Being

“In true knowledge, which comes from knowing your being in the light of eternal truth, you know the divine relationship.  The path proposed in this work is the path of being.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:III

Our divine relationship is, first and foremost, the best center for our lives. Previously many people proposed “doing” good works, with faith, as the way home to God. Jesus is here focusing on simply being in love with God. It doesn’t mean we will never “do” anything, but it does mean that our commitment is to simply being who we are, children of the divine Creator.

We don’t have to merit God’s good grace. His sun and rain shine and fall upon all equally. All are wanted by Him in a relationship of divine caring. Love in its essence.

Reading Choose Only Love

“Hear me, all!  Those who come to this work will be my beloved saints unknown to the world, but known forever in my love.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:III

This statement is a loving affirmation of our task in reading Choose Only Love. We would not be drawn to this work unless we had made contact, however limited, with God Himself. We need do only small things, unknown by the world, but valuable within our circle of family, friends, and acquaintances. When love is the motivator, God can take our small work and amplify it. He can do this best when our hearts are open to receive Him.

If Jesus, Mary, and the angels are loving us, we are blessed indeed. What more could we ask, than this, a part in forwarding the transformation that Jesus began 2,000 years ago?

Small Things with Great Love

“When it was said that ‘he who is holy in little ways is great,’ we sought not only to give a guide to behavior and discernment, but to convey the truth that it is not necessary to do great things, but small things with great love.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:III

Anything that we do out of love that is not harmful to another is a blessing, smiled upon by God. Our smallest action, our smallest thought, if motivated by the Love that God encourages in us, is a blessing. We live correctly when we live from love. Anything else is quite inferior.

Sometimes we think we are not making much of an impact. This is when we are still trapped by an egoic pattern that wants us to make a big splash.

But this type of thinking is flawed. There are billions of people in the world now, and if even a small percentage react in their lives from a place of love, we can effect a transformation. We need only to do “small things with great love.”

We Live in New Times Now

“The time has passed when the forces of ego attacked the truth with all their ferocity.  There is no battle to win; it has already been won.  You live in new times now, times of the fullness of being.  Even though the world continues to look quite similar to that of yesteryear, the times now have nothing to do with what was previously.”  Choose Only Love, bk.7, 5:I

This quotation from the final book in the series, Choose Only Love, received by Sebastian Blaksley, will give us hope. Certainly when we look at our conflicted world, we are likely to doubt these optimistic words. But it truly is darkest before the dawn, and we are reaching the dawn shortly. The egoic triumph for our world is no more. Many people, even if not of a religious persuasion, are becoming aware of what works and what doesn’t. And egoic extremes fail miserably.

We are in the “fullness of being.” This is Mary’s way, heralded by A Course of Love and then followed up with Mirari and Memoria–as received by God’s servant, Mari Perron. “Being” as an ideal doesn’t mean we sit back and don’t do anything to improve our world. But our being in this world is primary; we don’t seek to be do-gooders without salvation ourselves.

“There is no battle to win; it has already been won.” This, about the ego, is wonderful news in and of itself. Much of this change has come about from the advent of A Course in Miracles, received by Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford as a team, with Helen taking down notes and Bill typing them up. The book was published in 1975. Much to the good has happened since. And most of us believe that A Course in Miracles was channeled by Jesus himself.

Let’s ask sincerely if we are on the right track, those of us of religious persuasion who seek only good in the world. Let our “being” flow, with actions that emerge from our being One with God.

This is the final step. Being One with God is the ultimate. And the illusory separation from God, fraught with the ego, is healed.

Joyous Praise

“What a joy it is to know that through expression we can know being!  How much joy there is in our hearts now that we recognize that the Creator speaks to us through creation.  Each cloud will speak to us of love.  Each gust of wind will sing melodies of love.  Every drop of water will show the purity of love.  The whispers of love will no longer be dim like moonlight, but like melodious songs that the mind and heart hear with gratitude.  As never before, everything we see will tell us of God.  You will recognize that love surrounds you everywhere, that you live, move, and exist in it.”  Choose Only Love, bk.7, 5:III

This quotation, from the last volume in the series–newly published–we see our love for God as a palpable thing. In effect, we are saying hosannas to God, thanking Him for the beauty of our world. Mary, in Mirari, has also commented on what a beautiful world we inhabit. Praising rising to God becomes easy when we live the being that this volume encourages us to inhabit.

In A Course in Miracles, Jesus tells us that our praise of God does not mean that we tell Him how wonderful He is. He has no ego with which to accept such praise. But we ourselves need the discipline of gratitude. It warms our heart. Appreciation, or gratefulness, goes hand in hand with love.

This quotation lifted my spirits very high. When we feel close to God, we naturally want to say “thank You” to Him. And our day goes better as a result, for we are thinking positively, letting go of the many negatives in the world as we are living it today.

Millions of Enlightened People

“The millions of sisters and brothers who throughout the world are living their human lives being the enlightened ones of God, those who found love, embody all varieties of social, religious, philosophical, moral, and other characteristics.  Almost none are well known, because to be a celebrated saint is simply one option among several.  Few choose that path, nor is it necessary.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:III

What a glorious statement this is: that there are “millions” of our brothers and sisters in this world who are enlightened! I did not know that enlightenment (also called Awakening and Christ-consciousness) was so widespread. And there is no way that I could know, because most of those so blessed keep a low profile. We do not have very many Mother Teresas.

It is possible that those so blessed with enlightenment do not have a name for it, other than “born again,” or “saved.” Most of us in the West do not have a good grasp of enlightenment. The East is different that way. There is a long tradition of enlightenment in Eastern religions of Buddhism and Hinduism, and many people in Eastern countries know what has happened to them when they are so blessed.

I have a friend who had no clue what was going on with her over 30 years ago when enlightenment dawned. She started on a mission to try to find out. In the meantime, she simply called it “transformation.” She is one of the lucky ones; her transformation has been sustained.

If we want enlightenment, we need to ask for it. The pathways of Jesus’ channeled writings all point to this end. It is in truth the only way that our world can be saved from disaster. It is the only way out there for salvation to take hold worldwide.

Turn to love, dismiss judgment and fears that are not meant to be warnings. If we hold fast to our desires for enlightenment, we will draw it to us. And in so doing we will do our small part in advancing our civilizations by dedication to God’s ways.

