June 4, 2013

The Course tells us that God has given us everything.  There are no conditions.  This is an absolute truth.  This knowledge is present in our sane mind, the mind in constant communication with the Mind of God.  This sane mind is our true mind.  But we have chosen to separate our awareness from this sane mind where we have and are all and walk in the Realm of Heaven.  This is our choice.  God created us with free will and we can choose to use our creative gifts to make this separate mind we think is who we are.  When we perceive with this separate mind – the ego – we block our perception from the Light and Presence of the Divine within us, for that true identity is always in our sane mind – our right mind.

God gave us this free will to create.  It is our choice whether we Co-create with God, in partnership with God, from our right mind or make from our separate mind on our own.  The Holy Spirit respects our choices and will never interfere unless asked to do so.  But we have to really mean it when we ask.  Any reservation, any part of our mind held back, will prevent the fullness of what we already have from blossoming.  We’ve built this wall in our mind that we believe is impenetrable.  We have effectively blocked the Light of Love from our awareness with this wall.  Spirit sees through it.  Our right mind sees through it.  But we have believed so strongly in this separate identity we cannot see back through it to who we really are.  It’s like a one way mirror.  Our real right sane mind can see clearly exactly what we are doing and how we are thinking while our separate identity – our mistaken separated mind – looks and sees itself and what it made reflected back, confirming that what it made is indeed real.  From this state of mind we experience all the conflicts, lacks, and fears of the world of illusion – the world we have perceived without the guidance of Spirit.

This isn’t the existence God wills for us.  This isn’t the existence we will for ourselves.  The separate existence we made up with our split mind can’t really harm us.  We are really One with God and unchangeable.  But can surely feel painful.  Spirit knows we can’t harm who we really are.  But it also knows it cannot fight with us or go against our will.  That would violate God’s creation.  So Spirit waits with our sane right mind for an opening in our perception, a willingness to reawaken to the awareness of who we really are.  How bad does the world we made up have to seem before we are ready to see differently?  Lesson 153 says, “In my defenselessness my safety lies.”  (Sunday’s lesson)  There is no need to defend any perception we have made up.  Nothing real can be threatened for nothing unreal exists at all.  This is the comfort that surrounds and enfolds us.  The Light and Love of the Realm of Heaven are invincible and infinite.  Let all that is already you well up and shine from your radiant eyes illuminating the way for all your brothers and sisters.  It only takes this moment to shift your mind and your world.  You will realize you won’t be doing it alone.  Let it be so.

May 28, 2013

We are created in the Creator’s image.  We are created as extensions of the Creator.  We are created One with the Creator and nothing can change or take away any of this.  When the Course tells us that the Realm of Heaven is within us, it means we are inseparable from the Realm of Heaven.  The Realm of Heaven is an essential part of us.  It’s within, around, under, above, and throughout our being.  The Realm of Heaven just is!  And we are there, always.  But we can block ourselves from the awareness of that reality.  One might ask why anyone would do that or even want to do that, but we do it anyway.  In our effort to make a separate “identity” for ourselves we have made up ideas and beliefs that form these blocks to the awareness of who we really are.

Rather than uniting with the whole of Creation, we have misperceived ourselves as independent and separate from the Whole, the One.  We have convinced ourselves that we are each independent beings defined by and identified with a physical body.  We think our thoughts are unique and independent and that they do not necessarily have any impact on others.  The belief in this separate identity has made a split mind that we think is us.  Thus the thoughts we think and believe about ourselves have perceived a “reality” that is anything but real even though it seems and feels very real.  This split mind, this collection of misperceived ideas and thoughts makes up our ego.  Our ego is a self-centered illusion about who we think we really are.

This thought system – which is properly identified as “wrong-mindedness” – is all about preserving its perceived existence.  It uses whatever it can to perpetuate this illusion of separation from the awareness of who we really are.  It uses fear, judgment, conflict, guilt, and many other feelings to reinforce the idea of how alone and separate we appear to be.  If we become aware of our true created nature, there is nothing to fear, attack, defend, or feel guilty about.  The awareness of our wholeness, our Oneness with Source and all Creation, and our Divinity exposes the illusion of the split mind and wrong-mindedness.  We have also blocked the awareness of our Guidance from our mind.

