THE SCHOOL OF TRUTH LECTURE GIVE IT TO GOD

"I am" is the name of God. It is also the name of God's indivisible Presence in us all. Therefore, whenever we use the words "I am" in conjunction with negation - for example "I am hungry, I am sick, I am afraid" - we cannot be speaking of Reality, for God alone is, and He is perfect, complete. When we invoke such negation it is our personality that is expressing, judging by the senses (what it sees, smells, touches and tastes) and by the intellect (what it makes of these sensations). But Reality never changes, Truth never changes. Socalled facts change but never Truth. There is only one Individual, Who encompasses you and me, but there are unknown billions of personalities, each reflecting its present state of awareness, or consciousness. You look at problems, and you suffer mental, emotional or physical pain. These are real to the personality consciousness, but in Truth they are not happening. They are appearances, they have no power whatsoever. Only God is Power. My path of Truth started when I began to realise the difference between "facts" and Truth. I would say to myself "According to facts my pockets are empty. I haven't paid my rent, I have no food to eat, the future looks very bleak. But is this reality, or only the effects of my incomplete consciousness?" In order to reach to Truth I had to make spiritual blueprints. In my pockets I carried banknotes in the form of labels with certain monetary denominations written on them. Every time I thought of my lack I would take out some of my "money" and say "I have plenty." This sounds pathetic does it not? But let us see. There is only One "I am", therefore I have the power at any time to say truly of myself "I am", to abandon what I appear to be.

At first I may have to make-believe, to become emotionally involved with my true being, to be an actor on the stage of life, to say with mind and heart "I am...Prosperity fulfilled, Protection fulfilled, Vision fulfilled, Understanding fulfilled. I am these qualities." Recently I had lunch with a man who has been a very close friend for many years. Four years ago I was able to guide him when he was deeply in debt. Today he is a very wealthy man, a leading businessman. He said to me "Nicol, if you ever need money come to me, I have plenty." I responded "It is very kind of you, I appreciate it, but I cannot come to you." "But that is vanity" he said. "No" I said "it is relying on God for my supply, not you. If I depended on you and anything happened to you what would I do? When you were in difficulty you came to me and I guided and directed you and gave a name to your business which today is flourishing, you had complete faith in me, didn't you?" "Yes" he replied. "Well, do you not think that the faith I employed in helping you is the same faith I employ in helping myself? No longer could you come to me for help because you would say to yourself 'He could not help himself so how can he help me?' Isn't that true?" Over the years I have had many similar offers. People do not seem to understand that what I am teaching is reality, that I and you and all humanity live and move and exist in the Presence of God. Everything that He is, and therefore that I am and you are, is already done - but there must be a spiritual awakening. You have got to wake up, to get out of your nightmare. It is a lie of the consciousness. It has no substance whatsoever. Correct giving was one of the first lessons we had to learn in The School of Truth. When we started I kept a black cash box. It was there to help those in need. I never said no to anybody, and after a while I found the cash was diminishing until finally there was nothing left. The Master teaches "Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you," but what had I given to these people? I had given to their need for charity and, in recognising charity and in identifying myself with charity, I had come to need charity myself! My box was empty. I was forced to rethink, to become very clear in myself about giving. As a result I made a priority list - first God, second debtors, third others, last myself.

My first duty is to God's spiritual work, then to those whose goods and services I need to do this, next to other agencies which are teaching people how to help themselves, lastly to myself. I checked myself every night when I went to bed: "What have I done today - on my spiritual side, my business side, my social side and my own side? Have I fulfilled the Law?" If my answer was "Yes" then I was happy I was doing the right thing. I, the last, had become the first. And our cash box began to grow, and grow, until it was running over. Just yesterday another friend phoned me. She said "You know it is odd - things are not quite right with us, nothing to complain about but here is always something wrong somewhere." I responded "Look at your giving. How are you giving?" She said "You know we give. We help our friends, and we help people who are in need, and various charities." And I asked "What benefit have you derived from that?" She replied "Well, that is the problem." "Yes, it is the problem" I said. "The consciousness in which you give is the consciousness in which you live." The core of giving in The School of Truth is giving to people a consciousness, to convey to them in the simplest terms how they can find God in their own lives, by identifying themselves with His fulfilment. Look through the appearance. See prosperity in poverty, see health in disease, see happiness in misery. This is Truth. Call It forth. When The School of Truth prays for you we do not pray about your problem or ask God to dissolve it. We say of ourselves and you as One Being "I am the Presence of God fulfilled." I have given to you if I have really felt guided to do so. I give to your prosperity not to your poverty, to your health not to your disease, to your love not to your unhappiness. I am a steward of God.

There is no longer concern about yesterday, today or tomorrow, or about my own problems. It is God's concern and His problem, and God does not have any problems, therefore they do not exist do they? When you put a name on our prayer list, and when you leave the building, know you have left the problem there with God. It is no longer your business - you have given it away. Do you see this? "Have no anxiety about anything but by prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be known to God." We go further: "Be anxious about nothing. Your need is known to God. Give thanks that itis fulfilled." Where is the problem? If I bring a bucketful of Stygian darkness here and release it into the room, will the room become darker? No, the darkness has no existence. It reminds me of the story of the little animals who were scared to go to the bottom of the garden because there was a stream and many old trees and shrubs there and it was very gloomy. They went to Mr. Owl and asked him please to go and talk to the sun-god. So Mr. Owl went to see the sun-god and told him "There are problems in the shadows under the trees at the bottom of the garden and the little animals are very frightened." So the sun-god said "Let us go and have a look." When they got there the sun-god said "I cannot see any darkness here. Where is the problem?" The problem was in the animals' consciousness, in their fear consciousness. Just so does it depend on you, on me, what we allow ourselves to see. It is up to us to identify ourselves with That Which is Good, to say "I am It", to turn our minds, our intellects, away from appearances, to judge righteous judgment. Of course it is hard to build up a new habit of right thinking and feeling. Of course it is difficult. But, if you want fulfilment, is it not worth the effort of thinking and speaking and acting constructively? I am not preaching a sermon to you. I am teaching you what to do. "I am It." What am I? I am healthy, I am secure, I am prosperous, I am fulfilled. Is there any need for anxiety about tomorrow, for the future? Some feel the need for God to be closer to them.

They can say "My soul is at rest with Jesus-Christ." The word Jesus-Christ is a symbol of authority and command. My soul is my emotional nature, the feeling aspect of God. If there is peace, fearlessness inside me then I know my good will materialise. So you may identify with the Individual called Jesus-Christ, the Presence which is the image and likeness of God in every man. I might enjoy great wealth and have perfect health, but not be happy. I want the wholeness of God. Therefore I have to keep my eye, my spiritual eye, single to good. The "I am" sees only good, sees only beauty, sees only prosperity, sees only happiness. It is my intellect, through my mortal eyes, that sees negation, that judges by appearances. So identify yourself with God the Good. Give. Make yourself last - so that the last becomes First, Who only is real. Then truly say "I am fulfilled."