Love

“I have called this session ‘the unknown saints.’ It might also have been called ‘the enlightened strangers.’  What I want to express is that many kinds of beings have attained enlightenment, that is, higher knowledge or the wisdom of love.  Their common denominator is that they have chosen love as the center and the reason for life.  They have chosen truth as their eternal companion no matter where they are or what they do.  They live consciously for God and in God, even though the totality of the effects of their choice are not completely known while they remain functioning on Earth.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:II

This quotation seems to refer both to this world (“while they remain functioning on Earth”) and a world beyond (“many kinds of beings”).  Certainly Choose Only Love offers guidance from angels, and these certainly are other kinds of beings.  But the enlightened strangers are ourselves, too–many people who have no outward show to themselves and would not be expecting to be called “saints.”

The bottom line is that we can discover what we need to know from our brothers and sisters on Earth, and we can discover what we need to know from channeled writings.  Moreover, our own communion with our depths will enlighten us in a way that nothing else can.  Be sure to reflect on what rises from the depths.  If harm would come to anyone, it is not a right choice.

Yes, love remains the center tenet of Choose Only Love as well as all other channeled writings of which I know anything.  Don’t let this be a hackneyed statement.  If love were something new to us, we would be enthralled by it even more than we are.  We are too used to the concept of love not to be jaded sometimes.  And this is a great pity.

Love is the cement of the universes.  If it were not for God’s Love, His cosmos would never have stood.  Love is the glue that sets our feet on solid ground.  Our heads may be in the clouds, but our feet are on terra firma.

Awareness of Love

“The only obstacle to enlightenment, to supreme knowledge, is fear. . .

“But fear overrides your awareness of love.  Fear makes you lose sight of love.  Therefore, I say with certainty that although you may do many things to reach God, if you are unwilling to put aside fear, none of what you may spiritually ‘do’ will help you, but rather it will bolster your ego.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:II

Fear is not stronger than love, though. Negativity, which fear represents, is never stronger than positivity, which love represents. To believe that fear is impossible to overcome is to believe that there exists Someone or Something stronger than God. And we don’t believe this. The “devil,” or “Satan,” which might be said to be in a struggle with God, is simply illusion. In our understanding, the ego is the nearest thing that we have ever come to a devil.

With the law of attraction operating, we know that what we focus upon comes to be, in some form or other. And if we focus on praying for fear to disappear, we are focusing on negativity, which never works. Instead, make the simple shift to focusing on love in all our dealings. Ask to have our love increased. Ask to love ourselves, our brothers and sisters, nature (even), and God. Ask to have love so overwhelm us that we have no room for fear.

We are not perfect, and so there will come times when we are overwrought. But these times do not occur when we are experiencing a satori, a glimpse of Awakening. Those who have awakened do not focus on fear, and so their experience is quite different. In attempting to move toward enlightenment, we are encouraged to focus on what we want, not to insert a negative of what we do “not” want.

Ask to be overwhelmed by love today–God’s Love. This is one of the most powerful prayers that we can offer to the cosmos, and God listens.

Choosing Only Love

“Choosing only love is that for which you have come to this universe.  Nothing else.  Showing the way for others to make this choice consciously is the highest form of sharing because it is the way to share God.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:II

This quotation explains powerfully why the title for this series was chosen: Choose only love is why we are here in this universe.

This statement implies that there are other realms in the cosmos where we have lived before, although we know that time is an illusion and so all time is actually simultaneous. Time on earth is spread out so that we can experience it. There would be no other way.

We need to make the choice for love consciously. A Way of Mastery, also channeled by Jesus, lets us know that we need to draw up from the subconscious all that is there that can hinder our progress back to God in any way. When we have healed the subconscious, we are ready for Awakening–but not before. And then we do make the choice for love consciously, for the information in the subconscious has been brought to light.

All of this takes time. But remember that time is an illusion, and so we can skip over large chunks of time with Jesus as our leader. A Course in Miracles says this (though in slightly different words with the same meaning).

We need to share love with others, and then we are on the right path. Nothing else will do. Nothing else is good enough.

We Are Blessed

“Beloved pure soul!  You who live for God!  Whoever joins this work becomes one with us, and because of that union miracles and spiritual events of incalculable greatness and bliss will occur.  Gates of Heaven not yet opened will do so.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:II

There is a thread running through the first six books (of seven) published in Choose Only Love, and that thread is that those who discover these books and take them to heart are particularly blessed by God. Of course, we already know of God’s blessings, for we would not have sought out CHOL unless we were prompted to do so. And this, in itself, is a great blessing.

Sebastian’s manner of channeling is surely unique in the history of channeling. The veil between him and the Other Side is very thin, almost non-existent, often. And through it all, he has remained his modest self, a representative of God’s mission on Earth, a representative of Jesus, Mary, and the angels.

We will know greater bliss as we walk through this world. That is the promise of this quotation. “Gates of Heaven not yet opened will do so.” And what will we see when these Gates are opened? We don’t know, but Sebastian has given us a glimpse. And that glimpse is profoundly moving.

Certainly when Gates open to Heaven we will bask in greater Love from God. Not that He has been negligent with us, but because we are more open than ever before. We are ready for revelation.

And we will have it.

Humanity & Divinity Will Now Embrace

“Your humanity will be completely absorbed in that which is beyond all human thought, while remaining what it is.  Humanity and divinity will now embrace, establishing a new bond of love linking the Supreme Source with the nature of the human.  And with that we will become increasingly aware of a union that is above all union, and includes them all.

“Beloved mirror of wisdom!  What a joy it is to be able to sing with you a new song every morning, every sunset, and every night.”  Choose Only Love bk. 6, 1:II

Book 6 of Choose Only Love is taking us beyond simply Awakening.  Our humanity and our divinity, as we read in this quotation, will now embrace.  We are evolving further, with God’s help.  We are becoming the Self Who touches God.

We will naturally move to praise when we experience this new beginning.  Our little mind cannot comprehend all the glories that God will bestow on us.  We are speechless as a result.

God’s wisdom will become a part of what we experience.  We will know more about Divinity than we have ever known before.  Indeed, it is not overstating to know that He will be sharing His Godhead with us.

There is a reason that we were born in the physical on earth.  Each of us has a different mission, though there will be similarities.  Ask today to know what we are individually called to do.  Ask today to know what we are individually called to think.  God’s infusion into our mind and heart will be complete.

Loving from the Heart

“If you love some more than others, or if you love certain aspects of creation in a different way than you love others, then you do not understand what love is.”  Choose Only Love bk.4, 4:I

What does Choose Only Love mean by this statement about love? How can we wrap our minds and hearts around this idealistic statement?

