(From a seminar by John-Roger given March 2, 1978)
Some of you have had difficulty dealing with your body, mind and emotions. We come into MSIA and many experiences take place inwardly. All of a sudden an inner thing happens and you say, “My God, what was that?” You just entered the next phase of your inner existence and no one else around you may know that has taken place. That’s fine, because who cares anyway? Actually you and I do—and mostly you, because I already have mine established. I am just working with you on your establishment.
It’s pretty obvious to some of you now that I work very closely with Insight Seminars. That’s one of my babies, just like MSIA is one of my babies. Russell Bishop pointed out a really beautiful thing. He said, “J-R, I’m realizing that what you’re dealing with isn’t grounded.” I said, “It isn’t meant to be grounded. I deal in theory and I run the assumption that these are intelligent people and they’ve been with me long enough that they can take what I’ve said theoretically and ground it themselves through a technique or an experience.”
That may be true for those who have been here for a long time, but there are others who come in the door for the first time and they may think, “Golly, what a spiritual group. They’re really way out there. I don’t know how to do that.” And so, after we get through doing a seminar which comes from a theoretical approach, we can look more closely at the dynamics underlying it. Then we’ve addressed your individuality and you say, “Wow, that’s no longer theory.” This is exactly what I’ve been doing. But at some point you may need a little bit more, and so we give you an extra “shot” of ability.
The Traveler works with Russell Bishop in doing this work—not through him, but with him. It works with everybody, but it works more closely with those who say, “I will work more closely.” It’s as though the Traveler is here and you’re there saying, “I’m going to do that.” As you move, it moves right with you, and as you move away, it also moves right with you. It’s almost like a mirror—except it can encompass you, whereas the mirror won’t necessarily do that. And it is because of that ability, and Russell’s intention and commitment (which has turned out to be 100-plus-percent) that this really works. So after we get through a seminar, we may turn the rest of the seminar over to the “Insight team.” They might say, “This is what we heard and here is the technique to work that, so let’s make this thing bust across. You’ve got the theory, you’ve heard it, the energy is present, and now here is the training process.”
Sometimes there may be training processes that are applicable, and sometimes, because of the nature of what goes on, there won’t be. But maybe the following week we’ll have worked out something, and the first part of the seminar will be turned over to that instead of to music and entertainment. But I don’t want to get rid of the music and entertainment because I really love to have people come and share their space and their talent. As good as it is and as bad as it is, it’s all been perfect in my eyes, because you were there doing it. Then all you have to do is tighten up the technique, refine it, and it becomes great. Everybody who was great started out making all the miscellaneous mistakes.
Nobody started out great, and we don’t expect them to. If they do, then we’ll know that Jesus has returned, and if he does I’m ready to give up this seat really fast. Maybe he’ll lead an Insight Training. At least we’ll give him the opportunity to participate, because he’s given us the opportunity to participate. That’s something we’re looking forward to—expanding the scope of this work. This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. I get letters that say, “J-R, the Movement has changed over the years and it’s not like it used to be,” and I say, “Oh, thank God, because it wasn’t in God consciousness—and I think we can get it there.” I’m not worried about me, but I think that as a group, we can put aside our prejudices, our doubts, and our nonsense and say, “For this time, anything is possible.” The difficult we’ll do immediately, and the impossible will take just a little bit longer. And what can never be done, we’ll do next week.
That’s what we’re dealing with. We’re just going to do it. We may not have all the techniques down tonight in Russell’s head or mine, or the Insight staff’s. But it will appear, and we’re going to share that with you and work that with you. Back in 1971 I said that in 1978 the Movement would expand into a great force across the planet, and many of the things we’d be doing we don’t even know about because we’re not ready and we don’t have the personnel trained yet. A lot of this expansion is possible because many people who are high level initiates, and who are in the inner worlds and the inner seminars, have given up their space for the new people. They say, “I’d really like to be there, J-R, because I want to sop all that up. But I’m there in the seminars on the inner now, and I’m able to know that I’m there while I’m home reading a book or watching television.”
A lot of them are saying, “I didn’t know that I was present during the Insight Training, but my husband or my wife would come home and tell me these things, and I knew them already. I’d been going through them all evening because I was there in the electronic body,” or what we call the higher body. Some of us who have the ability to see are well aware that they were there, and you’ve heard me talk to you about the various levels of consciousness that appear in these seminars. I’ve said that even if you put on a J-R seminar and you walk away and there’s nobody in the room, that room will be filled with people who have come to hear it spiritually.
It stands to reason then that we’re not really interested in physical bodies. We are interested in levels of consciousness, and where that physical body happens to be is absolutely fine. If it’s here, that’s fine, and if it’s not, that’s fine. But we want the consciousness to be in God’s love, because that’s going to affect a lot of people. We’re striving for that, not in terms of stressing ourselves, but we’re setting that up. We’re allowing God to participate more readily and openly in everything we’re doing. You people who are here now, and a lot of the new people who are here for the first time physically, are not old or new to me. I’ve known you for a long time. You’re part of this even though you may never come back into these seminars again. Everyone who leaves here and goes out and badmouths me has advertised me. And a lot of people have said, “I’m going to find out for myself because that guy can’t be all that good or all that bad. He’s either got to be God or the Devil.” I say, “Come and find out.” Then they come and find out and they say that this is the work of Spirit.
