Workshop - Life and Living(Lake Whitney 1982)- Page 2 of 4
Beginning CD 3
....(just threw that in)
There’s no extra charge for that. (laughter)
(We have some new people here this morning and we'd like to get to know you. Tell us who you are, Pat. Stand up, tell us where you're from.)
(Richard Lamford from Houston.) (Linda Harris from Houston.) (Anyone else? I see Bekki.)
(unclear) (That's the first question.)
Right, already taken care of; it’s obvious.
(We're gonna have a dinner tonight at the chapel served between 6-6:30. It’s a home-cooked dinner and really good. The tickets are downstairs and we need to know by noon how many tickets are sold, so if you haven’t bought your tickets, buy ‘em as soon as the class is over so I can call in how many. It is home cooked food and good. What’s the menu like?)
Fried chicken and cream gravy. [back and forth conversation about the dinner]
(There are tapes available and there’s little slips downstairs if you’d like to pay for the weekend, well fill out a slip and send the tapes out to you next week.)
I also sell the tapes. You can order those from Anthony, NM. They’ll be available next week too. Mine are better. (laughter)
(There’s also Dr. Bob’s books on the table downstairs if you’d like to have “Who’s in Charge of My Inner State.”)
You can buy those. They’re all right. They already paid me for ‘em. (laughter)
Ok, we will start the day as we did yesterday that you bring up the subject you want to talk about and I will talk about it. Now that doesn't mean I know everything. It means that I will fake it if I don't know and I bet I do a good job of fakin' it. Now as long as it's on this general subject of life and living, I will entertain the question. And why somethin' happened or didn't happen, I will not entertain. That's the one reservation. If it's about why did I grow up to be fat, why we won't answer that. Why'd I grow up to be skinny, I won't. And why didn't I grow up all the way, I won't answer. But any question starts with a why, I will ignore it like it wasn't even asked. But anything else I will attempt to discuss the question a while. Who's gonna be first this morning?
(Why woman does not belong to man.)
Of course not. Women own men, don't you know that? You been around long enough to know that, Bobbi. You know, that's not even a comment or a question, is that right?
(Which one ___)
Well, I've been observin’ it a long time. I was the one that wrote the little blurps that said usually the best man for a job is a woman. And I also wrote the one that says a woman has to do twice as much and twice as well to be considered equal. The reason why is that's men's only defense from bein’ owned, you see. [he chuckles] That's their only defense you see. Ok, we got that all taken care of, now we'll go on from there. That's the battle of the sexes. Yes sir?
(How do you deal with loneliness?)
How do you deal with loneliness? Well the word lonely… We had up here last night and I will put it up again. Now, we will put three words up here: [he writes on the board] Resistance – Conflict – and Struggle. And we said they were all synonyms and they mean the same thing. They plainly refer to that I don't like something and I start resisting it inside myself and strugglin’ with it and tryin’ to make it go away, ok? Now being alone is fact every now and then, right? I can be alone somewhere. But I never have loneliness unless I'm resisting being alone – if I'm perfectly free to be alone or like it every now and then. In my particular occupation I'm usually surrounded with people and it's a joy every now and then to have a few minutes all by yourself, ok? So I'm never lonely. But I'm alone once in a while. But you see unless I'm resisting being alone, I don't experience the emotion known as loneliness. Is that fair to say? So we talked last night on being free to experience whatever may be around, is that right? Well, if I'm free to experience being alone I'm not lonely. Lonely is the feeling one has when one is resisting being alone. That correct? Huh? Now if I don't like something and I start resistin’, I got a problem so called. And see, for many years I worked in the “problem business.” It was a lotta fun but I had to pretend to be very serious about it. But you see all problems is because there was a given situation existed and somebody was resisting it or in conflict with it, fightin’ it, or was strugglin’ to get over the situation instead of being free to experience the situation for a little bit. And of course if you just blap that out right away like I'm doin’ here now you run yourself out of business when you're in the people, in the problem business, you know. So you deal with it appropriately for a given length of time before you tell ‘em that. Otherwise you can't collect many fees and one does have to survive, you know. Here the fees are so inadequate, we just blap it out, ok? (laughter) Everywheres else I go, I get $50 per person for comin’ in. You get bargain rates. So man, you're gonna get it simple, straight and square and that's all there is to it, ok? I keep tellin’ Donna the price has got to go up and she keeps tellin’ me you folks don't have money. And I said, “Look, you're lookin' down on those people 'cause they all look very prosperous to me.” But Donna has a poor complex anyway. (laughter) I think you know that saying you haven't got $50 is really being degrading a little bit. I don't get that – everybody looks like they got at least $50, don't you think so? (laughter)
I practiced for many years in doin’ the healing arts and I worked over in many several different places. I get tired of being in one place a while, so I move. Besides that it's more fun to build a practice than it is to maintain it, to me. So I wound up one time over in eastern New Mexico. Everybody came in. As soon as I pulled out my little sheet to make my case history out, you know – name, address – and by the time I got through the name they said, “I wanna tell you somethin'.” I said, “Yeah, what's that?” “We're very honest people, but we ain't got no money. We'll pay you when the crop comes in.” But you know never a crop came in in five years I stayed there. So I finally decided you know, I'm not to believe that little story. So I got so after about six months when they said, “Now I got somethin' to tell you,” I said, "Yes, I know, you're a very honest person. You always pay your bills when the crop comes in. But right now, you haven't got a dime." They said, "How'd you know?" You know, I got to be very psychic around there. (laughter) Ok what's the next point?
(Is the converse of that same thing about loneliness true, about constantly having people around?)
Yeah, then you get overloaded with people. Well, you're free to experience that. And every once in a while it is nice to slip off, you know.
(You're right.)
Ok, it's like anything – like the person who's being alone all the time; it's very nice to go down and sit in the coffee shop and drink coffee even though you don't know anybody in there – there's a bunch of people kickin’ around. You know, it always helps a little bit. But, yes, there's such a thing as being overloaded with company sometimes, is that right? Or people or whatever way you're goin’ about it. Is that correct?
(Uhuh)
And you do like to have a few minutes, is that correct? That's fine, so you just change it. But you're free to experience a lotta people all the time, ok? Same thing's true. So the point is here a given situation exists. And after all, we're all involved in many, many different situations in a day, is that right? Now if you're free to experience that situation that arises here right now, you're free to experience whatever it is at the moment – internal or external, whatever's goin’ on inside you and whatever's goin’ on outside – you won't have any problem. You see the only problem in the world is from struggle, conflict and resistance to whatever's going on at the moment, mmm? Now if somebody around you decides to depart this life and takes off for parts unknown and you resist it, you feel grieved and upset and worried and all that. And if you say, "Well, that's the way things are, they come and they go," you know, you will not be grieved. Certainly you probably will miss 'em a few days anyway, right?