Like A Course in Miracles, Choose Only Love can be read on different levels. When we seek love in the interpretation of CHOL, we are seeking the love of God, Who loves all equally for we are all treasured children in His eyes. The closer we come to loving the way that God loves, the more “on the beam” we are.

This statement about love does not mean that we don’t choose different expressions of love with different people in our world. We do. This statement about love is not about those different expressions. It is about the heart, our heart as well as the heart of all others. In the heart, we can love equally, and when we do we are touching God’s hemline.

Say Good-Bye to the Ego

“All those absurd ideas that you harbored about the superiority or inferiority of beings, both physical and spiritual, was an inevitable response of the ego, that totally fearful state of consciousness.  It was unnecessary and not part of God’s dream.”  Choose Only Love bk.4, 3:II

God’s dream for us is benign. We make the drama that surrounds us, and when we have walked farther along on our pathway back to God, everything becomes calm and quiet. In A Course in Miracles, these are the “happy dreams the Holy Spirit brings.”

We are all equal children of God, though some of us, in time, are farther behind others. And some are ahead. But time does not exist; time is illusory. Thus all such comparisons pale.

The ego makes the hell that we sometimes live in, for the ego is “totally fearful,” and fear is an attribute of the hell we make for ourselves.

When we stay close to God, all of this mischief disintegrates. We have good days, like pearls on a string–all, if not perfect, at least a goodly share of perfect. Don’t be too intense about it, but be in constant touch with God. If we are too intense in our constant prayer, we will have an overload of thinking that leaves out the heart. The mind makes for stress. Let our love for God and our brothers and sisters derive from our heart, and this Love is what will make for goodness in every day we spend on earth.

To Attack Anything in Creation Is Never Necessary. It Never Was.

“As you begin to allow the memory of this truth to dawn, answer this question:  Do you despise or attack any brother or sister who accompanies you for a short time on the journey you make towards your heart?

“To attack anything in creation is never necessary.  It never was.”  Choose Only Love bk.4, 3:II

We have feet of clay, being human, and to say that we need hold anyone at all in creation in a less than loving light is not beneficial to our growth as spiritual beings returning to God. We need instead to practice the love that has been preached by every spiritual tradition in existence.

If we are thinking negatively about anyone at all (and all of us has someone in that category), then we need to ask God for help in cleansing our minds. Our hearts already know that truth of what love can do, but our minds are still at least partially deluded. Even awakened people are not perfect in this change to a wholly loving perspective.

Bless us today as we open our hearts to all in creation, barring none. And especially open our hearts to You, dear God, the hope of our life.

Join with Love in Stillness

“Simply join with love in stillness and wait for the revelation of God’s plan.  Because God is infinite and inexhaustible, revelation of Her can happen in every moment and forever. ”  Choose Only Love bk.4, 3:I

When we don’t know what to do next, there is a solution, but it does take patience, and many of us have patience in short supply.

We need simply to rest in stillness, awaiting God’s response. God is here called the feminine, because God is without gender, and Choose Only Love is emphasizing the helpful aspects of the feminine gender.

God will respond to us when we are in a quandary. He doesn’t mean to keep secrets from us. He means us well. And will respond, always and forever.

Revelation can come to anyone at any time, but getting quiet within seems to be a prerequisite most of the time. If trying to come to a decision, we are not alone; we have Help.

Let God speak to us in our quandaries.

SPOTLESS MIRROR

by Celia Hales

Published in Miracles magazine (Jon Mundy, publisher).

In this world you can become a spotless mirror, in which the Holiness of your Creator shines forth from you to all around you.  You can reflect Heaven here.  (A Course in Miracles, FIP ed., T-14.I.5)

Honor your mind, let it serve what it was created for:  to be a blessed mirror of divine truth, the abode of wisdom, a sacred temple where the sweetness of love dwells.  (Choose Only Love bk. 4, 16:II)

The goal, then, of genuine spirituality is to realign the quality of your perception—to mirror, to resonate with, to be in perfect alignment with the perception of your Creator—to see with God’s eyes.  (The Way of Mastery, Part One:  The Way of the Heart, Lesson 4)

            When we see with someone else’s eyes, we are seeing as that person sees.  It is the same with God.  When we are seeing from His perspective as a “spotless mirror,” we reflect Heaven.

            Would that we could be spotless mirrors consistently!  Awakening holds out that promise to us, but many of us have had only glimpses and have not sustained Awakening as of yet.  So what might we do to live more from God’s perspective?

            To remove the blocks to the awareness of love and move closer to Awakening, we need to turn aside—gently—from fear and judgment.  This advice, from A Course of Love, will speed us along the pathway back to God.

            St. Augustine said, “Love and do as you will.”  This is the essence.  If we love enough, a holy love and not a special love, we will reflect the Holiness of our Creator.  If we know the sweetness of love, we won’t long for anything else.  We will live in bliss, perfectly satisfied with what each day brings—even when the day brings something less than ideal.

            When we become “spotless mirrors,” we will reflect God in everything we say or do.  We will live life confidently and peacefully, sure of love, and sure of our own life as one of His children. 

Dreams

“You had a dream for you.  God had another.  Yours was a dream of separation; Hers a dream of eternal union with Her son.  Your dream was a nightmare; Hers the endless joy of truth.”  Choose Only Love bk.4, 3:I

Dreams are a fruitful way to look at our experience in this world as well as eternally.  We thought we wanted to experience separation from God, and we did, in disaster.  We did not really separate, for we are part of Him and cannot be separate, but we thought we separated, and in the thought the illusion became complete.

When we dream of union with Jesus, we are dreaming of our rightful place, with him, of Christhood.  He shares his Christhood with us, though he got there first and is still our leader in all that we do.

We want the “endless joy of truth.”  We know enough now to know that trying to live without God is a fruitless proposition, an endless mistake.  But living with Him is endless joy.

He made us for joy, and we are only satisfied when we are living joy—with Him.

God Let Go

“When you decided to forsake the arms of love, your Heavenly Mother had no choice but to let you go.  She did what every loving mother does in those circumstances:  made sure that you had everything you needed to be safe and sound, and that you could return without complication when you wished.”  Choose Only Love bk.4, 2:III

God is given to the feminine in this quotation, an emphasis that He is the All, though He does not have gender at all. By using the “Heavenly Mother,” this quotation lets us know that “She” let go, she did so out of love. We can and we do return to God’s way, and this can be “without complication,” which I think means that we will not be judged for our lapse.

