds prisons of our own making we then struggle to escape! Who can be free, at any level, who has not Peace? "Seek ye first," states the eternal adage.

This Peace, its Truth, does not belong to any culture, tradition, race, creed, or religion. Its nature transcends all temporary fashions and forms of time; it is to the conditions it is found within as are the artesian waters of a perennial spring to the earthen walls of the well from which these waters are drawn.

No one may convince another that this Peace exists, and the very attempt to do so vexes not only those souls involved, but also proves that the one who feels the need to push his peace has not the Peace he presents himself as having. One should be highly wary of people who are aggressive in the name of Peace! Here are a few good reasons why:

True Peace is not the effect of a pact, neither can it be produced by any plan of ours. It never flowers in opposition to anything. Its goodness cannot be manufactured, even from the finest of parts. No group or organization can grant another its Grace. Those who claim to be its keeper only keep others from finding it. Where then is this Peace to be found? This Peace is the natural radiation of a Living Now; it is one with that Light whose Life is the Eternal Present Itself, even as the emanations of light and warmth are one with the sun from which they radiate.

If we perceive that these ideas are at all based in Truth, then we should be naturally moved to ask the following question: If this Peace is inherent in the Now, and is so perfectly present, what is it that prohibits us from coming to know, directly, the fulfillment of its promise within us? Let's look.

Through even casual observation we can discern that the governing body of our present nature is primarily a mental construct created mostly from its ongoing considerations of "what was" and what "will be." Its sense of "peace" is, at best, a precarious one because the fabric of its life tapestry is always in one stage or another of either just coming together or having just unraveled.

As our own experience proves, this is the body of a highly uncertain self. Its "peace," if it can be called that, is built upon the ever-shifting sands of divided, comparative, and competitive thought. What this level of self has yet to realize is that its own blind struggle to win some peace for itself is the disturbance it seeks to end!

But we have another Nature, one whose Life and whose Peace are the same Character because this order of Self, and the Now that is the backdrop of its Being, are as the branch is to the life-giving vine. No True Peace can survive apart from this relationship, and any other form of peace is its expression.

This Peace confounds the lower level of mind that only knows gentleness and clarity by what it imagines these qualities to be. The mind asleep to itself cannot conceive that its own images of life deny it the very Life it would embrace. To know Peace and its Promise, we must release ourselves from the false self that strives to put pieces of peace together in the vain hope they stay united!

At the end of the chat I will pass along some special insights and ideas about what each of us can do -- on a moment-to-moment basis -- to help awaken ourselves to the presence and practice of this Peace.

Now it's your turn. Please try to keep your questions personal as opposed to merely theoretical or philosophical, the reason being that we best learn from one another when we study from honest questions based upon discoveries born from our own inner work. What would you like to discuss this evening? What is on your mind?

Glenn: Thank you for sharing your insights. I am finding inner peace simply by "seeing" what appears to be myself. The Light which shines through shows me what "I" need to see.

GF: Very well put. I'll tell you a secret known by virtually none: Light is self-organizing. What we bring into it, what we permit it to enter, is changed and reorganized in a higher fashion in the instant of that relationship. This is why, in part at least, all of the great teachings profess the importance of "mindfulness, watchfulness, awakedness." These are all words synonymous with the conditions that permit Light to work within and upon us.

bluerose: I have heard you speak about attraction, that anger attracts anger and so on. How then can I attract peace?

GF: Light begets Light. Silence begets Silence. The high mountain pine attracts the white dusting of snow. If we want relationship with what is True, Light, bright, and peaceful, we must do our part to dwell within ourselves where these celestial forces reside. Practice placing your attention above your own negative states. Remember Peace and Peace will remember you.

Bjor: How can I bring something into the "Light" and permit the "Light" to enter?

GF: Come awake right now. Know without thinking what is going on within you mentally and emotionally. At the same time, be conscious of your physical body, its posture, and various pressures in its limbs. This awareness is an act of Wholeness. Self-Wholeness is the only thing that reveals where we are divided. Work at this. You might try reading The Lost Secrets of Prayer. It has helpful insights to your question.

David: When I determine to Do the Good I Want To Do (DGIWTD), the desire to Do the Evil I Don't Want To Do (DEIDWTD) arises. I either relax and DEIDWTD, or resist and DGIWTD. I suffer either the consequences of the evil act, or the exhaustion of fighting. How do I effortlessly DGIWTD without the opposing desire to DEIDWTD?

GF: The strength of any opposing forces within us is proportionate to the degree that we don't understand their nature and operation within us. Certain strong, mechanical habits that are self-destructive must be met not with the attempt to overcome them but to bring the Light of Awareness into their operation. No man conscious of himself will harm himself unconsciously. Our inner work, which includes wrestling matches with what makes us miserable at the outset, is all about literally outgrowing (rising above) negative characters at work within us. This contest is tiring only for awhile when we think it is we who must overcome what has been overcoming us. As we awaken, we realize within the whole of our realization that these "evils" are indeed without power in the presence of Truth.

Jonathan: It has been a long time since I have even thought about anything spiritual. In the meantime, I have become apathetic about almost everything. What is the cause of this, and what, if anything, should I do about it?

GF: It is to the credit of the Life that still lives in you that you are aware of this creeping apathy in you. Such a negative withdrawal from life's relationships is the "natural" outcome of a person who sees no reason to persist trying to fulfill the promise of himself. The world cannot give us life. Only what is Spiritual provides Life through its Light. Start over! Go back to work.

Jonathan: I think the reason I lapsed in my spiritual work is because I became disheartened by seeing all the realizations and insights people were having while I had never had any myself. Is it normal to work for years spiritually and make no progress?

GF: Ask yourself: If you were lost in the desert, would you ask yourself "What's the point of walking out, knowing how long it's going to take?" The comparative mind is a monster that creates the very condition it decries. See the Truth of this and forget everything else. Start walking.

bobbivr: I would like to know how to get out of the money rut. I've been working hard on my own personal development for 18 years, and though I make more now than I did then, I'm still dealing with the same issues! It doesn't matter what I read, how much body work I get done, or how much I affirm, pray, or curse!

GF: It's impossible for me to comment about the dynamics (or absence of them) in your personal financial condition, but I can tell you this much: If we overspend, it's because we are trying to fill a bottomless basket. Where we live and what we own only seems to be as important as it does to us because of how we want to be seen by others. There is no money rut in Reality. The rut is in our own mind and its desires.

bobbivr: If the rut is in our own minds and desires, then are you saying that there is no rut? It is only my perception of continuous "emptiness" because I'm looking for something that has nothing to do with money?

GF: Let me state that no rut exists apart from the psychological lines that are carved into our consciousness by repeating behaviors that don't work while hoping they will. Real Life is New. There is no moment in the Now that is ever the same. Our present self meets this life through who it has been hoping to escape into what it dreams it can be. That's a dead-end. And when we walk it a thousand times, there's the rut.

shubha: These days, when I consider the questions that arise in my mind, they seem to be superficial and insincere and they kind of disappear. I feel confused.

GF: It is a strange thing, isn't it (and all of us understand it), that there is something in us that actually wants to worry over the fact that we are no longer fascinated with mechanical streams of thought and fearful emotions that used to wreck us without intervention. Do not fear emptiness. Do not fill emptiness with fear. Leave yourself alone. Remember yourself and God. That Light will fill any void it creates.

James1: Could you share some physical (breathing) exercises used for quieting the mind or point in the direction of such a resource?

GF: The proliferation of breathing exercises today, available from every so-called master and guru, do more harm (as a rule) than good. Mechanically stilling the mind or stimulating the emotions is a dead-end unseen by the traveler headed down that path. Watch yourself breathe as you read what I'm telling you. Use your awareness of your own breath to keep you present to the movement of your own thoughts. Work with this simple exercise.

Shadow769: Can you explain the harm that one can encounter with breathing exercises?

GF: There is nothing in the universe known or yet to be that does not "breathe." Even sub-atomic particles contract and expand on a timetable of their own, as does the entire Universe. One's breath is linked to the whole of these movements, and only someone who has direct knowledge of the effects of changing such patterns should ever offer breathing exercises. He alone knows as he alone has done.

Faust: I have received the blessings of "dying to my many selves"… it works! It just never made sense to me until you explained it. Such a freedom comes with doing it. Thanks!

GF: I'm glad that you are learning more about your own interior and the multiplicity of these characters running through your consciousness. But we must never fall into the trap of thinking that we have "achieved" anything, because to do so is simply to have fallen into the hands of another false self that claims credit for some attributed new becoming. Drop it (and all other judgments) like a stone.

Faust: Here is another Freedom… you've told us that when we have a fear, to "go meet it!" I've been doing that lately, and it works! So much of what I think I fear has no existence whatsoever. Thanks for making this so clear to us.

GF: Every discovery that we make that shows us how the nature of a fear before us is secretly a projection of a fearful self within us, empowers us to move closer to being in relationship with the truly Fearless Life. Keep working. Good things ahead…

Eric: Is it possible to do this Work with the aid of books and audio/video tapes only? Does there come a time when we need help of another kind? For instance, how would I know whether or not it is right for me to move to Oregon to be closer to your foundation?

GF: In short, there is no substitute for keeping the company of those whose intention in life is the Celestial Course. There are some conditions that can only be met in the presence of certain energies. Come visit when you can and taste the atmosphere. Then you'll know if being and working here is the right thing for you at this time.

Faust: You've stated that most of us are blind to the fact that we seek continuous pleasure. This has been the case for me, and I hate that I've been spending my time on "me." How can I "give of myself"? Should it be grand, or should it be simple?

GF: Forget the idea of "grand" giving. I'll tell you what would be grand: Start simply. Here are some ways to simply give of yourself: Don't be cruel to anyone. Complain about nothing to anyone (or yourself). Don't defend yourself psychologically when others pounce you. Never argue with anyone over anything. Don't answer irritable emotions with irritable actions. These are simple, but they will help shake you awake.

NancyW: Recently I have been struggling with health problems. Is it possible to have a physical healing by discovering the true self?

GF: I tell you: "With God, all things are possible." This has more meaning than meets the eye. Certainly the body and mind go through dramatic changes the further one awakens to what is True. But apart from actual physical changes, the more important change is that we are less interested in the "matter" of ourselves because now we are vested in the Spirit of ourselves.

bluerose: In the Scriptures, I've read that one needs to live in the spirit and not the flesh. What does this mean?

GF: There are many parts of us that by their very nature are literally tied to the earth. It may be said that these qualities of "flesh" actually serve the earth and her needs. A spiritually asleep person serves these material opposites and the negativity inherent in them. But we also have Spirit within us. It is a creature of Light born of the Light. It serves the whole of creation for the purpose of its positive transformation.

bluerose: What other parts of our nature are also tied to the earth which are the qualities of the "flesh"?

GF: Think of ones "appetites" and other related forces that work through and upon us, impacting our relationships with others and this planet -- fiery anger, the drive behind sex, the way the thought nature can only comprehend what it does through division, and how divided thinking creates enemies.

Eric: Did God Himself place the false self within us for the specific purpose of testing whether or not we can overcome it?

GF: Our presently divided mind has trouble grasping the idea that if it weren't for darkness, then what would the light reveal and transform? The true spiritual life has no competition at its root. It is all about congruence, complimentary forces, and their continual marriage dance for the purpose of raising new and higher forms.

Dave: The things that we must "fear" -- or tend to with caution -- (i.e., making sure the mortgage gets paid, not knowing how to handle the setback that could ultimately lead to losing the home, other bills, etc.) get in the way of my ability to "let go." We always speak of reality, but when these fears are present, they "congest" the ability to see clearly, and anxiety sets in and rules.

GF: I know this fear over what "may be" seems natural for now, but try to understand that without negative imagination working in the unseen depths of one's self, no such fears as a psychological punishment could pop onto the screen of the mind and darken the heart. Learn to do what is in your power and refuse to do what is not. Do not give fear power. It has none apart from what we loan it in our sleep.

Shadow769: Fear can be a great motivator for change.

GF: Try to understand that while exterior conditions may be altered through the avoidance of what we fear, on the other side of that change we will always find that what didn't change is our fearful nature. This is what must change if we hope to reach the point where we need no longer run from anything to reach what we hope will be shelter.

Faust: If the spirit of fear is not from God, is it wrong to worry about a loved one?

GF: The dark fears we have are truly self-created even though they present themselves to us as being other-born. There is a difference between natural concern and overreacting in undo worry. You must see the difference. Real concern punishes neither the one holding it, nor the one it is held for. Worry of the negative nature wrecks whatever it touches regardless of how valid it gives for its reason.

Bjor: I have read many self-help books, some of them by you. I don't seem to acquire the knowledge I need to have peace and order my life. What should I do?

GF: If you are attracted to these teachings, and my books do not "reach" you as you would hope, I strongly suggest you get ahold of at least a few audio cassettes and listen to them. Sometimes some of us hear Truth more easily than we can read it. This has to do with the operation of certain centers and what dominates what. Order the new "Heart and Soul of Freedom" tapes. If they don't help, if they don't work, simply return them -- no problem.

Roy: In the context of worrying about our loved ones, you said real concern does not punish the one holding it. But if I don't worry, then something in me tells me that I'm insensitive and uncaring. How do I express this Natural Concern without the emotional pain that seems so natural a part of it?

GF: I understand your question. However, can you not see that what is truly Caring in life cannot be caring on one side and conflict-causing on another? Love, real Love, does not harbor any form of self-destructive negativity. It's impossible. Our task is to discern the difference within ourselves and to dismiss any identification we have with what hurts us "in the name of another." This can be done.

obwatch: I struggle with skepticism and doubts about the spiritual path. I am enriched by these teachings, but I find myself questioning them. How do I know that when I watch and observe myself, it isn't another false self?

GF: Have you ever had good homemade soup? Could you ever mistake it for Campbell's? The proof of any teaching is in the taste of the pudding. But one must taste this Truth and not fear seeing how the rest of life and its "feasts" pale in comparison. The skepticism does not belong to you. It belongs to those parts of you that want you to continue eating empty calories.

Eric: Why is it that when I try to meet God within, I feel (sometimes) like I'm wasting my time, like I should be doing something else, like I'm trying to obtain something that is unobtainable?

GF: I often hear questions like this from students here at the Foundation in Southern Oregon. Ask yourself this question the next time you catch this voice in you that calls into question the possibility of relationship with the Divine: Would God tell you in any way, shape, or form that you are wasting your time with your wish and work to know Him? Obviously the answer is no. Say an emphatic NO! to the parts of you that are trying to pull you away from a life in God, in Truth.

Dave: I've been divorced for about three years now. My part of the responsibility for the breakdown -- some of the embarrassing things I did --have stuck with me and project their place in my mind. Ultimately, I judge myself to the point of not being worthy of another relationship. Part of me wants one desperately; part of me fears the whole thing.

GF: It can be very difficult to let go of one's own past, especially when one's past nature has caused pain to others. But you need to understand that the nature active in you that revisits these fears does not do so to protect you from them, but to involve you in its conflicted life. Let it go. Drop this kind of concern and be conscious instead of yourself in action. Trust Truth by leaning upon it in the moment needed.

Truition: It is amazing how the false self can only create reasons for discontent, even in it's "jubilation." It appears that this dynamic exists simply because it is missing "third force."

GF: True enough. These false parts of ourselves can only exist and sustain themselves through the invisible workings of the opposites. This is partially why the Work, these teachings, are so vital for those of us seeking self-victory. We must have a new modifying force at work in us that takes the place of our personality who can only pursue the powers of this world.

Cindy: Could you comment on the see-saw of mood changes that occur from time to time while doing inner work?

GF: Everything in life fluctuates, everything vacillates. The whole point of our work is to reach the parts of ourselves that these vacillations move through instead of becoming their victim through being identified with them.

Dave: Since my divorce I've had one 8-month relationship. I did everything to not make the same mistakes. I OVERDID it. My emotional involvement backfired, and it was a real "slap in the face." I still have not been able to shake the experience. The emotional ties won't go away. I realize that we have the ability to detach, but is that ALWAYS what it amounts to? What about the love one has for family members?

GF: Here again, we do not understand that the Truths we study are in scale and on levels. This may surprise you, but it isn't until one is truly detached that one can truly love. So you see, one has nothing to do with the other as you have outlined. Work to understand this by working to quiet these surging thoughts and feelings whose very movements create the separation that you call out as being the problem.

Faust: You have made it very clear that when we give a problem to God, that we are not supposed to just sit back and wait. All my life I've been told to sit back and wait via my Baptist upbringing. I see now that it just doesn't work when I sit back. Can you explain this new concept to me a little more fully even though I have the basics now?

GF: In the Koran it states: Put your faith in Allah (God), but tie up your camel!

Straydog: The world is full of injustice. Besides "not letting it build a nest in our hair," what do we do/not do when it happens to us personally?

GF: We may either learn what it means to be the masters of events in our lives, or they will master us. There is no gray here. Who you are in Reality cannot be injured by word or glance. Find this Self before the self now active in you sees that you sink in its misplaced misery.

James1: My understanding of this world's despair has increased substantially recently. I'm not referring to global matters but more of a personal scale. Seeing our interpersonal pettiness or greed is now much more frequent. Are we so consumed by fear? So few of us demonstrate any real character.

GF: You must not fear seeing what is True no matter what inside of you brings to you to bear. There is no such thing as a harmful Truth for the one who loves Truth. These Lights along the way that reveal the depth of darkness within and around us transform not only what the Light enters, but ultimately the world that would deny this same Light. Stay close. Keep working.

Nowdweller: I know that we need to experience what we aren't in order to truly know what we are. I tire of the moments of not being one with truth. I want more moments of being aligned with my soul, but those moments are so far and few between. How can I align with my soul more often?

GF: Stay as true as you know how to, as you can muster the will to remain working towards your wish for a God-centered life. Meditate, remember God in the midst of any pain or pleasure, drop self-considering, and do certain works you don't want to do for the purpose of helping to keep you awake, like slowing down while eating, or agreeing to shoulder something not your own.

kevinb: Many are called but few are chosen… the chosen being few makes sense, but why aren't ALL called?

GF: You would have to take this question directly before God for an answer. Christ himself indicated that some seed never has a chance because of certain reasons known only to the Ground. On the other hand, Mr. Howard used to tell his students, "Choose to be chosen!"

Faust: Is John 3:16 for Now or for when we die? What happens when we die? Please consider this question from a Baptist who's seeking reform from harmful indoctrination.

GF: Any answer I give to this question will only become yet another indoctrinating influence. Do your inner work. Awaken to God's Life and His Light will answer things you can't even dream to ask!

TIPS 1: How do you know when you are in the "Now"? How do you actually know what "Now" is?

GF: The self that thinks towards the present moment excludes itself from being one with Now by its very considerations. The awakened moment in the Now holds not two parties, but all within it.

TIPS 2: I have many of your books and tapes. Is there a benefit to studying with you in person that could not be achieved by studying your books and tapes? If so, what are the benefits?

GF: There is an ancient and true statement that attends most truth teachings. It goes, "it takes a lighted candle to light a candle." And this is true.

TIPS 3: If we receive what we perceive, please clarify! How do we change what we perceive to change what we receive?

GF: This is the question that we must eventually meet on the Path. The issue is that the perceiver cannot change himself, anymore than a tape machine can change its own reel. This Work is about realizing that what we want we cannot give ourselves, and then dying to the self that insists it will succeed anyway. Then a New Life comes to the forefront of us, and seeing our world through its eyes, we have the new perceiver and receive the fruits of being within that Light!

TIPS 4: Since early life I have gladly accepted the responsibility to protect and provide for the key people in my life. Life changes and I now need to move on and leave some of those people behind. How do I give up this image of protector and provider and get on with living my own life? How do I get past the feelings of guilt and of being selfish? Can you recommend one of your books or tapes to expand your answer?

GF: I would recommend "Only the Fearless are Free," or I would listen to the newest of tape albums available, "The Heart and Soul of Freedom." Both of these products will help you strengthen your wish and will to be free.

TIPS 5: Sometimes I feel as though this work has me compartmentalize my thinking — I resist becoming "robotic" and miss the animation so characteristic of my personality. What has me so bothered?

GF: If you are feeing "compartmentalized" it is because you have misunderstood the purpose of these teachings. The whole issue is to "not take thought for tomorrow," but to be whole and awake to oneself in the act of being compartmentalized by thought itself.

TIPS 6: Is "instant recovery" what one must work at when one feels distracted during meditation?

GF: Yes, our work to come awake and drop thought – along with any negative emotional baggage it has brought aboard us – is something we should always be working at, so that our meditation is our mindfulness wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

TIPS 7: How can we tell the difference from sad, angry, or happy emotion coming from the darkness or the light? I get tripped up when I feel different emotions.

GF: Do thunderbolts come out of blue skies or dark clouds? Self-destructive states confuse us because they promise pleasure and deliver us to pain. Learn what it means to "see" – to be aware of your states – instead of trying to think about what they are. Seeing is freeing!

TIPS 8: In the moment when a bad event happens, how do we realistically experience the pain, take time to successfully grieve, and move on? Are you saying that through the spiritual work, life can be a pain-free/lessoned journey?

GF: Everything, no exceptions, has its time and life. Our task is to become aware of the difference between a natural grief born of a loss, and the unnatural clinging of the self to this sadness because it keeps that sad sense of self alive.

TIPS 9: Why is anger such a difficult emotion to let go of?

GF: For one thing, anger is a powerful negative emotion that provides, through its "heat," a very definite and strong sense of self, not to mention the direction this state always brings with it, as in what one must do now to exact revenge.

GF: Our time is just about up for this evening, and I want to pass along the special points I promised I would give to you at the close of my earlier opening comments. To refresh your memory, we discussed the nature of True Peace: what it is and what it is not, its dwelling place, as well what is required of us if we are to enter into its perfectly present Life in the Now. If you are sincere in your wish for a Peaceful life that transcends the disturbances of self, then a close review of these timeless ideas will prove them to be invaluable.

To pick up where we left off, before we can realize True Peace and its inherent Freedom, we must be released from that lower level of self that is forever struggling to put pieces of peace together -- hoping against hope they will hold together long enough to set us free! Clearly, this approach has proved itself hopeless.

If we are to succeed in our quest, then what we need is a New and Higher Understanding of ourselves, of our own being -- for this Peace that we seek resides within us and nowhere else. This means that our search for Peace requires that we become conscious of the myriad invisible worlds within us. But we are not asked to make this journey without a Guide. Before us goes the Light of Truth. It reveals the Way by opening our eyes to see, amongst other truths, that this Peace we seek is not a thing created by us. Admission into its Divine Domain is by mutual consent only. There is nothing conditional about this Peace except that it agrees to no terms other than its own.

For those of us who see eye to eye with these terms, this Peace reveals that it has always been present within us, and wastes no time proving its permanent Presence to us. In this Way, and all the rest of the Way Home, each step we will take away from being a self-appointed peacemaker gives us proof that we are headed in the right direction.

Slowly, but surely, we learn that True Peace is nothing personal. It is the possession of no one. Whoever tries to claim it, or otherwise contain it, sows into his self the secret cause of conflict and the sorrow of self-produced separation. Now we realize why, when people try organizing this Peace, that wars come in the wake.

Peace teaches perfectly, but few become wise. We must learn that Peace is a Gift given freely, but only as we give up our belief that we can give ourselves its silent strength. The presence of Peace within us may not be bound, but must be loosed by our growing realization that only in willingly losing ourselves within it can we hope to know its everlasting tranquility. And, as the next few ideas make abundantly clear, there is much to encourage us to do just that.

This Peace can neither be shaken, nor disturbed -- any more than a moth flying through the halo of a lamplight can in any way shatter the integrity of its glowing presence.

This Peace has no enemy. It cannot be brought to act against anyone for any reason -- any more than perfect silence assails the mind it descends upon to bestow its calmness.

This Peace is the Ground of strength, contentment, and kindness; the Now from which it springs is Newness itself. As such, it is not that this Peace itself must be renewed, but it is we who must learn what it means to renew ourselves in this abiding Peace. And here, in this one paramount Truth, lies the true nature of our inner work. In spite of appearances to the contrary, it isn't a question of where one loses this Peace -- as in the idea that someone or something can walk in from out of the blue and steal it. Rather, where is it that one unknowingly gives away their relationship with this Peace through an unattended attention that falls into identification with dark, disturbing thoughts and feelings?

With this idea in mind, the question becomes: How important is it for us to know this Peace? Because until we begin to understand how the thief of peace sneaks into us and steals our peace, we cannot begin to understand the absolute importance of inner diligence, of cultivating mindful vigilance, of how our work to stay awake heralds the coming of the Prince of Peace.

The next time, any time, something dark or disturbing tries to steal into you -- to wreck your contentment –- do not consent to be drawn into its seemingly important considerations. Instead of sinking into its yawning abyss, remember that the Peace you long for also longs for you. Then, go to it! Here is how to start your ascent into the safety of Now and its Perfect Peace.

Think of the sun in the sky. Its place is above any disturbance going on beneath it. What it sees it embraces with its light, yet nothing it touches like this in turn touches it. In a somewhat similar fashion, we have a feature in us that is, itself, a kind of aperture into the Peace of Now. This yet-to-be-realized state of ours is called "Conscious Self-Awareness." Through its power, coupled with one's directed attention, we may learn to live in Peace far above any disturbing thoughts and feelings. With our awareness held steadily in the presence and Peace of Now, from this vantage point we are empowered to see storms move through us instead of our being drawn down into painful identification with their darkening movements.

Start simply. Start Now. Remember these lessons about Peace. Allow your heart to remind you what the mind so easily forgets. There is a Peace. There is a Shelter. There is a Timeless Place within you that no darkness can shatter or dispel. Spend your time there. Prefer its ever-present Presence to that of any promise of peace to come and watch how your life becomes happy and whole.

Be sure to join us on-line next month on Thursday, August 1st, for our next meeting. Until then, as John Lennon once implored: "Give Peace a chance." Now you know how to do just that! Stay awake. Never quit. Always remember yourselves and your God. You can do this. Good night.

GF: Welcome. Before we begin our dialogue, I would like to pass along a few empowering ideas about our inner work. Tonight we tackle undoing that inner darkness known as fear.

We must not be afraid to learn the truth about our selves. Please notice I have deliberately separated the word "our" from its usual partner, "selves." Most of us would insist we have no such fear, but, for the most part, this is because we believe we already know the whole truth about ourselves. We do not. The purpose of this Work is to awaken us to this Truth that sets us free.

Let’s begin with a certain fear we must all meet face-to-face if our wish is to be whole in the Light of God. There is no True teaching that does not suggest to us that inwardly we are not one, and further, that although unseen by us, in truth we are actually many selves -- all of which dwell in an invisible home that we call our "being." The evidence of this division is abundant.

Whether it is the self that says "I will not shake when life quakes," or that claims it will never again tremble before an angry face, both fall as a house of cards when reality displaces their bravado with conditions beyond their control. In this same moment, the formerly fearless self is replaced by a fully fearful one without the person they inhabit even detecting a switch has occurred.

The point is that the former self -- the one that envisions itself braving any storm -- does not know the latter self that runs from dark clouds even as they appear on the horizon! With this irrefutable fact in mind, our task, our inner work, is twofold: first, to realize that these various unconscious orders within us are just that -- just parts, aspects of the whole of our being.

Second, following this line of thought, no one part of us represents the entirety of our True Self any more than the thorn upon the stalk of a rosebush defines its radiant blooms and their subtle air-borne fragrance. To summarize: The frightened self -- that part of us that either fights with apparitions or that flees from them -- is but an aspect of our present nature.

This fearful self, along with the forces responsible for its existence, is a creature of the darkness. It is, as we will see, born in the dark, dwells therein, and gives birth to other forms of darkness that are then sent out to work their own dark and nefarious deeds. Only the Light of Truth can free us from living in the captivity of this life-stealing creature.

The amazing thing about this Light that liberates us from our unwitting relationship with this fearful nature is that it wins our freedom without a shot being fired. How is it possible for Truth to take on this fearful self and win every fight? Here is exactly how it happens: By that unique light that truth sheds upon our dreads, we see the unthinkable: we see, as a fact, that fear is a lie! We learn it has no substance apart from what we impart to it in our unknowing of its unconscious nature. And as our own work of further self-discovery verifies this finding, what is left for us to fear?

Now we see, happily, we have been as children afraid of a shadow animated only by our own imagination! Withdraw this unconscious consent and that dark creature called fear returns to its original non-substance. So, let us agree to do just that, beginning with the following light-filled truth. Consider its message deeply. Let it start you on the Path to a whole New Life free of fear: We never make our fears prove themselves, but instead ourselves prove their dread with our own fearful reactions that make us run away from what is feared before we even look upon its face.

What does this truth tell us? It states, if we can see it, that our fears win the war for our will without a struggle. Like Genghis Kahn, who sent spies ahead into his foes’ camps to spread lies about the invulnerability of his approaching forces -- to ensure his enemies surrendered without a fight -- so too does fear threaten us with what it tells us is coming to make us yield to it now.

We must learn to see through the mechanism of this misery that we have agreed to live under, and we will before we close our chat tonight. Don't miss learning "Four Facts to Liberate You From the Lie of Fear."

What do you feel like discussing tonight? Please keep your questions real, personal, and to the point. This means to stay awake to yourself, to resist the temptation to be speculative, or to otherwise ask merely curious questions based in comparative thought. Our time together will be profitable if you work this way.

Now it’s your turn: What would you like to talk about tonight?

RobF: Did I get the message correctly that fear is the main reason we are reluctant to really do the work to drop our false selves and accept God's new "self" in its place?

GF: Yes, in a word. But it is not our fear, meaning that the fear of letting go of ourselves belongs to that level of self that only knows itself by thinking about itself in relationship to the world around it. That self -- its divided nature -- is fear itself.

toby: Aren’t there healthy fears, such as the fear of taking drugs, etc.?

GF: These fears you speak of have their natural origin in our instinctual parts, not our intellectual parts. Fears such as standing before a car belong to the parts of us that will protect themselves. There is no fear of a psychological nature in this aspect of the self-preserving self.

toby: I have spent my life in fear and phobias, most of them from a very abusive childhood in which death was always threatened. Can I really transform these powerful fears?

GF: There is no doubt about this potential. And it is not the fears (themselves) that are transformed, but it is we who change by consciously learning to change what we relate to within ourselves. You might try ordering (from our bookstore) “Secrets of Cleansing Heart, Mind, and Soul.” It would shed like on this continuing conflict. As always, if you don’t receive real help from its contents, return it, no questions asked.

ROCKY1: I have a fear of making a mistake when investing money because of past mistakes. How can I break this fear?

GF: I cannot and would never give any advice concerning investing money. I can pass along a few helpful ideas in the form of principles: First, never risk money you cannot easily afford to lose should a good investment turn bad. Second, see the difference between natural, intelligent prudence and the wish to come into financial power through investments that promise such ego-rewards. Last, put Truth first regardless what you do.

seeker: What is the difference between saying, "To end fear I must pay with my fears," and, "To end anger I must pay with anger?" Are we to fight fire with fire, or anger with anger?

GF: No, you have not understood the idea. To end any negative state requires paying the cost of the self that finds value in the embodiment and expression of that negative state. The sacrifice of this nature is what is required before one can possibly be free of the negative effects that follow it like a shadow.

cliff: I understand your definition of fear as a type of succubus that sucks the life energy from me. But are these fears really entities that exist? I did away with the whole demonic notion some time ago.

GF: A fearful thought and the fearful emotions that give rise to it and that shape it further is a form. It is matter. It is real at the level of the mind that generates such forms and that believes in them because they stand before it, mirroring it. These forms do steal life from who it is that we may be -- our nature that is not in thought and that doesn't have to think to know itself.

Rousseau: Thanks for the opportunity to discuss such things. I read yours and Vernon Howard’s books quite often to understand these principles. As I sit here thinking upon the lesson, I ask myself the question: I have many thoughts now and throughout the day, but to really identify a fearful (or negative) thought which is not good for me is sometimes obvious, and other times not. VH would say to put your own mental advancement first and foremost. What else could you contribute today to this thought of identification of fear?

GF: At the close of the chat tonight I will post four specific ways in which one can both identify the secret lair of fear as well as the conscious actions that are implied through such discovery. As an additional thought, work with this: Anything in us, any fear that tries to draw us into protecting it from being seen by others, is not trying to protect us, but itself. Always risk such fears.

Bonj: Do you teach that we know what is true by learning what is false? What does this mean? Can you give an example of this?

GF: Every human being has within him a specific aspect of his nature that can effortlessly discern what is true from what is false. This part of us does not think and therefore compare qualities to know the difference, but rather is capable of knowing directly the quality at hand, and in this direct relationship, is able to discern what goes up from what goes down.

SEEKER: Did Vernon Howard or yourself ever discuss what Christ termed as "lukewarm"? I know there are parts of me that have kept me from being persistent and consistent in all my pursuits. I have not really succeeded at anything spiritually or materially. It's like I don’t live in either world.

GF: Real spiritual growth is virtually impossible without commitment. What is commitment? It is not a strength, nor a wisdom, but a willingness to continually test the truth that one intuits as being before him with the world that his senses provide for him around him. Commitment and persistence purify the willing soul by educating it to what is within its power and what is not. There is no substitute for this quality.

DanG: In Genesis 1:26 "God made man in his likeness." Does this mean we were given God 's nature (essence)?

GF: This passage from Genesis has a number of meanings, one of which I will share with you. To be made in the likeness of God means that within us, as the root of our essence, dwell all of the principles by which the universe itself came into existence. As we awaken, we find that we are the Laws that govern Reality, and our Peace is realizing our place in this whole Life.

loneone: I have struggled over the years to connect with people. I have a very meaningful relationship with my husband, I think my children are turning out pretty well, and I am successful in my career. I just seem unable to make friends. I find it hard to relate to others, especially women. Please help me. What can I do differently? Please help me to understand why I am like this.

GF: Usually at the root of our inability to have friends and keep them is a form of fear of them. To clarify this, this fear isn't really of the person we wish to be friends with, but rather our fear is in our own ideas about that person and the way we think he or she thinks about us. One cannot have a friend they feel they must protect themselves from. This is just one possibility. Watch yourself inwardly around others. You'll learn.

NJBG: In your new book you talk about how we are all musical "notes," and that we must not "resist some unpleasant note of our own, or that of someone else." How can this be reconciled with the idea that we should avoid (resist) "toxic" people, and/or what is the difference between a toxic person and one who helps to create these occasional "discords" in us?

GF: People who set us off, who may "sound" in us sour notes, are not necessarily what I mean by a toxic individual. Anyone who helps us to "hear" the reverberation of our invisible nature helps us to the degree we're willing to listen to what comes up in us around them. Truly toxic, dead individuals, may cause "notes" to sound in us, but we need not be around these people for more than one stanza.

NJBG: What exactly is a toxic person and/or how do you identify them? I have a friend who is very hateful (Jews, gays -- you name it), talks about wanting to do serious violence to the world (and I fear may do just this someday), etc. Toxic?

GF: It is important to realize that a trumpet is not a toxic instrument because sour notes come from it. Hatred is a toxic state that can become ingrained in the human instrument. That person can literally become the embodiment of that dark state. Then he is lost… and will try to take you with him downhill.

RRUU22: Why do I clam up around some people? It feels like I am stumbling all over the place for words to say.

GF: Nothing frightens us more when it comes to being around other people (that might cause us to "clam up") than what we want from them. The more we think someone can either give to us or take from us (and these are secretly the same interior reflections), the more likely we are to feel as though we are somehow at risk in their presence. Dare to be a fool. You'll lose nothing except your fear.

Dave: In considering the concept of “letting go," when we are willing not to identify with labels we have put on ourselves, and are wanting to see the emptiness, and thoughts continue to be there (the "automatic ones"), it seems there is always a voice that wants to entertain them. I am totally convinced, in my case, that obsessive compulsive disorder plays a role. With me, it has been a viscious cycle. What can be done to effectively just sit and let 'em all go by?

GF: In the long run, and this must be seen and evidenced by your own inner work, we always give ourselves over to whatever it is active within us that fulfills us in some way. When at last we see (and you will if you keep working) that the relationship we have with these thoughts that torment us can never do anything other than breed further discontentment, then we will not only lay them down, but ourselves (the false self) with them.

CD: How do you free yourself from some negative pull (and fear) you feel in yourself, but you know it's wrong? It's sort of like a magnet pulling you in the wrong direction. How does one let go of this feeling?

GF: First, if we really knew that something was genuinely wrong for us, no matter how it pulled upon us, we would not concede. So this means that the attraction between yourself and this condition still exists because it isn't clear to you that what you wish not to do is wrong for you. Some things just have to be given up no matter how much the wrong parts of us protest giving them up. As a simple example, a man loves chocolate, but his body can't tolerate it. When he eats chocolate, he gets sick, even though his mind is deeply pleased by each bite. Chocolate is wrong for him. His appetite for it does not excuse what he does to himself by eating it. His stomach will scream, but he must let it. Eventually, that appetite dies.

Faust: Thanks for telling us (in The Secret of Letting Go) about the instance of the rock in the stream you found in the Ojai Valley. I've been putting things "back" like you suggested. I think God allowed you to have that experience just so you could share it with everyone. I believe that you want us to put our fear right "back" where we found it, too. Thanks for being such a positive role model.

GF: That's a good way of looking at the principle of leaving things where we find them. When a fearful thought jumps up into our mind, there is absolutely no rule that says it must find a ledge there to linger within. All we need do is let it return to its native place by refusing to pick it up, fondle it, and carry it around with us.

Barry: What is the purpose of confusion? Is it to change what one values, as I heard you say awhile ago?

GF: No, confusion serves no purpose whatsoever for the part of us that longs for clarity. Confusion is how thought denies the moment in which it realizes it doesn't understand what is before it, and therefore creates a whirlwind of reactions in order to mask from itself its own lack of understanding.

katykins: My dualistic nature has become quite evident to me. I see quite clearly the two aspects -- the one I wish to be and the one I fight to let go of. Clearly, the preferred is the one bathed in light. And yet I struggle to maintain balance with great difficulty.

GF: This is quite deep, but never the less an important Truth for any sincere seeker to realize: Light is self organizing. True awareness determines order of whatever is in it without any effort on its part. Stay with your wish to awaken and to be aware of your own divided nature. The Light will see to the natural separation and ultimate restoration of your True Nature.

SEEKER: "Life" has brought an end to all my pursuits. All my ambitions have fallen apart. I don’t have a clue how to fix them, and I’m not going to try. What’s funny is that it doesn’t bother me as much as I thought. I’m a little scared of leaving things open, and I fear I won’t like what God has in store for me, but I no longer have a choice. Anything I do will go nowhere. Any encouragement?

GF: Stay right in the middle of not knowing. As best you can, apart from doing what you must to provide a basic householder's existence (i.e., being responsible for those for whom you must be) refuse to let fear direct you. If you will stay quiet, watchful, willing, and above all interiorly receptive, there will be some form of guidance, some instruction that will indicate what your next "step" will be. Persist with your wish to be free.

DanG: Besides self-remembering and remembering God, isn't it necessary to be aware were we are in scale of the universe?

GF: Thought by itself can never find its place in any other universe besides the one of its own recurring images. Meditate, spend time alone quietly pondering those deeper issues that rise in your mind for question, and you will gradually awaken to the part of yourself capable of marriage with the principles you are interested in understanding. No other relationship satisfies.

jill: When you use the word "scale" or “in scale," I don't understand what you mean. Please explain?

GF: Think of an atom. It has a nucleus, electron, and protons circling it. Think of the sun. It has planets and moons circling it. Our solar system is, in scale, an atom. Can you see it?

etfit: What is the best way to handle a relationship where one partner's happiness depends on the other, while the other is already content without the need for their partner to be a certain way? They both proclaim to love each other.

GF: We must in all of our relationships (as they are all in some fashion unbalanced) learn what it means to be kind and considerate without compromising ourselves. Sometimes one must give up certain demands that others be as they wish when they see that the other person cannot be other than they are. Love asks this of us at times. At other times, it is loving to give in to no demand regardless of the cost to us.

jill: Most people I talk with (or listen to) seem to be seeking self-gratification through conversations they have with others, including myself. I see this and have noticed that I get bored with conversations. Is that a normal process?

GF: Oh, yes, and congratulations! It's safe to say that 90% or more of what we call important conversations with others are really nothing more than using others as a kind of trampoline by which we can have the sensation of our own self as it bounces off of them. Dare to not join in. Dare to walk away from meaningless jabberwocky. You'll be so glad you decided to have your own life.

Farside: Could you please post, in next week's review, your story about the man and the fear monster (from “Road to Good Fortune”)? It is so great.

GF: Thanks, I've had many nice comments about that story from this tape album. We'll see what we can do for you.

wpenwal: I am new to this chat and I am not sure how I got here, but how do I get access to next week's review? I am trying to work out fears of monsters that clog my self in order to lead a productive life.

GF: All you need to do is return to this website next Wednesday and the entire essay on fear will be posted. Check the "Breaking News" icon on the Homepage. It will take you right to where you want to go. Here's one helpful "monster-slayer": No fear exists for us about "tomorrow" that isn't a product of our own negative imagination. All we need to do is wake up to this Truth.

FSE: What if the negative imagination has the ability to become reality?

GF: That’s just the point. Simply because we do not know that we can manifest negative conditions does not mean we won’t suffer from these self-created conditions.

toby: I have been reading your books and listening to your tapes, but somehow I still unconsciously sabotage myself. How can I stop?

GF: One very painful, frustrating, and self-sabotaging mindset that we all must grow to see through is the idea that there is a "quick fix" for what foils us. There is not. Real self-safety, true integrity, and confidence are born in us in the same measure as we realize the existence of what is wrecking us and then let these things go. It is a kind of process, even though waking up takes no time.

jaybird: Can you explain further what you mean when you say "waking up takes no time"?

GF: In a sense, enlightenment – the sudden seeing of a truth about something – is instantaneous, even though the lesson behind that moment may have had to be in the “oven” for years!

Roy: If our fearful self is the result of dark forces responsible for its existence, then what kind of nature is within me that attracts such darkness? I want no part of a fearful self, as its paralyzing effects can be devastating. This is one thing that is so difficult for me to truly see -- that there can be parts of "me" that want to do "me" harm.

GF: I know this is a difficult concept, and much of it cannot be explained but only seen and then understood. If you haven't read The Intimate Enemy, I strongly recommend this book, as within it are hundreds of helpful insights into this nature within us that is set against us. It can be put in its proper place, but only by a process of illumination. To try and dominate what already dominates us is to play into the hands of this very nature that seeks to live our life.

NJBG: In the April chat you said "watch yourself as closely as you can as you do the things that you wish you weren't doing," as opposed to stopping yourself, or whatever. My question is, where do we draw the line? Obviously we don't watch ourselves as we murder someone in order to learn about ourselves!

