JG

 Joel S. Goldsmith often taught that real spiritual growth begins when we move beyond loving only those who are easy to love.

A well-known idea from his teachings is essentially this:

“It is easy to pray for those we love… the real spiritual work is praying for those we dislike or feel harmed by.”

Goldsmith explained that praying only for friends and family keeps love personal and selective. But true spiritual consciousness, in his view, recognizes the same divine presence in everyone, including those who oppose or hurt us.

What he meant by this

According to Goldsmith’s teaching:

• Anyone can pray for people they already love. ❤️
• Spiritual maturity begins when we include everyone in our prayer.
• When we pray for those we resent, something changes inside us first.

He believed this practice dissolves:

• resentment
• judgment
• the sense of separation between people

And it opens the way for what he called spiritual realization.

A simple way to practice his idea

Goldsmith often suggested a quiet inner recognition like:

• “God is present where this person is.”
• “The same divine life lives in them as in me.”
• “I release them to that Presence.”

Not trying to change them—just seeing them differently.

✨ In his teaching, the goal of prayer was not to fix people but to awaken to the divine nature already present everywhere.

If you’d like, I can also show you the full passage from his writings where he explains this idea in depth—it’s one of his most powerful teachings.