1999-10-24. Greed
Nashville #79
Topic: Greed
Group: Nashville TeaM
Teacher: Ham
TR: Rebecca
Opening
Ham: Greetings, children. I am Ham and I am very happy to have you all here this evening. Tonight, our lesson will be about greed and its opposite self-forgetting.
Lesson
Greed
Greed comes in many forms. It can manifest in ways that seem to be even the opposite, but ways which are indicative of a greed for attention, or acceptance. There are many faces of greed and it is very insidious. In general, it is correct to look upon greed as being a manifestation of fear. Sometimes, you can be greedy for knowledge, greedy for attention or fame, and it is always a fear of not being enough that when the test comes, you will be found lacking. Some people even have a greed for frugality, a greed for self-denial that is born from fear so one tests oneself over and over.
Because deeply it is human to feel afraid of the divine test, the divine gaze which searches all the inner places and knows the truth of everything that you are, or will be or have been. Greed is a way to avoid this searching gaze of the Father. If you are taking attention from other people, then somehow you feel screened, somehow you feel you can present yourself in such a way that you can pass the small test, the test these other people present by their very being.
Those of you who spend time in the stillness are coming to trust the Father’s gaze. You are coming to be able to open all the secret places, one by one, to the Fathers’ love. And this is the great assurance, when you can open yourself to the Father, receiving his love, and allow yourself to be comforted by his gaze instead of fearful of it.
Self Forgetfulness
This allows you to begin the path of self-forgetfulness. Self-forgetfulness must begin with self-acceptance. The Father’s tests are really very simple. The Father’s tests are ones of love, the only thing he sees is how much you can accept his love. As you do this, you are accepting yourself, you are accepting the moments of weakness, accepting the periods of depression, of loneliness, of the sharp pains of loss. And, you are beginning to realize that all the trials in the world are but an opening to allowing his love to increase. It is when you are pushed to extremes that you are willing to open your heart to the Father. And as you do this, you gain self-acceptance, a new way of living becomes apparent, and this way is the one of self-forgiving.
When you feel stress or unhappiness, you do so out of fear of loss. You are forgetting the fact that the Father is caring for you always, at all times. Take his hand and step out in faith. Do the tasks before you, but do then one at a time. Do not be overwhelmed. Forget yourself for a moment. Forget your pressures. Begin living in the now, for in the now you have all that you need and in the now you have that which is most precious, more precious than food or water, more precious than housing or clothing or any amount of wealth. That which you have in the now time is God’s love and it is this that allows the self-forgiving for you are totally aware of being completely cared for in every way without exception.
You are going through a weaning process, you are weaning yourselves from fear. Well, you say, “it is fear that give me my drive, that spurs me on, that makes me accomplish. Without fear, what would I do?” But, I say to you children, this fear impulse is simple part of the animal legacy which comes along with the physical body and when you leave the physical body, that fear impulse will be greatly, greatly reduced if not eliminated. So much of your stress and fear reactions can be trained away if you remember who you real source is and where that source can be found in the now time.
When you are self-forgetful, you are free. You are no longer a slave to the false needs of the ego. When you are self-forgetful, you are free to truly live. Self-forgetting and being in the now are both one and the same experience. You are able to do great and wonderful things if you can forget yourself and leave aside all the demands of the ego which are really lies.
We think of fear as a fraud, a sham, something which holds billions of innocents in abject bondage but which has no reality. For when you let go of the fears and the wants and the demands of the ego self, you are free to do, to be, and to strive for anything and all that you do will be done with the immediate aid and comfort of the Father’s love.
What are the experiences you remember most vividly? Are they not experiences where you lost yourself in the beauty of the moment? Are they not experiences where you were thinking of someone else, really communicating? These are the experiences you take with you. Many experiences involving fear are left behind, for fear will not be accessed in then next life. Think then, about truly living the rest of your lives in the now time of complete experience and self-forgetting so that you may hold these memories precious and dear for all eternity.
