 So, the first part of this gathering, I talked about Fleming's question about the purpose of marriage. Because marriage in this world is an event. An event on the timeline. And it can actually seem like a very important event. And this is a world where there are important events and unimportant events. But this very moment is important. Because this is the moment where we can choose our purpose. Now there's sometimes a debate whether there's human beings have free will or everything is predestined. The predestination is a time idea. And what we are told in the Course in Miracles is that forgiveness is our curriculum. Our whole purpose of life is to learn how to forgive and be happy, and joyful, and loving. And that free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. This curriculum was in place before you came to this world. Which means you are subject to this curriculum. Only the time that you take it is voluntary. So every moment we are deciding whether we will forgive or not. And every grievance we hold is a not. And every moment of happiness that we experience is a yes to the curriculum. But also we are told a very amazing thing. That we cannot even establish the form of the curriculum. So relationships are indeed destined. What we would call marriages or partnerships are part of destiny. You can't choose the form. But you can choose your interpretation of the form. Because forgiveness is an interpretation. It's an inspired interpretation. It's given to us by the Holy Spirit. So in this half of the gathering I would like to talk about the inspired use of the symbol of marriage. To wake up from the dream of this world requires discipline. To learn to cook requires discipline. To drive a car. To read. To speak a language. Everything in time requires discipline. Every skill that is learned and refined requires discipline. And forgiveness requires discipline too. That's why we say you need to practice at forgiving. So if you feel guided to become married and have a partnership in this world. That is part of the form of learning the curriculum of how to forgive. And there will be egoic temptations that will try to take you away from your purpose. Because everything that you commit to in this world the ego will throw up an opposite. Throw up an alternative for it. So let's talk about discipline. Some of you have exercised or taken yoga or had a diet. And you know if you want to achieve the results you have to stick with it to make it work. Because it requires discipline and yoga to stretch. To hold postures. To work with your breathing. So in marriage the discipline of forgiveness requires attention and practice. To reach the curriculum to experience the forgiveness. And the form is given you just for that purpose to practice the lesson of forgiveness. Now the ego will make up many different forms and many different purposes for the relationship. The devil can use a relationship as easily as the Holy Spirit can use the relationship. That's why you have to be vigilant in your relationship. Till the mind experiences forgiveness there will always be two alternatives lurking. Like a shadow hanging there, a ghost, dark ghost and the Holy Ghost. You've got one on each shoulder. I'm not going to tell you which one is on which but you can tell by the voice, the sound of the voice. You know whether it's the Holy Ghost or the dark ghost or the Black Knight. And the only temptation is to believe that there's something outside of yourself that can make you happy or take your happiness away. The belief that there's an external that you have to be concerned about. Because forgiveness shows us that happiness is a choice. It's a choice resting deep in our hearts and it's always available. It's always an option until we realize that the dark ghost is no longer an option and happiness becomes a reality. Because it is a reality. We just become aware of the reality. So there's a line that's very helpful from the Course of Miracles. Your brother is the mirror in which you see the reflection of yourself as long as the perception lets. There won't come a time when you feel this love in your heart and you experience that love is one and not two. All of the beautiful wedding songs talk about a man leaving his family, a woman leaving her family to unite in wedlock and become as one. That is the purpose of forgiveness. For you become so in love that you see that there was never to. There was always only love. So in that sense the commitment of marriage is temporary by nature because all commitments in linear time are temporary. Because linear time itself is temporary. So it's a commitment to take you into eternity. That's the only true purpose for getting married. Is to say to God take me beyond time. Take me back to eternity. My truth is to live forever and never die. And so the marriage gives many many opportunities for forgiveness. The curriculum is one. The opportunities are many. Until you see that the many are one. It all comes around. That's why I wear this ring. This is a reminder of what life is about. No beginning, no ending. That's why the ring is used in these ceremonies as a reminder. I like looking at that ring. I like having a close symbol so I can see it. I get many comments on it when I travel around the world. But it's just an opportunity to talk about what it means. It's a symbol of oneness and good conversation starter. And so like we did at the beginning I went to open this gathering up to everyone. During the first half of the gathering we talked about the purpose for marriage. And I talked about many reasons not to get married. But these reasons center on looking closely at the purpose. It was in Greek. In Greece many centuries ago that two words were uttered. Two words were spoken here in Greece. This was long before Jesus. The two words are know thyself. Very important. Because to know thyself we have to forgive. That's the gateway. So the ancient Greeks reminded us of the goal. And Jesus says this in Of Course the Miracles. Jesus quotes the Greeks. He says the only purpose in this world is to know thyself. And there are ego purposes that are part of trying to get something from the world. Because the ego is a belief in lack. So it aims its lack at the world and tries to get, grab for things, possess things, control. Can we find thyself in possession? No. Can we find thyself in control? Can we find