GF: We must all learn that we have parts of us that are self-harming, even as we must learn to watch these parts as they do the harm we wish they wouldn't to ourselves and others. Obviously one must never under any circumstances set out to harm another human being. To watch ourselves under all circumstances, good and bad, means just that.

Barry: Is all this stuff all that hard to do? You've spoken about anchoring oneself outside of time… does that mean (for example) to be like a cat? If a cat gets its foot hurt so it can’t walk, it doesn't think from the past and go, “I can’t get mice now.” It just sees NOW and what is, and deals accordingly. Is that kind of what you meant? That’s easier said than done for us humans!

GF: If what you mean by "us humans" is the parts of us that believe there is value in complaining and blaming and otherwise entering into conflict with others and ourselves, then yes, learning to awaken to our true nature is not easy. On the other hand, if there is in us anything that is sick and tired of being sick and tired, then this part of us can lead us to a Supernal health and well-being unrecognizable by those who choose to remain asleep to themselves.

kdhchi: An observation: We all seem so concerned about what others think of us, yet we all realize we cannot control another person's thoughts, ever. Funny, then we allow ourselves to be so afraid…

GF: These thoughts are good beginnings for walking away from those parts of ourselves that believe it is possible to feel good about ourselves by somehow eliciting someone around us to act toward us as we think they should. Keep going.

Faust: I had an instance of fear today. I encountered a man with a tremendous ego and a condescending stare. The field I've chosen to eventually work in is filled with those sorts, but today I realized that I would "be in relation" with these types on a daily basis. It took spiritual energy for me to combat what I saw and felt today, and I'm wondering, from your own experience, how do you handle the negative energies (such as sheer arrogance) broadcasted from such people?

GF: There is no law written anywhere that, apart from being next to someone physically, we are required to share one thing -- i.e., a thought or feeling or experience -- with that person. Learn to look at such people as you would a tree covered with a parasitic lichen. Don't push this awareness away, but don't try to take anything away from this unhealthy tree.

Dave: There must have been a time when you remember having that first "glimpse," where you knew you needed to go farther with letting go. Do you remember that? And do you remember what got you there? How did you follow through?

GF: The one thing no one ever wants to hear me say about what places a person upon the Path and that keeps him or her there is that it is suffering that starts us, sobers us, sends us looking in the right direction, and (surprisingly enough) reveals to us that what we took as our suffering was never really ours in the first place.

katykins: God would never hear from us unless we had some sobering situation to deal with.

GF: This is unfortunate but true for the most part of most parts of us. However, as we grow, wanting to “be with” God takes more and more center stage for us, and this Living Light welcomes our awakening longing to be in its presence.

MMM: Enlightenment is Now or Never! Yet we dwell and celebrate remembering past sorrows and exciting thrills in our imagined future. Is pain our great ally in our quest to change?

GF: Consciousness of our pain sets the stage for changing our perception of what this suffering is actually for. Once this new mind stirs, we see anew, and real self-change occurs naturally -- as when sunlight sterilizes whatever sits in its energetic outpouring.

hawkeye: In athletics, people experience what is called being "in the flow," in which everything happens effortlessly, without thought, and with an overriding sense of peace. Is this literally experiencing being in the moment?

GF: It is a form of that, and as such it is very much what draws athletes to not only repeat their experience, but to push the envelope in which these experiences are granted to them. Even so, these glimpses are effects of one's physical effort, and as such dependent upon stressing the body. We're after something not only more subtle, but that requires no exterior opposite for its Peace to be manifested.

1213: The better I become at seeing through certain people and situations, the more I become sad and de-motivated in the “system” I find myself… namely employment. How can I stay positive about situations that do not have real credibility when I need to?

GF: If one asks to see the truth, then one must not turn their head when the Truth shows them what It will.

1213: In a recent chatroom, you spoke of what we love and maybe we only love the truth we are studying, maybe that is what honestly motivates us, etc.. I believe that is where I am. What should one do in regard to career aspirations then?

GF: It is necessary for us to provide for ourselves a decent householder's living, and if there are others we are responsible for, the same holds true. Apart from this, if your wish is for a life awakened and in God, it makes no difference what you do with your life to provide the basics you require. Put Truth first. Truth will take care of you.

katykins: I suspect it's a cycle of learning, but compared to last summer when I thought I finally "understood" it all, now I feel perfectly helpless. I've handed my self back to God. I suspect it's time for more shaping, but how do I proceed?

GF: I know it doesn't feel like it, but from your comments, I know that you're exactly where you need to be. Just as it seems there is no end to the degree of deception (and the darkness it hides) that we find within ourselves, so is there no end to the new expanses and refreshing energies that are awakened in us each time we willingly walk through these temporary deserts in our spiritual life. Come visit the Foundation some time when it's possible. There is Water here.

Faust: During the time between the chats, I think about you on a daily basis, and I imagine asking you questions. As I sit here at the prompt about to type questions for you, all the answers you've provided for me and all of us over the last year begin to materialize once again, whereas they do not always come back in situations when I need them to. Do you attribute this to the very healthfulness of the fellowship we all feel here? Or am I not on guard when I need to be?

GF: It is both. Even over the internet, it holds true: "Wherever two or more of you are gathered in my name, there shall I be." In many ways there is no substitute for the fellowship of Truth seekers and the energy such gatherings gather together. On the other hand, you already know that you're not being as watchful as you should be. That's all right. Start over.

Barry: I see the intruder and what it indicates. I observe it for a few hours as long as I can. But it just slowly whittles me down until I come into full identification with it. You told me pain isn’t a bad thing, which I can agree with mentally. But doing and saying two different things… how to deal with it?

GF: We would not be troubled about being overcome or dominated by any negative state if we did not unconsciously believe that we have power over it in us as we presently are. This Work is about awakening not only to the powerlessness of our sleep-dominated self, but within that same awakening, coming into relationship with The One Great Light whose power does all things for whomever will allow it to work within him.

kdhchi: I am discovering that as I go further into the spiritual work that you write and lecture about, as I study human nature (my own and others), I sense that I do not "fit in" the way I use to. I am not interested in the same activities and people that I use to be drawn too. At times, I feel a little lonely. Any suggestions for seeing through/ending this lonely feeling?

GF: Do just what you have said: See through it. This means learn (in those moments when such lonely states visit you) to think (spiritually) towards these conditions instead of allowing the state to tell you what to think and secretly define you. Going through these changes is part of what changes us. Persist!

james: My girlfriend grew up in a Christian family and has always gone to church. Since we have been dating, she has wanted me to go with her. I have the problem that it fills her up while I don't get anything out of it. My resistance to going upsets her as she feels you need to be around other Christians and support God's church to grow in spirit. Should I continue to go, even though I feel out of place?

GF: One must always follow the dictates of his or her own intuition. Do not compromise what you know is true for the sake of something you hope will one day come to pass. Such days to come are illusions, and so is the self that seeks shelter in them.

1213: What are your insights on divorce? Is it normal for humans to look towards others when they are in a serious relationship, or is that just an indication that one is not in a healthy relationship?

GF: The sleeping self is never satisfied with what it “has” because this order of us only feels alive (to itself) when it is self-stimulated. Its appetite is its inherent emptiness.

pb: I am new to the reading and deep thought of spiritual growth. I have been talking to and helping youngsters for years, and find myself becoming stagnant. What are some of your basic suggestions for spiritual life enrichment?

GF: Spend as much time as you can in the presence of Truth. Read true books (they are rare), listen to true teachers (even more rare), and spend all the time you can in meditation or contemplation. Be by yourself when you want to, and don’t let fears drive you into keeping company with others who are with others for fear of being alone. Above all, remember your wish for God to be in your life 24/7.

jaybird: In Seeker's Guide To Self-Freedom you state: "The self that resists any other self is itself an extension of the self it is resisting." I find this idea particularly intriguing, yet I sense there is more to it than what I am presently grasping. Does this mean that all these fragmented "I"s (or TPIC's) that dominate so much of our lives are in reality just different "shades" of one false self? An elaboration on this point would be appreciated.

GF: In essence, the answer is yes. Our thought nature has no independent life apart from what it generates for itself as it considers its own contents. These self-generated images the thought nature evaluates (as in judging someone) are made up from its own past experiences, so it always (unconsciously, of course) judges itself!

NJBG: Regarding not resisting... recently I turned up the volume (so to speak) of a voice expressing negativity (stressing the particular note or phrase) in order to "see" it better. It's hard to tell though which self (True or other) did this… it could have been the True self, or a false self pretending to be the True self. Any thoughts would be helpful.

GF: Any part of us that urges us to deliberately act out some form of self-destructive or other punishing manifestations, is set against us in spite of what it tells us its intentions are.

Bluerose: I have had glimpses of being awake. What a feeling. I have also experienced God. He wants us to be awake. Jesus said to "watch and pray." I can understand what he was saying.

GF: Excellent. Never forget such moments, and if they are real, you can’t forget if you want to. The Seed is stirred. Now, cultivate the ground it rests in, and nourish the soils. God sees to the rest.

katykins: I've seen God send many people into my life for brief periods of time for the "learning" experience, and I love them each for the time we've had together. I seem to know them instantaneously when I meet them. Yet ongoing relationships are all but non-existent. I can count on a few fingers people I've kept in contact with over my lifespan. Aloneness is a way of life with me it seems. Is there something lacking in my character, or is it OK to continue the journey in this way?

GF: Let (this) Life lead. Besides, the number of friends one has means nothing, rather our work to have a relationship with the One Friend whose Life and Light within us makes it possible for us to be a true friend to all we meet.

toby: Can you comment on post-traumatic stress disorder? I have dealt with hysterical blindness plus other physical symptoms that were psychologically induced.

GF: When the nervous system gets over-stimulated, depending upon the nature of these energies (and subsequent chemicals they release), many counter-productive states in oneself become possible. Meditation is a natural balancing agent, and one can learn to meditate wherever one is and regardless of what one finds going on there. If you haven’t read The Lost Secrets of Prayer or Design Your Destiny, both have practices outlined in them to help one work at keeping this Presence present all the time.

Gerry: I have really enjoyed one of your tapes in which you speak of “coming to” and realizing one’s existence in the moment. This has turned into the most meaningful activity for me in which I am awe inspired by the vastness of the present moment. It fills me with ecstasy when I least expect it. "Coming to" is, as you say, the thing I love to do most.

GF: The gradual realization that we are a part of all that we see is bliss itself, because the one who can see this Truth, sees it through the eyes of God.

hmmm: What are your thoughts on Adam and Eve and the fall of man? Obviously we did something that messed things up.

GF: The story of Adam and Eve is a profound, but secret, story that outlines God’s planned development of His “children” to come into a conscious relationship with Him through another and altogether Higher order of will.

hmmm: What’s the difference between gambling and taking a risk? If a poker player understands odds and the universal laws, would it be considered gambling when he plays, even though theoretically he can't lose? Or maybe it is just considered stealing? I don't know.

GF: People gamble not to win money, but to give themselves certain intoxicating (and addictive) sensations. Anyone who gambles secretly likes the fear and pain connected to their opposites, elation and pleasure, as these forces make their way through the unconscious psychic system.

Bluerose: I know that I need to exercise. I have done step aerobics, but I have come to realize that this type of exercise uses too much energy. I have thought about Yoga. Do you recommend that type of physical exercise?

GF: Yoga, Tai Chi, conscious nature walks, golf, jogging… it doesn’t really matter too much. Exercise is important. Although I will add that some forms of exercise require spiritual attention as well – employing spiritual Principles at the same moment they engage the body. Such forms (of exercise) are best.

pb: I recently read of fear and a tie-in with the placebo effect being that things (thoughts, including fear) only have a value worth the meaning we assign to them. What are you thoughts?

GF: What you state is true at the level of thought that produces such fears through unconscious identification with negative imaginings, etc.

hexi44: I work in a bank. I was frantically rushing to accommodate my client’s needs. A rather young teller came over to my desk and said, "Slow down. Dare to slow down and step back from the rush!" Did you send her to me? Thanks.

GF: It is possible this person read Design Your Destiny as one of the 12 exercises in this book has a title almost exactly like what she mentioned to you to do. By the way, Truth does send such messages to us all the time!

GF: Our time has run its course for this evening, and I have my remaining notes to pass along. My opening comments addressed the lie of fear and how this non-entity manages to encase us in its darkness.

For the rest of our time together, I want to ensure that you have some new tools of truth to take away with you. Be sure of this: Every true idea is a light that will not fail to guide you to freedom if you will only remember to place it before you in times of trial. Put these following special insights to work for you and watch your fear disappear.

The more we are willing to learn about the way fear works, the less power it has to work its ways on us. To help you better understand how fear undermines your right to be free, here are Four Facts to Help Liberate You From the Lie of Fear. Look upon each of these higher insights as a kind of spiritual window that, once opened by you, lets in the Living Light. With patient study and sincere self-work, you will learn their special secret lesson. Then watch in amazement as you realize the meaning of something you heard long ago, but never really understood: The Truth sets us free because no lie can live in its Light:

1. Anxiously seeking to find some way to protect ourselves from the fear of something that may be coming our way is to punish ourselves in the present moment in the hope of avoiding it later!

2. Fear’s power is that it uses the unseen contents of our own consciousness to twist and transform the unknown of what lies just ahead into something known to be dreaded in the now.

3. Fear is the dark and imaginary distance between the coming possibility of an imagined challenge and the actual arrival of whatever that condition may be that our life then naturally sets itself to resolve.

4. Rather than allowing our fears to find excuses for why we should walk away from what challenges us, we must choose instead to see that there can never be a good excuse for living with fear.

Spend as much time as you can pondering and working with these special truths about the lie of fear. Secreted within them are spiritual maps of a sort -- living guides to instruct you how not only to walk out of fear’s darkened lair, but also how to construct a portable lantern that will light every step of your way.

Lastly, always strive to remember your wish and the interior work you must do to reclaim your spiritual freedom. This personal work to prove that fear is a lie is the first step to living the Truth that will show this to you. Settle for nothing less than this relationship that sets you free.

GF: Good evening and welcome to our chat for this month of May. First, I will post some special ideas. As you will see, these insights will prove themselves to be critical along the Way to your inner awakening.

There are times when it feels as though dark states of discouragement dog us, following us around as if just waiting for us to fall down, never to rise again. On these days our own lackluster emotions are hounded by thoughts barking at us that nothing is right with our lives. Sound familiar? Clearly, discouragement is a punishing state.

On these same sad days, even the smallest wish on our part to part ways with these sentiments is greeted with waves of doubt that, like an undertow, turn our resolve not to sink into a malaise into what feels like a futile struggle with the inevitable! Unspoken, yet most telling, we can hear reverberating within us words to the effect, "What's the point? Why bother?" Then, as though we have heard from the Fates themselves, we accept as our guide the dreariness of some "can't do" negative state.

Is this how it must be? Must we mingle ourselves with what discourages us? The answer to these questions is decidedly "No!" But to free ourselves from the spell that discouragement casts over our consciousness requires that we gain New Self- Knowledge. The Good News is that once we have uncovered exactly how this negative state steals our will and turns us into will-less toadstools, we are on the road to realizing a life that sits out of the reach of any discouraging state. So, let's get started.

We begin our journey with a truth: All discouraging feelings are a lie. Now perhaps you are already wondering how something with the power to wreck us can be called unreal. So, please make the mental note that this initial truth doesn't mean that we don't feel the weight of bleak moments, nor does it mean that many of us don't fall beneath their spell and become trampled under their powerful illusion. No, discouraging states of self can land upon us with the force of a thousand regrets. They sneak in and steal our vitality, infusing the very atmosphere around us with misgivings about our lives. Clearly just contending with such an adversary is a task, let alone hoping to overcome its negative influences and come out on top. But that is exactly what we are going to do!

The next truth we must realize about discouragement is that it makes no difference why we feel this darkness in us -- meaning that what our discouraged feelings blame themselves upon is of no consequence when it comes to our eventual conquest over them. For instance, sometimes we can feel discouraged because our past efforts have never prevailed over what challenges us, so why try now? Or perhaps we are disheartened because one of our main hopes for happiness suddenly proves itself to be hopeless. Maybe we get downcast in the day because our body, or our mind, is no longer capable of doing what it once could in younger years, and all we see on the horizon are more limitations.

The point is -- when it comes to these dispiriting states -- it makes no difference what they say is the cause of their punishing presence within us. The truth is that these dark states find the cause they need to inhabit us right from within the content of our own past experience! What does this mean?

Negative states, all dark energies that enervate us, only succeed at draining us because they are capable of making us see -- drawn up from the storehouse of our own mental and emotional memories -- those psychically loaded images that validate their existence. In other words (and this following Key Lesson deserves your careful consideration if you wish to conquer this unwanted condition): The only power these dark states hold over us is that they get us to identify with feeling ourselves as being powerless. And when such strong feelings of futility are accompanied by what is seen (in our own mind's eye) as being valid -- because we are given over to unconsciously recall the considerations that make them so -- then boom! The trap is sprung and into the darkness we go!

Had enough of feeling like you are never enough? Good! Then before we close our chat tonight, I will pass along the additional insights and Key Lessons that you will need to start walking away from any discouraging state.

Please, as always, let's keep our questions and comments centered around and upon personal inner-work issues. Let's avoid asking philosophical, or otherwise merely spiritually curious questions. No one profits from these types of inquiries, while everyone grows from one's real questions that arise from one's real efforts to awaken. All right then, what should we discuss tonight? What is on your mind? What can we learn together?

jaybird: Your opening remarks really resonated with me as I have become increasingly aware of how much part of me actually enjoys reliving unpleasant scenes from my past. On a mental level, I know this is harmful and just plain stupid, yet I can't seem to just drop it. Your guidance here would be greatly appreciated.

GF: Nothing can change for us with regards to our mind drawing us into unpleasant past memories until we can actually be aware of the fact that the parts of us that are drawn into these dark daydreams enjoy being dragged through what they later protest. Next time you find an unpleasant scene unfolding on the screen of your mind, deliberately come awake to yourself. This means cease to identify with the scene playing out. This will teach you much.

seeker: Are you saying that any dark state is a lie and that by simply seeing it (throwing light upon it) that it will lose its power over us?

GF: I'm saying that the state of captivity that comes over us because we are identified with dark states is an unnecessary condition, i.e., therefore not real, and therefore it may be seen as being a lie because the truth about it dispels it. We must not seek ways to be more powerful than what we feel overpowers us. It is our identification with these states that must be seen and dropped.

Randy: The discouragement I feel is from a lack of love for myself and, in turn, the inability to be affectionate towards my wife. Where do I begin? How do you give what you don't have?

GF: Start with this: Throw out all of your ideas about what you lack and what it seems to produce in your relationship with others. Sounds to me like you've read one too many books on "loving." Come awake. Don't think about what you feel, or why you feel it. Instead, be as aware as you can as to what your relationship with these thoughts and feelings is producing in you in the moment. Do that much. You will get what you need to change.

Randy: It seems so simplistic to just be aware of your thoughts and how you feel in the presence of those thoughts. I find it so very difficult to separate myself from my thoughts, and the irony is that I feel so separate from everyone else!

GF: From your comments it is evident that you are starting to see certain inexplicable (up to now) facts about yourself. This is good. The Secret about bringing our selves into the Light of awareness is that this Light of awareness is a Living Light, with powers of transforming and reorganizing what is brought into it. The separative self wants nothing of the life in the Light.

markus: Is self-discipline important? Or do we change once we recognize the Truth about our situation?

GF: Self-discipline is the early stage of a mind that catches and corrects its own tendencies toward self-compromise or defeat. As one's mind awakens to itself, the light that dawns within it doesn't so much discipline the self as it simply keeps us from making self-defeating choices.

Nicole: I was wondering what advice you have about people with mental illness? Did they "choose" this? My mother has bi-polar illness. It is not only hard for me to handle when the episodes happen (as I am the one who has to "deal" with it and make hospital arrangements and such), but it is even harder to watch her struggle with this illness. She has had it for 28 years now. It happened to her the day I was born.

GF: I have the same advice for everyone, regardless of the conditions they find themselves in with one another. Every relationship in this life is a gift. Through them, we are offered the opportunity to see and meet within ourselves the qualities of character that prohibit us from fulfilling the promise of our True nature. Be kind. Consider her needs before your own whenever possible. Be a good daughter.

801: Could a mental illness, such as Nicole mentioned, be a gift to her mother?

GF: The human being has within his or her essence the remarkable ability to turn lead into gold. This means that when a person loves Truth/God/the Light more than anything else, that everything this person encounters in life works out to be a gift for them because the Light that is active within them transforms all forms.

steveb: Would you say cancer also is a gift, or could it be random genetic chance?

GF: There is a lot of New Age nonsense around today about such ideas as someone "chooses" a horrible condition for themselves, or that we give ourselves painful conditions as gifts. Underneath such ideas is secret and destructive egotism. It is true that all things can be good for those for whom the Good is all things, but it is the Good itself that ultimately determines and defines such outcome.

noah: You've said that outside conditions don't contribute to our feeling of being "tied up," but what about when a person is literally tied up, or trapped physically in some other way, and being tortured as well... is the "disturbance" still in the person's mind?

GF: If you are not yourself experiencing the condition you described, than what's the point of your question? Obviously, someone who is physically restrained is physically tied-up. But even so, his captors are not the keeper of his consciousness, and he may be free regardless of his conditions.

sanajaja: What about genetics? How big of a role do they play in the person we really are, or do they?

GF: Just as principle precedes the forms it produces, so is it true that consciousness comes before the genetics that reveal it. Change consciousness, change everything.

RRUU22: My son worries about what other people think of him all of the time. I have to reassure him constantly. He is 28 years old!

GF: One of the secret curses that most of us live with is born out of the false and painful assumption we have been given to live with that what other people think of us makes any real difference in the quality of our lives. Point out to him that it is not the thoughts of others that trouble him, but his own thoughts about those thoughts. Help him to awaken; don't be a part of his bad dream.

Eric: I'm trying (or maybe I imagine I'm trying) to apply this new esoteric knowledge to my being. My adventure started about one year ago with your Secret of Letting Go. My question: How do I know whether or not I'm applying this knowledge correctly? I don't want to build a house upon the sand.

GF: Actually, more important than the question "Am I applying this knowledge correctly," is the question "to what am I intending this knowledge to change?" There are things that we are given the gift of being able to change. We may affect change in our own being. Such change can be true, real, and everlasting. We may change some things in the exterior world, but these powers and the changes they affect are always temporary.

McRat: I'm very interested in knowing when you will be in the San Francisco Bay Area again.

GF: At this point, the remaining leg of my talk series will be in the great northwest, from which I will return for our annual Talks in the Pines at the Foundation in southern Oregon. The dates are June 19th through the 23rd. If you can attend these talks, I'm sure you will come away strengthened in your wish for Real Life. See the link on the homepage for more information. Also, be sure your name is on our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date on my travel plans.

DanG: Would you review with us what you mean by "remember yourself and remember God"? I am sure you don't mean an image we have of God.

GF: The idea of remembering oneself and remembering God sound like and seem to be two separate ideas, but they are not. If a person truly remembers himself, is awake in the moment to the whole of his or her nature, this self-awareness brings with it the remembrance of God because no one remembers himself in this way without knowing at that moment his utter dependency upon a Life within himself greater than himself.

DanG: Are you saying that we must be aware of our false personality at work and remember that we in reality have a godly nature within us that has been covered up by our development of a false personality?

GF: I'm saying that real self-awareness is the same as perfect self-honesty. Further, that perfect self-honesty is a form of conscious confession, and that conscious confession, by the fact of one's recognition and realization of their actual nature, implies the existence of that Life that sits above the person doing this work.

RRUU22: Although I'm getting better, I seem to clam up when I'm having a conversation with some people.

GF: One good bit of inner work for all of us is to work in the opposites. In this instance, when you find yourself feeling like you should "clam up," that's the time to deliberately, consciously, open up. Why? In doing so, you will become aware in an enhanced manner of the parts of you that, for their fear, are trying to make you disappear. Our task is to bring light into ourselves. The Light does the rest.

Ruth: In a recent taped talk you said, "The right answer is: Let me help you with that!" Am I misunderstanding this, or does it mean we may NEVER retreat from someone swinging a hammer but believing/insisting it is a feather fan? I know that Christ said 70 times 7 is not enough, but I have seriously struggled with this a long lifetime… when is enough enough, lest we entrap ourselves in martyrdom that leads no one anywhere?

GF: Of course, all such decisions are entirely individual as to where the line is with helping others at the cost of ourselves. This does not mean to live in abusive relationships. This does not mean to consort with thieves of any sort who steal what they might from you given the opportunity. What we're working for is learning to put the love of something before self-love. This "something" that we put before us we may call Truth, God, Kindness, what you will.

Ruth: Sorry to be dense-headed on this issue, but does "Let me help you/me with that" include breaking off, retreating as in what the Christ referred to with words like "even brush the dust of their soil from your shoes" (after departure)? Declaring someone "hopeless" (inwardly) is arrogance, but isn't to "hang in there, under the hammer" with "let me help you with that" just the opposite side of that wooden nickel?

GF: Yes, under certain circumstance it is just as viable to walk away from someone, as a form of helping them, as it would be to stay there and help them through the condition you would rather not. This is why it is so important not to have mechanical ideas or cultural behaviors as our guide. Let your own awakened intuition walk you through what is best. Do your best; the rest works out.

Ruth: Your response to what constitutes "let me help you with this" has given me enormous relief. I had a horror of abandoning anything/anyone, and now I clearly see that it leads back to age two, feeling abandoned in an orphanage waiting for a mother who died… that is, it is about self and about conditioning, not "owned"/resolved. Thank you so much for saying that retreating may be a form of help.

GF: The answer is to proceed in life while remembering that our real intention is not the invention of something that let's us live with what is hurting us. By putting our wish to see the Truth before our wish to prove (to ourselves) that we already know it, the Truth is given the reins it needs to guide us to the revelation that liberates us (from what formerly held us captive).

Roy: From your tape "The Path to Perfect Peace" I'm working with the idea of "Let me help you with that." I've had some encounters where it is just impossible for me to accept that the destructive qualities I see in others are also in me. Are there some exceptions to this interplay, or is the truthful concept of "I can't judge what I don't know" immutable?

GF: The concept "I can't judge what I don't know" is indeed immutable. If what we react to in others were not in us prior to our reaction, there could be no possible resistance to the qualities in others that bring up this negative reaction. Key here is not to judge yourself any more than any other in whom you see some unsavory quality. "Let me help you with that" applies to us in ourselves as much as us with others.

Roy: If it's immutable, then I must be denying in me what I see in them. Not to judge is a tough one, especially on myself. Where do I take it from here? I am always looking for some resolution. Do I stay with my resistance to those qualities and see what's on the other side of that?

GF: There is an unrealized (by the sleeping self) pain and pressure in any judgment we cast upon others or ourselves. Our awareness of this self-inflicted punishment is the beginning of the end of our participating with the unconscious parts of ourselves that mechanically act out this ache.

crystalphoto: I am having problems with my expectations of people and feeling disappointed when friends do not act in the way I think they should towards me. I am currently experiencing a lot of anger with a person I considered such a good friend who I feel is manipulating me and causing a situation to be much worse. I have been doing my best not to go to these angry places. Is there a place for anger and disagreement with friends that is OK?

GF: Disagreement with others is a naturally occurring condition and not to be avoided simply because it causes anger in us or some other negative reaction. On the other hand, anger and negative reactions toward others always arise within us from some unconscious expectation or demand we carry about that person. Our pain is that what we are identified with -- how they should treat us and what that makes us -- gets thwarted. Negative states such as anger are destructive not only to the nature that embraces them, but are counterproductive to our wish to be in agreement with one another. If we could see how poisoning and punishing anger and other aggravated states of self are, we would never have to ask if they're OK for us any more than we would ask if it's OK (if it's good for us) to jump off a cliff!

James1: What is it about guilt that makes it so engulfing? When I begin to work towards having some of the rewards of this life, part of me constantly reminds me of my shortfalls and how undeserving I am to be rewarded.

GF: We live from a nature (unconsciously of course at this time) that does not care what it does to us in its name as long as we can have the feeling of being on center stage with the spotlights on us. Guilt and other self-considerations of a selfish nature always seem to be the opposite to us. We think it means that we must be good if we feel that bad. See what is good and what is bad in you and then drop the fascination with the bad.

jenn: How does the study and cultivation of Chi/etheric life energy fit into one's spiritual development? Is this pursuit merely a distraction from what is really important? I teach in a Waldorf school, and Steiner was adamant about the etheric and astral bodies being very real.

GF: What I will say is not to minimize the principle of etheric or other subtle bodies, but what we need to be working upon is not so much the cultivation of higher energies, but the ability to be aware of where we are wasting these precious forces. What good is filling a basket with no button? When we are awake to ourselves, the light that is active within us prohibits unnecessary loss of vital forces and attracts qualities like itself by its presence.

BarryF: As we persist with our "inner work," can we know (feel and experience) that we're making progress? Is it measurable?

GF: There is a chapter section in one of my books, Freedom from the Ties that Bind, that I actually wrote for the purpose of helping others get a "handle" on such questions. The chapter is entitled "40 Ways to Measure Your Spiritual Progress." If you don't have the book, you can get it online from this website. If it doesn't help you, just return it… no problem.

Eric: I read in Maurice Nicholl's "Commentaries" about the idea of recurrence, which states that if a man's personality remains active and essence does not grow, that man will "recur" and live the exact same life over again, with all the miseries that he created for himself. If recurrence is true, then does that mean that a man is given eternity, literally, to become what he was created to become?

GF: Nothing in this universe is static. Nothing. We are always in the process of ascending or descending. The good news is that part of what we must go through, i.e., falling down in our lives, helps us to become conscious of the Truth that "up" exists. As long as a person persists with his or her wish to awaken and have a God-centered life, the opportunity persists.

Eric: The thing that I want this knowledge to change is this guy called Eric. I want to make my personality "passive" as Nicholl would say. I'm truly sick of my old nature, and I believe some change is happening. But whether Eric is becoming passive or not, I will continue to work, because each glimpse of the truth is the promise of further glimpses, as you might say. This is great stuff!

GF: Your attitude is right. I promise you that any work that you will give yourself to (and then carefully watch the results thereof) will lead you unfailingly to the next step in your work to realize greater and greater truths.

Barry: I typed the following statement out and put it on top of my computer so I can have it as a constant reminder… would you agree with the words that I've chosen? How would you say it? "A negative state cannot be born unless it is given birth to through the agreement of thought. Either positive resistance or negative agreement bring that state to life because you're dealing with it on its level."

GF: Negative states in and of themselves are not the problem. Truth be known, negative forces are part of what permits us to grow. The pain and captivity that comes with "being" negative is born out of our unconscious identification with the dark state. Once a dark state commands our faculties, we serve it in the dark circle that comprises its consciousness.

Doc: You are always telling us to stay awake, but in a chat a few months ago, you said, "Experience fully what the unattended mind connects to. Do not try to stay attentive all the time. See where you're hypnotized, and lose interest in that. Be aware of the pain that unconsciousness brings." Isn't this advice contrary to "try to stay awake moment to moment"?

GF: With all due respect, never would I say that a man should be, or in any way agree with, being inattentive to himself, which means that you have misunderstood something. The essence of this Work has to do with awakening within ourselves that Nature that is naturally endowed with the ability to observe itself impartially. This awareness is both a haven and a force for change. Stay awake.

801: Is "trying to stay attentive" also a source of hypnosis?

GF: One's work to stay awake and inwardly attentive is the antithesis of hypnosis.

James1: Could you please speak more about "awakening that Nature that is naturally endowed with the ability to observe itself impartially"? Your previous answer just struck me. I've tried to work with the ugly parts, not considering there is this part. I believe this relates to "no room at the inn."

GF: One cannot become aware of what is limiting him without first sensing this limitation. His consciousness of (any) limit comes to him from an unseen (but simultaneous) awareness of what is less limited within him. The painful part of self-observation is born out of identifying with the limited vs. realizing this condition is present to the mind because of the limitless.

kda: Can you offer some insight into dealing with the loss of a pet? How do we turn it into a learning experience?

GF: One of the things that I am always stressing in one way or another in my talks with students is that much (if not all) of our pain in this life is born out of mistaking what is temporary for the eternal. The loss of any creature that we love is painful… no doubts. But let us learn to use such loss as a reminder that we should always be attending to the Eternal, to God, even as we give ourselves to what passes.

kidd: Is it possible to care so much for a person and to see so much about them as to actually lose interest in a future with that person because you have so much empathy? I sometimes feel this way and I don't think I am identifying with this sensation either.

GF: What you describe is a contradiction. This contradiction cannot exist anywhere other than within your own mind, as the more we love anything in this life, the more we want to spend time within that love.

steveb: Do you believe there is a connection between what we eat and consciousness, and if so, what part does diet play in healing our neuroses? Also, is diet less a part of the state of mind we experience as we progress, or more as we become more sensitive to our true nature?

GF: There is no question that the kind of food we eat, as well as the way we are when we eat it, has an impact upon our organism. The body is a factory capable of producing extraordinary product. However, junk in, junk out. The body breaks down, and the mind loses its capacity to consider even its own condition. Breakdown follows at all levels. The more awake we become, the more consciously we eat.

steveb: Is a strict diet and exercise essential to health, or does a positive attitude and calm mind transform the physical?

GF: Everything in moderation is the golden rule… each nature to its own.

Barry: What is your take on Jesus getting angry, turning over the tables, etc. in the temple story?

GF: All parables in the New Testament are interior stories intended to teach the aspirant about the invisible domain and forces within which he or she must learn to walk and interact.

kidd: You often speak of "TPIC's." Are they just the different emotions within us, and should they should be totally disregarded?

GF: "TPIC" stands for "Temporary Person In Charge." If you haven't read The Intimate Enemy, it explains fully this psychological creature that commands (at present) our consciousness. The TPIC is why we cannot learn. The TPIC is responsible for the circle of self. Anything in us that shows up after we crash to explain to us how to fix what we crashed into is itself a part of the accident we just had. Learn this by seeing it in yourself.

IamTerry: Do you believe in personality disorders, or do you think it's just the result of abuse in childhood? If we don't like how we are, can we change? I'm speaking about myself. I don't like who/how I've been all my life. I am 53 and hope there is hope for me.

GF: Let me assure you that there is always hope for anyone who refuses to fall into self-rejection and self-loathing. The subject of personality disorders covers too much ground to discuss. However, apart from actual organic problems in the brain, virtually everyone you know has a personality disorder. This means that they are caught in resisting their own nature as it plays itself out, not knowing that what resists the disorder is itself a part of it.

RLG: Can you describe who the anti-Christ is? Is he a real person or some kind of collective consciousness that many share within? Is this what we see in ourselves that is so ugly and fidgets to keep us imprisoned in our minds?

GF: Keep it simple. Don't get caught up in a bunch of words. For instance, anti-Christ means that which is against the light of love and its ability to transform the darkness into light and love. Therefore, anger could be called anti-Christ. Fear falls under the same heading.

steveb: Are the activities planned for day and evening during the June retreat, and is there transport from Grant's Pass to the center?

GF: There are nine special events (talks) and more planned from the 19th through the 23rd of June at our annual meeting at the Foundation. We also have a seven-meeting possibility if you can only make it only for the weekend of the 21st - 23rd. The talks are entitled, "The Heart and Soul of Freedom."

steveb: Do you have an opinion about "The Course in Miracles" and do you recommend any other books besides your own?

GF: I have no opinion about the book you mentioned. There are recommended books in our library at the Foundation, a list of which will soon be available online.

steveb: Do you also have a music library at your center and a suggested listening list? Do you feel music can enlighten as well?

GF: We do not have this feature yet, but your question invites us to begin its consideration. Thank you.

Barry: What you do to change a disturbance is the disturbance, so what is the proper use of thought to create a goal that one desires to happen without coming into agreement with the lack of not having what one desires?

GF: The correct idea here is that "resistance to the disturbance is the disturbance" (Vernon Howard). If a goal we set is to try and create some condition exterior to ourselves for the purposes of making us feel more powerful (or whatever other psychological quality you would add), then all such actions secretly empower the secret opposite that drives this desire.

Barry: Should we always be focused on our outcome in life (i.e., "I desire to… I am going to") through thought and action, always moving towards what we desire instead of away from what we don't want so that what we focus on expanding?

GF: Far better than focusing upon one's desires is to focus on being awake to the nature of (self-serving) desires to begin with. "What man taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?" asked the Christ. Find the answer to this question and watch a whole new range of positive actions be born in you.

hawkeye: Is there a best way to deal with a person who is expressing extreme anger either at you or someone physically near you?

GF: Yes, but it is difficult work. First, always remember that angry states in others -- part of their very purpose -- is to elicit in whomever they are thrown at, a similar state. Fire loves fire, and would have it spread and grow wherever possible. This means your task is to watch the fire rise in you, instead of allowing the sleeping parts of yourself to be drawn into the fire in the person before you. Stay awake, watch, drop yourself.

DanG: Is what we call God formless?

GF: Yes, and yet this Divine Life is revealed in all of the forms we see.

Barry: What is your take on the statement that "Every thought is a prayer being spoken"? Conscious or unconscious, we do create all the time!

GF: Exactly, therefore the unattended mind is a veritable mine field!

straydog: I was recently discriminated against because I was not of a certain religion. The situation that I'm in often feels like "sometime things are just unfair." Sometimes my situation is barely tolerable. I'm confused.

GF: If we run with wolves, why do we cry out when they turn on us and lash out with their claws?

DanG: Is it true that no one will have a chance at seeing the truth until all belief (religion, politics, etc.) is done away with?

GF: No, this is not true. Truth, its dawning and fulfillment, is entirely an individual love story.

Seeker: I have seen the results of this work. It's quite amazing the changes in my life in a very short time.

GF: Keep going. Always remember that there are parts of us that want us to accept some final form of ourselves, and the Truth is that Love, the Living Light, is formless.

kidd: What about fearful thoughts of the future, especially being physically attacked? (I am in personal protection.)

GF: No such fear can attack us without having first drawn us into a back alley (of ourselves) called negative imagination. Staying awake in the present moment, mind quiet and watchful of outer and inner intruders, is the best protection on earth.

kidd: Are you saying that all images of the future are nothing more than us seeing some picture of something false within us? if so, should we try to see where they come from? How should we look at the future then?

GF: Apart from practical planning for one's necessities in the time to come, there is no natural need in a human being to form any images whatsoever about the future. Such images almost always hold a pleasant dream or hope for us from which we derive a sense of pleasure and even possession. But all these images really produce is the secret fear that what we have hoped may not come to pass as we've hoped it. See this.

Barry: I understand what you saying about anchoring yourself to what's timeless or observing the challenge at hand. My situation now is I observe these challenges, but I wonder because does one eventually feel a sense of direction to go in with ones life (goals). I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with my life.

GF: It's not much comfort for me to say at this point to you the following, but nevertheless it is true, and you will find comfort one day in learning that these words are true: Give yourself to God, surrender your life to your wish to be awake within it. Follow your heart's desire to be whole and free. Whatever else you have to do to live, just do it. It (meaning what you must do) will become secondary to what Truth will show you that you should do.

steveb: Can we hope to remove suffering from our consciousness entirely? Can we live honestly in a state of blissful consciousness?

GF: We can end our presently punishing relationship with unconscious suffering, and by our inner work awaken to the creative movement of Life within us, and that sustains and activates our universe. Then we participate in change vs. feeling conflicted over it!

ed: When one has done all the preparation for a creative work and somehow just cannot take the next step, what would you suggest?

GF: Start anyway! The creative act follows the act of creativity.

noah: If I may ask, what were the childhood experiences that you mentioned on KPFK? Have you ever done psychedelics and/or what do you think about them? Have you heard about the studies in the '60's with LSD that showed it to be supposedly very beneficial? I bring it up because I've had some very, very, very profound and/or life-changing experiences involving LSD.

GF: The early spiritual experiences in my pre-teen life, etc., are of a very personal nature and not something I discuss in any informal setting. As far as psychotropic drugs are concerned, I do not endorse their use. The risks far outweigh real changes. True change in us cannot be affected through a chemical substance even though such substances may reveal unimaginable changes are possible (for us).

Faust: Why is there pain in this world? Is it because of the "fall" in Genesis, when the first sin came into existence? Were we originally never meant to experience the pain that we do? I've been doing the inner work to eradicate unseen pain in my life, and it works, but were we really ever meant to experience the pain that we do? I can't even stand to see lions rip a water buffalo apart on "Animal Planet." Do we have a cruel God? Why would he allow such pain in this world?

GF: Know thyself and all else shall be revealed.

cyahna: What is the key to self-development that truly unlocks it for all?

GF: The Need, the Wish, the Willingness, the Receptivity, and the Realization that one must start right where he or she is.

DanG: Is not the key to self-development years and years of work on oneself?

GF: Everything changes in a flash of Light. Truth is Timeless even though it manifests itself to us – within us – in an instrument of time. It takes days to summit a high peak, and then the glory is right there (as it always was) with you in the present.

DebbiE: I'm coming to the "Talks in the Pines" without my kids. My six year old son is experiencing fear about my leaving him that is manifesting in fear of the dark more than usual. I sense that this is a good time to help him understand these principles rather than give up the trip. Is this a good take on the situation?

GF: Yes, in the long run we help others we love to "grow up" by being willing to do some growing up of our own!

sdhal: Must one always stay in a marriage for the sake of the kids?

GF: Hatred and violence is more destructive to young souls than is the absence of a father figure as a live-in fixture around them.

steveb: Do you think sports play a helpful role in our society, or are they merely a distraction from ourselves?

GF: Sports today – as in any time – are a reflection of the society that breeds them. Keep things personal with regards to such questions. Forget what others are doing. Ask: "Am I hiding out in front of the TV (or in anything else I do)?" This is all one needs to know.

noah: Is the past relevant at all? It seems that you suggest that the past is not relevant.

GF: All things are relevant. It is just that before they reveal their value, we are required to understand how they fit into the grander scheme of things. For instance, the past as a place to wander through in thought is useless to the true aspirant.

Let me give you the balance of the notes I promised I would when we began. The special lessons for our study this evening center around the lie known as discouragement.

When we feel discouraged, it is just that: We are without the courage we need to attempt whatever it is before us. Feeling emotionally drained and mentally depleted, we seem to have nothing to call upon to overcome life's challenges. We never feel so alone as when we are in the company of dark, discouraging thoughts and feelings… which brings us to a vital lesson in our search for liberation: This dreaded sense of isolation that discouragement draws us into is a part of its punishing plan.

