Workshop - Roswell, NM – 1975 - Part 2 of 4
Roswell ‘75 – CD 2 of 4
We have available tools to survive and the tools it looks for, that I look for, are ideas. Now, ideas are a form of food, shall we say. And if we take in poisonous food, we're going to be destroyed. If we take in good food, we get along well. So we were looking at the poisonous food.
Now, we're going to talk the rest of the day about means that one can use – to use the ideas of Teaching, which is survival ideas. It is always if you have done something for many years one way, and you're gonna start doing something entirely different, one needs to practice. Gerald Walton has been practicin’ flyin’ an airplane lately, is that right? Now, without practice, you wouldn't go up in a plane by yourself, would you? Is that right, sir?
(Exactly right.)
But with practice, you gradually develop the skill and the confidence to operate the plane all by yourself and trust takin’ your family along with you and etcetera. Is that right, Gerald? Now, anything that any of us do proficiently, we have practiced that…I would say. How about silver-smithing, Corita?
(You better practice.)
You gotta practice and you sure mess up a lot of silver while you're practicin’.
(Right.)
Some of us operate restaurants, and we mess up a lot of good pieces of meat and a few other things while we practice. But anyway, if we practice consistently at something, we're going to become proficient. Now, some of us are musicians here and they’ve had to practice that. And if you don't practice for a while, Rick, what happens? If you wouldn't practice music for a year, how's the music today?
(Well, the ideas would be okay, but…)
The ideas…but the old fingers won't do what it says and you have to get ‘em all back into practice. You have to be proficient again. And the days you practice a little bit you call it rehearsal or something – about daily. Is that right, sir?
(Well, I don't rehearse that often, but I do it every few days.)
Every few days you got to work at it in order to continue to practice to be proficient. Now, let's take something that goes on with all of us is expectation. Now, we have an expectation that is totally unconscious; and let's see if we can somewhat make it conscious. First off, the expectation is that everything – that all the circumstances of the day – is gonna be just like I want it. Now, you unknowingly expect that. How about that, Darryl?
(Yes, sir.)
You expect – unknowingly. Now, everything we do is an expectation. If Jim pushes a button over there, he expects his machine to operate, right? If it don't you start lookin' for what the problem is – you're disappointed, huh? If we turn a switch on the wall and the lights don't come on, we're a little disappointed. We expect the car to run down the road – just purrin’ down the way. Once in a while one of 'em stops and we're real upset with it. We expect we get in and turn the key, it'll start.
Now, we expect that all circumstances of the day will be just about like I want them. Now, on any given day there is hundreds of little circumstances occur – is that correct? So we're goin’ to start practicin’ something those of you who want to use this method. Now, we're gonna give others through the day so take 'em all and then see which one appeals to you. If you take as the fact of expectation that one-fourth of circumstances of today will be about like you want them, okay. Three-fourths of 'em – of circumstances today – will have some Second Force of varying degrees involved in it. Second Force means some resistance from the way you want it. Now, if one's expectation is based on this simple fact – now, don't take my word for it; take you a yellow pad and a pencil and mark down every circumstance through the day. Now, the ones about like you want, put in the “Okay” line and the ones that had a little Second Force in it, put on the other line and I think you'll find they are about three to one ever’ day. In fact, anybody want to kind of take a quick remember and see if that isn’t about the way it works? Hmm? It’s about the way it works, every day.
(Sometimes it’s the whole day!)
No, there's always a few of 'em, but we're so involved in wantin' 'em all to be 100% like we want them that we feel disappointed. Now, anytime that I'm expectin’ 'em all to be okay, I'm disappointed. And when I'm disappointed I feel hurt. And when I feel hurt, I look for blame. Now, all this happens instantaneously – can't do anything about it once this thing starts. When I look for blame I will find one of four possibilities of blaming: If it was you and I will be angry; it was me and I will feel guilty; I can't find what it is and I will be fearful. And after I've been around here a lot, I begin to feel insecure. Now, these are emotions. Emotions are things that man was never equipped to handle. He just hasn’t got the mechanism within to handle ‘em. So when he has those, we could say that all these collectively, or any one of 'em, is stress. We could put it a little easier and say “dis-stress” – you are dis-stressed. When you are dis-stressed, you are then mobilized energy to fight or run for violent activity – fight or run – which is, of course, chemical imbalance and neuromuscular tension. That’s all that adrenalin, thyroxin, etcetera pourin’ into the body. Now, you can't survive that way so some adaptation has to take place. Adaptation is one of two ways: Unusual cellular activity, unusual sensation – which unusual cellular activity always produces – and finally after a long time, tissue cell alteration or breakdown. Now, that's all the physical symptoms we can have other than trauma. There is no others – no matter if you call it cancer or you call it a cold or call it indigestion or anything else, it's all somewheres in here, hmm?