(Uhuh.)
So whatever it may be, the only time a problem exists is when we're resisting what is at the moment, mmm? Now what is is goin’ on. And we are experiencing organisms obviously, so our job is to experience it freely. It's like Texas weather; it won't last long anyway. You know, if you don't like it, wait a few minutes – it'll go away. You know our 81 degrees day before yesterday was wonderful but it went away like pssst – like that, mmm? And this cold snap, it'll go away too. So there is an old statement amongst the teaching ideas that says, “Why bother with it, this too will pass away very soon – if you don't grab onto it.”
(Ah hah!)
Now if you resist it, you can keep it with you for years. One time I was givin’ a talk over on the banks of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico at the time they let the water out of Elephant Butte Lake and the water runs down the river. It's got water in it once a year. Rest of the time it's a dry sand bed. And the water come down and there was a big old dead horse floatin' along in the water because he probably died in the sandbanks up the way. And then when the water come down, it floated him down. Somebody said, “We gotta get out there and pull that thing out of the river!” And I said, "If you pull that horse out of the river, you’re stuck with a dead horse and they smell like terrible. And if you let it alone it'll be around the bend in 15 minutes.” Now which would you do? Go out and drag the dead horse in and get stuck with it right under your front door or would you let it go on down the river? Which one would you do?
(It would be smarter to let it go down the river.)
Well, I don't know whether you'd be smarter. I asked you what you'd do.
(I'd probably go help somebody pull out their own dead horse.)
Well, it wasn't their dead horse and who knows who owned the dead horse.
(If they wanted it, I'd go help 'em.)
Well, all right, then you're stuck with a smelly dead horse for two months while it smells up the joint. So you see if you resist a dead horse bein’ in the river, you're in conflict about a dead horse bein’ in the river. You struggle with it and pull it out, you're stuck with a dead horse. But if you let it alone it's all gone in a few minutes. This too will pass away. I don't know whether anybody here is a Mormon or not but probably some of you have checked out the book of Mormon. I did. Every verse and every chapter starts with, “And it came to pass.” He didn't finish the sentence because that's the only reason anything comes – is to pass, isn't that right? That's the only reason anything comes in our experience is to pass. So they asked me if I believed the book of Mormon. I said I believe the first line in every chapter in it. It starts "Well, and it came to pass," for that's the only reason it came in the first place, huh? And it came to pass. Doesn't everything that ever happened down through the years to you passed on unless you grabbed onto it and started fightin’ and resistin’? Then it only stayed on in your head. It's not out there in the world, it's not out here in our surroundings. So everything comes to pass. So just wait a few minutes. It's like a Texas storm; it'll go away in a few minutes, a few hours, a few days at the most. Ok Miss Donna? Is that properly answered now? Ok next question. Yes sir?
(I wonder if you could comment on, uh………..)
That's all right; take your time.
(…on Karma; in reference to the responsibility that we might have for it – Karma – in reference to consciousness.)
Well first I will ask you what you mean by the word Karma. I have had many definitions given to me, so I'll ask yours so we'll be specifically discussin’ your viewpoint.
(Perhaps I'm trying to get kinda (unclear) )
No, we're not concerned with that. What do you mean by the word Karma?
(The idea that something we may have done in either a past life or this life –)
…be causin’ us a big balance today.
(Or may have created that we have to pay later...)
Ok. That is a question. In the first place nobody knows whether it exists or not, ok? That's number 1. So we'll put the word Karma up here and if I may use [he writes on the board] K – A – R – M – A, which is not an English word. That's a Sanskrit word, isn't it? And this English equivalent for it is “Balance” – that pretty close to right, sir? Now the only thing that Karma sometimes implies is that there is a long series of past lives back that you accumulated debts and you bring ‘em over here with you on this new list, existence, is that correct? That's the theory now – that's strictly a theory. Some people subscribe to it, some don't. Is that correct? I'm not gonna either subscribe nor non-subscribe to the idea, ok? Balance apparently is something but it seems that life has the ability to balance it very quickly without waitin’ six lifetimes to do so.
If I go out here and drink a fifth of booze today, I will pay the debt between now and about 72 hours. I'll be very sick, nauseated. I have a blastin’ headache and I won't have to work this afternoon nor tonight nor tomorrow morning, ok. So I think that balance gets here very rapidly. My observation is that it comes along very quickly, usually within less than 72 hours. Now we don't know about the past life theory, do we? There's a lot of people subscribe to reincarnation. A lot of people don't. The Orient has subscribed in all their religious ideas to the idea of reincarnation and that you have like you were going through some 760 million lives before you get through with it, or 370 or some number, is that right? You see in the Orient life is a little tedious and it's a very old society. And in order to get people's attention that they had to do something now, not next week, next year, they put in the idea of reincarnation, the endless wheel of life. And if you lived in India very long you'd do anything to get out. So the idea was to get out NOW and this we would say increased one's necessity to really consider things now, ok? So all the Oriental religions or teachings basically include the idea of reincarnation because it gets people on the ball to get off of it – anything to get out of India, you know. “God, I'm gonna get born again – let's get out so we can get off of the wheel of birth, death, life, birth, death, life, anything to get off.” In the Occident the teaching was always: this is the only life you've got and it's gonna come to an end very quickly. So it increased the necessity of the people here. So I don't know about Karma. I do see that balance is one of the laws of the universe. I think it all happens this year – right now.
Now it may go on for endless ages, I don't know. But all it means is balance and I see people tryin’ to explain all sorts of why questions with the idea of Karma. Somebody says, “Why was this person born with a hair lip?” So somebody lays up Karma. Somebody says, “Why was I born and wound up with an alcoholic husband or wife?” “Well, you did so and so in the last existence.” You know, there's people who can just pop out the answer to every why question you ask. Those are known as “shaman.” And shaman business went out of style really, except answering why questions, way back down the road when a bunch of primitive folks run to the shaman who was the head man and said, “Why didn't we have any berries this year?” You know, they didn't think about late frost and all these things. “Why didn't we have any berries?” So he goes into a little trance for a minute and he comes back and he says, “All you people have insulted the Berry God. And if you leave me so many coonskins and a couple of good stone axes, I will go make peace with the Berry God.” So next year they had berries so naturally they believe he answered this thing right. And then the same thing with rain and with people bein’ ill and all – everything come up with an answer to a why question. And I stated that one condition of this discussion was that I would entertain no why questions, ok? ‘Cause I don't wanna play the shaman role.
