 Hi everyone. Welcome to our all-day movie workshop. It's nice to see you again. And yeah, I'm Peter. I'll be hosting this session for those who are new. And I'll just give a quick run-through of the day. So we're going to start with the movie with David. And then afterwards we're going to have some breakout rooms where we'll go a bit deeper with what came up for us. And then later on we'll have a closing session where David will address one-on-one anything that came up. And a couple of breaks in between. So I'll pass it over to you now, David. Thank you, Pete. Welcome. Welcome everyone. Oh, you're going to love today. I know I say that all the time, but it's really true. You're going to have a great experience today for sure. And we are really blessed to have amazing themes that we're going to be examining this week and an amazing documentary that will help us dive deeper into the love in our heart. And I'm talking about unconditional love. I'm talking about agape love, not love for a person or a group or a particular thing, but the kind of love that has no limits, that is so vast and so all-encompassing that you can barely keep your toes on earth. So that's my hope today, that you'll be floating somewhere in the ethers in several hours and you'll be like, earth, what is earth? Take you so far beyond time and space that you experience the joy of God's love, which has no boundaries and no limits. So as usual, I think we probably have 80 or 80 some people from around the world joining us all here on Zoom and we're thrilled to see you. I see that Joni and Diona have moved on to a house now. Yeah, there they are, Florista and they're joining in with us, moving on from La Casa de Milagros and we're grateful for all of you that are tuning in. There's newlyweds, I see Wesley and Angie, they're newlyweds. They've just come through a beautiful marriage ceremony this week and there's Monica, Manny, oh my gosh, everybody is tuned in here. Well, today we're going to show a movie that many people would say comes from a Christian orientation and the reason that we're showing this movie today is I want you to join me, I want you to forgive Christianity and I want you to forgive all Christians throughout the world and never do I want to hear you raise your voice again about those Christians because today we're going to see that the problem was in our mind. It wasn't the Christians, it wasn't the Muslims, it wasn't the Hindus that were the problem, it wasn't the scientists that were the problem. Sorry, it's not the atheists either. None of these people have a problem, it's the mind that's looking through a darkened glass and seeing the world as it is not and when we separate the world into separate theologies or separate scientific avenues or separate philosophical points of view, separate psychological points of view or we see separate people even. We think people are different than each other Jesus is that think again the ego, people, the world that you're looking at and if you believe you're a person then you believe in the problem, not the solution, you believe in the separation, not the correction. So this world is distorted perception this world has never been true and never will be and not one thought of this world has ever any reality in it because eternity is reality, time and space is the illusion and now we're joining together today to transcend the distorted perception of time and space and come back to the kingdom of heaven within to pure spirit. Some of you may think you have like a spiritual career and you're building up your accomplishments so that when you reach the pearly gates you can go to Gabriel and St. Michael and different ones and say here's my application I attended a lot of online retreats in your name do I can I get in and Jesus is saying it's not about the retreats it's about the love it's about the love in our heart that's what it's always about and that's why Jesus said 2000 years ago blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God if you just took one saying from Jesus and you just applied that in your life that's the whole thing you don't even need theology you don't need philosophy you don't need anything but love the Beatles told us that all you need is love they were right on that's right on so our themes this week that you all voted on and all of you are voting I think on Facebook and now we have tribe we have tribe votes coming in we have officially tally the tribe votes in with the Facebook of votes and your combined polls this is what you want this week this is what you're asking Jesus for this week and oh will he respond but here is what you're asking for accepting what's given for my healing accepting what's given for my healing that received 92 votes that's the top vote getter second one keeping the faith no matter what keeping the faith no matter what the third one being vigilant against ego detours and distractions that's a big one that's important being vigilant against ego detours and distractions when that little voice in your mind tries to tell you that you're better than somebody when that little voice in your mind tries to ask you to compare something and and be on the top side of something else that's an ego distortion distraction anytime you feel a judgment or a criticism against anyone or anything