“Practicing The Presence”. Conversations With Yanni

abracad, April 18, 2024 · Categories: books, externally authored, spirituality

Below is the transcript of the Youtube video: ‘“Practicing The Presence”. Conversations with Yanni’ Part 1. The link for the video is below.

Heather: Hello everyone. It’s lovely to have you here with us. We’re currently studying the mystical book, ‘Practicing The Presence’ by Joel Goldsmith in our Online Book Study Group (the zoom link for the group and the recordings are in Description). In this series, Yanni and I will be discussing the spiritual principles Joel shares in this book, together with some thoughts and questions that have been asked. We’ll work our way through each of the chapters, and in this video, we’ll discuss the Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2.

So, Yanni, would you like to ask me the first question?

Yanni: Yes. Qu 1. “Why did Joel decide to write 'Practicing the Presence' [PTheP] and how do people relate who've had similar life, or spiritual, experiences?

Heather: All of Joel’s original books were edited by Lorraine Sinkler from talks he gave. I remember when I first read the introduction of this book, I got so terribly excited because I'd studied metaphysics & thought this book would be the one to help me manifest my goals. But really that’s not what it’s about at all!

Joel felt those on the spiritual path who'd reflected inwardly would be drawn to this book. And I think people relate because they feel unfulfilled by material life & are looking for something more. He’d come to realise that understanding God was the way to a successful life (and by ‘God’ he meant living in Awareness of our incorporeal ‘Self’) - letting Spirit fulfil Itself, rather than trying to achieve our human goals. So realising our Inner Self, our Invisible Self, and keeping that awareness consciously alive by practising the spiritual principles he shares, brings fulfilment.

PTheP is the story of Joel’s spiritual journey & he wanted to share the Truth he'd come to realise. It’s one of the four foundational books in the Infinite Way and it introduces the concept of a Presence within and helps one experience a new way of living. Doing this leads to an inner stillness and the book explains how to live in awareness of this Inner Stillness throughout each day.

Joel felt that especially the introduction to ‘PTheP’ was so important, and in it he says: “No one is going to pick up this book and read it unless it is someone who has already known quiet moments of inner reflection, someone who has been plagued by frustration, lack of success, or lack of harmony, and who has pondered long and seriously why life should be so unsatisfactory.” This was who he believed would be drawn to his book.

Yanni: Moving on to Qu 2. Chapter 1 is entitled, ‘Spiritual consciousness’. Please explain in more detail what Joel means by: ‘When a question arises, how is the right answer revealed’?

Heather: So, to give you some context, this chapter (Chapter 1) explains ‘what’ spiritual consciousness is and the next chapter (Chapter 2) is ‘how’ to attain the realisation of it... i.e. by relying on an Inner Power rather than by taking thought. Faith in the "Infinite Invisible" (as Joel called it) deepens when you practise it and when you see that it works & how it works. It’s about seeing how needs are met, compared to putting faith (as we do humanly) in persons or things.

So, to answer your question, let’s look at the principles shared in this chapter:

Joel writes: "Our Consciousness is the substance of our world". This is hugely important! So important, in fact, that I’m going to say it again: "Our Consciousness is the substance of our world". It means we can never lose anything that we are because we are our Consciousness, and our Consciousness is the only law, the only substance, the only power, cause & activity that ever exists.

He also wrote: "Every issue of life is determined, not by external conditions and things, but by our consciousness". So we learn to practise being still & 'Listening' within. Having an expectant attitude, developed through meditation, creates a vacuum into which Consciousness rushes to express all the things we have need of. Then you know it's the right answer because it didn't appear by taking thought (although it may also come as an inner prompting).

In this chapter, Joel was very clear that practising the Presence is an inner discipline - a day-by-day and hour-by-hour activity that develops into a growing recognition and experience of our ‘Infinite Invisible’ Self that eventually becomes continuous as we live in conscious Awareness of It.

He captures this by writing: “The degree of spiritual consciousness which we attain can be measured by the extent to which we relinquish our dependence on the external world of form and place our faith and confidence in something greater than ourselves, in the Infinite Invisible, which can surmount any and every obstacle.”

Yanni: Our final question Qu 3 relates to Chapter 2, which is entitled: ‘Demonstrate God’. In it, it says: ‘In the IW, Life knows no limitation’. Please explain.

Heather: So, this is the 'how'. An important principle in IW is that we don't seek for anything other than God (i.e. the realisation of our own Consciousness) because there is no God 'and'. There’s no companionship, health, supply and. No ‘me’ and my body, no ‘me’ and my world. There's just Consciousness. We don't seek health (we don’t try to ‘get’ it) because we are it. We're not seeking something from God in the Infinite Way, we're living in Awareness of It.

And there’s no limitations in God-Fulfilment because all that ever is, is here now… there’s only the Fullness of Consciousness here now, eternally present. It's always available - we just have to be aware of it, & then rest in it. When we understand this, it's enormously liberating because it means we no longer have to be concerned about appearances in the human world.

So, the practice is resting within and Watching inwardly as our Inner Light radiates through us. Perhaps feeling It as a welling up of joy, a click (as Joel called it), a pulsing, spiralling etc - there are infinite ways to experience Self.

We don't have to try or to manipulate.‘Demonstration’ in the IW is the consciousness of our Self. So, as Joel says: "Meeting God Face to face is the end of the road - there is nothing more to be desired.”

Yanni:Thank you. Let’s end with a short meditation.

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/Hzsye1EuWG0?si=ECHnItUXH1mDF36z

Heather Smith www.linktr.ee/mysticalmeditation

Yanni Charalambous www.linktr.ee/yannicharalambouscoaching