Pathwork Lecture #016: Spiritual Nourishment

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #016: Spiritual Nourishment

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P016.PDF

Spiritual nourishment and hygiene are as important as material nourishment, and will create better material circumstances in our lives. Spiritual nourishment is the regular intake/repetition of spiritual truths. Symptoms of spiritual malnourishment include emotional problems and lack of inner peace. We earn our spiritual bread by our sincere desire to receive it, and we digest it by meditating upon it and applying it to ourselves. Inner resistance and inertia must be overcome.

Spiritual cleansing comes with awareness of the lower self. MAKE an inventory of one’s emotional trends and soul currents. ASSESS them in light of spiritual law, and see what is no longer useful and appropriate. Every day, REVIEW one’s reactions to the day’s incidents, and ASK, “what can I learn about them; where do I still have to work on self-purification?”

Everything that happens can be made good by using it for a proper spiritual purpose. Instead of playing the stuck, powerless victim of circumstance, SAY “if anything unpleasant happens, the answer must be in me: the cause of it as well as the solution.” We all have the willpower — we just need to unfold it in the appropriate direction of spiritual growth.

Deviation from spiritual law equals sin equals ignorance. What violates spiritual law may vary to some extent with the individual. Happiness comes from the fulfillment of one’s spiritual task. SAY, “once and for all, I will use whatever will within me, according to the will of God.” This is the foundation of the improvement of one’s life and it unleashes one’s willpower. Consecrating our will may require us to make a sacrifice which may not seem as though it could be important to God, and yet that sacrifice may be an important stepping stone to something else. And when we give it up, we will know that it was a burden. The obstacle which makes us close ourselves to God’s will is the fear that God’s will will make us unhappy, but once we test this and find out otherwise, we can be at peace.

Questions and Answers:

One who is on this path and sincerely seeks the will of God will not misinterpret the answer he or she receives.

There is life all throughout the Universe, but at different pitches which we cannot perceive. Sometimes the sudden presence of a good “vibe” or fragrance signals the presence of positive spirits.

In time, more people will remember more of their past lives. Access to past-life information varies with development and commitment to the path. Right now, the knowledge is given sparingly. Our problems repeatedly materialize in different lives until we purify the root spiritual cause.

When we stumble repeatedly into the same fault, our task is to recognize it and learn from it, taking it in the right and constructive attitude.

We have one or more guardians, as well as specialists who surround us preying on our weaknesses. When we thwart them in their task of diverting us from God (which they may do simply by accentuating our tendency towards despair and self-loathing), we diminish their stature in the world of darkness, forcing them eventually to turn towards God. We also inspire nearby errant spirits. Front line fighters who overcome their lower selves are therefore important to the Plan of Salvation, and get more weapons from the spiritual world.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #015: Influence Between the Spiritual and Material Worlds

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #015: Influence Between the Spiritual and Material Worlds

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P015.PDF

There are many spiritual spheres in the universe, at different spiritual “pitches.” While on the material plane, we are connected to them in accordance with our level of development. As we pass through different states, we can be in contact with different spheres.

We are all responsible for our faults, even minor ones, and the more developed we are the greater the responsibility. According to the good and bad qualities we possess, we each attract spirit “specialists” to ourselves (whom we can identify through meditation). For instance, rage specialists wait for the opportunity to live through us by having a fit. These are in addition to divine guardians who will help and protect us if we ask them to (although intervening only to the extent that we have earned it). Although praying while we are in disharmony is a good idea, the only real protection in the long run is to remove, at their roots, the faults within which attract negative spirits. This can be done only by honest self-confrontation.

By aligning with the higher or lower self, we increase the influence of the forces of light or darkness upon us, thereby creating a positive or negative self-reinforcing cycle. Rejecting the forces of darkness also weakens their overall influence over humanity.

If we fulfill our spiritual potential, we can build harmonious forms in the spiritual dimensions. People coming together for a higher purpose build an actual temple in the spirit world.

Daydreaming is addictive, wastes time and energy, and provides an escape from reality like taking drugs. The thought forms daydreaming creates obstruct our true fulfillment.

Questions and Answers:

When daydreams are part of a creative process, they are not harmful. WRITE your daydreams in a notebook and then consider what they reflect.

