April 30, 2013

Our tendency is to trust what we have become accustomed to, what is familiar to us.  We think this is what we know, but it has nothing to do with what we know.  We

Have spent a lifetime learning to rely on ourselves for all we need.  Sometimes we’ll rely on others for just a bit, when necessary or when it suits us, but we generally prefer to rely on ourselves.  We think that we will not let ourselves down, or at least not as much as others will let us down.  Our ego mind uses the idea and belief in separation to consistently reinforce this belief.    But what it’s really doing is distracting us from what we already know deep within us. We do know who we really are.  We do remember the joy, peace and love that are within us, and that are the essence of our being.  We know we are One with God, each other and all Creation, whole, unlimited, and powerful as we are created by God.  The belief in the ego thought system, however, keeps our awareness of our holiness hidden from our split mind since we can only see one thought system at a time.  Anythng that disagrees with the separation thought system is seen to be false no matter what its truth.

God and Spirit, which God created, never make this mistake in thought systems.  God is the Mind of God and sees nothing but reality.  God created Creation whole and unchangeable, and so sees us as we really are, One with God, whole, and perfect.  However, God created Spirit able to see both Truth and the world of perception we each made up in our separation thought systems we each made.  And Spirit’s function is to guide us, when we are willing to allow it, in changing our way of thinking – our thought systems.  Step by step Spirit guides us in making the small changes we can handle in our minds.  Through this process we learn and teach each other correct perceptions of ourselves and each other, letting the Light within us shine brighter and brighter for us all to see.  As we take these steps, the peace, love, and joy within us wells up and flows from us in a never-ending supply, washing over us with infinite blessing.  Isn’t this what we are really looking for?

Our true Self is One with God, all others, and all of Creation.  Our True Self recognizes its radiance and gladly sheds its light everywhere, leaving no thing or one untouched.  Our true essence is that powerful.  We cannot be limited.  Humility is not for our Spirit, but for our ego thought system.  It is simply a recognition that our reality is that we are all God is, and our separation thought system is simply mistaken.  “The meek shall inherit the earth” means that those who let go of their mistaken thought systems and rejoin the Mind of God will see the real world, the world as God meant it to be seen – full of blessing.  We will find peace, love, and joy in that awareness of who we all really are.  The Mind of God, the one real thought system, will show us a new world full of love and grace – joy, peace, and happiness.  Our simple task is to be willing and allow Spirit to guide us in every decision on this journey.  Let yourself be just a little willing and let it be so.

April 23, 2013

The Course is guiding us in learning and teaching a “new” thought system.  It’s really unlearning our ego-based or separation-based thought system and reawakening to our real thought system we have always had.  We just lost our awareness of it by believing separation’s thought system.  We can only be true to one thought system at a time.  Over time, the course narrator, who Helen saw as Jesus, teaches and guides us step by step in teaching us to correct our thought system.  We also teach each other as we learn.  The teacher and the student must both be thinking at the level of perception to understand and be of service to each other.  Our guide in this shift in thought systems understands perception and how it works, and so can effectively guide us in correcting our thought system.

Our intention is also an important factor in this shift.  The intention to reawaken to the Divine Self we really are and the Divine Self each one we encounter really is makes this shift possible.  Our intention, our willingness, is the key to letting go of our attachment to the incorrect thought system and allowing the awareness of our natural thought system to reawaken within us.  As we awaken, our brothers and sisters also reawaken in our perception.  We begin to see their true identity even when they may continue to hold on to their mistaken identity.  The process of teaching and learning our natural thought system is right teaching and right learning.  We are using the tools of teaching and learning, which we used to learn the separation thought system, to relearn our natural thought system.  The problem is not how we change our thinking, it’s what we change our thinking to!

The basis of our natural thought system is grounded in understanding our origin and the origin of each and every One in Creation.  God created all of us like God; whole, perfect, pure, and free.  Peace, Love, Joy, and Happiness are the characteristics of our real existence.  If we feel otherwise, we have shifted our thinking to the separation thought system and turned our thinking over to the ego, resulting in erroneous learning, erroneous teaching, and misperception.  Allowing Spirit to correct this error in thinking brings us back to the awareness of who we really are, as God created us.  Let Spirit guide you in this shift in thought systems.  Only Spirit can see where we need to go in this shift.  We cannot see the correct lesson until we allow ourselves to be One with Spirit.  Let it be so and watch the world you see shift in the Light of Truth.

