1961 Oklahoma City Open Class

Joel S. Goldsmith

406A - Principles of Healing

Well, first of all, good afternoon.

As you know, a great deal of our work in the message of The Infinite Way has to do with spiritual healing. And spiritual healing is a subject that is arousing interest all over the world today, more so than ever before.

In ancient days there was a great deal of spiritual healing accomplished by religious leaders and their followers. The entire ministry of the Buddha was a healing ministry, and he developed many, many, many wonderful spiritual healers, and they did great healing works all across India.

Five hundred years later, Christ Jesus set up a healing ministry across the Holy Lands and he carried it to a further extent than it had ever been done before.

Throughout the Hebrew era there have been some individual prophets who had done healing work, but not on a broad scale, and not as a major part of their activity. But with the coming of the master, this was changed because his intention was to usher in a new era of religion. One that would make a complete break with the past, and it would reveal new principles. It would reveal the mystical side of religion more than the organizational side…the side of ceremonies, and rites, and forms of worship.

Because of this, he used healing as an exemplification of the principles he was teaching. You will remember that he was very clear in his statement, that I of my own self can do nothing. That if I speak of myself, I bear witness to a lie, that it is really the Father within that doeth the works, it is really the Spirit, and that he himself was probably the messenger, the way-shower, the exemplifier of that which had been revealed to him from the Father within. And so, when he heals the sick, it is not because he himself was something great, or different, or set apart, but that he was showing forth a healing principle revealed by the Father for all mankind.

In the same way, when he forgave sin, it wasn’t that he as a man was so kind-hearted that he could overlook sin, but rather that he had received the message and the mission to reveal on Earth that sin is not to be condemned or punished, but that it is to be forgiven. Not that people are to be held in bondage forever and forever for their sins or even held in this lifetime to a punishment beyond the time of their own choosing.

In other words, at any moment that an individual could turn from sin, in that moment they were to be forgiven; even though their sins were scarlet. They were to be made white as snow. Not after centuries of punishment; not after centuries of being in hell, but right now, while they’re on earth in a moment of their turning, they were to be forgiven. It is for this reason that we were told that our part in this forgiveness was to go even unto seventy times seven.

In the same way, when the master raised the dead, it wasn’t that he of himself was the power, but rather that he was exemplifying the power of the Father within, who doeth the works.

When he fed the multitudes, again, he was showing forth a principle. As a matter of fact, you will remember that after he fed the multitudes once, they followed him across the lake and the next day asked to be fed again, and he rebuked them. In other words, his mission wasn’t just to be on Earth feeding the hungry every day, it was to show forth a principle, whereby man can be fed every day.

And so we find from his ministry that he was showing forth a principle—a knowledge of God, heretofore unknown. And one that was to enable us to find, first of all our freedom, and then bring some measure of freedom to those who would come to this message or to this principle, seeking this particular light.

Now one of the passages of Scripture that requires a great deal of thought and study is this: that to know Him aright is life eternal. There is an indication in that statement, that perhaps we do not know Him aright. And there is another: that when we know Him aright, just by the knowing, we will find life eternal—just by knowing Him aright, by knowing the true nature of God we will find our life eternal. Again, following that line, we read: ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. And again remember, he, the master, is setting forth the truth that is to be known.

Now, if you do not see the advent of the master on Earth was really the ending of a religious era and the beginning of a whole new era you will not be able to discern God aright or to know Him aright.

We of course, have unfortunately, had seventeen hundred years in which the old and the new have been combined. So that we have not been able to make a break with the past and enter the Christian dispensation. So that those today who are ready to break with the past may start that Christian era on earth now.

The master made it clear that ye have heard it said of old and then he told us all of the things that we were told of old, which now under the new dispensation is outmoded. But I say unto you, now all of this that ye have heard said of old is outmoded, it belongs to an older dispensation. It belongs to a people who had not come far enough forward in the mystical light. And therefore, the teachings of old were to be replaced with a new dispensation—a new era.

