THE MOUNTAIN PATH April 1964

February 23, 2007

The Infinite Way on Life

By Joel S. Goldsmith

Joel Goldsmith of Honolulu, Hawaii, is widely known as one of the leading masters of spiritual healing in the world today. His book The Art of Healing1 is a beautiful exposition of this art as a canalization of Divine Power, with the healer eliminating his own personality. Apart from this, he has a wide influence in many countries, through his books and his personal influence and as the leader of the 'Infinite Way' groups. As this article, written specially for The Mountain Path will show, the way he advocates is fundamentally the same as that of the Maharshi, since it consists in seeking Reality in oneself, not in any books or scriptures or other places or things.

It is very noticeable that far too many students do not know what makes The Infinite Way, or why there is an Infinite Way message. Because they do not catch this major point, they struggle for years - not knowing where they are going or why. That which started me on the spiritual path and which ultimately led to The Infinite Way, was the realization that there is no God in the human world or in any religious teaching as such. There is no God answering the prayers of people. For this reason and for this reason only, there can be a world filled with all the things you can think of which constitute horrible world conditions. None of this would be if there were a God in the world. In the presence of Light there is no darkness. You cannot have the Presence of the Christ and have a sin or a death or a lack or man's inhumanity to man.

Eventually it was revealed to me that you cannot reach God through the mind, and that is why prayers as such are worthless except as one's blind faith might make of them a little power - just as it is possible to give a little sugar pill and stop pain. In this realization you must remember that this makes any religion, or any religious teaching in and of itself nothing more not less than a philosophy. The only thing that can make a religion a Religion is something that brings the actual Presence and Power of God into concrete manifestation, and it is for this reason that we say The Infinite Way is not so much a teaching as an EXPERIENCE.

These are spiritual principles, but they do not constitute The Infinite Way.. They are but stepping-stones or bridges over which you walk. You have not reached the goal of The Infinite Way until you have the actual realized Presence of God or Activity of the Christ. It is for this reason that we cannot have outlined or formalised prayers. They are of no value - except to quieten you. Your prayer is not going to help anyone until you reach that place of stillness where you receive a response from within. Therefore, the teaching of The Infinite Way is as valueless as any other teaching if it does not result in the actual Experience of the Presence of God - the FEEL of the Presence of God within you. You can study the Bible and quote it and 'fall right into the ditch', if it does not elevate you in consciousness to where the actual meeting with God takes place.

No human being knows how to heal. No human being has the power to heal. No human being either knows or receives the 'things of God'. Therefore, there can be no healing or real spiritual teaching until you are spiritually endowed - until the Presence announces Itself. Then you can sit back as a beholder and watch your life change. And, as you watch your life change you can say: "I did not do that". When you reach this place, you are then functioning in The infinite Way. Now The Infinite Way becomes an 'alive Religion', whereas before it was just a preparation.

People keep asking, "Why was this innocent child murdered or why was my dog run over when they did nothing wrong?" The world does not know the answer, but as students you should know that there is no God in the human world. Anything of that nature can and will happen - until the child or the dog or the business or the profession or anything else is brought into the presence of one who is spiritually endowed. Then you can trust your child or your dog or your business or your profession - because now the Grace of God is benefiting them. It is the Spirit of God Itself. Until this is understood, The Infinite Way can mean nothing to you except as another teaching or as something nice to read or listen to - and that is not its intent. The intent of its message is this: That every student shall reach that place in consciousness where "the Spirit of God is upon them" and they can say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me", or "Whereas I was blind, now I see". Then you can sit back and say, "I can fulfil all obligations" - not as if you were doing it but as if you were being guided, strengthened and wisdomed from within - which you would be.

The principles of The Infinite Way, as they have been given to me, will definitely change your consciousness to the place where the spiritual endowment can take place. Let me explain: The moment you learn that God or Spirit is the only power and the only law, and you accept this even intellectually, you can at least meet a claim of bad weather by saying: "If God is the only law, weather cannot be law." Or, if you are faced with the threat of an atomic bomb you can say: "If it is true that Spirit is the only power, then I do not have to worry about bombs." Or, in the case of a disease on the way, such as a flu epidemic: "What is that to me, since the Spirit of God is the only power." Actually you may turn around and get the flu because intellectual acceptance is not the protection. However, if you persist in working with the principle of 'one power', eventually it will leave the mind and go down into the heart. And when this takes place, then you can say, "Now I see."

