OVERVIEW
“The Spiritual World vs. The Material World”. We will be looking at spiritual practices for aligning consciousness with Eternal and unchanging God qualities such as Love, Wholeness, and Abundance and away from the finite and limiting world of form.
TRANSCRIPTION
My name is Rob Wazniak. I’m one of your, uh, licensed spiritual practitioners here at cityside. Um, and, uh, yeah, I, I’m, I’m gonna do, you know, hopefully this is not about me. This is about spirit working through me. Um, but here we are, uh, we’ve been, we’ve been talking about this book, heart of A Course in Miracles. Uh, this week we’re on, uh, the ninth concept, which is spiritual world versus material world. Um, and really, you know, the, the thrust of this, the, this teaching is, is overcoming this idea that we’re separate from our source, separate from, you know, whatever word you use, whether it’s the, the de excuse me, the, the divine God. Um, whatever works. Uh, so, so really, you know, this, this concept, this idea is asking us like, where is our con, you know, where is our consciousness, you know, where, where are we, we placing this, this kind of our thoughts and beliefs?
And so, you know, Reverend Darrell was here, um, a couple weeks ago, and he talked about this consciousness of seeing his believing, like, if I can see it, if I can touch it, if I can feel it, then it’s real. Um, and, and all of us are familiar with this idea of being in this consciousness of the material world, you know, being in a body that what we see is what we get. Kind of like, and Reverend Darrell pointed out, like, this is the consciousness of the ego, or this idea that we created in identity for ourselves that is separate from God and is also separate from one another that this, this individuated self. Um, and if we think about, you know, all of us have experience of going through life and feeling like, I’ve gotta do something. I’ve gotta get something, you know, and it’s usually a feeling, you know, I’ve certainly had of, you know, it’s kind of me against the world, and I’ve gotta get what I’ve gotta get.
Um, and you know, that that’s kind of, uh, the, the littleness that, you know, the reading was referring to, to earlier, you know, the promise of a teaching such as, uh, A Course in Miracles is really saying what, what our source has in store for us is, is so much more, is so much, uh, you know, uh, so much more joyful, so much more freedom, so much more love, um, than what we can get in, you know, strictly from the material world. And I think, you know, a lot of us are students of science of mine. That’s what we teach here. And, you know, it’s worth saying, you know, there’s nothing wrong with manifesting things. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying things. And I certainly do do that all the time. Uh, but, you know, as Michael Murad points out, we really need to heal our attachment to them thinking that the thing itself is what makes us whole.
Um, it’s just, you know, like I always think of that Bible quote, you know, seek first the kingdom of God. You know, it’s, it’s really the principles. It’s, it’s the way of being, uh, in this freedom, in this joy, in this love, all these God qualities that, that we learn as we go through classes, like, uh, foundations, um, that are, that are the key to, to our, our fulfillment, our peace. Um, so, so, you know, a lot of us are in this practice. We’re seekers and we’re engaged in these spiritual practices that, that raise our consciousness. Um, and, you know, we might be doing like, certainly affirmative prayer. We might be doing PR sessions or meditation and, and, and classes. And, and I love all this stuff, and I do all this stuff. And a lot of times, you know, we’re thinking, Hey, you know, I’m so, I’m so blissed out on my spiritual practices, you know, so much meditation and prayer and whatever else we do that we, you know, we kind of get this thing like, Hey, I’m, you know, I’m, I’m getting so holy, I’m gonna, you know, vibrate right off the earth.
And, um, you know, then something happens, you know, like, like a relationship doesn’t work out, or, you know, uh, someone we thought was not deserving gets promoted ahead of us at work, or, you know, someone, someone we don’t like gets elected, for instance. Um, and it’s like, you know, those kind of spiritual principles and practices kind of go out the window. And really, you know, if you take a, um, if you look at a teaching such as a Course of Miracles, that’s, that’s where it comes in. Because of course of Miracles, the emphasis is on our relationships that, um, you know, the, the things that happen in our relationships are our greatest teachers. And it’s really looking at this, um, practice of forgiveness, that it’s gonna bring the peace and fulfillment that we’re looking for. Um, so I’m just gonna read a brief quote. Uh, right now it says, uh, this is, I just pulled, I opened the book last night and this jumped out at me.
And so it says, uh, forgiveness is the healing of the perception of separation, correct? Perception of your brother, uh, is necessary because mines have chosen to see themselves as separate. And I know like, um, one of the issues a lot of people have with, of course, in Miracles, it uses a lot of, uh, sort of antiquated language. I’ll just, I’ll just call that out right now. But, you know, I’m, I’m looking at the, the content and this idea of healing, the separation, the separation from one another. Um, and, you know, our sep our sense of separation from God is the path forward, um, and is, and is really a, you know, this, this practice of forgiveness is the tool that the course offers. Um, Mark Anthony Lord was here last week and he talked about this idea of a Holy Spirit. You know, this, this link between us and our source that’s, that’s always with us and knows where we are and what we need at all times and is, is constantly blessing us, and that we can never really separate from, which is, to me is great news.