What does this mean -- this idea that discouraged thoughts and feelings want us to feel alone? Here is a quick glimpse of an amazing insight to help us defeat this darkness at work within us: Discouraged states of self can only breed themselves in a specialized sense of isolation, in a dark medium that is able to affect in us the illusion that we have been cut off from the Endless Resources of Real Life. In other words, the reason discouraging states hold us captive is because they have managed to convince us that all there is, is the limited darkness of their reality!

And this reality -- regardless of how we protest its presence -- impresses itself upon us until this unconscious conspiracy is almost complete. No doubt we would be headed for a kind of black hole in our own consciousness were it not for one thing: Discouragement only has the last word with us as long as we give our consent to what it would have us believe is true about ourselves.

But we can do better than agree to ache, and here is how: When we know that who we really are, our True nature (our God-given Self), is not created to be contained by any dark condition, then we act in these moments from an altogether different Truth. And this knowledge, born from Truth and founded in the faith it holds in the freedom of the Living Light, does the rest for us!

Here, for your study, is the One Secret that Defeats Discouragement. The more you will work to integrate its insight into your mind and heart, the better will it be empowered to go before you to help light your Way. Stay awake and bring its wisdom with you into your every moment. Do this and watch how defeated feelings fall way.

The principle trick any discouraging state plays on us, as it descends upon us, is that we are made to feel as though we have reached the end of our powers, and hence, our possibilities. Assessing ourselves from this perception, we are certain there is no farther we can go because we have nothing to get us there! Our overriding sensation is not too dissimilar from a train out of steam and thrown off its tracks; we feel deadened and derailed with little hope of ever getting started again. But, as we will now discover, what has been pushed upon us by this dark state as being real, and the actual Reality of what is available to us, are two totally different things. Let's see:

The next paragraph holds the great secret of how it is possible for us to defeat any discouraging state. But, like all great spiritual secrets, the only way it can be coached to tell itself to us, and grant to us its power, is if we will do the Work it requires of us to reveal its hidden treasure of Truth. Read and study the next insight until its Light breaks in you.

First, the depth and breadth of ones awareness is a feature of the Ever-Present Now within which it dwells. This Timeless Now is omnipresent; it dwells everywhere already, knowing no boundaries. Nothing can capture awareness any more than a cloud can hold back the sky. Here is what this means:

Our awareness of discouragement, or of any negative state for that matter, transcends its boundary and already dwells beyond the limits of its confining darkness. Which brings us to this discouragement-busting Truth: Whenever we will lend our attention to the inner task of working to transcend some dark state at work within us then -- in that same moment -- even if we don’t see the immediate fruits of our effort, we actually release it, and ourselves, from its restrictions. For our effort to be conscious of our condition instead of remaining its captive fresh energies flood over and through us lifting us into the new understanding that who we really are can never be held back! Our willingness to bring that dark, discouraged state into our awareness of it, instead of allowing it to define what we are aware of, has changed our very relationship with life!

Now the path before us, only a moment before impossibly dark and shut off to us, opens up to us because we have opened ourselves to God's endless resources. No walls exist because the nature now active within us cannot be walled in by negative (life-stealing) thoughts and feelings. We can no longer be dominated because we have chosen Truth’s Illumination as our advocate.

Let me leave you with this one last thought: There is a Way already made for us to be free, fulfilled, kind, and true. Our task is the realization of this Wisdom awaiting us within the Living Light in ourselves. We may take some comfort in knowing that nothing in the universe can stop us from knowing this Perfected Life because the Divine has already seen to the Truth of it. We need only agree to pay the Cost of this Consciousness and we will find that the needed Coins are there in our pocket.

See you next month on Thursday, the 6th of June. Remember yourselves, remember God, and do your work to integrate tonight's lessons. Nothing is more valuable or important than our wish and willingness to have a God-centered, Light-filled Life.

GF: Good evening and welcome to our chat. Before we get started I want to pass along some special ideas about the secret causes of self-limitation that stand in the way of self-liberation.

To begin with, and to set the stage for our study, it is the true leaders -- those individuals of this world who expand its boundaries -- who reveal the secret routes to new and nobler realities. Such revolutionary discoveries are never the work of organizations. These groups always spring up in the wake of the walk of those who lead in order to capitalize upon their work. Those who seek power by such means are, by definition, little more than followers of the individuals who have found the power to discover. And generally speaking, such followers tend to be fearful because their powers are always borrowed. So then, what is that makes one person a true leader and another his dependent? The answer is not what you think!

It isn't that these leaders in life don't have the same fears as we do; that just is not the case. The way they prevail in fulfilling the promise of their chosen path, regardless of their field, is for one of two reasons: Either their love of pursuing their heart's desire outweighs those fears they meet or, in the case of the greatest leaders, these peerless individuals have learned fear's ruling secret and turned it to their favor, making them self-ruling. They are able to walk past the places where most of us see a path that ends.

Now what is vital for us to understand at this point is that in both cases -- whether it is the love of something that draws a person through a territory otherwise prohibitive to others, or it is someone able, at will, to pass through life's "impossibilities" -- both types of leaders employ the same empowering Principle. This is good news for us because it means that even if we haven't yet come upon a real love of something for us to do with our lives, a love that "casts out our fears," it is possible for us to learn to love the Principles that lead us to this fearless nature. These spiritually empowering Principles, that we will touch upon shortly, are the invisible backbone of a special spiritual character that lives latent in all of us. For now we will call this character… the Best in us. Which brings us to several questions:

What is the nature of the Best in us? Where is this fearless nature to be found? What purpose does it fulfill in our lives? Let's answer these questions one by one to help us begin to realize this still secret and fearless part of ourselves.

First, the Best in us is that yet-to-be-awakened aspect of ourselves, of our Higher Consciousness, that doesn't "think" about whether or not to act in the face of fear, but that knows, under any and all conditions, that it is impossible for it to fail. And because of this Native Knowing, our Higher Self lives without the usual limitations that fear always imposes.

What is the nature of the Best in us? Let's see. Whoever we are, regardless of our respective circumstances, the Best in us . . . is our individual capacity to outgrow not just the limiting aspects of our own character, but to grow beyond even the best parts of ourselves already once transformed. In other words the Best in us is a secret part of us with an unlimited potential to transcend itself; a self-verifiable fact that, once seen, goes to prove the existence of Infinite Compassionate Intelligence, call this Greater Consciousness what you will. With this in mind we arrive at our next question: Where does this Leader Within us, the Best of us, dwell?

This fearless nature has its home within the invisible ground of our being, yet this interior ground is not a static quality. It is more like a kind of invisible foundry -- a spiritually timeless place where who we are to be is forever being forged between the make-up of our present understanding and the ever-unfolding nature of the present moment that this understanding encounters. It is the choices we make in these moments that decide our individual destiny and that determine whether we grow into the Best in us or not, for within each such moment one of two very distinct natures may appear in us and preside over us. Which brings us to a tale of two natures in one.

There exists one nature in us that knows itself only by what it has been. It defines what is possible for it to do in the present only by consulting what it has done in the past. This self is the essence of mediocrity. It always has multiple reasons why its best can never be good enough, so that by its logic there is but one conclusion and that is, "Why bother to try?" And then -- there is another, Higher Nature within us that does not define itself by anything apart from its wish to explore and realize its own infinite possibilities. This nature is the Best in us; it is the Leader Within. Our task, if we would live without limits, is its awakening.

Before we close the chat tonight, just at the end of our dialogue, I will pass along some additional lessons concerning what is required of us if we wish to awaken and gain our liberation from self-imposed limitations.

We can get started now with your questions and comments, but please work to remember that our task here on-line together is to address what is real and challenging, those issues you are at work upon within yourself. Let's not spend our time wandering through frivolous philosophical questions or imaginary spiritual ideas. What would you like to talk about? Let's see what we can learn together.

NYGuy: How is it that leaders are moving forward -- sometimes even to an extreme -- irrespective of what others think about them?

GF: Much of what you want to know in this question will be addressed at the close of the chat in the final essay concerning the topic of true leadership. For now, I will say that such leaders do not consult with what trails them but rather have their eyes fixed upon whatever vision it is that sits at the center of their beckoning intuition.

Roy: I've worked with the principles you speak of: Self-Remembering; the Silence within; Higher Self; even this Best in us, enough to have had a "taste" of a different order of Mind. I have identified a nature in me that is always wanting to know if I am "there" yet, always measuring my progress or state of being. This is probably an obstacle to getting "there" in the first place, so do you have any suggestions for how to let go of this nature?

GF: You are right in your intuition here. The parts of us that are always trying to determine whether we have grown or not, spiritually, are the very parts of us keeping us from genuine, deeper, more meaningful inner growth. When you catch such thoughts searching through you to qualify some order of yourself, drop them like the darkness that they are.

Roy: Thank you, Guy… right to the point. I will keep working. From another perspective, can we develop the ability to recognize when someone else is working from this higher order or mind? Something tells me we can, and I think it's because we would both be standing on the same "ground."

GF: We may sense someone has Wisdom that we don’t because of our own growing interior Light, but as far as the actual understanding this person may have, who is "above" us may not be known until we ourselves stand there.

dude: Although I have been involved with this work for several years and am very accomplished at not wanting and understanding, etc., I couldn't help feel a strong sadness when I realized I was rejected from a six-figure job because of the background I was born into. This was one of the few ways someone like me could make a decent living. What should I do or see? Should I just accept my limitations and not look towards being a business pro despite my ability?

GF: If we could only learn what it means to never look behind us… meaning to realize that any thoughts spent on water that has passed by us is wasted, not just on those waters, but in its action within us. Do what's in your power. Refuse to do what's not. It's not in your power to change this sick world. It is in your power to die to this sickness in you that is the world.

Faust: I tried helping a person who is struggling with alcoholism. He said I was delusional and only wanted to gratify my ego by helping him. Neither of these assertions are true, and he won't return my calls even after six months. I feel rejected. I really thought he was a friend, but I was wrong. I can't seem to "let go" of it.

GF: The fact that you can't drop the rejection that you experienced in this relationship may prove his assertion of you wanting something from him for your efforts. Even if this isn't so, you should suspect strongly any parts of yourself that are unable to release any relationship that has rejected you.

Faust: Thank you. You have just opened my eyes to the fact that I did, in fact, wish to be recognized "positively" for my efforts in that relationship. I honestly feel that I "can" let it go now.

GF: When we can remember that things that persist in our lives do so because we resist them, we are well on our way to seeing through the unconscious contradictions in our own mind and heart that produce the inability to let go. It will take work for you to drop the mechanical association that has formed in the mind with regards to this person, but now you're on your way.

Bonj: Your response to Faust is interesting. I once thought that I was strong enough to release myself from a long-term relationship until it came time to do so. I fell apart. I could not stand the rejection. I still do not understand that. Please comment.

GF: The wrong parts of us only know themselves through the images that we hold of others. It is in considering these self-constructed images that we see a reflection of ourselves through them. When the reality of a person changes and our image no longer fits, we can no longer find ourselves in either the person or our image. We feel lost and as though we will die. Seeing this truth ends the torture in unconscious identification.

mresler: I finally realized that an unpleasant internal stowaway almost always joins me on vacations. Hopefully this is the first step in leaving the bum behind next time. Any suggestions?

GF: The eventual rejection of all negative thoughts and feelings that stow away in lower aspects of ourselves begins with our conscious detection of their presence as being punishment to us. Your discoveries are the beginning of a new kind of understanding whose light within will ensure that no stowaways of a psychic nature will be able to commandeer your life.

CD: What if your mind is constantly attacking you with thoughts that bother you... how do you rid yourself of this? I try going quiet, but these thoughts just get more intense. Please advise. (P.S. I thank God every day for you and your help in making me aware of how bad my condition has/had become. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your devotion.)

GF: The key to such conflict in our consciousness is that we mustn't "try" to get rid of these attacking thoughts and feelings. Remember this phrase: Vernon Howard taught that resistance to the disturbance IS the disturbance. In this case the more you don't want these things bothering you, the more you feed the very forces that trouble you. Instead of trying to push away these punishing thoughts, become dedicated to being more aware of them than you've ever been. This awareness, this ability to observe these states, will teach you that they have no natural right to interfere with your life. This new knowing is the separation you are seeking, and it does what must be done for you.

MikeS: What does it mean to not resist attacking thoughts and feelings? My experience has been that by trying not to resist, I feel as if I'm breathing new life into the very same thoughts and feelings. I don't understand what it means to not resist painful thoughts and feelings.

GF: The parts of us that fight with any dark forms in us must themselves be part of the darkness they fight with. Try to see the logic in this. The light doesn't fight with tormenting thoughts and feelings. It sees through them, and by its action, not only dismisses these states but transforms them at the same time into a new understanding about the darkness.

Barry: What you do to change the disturbance is the disturbance… so positive thinking and affirmations are a bunch of garbage! What you focus on expands, BUT what you resist persists. What on earth does one do with that?

GF: We must realize that everything is in scale and levels. Affirmations, visualizations have their domain, such as in sports efforts or even some modes of healing the body, but become powerless when it comes to changing consciousness itself.

Barry: So if I feel depressed, the idea is to do nothing to this "disturbance"? What about expressing it? Is that resistance to it or feeding it? Are you saying just allow your feelings? Like right now I feel a little depressed… should I just allow those feelings to be there and not do anything about them… just allow them?

GF: The task is to realize that expression or repression of any negative state is born – at some level – from being identified with the darkness within. We cannot learn about something we are identified with.

Bonj: VH said that the quality of goodness is found by eliminating what is bad. Sometimes the good feels bad and turns out bad, and the bad feels right and turns out good. How do I truly discern the difference?

GF: As strange as it sounds, it's all a matter of acquiring the ability to "taste" the essence of whatever state it is that has surfaced within you, drawing you into relationship with its reality. This "taste" is a kind of spiritual gift that comes with one wishing to understand his or her condition more than they long to be identified within it.

HD: I'm new here. Is VH Vernon Howard?

GF: Yes, a great man I had the fortune of working with for many years.

Mell: I am trying to understand this part of me that needs to hurt others in return for being hurt deeply. What insight can you share on this darkness?

GF: First, let me encourage you to never let go of this wish you have to learn what it is within you that finds value in hurting others for whatever reason. Negativity feeds upon negativity and breeds what is negative as a result. When someone hurts us, the pain that drove them to lash out awakens a latent darkness in us that returns the pain in kind -- and all mechanically. Our task as individuals who want to not only change ourselves, but all of the relationships that revolve through our life, is to begin the process of conscious recognition of these self-wrecking states followed by the conscious act of separating ourselves from their dark influence. This is what it means to "lay down our life for our brother." Work at this.

seeker: How does one work with their intentions? My two major weaknesses are food and sex. I am so fed up with finding myself in the hands of these desires, and am suffering from the effects of unconsciously giving into them. Is the objective to observe what's going on internally each moment and choose not to follow the false directives that go against your intention, or is there more to it that I haven't realized?

GF: Any piece of fruit taken from a tree prior to its ripening makes that food inedible and bitter. So it is with spiritual work. The task isn't to become someone who we think is spiritual because he doesn't do unspiritual things, but rather the task is to awaken to the parts of ourselves that are drawn, not just to behaviors that are compromising, but that hopes to find a new self in yet another new image. Instead of trying not to be someone attracted to things that you find self-compromising, watch yourself as closely as you can as you do the things that you wish you weren't doing. This act of observing this self in action will educate you to its will. Once you understand what drives it, then you will begin to gain a form of control over it.

Wilber: I am beginning to suspect that our nighttime dreams are a result of our true inner nature. They seem to be directly related. What do you think?

GF: The answer is, yes and no. Some dreams serve a purpose that the mind requires for reaching resolutions, while other forms of dreams are merely the mind using available images to it to give shape to forces passing through it beyond its ability to recognize or know in its present form.

MikeS: Does a spiritually awake being have nighttime dreams? If so, are they conscious for the entirety of the dreaming state (what some would call lucid dreaming)?

GF: Consciousness during dreams may occur, and this does change the sequence of events, but not the fact of dreaming itself unless one awakens oneself deliberately.

DanG: Are dreams necessary at all? Are not dreams necessary for a mind in disorder during the day… meaning that dreams try to bring order at night?

GF: Mostly the mind is trying to resolve unconscious contradictions and lending images to other sources of stimulation; but much transpires to the mind in this deep state of quiet (if it reaches this).

russell: How do I find more conscious moments in my life? It's like I constantly have all of this anxiety in my mind and heart. Please help me.

GF: It seems hard at first to understand what I'll tell you because we're so sure that we want what we think we want. Nevertheless, the way we find more conscious and awake moments in our lives is when (and as) we weary of spending our time unconscious and asleep to ourselves. The awakened life is the natural fruit of the understanding that a sleeping life just doesn't work.

mresler: I've heard you mention the "crossing over" a couple of times lately. Will you explain what you mean by this? Is it the same thing as dying to self?

GF: There is possible for us as human beings a condition of consciousness that is ever-renewing. This ever-renewing energy enters into any place made ready for it. Realizing the end of anything, be it a thought by itself as a limited instrument, or the thought nature itself as a limited creature, brings that nature to an end. The self that sees this and makes the journey crosses over from itself to itself.

MattM: How do you deal with the anger, fear, and aggravation related to the threat of potential future terrorist (and possibly even nuclear) attacks on America? I'm not concerned about my personal safety, but I do not like to see other Americans and our economy put at risk. I know better than to feel this negativity, yet the fear and anger periodically arise when I consider the situation. Maybe trying to ignore it is the best thing to do, but denying the realistic dangers seems impossible.

GF: I'll tell you a secret. Within us, certain negative states are always waiting to rise up and dominate the mind unconscious to their presence. They accomplish this when, through unconscious identification, our thoughts fall upon something such as conditions outside of ourselves contrary to our liking. These states then seize the image and make both themselves and what we loathe real. See this.

russell: This false self is always bothering me. How do I weaken it so it will fade away? I'm always identifying with my thoughts.

GF: Imagine an iceberg drifting slowly into southern and warmers seas. The sun and the waters gradually reduce the mass of this iceberg by natural processes. It is exactly the same when it comes to this rock-hard self that sticks so closely to us and makes us suffer. Bring it into the light of your awareness; keep it there. The Light does the work. Your job is to stay in it.

ADB: I recently had this insight, perhaps erroneous, but are we complicating things with regards to (struggling with) waking up WAY too much? Perhaps that is what we do to things as humans and it’s our innate nature?

GF: Yes, that's not a bad thought, and it is worth considering as such. The mind likes to present problems to itself, so that in solving them, a sense of self is created. This is the unconscious movement of the opposites operating in thought. Seeing, for instance, the truth of this nature at work, produces in that same mind -- through its own cognizance -- the end of this movement. Silence follows.

DanG: It seems like all our so-called problems come from an unconscious need for security or permanence in this world.

GF: No, our problems are not from an unconscious need for permanence, but from the unconscious act of seeking what is permanent in the impermanence of this world.

ADB: I've had an extremely unprofitable multi-year experience trying to get a business off the ground. This created a lot of tension between my wife and me. She has now said that she has had it with this endeavor and is demanding that I stop it altogether or else weigh some serious consequences. I now fluctuate between anger, sadness, and resentment as I try to resolve my plan of action per her request. I am finding it nearly impossible to wake up during this tumultuous time.

GF: Of course I can't suggest to you in this circumstance what to do or not to do with regards to your wish and your wife's reluctance to support it -- these things happen. I can and do suggest that you use these difficult and emotionally dark times to separate yourself as best you know how from the negative states trying to drag you in to their perception. You may have already seen this, but these negative states want to drag your wife into their dark hole as being responsible for the upheaval that you feel. What you feel is these negative states. What they blame is of no consequence to a man who wants to wake up. Remember this the next time you get ready to fight with anyone over anything.

russell: I know waking up is a slow process, but could you give me any exercises on how to wake up?

GF: Come awake right now. Know what is going on within you and outside of you at the same time without thinking about it. Do this every moment that you can remember to for the rest of your life.

Rael: Lately I have been experiencing a marked increase of awareness of a relentless fear and its accompanying hostility within me. It is like I am in a pit of these feelings which constantly pressure me. Is it possible that I have been under this same intense pressure all of my life?

GF: Congratulations. The only power that such dark and fearful states hold over us is our unawareness of them. The philosopher Fenelon once said that a stone beneath the surface of the earth weighs as much as one on the surface. Never fear any fear you find. Finding it is the beginning of freedom from it, regardless of how it cries out that you are a "goner" for entering its realm. Stay there!

Barry: The present moment is the only thing that's real; I can be in the eternal now with my focus. But I almost feel I'm denying emotion when I just observe the negative stuff and not get involved with it.

GF: Being in the present moment has nothing to do with denying anything. Real present-mindedness is an inclusive state of consciousness made possible by the light of awareness. This light is what dismisses what is contrary to one's growth in God. Light doesn't fight with the negative; it transforms it.

MattM: I have many questions about Jesus Christ, and who he really was. One question is, do you think he was just a man who achieved a certain spiritual level and closeness to God's life (much the way you seem to have), and therefore is really nothing more than you are, except perhaps by degree of advancement along the spiritual path? Was there anything unique about Jesus as opposed to other spiritual seekers, teachers, and spiritual people who make it to an advanced level?

GF: You may frame what I will say next however you wish, but the intent remains. The purpose of our interior work, the reason for our wish to rejoin a timeless reality, is so that we may realize the living Christ, the living Light, within us that is the essence of a whole, true, kind, compassionate, and loving life.

MattM: I take it from your response that Jesus' mission was not to provide a vehicle to gain some afterlife (as seems to be suggested by popular dogma) but merely to teach about how to live now, while we are on earth. Makes sense, but I often wonder what will be the consequences (going to hell?) on being wrong about not believing the church dogma about Christ (that seems to also be promoted by the New Testament).

GF: One of the prerequisites for entering the Way is to be so weary of fearing (whatever!) that one begins to act more from the wish to discover than the apprehension of what will happen to him for this intention.

alex: I have been trying to lose some weight, and in working to stay awake, a marvelous thing happened. One hour after eating lunch, I caught the thought: "I'm not satisfied; I should go get something sweet from the snack machine." I paused and said to myself: "I'm still full from lunch and I hate how sluggish I feel after eating sweets." And just then the whole feeling disappeared! I never had that happen before. The next morning I awoke and I caught: "I'm still a little tired, I should stay in bed longer."

GF: These are wonderful moments in one's life when we begin to catch in our own consciousness the thoughts and feelings rooted and arising to our attention from conditioned behaviors. These thoughts and feelings are not us, and only pass themselves off as being us when we are asleep to their whispers in us.

Pardah: I can't grasp what you mean when you imply negativity is not us. If not us, then who is it? Where does it come from? Who are we when you say we are not the person who goes by our name? I'm sure it's deep, but I'm getting all confused now.

GF: Much as a radio is not the music that plays through it, neither is who we are those energies that pass through us. Our mistake is that we identify with the various vibrations (regardless of their level), and in doing so, mistake negative energy as being the same as our essence. It is not.

Ruth: Punishment to ourselves always punishes close by-standers. An intelligent, serious person of apparently good intentions sets up self- (and other) sabotage repeatedly. After having seen these "unintentional" episodes many times, one detects what looks like a virtual glee at loss, waste, and destruction. Since one (at this time) does not wish to totally withdraw from the intermittent saboteur (for many reasons -- among them loyalty and affection), HOW does one stand close and not get caught up?

GF: In order to develop, we must be able to discern within us what is authentically for us and what is set against us. Anything, any part of us, that finds any justification whatsoever for self-pity, self-judgment, judgment of others, resentment, or anger towards others, is our enemy. Use the word "enemy." It is appropriate and needful. Never mind all that spiritual hogwash about what one should or shouldn't be, do or shouldn't do. Be awake and taste the ache that comes with attacking anyone or defending anything. This awakedness is our defender. It is our shelter. Have no other. And for heaven sakes, don't take the side, ever, of what wants to steal your life from you.

Ruth: I guess you answered my question. There is an irrepressible irritation that rises when confronted with phoniness, which the "disher-upper" thereof is quite unaware of… and a sometimes roughly expressed unwillingness to be suckered into someone's game... snippy, snappy, sharp jumps right out of my mouth. I will pray over focus to allow staying in awakedness. Irritation in response to fake set-ups comes SO suddenly, with velocity.

GF: Everything may be used for our growth inwardly – but only if we are willing to see ourselves in each mirror that every moment provides.

neeltak: I am a French language speaker and it is quite difficult to follow conversation here, but I would like to understand why I am always looking for love while I am married with two kids but unhappy with a man that is so distant with me and our kids… and still I want to pursue this relationship. On my side I decided to look for love everywhere I can find it... in real life, on Internet... I would crawl through broken glass to find somebody who could love me.

GF: The love that you seek, you will never find with another human being. It isn't that relationships and the love they offer don't have value, but there is within each of us a nature that is looking for an order of Love that cannot be answered within individual relationships. Only heartache can follow such a hunger for love at any cost. I think you already know this. Make it conscious. Then see what happens.

dude: It seems extremely wrong that almost all marriages end in divorce. is this a normal result of change and everything not being permanent, or is this our fault when we ask for the wrong in an idea or someone else?

GF: There is no general answer to your intimation, however, regardless of how relationships change, real Love never becomes the opposite called resentment, or hatred.

seeker: Do we originate thought, or are we just receivers with only a will to choose, or both? I've heard this suggested a few times and I'm not sure if this notion is important or relevant.

GF: Does a flute originate the notes that sound through it?

Rael: It is easy to see the foibles, follies, and fears within oneself, but when looking at other people it is not so apparent that they are subject to the same inner forces. They seem so smooth, so polished. In unguarded moments I can spot their inner states, but face to face is more difficult. Is it true that everyone is in as much inner chaos as I?

GF: Oh yes, you may be sure of it. Shakespeare said, "Oh what a wicked web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Add to this one another thought from him: "All are actors upon the stage."

Faust: I'm blessed and I enjoy life, and although my career hasn't taken off yet, I'm thankful for all that I have. I'm great during the day, and at night, but I have serious motivational challenges when I awake each morning (I hit the snooze button a lot). I just don't understand why I can't seem to "attack the day" the way I used to. Do you understand this phenomenon?

GF: Thinking that we can do more of something that hasn't made us happy by doing more of it with greater vigor, and that this action will lead to eventual happiness, makes no sense. Can you see that? Make it clear to yourself and then watch what happens.

James1: Is our "sleepiness" in direct proportion to our fear of what we may see and give up?

GF: There are some correlations here.

dude: I can understand and agree with "resist not evil," but does it not say in the Bible to "resist the devil and he will flee"?

GF: It very well may state this idea somewhere. Try to keep in mind that most of the words you read in English such as "resist," and even the word "devil," are translated themselves from Greek that were translated from the original Aramaic. I can assure you that the root meaning of these words has little to do with the common understanding assigned to them.

DanG: It is very clear that we all must "let go" of all our conditioning in order to see the truth. We cannot have any opinions about anything because the opinions are not the truth.

GF: The conditioned self cannot let go of the conditioned self. What we have that can help us let go is the awareness of this conditioned nature and the inherent limitations and sense of captivity that comes with living from it. This awareness allows us to let go of who we have been, because once seen, we have no longer the need to be this conditioned self.

jaybird: Something has occurred to me in my efforts to awaken: Is it possible that we can become identified with being "seekers" of Truth to the point where we no longer have genuine interest in becoming "finders"? If so, what is the remedy?

GF: Simply seeing what you have seen will be a force in your favor to keep you from falling into this trap.

JasonM: What a pleasant spring evening... and what pleasant work to do. Can you suggest a simple way to conquer smoking cigarettes? This is from a student of many years, many wonderful moments, and much work still to do.

GF: Try to have the intention, while you smoke the cigarette you don't want to smoke, of remembering your wish to be free of the smoking habit. This remembrance of your wish will help you hold your attention where you want it to be -- on freedom -- as opposed to mechanically becoming identified with the pleasure inherent in the drug.

Nathan: My first introduction to you was three days ago when I was listening to a taped conversation of you with Art Bell in 1997. Oh, how I wanted to yell, "Art, cant you GET IT?" (I trust he's come a ways since then!) I just wanted to say thank you. They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears, and you hit it on the head at a time when you answered my exact questions. I will study your works as I work upward.

GF: I'm glad that you are finding these principles of value in your inner work. Stay close. If time and schedule permits, try to attend the upcoming annual Talks in the Pines here in southern Oregon. The topic is going to be "The Heart and Soul of Freedom."

Ben: I am very pleased with my current mate, and I want to be good to her, but I still have cravings for other women. How can I stop this? I suspect I'll never be satisfied.

GF: There parts of us that cannot be satisfied, as you suggest, will not (ever) be satisfied. They are literally a bottomless basket. Their nature is a set of unseen opposites that try to cancel one another by chasing one another. This is classic circle-of-self, whose content is pure conflict, punctuated by occasional pleasure. If you haven't read The Intimate Enemy, I strongly suggest the material to you. You can order it on-line.

olympus: How do you break out of wrong thinking while right in the middle of it?

GF: As we wake up a bit, we begin to be able to "see" certain mechanical actions in our mind -- like defensiveness, or justifying ourselves. These and other unconscious reactions are "tells" -- indicators of an unconscious nature at work covering up its "will" in us. The more we can awaken to these inner betrayers, the sooner we break their hold within and over us.

patty: This is my first time listening in on your chat. I thank you for giving of yourself. I also want to thank you for "The Road to Good Fortune." My husband and I recently had to let go of our business, and as a result, we are presently in bankruptcy and he is now in a position where he must find a job. What is so wonderful about all of this is that I knew that I had nothing to fear.

GF: Finding the road to a fearless life is the road to all good fortune!

HD: I have been suffering through chronic fatigue for just over a year now, to the extent of not being able to hold a full-time job. The doctors nonchalantly tell me that it lasts 5-7 years and then go on to their next patient. What would be your suggestion for increasing my vibrancy during the day?

GF: Try to detect how much unnecessary thinking you are doing. Watch the mind instead of identifying with its movements. You might want to order "Secrets of Cleansing Heart, Mind and Soul" (from the website) as there is much in this tape set that might help you restore your inner health. As always, if the material doesn’t shed light on your concerns, just send it back; no problems.

alex: I come from a large family with many relatives, and I can't figure out why God gave me the sensibility to see that my life was a wreck and to seek Him, but my relations who have struggled much the same as I remain in the dark. I am grateful to have been brought to the path, but I can't help but feel slightly bad for my relations -- that they may not have been as fortunate as I have.

GF: Do your inner work and let what Light comes be a lantern. Leave the rest to God.

James1: Lately I've noticed that events that would normally cause a stressed response (tightened stomach, anxiety) do not have the same effect. I actually looked for those responses and they came, but in a muted form, and then passed. I know this is what you've been pointing to. It's wonderful when it happens. Could you expand on this?

GF: Stress is proportionate to how (unconsciously) certain we are that who we are is somehow dependent upon what happens around us. As we outgrow this victim consciousness, our new understanding naturally brings us to a more relaxed state of self.

dude: Do we, as the human race, create… or are we just discovering because "there is nothing new under the sun"?

GF: We are involved in the creation as is the violin involved in the quality of vibrations that pass from the strings sitting upon its sounding board.

JamesK: I heard VH say that he refused to allow people to break down in his presence (hysteria, confusion as he called it). Others teach that it is OK to fall apart, to let go. Which is right?

GF: To everything, and for everyone, there is a time and purpose. Hysteria is a lie agreed upon by frantic and fearful natures. Breaking down is a prerequisite for being reborn.

Alma: I still suffer from this terror (instilled by church) that If I'm not following their path, I'll miss some great afterlife reward, or go to hell. I see in scale that Heaven or hell is in the Now. But as much as this work has done for me, I'm half-afraid I could be turning my back on salvation. What if I'm wrong about all of this work? Help?

GF: Fear is a darkness that only the Light can dispel. I can tell you that salvation is not a time to come, anymore than the Life of Christ was "then" and not Now. Ask God to show you what you must see to be free of this fear.

James1: How can I genuinely ask for help? Even as I ponder and type here, I know in the back of my mind I'm thinking, "How will his response relate to my obtaining financial wealth?"

GF: Just recognizing the hypocrite in us is the beginning of its end. Ask to see what you must to have a God-centered life, and then keep your eyes open!

MikeS: What drives the false self to try so hard to destroy us? It appears to me to be a lose/lose situation. What is its purpose?

GF: You are only seeing half the picture. May I suggest you get the tape series "Living in the Light." It will help you discover New things about the nature of darkness, and how it is created to be transformed -- not resisted.

seeker: Can you suggest a book on universal laws? I have learned of some of them from so-called self-help programs which push the singular idea of how you can have ANYTHING you want. Learning the laws was very edifying, but I'm so tired of the selfish exclusion of God's will when they present the subject of learning more about yourself.

GF: Serve Truth for itself, and not what you hope to gain from it. The self that seeks rewards is a punishment disguised as a power and a pleasure. Get the Seeker’s Guide to Self-Freedom (available on-line through this website). It’s filled with principles to empower oneself through spiritual understanding.

yasky: I am sometimes overwhelmed/fearful of the responsibility or obligation of awareness. How can I think/feel about this so that fear is not my master?

GF: If you feel frightened like this, it is because you are not aware of the fear, but identified with (it) through the thoughts describing it to you. Negative imagination must be dropped. Drop it.

dude: I have been doing great at ridding myself of false purpose, but can't yet seem to find my real purpose. The career type of things I am interested in (that I would do even if I were wealthy) are all out of my reach. Any comment?

GF: Be patient and keep your purpose true and always before you. The rest will appear naturally.

yasky: Do you believe that all we have ever been (and perhaps will ever be) exists within us now? In other words, am I: myself as a child, my mother, my father, my child, etc.? I know I hear some of their words within me… sometimes positive, sometimes negative.

GF: Consciousness is not confined to forms, but this does not mean one is (or will be) all forms.

WannabeFree: I have been going through a period of depression, and I have come to the realization that my state of negativity has been caused by a combination of unfulfilled expectations and boredom. How do I overcome this state of unhappiness?

GF: Get bored with being the nature that finds value in feeling futile.

MM: What does it mean to you personally to let God prove himself to you?

GF: It is possible for a person to realize that there has been, and always will be, a Divine Plan at work within him or her. The conscious awareness of this Intelligence proves the Intelligence (exists).

DebbiE: Am I correct to just watch when thoughts about an old flame surface when I go back to the area where the relationship occurred? I'm happily married, but they continue to happen even when I think I'm watching. I'm surprised by the thoughts' existence. Is surprise resistance? It's strange, because I just met someone with the exact same name as my old flame. His dog wandered onto our property.

GF: Such memories are simply mechanical associations. Don’t make anything out of them. See them as birds that fly up out of a meadow they return to each year.

FunkJ: Can you offer any excitement about the rewards ahead of us, or is this just a distraction?

GF: We must do the work we do because we are unable to find rewards (of meaning) in any other works.

James1: Could you talk a little about the Law of Accident?

GF: When our attention is stolen, our will follows, and following this sleeping self causes accidents from which we suffer for our inattention.

MikeS: I have a question about finding hidden fears. Sometimes I think of something "new" that frightens me and I think, "Oh great, I've invented a new fear." Are all fears pre-existing? Is it possible to create a brand new fear in the moment, or am I always discovering fears that haven't surfaced?

GF: Fears are never independent from the form they attach themselves to. Hence, what you fear is not what another fears (in the same way). Our divided thought nature has new names for old fears, but the base is timeless!

Farah: Can you elaborate on the idea of life-levels? Vernon spoke about our quality of life being in levels… the more we progress, the better level we live on, etc. I think this is what you mean by "scale"? Regarding that, if a person reaches a higher level in their life, can it ever be lost?

GF: There are always discoveries lost, which is why our work must be consistent in order to "cement" what we have seen into the fiber of our being. Once consciousness has encompassed something real, that cannot be lost unless one turns away from this Love.

WannabeFree: I have been aware recently that I use entertainment as a way of ignoring life and even my "responsibilities." What is it that makes imagination more appealing than real life? Can this be reversed?

GF: The false loves the false because it makes it feel real. Seeing the reality of this (as you are awakening to) begins the end of this false (irresponsible) life.

Jason: What happens when you are numb to everything… not sad or happy… just nothingness… and you don't expect anything from people anymore?

GF: Never suspect (or fear) that any one cloud in the sky is the air itself.

aa: What are your thoughts on having children?

GF: If you want to have children, then have them.

jaybird: When you say, "Do what's in your power. Refuse to do what's not," you are obviously offering practical guidance. Often, however, we lack the wisdom to know the difference. Can you shed some light on how we might make more sound judgment on these matters?

GF: It is not in your power to change another. It is in your power to (deeply) understand what this means, and for this realization (it is also now in your power) not judge those who you think need changing.

WannabeFree: I feel possessed by possessions. They seem to make my life smaller and more cramped rather than giving me happiness. Is acquisition the problem? What is at the root of these feelings?

GF: The nature that only feels real by what it thinks about is the issue, and not the things it acquires that leave it dissatisfied.

Joel: I have been working on watching my thoughts. I notice that I still flinch from them often... any ideas on how to stop this "flinching"?

GF: Watch the flinching. This impulse belongs to the nature seen, not the one that sees it.

STRAYDOG: I'm going through kind of a rough spot in my life. But with all that's going on around me, I try to stay "awake" or at least aware. There are times when I stop, and the moment is absolutely beautiful! Now that's just plain weird (but kind of cool)!

GF: The more awake we can be, the less we will ache as we used to. Stay the course. Things get better the brighter our inner life becomes!

GF: I wish to give you the Key Lessons promised at the close of my opening remarks.

Before we look into what it will take for us to awaken to what is the Best in us, we need to better understand the parts of ourselves that run into one limit after another, as well as why we habitually accept this unwanted sense of self-restriction that attends their presence in our consciousness. Let's see what we can discover. When we see something looming ahead of us that looks too hard to handle, what is it at work within us that feels like it has reached the "end" of what it is capable of doing? What is it that reaches this closed-in conclusion? Here is the surprising answer: The limit of this captive self is the length of the leash of what it knows.

What does this mean? The boundary of its reality is the extent of what it has been through, so that the active circumference of its level of consciousness is restricted to the content of its past experience. And this explains why any condition that beckons it to go beyond this psychological point is viewed as either being unattainable or even as a danger.

For this nature it could be as simple as wanting to, but being unable to, say (to another) what one wishes to say for fear of being misunderstood, as once occurred (painfully) in an earlier relationship. Maybe we wish to study some new discipline, but won't attempt it because "stupid" people -- as we may have been called in days gone by -- cannot possibly succeed at such tasks.

These findings should allow us to see that at least one of the pillars at the base of our limitations -- if not the whole foundation itself -- is some form of fear. Which brings us to this important note: We never meet a fear itself. Our fears themselves always remain invisible to us. Instead we meet fear's proxy, its representative on earth! And what is the nature of this proxy? Anything that we name as being our limitation in life. And we should be able to easily recognize these stand-ins, especially since they are always telling us: "Danger ahead. Stop here! Don't go any farther. You can't possibly succeed at that!"

In other words, just before the gate of what could be the realization of a whole new Greatness -- right when we have the opportunity to team up with the Best in us -- we run into some sort of barrier -- what we commonly accept as our "limit." But what exactly are these limits? What is their real nature? Once we apprehend this fact, we are on our way to real self-freedom.

With these thoughts in mind, here is a Key Lesson in two parts: First, these limitations that we run into in our lives are little other than temporary boundary lines established in our consciousness -- psychological lines that feel like permanent barriers to us because of the fear that washes through us should we even consider attempting to cross them. The second and equally important part of this Key Lesson is that in these same moments -- when we are certain of our inability to go any farther -- our halted experience is not due to any exterior condition we may see before us, regardless of how real it may seem. What holds us here is that we have been made captives of our own fearful feelings… and nothing else!

Our hopes rest in our ability to understand the secret nature of this fear, because as we awaken to its actual make-up, we learn at the same time how to walk through our limitations. Here is what we know so far: Fear makes its unwanted appearance in us whenever life asks us for an answer that we don't have, or that we don't think we can find. In other words, when we don't know what we need (and want) to know in the moment of challenge, our fearful perception of this same moment before us tells us that we are not up to the task and will, most likely, find ourselves overcome by it.

But what is it, really, that we see before us in such testing moments? We have reached a pivotal point in this study, so our extra attention is required to consider the next few insights. That barrier we see before us, regardless of how real and sensible it seems to be, is a limit set by a lower order of self within us. All such limits are the natural expression of an unconscious, thought-based nature that cannot see beyond the content of its own stored experiences. For this level of self there is nothing beyond its own set of conditioned thoughts by which it is defined -- and through which it defines (for us!) what is possible in life and what is not! Of itself, by itself, this level of our nature will not enter, cannot travel, beyond what is unfamiliar and unknown to it because it unconsciously realizes that it cannot exist as it has been in any place where it has never been before.

If you have ever read the Old Testament, the above truth tells of an interior principle reflected in the story of Moses, who led the journey out of Egypt, but who, himself, could not cross over into the Promised Land. What stopped him? The mental level cannot pass through the spiritual Gates of Greatness. It must help make the journey in time, but it cannot enter the Ever-New Now.

With these thoughts in mind, we come to the last of the questions with which our study began: What is the purpose of awakening the Best part of ourselves? It is to help us realize that once we understand how to call upon this Presence within us to show us the Way, there exists no time or place beyond which we cannot go. How do we come to this new and liberating understanding?

In the face of any limitation, standing before what frightens us, we must come awake and remember the Best in us by recollecting and then embracing the will of this Living Light. Then, from within this higher awareness, we must choose what we know is the fearless Truth of ourselves as opposed to allowing the little will of the fear-filled self to tell us what is true about the moment and ourselves.

Here is what such conscious actions make possible: The Best in us knows that when we will act as though it is impossible to fail, it will be. This does not mean that we will not feel fear. Do not make this mistake. It means that standing there, in these moments, we understand that these fears and doubts coursing through us -- that darken the way ahead -- do not belong to us. These negative and limiting psychological forces are the vestigial visions of a self that we must no longer mistake as being our own.

There are two kinds of people in this world whose quality of life, like all of us, is determined by their outlook. There are those who feel chained to life by their own unrelenting doubts, and then there are those who doubt that such chains exist at all. The first group of people are held hopeless captives of vague fears that they may lose something of value should they strive for freedom and fail, while the second group know that the only antidote to such clinging doubts is through conscious deeds!

The final Key Lesson in our study is a summary of not only all that serves to awaken the Best in us, but that describes the one action that leads us to its Permanent and Impenetrable Shelter: If we would but dare to attempt those things that frighten us, and persist upon this course for only a short while, we would soon discover that our efforts themselves have cleansed and cured us of our fear.

Be sure to mark your calendar for our next chat room, Thursday, May 9th. Please do note this is one week later than usual because I will be in Los Angeles for a talk at the Bodhi Tree on our usual first Thursday meeting date. Until then, remember to do the work that awakens the Best in you. Do your part and It will take care of everything else!

