“A Required Course” Online Weekend Retreat: Closing Session—A Required Course in Forgiveness and Cluelessness

A Course in Miracles is an uncompromising path to God. That is what makes it so gentle—there is no wiggle room. Although that idea may seem scary to the ego, it really is where the release point comes in the mind. When we are willing to give ourselves wholly to God, we are happy. It is only withholding that causes pain. Dive deep with David as he explores topics including letting go of idols, true forgiveness as taught by Jesus, and the importance of having a clueless state of mind on this spiritual journey.

Gold Nugget:

“Everything on my journey has involved a sense of prayerful cluelessness. Show me the way, Lord. I have no idea what this means. I have no idea what is next. And when you get into that pause, where in your mind, you have really kind of stepped back into the most humble position you can be in your mind—cluelessness. Like Chauncey Gardiner in the movie Being There or like The Man Who Knew Too Little. It’s a very clueless state of mind. And then everything comes from that cluelessness because it’s all involuntary. Once you get that, you get into the trust, you get into the faith. And then the trust and faith take you into this happy, joyful state of mind, which really is the point. It’s all about an attitude or a state of mind. It was never about achieving something or accomplishing something.

If you think you know something about your spiritual journey, that will be the biggest block to spiritual awakening. If you have ideas in the future about meditating or living in a certain place, an ideal place, having an ideal partner, or an ideal teacher or an ideal group of mighty companions, that will be the block to awakening. Because, as Jesus says in the ‘Beyond All Idols’ section, ‘When you decide upon the form of what you want, you lose the understanding of its purpose.’ T-30.III.2:9 Because you see your will in the idol. Maybe you have an idea of a yoga center in your mind, and you think that you will arrive when you make it to Kripalu, the famous yoga center. If I ever make it to Kripalu, that will be the whipped cream and the cherry on top! Or, If I ever make it to meet this person or this teacher. Or, If I ever have a partner like so and so… I will guarantee you that whatever you can imagine that will make you happy in this world is not it, because forgiveness is the inverse of that. It’s like saying, I don’t know what will bring me happiness. And I cannot know in the world of form because that is just meant for me to forgive. I need to be clueless.”

 

Recent Posts

I Taught the World to Teach Me

I Taught the World to Teach Me

I Taught the World to Teach Me – In this session, David Hoffmeister emphasizes the importance of loyalty to the Spirit, the inner teacher, over personal desires and external opinions. ​This loyalty stems from truth and a deep connection with the Holy Spirit, not the ego’s demands. David shares parables of taking full responsibility for our state of mind by recognizing that we taught the world to teach us. By keeping this empowering thought in mind, it’s possible to remember that we don’t need to wait for externals to choose to be happy.

Coming Together with the Purpose of Healing

Coming Together with the Purpose of Healing

Coming Together with the Purpose of Healing – David Hoffmeister explores the perceptual problem, which pertains to the belief that the subject and the object are different, that the observer is different from the observed, and that the personality-self is different from the world that surrounds it. When we see an issue in the world, it really is just a split in the mind. This belief can result in significant problems such as conflict, climate change, and hunger, all of which can be traced back to the division within the mind. “Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved,” (W-79) and “Let me recognize my problems have been solved.” W-80 By examining the projected world, we often fail to identify the core problem because it manifests in many forms. You may resolve a few problems today, only to encounter more tomorrow. Therefore, the key lies in our perspective, which stems from our interpretation.

Relax, Step Back, and Unwind from the World

Relax, Step Back, and Unwind from the World

Relax, Step Back, and Unwind from the World – David Hoffmeister shares about the importance of placing the future in God’s hands, a concept that requires enormous trust. This trust is crucial as we have been conditioned to learn the past and plan the future. Trust is the foundation of a teacher of God and allows us to relax and feel divine ease. During this profound talk, David also gives an overview of the very first Strawberry Fields Festival in 2009. Jesus tells us to go from nightmares to waking with a transition between happy dreams and gentle waking. This process helps us feel softer and gentler, making the struggle and challenge easier. Enjoy this deep discussion with the participants that goes deep and yet fun.

Opening to Deeper Prayer

Opening to Deeper Prayer

Opening to Deeper Prayer – David Hoffmeister begins this 4-day Japan retreat by exploring the concept of undoing the self-concept—a conditioned expectation that obstructs our understanding of the world. The ego arises from the mind’s pursuit of self-improvement, crafting illusory goals that keep the mind preoccupied and detached from its boundless nature. The ego’s game is endless, as it neither begins nor concludes. The purpose of our practice is to abandon the pursuit of temporal goals and relinquish the false identity—the mask of the ego. In doing so, we experience the mind’s all-encompassing nature, recognizing that the world, society, and everything once perceived as external are within the mind. As the mind reaches a state of rest, the external world reflects this peace, becoming more harmonious.

A Path of Gentle Letting Go

A Path of Gentle Letting Go

A Path of Gentle Letting Go – In this session, David Hoffmeister speaks about Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, focusing on self-actualization as the top goal. This concept is based on the Greek belief that ‘know thyself’ is the ultimate goal of human development. The ego attempts to deny this through hypnotism, mesmerism and imagination, covering the truth with unreal images. Atonement, the correction, is the awareness that the separation never happened.

Teaching the Holy Instant

Teaching the Holy Instant

Teaching the Holy Instant – At the beginning of this talk, David Hoffmeister discusses the concept of choice and the duality of life. We seem to live in a world of duality, where one of the primary goals is to find a life partner. We can see even that is dualistic because even a successful life match involves two, while reality involves only one.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This