The other way, of course, is unusual behavior. We can do something to work off our aggressions or somewheres up here there’s some unusual activity. It could be a binge of some sort or other. Sometimes if it is one sort of thing, you might say drunkenness or somethin' else or you go on a pill binge. Or we could go on a killin’ binge – every once in a while you read some guy went out and shot about 20 other people – carried ‘em all over in a corner somewheres and went on his way. He was workin' it off – just a little unusual behavior… a little rough on the others. But it would be not much different than maybe some violent thing over here as far as the whole thing is inside concerned – he's just workin' off the mobilized and unreleased energy. Now, we could have some sort of unusual behavior that may be called “funny” or it may be called “neurotic” or called “psychotic” or it could be called “eccentric” or what-have-you. Then, of course, we expect that'll go away as soon as we go see the doctor and that usually sets off another disappointment. Now, if we should begin to see that my expectation is based on reality – that 25% of the circumstances that I will encounter today will be just about like I want them. And 75% of 'em will have some resistance to the way I want it. And I expect that and I will never be disappointed. Now, then the rest of this will never happen if I'm never disappointed – this is the only thing here [points to the board]. The rest of it is you're not gonna stop once that's [Vicious Cycle] there – it goes "pluup." It's already there before you could bat your eye. But if you could prevent disappointments, you have prevented everything down that line which is most of the destructive level of mankind. Now, if I can see that 25% is gonna be about like, “I really enjoy those, I have a ball with 'em!” Okay? And the 75% I have a lot of fun taking care of the Second Force in 'em. Now, that's always there and it’s a challenge, and I can enjoy that and I can have a delight in the ones that come out just about like I wanted – 25%. I don't know which ones they’re gonna be, but all through the day, I find that about 25% of the little circumstances that arise are just real nice. Every once in a while you hit the silver [addressing the woman who’s a silversmith] and it just “blops” and it’s a cute little thing – it’s just exactly like you wanted it, don't it? A lot of time it blurps, don’t it? Yeah!
(laughter) (Yeah, it does.)
And maybe you go in a restaurant and the people are glad to see you and treat you nice and put out a good meal – that's one of those 25. Maybe they kinda act like they wish you hadn't a come and throw you somethin' down and so all right, that's the way I expected it to be. I expected 75% of things not to be right up to snuff today. I go in a gas station yesterday and a man come runnin' out and before I could tell him what I wanted, he was cleanin’ the windshield, got the front doors open, and dusted out the floorboard, emptied the ashtray. Hello! Hadn't had that happen in months, you know! Well, man, it was marvelous, you know. So then I thought he’s a careful one – he just took care of that. But that was one of those 25%, now.
But then there was another little thing. I'm drivin’ down the road and I happen to have a truck that has two gas tanks on it. And I had the little tank up in front filled up and the back tank filled up – I thought…I told the man to fill ‘em both up. Evidently he only filled the front one. And the back one went “poof” and I'm out of gas goin' down the road. So I gotta wheel this little thing, you know – it took a few minutes to figure out what to do with it. But it took quite some concentrating – but it was kind of fun to figure out. I’m goin’ down the road – “pluup.” And I get the little knobbies turned just right and I got a gas tank full. That was one of the 75%. Then there was a good many others. The other mornin' I was wheelin’ off down the road just as unconcerned as you please and the back tire goes “Phuuuuu.” And I don't like to change tires; and the last few weeks I've managed to have been in a little accident and my hand don't work very good, so now that was one of the 75 – tires. So I sat on the side of the road a little bit, and two men comin' down the road in a pickup like this – they come over and I said, “Would you take me into town so I can go get a tire?” And they said, "Don't you have a spare?" I said, "Yeah, but my hand’s hurt and I don’t wanna change it." They said, "Get out of the way, would you?" (laughter) So that was one of the 25% – sittin’ on the side of the road. Then I go into a tire store in a little bit and I tell the man I want four tires alike and I want 'em all changed on there. Man, he gets with it, changed them out, gives me a nice discount – that's one of the 25. But there was a lot of the 75 – there are all the 75 occurred through the day.
