Bøger af Joel S. Goldsmith

Practicing the Presence is one of the four foundational books among Joel Goldsmith's Infinite Way writings. Goldsmith recommended that new students begin with this book, together with Living the Infinite Way. Practicing the Presence is a celebrated guide to the awareness of the divine and transcendental in our daily lives. Goldsmith writes that it was during one of his periods of contemplation that the words came to him, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee." This surprised him, because at that time he was little acquainted with the Bible and only occasionally went to church. But through the study of Scripture and the practice of its teachings, Goldsmith realized that a Presence was with him, counseling, sustaining, and leading him into greater spiritual awareness. Following that realization, he traveled throughout the world, teaching others to know this Presence.Goldsmith says, "Every person who has known dissatisfaction, incompleteness, and frustration will someday learn that there is only one missing link in this entire chain of harmonious living. That is the practice of the presence of God - consciously, daily and hourly, abiding in some great spiritual truth of scripture, and it makes no difference which scripture: Christian, Hebrew, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, or Moslem." If we begin with practicing the presence of God, it leads to an inner stillness that makes it possible to meditate. Goldsmith sets forth for the reader how to practice the presence from the moment we awaken to the moment we retire for sleep.To Goldsmith, harmonious living is all a matter of consciousness. When we have the right consciousness, we do not want things, but we express the very things which formerly we sought. So, instead of a change of circumstances, what the seeker needs is a change of consciousness. Practicing the Presence helps the seeker make that change by opening consciousness to the life by grace. In clear and direct language, Goldsmith shows that by constantly and consciously practicing the presence of God in every experience of our daily life, the struggles of existence pass and harmony is established in every department of our lives. "Seek neither health, nor wealth, nor fame, nor fortune," the author writes. "Seek first the realization of this inner kingdom and be a beholder as these outer things are added."

The Scriptures of the world seem to tell of two powers because they have been taken literally instead of interpreted in the light of spiritual inspiration. This has brought about a belief of separation between God and man, and this sense of duality is the root of all discord. So says Joel Goldsmith in Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture. But, he says encouragingly, when we interpret Scripture spiritually, the deepest lessons of the Bible by which we may live are revealed to us. Foremost among these lessons is that God is the only reality of our being, and our conscious realization of our oneness with God will make the promises in Scripture real in our experience.Goldsmith intrigues the reader with the idea that the Bible is not a book outside of ourselves or a series of events that took place thousands of years ago. He says, "Scripture is the unfolding of characters and movements or happenings that are taking place within you - right this minute. Every biblical experience can be found in your consciousness at some time or other." We embody within ourselves every Bible of the world, every philosophy, character and story, Goldsmith says, and when spiritually interpreted, these can be understood as states and stages of our spiritual development and unfoldment.Working with Bible stories such as Creation, the Exodus, the Ten Commandments, Ruth and Naomi, and Joseph and his brothers, Goldsmith shows the reader how these really tell of our own experiences on the spiritual path, and he reveals the lessons they hold. Addressing the coming of the Messiah, a monumental theme in Scripture, Goldsmith says, "The Old Testament contains many prophecies of the coming of spiritual man, Messiah, Savior. The belief is that these prophecies referred to the coming of one particular spiritual man ... but the advent of the Christ is the coming of perfection in you and me."Throughout Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture, Goldsmith offers fresh new meaning to many Bible passages and stories and demonstrates that the principles found in the Bible are echoed in many other Scriptures of the world. "These statements in the Bible," he says, "which really are laws, must become a very part of our being. They must be realized, not merely declared or stated; they must become the very fabric of our being, then we can experience the outward result."