Um, and can shift our perception, uh, you know, with our willingness, you know, if, if we’re willing, you know, this Holy Spirit can work through us to bring about a, you know, this, this sort of elevation of consciousness, if you will. And I just kind of wanna, uh, you know, uh, illustrate with a, with a story I was reminded of, uh, last, last week. I was out with, um, a couple of friends after, after service, and, and, and I was reminded of a, a time, this is, uh, years back, I was, I was president of this, uh, homeowner’s association. Um, and, uh, we, so we had a, a board member that was, that was troublesome, and like he was troublesome in the way that he would accuse other members of, uh, you know, just financial mismanagement and financial malfeasance. He wanted to do all these projects, like install cameras throughout the, um, courtyard and, and take turns monitoring, making sure there were no bad guys coming around.
Um, he, he harassed our, our property manager, and we would have these board meetings, and it would be, it would be just a big dramatic affair. And I remember, you know, feeling after being threatened by him, or accused or falsely or, or something like that, some big dramatic thing. Like, I would call, at that time, my 12 step sponsor, and I would say, this guy is ruining my life. I can’t take it anymore. And, um, the direction he came back was with to me was, well, what do we do, uh, for people who are disturbing us? You know, what is our practice? And this is not, you know, you don’t need to be in 12 step to, to get this. Uh, but what he directed me to do, which was our practice, was pray for, pray for this person, um, which I was very reluctant to do.
Uh, I did not feel he deserved anything. Like we should do something to make him go away, <laugh>. That’s, that’s more what I’m thinking. Um, but I did it, I did it very reluctantly, and I was hanging around, uh, center for Spiritual Living at that time. I knew something about affirmative prayer. I knew something about forgiveness. Uh, I had dabbled with, of course, the Miracles. And I remember, you know, I would do this prayer, like, yeah, and speak a word of blessing over, I’ll call him George, that’s not his real name. Speak a word of blessing over George. Uh, may he know wholeness and abundance and peace, and, you know, that was it. It was, it was like the very minimal list of effort that I put into it. But I did it for a week. I think I did it for a week. And I noticed something as I was walking out the courtyard, I was walking past his unit and <laugh>, and I see guys that are in like, overalls, you know, like the, the painting overalls, and they’ve got their equipment and the rollers and stuff, like say, oh, that’s interesting.
You know, just, just a little, eh, interesting. And, you know, I got a phone call maybe a day later and it says, well, did you hear? I was like, no, I didn’t. What, what, what did I hear? Um, they said, uh, uh, uh, Phil, Phil has moved out, you know, he just, he moved out of the building even before he sold his place. Um, no one ever saw or heard it from him again. And so I realized I kind of left, I had left one point out, uh, during that, during that prayer process, which was, um, the most, the most important piece of this testimony, uh, was, you know, I started to see this, this gentleman, George, I think I just used his real name, but <laugh>, <laugh> George, <laugh> George, uh, I, I started to see George differently. Like, he started to feel like, it must be really awful to be George.
Um, you know, just the, the, of course the miracles talked about, you know, seeing the call for love, you know, in, in others. Um, and you know, and I saw that, um, you know, it wasn’t to like condone any of the things he did, or, or, but it was just seeing like, wow, you know, there’s, you know, I did not think I would be so emotional talking about George, but, so he left, you know, he left. And, and, and, you know, there was a change in me and, you know, and I, I had a different consciousness, um, you know, from that little bit of, you know, affirmative prayer and blessing that I was willing to do. And it, and it, and it changed me, you know? And that is the essence of forgiveness, you know? Um, and I’ll, I’ll just wrap up with this. We, we were having another board meeting like a few weeks later and, and, um, you know, one of my colleagues on the board was looking at, you know, he’s looking around, he’s like, you know, with, with uh, George, not around anymore, don’t you, um, you ever feel like there’s, there’s like an angel, you know, watching over us.
And I was like, yeah, maybe there is. Um, but, uh, so I hope that communicated <laugh>. Um, that’s all I had had to say. I mean, it’s just really, you know, miracles are possible, you know, kind of when we, when we take the, the, the actions necessary to sort of, um, raise our consciousness. Um, and, and you know, there is this loving presence that’s available to us, and, you know, these practices make a difference. Um, so with that, I’d like to invite up Gordon with his testimony.
