Communication With God -- Daily Review

By The Pathwork Guide

Greetings in the name of the Lord. I bring you blessings, my dear friends. Every living creature is seeking God. Every human being is seeking God, either consciously or unconsciously. Even those people whom you call atheists are seeking God. Everyone is seeking happiness, love, and security -- and that is God. Where spiritual awareness is still lacking, then it is often thought that these things can be found in other ways. Therefore, security is often sought either in financial security or in emotional ties that are supposed to give this security and this hold on life. Security may also be sought by reaching some outstanding success in a profession whereby admiration, appreciation, and some degree of power are gained. If true security is desired -- and who does not desire it -- then these aims are poor substitutes. That is, if they take the place of the security that only a harmonious relationship with God can supply. For all these things can be yours if such is your plan for this incarnation. But it makes a great difference if they are all that you hold on to for your security.

It is the same way with love. If love for another human being is being sought with the current that is destined for the love of God, then it will always leave you with a feeling of emptiness, with dissatisfaction, or even with frustration. Thus if God is not the basis of your life and if, instead of this basis, you seek substitutes, then love will never really satisfy you. You may certainly receive love from and give love to human beings -- and you should. But as long as God has His rightful place in your heart, then this love will have its proper value. It will not be all you have to hold on to. If, for one reason or another you lose a human love, then you will never be in a position to feel that your life is lost and meaningless.

My dear friends, everyone is seeking God, whether they know it or not. Just as a plant turns toward the sun, so does man turn towards God, often just as unconsciously as the plant is seeking light and warmth. Only when you have found God within yourself will your heart be at rest and will your life make sense to you, even with all the puzzlement it represents. And only then will it cease to be a question mark. For only in God will the light of knowledge be yours. It may not necessarily be general or abstract knowledge. You will know why you have to go through these various difficulties, why so many things happened in your life, things that you cannot understand, such as the apparent cruelties of others or of the fates. Suddenly, all this will make so much sense to you that you will no longer quarrel with the hardships of life. You will be glad that you have had them, not only because now you fully perceive their justice, but also because you will realize how good and how strengthening these experiences are for you.

God is sought in many different ways. But He cannot be found outside yourself. He cannot be found in some building or up in the sky. God can only be found within yourself. But in spite of this fact, many of you still seek God in the wrong way, even though you know that He is within. Now I will tell you the only way in which God can be found, regardless of what religion you believe in. You can find God within yourself only by going through your lower self. That is the only way. If you have a treasure hidden under a great deal of dirt and soil, then the only way you can get to that treasure is by digging up the dirt. This means that you have to come in close contact with it for a while. In other words, you cannot skirt handling this dirt. You know that this task is worthwhile in order to get your treasure free. So you do it temporarily in order to get the unpleasant work over and done with once and for all. There is absolutely no way to get the treasure out unless you are willing to face and to handle the mud first. The logic of this will be comprehensible to all. Why not, then, when it concerns the treasure house of God that lies imbedded in everyone of you? Why do you try to uncover the greatest and the most precious of all treasures without being willing to face your lower self? Does that make sense? Certainly not. However, many of you still hope to accomplish that somehow. You know perfectly well that God can only be found within, yet you still seek Him in the wrong way.

Many continue to seek in some vague and hidden recesses of their soul to find a spark and to experience God. They seek through the knowledge they absorb in general or by certain exercises. What they will get, if this be the only way they seek, will be everything else but God. So you must not disregard that which is immediately in front of you. If you go about it any other way, then He is infinitely farther away from you than you can imagine. In order to find God, you have to recognize your hidden emotions and evaluate them -- after you have clearly seen them -- in the light of divine law. You have to acknowledge your true reactions, instead of making yourself believe that you react in another way and for different reasons. You have to see your faults clearly. In other words, you have to find everything that you are not aware of as yet. Test yourself regarding how you really feel. Only by this road, going through this lower self, facing it and dissolving it, step by step, with courage and conviction, will you then find the true happiness and security in God, with God, and through God.

