The Adventure of a Lifetime

Modern Mysticism | Body Issues, Durban South Africa, Ego, Empty Your Mind, Purpose, religion, Series South Africa Tour, Sex and Sexuality, Stillness, True Forgiveness, True Love, True Peace, with Friends

Durban Opening Evening—The Adventure of a Lifetime

David Hoffmeister shares about the key moment in his life where he surrendered fully to God, and how the 28 years since have been an adventure of a lifetime. Other topics explored in this talk include forgiveness, shame in association with the body, and answering a question about whether God made the world or not.

Download “Durban Opening Evening”

Gold Nugget:

“Because we have gone so deeply and so radically into this, when you think of deep and radical you can look back at the life of Siddartha and Jesus and all the way through. I think of the lives of more contemporary mystics and saints—there was St. Francis, Mother Theresa and on and on. It is this radical turning over of every decision in your life. For me it was like a deep experience of I give it all to you. I had this thought right after that happened, Wow I don’t have a life of my own any more. But it was quite wonderful because I actually lost all sense of ambition with that moment. I really did not care about the future at all. And then, just when I thought things would get really still, from that point the spirit has used this David character in many ways over many years. That was probably about 28 years ago when that moment happened, but as Jesus says in the ‘I Need Do Nothing’ (T-18.VII.1) section of the Course, you will be sent on many busy doings and I just go around and around the world.”

Recorded at the South Africa Tour on December 15, 2014 in Durban, South Africa

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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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.