January 28, 2014

Our wholeness is beyond question.  Our wholeness is a certainty, it is our true state of being.  We are created Whole and Divine.  Nothing can change, destroy, or deny this.  Our true home where we exist is the realm of Heaven.  Its condition and ours is peace.  Our true Mind, the Mind of God, is in peace and joy, for no other state of mind is possible.  Though it is impossible to not be in our true mind, we have found a way using the creative power if our mind to believe we are something else, something separate.  Though it is impossible to be something separate from the whole, we have believed we can wall off a tiny corner of our mind and believe we are that corner we believe is separate.  As long as we believe we are that tiny walled off corner, we are blind to the reality of who we really are. And we are unaware of our wholeness.

The three lessons of Spirit we have been discussing are the steps to changing our belief about who we are.  We have spent a lifetime building and reinforcing our mistaken beliefs about who we are.  Those beliefs are deeply embedded in our walled off or split mind.  Because these beliefs are so deeply held, we experience fear, anxiety, and a multitude of other emotions rather than the peace and joy that is our true state of mind.  Spirit’s lessons take us step by step patiently and lovingly to a shift in thinking and a shift in our belief system that guides us to an opening awareness of who we really are.  There are ups and downs, successes and mistakes along the journey, but Spirit quietly and gently guides our mind to a higher and higher level.  We end up turning many of our held beliefs about ourselves on their heads, but Spirit guides us each and every step of the way.

The first lesson Spirit guides us in is that to have, give all to all.  What is real is completely shared by all, the whole of creation.  All is shared and cannot be divided.  To have peace and joy, we must give peace and joy to all because it is always shared.  The second lesson Spirit guides us in is that to have peace and joy, we must teach peace and joy to learn peace and joy.  What we teach we learn and what we learn we teach.  Inevitably, what we believe about ourselves is what others see in us and so that is what we teach.  This is the school of life; we teach by example.  There is no more productive teaching method.  The third lesson Spirit teaches us is to be vigilant for God and the Realm of Heaven, our true home.  This is the process of shifting our belief system.  The shift we are making is our belief about who we are.  Our walled off corner of our mind we believe is separate is deeply embedded in our belief system.  We want to change that belief, but that old belief that “we are separate” will keep coming up until we believe more that we are whole and One rather than separate.  To keep this vigilance for the belief that we are whole and One takes effort as long as the old belief is still held.  But as the old belief fades away, the effort needed to maintain this vigilance for God and the awareness of who we really are will lessen.  The truth is that nothing can shake the truth about who we really are.  So take the first step and ask Spirit for guidance in these lessons.  We are never alone on this journey.  Spirit guides us every moment of every hour.  The destination on this journey is inevitable.  We can only delay our arrival and be miserable in the delaying.  Walk with Spirit in these lessons and be the peace and joy you really are.

January 21, 2014

The third lesson Spirit teaches is Vigilance.  Spirit asks us to be vigilant only for God and God’s Realm; Heaven.  This is not a vigilance in the outside world.  This is a vigilance regarding every thought we allow into our mind.  We are not asked to judge others.  We are asked to judge every thought that enters our mind.  And, the only appropriate judgment to be made is whether the present thought holds up in the light of what God put in our mind.  Spirit guides us in this judgment if we allow It.  Whatever thoughts hold up in the light of Spirit are retained.  When a thought is in partial accord with our true Mind, Spirit retains and purifies or corrects it.  If a thought is not in accord with our true mind, Spirit discards it.  Our vigilance involves us desiring to shift our minds into the awareness of who we really are and then allowing Sprit to guide us.  This cannot be accomplished in a thought system rooted in separation.  We must be open to the idea that we are of One Mind; One with God and each other.  We must recognize that we are all One in Spirit, our true state of being.