A Course of Love makes the same statements. When we rebelled, thinking we would make a world that we liked better than staying One with God, He “let go.” (In A Course of Love, the masculine pronouns are used.) What difficulty has emerged in our lives! And now we want, like the Prodigal Son, to return–which means to heal the separation. And the separation is a separation from God.

How do we heal this division? We turn aside, ever so gently, from fear. And we stop judging, ourselves as well as others, our brothers and sisters on this journey. According to A Course of Love, these two aspects of our life–fear and judgment–are all that are keeping us from Christ-consciousness.

If we love enough, dropping the fear and judgment is easy. When enthralled by love, and Love from God, we can see this.

May our day go smoothly as we seek to love ever more deeply. May the mellow feeling of Christ-consciousness enfold us today.

In the Bosom of God

“Once you accept that you are one with life, one with God, and are together a unit just like a child in the womb, you can begin to live in the reality of the bosom of God.”  Choose Only Love bk.4, 2:II

This quotation from Choose Only Love, an inspired work by Sebastian Blaksley just out, emphasizes to me the meditative nature of this work. It is coming out in multiple volumes, and is a blessing recognized by those of us who read it.

When we imagine ourselves a child in the womb, we are thinking safety, and nothing says safety more conclusively than being held close to the bosom of God. We need to practice love as well as seek safety, of course, and the best way for me to react with love in my devotionals is to feel the warmth of love in my heart–for God, for others, even for myself. This “cocooning” by God does lead us to recognize that without love, we are truly lost. He does not will it, but our personal will might take over and lead us into narrow pathways of ill choice.

I have sometimes said that we need to “milk” the love, when we feel it (especially when we feel it keenly), and then we will be more likely to turn to our heart instead of intellectualizing everything.

Our heart, as A Course of Love also said, does then inform our mind, working in conjunction with our mind–and we are led in the pathway back to God.

Love

“The rebellion against love is what gave rise to fear.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 11:II

We know that this quotation is true. Even today, when we start to feel fear, we can recognize that we are not feeling love–at least not enough love.

So the solution to us of an end to fear is to rev up our love–love for God, love for our brothers and sisters, even love for ourselves. Of course, the quotation harks back to a time before time, when we separated from God because we thought we could make a world we would like better than what He provided. And such a mess we got into.

The way back is to become overwhelmed with love. When we sense even the slightest bit of love, we can “milk” it for more. When we milk the tiny bit of love for all it is worth, we discover what God can do. He meets us more than halfway. He restores our soul to a calm place, a place where there is not fear and we sense only love.

Ask for such a blessing today.

“The Everything of Everything”

“I am that within which everything exists and is.  Inside me is mind and thought, which I created.  In me is your heart with its thoughts, because they come from me.  The body itself exists within me, since nothing is outside of me.  I am the everything of everything.  I am Christ consciousness.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 11:II

Our Christ consciousness is the embodiment of our part of God, our divinity.  And we are emblematic of the whole, a hologram who can touch God because every little bit contains that whole.

Do we understand this?  No.  But we can intuit an understanding.  God doesn’t keep secrets from us.  Our finite minds, even our hearts, are just too finite to comprehend the great mysteries of the cosmos.

When we delve deeply within, in soul-gratifying prayer, our minds and hearts are opened to the joys of our living in the universe.  We don’t know it all, but we do have enough power of understanding to know that we are not alone, that God shares His creative spirit with us.

“The Wind of Our Angelic Spirit”

“Give your imagination to the reality of the universe.  Let it extend to the mystery.  In silence and stillness, feel the beat of our wings, the wind of our angelic spirit.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 11:I

Here the angels and Jesus are asking us to feel reverence and a soaring spirit about all that we have been given. When we let our spirits soar, we are in gratitude for the blessings of our lives, for our universe, for our Maker Himself. And gratefulness is its own reward.

We can discover much from following our imagination. Be reassured that we have the power of God at our backs. The mystery of the universe is with us.

Be blessed today.

Our Lives Make Perfect Sense

“The truth about the life you are living is being revealed.  Your life makes perfect sense.  It lived to emerge from the dream of forgetfulness, to wake up, to walk toward the crucifixion of everything that is not true in you, to die to illusion, to resurrect the truth of eternal life, to share your resurrection with others, and finally ascend to the Father in glorious body and soul.  When you are resurrected, you live as God created you to be.  That is the will of the Father.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:V

THIS is the pathway! We have each walked to a different level, over time, but this explanation makes perfect sense in our quotation for today. The first step has been taken by all of us, or we would not be spiritual seekers. But there the steps change. Many have not awakened yet, but there are things we can do. Primarily, we can seek to eliminate fear and judgment from our lives. This is our part. When we have been able to stop our tendency toward being frightened by life, and we have stopped making negative evaluations of each other (including negative evaluations of ourselves, for we are hardest on ourselves), then we can wait expectantly for God to act to lift us up to Christ-consciousness.

We will eventually all meet in the resurrection. Until then, we might ask that our way back to God be smoothed. Often we are partially awake, and so further steps can be contemplated. Take this quotation as a summary of that which will happen for all of us, in time and in eternity. Be assured that our way is sound, and our mind and heart will prepare us to meet God.

Resurrection

“Beloveds of Heaven, each day we approach more closely the time of full awareness of your resurrection.  A time without equal.  A time of joy and peace.  A time when the miracle of God’s creation comes to fruition in your individual consciousness.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:IV

Choose Only Love is quite an optimistic series of books, to be seven in all, with now five published. This optimism shines brightly in today’s quotation.

It is an internal change that we are reaching. Not all will experience the joy and peace that is promised, but all who want to do so will actually sense it more and more as time goes by. The implication is that the time of Christ is now. A resurrection for us all. We have not previously had a comprehensive resurrection, though many have longed for it and others have announced it prematurely.

Sebastian, who is bringing us Choose Only Love, sees into the spirit world. We cannot understand this, but all who know him, know that his witness is genuine.

We can ask to see in the spirit world as well. If we turn ourselves in re-surrender over to God, we will know more. And particularly, we will know of the truth of this series of books.

Egoic Thoughts Are Pseudo-Thoughts

“Divine mind is the source of all true thought.  Likewise, there is only one heart, the heart of God, which we have called the Sacred Heart.  It is there that you feel all that is love.  Remember that egoic thoughts are not true thoughts, but pseudo-thoughts.” Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:I

If we are having trouble letting go of the ego, we might remember what Jesus says in this quotation. Egoic thoughts are false, pseudo-thoughts. In other words, we are not really thinking when we let the ego rule how we make decisions.