Now, if I have this expectation – “You will never be disappointed.” Now, can you imagine why it would be like to go through life without any disappointments, Jim? You would never get in the pit, would you? ‘Cause you have to be disappointed to feel hurt and look for blame, find some of this and then you're in the pit, huh?
(That's more than 75 though.)
Well, I know, but the 75 – I know it’s gonna be there – I'm gonna have fun with them, too – they’re free to come up, see? Now, that thing like I had a flat tire, I can have a little fun with it. Two lovely men come along with high degrees in agronomy and changed my flat tire for me for nothin’. Took off and said, “I’m goin’ back to the house.” So would you ever get in the pit? Would you ever be upset if you didn't ever have a disappointment one?
(No.)
Darrell, you've been in lots of disappointments in your life, haven't you? But they’re all because you expected that 100% of these to come out – every little circumstance every day and it's only 25 some days. Now, it wouldn't be no fun if they all came out just like you want ‘em every day – it would be so boring you’d go wild, you know? That's what they put people in prison for so that everything's just like they expect it to be all day long. Did you ever think of that? That’s what a prison is. If you're locked up, you know what time they’re gonna ring the bell; you know what time you're gonna eat breakfast; you know what time you're gonna go to work; you know what time you're gonna quit; you know what time you're gonna come back. You know what you're gonna have for dinner and everything else. So that's what prison is, is when you have 100% of your expectations just like you want them – will you want it? Hmm? That's what prison is. That's why they put people in prison so that their expectations don't have any variations in 'em. Now, we ordinarily make ourselves miserable – we say we want freedom but we have it because we're free to choose our response to these 25. We're free to enjoy to the utmost those few 25% that come along about like I want that day, right? Now, otherwise, we wanted 'em and should be given 'em where everything is exactly like I expect it to be all day, so I’ll have to be in prison. And if you don't mind, I'll take the 75 that's got some Second Force 'cause I have fun with 'em. You have fun straightenin’ out the messes in the silverwork?
(It isn’t bad.)
No, it isn’t bad. If you expect ‘em all to be there, really… Lord, no tellin’ what you might come up with. Can you see that you can end disappointment right now – right this minute – because all we got to do is see the truth of the matter. Somewheres a man said, "Know the truth and the truth will make you free." Don't have to do nothin' about it – just see the truth. The truth is that all day long every day, which is made up – our day is made up of many, many little circumstances through the day, is it not? Many! Is that right, Ann? And 25% of 'em are gonna be about like you want them and about 75% the kids are gonna spill milk on the floor, they're gonna get in a fight and they're gonna push this and they're gonna scream and they're gonna do all sorts of things and they're gonna do somethin’ altogether different than what you had any idea they were gonna do, huh? Right? And so 25% we're gonna have just about like we would like it and 75% is gonna have a little Second Force which is really to our advantage. It's the greatest thing we could have because now we got somethin’ to keep us busy with and to practice a little ingenuity with, to work around, to apply a little time here and there – a little connivin’ if you please; but nevertheless, we get through with it all right, okay? Now, this will require practice – like flyin’ an airplane, playin’ music, operatin’ a restaurant, sewin’ a dress, makin’ something in a machine shop or whatever, it will require practice. Now, can you practice seeing that 25% of the little circumstances today will be about like you want them? And 75% will be some degree of Second Force. You drove all the way to Albuquerque and they didn't have what you went to buy, is that right?
(Right on.)
A little Second Force there, you see? That’s all it is. But, look, you get another trip out of the deal, don’t you? But the point is, you could have went bellyin’ up because you really expected ‘em to have it, didn't you? Hmm?