In describing A Parenthesis in Eternity, Goldsmith said, "In many classes I have touched upon mysticism to prepare our students for the unfoldment of the real meaning and function of the Infinite Way. Now, in the book, A Parenthesis in Eternity, my entire inner life is disclosed: my reason for living and my mission. The autobiography of my personal life would be boring: uneventful school days, routine business experience, and then out of the blue sky, a spiritual experience. This book is my spiritual life as many of you have seen it from the outside, but here explained from the inside."A Parenthesis in Eternity is a compelling, comprehensive presentation of the mystical journey that Goldsmith experienced. In Part 1, he lays out the principles that form the basis of mysticism, explaining that at its core is the truth that there is an inner, divine spiritual Self, a manifestation of God, which is our true identity. In Part 2, Goldsmith explains that as humans, we live in a "parenthesis" of the seeming boundaries of birth and death, as well as in mental and material limitation. The purpose of the spiritual path, he says is to wipe out this parenthesis and bring us to the mystical experience of conscious union with God. With deep knowledge born of experience, Goldsmith describes the path we must travel to attain that goal, fully explaining the three stages, or "degrees" of spiritual unfoldment.In Part 3, Goldsmith elaborates on the nature and quality of the mystical life, emphasizing that this fourth dimensional consciousness is practical, for it is the secret of an harmonious, abundant life, free from fear and discord.All spiritual seekers will find A Parenthesis in Eternity to be an engaging, enlightening gift from one of the leading spiritual teachers of the 20th century.

Hidden behind the personal self is the real Self, that which Paul called "The Christ," or our spiritual identity. To awaken mystical consciousness is to come to that point where we can spiritually apprehend this truth about ourselves and about each other and live by it.In Awakening Mystical Consciousness, Goldsmith explains the spiritual principles and practices that will help us to awaken. He instructs the reader in how to use contemplation, meditation, and inner communion to attain the realization of the true Self. With care and in detail, he addresses the nature of God as omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience; the nature of spiritual power; our real identity; the nature of concepts; and the barriers that obstruct the way to realization. But Goldsmith clearly emphasizes that these statements of truth are not truth. They only help us get into the center of Being, where we can be receptive to the inner voice.A mainstay of this book is erasing the false concept that man is separated from God, and that there is a God "out there" that can take away our sins, diseases, lacks and limitations. "Through this work," says Goldsmith, "you are going to awaken out of the dream that there can be any separation. It wakes you up, and then you look around and realize you are in heaven. You have been there all the time, dreaming you were in hell."Goldsmith explains that awakening to mystical consciousness bears great fruitage. Through our realization of oneness, we regain our original dominion over our bodies and our lives. We can also demonstrate the healing consciousness, that consciousness that knows there is nothing to be healed, but only Truth to be revealed. "The goal," he says, "is the attainment of this Spirit of God" - mystical consciousness. "That is the entire goal of the spiritual life."

There is much contemporary interest in the subject of consciousness, and Consciousness Is What I Am addresses the most important and least understood aspects of consciousness - what it is and how it can be opened to Truth. Beginning with the principles of the nature of God and the nature of man, Goldsmith ushers the reader progressively deeper into the secrets of consciousness, revealing how we can attain the highest states of consciousness through meditation and practice.The book points out the landmarks that suggest advancing consciousness as well as the possible pitfalls for the seeker. Once the seeker experiences the universal Christ-Consciousness, Goldsmith says, he will find fulfillment, peace, rest, refreshment, and joy, and be free of the shadows and illusions of the material world. Consciousness Is What I Am shows the reader that the real man is not the physical body, but the consciousness that governs it. In other words, Consciousness is what I am.[Note: Consciousness Is What I Am is the collection of the 1969 Infinite Way Letters.]

The Art of Spiritual Healing is based on Joel Goldsmith's many years of experience in practicing spiritual healing. In a decided departure from other books on the subject, Goldsmith reveals the spiritual principles that are the foundation for spiritual healing. He alternates instruction with meditation to demonstrate his conviction that since physical health is a manifestation of consciousness, physical well-being is a natural result of attaining the consciousness of oneness with God. Complete in scope and non-denominational in approach, The Art of Spiritual Healing is a simple, straightforward explanation of what to many is a mysterious and complex subject. The book is presented in four parts: "The Principles," "The Role of Treatment," "The Practice," and "Without Words or Thoughts."Goldsmith believes that the world needs people who, through devotion to God, are so filled with the Spirit that they can be the instruments through which healings take place. He says, "There is not a person reading this book, who should not be ready to accept the responsibility of beginning to heal now. It is not your spirituality or mine that will heal anybody; it is not your understanding or mine that is going to heal. It is God's understanding to which we make ourselves receptive by becoming still."Together with The Art of Meditation, Living the Infinite Way, and Practicing the Presence, this is a foundational book of the Infinite Way message.

