Teachings of Christ Mind

Good evening. And welcome to everyone who’s joining us on the Internet.

I won’t make everyone sit on pins and needles through a quiet time, but I’ll ask you: How many of you remember the word, “glad”? I say that because it’s a word not in common use these days. There’s a lot of talk about being happy and so on, but glad doesn’t come up. Tonight’s a night to be glad.

It’s truly a night to be glad.

It’s a night to be glad because all of the funds necessary to purchase the new home are in hand and the escrow office—the title company—has been asked to set a closing date for as “soon as possible,” which could be as soon as next Friday but it’s likely to be the first part of the following week.

The smile on Paul’s face is his joy.

It is a time for everyone to let themselves be happy. Everyone has played a part—so many have played a part in this. Contributions have come in from all over: Taipei, Japan, Australia, Greece, England, Ireland, Canada … oh, and yes, United States—people Paul and Susan have never seen the names before, a wonderful confirmation of the out-reach of the work.

Everyone has poured their love into this project—if I may call it a project—this movement. And even those who have not made contributions of a financial nature but who have made a contribution of their spiritual support and prayers, every single one of all of us, have allowed the manifestation of something wonderful. And indeed, in doing so, have created a sense of community—broad community—amongst everyone, even though everyone hasn’t met each other and may not even know each others’ names. Everyone knows they have been a part of a movement—a mutual movement—a joined movement.

It feels good, doesn’t it? The experience of family feels good … not because it satisfies the ego, but because it’s important. Family is a very fundamental Meaning that says there’s no one that’s isolated. There’s no one that can do anything by himself or herself. There is nothing that is accomplished that everyone doesn’t play some part in. And those of you who have actively played a part here are feeling that union.

This is a feeling that everyone should be having all the time. This is a feeling that is normal to Being … natural to Being. It’s just that it’s escaping everyone’s attention because everyone is attempting to accomplish their own ends that they have created out of their own imagination and never are they joining with the Father to find out what they can do, shall I say, in tandem with the Father—in companionship with the Father—and thereby being that which confirms the Movement of God by the fact that it’s recognized by those who have joined with the Father. It’s not only recognized as happening, it’s recognized as having its source in the Father. It’s recognized as the direct and immediate experience or manifestation of Creation.

Now, I thank everyone. I thank everyone for letting their light shine. I thank everyone for their participating in an activity or a Movement that they are attributing to God—that they are attributing to a Cause outside of some human being’s goal—because that constitutes the abandonment of isolation. It constitutes an act of joining. It constitutes a movement of family. And you might say the Light, the effulgence of Brotherhood grows brighter in such events.

All of what has happened here in the last six weeks or so has to do with, not just Paul and Susan, but everyone’s willingness to ask to know the truth from the Father’s point of view—or we could say, from the standpoint of the Holy Spirit, which is nothing more than each one’s right Mind—and standing with the Vision that comes forth when one does that, even though it flies right in the face of what is considered to be possible or even reasonable. You see?

Miracles are what you call “events” that God causes to happen, which you are able to observe as the Movement of God when you abandon your isolation and say, “Father, what is the truth here?” “Father, what do I need to know?” “Father, what is Your Perspective?” And in that joining and in the Revelation that occurs, one moves into that place where God’s laws prevail—no others. And so that which doesn’t seem to be reasonable can happen. That which goes beyond what people can “wrap their minds around” happens.

The call is for all of you to look at your world every day, all day long, with a curiosity to see beyond your present definitions. And I’ve talked about this endlessly. But here we have a first-hand example that all of you have been a part of, and you can see that what has happened is unexpected—is not what one would expect—is not what one would think could happen. Not reasonably anyway, and certainly not without a lot more effort being made to coerce people to make such large contributions.

So, at the bottom line, at the least, everyone should feel encouraged not to look at their world the way they’ve been looking at it, with the assurances they feel about what the world is and how it works and what you can expect and what you can’t expect. And if, when you ask, “Father, what do I need to know?” or “What do I need to do?” and it is revealed to you what to do, instead of doubting what you’re hearing and denying it offhandedly, pursue it further if you don’t feel comfortable acting upon it. Pursue it further. Don’t put it down, because your Guide or the Holy Spirit or the Father is more than happy (now that They have your attention) to elaborate and make clear to you what you need to know. It might not be as much as you think you need to know, but you will be told what you need to know so that you might act with conviction and commitment.

If everything you see is the Kingdom of Heaven seen truly or through a glass darkly—seeing it for what it is as the Kingdom of Heaven or as a material world and universe as you think it is—then it behooves you, now that you know there’s a choice … it behooves you to dare to look at what you think is a material world and universe with a curiosity to see evidences of the Kingdom of Heaven begin to appear to you.

