Discord Is Caused by a Belief in Two Powers
In many of his books that together form The Infinite Way, Joel Goldsmith talks about discord (error, sin, sickness, death, etc.). He explains that discord is caused by a belief in two powers: a belief in the power of God and a belief in some other power that sometimes somehow happens to get the upper hand. He claims that that “other power” is nothingness, a hypnosis-like appearance. It will seem to be active in our experience as long as we give it power by believing it is real.
In a way this idea of a mistaken belief in two powers is very similar to what has come through during the Akasha sessions that have been published here, namely that a disturbance is caused by a veil that some mistaken notion we are holding is projecting on top of the purity that is creation. (See for example this post.)
But here is the difference: according to Goldsmith the discord is completely impersonal. It has nothing to do with a person or a thing. He argues that working on your own mental thought processes is not necessary at all. In fact, trying to tackle it in yourself would give the belief in a second power only more substance, and would thus make it harder to overcome. He suggests we go inward and there rest in the place of knowing that God is forever perfection, peace, abundance, joy, etc. And knowing that our oneness with God constitutes our oneness with all of those spiritual attributes/qualities. And then we will notice that God cares for us abundantly and effortlessly and supplies all of our needs.
Please comment on the difference I seem to see between the two approaches.
Spiritual Approach Or Mental Approach
Yes, we understand why you would ask about this. It has to do with three ideas: the chain of command, your sense of self, and the idea that you can’t get there from here.
The chain of command, as we called it, has to do with the spot in the sequence of things where you know yourself to be. You may know rationally that you are one with God, but if in your daily life you may not operate from that awareness. You may operate from an awareness that is not quite as fully encompassing as total oneness. Then that is what the images in the world (including your body and your personal circumstances) will reflect back to you. It has to do with your sense of self. A shift in your sense of self, a moving up, happens incrementally. Mostly small steps, sometimes a bigger one. You get from one place to the next one, and so on.
The Sun Melts the Ice
Imagine a winter landscape where the ice will melt when the sun is shining. When the sun is not present – at night or when there are clouds – then the ice will not melt. And so it is with people and conditions.
When they are in the presence of someone who beams oneness all around, their mistaken notions melt away. They feel release and healing. Sometimes that is all it takes and they can take it from there themselves. In that case they allow themselves to get there from here, there was a sufficient shift in their sense of self for them to handle, see?
But sometimes when they are no longer in the presence of that person, their old sense of identity reasserts itself. Their old sense of self subdues the moment of momentary clarity and the old conditions take hold of the situation again. The reason is that the distance, the gap, was too big for them to keep on bridging in the absence of clarity. They could not get there from here.
In the Presence of Clarity
Think of the multiplication of loaves and fish by Jesus (Matthew 14:16), of the miraculous appearance of wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2) , or of the emotional healing you witnessed yesterday in the online Byron Katie Workshop Zoom call. In those instances, the clarity provided by one person will lift everybody that touches its presence. When they are no longer in clarity’s presence, they find that they either keep on functioning on that new level, or fall back somewhat. And then they have to look at the issue again, they have to look for clarity again. And gradually they will experience that the issue is lifting, their sense of self is shifting. It may help to understand what the dynamics of the issue that is bothering them are, in order for the next step to become clear.
In short, a flash of sunshine may do the job because you are close to melting point already in that particular area (spiritual healing). In other cases, you may find that you cannot maintain the clarity on your own. Then a flash of light might give you a glimpse of your potential. And that is perfectly all right. You are where you are. Use every bit of sunshine that comes your way. Welcome it and feel nourished by it, and take the next step that you can take from where you currently are (mental healing). A day will come that your own clarity will warm those around you.
Thank you.