Are there any questions at this time?
Dialogue
Q: Is self-awareness the opposite of self-forgetfulness or is it self concern.
Ham: Self concern.
Q: Sometimes I think the whole thing is a preoccupation with one’s own comfort.
Ham: Yes, absolutely, afraid of want.
Q: Did I understand you to say that self-forgetfulness is the same as living in the now time?
Ham: Yes, they go together.
Q: Could you explain that to me?
Ham: When you are concerned and fearful about your reputation, your future, your past, what you will have to eat, what you will wear, where you will live, etc. etc., you are not living in the now. In the now time, you have access to God and to his comfort and his assurance and if you trust him, he will so manage your life that you will have what you need when it is needed. Most of you worry about not having something that is needed before you need it.
Most of you are very concerned about the future, in short- term, long-term, and every way. And yet, when you look back upon your lives and you think of all that time you spent worrying about things that never happened, do you think that you have been cheated out of vast amounts of time. To the person who walks with God every moment, there is no fear of what will be for whatever happens, you trust that it is the very best thing even if it might seem like a disaster at the time. Yes, children, time spent worrying is wasted hours.
Q: How does the attempted avoidance of pain figure into this?
Ham: It is greed for comfort, greed for ease. This is probably one of the great diseases of your time on earth. It is born of the fear of discomfort. The one who walks with the Father accepts the little discomforts of live and accepts the major disasters of life equally without concern for the self for between the Father and child, there is total trust. And if the Father should grant the child an uncomfortable experience, the child accepts it with gladness. But, I know this is hard. We are fully aware of the difficulties of these teachings in your present state, but we must encourage you to try.
Q: What concerns me is the fact that our culture is getting worse and worse and children are being taught to seek all the comfort they can get for themselves. Is this something we should speak out against or will this go away when people come into the now time and make a connection with the Father?
Ham: Yes, too much ease is always a danger, whether for an individual or a generation. It dulls the senses to the sharp differences between truth and error. Difficult experiences create a more reliable moral compass, usually, even when people choose to disregard it. Too much ease makes it difficult to relate to the less fortunate, and exacerbates the already tremendous problem of the vast gap between the rich on the world and the poor.
Q: I am still not sure about how socially conscious and socially active about this aspect of our culture?
Ham: Well, it’s a fine line because you don’t want to lecture the young about how you had to trudge through the snow to get to school. I would say, the best thing for the young is to be role models with sharp moral compasses.
Q: What is the difference between being in that comfort zone that could cause you not to be able to understand and yet believing that you have the faith that you have everything that you need?
Ham: These are two separate issues. But I can see you confusion. Those who walk with the Father do not necessarily have an easy road. Those who walk with the Father encounter many difficulties, obstacles, and hardships. You yourself, have been through many difficult trials in life, but you have trusted the Father to bring you through them. To the man or woman who trusts completely in God, all things earthly can crash and yet you are confident that this crash is a way to redirect your life. Is this helping?
Personal Counsel
Q: Ham, do you have a message for me tonight please?
Ham: Certainly, son. The ways of the Spirit are the ways that require great courage and yes even some sacrifice at times. You have come through much tribulation in your life, and all the repercussions of all the mistaken moral softness are still playing out to the last domino, so to speak. So, now you are accepting reality just the way it is, and accepting the Father’s path for you just the way it is. And this, son, is a tremendous achievement. You have now great wealth in your life which no man can take from you. Begin storing your treasures in heaven and do not fear the ups and downs of every day living for it is a wonderful part of being alive.
Q: It always seems to me the key to just about everything is becoming as a little child.
Ham: Most certainly, most certainly my son.
Q: How do you get to the point of self-acceptance with the way you look and the way you can feel content with who you are?