Anyone who wants to explore the work of Joel Goldsmith, one of the great spiritual lights of the twentieth century, will enjoy The Joel Goldsmith Reader. It includes selected chapters from nine of Goldsmith's illumined books: Realization of Oneness; Beyond Words and Thoughts; God, the Substance of All Form; Living Now; The Contemplative Life; Conscious Union with God; The Master Speaks; Man Was Not Born to Cry; and Consciousness Unfolding. The selections cover a wide range of topics from the nature of God and prayer, to the meaning of the Christ, to spiritual healing and spiritual practice. Readers who are new to the Infinite Way and find spiritual resonance with these selections will enjoy going on to explore the vast treasure of Goldsmith's work that is available for deeper study.

Many books have been written about inward prayer, or meditation, but Joel Goldsmith's classic, The Art of Meditation, presents meditation not as a theory, but as a joyous and rewarding experience. The book begins with these words: "Most men and women are convinced that there is a divine Power of some sort operating in human affairs, but they are not sure what it is, nor do they know how to bring this divine Presence and Power into daily experience." In The Art of Meditation, Goldsmith shows the reader the way, and it is through meditation.Goldsmith says that on the whole, the world has no knowledge of God as the living Power and Presence with Whom we are one. If it did, its anguish, wars, sin, and death would vanish. But, he says, individuals can learn the nature of God and how to contact God. He writes: "Christ buried in the tomb of the mind will not come forth and do works, but Christ risen in our consciousness, Christ raised from the tomb through meditation and communion - that is the miracle worker of the ages." The Art of Meditation explains how this inner Presence, also called "the Christ," can be realized and can operate in daily life.While many people pray for the purpose of getting something, Goldsmith explains that we should enter meditation without ulterior motive: "Any meditation that has within itself a single trace of a desire to get something from God or to acquire something through God is no longer meditation." He presents meditation as a turning within and listening. At some moment in that quietude, when human thought is stilled and the noise of human living is hushed, the God-experience comes in.The Art of Meditation gives the reader careful instructions about how to undertake the beautiful spiritual practice of daily meditation. Goldsmith says that the purpose of this book is "to help students practice the art of meditation by which the Word takes root, so that they come into an actual awareness, an actual consciousness of living in the Spirit." The object is to reach the state of consciousness revealed by Paul: "I live yet not I, Christ liveth my life." Then God appears as the wholeness, the abundance, the harmony, the peace, and the joy of our experience.One of the best known volumes of Goldsmith's work, The Art of Meditation is one of the four foundational books in the Infinite Way teachings.

