1959 Maui Advanced Work
Joel S. Goldsmith
247B – The Spiritual or Mystical Life

pdf-49px247B The Spiritual or Mystical Life

Yes, to think of the spiritual life as it is sometimes taught, as being necessary to go away to an Ashrama or a convent or a whatever the name is, for men, the equivalent of convent, what do they call them?…Monastery. Yes, monastery. Surely, you must never doubt that those who can go to a convent or a monastery or an Ashrama, and leave the world outside, there is tremendous, tremendous benefit in the experience; whether one goes for a day, a week, a month, or as some few do, leave this world to live that life. That is why these retreats that are now being organized in the protestant churches, as they have been for so many years in the Roman Catholic churches; that is why these retreats are of such tremendous importance to men, especially of the business world, who can go away from Friday night to a Monday morning, and live a life of meditation, prayer, concentration, on the things of God. But, for those who cannot take advantage of that opportunity, there still exists twenty four hours of every day in which one can retire into the sanctuary of their own being.

Nowadays more churches than ever keep open during the day for people to come in for periods of meditation and prayer. Business houses have washrooms, homes have washrooms, or a lanais; everyone who really and truly is led of the Spirit will find dozens of opportunities during the day for this retiring within, to realize God’s grace, and that is of course the goal.

When we arrive at that place where we no longer live by might, nor by power; not by physical might nor by mental power, but by the grace of God, when the grace of God performs our tasks through us, within us, When the grace of God is ever-at-hand, to advise, to instruct, to lead, that is the goal of the spiritual life. Not necessarily as the Master said; “I do not pray that my disciples be taken out of the world. Leave them in the world but not of it; ” So do we in the spiritual or mystical path say, “Do not leave this world.” This world needs you in business, in schools, in politics, in courts; but it needs you there with the presence of God abiding.

There are those who serve outside of what is called “this world,” and bring great blessings to this world—for some are called to that. But until one is called, one must remain in the world, but not be of it. We have lived through centuries where the religious work of the world was carried on by ministers, and priests and rabbis, and the rest were laymen—that day is fast, fast fading. There still will be the ministers, the priests and the rabbis—as the teachers, as those who lead the way; those who are at the forefront. They will instruct, and they will show by their example the fruits of spiritual living.

But if each one of us isn’t a minister or a priest, we will fail of our mission. For it is intended that every man shall live by grace; every man shall be of the kingdom of God; every man shall be a minister in one form or another; not to serve in the capacity of the minister of the church, but to serve as a minister in the capacity where he is: in business, in court, in school. But carrying that same spiritual integrity that he expects of his minister; carrying that same spiritual light that he expects of his minister; carrying the same integrity that he expects of his minister; carrying those qualities, letting the minister be the example; and then each one following and carrying those same Christly qualities into this world, thereby transforming this world from earth to heaven.

Heaven and earth you know are one; it’s all a state of consciousness—you make your heaven; you make your hell. There are many people in this paradise of Hawaii—unhappy, miserable, sick and sinful; and others who say, “It can’t be, this is a paradise.” There is no such place as a paradise; paradise is the state of being which you are; when … when you have learned to live in God’s grace, through God’s grace, to abide in the word and let the word abide in you.

Our experience dates, as you know, from the time when it was shown to me that the reason for the discords of the world is that God is not in this world; that God is only in that part of this world where God is realized. That the rest of the world can burn up; the rest of the world can go to war and be shot to pieces; the rest of the world can be bombed; no God is interfering in that. Prayers are going on all the time, if one may dignify them with that name … ineffectual. Peace has been prayed for since long before the Master’s day—never has been achieved.

And the reason is that God is where God is realized, and where God is realized, the grace of God is in expression. You will find, wherever you find groups of people who have attained God realization, you’ll find peace, and integrity and health and safety and security. You’ll find that these things are not at the mercy or whim of men. It is literally true that you need not fear man whose breath is in his nostril, you need not fear what mortal man can do to you, if so be you have attained this inner contact with the Father. Paul revealed much of this to me, when he made it so clear that you are not children of God, except: If so be the Spirit of God dwell in you. He made it so clear that a human being cannot please God, and does not live under the law of God. But when that same human being receives the Spirit of God in him, then does he become the Son of God; then does he live under God’s grace.

Therefore it behooves us not to go around prating about God, talking about God, but attaining God realization; living and moving and having our being in this word, until the Spirit Itself takes over, and begins to live our life. There too it was Paul who told us, “I live, yet not I, Christ liveth my life.” And the Master said, “I of my own self can do nothing; if I speak of myself, I bear witness to a lie; it is the Father within me.”  So do we “Abide in this word and let this word abide in us, ” until the Father within us is no longer a quotation, but an experience.

When that spirit of the Lord God is upon you, then are you ordained, not only to heal the sick, but even to prevent sickness, to raise the dead, to preach the gospel, to feed the hungry. God must be to us a living experience, and the Bible must be to us a living book. You see, if we read the Old Testament, and we can go back to the story of Moses, we find these Hebrew people who ostensibly were very religious, and who were always sure that their God was doing something for them—what we don’t know—They were in slavery, they were in sin, they were in disease, but they had God on their lips all the time.

But when Moses received God realization, illumination; that one man was able to carry the whole nation out of their slavery; not to keep them out, oh no, no. He was in the same position as Jesus, centuries later, when Jesus said, “Oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem, I would but ye would not.” Moses, wanted them to know and to obey the law, but they weren’t ready for the experience; and so they slipped back and they went forward and they slipped back and they went forward. But whenever a Hebrew prophet came, an individual who had attained God realization, that one or a dozen could lift the nation.

So it was, the Hebrews in the time of Christ Jesus had this great, great temple, and all that went with it. They had lots of religion, lots of worship, lots of ceremonies, lots of sacrifices; they lacked only one thing—God. And then Christ Jesus comes: a man ordained of God, filled with the Spirit of God; and see what miracles were performed with God in the midst of him.