that's an ego detour distraction and we do we have to be vigilant we have to say no I am not going to give my holy mind over to such a crazy notion a crazy idea number four to teach is to demonstrate Jesus is telling us that when we teach we teach by our thoughts and our attitudes and our behaviors we teach with with basically above all our our thoughts because what we do comes from what we think so if our behaviors are not in line with our thoughts if we're people pleasing if we're trying to just smile and put on a happy face when we feel terrible that's not integrity we need to actually feel the joy feel the love in our hearts and then let it radiate it through us to everyone and everything in the world so in order to do that we're told by Jesus we have to raise up the unconscious beliefs in the ego and we have to let them go we have to give them to the Holy Spirit and that will transform our thought process we will then have we will then rediscover our real thoughts the thoughts that we think with God and we will realize that the thoughts that we have believed in from this world are not our real thoughts at all recently I was doing a a movie talk some of you might remember if you were there but I was saying that this cup of coffee is a private thought and then I said later on this cup of iced tea is a private thought and then people started writing me saying oh my gosh I've got a whole new definition of private thoughts how is a cup of coffee an attack thought how is a cup of iced tea an attack thought I said well read workbook lesson 184 I said at the time which tells you that anything that you believe exists in and of itself like a coffee cup or a tea cup anything that you believe exists in and of it out of itself like you can pull it out of the tapestry of all time and space and you can pull it out and give it a name and that is separation Jesus is telling us this he tells us this in lesson 136 he tells us this in lesson 184 he's telling us if you believe anything exists in and of itself you don't understand it because nothing exists in and of itself everything is part of a bigger hole and when you try to break it apart and see it as if it means something including the personality self that's the that's that's when the ego really likes the body and the personality self it says has great meaning and the rest it says oh well don't worry so much that's an image you should really protect and defend and the rest oh well there they live somewhere else you know but that's not true so the final of the combined poll results was infinite patience produces immediate results don't try to figure that out with the ego infinite patience produces immediate results the patience is an attribute of right mindedness and that when you are in your right mind you can look at the world in a way without worry or concern no fear no doubt no guilt Jesus tells us in the manual for teachers patience is natural to those who trust no outcome already seen or yet to come can cause in fear I love that line what a great line that is the cure for anxiety I'll say it again patience is natural to those who trust no outcome already seen or yet to come can cause in fear that's so peaceful it's got to be that's just so peaceful so today's movie we're going to watch a documentary on Billy Graham Billy Graham is known as an evangelist as a preacher and Jesus does talk about preaching in the course he says basically you you teach the world peace by by your thoughts and by your attitudes and he does say at one point not by preaching to it and this is not a condemnation of angelism because Jesus would say all things are are useful when they're under the direction of Christ when they're under Christ control anything can be helpful to your mind because Christ the Holy Spirit knows who you really are and is leading you back to that presence of who you really are the I am presence prior to time and so anything can be used now what I like about this documentary is we'll see that that Billy Graham did not grow up as a child he wasn't dreaming of being a preacher or an evangelist even as a teenager he was not really thinking about Jesus he was not really thinking about the Bible he was not really thinking about salvation he'll tell you in the documentary he was thinking about girls that's what he was thinking about and this shouldn't be surprising it's a teenage boy who thinks about girls a lot and and then at some point he is going to get a calling to be used by the Holy Spirit and Jesus and in a we'll say I say a big way it's a big way and this is for all of us to see that he he didn't particularly want anything to do with with we could call it the clergy he he didn't want to be a clergyman he didn't want to be a minister he didn't want to be have a doctorate all these are like symbols that will get pulled in to his dreamscape as part of his answering his call and it's very involuntary most of us we go through life and we don't really know what's going to happen we don't know the direction of of our life really you know when we're honest we know that we may have ideas and ambitions but we don't know really how things are going to play out and that's the case with Billy Graham he he does not know what is in store for him but when he gets his calling he has to acknowledge that and he still