I might illustrate that for you by a little experience that took place in California last month. We were there just at the time that a man and woman were being tried for murder. And at the same time when the Governor of the state was trying to have the death penalty wiped off the books of the state, and not once was it brought to the attention of the public (Ed. referring to the possibility of the death penalty for the accused) that all such discussion was out of order, that no one even had the right to discuss the question, because as a Christian government they were under the orders to abolish death. No longer is it permissible...and this is two thousand years ago it was stated…no longer is it permissible: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. No longer is it permissible to commit murder as a punishment for murder. But we’ve gone along for these two thousand years disobeying that and now when the public has really caught up with the Christian idea and ideal, there are those still back in spiritual darkness, so that they cannot even be made to accept that which they, with their lips, proclaim.

The reason that this was so…such outstanding experience was that all of this coincided with Easter. And here were all of these legislators and others, undoubtedly, dutifully, and probably pleasurably, attending their Christian services and fighting with all of their might to retain the old Hebrew dispensation. It didn’t seem ridiculous to them, but it did to me, and it must to you or the retaining of any of those ye have heard it said of old in place of, but I say unto you.

Now, there is a reason behind all of this and that is this: to know God aright you have to study the four Gospels separate and apart from the Old Testament, because if you use the two together, you will gather the impression that God is a punishing God, that God is a rewarding God, that God punishes evil and God rewards good. You will also actually believe that you can pray to God to destroy your enemies. Now all of this is part of the “ye have heard it said of old”. All of this is a part of the ancient scriptures that were given to us long before man had awakened to his spiritual nature. 

If you know God aright, the first thing you will discover is that God has never punished a sinner. That in the entire scheme of spiritual living, there is no provision for punishment. You will also learn that God does not reward—that there is no provision anywhere in the kingdom of God for reward. You will also learn that God does not destroy your enemy. Of course, those of you with a little gray in your hair ought to know by now that all of the years, the decades of praying that our enemies be destroyed hasn’t destroyed them yet. And if they’re to be destroyed, we’ll have to look to something other than God to do the destroying.

Certainly, there have been enough prayers on both sides raised up to God to destroy enemies, so that if they were to be any such answer it would have appeared by now. As a matter of fact, if you cannot all use Christ Jesus as a way-shower, you’d be surprised to learn that the only way in which you can become a child of God is to pray for your enemies, not pray for their destruction, but pray for them. “It profiteth you nothing,” he says, “to pray for your friends.” “It profiteth you nothing to pray for your friends, you must pray for your enemies, if you would be children of God.”

Just to take hold of that one revelation of the master can change not only an individual’s experience on Earth, it can change the history of the world. We already know, what changes take place in the life of an individual who begins to set aside a period of prayer each day for the enemy. We know that, because we have the opportunity of living closely with quite a few thousand people who have adopted that and we know what transformation has come into their lives. We do not yet know what transformation could come into the life of a nation if a call were sent out requesting all churchgoers to report to church once a week to pray that the enemies eyes be opened, that their hearts and souls be opened to spiritual revelation. If a sincere prayer were ushered out of the hearts, and out of the minds, and out of the souls of every one of us: give us understanding of one another, give us light, give us the power of forgiveness unto seventy times seven. 

Now, when I say to you that we already know the miracles that take place in the lives of individuals, it is because to some extent, metaphysicians of all schools of metaphysics, some at least of them, have adopted such programs and have witnessed transformations within their own experience.

Again, to know Him aright would be to change the concept of prayer, as it has heretofore been known, into one that would agree with the master when he teaches, take no thought for your life: What you shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed. Seek ye the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto you. But take no thought for them; do not pray for food, or clothing, or housing. Do not pray for safety or security. Do not pray for health or harmony, but seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added.

Again, we do not know what would happen to a nation or a race of people who followed that program, but we do know what happens in the lives of many thousands of individuals who have changed their mode of prayer to conform to this. That is, to seeking only the realization of God, seeking only the conscious awareness of the presence of God, and uttering and thinking no prayers for food, or clothing, or housing, or companionship, or supply, or transportation or any other thing that concerns this world.