We are created to be whole.  We are created to be of One Mind, the Mind of God.  This is our true nature; our natural state of being.  We start with a desire to be who we really are and a willingness to allow Spirit to guide us there.  We begin by recognizing we must give all to have all.  Then we recognize that we believe what we learn and in turn teach what we learn because we have believed it.  So we allow Spirit to guide our learning so we can teach correctly what is true.  Next, we remain vigilant for God in every thought that enters our mind, allowing Spirit to guide us in judging whether it is in accord with Truth or if it is in error, retaining and discarding as appropriate.  Aligning our thoughts with the Mind of God places our consciousness in the Realm of Heaven, our natural state of being.  What permeates our being then is the only mood possible within the One Mind, our true Mind; Joy.  As we rely on Spirit to guide us, every guidance Spirit gives fosters joy.  In that joy we experience the peace of Mind we are seeking.  We realize that what we seek is already within us and is not found outside of us in the world.

As we continue on thus journey without distance, we will at first need to put our effort towards being vigilant for God or Source.  What we will find, however, is that being vigilant for God takes much less effort than maintaining the idea and belief in separation.  As we align our thoughts with the One Mind, the effort needed lessens as we find the truth that we are abundant in Spirit.  Remaining attached to the idea that we are separate is a constant fight to maintain a thought and belief system that is contrary to anything real.  We are essentially maintaining a constant fight against the awareness of who we really are.  So now turn your effort toward being the reality of who you really are.  The infinite resources of Spirit are there to assist you.  The only possible outcome is the infinite Joy of being who you really are.  Perfect Peace, Joy, and Happiness are yours.  Let it be so.

January 14, 2014

In the past few weeks we have been learning and discussing the lessons the Holy Spirit teaches us.  The goal of these lessons is to reverse the thought systems we have taught ourselves and return to our natural thought system we share with God.  We are returning to the awareness of who we really are.  We are so attached to the way we have been thinking that it brings great conflict to our minds as we begin this change.  Spirit asks us to recognize this conflict and bear with it for just awhile as we undergo the shift in thought systems that must occur. We have decided we want to live and experience peace of mind in our lives.  We want this shift ad Spirit will lead us there if we allow It.

The third lesson Spirit guides us in is, Be Vigilant for God and God’s Realm.  God’s Realm is Heaven, or the Mind of God.  The thought system Spirit is guiding us toward is the Mind of God, or the higher thought system.  This is the thought system we were given by God in our creation, but we have turned our minds elsewhere and made up a lower thought system based on our belief that we are separate.  Our fundamental belief in who we are is the key to realizing and being aware of our true nature and being.  We say we want to have peace, so we must get peace.  Spirit teaches us in the first two lessons we must give peace to have it and that we must teach peace to learn it.  In this third lesson, Spirit asks us to be vigilant for God and God’s Realm; in other words, peace.  Being vigilant for anything implies it is already there and we simply be alert and vigilant to its presence.  We are already peace.  Peace is created in us in our creation.  Spirit asks us to now begin being aware of peace within and around us.  Peace is already in our mind and so we need look no further than our true being to become aware of it.

We shift our belief in who we are.  We begin to believe we are peace.  We begin to believe we are the One Holy Child of God.  We begin to believe that we are the Higher Holy Spirit Self we are rather that the separate limited self we have come to believe we are.  We cannot be both of these selves.  They contradict each other.  We are either limited or limitless.  We are separate and on our own, or we are One with God and each other.  We are peace or we are chaos.  Which would anyone choose in their right mind?  The choice to see ourselves as separate was simply a mistaken belief.  The truth never went away.  We never ceased being the One creation of God as we are created.  The mistaken thought can be changed.  Spirit is within us to guide us in changing what we believe about ourselves and who we are.  Be willing to allow Spirit to guide you in this journey.  It is a journey without distance.  It is a journey that is as difficult or as easy as we make it.  Today, be vigilant for God, God’s Realm, and Peace.  It is within each One of us and guides us to the awareness of who we really are.  Be Peace today.

January 7, 2014

In the previous section we learned the first lesson Spirit would have us begin with:  “To have, give all to all.”  This may seem insane or at least conflicted since we are using a thought system based on the idea of separation rather than Oneness.  It certainly raises conflict in our minds since we usually think we need to get to have.  Much of our lives up to this point have been rooted in this concept.  Spirit is beginning to undo the learning we have taught ourselves over the course of our lives.  Spirit asks us to be uncomfortable for a while, since we are being asked to consider conflicting ideas as we move toward a seemingly new thought system.  Fear not, Spirit will not lead us wrong.

