Sunday Pep Talk: Manuel For Teachers #4, Intro and Trust
Class notes: 8/30/26
Mara and Jess
Advanced TOGs (Teachers of God) have the characteristics that we are going to be discussing in the next few Pep Talks. A
Holy Relationship
is the goal of any teaching/learning situation. God gives special gifts to His teachers but the specialness is temporary. They have a special role in the Atonement.
Trust:
In God we trust. The ability to fulfill our functions rests on the foundation of trust. See Matthew 7:24 The house was built on rock or sand. Perception is healing because cause and effect are never separated. TOGs trust the world because they have learned it is not governed by the laws the world made up. The world's laws can sound something like this, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” The world is governed by God. A power within you but not of you. The power of God protects you in an unsafe world. With this power TOGs look on a
forgiven world.
Holy Shift: There is an experience and we go through a shift. That’s why you are able to have this experience. First a shift, then change comes in stages:
- Period of Undoing
- Period of Sorting Out
- Period of Relinquishment
- Period of Settling Down
- Period of Achievement
Period of Undoing:
It is usually experienced as being painful, it looks like things are being taken away. Initially it is rarely understood that their lack of value is being recognized. Lack of value can’t be perceived unless you are in a position to see it from a different light. You can’t make a shift internally (yet), so The Plan sometimes calls for changes to external circumstances. What seem to be internal circumstances. These changes are always helpful. When the TOG learns this, they go on to the second stage.
Period of Sorting Out:
This is always somewhat difficult. Because now that the TOG has learned that changes are always helpful, He must decide all things whether they increase helpfulness or hamper it. This is the apocalypse- this self evaluation and sorting out. He will find that many if not most of the things he valued before merely slow him down in his ability to transfer the knowledge that He has learned to new situations as they crop up.
We have valued what is valueless. We don’t generalize this lesson because of fear and loss. We feel sadness about the time and resources that we have wasted in the past. So we sort through one at a time. Some TOGs experience fear here. They worry that they are losing themselves in ACIM.
The value of the world is how helpful it is. By this definition there are blessings to be had in the most challenging of life’s relationships.
All things, events, encounters and circumstances are helpful.
Period of Relinquishment:
If this is looked at as giving up the desirable, you will experience enormous conflict here. Most TOGs feel some duress here. But there is no point in sorting out the valuable from the invaluable unless you take this next step. This third step rarely begins until you have finished the second one. So there is a period of overlap where TOGs feel called upon to sacrifice their own best interests on behalf of the truth. This is an impossible demand. You learn only as you give up the valueless. Where you anticipate grief, you find relief instead. Where you thought you’d find sacrifice, you find a gift from God instead.
Period of Settling Down:
The TOG rests in peace for a while and consolidates learning. Now he begins to see the transfer value of what he has learned. The potential is huge. The TOG
sees his whole way out of the illusion.
Give up what you don’t want, keep what you do. How simple is the obvious and how easy to do! The TOG needs this period of rest. He has not come as far as he thinks. But when he is ready to go on, he goes with
mighty companions beside him. He rests and gathers them before going on. He will not go on from here alone.
Period of Unsettling:
Now the TOG understands, he did not know what was valuable and what was valueless. All that He has learned so far is that He did not want the valueless and that he wanted the valuable. His own sorting out did not teach him the difference. The idea of sacrifice made it impossible to judge. He thought He learned willingness, but now He sees that He didn’t realize what that was for. So now He must obtain a state which may feel impossible for a long time. He must lay all judgement aside and ask what he really wants in any circumstance. If each step were not heavily reinforced, this would be very hard to do.
Period of Achievement:
Last learning is solidified. What was shadows before become solid gains that can be counted on in emergencies and times of peace. Tranquility is the result. It is the outcome of study, consistency of thought. From here full transfer follows. Earth is a step away from Heaven. Who would ‘go’ anywhere when He was complete. You are there. What would want more than this?