Ham: Yes, my daughter, this has been the subject of many lessons, and it is not a matter of one easy answer but it is rather a process. The most important thing for you to know, even if you have trouble believing it at first, and all of you do even now, is that you are a beloved daughter of the living Father in Heaven who pours out his love for you from such vastness that it is infinite and his eternal love surrounds you now and for all eternity, even as if you were the only child he had in his vast universe.
Yes, children, to the Father, each one of you is every bit as precious as his most exalted, his oldest sons. There is not one of you who is loved one tiny bit less than the Father loves the Master himself. Knowing this intellectually is one thing, but beginning to open your heart to it, beginning to experience it is what will lead to self-acceptance and yes even self-love and self-respect.
Q: Ham, Bob asked me if I could get him a message tonight? My son, walk with firmness upon the path of the Lord, do not hesitate or stumble, but be complete in your wholehearted dedication to him and to the higher way. Do not fear the times of uncertainty or doubt. Embrace these as well and allow the Father to reveal himself to you through these times so that you many understand more deeply his tremendous love for you.
Q: I don’t feel that we are here by accident, I feel that we were meant to come. Is there anything we should know, the main thing we are supposed to get out of being here tonight?
Ham: I am happy your angels have brought you here and am grateful that my words resonate in your being. You can always consider yourself my student, and are always welcome to be present during these lessons. One lesson a week is plenty for all of you. If you can digest and begin to incorporate a lesson a week, you will find your spiritual path becoming much easier.
I will answer for Charlie B. Son, you are doing well. You likewise have a fear of little failings, an overly perfectionist attitude which makes you chastise yourself needlessly over nothing. You are the first to claim mea culpa and the last to believe a compliment. Take this lesson to heart, trust the Father in the now time, and let the old guilt run off your back like water off a duck. And, no, it’s not impossible. It will happen.
Q: Ham, I would appreciate a personal message tonight.
Ham: Yes, son. Spiritually, you make progress and then sabotage it so you walk in circle some times. Believe in the Father’s guidance, believe in his love, believe that he can bring you through all manner of earthly trouble. Yet, you must believe him and take the plunge to fully trust him, even when all logic and common sense seems to indicate otherwise. Find again, that place in your solar plexis that tells you what feels right before your rationalize and change that feeling. What is it that the Father is trying to give you that you are not seeing? Ponder on this and you will find your answers.
Q: Does it have anything to do with the amount of time I have put into stillness?
Ham: Yes, stillness and inner contemplation.
Q: I would like a personal message also.
Ham: Certainly, son. Your path has been a little erratic because there have been times in your life when you have pushed the Father away. And, this is true for all people, most all of you have been unable to accept the Father’s love at one time or another. But this has just been from fear, fear which is illogical, unfathomable, senseless. The power of love is more than the power of anything else and the Father’s drawing power of love was drawing you to him, even when it seemed that you were rejecting him. Begin to believe in your heart’s inner knowing. When there is truth, you know it and you know that you know it. Trust in this, and you will always find the right way.
Q: I felt it was important for me to come, I learned about this from sharing with my friends, and looked forward to spending an evening like this. If there is a message for me, I would like to hear it.
Ham: Certainly, dear. You so well and I am honored that you would think of me as teacher. I think it best for you to absorb the lesson and we will speak at our next meeting in more detail.
Q: Do you have a personal message for me?
Ham: Yes, greeting again my son. Though you have not been in my presence at these gatherings, I am aware of your life and your path since our last meeting. Son, you have a tendency to try to be God, try to fix everything for everyone. You have that ability to salve the wounds of those who need comfort and this is a great gift. But, you must also take comfort and you must also have healing and you must have time for yourself and some time in stillness with the Father because sometimes you get so wrapped up in the pressing needs of the moment that you forget about your spiritual needs.
The Master said, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the Father. The Father’s words are his love and his comfort, and this is essential for all people, men and women, to access this spiritual word so that they may be fed and grow in the spirit. Remember this. You do well my son. Heed my lesson and go in peace.
