March 17, 2015

We are often reluctant to look at ourselves. Perhaps we are especially reluctant to look at our thoughts. And when we do…..it’s not pretty. The Course teaches us that we must look at ourselves and our thoughts. It asks us to look at them honestly and without fear. It asks us to take a step back from our thoughts and observe them. We can also go a step deeper in this process and observe the thought system with which we are aligning our minds. We can do this without fear, for we have learned that nothing real can be threatened. There is no need to shrink from illusions for they cannot possibly be dangerous. We are ready to look closely at the egoic thought system because together we have the lamp that will dispel it. And, since we realize we don’t want it we must be ready to dispel it. As we take this step together we can look beyond this mistaken thought system to truth.

Healing is the removal of all that stands in the way of knowledge. Nothing stands in the way of knowledge except our thoughts of separation. So healing is of the mind and it comes from changing how we think, changing our thought system. This is not such an ominous task since the thought system we want is already ours and we are already a part of it; the One Mind. We simply change our allegiance from the egoic thought system we made to the Mind of the One in which we are created. The only way we can correct this mistake is to look at it directly without protecting it. There is nothing to fear, as the light we share gently dispels all that is not real.

We begin the process of undoing this confusion by dispelling darkness with the light we shine together. The Course instructs us:

Let us begin this lesson in “ego dynamics” by understanding that the term itself does not mean anything. It contains the very contradiction in terms that makes it meaningless. “Dynamics” implies the power to do something, and the whole separation fallacy lies in the belief that the ego has the power to do anything. The ego is fearful to you because you believe this. Yet the truth is very simple:

All power is of the One.

What is not of he One has no power to do anything.

ACIM T-11.V.3.1-7

The realization is that we have given the egoic thought system all that power it appears to have simply by believing in it. Last week we discussed the lesson that only we can deprive ourselves of anything. In this way we have deprived ourselves of our creative power and turned it over to the egoic thought system we made that is not even real.

Our joy is, however, that we can just as simply change our mind and align our mind with the One Mind, the Mind that creates us. We begin by realizing that we remain One with our Creator and with each other, all the Creator’s creations. We return to the awareness of who we really are. In this awareness our mind realigns itself with the One Mind. As light shines away darkness, so does the egoic thought system fade in the presence of Oneness. All that we are and all our creations are welcomed in Oneness and so we return to the awareness of the joy, peace and love that we truly are. We rejoice in our joining with all our sisters and brothers in this awareness. We find that we are already what we had been seeking. Now we are truly Heaven on earth. Look honestly at yourself and return to the awareness of what you had deprived yourself of. It never left you. Let it be so.

March 10, 2015

Our peace lies in its limitlessness. There is more than enough to go around. In fact there is no end to our peace. Our function is to share it with each other. Since we are all One, it is our function to share our peace with all. This may sound at first like a daunting, if not impossible, task, but nothing could be further from the truth. When we rest in the awareness of our true Identity, our true Self, it is easy and natural for we are in alignment with our One Mind. We have let go of the perception that we are something other than what we really are and bask in the knowledge that we are whole and complete, One with our Creator and all Creation, as we are created. But when we limit the peace we share, for whatever reason, we raise a block in our minds that blocks the full awareness of who we really are and the limitlessness of our peace. It’s a simple principle; when we perceive our peace as limited, we hold back in our willingness to share it. Once we embark on this thought system that believes peace is limited, we can’t see that we are all One and that we all share limitless peace because we try to divide up what cannot be divided.

Peace is real and thus cannot be divided up or separated into portions. This is the beginning of the egoic thought system. This is the origin of the mistaken idea we are separate from our Source and each other. The result is that in our minds we cut off our brothers and sisters from the divine light and peace that is ours. Would we really do this if we were thinking correctly? We would not do this if we realize that we darken only our own mind and block ourselves from the awareness of our own peace and light. Yet, as we bring another back into peace and light by sharing it, so do we return to the awareness of our divine light and peace. This is the law of the One for the protection of our wholeness and divine Identity. Our wholeness is always with us whether or not we are aware of it, unchangeable and unable to be damaged. No matter how far we have wandered on our journey of separation, our wholeness and divine nature are always with us, even when we have blocked them from our awareness.