Most of us want to live in reality. If we learn that we have been living a lie, we will recognize a mistake and wish to correct it. Jesus’ definition of the ego is not Freud’s. Jesus believes that the ego was never our friend, but a false formulation of “reality,” a false way of thinking that has hurt us.

We can recognize that when we think egotistically, we have highs and lows that never pan out to a constant state of contentment. When we give up the ego, life smooths out, and we enjoy happiness. Who among us would not want to experience happiness in our days?

If we are reluctant to just drop the ego, we might experiment with choosing not to do anything egotistical for a time. If we see that we feel better overall, there will never be a problem with motivation again.

Pray for God’s help in this. He knows that we have made ourselves insane with choosing to follow an ego that has derailed us. There is a better way.

And we can find it–today.

The Work of Love

“Here is the message that all humanity has been waiting for from time immemorial.  Souls will understand.  Hearts will rest in peace.  Memories will begin to remember the love of loves, and in that memory find the clear path to lead them, singing, back to the house of the Father.  Angels will join them from every corner of the world, and will also join you who are part of this work of love.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:IV

Just as every person is Christ, sharing in Jesus’ divinity, so is every work of love a part of the message that humanity has been waiting to hear. Choose Only Love is an important new revelation, but as good as it is, it does not stand alone. Whenever any of us seek to further the Kingdom of God, we are following in Jesus’ footsteps, and our work is similarly blessed.

The most significant aspect is that our work, the work of all of us, be centered always and forever, in love. We can’t fool ourselves about this. If we are embroiled in the ego, our listeners will know and be turned off. If, instead, we react from an open heart, we will be moving in love, and the response we get to what we try to do will be enhanced.

Ask for guidance in the work of love. And let us all join together to usher in a new Kingdom, a Kingdom in this world that will be now in a newly created world.

Surrender to Love

“Surrendering to love is what will finally make you able to free your mind, your heart, your memory, and your will from all restrictions.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:IV

We need to have–and keep–a clear mind, heart, memory, will. Just this morning I was praying for my hangups just to recede and ultimately to disappear. And then I turn to my document from Choose Only Love, and immediately my eyes light on this quoted passage. It seems, in its own way, a miracle.

The Answer is even in this quotation. The Answer, as it so often is, is just surrendering to love. Yet we often tie ourselves in knots, trying a little bit of everything else. When we seek God’s kingdom, the entrance is gained by love. Nothing else. No other way.

I sometimes think that we hear this imperative to love in so many spiritual teachings that we are a little numb about it. Just how do we “surrender to love”? What is the way?

It is possible that the way is paved by simple trust in God. We must trust that God has our best interests at heart. If we don’t believe this, we will be too frightened to surrender to Him. Many of us have subconscious fears about the validity of God’s love for us. We think His will for us, and our will for ourselves, are at odds. The wills are the same, but if we are to adopt God’s choices for our lives, we will see blessings that our own personal wills can never attain.

Ask, just ask, how to surrender to Him. Surrender will come when we get very quiet. When we give up trying to navigate a difficult world all by ourselves.

When we give up, the light dawns.

The Good, the Holy, the Beautiful

“Therefore, the extension of the good, the holy, and the beautiful needs to become your sole purpose—as it has become ours.  For only when the mind is used for this purpose alone can there be the perfect remembrance of the Kingdom.”  (“The Way of Transformation,” The Way of Mastery, Chapter 19, Page 229)

Yes, these are beautiful words from Jesus. He did not remind us to “love,” for when we intend to express the good, the holy, and the beautiful, there is no way to do so unless we are loving as well.

We are meant to “remember,” because we are revisiting the past (A Course in Miracles tells us), and in that revisiting we shape that past into something more in tune with God. When we remember, we have remembrance of the Kingdom of God. And this remembrance can only bring us peace, joy, and security in a life well-lived.

It helps to have our purpose spelled out so clearly. Choose Only Love uses the same terms to indicate our purpose, and so there is evidence that Jesus is remembering what he has told us–and remembering exactly.

The good, the beautiful, the holy. A high expectation for us, but eminently doable when we stay close to God.

Divine Thought

“The mind was not created for the speculative exercise of thinking.  It was created to receive divine thought.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:III

Divine thought is our wisdom, our “inner wisdom,” received from God. When we are lost in speculation, we are likely to be processing thought in an analytical way; this won’t do at all. When we lighten up and let God speak to us, then we are onto something grand. His words solve problems at the moment of their arrival. His words give us comfort and peace. Our wisdom, which is divine thought, is giving us a better life.

A very important quotation, for it says that we have not been thinking well. When we open to divine thought, our heart joins the mind for true thought. We are much better off. And we know it immediately.

When we are caught up in our thinking, our speculative thinking, we are often in conflict. We are lost in our thinking. We need to clear our minds and let God speak to us.

Then the Divinity Who is ours takes over. And, once again, all is well.

Being Channels

“Remember that all are channels.  Everyone channels what they want or what they ‘must’ because of the divine plan for each soul—a plan created as a perfect expression of a pact of love between Father and child, between Creator and created.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:II

When we listen to our Inner Wisdom, which many call the Holy Spirit and that A Course of Love calls the Christ-Self, we are reaching toward a Self who partakes of God. Thus we become channels for what we wish to say. We are receiving from a Power higher than ourselves–when we tune in well.

Our personal, or “little” self can only know real truth when we seek knowledge beyond what this world can give us.

When we pray, we know that we receive guidance.

It is no different when we seek to share what God is putting into our hearts. Of course, we may get it wrong, because we are finite beings. All we can do is try to be a clear mirror for what God would say to us, and what we would seek to share.

In everyday life we are channels as well. When we sense that we are saying something that is beyond our puny little thoughts, we are channeling.

And all of us have had that experience, not once, but often.

Evolution of Humanity

“But there, in love outside of time, did time and eternity first meld into a potential for the evolution of humanity and the elevation of the self of form.”  Mirari

Here Mary is talking of the incarnation of the Christ as Jesus, her son.  The incarnation was planned in a realm far outside of the time and space in which the Earth is caught.  The Way of Mastery indicates that the planning originally began eons before the actual fact of the coming of Jesus 2,000 years ago.

Jesus masterminded a giant leap for humankind, an evolutionary leap that we are only just now, 2,000 years later, coming to actualize.  A Course of Love talks a great deal of the “elevated Self of form,” and this is the “body” we will occupy when we have awakened.  This Awakening is heralded also in A Course in Miracles and Choose Only Love.  It will be a comprehensive change, an alteration in the way we live life.  And our lives will be so much improved.  We can all hope that the actual fact of the elevated Self of form will come quickly.

