Yitro has got a secret. It comes from the outside, from a world of spiritual practices that are forbidden for us. The Midrash tells us that Yitro had mastery over every type of avodah zara (strange worship) and left them all behind. Yitro sees that truth is large, too large to ever think, "Now I've got it -- now I can hold it in my hand!" He knows that there is always more to be learned and more to grow.
The simple understanding: Yitro comes out of the depths, gives some advice, and leaves back to his land. But what is that advice? Yitro questions Moshe on why he stood alone in judgement all day long. And what does the Father of all Prophets respond? "What can I do? They come to me and inquire about Hashem!" Yitro's response: "This won't work. YOU CAN'T DO IT ALONE!" If there is one thing that Yitro has learned, it is that Hashem is BIG (Shemot 18:11, where he says, "Now I know Hashem is greater…").
So Yitro's advice is: let us make as much room as we can for Hashem to live and grow. "Moshe -- it is too heavy for you!" The word "heavy" in Hebrew, CaVeD, is spelled with the same letters as the word for "glory," CaVoD. In other words, Yitro may have been saying to Moshe: "The glory of Hashem is too large even for your vessel alone -- the more we make space for Hashem within the people of Am Yisrael by appointing judges and leaders within them, the more He can be revealed! Don't get me wrong -- I'm no Korach; I know the significance of your role, and the important matters will still come to you. But don't you see, Moshe, that with the proper nurturing and guidance, most of these people have the capacity to flow with the truth of divinity! Don't you know that if everyone is focusing G-d into one small point, both the people and the point will get tired (or as Rashi says, "will wither up")? But if you can see the diversity within unity and the multiplicity of a living truth in order to make space for Hashem to contstantly reveal Himself in new ways and places, THAT is how Torah can stand eternal.
As Yitro says, "If you do this matter (appointing judges) -- and Elokim will command you -- you will be able to endure; also, this whole people will come to its (or His) place in peace (18:23)." Yitro says, "You guys want to get to the place where we all have to go, and you wanna get there in a peaceful way? There are two things that you've gotta do: first, "do this matter;" see Hashem's presence in everyone and, eventually, in everything. Give Him a chance to be new and different. In short -- DON'T GET STUCK! Second, "and Elokim will command you;" remember the first matter, but don't forget mizvot. There are curbs to this path (not as a ceiling, G-d forbid, but as a floor to blast-off from). Don't forget, in your open-mindedness, that there are boundaries to this launch pad.
Yitro promises that if we can keep these two things in mind, we can get to "His place in peace." "The place," haMaKOM in Hebrew, is a name of G-d, meaning "The Omnipresent One." If we want to arrive at a place of world-consciousness, being aware of Hashem as the Omnipresent being, Yitro advises us that these are the principles to achieve that goal. The verses that directly follow Yitro's departure state, "The Children of Israel camped (singular) opposite the mountain (19:2)." Now that Israel has this new understanding of unity, they can camp as one (as Rashi says,"like one man with one heart"). And, "Now (meaning, 'now that you know that Hashem can be found everywhere'), if you really listen to My voice and guard My covenant, you will be for me a treasure (or chosen) of all the peoples (19:5)." And also, "You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (19:6)." Now with Yitro's ideas in place, Am Yisrael is ready to receive the Torah and take on its role as an expanding vessel for the constantly growing revelation of Hashem in the world.