The Course teaches us:

Only you can deprive yourself of anything. Do not oppose this realization, for it is truly the beginning of the dawn of light. Remember also that the denial of this simple fact takes many forms, and these you must learn to recognize and to oppose steadfastly, without exception. This is a crucial step in the reawakening. The beginning phases of this reversal are often quite painful, for as blame is withdrawn from without, there is a strong tendency to harbor it within. It is difficult at first to realize that this is exactly the same thing, for there is no distinction between within and without. ACIM T-11.IV.4.1-6

The responsibility of this mistake in perception is ours. No one else can be responsible no matter how it may appear, for our perception is ours and is perceived in our own mind we believe to be separate. In a like way, when we blame another for our deprivation, we are blaming ourselves, and we cannot blame ourselves without blaming them. It’s a vicious circle we get caught up in. Though we are responsible for our misperception, the wages of misperception are not death, they are simply the appearance of misery and loneliness in our world.

Our purpose then is to shift our perception, seeing ourselves and each other as we really are, whole and complete and divine as we are created. We accomplish this by sharing miracles with another. The miracle of sharing limitless light and peace with another brings the awareness that we also are that limitless light and peace that we share in Oneness and Unity. The blocks to our awareness of who we are begin to drop away and fade into nothingness. This is the journey without distance on which the Course takes us. Spirit is within us to guide us every step of the way. Ask and it is given you. Be patient. Keep your eyes on the Light within you. It is the same light you see in another. Join with them in Spirit and feel it shine away all misery and loneliness. Step into the Realm of Heaven on earth. This is your real Home.

March 3, 2015

We are children of light. We are light for light is in us. And we cannot abide in darkness for darkness is not in us. The light within us is so bright it cannot possibly be contained within us. And so it shines forth into the world shining away the darkness wherever we think it exists. Where light shines, darkness simply fades into nothingness. We may have chosen to go our own way for a time, separate from the One, but the little spark remains shining in us reminding us of the great light that we really are. We may even travel with dark comforters, our dark thoughts of separation, but they will never bring us any real lasting comfort. The light within us is eternal. The darkness we think we see is not real. It fades into nothingness as we turn toward the light. When we feel tempted to dwell in our dark thoughts of separation, remember the spark within us and turn towards the light therein and see our true will in peace. Accept the peace of the One offered in this light and recognize yourself there.

We can never really lose our way, for we are always in Oneness, even when we have taken our mind on a journey away from Oneness. The Course teaches us

The One hides nothing from Us, even though We would hide ourselves. Yet we cannot hide our glory, for the One wills us to be glorious, and gave us the light that shines in us. We will never lose our way, for the One leads us. When we wander, we but undertake a journey that is not real. The dark companions, the dark way, are all illusions. Turn toward the light, for the little spark in each of us is part of a light so great that it can sweep us out of all darkness forever. For our Source is our Creator, and we are like our Creator. ACIM T-11.III.5.1-7

What more comfort could we want than this assurance? Our wholeness is assured. Our completeness is assured. Our limitlessness is assured. That we are loved unconditionally is assured. We simply need to recognize that we are so blessed.

Only Spirit can truly comfort us. In the quiet of our true being Spirit waits to give us the peace that is ours. Extend peace and love so you can recognize that sane peace and love within you. Recognize the presence of the One in each One as you extend peace and love or you will not recognize it in yourself. We bring all our brothers and sisters with us as we enter the awareness of our wholeness, for we cannot enter alone. So accept all as One for none can be excluded from the Wholeness of the One and Oneness. We are worthy to be in the temple of Oneness, the Realm of Heaven, just as we are and as we bless each One with the light of Oneness that is in us. As we bless each One in time we will be in eternity. This is our place; the Realm of Eternal Heaven. Be who you ae and be at Home in Glory.

February 24, 2015

Do you feel weary? Do you feel attacked? Do you feel lonely or friendless? Do you experience conflict? Do you need comfort? The Course tells us that the Child of the One indeed does need comfort, for they know not what they do, believing their will is not their own. In other words we believe we do not control our own minds and are at the mercy of the world we think we live in. The Realm of Heaven on earth is ours, yet we feel like we are wandering homeless through life.   It is like being surrounded by loved family and friends and feeling lonely and friendless at the same time. I’m sure we’ve all felt this more than once if not many times.

We are indeed in need of comfort for we know not what we do. Sound familiar? Jesus, as he was dying on the cross, said this about those who were crucifying him. What all this boils down to is that we don’t know who we are because we have forgotten who we are. We are One with our Creator. We are created One with our Creator and we always remain so, for that is unchangeable and unalterable. Our natural state of being is in Oneness with the One and all Creation. We are complete, whole, limitless and at peace. Our home is in the Realm of Heaven. We are as One with the One, all of our brothers and sisters and all creation; all that is perfect and filled with love. Any thought that strays from this Truth is simply mistaken and in need of healing. And when our mind is in need of healing we do indeed need comfort.

