Circle of Christhood

" In this communion, or prayer, no words pass from you to God, but the consciousness of the presence of God is realized as the impartation of truth and love comes from God within, to you.  It is a holy state of being and never leaves us where it finds us." - Joel S. Goldsmith

The purpose of The Infinite Way is to lead us all to the realization of our own Christ Consciousness, our true identity as the child of God.

The method whereby we come to this understanding is meditation. The principles of The Infinite Way were revealed to Joel and then shared with the world through his tapes which then became books.

Each student has the "potential" to find this realization in this lifetime, however there can be no guarantees when much depends on the student's diligence and devotion.

"It has never been true in the entire history of the world that you and I were spirit or that you and I were spiritual, or you and I were perfect.  If we had been, if we were now, we probably would not be here today. We are here today for one purpose, for the development of spiritual consciousness.

"We're coming into the awareness of our true identity, not trying to set up this Adam dream, this mortal man as if he were Christ.

'The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the crest of the rocks, whose habitation of high, that seeth in his heart who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exhault thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, then will I bring thee down, sayeth the Lord.'

"And, in the New Testament you find confirmation of Paul's teaching.  You must die daily, you must be reborn of the Spirit.  He didn't tell us that we must take this old worn-out mortal concept and dress it up in new clothes, but that we must die daily to our former concept of ourselves, that we may be reborn of the spirit." - Joel Goldsmith

 

The issue we must come to understand is that Joel's disciples were lifted to heights they could not sustain when he left.  As long as they were in his company, the teachers were in tune with Joel's consciousness.  The tapes made it possible to continue this intunement when Joel made his transition. This is what happens to all of us when we regularly do tape study and connect to Joel's consciousness on the tape.  The consciousness of each class continues to vibrate and remains intact to lift us.

When we begin to fall away from tape work, we begin to forget and loose touch with the lessons and realizations that came from the higher level of consciousness which we were able to unfold as we were lifted to these new realms.

This same phenomenon operated with Joel's teachers. They were in harmony with his teachings and his consciousness as long as they continued to work with his tapes. Once they moved to their own tapes, they could only tap into their own consciousness and if they did not continue to raise themselves, their consciousness had to re-adjust to their personal level of understanding. 

Do you now see that this is WHY Joel made his rule about no other materials? He knew this is how consciousness works. He anticipated that this might happen and so made clear instructions.

Had the teachers continued to use Joel's tapes and books, they would have perpetuated the work as Joel planned.  New teachers and practitioners would have been groomed through the original teachers using Joel's works which many of them witnessed in person. What strength and re-enforcement they would have been able to provide.  Instead, they abandoned Joel and went on to promote themselves. 

However, their work was now no longer Infinite Way. It couldn't be because The Infinite Way is JOEL'S EXPERIENCE.  Staying with his tapes and books they would have been able to teach this and to guide students through Joel's own personal lessons with their individual guidance.  They could have taught Joel but with a focus on the Bible for those students interested in a Biblical approach, another could have taught Joel with the perspective of a gay man dealing with the challenges of this lifestyle, another could have approached the work as a parent, another as an artist.  Each bringing to the work their personality, but using Joel's revelations and consciousness.

This did not happen. The hope is that it will in the next generation. 

The consciousness of an Infinite Way teacher is directly related to their use and practice of Joel's tapes and books.

To help students along the path, Joel trained and raised up a number of teachers. They were well received around the world when Joel traveled with them and introduced students to them.

As Joel prepared for his transition, having been given the message within that his work was coming to its conclusion as he moved into the higher work in 1963 and 1964,  he made it very clear two months before his transition.  Teachers needed to use his works or run the risk of having what occurred to the message of Jesus and Buddha occur to his own work.

Most of the teachers obeyed his instructions until in 1966 when Lorraine Sinkler began to make tapes (see http://www.valorfoundation.com/tapes1.htm).