Now there is gobs of people who will do it and they come up and are always tell you somethin’ which you can't check up on. In other words if I was born with a cowlick in my hair and I said, “Why did I have a cowlick?” and the shaman said it was because you pulled a little girl's hair in your third incarnation back, I have no way of checkin’ up on it and I either accept or reject. Me, I just don't bother with it. I'm not gonna ask any why questions, not gonna answer any why questions. A man many years ago told me that a why question was like a scorpion with a thousand tales: you cut off one, it grew two more right quick and that's ‘bout right, ok? That satisfactory to you? I avoided the question because I don't know about Karma in any shape, manner, form, or fashion as relating to past lives. I do know that we can get some pretty fast balance on things around here right now, which I suppose is Karma also.
(You can call that instant Karma.)
You can have the word. I just love it; it's like instant coffee. I don't like it either. (laughter) Ok? Yes Richard?
(You talk about life being, the external things in life, being a series of changes to fit in with balance. What are those things that you feel in life are – to balance those changes – what are the things in life that are always constant?)
What are things in life that are always constant?
(Besides you know as life is changing, itself is changing...but as we have these changes externally, changes...)
All kinds of external things, right?
(What balances that with always being constant?)
What is always constant? Balancing.
(Do other changes balance the other things?)
It seems that they work at it. I don't know whether they ever achieve it totally. And you study it like in the health field for instance. A person stresses themselves from the environment, inner feeling, activity, nutrition or whatever. Life makes an attempt to balance it and it comes up with various and sundry kinds of beautiful little symptoms that sometimes get names on 'em, ok? You know, they get identified. We name the little cuties and all that. So it seems that a balancin’ keeps goin’ except that the person continually keeps on resisting the balance. You see, I draw a little circle here – maybe I can help answer the question a little bit. So we have a little circle and it starts off that the first thing we'd say is some sort of misconception – a misconception from either lack of information or misinformation which we've all been loaded with and has been for hundreds of generations and handed on. Sooner or later when you have a misconception you'll have a false feeling of emergency. This is only on the mental level. We could take the physical ones and so on. When you have a false feeling of emergency the body from life within it immediately prepares it to fight or run. That's the appropriate thing to do for an emergency. So we have chemical imbalance and neuromuscular tension because we set a false feeling of emergency. There's nothing there to run. We're just worryin’ about that this is gonna happen and that's gonna happen and here I am all alone and I may die in my sleep and nobody’ll find it out. It really doesn't matter but you know it would be the same thing. So we have this chemical imbalance and neuromuscular tension which is… the body will not tolerate, life doesn't tolerate that long. So it starts its Karmatic movement immediately to adapt to this unbalance. And it'll do it either by unusual cellular activity which is a change in function which produces unusual sensation which we call pain, soreness, stiffness, achy, what-have-you, which then if continued long enough produces a tissue cell alteration or a breakdown – a pathology.
The other way of course, is unusual behavior. Now from this one [pointing to pathology], we get get-well cards and we get flowers sent to us and everybody comes to visit us when you get unusual cellular activity. Or unusual behavior as your means of adapting, why you usually wind up in jail or a mental hospital and everybody ignores you, you know, the best they can. All your friends [unclear] thought it of him and they go away and don't hear about it. So that's one way. And if you get an invasionary – say a bunch of little viruses or bacteria and it goes around the same circle – the body tries to get rid of those by killin’ em and sometimes it makes a fever and all these things, tryin’ to get rid of it. So it goes on that the balance seems to be the law of the universe to restore to a homeostatic state of being and we only go toward it. I doubt if we ever really get it, Richard. But life is constant in that it is trying to adapt to all these changes to take us towards that. So that's the constant that's there – that life is adapting to all sorts of changes all the time. It's always adapting. Is that right sir? It hangs in there, doesn't it? It's doin' it all the time. And of course usually the adaptation is a little uncomfortable so we go somewheres to try to find some way to stop the adaptation. Thank goodness we don't usually succeed, ok? That all right, Richard? Next question, point, whatever subject you want to discuss. Yes Miss.....
(I understand this whole thing: the false feeling of emergency and the other. Is it necessary to see the misconception?)
Well, it’d be nice so we don't do it over and over and keep on using it, you know. It would be nice, yes. I don’t guess it's absolutely essential but it certainly is useful. Besides that it makes a wonderful profession to try to find ‘em all the time, you know.
(But you can stop that.......)
…cycle. Anywheres in it. If you understand the cycle and you say, “Well, what's there to be all upset about?” In other words usually the misconception is very plain – that if we should resist or be in conflict or struggle with anything we don’t like, that's the big conflict. That's the big misconception instead of being free to have it. We have the misconception as the purpose of life is to be totally non-disturbed at all times. I'll be there in just a minute, Tim, ok? Don’t forget it, now. Does that help answer your question, dear? Yes, Tim.
(I was just wondering if you would use the Teaching to shed some light on something. There's a part in a book I read the other day that said, “Beware of false prophets that come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are raving wolves.”)
Raving wolves and they wanna chew you up and eat you away. Right! So what would we consider the same book that you was readin’ that in has a little place that says that woe to all these people that load grievous burdens on others, you know, ok? Grievous burdens and you don't even reach out with your little finger to lift the burden off of the person. Now let's look at some of the burdens that all of us have carried around. You know, it's like a big sack of rocks we all tote around with us. So one of the burdens of course is that we are fearful. We talked about that one last night and we won't go over it again – that we're very fearful, that we feel guilty for doin’ all sorts of little things that people laid on us – authorities around about. And that we are constantly in a state of anxiety lest something unpleasant happen. “I'm gonna lose my job or they're puttin' all these loads on us,” and so forth. We have anxiety so we have a lot of heavy burdens. Now all this burden comes from conditioning of our growing up. Because we didn't feel that way to begin with – we just wanted what we want and hang it up.
But then you see basically all society's teaching to younger people is to have them to be good, not conscious. That about right? Mama wanted you to be good. Daddy wanted you to be good. The schoolteachers wanted you to be good. The fuzz wants you to be good. Everybody wants you to be good so you won't make any ripples and cause us any “em-bare-ass-ment”, is that right? (laughter) Mmm? That correct? That's what they wanted – you to be good. So everybody works on you to be good so you won't upset or disturb them in any way. Now that's a grievous burden. Were you told that there was a devil that was going to catch you? And that there was a god who set up somewheres with his little yellow pad and went “zip?” And then pretty soon you did somethin’ else and you got another zip and then another one and then another one and then he went zip – there's five. Now, you got just so many of those you've had it. Did you get taught that?
(Oh, I sure did.)
Did you used to get scared at night? Didn't they tell you about a bugger man that sat under the bed and was gonna get you if you didn't behave yourself?
(About 12-years old I thought I was going straight to the devil.)
So did most of the rest of us, honey, only we didn't wait that long.
(I hadn't done anything.)
Ok, you taught things like that a little bit?
(You bet.)
