May 10, 2011

The Course cautions us to beware of the temptation to perceive ourselves as unfairly treated. “What?” you may say! The attempt to seek a false innocence is a slippery slope in our perception of ourselves. And this false innocence draws a veil between our perception and awareness of our True Innocence. If we believe we can be unfairly treated, it follows that someone can treat us unfairly. And, if we are One, we treat ourselves unfairly. Why would we ever want to do that? As with all mistaken ideas, if we see ourselves unfairly treated, we will be, and so we treat each other so. What could be more unjust than this?

The innocence of the One is deep within us. God placed it there at our creation. We cannot change it, we cannot get rid of it, and we cannot destroy it. We can only ignore it or cover it up to hide it from our consciousness. It is there within us, hidden only by a thin veil of unawareness in our mind. That same veil obscures the innocence of another as we look to them and fail to see our own innocence shining forth from them. Here in this one is the key to our healing. Here in this relationship will justice replace all ideas of injustice.

Let us begin to let ourselves see that reality is just and that there is no injustice in the real world. For if there is only Love, how could there possibly be injustice? Any unfairness, attack, or defense we see is merely an indication that we have lost sight of Love where all that is real is Just and all else is a mistaken thought, unreal and powerless. We have become so attached to our false innocence and being unfairly treated that we have forgotten what Love feels like.

And so because we have seen any injustice at all, we have seen the world become dim and threatening, blocking all traces of the light They bring. Now, the Holy Spirit has brought injustice to the light within us, displacing any idea of unfairness with the light of justice and love. And so we now see Their Presence shining within us and each other. And in that light, all injustice fades away. All that is not real vanishes. And the awareness of who we really are washes over and through us, cleansing us of all our thoughts of injustice. Thus is the end of injustice ours.

May 3, 2011

Where do we find the Presence of God? How do we reconnect with God’s Divine Presence? How do we find release from all that seems to hold us back or keep us down in this world we live in? Perhaps these questions are shared by all of us, all of humankind in one way or another. The Course gives us one way to look at these ideas and answer these questions. It considers the answers simple and already known within us. But many of us remain confused and puzzled about what this means and how we find the answers.

They are already within us. They are known to us, though we have long ago forgotten them. More correctly we have covered them up and chosen to believe something else rather than the knowledge that is deep within us. Hence the people of this world have embarked on countless journeys of discovery looking high and low, near and far, backward and forward for the answers to these age old questions. But have we tried letting go of searching where we think we might find the answers and let Spirit show them to us? We have forgotten who we really are. We have forgotten the connection we have with the Divine. We have blocked, ignored, or drowned out the Voice for God that calls to us, reminding us of who we are and beckoning us back to the awareness of who we really are.

God sees and holds the truth of our holiness. God sees that we have separated our awareness of who we are from that holiness and so holds that Divinity for us. God holds our Oneness with each other, God, and all of creation waiting for us to remember who we really are and join again in the awareness of that holy Communication.

The path God has provided for us to return to this awareness is simply in our relationships. The essence of our holiness is there to be seen in each other, and so to be seen in us. Each one that we encounter is the One in that moment who is there for us to see their holiness in them and in turn find it revealed in us. As our holiness is seen and revealed, we are One with each other in this world as we are in Spirit.

It doesn’t matter what the situation, or where we are, or what anyone else says or does. It only matters that we are there in that moment willing to see Divine Presence in that moment and letting Divine Presence be revealed to us. They have come, those who are our saviors, ready to be seen as they really are, One and Divine. In the revealing of Divinity in each of us and the both of us, we see God’s Presence radiating peace, love, and joy of a powerful gentleness we have never felt, yet remember from a far and distant memory. Is it too much to ask a little trust that we are as God created us? That little bit of trust will open wide the doors within us that blocked the awareness of the Divine Oneness within each of us and all of us. They have come to reveal to us who we really are. And we see who they really are as well. Here are all our questions answered.

April 26, 2011

We stand in the present moment, in the now. It doesn’t matter where we are; we are always in the present moment, nowhere else. And anything we experience is in the present moment, nowhere else. So any effect we experience is in the present moment. Since cause and effect are one, the cause of any effect or experience is in the present moment. Any effect can be healed when we realize the cause is present when the effect is. A miracle is always now! It stands already here in present grace in the only interval of time that fear and separation overlook. It’s no wonder we miss the miracles washing over us at any given present moment.

If we realize the cause of any effect is in the present moment, we know we can change the cause, even if we think the cause is in the past. Since the past is over, gone, and not real now, we can change the cause that brings the unpleasant effect in this moment. If we think the cause was in the past, we know it isn’t the cause of the present effect.

If the effect is fear, we may think that something caused that fear in our past. But today, that idea that caused that fear is not true because we realize our fears are caused only by our thoughts in this moment. Right now, in this moment, I can change the thought about why I am afraid and realize that my fear was unfounded. I may have a mistaken thought or deduction, or I may have believed and idea that someone taught me about why I should be afraid.

