NOTES AND THOUGHTS -- TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WITH FRIEND - 5/14/2000
evening.  (These are mostly quotes from my friend.)
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There is so much to learn from other people.

It is especially draining when someone is in the hospital.  I think I
helped them, but it drained me quite a bit.  It is quite revealing.
The room is just filled.  My goodness, all these people in this
hospital, all broken down.  A lot of that could be avoided by the
care of their body.  They are forgetting, the body itself is like
a vehicle, it must be maintained.  Therefore you have complicated
complications.

There are some people that take care of themselves.

The body should be cared for; next to that ... spirituality.  This man who
spoke [on Schuller's program this morning] was a very accomplished
psychologist. Wrote a book, "The Paradox."

It was subtitled: "Spiritual hunger in the age of Plenty."  Isn't that an
interesting statement?  And it's true; we do have plenty, and many people
are spiritually hungry.  Was on Schuller's program today.

I think a lot of people are not nurtured.  They go to church, for
many many reasons, to fill up space.  They do that for years, like
a machine, they go through all the motion week after week, and
nothing happens.

What I am trying to say, if one goes to church to do spiritual learning,
they will gradually grow.  Their nature enlarges itself.

The other thing is, with people.  Most people, or many, are followers.
Not leaders.  They also are robots, and are not thinkers.  Many, many.
Most of the things -- what they do, they don't think.  And they don't
want to think.  I think this is why the church itself is not growing.
This is why you are going to find many are people are dissatisfied
(with the church).  People must themselves do the work, so the soul
itself will rise like a dove, to have the nature to light other people's
lives.

People need in one another "support."  Spiritual support:  The strength
that binds and keeps people together.

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I go to Quick Trip - I give them a word of wisdom.  People listen, they
will laugh, but they will listen.  They will say, "I never thought of
it that way."

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If you want to shock your friends ... they complain and gripe.
You tell them, "You enjoy every bit of your suffering."

We discussed "Addiction to Misery,"  "Obsession," adds my friend.  "Be-
ware of he word 'obsession'.  It is a very deep, powerful word."

Also, Illusion.  You will see quite a circular activity.  The illusion
is quite something.  Delusion ... and working with that, is fantasy.
"Don't mix reality with fantasy.  Don't get me wrong.  There is a
place for fantasy.  But be careful."