has his doubts and fears and resistances even after he receives his calling and that's common that's part of the human condition even when God reaches you reaches your heart the ego will try to block you from answering the calling of your heart and I should say the ego is quite ingenious for a puff of nothing it's an ingenious puff of nothing it it wasn't created by God but it's got its own weird form of intelligence which takes the form of ingenuity and you know ingenuity doesn't really get you anywhere uh ingenuity can lead very easily to grandiosity how use how use the psychological delusions of grandeur if you get too ingenious you might fall into traps of delusions of grandeur and curiosity is good but but curiosity is only good if it takes you to the holy spirit in Jesus because if curiosity opens up to the ego then you know the saying curiosity killed the cat curiosity can kill you if if you aim it in the wrong direction so don't get too excited about just being curious you curious for what how about curious about the truth how about curiosity about spirit curiosity about divine love now that's good that's wonderful but don't be too curious about the world because the ego projected the world to keep you from knowing who you are and you don't want to be too curious about a cloaking device the Klingons Star Trek call it Klingons have really good technology the Klingons have a really good cloaking device but cloaking is defense against the truth Jesus is saying in my defenselessness my safety lies the meek shall inherit the earth be defenseless and know your creator and know how strong you are as spirit in Christ don't don't be defending against anything because if you start defending then you admit that you are the thing that is weak that needs defense see how the the teaching goes now i'm going to start off i'm just going to reinterpret Christianity for the whole planet and the whole cosmos now i mean there's some aliens that are watching these shows too from other realms and they have good technology but i'm going to reinterpret Christianity i know some of you have used a course in miracles and you have heard some things from a course of miracles teachers like one of the things is that there's there's two Jesuses there's a teacher that's taught that there is Jesus of the Course and Jesus of the Bible nonsense there's only one Jesus and actually that Jesus is pure spirit is Christ and there's not two Jesuses because if there's two Jesuses then as course students you start to say well we're in the good camp we know the real Jesus and then there's those other Christians those other Christians who believe in the Jesus of the Bible stop it stop it that that's not true there's one Jesus and and if you split Jesus into two you've just projected the split in the mind onto Jesus please don't do that some of you have had some grievances against Christians too not anymore today i'm going to take the whole wind out of that sail because some of you have felt that Christians you know Bible thumpers and they think they they have the only way to God and their theology is the right theology and no other theology is right well Jesus says in the course forget this world forget this course and come unto thy God with with empty arms come unto God with empty arms Jesus is telling us we have to go into an experience that transcends all theologies even the theology of a course in miracles he doesn't want us to get caught into thinking that this is the better theology than other religions obviously non-dual theologies are very helpful we're not denying we're not denying the the the the Vedas we're not denying the ancient chinese teachings non-dual teachings we're not denying the non-dual teachings that are so helpful to us but even the the non-dual theologies have to be released why you have to forgive all philosophies all psychologies all theologies in order to know yourself as the christ you can't hold on to anything that's what he says in lesson 189 hold on to nothing do not bring with you one thought the past has taught or one belief you ever learned before from anything forget this world forget this course and come with holy empty arms unto thy God so that's what we're going to do today now i'm going to start off with the cross i've been hearing about the cross of Jesus since i was a tiny since before i could walk i was baptized in a christian church when the body of david was a baby they were throwing water in my face and they were telling me about the cross i can't remember the exact words from back then but i could feel the vibe and and then some of you have been raised in christianity so you know the whole story about there's a song about carry the old rugged cross you know and the cross is a very dark symbol because the cross has been oftentimes associated with sacrifice and jesus is teaching us in the course that that it's not a sacrifice to know god you're not really giving up anything important to know who you really are and to know god you're so holy that you would never have to give up anything to be who you are you you just have to accept who you are you have to accept forgiveness and atonement is the word he uses that's the only responsibility you have do you have a responsibility to pay your rent you have one responsibility and that's the