I tell people, “Believe me if you want to, but if you don’t believe me when I tell you I’m the Mystical Traveler, then believe my works.” Just look around at each other, for these are the very works of Spirit. You don’t have to believe me at all, just look in your heart. You can say, “Well, I don’t know if that’s so or not…maybe he is…and I don’t think he is…” Your heart will say, “You know better.” All you have to do is look around at the Light and the love that comes into people’s eyes and in their heart and you say, “Well, if this is the work of the devil, I can’t wait to see God’s because it’s going to be so fantastic.” Of course, I’ve never really known the negative forces to do good works. I’ve never known them to do anything except be members of the loyal opposition and train us and strain us and make us stronger, no matter what. I’ve never known them to give grace.
I’ve often said, “Thank God they’re there.” And people have said, “Do you mean, thank God the devil is there?” And I say, yes, if there is such a thing. Thank God because out of God came all things, including the “devil.” And if God is satisfied with that, who am I to sit here and say, “Well, I think that’s terrible. I think we shouldn’t have a devil.” How are we going to sandpaper and get rid of the junk that comes around us? How are we going to rise to that that is us?
In Insight we’ve said that you are worthy, and last night I said that in the flesh in this world, you’re not worthy, and you’ve never been and never will be worthy. But the you that resides in the flesh is absolutely worthy. Even though we are not worthy in the flesh, we still present ourselves to God and approach it anyway, because in spirit we are worthy.
In an Insight training, it was said that if you’ve done 1000 hours of spiritual exercises, what value is that to you, just to sit and be a mechanical robot, repeating? But do one in absolute 100% intention and devotion, and it’s worth your 1000 hours. Do 1000 hours in absolute perfect devotion, and you won’t be here. Any time you want to leave, that’s your best way out. Your body will just be evaporated right up to the next level. You’ll be able to take it with you. Some of you don’t want to, but I’m saying you could. Some of you say, “I want to get it in a better shape before I go,” but you’re waiting for somebody to come along and help you, when help is here now—that is, help in terms of Spirit.
The result appears spontaneously. Nobody has to tell you that because you know in your heart of hearts. And nobody can destroy that because it has awakened itself to you. It says, “Here, I am.” All I’ve said to you is, “Validate your experience.” Don’t avoid the relationship with your heart. Your heart of hearts knows the truth.
And that applies here as well. This body is not exempt any more than your body is exempt. These emotions are not exempt. This mind is not exempt. That’s why I know what you do and what you go through. If I didn’t have these things, I couldn’t work with you and understand, because I wouldn’t have a vehicle with which to do that. But I don’t let that run me. The difference is often you let it run you. Nothing is going to run me—not a cigarette, not an alcoholic drink, not sex. I may run with it as an experience, but when I get tired, it isn’t going to beat me in the head. I’m not going to grab a tiger by the tail, because when you let go it will devour you. That’s foolish, and yet some of you grab it thinking that when you let go, you’ll be exempt and it won’t turn around and bite you.
That hurts. And yet, you’ll do it over and over and mislead yourself —and I don’t do it to you even once. You can go back and check all the information I’ve given. Some of it is contradictory, and I’ve told you that, and then I contradicted it, because I understand the nature of the spiritual energies that come through the mind. I’m not the one doing that but I am the one describing that. And when you get there you’ll say that was a good description. It did the same thing to me, but it didn’t throw me because I understood the theory.
Now we’re hoping that we can get into more of the practical application of the teachings. Insight Seminars are the practical application. They are not designed to get you to heaven. They are designed to get you in touch with those levels in this world that you have not been in touch with and that you are not in control of, because you have not overcome them. And once you’ve done that, the spiritual exercises are designed to get you into heaven—not Insight Training. Insight Training breaks the crystals. Some of you have gone through Insight Training and crystalized what it is—and you’ll come back to another training and it will break up that crystal. Then you’ll go to another and think, “Well, that’s what it is,” and it will break that up…and then you’ll go to one trainer who does it one way and go to another trainer who does it another way, and that will also break up the crystals. It’s designed to break you free from those crystallizations so you’re here, and when you sit down to do spiritual exercises that place inside of you that kept blocking you is now gone, and you can then move rapidly into the Spirit.
The planet is changing. It’s not my idea. I’d like to have it the way it was when I was eighteen, and to have the body I had at eighteen but with everything that I know now. But I had to give up something to get to what I have now. I didn’t know the sacrifice had to be so severe or I might not have done it. But it’s past now and there’s nothing we can do about that. So we can’t let who we were at 18 or 20 or 25 indict us today. What happened to you in the past is past, and yesterday should not be brought in today to complain about. The Bible says that the evil of today is enough. Don’t carry it over to tomorrow. Get it done and out of the way and wake up in the morning and ask yourself, “Who are you?”
Baruch Bashan
