Awakening Is Now
Mysticism—Awakening Is Now
It’s possible to experience fear on the Spiritual path as you sink deeper into mysticism, and the ego’s voice will get louder and more vicious, throwing up lots of future fear-thoughts to keep your mind from continuing its journey into stillness. The ego has no existence in the stillness of Christ, and so all fear is really the ego’s fear of nonexistence. For this reason, trusting the Holy Spirit is key and will guide you through the layers of ego resistance again and again, until the ego has been released from the mind entirely. Go for God 100%.
Gold Nugget:
“There is no universal theology. That’s impossible. But there can and must be a universal experience. So, I understood really quickly that the Course was actually opening up to an experience, and study is just something that human beings do, but that’s just the beginning and isn’t going to get you into Heaven. I share all the time that Heaven isn’t reached through words. You will not reach Heaven through words. ‘Words are but symbols of symbols. They are thus twice removed from reality.’ M.21.1:9-10 The Holy Spirit’s use of words can be very, very helpful, but remember in the Course, he actually has a line that a teacher of God could heal the world without a sound. You can’t forget that’s in there.
So, this Course is a beginning and not an end. It’s about setting your mind into alignment with the Holy Spirit, who will direct your mind when you listen to His directions and instructions. He will direct your unlearning. To me, that was the whole point of A Course in Miracles. I don’t carry the Course around anymore; I don’t consult it. In the beginning I used it as an ‘oracle’ in my hermitage years. I would simply pray, ask a question, open the Course, and would always get the most profound answer that would make me speechless. I felt like, This is the greatest thing in the world! I’ve heard of the Greeks with the Delphic Oracle, and here I am in the woods with a blue book that is the greatest oracle that I’ve ever experienced in my life and it’s taking me rapidly higher and higher in awareness—just through my devotion to using it and trusting what was coming through it.
So, when we say that this Course is the beginning and not an end, it isn’t enough to hear the voice of Jesus; that’s only half of it. For me it was the following what the voice told me to do that has made all the difference. That’s where the experience came in. It’s not just listening, but listening and following.
All of us can feel nudges and signs, symbols and prompts, and then there can be a part in our mind that can think, Ooh, that’s scary. Where is this leading me? I can’t even imagine taking that step! Because, what would follow after that step? So, at times we do hear and the Course says, ‘God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day,’ (W-49) and, ‘There are many answers you have already received but have not yet heard.’ T-9.II.3.6 I think our hearts have received all of the answers, right in that second when the separation seemed to occur. The Holy Spirit gave us the whole bundle of any answer to any question, right there in one shot, one instant. And we’ve been too afraid to open up the package. We’ve been playing around with the ribbons on top of the package, because we’re afraid of, What will it cost me? What does healing cost you? He says, it costs you the whole world you see! That’s all. The whole world you see.”
Recorded at the God Is the Strength in Which I Trust Gathering on April 26, 2015 in Danville, Kentucky
Recent Posts
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.