We heard two of the three recordings that provided source material for this chapter. The first recording, which we heard on December 5 and 12, is 228B, titled, “Nature of Spiritual Power,” from the 1958 London Open Class. The second recording, which we heard on December 19 and 26, is 356A, titled “Solving World’s Problems,” from the 1960 England Open Class. These recordings are no longer available on this website.
If you subscribe to the Joel Goldsmith Streaming Service, you can listen to the recordings there. To purchase the recording and/or transcript for 228B, click/tap here. To purchase the recording and/or transcript for 356A, click/tap here.
World Work Practice
You will probably agree that Chapter 10 does not call so much for more study as it does for more practice. In this chapter, Joel gives one of his most complete lessons on what he called “world work.” He details the practice of world work and the principles on which it is based, and he calls upon us to do world work.
Even if you already do world work, it is helpful to review the principles behind it that are given so beautifully in this chapter. And if you do not yet do world work, this chapter provides the foundation from which to start.
The title of this chapter, “The Government Is on His Shoulders,” comes from the ninth chapter of the Book of Isaiah. The complete verse from Isaiah says:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Sometimes “The government shall be upon his shoulder” is taken out of its full context, but it is interesting to note that the passage does not simply say, “The government shall be upon his shoulder.” First it says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,” and THEN it says, “AND the government shall be upon his shoulder.” In other words, first comes the birth, or the realization, of the Christ within, and THEN that Christ within governs, counsels, and brings peace.
So, this passage from Isaiah really embodies the essence of world work as Joel teaches it. He says that world work is “a turning within for a realization of the Christ to dispel material sense in human consciousness.” That is, first we realize the Christ—”the son is given”—and then the government is on the shoulder of that realized Christ; It reveals the spiritual kingdom, the “My kingdom” that is “not of this world,” but which IS the only Reality.
In this chapter, Joel says “These are critical days for the world.” Does that sound familiar? He may just as well have been speaking in 2020. Joel’s call to engage in world work is as timely today as it was then:
“Let us accept the responsibility that our consciousness is either being a blank to the world, being destructive to the world, or being spiritually constructive. We determine that by the degree to which we open ourselves to spiritual truth. The conscious devotion of a few minutes of every hour to truth keeps our consciousness filled with truth continuously.
“It would be helpful to the world if all of us who read this chapter would participate in periods of meditation in which we do not concern ourselves with our own health or wealth or that of our family or nation, but in which our sole function is to realize the presence and power of the Christ.
“When we have felt that Presence, the Christ is loosed into the world, thereby destroying material sense and establishing [revealing] the kingdom of God on earth. Our consciousness is this activity of the Christ, so therefore, we will patiently wait for that feeling of the Presence, sitting in quietness and peace until it is released.”
Joel says that through such meditations, there is the possibility of influencing events all over the world, because there will be a spiritual power operating which can impel public officials to respond to the spiritual impulse and become the avenue through which greater good flows into the world. Eventually, through the activity of that impersonal spiritual power, we shall witness the kingdom of God established on earth.
Our function, Joel says, is to “be that spiritual underground which is praying continuously that material sense be destroyed so that ‘Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.’”
World Work Resources on Goldsmith Global
To support the practice of world work, every month we post a class recording related to world work. The Sanctuary Page on the website provides a serene venue in which to listen to and contemplate the message in that class. You can learn more about world work here, and you can find a reminder card that briefly describes the three daily world work meditations here.
The Third Recording for This Chapter
Three recordings were used as source material for this chapter. We heard two of them in our group sessions. The third recording is 278B, titled “Impersonalization Illustrated,” from the 1959 Manchester Closed Class, and we offered it as an additional study option. The recording is no longer available on this website. To purchase the recording and/or transcript for 278B, click/tap here.