2009-10-11 23:20:00
JJ:
Then the next step up is overcoming illusion. In overcoming illusion you have to trace back to the foundation of all your beliefs. Find out where all your beliefs got screwed up at. For instance, let's say that I have a foundation belief that man is inherently evil. All my branch beliefs may be entirely logical, without flaw. I can think like Dr. Spock on Star Trek and trace everything back to the root belief that man is inherently evil and be entirely logical. There's no reason why it should be wrong. But the man who penetrates the last layer or veil has to go back and trace all his illusions clear back to the root belief. It's really hard for us to face a lot of these.
From the time that we first begin to learn, we are 100% convinced that we are correct. So we have to become as a little child and go back to our root beliefs and see what is actually the matter with us. One of the things that causes us to do that is what?
Anybody want to guess? You probably won't guess so I'll write it down. Pain. Why pain? Whenever you receive pain of any kind, physical, emotional, or mental, it only means one thing. You're not following the impulses of the soul. When we refuse to follow the impulses of our soul, we get pain. When our root beliefs are not working, eventually great pain is produced. The pain keeps increasing and the squeeze gets tighter and tighter until we are practically forced to look at our beliefs and say, what in the world is the matter with this. Picking on you Artie, I know that you spent the first half of your life totally disassociated with metaphysics. Something caused you to begin to look further. Did pain have anything to do with it?
Artie:
"Yeah, I got to a point where I didn't understand my purpose, I didn't enjoy being around people particularly, after a point of depression of I don't understand why I'm here, I don't understand why I can't get away from people, why I can't feel a joy, I certainly didn't feel it in church. So I couldn't figure out what was missing. Like a big void, a big hole, that needed to be filled and I got to a point where there had to be more."
JJ:
Anybody else have any pain that forced him or her to look? Curt, you look like you did.
Curt:
"Before metaphysics, I asked the same questions Artie did. That's when I started writing and broadened my view."
JJ:
When a person really begins to look and evolve toward his soul, it becomes really joyful. When you don't then you're practically forced to. In my life I went through quite a bit of pain that forced me to really start looking. Anyone else?
Audience:
"I went through a phase where I perceived I should be doing something I wasn't."
JJ:
If you go some place you know you aren't supposed to, then you really feel pain.
Audience:
"I hear you talking and something came to mind that happened awhile back and I think it's true. Your subconscious and your super conscious, when you're listening to somebody like Joe talk, if you cross anything you won't be nearly as receptive. Earlier Wayne had the perfect receptive form, as far as I'm concerned, he was really listening. Then when he heard something he'd heard before it was like he wasn't going to listen again. I've had these experiences the past 5 or 6 years. When I want to hear something I have to consciously put attention on it.
"It's true, I've been at discussion and noticed I had my arms folded and thought unfold the arms so you can be more open."
JJ:
Moving along here. What does it feel like when you do finally reach the soul. You get a nice warm feeling and have the born again emotional energy opened up. Then we have the mental energy opened up, then the intuitional or the soul energy opens up. What does it actually feel like? Has anyone ever felt it? I know Diane felt it one time. Will you tell us what it felt like, Diane? I'd asked Diane to tell if these particular ideas on relationships felt true.
Diane:
"I never felt anything like this before. I'd asked Joe how I was supposed to pray. He said to just ask if the teachings were true. Then I just tried to make my mind go blank and see what would happen. This really warm feeling overcame me. It kept getting warmer and warmer and definitely felt like it was an answer. It felt very good and peaceful. Then I started thinking how high is this going to get? That was it. It stopped me."
JJ:
Has anyone else had particular feelings from the soul? You got your answer about the same time, didn't you? Did it feel about the same?
Audience:
"A lot the same. It felt a lot like vibrating."
JJ:
Probably the closest word to describe it is a dissolving feeling. It almost feels like you're going to disintegrate. The reason it feels dissolving is that if you were to entirely escape illusion, you would actually disappear, you would dissolve. The whole physical world is made of illusion. It's made of the principle of two, the positive and negative energies vibrate and create the whole universe. When we reach a point of oneness we reach the point where there isn't two but one then all the physical world would disappear if you were in perfect contact with the soul. If that happened we wouldn't have this group here tonight. You want to savor each moment in approaching that.
Audience:
"We have work we want to accomplish before we do that, we want to work together and if we're zapping off individually we won't be here to do that."
JJ:
I've been to seminars where they teach about these worlds. There are other worlds and usually it takes about a thousand lifetimes to get up here and another thousand to get there. They say this secret means of soul travel is the only means how you can just zap up there in one lifetime. What they don't realize is that we came here for a purpose. We didn't come here just to go back home immediately. When you go on a vacation or to school and it takes four years of school then you graduate then you go and quit and go back home. If you do not finish what you came to do ten you'll be a lot worse off then the guy who stayed all four years and learned all he was supposed to learn. The important thing is to accept where we are. Let's learn our lessons and graduate as we're supposed to instead of wanting to escape in one life. The escapists in the early Christian church eliminated every mention of reincarnation in the Bible and decided to have salvation all in one big jump. A lot of the new age people are still trying to do it in one big jump. We don't want to do it in one big jump, we want to savor the experience.
Audience: unable to understand response.
JJ:
In your last lifetime, you review all your lifetimes. You have perfect memory of them all and you go through a state of meditation where you review everything. So unless you've done that, you aren't on your last lifetime.
Audience:
"I joined the Eckankar group a few years ago and I'd hope to find there what I have found in this group. Those people are so unevolved as I look back on it, and even at the time, I have since moved on. The leader they had taught me nothing. He had not the slightest perception of what the people in his group were. How can you tell how evolved a person is?"
JJ:
It's a difficult thing to tell. That's why we should reserve judgment. If you think you're highly evolved, it's best to not mention it to anybody. If someone else is lower evolved, it's best to not mention it.
Audience:
"I mean, when you have someone who is trying to lead you through a path that you've already gone through and he does this week after week and it never occurs to him that maybe you have already been through it, I would say that maybe he is lacking there.
"Why didn't you say that if it's how you felt?
"Well because I kept thinking maybe this is an illusion I'm going through and if I keep trying maybe it will show up."
-- End Of Part Six --
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