Joel Goldsmith studied the spiritual literature of the world and he writes, "Insofar as I have observed from my study of the spiritual literature of the world, the truth stated in this book has never been fully revealed before, yet it is the absolute basis for true spiritual living." The Thunder of Silence is based on the principle that there is an inner Grace available to all that does not operate through or by physical might or mental powers. Most people are not aware of this Grace, but when It is consciously realized, it will bring into expression everything that is necessary to our unfoldment. But, Goldsmith says, there is a price: this Grace operates only when we are willing to relinquish faith in anything and everything less than God - even faith in the "God" the world thinks it knows.In the first part of The Thunder of Silence, Goldsmith presents the vision of this spiritual way of life and invites the reader to come into the awareness of the abiding Presence within. In the second part of the book, he treads confidently into the often puzzling subject of mind, answering the many questions that always surround that topic. The whole secret, says Goldsmith, lies in "making the transition from a thinking human mind to a mind at rest in a state of awareness."In the third part of the book, Goldsmith gives the reader an illumined interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, which reveals the innermost secrets to attaining the realization of the Presence within. Effortlessly relating the Infinite Way principles to this extraordinary teaching of Jesus, Goldsmith works extensively with its challenging passages and reveals their deep meanings. He shows how practicing these ancient principles can help us to live in the world, but not of it. If we are fed by meditation in the blessed Silence that thunders with Truth, he says, we can live by the grace of God as the Light of the world.Speaking about The Thunder of Silence, Goldsmith says, "It is a radical book. It will blow sky-high concepts of God that have been built up over the centuries." But he cautions: "Readers of this book cannot expect that the mere reading of it will enable them to live by its revealed principles. Those who feel a thrill of recognition in their first reading should make this book their constant companion day and night until their materialistic state of consciousness begins to yield." The Thunder of Silence will surely be a great help to spiritual seekers who want to reach that state of consciousness in which they can truthfully say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."

In The Altitude of Prayer, Joel Goldsmith gives the reader a new and fresh understanding of prayer and how to practice it. Contrary to popular belief, Goldsmith says, prayer is not our speaking to God. Rather it is God speaking to us. He explains that prayer does not require words or thoughts; it calls for stillness and silence. Prayer is an attitude, an altitude, and an atmosphere, he says. It is a state of consciousness, a commending of our souls, our destinies, our very selves into the hands of God.True prayer opens a new dimension in our lives as we receive impartations from our true Self, the full and complete expression of God within. We avoid the inharmonies and discords of human life and climb to the highest altitudes of Spirit, where we see an expanded horizon of life's grandeur and possibilities. Our contact with this infinite Source within brings forth and maintains harmony, beauty, peace, wholeness and completeness, and we live by Grace.With an incomparable blend of spiritual vision and practical advice, Goldsmith explains how we can attain the heights of prayer and the joy of union with our Source. Step by step, he lays out how to prepare for prayer through humility, benevolence, and forgiveness, and by emptying out all material desires and old ideas of prayer. We must also know, he says, that God is the only law and the only power, so that in prayer we do not seek God as a power over some evil. When we fulfill these conditions and make ourselves receptive, we create a vacuum into which the divine Presence can flow and function as our life. As he affirms, "Eventually the day comes when you can say, 'I am not living my own life. I am living, yes, but I am not striving or struggling: Christ is living my life.' Then you are praying the prayer that enables you to be in the inner sanctuary within yourself and there tabernacle with God."Taking the reader through a typical day, Goldsmith shows how to live a life of prayer by beginning and ending the day in recognition of the Presence within, and throughout the day, remaining in an inner stillness and listening attitude even as we go about our daily routine. This is "keeping the mind stayed on God," and "praying without ceasing." Through meditation and prayer, we develop spiritual discernment, and the kingdom of God is revealed from within through spiritual means.The Altitude of Prayer is Goldsmith's most significant work on the subject of prayer, and will be a great inspiration to anyone who wants to deepen their awareness and appreciation of prayer.[Note: The Altitude of Prayer is the collection of the 1968 Infinite Way Letters.]

The World Is New is a superb exposition of Joel Goldsmith's path to practical spirituality called The Infinite Way. The major theme of The World Is New is that recognizing our spiritual identity as the Christ, or God appearing as individual being, makes for newness of life. "The world is new to every soul when Christ has entered into it," says Goldsmith, quoting from the inscription in the Stanford Memorial Church that inspired the title for the book. To embody the principles set forth so clearly in this book is to experience that newness of life that makes the whole world new and unexpectedly wondrous."How many times we have read in the New Testament about the Father within! How many times we have read what Paul said: 'I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,'" says Goldsmith. "But how seldom have we sat down with ourselves and felt that we must get acquainted with this Father within and find out what Paul meant. Few ever really investigate and find out if what Jesus said is true."The World Is New helps the reader with that investigation, setting forth the breadth and depth of Goldsmith's teaching with unequalled clarity, and teaching the spiritual practices that will bring the seeker to the spiritual freedom that is attained when we touch the Christ of our own being and actually feel the divine Presence within us."There are those who have ears but do not hear and those who have eyes but do not see," Goldsmith says. "We have eyes, certainly. But do we see an infinite supply of good? We cannot see it with our human eyes. We see it only with that inner eye, when our attention is centered on receptivity to God. In that inner vision, we can behold everything present now. It is all here. We do not need to have a single new thing added to our experience to make it complete. We have only to open our spiritual eyes to see the fullness and completeness of God's universe, which is already here and which is already now - and then the world is new."

