October 28, 2014

We have two evaluations of who we are floating around in our minds. And, we choose which one we believe. Spirit looks on us with love and evaluates us based on who we really are. This evaluation is always in our minds because Spirit is always in our minds. Another evaluation in our minds is made by our egoiuc thought system. The egoic thought system, though mistaken and incorrect, is there because we have chosen to accept it there and believe it even though it leads us to believe that we are the exact oppos8te of who we really are. We have chosen to go with the egoic thought system’s evaluation that we are separate and limited, lacking and headed for destruction. We have spent a lifetime building the case for this limited idea of who we are. Is it any wonder we feel that life is out to “get” us? Our constant obsession with this idea keeps us distracted from the truth about who we are that remains within our minds, yet blocked from our awareness.

Spirit remains firmly planted within our minds, holding the knowledge of who we really are for us. Though we may continue blocking our awareness of this knowledge, it nevertheless remains within our minds gently calling to us to remember who we really are. Simply put, this is salvation – remembering who we really are – the Atonement. Our true natural state of being is joy and peace. If we are experiencing anything different we are not in our right mind – the Mind of God. We have mistakenly aligned our minds with the egoic thought system and placed our trust in the illusory idea of separation. This way of thinking pits ourselves, who we believe is separate, against another, who is really our Self and One with us. I pit me against myself. You pit you against yourself. Why? There can be no joy or peace in this, only confusion. And so we feel confused.

God’s will for us is salvation, that is, the knowledge of who we really are and the experience of love, joy and peace. And so this is our will, too, since God shares all with us as we are One with God. If this is God’s will for us it only makes sense that it would be possible if not easy for us to obtain it. We do not need to look far, for our brothers and sisters are everywhere. Every minute and every second gives us a chance to obtain the awareness we seek. Within every encounter and every experience lies an opportunity to see with the open eyes of Spirit beyond the appearance of the world to the truth of who we really are and thus experience the joy and peace we truly are. Only our stubborn attachment to the way we have always perceived and thought about ourselves and each other stands between confusion and joy.

Which evaluation do we align ourselves with? The Course tells us that whenever we question our value to say, “God is incomplete without me.” In truth, God is never incomplete and God is never without us as we are never without God. I might rephrase the previous quote as, “My idea of God is incomplete or incorrect without including me and all others in the idea of God.”   We are One with God. Or, we are God. Remember this when we find ourselves aligning with our egoic thought system. The egoic thoughts will fade from our minds. The truth about us is so holy that nothing unworthy of God is worthy of us. Choose then, your allegiance to who you really are, the One holy Child of God. Chose this in how you perceive each One you encounter. Take full advantage of each opportunity to see the holiness of another and thus yourself and step into the joy and peace of wholeness. Value who you really are by aligning with Spirit’s evaluation of who you are. There is no mistaking the completeness, limitlessness and divine nature of the One Holy Child of God you really are.

October 21, 2014

We all have Spirit within us. We are created complete and divine, but we don’t always recognize or accept that reality. Recognizing Spirit within us is our path back to the awareness of who we really are. Spirit gives rise to joy within us. This is always true. However, we aren’t always aware of joy within ourselves or others. We are not consistent in our reliance on Spirit to guide our perception. Joy is always available to us. It is our choice of what we offer to each other that limits or increases our receiving joy. Joy is not limited. We limit our receiving by what we think about ourselves and each other.

Are we willing to accept the truth about each other? Are we willing to allow Spirit to reveal the truth about another to us? Accepting our brothers and sisters as the Divine creations they really are is a reflection of the Divine creation we really are. As we have made a choice not to see ourselves whole and complete, Spirit reveals our wholeness and completeness in the Ones we encounter along our path. Everyone we encounter reflects who we think we are in some sense. If we are willing to allow Spirit to guide our perception and accept the truth about each other we will see the joy of Spirit reflected back to us. We are all One. Another’s joy and wholeness is our joy and wholeness. As we recognize wholeness and joy in each One, we add to our awareness of our own wholeness and joy, for wholeness and joy are shared. Wholeness and joy cannot be divided or separated, and thus must be recognized and extended in sharing. We remember our Oneness in the unity of sharing.

We are not yet awake, but are in the process of awakening. Spirit is our guide in this awakening. And Spirit speaks to us through each One we encounter. Spirit speaks in every voice we hear and acts in every action another takes. Voices and actions perceived with our egooic thought system will appear insane, but if we are willing to accept Spirit’s guidance, we will begin to hear Spirit’s message for us beyond the appearance of those words and actions. The perception that sounds insane cannot hurt us for that perception is nothing more than a mistaken thought. The Course has taught us that nothing unreal exists, nor can anything unreal threaten us. Spirit’s guidance translates all perception for us as we allow.

The healing of our mind begins with the acceptance of the truth about who our brothers and sisters really are. That acceptance reveals the truth about who we really are to us through Spirit’s joy and love radiating from our brothers and sisters. As we join in Oneness with each other, we recognize we are all One and that we are all the One Divine Child of God in that Unity. This is who we really are. This is where we recognize our wholeness, our completeness, our limitlessness, and our Divine nature. Accept each One today and join in the joy of who we really are. This is our journey.