A Course in Miracles says that the separation took millions of years to come about, and it may take that long, or longer, for all to make the decision to return to God.  The pathway is long.  But we don’t have to become demoralized by ACIM’s assertion.  Tiny steps make a difference, for us and for the world.

Let’s get quiet, heal the subconscious one bit at a time—as The Way of Mastery recommends.  This book, which many believe was also from Jesus, asks that we take a look at each subconscious fear, to release it.  And this is a worthy endeavor, leading to Awakening.

Mary’s words are comforting, believing as many do that they are genuinely from her.  Her love for Jesus surpasses our own, for she is on a par with him, and his love is beyond measure.

See what quiet moments can do for us today.  See if we can make progress on our evolutionary journey.

Love Comes from Our True Heart

“Remember also that what is not love is nothing; therefore any feeling that is not love does not come from your true heart, just as any thought of fear does not come from your true mind.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 10:I

When we are living in a true mind and a true heart, we will adopt love in all our dealings–not only with our brothers and sisters but with ourselves. We will treat ourselves gently; we will turn aside from fear by knowing that we too are made of God’s Love. Love is the way in which He created us. Love is the way to walk in this world.

Being true to our nature is amazingly important. And here we discover that being true is being in love. With our brothers and sisters, with ourselves.

Love will descend upon us when we ask in all sincerity of thought and feeling, of mind and heart. When we ask God for His blessing, we are asking in His will, and He moves quickly to comfort us.

If disturbed in any way, go to God. If mixed up, tangled up, go to God. His healing power will set our psyche aright again. He may use other people in this endeavor, but the real healing comes from Him. Let Love do its work, and we will be blessed beyond description.

Our Memory Enters the Father’s House

[A]ll that you are in your humanity will be reunited seamlessly with the eternal reality of your holiness.  Your mind has already healed.  Already your heart has been restored to Heaven.  Today, on this day of Divine grace, your memory enters the Father’s house.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:II

In truth, we are all living in the Now, for time is an illusion that cannot circumvent eternity. This “present moment” thinking is reflected in the quotation for today. Past and future do not exist in the timeless Now. And this is why we can read in Choose Only Love that all of us have healed memories–today.

We learned from The Way of Mastery (also called The Christ-Mind Trilogy) that our subconscious mind must be healed to awake in Christ. As ideas from the subconscious flood our mind, and our heart responds, we are healed when we accept what is transpiring. We don’t have to “do” anything, but simply “be” in the eternity of Love that God bestows on us. This is what I think Choose Only Love is saying about our memories in the passage. As our memories are healed, we walk in the light of God’s great Love. We know, in a way that we did not know before, what we need to do for salvation. And Awakening is but a moment away.

Allow our healed minds to be informed by our hearts today. When memories are healed, we will walk forward with happiness every day. Our lackluster lives will take on new responsibilities that were hidden to us when we had “good” and “bad” days, never knowing what was wrong or how to fix it.

Let the light of Divinity shine on us today. Let us live with gratitude for all that the miracle of healed memories have given us.

Healed Memories

“Now, only now, is your memory restored; the memory becomes clearer and clearer of the first love that God is.  Before this moment, your newly healed memory was adjusting to healing.  Now is when it gets up and begins to walk, that is, begins to remember fully.

“Today, here and now, is when spiritual amnesia is left behind.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:II

We are “remembering.” We are walking a carpet that when we finish the walk, will be rolled up behind us (from A Course in Miracles). In this sense, everything has already happened, and we are reliving it. This can be a hard concept to wrap our minds around, but our hearts will understand and be blessed.

The separation from God is over–for all of us. It is just that not all of us have come to realize this, and so we live out lives that are less than they could be. Our “spiritual amnesia” is in full force, at least for those who cannot accept what Jesus is telling us now. Our spiritual amnesia keeps us in the dark from the power of God’s all-loving Force.

God is the Prime Mover, the “first love,” as this quotation makes clear. We have been coming to know, over time, and now we are ready for full acceptance of the Love that God holds out to us. Our memories will be healed the instant we accept this truth.

Our memories will be healed the instant that we ask, in full understanding of what we are requesting.

Quiet Soul

“Quiet your soul now and close your eyes.  Leave everything aside.  Open your heart and in the serenity of the self.  Receive the grace of being aware of the Christ that you are and have always been.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:II

When we sense that we are Christ—we ourselves as well as Jesus—we don’t have any worries.  We know that the power that was in him is in us as well.

And we know that God would have us happy in His world, despite appearances of difficulties worldwide.

These difficulties are a harbinger of a turning from the past to something better, amazingly better.  We are living in perilous times, but we don’t have to obsess about this. 

We can still live peacefully, with a quiet soul.

Day of Promise

“Today, here and now, wherever you are, from wherever you came, by whatever you call yourself in human reality, your long awaited day has arrived.  Today the grace of Christification has arrived.  This same infused grace was given to Me and to My divine Son Jesus.  Infused grace has arrived.  This gift of Heaven is given to everyone who reaches this point.  Today it comes to you.  Accept it.  Save it in the silence of your heart.  From that silence, let grace act in her way, in you and through you.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:II

We live in the Now, and so “today” is any Now that we have.  Mary is speaking assertively today, because I think she senses that many of us never let ourselves think we are ready, that we are good enough for Christ-consciousness.  But it isn’t a matter of “goodness,” per se.  It blossoms in us when, paradoxically, we give up the reins of our life and let God have His way with us.  We may not even call Him God, but when we slow down, quieten down, and be at peace, a satori will visit.

A satori is a glimpse of the Divine.  And all of us can expect, can have, this today.  If we believe we can.  That too is a salient point.  Believing in the goodness of the universe does mean that we don’t fret, fume, worry, be anxious.  We are safe, despite the crises that have enveloped us from time to time.  We emerge stronger, sure of the growth that has happened in the crises.

Be very sure today that what Mary is saying is not an idle promise.  Today we can experience God as a Christ-conscious being.  God will decide if we are ready for this to be permanent.

Completed Pathway

“You who receive these words now, remember that you are among the one hundred and forty-four thousand that God chose to be elevated by this means to the highest peaks of holiness.  You have already completed your path to the knowledge of who you really are.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:II

This word from Choose Only Love comes from Mary of Nazareth.  Here, she says something very startling, that those of us reading and receiving these words are among the 144,000 people identified in the Bible as being singled out for particular consideration.