GF: Welcome everyone to our chat tonight. We will get started right after I give you a few thoughts to ponder about the present nature and special predicament of our spiritual heart.

Did you know that the distance from your heart to your toes is approximate in scale to the distance of our sun to the most distant planet in the solar system – so that our heart sits in a relative center to the whole of our body much as does the sun to the planetary bodies held in its field of gravity?

Did you know that all creatures, from the common garden gnat to the great whales that swim the seas, all have nearly the same number of heartbeats in a lifetime, assuming a natural life and death? What a mystery is this heart whose character we share -- how unfathomable, how attractive, how powerful, how potentially perfect is its undiscovered promise.

The invisible scope of the human heart reminds me of scenes in certain kinds of films, usually magical tales, where the hero walks through the door of what appears, from the outside, to be a small cottage (or even a closet), and finds himself suddenly standing at the threshold of a world whose vast dimensions, sights, and scenes are unimaginable from outside the door.

I believe that these scenes, where a quest leads up to passage into a new world, fascinate us as much as they do because a small part of us can see in these moments something true -- something that hints to us of the immense hidden nature of our own uninvestigated heart. Just a small consideration of this idea tells much.

Saints and sages alike teach that all the love in the universe, all the fearsome states and their dark shadows, every ounce of gratitude, every bit of pride, all the wonder and woe that ever was or will be, sit at the Foundation of our heart. That is a lot of power, promise, perfection, and potential punishment to all be in one small place in us, isn’t it?

And this brings us to the point of these preliminary comments. This place called our heart, this organ within us that beats so steadily, seeing to it that the vital red stuff of life continues to surge through us, is really just a kind of three-dimensional reflection of a Higher order of Heart whose Life pours out to us to animate our own.

Imagine something like a water-drop shot out from the spray of a thunderous Niagara Falls, complete in itself with all the qualities and capabilities of water, and yet only a microcosmic version of the timeless ocean from which it springs, and to which it returns, in its endless rounds rushing through countless rivers and streams.

If this description of the heart strikes you as being majestic, tireless, and timelessly magical, that’s because it is just that! And in some ways each of us knows this heritage to be true. Each time we intuit our native home to be amongst the unmeasured stars, or sense within us a vitality and capacity to give from resources without end, we have felt the beating of our Real Heart.

Strangely enough, at least at the outset of one’s self-investigation, it is this vast potential that we feel beating in us that makes our present state of self seem so dissatisfactory. We dwell as a captive of our own unrealized possibilities, so that a vague, but definite, awareness of our incomplete interior condition calls out to us.

Somehow we know that our hearts are broken. In the silence of ourselves we know our heart needs healing. And we feel this wholeness that we could be calling out to us with each ache that courses through us because of some unkindness we embrace and then send out from our heart to the heart of another. The True Spiritual Path begins with self-awareness such as this.

It is then that we start to know that our heart is in need of reparation, of a special sort of restoration. And still more strangely than our first few steps upon the Path, it is this very self-realization that brings us, step by step, to the heart-stopping discovery that a broken heart cannot heal itself!

Perhaps some of us are beginning to learn this unthinkable but priceless Truth. It alone reveals the concealed limitations of our present level of self, even as it provides a way for this same self to transcend itself. We learn that only the Living Light can return our heart to its Rightful Character. We realize that only what is Whole can heal what is divided.

If you are at all uncertain about whether or not your heart needs this kind of spiritual healing, you need not wonder anymore. I will assure you that you can know for sure. To help with this very personal investigation, I will give out “5 Ways to Know If Your Heart Is Broken and Needs Healing” at the end of our chat tonight.

What do you feel like discussing tonight? Please keep your questions real, personal, and to the point. This means to stay awake to yourself, to resist the temptation to be speculative or to otherwise ask merely curious questions based in comparative thought. Our time together will be profitable if you work this way. What is on your mind tonight? What shall we talk about?

stacy: Are you referring to the physical heart or the spiritual heart? Are they both located in the same place?

GF: Quantum physics is just beginning to discover what enlightened beings have known all along: There is only one center in the universe and it is everywhere.

JSTRICK999: How do you keep confidence in yourself? I am 29 and I am not good at any career skill that will provide enough money for me.

GF: Real confidence is not ours because we can do certain things well but because we are at peace within ourselves, whatever we may be doing when we're doing it. Try to remember that what you really want from life is something that no amount of money or approval from others can provide. With this in mind, find work in a field that you feel an attraction to and start where you must within it. The rest takes care of itself.

JSTRICK999: How do you continue to develop the skill of learning, especially as you get older and the world takes its toll on you?

GF: Real learning is a very natural condition to us. We're created to continually incorporate into ourselves what is new and true. On the other hand, there are other natural parts that resist the influx of any material that contests the hold these parts have on our nature. So it's a question of whose attention will win the day. That's why finding something you love is a lot easier to learn. Get “The Road To Good Fortune” tape set. If the tapes don't help you understand better what you're asking, just return them.

aa: I do not enjoy the job I foolishly accepted. But, I certainly have learned much about myself and have overcome great fears as a result of it. How do I know if this "career" is my destiny? I'm not sure what I love, but this isn't it. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

GF: When one is not sure what to do in certain circumstances, the best bet is to remain in the condition while using all of one’s ability to watch and “taste” what happens there and within oneself at the same time. Gradually you will know – without doubt (but not necessarily without fear) – what must be done.

Quentin: Is it possible to stay aware of one’s thoughts while waiting to drift off to physical sleep? I earnestly try to stay attentive to myself, but eventually my thoughts drift, and next thing I know it's morning. Is this just natural because one is physically tired?

GF: This exercise of working to remain awake and aware of one's thoughts -- in essence meditating while going to sleep -- is an important and helpful practice. In time, you will have the attention necessary to see many fascinating things because of this wish you have to observe yourself. Stay with it.

James1: In staying aware while falling asleep, does focusing with your eyes (although closed) on one spot help?

GF: Do what feels comfortable to you. Sometimes gently holding one's eyes and attention at the center of the brow just above the eyes can help. But again, do as seems natural to you.

trw: I am a relatively new student. I have suffered a chronic pain condition daily for almost twenty years. With medication I am able to function and be employed and have a family. I believe in God and know that God allows circumstances in all of our lives to develop us for His greater purpose He has for us. When I am in my states of physical pain, the dark thoughts rage within me and seem almost unbearable at times. You speak a great deal about psychological pain. What about physical pain?

GF: The kind of chronic pain you describe is challenging, but because of the nature of your condition, so can the rewards be greater than others may find who are less physically compromised. Work diligently at finding the interior resources you need to not resist the pain. Stay aware of it but out of it by using your attention to help you remember what you wish to be in relationship with instead of allowing the pain to relate you incessantly to the aching. Work at this.

JEFFBREADMANJESS: I also have to deal with a good amount of constant pain. I use minimal drugs and the rest is a focus. Is it possible to become over-focused?

GF: If you're asking me is it possible that one could actually increase his pain by being overly focused on resolving it through willful means, I believe the answer is yes, it is possible to be over-focused. We must, if we (all of us) would, find a way to use the conditions life gives us. I assure you every kind of condition holds in it a way out of it. It's our task to find this Way.

Bonj: In “Teachings of the Timeless Kindness” you said, "Negative things are here, not because we are supposed to not want them, but to learn from them." Are you saying that we are supposed to want negative things so we can grow?

GF: No, I'm not saying that. What I am saying is that negative forces are a natural part of our existence. They serve a purpose in these physical realms (invisible ones as well) as surely as do positive energies. It is their interaction when taken consciously that elevates the mind now participating in these energies. Light is self-organizing. Light transforms the darkness.

TM: My spouse had an affair and I am struggling with resentment. We are working to rebuild our marriage. What advice would you give me?

GF: The thing about resentment -- one of its secret powers over us -- is that it makes us feel more powerful than the one we resent. Drop these negative states by seeing they only compromise your wish for a new start. They are the past. They are punishment. On the other hand, only you know if what you have is worth saving or if you're just afraid to be without what is now a source of resentment to you. Stay awake. Watch.

Portia: What do you mean by "when an unwanted condition becomes the condition itself"?

GF: What I meant in the “Key Lesson” that you're referring to is that it often happens when we have a negative reaction to something that we actually become transfixed with that negativity so thoroughly that we don't see that the only problem we have at that point is that we're walking around hating or resenting something that may not even be in place any more.

Lenny: I can see from your inspired writings, talks, and interactions here that you must have broken into a higher world. No one else seems even close. The world is packed with all-knowing charlatans. Why do students know of no other masters in today’s world? I feel spiritually abandoned and trapped (God Forgive me). I'm glad you're here, but why is there no one else to help?

GF: Never forget what I'm going to tell you. It is the truth. We are in the lost state we are because of what we are in relationship with unconsciously. The moment we wake up to this and change what we are in relationship with, consciously, everything changes. The Living Light is never farther away from any of us than our wish to stand in it. That is all we need to know.

jaybird: Releasing hidden anger and hostility has long been a focus of my spiritual inner work. Yet, it often seems the more I work at facing my anger, the more it seems to take me over. I sense I may be going about this the wrong way. Can you provide any helpful insights here?

GF: Yes. You are beginning to realize what Vernon Howard taught many years ago. "Resistance to the disturbance is the disturbance." Not wanting to be angry cannot change an angry nature, and actually is a secret movement of that very same nature. We must become aware of what anger is in us, not what we think it means or does, but what its actual life does to our own. May I recommend an audio tape entitled "Freedom from the Cage Called Rage"? You can get it right off the Website – it’s Item # 401. If it doesn't help you to begin working in a new way with these punishing states, just send it back, no questions asked.

James1: Can anger be latent? A little while ago I consciously asked myself what I was in relationship with and tried to keep this intention with me. This was followed by two weeks of deep anger. Is this what I was in relationship with, or a part of me defending itself to stay hidden?

GF: You're on the right track. But know that this anger that you are beginning to detect does not belong to you. No negative state has its origin in us. Our subtle body is very receptive to all forms of invisible forces. These energies are registered unconsciously and then formed into a known quality by the content of our own past experiences.

ADB: What should I do about “unwanted” physical desires/urges/cravings as these relate to actions that I am aware do me no good? I'm aware that I'm doing something that I shouldn't be doing, but this awareness is not enough to cease these “unwanted” desires. I know the resistance to the disturbance IS the disturbance, but their pull is so strong and convincing with their “just one more time can't hurt” talk. Insights please?

GF: I once knew a dog that ate bacon grease from a neighbor’s trash can for twenty days in a row, and that always got sick immediately afterwards. On the twenty-first day it smelled the can and walked away.

Roy: I'm confused and discouraged with my attempts at meditation. There is so much stuff about opening Chakras and raising the Kundalini and a hundred other techniques… to me this seems like Alice in Wonderland. You've said how important this practice is… what then should our aim be in meditation?

GF: Forget all the nonsense. One of the most negative forces on this planet today is run-away imagination. Come awake right now where you are and simply be aware of all things going on physically around you. At the same time, be conscious of all things going on within you, including the thoughts that are trying to tell you what you see. Watch them too. This is a good start at meditation. Work at it.

rousseau: “Run-away imagination”! This is a new term for me, but I understand the principle. Please discuss this a bit so I can learn to site it and be more aware of its path as opposed to the Higher path of daily self awareness.

GF: Here are a few examples: All psychological fear is the negative effect of negative imagination. The mind projects an image and at the same time thought evaluates the picture as though the picture was reality. In Reality, the self that projects the image and the image it projects are one thing. What we fear doesn't exist without our imagination of it.

James1: I learned that not only am I easily distracted (thoughts, emotions), but I've witnessed myself looking for distractions. What is it in me that looks for distraction, and how can I focus? So many things appear to be started, but nothing is accomplished.

GF: This is good that you are beginning to see how easily your attention is stolen. It indicates the beginning of a special kind of attention required for walking away from one's self. The whole myth of Narcissus is connected with one's fascination with one's self. And in this instance, our insatiable thought-nature seeking sensation generates one opposite after another to consider in order to feel real. I hope this helps.

Rael: I would like to express my appreciation for you taking the time and effort to be here every month; thank you very much. My question: What is the difference between waking and sleeping?

GF: I will assume that you're speaking about spiritually being asleep or awake. When we are spiritually asleep, it means we have no awareness of any of the invisible forces (thoughts and feelings and more) that surge through us, and that we accept as being the same as ourselves. As we awaken, we realize these conditions move through our consciousness but need not be allowed to define it.

Rael: If we are aware of these invisible forces moving through us one after another, what's the difference? Their pain, distraction and presence is still impacting on us.

GF: These forces interact only with natures that are similar to themselves. A beam of light cannot be negatively impacted by a thunderclap. They don’t have the same character. Who we are, who we may be, is not the same character as the conflict in us that we now presently identify with.

Rael: Then how is it that we come to identify with the beam of light instead of the thunderclap -- that is with the light and not the conflict which so wishes to drag us down?

GF: In some ways it is a question of learning to discern what within us is actually for our growth and what (within us) intends to keep us captives. But this learning is not in the conventional sense of learning as much as it has to do with working to stay awake and aware of ourselves and to allow this Living Light to do the discerning for us. This is what “goes before us to make the crooked places straight.”

Jason: I write computer code. I can write it for hours. I can even write it in my sleep. It is always enjoyable and has many challenging tasks. Yet, I have no affinity, no talent for your work. I have followed for seven years, studied always. I am beginning to wonder if I lack the “natural talent” you have for this. Where do I find new strength?

GF: Spiritual development is not a question of our being talented, or for that matter, even intelligent! If it was, we'd all be "goners"! All that is required of us to realize ourselves in greater measure is two things: A weariness with being filled with negative states that lead nowhere, and a little wish in our heart to know what is Higher and that what we hold our faith in holds only the best interests for us.

JeffS: Thanks, that gives me a bit more hope. I do find small bits of connection with the divine, but it seems so faint -- I just still don't have faith that I'll do MY part to make it out of this mess.

GF: Remember this for the rest of your life: The Truth, the Light, God Himself has made it so that you are to succeed in realizing your Real Life in this Divine Life. Nothing can interfere with this by power. Only deception misdirects us. All despair is misdirection that seems like we care for where we are. Care enough to drop the despair.

bob_nj: I have read a lot of books: The Bible, Krishnamurti, Gurdjieff, etc., and more recently Vernon Howard and yourself. I was genuinely aspiring (half the time) when young, but have never lived the truth. How do you guys do it?

GF: If you looked up and suddenly saw your living quarters on fire, you would have no hesitation about what you need to do in order to save your life. Spiritually speaking, one of the reasons that we who do this Work is because it allows us to see that the house we are in is occupied by characters whose sole interest is conflict and limitation. Thus we leave the house.

KevinB: Last night I was stunned by Joseph Campbell and his “The Power of Myth.” Of the many questions, one for now: He said, "People think heaven is a place you go to and have everlasting peace. It's not. It's eternity experienced now. Eternity is not everlasting." The last sentence is where I'm baffled most. Any help?

GF: Without having seen and heard, it's difficult, because context is everything. I will say, though, that Eternity is now and not in some later time or place. Our spiritual work is about recognizing that all dreams, regardless of how sublime and "eternal" they may seem, are of the finite world.

ADB: I find myself always thinking about the things I “need” to do, and find a constant struggle staying in the now. Advice please.

GF: One of the reasons that many of us remain so very busy in our brain is because the activity unconsciously lends us a sense of importance. It gives us a self with "so much to do." Even at a million miles an hour, such mental and emotional activity still takes us nowhere.

ADB: I know I need to do something, but when I eventually get around to having the window of opportunity to do it, I find myself doing all I can to avoid starting it.

GF: Take one task, just one, any one. Make it small. Do it. Do it completely. And do it with the aim of watching all of the contradictory parts of yourself that surface as you do this one task consciously. If you'll practice this one exercise, you will learn more than a thousand chatrooms can teach you.

wheeljay: I also wish to express my gratitude for you and your ceaseless efforts to communicate. I realize how challenging this is because you have to somehow bypass the false personality. I guess this is one reason that stories, myths and parables are so often used by Teachers. My question is that I always have to "look good," i.e., intelligent, smarter than the next person, more awake, etc., and I don't want to be like this any more but cannot not be that way. Can you help?

GF: Become as present to yourself as possible when you start to feel the onset of these interior pressures to perform in front of others. Only the conscious awareness of these self-wrecking egoist drives can begin to diminish their hold upon us. Fight the Good Fight inwardly and ask the Light to lend you what you need to see your way out.

wheeljay: Thank you. I particularly appreciate your drawing my attention to what is obvious but that I could not see -- this is self-wrecking. You are 100% right. It causes me so much pain and keeps me falsely separated from real connection with others, God, and my true self. By the way, I just found the following excerpt from verse 24 of the Tao Te Ching that seems to fit like a glove: "He who tries to shine -- dims his own light...”

GF: Such Truths are so simple that millions miss their light.

Bob: Is there such a thing as Chivalry in a spiritual sense? How can men be true to women?

GF: Yes, there is such a thing as chivalry. The key is, regardless of the gender, that we must be true first to ourselves before it's possible to be true to any other being. This was the topic of our class last night. We must learn what it means to say to all whom we meet (and this is an interior statement), "Here, let me help you with that." "That" means their inner state, which is really our own that we have touched.

asiam: Almost everyone around me, including loved ones, seem to still be lost and self-oriented even when they have had opportunity to learn new understandings. I have let go and stayed kind, but what else should I do when it seems I can’t have a fruitful relationship with anyone?

GF: One of the most challenging aspects of the Path is to let go of what doesn’t work -- which always feels like an emptying sensation -- and then to not fill ourselves with whatever we name as now missing from our hearts, etc. Do nothing to fill these spaces in you. Work to remember that what we really want is for God to supply us with what we NEED -- from within us -- and that we ought not rush out (again) to give ourselves what we want from outside of us.

straydog: Many times when I try to improve any area of my life, I end up with the exact opposite of the improvement that I was tying for! Why is that, and how can I change it?

GF: Everything depends upon why we do it. What we do is always secondary to this interior motive. Find out why you wish to improve what you do and then you will know why what is happening to you happens.

Olympus: What can be done when you are in a close relationship with someone who is terrified of life and continuously dumps his responsibilities on you?

GF: Move. I mean this first in the sense that if you weren't standing spiritually, psychologically in this person's dump zone, what could fall upon you? Secondly, by “move,” I mean do what you can to help this person see what they do to themselves and you. If they won't see, if they won't learn, then by “move,” I mean exactly that. It's your life. Live it.

DebbiE: You just said that we should attempt to help someone close to us to see "what they do to themselves and you.” In other writings of yours, you mention that we should not attempt to change anyone. Couldn't helping them see what they do be construed as trying to change them, and wouldn't that be making something outside of ourselves responsible for our happiness? I trust there is no contradiction. Shed Light please.

GF: Consider that helping someone to see what they are doing to themselves and to you might well mean that you don’t react or respond as you always have – leaving them with their own destructive or negative behavior with no one to fight because of being judged, etc. Find out how to help others without drawing attention to yourself for what you do.

ADB: If I'm aware of an addictive behavior (nail-biting, drink, food, sex, etc.) and I am aware that it all starts with some thought I'm having, how do I place awareness in the process and when? Am I to become aware that I am behaving from a part of me that is asleep yet still continue with that behavior with awareness? Is there more?

GF: The question “how” do I place awareness in the process means that you (as yet) haven’t learned what it means to be awake and aware of yourself. Being aware of ourselves doesn’t mean that we are trying to fix something. It means we watch what is going on and – if it is the case as in addictive behaviors – allow our own awareness, the light of it, to show us what is taking place in us. This light is the healing itself, as real intelligence will not consent to compromise or destroy itself.

asiam: All of my creative, honest interests and positive passions seem to be located in another out-of-state environment. These things I have an honest interest and aptitude for, yet all opportunities around me are simply not what I feel. Should I accept this situation and look towards something else now that I am approaching my thirties?

GF: Of course I can't (and wouldn't) tell you what you should do, but I will lend a few thoughts for your benefit. We must do what is in our power and refuse to do what is not. If it's not in your power because of family or other financial responsibilities to move to a more promising place, then do what you must to accomplish what is required of you. If this isn't the case, walk through the fear. Go for what your heart longs. Either way, refuse to feel sorry for yourself.

cary: I just received in the mail today your new book, Seekers Guide to Self-Freedom, and already I know it's exactly what I've been needing. Thanks so much.

GF: May you find in it the next step for yourself.

Faust: Why is it that when I share the treasures of my heart (which are in line with the New Testament) to others, most of them tend to become very defensive and refute the principles of higher living through Christianity and self-knowledge. It leaves me feeling naked, and I have to deal with the dark clouds of the aftermath. I feel mocked, rejected, etc., but my self-esteem no longer goes down the tubes.

GF: Eventually you will not fall into the trap that others set for you by pretending to be interested in what you are doing, or have to say, and who then use your own words to prey upon you. Such people are living lies and can only prove the truth (of themselves) by condemning others.

david: When I “look” at the condition or situation inside of me that wishes to negatively respond to an outward stimulus, but then don’t resist the sinful inclination but just observe as if I am outside of myself looking at myself, it is as if I am searching for the real cause of “why” I want to respond negatively. Then it seems as if I effortlessly drop this intention. Is this the Path?

GF: I'm not sure what you're asking, but I'll offer you this consideration: Real seeing, real observation of one's self, has no qualified "searching" in it at all. This kind of higher self-awareness is much like bringing a lamp into a room that has been darkened and then lighting that lamp so that everything formerly unseen in the dark suddenly stands out and is seen. This kind of seeing changes what is seen. I hope this helps.

Faust: I am benefiting from your teachings of Timeless Truth on a daily basis now. I use adversity as a tool for growth, and the bad things are mere passing clouds. It feels tremendously great. But when I share these principles with people, let alone my faith, they harden their hearts and it makes me almost cry for them and their fatalistic outlooks. Should I use another approach, or should I develop a healthy sense of detachment?

GF: Remember that Christ taught that we must not cast our pearls before the swine. This did not mean that one sits in judgment of others, but that we recognize that we must be very sparing with our spiritual sharing until our own intuition tells us this is a brother or sister in Truth. Then we may speak wholeheartedly and we will share in the wholeness that comes from this.

jaybird: In recent chat sessions you have advised us against asking mere "curiosity" questions. Yet it would seem that curiosity is a very natural trait which, when rightly utilized, could help us grow spiritually. Am I right about this? If so, can you make a clear distinction between "healthy" and "unhealthy" curiosity?

GF: Yes. "Healthy" curiosity is always a curiosity about a personal insight or experience with the aim of uncovering what one senses remains still covered within him. Unhealthy curiosity is mere mental stimulation whose secret purpose is to cover up some kind of agitation whose unconscious pressure drives the person to ask untold meaningless questions that serve nothing but filling space and time.

Olympus: How do I talk to someone about these principles?

GF: Be honest. Don't be someone you're not. Be truthful. Don't pretend to know things you don't. Be present to yourself. Watch how parts of you want to make impressions and refuse to go along with this unconscious approval-seeking. Speak about what you love and the love you speak of will begin to speak for you. That's a promise.

beckycs: I have been forgiving a habit of my spouse's again and again for seven years now. His habit recently reached a level where it dragged the quality of my life down along with his. I want to forget and move on, because it is not the real him who has the problem. He has a great loving spirit, but I am now so fearful that it will never stop.

GF: While it may be true that our True Nature has the potential of being without one problem, that doesn't mean that our present nature should be excused for its negative actions or otherwise self-destructive qualities. You must see the difference between what is and what you hope for. Do not compromise yourself at the expense of your development.

asiam: I find a calm feeling and peaceful relaxation when listening to certain things, and although they are sensory oriented, they seem naturally beautiful and helpful (such as electric water fountains, etc). Is this wrong?

GF: Of course there is nothing wrong with such pastimes, assuming they are natural and healthy for the whole person. We – as human beings – are in a physical realm whose beauties and congruencies are intended to both please us and help us remember the Creator of these delights.

hawkeye: Where does the experience of daydreaming or being unable to focus on something for long come into play in seeking the Path?

GF: Our minds are terribly undeveloped. Of this there's no doubt. Our ability to attend to anything, especially if it doesn't please us, virtually doesn't exist. The good news is that this same mind of ours is created for the very purpose of being attentive and receptive to perfecting influences. Everything depends upon what we really want. We must learn to want God's Life more than the life we've been giving ourselves with this mind of ours.

BNevrgivup: I have been in a personal relationship and now marriage for many years, yet I continue to feel that something else is required. The difficulty is the person I am with is good and kind and truly loves me. It is a silent internal struggle. Can you comment with regard to relationships and how this is worked out?

GF: If you're saying that in your heart you long for a Higher Life and your partner has no interest in such things, then this condition will be challenging at best. In my experience, the heart that longs for a God-centered life cannot be silenced by anything this world offers it, regardless of how well-wrapped. Do your best to keep your wish for Real Life alive. The rest will unfold naturally.

MikeS: I had a shocking experience in which I could see myself thinking and my physical reality felt as if it were "behind" time. Is this the state I am aiming for -- to watch these thoughts pass through me until they stop? Or is this the wrong direction?

GF: From what I can tell, this experience is not unnatural on the Path. But never mind such experiences. Even the best of them are in time and pass, and if we become identified with such events, we will lose our ability to become present to ourselves in the Now. Just do the best you know to keep watching without thinking about what that which you see implies. Just see!

Steven: I care deeply for animals, however I don't know where to draw the line between compassion and sentimentality. If a pet starts to become a problem, what do we use for guidance in dealing with it?

GF: If by your question you mean when does one put an end to a favorite pet's life, the answer would have to be when the quality of life for that creature has more suffering in it than sweetness because of its relationship with you.

dianne: If this Higher power has been around to give love and power to us since humans have existed, why can't our higher selves live on also? A finite existence seems so limiting and ultimately useless in our efforts to achieve a higher level of self. What’s the motivation?

GF: Within each of us resides an order of consciousness that was never born and that cannot die. Either we feel at the core of us a longing for this reunion with the Reality of ourselves, or we don't. If we do, the "motivation" comes to us from this Eternal Essence within us. If we don't, then what's the problem? We must each choose our path.

Faust: Do you have any tapes dealing with your response to "dianne"?

GF: You might try listening to tape #436 – “Beyond the Experience of Self”. It can be ordered through our online bookstore, etc.

sadie: I am amazed by the depth and wisdom of your teachings. Would you mind giving a hint regarding your most important influences and sources for personal development? I am new here.

GF: I spent about fourteen years working directly under a great author (now deceased) by the name of Vernon Howard. One day soon, I intend to put up on our website a recommended list of books similar to those now available at the library at my Foundation in Southern Oregon. Come visit.

Moondog: I'm still confused about the true role of men and women. I know it's not a “politically correct” subject, but psychologically speaking, how can I understand the differences? The world is nearly void of any guidance here, and intuition is deceiving.

GF: We may only come to truly understand the true role of the opposite sex as we awaken to what it means to be the gender that we are. Nothing is more fantastic than a man discovering his strength, just as a woman may discover hers, even though they are of totally different qualities. Each compliments the other.

asiam: What is it about music that seems so magical, like another whole dimension in and of itself? Is this just extreme sensory overload of pleasure, or mechanical brain wave vibrations?

GF: Music that we hear with our ears has its “roots” in far subtler realms and it may be that some forms of these tones help us remember subtler parts of ourselves that are far more receptive to Higher Impressions.

ADB: How can one do the inner work without falling into a self that feels pity, contempt or disgust at those who choose to not even desire or attempt to awaken? I know this “superior” attitude is not correct, nor desired, but rather proof of how asleep I am at times when this happens. Advice?

GF: Realize that what you feel towards others you first give to yourself.

Truition: Do you know of any writings or have any suggestions on running a business consciously?

GF: No, I do not. Why don’t you double your inner efforts and learn what is needed to write your own book? That would be the most helpful course, although certainly not the only way to learn more.

Kraig: As I'm becoming more aware of those automatic reactions which I have grown up into, I also see that I get more wrapped up in my moods or emotional states as an indicator of spiritual state on a day-to-day basis. I know this is a hurdle to get beyond. How can I intensify my awareness to my true nature, so that emotions are simply something which I'm doing rather than who I am?

GF: Your statement indicates a growing awareness of these mechanical emotional states. What you are looking for – this conscious separation of one level of automatic self to deliberate and conscious Self – will come if you continue with the wish and work to see yourself in action. Be patient, but be persistent!

asiam: How can we get what we ask for, when the moment is the seed to the next, if this moment is false, wrong, bad, etc., and produces bad consequences? Yet we use it to see, develop, grow. Isn’t it true that if we stayed rightful in the first moment, we would never had this wonderful new opportunity that came from the bad? Am I thinking too much?

GF: Yes, too much; I couldn’t have said it better. The mind -- the normal intellect -- cannot, will not ever grasp the intoxicating mystery of the opposites as they reveal themselves through the developing strains of time. We must agree to be here, to be whole, to be watchful, and to be willing. If we do this much, Truth will take care of all else. Of this you may be assured, but let this assurance come to you from the Truth itself because of your inner work.

GF: I want to pass along the notes I promised would be given at the end of our chat.

First, let’s go over the “5 Ways to Know If Your Heart Is Broken and Needs Healing.” You may be surprised at what you find, but you may be assured that if anything you read on this list applies to you, then so does the need for healing. After the list we will talk about what is in our power to do -- and not to do -- when it comes to giving ourselves the healing our heart needs.

The first way to know if our heart is broken and needs healing is if we spend most of our time thinking only about ourselves.

Second on the list of ways to tell that our heart may be broken is if our thoughts dwell on dark and gloomy imaginings, or if we find that our feelings are filled with varying states of despair, defeat, or anxious doubt.

Number three asks us if we are likely to agree with, or give ourselves over to fiery feelings? Do we consent to states of conflict with our being, becoming identified with angry or resentful vibrations as they make their way through us?

The fourth indicator on our list of ways to know that our heart is broken and needs healing is if we never see the choice to put the interests of someone else before we consider those of our own.

And last on our list of “5 Ways to Know If Your Heart Is Broken and Needs Healing” is that we can tell that there is something in our heart that needs repair if our principal sense of contentment and well-being is derived only from pleasures that we give to ourselves.

Now a bit of explanation: Even a casual glance at this list reveals our hearts need work. More accurately stated, our hearts need to have work done upon and within them if they are to heal. And although this much ought to be clear to us, it is not. After all, most of us have already tried virtually everything under the sun to make these repairs. Let’s review a partial list.

Here are just a few of the ways we have tried to help our hearts find wholeness: new relationships, more knowledge or control over social or economic powers, charms, crystals, healers, pulsating lights, chemicals, organics, power spots; the list runs on for as long do our heartaches that never quite disappear. What then can we look to for this healing that we need?

Here is a spiritual truth we must understand: The needful repair of our heart cannot be attained through any process of mental or emotional amendment, but only through spiritual replacement. Healing the heart is not about its gradual reformation, but its permanent restoration. Of ourselves we have not what it takes to effect such an exchange.

Simply put, we must see the impossibility of trying to realize a whole heart by adding things to it, regardless of how sublime the imagery; we must recognize that seeking solutions to our perceived suffering merely serves to sustain two equally false notions: first, that it is possible for us to climb out of our own unwholeness by throwing ourselves a rope.

The second false notion is that this haunting sense of incompleteness within us -- that ever-seeking sense of “I” that drives us along trying to service its desires -- is somehow connected to who we really are, to our Essential Self. It is not. This new understanding explains why the only real solution to healing our broken heart is to be found through its surrender.

Here are a few crucial thoughts to help you better understand these last ideas and the challenge inherent in them. In general, our task is to deliver our heart to the only place where such a replacement is possible, and not to do anything else but watch what happens when we consent to this delivery. The more we meddle to make things happen, the slower proceeds one’s true mending.

Where is this place within us that holds such a promise? Where can we go to surrender our hearts while letting go of all concern for the outcome? It is in the heart of our remembrance of God while -- in the same moment -- we watch with quiet impartial awareness what we are shown by His works.

If we are willing -- not figuratively, not in imaginings, but literally -- to put our heart in God’s hands, to bring it into the Celestial Repair Shop of the Living Light, and to do this with no other wish apart from being willing to invite Wholeness to make Its Heart the same as our own, it will be done.

Take deliberate time out each day, several times a day, for a few quiet but select minutes to consciously surrender your heart to God. And do your best to remember that when you ask for this special Work to be done within you, your part is to remain watchful (instead of wanting) no matter what you may see revealed to you about the content of your heart.

Mark your calendar to reflect that next month our chat will not be (as usual) on the first Thursday of the month, but on the second Thursday, April 11th. Until then, remember yourself, remember God. Work at what we discussed tonight. Make all the mistakes you must, but make effort. Truth will teach you the Way.

Welcome and good evening. Our chat will begin once I post these opening remarks on the nature of spiritual battle, and what is required of us to overcome the darkness that has (so far) overcome us.

The true spiritual battle occurs in the "dark" of us, a contest between the light of our wish to be better than the bitterness in us, or higher than some heartache or hatred dragging us down. Whatever its nature, this struggle is between forces that are dark and denying and those light and affirming. The ground fought upon is for possession of our interior; to the victor go the spoils.

One mistake many of us make is that we believe that our ignorance of this contest in our consciousness is the same as immunity to its outcome. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is much at stake. And one of the reasons we may deny our responsibility in this cosmic contest is not so much from ignorance of it, but out of feeling ourselves overcome by its challenge.

But we cannot drop out of this contest. To accept defeat is to agree, by default, that darkness is superior to the Light. It is not. That sinking sense of self we have all felt when doing the dark thing we don't want to do is only a temporary direction born out of a bad decision, and all such bad decisions are always made in the very darkness we then find ourselves decrying.

Here is the point: Everything can change -- become much brighter -- if we will do our part. There is a Way to succeed in every spiritual battle. But, this kind of conquest over ourselves begins with gaining special knowledge and then taking the higher actions that these truths point to. The short story that follows illustrates many of these spiritually empowering truths.

Once there was a prosperous and peaceful kingdom called "Goodness." It was a bright place except for one border that it shared with a realm of darkness. Quite often, but never announced, the dark border of the dark land would suddenly swell into the country of Goodness. From out of this enveloping darkness, dark invaders would sweep down, plundering the unwary citizens of Goodness.

None of these attacks went unnoticed by the king of Goodness. One day he called to his throne one of his trusted captains and told him that another attack of the darkness was imminent. He said, "I want you to engage the enemy and not only push them back, but I want you to claim -- in my name -- some portion of their shadowed lands. Will you agree to do this for me?"

The young captain swallowed hard, knowing that he had seen so many of his friends before him fall in battle. Nevertheless, in his heart he knew the trueness of this call. Gathering himself up, he spoke: "Yes, of course I will." He waited a moment, but the king spoke no more. Taking this silence as his dismissal, he turned and began walking out of the great hall.

The sound of his footsteps followed him, echoing in the hall like the legions of thoughts now marching through his mind: "What if. . .? How about. . .? Why should I? Why me?" The captain knew what he was being asked to do was beyond his ability. None of his brave comrades gone before him had yet been able to turn back, let alone overcome, the advancing darkness. How could he?

By the time the good captain reached the end of the hallway, he had also come to the end of his false bravado. He knew he could not win this coming fight even with the best soldiers he could muster onto the field of battle. But what to do? To admit such a fear would certainly cause the king to lose faith in him, but to not speak of his great misgivings seemed an equally bad fate!

The captain turned and spoke. A shock went through him as he listened to the greatly amplified sound of his own timid voice, a result of the natural acoustics of the great hall. "Sir" he spoke, "I don’t think I have a chance in this conflict. I don’t have what it takes to turn back the approaching darkness." The king's answer stunned him. "Of course you don’t."

It was the kindness in the king's voice that nearly knocked him over, for there was no condemnation, no cruelty, and no distasteful tone in his royal pronouncement. The captain could not understand what was happening, and heard himself speak before he knew he was talking. "Why then do you send me to my defeat?" The king sat forward to the edge of his great chair and spoke:

"I would never dream of doing such a thing to you. It is together that we shall prevail." The captain could see the king meant his words, but could not quiet his own doubting voice. "But sire, how shall we win this war when our enemy is cloaked in darkness and unseen until he strikes? Besides, so many others have failed!"

The king smiled and said, "You still do not understand the chain of command. All you have to do is ask it of me and all of my resources are yours to take into battle. This is something others have failed to do, precisely because they did not want to see themselves as needing help. They were mistaken, weren’t they?"

Completely taken off guard by the implications of this comment, the captain started to say, "Are you telling me that all. . .?" when the king interrupted him: "Yes, good captain, that is exactly what I am telling you. All you have to do is ask."

The king continued: "Now then, you just see to it that you go out there and fight the good fight. I will see to it that you have not only all the light you need to proceed, but that it will exceed the power of any darkness you may encounter there upon the field of battle. That is my part in the plan."

Before we close our chat tonight I will explain several ways in which you can learn to call upon a living Light that is greater than any darkness you may have to face.

What do you feel like discussing? What struggles can we shed light upon that will help you grow and go higher? If you will keep your questions real, personal, and to the point -- resisting the temptation to be speculative or to otherwise ask merely curious questions -- then our time together will be extra profitable. So, let's get started. What is on your mind tonight?

Thomas: You say the King asks us to fight the darkness, but didn't he create it?

GF: The King is a real mystery, isn't He?! However, if you want to know a little bit from yourself about this play of Light and dark forces, venture out onto the battlefield as the captain was invited to do in the story. The true answer as to why the play between these eternal forces is only realized in one's disappearance into their unified state. More than this I can't say.

Thomas: Why did God pit such a horrible force against mankind?

GF: Nothing that God made works against God's life and His plan for us in this life.

Kraig: When facing that "dark night of the soul" which has been talked about by you and others, I'm wondering what suggestions you could give for someone at this particular fork in the road. I have been pulled away before from the path (I did it). There is nowhere else to go anymore; the "world" has no answers. Your opening statement did answer some of this… please elaborate.

GF: When a man reaches a True gap in his work where of himself he is incapable of going further and yet the interior impulse will not allow him to walk away from the gulf he stands over, there is nothing for him to do other than become fully aware of his nothingness. This is a strange remedy to the one standing there, but when he reaches the other side he'll realize it was Reality Itself that took him there.

Kat: My husband has a terminal disease. He has a difficult time feeling as if nothing threatens him. How can you address this specifically?

GF: If you are saying that your husband is in denial about his terminal condition, the only thing you can do for now is to be kind and patient while you wait for his inevitable breakdown when he finally has the shock of realizing his condition. Then you must support him by not participating in his fear. This will take courage on your part -- not to sink in his sorrow -- but do this and you will both grow from this challenge.

Kat: My husband is not in denial about his terminal condition, but at times he does get scared. How should he look at this and spiritualize this?

GF: Try to help him (and yourself) to understand that all fears are the creation of unconscious negative imagination. Once this is grasped, that a part of our mind projects negative conditions for the purpose of generating a frightened sense of self, then we know what to do when these punishing parts of ourselves are active. Come awake in the present moment and do not participate in this form of unconscious self-punishment.

Kat: Thank you, Guy. But how do you answer this: If you know you're going to die, possibly soon, how do you believe there is nothing to fear? How do you believe that knowing you're going to die of a terminal disease is not reality?

GF: Don’t "try" not being afraid. There is no such state. Watch yourself and – as best possible – "die" to the fear as it comes up. Remembering yourself and your wish for God’s Life will strengthen your ability to properly surrender, which you must do.

somedude: Is the meaning of "you get what you ask for" linked to us making decisions from our false self, and therefore everything we get is an answer to something that was fundamentally flawed in the first place?

GF: Yes, basically that's the negative implication in the popular phrase "you get what you ask for." There is also a positive side to this thought in that as we learn to ask for what is genuinely Higher in life, the same parts of us that make this request are fulfilled not only as they wish, but when their wish is fulfilled by Law.

Bonj: Regarding "Teachings of the Timeless Kindness: Compensation": All of creation is in balance - up/down, hot/cold. Can God exist without evil? If creation is in balance, does evil have the same power as goodness?

GF: You have to see these archetypes not as in competition with one another but in fulfilling one another. The darkness is transformed by the Light that enters into it, enlarging the realm of Light and its awareness of what was formerly unseen. This is a cosmic story as well as a personal one taking place in our own consciousness if we're willing to make the discovery.

Eric: Was Jesus an ordinary man who "awakened" and thus became a Real Man and a Real Teacher, or was there actually something more to him? Was he one-of-a-kind even amongst the conscious circle of humanity?

GF: There is no question that Jesus lived in a human body and suffered all of the things that human beings must, including doubts and misgivings. Having said this, there was nothing ordinary about this being and it's of little doubt that his life, the one he invited us into, was not of a personal nature but a Divine one.

Ann: What suggestions do you have for clearing the mind of despondent, heavy, toxic thoughts and worries? I've been a student of the Universal Laws for years, yet for the last several months I've had a difficult time getting a handle on my thoughts. Sometimes death seems like the only workable option, yet I'm not ready for that.

GF: The only way we can free ourselves from such ruinous interior relationships as you've described in your present psychic state is to bring enough Light to bear within us, real self-awareness, so that we may see that these dark thoughts and feelings provide us with nothing but a false sense of self as we resist their presence. Weary of that sense of self and the suffering that creates it, and it will disappear.

Ann: Thanks. Do you have any practical suggestions for transmuting the toxic thoughts?

GF: Take no action whatsoever towards any toxic thought except to see it as being exactly that. Our awareness is the action of Light and does the transformation of what comes into it by itself. Our task is to be willing to bear what happens within us as we experience these transformational moments brought about by bringing this Light to bear on whatever darkness is present.

Thomas: What can I do about my memory? It seems to just dump after each lesson.

GF: The question you've asked indicates a small bit of growth on your part. Seeing that we can't remember ourselves, that we cannot retain the Light we wish to but fall into the darkness we know betrays us, reveals a small bit of spiritual memory at work. Make it your aim and refresh it daily to stay with one small spiritual lesson all the way. Work! Work! Work!

sacto: I recently left a big corporate job to focus on self-work. The economy went down and my new consulting job is not giving me any work. In all this, I am finding that I am now without an identity. No, "me the leader," no "me the smart guy," etc. I plan to stick with this crisis, but would love any advice you have to offer.

GF: There is no contradiction whatsoever in taking responsibility for our practical affairs even as we put first in our lives our wish for a Real Life. Take the practical steps you must to ensure you have the food and shelter that you need. These things don't have to be fancy, but they do have to be there to allow you some quiet. Other than this, don't let your spiritual aim punish anyone else near you.

sacto: My practical affairs are in order, so no issue there, and I will be watchful of others. Any word of warning as I deal with this lack of identity? I can sense that my old ways would like to assert a new me again. How do I stop them?