thyself in greed? That would be searching in the wrong place, in the wrong direction. So it's good for us to be aware of this. What if we marry for money? For financial security. That's not a real good motive. How do we know? How do we know that that's not a good motive? Well from the land of the army we know thyself. And from the land of Great Britain, can't buy me love. Can't buy me love. No, no, no. Now we're covering the centuries. The modern day prophets, the Beatles, were reminding us of what the Greeks told us many centuries ago. But this is important to remember. Because it's easy to get distracted in a marriage over finances. Research has shown that many marriages end in arguments around money. It's a trick to pull you apart, to pull you away from the love. Now this morning I talked about another reason to get married. This was a reason people give for getting married. And I told the group this thing three times. Anybody remember what it was? I said it three times, did you forget it already? I was discussing the ego's reasons. I said it three times. At least I'll have to go back and listen to the recording. Sex, sex, sex, sex. I said it three times like that. Every bird choking. But this is not something that will last forever. So you don't want to have your marriage break up for this reason either. It's nobody. By the way, you all are invited to their wedding next year. You have no sex. But lots of joy. But lots of joy. You're getting married. Then I talked about other reasons that people get married. One is called companionship. But this still comes from the belief that you are lacking something in your heart. And that you need another person to console you. To be there for you. And this goes in a lot of marriage vows. To be there for you when you're sad and lonely and hurt. But you don't want to get married to get companionship. You want to get married to give from your heart. Because that's how you keep it, is you give it away. So instead of marrying someone to gain and get another friend. Or even get a close friend. You want to give the friendliness away. Every day you want to give the friendliness. Because that's how you keep it. And if you are friendly, you will seem to have many symbols of friends. Because giving and receiving are the same. So that helps us get clear about the purpose of marriage. It's very, very important to have the purpose in front. Because as I said, the purpose is inside of you. And purpose is not an event. The event will come and will go. And when it's gone, it will be just another event on the timeline. And it's okay, it's beautiful to take pictures and have reminders of the event. But underneath the event, you're just looking for reminders of the love. You want to always remember the love. Because that's where the purpose is. Now, if everything is preordained or everything is given. Then it's so important to listen to the guidance of your heart. Because it's only through the guidance that we see any meaning in this world. You could say, through the guidance of the Spirit, the world is given a temporary meaning. It's not an eternal meaning. But it's a meaning that you can love it. Because it takes you back to eternal life. So earlier I was quoting Shakespeare. To be or not to be, that is the only question. This is a question even more important than to marry or not marry. Because when we know our life is about being, we are not preoccupied with these busy doings of human beings. Because the doings, the doings will pass away. We are not forever doing. We are eternal beings, not eternal doings. She said, thank God, my next line was, God knows us as a being. And ask us to forgive the human concepts that we mistakenly believe about ourselves. Now in the first segment I talked about the purposes for marriage. And questions asked of married couples. What is the greatest thing about being married and the worst thing about being married? And the people said the greatest thing about being married is intimacy. And the worst thing about being married is loss of freedom. And then the single people were asked, what's the greatest thing about being single and the worst thing about being single? The greatest thing was freedom. And the worst thing was lack of intimacy. Lack of intimacy. But this cannot be true. I say our true freedom and our true intimacy comes from God. And it's a trick to believe we can find freedom or intimacy apart from God. That's what I discovered. I share my discovery with you. And this is helpful because then you don't pursue false definitions of freedom. Oh, I live in a free country or I am a free man, a free woman. And you also are much more humble about the intimacy. The intimacy is a connection deep in your heart. It's not something you can manufacture. If you say to your spouse, I want more intimacy in our relationship. Your spouse, your partner. It's not mouse, it's spouse. If you say to your spouse, I want more intimacy. You probably need psychological help. You say to your spouse, your partner, your husband, your wife, I need more intimacy. You have to give it from your heart. You can't be asking for it. You have to give it in order to experience it. So then your life becomes very spontaneous. It's about spontaneously giving the love. And after a while, you don't even keep track of the giving. You lose your ego's self in the giving. And remember your real self. So we are here today to celebrate this marriage and the purpose of this marriage. We are all here witnesses of this purpose. Because without the purpose, the marriage would be empty. Who purchases a gift box that is empty? The gift is inside the box. And the love is inside our hearts. So we are celebrating the purpose for which this marriage is coming about. And also we are all reminders of that purpose. Why would you get married in front of a group of friends? Except to draw forth witnesses to the purpose of your heart. Everyone is a reminder of this purpose. That's what a trusted friend would say whenever you are tempted to blame or hate or tempted to point the finger. You need reminders of the true purpose of the wedding. Because the meaning will never last as an event. The event is soon washed over in the waves of time. Like on the shore over here, just the water. Washing over the sand. So don't put your hopes on an event. Remember the purpose underneath the event. That's the focus.