Our true state of being is One-mindedness.  But since we are so attached to our separateness and our split-mindedness, Spirit is given us to guide us in shifting our thought system from wrong-mindedness to right-mindedness.  This places our state of mind in correct perception where we can see the world we live in with new eyes and new understanding.  We see each other as the Holy Child of God we really are.  We find peace, love, and joy within and around us.  Light and love radiate from within us and to each and every one we encounter.  The Bliss of Holiness and the Divine essence of who we really are wells up and directs us in our lives.  Let go of all the thoughts that limit and be who you really are.

May 21, 2013

The world we seem to see around us and that we seem to live in is a world of perception.  As we see it there is nothing neutral about it.  It is full of judgments; good, bad, evil, pleasure, pain, blame, guilt, attack, defense, right and wrong. The world we perceive is seen through the lens of our perception or our mind.  How we see and perceive the world is determined by our thought system or our state of mind.  The world itself is neutral.  There is nothing good or bad about the world – it just is.  Our thought system brings about all the thoughts we have about the world.  Is it any wonder that no two people see any event exactly the same?

As long as we aspire to identify as the body we live in and believe that some part of that body identifies who we are, we are perceiving the world in whatever way we are perceiving it.  When we begin our journey by beginning to remove the blocks to our awareness of who we really are, we must first accept the idea that we are using a thought system that is “wrong-minded.”  It is based on perception that reinforces the idea that we are separate from God and are independent from the rest of the world.  Once we begin to allow Spirit to guide our perception we move toward right-mindedness.  It a state of “right-mindedness” we perceive more uniformly and correctly.  We begin to perceive the Divine order of the world and the Divine order of our being.  From a state of “right-mindedness”, it is a simple step to One-mindedness, our true state of being.  From here we begin to see and understand that all is as it should be and that all we see, experience, and encounter is useful in right perceiving the world.  We begin to see our wholeness.  We begin to see our Divinity and our Oneness with God and Creation.  We begin to understand the natural order of our Spirit and realize that we are not the separate body we appear to inhabit that seems to limit us, but that we are limitless, holy, and perfect just as we are; as God created us.

The Course suggests that we let go of our attachment to our “wrong-mindedness” or misperception and allow Spirit to guide our mind into “right-mindedness.”  Our whole experience will shift.  Our thinking will shift.  The world will shift.  As all this shifts, we become aware that the world we think we see is more about our thoughts about it than the world itself.  As we allow our mind to shift into “right-mindedness” we reawaken to the awareness of our true Self.  We return to the awareness of our Oneness with God and all Creation.  We again are aware of God’s peace, love, and joy that well up within us and radiate to all those around us and beyond.  All the ideas of separation or “wrong-mindedness”; conflict, blame, fear, and lack fade away and we rest in the reality of our Divine nature.  Love without conflict wells up within us and extends from us, connecting with the abundant Love that flows from every One in this world.  Let your mind shift to its natural state and be the One you really are.

May 14, 2013

We are spiritual beings having a human experience, not human beings having a spiritual experience.  This is a clear statement with which to evaluate the condition of our thinking.  The first is right side up thinking and the second is upside down thinking according to the Course.  The belief that we are a human being is the belief that separates us from the awareness of our true nature.  The Course explains that our belief that we are human, that we are separate beings in a physical body, blocks our awareness of who we really are.  How could we possibly believe we are limitless, abundant, and powerful when we believe we are limited by our bodies, by being human, and therefore separate?    As long as we believe we are a body, that we are separate from God and all Creation, we will continue to perceive ourselves and the world we see as limited, lacking, unfair, cruel, and hateful.  We will see a world divided and in conflict.  This is not a real world we are seeing.