GF: It's important to understand that our divided mind requires having some image by which to gaze upon itself in order to know itself. All identity construct is this pursuit. When life shatters these structures of thought, the thought-nature immediately jumps in to rebuild "Humpty Dumpty." If you want to be free, watch this self seek a new identity and deny it its course by keeping its actions in the light of your awareness.

Roy: In working with imagination and visualization, is there proper use of these faculties that can lead to useful truths about ourselves, and are they related to the development of our intuition?

GF: As with all things, working with imagination and visualization have their limitations and operating ranges that are mostly connected to lower levels of ourselves. Visualizing a great golf shot can help. But you cannot and must not visualize the nature of Goodness nor imagine what the Kingdom of Heaven is about. Use each tool in its proper place and there's no problem.

Roy: What role then does intuition have to seeking the Kingdom of Heaven? Is it a means to this end, or a natural result of the outcome? Or is this just thought playing with thought as I'm so fond of doing?

GF: In one respect, all things are a "means" to "ends," while in another sense, meaning at another level, each "end" realized becomes the next means. Seed to flower to fruit and back to seed again.

Rocky: I have always been a "visual" type person who understands best from graphic images and symbolic instructions. What is the nature of "levels"? How does one understand the nature of levels? In the November 1999 chat you said, "There can't be two without there being one. Two comes from one. God is one. He expresses two." Does that mean the Tao (the black and white) and God (all those three things) are within us? Would it be correct if I say the Tao is God? It expresses in light and dark. What I don't understand is which one sees the darkness in us. Is it the white side of the Tao or God Himself when we are trying to be awake in the present?

GF: Many of your assumptions are correct. The number three has always represented a special order of trinity inherent in the wholeness of the Godhead. Our work which you can understand must be in levels. Just as one goes through school preceding from one order of knowledge to the next, so does our being exist in levels. This inclusive consciousness is the home of the "many mansions" that Christ spoke of being in his Father's Kingdom. Our task, if we agree to work upon ourselves for the purpose of coming into a God-centered life, is to realize this wholeness, this trinity, this triad of inter-active forces within ourselves. Our True Nature contains all that exists at all levels in the universe, and it is possible for us to become conscious of these constituent parts and their relationship with one another.

Freeman: What do you know about Tony Robbins "Personal Power"?

GF: Actually, I know nothing about it.

Dieter: What is the experience that many Christians say they have when they repent of their sins and come to Christ? They say they feel set free, etc.

GF: Mostly this highly emotional, often sentimental state is the simple momentary and temporary release of the opposites within them. This isn't to denigrate those who do wish to repent their "sins," because real remorse is indeed a critical aspect of one's development along the Path to perfection in God's Life.

HCook: Would we be able to grow if we eliminated all negative things from this world?

GF: No. The earth itself is charged negatively. Negative forces are not the same as (and must not be seen as) being the same as the destructive force of hatred and fear. These negative states are aberrations in the workings of and the interactions between what are genuinely positive and negative states working to transform one another and the world that rises from this mix.

somedude: What do you know about the prayer of Jabez? (This is also a recent best seller.)

GF: I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the prayer of Jabez.

somedude: I once came across a title from Vernon Howard's material named "Why you shouldn’t help anyone." I cant find this tape anymore and would like to know what he meant.

GF: There are ways in which we can help others grow, and then there are ways in which we steal from them the possibility and the opportunity of that same growth. Learning to tell the difference between that which helps and that which hinders someone is part of the fruit of one's growth in awareness and the conscience that dwells therein.

Freeman: If we do not fight for justice against evil people, won’t things get worse?

GF: Let those who want to fight that fight, fight.

sassy: I have been studying truth for many years and yet there are times when I seem to get caught up in daily life and forget until something painful happens and seems to wake me up for a moment. Is it possible to stay awake and not forget?

GF: Oh yes. That's the whole point of the work that we are doing. The big difference is (and do try to see this) that for many of us, wanting to be awake is a passing desire instead of a genuine and deep need in the center of us. The real work on this planet has always been about shaking us free from self-pleasing images so that we may begin to truly hunger and thirst for a Light within us that is never apart from us. It exists. Seek it.

Bonj: In "Timeless Kindness" you said, "Ask and you shall receive [from the Bible]. There is no time between asking and receiving." Can you expand and explain what you mean?

GF: Here's an example: The heart that asks for someone that hurt it to be hurt instantly receives the pain it asks that someone else have. There is no time that exists between the mirror and the image in it. On the other hand, the heart that longs to know Real Love and asks for this has already received some of that Love because the wish itself arising in that person's heart comes from Love itself.

mikejb35: In one of your tapes you said that evil can be properly used to bring good. Can you explain more?

GF: Haven't you ever expressed something evil, for instance maybe you spoke in haste in a cruel fashion to someone you love? Or perhaps you found yourself wanting to punish a person for what they did to you? If in these moments you caught yourself doing what is dark, didn't you suddenly have a kind of right remorse? This kind of conscious pain over causing others pain is a form of goodness from badness.

Dieter: Is God a real person or entity? Should He be worshipped? What is worship and who should be worshipped?

GF: With all due respect, there is no answer to these questions. Not that they can't be answered, but that until you have answered some of these issues in a more meaningful way than just superficial mentation, no answer can really quiet your mind.

goombah: Have you heard of Byron Katie? If so, what so you think of her?

GF: No, I'm not familiar with Byron Katie. And may I just add one thing to the rest of this comment: There really is no value whatsoever in asking my opinion of others. I know this doesn't make much sense, but if you can understand that it is your life/my life that we are talking about here, then concerns over anything outside of these issues serve nothing of value.

Tweety: How do you ask when all there is in you is pain and confusion?

GF: I know that you're referring to the story I gave at the beginning of the chat and urge you to stay until the end and read the answer to your question as to how one learns to ask for the Light when all there is is darkness and pain. There is a way. You will find it here if you will follow the little part of you that longs to be truly free regardless of the cost to self.

Ruth: Is it normal to have a low-grade sense of anxiety or drive at all times?

GF: Try to see the punishment in the word "normal." It's normal for a wolf to howl at the moon, but human beings shouldn't. It's normal for a spiritually sleeping human being to accept low-grade anxiety as a form of motivation, but for a man or woman awakening to themselves, this kind of interior pressure is seen to be the unconscious punishment that it is.

friend: It has been almost two years since I last saw you. We've spoken on the phone once or twice since. You helped me when I needed it the most. I'm having a hard time keeping my mind on the work. Do you have any suggestions that might help me "stay awake" on a daily basis?

GF: No matter what, make the time each morning to either sit quietly and watch yourself, do an exercise in attention (such as given in some of our talks), or at the least read from a Right book. Take these moments into the whole of you so that when you get ready to leave for work you can do the Work interiorly of working to carry with you the new atmosphere. Don't give up. Set tasks.

somedude: What is it about human nature that always wants to "push the envelope"? For example, the rule says 55mph, I go 60. The start time is 9 am, I show up at 9:15.

GF: In this case, the unconscious love of suffering.

Saithial: Shamanism, the magic mushroom, psilocybin, DMT, pineal gland… what are your thoughts on awakening consciousness through natural psychoactive hallucinogens? And what do you say to this being a possible cause or catalyst for the beginnings of present religions and/or evolving consciousness?

GF: These things you have mentioned relative to psychoactive drugs are not a part of this Work or the Path it prescribes. It has been suggested that certain schools existed wherein one's essence was liberated or otherwise released through special substances, but this, if it's true, is very dangerous and must not be tinkered with by sleeping beings such as constitutes the mass of today's so-called teachers.

Ricardo: I have had this question for some time. I love spiritual growth, but I wonder how spiritual it can be from a physical standpoint. I mean, if one is hurt and traumatized physically to a tremendous degree by evil people, and the nervous system is severely damaged, will our spiritual maturity remain, or will we become just dysfunctional "animal" pieces of what was once a human being? I've thought on this for years, but I'd like to know your point of view.

GF: If your question is theoretical, throw it away. Such considerations are the action of negative imagination and as such do the very damage you wish to allay by asking what you do. If the question is personal and true for you, then you may be assured that there is nothing under the sun that God can't make right. Nothing. Everything depends on one's sincerity.

Randy: I find that the darkness in me is incredibly angry, spiteful, and unhappy. Do I embrace it, resist it, or just observe it?

GF: You must not sentimentally embrace negative states and you must not hostily resist such conditions. All negative states and their continuing presence within us are the results of our misunderstanding in what our relationship is with these sufferings. Observe them. Deliberately be indifferent towards them. Do not say "I" to them. Give them nothing but your attention and awareness. They will leave you.

Randy: Please comment on detachment. How do you try to "win" without it really mattering? Does one succeed by letting go of the "result"? Where does the motivation come from?

GF: As far as motivation is concerned, at some point one is motivated to win a race and then sees that all he wins for his racing is another chance to race again. That's the mind and how it works without our seeing it. Detachment, natural letting go, is the fruit of seeing the futility in trying to secure a permanent sense of self by participating in a world whose nature is change and impermanence. Think on these things.

mikejb35: Can you speak more about the awakening of intuition?

GF: Intuition, Higher Intuition, is a natural and native element in Higher Consciousness. It is covered up now in us because of our being so occupied with lower functions of these same centers. One does not have to awaken intuition, one has to simply stop participating in the dream of self that keeps this Higher power buried.

somedude: Is that the same as knowing real pleasure/happiness from leaving a very uncomfortable/dark/physical painful state? Is it a must that we live a certain degree of our lives "lost" so that we may come to?

GF: The answer to the first question is "no." The second answer is that everything depends upon one’s level of development.

Katruh: Can we have an understanding of these spiritual concepts without actually being able to explain or express that understanding in words, or am I just fooling myself?

GF: The answer is yes, you can have such an understanding. One feels these things deeply and from this Higher emotional center there does comes a kind of "knowing." It is best though, if we wish to keep what we become conscious of, to bring all of our parts into play relative to this awakening understanding. Higher mind and Higher heart joined produce a kind of understanding that can be expressed as well as embraced.

somedude: There are times when I am talking with a very dear loved one and I get horrible images of things hurting them/hitting them, etc. I would never want these things, especially for these people. What is this?

GF: There are dark and malicious spirits that see you as a boarding house because you have left the doors open to their presence. You must, if you really wish to be a consciously decent man, see what I have said here.

Raci: I just finished reading Seekers Guide To Freedom. It is a wonderful book and has been very helpful in opening many new doors of understanding for me. Thank you for writing it for us.

GF: Thank you. I have received many nice notes already about my new book and I'm glad you find it of value in your Work.

Kraig: So what is the best way to cultivate the art of asking the right questions in order to get what we really desire as opposed to getting the results we do not want?

GF: We must learn what it means to first be aware of the nature within us that makes the request, that "asks" the question. Sometimes, anxiety will ask, "How do I become free of rushing?" Anxiety does not want to come to the end of rushing, so the question really forwards the designs of this dark state and that dark state gets an immediate answer as it runs us around. Try to see this.

BNevrgivup: Recently I entered a discussion regarding the existence of God, and the point was made that man is the only animal who asks or believes this. The example was given that if God existed, He would reveal Himself to the world and evil would cease to exist. Could you comment on this?

GF: I speak for myself personally in this answer and do not pretend to answer for you. I never would spend ten seconds in such a theoretical philosophical free-for-all. Stimulating? Most likely. Valuable? Only to the parts of us that enjoy the fast spin cycle in a washing machine.

friend [Joe]: I never felt so alive as when I helped build the Life of Learning Foundation. How do I get this feeling of truth and belonging back?

GF: Get your affairs in order and return here to help us do this Work. If that is impossible, then remember your wish ten thousand times a day and do away with any other part of you that tells you this wish is out of reach.

James1: I realized in adolescence that there were parts of me (personally) that were very ugly. This contributed to a very strong identity (shaped my nature) into someone that deserved very little. I therefore want or love nothing. My actions/thoughts reflect this. How do I wish to love something/someone?

GF: Don't spend one more minute dwelling on what was in your life. Drop every dark remembrance that pushes itself into your mind over what it calls ugly and drags before your inner eyes. Be vigilant with this. Then while this is in place, as best you can, remember the Love that you wish to remember. Center yourself in this distant longing and let it soak in your awakening will. Keep this wish before you at all times.

Eric: Lately, some of the things I say or do have a sort of "bad taste" to them -- simple things, like trying to be funny, or thinking something behind someone's back. Should I let go and try not to identify with any of these "bad tastes"?

GF: This is a good sign what you are saying you now start to "taste" in your day-to-day life. Sometimes these negative states that are indwelling pop out before we even know they intend to inflict some kind of casualty. Just watch them. Do not condemn yourself for your missteps. Such self-laceration is simply a secret extension of the same negative state that tastes bad.

ARNOLD: The link between thoughts and feelings (fears mostly) is obvious evidence they rule. I can see them, but there's nothing I can do to stop and be silent. I am forced to live a life fabricated by my own doing.

GF: You are not forced to live any form of darkness that you wish not to. The wrong parts of us do everything they can to convince us of the inevitability of such an outcome as you've described. But these parts only succeed with their punishments by getting us to identify with the feelings they bring with them and pass through us. Order "Secrets of Cleansing Heart, Mind, and Soul" from this Website. It will help you with this. If it doesn't, return it.

Thomas: I have been looking at people’s faces and have actually seen the redness of what seems to be tension on the skin of their face. As I gaze at it, the tension seems to flow from them and right past me into nothingness. Does this seem plausible, or am I spacing out?

GF: I have no doubt that you see the tension in others' faces. The rest of it, regardless of what may or may not happen because of your gaze, is of no concern, or at least should not be of concern to you. Just take care of what you can do in your own awakened moments and let what comes out of them take place without going to sleep in considering them.

Tweety: I'm often influenced by unseen negative states in other people, and don't know how to handle this properly.

GF: Just recognizing this tendency in yourself is a fine beginning for learning how to rise above it. Start with watching how certain parts of you actually want to dive in and start thinking about what other people are thinking about. Come awake at these moments and steal this activity from yourself by deliberately dropping it. This will be a good beginning for you.

sassy: Just when I think I have come to terms with anger, something happens and it seems stronger. It is scary.

GF: That's all right. Never mind that it often feels like one step forward, two steps back. That's just a phase on the Path that belongs to the parts of us that still believe we can overpower what has been overpowering us. Gradually you will have enough shocks of this sort to realize your right relationship with this anger is to never give it another ounce of your attention apart from simply being aware of it when it passes through.

renee: Many people talk in terms of right or wrong, good or evil; is this the false self thinking in these terms? Is our true nature (who we really are) neither right or wrong, good or evil, but more balanced… neutral? From this vantage point, can we then see our contradictions within us and finally be free of the false self (no pendulum swinging)?

GF: At one level, what you are stating is true. Claims of right and wrong, good and evil -- such as we are immersed within and ultimately punished by -- are creations of the comparative mind, in some ways necessary just to navigate this planet of opposites. But there is a Real Good that is not an opposite of anything, but that contains all such opposites such as you have pointed out as being the source of so much pain and conflict.

somedude: Almost everything I have an honest passion for seems to be "not available" in my area. Does this mean I should relocate, despite my loved ones being here, or are these interests wrong?

GF: These are questions you must decide upon alone and in the privacy of your heart's true longings.

WeirdUncleFred: By continually awakening ourselves and remaining in the light as much as possible, is this the path of eternal progression that will lead us into eternity, much as a spiral galaxy keeps expanding?

GF: The path only seems to be of a "progressive" nature due to the limited ways in which our nature perceives the passage of time. Physics today realizes all things are expanding from the center of all things, which expresses the idea that we don’t so much grow as we realize our center everywhere.

sacto: I am finding that without a structure -- like a normal job with it's demands, or like school with it's regular schedule, or even with friends and the commitments we make with them -- I have very little drive. It seems that I have been getting my motivation from others, and now I seek my own. I have not found it yet. You mentioned once that we should try to remember what we really want in life, like when we were kids, but I just can't remember. How can I begin?

GF: This is a natural and spiritually healthy stage brought on by the conditions you now face. Be as patient as you can help yourself to be. Something may be fermenting beneath the "soil" of your (consciousness) that will show itself soon. Stay quiet. Do nothing with the struggle to "become" something and let Something come to you. It will. Then follow, starting over and over again.

Scofield: I find that the more I "sit back and relax," the more I learn. Just letting my mind rid itself of it's waste, I can start to begin seeing the "Light."

GF: Yes, the truth is that the light -- in every sense of the word -- is always raining down upon us. We just have too many different colored umbrellas called self-fascination.

jaybird: Leo Tolstoy once said: "Beware of everything which puts an obstacle between you and God." Sound wisdom, indeed. Often, however, these obstacles are extremely subtle and quite difficult to detect. Can you offer some helpful guidelines to becoming awake to these barriers?

GF: One must learn to "taste" these things. For instance someone who has become identified with an insight about Real Life feels that he considers the Truth when the truth is he has built an unseen cage for himself out of the light he saw. Subtle! But never too much for the willing soul who will let go over and over again for the sake of a God-Centered life.

NIC: Would you offer the most important steps to take to discover one's true calling with regards to a person's choosing the right career in life?

GF: The best I can offer given these format limits is to suggest (strongly) that you order (from this Website) audiotape #463. It is entitled: "Fulfill the Real Purpose and Promise of your Life." If it doesn't shed some light on your question, just return it for a full refund, no problem.

somedude: Do you know of any REAL benefit from practicing internal energy exercises? There are countless stories of "masters" of this art accomplishing great humble feats and I’m wondering if this is worthwhile or superficial and meaningless?

GF: As with all such questions, all depends upon one’s real intentions.

jaybird: In The Seeker's Guide To Self-Freedom, you state: "There is no condition which can hold you captive without your unconscious cooperation." This truly strikes a chord with me. Can you elaborate a bit further in explaining how I might be unwittingly aiding and abetting my inner slave masters?

GF: Most of our feeling like a captive is born out of some form of undetected attachments that we have to ideas or images about ourselves and this life. These attachments are so compelling because we (unconsciously, of course) derive a strong – but false – sense of "I" from them. Notice when you feel stuck what it is you are actually in relationship with in that moment – after you realize that it is not the condition that captures you, but what that "you" wants from it.

Lightseeker: How can I remember who I am when I get tired and hungry and cranky? This state seems to run away with me, and I lash out at those I love. Then when I come to myself, I feel terrible. How can I stop this cycle when I can't eat and sleep more?

GF: I know how this sounds, but it is the way: Try, try, again. There is a secret in this willingness to go back onto the spiritual battlefield. Scripture says it best, I think: "My grace is sufficient for thee because in thy weakness is my strength made perfect."

rousseau: I asked about transcendental meditation before, and your response I still remember: "a mechanical path cannot bring one to God realization" or something to this end. When I read the "Science of Being" more thoroughly, I realized that Maharishi says that TM is a mechanical (insinuating automatic) method to God realization along with all the other gentle physiological effects it has. I was glad you pointed that out.

GF: Excellent. Remember always that our "task" is not to create consciousness, but to remember its indwelling presence and to place ourselves under and within its accord.

ok: The secret of letting go… does that also mean of our job too (saying we’re unhappy with it), even though it may cause us to risk losing our home or such?

GF: Everything depends upon what a person realizes as his position in the moment. One has certain duties in life, depending upon his or her own past. Regardless of circumstances, however, I learn to let go wherever I am because if I can’t change some things (because of commitments that must be met to be a good father, etc.), then I CAN learn to let go of my resentments in the meantime.

GF: Let me recount a bit of the "Truth tale" I told at the opening of our meeting tonight, about the kingdom of "Goodness" and its bordering realm of darkness. Invasions of shadow-like creatures would often capture the citizens of Goodness and drag them off, back into the dark lands. We left off where the king of Goodness asked one of his trusted captains to go out and turn back this encroaching tide of darkness, to recapture these dark lands for the Light.

Near the end of their conversation -- after the captain admitted that he thought he could not hope to prevail in such an encounter -– the king reassured him: "You make the good fight and I will supply you with all the Light you need to succeed in defeating the darkness." Now let's see how this Royal Command can help us to overcome the dark moments in our lives.

Spiritual Light is what we need to have Real Success in life. This Light is not an imaginary force, yet we must learn to call upon its unseen strength. This Light is not the sentimental stirring of self-gratifying emotions, yet we must place our whole heart into its Presence. This Light empowers us to turn back what punishes us, but these powers do not belong to us.

In the New Testament, in Romans, Paul teaches, "Let every soul be subject unto Higher Powers." He instructs that to succeed with our spiritual wish to transcend the dark nature that defeats us at every turn -- where we act with cruelty instead of compassion, with selfishness instead of selflessness -- we must learn during these trials to call upon the Living Light.

We will touch on exactly what this idea means in a moment, but first, as a prerequisite to empowering ourselves with this rescuing Light, we must make clear to ourselves what it is within us that we are calling upon instead of these Powers of Goodness.

When things go wrong in our lives, we have a real tendency to go along with the wrong parts of ourselves. This means that we gravitate towards negative states such as anger to deal with the angry people before us, or we fall into fearful thoughts when faced with uncertainty. Our unconscious relationship with these dark states places them, by default, in temporary charge of our considerations.

What then is the solution? We must learn to call upon the Light already within us. But to do this, we must first remember that it is within our power to enlist these Friendly Forces, and not fall prey to trying to be a power unto ourselves. This is the Key. It also explains why the timeless idea of being awake to ourselves every moment is so vital in our quest for freedom.

One last Key lesson before we spell out some secret sources of the Light we can learn to call upon: Nothing we can hope to call upon -- to light our way -- can be any more successful for us than our willingness to put ourselves under its Perfect Powers. This means we must agree to be powerless to ourselves before we can hope to be empowered by something Greater than ourselves.

Consider closely the following sources of this Living Light that await your call upon them. Ponder all the lessons that they present, wish to learn their secrets, and then watch how their new powers come to go before you, helping you to win your own interior battles.

First, we can learn to call upon the Light of Real and Timeless Ideas. For instance, we can give our conscious attention to True Thoughts; reach out to touch their bright reality instead of allowing unconscious thought-forms to fill us with their dark misdirection. Self-victory begins with remembering that these inner relationships define us, and then choosing our company wisely.

We can learn to call upon the Light of our faith -- that still small but unshakable part of our understanding -- that quietly, repeatedly, tells us this Truth: Whatever it may be that a Good God brings into our lives must also be Good for us, even when we cannot see the truth of this Light in the temporary darkness of some unwanted and self-opposing event.

We can call upon the Light of remembering our right not to be negative, that we are created with the right to choose who will be our interior company. We can also call upon the Light of all those aspirants who have gone before us, evoking their memory while remembering our wish for freedom; recalling their willingness to work for this, and for us, regardless of the personal cost to them.

Lastly (but only because we are near the end of our time together tonight), we can learn to call upon the sheltering Light of our awareness of the Present Moment, always striving to remember that it is the nature of this True Awareness to oversee everything that falls within it -- which means that nothing is greater than it is.

For extra benefit you should make your own list of Lights to call upon. This kind of special pondering not only helps to produce Light in you, but also attracts to you the Higher Powers you hope to contact. Do your inner work. Remember the Living Light.

GF: Welcome everyone and Happy Holidays to you. I am sure that it is safe to say that worldwide, over the last few days, billions of people have made New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps you are one of these individuals who long to take control of their destiny: to be more kind, less lazy, better disciplined, or not be as selfish and self-centered.

But I would assert that every year, even as the total number of people who make these resolutions increases (due to growth in our population), there is also a steady decline in the number of people who hold out any real hope in their own powers to further perfect themselves. And it isn’t that their spirit isn’t willing -- only that the upward path before them seems too steep.

The truth is, most of us fall into both of these categories! We want to change our self but find it to be intractable -- with wants of its own that seem to easily outweigh our wishes to be self-determining. And so it is that we gradually reach that place in our lives where we recognize that simply coming up with more wishes is a waste. If we are to change, something else is needed.

With this honest assessment of our present situation in mind, let’s start by gathering the facts such as this one all-important idea that follows. Through it we will learn what is possible and what is not. And when, at the close of tonight’s chat, we return to these ideas to amplify some of the following vital points, you will see their significance even more deeply.

Change does not take place tomorrow. We do not lose weight, develop our art, or mysteriously become more kind or conscientious an hour from now. Either we change ourselves in the moment, or not at all. This is a challenging concept to grasp because our present mind, the way in which we see things take place around us, shows us that effect follows cause in a perceptible stream of time.

Madison Avenue advertising capitalizes on this, our perception of "before and after." We are sold the idea of becoming what we wish to be as time unfolds. In one sense, this is true. We do see the effects of our efforts to perfect ourselves appear before us in the passage of time. Yet too often we also witness these same changes evaporate as time moves on. We need to understand why.

These visible, physical manifestations of self-change are themselves merely the effects of what are invisible, spiritual principles. And without coming to understand these higher principles, then self-change, if it occurs at all, is either accidental or temporary -- the effect of some passing desires whose energies, once spent, return us right back to the shape of our former self.

If we would do better, we must know better, beginning with the following Higher Knowledge that we must have before it’s possible to make any resolutions with any reliability:

It is our attention that produces and empowers change in us. Said in slightly different words, those things that manifest themselves in our lives are what we have given our attention to.

For example, if our attention is given over to angry emotions, then soon this same attention is swimming in a dark sea of negative thoughts that serve only to justify the growing waves of rage within us. The inevitable outcome of this kind of captured attention is an outburst or attack upon someone. We manifest the misery we make though unconscious attention. It is a Law.

So, in returning to our theme of making some resolve that we won’t get angry anymore, or that we will help others instead of hurting them, this much should be clear: Until we learn what it means to be in conscious command of our attention, our disappointments and heartaches must continue. Again, this is all under Law. Now, to this knowledge we must add a few more fascinating facts.

The power of attention is, in itself, strangely indiscriminate. What this means is that our attention, of itself, cares neither for what it alights upon, nor what it calls into creation through its power to manifest. For proof of this fact, we need only watch for five minutes the scattered operations of our own mind.

We attend to virtually any thought or feeling flying through us, providing that it supplies us with some particular sense of self. Our attention to these vagrant states increases their vitality. Their growing strength only serves to deepen our unconscious identification with their presence -- and so we produce our own punishments. But this is another story to be told at a later date.

What is important now -- if we wish to elevate the content and quality of our lives -- is to understand how to take conscious command of our own attention. Until we can realize this power, the only kind of changes there can be for us will revolve around where our attention accidentally lands, and then what we are obligated to go through as a result of this relationship.

At the close of our chat tonight I will pass along some additional Knowledge regarding what we must understand about ourselves before we can make any real changes in ourselves.

What would you like to discuss this evening? What ideas can we talk about that will be helpful to you and everyone with us tonight?

jmiller: When you described that attention is simply roaming around in us, churning out a lower life until we choose to want to work with it - what is the inner exchange that is occurring spiritually, and why is it like listening for something so distant if it is so close?

GF: There is, in those for whom this is true, a "still, small voice." Call this what you will, there is within people who feel as we do, a certain unsettled power that attracts us towards something unseen. Last night in class, I spoke of this topic of attention and awakening. The talk is titled "New Knowledge to Create a New You." E-mail Chris through the website if you want to get this talk. It’s helpful.

3: After 18 years of chewing tobacco, I have stopped. This seems to be the most difficult thing to do. Any suggestions?

GF: When the desire comes up in you to do what you don’t want to do, at that moment do your best to take your attention off of the promise in the pleasure imagined in these moments and remember instead your real wish, which is to be free. If you do this properly, your remembering of this intention will include recalling how much distaste you have for doing self-destructive actions. Work at it.

markus: Isn’t the self that desires to quit chewing tobacco or to be nice to customers or not to eat the tenth cookie the same false self that desires to do those things?

GF: Within us there is an Intelligence that knows better than to destroy itself. Our Aim is to first awaken to this Wise Self, and then come into compliance with its Life.

Roy: In a recent talk you said "all thought is memory." This brought up two questions for me: What about creativity? Is true creativity only when we can "consciously remember"? And, can "selfishness" then be described as being immersed in an "unconscious sea of memory," deriving a sense of self from thinking of past experiences?

GF: I think you have said this fairly well. True creativity always involves our awakened relationship with the Higher parts of ourselves that are receiving direct impressions from on High. Selfishness is a form of the unconscious mind seeking outside of itself for the fulfillment of yet another self-created image that is empty and void -- therefore, it must cling all the more to such pictures.

Roy: Then I suspect that there is little in art that is truly creative. Can I pursue this creative state then by working with attention as you described in the opening comments? And in this context could it be said that to be truly creative is the same as being "un-selfish"?

GF: Yes, our task is to place ourselves, to be willing to give ourselves over to whatever that creative longing is in our heart that calls to us. If we will do our part, that which has called us will not fail to come to us. When it does, we know it for what it presents within us and the sense of promise that is fulfilled in us by its presence.

seeker: I know I have become a better person from listening to you, and my spirit is increasing. My problem is that I keep trying to "fix" my life (marriage, career, money)! Why do I still let the feeling that "nothing is going to change unless I make it happen" rule me? Deep down I know I always felt abandoned by life and everyone in it. How do you trust and hope for things "unseen"?

GF: The question you’ve asked is one that everyone who is sincere upon the Upper Path must eventually ask. I’ll rephrase it for you: How do I keep my life going and at the same time enter into a relationship with my God? What’s troublesome to us is why these two aspects of what should be one life seem to be in conflict with one another. The issue isn’t what we take it to be. We must be active in this life in order to learn from it. But there’s a big difference between the process of discovery in our relationships and trying to prove ourselves in them. That’s the real rub. If it weren’t for parts of us pursuing ways to perpetuate who we have been, what we’ve known, and what we think we have to have to be happy, there would be no contest between what now seem disparate paths.

CD: How do you know when it’s time to enter into a relationship with a woman? I mean, how do you know it’s life’s want and not yours … false self trying to complete itself, etc.? It seems I always drive women away by becoming too needy. I know its not the right thing to do, but I keep doing it. Any suggestions?

GF: Yes. It is a very dangerous aspect of one’s inner work where through the fear of what I will learn about myself I stop doing the things that I want to do because of what I’ll see doing them. There’s no avoiding the "battle" that must take place between certain desirous aspects of self and their hindering effect in our development. Vernon Howard taught "the way out is through." Stay awake and jump in! You’ll learn. You’ll change.

jill: How can people have a relationship with each other if there is no spiritual awareness? It seems to me that it is destined to end because each is trying to fill their own desires.

GF: Surely you can understand that human beings have relationships based on all manner of conditions - physical, cultural, traditional -- the list goes on and on. Now, the question is as to whether these relationships can develop, and you’re right, they can go no farther because there is nothing deeper in them than the elementary laws that attract such people to one another.

asa27: But what if bad people flock to me because of my easy going nature? Does that mean I am the one who is attracting them?

GF: There is no relationship between being "easy going”"and being weak or gullible. Buzzards do not fly around the heads of living lions.

CD: How do I keep out thoughts of needing a certain somebody in my life? I know it’s the opposites working in me. Some insight into this would be a great help.

GF: Look at it like this: trying not to think about someone is like trying not to see something that you are holding up in front of your own eyes. Instead of struggling to be free of this condition, study what is going on in you that is creating it. Only this can cancel the opposites.

Judy: You commented to someone last month that we should not concern ourselves about thoughts regarding what happens to us after we die. It’s difficult not to, considering that this world is just a learning experience and not the main event (thank God). I realize that we’re supposed to live for the moment while we’re here, but what’s wrong with looking forward to our final destination?

GF: When one truly knows the fact of something, there can be no fear in that person concerning such a fact. Try to see this. It is fear mostly that wants to see into a personal future for assurance that the self doing the seeing will be there in that future. All I can tell you is that this self, this false self that fears the end of itself, has never existed in Reality and cannot make itself real by imagination.

Jason: I have found that it seems easier to remember myself and my wish to live a God-centered life in the evening hours after the day has passed and most of my energy has been spent. How can I better remember myself and my aim when I need them the most?

GF: If you don’t already take a certain amount of time every morning to do the inner work of remembering yourself and placing your wish for God to be in your life, then by all means, begin tomorrow. Everything is under law, in all worlds. What we give our attention to at one point itself extends past that point. All things have a kind of mass and momentum, including one’s wish to stay awake. Start sooner and work harder.

asa27: The idea of mass and momentum seems somewhat frightening when considering the bad we are subject to and have already within us. What can I do to use this momentum and mass for the good only?

GF: Everything begins with becoming conscious of what we are connected to. Just as downward trending forces have their "mass and momentum" so too do upward spiraling energies have their attraction -- and by working to stay inwardly connected with these forces of Light, we not only disconnect ourselves from what is dark and headed "down," but rise as we do.

jill: When I get what I want, it turns into a nightmare. I truly see that this thing I thought that would make me happy is a nightmare and I am becoming more and more unsure of these ideas when they come. I don’t know what to rely on anymore because the unhappiness that I feel when I get what I want is unbelievable. Is this normal?

GF: Not only is what you are going through normal for someone who wishes to become Real, it is mandatory. You should be grateful that the parts of you that produce what used to be sweet dreams are now incapable of hiding the inherent punishment in all such unconsciously pursued opposites. Just keep watching while keeping your wish alive to learn the Truth of yourself. All is well.

jill: Is finding out your ideas of happiness are the cause of your unhappiness over and over again the growth you are supposed to experience in life?

GF: Discovering this unconscious dynamic that has been driving one’s life is the beginning of the end of the reign of that nature. As the mind awakens to its own unconscious contradictions, it gradually ceases to participate in that process. It slows down, and silence takes the place of futile activity.

rlg: What is "self"?

GF: Essentially, "self" is a construction of past experiences having been stored in thoughts and emotion. But it is also that which looks back upon these same conditioned aspects and then measures itself from them. Lastly, it is a required feature in this life, i.e. the formation of personality, to interact with conditions of a physical and psycho/social nature.

rlg: Isn’t that what you call the "false self" and what we are trying to get away from? Then what is the "true self"?

GF: Yes, the false self is a term I have used. Other traditions give it different names, but all defining the same illusory nature. I don’t want to limit the idea of True Self which is all words can do, but I will pass along one thought concerning it: True Self never has to think about itself in order to know its own existence.

asa27: Why do we feel happy when we have fleeting moments of anticipated future happenings? It seems so strong and real. Is this OK, or totally wrong?

GF: One of the ways in which “self” supplies itself with pleasant sensations is through the process of imagination. It projects an image that it fills with content from its own past and then as it gazes upon this content-rich image, derives a sense of pleasure from this relationship. The caveat is the image is unreal and so is the self that feels real for gazing upon it.

forsthaus: It has been my understanding of the work that it is a process and not a goal. Yet, I hear constant references to someone being enlightened or having achieved enlightenment. Is there such a state? Is this just a common misconception?

GF: First, the whole of this life is itself (in this physical reality) a constant process of unfolding. Therefore, because of this nature of change, it may be said our task is to be willing to awaken and not to be concerned with what it is we awaken to. On the other hand, in Real Time, all is done. "It is finished," as Christ said, referring both to his work for the moment and the world into which he ascended. Forget about enlightenment to come. Be awake now.

asa27: Do all people who leave a long relationship need time to be by themselves first? Is it a must that the first person after that is only a rebound?

GF: Everyone is different. There are no rules relative to the amount of time it takes to heal, nor is any relationship following a broken one necessarily a rebound.

ADB: Is it possible to have developed/created a false self around a relationship such as a long-term marriage - a false self that is certain distancing behaviors and fear-based behaviors that keep a person from being especially close to their partner? If so, what can a person do to remedy this situation (beyond working at waking up)? Can a person apply the teachings in "Waking Up Together" to this?

GF: Yes, what you have said shows that you already know the truth of your own question. And as far as how to change such a conditioned, captive feeling relationship, the only way possible is for there to be an essential change in the nature of at least one of the parties involved. This should be obvious, as without such change, unconscious conditions must continue to dominate the relationship.

ADB: So to “change the nature” is to wake up as often as is possible? Is there more necessary?

GF: Changing ourselves begins with awakening to ourselves. As we see what is True and false, dark and Light within us, acting upon us and through us, we begin to learn what is in our power to do and what is not. Gradually, our awakening leads to our spiritual "dying" because part of our discovery is the realization that we are not the self we imagined ourselves into being. Then after this, there are still other stages.

Rocan: Is awareness God? When we wake up from our mind’s scenario, does that mean now we are in the presence of God? And are those awakenings registered in mind?

GF: Just as it can be said that water is the ocean, but at the same time not the ocean, so is it true that our awareness of God is God’s awareness of us. Try not to be concerned about particulars when it comes to understanding the overall promise of awakening one’s self into a God-centered life. If we will do our part of this Work, all that we need to know about that relationship will be given to us by the One who has given us His Life.

Bonj: Do words have power? Are there good words and are there bad words?

GF: You’ve heard the expression, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." This is true enough. Yet, it should be said that words are embodied vibration, and that vibration is the form of force, and that in this universe there are forces that are for our Real Life and those against it.

asa27: I can honestly say that I am one of the most honest, loving persons I know and yet people almost always get the wrong impression and fear me. I have even been fired from several "promising jobs" despite my high level of skill and integrity. Any advice?

GF: Sometimes it’s difficult to see ourselves as we really are. But this is the only hope we have. I learned long ago that anyone who was critical of me had already seen something about me that I hadn’t seen myself. Getting negative towards others and defending ourselves keeps us from using the great mirror that life gives us in which to see ourselves and then free ourselves from what we have seen that is untrue.

Barry: When you first started on the Path, perhaps when you began working with Mr. Howard, did you have a lot of the same questions that we as your chatroom participants have every month?

GF: Oh yes, and more. As the mind begins to be stirred by Higher Impressions, it suddenly feels like it has to know everything before it can be happy. This level of mind, this thought nature, is acting out all that’s available to it given its present level of knowledge. Our Work teaches us that thought cannot resolve the questions that thought brings up. Gradually, this becomes clear to us and we let go of our burning to know. Then new understanding flows in.

Eric: Does a person’s True Nature live forever?

GF: The simple answer to your question is yes. The difficult part is not mistaking the knowledge of the Eternal for what may be the conscious realization of it.

Dieter: You once said that Judas Iscariot was acting out a part in the betrayal of Jesus. Can you explain that further please?

GF: This is a broad subject, not terribly suited to this environment, but I’ll say one thing about the subject. Christ knew what Judas would do. Therefore, Judas could do nothing else, or the Great Drama would not have transpired as it did, teaching us what it does. It is thought possible that Judas knew ahead of time his role in this drama, something we can see might be true just as we can see we are about to do something we don’t want to but wind up doing it anyway. It just is written that way.

Dieter: Can the Foundation direct me to further information on learning more about the Great Drama? This sounds interesting!

GF: If you haven’t already listened to my new cassette album, "Secret Teachings of the Sacred Testament," I would get these three tapes and listen to the six talks upon them. They will help you understand more of this Great Drama of which we are invited to enter.

Kruger: If I am not to think of myself as either good or bad, then what is to be said of my evil actions?

GF: You’re confusing the ideas. New Age nonsense proffers up the trash that one is neither good nor bad, therefore, all things in life are fair game to it. It is the judgment of ourselves wherein we must not hate the darkness that we see within ourselves. You don’t have to "think" there’s something wrong when you’re doing it. One can feel, know, that wrongness without taking thought for himself or judging himself.

scofield: As I work on becoming "more awake," I am also realizing how many people there are that are truly "asleep”"-- people who think that they are all-knowing, religious leaders, etc. When approached with your thoughts, they tend to argue and try to emphasize their point or God’s way, i.e., being born again, scripture quotes, etc.

GF: Yes, this is very common, and part of your growing process is realizing to whom you should and should not speak of these principles. Christ Himself said, "Cast not your pearls before swine." The other point of this is that most people only know what is “true” by what they can press this knowledge against and call untrue. The more you see these types, the freer you will be from wanting to interact with them on these issues.

scofield: In regards to your answer, my father (who has now passed away) was also "very religious" and was quite leery of your teachings. He didn’t like the fact that you did not quote scripture nor did you have the physical verses outlined. It sends a chill down my spine to think that he may not have known the "Truth."

GF: All of us end up (in both senses of the word) becoming what is the secret core of our heart. If in our hearts God has put His Good, then we might make many mistakes (in life), but we will still rise because of the Light in us that lifts us this way. Ours is not to say (in cases such as you outline here) who has and who has not this Light. If you loved your father, remember him this way. If you didn’t, try to let go of whatever negative states remain in your heart towards him. This is loving at another level.

Panda: It appears correct that every moment has its own truth, thus a human being is a point of awareness to all the truths he has gleaned up until that moment which conditions the perceptions to the subsequent moments with their unique truths. In the absence of gleaning truths between moments is thought, which is a deceiver. Thus it seems that one just has to continually go through and forward, each new truth gleaned from that moment.

GF: It’s all about letting go. It’s the beginning, the middle, and the end. Our present self has to look at itself, think about itself, feel itself in order to continue itself in time. Our Real Self is Timeless and needs take no thought for itself or its actions.

asa27: Do you know if people who are mentally disabled can be helped by these understandings or do they simply "not count" because of their physical state? What are these people to do? They are in torment everyday and seem unable to "walk through" or be still. Any comment?

GF: Much depends upon why you ask this question. If it is an idle one, just wondering, it is a waste, and detrimental to your development. If, on the other hand, you know and care for someone such as you describe above, then follow your heart. If you wish them to be healed and to know some peace through the Truths you are finding, BE for that person what you wish for them - as this is probably the best that can be hoped for given their condition.

hudnut23: Yesterday I caught myself not in the Present Moment and thinking about my future in connection with a positive passion of mine. It didn’t turn painful, instead it became more like planning for something. My questions are: (1) How does one design their own destiny in a positive way if they don’t first think about it? (2) Is ambition the wrong and fearful way to go about taking responsibility for your own future? (3) Is all thinking about that future just something in me trying to give me a false sense of self?

GF: First, we have no self-determining destiny that can be found independently of what our attention is upon moment-to-moment. One can think about a practical requirement for "tomorrow" without forming a self in the process who’ll be enriched for the coming of that dream. Any sense of self that is created through identifying with a time to come is the seed of suffering.

Dieter: In your March chat room transcripts you responded to a question posted by Jonathan who said he was torn between two choices and wanted to know how he could determine the True One. Your answer confused me. You said that when we don’t know what to do we should do nothing. "Watch and see what happens. Watching works and action delivers." Is there a contradiction between "do nothing/watch" and "action delivers"?

GF: No, not at all. When things aren’t clear and it is possible for one to wait for clarity to appear, then this kind of waiting and watching is a form of action. How so? Because we are active inwardly towards the unconscious parts of ourselves that want us to just jump in and get it done so that this self can then feel in control again.

tweety: I work very hard to keep my attention on my inner state and outer conditions simultaneously while at work. Then a customer asks for their car and wants to pay later, and I get very excited, sarcastic, and heated up. What do I do with this state?

