1952 Second Seattle Closed Class
Joel S. Goldsmith
True Identity 4/5
Tape 617A

Those of you who have not studied my book, “God, the Substance of all Form” should indeed have it in connection with this lesson, in fact, in connection with this work. It is basic and will bring to life, in your experience, the fact not only that consciousness is the substance of all form but that consciousness may be embodied in the one word, “I.” I am come that ye might be fulfilled. Does this mean that I, Jesus, am come that ye might be fulfilled? Does it mean that I, Joel, am come that ye might be fulfilled? No, no, no. Does it mean what it says, “I am come?” The same I that we have read here in Isaiah. Do you see the reason for all this now?

“Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden.” You see again I? I have holden. I have holden the hand of Cyrus, of Moses, of Jesus, of Elijah, of Elisha, “to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut.” [Quoted Scripture here and below from Isaiah, Chapter 45]

“I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight. I will break in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron, and I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden reaches of secret places that thou mayth know that I, the Lord, will call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”

“I am the Lord, and there is none else. There is none else. There is no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.” I girded thee. I girded thee, but thou hast not known me. Thou thought that I was up there. Thou thought that I was in Moses. Thou thought that I was in Jesus. Thou hast not known that I, in the midst of thee, am he, “that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.”

Is there any other than that I? No, there is not. I, in the midst of thee, am mighty. I, in the midst of Moses, made the clouds appear, and the pillar of fire, and manna from the sky. I, in the midst of Jesus, multiplied the loaves and the fishes. I, in the midst of Jesus, healed the multitudes and always that same universal, impersonal, impartial, loving Father. I did those things throughout Scripture, and that I is the I speaking through the mouth, the throat, the words, the voice of Joel. That I speaks to you, and that I is hearing within you. When you say, “I hear you,” you are saying, “I, God, hear you God.” Don’t you know that I in the midst of you—“I form the light and create darkness… drop down, ye heavens from above…”

Did you hear that? Drop down from above. Certainly, don’t you know that heaven is here and now? It isn’t up there at all. It is here and now where we are, and “let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation.” Let the earth bring forth salvation. Why? Because the earth is heaven, and heaven is the earth, and let righteousness bring them together. “I, the Lord, have created it.”

“For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it. He hath established it. He hath created it not in vain. He formed it to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is none else.” I am is the Lord. I am is the savior. I am is the God, not that egotistical thing that walks around on the earth and says, “I am God.” No, no, not that, but that very humble, gentle thing that whispers in your ear and mine, “Know you not I in thee and thou in me; we are one. I, in the midst of thee, am mighty.”

When we hear that spoken in our ear, when we receive that divine Intuition within that tells us of this Presence—that I is God—closer than breathing and nearer than hands and feet. I, in the midst of thee, am mighty. Only stop looking for it up there. Stop looking for it out there. Stop looking for it in dollar bills or medicines. You won’t find it out there. That is the idolatry. That is the making of graven images, and then following them, and thinking that they are our salvation, whereas our salvation is in the midst of us, even I, even I in the midst of us.

Let us remember this: We are not of the metaphysical world that goes around saying, “I am God,” or “I am Spirit,” or “I am spiritual.” Oh no, we are not of those. We are of the world that puts the finger on the lips, says nothing, and listens, while the still, small voice says to us within, “Know ye not, I, in the midst of thee, am God.”

We are not of those who go around boasting that we are Spirit, or that we are spiritual, or that we are perfect. No, no. We say nothing with the lips. We listen. We hear. We let the still, small voice reveal to us, “God is at the center of our being.” Heaven forbid that I should say that I am Spirit, or I am God, or even that I am the child of God, or even that I am spiritual. No, no, no. I would never make such affirmations or such declarations, but as I listen, as I meditate, as I ponder the word of Scripture, something within me wells up and says to me, “Be not afraid. If thou walkest through the waters, I will be with thee.”

I’ve had an experience like that recently. Just a few weeks ago in the islands in Hawaii, I was swimming, and as I was swimming, the voice distinctively said to me, “Very soon you are going through an unpleasant experience, but don’t be afraid. I am going through it with you. I will be there, even though at the moment you may not see me, or may not hear me, or may not be aware that I am there. Don’t be afraid. I will be there with you.” And I said, “Oh, that’s nice, nice to know in advance, a very nice thing.”

I don’t know yet whether or not I’ve had that experience, but I did have this. At least if one’s death comes, you know right now that I am prepared for it in the knowledge that that I will be with me; or I may already have had it and not be fully aware of it, since was only the week following that I took the plane from Honolulu direct to Seattle. And after we were out just a few hours, I heard one of the engines go put-put, and I said, “Ah hah, there it is. This is a nice, neat dive down into that ocean.” And a few minutes later again the engine went put-put, and I thought, “Ah hah,” but then the voice came and said, “We’re going back to Honolulu.” And I breathed easier and said, “That’s nice to know. At least we’re not going down to Davy Jones’ locker.” And the third time the put-put came to me, and the pilot turned right around, and the first thing I knew we were headed back to Honolulu.

I don’t know if that was the unpleasant experience, for it wasn’t unpleasant, but it might have been without the assurance of God’s presence. But it wasn’t. There wasn’t anything unpleasant about it or anything frightening. And twelve hours later, we started out in that same plane and arrived in Seattle the next afternoon, and all was well. But the reason I speak of this experience is this: That I can’t say, “I am God,” or “I am Spirit,” or “I am spiritual,” but be assured of this that the I that is God, the I that is Spirit, the I that is my Savior is so close to me that it talks to me, and It says, “You’re going through an unpleasant experience, and don’t worry about it. I will be there.”