atonement to accept the correction in your mind for the ego belief system do you have responsibility to your children you have atonement is your only responsibility do you have responsibility to parents or elderly parents atonement in the mind is the only responsibility do you have responsibility to pay your taxes atonement in the mind is the only i mean only responsibility. That's what Jesus is teaching us. I find it very joyful to know that I have one responsibility. I can stay in a state of joy because I remember that I have one responsibility and no other. That's why I'm happy. It's really simple. It's not a complicated thing. If I have one responsibility and I fully immerse myself in that responsibility, then I'm happy. I'm joyful. I'm peaceful. Now let's get back to the cross because for some of you this is a sticking point and because you believe that Jesus got stuck on a cross and blood to death, you know, the ego has hijacked the cross. The ego is hijacked the cross. It's using the cross as a symbol of sacrifice. Like, Jesus died for your sins. Why would a loving God have an only begotten Son die, suffer and die to go to eternal life? That's got to be the most ridiculous story ever, but it's coming from a belief in sacrifice. And there are comedians. Bill Maher is a famous comedian and atheist, but he loves to do, he loves to poke fun at the Bible. He loves to poke fun at this talking snake in Genesis. He makes a whole comedy routine about the talking snake. And it's pretty funny. I had a friend of mine who knew that I was into the course and she recorded a whole album based on course lyrics, Elisa Amor, and she came to visit me at the monastery one time and we were walking together and she says, I can't believe that you show a movie that's made by an atheist. And I said, who? And she said, like Bill Maher. And I'm like, oh, I love, I laugh so much at Bill Maher stuff. I love, he's a great comedian and everything. And she said, but he's an atheist. And I said, oh, that's nonsense. I'm not interested in whether people are atheists or Christians or Muslims or Hindus. I love the joy and the laughter that comes from the spirit. And I particularly like that. What was that movie he did? Religulous. He took, he took two words, ridiculous and religious. And he mixed them together to make the word religious. And he showed, he made a movie poking fun at all of the crazy. It wasn't just Christians. He went after Mormons, Muslims. I mean, he went after anything that was religious. If it was religious, he went after it. I laughed. I laughed. Because to me, religion is joy. Religion is happiness. Religion is inner peace. It's not a theology. I kind of like it when you poke fun at the ego's misuse of religion. I find that funny, actually. But she couldn't believe it. She said, I can't believe you, you show a movie made by an atheist. And I'm like, Oh, I'm not even thinking that way. So we're back to the cross. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna let the cross go today. Now some of you have an issue with the cross because the ego has misused the symbol. And the whole crucifixion had only one point, teach only love for that is what you are. That's all it meant. That was just part of a little skit that Jesus did to show that you can't really die. It was part of a little skit that showed that you can be you're innocent no matter what seems to happen in form. That was a little skit 2000 years ago where Jesus was showing that the body is of no consequence. Who we are is spirit. Who we are shouldn't be affected by a perception of a dead body or a live body of a body taking a walk on a summer day or a body that's on the cross for several hours, quite a few hours. We we the cross has been used as a symbol of sacrifice. And that's why you have an issue with the cross because of the belief in sacrifice. But the sacrifice isn't in history and it isn't in the world. It's just a belief in the mind, which I am going to encourage all of us to give it up today. Let's cough it up. Let's cough it up. We don't have to believe in sacrifice anymore. Any sacrifice, anywhere, any time, any place. Now it came to me one time when I was asking Jesus about the cross. And I said, that is quite a negative symbol here on planet Earth. And Jesus said, well, why do you keep looking at it that way? Then why don't you see it in a new way? I said, okay, I'm all ears. He said, the cross is is just a symbol of the vertical plane and the horizontal plane intersecting. What does that mean? Well, the horizontal plane is time and space and the whole cosmos of bodies and persons and countries, different planets, different galaxies. That's the horizontal plane. And the vertical plane is so glorious. That's where the forgiveness is. The vertical plane is right mindedness. The vertical plane is seeing that nothing ever happened. The vertical plane is seeing you are still as God created you. The vertical plane is the whole point of A Course in Miracles to see you are inviolate. You are invulnerable. Nothing of time and space can touch you because you are that vertical plane. And what seemed to be Jesus Christ was the intersection of the horizontal plane and the vertical plane. Oh my. Oh my. That's a different interpretation of the cross. You mean to tell me that person of Jesus was