Now I proposed the other day that that was child abuse. (laughter) Now, you know we have a great amount of stuff out here about people spankin' their kids and boppin' em around and, you know, some of ‘em get pretty vicious – burn their feet with cigarette butts and all that kind of stuff. Now that is horrible. But I don't think it's any more horrible than mentally throwin’ everybody into a turmoil all their life. And I know people 70 years old still goin’ along with all that rat stuff runnin’ through their head and they got it all when they were little kids. Now I call that child abuse. Mr. Bob White told me one time that he had to be extremely careful how he took a bath when he was a kid or he'd do something very wrong, is that right Bob? Huh?
(Down there.)
Down there (laughter) you just don't do things to. So now that's child abuse in my humble viewpoint. And I think it's just as much child abuse as spankin’ ‘em, beatin’ ‘em and bein’ unkind to ‘em 'cause at least that gets over with in a little while. It heals up. This other stuff don't heal. It's there years and years later, mmm?
(That's right.)
And most of us here went through many years of agony with it and we've used all sorts of chemicals and stuff to try to cover it up, is that right too? And it was still sittin' there every time the chemical died out a little bit. Is that correct? So this is what goes on so I call that child abuse too. So we were taught all of this. Now that's some misconception. Is that a reasonable thing here for anybody to deal with, huh? Who's question was that anyway? That was Tim's. Is that all right Tim?
(You didn't answer the question.)
Well, the question was what now?
(The question was using the teachings to put light on .....)
On what does it mean by that? Well, I just did, I thought. I just took another parable that meant the same thing that I thought was a little easier. In other words, there is all kinds of authorities who came telling you how much they loved you and, “Oh won't you do this and do that?” and loaded some pretty grievous burdens on you while they was doin' it. Now they came with all their love, but they put loads on you, Tim. Ok? Same ones as I'm talking about. Now I don't know about false prophets as people tells you they know what's right and what's wrong. Now a given circumstance certainly changes that.
Now ordinarily we're taught to tell a lie is wrong, is that right? Mmm?
Now one time I was workin’ in Kentucky and I had just kind of redone my office. And I had first was a reception room and then next was a business office where the girl sat and took care of things and the next one was a counseling office where I sat and talked to people. And I had just put a new white carpet in it, even whiter than this one, in thick plush and all that stuff. And one day the girl was off and I was workin’ with a lady and I heard a big knockin' on the door out front from the reception room. I go out there and it's this lady's husband and he's standing there with a big old 45 or 38 pistol in his hand and he said, "Is my wife in there? I'm gonna kill that bitch!" Now she was sittin’ in there on the chair over my white carpet. And I wasn't about to get it messed up 'cause I hadn't had it two weeks yet. So I immediately said, "No, she's not here." Now the reason that I told him that, I had to tell him, I had to go on and elaborate on this lie was that her car was parked right outside the window. So I said, "Her sister came by." She came in to see me too. And I said, "Her sister came by and asked her to go to lunch over across the river in Ohio, so she asked if it was all right to leave her car on the lot and I told it was. They'll probably be back around 1:30.” He said, "I'll go out and wait for her." He goes out and leans on the car with his big pistoli. I called the fuzz and says, "There's a very disturbed man on my parkin’ lot holdin’ a gun and I think he should be picked up and hospitalized until such time he feels a wee bit better.” So they come and did just that.
Now that was a deliberate attempt to deceive, is that right? And I succeeded so I'm a pretty good liar, you know. I really succeeded in confusin’ the man and makin’ him believe something that was totally not true. You think that was wrong? Now I saved my nice carpet. I saved him from being a murderer and her being a corpse and her kid from being an orphan. I thought it was a pretty good lie myself. And I'll do it again and I won't feel one bit guilty about it. I was kind of proud of myself. I really got that across. Believe me, I looked him straight in the eye and told him where his wife was. I thought maybe he'd go to Ohio and look for her, but instead he parked by the car. Now I deliberately misled the man, deceived him, misrepresented the whole thing, is that right? You think that was all bad? Mmm? I don't know. You see, the circumstances are different. Now had he peacefully come up and knocked on the door and said, “I want to leave my wife a check so she can pay you,” now the answer would have been decidedly different, I'll guarantee you, ok? Mmm? Been an awful lot different. Ok, is that all right Tim?
So people load grievous burdens or they come as teachers, teaching us that they know what is right and what is wrong. I was taught as a child that it was wrong to play cards. It was wrong to dance. It was wrong to think. It was wrong to do about everything. Now these were from great prophets who came by and held big meetings and passed out the word, claimed to be the true representative of the almighty being, ok? Is what I'm talking about… is that what you were talking about? Now, no doubt that you looked at these and false prophets and wondered if there was a given forum of religion or teaching that you should listen to, and that somebody else would be proven to be a false prophet. False prophets I think are the people who load burdens on people. Everything I try to do is to liberate people. I work at it – hard. A lot of ‘em won't accept it because they've been taught so long and so hard that the only way you can get to heaven is to feel guilty all the time you're on earth, you know. I met a sweet little lady up on Amarillo one time who said she'd figured out the difference between the good people and the bad people – the ones that were goin' to heaven and the ones that weren't. The ones that were gettin' their sinnin' in now like havin’ wealth and goin’ to clubs and hearin’ beautiful singing and all this and goin’ to dances and what-have-you were the sinners. And the ones who did nothing now, they was gonna get their sinnin' in later because heaven was described as a place as what these others were doin' right now. (laughter) Walkin' on gold streets, the other emphasis on show-off wealth. What kind of show-off would everybody be here if you put gold floors in here? Man, it'd be really showin’ off, wouldn't it? And then if we had places where you could have all kinds of music and delights and training and everything, but nothin’ you had to do but just sit around. And sloth is one of the cardinal sins. And once you get to heaven you'll never have to do another thing all your life. You can sit there and be just prrup! and everything's waited on.
There's a guy who wrote a book – the man's name was Spaulding. He had subscribed to that idea and he wrote a series of books called “Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East.” He took a bunch of people over there. He couldn't find the masters when they insisted on goin’ to meet ‘em – they was one step ahead of ‘em. But when he was there alone, man it all happened. One place they got hungry and they sit down at a table and zip! rolled out a gold brocade – real gold, not just gold-colored – table cover and "bruuup" here went all the solid gold plates and flatware and "bruuup" here come all the gorgeous food and they stuffed themselves. And when they got all through, they didn't have to wash the dishes or clean up the table. It when "bruuuup" and rolled up and disappeared. I just love that story.
I went to see Brother Spaulding before he passed away. He lived over in Phoenix and I was fiddlin’ around in New Mexico so having nothing better to do one day I went to see him. I stayed about two days and I haven't put too much credence in his book since then. He was in the fourth stage of a condition known as “General Paresis”, which one of the prime symptoms is delusions of grandeur. You can look it up in the books from there on. Linda knows what it is. The rest of you can look it up in the book. Is that right Linda? Boy it was a beautiful story. And I found a lot of people who read that and tried to accomplish these things and felt they were great failures that they couldn't do them, Tim. Ok? Now certainly this man could not be held in any way responsible for what he wrote or anything because at his stage of existence, that's the way thing's are gonna work, right, Lin? Psp psp psp… glorious and wonderful. Ok, next point.