How do you do that? This is a question that will always exist for you. I have begun to show you how, and in this series of lectures I will continue to do so. There are many points from which we have to start. It is a recognized fact by all who are already on this road that you have to tackle the problem always from two sides -- and often from more than two sides. You cannot find God unless you overcome your imperfections. On the other hand, you can certainly not overcome your imperfections by yourself, no matter how strong you are and no matter how good your will may be. You need God's help. Thus, it is an alternating process. Once you meditate on, recognize, and evaluate your imperfections, then you build up from there. You have to analyze honestly what is really going on in you. It is not as difficult as you may believe. You have to recognize the ever-present sluggish quality that exists in every personality. There is one trend that strives upward. I have started this lecture by saying that this trend is present in every creature and is striving toward God. But often this yearning is misunderstood, misinterpreted, and therefore directed into a wrong channel. Nevertheless, this striving is there. It takes some spiritual awareness to understand this yearning and to direct it properly. But, at the same time, there also exists in every human being a sluggish quality, which is imbedded in the lower self. This sluggish quality does not wish to overcome, does not wish to fight, does not wish to do what it considers uncomfortable. As long as you do not recognize your own sluggish quality, then you cannot get ahead. Therefore, in one phase of the game you have to work from this side: the imperfections in your lower self. At another phase or another stage, you have to enlist God's help, even though, due to your imperfections at this point, you may not have a close contact with God as yet. Still, you have to strive with the little you have in order that help may be given you to build the way further. This is a constant probing -- once from this side, once from the other side.

There is a sure way, a shortcut, to establish a personal relationship with God and to have a personal experience of God considerably faster than would otherwise develop. You see, my dear ones, although many of you believe, many of you still possess, deep in your heart, a corner of unbelief. You are afraid to face this corner of unbelief. This, among others things, may be accountable for the resistance you have against delving into your soul. You falsely believe that by disregarding this corner of unbelief in yourself -- in other words, by covering it up and pushing it out of sight -- either that it will disappear or else that it does not count. This is not true. Realize that whatever you discover in yourself never represents the entire picture. You are made up of many currents and some of these currents are contradictory. So do not fear to face that one part in yourself that does not believe as yet. Do not underestimate this. But know that there is another part in you that does believe and that sincerely wants to strengthen the belief. Do not cover it up, for you will not accomplish anything if you do so, if you try to tell yourself that it does not exist. I do not say that this constitutes the only factor you are afraid to face within yourself. Whether it is this or something else, the principle is always the same: You cannot conquer it as long as you are afraid to face it. It will not be half as frightening anymore when you can do so. That I promise you.

In reference to this shortcut which I mentioned previously, if you sense this lack of belief existing within you (or even if you do not have this problem or fear), then there is a wonderful, sure, and fast way to experience God and His reality -- as well as the reality of God's spirit world around you -- so strongly that all doubts will dissolve like snow in the sun. That way is sacrifice, my friends. If you are capable of sacrificing something for God, then you will have that experience. And the knowledge, the certainty, the sense of reality that you will gain from it will be infinitely more wonderful than what you have given up by your in sacrifice. I will help you and I will show you the way. Nothing melodramatic is asked of you, nothing outstanding. As a matter of fact, I should like to emphasize that the less other people know about it when you do it or when you intend to do it, then the better it is. Only God and you must know. And perhaps your spiritual teacher, if you need help. The sacrifice should not serve your ego in any way. Therefore, it should not be something striking or spectacular. There is no martyrdom of any sort connected with what I am talking about. If you have a dilemma in your daily life, if you are uncertain about a decision, or if something in your life continues to present disharmony of any sort, then this is a sign that something larger may be wrong. Whatever you do, if it has God's blessing, then it will be harmonious and it will not cause constant friction to yourself and to others. Your being very strongly bound to or convinced about an idea or something that you desire -- something you do not want to let go of -- may also serve the purpose in question. Take this, whatever it is -- your problem, your decision, your bondage -- and present it to God. Open yourself completely to Him.

In opening yourself to God, you should think first: "What is it that I really want?" Often problems arise because you are not clear in your mind about what you actually want. Once you have given yourself the answer to that and you clearly realize the decision to go one way or the other -- in other words, once you have clearly established your wish and your preference -- then ask yourself the next question: "Is this perhaps not God's will?" The answer then may be the following: "Yes, this is all very well, but perhaps there is no God. And if there is no God, then I certainly do not see a reason why I should give up what I like. Why should I sacrifice?" This answer comes from this hidden recess discussed before, from which doubts come up, and which sends reactions, feelings, and impressions to your consciousness. It will be be extremely important for you to interpret these into clear-cut words.