I don’t think the number 144,000 is exact.  I think it is a generic number for those of us who are following the guidance we are receiving from God, seeking to do His will, trying to live a good life under this guidance.  There likely might be many more than 144,000 as we all begin to walk the pathway home.

Ask what God wants us to do.  If we have been given any particular consideration, we need to find out what to say and do next.  Those to whom much is given, much is required—as we know.  Most importantly, we don’t want to slip into egoic attitudes, for these would nullify any good works that we might do.

Have we actually completed our path to the knowledge of “who we really are”?  We must ask this question of ourselves, ask if Mary is right about us. 

And walk in humbleness, in humility.  We have much to do to save the world, and we ourselves must not lose our way. 

Sacred Path

“My sons and daughters, the path of each one has been ordained by God and is sacred.  He and the soul know.  Rest in this certainty and release any attempt to understand in a world way.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:II

This very comforting passage from Book 3 of Choose Only Love is emblematic of the entire series, out now in five books, and eventually to be seven.  Here we read that we walk a sure path ordained by God.  We don’t have to be uncertain that we are walking in the right way if we stay close to Him, enjoying His presence in our daily walk.

We need comfort in this sometimes difficult world.  And here we have it.  Let us be glad on any day, whether the sun seems to shine upon us or not.  We can’t understand what happens in a “world way,” which I think means that we are trying to understand godly, divine, things with the worldview of our human walk on Earth.  The world’s take on what happens to us is very different from God’s.  If we are to have happiness even in the midst of the tragedies of our world, we must look higher, to Divinity.  Or deeper, which is what we are actually doing, for God is within, and our attempts to reach Him will not dissolve into nothingness.  We will have an Ally in Him.   And this relationship will succeed when nothing else has in the past, or ever could in the future. 

In the present, listening to guidance from God, we are safe—safe in this world, sure of our footing, certain that we have a Father Who walks with us.

Love

“The consciousness of Christ is your true consciousness.  It is a consciousness of pure love.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:II

“Pure love.”  If we might only realize what this means!  We have so misused the word “love” in our world that we often don’t take seriously the arresting spiritual meaning of this word.  When we have walked far along toward God, and had satori (fleeting glimpses of the Divine), these will eventually lengthen into Awakening, and it is the Awakening of the consciousness of Christ—a Christ Whom we all share.  Because Christ is now a plural concept, we can acknowledge that what Jesus had 2,000 years ago is available to us all.  It does not come to us all, but our own preparations can speed the time when we will all know Christ-consciousness.  And Christ-consciousness is the next leap in evolution.

Focus on love today.  Know that when things go awry, and we want to get back on track, the surest way to do this is to quieten down and go within.  The Answer to our dilemmas will be there.  And with a clear mind and a loving heart, we can walk a green earth again.

If on the verge of hot feelings with another, just pause; don’t say anything.  Know that the loving response is the only true response that protects the other and ourselves.  We don’t have to be “right” all the time; we can let God lead our friends and family in the best way that only He knows.  We can choose happiness, as A Course in Miracles says (“Would you rather be right or happy?”), and with this choice comes the return of love.

Spend some time today contemplating what love means to us. 

There is no better way to spend time.

Whispers from Jesus & Mary

“You can feel Us [Jesus and Mary], you can experience Our sensitive presence in your lives if you wish.  It only requires making enough silence outside and inside to hear and to feel the whisper of Our voice.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 9:I

So here we have it.  We have divine help available to us.  We just have to get quiet inside and outside.  This quotation from Mary indicates that we can hear their “whispers” to us if we cultivate silence.  The roar of outside noise will stifle our listening, will stifle us.  This we don’t want.

Why ask questions of Jesus and Mary rather than the Holy Spirit or the Christ-Self?  They have known humanity, and their sentiments toward us are very sincere, coming from that knowing.  The Holy Spirit and the Christ-Self are emblematic of God Himself, and listening to guidance from God can never lead us wrong—if we are sure that what we are “hearing” is indeed God.  But it is sometimes reassuring to hear from someone who has been there before us—hence Jesus and Mary.

We need guidance, and there is no end to where it can come from in the cosmos.  We are not left bereft.  We have help.

Knowing this help is available can make all the difference in how we approach a day.

Are We Really “Christ”?

“You are Christ.  Your life in physical human reality is the same one I traveled, although I was first conscious of my unity with God.  Does that matter?”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 8:III

We will at first resist this assertion by Jesus.  We will want to leave the “Christ” concept to him alone.  But in recent channeled writings, the term “Christ” is a plural word that includes all of us who have followed in the way back to God.  .When we are conscious of our unity with God, we have done all that we need to do to appropriate the word “Christ” to ourselves.  We don’t even have to have yet Awakened.

Jesus makes it easy for us.  He says here that he was first conscious of his unity with God, but “Does that matter?”  I think the flow of the sentences in this passage means, “Does it matter that Jesus was first in experiencing the fact of being Christ?”   Elsewhere Jesus asserts that we will do what he has done, though that does not include a crucifixion.  Jesus has paved the way for us.  He was the initial pioneer.  Now we need simply to follow in his footsteps, and our lives will smooth out, and we will eagerly embrace the concept that we too can say we are “Christ.”

Miracles

“There is no order of difficulty in miracles.  One is not ‘harder’ or ‘bigger’ than another.  They are all the same.  All expressions of love are maximal.”  (A Course in Miracles, FIP ed., T-1.I.1)

The first sentence in this quotation is of paramount importance to understanding A Course in Miracles.  Jesus, the one who channeled ACIM, knows that there is no order of difficulty in miracles.  We don’t, for we think that we can point to many things in our world that would be hard to change.  We need to open our minds ever so slightly, and consider that we are wrong.  Miracles light our way, will light our way.  As an expression of love, miracles transform us and our world.

What does it mean to be an “expression of love”?  Jesus expresses his love for all of us by checking on the miracle-readiness of all of our brothers, and sending those of us whom he selects to effect the miracles that he and he alone points out.  We do not select certain circumstances to effect miracles.  We don’t effect miracles at all, in fact, for miracles are of God and the Holy Spirit, and, on a more practical level, of Jesus.

Jesus is in charge of the Sonship.  And, as such, he dictates to us what our part in salvation really is.  We don’t have to guess about these matters.  When we open our minds to possibilities, the way to effect salvation—through miracles—will develop as well.  We need fear nothing.  We can’t but be in the right place at the right time.