Every moment is a new present moment in this life. Whatever went before it is over and done. Each moment is fresh and a new start. Each moment is unencumbered by the previous. The miracle of a new thought comes every moment. A new choice is presented with every new moment. We have the choice to let go of our old past thoughts that caused fear in our minds and see a new effect caused by the choice to see with the vision of Spirit. Or perhaps all w can do is be wiling to entertain the idea that there is a vision from Spirit to see with. When we are so caught up in the way we have always seen and thought about things, it is easy to overlook the present moment and the Truth it is holding out to us. But, we must be in the present moment and look in the present moment to see and experience all that God has placed within us and the peace love and joy of knowing who we really are. Let go and let the blessing of Love wash over you.

April 19, 2011

When we think of salvation, we usually think of it as something that comes in the future. We also think of heaven as a place we go in the future. Some have a goal to become enlightened in this lifetime. All of these ideas come from our tendency to cling to the idea that time and space are real. We think that our forgiveness of each other or even of ourselves will show a result at some time yet to come. While this idea may seem to manifest itself in this way, it is certainly not a given, not a truth.

The real world, the world where God abides, and therefore we abide because we are One with God, is not a world of time and space. It is exempt from the limitations of time and space. The world of Oneness is the world of Now, this moment. There is no other time or space than the present moment. All else is a memory, the past, or the future, a projection. Understanding this idea, or at least being willing to entertain the thought that this idea might be possible, is essential in understanding salvation. If we are One with God, we must live in the real world God created, not the world of our own making. But, we are so used to the world of our own making we have lost sight and touch with the world that is actually ours. We have lost sight and touch with the Divinely created world we actually are living in, but fail to recognize.

Salvation is the recognition of the God created world we are really living in. It is the remembrance of the reality of who we really are and the reality that we are all One with God and each other. It is the recognition that we are whole as God created us and that we never left that holy relationship, even thought we denied it for a time. In this moment, which is the only aspect of time that is real, salvation reassembles all that we are, all that we ever were, and all that we ever will be into the One Self we are. This Self can never be separated, can never be defiled, and can never be hurt. This Self is the Divine reality of who we really are.

At this time of Easter, the time of resurrection, we remember that Jesus showed us we are not limited by the body. Jesus showed us that life is everlasting and cannot be snuffed out by physical death. Yes, the body will pass from us. It is inevitable in the physical world. But life does not end in the falling away of the body. Life is not limited by the idea of time or space. Life is now. Life is not in the past or the future. Life is in the present moment. Salvation is the process by which we remember who we really are. It is the little willingness we give to allow Spirit to remind us of who we really are and who our brothers and sisters really are and that we are all One with God. Be in the present moment and allow salvation to heal you and so heal all the world.

Happy Easter! We invite you to join us this Sunday, April 24^th at 11:00 am for our Easter Celebration at MCC San Jose in the Fireside Room at Grace Baptist Church. You are also welcome to join us for breakfast hosted by Grace Baptist Church at 9:30 am in the Fireside Room.

April 12, 2011

God’s gift to us is limitless. All is possible in that gift. There is no circumstance that cannot be addressed, no problem that cannot be solved, and no wrong that cannot be made right. The gracious light of God shines in its radiant love on all of creation, melting away each shadow we think we see and that we think holds us back.

The power of God is ours for the natural use of all of us. God’s power is mighty above all else, yet gentle kind, and loving in its gracious love of all. Recognizing that light within us is the recognition of our true Self. It is the remembering of the Self God created and the recognition of the Divine Presence within us we have always been and ever will be. Nothing can put out this light within us, for it is God’s Will that we be that light.

We are the only ones who doubt that light. We are the only ones who doubt the Divine Presence in each other. God has shown us the light of who we really are, reminding us of our Creation and God has Willed us to recognize that same Divinity within each other, bringing salvation to our brothers and sisters as we recognize it in ourselves. What a gift we give each other in this world, to release each other from the chains of separation and specialness. We allow each other to be freed into the awareness of our limitlessness. We place ourselves in the awareness of the abundance of our Oneness, knowing we are united in our reality.

May we let go of the temptation to wall ourselves off from the Oneness of God. May we let go of our attack thoughts, our thoughts of lack, and our thoughts of limitedness. Look to each other and see in each one the light of the Divine Presence pouring through each one’s eyes, reflecting back to us the Light of God that shines brightly within us. God Wills us be who we really are. So how could we possibly be anything other than that? Just for a moment, stop and be still. The ancient call of the One is there in our ears, in our mind. Welcome that call and recognize the Love of God that radiates through all of Creation around and within us. Be aware. This is our home, this is our salvation, this is the moment we are aware of who we really are and recognize we are One with God and each other.