If you can answer yourself in that way, my dear ones, then that is a good step forward, believe it or not. Thus your innermost spiritual problem and this whole sour point in you begins to take concise shape, a shape with which you can deal intelligently. Then -- as you continue this discussion with yourself -- you may answer yourself in this way: "All right, if there really is no God, then I do not risk anything, for I cannot receive an answer by Him. But before I let Him make my decision, I will ask God whether He exists. Father, one side in me believes in Thee and another side does not. Which is true? Help me, help me." If you first settle this question between yourself and God, then you will receive enlightenment. Only if you face this question and if you do not evade it or avoid it will you be enlightened. Then you may say: "And If I know that Thou art God, then I will be ready to sacrifice and I will let go of my will." Are you willing to sacrifice and let go of your will? Would you be ready to do that? If you do not have the enlightenment through and through, believing that He truly exists as the living God, the greatest Reality of all, then -- strangely enough -- you can receive this knowledge only if you are prepared to sacrifice for Him. You always wait for Him to manifest first and then perhaps you may decide whether or not you will put your life into His hands. In this way, you continue to run around in circles and the question will never be settled for you as long as you are not willing, first and foremost, to put your selfwill aside for His will.

In this way, you will settle two problems at once: your certainty about God's reality, your certainty about God's existence, and the problem you are concerned with in your everyday life at the moment. This problem cannot be solved in any other way than in God's way. For in this way alone there will be no disadvantages of any sort. It will be right all the way, in every respect, in every way. This is God's way, it is not man's way. Here again it works both ways. If you are completely reconciled and totally ready -- both in your thoughts and in your intentions -- that if God's will should manifest itself clearly to you, you are ready to give up your selfwill and your desires -- and only if you are really willing to do this -- then you can you receive an answer. For this willingness to let go of yourself constitutes both the knocking and the opening of the door. Only through this, and nothing else, will the door be opened to you. As long as your selfwill is stronger than your desire to put God in first place, then you will never have certainty. God will never be a reality for you, no matter how much you speak and think and pray and meditate. He will be something abstract and not a living reality in your everyday life.

Therefore, be ready to sacrifice for the sake of God, even if there still exists a corner of unbelief within you. If you are truly ready and truly prepared to accept that which you like least, provided it is God's will, then you will have stepped over the most important borderline on your spiritual path in your entire spiritual development. Up to that point, everything is either theory or a preparation for that great dividing mark on your road upward and for that great step ahead. It represents a step into the unknown. Let go, my dear ones! Even though God may be unknown to you as yet, trust in Him, even if you cannot see Him and even if you do not like an alternative that might prove to be His will. Trust Him, for He knows better than you or anyone else. That is all I ask of you. There is not one person who cannot practice this advice in a thousand little ways every day -- in big and important decisions, as well as in small ones. With some people it may be easier to start with a really big decision. It is as though you were to step into a cold bath. One person does it more easily by slow stages; another wants to get it over with and jumps in at once. As a matter of fact, after a short while it will not be cold anymore at all; rather, it will be warm and soothing and it will give you healing forces for all your problems and on all levels of your being. It will give you a wonderful harmony, a security, and a victory, like nothing you have ever known before in your life. Whether you do it with the little problems of your life, and thus go on by stages, or whether you jump in all at once does not matter, provided you are doing it. For that is the one step whereby your spiritual life will turn from theory into practice, from unreality into reality. Therefore, once you live in this reality because you have sacrificed, then God will become reality for you. As a result, all of your doubts will cease to exist.

Many of you do not know what your unconscious image of God or your hidden or secret belief in God actually is. So, ask yourself that question too. You may be surprised at how many different answers will come forth. With one person this hidden or unconscious image of God -- which is not a thought-out idea but a feeling, an emotion -- is the vague impression that God is something of a very strict, pedantic school teacher who shakes his finger at you and who does not understand your human problems. This conception may come from the image of a human father you had either in this life or in a previous existence. This may color your God image, and it is dangerous. So, you should face it too.

Many people believe that certain problems cannot be presented to God. They feel either that God does not care what you do in this life or that your problems are not important to Him. This belief is totally untrue. The fact is that every small decision, the smallest deed or attitude of yours stands in direct relationship to either one or more spiritual laws. It is believed that it may be almost blasphemous to come to God with certain problems. This belief is also wrong. The truth is that there is no problem that you cannot go to God with, no matter what it is. He certainly understands better than any human being, better than any psychoanalyst, better than any doctor, and better than any scientist. You should know and then accept consciously that whatever you sincerely take to God He will understand and He will help you with -- provided you ask for His help, and provided you trust Him more than you trust yourself, or someone else for that matter. So do not hesitate to uncover this mistaken image of God. This God image often comes either from influences in your environment or from religious teachers who are infected with such ideas. This is very harmful.

