Many of us enjoy the classes in which Joel answers questions from students. Sometimes the question is one that we ourselves might have asked. Other times it is one that might not have occurred to us, but which we find interesting, and we are curious about how Joel will answer it.
On this page of our website, on the first and third Saturdays of the month, we will post a new question and answer from one of Joel’s classes or books. We trust that you will find these interesting, helpful, and sometimes an answer to just what is on your mind.
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Posted on 8/1/26
This copyrighted excerpt is from The Heart of Mysticism, Volume 3: The 1956 Infinite Way Letters, Chapter 4, “Neither Good Nor Evil.” It is posted with the kind permission of the Estate of Joel Goldsmith, which holds the copyright for the books.
Goldsmith Global has permission to provide this material to Goldsmith Global participants for educational and study purposes. Please respect the copyright on this material.
Q: What is meant by the terms “baptism” and “Holy Communion”?
A: Baptism is an experience that takes place in individual consciousness at the time the Holy Ghost, or Spirit of God, is first realized. It is an experience that comes only by the grace of God. Once in a while it may come when there has been no previous preparation by the individual, but this is very rare. Buddha studied, prayed, sacrificed, and searched for twenty-one years before it came. Jesus received it when he was thirty years of age, having been a student and a seeker from before the age of twelve—and immediately after he received it, his mission began.
It is the grace of God that forces us to study, pray, read, and hear in preparation for the experience of baptism. The experience itself is an immersion in Spirit, a relaxing in the Word. It is a gentle release from “this world,” with the awareness of “My Kingdom” forever at hand, after which never again shall one fear the evils of the world, nor condemn or judge those who trespass. It brings the realization that the world has only “an arm of flesh,” but with us “is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.” Compassion and understanding are born in us in place of criticism and judgment, because now we are enabled to see that sin is but an ignorance or lack of awareness of the presence of God.
After the experience of baptism, one is alive in spiritual consciousness, and only then does one receive the ability to commune with God. Inner communion is a complete release from “this world,” followed by the opening of the Soul faculties, whereby one is enabled to commune with God at will. At times, this may be by words or thoughts going to and from God; in a much greater degree, it is a Holy Communion of silence, in which the presence of God is felt, imparting Itself to us and receiving us within Itself.
While baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, communion is frequent, and by consciously and unceasingly opening oneself to God, it becomes a continuous one.