David Hoffmeister has been teaching the principals found in ACIM for many years. He has been uncompromising in his practice of what the Course teaches. Because of his uncompromising approach, he is now a living demonstration of the Awakened Mind. As “A Course in Miracles” states: “You will learn this Course completely or not at all.” This series of videos recorded at the Kalani retreat center in Hawaii helps one to understand some of the steps required to awaken to the clear and beautiful state that the Course describes as the Christ Mind. Enjoy!
Food Preferences
Divesting Ego Beliefs
You have put your faith in ego beliefs such as making money on the stock market and doing regular exercise. These only wind you into the world. You are called to unwind from the world by divesting ego beliefs and investing in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
I Can Be Hurt by Nothing but My Thoughts
In A Course in Miracles, Jesus makes it clear that the ego mind is always defending against the truth, and that our defenses are like little “magic wands” we wave when the truth begins to threaten our sense of individuality. These defenses are always pointing the finger outside of our mind for the cause of sickness and pain, as if the images of the world are to blame. Yet the truth is that the world exists only as thoughts in your mind, and so mind-training leads to the realization that, as Lesson 281 says, “I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.” (W-281) Such is Freedom!
What’s Under the Twinkie?
Is there a way to be free from food issues? David Hoffmeister teaches that through working with “A Course in Miracles,” he gave over all things he thought he knew to Spirit. He was told by Jesus, “eat whatever is served,” and through many experiences he was loosened from all past conditioning about food. With all the past conditioning in the mind around food, nutrition, health, and body image, decision-making in this area can seem quite difficult and fraught with guilt.
No Private Thoughts and Emotions
There are no private thoughts. Any thoughts that you believe are private are not real. They are meaningless. ACIM daily lessons ask you to practice this early on in your training with lesson eight, “my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts,” and ten, “my thoughts do not mean anything.” The first step in healing is to let all of the emotions up, whether you label them bad or good. Talk about them. Imagine how much faster your relationships would heal if you were open to sharing your emotions. It’s the fastest way to undo the egoic people-pleasing pattern!
Craving Sex and Food
In this video, David Hoffmeister talks about sexuality and hunger. In Heaven, in Oneness, there are no needs. But in the world, sexuality and hunger appear to be basic human needs. There can seem to be problems sexual or food cravings. They are on the continuum of preferences, and preferences are judgments. The trick is that the ego makes hierarchies of these illusions even though they are really all the same. The Holy Spirit knows there are ego preferences. When you give yourself over to Him, He will use your preferences to unwind them all.
You Have Complete Control over Your State of Mind
You have complete control over your state of Mind. Everything is perception. Once you start to reel your perception of the world back in and hand it over to Spirit in your mind, you start to get really happy.
Trying to Control My Behavior
When you feel addicted to something in the world, it feels like your actions are the problem. It seems that if you could stop or regulate the behavior, you’d be home free. You’re thoughts say, “I just need to control my behavior. But how?” The main addiction of the mind is judgment. But the mind wasn’t created to judge; it was created to “be.” So trying to control it, on any level, doesn’t work. At some point, you’ll have to do a major mind “overhaul,” and look at all thoughts about cause and effect.