It’s all the Kingdom of Heaven, no matter what! And therefore, it is not hiding Itself from you. And It is therefore, even insistent upon registering with you as what It is.

Now, you are able to see, as you’ve participated in the last month or so, that this “material world and universe,” hasn’t behaved in a normal fashion—hasn’t behaved in the expected way. And that should inspire you to continue in your own daily lives, looking with the same kind of curiosity and perhaps the same level of expectation that you have been able to bring to this movement.

You’ve been willing to bring a greater level of expectation because you think Paul and Susan and those carrying on the activities of the Northwest Foundation have some greater capacity than you do. They don’t. They just persist a little bit longer than you do. They insist on persisting longer in listening than you do. And so, you have an example here that should inspire you as you cope with the minutiae of daily affairs in your life, which is where, I pointed out last week, the laws of God prevail. You see?

This is wonderful! And your gladness tonight you can allow to transfer over to your minutiae of daily affairs, and inspire you to ask God what do you need to know. You see? And then Listen. And then when you hear, dare to believe. And if you can’t believe fully, then ask further questions. Insist and persist further, because no matter what you believe and no matter how long I continue to express the truth, the truth is true and the truth will prevail. And the fact that it’s all the Kingdom of Heaven will sooner or later be your conscious experience of Being.

It is so inevitable. Because it is the absolute fact already, that any degree of faith you bring to looking with innocent eyes—in other words, without preconceptions—is bound to cause you to notice, even inadvertently, that something didn’t behave the way you expected; something behaved in a way that … well, if you really looked at it … could imply that there were laws that were prevailing that you weren’t familiar with, and that might even mean that there’s a God, for a fact! And that might be justification for you to look at everything with a little bit more interest than you have been. You see?

That’s what all of this is about: Learning how to see … learning how to look.

If you want to have more glad experiences, engage in this. I am telling you things that bring gladness, and gladness is something that should fill your minds a lot more than it does.

Now, I thank you again. And without attempting to make Paul or Susan self-conscious or uncomfortable, I expressed my gratitude to them as well. Especially because of the fact that they’re willing to act it out. They’re willing to lay their lives on the line, so to speak, and function in what looks like a material world and universe as though it were the Kingdom of Heaven.

Their behavior these last few months has been behavior—when it comes to their vision and their insistence upon knowing what the truth is here—it has been an endeavor to behave in the material world and universe as though it is the Kingdom of Heaven. And they didn’t do it secretly. They did it in front of everyone. They did it publicly.

Now, this is something every single one of you needs to begin to do in more earnest than you have been. Because the more you do it with commitment, the more you’re going to see the evidence, and the more gladness you will feel, and the more joy you will feel, and the more your gladness and joy will ripple out contagiously and inspire others. But do understand that this process of Waking up is going to involve your behaving differently in the world.

Now, if you just went out and told people, “Wow, you know what? I need to and you need to behave differently in the world,” that could be interpreted as, you know, just doing any damned thing you please, no matter how strange or far-out it might be. But it isn’t that. It’s the fact that you need to behave in the world as though it’s the Kingdom of Heaven. And the only way you can do that is to have someone helping you see the nature and the behavior of the Kingdom of Heaven so that you can harmonize with It. And that’s what the Holy Spirit is for—that’s what, “that which is nothing more than your right Mind” is for—to cause you to begin once again, to behave as though you’re the holy Son of God in the Kingdom of Heaven.

And you’re going to do it right here before you die, because the place to do it isn’t some place after you die.

Now, Paul and Susan can tell you that when a miracle seems to take four months, it’s like a miracle in slow motion. When the Father’s plans unfold and seem to take time, the slow motion miracle can seem to be tedious. It can seem to be anxiety-producing. But that’s only when the ego wants its answers right now and gets impatient with God and then says, “If God can’t work a miracle and make it happen now, then probably what’s happening isn’t God and isn’t a miracle. So, hey you… Paul, Sue… (or whatever your name is), give up!” You know? “Go back to controlling things into your life, yourself.”

So again, it’s a night for gratitude, for gladness. Dare to feel it. Dare to join in with everyone else who’s feeling it. And then remember this: God said to Moses, “Hold up your rod,” and the waters parted. And the children of Israel went across on dry land and got to the other side. Wow, it was accomplished. They had gotten away from Pharaoh’s soldiers, the threat, the potential death. They were free!

“Oh-h, but what now?” You know? “I mean okay, we’re free and we’re on the other side of the sea, uh-h … Where’s the completion? Where’s the wholeness?

“Oh-h, you mean there’s more? You mean we have to let ourselves into the unknown again? Why? So we can have another miracle and end up standing there needing to listen and allow for another miracle? Are you saying we’re just going to have endless series of miracles? Oh, come on! Give me the dependable un-miraculous, please! At least that doesn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, wondering.”