There is not a person on the face of the earth who does not have a problem of supply. Even the multimillionaire has a problem of supply, if it is only concern as to how to meet his income tax. But when you adopt into your consciousness: "Man does not live by bread alone;" or "Supply is not something material because supply is of God, and therefore supply is spiritual" - the fear or hatred or love of money evaporates. Eventually, then, you do perceive that this is a spiritual universe. When you stop the attempt to GET material supply, it comes to you just by knowing that God is its Source and God is Spirit.

As you take one principle after another and lose your fear or hate or love of the outer, and can settle in meditation, you will find it much easier to say: "Speak Lord, thy servant heareth" and find yourself in a deep pool of contentment. When you are in this 'deep pool of contentment' - quiet peace - the Spirit moves and imparts Itself to you. It may be in words, or in a deep breath, or in FEELING - but when It does, God is on the scene.

This is the function of The Infinite Way, to bring you to the place where you live by God - by the Presence of God - not by statements of Truth. The one demonstration you can make in The Infinite Way is the demonstration of the Presence of God - that moment when YOU FEEL that "God is on the field". Then you are living by Grace. Then you will realize: "Thy Grace is my sufficiency in all things." Not that quotation, but the actual realized Grace or Presence is my sufficiency, and there is sufficient Grace present to meet the needs of THIS MOMENT. Everyone wants God 'ten years from now', but, just as nature provides enough air in your lungs for this second, so God is sufficient Grace for THIS SECOND. And, as God's Grace never stops, you always have enough Grace for this moment. There is no 'future heaven'; there is no 'heavenly heaven'; THIS MOMENT is the only heaven there is. The only heaven there is living in this moment, because only in this moment do you have sufficient Grace to provide you with the spiritual Bread, Meat, Wine, Water - even Resurrection. There is enough Grace present in this moment to resurrect your body, your marriage, your fortune, your business - whatever the world says you have lost. And as you live in THIS MOMENT, that Grace becomes a continuing experience - bringing about the fulfilment.

Never ask this question: "Why am I in this trouble, or why did this happen to an innocent child?" You know the answer. There was no God in that picture or it would not have happened. Paul described it: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit", or from the Master: "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered." This is the man of earth. But the 'man who has his being in Christ' toils not, neither does he spin - yet none are arrayed as beautifully in all the world's goods.

If you witness Infinite Way students going on year in and year out and not receiving fruitage or Grace, you can know that they are just 'reading with the mind' and remaining there. That is not reaching God. We are to live with a passage of Truth until it becomes 'our own', and here is an example: "Thy Grace is my sufficiency and there is a sufficiency of Thy Grace to meet this need." You could then put away all of the books - until you could DEMONSTRATE that principle. Through the books we present Truth and, if you could take one statement of Truth and demonstrate it, then the books would have fulfilled their purpose.

I started this article by a reminder that there is no God in the human scene, that there is no way to reach God with the mind, and that harmony begins to come into your experience ONLY as you attain the actual realized Presence of God or Spirit of God. In many of the metaphysical approaches you hear it said that 'evil is not power' or 'there is no evil' or 'error is not real' or 'evil is not of God'. But in The Infinite Way you must get out of that habit, because it is a habit which leaves you in the very error which you have been denying. There is error - there is evil - and that is why there is the search for God. Had there been no evils in the days of the Master, there would have been no Master on earth because there would have been no need of one.2 In fact every religion had as its origin the fact that there were so many evils on earth that people thought a new religion was needed. The true statement should be: "Temporal power is not power in the Presence of the Christ or Spirit," which means that evil or error of any nature is not power in the realized Presence of God.