October 14, 2014

First of all, we need to remember that all healing is of the mind. The healing of our mind is the return to the awareness of who we really are. Healing is a return to the awareness that we are whole, that we are complete, that we are limitless, that we are Love and that we are One. And we return to this awareness about ourselves through our acceptance of the same about each other. We are taught that we are not healed alone. From the workbook:

“When I am healed, I am not healed alone,

And I would share my healing with the world,

That sickness may be banished from the mind

Of God’s One Child, who is my only Self.”

Healing comes from Spirit. Our guidance in changing our thought system comes from Spirit. For our perception to change correctly, we must allow Spirit to guide our perception correction. Only through Spirit’s guidance will we see another’s true being and realize we are one with that one.

The unhealed healer is the one who tries to heal from an egoic thought system – a belief that we are separate. This is like trying to join those who do not believe they can be joined. Joining is resisted at every step of the way. Even though we are created as One and are joined in reality, our belief in separateness and our resistance to joining will block our awareness of the truth about us and thus the healing of our mind. Perhaps a minister or priest has tried to bring us healing by telling us we are condemned as they are, too. Perhaps a therapist has tried to help us by reinforcing the idea that we are all attacked. How does this help the healing of our minds? All it really does is reinforce the misperception of who we really are and strengthen the blocks in our own mind and another’s mind to the healing of the mind we are seeking – the awareness of who we really are.

The Miracle Workers’ Prayer in chapter 2 of the Text begins with the words: “I am here only to be truly helpful.” How can we possibly be of any help if we are not thinking correctly? If we do not know ourselves truly or understand our healing, how can we possibly help another achieve what we have failed to achieve ourselves? The Course asks us to choose the correct Guide, Spirit. We have chosen our egoic thought system to be our guide for so long, we don’t even realize it is guiding our minds. And we haven’t a clue that it is misguiding us. Even though we are not experiencing peace of mind, we believe that our egoic thought system is guiding us there through separation.

Are we ready to realize we need a change? It’s time to change our guide. Spirit knows us intimately for Spirit is within us and is a part of who we really are, placed there by our Creator. Take a moment and step back from the chaos. Allow the light of Spirit to well up within you and shine our light on the darkness that appears to engulf us. We are the light of the world and darkness cannot exist in the presence of the light we are when we acknowledge it. With that light comes the awareness that we are whole, complete, limitless and that we are One. We are the expression of Love. Our function in this world is to be aware of and extend that Love to all we encounter. We are healed in this awareness as are all healed as we are. As the Miracle Workers’ Prayer concludes, “I will be healed as I let the One teach me to heal.” There is no reason to continue as the unhealed healer. Choose the correct guide already within you, Spirit, and be the healed healer.

October 7, 2014

Fear has no place in forgiveness. If we allow fear to enter our mind, we miss the true meaning of forgiveness and make real what is not real. Forgiveness, as guided by Spirit, lies simply in looking beyond error from the beginning and thus keeping error unreal for us. Any belief that error is real that enters our mind results in the belief that we must undo error, which isn’t real, to be forgiven. In reality, error has no effect for it doesn’t exist. Spirit knows error is not real and systematically and consistently cancels out all perceived effects of any error we are willing to relinquish our attachment to. Spirit is the guide to true forgiveness. Spirit guides us in changing our perception of ourselves and others. Forgiveness is the change from perceiving others as they are not to perceiving others as they truly are. Only Spirit can guide this shift. And we simply need to be willing.

Fear will always block our awareness of truth. Fear is a falsehood. When we feel fear as we look upon another, we are blocking our awareness of who another really is. Just shifting our focus to look beyond that fear illusion will allow the block to fade away into nothingness. In this perception of separateness we have believed that there is something different about another that somehow limits or threatens us. Who we are cannot be threatened or limited. Forgiveness is Spirit’s function, not ours. Our function is to allow Spirit to reveal the truth to us about each other and ourselves and believe that truth. We have nothing to fear! We are whole. We are complete. We are limitless. We are Love in its vast abundance. We are the sharers of Love. What more of an aspiration could we want? It is the perfect aspiration and that is always where Spirit will guide us. Allow all the baggage of beliefs we have piled on the word forgiveness to fall away. Spirit has a new perception of forgiveness for us and will gladly place it back in our awareness as it has never left our true mind. Look beyond all else and see the face of the Christ shining from another’s face no matter what we have seen before. Spirit will always show us the correct perception. Let it rise up in our minds and be aware of its truth and reality.

Behold, brothers and sisters, reality is here. Realty belongs to us and Spirit and God and is perfectly satisfying to all of Us. Only this awareness heals, for it is the awareness of Truth. We can want no more, for this is all there is. Join in the awareness of the miracle of awareness. The forgiveness or the letting go of mis-thoughts and mis-beliefs is the miracle of returning to the awareness of who we really are. Let go of all else and see that we are all truly the One Holy Child of God, whole, limitless, and a creator of Love.