 Hi, everyone. Welcome. Good to see you all. Yeah, welcome to our Heart of Christ online retreat weekend. We've got the theme, Miracle of the Mind. It feels like it's going to be a very vibrant weekend. And yeah, I'm Peter. I'm going to be hosting for those who are new. And I can just let you know the flow of the weekend. This evening will be joined at the monastery with Kirsten and musicians. And tomorrow we're going to have a movie workshop. And then there'll be a closing session on the Sunday. But to start with, we have David and Francis here with us in the studio in Mexico. So I'm going to pass it right over to them now. Hi, everyone. Thank you, Pete. Hi, Francis. Here we are. We've just been floating. We've floated over to the studio today and floated into the studio. And we're just floating and floating. Yeah, there is so much joy and vibrancy. We were actually started this morning by David and I reading your sent in prayers. And we read and read and just feel so touching. And just all the joy come from that. And it's now really eating out. And we, yeah, this weekend we have all of our mystical Christ Academy students here with us on top of the people who... Lucy, right? Yeah. There's Jeff. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. And we, yeah, that makes a big group. And we have also people joining us from so many different countries from Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Georgia, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Norway, Romania, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and let me see. Sweden, Switzerland, Chile, Peru, Ogda, China, Colombia, Peru. Yeah, it's a big international group here. It's an academy group and a very much international group from all over the world. And what a way to come together for the miracle of the mind. Yeah, on the way over, I put that song. There's a song called Miracle of the Mind by Amanda Cook. So some of you want to enjoy that. You can check that out on YouTube. It's very fired up. Pat Benatar, all fired up. We're all fired up for this weekend. And actually, we have been doing these online monthly retreats for Francis was saying about five and a half years every single month for the last five and a half years. So if you missed any, we'll put them up. We'll try to get them up where you can access them and watch them because we've been having fun diving way down into the mind. And it's almost fitting that this is kind of our last one. And it's called Miracle of the Mind. So we were aware that there was going to be some big changes this year and we were getting numbers 555 and today is 55 May 5. There's been all these signs and symbols and yeah when Francis and I were talking this morning then toward the end of our talk so much overflowing joy. And this passage came in, our use for words is almost over now. And Francis just started having tears and so, you know, we were going into mysticism we're actually going into that state that's beyond the words. And then Jesus even covers that he says and if you need a word, I will give it to you. He's not, he's not depriving us of words he's just saying, if you need a word. It's a key phrase if you need a word I will give it to you but but he's pointing us into the deep silence is the stillness tranquility. It's very exciting, you know, just see I've been reading your questions and this word stood out involuntary. And I love that word so much because I truly feel this, you know, this spiritual journey is so little about us trying to figure out the way and trying to do the right thing, trying to understand intellectually trying to make sure we think the right thought in this is so much about purification of what we want truly want you know even to to bring up to allow the darkness to show up to our mind is basically to see that this is not what we want anymore. But this power of our desire is to be experienced. Once we we realize what we want that that set us to a complete automatic trajectory. You know then this power of the mind, the mind the miracle state of mind will will carry us all the way through will bring the miracles will bring the people will bring me to learn will bring the, you know, the lessons and the answers, but it all comes from that that deep, deep desire of our mind, our heart. And for those that have relied on the scriptures, you know, the biblical scriptures or the Hindu scriptures, Bhagavad Gita and in Islam scriptures and so forth, you know, the scriptures oftentimes are called the word. But actually, this is going much much deeper than words that Jesus tells us that words are symbols of symbols twice removed from reality. And he's telling us that that you don't wake up through the words you wake up through the first of all initial stages the Holy Spirit using the words. That's why you read the course. That's why you practice the course. That's why you like Rumi and Kabir and Walt Whitman and all the great philosophers and and saints and mystics and avatars. But then Jesus comes along Jesus Christ, you know, the way of the truth in the life and he he dictates a book of words through a research psychologist called Helen Shuckman. And then the thing is, though, when people start to pick it up, they start to reading the book as if they're a person reading a book, and they will eventually become enlightened or reach salvation. They think as a person. No, it really is not about persons reading a book or persons being enlightened. In fact, what you start to realize is it's the prayer of the heart that takes you to communion with God. Not the words. It's the prayer of the heart. Those are rudimentary little surface level things. And so when we were talking today, the quote came to mind was from the course truth will be returned to your awareness by your desire as it was lost by your desire for something else. There's the key. The desire. The desire is it. That means you don't have to be so concerned like when you're doing typical courses. What should I say? What should I do? Where should I go? You know, those are the surface little shadows, surface shadows, the words, the body, the here, there, this