just the seeming intersection of that amazing spectacular vertical plane with that illusory trick of a horizontal plane. That's where the intersection occurs. Jesus spoke the words of the vertical. I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. That was the vertical plane, the Holy Spirit speaking. And it seemed to come out as words on the horizontal plane as a man with long hair and a robe and some sandals 2000 years ago. But that was just the intersection of the vertical and the horizontal. Wow. That means the cross is actually a reminder to me of my escape from time and my remembrance of eternity. Wow. That's important. That cross then in that interpretation is where I need to bring all of my doubts, bring them to the cross, the vertical plane, all my fears, all my guilt, every mistake I ever believed I made, bring it to the cross, the vertical, bring it to the Holy Spirit and see it disappear. That the vertical plane literally swallows up and and transcends the horizontal plane because the vertical is real. The vertical is the I am presence. And nothing of time and space can stand in the face of the I am presence. So for me, the cross was completely reinterpreted. I used to go into Christian churches where I traveled around the world, I would go into churches in Europe and Africa, China, mean all over the place, Australia. I haven't been to a church in Antarctica or the North Pole, but I was in a lot of churches. And when I would see the cross at the front, it didn't matter whether there was a body hanging on it or not. The cross was a reminder of the vertical. Everything is forgiven. Everything has already been corrected. You are innocent. You are a perfect child of God. That's what the cross shows me. The cross shows me the remembrance of God. And I have to, as we talk about no private thoughts and no people policing, bring your private thoughts to the cross, to the vertical. Bring your secrets to the cross, to the vertical. Lay all of your fears and doubts at the cross at the vertical. So as we move into this movie today, we are happily forgiving all Christians and all Christianity, we are going to forgive Course in Miracle Students, Hindus, Muslims, atheists, everyone. The vertical is where we are one. We are the same self in spirit. And all of these seeming differences of time and space could not ever cover us, cover over our divinity. It could not cover our innocence. We are innocent as we always have been. Now, some of you know, there's a singer that I really enjoy. And her name is Jackie Velazquez. And I'm going to play a music video for you from Jackie Velazquez. And the name of the song, here comes Issa, he won't miss out on this. He's got, he likes Jackie too. He's going to check, get his right seat now. He's got a choice. It's a very complicated choice here. Which one will he hear Jackie? And this one is being selected. He's happy now. Okay, this will work. This, the name of this song is lay it at the cross. And this song is a call to all of us to lay down all of our misinterpretations of the cross. Let's lay down today, all of our misinterpretations of Christianity. Let's lay down all of our misinterpretations of of Jesus and the apostles. And we might as well throw Mary Magdalene here. Please, she was not a prostitute. We have to let go of these distortions, you know, she was not a prostitute. In fact, she's the Christ like all of us. Adolf Hitler, Mussolini, we're we're forgiving history today. We're forgiving history. When we go vertical, we go to the holy instant, we go to the present moment, we go right into the light, we go right into the pure innocence. That's what Jesus is calling us to. He's not calling us to pick and choose among history, and among symbols of history and hold grievances. That's, that's not our our way. We're not going to reach the light by holding grievances of any kind. So the first song will be a music video I'll play. It's a song from Jackie Velazquez. And I want you to use this song to before we watched the Billy Graham documentary, I want you to to really be able to see Billy for who he really is. So we have to forgive everything that we have believed about Christianity, about the Bible, about the cross, about the crucifixion. We've got a really empty our mind today, if we're going to really see the truth of who we really are. If we really want Billy to help us see who we are, we have to be willing to release all of our misinterpretations that have blocked the light from shining through our heart to everyone and everything. So sit back, first enjoy the music video, and then we will launch into a beautiful documentary on the life of Billy Graham. And I will come in with commentary during that documentary as always. We'll follow that up with a little break breakout rooms where you can share your emotions that you've been having or share your insights, share your miracles. And then later on in the day, I will come back and we will have our interactions on screen for for everyone. And I feel like this is a very profound day of healing again, because any type of judgment or misinterpretation is keeping us from knowing ourself as the Christ. And this is a day of healing for everyone and everything on the on the planet. So sit back and enjoy and enjoy the music video as a as a very deep prayer.