April 5, 2011

We are creators as God is Creator. We are co-creators with God. God created us so and so we must be so still as the creation never leaves its Source. The creation remains one with the creator as they can never be separate. Creation’s law is such; that each idea the mind conceives only adds to its abundance, never takes away. This is true no matter what our thought, no matter what our wish. We can deceive ourselves about who we are, but we can never make ourselves what we are not.

The miracle of healing, the reawakening of our Oneness with God and each other, is dependent on the understanding that cause and effect are one. We have been taught and learned that they are separate. If we strive to heal the effects in our lives without the cause, we will only shift the effect to other forms. We tend to mistake the effects of separation for the causes of separation. If we can never be separated from God, how could we possibly be separated? Our mistake is that we thought we could be separated in the first place. As long as we think we can be separated, we can never heal the separation. The root cause is merely our own thought that we ever could be separated and that idea is in direct conflict with creation’s law.

What is true will always be true. Whatever ideas or perceptions we have get in the way of that truth and may distract us from that truth for a time, but we always hold that truth deep within us. Perhaps we have forgotten it is there, or we have believed that our mistaken perception is true, but no thought can change the truth of our Oneness with our Creator. Once we are willing to look at the possibility hat the cause of our separation is the ideas and thoughts we believe, we can change the root cause of our unhappiness; our belief that we actually can be separated.

Every moment is the perfect time to let this mistaken thought change. We can wish again to be One with God   We can be just a little willing to let the idea of Oneness with God be true. This miracle is possible when we listen to the call of the ancient memory within us. We recognize that call and the reminder it speaks of. The memory of who we really are comes flooding back to us. And we recognize the Oneness of God, each other and ourselves in that moment. Let it be so.

March 29, 2011

The Truth about ourselves, who we really are is so powerful that we need only the tiniest of wishes to transform our world. The wish is that we be joined with each other; our brother, our sister, even our self, whoever and whatever we are in relationship with at this moment. Whatever stands between us is the barrier we must let go of. Forgiveness will take away any barrier, but first we must wish to be joined, to end the separation. The wish is the choice. That little willingness makes it even possible.

As long as we maintain our attachment to the illusion that separation is our path to happiness and salvation, we leave the barriers to Truth in place. We believe in “doing it ourselves” so strongly that we see no other choices. But in this world we always have a choice. Each one we encounter along the way is a new opportunity for a new choice. The choice to be willing to join, the wish to see this one just a little differently and join with them allows us to see this one as they really are. Our willingness allows us to recognize the divinity within that one and see it is the same divinity that we find within ourselves. What peace, love, and joy this brings in that holy moment that only our surrender to that wish can bring.

Stop for a moment. Look at the One who has come to you art this moment. Are you willing to let yourself be joined with this One and let healing come? Right now this is an opportunity to let forgiveness flood your thoughts and let Spirit shine the light on the Truth of who we really are. This moment, this place, this time is the opportunity. And the next moment, the next time, and the next place is the next opportunity. With each opportunity we recognize and realize a bit more of the Truth about us. And each encounter brings the next step to realizing the freedom of who we really are. When we allow ourselves to join with and love someone, we see the face of God and recognize ourselves in it.

March 22, 2011

Our beliefs hold incredible power in determining the world we see and experience. And we don’t even realize they have that power. We see our beliefs as truth when in fact they are probably some form of illusion. We say God is love, yet we believe in a God of wrath and punishment and perceive wrath and punishment rather than love. We don’t realize how much our beliefs affect our experience of our lives. We have no idea that we have a choice in what we believe! We also don’t realize we have a choice in every experience and situation.

The world we live in is experienced through our mind and our thoughts. Even the sensations of smell, sight, sound, touch, and taste are experienced though our mind and thoughts. Whatever our thoughts are about anything is colored and influenced by our past experiences and what thoughts and ideas we formed about those past experiences. It is no wonder that no two of us have the same perception of anything in our lives even when we share the experience. Some of us have agreed to perceive some experiences very similarly, but even so, there are still differences and the differences grow with time and experience.

Reality and Truth are unchangeable. Perception and past experience have nothing to do with reality and truth. The Course says sin is more that just an error because we believe in it. Yet God tells us there is no sin at all. So why do we believe this untruth? We are One with God and God is not sinful, so how can we be sinful? The belief in the idea of sinfulness is the perception that clouds our vision and hides our true Self from ourselves only because we believe we are sinful more that we believe we are One with God.

God has given us the never ending opportunity to choose to see differently. It is not so much that we must try to see differently, but we must be wiling to let go of all the ways we think we see and all the beliefs we hold to be true and let Spirit show us what is true and real. There is great freedom in this letting go. There is a deep peace that washes over us and fills us with the recognition of the Presence of God within us. In this Presence we recognize the Truth of who we really are and find the Oneness with our brothers and sisters in this world that Is in the real world, the state of Oneness and Unity. We have all the time we need to practice and rediscover this Heaven. What better time to start than now?