It may be that the master was trying to tell us this also when he said, my kingdom is not of this world. If this is a true statement of the master’s it would indicate why praying to his kingdom for something of this world hasn’t worked in the past and probably won’t work in the future. My kingdom is not of this world.

To know God aright would be to start at least with the understanding that God is spirit. The very moment that we perceive the nature of God as spirit, we would lose all of our antagonisms toward other religions, or those of other religions. We would lose our biases and our bigotries, because if you can accept God as spirit, then God must be the God of all people, regardless of their religion or even of their non-religion if they choose to have none.

If God is spirit, there cannot be more than one spirit, and if God is spirit, then omnipresence must be the truth. In other words, spirit can never be confined to time or place or space. Spirit must be that which fills all space, and therefore, if God is spirit, God must be here where I am. And of course that must be true, whether I’m Jew or Gentile, Protestant or Catholic, Vedantist, Taoist, or any other faith or lack of faith, still, God must be present where I am. And no church can give that and no lack of church can change that. But one thing alone can make it demonstrable: ye shall know the truth. If you know the truth, and it makes no difference who you are or what your previous condition may have been—saintliness or sinfulness, poverty or lack, disease or health. If you know the truth of omnipresence, by knowing that truth you have set in force the motion that will wipe out not only the penalty for sin, but the sin itself. 

And probably one of the few things or if not the only thing that actually will transform the sinner is that realization of omnipresence—That where I am, God is; the place whereon I stand is holy ground. 

Once we know God as spirit—infinite, omnipresence, we are standing on holy ground, and we can then understand why it could be taught, know ye not that ye are the temple of the living God. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the living God. Here where I am, where I sit or stand or lie, here where I am, in prison or out, in sin or out, in disease or out, here where I am, omnipresence is—God is, spirit is. And this spirit is the transforming agency of the entire world. This spirit is the only redeeming agency in this world.

Ah yes, but it goes further. Once we acknowledge God as spirit, we are acknowledging omnipotence, all power. And just think, if you can accept spirit, as the all-power, what becomes then of either physical discord or mental discord in the place of, or in the face of. omnipresence. That is the all-presence of God or Spirit, and the all-power of God or spirit—omnipresence, omnipotence. 

Think for a moment: If spirit is omnipotent of what power is either material law or mental law? Ye shall know the truth and the truth will make you free. Free of what? The universal belief in material and mental forces and powers. 

What else is it that is binding man to personal sense other than that belief that there are other powers than God? Was it not this that took Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden? Was it not this universal belief, accepted by them, in two powers, that caused us to live this life of humans. And is it not a continuance of the belief in two powers that causes us to have sin, disease, and ultimately death?

What happens to us if we know the truth? The truth of omnipotence, that is, spirit as the only and all-power. What becomes of us—what becomes of our discords and our inharmonies if we continuously know this truth…pray, pray without ceasing that spirit is omnipotence. Spirit is the all-power and the only power, and the omnipresent power. Not out there in a holy mountain, and not here in a holy temple, ah no; the kingdom of God is neither lo here nor lo there—it is omnipresence, it is within you. If within you is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God is omnipotence, what then becomes of this belief in two powers, or three powers, or four powers?

Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. But the truth that is to be known is omnipresence and omnipotence. And when we abide in this word and let this word abide in us, we bear fruit richly. If we do not abide in this word, and if we do not let this word abide in us, we are as a branch of a tree that is cut off and withereth and dies.

Now, the human race is the branch of a tree that is cut off and withereth. And it can only be returned to its status as child of God, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you. If so be you accept the Spirit of God as indwelling, the master called it the Father within, but Paul called it the Christ within, same thing, two different names to different languages. If you accept the Father within as an indwelling spirit, you accept omnipotence, and omnipresence. If you accept Christ as indwelling, you accept omnipotence, and omnipresence. And after you have done that, you have one more step to take, and that is omniscience—all-knowledge, all-wisdom. 

