A: By instantly dropping thought of that thing or condition and realizing Omnipresence. Everything of which I have need, from now until the end of time, is right now embodied within my consciousness—that is, the substance and law of it is. Therefore, I dwell on this subject of Omnipresence.
Omnipresence … God is Omnipresence. God is omnipresent as my consciousness. This omnipresent consciousness is the substance of all form and the law unto all form, and it is infinite—infinite in essence, infinite in manifestation, infinite in expression. It is unlimited by any human belief. It is unfettered by any human conditions. It is the free and full flowing of the divine Consciousness as my individual consciousness, and I do not have to go anywhere for it or ask anyone for it, because “The place whereon I stand is holy ground.”2 “Son,”—this is the Father speaking—“Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.”3
And with this, I rest. I rest in this word. I do not think in terms of things, wants, or desires. I think only in terms of Omnipresence: “Thank you, Father. All that the Father hath is mine.” And wonderful, wonderful! Once you have come out of old theology, it isn’t really dependent on whether you have been good or bad. If you have been bad, your realization of Omnipresence will make you good. Being good won’t bring Omnipresence, but the realization of Omnipresence will bring goodness. You cannot earn or deserve God’s goodness or God’s gifts. You cannot, by obeying the Ten Commandments, reach heaven. You can be a good citizen, and you can be a good, worthy man or woman, but you cannot enter heaven by obedience to the Ten Commandments.
Entrance into heaven, or harmony, is attained by the realization of Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and Omniscience—the realization that where I am, God is, and that all that God is, I am, not by virtue of myself, but because I and the Father are one. This relationship of oneness fulfills the statement, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.”4 Then, regardless of how scarlet my sins may be, my turning to this realization of Omnipresence makes me white as snowand brings forth God’s grace. You must remember that it is said that God has more pleasure in one lost sheep that is restored than in the ninety-nine who never went astray.
This does not literally mean that God likes the reformed sinners better than others, but it does mean that the ninety-nine good people may never have overcome their self-righteousness to the degree of admitting God into them. Self-righteousness, the belief that one is good, that one is moral, that one is honest, is the barrier that separates us from God’s grace, just as the belief that we are evil or that we’re sinners or that we’re worms in the dust separates us from the grace of God. So whether we believe that we’re bad, or whether we believe that we’re good, this belief that we have any qualities of our own separates us from the love of God.
When we can understand and emulate the Master—“I of my own self am nothing; I of my own self can do nothing.5 If I speak of myself, I bear witness to a lie. It is the Father within me that doeth the works.6 Why callest thou me good? There is but one good, the Father within me7—this state of humility opens our consciousness to receive God’s grace. It is the nothingization of personal selfhood and the opening of oneself to the realization of our true identity. And remember that our true identity is spiritual sonship—“We are sons of God, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in us.”8 If we realize that whatever qualities we have are the qualities of God, this represents our divine sonship.
Q: Do we just know that our daily needs are supplied?
A: No. No, we don’t. All we know is Omnipresence—where I am God is. All that the Father hath is mine. The place whereon I stand is holy ground—and stay up there on the spiritual level. You will find that as you proceed hour by hour through the day, fulfillment will take place.
And here I give you another passage of scripture: “In thy presence is fullness of joy.”9 In other words, as I am abiding in Omnipresence, automatically there is fullness, whether it is of supply or companionship or anything else, because there would be no joy if there were anything lacking. Therefore, in the realization of God’s presence, I find my joy. But certainly I would not be finding my joy if there were anything missing. Therefore I have this joy because of fulfillment. Therefore in Thy presence is fulfillment. Therefore I must not seek fulfillment. I must seek Thy presence; seek the realization of Thy presence.
The Presence, remember, is always here with us. We have been cheated of it by believing that it was up there, or that it was outside in holy temples or holy mountains or holy teachers, whereas all of this time it has been revealed “The kingdom of God is neither lo, here, or lo there”—not in holy mountains or holy temples. “The kingdom of God is within you,”10 and your knowing this truth is the truth that makes you free of lack, limitation, discord, and inharmony in any and every form.
1These excerpts are from Recording 400A: 1961 San Diego Special Class, “The Essence of The Infinite Way, Part One.” They are posted with kind permission from the Estate of Joel Goldsmith, which holds the copy protection on the recorded classes and the copyright on the transcripts. The full transcript of this recording is available from The Infinite Way Office website or by calling 1-800-922-3195.
2 Exodus 3:5.
3 Luke 15:31.
4 Ibid.
5 John 5:30.
6 John 14:10.
7 Matthew 19:17.
8 Romans 8:9.
9 Psalm 16:11.
10 Luke 17:21.