(Dr. Bob, we are told to judge not. We're talking about judgment now. I almost said why. Let me reframe that.)
Well, that's all right. Think up another word.
(My question is that it seems I can't get past shaving in the morning without having made 47 of 'em; and the question...)
Well, what are judgments now if I may be so bold as to ask? Again we want to know how we're using a word. You see, words change in meanings over long usage. There is no set definition. Somebody didn't sit down and make a word a long time ago and forevermore that word goes. A dictionary is written because of the common usage of many writers at the moment, ok? All right? So how are you using the word judgment?
(In essence setting myself up as an authority....)
...to how other people should do things.
(Right – how things should have been.)
How they should or ought to have been, right? Well, then before we look at that… so instead of saying that judgment is the problem, before you could have the judgment you'd have to think you know an ideal way to do things, is that right?
(Yes.)
Mmm? Is that correct? So the problem is that we believe in ideals, not that we make judgments. Now once we come to the point where, that we can see that there is no such thing as an ideal, there is what is. Now suppose that I rolled out a statue here this mornin’ that I carved out of rosewood the last few years of a pretty woman, ok? And I parked it up here on this little pedestal and then I said I'm going to check you ladies out. Everybody comes by and stands by the statue and we're gonna see where you hang over or don't fill out, mmm? (laughter) You know, some would hang over in certain places and some of ‘em wouldn't fill out my statue here. Now from this, I would say that they were faults of appearance in either omissions or commissions, is that right? And which one would you rather have to go to dinner with you tonight? That wooden statue even though it's made out of rosewood or any one of these beautiful ladies here? Which one would you rather have?
(The ladies.)
You better believe it. Now, does that tell you real quick that you don't know what's ideal? Now, all judgments that we're talkin’ about depends on… ending it depends on us discovering that I don't know what ought to be. Now I discovered that a while ago. Have you discovered it yet or do you still believe you do?
(No, I know I don't but I can't turn off the conditioning.)
Well, then you don't know it then yet, ok? You've heard of it, and it's a good word to say, but you don't know it yet. I know that I don't know what ought to be, you see. I discovered that I really don't know. Consequently once you've really discovered something, you don't ever go on with it anymore. Now we'll say that you had erroneously been taught when you were a little kid, or you gathered it up, that 2 plus 2 = 5. One day you found out different. You wouldn't go on with 2 plus 2 = 5; you'd go to 2 plus 2 = 4 right away soon as you discovered that, right? Now you see that it's a little hard for most of us to discover that something we think we have known all our life is not true. And we've all been taught that you knew what's right, you knew what ought to be, why didn't you do it, you know. Somebody probably stood over you and screamed that – like schoolteachers and all these nice people, parents and what-have-you. But the fact is, do you know what ought to be? You can by paying attention discover what is but you don’t know what ought to be. Now in order for me to know what ought to be today, I would have to know all the outcomes of every other alternative for at least 20 years, is that right? Do you know of anything like that? Or you discovering you don't have the foggiest idea of what ought to be, huh?
(Right.)
If you discover that, you'll never find yourself judging anymore. You may describe everything, but judging is not the problem. Judging is a sign of the problem that we believe that we know what ought to be. And you know, we haven't the foggiest. If you turned the least different turn on the road, you'll never know what would have happened if you hadn't taken that turn. If you get caught in a traffic jam and you have to sit there 20 minutes and – (end of CD 3)
Beginning CD 4
(laughter) There's more struggle towards an illusion. I don't know. I have a purpose and I'm gonna work on my purpose every day and nobody ever gets in my way doin' that. But man if I got a goal there'd be a thousand obstructions, wouldn't it?
(You're speaking my kind of language.)
So I have a purpose. My purpose is to be what to me is a good guest regardless under what circumstance – work, play or whatever, ok? That's my purpose and I wouldn't suggest anybody else have it; but that's mine.
(You better tell us what you mean by guest.)
Well, all right we'll run by that again. I'm a guest over in Miss Marcy and Bob White's house.
(By virtue of what?)
They invited me.
(Isn’t there something –)
No, Bob White said there wasn't any reason and I just showed up in town and they put me there. It's not because I earned it or anything else. I certainly didn't earn being invited, so it was pure whatever they wanted to do – maybe it was a whim. But whatever it is, they did invite me and I'm a guest there. Now, I'm very aware I'm a guest and I'm going to behave as to what, to me, is a good guest. I haven't got any rulebooks to read on it. But to me basically a good guest would be very considerate of the host, the host's other guests, the estate, and try to be as considerate of all of ‘em as possible, as harmless as possible and to make some little contribution. At least I can contribute to a pleasant mood as I walk through, ok? I don't know anything else I can do, that's enough for me.
Now if I'm runnin’ a business, I try to use that same purpose and so far it has been very effective in getting’ some very big businesses. We had a restaurant out in the middle of a horse lot one time way out from nowheres. We had no signs on it. We had no way to tell anybody to get there and it was in the middle of a horse lot, the least expected place to have a big restaurant, right? And we did over 2 million dollars a year with that restaurant. Now I never did plan and say in the business plan, “We're gonna do X number of dinners.” We just started being good guests and people kept comin’. We kept building on adobe rooms after adobe rooms after adobe rooms until we covered the sand hill we were on and couldn't go no further and I sold it – couldn't build it any bigger so I left. Now that was not a goal. It was just treatin’ people pretty nicely, you know, treatin’ them like they were other guests at the party, ok? And they come from all over. They came from far away places and close by places and everything else and we didn't have a sign on it and we didn't have any announcement in the paper and never run 10 cents worth of advertising, ok? But we sure had a lovely mood when you got there, ok? So there was no goals and it was never set up that, well at the end of a certain length of time we'll have to add one more room on and so on. We added a room on when the waiting line got past two hours. When the waiting line was over two hours, we started buildin’ another adobe room and then that kinda caught up the slack. And then as soon as that got goin' and we had a waiting line for over two hours, we built another one. We liked for people to wait two hours – that give 'em something to talk about when they left. “Did you go off out here and that strange area where nobody is, nobody knows it exists, drive down this dirt road, wind up in a horse lot through the stables and up on a hill?” And they'd bring their guests there so they would be shocked – when they had to wait two hours. And if we got all the wait gone people were disappointed so we couldn't build it too fast. Yes dear?
(Was there ever a time in your life when you had goals?)
Oh yes, and I had all the frustration that goes with 'em, honey and all the headaches and migraine headaches, aging, tearin’ myself up – oh yes, I had 'em. Once in a while one of them got there; but the price was too high to pay, ok? No, I have no goals. Yeah, I have had 'em.