(Well, Bob, they play a funny game. They put it all under the counter and when the price is up, they’re out the door.)
Well, I don’t blame them.
(I don’t either.)
But did you see it under there?
(Yeah.)
But they wouldn't let you have it?
(Right.)
And you got a little bit ticked?
(No, I just said, “Well when do you think the price is gonna go up so I can buy some silver?”) (she laughs)
Did you offer to pay a little extra while you was there?
(Uh-uh, I just didn’t have it on the trip.)
It’s going down in case you're interested, okay? So, but the point is that you had a little disappointment there, huh? Now, if you're expecting it to be that way, you don't. Now, I don't expect that everybody's gonna treat me with loving, tender kindness all day. I expect some of 'em is gonna be a little rude with me now and then; and if they are, I have fun with it and if they don't, what a joy it is. Okay? So either way, one has eliminated all “dis-stress” – it all starts with disappointment. Now, this requires a practice. And if you choose to practice it… if you choose this one, we'll give some more. You can ignore this one, take one of the others or you can use this and ignore the others. But if it takes just this one, you are practicing “Self Knowing” – you are seeing that this enemy is out to have you always expectin’ the epitome of something; and then tells you how miserable it is when everything is just like it's supposed to be, just like this world is set up to run. Then the enemy tells you that you are in a terrible shape – that you're the most unfortunate of all people…you should fall down in a ball and roll up on the ground, wet, and stick your thumb in your mouth – somethin' like that. You know, it’s just pitiful, isn’t it? Isn't that just about the way it tells you ever’ day of the week? Now, the “enemy” [not-I’s] tells you that you are entitled to expect that 100% of everything is gonna be just like you want it. Now, did you ever hear a bigger lie than that? Just flat out, did you ever hear of a bigger fib than that? Jim? You've been livin’ in the world a few years. Does that jibe with the facts at all?
(It hasn’t so far.) (laughter)
Okay, that's not the way it's supposed to be! It’s not even set up; it would be no way for us to evolve to an intelligent, grown-up human being with any strength, any energy, any worthwhile, any intelligence if it was that way. But the enemy says you're entitled to it to be that way and if you don't get it, you have been mistreated, hmm? Now, that is a big lie! And when somebody tells me a bunch of big lies, I don't take offense of what they say – I think they're havin’ fun – let 'em stick around all they want to, tell me their big fibs, huh? You know, who cares? But I don't put no value on it, I don't get my dollars out and go spend on his team or etcetera, etcetera, do you? No, not at all. They're just havin’ fun – they’re big wheels – they've got delusions of grandeur comin' by…who cares, who cares? Now, when the not-I's, the enemy, can have all the delusions of grandeur and it can tell me that I am entitled to a 100% of time that all circumstances will be just like I want ‘em – well then the rest of the people would be in a mess in this world because what I want in circumstances don't always agree with what you want, see? And you would never get any and I would have all of mine – that would be a terrible mess, anyway. So then here is a big out and out illusion, delusion, a lie. Can you see it? That in your everyday affairs, every day of the week that about 25% of circumstances that makes up the day will be just like you want it – almost; and 75% of 'em gonna have some degree – from a little to a great amount – of Second Force. Is that the way flyin’ an airplane is, Darryl? Only 25% of the time when you go up does everthing just go right; other times, you get crosswinds, whirlwinds, the motors flutter, tail wires drag – all these things. You better be expectin’ ‘em to be that way if you want to get back to the ground in one piece – you'll get back to the ground all right but in one piece, is that right? (laughter) If you're expectation is based on facts, you're doin' fine, hmm?
(That's right.)
But if you're expectation was based on the ideal, you'll go crack up before you get off the ground. Right, hmm? Any comments or discussions on that? Now, here's a very simple thing to observe – and the simple things to base one’s expectation on which is fact instead of illusion. If you think they're gonna believe that you're entitled to have 100% of the circumstances today to be just like you want it…that people will say what you want them to say, do what you want them to do, be where you want them to be, that all the mechanical devices will work like you want them to when you want them to – you wouldn't even have a job if they did that would you, Jim?
(That’s right.)
He has to work on big, million dollar computers and, thank goodness, they don't all work like 100% without some Second Force or you wouldn't have a job, would you?