Thank you. Thanks Rob. Um, there are so many stories I could tell about my experience of the material world I created and what I’m learning about the spiritual world. Um, and the one I decided I’m gonna talk about today, I don’t really want to talk about, and that’s the reason why I’m gonna talk about it, um, because this is an opportunity, at least for me, um, to really, you know, say some things. So, um, yeah, this is about, uh, this is about the material world that I created that made me feel unsafe most of my life. And I’m telling this really because my perspective has been shifting, and I am developing a better understanding of the difference between the material world and the spiritual world.
So I have this recurring image. I have a lot of recurring images of my childhood that I, as I remembered them, I wrote them down in journals over the last number of years. And this one keeps recurring. And it is, um, I don’t know how old I was. Let’s say I was six, seven, maybe eight years old. I was, uh, standing in my parents’ bedroom with my mom and we were both looking out the window across the street at the trees and the houses and the, just what’s going on in the neighborhood. And neither of us are saying a word. And I have no idea what neither of us are saying at a word,
But I, I just felt, I just felt as she looked out the window that she didn’t feel safe, that the world was hostile to her. And I just picked up that emotional energy from her. And I’ve carried it with me most of my, most of my life. It was one of the many things that apparently convinced me I was alone, and that I was separated from the world and I had to do something to protect myself, to hide my true self. And there’s a number of other stories, um, that, you know, relate to my mother in this message. And I, I’m just going to quickly talk about one more. And that was, um, not, again, I don’t know how old I was, but I was not yet in high school. And I was talking to my mother in a superficial way as that we always did, about how I really just didn’t have any friends and I just didn’t feel like I could invite people to our house.
And she said, um, she asked me, well, what if I kept like a supply of sodas and a bunch of snacks around here, um, that you could just offer to friends that you invite in? Uh, in short, what I heard from her in that, and although I obviously didn’t think about that at the time, was that if, if, if I intended to be liked and accepted, I needed to offer material goods to others, I needed to buy their friendship somehow. And that’s another story that’s really stuck with me over the years and, and there’s a lot more stories about, you know, how I felt isolated and alone, but I just, I’m just gonna sit here with that cuz it, it still comes up all the time that the material world that I created was not friendly, did not feel safe as a kid walking down the streets in my neighborhood. I didn’t really, didn’t really feel comfortable. Um, and this has had varia, there’s been variations on this, always choosing colleges. I was in just so many different things. Um, but I really want to talk about a, a very different situation right now. A very different experience that, uh, had a big impact on me. So about three years ago is two days before my mother died.
And I was, uh, she was in a, in a retirement home and really kind of in a hospice version of it. Uh, and I was sitting in a chair next to her in her bed at this retirement, at this retirement home that she’d been in quite a long time. And I was, you know, I was holding her hand. Uh, there were no words, her eyes were open, but she wasn’t speaking and I’m didn’t really know how aware she was of my presence at that time, cuz yeah, she wasn’t speaking. She was just sort of looking up and I was holding her hand. And after I’d been holding her hand for a while, I, I just squeezed it tightly and I said, mom, I want you to know that I really love you. And I didn’t say, in other words, she didn’t say a word, I just sat next to her. And then suddenly I felt very emotionally, very spiritually connected to her in a way that I never had before.
And I was so aware that it had just had, it had to do with not saying any words, with just being in that experience. And I was a, you know, a fairly short one, but it really stuck with me and it was one of the things that really helped me change at that time. I had completed my practitioner training. So I had been doing science of mine for a while. I was officially a practitioner, but I was still learning a lot about how much this limiting and false beliefs were restraining my connection to other people in my life. So this final interaction with my mother really helped me understand a new level at a new level in the spiritual nature, the importance of operating from love and not from fear. And I’ll stop there. Thank you for listening. And invite, uh, Don to come up and tell his story.
Yeah, I need to take a deep breath cause this is hard for all three of us cause it’s like being vulnerable to people in a way that we’ve never been before. Um, so what always works for me is like, I like to, even when I’m with my practitioner’s friend, it’s like give a full disclosure. And for me it was like when I was approached to do this, the perfectionist Don mine was going into effect. I’m like, oh, I want to have my Mark Anthony moment. Oh I want to have my Darryl Jones moment. Oh I want to have my Amy da. I wanted to have something that was so impactful. I wanted to have it scripted and read perfectly. That’s how my mind goes sometimes. And it’s like the problem with that is I’m not them. What works for them may not work for me. So I kind of had to let that go and really decide what works for me.
So I always, when I even go into prayer or when we have our prac meetings, I sometimes start with like, full disclosure, I don’t want to be here right now. I’m not in the mood for it or whatever I may be feeling in that in that moment. I try to honor that and kind of voice it so people can always tell when I’m distant or I’m not available. Cuz usually I’m silly if any of you are friends with me on Facebook. You know, some of my posts are really out there. Um, and that’s just the weird sense of humor that I have sometimes cuz I do believe God has a sense of humor and can take whatever, you know, jokes come hit the way, come through this way. Um, so mine is kind of like prescience of mine and I almost wanted to say post science of mine, but it’s not post science of mine cuz I’m still currently in the science of mine.