Comfort will come if we will simply let it into our minds. Spirit is often called the Great Comforter. The Comforter knows no attack or conflict. It knows no weariness, loneliness or frlendlessness. Yet all the while we are feeling all these feelings, the Comforter is silently surrounding us with peace and love. Our Source’s Will for us is to know our peace and love and be aware of it, to recognize who we really are. From the Text:

…if you knew what the One wills for you, your joy would be complete! And what the One wills has happened, for it was always true. When the light comes and you have said, “The One’s Will is mine,” you will see such beauty that you will know it is not of you. Out of your joy you will create beauty in the One’s Name, for your joy could no more be contained than the One’s. The bleak little world will vanish into nothingness, and your heart will be so filled with joy that it will leap into Heaven, and into the Presence of the One. ACIM T-11.III.3.1-5

What more could we want? The healing of our mind, the shift from mistaken thoughts to whole real thoughts, is simply a choice away. Spirit is quietly surrounding us with peace and love. Make the choice to turn toward the Comforter and accept what is offered. This way is not hard, but it is different. The way of fear and pain to which we have grown accustomed is indeed hard and lonely. Enough with this dark journey with fear ad grief as our traveling companions! Walk instead in light, for we are created of light and in light. Walk with joy in the Great Light that always surrounds us. Even in our darkest moments, the spark of that Great Light shines within us reminding us of the truth about who we are. Turn towards that spark and see it surround you with the warmth of its Great Rays and return to the awareness of who you really are.

February 17, 2015

Healing is a lesson in understanding who we really are. And the more we practice this, the better teacher and learner we become. But first, we must decide to heal our mind. This is the first step in deciding what we really want. Spirit continually holds out an invitation to healing, but it is our choice to accept that invitation. Are we willing to invite healing into our mind? Though we have never left our true spiritual home, we have decided to block our awareness of that same spiritual home. In aligning our mind with an egoic thought system we made up, we have thought and believed we are separate from our Creator, our Source and eternity. The power of our creative mind makes this possible to appear real to our egoic mind. This appearance, though not possible in Reality, appears very real to us as long as we believe it to be possible and true. This is sickness of the mind, the misperception of who we are. We all have wants and desires. But if we truly look at the base element of what we want, we want peace, love, joy, happiness and wholeness. We may think we are seeking other things, but this is what it all really boils down to. In our misperception of ourselves and the world, we seek what we want outside of ourselves, not realizing that what we seek is already within us and has always been within us. Source, the One, knows us as we really are, and knows we are eternally whole. And yet, that One has provided us with a path to guide us back to the awareness of who we really are. Spirit is this guide, always with us and always extending that invitation to return every moment of our perceived separation. The choice for us is to extend an invitation to Spirit to guide us in changing our perception of who we think we are. It is an invitation to recognize the spark within us that is the light we are. Spirit cannot speak to an unwelcoming host, for the Voice will not be heard. So we must extend the invitation to welcome Spirit as a sign that we care and want to transform our mind and the awareness of who we really are. This is the little step, the little willingness we are asked to take to begin our transformation. And whatever journey we choose to take, Spirit goes with us waiting for us to extend that invitation. Invite the knowledge of the One, our Source, back into your mind, and let nothing enter that obscures that knowledge. Spirit, the Guest we have invited into our mind, will show us all we need to do this if we will simply recognize the spark within us and let it grow. Our willingness is the gateway to our freedom as we learn to soar again. Consider this:

Would you be hostage to the ego or host to the One? You will accept only whom you invite. You are free to determine who shall be your guest, and how long that guest shall remain with you. Yet this is not real freedom, for it still depends on how you see it. Spirit is there, although Spirit cannot help you without your invitation. And the ego is nothing, whether you invite it in or not. Real freedom depends on welcoming reality, and of your guests only Spirit is real. Know, then, Who abides with you merely by recognizing what is there already, and do not be satisfied with imaginary comforters, for the Comforter of the One is in you. ACIM T-11.II.7.1-8

Accept the Invitation to healing by extending an invitation to Spirit to help you recognize the light you are, for you are the light of the world.