GF: As you work as you are describing, and gradually begin to recognize that under certain conditions certain unconscious aspects of your nature are going to pop out, you will learn how to be there "before" yourself. At that point, you will have the opportunity to begin to bear this nature, and in that state begin to die to these parts of yourself that presently pop up and push you around.

Kruger: Recently you said that, "Those with whom we assemble we will soon resemble is an immutable law." If this is an absolute then I am at a loss to understand everything you teach because life is full of negative influences. The only way to avoid them would be to isolate ourselves from everyone and everything, and I know you do not advocate that. So, how do we prevail in light of this immutable law

GF: Assembling with others does not mean simply being in the physical presence of people. For instance, one may assemble with a crowd of crazy thoughts in their own mind. One may assemble with a group of people whose common mindset it is to talk about how miserable life is. It is our inner position that provides either punishment or the possibility of realizing the promise of Freedom.

faust: Is the deduction that “there is no such thing as failure -- you just didn’t get the result you’d hoped for” a valid one? And if so/not, why do we carry this sense of failure around with us? Why do we allow this false sense of self to rob us of our true nature? We recognize the dark clouds, we know they pass, but the depth of the feeling is so great in some of us. We need strength.

GF: The truth is that there is no such thing as failure because of one beautiful, timeless fact: Nothing in the universe can prohibit you from learning whatever is necessary to change the conditions that formerly held you captive.

Wayne: I have been in a marriage for 19 years and for the last 6 years it has not been good. What criteria is the best to use to decide if it’s time to quit? We put up with each other and that’s it. Is a successful relationship one that lasts for a certain amount of time?

GF: Certainly nothing can be more difficult than knowing that something either has come to an end or must, especially when we have so much seemingly invested in it. A successful relationship is Timeless in that it is a place of nourishment, growth, and developing wisdom. This criteria we all know is the True one. What we must do is learn to be true to ourselves

rlg: My mother is very religious and what you would call a “Jesus freak.” When I mentioned these ideas to her, she flipped out and said I was into “New Age.” Now I am bombarded with narrow-minded books from her about the end times and how “many will come in my name.” How do I deal with this? I feel like religious people are very negative and try to keep others in fear.

GF: One can be kind to his mother without having to prove to his mother that he is right or that she is wrong. Learn what it means to separate yourself from conditions to which there is no possibility of joining yourself. Again, be kind. Don’t punish. Keep your distance spiritually.

jmiller: Have there ever been world leaders who were awake? If so, on what level did they fail… or succeed?

GF: There are some schools that attest to the fact that in certain ages there were a few individuals in positions of leadership that helped to facilitate the perpetuation of true schools and ideas. For instance, the architects of Notre Dame belong to a school that kept certain teachings alive through mathematical form. I’m sure there have been others.

Wuckei: I am more than 70 years old and often I have the feeling that some of my ancestors, especially my father, are near me. What can you say about the spirits of those who lived before us still being near in a friendly way?

GF: This is a great and mysterious universe that we live in. I have no doubt that it is multi-dimensional and that what we perceive as time is merely a cross-section of a greater reality. Nothing new can be created and nothing can be destroyed.

Beckycs: Recently, I have been experiencing a perplexing sense of being lost. Any situation or direction I even attempt to reach for in my life feels empty. It is kind of a “been there, done that” feeling. I feel like I am supposed to be doing something with it, but I am standing still and there is no path that indicates which direction to travel. So I have been waiting, but sometimes I am not sure that is what I am supposed to be doing either.

GF: These times where nothing seems to be stirring in our lives because of our willingness to no longer stir ourselves do not mean that all has come to a standstill. To the contrary, such moments in our lives may be the most rich in their possibilities. Imagine a seed sitting beneath the earth. It sees nothing and yet something in it knows it is intended to be doing what it is yet incapable of doing in its present state. Stay where you are.

adt: I’ve been divorced for a year and cannot seem to put my ex-wife’s current actions (the past I’ve dealt with) out of mind. I cannot manage to let them go and enjoy life (except for my time with the kids). Is there a "quick" way to focus on me without thinking of her current actions?

GF: If someone walked into your house uninvited and their very presence there was a pain to you, how long would you grant them permission to stay before you? Begin to see these recurring visitations of the images of your wife and her actions as unwanted guests who have no right to be in your house, meaning your mind and heart. Drop the thought. Leave it where it falls. Don’t pick it up again. Over and over you must do this.

Wayne: Power in communications - I always do my best to be soft spoken and polite in my demeanor of communication towards others, but this doesn’t always work (get results). When is it appropriate to use power (loud, strong words) to communicate? Please help.

GF: If by power you mean powered by a negative state, and you wish to have a God-centered life, then it is never appropriate to “use” such powers. Why? No one will consciously hurt himself. Picking up a negative state weakens the one who does so. This means the self that wants that kind of power is the negative nature itself hiding behind the idea of doing right. I hope this helps.

tweety: You say we must be in conscious command of our attention. How does this connect with anger that is always unconscious?

GF: Anger is a negative emotional energy that needs an image to dwell upon to sustain itself in our psychic body. This is where blame and self-justification come into the picture when we get upset. We need to take our attention back from these images of whom to blame, and instead place it upon being aware of what the fires in us are doing to us in the moment.

asa27: Is it wrong to love or be in love with people who have not made the transition into higher self or who seem too scared to start to break out of themselves? When does help and consideration become useless babysitting?

GF: This is for each of us who face such circumstances to deal with. Basically one has a good idea of whom in his or her life is beyond reach with these ideas. What we need is the courage to leave dead-end relationships of all kinds, not just with people.

hudnut23: Where do you draw the line between judgment and being discerning?

GF: Judging always has the acrid taste of self in it. To discern what is true or false requires no sense of self through being identified.

sure: Do we ever get to the point where we can use memory of negative emotions as our contrast, or are the negative emotions going to always rise up in us?

GF: Negative emotions are always a substitute for real understanding. So, the more we learn that is true about ourselves and our lives, the less we will be inclined to (unconsciously) rely upon these lower responses to reality.

blessed12: Thank you so much for your latest release, "Seeker’s Guide to Self-Freedom." On page 261 you comment that the belief that "there is no such thing as evil" is false. Can you give us some more insight into this?

GF: Everything in our Work must be understood as existing in scale and at levels. For an eagle, spider webs are not an evil because where eagles dare to fly spiders can’t spin their traps.

Kapt: I have read four of your books and have really connected with them on many levels. However, I still struggle with one nagging thought. This all seems so selfish. Do not care about what others think, take care of number one, seems to be what I see most. What am I missing?

GF: In a word, everything. These teachings have nothing to do with putting oneself first - in fact, far from such a notion. We are learning (if we are) that there lives within us a nature that does put itself before all things (including its creator) and this self is incapable of love. This false self only cares what other’s think as long as those thoughts are about it. What we are putting first is our wish to see this fact and to place this nature where it belongs.. last!

Valley: September 11th gave me a feeling of lingering sadness, and I also work for the well-known corporation that has recently gone bankrupt. All along, I have been working on myself to stay positive. Now I am not sure if I really am being positive or have just gone numb. Which of your books or tapes would you recommend at this time?

GF: I think this tape can lend you some needed Light and encouragement at this time: "The One Word that Ends Fear, Hatred and Worry" -- item # 467 -- has a second side entitled, "Reawaken Your Love for Life in 3 Simple Steps." Order through our website or call the Foundation. Ask for Chris or Peg or Donna at (541)476-1200.

kdhchi: In Indian scripture, there is a line (attributed to Krishna) "I use memories, I do not allow memories to use me." Could you elaborate on this?

GF: The God Nature in us, as Christ speaks of this, is the Vine, and we are the branches. What IS has no need to gain a sense of itself through what WAS, i.e., memories. We, as we are at present, derive our sense of self almost exclusively from thinking about ourselves and our lives, all of which is memory based.

sure: Does visualizing oneself as being loving, kind, considerate, at peace, and joyful while meditating help to bring about those positive emotions in a person?

GF: Why visualize a state of self that has to be imagined when, if we can become quiet enough, we can actually merge with the energies we now have to think to know?

faust: Please explain what you mean by "you are no feeling that you have." This is a very neat observation and I want to know more about it.

GF: Just as the ocean is where waves take place, but waves are not the ocean, so too is this true when it comes to our emotions. We are a body for their expression and our real nature is a medium of a sort through which these forces rise up from any number of different sources both earthly and cosmic.

GF: It is almost time to close our chat, but before we do I want to pass on my remaining thoughts about what is required of us to be able to make real changes in our lives.

Briefly, in my opening remarks about resolutions, we examined the facts that prove it is our attention that produces (for us) our experience and what we manifest through it. We will pick up the lesson from this point: The missing key to commanding this little-understood power called attention is our power of intention. Here is why: Our intention (alone) gives direction to our attention. Now let’s put these ideas together:

What we manifest, what we do in life and become as individuals, is the secret result of intention, attention, and manifestation. If we take the first letters of these three Principles and put them together we find the words: "I AM". Which brings us to our last point as to why it is that so many of our resolutions end up as shipwrecks -- as broken hopes on the reefs of regret.

Please think through this next idea until you can see not only the truth hidden in it, but also how this same truth applies to why self-transformation has been so elusive. Here it is: No intention of ours, regardless of how noble or true, is any more powerful than our ability to remember it. Apart from its pure logic, this one idea is filled with spiritual gold.

The reason why we do not change, or otherwise make real our resolve to rise above who we have been, is that we are always forgetting ourselves. We go to sleep spiritually. We doze in dreams of better times to come -- of some happier self to be -- at the expense of being awake to what is our one real need: To be New Now.

The cost of our inattention is incalculable, not because of what happens to us outwardly as a result of this distracted self, but because of what does not happen to us inwardly. Certainly changes still take place in us, but these are accidental. These accidents produce chaos and conflict and such states are the seeds of disintegration.

We must add one last note to this study to help serve us in our resolve to rise above our former self: Whenever we can be awake to ourselves and remember our right intention, the rest of the work is done for us. This is spiritual Law as well.

Our intention to be mindful, patient, honest, disciplined -- whatever our higher wish may be -- places our attention, unmistakably, upon our new aim. And it is this same intention, the upward direction of it, that reveals those dark forces at work within us set against our wish and that seek to drag us down. To see the whole of these wonders being described is to realize their powers.

Our attention manifests our intention Now, even as our intention directs (and protects) our attention, keeping us from forgetting ourselves and manifesting what is unwanted. When these Principles are active within us, we no longer have to resort to dreams about self-change because instead of waiting to become what cannot be, we do the conscious inner work of being what we intend.

Can you see the immense inner difference in these two possibilities? Of course our work to be conscious, to have real intention, and pay true attention is difficult! But compare this path to unconsciously being run through endless unintended changes. Suddenly the practice of this special interior work becomes equivalent to a walk in a sun-filled park.

Now, for practical purposes, let’s bring these ideas into our everyday world. To begin, take just one intention (of yours) and keep it before you at all times. Don’t attempt something too big - or innocuous -- like "staying awake" or "being all things to all people." Such lofty aims are not attainable at our present level and you will only slip into harmful states of imagination.

Keep your intention simple to start. For example, make it your intention to be patient with others who displease you; or intend to say, "Yes!" to life whenever negativity in you wants to cry out, "No!" Perhaps make it your aim to pray without ceasing, to hold your attention without wavering on the remembrance of God by recalling repeatedly some feature of the Divine.

Of course such choices are personal, but no matter what intention you make, keep it before you -- alive and present -- at all times. And know this next fact to be both sure and kind: We will fail (often!) at keeping our newly intended wish -- but this kind of "failure" will change our very essence, something our worldly successes have not been able to do! Find out!

See you at our next chat on Thursday, February 7th, same time and place. Until that time remember yourselves and your wish for Real Life. Work at keeping your spiritual intention before you -- whatever roads you may walk -- and watch how God watches over you, seeing to it that you grow in all that is Good.

GF: Welcome everyone to our chat tonight. As usual, before we open the room to your questions and comments, I want to pass along some special ideas about what it means to awaken to ourselves, what stands in the way of this, and what we must each do if we would be free.

A young woman once decided that her best chance of getting hired by a company doing geological survey work in the Alaskan wilderness was to earn a private license to fly twin-engine planes. A few days later she began taking lessons from a wise old bush pilot, highly respected throughout the region for his cool and collected ways of dealing with the worst possible situations.

After the mandatory ground schooling, at which she excelled, and during her fourth lesson in the sky, the flight instructor gave her what she thought was a special treat: Taking his hands off the yoke, he turned the flight controls over to her. There she was, just as she had dreamed, sitting tall in the co-pilot’s chair with the flight stick firmly in her hands.

She felt like she was literally on "cloud 9," that is until a scant moment later when she found herself rudely awakened from her dream sequence. She tried shaking her head to get rid of what was before her eyes, but that did not work. In the distance, through the windshield, she could see something that was rushing toward her faster than what she knew to do about it!

Seeming to appear out of nowhere, a huge snow-capped mountain lay dead ahead. Transfixed by its sheer mass, she found herself as frozen at the stick as were the iced and craggy peaks stretched out before her. And she was headed straight for them! A deep chill came into the cabin.

All along the wise old instructor was watching her closely, studying her reactions. Of course, she didn’t know it, but he had turned the controls over to her for just this test now taking place. He waited until the last moment he could, and was just about to take over again, when she snapped out of her fear-induced trance. She looked away from the mountain and turned to face him.

Then, in a voice so trembling and timid that it even scared her, she broke the tense silence of the moment: "Sir," she said, "please take over the controls. I’m afraid we are about to crash!" His reply stunned her. "No," he spoke quietly, "I don’t think I will. After all, it’s your flight."

It was getting harder for her to take in a whole breath, as if she were standing in the oxygen-thin air atop the great white mountain before them. Struggling to control her voice, she dug down into herself and managed to ask one more question of her teacher: "Then what should I do? Please...tell me what to do!"

She looked over at him again, and was surprised to see virtually no worry at all upon his face. His calm demeanor helped calm her. She took a deep breath and relaxed her hands that had just about choked the life out of the control yoke. The next moment he gave her a short three-word instruction, and she knew everything would soon be all right. He simply said: "Change your altitude."

She pulled firmly back on the yoke and felt the craft respond by rising. Moments later, the icy peak passed beneath her and out of sight. She marveled at how she could have forgotten that the controls were in her hands, and that she had been unable to remember this on her own. She made a silent vow. Never again would she forget this one great lesson: She could choose her altitude.

Doesn’t this short truth tale remind you of a certain kind of spiritual strength that you know belongs to you, but that you have somehow forgotten or misplaced? It ought to; after all, how many of us look out ahead of ourselves at some unwanted event that looms too large, and find ourselves feeling out of control . . . headed for what seems a sure, unavoidable collision?

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to reach down inside of ourselves, grab hold of the controls of our own consciousness, and pull ourselves up? To quietly watch, whatever that would-be mountain of a problem is, just pass by harmlessly below us even as we reach ever-higher and happier skies?

We can learn to do this. Such a power is not just a pipe dream. The ability to take conscious control of our spiritual altitude is given to us as we awaken from those unconscious parts of ourselves that not only become transfixed before challenging events, but that are the secret creators of the very things into which we then crash! It’s true.

After our dialogue, and before we close our chat tonight, I will pass along a certain spiritual secret of how it is possible for us to use even the most insurmountable conditions in our lives to rise above them. Here’s a small hint of the spiritual truth that we will cover, the key to a new kind of crash-free consciousness: Our attitude determines our altitude in life.

What do you want to talk about? Let’s get started with tonight’s chat.

Rael: I’m sitting here shaking, confronted on every side -- outside and inside -- by painful forces and events I have no control over. I don’t know what to do, and nothing changes. I have no clue how to change altitude.

GF: Just last night in class, I gave the entire meeting over to talking about how one realizes real freedom through working to understand the interior dynamics of attitude and altitude. If you can afford the few dollars these class tapes cost, e-mail Chris at the Foundation (from the Home Page) and tell her you want the class tape from 12/5/01. It’ll be well worth it, as the new knowledge gained will give you the leg up you need.

Kraig: Letting God take the controls ought to be easy (so I think) yet the barrier to this is my perception. What exercise do you suggest to let down the perceptual barriers we create which keep us from letting go and letting God?

GF: At some point, the sincere seeker will begin to realize that whatever it may be he perceives in life as being in his way is secretly made up from the content of his own unawakened nature that projects itself -- is divided up into -- the opposites. As one sees the truth that he is the obstacle to perception and the obstacle perceived, gradually the mind that generates these opposites goes quiet. God awaits on the other side.

susan: I have been using the "Thou Art" meditation in your Lost Secrets of Prayer book but neither that nor anything else I do lately gives me any feeling of spirituality. Any suggestions as to how to rekindle the spark? Any other meditation methods you can recommend?

GF: First, and this is important: It is our intention in sitting down to pray or meditate that is the true governor of the relationship we enter into in such times of quietude. The results of our intention (our experience) should be left to our God, and we should not judge the effect of this effort that we make. Also, all things run in cycles. Just as the desert receives welcoming rains, so is it true with our inner life. Persist.

Ok: I am working for a company that when you need to use the restroom, you have to raise your hand and get permission. If you come in late (regardless of the problem), you get written up. If you are thirty seconds over on your break time or lunch you also get written up. If you’re sick more than three days in thirty, you get written up, and after three per ninety days you get fired. Do you think there’s something wrong with this picture? And that’s only a small picture -- if you’re sick at work you still have to stay. I’m in a "right to work" state. Should we all quit?

GF: Of course I can’t suggest to you what actions would be best taken under such draconian conditions. While what you’ve reported is hard to imagine (and I’m in no way taking sides in this story), there are people all over that would give their eye teeth for steady employment. Under all conditions, work to stay awake and learn to use the environment you are in rather than allowing your resentment of it to use you up. New options appear the more awake we become.

Ok: I have learned to let go of almost everything, including this job. I feel great by not being attached to the things that seem to be there haunting me. I look at them as nothing, and have been for along time. Isn’t this a right feeling?

GF: What is right for us at any given moment, and in some ways the nature of the only Rightness that there is, is to be awake to ourselves, to remember ourselves, and to remember our God in that moment. Whether your actions are correct is something only you can know. But such True Knowing is never in thought. False knowing always winds up asking, "Is this the right thing?"

Eric: I am 25-years-old and I have never really even been close to having a girlfriend. Now, as I do the inner work and seek to become more and more connected to God, should I actively search for a woman with great effort, or will I naturally find her when I least expect it?

GF: There is no relationship that any of us have in this life that is not governed by the content of our invisible heart. The real issue for those sincere in their search for a God-centered life is to put their wish for a pure and simple life inwardly before giving the reins over to desires for a sensuous outer life. Be patient and persist with your wish to awaken, and be assured God never fails to deliver what best suits us in our pursuit for perfection in His life.

ALEX: I want to be rid of my negative habits, but I find I’m not patient when going silent. The intense feeling of "I want to be free of this now, once and for all," dominates me. Also, some things that I thought disappeared have manifested again, months later. I wish I weren’t such a difficult case.

GF: A great deal of what each of us must learn (and usually the hard way) is that just as fruit ripens on a vine according to an invisible relationship between earth and sun, so too are we in a relationship with a kind of darkness and the Light. This relationship, nourished by our willingness to work interiorly, is what must ripen according to its time. Stop struggling to be free!

Doc: You said to "think toward a captive state, rather than from it." What do you mean by "toward" it?

GF: To think toward a negative state means that one is not identified with the thought or emotion passing through him or her, but rather recognizes that this (negativity) is an occupying force. This perception allows one to think toward the condition rather than allowing the negative condition to be the formulator of his or her thoughts.

Roy: I can see working in me mostly a reactive, habitual personality with many aspects always quick to react. Occasionally I respond (not react) to events with a conscious, willful intent based on my ideal. This "Best Self" is not the familiar "me," but seems like a distant "stranger." Is this a glimpse of a "Completed Nature," or is this distant part of me that which actually learns the spiritual lessons (since my reactive personality never seems to change at all)? Is this the Essential Nature that must be "fed" so it can evolve, instead of re-training my personality to fit a new and better mold (which never seems to work either)? Is this what you meant by "...to change how the way you see the world ... you need new I’s..."?

GF: We all have a tendency to want to have "arrived" at a point in time within ourselves where "the end" is at hand of our inner work. No such time, place, or for that matter, even self, that wishes for this ending exists. Don’t get caught up with trying to determine what is "best self." Watch worst self, intermediary self, and best self with the same inner scrutiny. This awareness is the gate and the ground of True Self.

Doc: How do you get over regretting the past twenty years as having been totally wasted?

GF: Start by seeing that the regret you have, the regret that even asks this question, is itself part of what is wasting your life. Wake up. Drop it. No one gets covered with mud in the spiritual life who hasn’t jumped into the puddle.

mycourt: In general, I shouldn’t entertain negative thoughts. But isn’t the self that creates a negative thought the same self that creates a positive one? Why should I then entertain the positive thought? How do I know if it really is positive and in my best interests?

GF: Christ told His disciples, "Take no thought for the morrow," also "What man taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?" True scripture from all over the world pronounces truths. Thought belongs to the realm of practical thinking and for expressing ideas. Apart from that application, thought should be viewed upon as simply being a servant. No one keeps a servant that steals from him or her.

Digger: I don’t know how to respond to friends and family when they express negative feelings towards others. I am a bad actor, so I say nothing, but that is sometimes construed as being distant or uncaring. Any help?

GF: If a person is ever going to truly transform his or her life, that person must eventually break free of any and all concern over what any other person on the earth thinks about them. This isn’t to say that one deliberately acts cold or cruel in social circles, but it does mean one refuses to take part in the punishment that other sleeping human beings dole out to one another and call a family dinner!

Doc: You said "What is thinkable is sinkable." How do you make major decisions and choices?

GF: There is never a problem with a major decision or any choice that we have to make in life of a practical nature. The reason that such thinking becomes sinking for us is because we are unconsciously identified with the hoped-for outcome of these decisions and choices. As you see the truth of this, you will learn how to be direct and at the same time detached.

Doc: You’ve also said that "Doubt makes you real by making you feel hopeless, and we enjoy the feeling." I hate that feeling.

GF: What you must see is that you love to have the feeling of hating things.

Randy: Your weekly lesson talks about "being our neighbor" and that the "war is within us." I find myself getting so caught-up "inside" that I don’t care about my neighbor. How do you stop the hurting?

GF: It’s a vicious circle, isn’t it? The sleeping person is so wracked with pain and pressure that this dark nature then lashes out at someone nearby. Then when retaliation comes, that person feels justified for having poured out the original pain on the unsuspecting one next to him. Unconscious pain perpetuates unconscious pain. That’s the whole thing. If we would be different ourselves, which is the only way the world would ever become a different and better place, we must each learn what it means to suffer consciously. We must learn how not to give others what we don’t want to keep within ourselves. This supreme sacrifice of self is the only way the hurting in us comes to an end, because with this practice the sleeping self is awakened and passes.

Dell: What is the role of guilt? And what is the role of self-blame for personal wrongs committed? What about confession of sins?

GF: The role of guilt belongs to the self-wrecking parts of one’s self that persist in unconsciously doing what that same self then decries it has done. Self-blame is the unconscious advocate of guilt. True confession of one’s sins (original Aramaic meant to "miss the mark") can be a benefit to a belabored heart. The real change comes in the moment that we see what we are, not as we think back over what we’ve done.

Scooter: I wish I was not only willing, but eager to enter the dark places that I currently avoid, out of fear of the inevitable pain I suppose. Any suggestions?

GF: Fear is an unconscious pain born out of the belief that it’s possible to avoid things that the unconscious mind projects as being apart from the one who fears. No such division exists in Reality. As the (conscious) pain grows in you from seeing that you cannot continue to avoid what you fear, you will gradually walk into this fear and find out it had no existence apart from what you had lent it. Walk on.

Eric: In the history of the world, have there ever been other people like Jesus Christ? Is it possible for every human being to attain His level? Is that supposed to be our ultimate goal?

GF: I know this can be difficult to understand, but it’s mandatory that we all begin to grasp a certain idea. First, the answer is that we are all intended as Christ indicated to "Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven." But more than this, the living Light -- the Christ -- is our individual yet common True Self.

Doc: Despite my pleading to God to take over my life, why do I think harshly, negatively, and angrily 90% of the time?

GF: This is (as Vernon Howard use to say) bitter medicine, but it does heal. What flavor ice cream do you order at the ice cream parlor? Do you order flavors you don’t like? Of course not. The reason that any of us do the things we don’t want to do is because there is within us a nature that loves that flavor.

Partued: If I am not to think of myself as either good or bad, then what is to be said of my actions?

GF: The thoughts that define our actions are themselves quite apart from the actions they define. We see our actions according to the images we hold of ourselves in the moment we act. That’s why angry people rarely see themselves as acting out viscious anger. We have a feature (Higher Awareness) that doesn’t have to think to understand the meaning of any action. It is already a part of it.

Partued: I am caught in between. There are things that I know are wrong, but I like them. But I also want to advance spiritually.

GF: Welcome to the Path! It is a big thing, even though it seems to make us feel small spiritually, to realize that we do indeed continue to compromise ourselves for the sake of what is most often less than nothing in meaning. Never mind the despair that attends seeing such darkness. Remember your wish for the Light and keep it before you. The Light you long for longs for you.

woody: Would you consider dreams part of the false nature, and if so, are they just to be observed rather than be used as commonly referred to as subconscious insights?

GF: You cannot classify dreams as belonging strictly to what is "false" or "true" relative to self. All dreams reflect some state of relationship in the psychic body, mentally or emotionally expressing what these parts of us have yet to resolve or wish for us to understand. Just watch all dreams with the same intent and impartiality.

ALEX: It’s always been my will against life’s will. Even the simplest happenings that one would expect from people and things frustrate me. I can’t seem to stay awake enough or get the understanding that God is in control of even the smallest of details in everything, even people. Maybe part of me refuses to believe that.

GF: Our false nature, our personality with all of its conditioned goals and dreams, is totally set against realizing that it has no independent existence apart from the content of itself that it continually reconfigures and examines in order to know itself. This nature is truly a dead end. As we see the truth of that fact, we gradually learn to do what is natural for the lesson learned, i.e. let go and let God.

CraigS: I just wanted to drop by to say thank you. I have been a committed student for five years now and have found so much peace in my life through these ideas and through persistence. It is unbelievable. I was quite a mess health-wise and every other way. Now I see clearly and I am eternally grateful.

GF: I too am eternally grateful for these Principles that we are all working to have work in our lives. We should each remember with gratitude those who have gone before us to help make it possible for this Living Light to become a Living Presence in our day-to-day lives.

Digger: Do you have an opinion as to whether men (in general) are genetically/instinctively violent, or is this something some people acquire in their life?

GF: To be a human being is to in some ways be similar to the very earth upon which he or she walks. The earth is in constant upheaval -- creation, destruction, and reconfiguration -- over and over again. These forces of creation are part of the powers that we are created to become conscious of and transcend. They work for the self-working person and against the sleeping self.

Rael: For years I have been journeying the paths of the inner man and have tried many approaches to what I see as the problem. For the past few years I have diligently applied my energies to what I believe are your teachings, yet sadly find myself right back where I started, in a pit of frustration and despair, and going nowhere.

GF: I know that your present condition seems to be a reinstatement of your past defeats, but allow me to suggest one idea that may show you a difference. Instead of allowing the negative state you feel right now to tell you who you are, can you see that it’s possible for you to know more about this very condition than the condition wants you to believe is true about yourself? Come to Southern Oregon for some talks. Work it out.

Eric: I want to know what the Bible is really saying, on all levels. Do you know of any good books that help explain what’s really in there? Or will I suddenly understand, like a bolt of lightning, if or when I reach a certain level of understanding?

GF: First, your wish is a True and good one. It is possible for us to know the real interior meaning of scripture. Did you know that we just released a brand new three-tape cassette album entitled "Secret Teachings of the Sacred Testaments"? This will help you help yourself fulfill your wish. The aim, of course, is to read one’s own heart, for it is from one’s own center that scripture comes.

Bluesea: I like to know when you know that you have truly forgiven someone? Although I forgive someone and myself, the pain still comes back at times.

GF: You will know that real forgiveness has come into you concerning an offending other when you never again give any thought whatsoever to the one who hurt you in a negative or belittling way. Such forgiveness really does exist. Do your inner work and learn all that you can about your own heart and what lives within it presently. As you see what is True about you, forgiveness for others follows.

Bluesea: Can you truly forgive someone and yet still feel the old pain come back sometimes?

GF: Once forgiveness has been found within us for another, this marks the end of all forms of contemplating past conflicts and their pains.

DaveG: I drive an hour to and from work each day. For the past few years you have been my companion on the commute. Now I feel like you’re with me on an even more profound commute. Thanks...your tapes are so valuable to me.

GF: Over the years that I have been teaching, I have found that there is family, and then there is Family. I have met people I have never met before that I am closer to in thirty seconds than I am with my own brother for the last fifty years...a Divine Mystery, but what a welcome one.

Dell: Please comment on "To change your future, change yourself."

GF: Your nature is your future. From the center of you comes all that you see outside of you by the laws of attraction, gravity, and a host of other timeless principles. Perhaps the oldest axiom on the spiritual path explains it best: "The inner determines the outer."

ALEX: I know very well that money is not going to make me happy or fulfill me, but I’m concerned about the law of attraction. It’s very easy to be unconsciously holding attention on poverty. But if I’m trying to come awake and remember God, is it wrong to also want to consciously ask to be pulled out of my financial straits? How do I balance asking for my practical needs along with my need for inner growth?

GF: There is no inherent, necessary division between a person hoping to perfect his or her life in God and providing for one’s self. In fact, these two processes that are part of living on planet Earth can compliment one another if a person is working with True Principles. Why can’t you work at your job while you remember that it’s God that you want? Where’s the contradiction? In Reality, there is none.

kyle: I am 22 years of age, studying at college. I am also Christian. I am finding it very hard to be true to my self and to my beliefs at this age. There are not many people at my age who are spiritually aware, and I find myself wondering, "Is it me that has this thing all wrong?" Please advise.

GF: Who was more alone than Christ? And yet, who had the best company? Enduring what the Light within us asks us to endure for Its sake is always at the expense of the accompanying darkness that wants to drag us into its considerations of how alone we are and all of the fearful things attending such heartaches. Cling to the Light. Live for the Light. Hope for the Light. Stay in the Light as best you can. It will give you a life.

Scooter: Nothing "burns me up" like someone inflicting physical pain on me. I guess I’ve got a lot of physically painful lessons coming. Is this accurate?

GF: Unless you’re a boxer, then no one should be inflicting physical pain on you. If you live in a circumstance in which someone is abusing you, the lesson isn’t to learn how to live with that! The lesson is, you’re in a wrong relationship with someone or others because there’s a part of yourself that is secretly realizing some value in being hurt.

jaybird: You have said "Daring any dark state to do its worst is the same as asking God to defend you." Can you elaborate on what you mean by daring a dark state to do its worst, and how doing so brings about help from God?

GF: As a rule, when dark states come over us, we wind up serving them out of fear that if we don’t do as the pressure pushes us to do, our pain will somehow grow. Making deals with the darkness merely strengthens the hand of darkness that punishes us. Refusing to make deals like this takes us into the fires within ourselves that we fear. But the truth is, these fires are made of our fears. Putting them together cancels both. The Light appears!

IGETIT: As Krishnamurti said, we do not really need anything to "see" -- meaning books, takes, chats. So will they be some sort of escape for us?

GF: Anything can become an escape for someone looking for an escape. To say that a true book or tape constitutes an escape is throwing the baby out with the bath water. Thank God for True books. They have food, encouragement, and rudimentary guidance for those who seek the Higher Good.

MikeD: Recently I have been bugged by thoughts on reincarnation. Isn’t our God vast enough to allow our individual soul identity?

GF: I know how alluring such topics as reincarnation are, but try to realize there’s absolutely no profit in merely thinking towards what turn out to be little more than empty, haunting, and taunting thoughts. Stop reincarnating the thought nature that loves to think about what might become of it. Let this nature die each moment it appears in order to consider its own perpetuation. That’s the Work.

Digger: What is the best way to share what I learn? By example, by teaching, or some other way? I sense that it is best not to worry about it.

GF: Just so: As you continue to grow inwardly, life itself will see to it that what you have been given will find ways and places for you to give this away.

fs: It just seems near impossible to stay in the "now." Any suggestions?

GF: The mental nature cannot enter the now, let alone remain in it. Only awareness of the moment can be truly present. This order of awareness arises from a new kind of energy that appears in the mind as the mind grows quiet.

Jason: Why do some people have the "eyes to see and ears to hear" while others do not?

GF: These questions - as they concern others - have no answers. Fulfill the promise inherent in being able to "see" what is True, and as your eyes grow accustomed to the developing Light, perhaps within it you will find an answer to your question.

ALEX: I am having trouble determining the difference between when I’m being uncompassionate, and when to make the decision not to involve myself with people and their repetitive negative habits. I can’t seem to tell if I’m getting trigger-happy in cutting myself off from people, or perhaps my insight is just getting quicker.

GF: You will have to learn to work in the opposites. Try it one way for several days, and then the other for a few more days. Gradually you will be able to see with greater and greater discernment which is which.

Faust: I’ve found the root of my "blues"; I’m a strict vegan, so I’ve been eating nothing but soy products, and too much soy causes hypothyroidism, which leads to inexplicable bouts of depression. I quit soy and have found (for lack of a better term) "inner peace." Now that I’ve dealt with that poison, my thinking is once again clear and my walk on the higher path is foremost in my life again. I feel like I’m starting my spiritual walk all over again.

GF: The inner work requires balance and discipline in all areas of our lives. If you find that some things cause disturbances in one system or another, best to leave off of these choices until you can see with clarity what works and what does not.

Scooter: When I dare darkness to do it’s worst, and it "turns up the heat," how is it reflecting what "I" am? What’s going on inwardly?

GF: All that we see within us is a form or stage of ourselves that must be seen to be transcended. We cannot experience anything we are not.

Scooter: When I think of transformation, I think of higher levels of understanding. Can/does transformation occur within us at deeper levels than we presently perceive/understand?

GF: Oh yes, this is a certainty. And yet, everything that takes place takes place within our consciousness.

montana: How can I identify people who are not healthy for my spirit? And when identified, do I not associate with them?

GF: Generally speaking (and that is all we accomplish in this limited forum), people who are chronically negative -- full of complaints or blame -- are toxic, not only to themselves, but to anyone asleep enough to associate with them.

Faust: You asked a brilliant rhetorical question during your interview with Ian Punnett a while ago when you said: "What do we want to be in relationship with?" So with this in mind, allow me to ask you something from an educational standpoint: How do you study? I wish to be "in relation with" my schoolwork more, but the more I try, the less I’m able to understand. Do you have a "study method"?

GF: When we love a subject, our study of it is not a difficulty, but (for the most part) a delight. If we must study something, for "school" reasons that is not natural to our type or native to our heart, then a discipline becomes necessary.

montana: I was listening to one of your radio shows and you mentioned something about “perpetual poverty.” I was not 100% clear on what you meant by this.

GF: Since I don’t know the context of the words you have quoted, I am afraid it is impossible to comment. Most likely I was referring to one’s un-regenerated nature.

Faust: The other day when I went to my car at school there were three guys sitting on the hood of my car. I felt afraid, and had Security run them away. My inability to handle the situation prompted me to buy a police baton, yet in my heart I don’t feel the possession of the weapon is the true answer. Is my response normal, or overly amplified? How should I handle this fear from a spiritual standpoint?

GF: Calling the guards is appropriate. The rest is the negative effect of an over-active imagination...that is unless you are secretly Bruce Lee.

James1: Is there any value in recalling the past to help determine where we are now? As I do the work, I seem to be reminded of old events. It’s as if the event was replayed so I could learn what I missed the first time.

GF: Generally speaking, there is no value in reliving what has past. These thoughts arise by themselves mechanically and draw us into mechanical associations with them.

James1: Is TV itself destructive to the Work? I know much programming today is garbage. I’ve heard that witnessing events/stories in the format of a TV broadcast weakens the mind and encourages complacency, as it simulates being part of or doing something.

GF: The problem is that the person asleep to him or herself takes in tons of negative, or otherwise useless impressions. There are ways to watch (anything) and use the time for self observation instead of being absorbed in the images through unconscious identification.

DebbiE: You had said some things to me about how to respond to my five-year-old when he becomes destructive because he doesn’t get his way. One of them was to speak in a serious tone. I’m getting too angry, and I know it’s fear and my expectations of him, but it’s becoming a vicious circle. Help!

GF: You must not fear your own anger. Do what is needed and don’t be afraid of what happens to you or within you as you try to do what is right for the sake of righteousness. Sure, you might “lose” it, but the shock will be healing. Only the lessons learned on the battlefield lead us to inner peace!

GF: It is almost time to say good night, but first I want to pass along some new ideas intended to spiritually empower you to consciously change your altitude in life. What is meant by this idea of the “altitude” of one’s life refers to where it is within ourselves -- with what parts of ourselves -- we meet the moments of our life. Where do we stand in relationship to what life brings to us?

If this idea sounds strange to you, then most likely you missed reading my opening words. When time permits, go back and read these initial remarks as they help to set up the truths about to be revealed.

The only way we can learn to truly rise above the events in our lives is by first awakening to, and then realizing, the actual nature of our relationship with these events. What does this mean, “to realize our actual relationship with the events in our life?” Please read the following few ideas very closely:

Events, all of the myriad events in our lives, are created to serve us. They are not intended to dominate or otherwise diminish us, as so many of them seem to have the power to do. Is there some verifiable proof of this statement? By all means!

All of us have been laid low by, or have actually crashed into certain events that, after repeated run-ins with these mountain-like moments, have revealed to us that the real problem before us was not the event itself, but the way in which we had perceived it.

Once we were shaken loose from our hardened ideas about why this moment was to be avoided at all costs, then we usually found ourselves flying high above the very condition that we so feared would drag us down. The point, for now, is that our new altitude in life is a direct effect of a change in our attitude towards the event.

Up until now, any transformation of an unwanted event into a self-elevating experience has had to be gained the hard way: where our resistance and reluctance to the lesson at hand is slowly, painfully channeled into what becomes a realization that allows us to let go and grow. Then, as if by magic, we rise above what was wrecking us moments before.

But we can, and must, learn how to take these transformational steps consciously. This is the real interior Work. This is how we begin to realize God’s Life and the Goodness that it holds in store for us. This is also why we must have New Knowledge about the true nature of our life. Such new, yet Timeless ideas are the seeds of a new kind of perception that we must cultivate.

Here is one such new idea that will help you to change your attitude toward all the various moments of your life. Working with it will lead you to a new altitude in yourself that cannot be compromised by any challenging event:

Our God-given place in the great scheme of creation is above all other things, and this includes the events in our lives. Awakening to this, our own elevated nature that presently slumbers within us empowers us to use all that we encounter to learn this Priceless Lesson about our true position. We rise above life in this way in proportion to our realization of this truth.

In other words, and we must each prove this to ourselves, nothing can happen to us in this life of ours that is not created, potentially, to be for the Good of us. Most of us know this truth inherently, but not consciously -- so that we trust this truth in theory, but not in practice. And this is what must change within us if we want to rise above the events of our lives.

We must work in every moment to be aware of our attitude towards our life as it unfolds. And when we find a negative attitude in ourselves, we must not be it. We must not say “I” to it. We must not see our life through its lying eyes, or else all we will see is the dark world that it needs us to see in order to remain in charge of our choices.

Instead, even in the face of our worst moments, we must remember the truths we have learned. We must be aware that whatever it is that we see before us is always a direct reflection of an attitude that is secretly active within us. Then, with this knowledge in hand, we change our attitude by remembering the Good of God. We recall our rightful place within His Life.

If we will just do the inner work needed to take these small steps in the moments of our lives that call for them, then the day will come when every moment of our life will be wanted. We will know the birth of a new attitude within us, and for its awakening we will be lifted to a whole new altitude. And there, in these native heights, we will know we have reached our Home.

It’s time to sign off for now. I urge you to spend some time pondering the lessons we covered tonight. Seen or not, our attitude determines our altitude in life. The “low” life comes by default. Gravity guarantees we will reach the bottom. To go Higher, we must (first) be Higher. Do your spiritual Work. If you will do your part, God will see to it that you rise. See you Jan. 3rd, 2002!

GF: Welcome everyone to our chat. Before we get started I wish to send along some thoughts on the new understanding required of us if we ever want to become truly free.

There is no substitute for freedom. And, as we shall find out, we all share in many mistaken ideas about what it means to be free. To prove this point, let me pose two simple questions that will help set us on the path to realizing new and higher levels of self-freedom:

1. Would you rather spend your life trying to impress your friends and associates of your self-worth, or be free altogether of the never ending pain of believing that you are only as valuable in life as you can get others to agree you are?

2. Would you rather spend your life acquiring social position and possessions -- pursuits that do little more then distract you from a lingering sense of something missing in your life -- or would you rather be free of this unappeasable inner self that can’t find lasting contentment no matter what it acquires?

These are important questions. They point to the center of a certain crossroads each of us stands upon every day where -- after certain events take place -- we almost always ask ourselves: "Given what just happened to me, what is the right path that will free me of this stressful sense of not knowing what to do with all of these unsettling thoughts and feelings?"

"Do I take the left fork and just let go of my hopes, my aspirations to achieve my dreams? Or, do I take the right fork and return to the grind, hoping against hope that this time things will be different?" Doesn’t this dialogue sound familiar? What are we to do?

Giving up and agreeing to live unfulfilled is untenable for most of us, and yet going around and around -- getting nowhere -- seems to be the other fork in the road of life. Is there another Path? The answer is "yes"; a very special one exists just out of our present sight; a Path that can deliver us to what our Heart of hearts longs for: Freedom!

We have come to an important point in our study of these crossroads that are secret places in our own consciousness. First, we must learn to recognize the difference between what we will call our social, or cultural freedoms, versus individual spiritual freedom. Don’t let these terms throw you. They will prove easy to grasp and good for us to learn.

When it comes to our cultural or social freedoms we are each free, for instance, to choose whatever we wish to be in life. But this sort of freedom needs to have one note attached to it: What one chooses to become in his or her social culture (for the most part) is usually what that same society smiles upon and deems good.

In our Western culture, this kind of convention means striving to become one who somehow stands out above the rest -- whether this platform is gained through enhanced position, possessions, or, in some cases, going to the opposite and carefully cultivating the pretense that we care about none of these vanities!

What this means is that most of what we associate with becoming more "free" in life is wrapped up in what amounts to the achievement of socially acceptable, mutually agreed upon values. In turn this means that one’s sense of freedom is very much founded in -- and therefore bounded by -- what others believe is true about the meaning of life and the nature of freedom.