Time and space do not exist in the spirit world in the way they do here. Spirits do not actually read human writings, but see the thought forms they contain, which reflect the writer’s personal energies.

Past life information will be revealed only when really necessary and appropriate to development. Past-life information which does not open a door and shed light on current life difficulties is untrustworthy. There is always a karmic reason why persons incarnate in the same family.

The turning point in spiritual development is when (without fanaticism), one puts God’s will and the Great Plan above material comfort and ego desires. One can learn the will of God by ASKING “is this Your will?” and being willing to hear the answer, pleasant or not. One’s own will should be put aside when there is conflict. The more developed one is, the more unhappy one will be if one does not follow the urge to align with the Divine.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #014: The Higher Self, the Lower Self, and the Mask

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #014: The Higher Self, the Lower Self, and the Mask

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P014.PDF

Note: This Lecture was originally published under the title, Higher Self, Lower Self, and Mask (see “Two Versions of Each lecture” post in Pathwork Lectures category).

Thoughts and feelings create forms which reflect in the auras of the subtle and physical bodies. Each person has a higher self, the finest and most radiant of the subtle bodies, vibrating at the highest frequency. It is covered up with denser layers acquired since the fall of the angels. These layers are the lower self, consisting of faults and weaknesses, and characterized by ignorance, laziness, inertia, pride, selfishness and vanity. The tainting of higher self messages with lower self motives makes us emotionally ill.

Since giving in to the lower self could bring us harsh feedback from our environment, and we don’t want to do the work of confronting our lower self, we create the false, mask self. To the extent that we are in a false mask, we are at war with ourselves, and not really paying the necessary spiritual price for growth. We tend to fool even ourselves into believing the mask, and our lower self goes into the unconscious where it has more power. Emotional sickness results from thusly living a lie. We need to face our lower self honestly, which is easier when we know that our covered-up higher self is who we really are. We need to identify our higher self, lower self and mask.

Spirits find the honest negativity of the lower self preferably to the sicky-sweet fakeness of the mask.

Therapy should be based on this conceptual framework. People should know the difficulty of facing the lower self but be sustained by the knowledge that the higher self is the ultimate self. A person too suddenly confronted with his or her lower self without the proper preparation may have a breakdown, leave therapy, and suffer other serious consequences.

Questions and Answers:

Allergies can reflect a wake-up call by the suppressed higher self, or a symptom of the inner conflict between the selves, or a suppressed childhood or past life shock to which the allergen is associated.

We can admit the lower self without giving in to it. Self-honesty is essential.

Illness should be accepted as an occasion to explore the lower self root, for the sake of purification rather than mere removal of symptoms.

Hinduism omits the Fall because souls incarnated in the East have less of a need to know spiritual details, are more tuned to God’s feminine aspect (the Plan of Salvation being a manifestation of God as masculine do-er), and are reluctant to accept Christ as “the one” given that he appeared in the West. Eastern and Western consciousnesses need to merge.

Spirits speak the language of thought-forms. They learn Earth languages for purposes of working with incarnated humans. Mediumship can occur in a variety of ways, including projecting the actual voice of the spirit, speaking in “tongues” and taking on different facial characteristics, but in working with mediums, the spirit world is concerned not about sensationalism, but only about developing abilities which will serve the Great Plan.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #013: Positive Thinking: The Right And Wrong Kind

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #13: Positive Thinking: The Right And Wrong Kind

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P013.PDF

Faith is an inner experience of certainty, gained by spiritual growth, not by external “proofs” and their momentary influence. There are no shortcuts to the gradual process of spiritual growth through self-confrontation. The Higher Self/Divine Spark knows, and it wants to inform the consciousness. The Lower Self doubts, partly because it wants to avoid the responsibility of having to change, and partly because it fears disappointment. We can resolve the disharmonious conflict between these currents by ASKING God: which is true? An answer will come in some form.

The Truth, even when it is unpleasant, makes one happy. Incidentally, when one no longer needs proofs, then one will receive them organically by virtue of one’s growth.

Building clean thoughts is essential because thoughts are spiritual forms which have effects. However, “positive thinking” is bad when it results in making negativity unconscious, thereby giving it more power. Our thinking can be changed, but feelings change only as the gradual result of growth through continued conscious attention. The Lower Self needs to be observed honestly and without guilt — accepted as a temporary state.