(Right.)
Okay? That about right? So aren't you thankful that it's real that they didn't. But you see, unknowingly we have set here through the years with expecting constantly that we would have 100% of the time, everything would be just like I wanted it to be. And when it isn't, I'm disappointed, I feel hurt because – you been emotional in the last two or three days, Darryl?
(Yes.)
So then you were expecting it to be 100%, you got disappointed with that lie. How about you, Betty Lee? Same difference, you was expectin’…you got a lie. How about you, David? Something upset you – highly ired – in the last day or so? You was expectin’ that 100% of the time. They’re not gonna do it. Today, tomorrow and no other day will 100% of the little circumstances that makes up our day be other than about 25% like we want it, which we can enjoy to the utmost because that's what we're expectin’ of things – thank goodness, here it is, I'll enjoy it. 75% is Second Force, which I can still enjoy findin’ a way in, out, around, or over, okay? Any effort on that – now, that's a practice.
Now, without takin’ a break for the meantime, we will add another one on here. Just give me time to change the paper. This is easier to erase than a blackboard is… (A long pause and rustling sounds as he changes the paper; he discovers a thumbtack and asks someone to get it out of there.) See, if I was expectin’ never to have a thumbtack dispute, then this is the only one I really have to deal with. (laughter)
Now, there is another practice that we can take into consideration – this practice is called “Wisdom and Understanding.” A great wise man, a man known as “Solie-man” [Solomon], was called the wisest man in the world because he knew what to ask for. He had like the good fairy or the great heavenly beings came by and said, "You can have whatever you want." And he asked for wisdom and understanding that he may rule the kingdom – wisdom and understanding. Now, the only reason for havin’ wisdom and understanding is that he could rule the kingdom. And because he asked for this, which was that he asked for it properly, then he would not only have what he asked for, but all other wonderful things would be added unto him. And he had the great kingdom, and he had 1,000 wives – whatever advantage that was I don't know. (laughter) But at any rate it would obey, and great houses and chariots and thousands of Arab horses, which were worth at least 5,000 apiece and so on down the line. So he had everything added (that would be worthwhile to him) was added to him because he asked properly for what to have.
You've all heard the story that the good fairy offered somebody three wishes and they got the three wishes and were usually worse off after the three wishes than they were before, at least only back where they started. You all know the one about the wooden spoon, I'm sure. That a couple lived over in Europe in feudal days and they were in grinding poverty while they worked their shirts off on some big baron's estate. And they had asked for many years that the good fairy would come give them three wishes. So one evening as they were trudgin’ home from their long day's labor, a little fairy appeared and said, “You have been heard and you may have three wishes. But use them wisely – they will be the only ones you ever get.” So they went home in great glee, their feet was light, and they forgot all about their tiredness because they were going to have everything now that the good fairy come and give 'em three wishes. So they, of course, were going to use them wisely – they weren't gonna waste 'em. So they weren't gonna be in a hurry to use them. So the lady started cookin' their dinner over a little peat fire and all she had to cook was a little oil, a little flour so she was making some gravy and she was stirrin’ it with an old wooden spoon around an iron pan they'd been using for some 25 years and the spoon, of course, was about worn in two – and she was so delighted, "Oh we're just gonna have everything, our future is made!" And she popped the spoon in two. And, of course, spontaneous reaction – expecting that everything would be just like she wanted, she was disappointed, she felt hurt, she looked for blame and she blamed the spoon. And she said, "Oh drat, I wish I had a new spoon." Boom, there was a nice wood spoon in her hand. Her husband became irate that she had wasted one of their only three wishes of a lifetime on an old wooden spoon he could have whittled out in an hour. And so he got very worked up – he was disappointed because circumstances wasn't exactly like he wanted 'em and he became very disappointed with her and became irate – she was to blame and he finally said, "I wish you had that damn spoon down your throat." And “bam!” there it went. And then, of course, it took the third wish to get it out. So the day was over.