one, that one, this relationship, that relationship. No, it's the desire of the heart that returns the mind to the full awareness of truth. And then the other quote that came to mind. Some of you, I remember Jerry Jampolsky. Good old Jerry, he's just passed away, but but he studied the course for many, many years is a lot of you know. And one of Jerry's favorite passages was this. Remember? The peace of God is my one goal. The aim of all my living here, the end I seek my purpose and my function and my life while I abide where I am not at home. Wow, Jerry, Jesus is like, Oh, I like that one too. So that's what we want this miracle of the mind to be about purpose function my life where I abide where I am not at home. It's it's the prayer of our heart to wake up. And then we don't have to worry all the actions and the words and the the movements and whatever will come from that desire. All you have to do is desire to know God desire to know the Creator and then everything else is given like raindrops from heaven just raining down on you. You don't have to figure it out. Just let it rain raindrops of joy. That's that's relaxing. And that's the key word involuntary. Because I think when we're thinking that we have to do everything consciously, we have to consciously find our way back to God, we have to consciously do the right things, consciously make the right decisions. That puts a stress in the mind like, Oh my gosh, I've got to do something major to get back to God. And this involuntary word is is like more like you were saying this morning is like a discovery of just stepping back and getting out of the way. Yeah, yeah, it's it's actually, you know, the most effective thing I would say is to get out of the way and not interfere. Because Jesus even says in the course that miracles should be involuntary and should not be under conscious control, because he is in charge of the miracles. He is the one that knows what the mind is ready for. And so, so really, I think this is why we feel so joined in this, you know, we can really relax. We want to live a relaxed life we don't, you know, future happiness is not our just reward for we have calls for freedom now. So, right now is, is the moment that we're worthy to relax and trust only in trust can we truly relax to the degree that we still trust our own effort and our own understanding. At that degree, we will not have peace. So only in full trust with God and in the Holy Spirit, can we truly experience the present peace. And that is the goal of our online retreats that's the goal that that we're doing the mystical Christ Academy is to to be able to really have a firsthand glimpse with this experience with this piece. Once we have that kind of glimpse, then your desire, your desire will be set. Your desire would would invite that kind of experience to come. This is really all that Jesus is wanting to do to to nurture our desire. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, he's telling us in the workbook, I am as God created me this one thought is all you need to save the world. One thought I am as God created me. I am as God created me. I am spirit. I am oneself united with my creator. You get the gist of his lessons. He's like saying, the kingdom of heaven is you. He says the word within is actually unnecessary. The kingdom of heaven is you. And what that also means, though, is he has asked one time, how many teachers of God does it take to save the world? And his answer is one. And he says, but that one is not a body or in a body. So what he's pointing to is a spiritual reality where he's saying, all your guilt comes from believing in the body. Francis was saying earlier, it's like she was reading a line that that's what a separate mind is. The belief in in minds is really seeing a body. That's just a representation of the belief in separate minds. That's all it is. Separate minds are seen as bodies. That's the definition of bodies by the Holy Spirit by Jesus. What is about the separate minds are seen as bodies. And that set a lot of tone for, you know, why he teaches to, to give him to be in charge of the body, to make old to leave all the decisions to him, you know, to think to not think of tomorrow. You know what you should eat, because none of this is worthy of our holy mind, which is supposed to be given to God and to the Holy Spirit. That's where the miracle is to think about those decisions is actually in a way still thinking separate minds, the belief of separate minds have something to offer us. And some of you have heard me say this many times is that you've never done anything wrong in your life and you've never done anything right in your life. What's what connects those two is the body. You're not a doer. And how many of us how many of us who have had either mental or physical or digital to do list. Is anybody ever had to do list. I'm talking mental or physical written or even a little digital in your notes. Now, listen, Jesus is telling us this is the miracle of the mind. Let go of the doer. And then you let go of the to do list. You see the list is is dependent on the body being the doer. And what does Jesus say about the body he says that no single instant does the body exist at all. It's only remembered or anticipated. Oh, now we're getting deeper into the miracle of the mind. Now, he's giving us for the I need to do nothing solution. He's saying, in your prayer, go beyond the need for words, go beyond your to do list, go beyond the doer, go beyond all your past regrets and past grievances. Go beyond all your future ambitions and your future goals. You see, it's all the same. He's saying, come with me and be with me and abide with me. Even in the Bible, I remember many years ago, probably when I was a teenager, I remember reading in the Bible. It is not I that live but Christ that lives in me. Don't you like the feeling of that? How's that for a mantra? It is not I that live but Christ that lives in me. Lucy's feeling that one. And that's what the miracle of the mind is, you know, it's going directly into that experience and feeling the relaxation and peace of that statement.