Virginia Stephenson was next with taping in 1971. Thereafter, Bowdin, McClintock, Muhl, and a cadre of others jumped on the tape recording bandwagon.

The first to move away from Joel's tapes was Lorraine. As the designated leader of The Infinite Way, her behavior triggered that of the other teachers. In her own words, she reveals the following:

"A few days after the class in Chicago [May 1964], Joel was off for Manchester, England, beginning what had been planned to be almost a three-month schedule of travel in England and Europe, with lectures and classes along the way.  On this trip, he was accompanied by Emma, D. [Daisy Shugamura], a few other students, and me.  But he was not to complete this trip, for in London on June 17, 1964, came his graduation in that final initiation for which he had waited so long, and which brought his transition into a new experience. Classes were to have been given in London, The Hague, Stockholm, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Zurich and Vevey.  And now, what was to become of that work?  It was in a conclave with Emma and a few other students that Emma suddenly turned to me and said, 'Lorraine, will you go on and complete Joel's scheduled work on the Continent?' To this request, I unhesitatingly assented.  Thus the work continued, with classes carried on according to schedule in all those cities.

"The first stop at The Hague, which marked the beginning of this trek through Europe, did not bode well.  The leader of the group and her daughter met me at the airport and, while driving me to the hotel asked inquiringly, 'And, what do you propose to do? Play Joel's tapes?'

'Oh, no,' I responded quickly, 'I'm going to talk.'

"What seemed like an eternity of silence greeted that remark, and then came these far-from-encouraging words, spoken with a certain grim resignation, 'You know we people of Holland are very critical.'  This inauspicious beginning, however, was completely reversed in our first group meditation....."

Soon Lorraine was taping her lessons and selling them.

Here is Lorraine's Letter

Lorraine Sinkler

Harbour House Apt. 619,

2295 S. Ocean Boulevard,

Palm Beach, Florida 33480

Telephone: 305 585-3434                   Cable Address: Lorway, Palm Beach

August 26, 1975

 "Dearest Geri,

Enclosed is a letter from you to send to Ines Spring. You may or may not want to send it, but it is an idea which you can doctor up any way it seems best for your purpose.  I am sure that it was not your mother's idea to sanction the distribution of Virginia's tapes and booklets.  She may have agreed, but I doubt that she initiated the idea.

I have read Joel's letter to Norman very carefully and I do not feel that including that in the monthly LETTER is in the best interests of The Infinite Way, nor can I agree with Joyce that when Joel wrote it "he was under spiritual orders." If that were the case, then all Joel's writings and talks about spiritual freedom are a farce.

 To me, as I know it is to you, it is very important that what goes into THE LETTER sets forth clearly Infinite Way principles so that there can be no misunderstanding about them.  I would not want to see anything included in it that would carry less than the lofty message it always presents.

 You know that you have my cooperation in every area, as well as my love, and that I am always ready to do whatever I can to help you, but I cannot go along with broadcasting any such dogmatic statement to the world through the monthly LETTER.  To do that would make The Infinite Way more authoritarian than Christian Science or Catholicism, both of which many persons left to follow The Infinite Way for that very reason.

 Enclosed is an ACROSS THE DESK for November which may serve the purpose but which is less rigid.  I am sure  you will agree with me that this ACROSS THE DESK will not alienate people as Joel's letter to Norman has done and will do. Furthermore, it is not in direct conflict with the November LETTER as you will discover when you receive it.

We cannot stop individual unfoldment, and our safest course is to follow the principles of resist-not.  Then, whatever is of God will survive and what is not will fade away, but regardless of what happens it cannot take our good away from us or stop the onward march of The Infinite Way.

With much love to you, to your mother, and to Bess,

Lorraine

We see clearly, Lorraine did not want the letter to Norman to be re-sent as it would cause her behavior and personal tape work to come into question. Lorraine was recording, Virginia was recording, and on and on. This clearly shows how ERROR slipped in to tempt the leaders into believing they had the power and right to rebel against Joel's express wishes.