Out of pride and laziness, the Lower Self wants growth without having to pay the price. The Higher Self is willing to pay the price, that is, to accept the law of cause and effect. One has to be willing to accept the pain of the consequences of our breaking spiritual law, even to the extent that we did it in past lives. Acceptance is the price (however, this is not resignation). We must shoulder the burden with courage and humility, letting go of our vanity and resistance to pain, and being willing nevertheless to give of ourselves. one who is ready to renounce his or her life will win it.

Questions and Answers:

God works through people, subtly, giving answers in a natural, organic way. ASK for enlightenment and truth. If something seems like it might have been an answer, ASK if it was.

A true desire to serve God brings its own fulfillment.

The detachment which allows us to accept pain is partly gained by the realization that everyone feels as important to his or her self as we do to ourselves. This helps us not to take ourselves so seriously and not to guard so completely against pain. When we have this type of detachment, we aren’t dependent on outside conditions to feel secure, and we are able to be in the now because we are free of fear-driven desires, and investments in the future being or not being a certain way. This kind of detachment provides more vitality and pleasure, not less.

SAY TO GOD: “I want Truth, including the temporary truth about me, about my true feelings and thoughts.” Just observe with humility the true state of who you are, and the gap between that and what you know on an intellectual level. This clinical observation of the higher and lower selves has to be mastered first; afterwards, one will be guided to the personally appropriate meditations on the Divine Laws that one is breaking.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #012: The Order and Diversity of the Spiritual Worlds; The Process of Reincarnation

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #012:
The Order and Diversity of the Spiritual Worlds; The Process of Reincarnation

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P012.PDF

The answer to how bad things happen in spite of God’s existence is that we create our own fates — we suffer because we (often unconsciously) violate spiritual law. Even in mass disasters, we suffer only what we’re meant to. Moreover, we are all responsible for wars because our selfish, hostile energies, even as they express in our private lives, pollute the spiritual reservoir. If a small part of the population were to sow the seeds of peace by purifying their thoughts and feelings, wars would not occur.

To the extent that one hurts others in defense, the hurt will inevitably come around, even if from another direction. As we understand and feel compassion for others, a burden is lifted from us. PRAY for understanding of how those who have hurt us were in blindness and defense — for the “full vision of the truth.” One must will one’s self to pray this sincerely; this is an occasion to test ourselves.

Earthly objects are mere reflections or symbols of their spiritual counterparts. Spiritual landscapes are expressions of the mentality of the respective spirit being. There are an infinite number of spheres, all at different levels, the highest being the “house of God.” In the highest spheres, all is made of rays; all is moving, changing and in balance; all is exquisite. In spheres of music and color, sounds are colors and fragrances at the same time; things are not split apart. The inhabitants are working to fulfill the Great Plan, until all beings have returned to God. There are spheres of scientific and historical knowledge and many more.

At lower levels there are beautiful but less wondrous spheres. Earth is a sphere of purification. There are schools, hospitals, spheres of rest and spheres of reception and recovery following well-fulfilled lives. There are spheres pertaining to incarnation — preparation, including medical aspects and discussion with higher beings; and purification through review of past lives (different from having one’s life flash before one’s eyes after death). Such review can be frustrating, as we watch ourselves miss and refuse growth opportunities. It is an accomplishment to reach this kind of objective spiritual view of our life while still incarnated. Some spirits have various missions pertaining to helping those who are incarnated, including receiving them after death.

Resistance to believing in the spirit world may be unwillingness to confront the self, and/or fear of disappointment if one dares to believe in something so positive. Faith is the grace of higher understanding and knowing, which has to be earned by using one’s goodwill to make unconscious cross-currents of deception conscious and to align them with positive intention.

Only the spiritual is real.

Questions and Answers were not translated.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #011: Self-Knowledge — The Great Plan — The Spirit World

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #011:
Self-Knowledge — The Great Plan — The Spirit World

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P011.PDF

Note: Unlike all the other summaries on this blog, this summary was produced using the 1996 version of the Lecture as a basis (see “Two versions of each Lecture” in “Pathwork Lectures” category

We long for happiness. The spiritually immature believe that happiness depends on outside circumstances, a belief which allows them to avoid responsibility and self-searching. The spiritually mature understand that cultivating inner happiness first creates positive external circumstances. Only by following the path of self-knowledge and finding God, who is within us, can we find happiness.

