How Do I Love Unconditionally?
A Call to Love – The Mystical Heart of ACIM – Episode #7—How Do I Love Unconditionally?
A spontaneous and interactive expression with David Hoffmeister exploring various topics present in the mind through talks, laughter, meditations, and Q&A! It also includes practical examples from David’s “real life” experiences. This talk is pure gold for the mind awakening to the reality of Love.
Gold Nugget:
“The ego made the body in order to get something and to protect the ego in the mind from being exposed and released. So to the Holy Spirit, all relationships are inclusive. They all share the same purpose. They are opportunities to give and extend from the heart and to learn that giving and receiving are the same. ‘All that I give is given to myself.’ W-126 But to the ego, relationships are for a different purpose. They are seen as ways to get something that is believed to be lacking, and in this way they are used as substitutes for God’s Love.
Jesus says in the Course, if you want something from a brother, you will see him as a brother no longer. He is simply saying that the getting mechanism is always of the ego. And in order to love as God loves, you must give as God gives, and God gives without expectation. God’s gifts are freely given. There is no sense of reciprocity or expectations. There are no demands. Those who know themselves as whole make no demands. And this is a very high goal, because in human relationships, with the ego having its own goals, the giving and receiving is very much based on form. And it’s as if the ego says, ‘I’ll give to you, but I want something in return.’ And that expectation is the source of grievances. It’s the source of guilt. When your brother does not play the role that the ego assigned to him, that’s where the upset comes in.
Basically, human relationships to the ego are only for meeting ego needs. As long as the ego’s needs are met as the ego defines them, it’s satisfied, but when the needs are not met, then the ego gets very upset. And if you believe in the ego and the ego’s purpose for a relationship, then you will experience its emotions, which are upset, anger, hatred, jealousy, envy. It comes from comparison. ‘Why is he/she getting more than I? Don’t you love me? Aren’t you going to meet my needs?’ But the Holy Spirit says, ‘Please give the relationship to me.’”
Recorded at The Heart of Mysticism Online Event on June 8, 2021 (with Spanish translation)
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.