The real world is a world of peace, joy, love, harmony, and understanding.  It is a world where we find we are happy ad experience the love and light of God in everything on which we rest our eyes.  This change is not a change wrought by amazing works, perseverance, or continuous sacrifice.  This change is brought about by a simple change in our belief of who we are and a resulting change in our thought system.  By beginning to believe we are as God created us – One with God, each other, and all Creation – our thinking begins to be guided by Spirit who understands our separated thinking, but will guide that thinking to a more correct way of thinking.  We see ourselves and the world through a system of perception made up by our separated or split mind called the ego.  Since there is no such reality as separation, the perceptions we see are really misperceptions or wrong-mindedness.  This is not our natural thought system.  This is not who we really are.  This is not the reality God sees.

We have another choice.  Though we are free to choose to experience and pursue separation and block our minds from the awareness of our Divinity and our Holiness, we are also free to choose to be who we really are.  From a separation perception this nay appear daunting, if not impossible, but the Holy Spirit is already with us waiting for our willingness to be guided into correct perception.  Spirit guides us in shifting our perception, shifting our thought system to one grounded in the awareness that we are as God created us – that we are the divine, holy, and pure creations we always have been. It is based in the realization that we simply thought wrongly because we had blocked our awareness of who we really are.  Spirit guides us to correct perception and right-mindedness.  This is still perception, but it is the perception that places us in a state of being where we are in communication with God and see the love of God extending from God to us and all we see.  We see and understand ourselves, each other, and the world differently.  From this awareness all we encounter and experience are opportunities to extend and receive love.  Each is a perfect lesson for us to learn to extend and receive love and light.  Let it be so.

May 7, 2013

We use our God given creative power to make up – miscreate – our separate identity using the split mind we made up.  This idea is our ego.  It is not real, because it is separate from and not created by God.  But because we believe it is real it blocks us from the awareness of who we really are, One with and an inseparable part of God – Spirit.  Because we are One with God and created in God’s image – an extension of God – we have all God is, yet we have blocked our awareness of who we really are and all we have by believing in this ego or separate identity we have miscreated.  This identity we have made up sometimes seems askew, or inadequate, lacking in many ways, but we have given it – a mistaken idea – autonomy to guide us.  And so it tries to explain any situation or experience it doesn’t know what to do with.  It looks at past experiences and tries to apply them to the situation, and tries to make decisions without the full benefit of the whole picture.  Is it any wonder we struggle with all this confusion?

We also make up egos for all those we encounter in this would.  Yes, we each make up our own identity and ego, but we also make up identities and egos for each of our friends, family members, teachers, students, coworkers, and eve the person we see walking down the other side of the street.  Guess what?!  The identities we make up of others doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the identities those others have made up for themselves.  Nor does the identity they made up for us resemble the one we made up for ourselves.  Sound confusing?  Confusing barely touches the surface of the thought chaos all this separated thinking makes.  It’s probably a blessing none of it is really real.  It’s all in our thoughts.  It all stems from a world of illusion we have made up in our individually separate minds.  My perception of who you are is very different from your perception of who you are, and yours of mine.  And each of our perceptions of another are very different even when we seem to agree.

How do we resolve all this differing perception?  It comes down to our willingness to allow Spirit to show us a “new” thought system, a different way to see everything, one perception at a time.  We have never left the Mind of God and have never actually separated from God.  We have just built up barriers to our awareness of our Unity and Oneness with God, each other, and all of Creation.  We lost the awareness of our completeness, peacefulness, abundance, and power that are within us at all times and places waiting for us to realize they are there.  Spirit will guide us in the proper use of all of this.  Spirit will guide us in each and every one of our relationships and teach us through them if we will simply allow Sprit to do so.  Each encounter is a relationship to be learned from.  Each encounter is an opportunity to allow ourselves to see each other and ourselves differently and return to the awareness of who we really are.  We can begin right now, this very moment by thinking “I can see this differently.”  It is never too late or too soon.  Right now is the perfect time to decide to decide with Spirit’s guidance.  Take a moment to take that small step of willingness to change your thinking and let it be guided by Source.  What a difference it will make.

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.