And I think it’s a continuous journey that we never stop experiencing learning. And I’ve really learned to be more curious, more curious why I feel the way I do, why I have the negative self-talk that I have. Sometimes I feel like I have to put up a front. So even with the little time that I have here to talk today, I was thinking it has to be perfect. I have to be able to express it the correct way. And it was interesting as we were talking this morning, I was so appreciative to hear that it’s like some of the feelings I was having they were having as well. So there is a sense of connection there. We do have these same thoughts and feelings about doing certain things, but we don’t allow ourselves to feel that or let somebody else know. Um, and as you know, I’m very jokingly and I’m seriously and at times it’s a defense me mechanism.
But truly, it’s truly how I am. Cuz I’m even looking at Jason and I wanna sing Waterloo right now. He knows what I mean. Put that earworm back into his ear. Um, but anywho, so I mean post signs of mine again, it’s like I’ve always comparing myself to other people. I always like, again, like I see Mark Anthony or Daryl and I see them so connected and I always get something out of their talks. So it’s like how am I gonna compare to that? What am I gonna be able to say that really compares to that? There’s always a sense in me that I have to do it on my own too, that I can’t depend on other people to do something for me. I have to go out there and do it myself. Um, and it was interesting. This all came to a change when I took one class and it was calling in the one I will never forget it.
Um, and I feel sorry for our teacher because I don’t know how I appeared or whatever, but there was one, um, we had to come up with one affirmation for myself. And I was sitting there and sitting there, I couldn’t come up with a word for it. And I was getting mad at myself cuz I’m like, this is so simple, why can’t I do this? Um, I and my poor friend drove me home and I’m like telling the whole way home that I’m like, this is so stupid. Why can’t I come up with a one sentence affirmation? It’s so simple. Anybody could do it. Why can’t I do it? And of course my negative self-talk God in the way. Um, and then once I got home, I don’t know whose voice it was, I don’t know where it came from, but I had been living that whole time with a realization that God had abandoned me.
It’s like now I can look back and I can kind of understand why that was there, but at the time I’m like, where did that come from? How did that even manifest itself? I don’t know where it came from, but it was just a voice. And that came out. And I think everything after that point, after that realization changed before I used to always just accept a job just because whatever it was, s I just wanted to feel secure in having a job. It wasn’t anything I ever loved doing. It wasn’t something that I even wanted to go to a job doing. And I know I wasn’t showing up as my best self when I was going to work because I didn’t like the jobs that I had. Um, so current science of mine, it’s like now I have a job where my boss appreciates me, ask for my input.
I feel confident in what I’m doing. Um, and I actually wanna go to work. Um, I have friends and a boyfriend that support me and love me even though sometimes I still have a, a little bit of a wall. Not as much as it was before of just wanting to be open or saying what I’m going through because I’m always worried about how it’s going to come off or appear to them. Cuz I always wanted to be like the strong one. I was that boys don’t cry thing, you don’t show emotion. That was definitely me all the time. It was like if something was going on I kept it to myself and I’m like, okay, just get through it. Um, so yeah, it and it, and I, even as I’m thinking about it today, it’s like the qualities or the experiences that I’m having now could have been then as well cuz nothing’s really changed except for my consciousness to continuously to show up.
I can be stubborn sometimes, but sometimes I use that to my advantage. So I keep showing up even though things may be hard or challenging. Um, and I think that does work in my favor in some situations and it happened to work for me in this situation. So I continuously showed up for Sunday service. I continuously took classes. I continuously did prayer with my prayer partners or show up to our practitioners sessions and stuff like that. And it honestly does make a difference. You may not see it right away because I know I took the long route to become a practitioner. I took the class, I stopped for a while cause I didn’t think I was worthy. I took it again and I was like, okay, now I feel like I’m kind of out of it and I’m not spiritual enough. So I dropped out of it again.
And then the third time I finally actually like, you know what? This is it. I keep coming back to this. So there’s a reason I’m here. And part of my stubbornness helped me to get there. But then once I was there, it’s like I started questioning and being curious, investigating why I have the thoughts that I have and it changed everything. And I hope that it changes everything for you as well. If you continue to keep showing up for yourself and doing the work on yourself that’s needed to do it. There is a way to get through it. You just have to be maybe stubborn enough, open enough, curious enough whatever works for you to get there. I am going to invite our practitioners up cuz we do want to go into a spiritual practice. Um, we would like whoever feels called or comfortable, please come up to receive prayer today. This is your opportunity to share what’s on your heart and begin to transform it to address it, to be able to be more open and free. So please just come up, whichever practitioner is available. Uh, just go up to ’em and tell ’em what you would like prayer for. They will do the rest.
And don’t be nervous about.