Living the Infinite Way is one of the four foundational books of the Infinite Way teachings. Joel Goldsmith recommended that new students begin with this book, together with Practicing the Presence. In Living the Infinite Way, Goldsmith awakens the reader to the possibility that the presence of God is within every individual, and that one can live by that Presence and enjoy a more harmonious, loving, and abundant life.The book focuses largely on the nature of God, for as Goldsmith says, "The writings of The Infinite Way contain hundreds of truths, but actually there is only one truth that we must know. This one truth is the nature of God. Take this one thought into meditation: What is God? What is the nature of God? What is the character of God? What are the qualities of God? What is the true God-not the God we were taught to worship as children, or that we ignorantly worship? Try to empty the already too full vessels, because they cannot be filled with the new wine. Even if you are seventy, empty your old misconceptions and be willing to begin all over with the admission that you do not know God or you would be showing forth more of God's grace. Forget all that you have thought or been taught about God and start afresh with this question, 'What is God?'"Goldsmith answers these questions about the nature of God with "the letter of truth," explaining that when one does not know the correct letter of truth, it is difficult to acquire the consciousness that leads to the God experience. But, he emphasizes, we must do more than know the letter of truth intellectually. We must consciously realize these truths, and it is the practice of meditation that will lift us to that realization. Goldsmith goes on to give the reader basic instruction in how to meditate and enter the secret sanctuary of inner quiet, where we become aware of the presence of God. "Meditation," he says, "is the way by which we attain the kingdom of God, and then life is lived by Grace. The ultimate of meditation is a state of complete silence within."Living the Infinite Way thoughtfully ushers the reader along the first steps in the Infinite Way message, and helps the reader arrive at the truth that "That which I am seeking, I already am."

In The Mystical I, Joel Goldsmith reveals in contemporary language that which Jesus showed to the world - that there is a human "I" and an "I" that is the Son of God. Jesus said "I can of myself do nothing," and that is the truth about our human I. But as the "I" that is the Son of God, the Master announced, "I am the way, the truth and the life." The Mystical I gives readers the fullness of this relevant and timely Christ message. Goldsmith shows us that this "Son of God I" is the I that "stands at the door and knocks" within each and every one of us awaiting recognition and acknowledgment. For ages this profound truth has been veiled, says Goldsmith, by worshiping the one who reveals the Word of God, instead of the I abiding within each of us. As a result, we have lost touch with this true I, and that is the reason for all of our problems.The Mystical I answers the age-old question of how to attain oneness with the I that we truly are, that which fulfills us. Goldsmith writes, "When you open the door of your consciousness and admit I, you will find the Presence - at first slowly and gradually, because none of us could take it all in one leap - but you will find that the Presence flows out from you in the forms necessary to your daily experience." Goldsmith gives encouragement to the reader to be receptive and listen for the "still, small voice" of God and to cherish it secretly in consciousness until it flows freely and fully. Then, he says, you will be able to hear, "I in the midst of you am God."The Mystical I is a wonderful gift that will be cherished by all who want to plumb the depths of spiritual consciousness.[Note: The Mystical I is the collection of the 1966 Infinite Way Letters.]