We must honestly look at our feelings and motives, comparing them to what we would like to believe about ourselves. Shedding our faults and our trends that violate spiritual law makes us free. We can measure how far along we are by asking how happy we are. As we progress internally, the outer circumstances of our live may lag behind a bit, so we must be patient. Eventually we will live sustained and guided by God’s spirit world.

As a general rule, we have to ask for God’s help before it will be given. Ungodly spirits can harm us. We should seek contact with God’s spirits, who are knowable by their humility, patience, and love and their kindness even when speaking uncomfortable truths. The only purpose for such contact is to find inner happiness. Sometimes our impurities block a spiritual response to our seeking, and we must root out the obstacle. There is also a price that will have to be paid for spiritual contact.

Questions and Answers:

There are humans and spirits working for the Plan of Salvation and the return of all the spirits to God, and others who create inner and outer chaos by trying to follow their own laws.

With a very sincere desire, one may contact one’s own spirit guide, who will step forward if the answer one seeks cannot be given by human beings. Such a guide will answer questions about the will of God, one’s unconscious energies, one’s contributions to a conflict (for no matter how wrong the other is, there must be something within you which is responsible), etc. We must let go of resistance based in vanity. Painful answers will not only sustain us because they are true, but also affirm the nature of the contact. Answers may be given in many ways. We need to be open, patient and flexible.

In regard to distinguishing which voice one is hearing, the subconscious answers quickly and often loudly. One may distinguish by asking in stillness, with a sincere desire to do God’s will. The voice of a guardian spirit is soft and without force behind it. One’s own higher self softly exerts a guiding influence, but does not speak coherent words.

When there is disharmony with another, we should always meditate on what imperfection within us is connected with it. We will find resistance, and we need to identify it. Often, we simply don’t want to change — to put aside our ego, vanity or whatever. Finding the inner resistance is the key; merely changing the surface action doesn’t eliminate the problem. Thus, it is better to err repeatedly while observing one’s self honestly than to act inauthentically.

Certain knowledge, such as spiritual laws and how to overcome certain faults, must be gained from outside one’s self.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #010: Male and Female Incarnations; Their Rhythms and Causes

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #10: Male and Female Incarnations; Their Rhythms and Causes

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P010.PDF

The whole Universe, including Heaven and Hell and all that is in-between, is “within” the human being in a way which is difficult to express or grasp. The Earth is but a projection of the real, like an image in a mirror. While we are incarnate, we are separated from this true, inner reality.

Questions and Answers: (There are numerous questions and answers following this Lecture, a few of which I judge to be arcane even for this context, and have accordingly omitted.)

Beyond a certain stage of development, every being reaches a stage where it can dissolve itself into the divine flow and reconstitute itself as an individual entity of fine matter. We all feel the longing to dissolve and merge, as well as the fear (in inverse proportion to our development). But merging is not the final destination of the soul; the individual aspect is eternal. Even God has these two aspects, the dissolved be-er and the individual, personal doer. The rhythm between these two states is related to the rhythm of breathing.

Before the Fall, we were unified, encompassing active/male and receptive/female. Eventually, we will come together and unify, after the need to incarnate has ended. Animals, plants, etc. are further splits. The split happened unevenly, so that aspects of male are with the predominantly female and vice-versa. Whatever went “over to the other side” in the split needs to incarnate as its true nature, in order to restore balance and prepare for reunification. In meditation, one can discover whether one is predominantly masculine or feminine in essence.

Rebellion against one’s gender is unhealthy. Everyone can find happiness only by saying yes to the life given in an incarnation, and by coming to know one’s life task and fulfilling it. No matter how much opposite-sex tendency one might have, and how much resulting difficulty, no incarnation is an error. Moreover, no one is a victim. The split was caused by deliberate choice (which the spirit still remembers). The difficulties created thereby must be overcome to return to God. When we develop ourselves spiritually, our opposite-sex tendencies become complementary to our personalities. But we must will our own development.

There are two kinds of meditation, thinking and being. One should do that which is harder, in order to cultivate the corresponding quality.

