Joel S. Goldsmith God, the Substance of All Form

In God, the Substance of All Form , Goldsmith establishes the mystical truth that God is the reality, the divine consciousness of our being, and that the purpose of the spiritual life is to bring us to the fullness of that realization. He teaches that we can come to this realization through meditation, in which we can gain a conscious awareness of the presence and power of God. The very object of a spiritual path, the author explains, is to experience the truth that "I and my Father are one." Goldsmith clearly explains that power, substance and life are never in any effect, but always in that which produces the effect. He goes on to show that this Consciousness, this Spirit that we truly are, is the substance of all spiritual form, and takes us deeply into that truth: "We have said that God is the substance of all form, that God is the reality of all form, the substance and reality of all effect. Are we then to understand God as the substance of the body, trees, flowers, sun, moon, stars, and all that we cognize with the material senses? No, this is a spiritual universe. It is true that God is the substance of all form: God is the substance of your very body and of all creation; but remember, when I see you, that is, when I see your body or when I see the trees or flowers, I am not seeing God's creation - I am not seeing the spiritual universe - I am seeing only a finite material concept of it. This means that the only universe there is, is the real universe, and the only body there is, is the real body, but what I am seeing is my concept of them. Therefore, the only unreality about them is in my false concept of them." With the finely honed skill of a master teacher, Goldsmith elaborates on this challenging principle, using it to explain how spiritual healing work is done, and emphasizing that a healing consciousness is one that is consciously aware of the perfection that already exists, despite any appearance. He answers age-old questions about death, the nature of the material world, and the relationship between consciousness and experience. He reveals how our conscious awareness of these truths can ensure a life of harmony, peace, abundance, and wholeness. Once we have attained the consciousness of the truth of our identity, he says, we need take no thought for things. We can relax and rely on God, individual consciousness, the substance of all form.