We get many requests from people who want a teacher and want to join one of our monasteries. 

Recently, our teachers have for the most part retreated into their monasteries for the end times.

The monks/priests that went into retreat, are faced with waiting upon a variety of free will and non free will decisions and events, to determine if one day they will again emerge and try to help anyone, if there is anyone capable of being helped. 

Before going into retreat they said that they wish the best to all of you, and love you all with all their heart, and weep for those who have become lost and not found.
They also said that the best bet in lieu of them, was to use the self improvement techniques of the GRO (golden rule organization) and start your own mini growth self help systems within your family, faith, or lack of faith, strangers, roomates or whatever. 
The CLO holds that, in the absence of their teachers, living by the GR principles/virtues, are the most important means to a return to consciousness and oneness with God/the Universal Spirit.
People working together with others under those principles, while fraught with great difficulty since many are still arguing because of their own selfish agendas and egos, can help make progress if sincerity is truly present. 

Unfortunately, it does not replace having a teacher at all, but the way the world is going, you don't really have many choices but to do the best you can with what you have. 

This is where the title of this topic comes in. "What do I do now?" We have left a legacy of helpful information and tools for those who really, really, really want to change and make their way back to the Universal Spirit/God. They include (obviously) the Lost Teachings book and secondarily the Golden Rule Workbook. They also include products that can help you change, but nothing replaces the books, and even more so, the "real work" that is normally done with a teacher. 

A teacher's primary function (as you may have read in the Lost Teachings) is to give you constructive criticism based on the skills they've developed.  Thus they are like mirrors of yourself because the compassion, unselfish Love and clarity of mind they have worked so hard to develop themselves, gives them the ability to know you better than you know yourself.  They "see" right through you and tell you the truth about yourself.  Thus, they are tools that someone who wishes to grow can use to learn to connect with their own inner voice (which should be the same as what you're hearing from a teacher). Granted, these truths and constructive criticisms "sting" and can come out very intensely, depending on your level of humility verses your self's wanting to block the criticisms the teacher is offering. Thus, a teacher is often the recipient of negativity from those he loves and is trying to help. Which, again, due to their compassion and unselfish Love for all those who are lost in darkness, is just one of the sacrifices they make to help bring the light of truth and spirit to those who want it. You can't change unless you first see yourself and that your selfish separate self has done everything in its power to prevent you from seeing it.  

Thus, the primary function of the GR workbook is to see yourself both by doing SELF analysis and by soliciting constructive criticism from those you know, who also see you grow and help you grow. Of course, this takes a great deal of humility - regardless of whether the criticism/truth is from a fellow monk, a teacher, supportive friend or whomever. Because as soon as people start bringing up your flaws to you, your natural self response is to get defensive rather than being appreciative of something being shown to you that will help you grow. It also takes discernment, because most of the people around you don't want to see you grow and change because that means passing them by (unless they also want to grow and change). So you will also get a lot of criticism from people who "want to keep you down in the hole they're in". That is NOT the kind of criticism that is helpful to your spiritual goals. Which is one of the problems of using the GR workbook or listening to criticism from just anyone.  

With a teacher or other people who share your views and goals, the criticism is generally going to be on the spiritual side of the type that can help urge you on, inspire you, and help you towards your spiritual goals of reuniting with God. With a teacher in particular, that is ALWAYS the case. But there are very clever selfish people out there who want to keep you down or want to keep control over you or want to keep you as a possession, who will use your own beliefs and desire for constructive criticism against you. For instance, they will say you're being selfish because you aren't giving them what they want or behaving the way they want you to.

But in these times and circumstances,  you don't really have many choices but to do the best you can, which is why we recommend the workbook. It might not really help or work things out for you, but then again, it might. It gives you a step by step guide for having  meetings, discussions and using constructive criticism and affirmations as best you can, whether it's with others who want to join you in your journey or all by yourself, if that's all you've got.  

We have been very surprised by the lack of people getting the workbook. The Lost Teachings book is in it's sixth printing and one of the best sellers of independently published books, yet the GR workbooks have only sold about 1% of what the Lost Teachings have sold. And this is very sad to us because it is so very helpful and it's also very universal. There's virtually no one with a good heart regardless of religion or lack of religion who can find fault with the concepts of the golden rule and becoming more caring and harmless. It doesn't talk about the things that people can disagree about, like Atlantis, reincarnation, alternative theories of creation and ancient monasteries in the Himalayas, etc. And frankly, all of those things are interesting, but they are of no use in becoming a more compassionate, harmless and helpful person, nor will they get you any closer to the Universal Spirit. Someday soon the workbook will be modified into more of a  "self help" book rather than a "spiritual self help" book, in hopes that it will reach more people and help in the ways that truly matter.

Being that teachers will no longer be available, this book will have even more significance than just as a self help or New Year's resolution aid. It's not just a "reading" book - it is a work-book. In other words, it has specific exercises and other things to do which help with self improvement. For instance, there are pages you can tear out of the book that have affirmations printed on them which you can put on walls, doors, inside closet doors (if you want to be discrete) or even in front of the toilet if you want (if you want them to be very indiscrete but effective [or should I say "butt" effective]). 

There are also pages of affirmation recommendations that cover virtually any kind of change a person might want to make. There are also pages where you fill in your goals in life and others that you write down your desires and fears on. This not only helps you ground these things out, but also lets people you might choose to work with in a group or club/meeting setting know where you're coming from and possibly help you better and vice versa. 

It also gives many tips on how to improve your relationships with anyone: (providing they're willing of course - you don't want to be preaching or pushing your ideas onto people) spouses, friends, family, strangers, etc. And above, you've already read the other ways it can help replace a teacher.

The GR Workbook of course.

MotivAider - A small inconspicuous device that looks like a pager. You can wear it on your waistband or slip it in a pocket. At any time interval you set between 1 minute and 24 hours it will silently vibrate reminding you to wake up out of the "Matrix" for a moment; think about what's really real and important to you in life; possibly do an affirmation; remind you to re-read the Lost Teachings for a half hour a day; meditation;  whatever. Its uses are only limited by your imagination. It can even be used as a meditation timer if you meditate (for instance, if you're doing six, 5 minute meditations in a row, you can set it to 5 minutes and without having to check the time, you can stay in your meditation state and seamlessly go on to the next meditation. This helps you get into a deeper state overall instead of doing 6 separate 5 minute meditations). But wait, there's more, it can also be used as a handy egg timer. We've recently dropped the price from $59.95 to $49.95 to make it more affordable for you. It's better than any price we find anywhere, even though we shortchange ourselves a bit.

Mega MotivAider - If you work on computers for any length of time at home or use them for work, this handy little program (which doesn't interfere with any other programs you're working with) will flash an affirmation on your computer screen at intervals you preset. You can choose from a large variety of affirmations we have prewritten for you or create your own custom ones. You can also change the length of time the message appears on your screen all the way down to as fast as the "subliminal" level to where you never see the message, only your subconscious  sees it. You can even install it on a co-worker's computer, set it to a super fast level and use it to pick up girls, or on a monk's computer and train them to pee in their bed at night. But seriously, this is a great tool for those of us who use computers. And if you own a business it can even be used to remind employees of company success goals. It can also be used by children to help them work on specific issues while they're messing around with their computer.

Specific Vibrational Sounds - For this time of year and typical New Year's types of resolutions, the "Healthy Habits" &/or "Weight Loss" could be particularly helpful. Also if you're having a hard time regarding stress or emotional issues,  the "Stress" and "Emotional Healing" CD's are recommended.