A naturally-occurring spiritual connectedness can be the result of accomplishments in prior lives. Prior to incarnating, one could choose such connectedness on the basis of past merits. Alternately, one might be given help to direct one’s energies towards acquiring the ability to connect to spirit in this life. When one doesn’t take advantage of such a connection, the channel will have to be impeded for a time, and one will have to work harder to open it again for future incarnations.

Periods of history can be predominantly masculine or feminine in their energetic influence.

Re-entry into spirit after death is often painless, either as a natural effect of a way of life or as a grace one has earned.

Sincere repentance extinguishes the sin, karmically, most readily as to things we have caused in this incarnation.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #009: Prayer and Meditation — The Lord’s Prayer

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #009: Prayer and Meditation — The Lord’s Prayer

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P009.PDF

Note: The original title of this Lecture was The Lord’s Prayer. See “Two Versions of Each Pathwork Lecture” in General Orientation posts.

This Lecture is about the true meaning of the Lord’s Prayer, upon which the Guide recommends deep and prolonged meditation.

OUR FATHER: Realize that we are all God’s children, even people we don’t like. To be a true child of God is to recognize this. Negative feelings towards others is a sign of something unresolved within one’s self. Pray for help in letting go of this inner weight and restriction. See the divinity in others; seeing one’s own Higher Self makes this easier.

WHO ART IN HEAVEN: Heaven is within one’s own self and that of others. Seeking Heaven there is the path to God.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME: We hallow His name by seeking to understand and fulfill spiritual law. Ask, “what are my difficulties/problems? How are they based in a violation of spiritual law? I must be violating, but I no longer wish to do so.” An answer will come.

THY KINGDOM COME: It comes within us, when we live by spiritual law.

THY WILL BE DONE: All suffering/discomfort is rooted in disobedience of God’s will/spiritual law, no matter what anyone else’s error or wrongdoing. While some mystery may exist, aspects of God’s will are obvious, such as following a path of self-perfection. Confront one’s self honestly, rather than blaming others and circumstances and pushing away discomfort. Ask, “am I willing to do God’s will even if I don’t like it at first?”

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN: Find the inner rigidities in belief and attitude which prevent the spiritual from manifesting in your spiritual and your earthly life.

GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD: Seek first spiritual nourishment, by looking at one’s life troubles and asking how they reflect a wrong attitude.

FORGIVE OUR TRESPASSES: “Our” trespasses means everyone’s including those of people we don’t like. False, “smokescreen” guilt weighs us down, while true acknowledgement of real guilt makes a real request for divine forgiveness and guidance possible, and brings immediate psychic relief.

AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US: Ask for understanding of the other person so that you can forgive, and for help in letting go. Not forgiving burdens and harms us.

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION: God does not do this; the real meaning is to pray that God will lead us when we already are in temptation. Temptation is internal. Were it not for the lower self, dark forces could not act upon us. Thus, we need to know our faults (we should list them so we can remember them).

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL: Ask for the help and the willpower to deliver one’s self from the evil within.

FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM: It is within us, so we should yield to it.

THE POWER: Only God’s power makes us loving and happy.

THE GLORY: Which we can attain only by following God’s will.

ASK: How happy am I? To give happiness, one must have it. This prayer lays out the process for attaining it.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #008: Mediumship — How to Contact God’s Spirit World

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #008: Mediumship — How to Contact God’s Spirit World

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P008.PDF

Note: The original title of this Lecture was Contact with God’s Spirit World — Mediumship. See “Two Versions of Each Pathwork Lecture” in General Orientation posts.

Those who shrug off deep commitment to the path of perfection should consider how far along they really are. After commitment, there is temporary relief and joy, but one must press on steadily. Commitment brings greater spiritual protection (which can be felt), including perhaps a change of guardians.

The path is (1) coming to know and accept one’s imperfections, and (2) inwardly integrating spiritual laws — daily and with outside help. Divine guidance will be received in one form or another; however, spiritual contact must be used exclusively for spiritual development. The medium must walk the path of self-perfection, which starts in different places for different people. Open-mindedness is crucial.