(Could you differentiate just between a goal and a purpose? Now I'm talking about like an educational goal or somebody strives to get a certain degree or something. Could this be termed a goal?)
Yep. If they would study the material because of the joy in knowing the material they'd have a purpose. Now I promised Bob I'd be back there after I got through with Donna and I got lost here.
(Bob, what is the process by which you can get to the point where when you say, I want to be what, to me, is a good guest rather than operating on the basis of what you think they think you ought to do?)
Well, I told you about what I think of "they" last night, didn't I? Infants with grown bodies and technical educations. So I don't worry about whether “they” like it or not. I'm gonna be what to me is a good guest and if that isn't enough to please somebody, you know where they can go, mmm? I'm gonna do my best to be what to me is a good guest and if that isn't enough to please a person, I'm awful busy somewheres else. That all right?
(Yeah. I didn't figure it would be that simple.)
It's that simple. And I’m not gonna sit and wonder, “What does it take to please this person or that person?” because if you do, you're awful busy, Bob. Right?
(Right.)
Ok, next question, comment. Yes, Bobbie?
(Goals are ideals.)
Well, that's a little idea we set up and said if I can gain this goal, it'll make me happy.
(Ok. And as soon as we get all this garbage...)
Oh, you begin to shovel the garbage backwards and forwards, here and there trying to get it. Now you see, then there's all kind of things stands in the way of you getting to the goal, is that right? You have all kinds of resistance. Not necessarily anybody intends to it; it’s just it's there – it’s the nature of things. Now nobody interferes with me being what to me is a good guest. See I have no interference to my affairs then. Ok?
(Ok, one other thing. In our purpose to be a good guest....)
If that's one's [unclear]
(Ok, that' one's purpose, then will you be lead or will I be lead to do that which I am to do as far as...)
I don't know what you're to do, dear one.
(I don't either.)
Who does? I don't know that we're lead. As far as I'm concerned, I'm a privileged invited guest here. I said this comes first. I'm a privileged invited guest, so obviously somebody's not gonna use me as a servant. You know I've listened to this talk that, “You be a servant,” huh? I'll make a contribution, but if I'm a servant we had a lousy trick played on us. Do you know that? If I'm a servant and I was born, brought into the world so I could serve something I got a lousy trick played on me. Now if I'm invited as a guest and I can make a contribution as my way of sayin’ thank you, that's pretty nice. So I don't think I'm lead to do anything. Now I wander around and whatever people ask me to do as long as it isn't too illegal, I will probably try to accomplish it for them, ok?
(Let's bring in what Bill just said then. We decide that we are going to study a certain –)
...course of study.... well let's say I'm gonna study –
(...brain surgery, whatever....to enjoy that –)
I would study it because I want to know the knowledge, not because I'm trying to pass the grade, ok?
(Ok.)
Is that all right? If I take it to pass the grade, I'm gonna be miserable every day and I'm gonna try to make an A. I went through high school that way – had migraine headaches and heart palpations and all this stuff. I made the A's all right, all the way through; made an average of 94.6 for four years of goin' and I was damn near dead. I never thought about enjoyin’ it. And you know somethin’? I had to stop after I started needin’ that stuff and kinda look at it for the fun of it 'cause all I did then was get that A+, you know. I got those at great price, but I didn't remember any of it. I had to go back and look it over and learn it. Now the only reason in the world for studyin’ anything is because it's interesting. Every now and then I go to an institute of higher learning these days, believe it or not. And I audit and that's all. I'm not lookin’ for any credits. And you know that's fun and a joy; and you've learned a lot and you know it when you get through with it. I just go there to audit the course. I'm not going down here to get a degree – good Lord! Does that answer your question?
Yes, ma’am?
(On this Fourth Way, if I (unclear) and I don't have a degree...)
Well, isn’t “am” and “be” about the same thing? Becoming is what we're talking about. We're not trying to become anything. You know there's a lot of people that's undertaken many courses in self-improvement, is that right? Now let's improve on anything here. We put two heads on it or an extra arm, mmm? Make it longer, shorter, taller, wider...
(Thinner...) (laughter)
Fatter. Would you improve it or would you pretty well like it like it is? You see, to think in terms of self improvement is saying that the creator sure made a lousy mess; life sure made a mess when it made me.
(No, I'm thinking in terms of if I accept what is – love, I am, you, then there is no need for an ideal.)
None whatsoever. You're all right just like you are, ok? And if you weren’t all right like you are you'd already be outta here, ok? Yes Bob?
(Dr. Bob, how do you apply that to an occupation?)
To an occupation. I'm just tryin’ to be a good guest in my occupation – whatever it is. I just talked it from the restaurant business. We've been in other businesses – many of 'em and I try to be what to me is a good guest with all those folks, ok? Whatever it may be.
(Being a good guest is still bothering me because what you –)
Well good, I hope it does.
(Maybe you better tell us a little about the role of a host. How does somebody that can be the host....) (laughter)
You don't… you don’t. The Host is Life, and Life invited all of us to something. So let me tell you a little story first. We told it last night but you weren't here, so may I tell it again?
(I'd appreciate it.)
Ok, this is private audience just for you; nobody else gets bored with it. We say there is four questions that are pertinent to determine whether we're reasonably sane or not, ok? And I’ll leave it to your professional viewpoint – if a person couldn't answer these four questions to some degree of assurance to himself, not to me or anybody else, what kind of state do you think he's in? The first question is, "What am I?" – not “Who am I?” but “What am I? – "Where am I?", "What's goin’ on here?" and "What can I do?" Now I think those are the minimal requirements for any degree of accepted sanity, is that correct now?
(Unclear.)
If he couldn't answer any of those, he's in a mess, is that right? We better take care of the poor soul for a while. So I will answer the questions as I see it and you don't have to accept ‘em or reject ‘em, but see if they fit all right, huh? I'm a privileged invited guest; that's what I am. I did nothing that I can recall of to get to this world including any Karmatic activity. I got here broke, helpless, naked, toothless, totally incapable of taking care of myself and I found a world well equipped. It had transportation. It had all kinds of food and places to bring it backwards and forwards. There was a little set of clothes already there for me when I arrived. I didn't need a toothbrush yet because I didn't have a tooth one; but that was all taken care in due time. And I found a couple of slaves to look after me and take care of me, is that right? Now if that isn't being privileged invited guest, I don't know what is.
Now where am I? I'm at this beautiful estate called Earth. I've had the good fortune to travel over much of it and it's all beautiful and wonderful and delightful to me. And I did absolutely nothin’ to get here and get that goin’. And so I'm a privileged invited guest at a beautiful estate called Earth where Life is the Host.