And this of course is what completely changes the nature of your prayers. Once you can acknowledge that God is the all-knowing, that forever ends your ever telling God anything, or asking anything of God. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things, and it is His good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

In other words, the break with the old dispensation must someday come to every individual. And when that break comes, and you know God aright, and you know God to be the allknowing, all you can do is ask forgiveness for all of the times that you have thought that God was of lesser intelligence than you, yourself. For you could tell God what you needed. You could tell God what we needed. You could tell God even what day we needed it.

You’ll feel very humble within yourself and be of a very contrite spirit, once you can acknowledge God as omniscience; you’ll know how far you have failed in your understanding of God and in your understanding of prayer. And eventually you will come to see that since God is the allknowing, that He knoweth our needs. And God is love, and it is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Then prayer becomes a whole new practice, because prayer now means a settling back—a quietness within ourselves. 

And let me answer a question here: How can the student produce a complete, total, mental vacuum? (In the first place a student is not supposed to produce that.) Even after contemplative thinking, setting the stage so to speak for a be still and know, and listen, even wispy thoughts keep knocking out the door of consciousness. How can we eliminate them?

We do not eliminate them. We are not concerned with thoughts that pass through the mind; they may come and go as they wish. The mind will be stilled and quiet in prayer when we have no desire and not until then. No one will ever be able to find an inner peace, an inner harmony, an inner stillness, while they go to God with a desire; except perhaps the desire to know Him aright. But any other desire is a barrier separating us from the necessary peace and stillness that would bring to us the experience of God’s grace.

It is not difficult to attain an inner stillness when you go into meditation or contemplation without a desire. It is the desire that sets up the conflict within us.

Why would we have a desire if we knew God aright? When we know God aright, our highest goal is to commune with God—to be consciously one with God. Not to seek something. Our whole goal is that since the kingdom of God is within us, that we can unite with God, with that Spirit within, become consciously one. But we can only do that really through love—the love of God, the love of communion with God. Not going to God to seek something.

You know, if we had a friend and continually went to our friend to get something, we would soon lose our friend. Friends like to be friends without always being thought of in connection with what can I get from them or what can they get from me. Friends enjoy a communion separate and apart from what they can do for each other.

Much more so is this true of our relationship with God. As a matter of fact, there is no true relationship with God that has at its base, a seeking for anything except communion with God—with the Spirit of oneness, an inner at-one-ment, an inner peace. With this comes the assurance of divine grace, but not because we are seeking divine grace, but because we are seeking to abide in the word and let the word abide in us. To abide in the Spirit and let the Spirit abide in us. It is really a holy experience of communion. And undoubtedly was what was referred to as communion before it became merely a form of worship; when it was actually an experience; as it must become again to every one of us. Communion must be something far greater than a church experience. It must be an actual experience of communion with the Spirit that is within us. Until then, it is not really fulfilled.

It isn’t only that the master, in two places, reminded us that our heavenly Father knoweth our need and it is His good pleasure to give it to us; but later, we are reminded again: Thy grace is my sufficiency. Thy grace is my sufficiency. It isn’t a going to God for things, it is a realization that in having the presence of God we have the grace of God and that is sufficient. That grace will take form in this outer world, the form needed at the moment.

If the form needed is supply, it will come as such. If it is companionship, it will come as such. If it is a home, it will come as such, but the barrier to the demonstration of abundance and harmony is the very going to God for those things. The demonstration of harmony and abundance really begins when we know God aright to the extent that we can settle down in peace to an inner communion, and realize I need pray for nothing else—thy grace is my sufficiency, and it does appear as whatever form is necessary.

The master, in giving a new dispensation, was not unmindful of the fact that there had been Hebrew prophets, who had realized the full and complete truth—all of the truth that ever could be known. We cannot doubt…well it goes further than that. We know beyond all doubt that Moses knew the truth—The full and complete truth and so did Elijah and so did Isaiah, and how many others we don’t know. 

