Original Iwihub.com transcript, proofread by Zane Maser

1960 New York “25” Practitioner Class
1960 New York Private Class for “25”
Joel S. Goldsmith
Tape 362A

pdf-49px  362A 1960 New York _25_ Practitioner Class

And so, all of this is embodied in these two tapes of the “25 Group.” And please continue to see that these tapes are shared only by those of the group, and, of course, now this particular group today will be included in that and also with the understanding that these tapes are to be kept “confidential.” Even the existence of them is to be kept confidential among those who are of this, and none others are to be invited under any circumstance. That is a bond of integrity between you and me.

So that we are free today to take up the subject, which has been left aside for quite a few years, and that is the subject of practitioner work. With us, the word “practitioner” is very loosely used. By that I mean that every Infinite Way student should very quickly begin to do some measure of healing work within their families or among their friends, evolving on a wider scale in accord with the depth of their own perception. And, therefore, every student may rightly think of himself as a practitioner once his understanding of this message has resulted in some healings. But, we do have two groups of people who may more rightly think of themselves as practitioners, and those are, first, the students who are included on our list of practitioners. Now this list is made up not necessarily of all Infinite Way students who can heal but primarily of those who are actively engaged in healing and are free enough of family obligations, or business obligations, or other obligations, so that they can give adequate time to the healing work, to the telephone, to the answering of telephones, to the answering of mail, because our practitioners do not derive their activity primarily in their localities, in the localities where they live.

Because of the nature of our work, we do not have great bodies of students in any one city. And, therefore, calls may come to practitioners from almost any part of the globe, and those who would be listed must first of all be very certain of their healing consciousness and of their ability to meet the needs of those who come to them, a proven ability. Secondly, that they are sufficiently established in their home so that they are available on the telephone and to answer whatever mail may come.

Then, we have the second body of those who are equally practitioners, sometimes equally busy and equally effective but who are not so situated as to be able to receive telephone calls at all hours of the day or night, who are not so situated as to be able to answer correspondence promptly, or who may be called upon to be out of town or away from their post of duty, so that it would not be wise for them to be listed and then be in the position of not being at their post when calls came.

Now, what I would like to bring up is this. There are several types of practice, and each student will evolve in accord with their own state of consciousness. No one on the face of the earth is qualified to tell another person how to conduct a spiritual, healing practice. I learned this myself during my sixteen years of active practice when almost everyone who knew about my practice was in complete agreement that everything I was doing was wrong, and I’m sure that it was from their standpoint. The only thing that made it all right with me was that I was getting the result in healing. I was getting the result in incoming supply, gratitude; and I could find little fault with myself and my methods, except, of course, on the general basis that I couldn’t heal as well as I know we all should heal. But then neither are you doing it, so I’m not going to get ashamed of that.

Now, a practice is an absolutely individual matter and the mode of conducting a practice, but there is a measuring rod; and to be perfectly honest, each one must measure themselves by that. “By their fruits, ye shall know them.” In other words, let us not believe we’re doing right if we’re not getting the right result, if we are not meeting cases as we should, if we are not having an adequate amount of cases met, or if we are not meeting them promptly. Let us then begin to investigate what is wrong. If gratitude is not being expressed to us, be assured something is wrong with our healing work. Because, and I give you this right from my heart after more than 30 years of active practice, no one in all this world is quite so grateful as a person who has been healed; and the first thing they want to do is to pour it out in gifts of whatever nature they have, whether it begins, as it often may, with a handkerchief or a book of postage stamps; but eventually, as their own supply unfolds, it becomes dollars and no limit to them, because somehow healing brings out a gratitude that nothing else does. Surprising enough, it brings out much more gratitude than spiritual teaching does. You can teach a student the spiritual life and remake them and remold them, and it doesn’t bring out quite the same gratitude that removing their pains brings out.

Now that’s very, very strange, but it is so. And I presume that the reason is that in the West, we have not yet grasped the real meaning of spiritual teaching, spiritual living, the transition from the material state of consciousness to the spiritual, or else we would feel about it as the Master did that it is the “great pearl,” and it is worthwhile to give up all that we have in exchange for it. But, as of this moment, that is not quite true, whereas we do give up all that we possess when we’re healed of a cancer, or consumption, or something of a like nature. However, the point is this. That while you do not measure the gratitude of an individual, please understand that, you do not measure the gratitude of an individual by whether or not they are paying or what amount they’re paying; and I would not infer any such thing; but, on the whole, you can tell by your income whether or not the gratitude is coming through. In other words, it may not come from this person, that person, or the other person, because actually it comes from God. But when the healing works are adequate, be assured it does come; gratitude comes, loves comes, and in our materialistic age it usually takes the form of money.

Now, this is just side issue. In the start of our healing work usually we undertake to enlighten those who come to us for help, reveal to them principles of The Infinite Way. And, the temptation is later when we get busy to neglect that phase of our work and merely sit at the telephone and do healing work. And, of course, unless this is only a transitional stage leading to something further, it isn’t good, because our function is not to set up as competition to materia medica. Our function is not to set up as just another form of healing people. That’s not the object of The Infinite Way. The object of The Infinite Way is to open the soul center of an individual, to open their spiritual capacities, to develop in them a transcendental consciousness; and the healing is just that which is one of the added things.