Clearly, we read that students knew about this letter, some being upset. (This clearly debunks the contemporary myth that this letter was forged by Geri MacDonald. Many had it in 1964, they just did not share or act on it.) Why would students be upset by Joel telling them he wanted only his tapes to be studied? Was she rather implying that the letter upset TEACHERS, much as it does today? (In my experience, only the loyalists to those who make tapes are upset with my exposing this letter.)  Further, why is Lorraine able to guess what Joel wanted and meant - especially since she missed the point?  Lastly, Lorraine hardly lived by her own words. Did she "resist-not" when it came time to listen to Emma's wishes not to publish her personal letters in Horizons in Consciousness? No, she went to court.

Joyce Burns Glen was an Infinite Way leader whose recorded protests we have as proof that there were some who wanted the office to support the letter to Norman and stop the taping. Sadly, no one had the courage then to stand up to those mesmerized by fame, ego and lack. Here is her letter of August 12, 1975:

My dear Geri,

Thanks so much for your note just arrived.

Here is another copy of Joel's letter of April 10, 1964 to Norman Strachan, then in charge of the work in New Zealand.

We out here in Australia and New Zealand feel that this is a vital time, as so many students are being misdirected.  We do wish dear Emma would put something in the ACROSS THE DESK as regards Joel's wishes re this matter of the teachers and others making their own tapes - maybe an excerpt from Norman's letter, liked marked copy enclosed too.

The purpose of this letter of Joel's is to keep the Infinite Way message unadulterated in its pure Essence.  When he wrote it, he was under spiritual orders.

Freedom is a passion of The Infinite Way, but it doesn't mean a free for all.  Of course, everyone is free to write or make tapes of their own, or write books, BUT NOT UNDER THE BANNER OF THE INFINITE WAY.

Much love always,

Joyce

 

Find more under Joyce Burns Glen on this site.

Spiritual Consciousness

Here is a passage from a letter Joel wrote to students from his Georgina St. address in Santa Monica, California.  This letter went out to students before THE LETTER was written (late 1940's often they have no dates).  A friend whose aunt was an early student, gave me a copy many years ago.

"Spiritual Consciousness lifts us above every human form of limitation and permits us to enter a larger sense of life, health and freedom.  Where there is spiritual consciousness there is no bondage to person, place or thing and there are no limitations to our accomplishments.

"I am thinking at the moment of Buddha, LaoTse, Jesus, Ramakrishna, not one of whom ever wrote a word and yet their teachings are the foundations of the morals and ethics of almost the entire world.  In such books as "The Perennial Philosophy" by Aldous Huxley, "Men Who Have Walked with God" by Sheldon Cheney, and "The Practical Cogitator" by Curis and Greensleet, you will find the wisdom of the ages uttered by men and women who never dreamed that their thoughts were circling the globe and influencing the lives and conduct of millions of people. 

"The spiritually illumined are not confined to time or place.  The Christ-like thoughts that fill their consciousness go out from them like the ring created by throwing a stone in the water, making an ever-widening circle until it embraces all humanity.  Yes, spiritual consciousness is practical.  More and more men are being influenced by ideas and ideals of brotherhood, and what was considered idealistic and impractical a generation ago is now being incorporated into national and international relationships, and even into the conduct of men in their homes and businesses.  Our desire for affluence must be the desire for the other fellow's affluence before we can experience the grace which is the gift of God.

Sincerely yours,

Joel S. Goldsmith

 Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture by Joel S. Goldsmith

"There are not three states of life the material, the mental and the spiritual.  The material and the mental are one, although they constitute two degrees of the same one.  Remember, the material and the mental are one.  In this stage thoughts are things; beliefs produce conditions.