Yeah, of course. Wonder’s not a good thing, is it? W-o-n-d-e-r-ful … g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s.

“No Wonder. No. Forget about wonder. Don’t leave me wondering. Please don’t ask me to stand in a constant state of wondering with the potential experience of a constant state of wonder at the miraculous. Please!”

You know … Noah built the ark.

“Okay, God here it is. Man, oh man.

“What God? What? You want me to go get two of each kind of animal and manage to bring ‘em here and put ‘em in the ark? All you said was, ‘build an ark,’ you know? You told me how big, you know? You told me exactly how to build it. I did it!

“Um-m, okay.”

And he got the animals and brought them on.

“There you are God! “Yes. [deep sigh] “I’m done.

“What God? You want me to take away the gangplank and close the hatch? Wait a minute, what’s happening? What?

“Well you didn’t tell me I was going to have to deal with that. Okay.”

So he closes it up and it starts raining and the water rises and the ark begins to float. And then Noah’s perplexed and, you know, cautiously inquires, “What do I need to know now?

“I need to what? I need to go clean up what?” And that’s where the term “poop-deck” came into existence.

He had to take care of the animals. Oh-h. Oh yeah. That really was the minutiae of daily affairs wasn’t it? [chuckles] And he was called upon, you know, to do this that he hadn’t expected, and even to see that this aspect of the “cruise” and the “cruise” itself was part of God’s handiwork, was included in that Place where God’s laws prevail, so that he could begin to see the Hand of God in everything. You see what I’m saying?

And the Israelites came into the experience of, and the conscious awareness of God’s Hand in everything. So the meaning of the word “God” became really relevant in the minutiae of daily affairs.

Now, here we are faced with the same call they were. Everyone is, whether they’re studying A Course In Miracles or taking dope. They are at a point of having the opportunity to see God in their experience instead of what they believe their experience is all about.

Every single one of you is confronted with the call to find a way to behave in the “material world and universe” as though it were the Kingdom of Heaven, so that the Vision of It, as what It truly Is, can begin to glimmer and flash and catch your attention—so that you see It, right here, not after you die.

Keep … keep the awareness that the Kingdom of Heaven is flashing and sparking and doing things to catch your attention, to uncover the places where nothing is behaving according to the “laws of matter,” we’ll say—things are not behaving the way you’re expecting—so that you continually stand at the edge of the unknown having the unknown reveal itself to you so that that becomes the new norm.

Now, simple grounded perspective: The movement has begun. It has uncovered the means to purchase the house in as little as perhaps ten days from now. Then what? Then the move really begins and things will need to be done and support will be needed.

What does that mean? It means that it’s the opportunity for you to become still and go within and ask the Father how to see what appears to be a material world and universe founded on scarcity, finiteness and limitation, as the Kingdom of Heaven. “Father, how do I see this as the Kingdom of Heaven? How do I see this so that I can see Your Hand in everything?”

And watch how much thinking it seems to create. How many thoughts … [chuckles] … how many thoughts can come up before you let the Father answer? How many thoughts do you want to deal with before the Father answers because you think having those thoughts will protect you from an answer from God that you won’t want to hear because you think that the answer from God is going to ask of you something you can’t do … when the answer from God is going to reveal wholeness and completeness now—not after you die—in a way that causes gladness.

And you know what? You have watched. Like the breeze blowing through the trees, you’ve seen the leaves rustling and you know the breeze was there. You’ve watched, perhaps, online as updates were given and you’ve seen numbers change, which means that something has been blowing through them to cause them to change. And so, you’ve seen that there is a thing called family that you’re a part of that you’re one with.

Now, this is an experience that is more highly illuminated to you right now than it was a month ago. You feel it more than you did a month ago. Don’t abandon it, don’t lose it. I want you, in your awareness of it, for lack of better words, to include all those that you’re feeling the presence of in your prayers. Not that you have a goal for them… but include them in your caring.

Include them when you’re asking, “Father, what do I need to know here?” It’s like, “Father, what do I need to know in the context of this family that I hadn’t been experiencing as fully and as meaningfully as I am right now.” And you might also ask, “Father, help me not to lose this feeling, this awareness that I’m not alone.” You see?

And then, because this is the main idea I am meaning to convey tonight, remember to approach your world as though it’s the Kingdom of Heaven. Dare to behave in what appears to be a material world and universe as though it were the Kingdom of Heaven. And as I said, do it by asking the Father or the Holy Spirit, “What is the truth here? Help me to see this material world and universe get translated into the Kingdom of Heaven, right here, right now.”

It is a night of gratitude. Let it serve to expand and illuminate the Kingdom of Heaven more clearly than ever before, so that you begin to live tonight and tomorrow and the next day in a new way.

I love you all and I look forward to being with you next week.