Relationships | Attack Thoughts, Beliefs and Concepts, Christ-Identity, Communication, Dark and Intense Emotions, Family, Fear, Hayama Japan, Jesus, Listen and Follow, Living in Community, Movie-Watching, Needs, Perception, Prayer, Projection, Self-Concepts, Series Putting God First Japan Retreat, Special Relationship, with Friends
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.
Spiritual Practice | Anger, Beliefs and Concepts, Body Issues, Bringing Illusions to the Truth, Death, Divine Providence, Empty Your Mind, Expectations, Guidance, Guilt, Hayama Japan, Healing, Jesus, Living in Community, Miracle Worker, Miracles, Needs, Non-Judgment, Personality Self, Playfulness, Prayer, Purpose, Self-Concepts, Series Putting God First Japan Retreat, Sex and Sexuality, Signs and Symbols, Special Relationship, The Bible, True Forgiveness, True Joy, True Peace, Unified Perception
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.
True Healing | Atonement, Beliefs and Concepts, Bringing Illusions to the Truth, Cause and Effect, Christ-Identity, Communication, Contentment and Happiness, Control, Dark and Intense Emotions, Ego, Eternity, Family, Jesus, Living in Community, Malaga Spain, Memory, Miracles, Movie-Watching, Mystical Experiences, Needs, Practical Steps, Presence, Private Thoughts, Self-Honesty, Separation, State of Mind, Temptations, The Bible, Time and Space
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.
True Healing | Beliefs and Concepts, Cause and Effect, Contentment and Happiness, Death, Expectations, Guidance, Health, Identity Confusion, Intuition, Perception, Prayer, Purpose, Right Mind and Wrong Mind, Sickness, State of Mind, Time and Space, Tokyo Japan, True Forgiveness, True Helpfulness, True Joy, Trust
Going Beyond Sickness – David speaks about the need to release all false self-concepts and answers a set of questions in-depth about sickness and living an inspired life instead of one based on fear of consequences.
True Healing | Beliefs and Concepts, Christ-Identity, Empty Your Mind, Expectations, Feelings of Lack, Guidance, Jesus, Non-Judgment, Prayer, Presence, San Antonio Tlayacapan Mexico, State of Mind, True Joy, True Love, Values, with Friends
Living Without Expectations – David Hoffmeister explores in detail what it means to practice living every day without expectations. This means letting go of all outcomes and ideas of getting anything. In order to keep our heart open, we need to be vigilant for the beautiful gift that Jesus is offering us in every moment. When we let go of all expectations and all ideas of how things should appear and what should happen, this brings the mind into a sense of focus on the present, releasing fear of consequences and our past conditioning. Then we can rest in the trust that everything that happens is for one reason only: our present joy!