And, of course, very few people have – no matter what they were offered, would not know what to ask for. We'd ask for a million dollars, Darryl, huh? Or we'd ask for a better job or we'd ask for an Eldorado or a Mark IV, or we'd ask for a trip to Europe or somethin' down the way that would have nothing value one way or the other. But accordin’ to the story this wise man “Solie-man” said he wanted wisdom and understanding that he may rule the kingdom. So, let's see what wisdom is. Now, of course, we have had it gradually called around that wisdom probably means I got the smarts and can make A-pluses in school, is that right, Darryl?
(That's right.)
‘Bout the way it’s laid out to be. But wisdom by definition is to be aware of the source of the ideas that pop in the head. [he writes this on the paper] Now, there is a constant succession of ideas poppin’ in the head. In the oldest parable stories of the Garden of Eden, why there was an idea popped in Eve's head that maybe she didn't have it so good after all because she couldn't eat of that one little tree, huh? Now, you could say the enemy or the snake or the old dragon or whatever you want to, he popped it in there, you know, naturally. Now, really the person had nothin’ to do with poppin’ it in there, but it sounded like a survival because then it said she'd be a goddess. So to be aware of the source of ideas that pop in the head. Now, in order to be aware of this source of ideas, one, of course, is acquainted with a few ideas of the Teaching and the ideas of the Picture of Man. That's about the only two you'll ever find poppin' in there and most of ‘em come from one source – the Picture of Man, okay? Or the Four Dual Basic Urges and the other is the conditioning. In other words they pop in from conditioning.
Now, they do it in a thousand ways – they're very cunning – they take night classes and come in every morning and tell you one thing or another thing or another thing. But if you can see the source of that idea, you'll see that it has no survival value to you and you would not buy its suggestion moment by moment, okay? Now, this requires practice to be aware of the source of ideas that pop in the head – because we've always assumed that we made up those ideas, that we’d originated ‘em – is that about right? Or that I really saw something that made it real – that I didn’t come up on this idea, that I made it or I saw evidence that forced me to this conclusion. But it really is only the ideas that popped in the head. Hmm? Over and over and over and they're disgustingly boring if you begin to pay attention to 'em because they're almost all alike. One party of 'em says, “You're pitiful, you've been picked on, you've been made a doormat.” And the other side says, “You're no good, you’re beaten – you've done wrong.”
“A” wants to convert “B” to be just like “A.” And “B” wants to convert “A” to be just like “B,” and they call that “self-improvement.” And they're always fightin' over it; and it's all that pops in the head all day long – come to think of it – that “A” is up front and center and got charge of the microphone, has got the PA system and it's saying that “B” – we said “B” is up front and center and it says “A” ought to change and be like “B.” And then pretty soon “A” get's hold of the microphone and says “B” ought to straighten up and improve and be just like “A” – and that's what you call torment and conflict and turmoil, is it not, Jim? You had that all your life. Hmm?
(Uh-huh.)
Did you ever hear that, Corita?
(All the time.)
All the time. Now, if you're aware of the source of the idea, it is an argument, a civil war between two folks that have nothin’ to do with you – let 'em fight. Get your sabers out there and let 'em fight – who cares. They're never going to convert each other, but they will finally pit each other day in and day out. Now, that is the practice of wisdom. Now, understanding is another word for “seeing it in other people.” Wisdom is seeing the source of the idea in yourself. Understanding is seeing that other people got those same ideas and that they are livin’ by ‘em and believin’ ‘em and maybe they don't even have the good fortune that you have had to even have a chance to look at them. They have nothing to do except that they're making up those ideas and seeing evidence themselves – so that's another word for agape or love. So one is practicing wisdom and understanding. Now, the way one prays without ceasing is to practice something without ceasing. You know the best way to get anything is to practice it.
Now, I could probably get on my knees and go through the formal idea of the word of prayer and pray day in and day out, hours upon end – not take care of my work or anything else – just do that and pray that I would be a great musician. How many of you musicians – and there’s several of you here – would hire me to play with you? (laughter) Now, if I prayed diligently for five years at least 18 hours a day that I would be made a great musician, how many of you would hire me to play with you in one of your performances? Jim?
(No way.)
The Professor has already told me she wouldn't have nothin' to do with it and I'm sure I know Rick Lipp well enough he wouldn't let me come near. Now, if I should practice 18 hours a day on some instrument for five years, would it be diligently with the aid of some teacher, well in all probability I'd have some degree of proficiency, is that right, Jim?
