Another original Iwihub.com transcript. Transcriber: Hilda Soon Proofread by Zane Maser

pdf    465B The Way of Peace and Meditation
The Way of Peace and Meditation
1962 Pacific Palisades Special Class
Joel S. Goldsmith
Tape 465B

Good evening.

We spoke of the message of The Infinite Way as really being a way of life, and now I would like to add to that. That it is a way of life, and the way of life that it is, is a life of prayer. That is the particular way of life of The Infinite Way. It is a way of prayer—prayer or meditation. And by this, we mean that prayer or meditation is the major function of our experience, because it unites us with our Source and makes possible that which should be our experience on Earth, namely harmony, peace and fruitage.

In human experience, as you know, every age that we live from infancy up is one of pain, and sickness, and distress. Right from infancy, we have the pains of and the ills of a newborn infant. And as soon as the infant gets into childhood, there’s a whole list of diseases that are considered children’s diseases. And in the human picture, this is a normal, natural thing that they should be diseased, that they should be ill, and that all of the children must get it. And in some cases, it’s even “let’s hope they all get it quickly or all together, so that we’ll get it over with,” as if God intended that to be a part of life. And then we come to puberty, another very painful period of life, and adolescence, and juvenile delinquency—all of these, more or less, considered natural parts of the human life. And, sometimes it would seem that we’re going to have a period of harmony in between there, because there’s no really outlined trouble, until we get to the menopause. And then, we’re in for another year or up to ten years of distress. And, of course, old age.

Now, just think that the world has come to think of all this as being natural. And don’t you wonder what years we’re supposed to have without these discords, because I haven’t mentioned the years of being called to military service and having to give up some years for that. And possibly war service with its distresses. And of course, I haven’t even started to touch the subject of income tax, because that’s too painful. Now, just think all of these things that are considered natural parts of human experience that very few people escape—some of them and sometimes all of them. But the miracle is this. That none of them are necessary. Absolutely none of them are necessary.

In the many years of history of the metaphysical and spiritual movements, we know that everything from childbirth to the transition out of this world can be painless, can be diseaseless. We know from the experience of hundreds of thousands of families that all of these experiences of human life are unnecessary. They are not included in God’s plan. They were not intended for man, and man has them only because at some part of history there came a sense of separation from God and the great evil—the acceptance of the belief of two powers.

This, of course, is what we learn in Genesis, where in the beginning, man was diseaseless, sinless, perfect. And then, because of the belief in two powers arising, the power of good and of evil, we lose our Eden and find ourselves outside earning the living by the sweat of the brow and knowing disease from birth to death.

The question that arises is: Are these conditions of human, humanhood preventable? And if so, how? Well, history of the past century shows that they are preventable, but history also shows that they are preventable only, only if you have discovered the Laws of Life, whereby you can bypass the evils, the errors of human experience.

Now, all of the metaphysical movements have found some method or other, some process, some study that makes it possible for their followers, in some measure, to avoid these discords of human sense. The degree of our freedom from these discords depends entirely on the measure of practice, of devotion, of study that we give to these Principles. We witness the fact that there are those who give some time on Sunday to metaphysical or spiritual study, and others who give some time twice a week, others who give a short period of time every day, and then there are those who live the life of prayer without ceasing. And each frees themselves of human discords in proportion to what they put into their study and practice.

No teaching has ever yet been discovered, metaphysical or spiritual, that will free anyone even for a moment. I don’t believe that any of the metaphysical or spiritual movements will even claim that they have found a teaching that will free anybody even of a headache. It is the degree in which we embody the revealed Principles and put them into practice that brings our freedom. In the words of the Master, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Not Mrs. Fillmore shall know the Truth, or Ernest Holmes shall know the Truth, or Mrs. Eddy shall know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free. But ye shall know the Truth. Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free. It is actually a matter of individual responsibility.

The Bible has been in existence, as a Bible, printed Bible for 400 hundred years, and you know how little most people have gotten from the Bible, and yet the Word of Life is incorporated in that book. But the Bible will not free anyone. It is the measure of what we get from the Bible, embody in our consciousness that sets us free.

So it is that in our particular message, that of The Infinite Way, we also have certain revealed Principles that form the basis of our work. But the major practice that enables us to make use of these Principles is in the life of prayer or meditation that we may decide to follow. And I would like to show you the reason for it.

This auditorium, before we came into it, was neither good nor evil, and there was no good in this room, and there was no evil in this room. It was an empty room. You could not say of this room that it was good, or that it was evil, or that it had any good in it, or any evil. As a matter of fact, if you found any beauty in it, it really wasn’t in the room at all, because beauty is only what your concept of beauty is. And if this satisfies your sense of beauty, then to you it is beautiful. But to those who do not have this particular concept of beauty, this would not be beautiful. So then, if you have found beauty in this room, it is because you brought it here.

Now, we are in this room. We are in this room, and there is peace, and there is quiet. It has nothing to do with this room. It has to do with you. Whatever peace you now feel in this room, you brought with you. Whatever measure of love that you are feeling at this moment, you brought with you. No one could give it to you. You brought it with you, and you are expressing it.

Now, “I, if I be lifted up, shall draw all men unto me.” And this means that wherever there is an individual of Spiritual enlightenment or wherever there are two or more of Spiritual enlightenment, they will raise up all of those into that atmosphere, all who are receptive. And so it is, that in our work, starting with myself, I have periods of meditation and prayer that must certainly include most of every hour, of every day, and of every night. I find it necessary to live, even when I am talking, even when I am doing my mail, even when I am reading, I have an area in my consciousness, a part of me, that is always in meditation and prayer.