“The way of the heart is the way of the Time of Christ. The time of the Holy Spirit has passed. The time of the intermediary is over. The greatest intermediary of all has been the mind. It has stood between you and your own inner knowing, caught in a dream of perception. (Addendum to A Course of Love: Learning in the Time of Christ)”
Affirmation: “I would listen to my heart today.”
Reflections:
1 – Final Passage to Consider Currently from ACOL‘s First Volume
This is the final passage from the first volume of A Course of Love that I will consider presently. I see this passage as a summary passage, in that the heart is given ascendancy–a major theme of the Course of Love trilogy. This passage does not link mind and heart together into wholeheartedness, which Jesus does elsewhere in ACOL. Here Jesus emphasizes the limitedness of the mind, which has, as we know, been the home of the ego for eons. And the ego has not meant us well.
2 – Inner Knowing
We need to include the mind, but because the emphasis has been on the mind for so long, it is welcome now to address the heart. We know with the heart, not just emotionally, but in practical terms that give us insight into the very nature of reality (i.e., the real world, as described in A Course in Miracles). This is the inner knowing that the passage for today emphasizes.
3 – Perception of the Mind
The mind, on the other hand, has emphasized perception, which is always erroneous to one degree or another, for when we are perceiving, we are lost in a dream or illusion. When we know, though, we cease to engage the mind to any great degree.
4 – Intent of ACOL Different from ACIM
The words of A Course of Love are far more abstract than anything in A Course in Miracles, because the intent is different. The heart knows abstraction, and abstraction is the natural condition of the mind (from ACIM). It is only when the mind has run amuck that we find that the specificity of detail gets us lost in a dream world. We would not have it so. We would awaken sooner rather than later. And we await God’s timing on this.
5 – Glimpses of Awakening
In the meantime, we are apt to see glimpses of Awakening, from a few moments to a few months. This is the revelation that is occasionally revealed to us, but for which preparation is needed (a paraphrase from the early pages of ACIM). The means are explained in A Course in Miracles, which dislodged the ego, and then A Course of Love was channeled to allow us to come farther along the pathway to what our heart (rather than our mind) could show us. We will not be finished until we give up constant seeking. Jesus says in A Course of Love that we are the “accomplished.” And, of course, he does not mean this in an egotistical way. But the accomplished at stop seeking and rest in knowledge, calm in the certainty of a heartfelt understanding that is more than the mind can ever give.
6 – Stillness and Quiet
Let us rest in stillness and quiet. Let us turn to Jesus as our companion, our teacher no longer. He is ready to receive us as equals. Would we hope for anything less?
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
May I rest for awhile. The original volume of A Course of Love has been considered, and we need to take a brief break before we move to the first three Treatises. May I have a calm mind today, supported by the comforting, abstract thinking that ACOL counsels. May I be at peace, sure of Your love, certain of the truth of the assertions of A Course of Love. If we are in the time of Christ, may I know what to do that is different from the time of the Holy Spirit. Already words comes into my mind from the subconscious that seem to me to be a bit beyond me, but different from the counsel of the Holy Spirit. Am I learning in the time of Christ? Is this the way that it is?
We do not have firm guidance in other works for what the time of Christ really means. ACOL counsels us, and I would do well to listen. Help me to be relaxed and easy, to take each moment as it comes, to live in the Now. And may I drop from thought any worry that threatens my peace.
Thank You.
Amen.
MIRACLES EACH DAY 