 

Ordinarily in metaphysical teaching, the mental and the spiritual are considered one, and therefore, you may have heard or read the term, "mentally spiritual."  Be careful of it because it is dangerous to your progress.  There is no such thing as mentally spiritual  because the mental and the physical are two strata or stages of the one; the physical is the more gross; the mental is the higher form, but is still just a higher form of the material.  The proof of this may be seen in such statements as "thoughts are things" and "as a man thinketh so is he," meaning, if he thinks good he will manifest good, and if he thinks evil he will manifest evil.  Thinking which produces things and thinking which can produce either good or evil cannot be spiritual.

 

Notice that nowhere does it say that thinking will produce spirituality.  On the contrary, we are told by the greatest spiritual Light, "Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?"  And from Isaiah, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts."  In other words, human  thinking is not spiritual.

 

Until you realize that the physical and mental realm are one and that one the mortal and material, you will be looking for your good in the wrong place.  "Not by might (physical) nor by power (mental) but by my spirit saith the Lord."  You are not consciously in the spiritual realm or Kingdom of God, harmony, until you rise above things and thoughts.  If you feel that this is difficult you can understand one reason why so few have attained it.  Another reason is false teaching.  Men have become satisfied when they reached the mental realm, thinking they were in heaven or state of harmony ˆ only to find sooner or later that they were leaning on a reed.  A day comes then they need a right thought, and it doesn't come, or it doesn't work.

 

I pray God that you realize that you are listening to the deepest wisdom of the ages the truth about Heaven, harmony.  I can reveal this to you and with patience on the part of you and of me, I can assist you to its realization but you  have to accept, to see, to understand and finally to realize and demonstrate this truth of Truth.

 

While you are delving around in thoughts even in good thoughts you are merely in a higher state of materiality where there are the same opposites:  good and evil, health and sickness, life and death, poverty and wealth, discord and harmony.  In the spiritual Kingdom there is only infinite, eternal perfection or Life eternal and immortal.

 

In the physical realm, a fall produces a bruise or break; in the mental, there is a belief  of accident producing a belief  of bruise or break.  In the physical, age produces loss of faculties, of teeth, of vitality; in the mental the belief  of age produces these same physical discords.

 

In spiritual consciousness none of these mental beliefs are found nor any of their physical out-picturing.  The spiritual realm has neither beliefs nor conditions ˆ just the eternal grace of divine Being.

 

Probably when you first studied Truth, you found it a difficult thing to rise above the physical to the mental; no doubt you struggled with yourself to learn that physical effects had mental causes.  Now you have achieved it ˆ and I tell you that you have merely attained a higher state of materiality.  I tell you that the physical and mental are two stages of one and that one mortal and material.  Now you must rise above things and thoughts.

 

What difference does it make whether it is because of a belief  that green apples cause cramps ˆ or just because of green apples themselves.  You still have cramps to eliminate from thought and green apples to eliminate from the body.  At this point you will ask what to do or think in case the green apples produce cramps.  The moment you leave the realm of things and thoughts, they will have no effect or probably you won't eat them.  For the moment, realize that neither the apples nor the belief about them is power, because of the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and you know this Me is Spirit; therefore, the only  Power is theone  Power and I AM that one.  What power has either the appleor  the belief since I AM the law ˆ the only law unto both apples and beliefs?  Do you remember that you were given dominion over the things of the earth and the thoughts of the above, or mental realm?  You are the law, and neither things nor thoughts can govern, control or affect you.

 

Remember that stating this Truth is not power is not the healer; this Truth itself, unstated, is the Power and Presence.  This Truth would be the only factor in your existence now but for the acceptance of duality a selfhood apart from God.

 

What is the spiritual Kingdom or consciousness like, since you have never tasted or touched it in the realm of things or thoughts? That is our next step of realization and you will attain it in proportion to your ability to release yourself from "taking thought."

 

One thing is certain: spiritual consciousness is not going to patch up your outworn human experience; it is not going to doctor your ills or add dollars to your income (although it may appear to do just these very things).  No spiritual consciousness will manifest itself in a completely new, vital, spiritual, eternal existence and only the world of humans will see it as improved humanhood.  You will see it as it really is omnipresence."