Of course, much to our dismay, the moment these beliefs change -- and they always do -- we feel ourselves captives again. The point is that while such socially contrived "freedoms" do have a kind of reality to them, the freedom we find within them is not real.

We are beginning to realize that what we presently think provides us with freedom does not. We might better say that these social freedoms are, at best, limited; as any condition outside of ourselves that we depend upon for our sense of freedom makes this same freedom conditional. And real freedom, like real love, cannot be conditional else it is a creature by another name.

What then is the answer? Where is it we must seek if we wish to find true self-freedom? We must look in a totally new direction. What we must do is find out for ourselves what it is within us that is taking our freedom away from us. If we want real self-freedom, there is no other place to search for it.

At the close of our chat I will finish these notes. What do you want to talk about? What lessons have you learned about the nature of real freedom? Let’s get started with our dialogue.

Randy: The freedom that "I" recognize is financial. It has been the focus of the last 25 of my 39 years. I don’t know how to long for anything else or how to not long at all. I request your guidance.

GF: You may be encouraged, but also let me forewarn you of a certain point: First, you wouldn’t be on-line with us if there weren’t something in you already actively longing for a life outside of the one you have had. This part of you will lead you to the promise you feel in the distance. Be assured. Who you have been is not going to just roll up and go away. Knowing this, you may choose. If you haven’t read The Secret of Letting Go book or any other, I would start gathering right facts to support this new wish for a Higher Freedom. Stay close. Spend time by yourself as much as possible, remembering both your wish for a different life and the dissatisfaction of your former pursuits. This doesn’t mean to fall into negativity, but rather to deliberately remember the Light you long for.

Jason: I have had a longing for awhile to just take a day and spend it in nature by myself reflecting. Is this a natural longing on the path, or is it the false self’s way of escaping to freedom?

GF: Go! Nothing could be more natural than to want to embrace the open spaces.

dropee: One of your exercises -- doing what you don’t want to do when you don’t want to do it -- has been wonderful for me and has given me a great new freedom.

GF: The best part of any exercise such as doing what one doesn’t want to do is that we gradually discover that the "I" that was resisting doing something was a false sense of self based in some form of inertia or negativity. Only on the other side of this false sense of ourselves is the fact of its falseness seen. This is an early stage of new levels of self-freedom.

Jason: While visiting the Foundation I was able to understand things I had previously been unable to. I believe this was due to the amount of energy that was present...something I had never been exposed to. Does not being exposed to this kind of energy on a consistent basis affect one along the path?

GF: There is no question about it. This is why the old saying, "It takes a lighted candle to light a candle" has made it through all the many centuries that it has. There is, as you experienced, a certain kind of energy whose vibration stimulates normally inactive parts of us, and for this excitation we are more awake to ourselves. Higher understanding and awakedness are the same.

seeker: Is it natural to desire to be in a relationship with a woman simply because one finds joy in it, and not to use it to identify or try to complete one’s self in it? I’m not speaking of lust or sex, but I feel a strong sense of expression and experience as I would with anything else of beauty that God has created. (The only problem is finding a woman with the inner direction and inner beauty as well as the outer.)

GF: If you go to a playground, you might find some children there who hang around the handball court to be with lots of other kids. You might also find one child or two speaking to each other on a bench about vacation plans. Somewhere there will be one child by him- or herself looking up at the sky. Each finds his or her own way and what matters to them. Follow your heart.

mycourt: I have a similar question about desire and designing my destiny as opposed to letting the Light show me my life. For instance, if I desire a fulfilling relationship with a woman, how do I know it is not my false self creating some picture of myself that I think I should have?

GF: The spiritual path, the Real spiritual path, is one that gradually extends directly from the heart and the mind of the seeker. If our hearts are filled with physical longings or emotional desires, then this road must be expired before we can find freedoms above and beyond such conditional qualities. Once we grow through these things, the road stretches out empty and open before us.

jaybird: I’m trying to become aware of the ways in which I unconsciously block the light of Truth from entering my life. I would be grateful for any helpful guidelines you could offer.

GF: Try to think of thinking about yourself, explaining or justifying yourself to yourself, as being similar to the dampening rods in a nuclear reactor. The more you can keep any “I” out of what you see and experience within yourself, the more Light will be available and put to work to enlarge your relationship with what is True.

David: A beginning pianist who wants to play the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto must practice for years to achieve sufficient mastery of technique. You say that I never have to take another step in fear. Does this assume that: 1) I’ve already practiced fearlessness for years, 2) I was born with the technique for walking through fear, or 3) the "Fearless Concerto" is a lot easier to play than I think it is?

GF: Good question. The first time anyone plays an instrument, they must make dozens of mistakes -- if they can play anything at all. But the one who would learn to master the instrument plays through his mistakes and in spite of them. So let it be with those of us who wish to find the fearless life. You are the instrument. Life supplies the music. Play!

Roy: You’ve said Events serve the Truth and Life is set up to steer us from adversity to adversity into the Truth. Does this happen in spite of our slumber, or must we be consciously working? And how is this related to the 4th Way idea of the Law of Accidents?

GF: No one escapes Justice in this life. All events reflect our nature back to us. Many spend their whole lives never realizing that the events they see are provided for their possible perfection. These events do nothing and are nothing for such people and serve as little more than accidents for them. Why accidents? Because nothing in them is unified, or developed enough, to use these moments for further self-transformation. Once we learn that events serve the Truths they reveal and that we must learn to be "there" for this, our eyes are opened and we can grow.

Roy: I’ve heard that there are no accidents and everything is setup for my growth, which I took as an automatic promise of "salvation." But from your response, I gather this promise will only be fulfilled if I work at seeing the Truths events will reveal for me. You’ve said, "the Truth will set you free, but only if you’re for the Truth." Does that relate here?

GF: Yes, you have understood precisely. The clearer this becomes to you, the more you will want to be in an awake relationship with the events arriving "around" you. All events are interior in their Real Life.

Barry: I’m somewhat confused about the connection between "suffering" and "adversity." Is "suffering" something we do to ourselves, whereas adversity is something brought to us by God that does not in and of itself bring suffering?

GF: The difference between adversity of the conscious kind and the usual suffering that attends unconscious actions towards perceived adversaries is that when we are conscious of counter-forces, we still suffer, but this suffering changes us because we realize these counter-forces are aspects of our own unconscious self.

amg: The only time I feel like I am on the right path is when I am listening to your tapes or reading your books. The rest of the time I feel I am being attacked with an endless stream of tests to see how I react to what life is bringing me. I am so tired of all these tests.

GF: The only way you will begin to be free of this weariness you describe is when you reach the point of seeing (and you will if you stay the course) that life is not a proving ground, but a ground of discovery for those interested in a God-centered life. The stress of these "tests" is that we want to be the one who passes. No such self exists in Reality.

kspoon: On your tape "The Power of Now," you state to "follow what you love" and the rest of your life will take care of itself. For the past few years I have been pondering whether or not to pursue a hobby professionally as well as other business interests. The "still small voice" tells me to just GO FOR IT, but another part of me can only think of how to pay bills, feed my family etc., if I just GO FOR IT. Any advice?

GF: If you have responsibilities to a family, especially young children, you must fulfill what you have begun. This doesn’t mean to put your dream down, only to recognize that it may have to germinate in the soil of your situation a bit longer. Regardless of your personal condition, I would tell you to never let go of any longing you have to enlarge your life. Be bold, be wise, and fall forward.

jaybird: Could you give some specific exercises that would empower us to, in your words, "Be bold, be wise, and fall forward"?

GF: Sometimes the wisest and most bold thing we can do is to just drop whatever it is we’re identified with in favor of being awake in the moment without a sense of self that dominates it. In this practice, seeing takes precedence over being what we were identified with the moment before.

kspoon: In my attempts to "go quiet" and watch my thoughts, it seems difficult to stay "aware of mysel"” for even a few minutes without falling back "asleep." Any suggestions on how to "stay awake"?

GF: Cultivating the kind of attention that it requires to remain awake to one’s self is gained through effort and experience. There is no shortcut. What we learn with these kind of persistent practices is that we do not have the faculty (of attention) we dreamed. This is an awakening in itself, and the shock helps us redouble our efforts to realize more Truth about ourselves.

Randy: How empowering would it be to do the exact opposite of what your thoughts tell you for an entire day? Is it possible - will there be a time that what you think is what you do and who you are?

GF: Any effort that you will make to make your own life a field for conscious experimentation will reward you in ways unimaginable by the self that starts such an undertaking. We must all forgo the "thrill" of imagining what our discoveries may grant us in favor of letting go of such imaginary thoughts and feelings so that Reality may be our company.

WOODY: After about five years of reading your books (all of them), and listening to a series of your tapes to the point of wearing some of them out, I have finally begun to understand what you are saying - or more importantly, experiencing what you are saying. Wow. While it is changing my life, a family member is going through a very emotionally trying period. He listens to your tapes, but does not see how it all relates to his situation. How can I show him?

GF: You can’t. What you can do is embody the truthful principles we are learning so as to be at once both a comfort to your friend and at the same time not compromise either you or this person by coddling any negativity. The time may come when this person has “ears to hear,” so be patient and continue your growth. You’ll know the right time because this person will ask for a new kind of help.

mycourt: You mention many times in your tapes about not saying the unkind word, not complaining or downloading your troubles on people. It would seem we would be almost perfect little human beings if we were able to do this. I would be one of the nicest guys ever. Is this behavior really a possibility?

GF: Not only is it a possibility, but one day your greatest personal pleasure will be the God-given ability not to punish any other human being around you because of some pressure within you. I assure you, this is the way human beings are intended to be with one another. Christ said that no greater love has a man than he who lays down his life for his brother.

jaybird: Would it be correct to say that in order to make any progress on the spiritual path, we must put aside our expectations and "hopes" (that events will transpire as we wish) and approach it with a sense of "wonder" and discovery?

GF: Spiritual progress is not "made" by putting aside expectations and "hopes" because -- if you can see this, this means we have expectations and hopes for these very actions. Progress takes place as we are present to ourselves, within ourselves, seeing that the self that lives for expectations not only suffers in their birth but dies with them when they either crash or arrive. Pondering these ideas will help you progress.

dropee: In your book, The Secret of Letting Go, you told a story about a man walking on the road carrying all those bags - didn’t he just let them go and walk on?

GF: Yes, he did leave his bags and walk on, but only once he realized that he had no real need for any of the things he had been carrying all along. This wasn’t painful for him but a true release.

ADB: You’ve stated in several of your past responses to me that in the midst of my issue with fear, I should "realize there is a God." Can I interpret this to mean that for those moments when there is no TPIC present, God is present in me, and that is who I am "being" and aware of in that moment?

GF: There is never a moment when God isn’t present in any of us. You wouldn’t be reading this if it weren’t for His Gift of Life. The issue isn’t the absence of this Presence but our sleep to it within us.

ADB: You talk about these false selves that aren’t us. What are we when our false selves are not present in the present moment?

GF: Do your inner work and find out. There are no answers for questions such as this, which is why they are so often asked. There are parts of you (and all of us) that would rather churn than learn. See this.

James1: Why do negative states/emotions seem to have more legitimacy or command more respect than positive ones? Someone who is sad, somber, or even angry can be considered as being serious (realistic). But someone who is happy or cheerful is not facing reality or is careless.

GF: Your question is a good one and shows some self-watching on your part. One of the reasons negative states are so simple and easy for us to fall into is because there is no effort required for negative emotions to take a descending path. It just happens. Our society secretly respects negative states because they are, for the most part, the only thing people interact with in one another. Be positive.

ADB: I remember listening to one of your Key Lesson tapes wherein you relayed an exercise for your students to do. You said that at the end of a morning meditation when we’re fully awake that we were to visualize/imagine/bring into our awareness the situation that is bothering us. However, I can’t recall what you recommended we do after this part of the exercise occurs. If you remember this exercise, can you please elaborate for me?

GF: Lessons such as these are inappropriate for the chat room. Too much may be misconstrued, and there is too little time and space for conveying essential material.

Wuckei: Many are now saying they want to hear/see nothing of the war or the terrorists, but this is like relinquishing a responsibility. How do we encourage this responsibility to witness to reality, without taking sides?

GF: We must each be responsible first and foremost to what we know is True for ourselves. For instance, we should know that most people have the attention span of a gnat and that as soon as whatever has stimulated this self passes, with it goes all of that person’s attention. Real responsibility is the outcome of attention in that we can’t do what we’ve forgotten needs to be done.

Wuckei: Please clarify the last part of the sentence: "Real responsibility is the outcome of attention in that we can’t do what we have forgotten needs to be done."

GF: When something happens that is related to us or that we feel is connected to our lives, it elicits a response. If we only have an attention that falls for but a moment on this response, we won’t see our relationship or our responsibility to what it is that moved us in the first place. For instance, this is classic spiritual sleep when it comes to being responsible to our wish to remain awake.

Neva: How would you go about eliminating terrorism and bring peace to the world? What do you think is the best way to unite our energies for world peace?

GF: There will never be peace on this planet as long as individuals live with secret wars going on within themselves. The inner determines the outer is the oldest spiritual axiom and the truest. We must each do our work to let peace begin with us, within us. As hatred, greed, and fear are conquered in us, so will the world be conquered by the Love that takes the place of these divisive negative states.

Randy: It occurs to me that any question "I" ask is grounded in the fallacy that there is an "I" in the first place. Who, then, benefits from your answers?

GF: One of the problems of intellectualism is questions such as these. Our inner work is not about a mental construct that negates "I," or answers that reveal such constructs. Our Work is about being awake to the parts of us that feel "I" is I. As this unconscious identification fades away, with it goes all that is false in our lives.

Ventureguy: Does God grant a quiet mind to those who are at the end of their rope if they sincerely ask God to be their life?

GF: When we reach those moments in our lives where it is clear that we are not going to be able to think our way out, the mind sees its own limitations. If this same mind can be kept from falling into futile negative emotions, it becomes still. In this stillness something is transferred to us from above us. There is no doubt about this sequence. Be assured. Don’t be afraid. Let go.

Jason: What are some exercises for increasing our attention span as this seems to be what it takes to stay watchful longer?

GF: The kind of attention that can be developed through exercises has only a certain value to us. More important than this kind of attention is our willingness to watch and experience what our unattended attention connects us to. In seeing that we are hypnotized with certain forms of self-fascination, we soon fall out of love with this kind of attention. Then, it can and will be used for Higher Work.

Noblesquire: I have issues of control. I am an individual who likes to be in control. I have read a number of your books in the past and am aware of your work. I feel like I have been awake since childhood, my problem is, I think, I feel bad about being such a controller and I therefore allow myself to get taken advantage of in many situations because I am somehow trying to balance all the times I must be taking advantage of others and situations. How do I find some kind of healthy balance in a situation like this...is there something else I am not yet able to see?

GF: Consider the following thoughts: Trying not to be a controller is being a controller. Nothing we resist can be released or ever learned about. Don’t try not to control. Instead, be aware of the pressure and pain in you (and in those around you) that such unconscious demands create. Work at this until you can "taste" the self that seeks this kind of control. There’s fear in it. Don’t give up.

noblesquire: Thank you. I will give your answer much thought... I like what you are saying. So when we feel the pain, what do we do with it? I know the pain is some form of energy that has the capacity to teach me something about myself. How do I let that pain lead me to what is correct for me? Where do I let it take me?

GF: This is a little bit deep, but sit with it. Awareness of the pain, of any state of self-suffering, has its own purpose, plan, and fulfillment. Our task is to allow this self-organizing Light within us to do what God created it to do for us. Just last night in class, I told the students that this Work is about allowing the unknown to enter into and undo the known. We can do this if we’re willing. Let us all be willing.

Judy: Your tapes are wonderful and help me to stay awake more throughout the day. The truths in your materials just "feel right" to me. I still have trouble reconciling the resurrection versus the reincarnation theory, however. I purchased your two new tape sets and they are great, but they don’t touch on that seeming contradiction. Am I looking for an answer that can only be a matter of opinion?

GF: Resurrection and reincarnation have nothing in common with one another except for one small fact: Until we learn the lessons in our lives, the pain of our lives will continue to recur. As we learn these lessons, we rise above them. In total, dying to one’s self is not the end of one’s self, but the end of that nature that reincarnates.

DebbiE: Are there any spiritual writings (or would they be called that?) that you would discourage someone from reading because they would be spiritually dangerous? Or will we, if we are spiritual seekers, be able to sense that it may not be good nourishment? I believe that the false parts of us can lead us astray.

GF: There are more lies in books than Truths. And you are right: There are many false parts of us that would rather be given the comfort of a lie than the initial conflict that Truth awakens in us. Each must choose according to his or her heart.

James1: It just occurred to me. We are not to cover up or cover over the hurt and fear. We are supposed to discover and see the various pains. Yet, this is the world of the carrot or stick. Instead of trying to out-do the pain and conflict, we let it go. This is really addition through subtraction. Does this sound correct?

GF: The Path is not about adding anything to ourselves, as anything longing to do this mistakenly believes it is incomplete. It is letting go of what this self says it needs that ultimately reveals both the end of this level of self and the birth of a higher one that is already complete.

Ventureguy: I heard a talk show about people who could go inside their minds and travel to times and places in the future. Is that possible?

GF: More than likely there are individuals so gifted. However, you would not find them on a talk show.

GF: Thanks to these special studies, we are realizing that freedom is not something to be obtained, or somehow "won" through acquisition -- a socially conceived idea that we’ve seen just does not work. So, as surprising, even doubtful as it may seem at first, we begin our search for self-freedom with the realization that it is our natural state (already) to be free.

This idea does help to explain a number of our own experiences; for instance, how we cannot stand to feel ourselves a captive of anything. Common sense dictates that only something inherently free resists limits. If unconscious captivity were the actual root of our present consciousness, we would never even think to struggle with something that restricts us.

What these findings lead us to is that when it comes to self-freedom, our task is no longer the game of "seek and find." The freedom we long for is not found somewhere apart from us. Now our work is to awaken to what it is within and about ourselves that is secretly stripping us of the light of our native freedom! The good news is that this unseen darkness can be discerned.

Our reward for our inner efforts will be to find ourselves released from a life of unconscious servitude to a master that cannot be satisfied. So, let’s get started! If we will look closely at some of the moments in our lives where we find ourselves feeling the least free, one fact about these unwanted times should jump right out at us: We feel negative.

Now ordinarily our unhappy feelings give rise to a whole host of thoughts about how to free ourselves from this (you name it) unhappy condition that now holds us captive. Our negative state is busy telling us what is missing, why it is this way, and what we should do about it. But now we know something priceless:

We know that this negative state is the problem itself! We can understand that any dark cloud that blocks the sun cannot lead us to the light; it is the very creature covering it up. If we see the truth of this, then it begs of us the next important question we must ask ourselves: How are we so easily being tricked, and by what? Here is the answer:

All lingering negative emotions are in partnership with a certain kind of unconscious thinking that not only gives these punishing feelings credibility, but that causes us to see their presence within us as being natural and necessary given our perceived captive condition. To see through their charade is to free ourselves from their captivity.

Here for our study is a short list of these secretly troublesome thoughts:

1. Comparing ourselves to others.
2. Mentally reviewing failed plans, hoping to revitalize them in some future time.
3. Trying to figure out why we feel "unfree," and then resenting our discoveries.
4. Rehashing any past painful moments for any reason.

Can we begin to see from these very common examples of conflict-filled thinking that, within it and by it, we actually build the very prison we then seek to escape? Would any of us ever feel inadequate for any reason if we didn’t first embrace some imaginary perfected state of self which we then unconsciously compare ourselves to?

Add to this fact that these same pain-producing self-pictures are built upon socially accepted ideals -- not only impossible to gain as imagined, but impossible to keep -- and we arrive at the surprising new understanding needed to realize real freedom:

Once we cease to take part in unconsciously constructing our own psychological cages, we will have no need to set ourselves free. We will just know that who we really are always has been free. We will see, beyond any doubt, that Freedom is not a time to come; that it does not dwell in a place apart from us. It is our True Nature. This is the Truth that fulfills itself within us if we will only dare fulfill its promise to us.

That’s all the time we have for tonight, so I will see you again next month on Thursday, December 6th. Remember that the more awake you can stay to yourself, the happier will be this coming Holiday season -- and all of the days that follow. So, remember yourself, remember God, and keep your wish for full freedom alive in you. Truth will do the rest. Good night.

GF: It always seems that in the face of any crisis, the best and the worst of humanity is revealed for all to see. On one hand, there are thousands who suddenly become aware (perhaps for the first time) of the pain and loss others feel and, foregoing personal interest, dive into the challenging waters of self-sacrifice and other charitable works of selflessness.

At the same time, these crises -- especially those of a larger scale -- seem to draw out, from under their darkened rocks, bugs in human form. These sub-species systematically prey upon the confused and desperate people who are dragged along in the wake of tragedy. Of these depraved souls that profit from the suffering of others we will speak no more. Cosmic Justice always prevails.

Let us turn our attention to how each of us may, every day, help to lift, heal, and brighten the world we share -- so that through our individual spiritual efforts we do the work that first transforms our lives and then the life of the world itself. Is there such a Work? Is there a way to ensure Peace in us and therefore upon earth? Is this vision attainable? The answer is yes!

Every journey of genuine self-discovery and inner change must begin somewhere. Ours begins with a truth in question form:

Did you know you have the power to change the whole world? That within you dwells a Cosmic Character capable of transforming dark influences -- along with their destructive forces -- into healing energies that exist not only to serve what is Timeless and Good within us, but to enlarge these powers as well?

Make no mistake: Within each of us is everything that we (and the world) need to transfigure and transcend the dark shadows of fear, greed, and hatred. And when these secret seeds of conflict are dead and gone, what negative forces are left that can goad humanity into war?

Perhaps you are wondering, what is this great power that can change the world, that is entrusted to each of us, but that so few have realized in a meaningful way? Here is the answer that I ask you to consider very carefully:

Each of us is created to be the Light of the world. Let me amplify this truth: We may each become the Light of the world, and when Light is present, what can remain hidden? How can any unseen darkness prevail if its presence is known before it begins its punishing action? Just think of such a power and the freedom from fear it promises. Yet, permit me a needful word of caution:

We must take care neither to let our doubts discount this truth, nor to assume its possession by us as a foregone conclusion; such assumptions always lead to defeat and heartache. The truth is that this positive power is but potential in us up to this point. If it were already actualized (in us), then negative states would not be able to dominate us; their evil effects would be non-events.

So our first step is to awaken to our actual spiritual condition, not accepting this finding as a limitation, but seeing it as an invitation to transcend our current consciousness.

Even to suspect it possible that we, as individuals, can work to "positize" the world, ending its pain of being in the dark by becoming instruments of the Light should be all we need to start us on the journey of making it so. And let it be known that to actualize what we can intuitively visualize is the spiritual journey. Physical examples abound to prove this possibility.

For instance, once our mind suspected the potential of sunlight to generate solar power, we learned to turn the energy of the sun into our helpful and healthful servant -- the difference being now that we need to realize and utilize the living Light within us. Once we master this inner power, then what possible power can darkness hold over us? That’s right, none!

Now the only question remaining before us is how do we awaken this living Light within us? What is required of us to realize this power of Powers that is able to transform one’s soul and the soul of the world as well?

Before we close our chat tonight, I will prove this God-given potential to claim this living Light within us. We will discover how to help ourselves bring this Light to bear in our day-to-day lives.

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 new understanding?

jaywman: My experience confirms your remarks. The deeper the realization of my impoverished spiritual condition, the more willingness there is to do whatever is needed. I wonder if you might say a few words about overcoming self-centeredness. It seems to be the root of the spiritual malady.

GF: It is one of those truly extraordinary spiritual discoveries as one begins to recognize that the very selfishness that possesses him is not what fulfills him for all of its appetites and promises, but actually punishes him. All forms of self-centeredness are the invisible sufferings connected to unseen opposites within us, as no opposite can cancel itself. Therefore, the cycle of suffering keeps going.

rousseau: I am studying in Fairfield, Iowa at the Maharishi University of Management. Your remarks here echo the founding principles of this school, and the subject matter we study. Since September 11th there have been many more people (around 2000) who are meditating together Transcendental Meditation to strengthen the effects of this positive light you speak of. It is very encouraging to be a part of it.

GF: Anything that any of us can do within ourselves (first) to remember that this life is first an interior one and then an exterior one will help raise the consciousness of the collective Soul. This is difficult to do in dark times, but never more valuable than when things seem darkest. The smallest Light remembered is greater than the oldest darkness in place.

Marie: What do you mean by saying we have an immortal soul?

GF: What seems like a simple question is quite complex and can only be answered in terms of understanding levels of scale. However, you can derive some of the answer you search for by reading the closing comments in tonight’s chat in which I point to the existence of something immortal that we may all not only know, but come to have become us.

Ok: Controlling and identifying thought is one thing, but the reality in wishing, wanting, and trying to succeed in this world is another. Should we not give all of this any energy for the peace of mind within ourselves to succeed in this world?

GF: Everything depends upon what a person sees and feels as being the nature of "success." Experience proves that everything we have accomplished in the world, in time, eventually proves itself insufficient to our hopes for contentment and peace. Vernon Howard said "It is wise to seek immortality as time defeats all other ambitions."

ADB: You mention in The Intimate Enemy not to deny fear or to fight it or to agree with it. You stated that Vernon Howard said to "walk through fear." Can you elaborate in practical terms how to do this, say, in a business meeting where I’m asked to speak to the group impromptu?

GF: First, think of this idea: The way out is through. Now add to that the understanding that you can’t make fear go away by not wanting to be afraid. You end your relationship with fear by recognizing the only hold it has over you are the negative images it projects in your mind about things to come. See these things and walk through them. Don’t be afraid to fail and you’ll succeed in being free of fear.

ADB: What do you mean by "walk through fear"? I need this explained more practically and explanatorily. Perhaps an analogy would help.

GF: It means to do what you don’t want to do in the moment you don’t want to do it. And you do this not for the purpose of succeeding, but for the purpose of seeing. If you will attempt to act through your fear, instead of letting your fear act through you, you will find out things about it (and yourself) that will cause you to want to learn more.

ADB: Should I join Toastmasters (which I fear) in order to confront fear head-on?

GF: Anything you will do deliberately for the sake of stepping through a fear will not fail to help you become free of that fear. You can’t go wrong trying to learn what is within.

ADB: Remember the Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons where the coyote all of a sudden realizes he ran off the cliff, is running on air, and then falls with this new awareness? I sense that when I speak to people and become "aware" of my surroundings that my fear just escalates. Can you please shed light on this happening?

GF: It isn’t that your fear escalates, but that you are suddenly aware of a fear that has always been attending you in all such moments. The sense of falling is a "special effect" that fear throws on the screen of your mind for the purpose of getting you to re-identify with it in order to pull you back into its dark world. Never mind the fear of falling. Find out that who you really are can’t fall.

Faust: "Pain" is good in the Light! Your advice has enabled me to make some serious changes in my attitudes of late. The darkness literally melts in the light of Truth. Alas, it’s taken a long time to reach this new level. So how does one maintain the necessary "awareness" to remain in the Light at all times?

GF: If you were walking through a dense jungle filled with dangerous beasts, would you need to struggle to maintain the necessary awareness? No, of course not. So it is with our inner life. As we awaken to realize that within us there are many, many "I’s," most of whom wish to compromise us for the sake of the sense of self they extract, then we will have no problems staying awake.

RandyS: I am interested in learning more about the programs you are working on that target this work to children.

GF: Every day I see this as a more important task for this Work to approach. Next year we will build our second building and hopefully begin our first attempt at a school for younger children. In the meantime, stay in touch and watch for signs of activity. The principal program right now is called Project INDIVIDUAL VOICE. "Voice" stands for : Vanquish Our Invisible Common Enemy.

JohnF: I’m wondering if silence is an expression of awareness, or if they are somehow the same thing. What is their relationship?

GF: Awareness, true awareness, contains all things within it, and this includes what we think of as silence. But to add to this, it might be said that real Silence is the atmosphere that attends awareness -- and that together nothing can enter into their Field undetected.

Ron: Having had some experiences of Inner Peace or heartwarming connections in my life does not seem to provide the motivation or inspiration for me to make this a top priority in my life now. Is it just a matter of being ready and willing, or am I simply making excuses for being fearful instead of acting on Faith?

GF: You’ve heard the expression "To everything there is a season." This holds true in all of our lives, especially as it concerns our continuing spiritual development. Having said this though, I have found that the clearer we see the real condition of ourselves, the more we want to stand in the spiritual sun. It is this light coupled with our wish for it that ripens our soul and releases our spirit.

Patient: I punish myself by what I believe other people are thinking about me. Sometimes this comes on in short, intense bursts that are over before I see them coming -- other times it’s more chronic. While I can see this problem, it doesn’t help me stop living my life in this fear. How can I stop this?

GF: The only way any of us can truly bring an end to unconscious behavior that punishes us in our unawareness is through new efforts to be conscious and to bring awareness to bear within us upon the parts of us that are defeating us. Don’t try to make this problem go away. Instead, become more conscious of this internal conflict and self-compromise. This willingness will open the doors of Freedom.

poi: How does esoteric thinking say we should deal with criminals? Should they be tried and jailed?

GF: It is not an exaggeration to say that walking around in human bodies are creatures that are intent upon the destruction of both the body they inhabit as well as the collective soul of humankind. They are darkness incorporated, literally. These creatures cannot be redeemed. This difficulty is one of the most confusing issues surrounding society. There is no simple answer, but they should not be amongst us.

poi: If they should not be among us, should they be jailed, or worse, put to death?

GF: Human beings, whatever their nature, should not be permitted common social considerations if it is impossible for them to be even commonly courteous and civil.

jaybird: How does the concept of "oneness" with all humanity, which these esoteric principles teach as being a reality, apply to these creatures who should not be amongst us? Are we all "one" with them? If so, what is our proper attitude towards them? You’ve recently stressed that hate is not the answer, so what should we feel towards them?

GF: This only seems confusing because popular notions twist the idea of "oneness." We each have in us all that any have, but let’s liken inner darkness to a dark, burning fire. When we see such a flame in self - or in others - we know not to get too near or we might well be burned. There is no judgment in this.

dropee: Are you at a point where no negative states get in?

GF: No negative state "gets in" without being recognized in its entrance and shown the way out.

David: Whenever I send out an SOS (Save Our Ship), I get back another SOS (Same Old Story). Is this because: 1) I’m transmitting on the wrong frequency, 2) I’m receiving on the wrong frequency, 3) the transmitted message is faulty, or 4) the received message is faulty? How do I tune to the right frequencies and/or formulate the proper messages?

GF: Everything depends upon our gradual discovery of what really constitutes "our ship." A big part your awakening is the realization that all of our life we have been identified with what is not really ourselves, but a cleverly constructed structure of mental and emotional "stuff." Find out more about the ship called yourself and then find out if you want that rescued.

jebodiah: I’ve recently became involved with a women who is beautiful inside and out. Everything seems natural, trusting, and great - something I’ve always hoped for. Although physically attracted, I have absolutely no lustful/aggressive desires one would normally have. Does this mean that it’s true love or that I just don’t connect with her that way? Perhaps I’m troubled subconsciously about her just leaving a ten-year marriage?

GF: What we all have to ask ourselves is why do we believe that the torrent (and torment) of questions that passes through our mind somehow is legitimate and requires our attention and answer? Are you happy? Does it feel good? Leave it alone if you are content, and learn to live alone without your thoughts constantly turning everything upside down to fit some preconceived image.

doc: Please talk about excesses -- I mean vicious excesses such as drinking a case of beer, eating a half gallon of ice cream, working out for two hours. Thanks for your help.

GF: Most compulsive behavior has its root (originally) in the fear of being alone and taking part unconsciously in the nature that would rather have something to hate itself about than not exist at all. Clearly, excesses are destructive. Find out what is pushing you and then simply learn to step out of the way like a toreador sidesteps a bull. This will be hard the first time, but once you see the nature of this compulsive nature, it’s over.

JohnF: I need to see clearly how I’m meeting life from my past, but I can’t seem to remember the specific past events that have so profoundly shaped me. You’ve said that I don’t need to. Then how?

GF: It isn’t the forms in us from whatever source that shape us, but rather the forces that sustain these forms. We don’t need to see, in fact, actually can’t, what is called "the past." What we can see and change through higher awareness is our relationship with these forces that formed both past forms and are presently shaping our present life. Work hard to watch yourself.

Len: Everybody thinks I’m cuckoo because I’m 46 and I still enjoy reading Charlie Brown books. Should I listen to them? Yes, I still get a kick out of these books!

GF: Have a good time. As a rule, that drives people crazy.

alex: I have a six-year-old son and I try to stay awake as best I can in raising him. I also (when time and opportunity presents itself) try to teach him about God’s presence and how He wants us to always do the Good. But we don’t go to a church of any kind (anymore). Is there anything of reference I can use to teach him better than I am doing now?

GF: I would say your son is more fortunate than most. The real church is within each of us, as is the Living Light that sustains and nourishes this Timeless presence. There is no better teaching than one’s willingness to explore God’s Life personally and to share this journey with the ones we love.

Sunshine: I find that I catch myself daydreaming often. I know it only gives me momentary enjoyment. But when I come awake to it, the daydream ends. I feel that I am stopping them. Should I just let them be there? It seems very difficult to daydream when I am conscious. I would rather not spend most of my life in this state. Please help.

GF: Just last night, I gave a talk on the very subject of daydreaming and the secret defeat hidden within these "sweet" moments of spiritual sleep. I highly recommend this talk. It will clarify, confirm, and strengthen your sense that these daydreams that take you over are not only self-compromising, but are actually stealing from you the chance to have a Real Life. Contact Chris through the Foundation’s e-mail address on the Home Page.

doc: Per your suggestion, I have asked myself a thousand times, "What is it in me I can learn about myself in this situation?" I do not get any direction despite my frequent requests.

GF: Stop trying to think your way out and begin to watch yourself. It isn’t that one receives a direction to go in as much as one begins to see the nature that has misdirected them in the moment. Catching what deceives us and experiencing the shock of having found ourselves so misguided is the beginning of realizing a Real Guidance that "goes before us to make the crooked places straight."

Fern: Please comment on "Remembering." Why is it so important to spiritual self-development?

GF: Self-observation and self-remembering are the two real wings on the bird called Realization of God. First we must learn to come awake to ourselves and see the actuality of our interior state. In this same moment, if we have done that, we are reminded and encouraged (through our discovery) of our need for God in our lives. Self-remembering is the act of knowing that "I am" but that this being belongs to God.

JohnF: If someone is acting like a jerk, then just noticing that is a judgment, no? Is refraining from judgment, in this case, to simply refuse to feel superior?

GF: Noticing that someone is a nut is not judgment. Judgment is when one sits in their mind as something superior to what they observe. And as far as refraining from judgment, it isn’t a question of resisting the sense of superiority, but of experiencing the sense of separation and pain that attends all states of self-righteousness.

BNevrgivup: Turning to these truths or the real path to freedom requires moving furniture in our life, changing the environment. This is difficult to overcome and take action on when it involves leaving life-long relationships!

GF: There’s no doubt about the difficulty you experience as you begin realizing you have a broader responsibility to this life than just trying to make yourself happy. But this difficulty is mandatory because no hardship exists for us that isn’t the expression of something initially hardened in us that we didn’t see take place. Stay the course. Remember the Light and God. It will melt what is hard as surely as what sun does to ice.

doc: I got excited this afternoon thinking about your chat tonight. You provide guidance that I sorely need. I do not want to treat you like God, but I don’t feel a close relationship with God.

GF: It is always a good thing for you to want to increase your relationship with the Truth. If you will stay the course, your gradual discoveries will not only reveal the need for a relationship with God, but you will see that you have always had this same relationship, only didn’t know it.

BNevrgivup: When is your next retreat at your center in Oregon?

GF: Our next special retreat at the Foundation in Oregon will be in June of next year. We are expanding it to take place over the period of a week so that more people might join us. I also would mention that every weekend now there are three meetings -- one Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday morning. Do come for a visit when you can.

Faust: Your talk "Realize Liberation in Obedience to Light" is a masterpiece of Truth, and it’s had a very positive impact on me. So what "me" did your talk affect? Is it my essential self? Is it my "me mind"? I’m just wondering where your powerful teaching landed within my mental/spiritual framework.

GF: If there is within you from hearing these principles in the talk you’ve mentioned, a kind of resonating that is at once stirring and at the same time has with it a certain sense of suffering, then, yes, the talk fell on your Essence.

jebodiah: I once read a statement from a psychologist saying, "the sickness of a obsessive compulsion has nothing to do with the disease being obsessed over." Although very sensible, how could one see through the disease that is very real and limiting physical human means?

GF: Your attention is on the wrong thing. Imagine a man in a black mask at your front door with a bag on his back. He points down the street and says "There goes the thief." It’s the same thing with all compulsive behaviors: The self that is obsessed points to what it says has it captive when it is this very self, this nature, that needs to be apprehended through awareness.

Roy: There is much talk now about changing the dark condition of the world through prayer. Can we really have an external effect on these conditions? Or is this darkness not removed by the changes we can make in ourselves, one by one?

GF: All real change in this world is only made by individuals. It is when a number of individuals stand together, whether for the purposes of the Light and the greater presence of God’s Life, or the darkness and the despair that comes with it, that change takes place. Be sure and read my closing comments tonight.

Sunshine: I was out walking today, feeling pretty good. Slowly depression started coming over me. I could see it starting and thought this is how every day is. Then it just came over me that I have a choice. I do not have to live this way. There is a way out. Thank you for all your books and tapes. They are making a real difference in my life.

GF: Yes, yes, yes! Isn’t it really a miracle when in any moment of our lives we see for the first time perhaps that the choices darkness gives us as being the only ones are indeed the only ones we need to see through? Keep going. I promise brighter days are ahead if you will just persist.

Ok: I find ease in not listening to my thoughts and focusing on reality and staying positive, however is it not true we have no control over the surroundings made up for us to follow in this world, therefore our direction of whether we succeed or not may be in the hands of the system and others itself?

GF: No. Absolutely not. There is nothing in the universe that has the right to rule a human being who has placed his or her life into the hands of God. Said another way, when we are one with Reality, how can Reality ever be a problem?

poi: Vernon Howard said, "I am responsible for realizing that only God has to be responsible for my life." Is this a bit of a cop-out? If not, then what was he talking about?

GF: What Mr. Howard means is that once we truly understand that as we presently are we do not understand our pain, then we gradually begin to let it go and turn it over to God. This is our responsibility to see through. Once we do this, then God is responsible. And if you’ll do this, you will see the truth of this natural unfolding of the Soul.

tjc: Vernon Howard seems to make sense. I’ve listened to him because you quote him. But he is a bit militant about depression, with kind of a "pull you up by your bootstraps" approach. He says that all depression is self-inflicted. Do you agree?

GF: The real issue is not in assessing where "cause" may fall, but rather in one’s responsibility towards whatever effect is manifested. Keep in mind that all depression ultimately -- even born of chemical imbalance -- has its roots in the working of the mind and its relationship with spirit.

JohnF: If I could stop thinking completely, would I still receive "impressions" that are on a deeper level than thought as I know it?

GF: Absolutely. Thought is pretty much like the surface of a pond: The self that knows itself through this reflection is Narcissus. Beneath the surface, beneath thought, rests a nature that knows what it does without thinking, but through direct perception of the waters that it not only dwells in but that is actually its nature.

Fern: You said in a recent chat that the Kingdom of Heaven may not be taken by force. The Bible says, "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force." What did you mean and what do you think the Bible means?

GF: They are not in contradiction with each other, these two statements of the Bible’s and mine. For one example, a fakir or someone who severely disciplines their body may indeed reach certain levels of "Heaven" or immortal being. The catch is, these individuals are immortal vegetables with neither understanding nor heart nor even Real Will. They have won nothing through their violence.

Faust: I would like to add a similar question to the one Fern just asked. You told me specifically that "The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be taken by force" when I described for you the psychological technique of looking straight into your own eyes (in a mirror). It’s designed to be a transcending experience into greater self-knowledge, but it is also very frightening because you literally begin to fear "something." Why is that?

GF: We must each somehow begin to recognize the difference between what negative imagination of itself produces in us and what these negative images are that capture us. There is no real purpose to imagining anything in one’s spiritual journey. St. Paul said, "Our hope must be for things unseen, not things seen."

ADB: If you saw it, would you agree that the concept behind the movie "The Matrix" is rather amazing/disturbing? Would you say that the idea behind the real life hidden beyond the mind as portrayed in this movie is a fairly accurate analogy, and once we fully awaken that we can expect the same level of omnibus enlightening?

GF: Some movies do indeed cast "hints" out into the mainstream consciousness. I would only add that while these stories, as compelling as they are, momentarily heighten one’s sense of their situation, there is no substitute for simply being awake at a table in a restaurant or across from your spouse. Everything we need to know to want to awaken is right before us at all times.

JJ: Lately I have been feeling as though many things in my life are a distraction -- almost everything if not all things. This has led me to question my commitment to this work and if I am truly "taking up my cross." Part of me realizes this is just another tactic of the false self, but in my heart I know at some point I will have to forsake all others if I want a truly God-inspired life. Any comments?

GF: Follow your Heart. Refuse to fear for yourself as long as your aim and intention is to awaken and have a God-centered life. It is a little-known Truth that one who is sincere in his or her wish for a Real Life cannot make a mistake even though there will be a trail of tears and error.

jebodiah: One recent day at work, every little annoying thing that usually happens at different times all happened at once - almost all day! No exaggeration. Was this done on purpose by these unseen forces? Do you know? Happily, I didn’t move in any of their directions!

GF: Everything moves in cycles, and to this there are no exceptions. There may be certain concurrent currents that seem to conspire, but it is all under invisible laws that are not necessarily in a conspiracy. Thank God for your day!

JohnF: Just before I submit to the temptation to get negative, it’s as though that temptation is actively "poking me along to embrace it. I wish I could hear the voice of Truth/Sanity just as clearly.

GF: When you hear in you the negative states whose presence hurts you, you are in the presence of "sanity" else you would never be aware of the difference between yourself, your wish for Truth, and the darkness that wishes to interfere with your aim.

Lenny: You mentioned once something about hesitation being born out of the fear of something happening in the future. That pretty much describes me. Part of me even hesitates to ask this question, for fear I’ll do it wrong, or blow my one chance to ask you. Ridiculous, aren’t I?

GF: No, not at all. Don’t allow wrong parts of you to be hard on you. We all must take the step towards Freedom from the ground we are on in the present. The key is, take the steps, one-by-one, all the way out, and Home.

jebodiah: Is it possible to know so much about being conscience that normal pleasantries seem like nothing? All emotions just don’t "do it" for me anymore. I feel like I’m around people and situations that will never pursue light.

