The Invisibility of Spiritual Identity Joel S. Goldsmith

    Many of you in metaphysics have been taught every person is a spiritual idea, the child of God, and that cats, dogs, and flowers are spiritual ideas. That is not true and never was. A spiritual idea is perfect and eternal in the heavens. A spiritual idea never changes, never lacks, never has a sense of separation from God, never grows old, and never dies. It can never be seen with the eyes, never. Just as you cannot see me because that “me” is a spiritual idea, so you cannot see a cat, a dog, a flower, or a tree. You can see only the form. The spiritual idea is the entity itself, which is the spiritual identity; but what you behold is your concept of that spiritual identity.

    You cannot see my hand. You do not even know what a hand is. Look at your hand and then understand that you are not seeing it. You are seeing your concept of it appearing as form. The hand itself is a permanent spiritual idea and never changes, never ages, or never dies. It is an instrument for your use, provided for you in the beginning; and it will be with you eternally.

    The purpose of The Infinite Way teaching is to lead you to that state of consciousness is which, when you see a discordant person, thing, or condition, you do not attempt to change it. Do not try to manipulate anything in the external. Realize you are not beholding anything but a concept that, in and of itself, has no power, presence, or reality the reality of what you are witnessing is eternal in the heavens, perfect. As you look at a harmonious body, a youthful body, or a physically perfect body, remember you are not seeing a spiritual idea. You are seeing your concept of a spiritual idea. When you understand that, you will begin to heal, and the healings will come quickly.
Awakening Mystical Consciousness
Chapter 5 - Our Real Identity, P.74
Joel S. Goldsmith