And what's going on here is fairly easy to discern. When you see a lot of people together and they're all playin' games and you assume it's a big party. So there's gobs of people out here and they're all playin’ all kinds of games. They're playin’ traffic game, they're playin’ money games, they're playin’ business games. They're playin’ marriage games, and they're playin’ divorce games. They're playin’ cops and robbers. They're playin’ war games and what-have-you. The Host says, “Here kids is the thing – play whatever games you want,” and they're doin' 'em. So I assume that made me really sure.
Now also I notice that the Host didn't force me to associate with any guests I didn't want to. And it gives me freedom to associate with any of 'em I want to. The Host has provided me with food, clothing, shelter, transportation, interesting things to do, interesting other guests to be around and a delightful companion, ok? I've had all of that. Now, when I see all of that then the question has to come up, “What can I do?” All I can do is be what to me is a good guest, ok? Does that help answer your question now? Now I didn't say that was true, but it sure does check it out. You check it out and see if it works out that way; don't jump at it.
(If it works out real good I'll be glad to certify you as a possibility.) (laughter)
Good.
(But I guess what… maybe if I can put that together, would your concept of the Fourth Way be a way of going through this guest/Host relationship with a feeling of pleasure rather than struggle?)
Oh yeah because the only reason I'm a good guest – to me – is because it's my way of saying thank you for having been invited to the party. I wouldn't have missed it for anything you see.
(But isn't the key to the thing, and perhaps the key to the Fourth Way, that it is a way of pleasure and that in order to –)
It definitely is joyful. It's definitely joyful.
(Ok, now that ability to take our occupation ....)
Whatever it is...
(....and have pleasure with it and joy seems to be a prerequisite to being a good guest.)
No, I think I wouldn’t be a very good guest if I went around with a long face and makin' myself into a victim and agreein’ with anybody else that they're a victim. I won't agree with people they're a victim. You know there's a lot of people tell me they are and I never agree with it 'cause I think that would be harmful. I think there's really only two ways I could harm a person. One is physical violence on him which I'm not prone to do and the other one is that I would agree with them that they were a victim and not responsible. So I always figure we can do somethin’ about anything. And the Fourth Way to me is the way of joy – real joy. I don't know how pleasurable it is… gonna have a great amount of pleasure, might have a little pain here and there, so what? I hope I do – it keeps remindin’ me I'm still alive when I have a little pain now and then. That keeps remindin’ me I'm around, yeah. But it is a joyful way, yes. It is a way of joy. It is a way of being thankful. In other words as long as we feel we have to gain something in order to be happy we're in trouble.
So when you look at it and say, "Look, I've had food, clothing, shelter, transportation, interesting things to do, interesting other people to be around, interesting subjects of study and I've had a delightful companion. I've had everything that I could want, reasonably, in this world.” And then I say, “I'm very thankful." So I think maybe one of the keys is that one discovers you already have it instead of you gotta get it. And once you see that you already have all these things then you can be very thankful, and one way of expressing my thanks is to be what to me is a good guest, ok? That's the only reason I do it. I feel under absolutely no obligation to do it. I'm under no obligation to be what to me is a good guest. I'm not doin' it as I ought to or anything else. I want to say thank you. And that's my way of sayin’ thank you other than, you know I have a lot of people that says, “Thank you, thank you,” but they don't ever add anymore substance to it than that. And I have a hard time bankin’ that or payin’ the rent. I have a very hard time doin' that. Ok I think Mack, Reese’s higher than you had and I'll be right back.
(Bob, I hear a lot about inner guidance and every time I play with it, I get a lot of misinformation.)
Yeah, that's listenin’ to “A” and “B”; they'll guide you all over.
(I'm not talking about that. I'm talking’ about, say if… This happened to me the other day – I lost my car keys so I sit down and hear this inner voice that says, you know...)
Where are they?
(Where are the car keys and they said they’re down below in the car, so I go down and of course they’re not there and I come back up on they’re on the floor upstairs with a...)
So then that inner guidance you got is a tough, tough kid.
(It never has proved out –)
That's right.
(..of use to me.)
So why don't you just go look for the keys?
(I do, but I asked you this, where my question is, where is this coming from? What is that?)
Oh, that’s “A” and “B”; they always answer everything. They know everything, you know. They're not gonna be left out. You got “A” doing this bit and “B” doin' its bit and if you go around askin’ stupid questions, you're gonna get stupid answers.
(Yeah, but I distinguish between “A” and “B” which I'm well aware of and this is information.)
It is.
(Yeah.)
Well, they're good at that. You try 'em out – they got information on everything. Ah sure, same old thing. So you see it never is, as you say, very good. You heard about the guy who went to look for his keys, didn't you? He was out under a street light at night just diggin' through all the dust and the sand and the dirt out there lookin' for his keys and a guy come along and said, "What are you doin’?" He said, "I'm lookin' for my keys." And so the guy got down there and scratched away on it and he didn't find any keys either and he looked over at the guy and he said, "How long ago did you lose 'em here?" He said, "Oh I didn't lose ‘em here, I dropped 'em over in front of the house." And he said, "Well, why are you lookin' out here for?" He said, "The light's better." (laughter) So always look where the light's better.
(You know I wanted to use it to hang up a sign that said psychic, you know...)
You could do so.
(As long as nobody caught up with me.)
Well even if they catch up with you, they'll justify it.
(Right.)
They'll justify it no matter how erroneous you give 'em information. If they're all hooked on good psychics they'll say, "Well he told me the keys was in the bottom of the car, but he was just testin’ me."
(Right.)
If you're hooked on something, man there's always a justification for it. “He was just testin' me.”
(Bob I disregard all what....)
I don't care what you do, you can go on and do it if you want to. I see no sense in it in other words. I'm not gonna tell you what you should do or ought to do. You know it's a good thing. You can have a lot of fun doin’ that, checkin' up on ‘em. Ok, I don't care. Hi, Bobbie?
(One more thing on this purpose or goal. If a young person wants to be a brain surgeon, ...)
Better go to school and study about brain surgery, but enjoy studyin’ about brain surgery instead of makin’ it necessary to pass the exams, ok?
(Well, you've got to pass the exams to be a surgeon.)
That's true, but if I do it because I really want to know about brains and how it's gonna work and how much I can take out and how much I can leave in and study all this – man, I'll pass your exam without even going and reading it. But if I do it as a necessity, I will jog myself to death with that stupid exam. You know you call it "cramming" and you stay up all night. If I'm studying something because I'm really interested in it, you ask me, I'll tell you about it, ok? I'm not sittin' up here tryin’ to pass an exam. And I never did pass an exam in this stuff but I am extremely interested in it. I have been just lookin' at it for years and I think I can pass any exam anybody can scream up on it ok? But I never crammed once, dear one. Yes?
(What happens if you lose interest or don't have any interest?)