Q: Ham, I am going out to Las Vegas…… I wondered if you had a message for me.
Ham: My son, remember, that the spiritually hungry often congregate in places that offer a substitute such as gambling or alcohol or what have you. The most spiritually hungry people are often found in the bars and the drug hangouts, etc. So, as you go through these places, remember that a kind word and a spiritual fragrance of love is received greatly with gratitude. Remember that the Master went out among the people, he didn’t sit in the Synagogue and preach to the believers, he went out in search of the lost sheep, even as the Father sends all his sons out among the lost and the bewildered people of the world. Go in peace son, for you do very well.
Q: Do you have anything for me tonight?
Ham: certainly, my son. The light of God is upon you. As you go forth in your journey, remember that you are aided by many unseen friends who will lead those to you who need to hear the words you can speak to them. Trust the Father to give you the words, and go in peace.
Q: Ham do you have a message for me tonight please?
Ham: Yes, son, of course. You do well. Open the door of your heart to giving. Think not for yourself what should be or what shouldn’t be, but rather accept what is given and give that which is most precious, the love of God. Open your heart so much that God’s love pours over and out among all the people you know and meet. When there is so much love, there is never fear or doubting. You can believe in yourself because you trust and believe in him.
Q: Ham do you have anything for me tonight?
Ham: Of course my dear. The light of God is within you, so you must let that light shine to all that you know and meet upon your journey this week. The light of love is unmistakable to other people. There is no shadow, no obscuring of this light for it must shine as the whole person shines. As you shine forth this light of God, it will illuminate your pathway and bring you to know those people who will be most helpful upon this path. So, relax and be in the now. Do not fear, for all is well and you path is well lighted.
Q: Ham, do you have anything for Esmirelda?
Ham: Yes, daughter. Hold on to truth and let go of error that comes and goes in the lives of all human beings. Cling fast to that which you know is true, allow the Father to eliminate your own inner feelings and be happy and contented for you do very well.
Q: Elena?
Ham: Certainly, daughter. Once again, you are going through a time with great activity where your life is very full and you are serving many people. You are beginning to really open your heart to the Father’s love in a lasting way that no longer comes and goes but is with you steadily, like an eternal candle in the darkness. Fear nothing, all is well.
Q: Rebecca?
Ham: Yes, daughter. Let go of your fears and your anxieties. Know that everything is working for the best. You can be free from worry, from doubt, from stress, and you can do so without guilt.
Jarad, you have a way of pushing the guilt button of Rebecca which is very sensitive and strong. You must be aware of this, and do not reinforce what we are trying to leave behind.
You, my son, are doing very well. But, again you are neglecting the stillness which must be a priority, especially during times of much activity. Deep within you there is some fear of going before the Father of being rejected, as you experienced rejection from your earthly father as a child. And so instead of going before the father with joy, you have some dread and anxiety of going before the Father so you allow yourself to avoid it. Now that you are aware of this inner truth, you can begin to let it go and turn to the Father more and more with complete confidence and joy. Just one more question please?
Q: Do you think Ian could elaborate on this thing of pushing her guilt button, I’m not getting that right now.
Ham: Yes, the you didn’t do, you didn’t, the always pointing out the what is not right, what is a problem for you.
Q: I’m blaming her.
Ham: Yes,
Q: I believe that.
Q: Yes, Ham, I would appreciate feedback.
Ham: Son, you do very well. You are beginning to grow the ability to experience the Father’s love, but likewise, you do not spend enough time in stillness. Open your heart to his love and love him in return, completely, fully, without holding back in any respect.
Closing
Practice this loving every day, even if you can’t do a complete stillness. Take a few seconds here and there for gratitude and love and this will go a long way in your life.
And now my children, I must bid you farewell until next week my love and my prayers are with you each. I am understanding that Monday is the meeting time. This is fine. Farewell.