February 10, 2015

How often do we feel alone? Even in a crowd we often can feel alone. Aloneness takes on a myriad of forms and conditions. In each case, a barrier has been erected between us and whatever else is around us, and we feel alone as a result. Most of the time the barrier is not visible, though we perceive it very strongly. We probably think that the barrier is erected by those around us whom we feel separated from. Most likely, we have made the barrier, perceived it from our own denial of our Oneness and projected it on those around us, thus making us feel alone. Have we not done the same with the One, or God? If the One is everywhere, how could we be separate from our Source and feel alone? Yet we do feel alone and perhaps feel that our Creator has forsaken us. Perhaps we are the ones who have perceived the separation and projected it on our Creator.

The Course tells us that Creation is extension and thus all of creation is shared. The One Mind is limitless, and cannot be lessened. It can only be increased. Since we are created in the One Mind, it is impossible for us to be removed from It. Even though we may be able to think we can remove ourselves from the One Mind, it is impossible for us to actually do so. Thus our feeling of aloneness is a perceived idea based on a misperception that we can separate from what we are, or leave ourselves behind. Does that make any sense at all? Even though we can perceive ourselves as alone and experience a feeling of aloneness, we cannot actually be alone. We always rest in the arms of Love, no matter what we perceive at any moment.

The universe of love does not stop because you do not see it, nor have your closed eyes lost the ability to see. Look upon the glory of the One’s creation, and you will learn what the One has kept for you. T-11.I.5.10-11

What is our will and the Will of God? We so often see these as two completely separate things. Yet we are really one with our Source, no matter what we perceive ourselves as. So how could we have a different will from the One? Perhaps in our mistaken idea of separation we have also misperceived the will of the One. How do we begin to change the feeling of aloneness we feel so strongly? We certainly don’t want to feel this way always. And aloneness most certainly cannot be the will of Love. The Course gives us this promise:

You are asked to trust the Holy Spirit only because Spirit speaks for you. Spirit is the Voice for the One, but never forget that the One did not will to be alone. The One shares Its Will with you; the One does not thrust it upon you. Always remember that what the One gives the One keeps, so that nothing the One gives can contradict the One. You who share the One’s life must share it to know it, for sharing is knowing. Blessed are you who learn that to hear the Will of your Creator is to know your own. 7 For it is your will to be like the One, Whose Will it is that it be so. The One’s Will is that we be One, and united with Source in Our Oneness. That is why healing is the beginning of the recognition that your will is the One’s. T-11.I.11.1-9

No longer do we need feel we are alone. All that is real and true is One. All that is real and true is limitless. All that is real and true is Love. We are Love and Love is our shared Will. Nothing else exists.

February 3, 2015

What thought system do we align our minds with? We choose to align our mind with either the egoic thought system or the Mind of God, the One Mind.

Neither the One nor the ego proposes a partial thought system. Each is internally consistent, but they are diametrically opposed in all respects so that partial allegiance is impossible. Remember, too, that their results are as different as their foundations, and their fundamentally irreconcilable natures cannot be reconciled by vacillations between them. T-11.Intro.1.3-5

Is it any wonder we sometimes feel insane as we vacillate between thought systems? It’s our choice at any given moment which thought system we align our minds with. Thus, it’s our choice whether we want to be insane or sane!

God invested all in us in our creation. We are the cornerstone of God’s Creation. Creation is built on who we really are. The One Mind is the Mind we are created in and as. The One Mind is our true thought system. And that thought system is light. It is whole and complete. It needs nothing more and its condition is joy. And even when we block our awareness of our true mind, the Great Rays are there yet unseen. Even in our futile attempts to separate our lower mind from our One Mind, a spark remains. A glimpse of the Great Rays remains shining in our minds, for we can never really separate from our true Identity. Enough shines through our barriers to remind us of who we really are and let us remember our joy. We can simply turn our allegiance to this spark and hold it up to the darkness we think we see and let it shine away the dark and temporal cornerstone of the egoic thought system. We will see that what we have made up is nothing at all and that it fades into meaninglessness in the shining light of our true thought system, the One Mind.

The Course offers us this promise:

My friend, you are part of the One and part of me. When you have at last looked at the ego’s foundation without shrinking you will also have looked upon ours. I come to you from our Creator to offer you everything again. Do not refuse it in order to keep a dark cornerstone hidden, for its protection will not save you. I give you the lamp and I will go with you. You will not take this journey alone. I will lead you to your true Creator, Who hath need of you, as I have. Will you not answer the call of love with joy? T-11.Intro.4.1-8

  Let this promise fill your true mind, the One Mind. The fullness of Oneness will be where you find yourself in Oneness with all Creation. Allow yourself to be the Light and Love you truly are.