If you don't have any, I would totally ignore it. Anything that I don't have interest in, to me, don't exist. In other words I don’t have any interest in deep sea divin’ and I just very seldom indulge in it. I just have that. So if I don’t have any interest in something, it's not for me at this moment. Who knows what interest I'll have next year.
(What if you have no interest?)
I said if I have no interest, I'm not going to be bothered with it; I wouldn't be concerned with it. I'd go strictly away and let it alone. Who knows what my interest will be sometime later, I don't know. I may never be interested in certain things. I've really never been interested in the sex life of earthworms and I've never pursued it the least bit, ok?
(But there are other things you are interested in.)
Yes, there's quite a number of things I'm interested in. If I had no interest in anything I would go to sleep and I'd try to stay there until I woke up and then I'd have interest in at least one thing, if nothing else – find a way to the john. [he laughs] That'll get your interest – right quick. Yes sir?
(I guess the thing that seems to be bothering me and I think it's bothering a lot of all of us. (unclear) What you're talking about in your best example doesn't seem to have any tags of awareness on the end of it and some of us seem to be looking for it...)
Like what?
(Fourth Way – you said that it's true understanding that we have the pleasure of living this Fourth Way and I think that's very true. But understanding and awareness to me are an essential that you can have any degree that you want of.)
That's correct, you can have any you exercise.
(Just as you're going to develop this thing with getting a better… zeroing in on where the keys are and the desire is the essential thing, it needs to go on with our being a good guest.)
If a person isn't interested, certainly he wouldn't be bothered with it, that's right. So the first thing – that has to be an interest on the part of the person. I'm not a person goin’ out tryin’ to convert anybody to any idea or convince ‘em they should be good guests or anything else. If they're interested enough to come ask, I will share with them and that's all. But I'm not lookin’ for converts.
(You're being a good therapist by saying, “No, you do the work and I'll listen,” and that's real good, but I think that by our nature, your position here, we think you might have a few pearls...)
I do.
(…that I could pick up on.)
I have 'em but pearls are not thrown out carelessly.
(But you can save the other unclear.) (laughter.) (I read the book too.)
I read the book so I'm not gonna throw the pearls out; but they are available and they're being exposed. But the person has to recognize the pearl every now and then. Bob White's makin' big noise here. Bob?
(What I hear is someone's looking to begin and continue an accomplishment and I think....)
A diploma.
(Before I move through that same thing, I had to finally come to the realization that I have not only to just be, but to study and to achieve and to grow and to gain and to prosper and I have never ever experienced another time other than right now.)
That's right. We want – so it's always now.
(Right now doesn't have a beginning or an end.)
That's correct. It’s eternity – has no beginning and no end. Now is the only definition of time that fits the definition of eternity. Time without beginning and without end is right now.
(That's the way I like to see it.)
Right. It's always this moment 'cause we can't do nothin’ tomorrow, now.
(That's right.)
And I can't un-drink the coffee I had this morning. Yes Bob?
(Two problem questions. What is the relationship between life and the guest and can the guest…. (unclear) )
We'll what's the relationship between the guest and Life, and the individual – is that what you said?
(Well, by life I mean Host.)
Ok, the Host and what?
(Any guest.)
Any guest. Well, the Host invited the guest and like any good host, sees that you have all the opportunities and that you have total freedom to do whatever you want and if you get too far out of line, I think it sends you away from the party, ok? And the only thing the Host I think finds in us is that we're interesting. If we're not interesting to the Host, I think we get (unclear) out, ok? Now the other part of the question?
(Can we communicate with the Host?)
Yeah, we can report to it, but don't expect it to come give you an answer like....
(unclear)
Like the case in question here, ok? I find that you know you can report something and you usually see it happen. Now most people want to detail out what should be done and how to do it and why and all this good stuff. So they report something and then they give all kinds of information on it.
The other day my little car would start very nicely when it was cold but when it was warm it acted like it was flooded all the time. So I take that to the dealer and say this is what's going on. And the service manager said, “Oh what's wrong is that there's a little relief valve in your fuel pump and it's plugged up and we'll put another one in and it'll be all right.” Which he did, ok? Now I didn't tell him to get a relief valve and go through all this 'cause I didn't know – period. Now I don't know about all these other things, so I merely report that such is the situation, you know.
Miss Marge has a headache and that’d be as far as I’d go. I assume that the Host has as much intelligence as that automobile mechanic did. He was a Swede anyway and I gave him that much credit. So surely the Host has that much credit. So I think we can communicate all right, ok? If we keep it simple. Report; don't try to advise.
(Well, Margie always says that our job is “what” and the Host's job is “how”.)
Yeah, we take care of the “what” and the Host takes care of the “how”. That's correct. I don't know how to do anything. I don't know how to lift this. I merely was aware that that's what I wanted to do for an illustration and zip, the arm goes up. I don't know how to do it. Ok, we'll go.
(This is not so much in the form of a question.)
Well, that's all right, comment, whatever.
(A need for me to just say what I think I heard.)
Ok.
(And I don't know if you said it.)
I probably did.
(But, what I understand is that what is and what ought to be are essentially the same thing.)
No. That – is – not – what - I - said. In fact they're so far apart, it's unbelievable. What ought to be is an illusion; “what is” is a literal fact.
(Ok, all right. Well, the “what is” is all there is.)
Yeah, that's about what is – right here, right now. We're sittin' here yakkin' away, ok?
(All right and that Life perhaps might be viewed as a journey and the journey is going....)
Living might be pursued as a journey.
(And that this is...)
Life is a reality, whatever it is; I don't know what it is either.
(Perhaps most pleasant if we give ourselves permission to experience it.)
I think you'd find that it's nicer that way. And that if you pick you up some little insignificant purpose, there's no big ones around, ok? Ok?
(You talked about the first, you know, jungle rules, an eye for an eye, justice and then agape and the Fourth Way...)
Which is the Way of Intelligence – understanding, ok.
(Is not agape, true agape, a result of the Fourth Way?)
It probably has something going there, yeah. But an awful lot of people have tried it without that, so they're gonna love everybody, but they can't stand these individuals. An awful lot of people have talked it, given lip service and so forth but they couldn't quite come up with it.
(I understand that. What you're not saying necessarily that the first three ...)
...Are good bad or indifferent or should be replaced. They're all going on all the time; it's just an adding on. Each is an adding on, not a replacement, dear one.
(Oh.)
You keep addin’ on. You know you'll probably still use the jungle once in a while. You probably use the justice right now and then, and you'll use the love route, understanding that, and sometimes you use the Fourth Way. So one is not to void or replace the others but to add to it to make it more complete. No doubt sometime there'll be a fifth one and then a sixth one and so on.
(I think we put a lot of emphasis on agape as a...)
I think it's a pretty good thing to emphasize. I think it's pretty worthwhile, yeah. Not too shabby at all. But I also think you can add to it, ok? Ok? Is there another quick one and then we’ll… Yes sir?
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