Had those truths been understood, correctly interpreted and written down, we might have been on our way centuries ago. But unfortunately, these principles were not really clarified for the people until the master’s era, and then after 300 years they disappeared from the face of the earth for many different reasons. Therefore, we return to the four Gospels in order to learn what really was taught on Earth 2,000 years ago. And insofar as possible, at least for awhile, we confine ourselves to that authority until we have that opportunity to prove whether or not the truth was revealed—whether the truth is practical, whether the truth is a truth for all time. And the more you practice it, the more you’ll find that the truth revealed then is the truth for all time. And that it never will be outgrown.

There may be, and there undoubtedly will be as time goes on, many, many, many individuals who will demonstrate more of it than has ever been demonstrated on Earth. Even the master acknowledged that we might do greater works than he did because of a better environment—an atmosphere in which to do it. And those works will not be greater in degree of demonstration, but greater in the measure of attainment by the majority of people. In other words, it will not be the attainment on the part of one man or a group. But eventually it will be the demonstrated consciousness of the entire world. And the things that were considered miracles then will not be considered miracles now.

As for instance, the revelation that the master of himself, did not do these mighty works—that they were done through him by a power within him. The Hebrews expected that, and they rightly named it the Messiah. But they made the same error that the Christian church later made, or let us say the Christian church later made the same error that they made: they personalized Messiah as if it were to be one man. Just as even now, the Christian church personalizes Christ, which is only the Greek name for Messiah and names it as one individual. When it never was one individual. It was a Spirit in man. And the Messiah then, and the Messiah now under the name of the Christ, or the Buddha, whichever you’d like, is a Spirit in man. And it is in you. It is “closer to you than breathing and nearer than hands and feet.” And what the old Hebrew mystics tried to tell, and what the Christian mystics again told, and what twice has been lost is now repeated again: the Messiah, or Christ, or Buddha is the Spirit of God in you. And It is ordained to heal the sick. It is ordained to raise the dead. To feed the hungry, the multitudes. It is ordained to forgive the sinner. The very Christ of your being is ordained to forgive you your sins, and certainly me, mine.

This Christ or Spirit within us—this Messiah, is the Son of God that has been planted in the midst of us. And Its function is to raise us out of the tomb of material belief into the resurrection and revelation of our true identity as children of God.

As humans we are buried in the tomb of mortality, mortal flesh, mortal sense. Through the activity of the Christ, the Spirit of God that is in the midst of us, by knowing this truth, we are raised out of that tomb of mortality; we are resurrected out of the mortal frame and our true identity as children of God is revealed to us. And then the next step will be the realization of our spiritual identity, and form. For it is literally true that we do not have material bodies. We have a material sense of body, which the Christ will destroy and thereby enable us to witness our own spiritual identity and form.

The resurrection is not an experience that must necessarily come after the body is buried in the ground or otherwise disposed of; the resurrection is an experience that is meant to come to us at any moment of our recognition of the Christ. The master says, who do men say that I am? Well, of course these ignorant people standing here in material sense can only see that you’re a carpenter or an ex-carpenter or a Hebrew Rabbi. But who do ye say that I am? And I can say to you that every spiritual healer who has had any success in healing would answer you and say I know who thou art: you are the Christ the son of the living God, the child of the living God. You in your true identity, you are spiritual. You are an offspring of God.

It was for this reason that the master could say to you, call no man on Earth your father. There is only one father—Spirit. And if this is true, you are spiritual, you are of Spirit, formed of Spirit, born of Spirit. And this is your heritage, and this is your inheritance.

If only you could know what happens in our lives when we really understand that our human parents were only the means of bringing forth our bodies on Earth. That they did not create us, the man. That was God’s job, God’s task. God created us in his image and likeness and we are the offspring of God.

We, as parents, are only the means of delivering bodies on Earth, but the soul and the spirit and the true identity was formed in the beginning before Abraham was—co-existent with God, immortal, eternal. Our true name is Melchizedek, for that is our true identity. We were never born of man, and will never die, for Spirit is God and the offspring of Spirit is spiritual. And that is not an experience in time or space, but an experience that coexists with God in the beginning before Abraham was.

Now today, we will begin to affirm with the master, I and my Father are one. I and my Father are one. And that’s not speaking of a human father. That is speaking of my true Father in heaven, the spiritual origin of all being.