The theme and focus of Showing Forth the Presence of God is at the heart of the message of The Infinite Way: that within each of us dwells a living and immediate Presence, the Spirit of God, which is "closer than breathing and nearer than hands and feet." Chapter by chapter, the author unfolds insightful, practical instruction on how to discover this Presence within and let it show forth. He illustrates with great care how this awareness will generate a new vitality and freedom in our day-to-day affairs. "It is the nature of God that we be free. It is the nature of God that we be whole," Goldsmith exclaims, and then goes on to emphasize who "we" are. "The son of God is more than a man who lived two thousand years ago; the son of God is the Spirit of God that dwelt in the man Jesus, and that dwells in every man. Therefore, the son of God is present in you and me."Discovering that Son of God within us and knowing what it means to express that in our daily life is the message of this book. Recognizing the truth that we are sons of God, we come to realize that the universe is not outside of us, but is embodied within our consciousness. "There is no selfhood apart from God," Goldsmith explains, "nor is there a creation apart from God. What we call a material creation is not a material creation: it is a material sense of creation….everything in this universe answers, responds, and is subject to the divine Consciousness which is God." Showing Forth the Presence of God will help the spiritual seeker understand the momentous implications of that truth.[Note: Showing Forth the Presence of God is the collection of the 1980 Infinite Way Letters.]

Drawing its title from the biblical story of the prodigal son, The Journey Back to the Father's House explains that we have wandered away from knowing our true Self and our spiritual home in the kingdom of God within. We have immersed ourselves in the deceptions and illusions of the material world, and if we want a life of true peace and harmony, we must make the return journey. This is a journey which is accomplished within ourselves as an activity of consciousness.Goldsmith says, "In any moment of your life, you can begin the journey back to the Father's house. In your human sense of life, you are a prodigal son. Each day you are using up some of your life … each day some of your strength, health, or wisdom is lessening in the human picture. That is the life of the prodigal." But, he continues, "The moment that you realize, 'Man shall not live by bread alone' or by the body, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, you are not living on your strength, your supply, your body, or the number of your years. Now you are drawing forth your life and abundance from the source."But how are we to make this return journey? Goldsmith explains that we must attain "that mind which was in Christ Jesus," or the transcendental mind that goes beyond the mere intellectual understanding of the letter of truth to the full spiritual realization. He shows the reader how to make that transition by clearing out old concepts of truth, meditating faithfully, and continuously practicing and applying spiritual principles.But, Goldsmith counsels, the journey takes time and practice: "Every truth heard or read that makes you feel it is truth, is a seed that is being taken into your consciousness. You can no more expect it to do something for you tomorrow than if you planted an apple seed today and expected to find apples growing in your yard tomorrow." The seeds of truth must be nurtured and fed until they are in full flower.As we live with these seeds of truth and cultivate them in a receptive attitude, Goldsmith says, we are on the path back to the Father's house and to realizing our original relationship of oneness with God. This relationship of oneness is the pearl of great price that enables us to open out a way for harmony in all aspects of life to come forth from within.[Note: The Journey Back to the Father's House is the collection of the 1979 Infinite Way Letters.]

God Formed Us for His Glory is a beautiful portrayal of our true identity. Goldsmith asks "Do we know our true identity? Do we know who we are, for therein lies the secret. Are we human beings? Are we sinners? Are we mortal? Is that our identity or is that a mistaken concept of ourselves which we must outgrow, outlive, and outlearn?"Goldsmith says that realizing our true identity and rightful heritage will set us free to live joyous and fulfilling lives, and he reveals ways to uncover and express the beauty and splendor that is our true Being. The main way to release this true "I" within us, Goldsmith says, is through meditation. "The experience of meditation ultimately becomes an individual one. You, yourself have to come to a place within you where a release comes, where there is an awareness of an inner contact. Then there are signs following: harmony, healing and all good." This is grace, but without that contact with our true Self, grace cannot flow to us."Have you ever stopped to realize that God formed us for His Glory?" Goldsmith asks. "You would think we made ourselves, the way we worry about ourselves. God formed us for His purpose and His plan." God Formed Us for His Glory brings the spiritual seeker home to that truth.[Note: God Formed Us for His Glory is the collection of the 1978 Infinite Way Letters.]