My dear friends, what I have said to you here is what I call "spiritual dynamite." If you do it, then it will be difficult. It will mean a battle with yourself. But if you do it sincerely, then you will see that your whole life will change. There should be no one who, having read these words, would fail to go within himself and ask: "Where is there something in my life that God may wish to change?" Then prepare yourself for this battle. Take your time with it. Do not do it hastily or superficially. Do not deceive yourself by doing it halfheartedly, only to then claim that you did not receive an answer. You will not receive one if you have not done it wholeheartedly. Do not try to talk yourself into the conviction that something must be God's will because you want it so. Put all your cards down before God. Make yourself empty. Be ready to give up everything and anything. Even if it takes weeks or months, it does not matter. This should be your aim now. If you cannot do so because something in you does not want to, then it would be better for you to acknowledge this to yourself. It would be more harmful for you to try to evade this issue. It is better to say: "I am not ready now." This is all right, for then you will go on in other ways, in other slow stages, and perhaps in a year you will be far enough. But do not give up your struggle -- by using some pretext -- because you still shy away from this complete surrender to God. It is better to admit it to yourself and to go on in an easier way with something that may seem easier to you at this time. Thus you will be preparing yourself to cross the great borderline. But if you can use this shortcut, then it will be a wonderful deliverance for you in many ways.

Now I wish to discuss something else with you, my friends. I see that a number of my friends here have not followed my advice as yet concerning the written daily review. I do not speak to my friends with whom I work privately. I mean those who work on this path by following this course of lectures. I should like to point out to you that you should not hesitate to do so. In case you have difficulties in this respect, then you are welcome to ask me questions about it. Furthermore, I should like to say this. It will not take more than ten to fifteen minutes every day. And that should be possible for each one of you. You do not have to write down everything, just certain key words. By doing this constantly, you will succeed in making the unconscious conscious by discovering your inner trends. Because after doing this for a while, you will recognize definite patterns in your life that you cannot help to become aware of if you go on like this. You will recognize them by certain constant happenings, by certain occurrences, and by the way in which you react toward these occurrences. That is all you should do at the present. There is no magical trick about it that is difficult to execute. You do not have to be extremely far in development in order to accomplish this. Anyone can do it. All you should do is to review your day and then to think of all the instances that have caused you disharmony in any manner, shape, or form. Even if at the beginning you cannot understand why you felt in disharmony, then just put down both the incident and what you have felt. When you have done this for a while, then a pattern will evolve that still may not give you a clue as to what is wrong in your inner makeup. But at least you will see a repetition that points out that there must be something in you that is wrong, no matter how wrong other people who are involved may be in their own way. If something recurs constantly, then it is a clue to your own soul. These repeated occurrences, together with your reaction toward them, may vary in two or three ways. But there must be a basic underlying problem. That is for you to find out when you continue still a little further. After you have kept a daily review for a while, then I would advise you to read it through and to try to recollect the incidents, along with your reactions to them. Then begin to think of your various faults that you have discovered and ask God for enlightenment about what may -- even remotely or indirectly -- be connected with your faults. Thus you get right into the middle of this path. Otherwise, it may be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to gain the self-knowledge that is the essence and the key to this path. Without this you cannot reach divinity within yourself. It is not too much to do. I beg of all of you, do it for your sake.

Those of you who have started in this direction who are not in private contact with me, do as I suggest. Read the whole thing over and see whether you can at least sense a pattern. Ask yourself where you can find the point in yourself in which you deviate from some divine law. Ask for inspiration. Then compare these patterns with the list of your faults. Concerning your feelings and your desire currents, ask yourself whether they are in accordance with divine law. I will give various meditations on how to handle certain faults or wrong emotional currents. However, questions concerning this subject are most productive and will help not only you who ask but everyone else as well.

Another piece of advice. For this same purpose of self-development, I would like to emphasize once again that you should ask questions pertaining to certain specific difficulties that you may find on your path. It does not have to be anything personal or private. I invite you to do this because I know that it will help you a great deal. I would even suggest that you think beforehand of questions suitable for discussion, perhaps something you may be having trouble with. That is my advice.

April 25, 1958