Let me prove this to you. Whenever you have been ill in your metaphysical life, the illness continued until you called your practitioner.3 The illness then either slowly or rapidly disappeared, indicating that there must have been Something in the life of the practitioner which acted upon the evil - the ill. When sin or disease or death came anywhere near the Master, it was dissolved. But, if he was not around, the error kept on just the same. Yes, there will be evil - but not in the realized Presence of God, the ONENESS with God. "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee."

You can sum up the evils of this world in the Words 'temporal power', which would mean power of germs, power of dictators, power of armies, power of bombs. All that can be summed up as temporal power - and then you can realize that temporal power is not power when it is brought into contact with the Spirit of God. Then you will know that, whatever temporal power is tempting you, you must bring the actual Presence of God into the situation - whether you are so close to It that blinking your eyes does it, or whether you are so far away that you have to sit for days and nights until the Spirit breaks through. But if you are expecting any help until this happens, you are going to be sadly mistaken. Nothing happens to the errors that come into your experience until you have attained the realization of the Presence of God - then temporal power is dissolved as darkness is dissolved in the presence of light.

This should give you such an understanding of the nature of the message of The Infinite Way that you will not trust or rely on any of its statements. Instead, you will know that they are to remind you to GO WITHIN and bring forth the Presence. You must actually experience God - then that Invisible goes before you to make the crooked places straight.

The statement I made above on Grace, "There is sufficient Grace present to meet the needs Of THIS MOMENT," brings up another subject. Let me illustrate. The question is asked, "What is Truth?" I will tell you that no one in the history of the world has ever known what Truth is because Truth is infinite. Never has there been a religion or a teaching that was Truth. But, like the Omnipresence of sufficient Grace to meet the need of the moment, as you turn within in your meditation - sufficient Truth reveals Itself for the immediate Now. The infinite nature of Truth means we can turn within and draw forth all the Truth we need for any moment. Do not label any teaching 'The Truth'. Truth has been revealing Itself through me all these years, yet; it would be a horrible thing to say, "The Infinite Way is the Truth". Truth must continue revealing Itself one hundred years from now, or a million.

When you are dealing with your daily experience, you are opening yourself to an inflow of Truth, but be careful not to depend on yesterday's manna. Go within for the inspiration of the moment - for this moment's manna - if not the Spirit of God does not work. A statement of Truth is not God. A statement of Truth is the reminder that sends you back inside for further impartations.

If you will live constantly and consciously aware that there is a sufficiency of Grace for THIS MOMENT, or if you will live consciously aware that "I have hidden manna" - and then go within for the flow - you will be living by Grace. But you must constantly know that you have this hidden manna - this 'Meat the world knows not of'. Do not depend on the statement - Go WITHIN.. Even if nothing comes, the contact has been made.

Be sure you never forget that the function of this message is to reveal to you that you do have an Inner Grace - a hidden manna - a 'Meat the world knows not of'. Go within for the flow; then go about your business and, whatever your need is, the solution will appear in its own way. This has really carried me from the beginning of my work. Once touched by the Spirit, I knew there was Something within me that did the work. Everything necessary to my experience always appeared, even in time to correct my mistakes. You cannot avoid making a mistake but, even if you do, this Inner Manna corrects it.

It is really very sad if an Infinite Way student does not catch this point, that there is an Inner Grace - a 'Meat the world knows not of' - a hidden manna. Knowing this, you can always go within, wait for the assurance and then go about your business, KNOWING that Something is "going before you to make the crooked places straight". It is sad if students do not catch this. Nobody in the world has ever been born without this hidden manna - NOBODY - because God incorporated Himself IN man AS man. Therefore, the only function of religion should be to acquaint you with that fact and to help you to raise up or release that Spirit. When this happens religion has accomplished its purpose. Then of course "Go and sin no more". After that there MUST be spiritual integrity or you have cut yourself off and human selfhood is the barrier.

Can you not see the sin of believing that anyone of us is different from another - except in the degree of realization? There should be spiritual leaders, because in their presence temporal power does not operate. They can help in the overcoming of discords but only to a certain point, because "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you". However, no matter how advanced we become, there are times when problems can become so hypnotic that we ourselves may not be able to bring release and so we turn to each other for temporary help - for a lift. The Master was not ashamed to say, "Stay awake and pray with me", so there should be no hesitancy in turning to each other for help. I have no hesitancy whatsoever to do this when I need it - and I receive the help.