We return to the fact that we teach what we learn.  Whether it is correct or not, we still teach what we learn.  Whatever thought system we have chosen to operate by, we must believe it.  Otherwise it would make no sense to have adopted it.  And we hold allegiance to anything we believe in.  Understanding this concept is key to accepting the idea that if we want to change anything we must find a way to be willing to change it.  The willingness must come from us.  We can choose to be willing.  We always have that choice.  Spirit needs that choice to be able to work with us in making the change we want to happen.

Once we have chosen to change our way of thinking, living with conflict in our mind is a challenge.  It can make us very uncomfortable and we may wonder whether we are insane at times.  We are given the next lesson to begin learning and take us another step in our decision to change our thought system.  None of us can deny we want to be at peace and live in a state of peace of mind.    We may not yet be in a state of being that is peace, but we certainly can begin to have peace of mind, a way of perceiving that is peaceful.  As the Course teaches us that we are what we teach, we can have peace by teaching it to learn it.  One might ask, “How can we teach what we are learning?”  The answer to this is with the guidance of Spirit.  Once we make the choice to be willing to change our thought system, we allow Spirit to guide us.  The common thread throughout the Course is allowing Sprit to guide the change in our ways of perceiving resulting in the change of our thought system.  Spirit guides us step by step from the belief in a lower thought system rooted in the belief we are separate to a higher thought system rooted in the belief we are One with our Source, each other, and all of Creation.  In this transformation we return to the awareness of who we really are.  We realize we simply lost our awareness of the truth about ourselves.  Now, at our choosing, we can return to the awareness of what has always been.  It will take time and vigilance to make this choice consistent, for we spent all our lives learning our misperception of who we are.  But Sprit guides us.

Take a moment now and begin the journey back to the awareness of who you really are.  Choose to have peace by teaching it to learn it.  Allow Spirit to guide you in the transformation of your thought system.  Peace is just a thought away.  Let it be your thought right now.

December 17, 2013

All that is real is shared.  There is no separation in reality.  The real Mind is also shared and cannot be separated.  Peace, Love and Joy can only be shared, for they are real, too.  I can’t imagine what peace, love, and joy would be in isolation or separateness.  What value do any of these have if they are not shared?  They cannot help but be shared by their very nature.  Life is of the Mind, so life is also shared and cannot be separated.  Our true state of being is life.  It is shared.  We have a built in desire to share, to be in communication, to be in the awareness of our Oneness with God and all Creation.  This is who we really are and what we are searching for in our illusory state of unawareness.

As we approach the Christmas season, we many times get caught up in all the busy-ness of the season.  We forget to stop a moment and reflect on the messages that float by so fast in our busy minds.  What happened to Peace on earth, good will to all?  It’s very easy to lose sight of who we really are in the hubbub of the shopping and the parties and the concerts.  It’s especially important during this season to stop a moment and reflect on the truth of who we really are.  It’s important to remember that we are whole and that we are One with our Source, our Creator.  We are all connected at the level of Mind, at the level of Spirit.  Nothing can threaten that Oneness.  Only our letting down our vigilance will let us fall out of the awareness of who we really are and sink us into the turmoil of the chaos of the world of separation.  Take the time to remind yourself to be vigilant for Spirit.

This is a time of letting go of the old and bringing in the new.  Letting the idea of separateness die with the winter and rebirthing the awareness of our true self and the awareness of who we really are.  See the real Christ presence reflected in every one we encounter.  Let the Divine presence in each one shine brightly as we join in the sharing of our One Mind that is our true Mind.  Take the time for communication with the One we all are this season.  Anything worth having is worth giving.  And by giving all to all, we have all.  Sharing is the extending of all that is worth having.  Peace, love, and joy are increased by sharing, so share away and find yourself smack in the middle of peace, love, and joy.  It’s inescapable!  Have a wonderful holiday season and extend it to all you encounter.