(Um-huh – I would think so.)
I believe even my dumb head would get some degree of proficiency at it in that length of time. Now, which one is prayer – the words or the practice – now, tell me which one really is prayer? Now, I can practice without ceasing on this one – I don't know that I could sit and say pretty words over and over and over without ceasing – I’m liable to get hungry. I can do this while I'm washing dishes. I can do this while I'm cuttin' meat. I can do this while I'm drivin’ down the road. I can do this while I'm sweepin'. I can do this while I'm makin’ a talk. I can do this at all times, huh? There's nothing to prevent that. Now I'm praying. Now, the idea that people have a prayer to sit down and say a bunch of pretty words and then get up and go wonder why it didn't happen is not prayer at all. I don't know what it is – I suppose it's conversation; but whatever you want to call it, but this is truly prayer. Now, if you are practicin’ wisdom and understanding, there is beyond any shadow of a doubt that you will not be caught up in the conditioning operating your existence, huh? You see that that is the enemy throwed those ideas at you. Once in a while you see that an idea from the Teaching, you can use that. But you can at least see where it is and you put no value on all this rattlin' that's been goin' on, okay? Now, can you practice wisdom and understanding – maybe that will appeal to some people. Maybe it would more appeal to what percentage of events – ordinary circumstance or every day most come out just like you want ‘em and 75% not. Now, either system will work just as well – either method. What we are working at is to be conscious, not to make any drastic, big – being good or anything else. But here is a tool that if you work with, you will be conscious. The one we just come up with before – that if you see what your expectation is based on – you would be.
Now, I wouldn't try to use both of these, especially the same day. I prefer to do something consistently and practice it until I'm proficient at it. Now, if I try everything, I never become proficient at anything. If I went out and practiced music one day and the next day I say, “I don't want to practice that anymore, I'm gonna be a galloping gourmet chef.” And I practice cooking that day. And the next day I decided I'd be an electronic wizard, and so I went down to the Radio Shack and got me some parts and stuck 'em together. And the next day I decided I was gonna be a great singer so I sung a song. And the next day I'm doin' somethin' else. Would you tell me if I would ever be proficient at anything? So let's take one method – whichever one appeals to you. They're none of 'em easy, but none of 'em are difficult either. They only require that I practice 'em 'til I am proficient.
Now, this afternoon we will take some more. All of 'em are just simple, so let's say we will look at all of 'em and when we're all through this afternoon, you'll decide which one you're gonna use. Okay? Now, it doesn't matter which one – but you use it consistently until you're proficient with it. And you don't need any of the others because any one of 'em will do the whole job. But it's something that appeals to you enough that you would practice it. Now, the only reason I can't play music – playing music has never appealed to me enough to do the practice on it. Now, if I could do it without practice, oh man, I would just love to do that; but it doesn't appeal to me enough that I would practice four or five hours a day on anything consistently – I don’t do that. Now, there's other things that appeals to me enough that I practice it every waking hour, which is most of the 24 – except when I’m sleeping. But I practice it every moment because I'm interested in it – it appeals to me. So we're going to have enough things through the day – we hope that some will appeal to everyone; but not that all of 'em would appeal to anybody. And we don't care how much different or which one you use – it will work exactly the same. If you use this one, Jim, it works just as good as if you use the one about expectation, hmm? But you must use one – use it consistently until you're proficient with it. And if you do that, you are awake – you are alive, you are functioning. You are surviving, incidentally, and not this fallin' apart at the seams that everybody's doin' when they are unconsciously listening to all the enemy's noise – all the not-I's that keeps us in a turmoil constantly.
Okay, let's have questions or two or three here for a few minutes. (a silent pause with no questions) So clear that...?
(Yeah. You said in one of your tapes that knowing the Picture of Man – that the picture clears up and the not-I's go away or atrophy and die. Now, do they still practice on .....)
Only if…anything that you put no value on to you is atrophied and died. Is Santa Claus atrophied and died to you?
(Yes.)
