In Chapter 11, “Spiritual Unfoldment through The Infinite Way,” in A Message for the Ages, Joel says:
“Based on my own experience, I recommend that students begin their study with Living the Infinite Way, spend a couple of days on the “Introduction,” and then go on into the book. Following that, the student should devote two or three days to the Introduction to Practicing the Presence. Why those two or three days on the Introduction? Because it provides a foundation, explaining to the student the object of the book, what he is to attain, why he is to attain it, and giving him a reason for all that follows.
“To read books of this nature without knowing why or what the expected result should be is folly. All that happens when a student merely reads a book without understanding of its purpose is that he has read another book which was very sweet and pleasant to read, but nothing has been accomplished. After a few readings he should go back to the Introduction and ask himself, ‘Did I get out of the book what its purpose is?’ If not, he must go back again, because these books are not just to be read: they are books that are to be worn out until new copies are needed.
“Then I turn students to The Art of Meditation and The Art of Spiritual Healing and from there on, into any of the books in any order. I always bring to light that the books of The Infinite Way Letters, however, are as important as any books we have, if not more so. [Note: The 1955 – 1959 Infinite Way Letters are collected in the The Heart of Mysticism series.] Here in every chapter the student is introduced to certain principles and their application, so that he can always go to those books and find working tools … No student is going to advance in the Infinite Way without an understanding of the foundational principles. On the other hand, no advanced student is going to succeed unless he keeps going back to the basic principles.”
In the 1960 Kansas City Practitioner Class, as well as in many other classes, Joel says that the major textbook for the message is the book The Infinite Way. This is a book of principles, and although it was one of the first books, Joel said that few will grasp it without a solid background. He says that it is the “deepest” book.
Beginning in Hawaii in 1959 and throughout the remainder of 1959, Joel’s class work was devoted exclusively to re-introducing the healing principles of the Infinite Way. He specifically recommended these classes as ones that have a thorough presentation of the healing principles:
From the 1959 Maui Advanced Work:
From the 1959 Hawaiian Village Open Class:
From the 1959 Hawaiian Village Closed Class:
The Foundation of Mysticism provides edited transcripts of these important recorded classes, which Goldsmith later referred to as the most significant material available to fully understand the healing principles of The Infinite Way.
Joel also recommended this study program for the healing principles:
In one of the 1959 Maui Advanced Work classes, Joel recommended that to understand protective work, the student should work with:
Later, in the 1960 Kansas City Practitioner Class, he also recommended for protective work:
In the 1960 Kansas City Practitioner Class as well as in many other classes, Joel recommended that to understand how to have harmonious relationships, we should study:
In Chapter 10 of The Contemplative Life, Joel recommended eight specific chapters in the writings that all serious students of the Infinite Way should study intently and know well. He says: “In order to build a consciousness of truth, all Infinite Way students should know the following passages as well as they know their own names.” Later he said that these chapters are of paramount importance to the serious student because they contain the answers to almost every individual problem that can be brought to the student, including family relations, illness, and supply.
The Goldsmith Global Study Group took up a program focused on these eight chapters. The study outline for this program is in the Study Center, and it includes the recommended recordings and study material for each chapter.
In Chapter 9 of the book Living Now, Joel recommends a practice for working with Bible passages. He says:
“At one time, when giving class work in Portland, Oregon, we conducted a series of noon meditation meetings for six days. Each day after our meditation the students were given one Bible passage to be held consciously in thought, pondered, and spiritually worked with for twenty-four hours until we met again. The fruitage of that week’s work will certainly not be forgotten by me, and I am sure that there are others in Portland who will long remember the effect in the experience of many. Here are the passages used for those six days:
First Day
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5, 6)
Second Day
“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” (Luke 4:4)
Third Day
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Fourth Day
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Fifth Day
“In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)
Sixth Day
“In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.” (John 4:31,32)
“After you have read these passages, I suggest that beginning with Monday you take the first quotation for the first twenty-four hours, the second one for the second day, and so on for an entire week. Repeat this for three or four weeks, and see if your consciousness has not risen at least a hundred weeks in just a few.”