April 16, 2013

When we first changed our mind from knowing we are One with God and all Creation to thinking we are separate, we first experienced change and with that change, fear.  That first thought of separation caused the blocks to the awareness of who we really are from our split mind.  Our One Mind knows who we are, but we’ve given our attention to our split mind, our egoic mind, our little self.  We now concentrate our thoughts on reinforcing our idea of who we have mistakenly thought we are; our separate identity.  This mistaken identity is now the basis of our thought system.  And now it is time for us to learn and teach ourselves and each other how to correct our thought system.

Our function in this world we now see is to correct our mistaken thoughts and the mistaken thought system that lies beneath it.  We do this by unlearning what we have taught and learned ourselves over the years we have been doing so.   Spirit has no need of learning, but our ego, our egoic thought system certainly does.  Left to its own devices, our separated mind, our ego, will protect its separateness with all its might since change threatens its very existence.  But Spirit is perfectly capable of guiding us in correcting our thought system in just the right way if we are willing to let it do so.  Right teaching and Right learning come from the guidance of Spirit.  When we learn, we also teach, and vice versa.

A good teacher clarifies what they teach and believes what they teach.  What we teach is to be tested and known to us as true.  The teacher and the student are alike in the learning process for they share a conviction and a desire to change their thought systems together.  For success, the teacher must also believe in the student.  A sense of mutual respect and willingness to make a difference is essential in the teacher student relationship to transform their thought systems and that relationship into a holy relationship.

Teaching and learning are our greatest strengths right now, for they help us change our thought system and help us change the thought systems of others.  This isn’t a top down method like so much teaching and learning we are used to.  This process is a mutual process of giving and receiving that works in every facet of our lives in this world.  Teaching and learning to correct our thought systems happens at work, at school, at home, and in every other facet of our daily lives.  It comes in every imaginable form and countless others.  Spirit guides us in this curriculum each and every moment that we are open to its guidance.  When we find ourselves in a situation, we need not look for the lesson alone.  We simply ask Spirit to guide us to the lesson we need to learn.  Release the need to control every little thought.  Allow Spirit to guide you to the perfect teaching or learning moment.  With Spirit’s guidance it will definitely be Right teaching and Right learning.

April 9, 2013

This Sunday’s weekly thought sent out by the Foundation for Inner Peace is “…A holy relationship can never end.”  (T-22-Intro:4:9-10)  It is so appropriate to the Introduction we will read this week.  The Bible tells us to go with another twice as far as they ask.  We are certainly not asked to set another back on their journey.  Our devotion to each other as we journey together, when approached with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, will definitely not set us or another back in any way.  Spirit will always guide us in a holy relationship, not anything else.  If our relationship functions otherwise, we have removed ourselves from Spirit’s guidance.  A genuine, truly helpful, journey together will never set either back, for it can only lead to mutual progress.

The result of a devotion to another in this way is inspiration, which is properly understood as the opposite of fatigue.  No matter what experiences and challenges either of us on this journey experience together, the indicator of our presence of mind is whether we feel fatigued (dis-spirited) or inspired and peaceful.  It is our choice whether we are ego centric or spirit centric at any given moment.  As we allow our mind to rest in the Mind of God, we are inspired and enlightened, allowing darkness to fade as we become aware of the light within.  Spirit guides us in all things if we will simply listen to its guidance.  Our true mind, One with the Mind of God, recognizes that guidance for it remembers it and recognizes that it has always been with us, but simply ignored.

How do we listen to Spirit’s guidance?  We are told to “Be still and know that I am God.”   Are we willing to be still?  Can we just stop our busy minds for a moment and just be willing to let our thoughts be still?  Spirit needs just a little opening in the cacophony of thoughts our busy minds propagate.  When we choose not to be guided by Spirit, we find ourselves on useless journeys that lead us nowhere except in circles, building more and more blocks to the awareness of who we really are.  Spirit knows who we really are and holds that truth for us, reminding us of that truth whenever we will listen for a moment.

Life and resurrection are the direction of our journey.  Life is the awareness of who we really are.  Life, true life, cannot end since it is of God and we are One with God in that life.  Resurrection is the return to the awareness of that life we are.  Leave crucifixion and death behind.  How many times do we need to re-enact the separation, the denial of power, before we are willing to reawaken to the awareness of our Divinity and Oneness with God?  There is no need to “cling to the old rugged cross” anymore.  It doesn’t matter what we did before now.  Now is the time to allow ourselves to listen to Spirit’s guidance and reawaken to the awareness of who we really are and who our brothers and sisters really are.  Let it be so.