So you see then, that we are entering not merely a period of spiritual healing, but we are entering a period of spiritual healing, because the world is now in readiness to accept the teaching that was so completely given on Earth 2,000 years ago. The world is ready to accept spiritual identity.

I am in this work long enough to remember when the subject of spiritual healing was not even respectable in the church world, in the religious world. But I’m happy to tell you that I am traveling the world—every continent except South America and very often…not just once, but often, and as much as ten months a year, and I am witnessing spiritual healing being accepted in Protestant churches in every part of the world. And the whole subject of spiritual healing and spiritual living being accepted. And the literature of the spiritual healing world being accepted. And this alone is proof positive that human consciousness is ready to accept, not only spiritual healing…spiritual healing is only…well, what was it they used to say, “don’t let a camel stick his head in your tent or he will soon have his whole body in”—well spiritual healing is only the head of the camel. Carrying with it the whole body of truth, of the spiritual nature of man and the identity of God as revealed in the New Testament.

This is the body of the new religion: the nature of God so that no church will ever again pray only for its friends, and never open its doors to a day of prayer for the enemy. Oh no. The entire world will rise up and say ye have heard it said of old, but we are in the new dispensation, and that dispensation is taking place now. And not only in one country, in all countries.

And it isn’t only that the churches are recognizing this—governments are recognizing this. I don’t know how many of you know that this President Kennedy’s new program of youth, peace—the young college people who are being sent abroad on government business are all being given a three-week spiritual indoctrination period before they are sent overseas. And that even includes the latest group that was chosen last week to go to Russia—twenty-one who are going to Russia, but are right now in the process of receiving their three weeks of spiritual indoctrination before they go over. And I’m very happy that it was one of my books that was chosen for their particular study, The Thunder of Silence. But all of these people are receiving spiritual indoctrination and you know what that means: that means carrying the message of God, of peace, of spiritual peace, out into the world.

Now, here is another mistake: (Ed. Joel reads a question) “believing and knowing that my sight is God’s sight, and God’s sight is mine. I seem to be facing a progressively failing eyesight.” And with that treatment you won’t help it much. That is not a spiritual form of treatment. It is an outmoded form in the metaphysical world, but a long since outmoded form.

If God had anything to do with your physical eyesight, it would be perfect. And, to experience eyesight, take no thought for your eyesight and stop trying to heal it, and start seeking the kingdom of God. Start seeking the realization of God’s presence and God’s grace. Stop trying to use God for a servant. Stop trying to get God to do you a favor, and try to bring yourself into harmony with God’s laws. Don’t try to bring God into harmony with you, but you bring yourself…ask yourself, how am I failing…in what way and to what degree am I not in tune with the Infinite? What must I do to bring about regeneration within myself?—spiritual regeneration.

You see, God’s doing all right, He’s in His heaven—all is well with the Earth. But not with you or me entirely and that is because in some degree, we are not yet in complete attunement with the Father.

Now, Paul went probably further than many would be willing to go, when he said, neither life nor death can separate me from the love of God. He wasn’t going to be concerned whether he was on this side of the veil or the other. On either side he knew that he would be in God’s care.

And so it is that we, each one of us must come to the place where we stop being concerned with what is physically or mentally wrong with us and say that whether I’m physically ill or mentally ill, I still cannot escape from God’s care. And with that ability to relinquish this eternal seeking for human happiness and human health, you’d be surprised at the degree of divine health and divine wealth that ascends upon us.

Do not believe for a moment that anyone has ever claimed to have attained 100% of their spiritual demonstration or heritage. To my knowledge it hasn’t yet been accomplished, and I do know quite a few in the spiritual world. But that is really not the most important thing—that we attain 100% of our spiritual freedom, because probably if we did, we’d ascend somewhere and then be of no use to anymore to those who are behind us.

I believe that it is because there is within each one of us on this path a fellow-feeling for all mankind, that we stay here on earth, or stay here among people, when we might retire to a nice cave or mountaintop resort…(Ed. end of recording.)