GF: It is not a question of "knowing" - but of being. And as we do grow in being, what pleases us does change.

Tony: Please comment on the Cycle of Life. Why do problems repeat themselves in our lives, society, the world?

GF: Vernon Howard used to tell his students: "until one learns the lesson in the pain, the pain will return."

ventureguy: I have learned of another way to see through a fear when it arises in my awareness. I tell myself that the fear is just False Evidence Appearing Real (FEAR) and then I am able to let the fear pass right through me and not identify with it.

GF: Fine. Anything you can use to help you remember to see a negative state instead of identifying with it is a good tool.

Faust: When we really see ourselves in the Light of our strengths and weaknesses, how do we go about presenting ourselves as sacrifices unto God without the shame, without the pride, yet with full child-like submission?

GF: When we do see ourselves, there is nothing else we can do - given we wish a truly God-centered life.

JohnF: Some say that the physical death of Jesus is not to be taken literally, but it seems to me that physical death was imperative to demonstrating Life beyond materiality. I’m not sure the question is even relevant to our growth. Any thoughts?

GF: There is absolutely no value in speculation of this sort. Do your inner work and find out personally the truth of this Great story.

James1: Could you speak about "approach avoidance." I know it is one of those nouveau phrases, but it seems to describe how I greet anything new. Was I so identified in the past that I’m weary now?

GF: If by approach avoidance you mean do what one does not want to do, this is classical and true spiritual advice. Only by consciously testing the unwanted does one find out that these things and moments are figments of negative imagination.

alex: When I hear something that is the Truth, I can feel and sense that absolutely, but when I’m alone in contemplation, or pondering a problem, is God present in thought at all? If I get an inspiring thought, how do I know its source? ("The kingdom of heaven lies in the space between two thoughts.") I think I’m getting a little mixed up, but I’m just tired of acting on what sounds good but turns out to be wrong or a waste of time.

GF: Don’t bring thought into trying to clarify the confusion it makes when it wants to "know." Thinking cannot know the Truth you seek. Stick with developing your intuition, and consciously lending your awareness to such moments. What you need to see will be shown to you and you will know the truth of it only in these moments.

jebodiah: Why do some people talk about God as a state of mind as opposed to a real supreme being? God is not a thought, would you agree?

GF: What isn’t God?

David: My computer runs the Windows ME (Millenium Edition) operating system. My head just runs the ME (My Edition) operating system. I see that ME makes an unhappy me, yet I continue to execute its commands. Do I: 1) struggle against ME, 2) replace ME, 3) uninstall ME with no replacement, or 4) incrementally re-program ME?

GF: Continue to realize with greater and greater clarity the inherent limitations and compromises you face each time ME loads. Do this work of watching without justifying, and ME will crash. God will install His Intelligence!

Ok: The force within us seems to come from the force from around us, is this not so?

GF: When one gets quiet enough, there is found no real "place" that one could call within or without.

JohnF: What is something useful to remember for overcoming the fear of pain that attends seeing things about myself that are "less than flattering"?

GF: All truths serve Truth.

jebodiah: What would you recommend as the next step or level to one who has accomplished staying awake, not being chaotic in thought, waiting and watching, etc.? Dropping everything for God’s life… i.e., career, relationships, money, etc.?

GF: When one has achieved what you ask, God reveals the next step unerringly.

jaybird: In your book The Secret Way Of Wonder, you say that the reason we feel so empty so often is because we keep on doing empty things. Quite true. However, there are many "empty" things that cleverly masquerade as meaningful things. Can you give any insight as to how we might better detect these subtle imposters that waste our energies and keep us spiritually asleep?

GF: Good question. Start with this: As a rule, the self that wants to add something (whatever) to itself to free itself of feeling empty is really just filling itself with the sensation of wanting. Don’t answer the need of this empty self and you will soon see the end of its empty demands and promises.

James1: Could you speak of "turning the other cheek"? This request is made in the context of recent events. Revenge is not the answer, but there are practical things that should be done to limit the damage/hurt by others. Are we not to "have faith in Allah, but tie up our camels"?

GF: Each must attend to the "incidents" in life from the best understanding of themselves as possible. To thine own self be true, the saying goes. Follow the dictates of your heart. Leave others to their own.

rebos: I am in a 12-step program for sobriety. I am progressing on the road of recovery. God consciousness and the spiritual feelings that I once had seem to be gone and I’m trying to get them back. Pre-printed prayers are not me, although I say them. Meditation is also hard for me. How can I get back into the frame of Mind, God and Spirit?

GF: Find a teacher or teaching that stirs your heart (even a little). Then - as best you can - immerse yourself in that Work. The small flame in you has not died, it just needs room and a breeze.

James1: In a previous talk, you spoke of us as beings "asking for the circumstances we find ourselves in -- even a child who dies a horrible death." Could you explain this further? I guess I am really asking for proof

GF: The universe does not -- as Albert Einstein said so eloquently -- "play dice" (with us)

MikeD: I find that my "knowing," that is my esoteric discoveries, are difficult to put into words. I “know,” but when I try to verbalize to my spouse, my characterizations are so pedestrian. Is part of mastery being able to explain it

GF: As you grow in Spirit be assured that Spirit will increasingly be able to make Itself known through you. Christ’s own disciples were fearful of their "pedestrian" communication skills, and he told them that in the hour (needed) they would be given what to say. This is True.

DebbiE: My husband worked in the World Trade Center and lost many colleagues. Is it true that the identification with them is what creates much of his suffering? He gets angry if I try to suggest ways not to suffer as though he is supposed to do that. He says he can’t get away from it because pictures of victims are all over NYC. Offering something higher seems, from his viewpoint, to be uncompassionate

GF: Your assessment is correct. You will have to leave him alone for the time being, taking care to be supportive but without compromising Truth as you now understand it. Perhaps in time he will weary of (now) his self-inflicted sufferings. This would be the compassionate thing to do.

jaywman: I occasionally experience a change of consciousness wherein I am suddenly able to have a greater than usual awareness of myself and my environment. It is like standing beside a stream and watching it flow by. These experiences are brief -- just a minute of two -- but while they last I feel quite free. In your experience, is it profitable to actively pursue these states? What are their values relative to Awakening

GF: God gifts us as it pleases Him. What pleases Him is our pleasure in Him, and not so much His gifts. Try to drop this desire of wanting "more" in favor of being more awake to your need for His Life.

GF: Before we say goodnight, I do want to give you my remaining notes on what we have to do to become the Light of the world.

Now, here is the Way in which it is possible for each of us -- wherever we are and regardless of our circumstances -- to be the Light of the world: We must cease to be an unconscious part of its darkness.

Please don’t discount this idea. I assure you it applies to all of us. In fact, if we ever react negatively to someone who implies that we might have some unseen relationship with what is dark and destructive, we need only to come awake and aware of ourselves for the proof of this spiritual assertion. Shakespeare said it best: "Methinks thou dost protest too much."

Neither is this true idea of "don’t be a part of the darkness" too esoteric to be meaningful. This statement is packed with palpable power. What we need is the key that turns this knowledge into the wisdom of spiritual experience. To do this we will gather some special insights whose collective understanding will both prove to us -- and show us how -- we can be the Light of the world.

First, a few questions to set the stage of discovery: Is there any light anywhere in the universe that isn’t a part of all the light in the universe? To quietly ponder this idea will prove it to you. Indeed, The light "here" is the light "there" and is, in fact, the light everywhere. Quantum physics now corroborates this truth, and reveals the indivisible unity of light.

Along the same lines, here’s the next question in our inquiry: Is there darkness anywhere in the universe that is not a part of the darkness everywhere in the universe?

For instance, is the dark hatred or fear that consumes a soul in Britain different in nature from the dark state one suffers somewhere in Brazil -- even though the two be thousands of miles apart? The answer is "no"; one darkness is all darkness.

Now (and I urge you to really spend some time wondering about this), if we bring any light into any darkness anywhere, is not darkness everywhere made less? Mustn’t even the littlest bit of light added to even the greatest darkness leave that same darkness not so impenetrable? The answer has to be a brilliant "yes!"

Are you beginning to see what we are empowered to do? The earth we live upon, indeed the whole universe, may be changed in its fundamental makeup should we only realize that by agreeing to be the light we may negate the effect of darkness in our reality. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. First the vision; then comes the inner Work such a transformation requires of us.

What is required of us to cease being a part of the darkness and become, instead, the light of the world? Here’s what we have been leading up to: We must stop incorporating dark forces. What does this mean, to "incorporate" the darkness? It means, literally, to embody negative states, to give these conflicted forces a form.

What I am attempting to show you through these insights and the lessons they reveal is that without us to lend these negative energies a three-dimensional vehicle, they have neither place nor arena to manifest their separatist sufferings. So now we must ask, how do we give these dark forces a body? How is such a state of self possible? You be the judge of the evidence.

Has your mouth ever spoken out in a dark or critical rage? Have your eyes ever looked harshly upon someone and judged him in anger? Whose mind hasn’t schemed for secretly self-serving purposes? Hasn’t your heart ever been the harbor for some dark resentment? Haven’t our hands reached out in fear, or our feet raced anxiously to rid ourselves of some stressful worry? The point is clear.

If we will dare to consider the evidence within us, we can’t help but see the fact that we have all been unconsciously compromised by a darkness that comes into us and uses us for its dark ends. Well, now we have the light at hand to bring an end to this unseen, unseemly relationship.

We must no longer agree to do the dark will that wants us to be its person. We must want, and put first, the will of what is Light and right for ourselves and everyone else around us. This means we must wake up, come aware, and see what kind of being it is that we express in the moment - and right then and there, dare to defy and drop any dark state that wants its expression through us.

This higher willingness to drop dark states, coupled with our new awareness that nothing real can stop us from working at this, is the first stirring of the living Light that already dwells within us. But we must give our lives to this Light if we wish for it to become our own. This sacrifice of self is the wish of the Light since time began.

One last thought: If we will make it our intention to bring this Light into every corner of ourselves, and not flinch when what is dark reveals it has made a home for itself therein, then we and our world will soon be filled with Light. This is Truth’s promise. Make its fulfillment your Aim.

Our time has come to close the chat. We will meet again on Thursday, November the first. Until then, remember what we have uncovered here together. Be the Light. Refuse to be the dark. Remember yourself and God at all times and the battle is won.

GF: Good evening. I want to introduce some special ideas about what is required of us if we wish to spiritually transform our lives.

First, to set the stage, a short question about human behavior: Have you ever noticed how -- whenever there is a secret going around among your close friends - you will do almost anything to learn its undisclosed nature? Or if you think someone knows something that you don’t, how you won’t rest until you too are "in the know"? All of this is to say we seem to love secrets!

With this fact in mind, I want you to know that there is a great secret on this planet that virtually no one wants to hear, let alone know. Be assured this is no understatement. Truth be told, this one secret is so explosive, so dangerous to the social status quo, that billions of dollars are spent every year to ensure that this secret remains just that, a secret.

Entire industries exist to mask the truth of this secret. Nevertheless, every great once in a while, whenever some awakened person appears on the scene and tries to tell this secret to a world that is dying because of its very fear of this same secret, the world will either ignore the presence of such Teachers or, in some instances, try to wipe out their lives.

The thing that is so unique about this secret is that everyone - in his or her heart of hearts - already knows it! They just don’t want to know that they know it! And this contradiction in our consciousness makes for part of the secret itself, because the more we resist anything in life, the more real it becomes to us - even if we have buried it (in us) as deeply as possible.

The other thing that is so strange about this secret that we don’t want to know is that it is the very Gateway to the Life that we really want -- in that once we would tell (acknowledge) it to ourselves, its "dawning" in us would instantly dispel other dark secrets now lodged and living in us. What are these other sorrow-making secrets still hidden in us?

These are the ones that always betray us, that tell themselves out loud in bursts of resentments, fear, impatience, and other acts of intolerance. But think of it! With these enemies of Love and Light removed from our heart and mind, what could be left within us other than the pure goodly qualities of soul and Spirit that are strength, contentment, joy, and peace themselves?

So what is this secret that no one wants to know, that applies to all people equally regardless of social or economic standing? What is this secret that if known by us - if realized in our core - could not only transform us but help to change the whole world for the betterment of all? Here it is:

Everyone we know suffers. That’s it. We all have a pain in us that won’t go away or that, at best, can only be pushed aside as long as some pleasurable vibration can be sustained through self-created cost or by a gentle natural coincidence of an accidental cause. Why would anyone want to know this unwanted secret about his or her life on earth?

For one thing, its realization sets the stage for being empowered to fulfill the two great commandments that reign as the Heart and Soul of every True religion: to love God first and foremost -- above all else -- and to love one another as ourselves.

Now, how does the realization of this unrecognized secret end our unconscious relationship with (what amounts to) a "reality" built out of resistance to knowing this same truth of ourselves? Study the spiritual logic that follows all the way to the True Freedom it reveals. Look closely and you will see the foundation of a new and compassionate Reality being revealed.

First, psychological suffering is secretly rooted in what is either the fear of a pending loss, or the negatively imagined fate of oneself because of a loss just incurred. And further, this same fear of loss is not the fear of some coveted possession, person, or position suddenly disappearing on us. Our fear of loss runs through deeper "waters" than these surface attachments.

The dreaded sensation of loss is caused by the involuntary severance of an attachment of ours; for it is through such attachments (whatever their nature - physical, mental or emotional) that our sense of self is structured and upon which it rests. This unconscious subtle condition at the root of our sense of self, and the pain that comes out of it, is known as being "identified."

So, psychological suffering is a result of our reliance upon an imagined self that is sustained through being unconsciously identified with its own mental and emotional creations. If we can see that this state of self amounts to what is pure narcissism, then we can also begin to realize what all of these discoveries have been leading us up to.

To know that we suffer as we do because of a nature within us that can love only itself - and that this suffering persists because it believes it can end its one pain through its own means - produces the possibility for us to put this backwards nature behind us, where it belongs. And in doing this we do what we have as yet been unable to do for ourselves: Put God first in our lives.

Lastly, how does knowing this truth of our own state of suffering create conditions that lead us to loving our neighbor as ourselves? It’s simple, really. To begin with, we don’t much see the despair of others because our own unhappiness blinds us to almost everything else except for what this same suffering tells us to pursue (or get away from) in order to end our pain.

But have you ever been brought to a moment where the pain of another around you was so obvious, so unmistakable, that you had no other choice but to consider this person before yourself? Hopefully you have known such moments. And not to be missed here is that in these moments - despite the weight you may have carried into this encounter - you were given the strength to carry a bit more!

Your awareness of their suffering awakened a conscious compassion in you strong enough to bear the both of you better than when you were carrying just yourself. Please ponder this miracle. Within these facts we have the evidence of a secret Path to a Real spiritual Life hidden right within the uneven cobblestones that pave our walk through this earthly existence.

When we close the chat tonight I will offer you a simple, straightforward inner exercise to help you put these new secrets to work in your life, and with this, to transform the foundations of your world.

Now, what would you like to talk about tonight? What is on your mind?

Beckycs: I can see in myself and others the drive to end this suffering we experience, but each individual’s pain and solution seems to be based on different life experiences. I keep thinking it must be one pain expressed in many different ways and that this illusion keeps all feeling separate and lost from each other.

GF: Yes that is precise. It is truly one pain manifested in as many ways as a tree grows different shaped leaves. The beauty of understanding this, and more importantly of actually seeing the truth of it, is that we can stop trying to change the world and its people because they displease us. It’s an interior condition that calls us by our suffering and there is where it must be answered.

jaybird: How do we make a clear distinction between true compassion and mere sentimentality? There often seems to be a fine line between them.

GF: The difference may be subtle to see at first, but it does exist. Start with this: Real compassion begins with considering another usually at some cost to the self, while sentimental emotions generally begin with self and secretly set it first in its consideration of things.

maire: Watching/reading the news often makes me wonder: How do you handle fear of a physical harm (shootings, stabbing, rape, etc.)? You can’t just WATCH it till it goes away.

GF: If you feel fear while watching the news on television, or are made aware of conditions through other media that frighten you, it’s important to understand that this fear you feel is born out of nothing but negative imagination. This means that a part of you forms a scary picture of yourself in relationship to a dark event, and then seeing this you are frightened. Stay awake at all times.

Rael: It’s like there are two worlds in collision: the exterior world, and the inner world of imagination. Neither one stops or is deterred by the other. The outer is relentless and the inner compulsively resists. When does the white flag of surrender finally go up, and who makes that decision?

GF: When you understand that the opposites you’ve described are not adversaries of one another, but actually complete one another, then the white flag goes up. Why? Because the same opposites are at work generating our present sense of self, and as we realize there is no self apart from relationship, then we disappear as we were and Reality floods in. The war is over.

kspoon: How do I keep a quiet mind and stay grounded in the present moment?

GF: If you haven’t read Design Your Destiny, you can get it online on this website. It has twelve practical exercises for helping one stay awake and present to themselves in the moment. Here’s one: Do it now. Don’t let its simplicity trick you into ignoring its possibilities. Relax. Let go. Become conscious of your physical body and attending emotional parts. Bring this awareness into you. This awareness is the present moment.

JohnF: I’m currently engaged in my first fast. What can I do to grow, beyond bearing the acute craving for food?

GF: Intelligent fasting is good for body, mind, and soul. Once the body settles a bit and stops yelling at you for food, try to sit quietly as often as you can and allow the energy that you are not using in digestion to run a different course. With all spiritual practices, the important thing is not that one "succeeds" but that he has the right intention behind the practice.

traveler: What is a person to do if they get no satisfaction from their job, but the financial gain from this job is too great to replace without a major change in careers?

GF: I have always found that when I am uncertain about a change that I can see needs to be made, but cannot decide on the direction of that change, I do nothing. I wait and watch and try to be as conscious as possible as to the effects of the absence of my choice. If you need to change careers for the purpose of a Higher Life, you won’t be able not to.

Faust: How would you handle a situation where someone was spreading a false rumor about you? In my case, a fellow started telling everyone I was gay because I’m a vegetarian. It hurt my feelings, then I got angry. How do I handle the pain of a false label? I seem to be casting my pearls among swine. Help.

GF: What is True needs no defense and what is false cannot be defended. Were I in your shoes, I would do nothing but watch the wrong parts of myself squirm over concern over how others have judged me. Try to see that those you fear have misjudged you are also the same people that under different circumstances you don’t even care what they think. Let it go. Watch yourself.

jaybird: I recently saw a sign in front of a church that said: "The minute you think you have humility, you’ve lost it." That made perfect sense, and it made ponder: Could it be that we only truly possess a virtue when we no longer need to think we have it?

GF: What one truly possesses he never has to think about possessing anymore than you wonder where your nose is.

DanG: When we have constant thoughts of a person of the opposite sex where there is no relationship, is there anything going on besides some attraction to the other person?

GF: Most of the internal chattering and churning of the mind is just its way to operate and run through a virtual reality of its own creation. The result of this interior running around is that one is almost always fully occupied and sated with a certain kind of self-complacency. Dare to be alone inwardly. This can be done with proper attention and the right intention.

Judy: One of our friends is the kind of person who doesn’t show much emotion EVER. He doesn’t get enthused when something good happens and has an "oh well" attitude when anything bad happens in his life. He’s not interested in spiritual things at all, so we attribute it more to apathy. Can you comment on the difference between being that way and being a true spiritual person who doesn’t get swayed either way by any emotional upheaval?

GF: Yes, you have described a sleeping human being whose condition most likely is a result of having been beat up by this life with no way of understanding what happened to him. When we wake up, as we do, we live with an immense amount of interior energy that is always present and properly active towards our environment. Part of being present-minded includes a certain detachment from events, even though one is fully involved.

Eric: My favorite aunt died last Sunday at the age of 51. Is it possible that this wonderful, Christian lady is now in the Kingdom of Heaven even if she never "woke up" and came into contact with the principles that Vernon Howard taught and that you teach now?

GF: If your aunt was a good woman in the sense that she treated others with respect and kindness, and spent her life trying to grow as she understood the meaning of it, you may be assured that her life on earth was not wasted, nor will she lose what she has gained from her efforts in this life.

Rael: Can we discuss mental weed seeds? It’s like an electric weed seed feeder is blowing a constant stream of them into our mental field. What difference does it make if we detect their presence when they are a second old, five seconds old, or a minute old? At what point do they "bear fruit" and re-seed themselves?

GF: First, there is a constant stream of spiritual weed-seeds being sown into the earth. The issue isn’t to try to catch each seed or cut each down as it appears, but to realize that we need change the earth of ourselves into a substance that no longer creates a harbor for these sinister seeds. This is what it means to wake up and be changed. We enter new ground and it enters us. It’s weed-free.

Jason: Vernon Howard said, "It is a bright day when a man or woman sees the need for thinking with full force." How do we think with "full force" when we are working on being aware of thought by separating ourselves from it’s "force" over us?

GF: Have you ever been at the beach, or anyplace where there was an inviting body of water, and you were getting hotter by the moment? Remember wanting to run with full force into that water? When a man or a woman realizes their interior condition and that this consciousness may be changed by right intention and work, then that person starts thinking with full force.

JohnF: Did your taste in music (or anything else) change as you became more conscious? (I’m thinking of cilantro.) What separates what is universally good from the relativity of personal taste?

GF: Nothing. Preferences are cultural and a question of certain kinds of conditioning relative even to genetic type. And the other answer is that as one does change, everything about them generally changes because real self-transformation is at the "atomic" level and affects everything accordingly as this energy alters self.

Fedup: What would you say to or about a 15-year old with colored hair, chains around his neck and wrist connected by small locks, smoking Camels, who is rude and uses four-letter words just about every time he opens his mouth, who hates God and reads about witchcraft? He has no respect in any way for other people, verbally or otherwise. He will not help or clean up after himself, and has caused a lot of problems for both his mother and father. When he comes to visit, so do the police. He purposely causes trouble with me (his step dad). My wife defends him and puts him and her other children before our marriage and me. This kid is trouble; please give me some input.

GF: I can’t tell you what to do with such a child, but I will tell you that if I had attempted to make kind and necessary corrections to this child and he or she would not obey, I would never let such a child in my house.

Fedup: I feel the same way about not letting such a child in the home, but my wife protects, and would disagree, even at the cost of our marriage. She has made it clear to her children and me that they’re first, always, regardless. Any suggestions?

GF: I repeat my earlier answer, although I am not telling you how you should handle this. Children are no more than sponges in their early days of personality formation, and by the time they begin asserting themselves, these impressions they have come to incorporate in themselves (and express) are on their way to becoming hardened habits, etc. The ONLY hope such a child has -- who is already aggressive and cruel, showing no consideration for others and beginning to exhibit dangerous anti-social behaviors -- is for an adult to lay down some laws of rightness and respect. Without these guiding principles -- established out of love but maintained with toughness -- the child is little more than an animal with a human body who will, one day, harm himself and others in a fit of some sort. I know this is difficult for you, but each of must weigh what we will and won't do in the face of truth.

JohnF: I’m still vague on purpose, and particularly, promise. Can you give a workable "nutshell" definition of each?

GF: Every creature has a purpose. It is given to them. They must fulfill what they were created for, no exceptions. How much more so with a human? Try to remember the feeling of purpose. When a creature fulfills the purpose of its life, it has fulfilled the promise of it. Promise and purpose marry, and peace and contentment reveal themselves as the two wings on one bird.

Dave: Much has been said about self-observation. My question has to do with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), especially thinking compulsions. In reading about cognitive behavioral therapy, it’s recommended that you just watch the thoughts go by and not identify. Can you offer input here? I have not found it easy.

GF: The problem that we have with our thoughts isn’t inherent in these thoughts themselves, but that we identify with their content and their passing. Identification is the root of any compulsive behavior, not the thoughts blamed for that self-compromising condition. Come awake and catch yourself being identified with your thoughts. You can do this. Then drop both the thought and the self it drags along with it.

geo: I have been studying Vernon Howard’s and your books for the last five years; it seems I’ve come a long way yet have a long way to go. I am thankful for the light you have shared and the path you have made for me.

GF: When any of us finds what is the true Way, it is natural for this gratitude to come up in us. I remember when I first met the Work and Mr. Howard, I knew my days of searching were over but that now the genuine work would begin. It is good to feel this gratitude. Each of us owes a debt that is only paid by our willingness to endure what we must for the sake of the Truth.

Rael: Is there an event somewhere along our path that can be described as a "Eureka" moment?

GF: Whenever we have a genuine glimpse of something true, even if it’s painful to see, in each such seeing of something true, new energies are released and combined within us. Nothing feels better, nothing is better, and nothing leads us anywhere better.

sunseri: Is it possible to learn the lessons we must from reading your books, listening to recorded talks, and attending classes at the Life of Learning Foundation? I’d rather "get it" there than out here. If we remember to walk the walk, rather than talk (read or listen) the talk, do we reach a less beaten path?

GF: There is an old, and I am certain quite true, statement concerning this Work and one’s walk of the Path it presides over. "It takes a lighted candle to light a candle." Best of all is to be with others who are attempting to exchange their lives for God’s. Second best is to intend this purpose and proceed (because of circumstances) as best one can to put Truth first and foremost. God will not forsake the true heart either way.

Faust: I bought Dr.Weil’s "Breathing" tapes and the deep breathing is really helping my anxiety, but the root of my anxiety is the sheer amount of work I’m having to do in my PC programming curriculum at college. I feel like I’m going crazy, but I’m not a False Type in Jungian terms. Can you shed the light of peace on me?

GF: No one can "shed the light of peace" on any other human being. The disturbance is within each of us as it is, and this is where the Light must be brought to bear -- within us. Peace is not something one pours over himself, but rather an interior understanding within himself from out of which pours Real Contentment and Life.

JohnF: I hate being contradicted, even though I know I shouldn’t. When I try to "let it go," it feels like I’m compromising myself, especially if I’m right on a practical level. How can I find the balance point between Humility (without compromising) and Integrity (without ego)?

GF: Negativity is never right. Period. Repeat this sentence to yourself and when you understand that any time you are negative, regardless of the outer conditions called out for this interior conflict, you are in the wrong place and doing the wrong thing. Drop the negativity. Let God/Truth take care of the rest. That’s the work.

Russ: I have studied hard for the last two years. I just finished The Intimate Enemy. I finally see that there are thousands of thoughts and feelings. I can begin to separate myself from them, but it is wearing. When will it calm?

GF: One of the most difficult principles a sincere spiritual student must eventually learn is that to seek "an end" to anything is to guarantee one never reaches that "end." No opposite can cancel itself. As best you can, stay in the battle of observing yourself without getting caught up in what you see. Sure it’s tough. But the point is, there is a way out and that way is through one’s self.

Eric: As I try to stay aware and watch my thoughts, I hear this little thought that is telling me, "You’re doing a great job; I think that you’ve just about reached your destination." Could this be the false self trying to trick me into complacency?

GF: Make no mistake about it: Anything inside of us that flatters us for our humility is part of a greater body of deception in us yet to be recognized. Your intuition is right. Watch these self-loving thoughts and drop them as quickly as you would a bomb.

hari: I’m not grounded here my mind is always with the world and its problems, my life’s work. I have no friends only the electronic gadgetry that keeps me connected. What do you suggest?

GF: If you are not already practicing a deliberate time of meditation/self-observing, do so in a dedicated fashion. I know it seems that your mind is more powerful than your wish for real Peace, but be assured that this pressure is as much an illusion as is the self it creates that suffers from this same pounding. Gather the spiritual facts. Have you read The Lost Secrets of Prayer? Persist.

Jonathan: I find I don’t enjoy life much. I don’t like my current career path, but when I think of changing jobs or careers, I can’t come up with one that I would enjoy. Should I just follow the money since I don’t seem to enjoy any activities on which I can build a career? If I’m going to dislike my livelihood anyway, I might as well make the most money doing it, right?

GF: Each of us must resolve these kind of interior questions on our own. I would add, however, that the wise man never makes peace with anything in life that torments him that it is possible for him to change. The wrong parts of us tell us what reality is and then we wrongly assume that what we have been told is reality. Become more dissatisfied; don’t seek ways to be content with unwanted conditions.

Sam: What causes anti-social behavior and/or anxiety, and how does one handle this?

GF: These two negative states are not necessarily related apart from the unpleasant manifestation they both produce around others. Anxiety is always connected to a false sense of being incomplete in the moment and rushing to close the gap between the self that "isn’t" and the one that "will be."

HelenElizabeth: There are two people about whom I thought I cared a lot. Recently I’ve become aware that these people never show any interest in anything I do or care about. I’m "letting go" of these people but find that I feel neither good nor bad about this decision. Any thoughts about this?

GF: It is very much a natural expression of one’s inner growth that their circle of friends begins to change. For one thing, co-dependent behaviors begin to fall away as we become self-unified so that we no longer have interest in the game of pretending "I care" because "you care." Just let it all go. God will give you new and higher friends. Of this you may be assured if you stay the Course.

joey7: Just when I start to realize being alone has its purpose, and start looking forward to learning in this new life style, an influx of people have become drawn to me and idolize me, especially women. This doesn’t feel right. Did I cause this? Should I ignore them?

GF: It is not infrequent that at each threshold to a subsequent step higher on the spiritual path that life will bring to one’s door certain kinds of conditions that person would have never dreamed he would find himself in. In a manner of speaking, one can construe these as tests or initiations. Each one asks "What do you really want? Do you want the world, or God’s Life?"

Roy: I have had such encounters and they have awakened a deep compassion for the other person, but why is there a tendency to avoid such encounters? I think perhaps fear that such contact will bring suffering to myself. Can we possibly be so callous?

GF: You are very near an important understanding. The answer is YES, there are wrong parts in us that do fear such encounters with others because we know that to be aware of another’s suffering will require us to forgo our own. The self that fears this fears the influx of real compassion that comes when we will dare be so engaged. It fears this because this Kindness proves the existence of something it can never know or be.

sunshine: I do not understand your answer to Joey7. Are you saying if he chooses to have a relationship that he chooses the world and that if he wants a spiritual life he must be alone?

GF: Not at all, only that each of us - those who seek a God-centered life - must arrive at a decision as to which of these lives will come first for us. Once we choose in favor of God’s Life, then every relationship we enter into in this world strengthens both our wish for real life and our ability to realize it.

sunshine: I can understand that if we feel pain from the breakup of a relationship it is only caused by our thoughts and feelings about the other person. Can a man and a woman truly love each other, or is all just physical attraction and what our minds tell us we need to be happy?

GF: A man and a woman may know a love that is far away and above simple physical attraction and the picket-fence images of a happy home. Physical attractions fade under law, just as fences must rot. Real Love is the marriage of opposites by that One Life that can bring them together. When two people love the Truth and one another, their lives serve Truth and hence one another.

Sandy: I find myself treating young kids rudely and getting impatient with them (I have two of my own). Is it worth the effort to do some regression therapy to see why, or just "observe my actions and thoughts"?

GF: If we will taste what we give others to eat (psychologically, emotionally speaking) then we will gradually come to understand that one should never feed another anything he doesn’t want himself. You don’t need regression. What all of us need is awareness of the reality of our interior life and its impact on others around us.

Jonathan: I have a difficult time making friends. People seem repelled by me. Why is this? Is the problem that I repel people, or that I just have not accepted that a life alone is my lot in life?

GF: The only way to know why people respond to us as they do is for each of us to become conscious of what we give off in any given moment. Come aware of your inner life and it will change. As it changes, so will the outer life that it attracts.

jj: On occasion you’ll state something then tell us it is a cosmic law or a spiritual law. Are there writings where these laws are plainly stated as you put them - kind of like a ten commandments of waking up?

GF: In some instances, there may be references to these principles or laws in various old scripture. The beauty of this work that we do is that these same Laws are not only imprinted upon each of our hearts, but form the very basis of our spirit. Waking up is the same as realizing that you are the living Law.

joey7: Do you know where compulsive behaviors come from? I recently discovered I had some serious compulsive issues tying me to certain physical conditions, and I’m extremely shocked. How can I cure myself?

GF: Beyond the body having become addicted to certain chemical cocktails that it produces through habitual, self-defeating actions, most forms of compulsive actions are the result of extreme forms of being deeply identified, hence attached, to certain conditions. We are driven to embrace these compromising conditions because the more fiercely we hold onto them, the more strongly we experience a sense of self.

ADB: Q1: I am at work at a meeting and have felt fearful thoughts prior to it. I find myself sitting at the table with my coworkers and when someone asks me what I think, I have an almost impossible time curbing panic-filled thoughts. I hear voices that say to me, "Just run. Go out. Leave the room." This is an issue I’ve never gotten a handle on for many years. All efforts lead to panic and this terror conversation. What can I (not) do to stop this?

GF: In my book, Designing Your Destiny, there’s an entire chapter written about what I call these "dark inner dialogues." Get this book and read this section until it becomes clear to you that the pain you feel is secretly produced by parts of you whose purpose is to keep you under their control. You can be free if you’ll do the work it takes.

joey7: You have stated that we ask for our circumstances, so does this mean we can be totally passive and trust God even more? When does it become too passive? This sounds like we have to do absolutely nothing then.

GF: To state it correctly, there are at all times certain levels of consciousness at work in us that under the Law of Attraction "ask" for the circumstances that we then find ourselves trying to correct or control. The passive state is not apathetic in nature, but receptive and aware in nature. This awareness detects and rejects all false characters which frees us from the world they attract.

KevinB: What happens to our chance at eternal life if we should die while yet a sincere seeker with a long way to go?

GF: Anything that one does in his or her life for the purpose of answering what they in their heart believe to be God’s Will for them, is never forsaken by God. Any true change that takes place in us because of work upon our own consciousness is a change that we keep with us forever. This is why it is always been said to "seek the Kingdom first." You cannot lose what is Real. Seek the Real.

Marie: Just recently I read some of your material. Some of it sounds familiar as I’ve heard similar things from other sources. Before I get too deep into this, could you please give a bit of your background as to education, training, credentials and the purpose or statement of philosophy or your organization? I haven’t seen any of this on your web site nor on printed material I have.

GF: Everything that you could possibly need to know about me is available in any work of mine that you pick up and dive into. Besides, as a general piece of good spiritual advice: We must (each) learn to trust our intuition, and not what others tell us is true. There are far many more deceivers in this world than there are truth tellers.

Jonathan: Is it possible for a person to go his/her entire life without fulfilling his/her purpose? I’m still trying to find my purpose, and the prospect of never finding it and therefore never fulfilling it scares me.

GF: Yes, this is possible, but it is impossible for any person who sincerely asks such a question and then acts upon what he or she is shown.

Faust: Have you found any kind of direct relation between the quality of our spiritual lives and the junk we must all face, such as the automobile exhaust we have to breathe on the highway, the tap water we drink, and the electromagnetic spheres that surround us?

GF: Our atmosphere - visible and invisible - is increasingly compromised. All the more reason to awaken and be a part of the purifying forces instead of the pollution.

joey7: When I wake up alone (which is most of the time), for a brief second I get a quick rush of thoughts of extreme hopelessness and negativity. This does not interfere or hinder me in thanking God, but I wish to know if this is my attention from the previous night or something else at work against me.

GF: Such forces are at work all the time. Stay awake, remain receptive to whatever commands your attention, and then bring it all into the Light of self-awareness (and remembering God).

hari: How can you tell the caterpillar the state of being a butterfly?

GF: This cannot be done. The old saying, "easier to tell a summer insect about ice" points this out. BUT, there is within us the evolved state of self that isn’t really apart from us, just awaiting our awakened attention and

surrender to the Life it already is.

Faust: I watched a documentary about the sewers of London, and the grotesque sludge was incredible. Invariably, I began to equate this sludge with the "me mind," and I’m wondering how YOU rid yourself of mental sludge. Can you provide one answer to such a big question?

GF: Stay out of the gutter of negative states and this question won’t trouble you.

jaybird: Can you give examples of the many subtle, hard-to-detect tricks the false nature plays on in order to distract us from being in the moment? It would be immensely helpful to know specifically what to watch for.

GF: One of these tricks is to get a person to identify with a negative state in response to seeing something negative in themselves. Darkness always decries darkness so that it seems as though Light is around. All tricks like these are rooted in getting us to identify with something.

ADB Q2: Could it be said that any behavior that I do that after I do it and I don’t know why I did it is a behavior that is instigated from a negative state, and therefore should be awakened to and ceased?

GF: Yes, in general this is true. I call these "extensions" of the negative state. Good detective work on your part. Keep it up!

kvk: Your work is commendable and honorable. My question is about prayer. The thoughts we have every moment are a prayer and the thoughts backed by full intense emotion and feeling are the ones that seem to work -- both negative and positive. How do you pray and what do you pray for?

GF: There are really a number of prayer forms and ways in which they are enacted – everything from contemplation of the Light, of Christ, of Principles, to mediation on God’s qualities, to praying for others in His will, to actual absorption in the Silence of God and His Life. But the key behind all forms is intention. Let us not ask for His gifts, but for the one Grace of being - as conscious participants - in his Life (and its divine purpose).

Eric: George Gurdjieff said that a person MUST find another person to serve as a teacher in order to succeed at the "work," as he put it. But so far I think that truthful books have done a great deal of good for me. Is it necessary that I eventually find another person who is also on this same path?

GF: Everything depends upon one’s level of development. There does come a time when the sincere person must have the aid of one who has gone before him or her.

ADB Q3: Fear is such a BIG issue in my life. I’ve listened to your tapes many times and seem to be hearing that I am just supposed to stand/sit there and shake in my shoes when I’m feeling panic/fear. Is this accurate? This is the one thing I don’t want people to see since I now shake in my shoes when talking in front of groups. Help...

GF: Once we learn - actually see - what does not work with regards to fear, as in trying to cover it up or bluff our way through it, then we know what needs to be done. Is this easy? No, but nothing is harder than living with fear. Vernon Howard taught: "The way out is through." Find out if there is a God.

JAMES7072: Should one focus on vocation at all along the Path? Or is its significance limited?

GF: As a rule, the best thing for us is to love what we do versus resisting and resenting it for the "ends" these means seem to provide. It all comes down to what we want from life: heavenly peace or worldly powers. "Seek ye first"

Faust: I’m doing my absolute best to grow spiritually. I lead a pure life, I read the Bible, I’m saved, I do everything right, but I’m not reaping the rewards because I feel that the very town I live in is poisoning me. I want to move. I feel it in my bones to move. Would you have any advice about such thoughts? I’m under no illusions. I know one thousand miles won’t change what’s inside, but a new environment just may help. Advice?

GF: It is better to go through one thing that frightens us than to make a thousand plans based in fear.

Roy: I struggle over discerning between imagination and intuition, overly concerned with being deceived by "wishful thinking." How can we work to be attentive and receptive to the true intuition within us?

GF: Intuition rarely leaves one feeling unfulfilled, while wishful thinking is based on an unseen empty basket within oneself.

Judy: Do you believe that "Cosmic Consciousness" is something to be strived for by meditation or prayer, or should we not hope to experience that state, because it will happen (however brief) when we are ready to receive it? Do you think it is a special gift given to a very few individuals, or that it is a natural occurrence in our spiritual evolution?

GF: Awakening to Reality is the God intention at work within us, and nothing except negative unwillingness can keep this fruit from appearing in the right inner environment.

JeffM: The Bible has many instances where either God himself encourages violence or seems to act out of vengeance. Are these things taken out of context? Can we ignore them because we don’t feel they fit our image of a "true and gentle god"?

GF: So much of the biblical language is in code and metaphor that one should almost never take the Word literally. Christ himself had to explain in secret His own teachings to His disciples as the language of parables had hundreds of interior meanings - at levels - for those "with ears to hear."

Mover: I see a lot of unhappy people out in this world. I see forces at work everywhere, inner and outer. If one is to live in this world, they better not be of it. Would you agree?

GF: We must learn to use this world for the purposes given to us for this development. To use something properly, one must understand it - otherwise, it stands over that person.

Faust: In essence, I think my spirit has caught a bad cold. But like a cold, I think it’s coughing up the very dregs that cause its sickness. I’m just so tired of the morning commute, the people I have to deal with, the lack of friends, the lack of girls to date, the lack of jobs, and the same feeling of not getting anywhere day in and day out. Can you relate to this?

GF: If you want to grow you must give up these negative feelings - this dread you are identified with. The poison is never the place we are in, but the hatred of it.

GF: Before we sign off, I want to pass along the special inner-life exercise I mentioned would be given at the end of our dialogue. If you missed reading my opening remarks, please go back and review them, as they will greatly amplify the significance of my remaining comments.

First, here is the exercise in its simplicity, and then we will look at some of the reasons why it is, in too many ways to list, the secret solution that can help to end world suffering.

Twenty-four hours a day, whenever you can awake to yourself and remember that your Aim is to know your self and your God, ask yourself this question: What is it that is in my heart right now?

Then, with this wish to see the unadorned content of your heart - free of any justification, bare and unprotected - come as aware of your heart (the emotional center in your solar plexus area) as best you are able. Just see; don’t try to be anything. Just watch; don’t want anything but to see the fact of what is sitting in the center of you.

It makes little difference what we find there if we are honest and watchful. The beauty of being conscious of either the "low" or the "high" hidden in one’s heart is that both states serve to rectify the soul by expanding its need for God -- a need that, by a new necessity, must increase the soul’s relationship with God. Here’s a brief look at "how" this works:

If one searches his or her heart and comes to see a suffering there - some sort of "lowness" or "darkness" therein, this person cannot stand tall; pride cannot be his footstool; the wish to punish others out of a false sense of superiority simply could not be acted out. Such persons would know that they need God (in their life) instead of imagining they already have Him (there).

If, on the other hand, through self-observation we have become a bit conscious of our heart’s secret content, and find there, for our work, a bit a grace, of goodness, of a joy not our own -- then we experience a true gratitude that is amplified for this Gift in our soul, a thankfulness made sweeter for having already known the lower forms of one’s former state of the heart.

There are more benefits to this exercise. First, as we learn to listen to our heart, to all of the notes sounding there, we realize that there is no suffering on earth that doesn’t also sound itself out in our own heart. With this awakening we become someone who can never again add any more measure to the sum of our fellow human misery. We start to become harmless.

Last, but not least, if we know the content of our own heart, when we can be aware of this telling condition of our own hidden self, then we not only know the secret contents of the heart of everyone else we meet, but we also know there is no real difference between us and all of these "others" around us. And it is this discovery that fulfills our purpose for being on earth.

For with the realization of this undivided life - that we are not apart, not separate from one another as our suffering makes us believe - we are awarded the Grace of knowing that God is one, and that each and every one of us is a secret measure of His divine life. All of this is in our heart.

Now it is time to sign off. We will meet again right here in cyberspace on the 4th of October. Until then, remember the exercise and do the best you can to stay awake and remember yourself and God.