Religion is nothing to become sanctimonious about. Religion has to be recognition of an indwelling Presence, and then the ability to LET IT LOOSE. There is nothing more sacred in the entire world than the individual. That means every individual, for it is every individual's function to attain his individuality and not keep it in a herd or a mass.

In The Infinite Way our dependency is on a hidden manna, a 'Meat the world knows not of', a Presence you cannot define. You do not have a blind faith - you go within and bring it forth as Spirit. Then your religious life has been accomplished. Then forever after, you can say: "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." But because of the mesmerism of the world, you must go within twenty to thirty times a day. In other words you must get back inside where you acknowledge, "I have a hidden manna" - and then LET IT OUT.

It will not be long until someone says to you, "What is it you have?" or "Can you help me?" No, it will not be long. Then you must remember to give milk to the babes. Do not give deep metaphysics at first. Give it gently - gently. And do not believe that you can lead anyone to this point in a year. Only a few are ready, because of previous incarnations, to catch this in a year or less. I can be very patient because I know that human wisdom cannot be replaced by spiritual discernment until onion skin after onion skin has been peeled away and they become transparencies. I can be patient with them until they have reached that place where 'self preservation' is no longer the first 'law' and the first need. I know it takes patience on my part - and I always hope they will have the courage to persist.

Miracles do happen, some far greater than you would believe if you heard of them. But they are not due to a 'miracle man' - they are due to consciousness and receptivity. Not even Jesus could perform miracles unless he was approached with receptivity. It really makes no difference what degree of spiritual height I attain - it can affect you only by the measure of your receptivity. That is why no practitioner can ever guarantee the measure of your healing or how long it will take, because it depends on your receptivity. And no practitioner will ever heal everyone be cause there are those who cannot do anything but seek 'loaves and fishes' and this sets up a barrier. The higher the teacher goes in spiritual realization, the greater will be the works - but only in the presence of receptivity. There is only one reason why healings do not come through. There is a barrier - a lack of receptivity - but be patient

I could ask you a question: "If you knew this minute that an enemy was going to throw an atomic bomb tonight, what would be your answer if the President should give you the choice of throwing the bomb first or waiting for the enemy to throw it?" Your answer to this question would determine where you stand spiritually because, if you would choose to throw it first, you are still in humanhood - wanting to spare your life. Spiritual development does not include saving your life at the expense of another. Spiritual development recognizes: "Temporal power is not power in the presence of the Christ but, if it takes my human sense of life, I am not going to take the life of someone else." Why might it not stop war if a group of people should say to the President, "Why should we save our lives?" As a matter of fact that is what would happen, should 'ten righteous men' declare "I am not taking someone else's life to save my own. I cannot see my life as being more precious in the sight of God than the life of the Russians or the Japanese or the Germans."

In your spiritual life you face this question to some degree every day. In other words you prepare to send your child to school - but have you thought about the child on the other side of the tracks and have you made any provision for him? If not, you are still in humanhood. You cannot live in family selfishness and still believe you are living spiritually. But these things resolve themselves when the Spirit of God comes through, because then you cannot take any credit for being benevolent. You are not doing it - the Spirit is compelling you.

The Christians who were thrown to the lions were not courageous. It was the Spirit of God that did it, for no human being could be that brave or that courageous.

If any of you are satisfied with anything less than the Experience of God, you are satisfied with too little. NOTHING should satisfy you but the Experience Itself, and you can accomplish that by turning within. It will come. And, when it comes, it must be renewed. Because of the hypnotism of the world - it must be RENEWED.

1. Published by Allen and Unwin.

2. This is in accordance with the promise of Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita: " Whenever righteousness is obscured and evil prevails, I manifest myself." Ch. iv, v. 7. (Editor).

3. The author is referring here to a spiritual healing practitioner of the 'Infinite Way' group. (Editor).