Is Santa Claus atrophied and died to you, Betty Lee? Now, you still hear about it. You see it – you see all the pictures and you see the ballyhoo, and you see him on the cards and everywhere else, is that right? But he's atrophied and died as far as you’re concerned. Does that answer your question? Any one of these will make him atrophy and die to you. Now, they'll still be out there talkin' just like they’re still promotin’ Santa Claus. But so what – it's atrophied and dead as far as you're concerned 'cause it has absolutely no value to you does he, okay? Santa Claus have any value to you, Jim?
(No.)
No. When a not-I, the enemy, has no value to me – it has no value because I can see that none of 'em has any survival value to me, hmm? They’re doin’ nothin’ but tryin’ to destroy me, they’re tryin’ to wipe me out. Then once I see that, then they have atrophied and died as far as I'm concerned – today. If you see that those things has absolutely no survival value to you – no value to you whatsoever, they're dead as far as you're concerned. Anything that you've ever had and suddenly became of no value to you, it was dead to you, is that right? If you had a dress and it was no longer any value to you, it's dead – you never wear it – even though it’s still hangin’ in the closet – “plop.” You might throw it out, give it to the Salvations Army, Good Will, or hope somebody would take it away and throw it out to the curb. Then the garbage man says, “Hey, you left a good dress here,” and you bring it back in.
(Yeah, that is right because if you go on identifying with it, it keeps coming back until, until, until you finally –)
…you see it has no value to you. Anything that has no value to you what do you do with it? You dump it. It has no value – it's dead as far as you're concerned. But as long as we believe that these little thoughts all have value to us – that they’re an aid in survival, they tell me how I'm picked on – I'm goin’ to defend myself. I feel it has value if I’m gonna do that, right? And if I see that that has no value except destructive to me, I don't bother with it anymore – I don't go around complainin’ because so and so did so and so or so what? Somebody comes up to me and says, “You’re a big quack.” I say, “Yes.” I agree with ‘em. (laughter) Why not, I have nothin’ to defend, nothin’ to prove ‘cause if I'm trying to prove or defend somethin’, then I’m gonna be on guard and I see no use in bein’ on guard. If you'll watch dogs fightin' – and there's three or four dogs ganged up on one little dog – he'll go lay down and spread his toes open so he can peek out. And the other dogs leave him alone – ‘cause he’s vulnerable. But as long as he's trying to defend himself, he’ll stand a beatin’. And we're all trying to defend ourselves from many things – even a not-I can't bug me if I'm not trying to defend myself from it. He comes up and says, "You're in for it now, you did so-and-so wrong." I said, "Yeah, you should see what I got planned." (laughter) He ain’t got all day, you know, he’s got to let me alone – I’m vulnerable now. Once I’m vulnerable even a not-I can't bug me – it's only when I'm tryin’ to protect and defend myself and prove something that the not-I can bother me because I'm still saying he's got some value out there right? I'm wide open, so what? What do you do – if you come up and try to insult me and I agree with you, what do you say next, Marie?
(I don’t know.)
I told you… (lots of laughter) So you say I'm a no good so-and-so and I agree with you, what are you gonna say? You say “yes” or “no.” Then they don’t say anything.
(Well, they don't say that, they say, you gotta have attention in order to survive, and you better not be rejected in order to survive.)
Okay, so I say who wants to survive – so good, reject me. You ought to see the rejection I have now that I’m over it. So, he’s lying when he tells me that I can't survive a little rejection – and there’s gobs of it, I get great gobs of it every day. Body's still fine. In fact, you can't reject me unless I'm trying to be claimed, is that right? Now, why would I want that person to claim me anyway? So now how are they going to reject me? You see, I'm like the little dog – lay on my back and throw my feet apart and stick my throat out...now, what are you going to do to me? You know, really? How many of you…either of you, you gonna bite me? (laughter) You just can't do it.
(If you have the value on it, then you’re in for it.)
Oh, yeah, you know, if I put value on it if I've accepted the Four Dual Basic Urges as having value for survival – now I've got something to prove and defend and stick up for and all that stuff. I don’t need any of that – I tried that a long time and all I could see is I was gettin' more and more non-survival, huh? That about right? [End of CD #2 of 4 – Roswell ‘75]
ROSWELL WORKSHOP PART 1
ROSWELL WORKSHOP PART 3
ROSWELL WORKSHOP PART 4