ASK: “What are my imperfections/faults? What is my greatest fault, maybe the greatest obstacle to my spiritual ascent? What are the faults I own but whose consequences and extent I have not fully confronted? And what are the faults with which other people have confronted me?” As to the last, try to find the grain of truth. Make a list of faults and take it to one’s spirit friends. Resolve to face the Truth. Receiving painful answers will actually strengthen one’s faith.

ASK: “Help me to recognize the meaning and purpose of this particular experience to see how it might further my development.” Then be open to answers coming from other people or directions.

At some point, one will feel a need to give back to God in gratitude. The sacrifice will lead to great reward and happiness. (The Guide gives two listeners specific guidance about life direction.)

ASK: “When should I let myself be guided? When must I act by myself?”

Connection to the spirit world is available for absolutely everyone.

Questions and Answers:

A medium must be free of vanity, and must work through his or her own unrecognized faults to be able let good communication through. Mediums should not be trusted without question. One should always maintain an independent connection to spirit, and bear in mind the basic conditions: to follow the will of God, to purify one’s self by overcoming one’s faults, and to cultivate self-knowledge. The focus should not be on the futile attempt to understand the cosmos, but to patiently assess the medium’s input about the self and take in what proves to be correct.

“God is a person and is also the One.”

Suffering is inevitably part of the plan of salvation. There was an attempt to have it otherwise but it failed. Consider, in light of observable perfection in the Universe, our tendency to demand proof of divine justice before committing to the path. The same spitefulness originally led to the Fall.

In making a real, unreserved commitment, PRAY REPEATEDLY: “Your will be done, God, even if it is unpleasant for me, even if I cannot comprehend it, because you are Justice and Love. That is clear, that is the only ground I can stand on, my only fixed point; I do not know any other.”

Relate to money as a means to an end. Poverty is rarely necessary. The rich are often being tested with temptation.

On the path, we will come to know and desire God’s Will.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)

Pathwork Lecture #007: Asking for Help and Helping Others

Summary of Pathwork Lecture #007: Asking for Help and Helping Others

For a deeper, more rewarding experience of these teachings, refer to the Lecture itself, obtainable free of charge at: http://www.pathwork.org/lectures/P007.PDF

As the forms created by our emotions, thoughts, opinions and tendencies clash with spiritual law, the disharmony creates our life difficulties. We need outside help, including connection to the divine, in rooting out these unconscious negativities. All Truth has to be experienced personally in order to become genuine inner knowledge. Rather than letting ourselves be hypnotized by our petty worries, we would do well to ASK God to provide a deep inner recognition of Truth, and to be open to receiving Guidance, however it might manifest. A sincere desire for self-knowledge will always attract help, either as outside Guidance or inner experience. Following the Path and committing entirely to God will bring slow and natural change.

As we develop, we need positive contact with kindred persons. Sometimes we delude ourselves into thinking we can help the less developed when we are not really capable, but Guidance should be sought as to whether it is really necessary to break off contact with them. Sometimes we skip out on a task we were supposed to perform, by helping or working together with a less developed person; we would do well to PROBE our feelings of unhappiness to see if this is a cause, and be flexibly open to Guidance about what it would serve us best to do. Receptiveness to spiritual help is highly beneficial, but we often forget to open ourselves.

Questions and Answers:

Wallowing in our faults attracts negativity and conceals an underlying prideful desire to be further along than one is without paying the unavoidable price of self-development. Avoiding a wound to one’s vanity is a great obstacle to being honest with one’s self. One has to build on Truth. Through being honest, one will discover the crust of lower self and the perfection slumbering underneath. Visualizing this inner perfection creates a positive thought form and directs the will towards it. PRAY for the strength and willpower to see one’s self as one really is — to see one’s pride and related faults. TAKE silent time daily to meditate, pray and resolve. VISUALIZE one’s self free of the faults one discovers, and feel how it would feel to be in that place. “This is the process.” The price of doing this work must be paid to create lasting happiness.

Fear can arise from violation of spiritual law, from lack of faith in God, and from over-investment in the ego (which creates separation and loneliness). As one truly commits to the process, one receives the Guidance one needs and fear dissolves.

When we ask for Guidance, we should understand that it may not come in any specific form, such as a dream.

While doctors are God’s instruments, illness ultimately has its roots in a soul distortion which must be uprooted.

© 2005, 2007 — All rights reserved (see first post in General Orientation category)