David talks about trust, integrity of mind, and following guidance, by letting the Spirit lead the way. Guidance can be very specific, which helps to undo preferences and develop trust. The ego peoples its world, and the characters in the world are neither real nor whole. Special relationships and that projection are not interpersonal. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Those characters represent grievances. And David reminds us that empowerment of the mind is the focus, rather than personal empowerment.

Gold Nugget:

“What’s helpful in A Course in Miracles is that Jesus says that projection is actually a device: it’s an attempt to get rid of something that you do not want. So this is where the source of blame comes in, or scapegoating. When you actually have thoughts and beliefs that are so disagreeable to your nature that you believe you can get rid of them by projecting them and seeing them as if they’re acted out in characters and in an external world. But then Jesus goes on to say that actually when you project, that’s how you keep these thoughts. You don’t free your mind with the projection; you actually keep the thoughts in awareness by projecting them. So you see how sneaky the ego is; again, it’s telling the mind, Get it off your chest, blast them, blame them, make sure they get their good due for what they’ve done, revenge, so on and so forth, not seeing all the while, but it’s like looking into a mirror with a big bazooka laser gun and firing your laser gun right at the mirror and getting blasted back. Just as strong as you blast, you get blasted back. So projection is never helpful. It’s always an ego device. And once you start to realize that you can never be free of the ego by projecting, then you start to get into forgiveness, which is joining with the Holy Spirit, seeing the falsity of these ideas, the falsity of these concepts.”

Recorded at the 2014 LM South Africa Tour on December 4, 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

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