So let us think a bit on miracles, and the miraculous nature of a deed that is done without range of difficulty.  Can we open our minds to this possibility?  Wouldn’t it be a wondrous truth—IF there were no range of difficulty in miracles.

Let us take Jesus at his word.  Ask him today if you are ready to effect any miracles, under his guidance, for your brother.  He will answer, for he holds our hand as we walk along the pathway toward home.

Love Will Offer Fulfillment

“This is why once I said:

“If you do not bring forth what is within you, what is within you will destroy you.  If you bring forth what is within you, what is within you will save you.

‘If you do not bring forth what is within you—and what is within you is Love, is Christ—you will feel burdened and unfulfilled.  Usually, most human beings go through their entire life with a sense of unfulfillment, lamenting what the world has done to them, lamenting the decisions and choices they have made in the past.  They become burdened by what is on the outside, along with what is in the past.  An eventually the body dies, the Spirit withers on the vine.”  (“The Way of Transformation,” The Way of Mastery, Chapter 17, Page 212)

This is Jesus speaking in Jayem, who channels live. Jesus is quoting the Gospel of Thomas.

I think we don’t really understand how love, and only love, can cure all our problems. As our attitudes change, we walk a green earth. When we meditate, often love comes to the forefront; we make alpha waves, and we sense love more than most times.

If we are feeling unfulfilled, I know of no better way to experience the love that we want and need than to find a quiet corner and become “perfectly calm and quiet” (as A Course in Miracles encourages us to do).

Without a good dose of love–given and received–our lives play out with unfulfilled longings and grieving about lost love. We may not always get love from the one person we want it from the most. But the world is filled with people who can supply this essential need. And the feeling of love is essential to our well-being.

Even pets, companion animals, can supply the need to a degree–and often a great degree.

When we find a quiet corner, something that elicits calm and quiet in ourselves, we will sense God. And when we sense God, we will know that there is a Force Who loves us. He first loved us, and the experience of being loved then allows us to give love. He had to first love us, or we would have no basis for experiencing the giving of love. And the giving often prompts others to give back, though we don’t want to make this a quid pro quo.

Banish the sense of unfulfillment today by opening to the true and real experience of nothing more important to our lives than simple love.

Future Waiting to Be Birthed

“You ask of meaning, but this is not about meaning in the way you look at it.  You seek a description of a new way, a new time, as if it is a future that is already written.  It is a future waiting to be birthed.”  Mirari

Here Mary is speaking, internally, to Mari Perron.  Mari has asked about the meaning of what is transpiring, but Mary lets her know that the future is yet to be written—and it is to be written by us.  In Mirari, we learn that women are meant to take more of a leadership role.  Women have often taken a back seat to men, but this is not the wave of the future. 

Much that A Course of Love said about “being,” the way of Mary, is coming into play here.  Our men have often championed “doing,” and indeed Jesus himself did also.  But our new way in our newly created world will be a way of relationships in that world, and for this change, being is simply more appropriate.

We also heard a great deal in  A Course of Love about a new world, just waiting to be created by us.  We are coming into this new world now, though the birth pangs are severe, and we are experiencing much turmoil as we live through these times.

But there is hope in what Mary says in Mirari.  It is darkest before the dawn, and just on the other side of turmoil is peace.

Let us do what we can to hasten that peace.

IDLE THOUGHTS

Published in Miracles magazine (Jon Mundy, publisher).

by Celia Hales

There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of “idle thoughts.”  What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called idle.  (ACIM, W-16.2:1-2)

You are much too tolerant of mind wandering, thus tacitly condoning your mind’s miscreations.  (ACIM, T-2.IX.5:6)

You who have so filled your mind with senseless wanderings and thoughts that think of nothing that is real, rejoice that there is a way to end this chaos.  (ACOL, C:5.2)

It is a decision to choose to discipline the mind in each moment, to teach only Love, to hold only loving thoughts, and to recognize that there is no such thing as an idle thought, since each thought or perception held in the mind immediately generates your experience.  (WOM, Lesson 20, Page 239)

            When we let our “monkey mind” (as they say) rule us, we are lost indeed.  We recognize that what we focus upon tends to materialize.  And when we lapse into idle thoughts, Jesus is telling us that we are veering off track in a major way.

            I often say Jesus’ words almost as a mantra when my busy mind won’t slow down, “You are much too tolerant of mind wandering.”  I say this when I am trying to go to sleep, and just can’t quite drift off.  But the actual damage begins during daylight hours, when we focus on things that are substandard and not worthy of us.  These substandard things come to pass because even social scientists know that a self-fulfilling prophecy is at work here.

            We might best remedy this situation by a deliberate attempt to bring mindfulness into our daily round.  In my estimation, mindfulness means deliberate action, not necessarily slow, but definitely not rushed.  I find mindfulness most often in the kitchen.  (We all have our favorite places, and cooking is a hobby of mine.)  Actually, mindfulness is necessary in every situation.  It is easier than meditation, for in mindfulness we can give our minds something to hold on to, the actions that we are undertaking.  Meditation, at least traditionally, is particularly hard to practice if we are frenetic Westerners.

            But meditation has its place, and stilling the mind, letting the heart speak, is healing.  We certainly aren’t letting idle thoughts rule us when we are meditating. 

            Listen to Jesus’ words, said in all of his best-known channeled works.

            Let him speak to us, and our mind will slow down enough so that we listen with our heart.  Idle thoughts will diminish, peace will reign.

Joy Calls

The universe exists in reciprocal relationship or holy relationship, rather than special relationship.  This is the nature of existence, as unity is the nature of existence and cannot be changed and has not changed, although you believe it not.  It is a joyful relationship, as the nature of relationship is joy.  Once you have given up your belief in separation this will be known to you.  (A Course of Love, C:29.17)

Once we give up our belief that we could actually separate from God, and have done so, much good will result.  We will know that holy relationship is the nature of the universe(s), and we will realize that holy relationship does not take anything away from our nearest and dearest.  Holy relationship will expand our love to meet the whole world.  We will not know the separatism that has characterized our various special relationships, relationships that have often ended badly.

My friend Carol knew what it is like to suffer special relationship, and “suffer” is the salient word here.  As mentioned, she once fell very hard into a love that was strong on ego, though she did not realize it at the time.  If the special love had ever been transformed into holy, then her sense of desolation at the end of the “relationship” would have saved her from needless regret. 

There was something eminently good about the love that Carol felt.  It was not a love that would be easily surpassed.  That was the clue that something else was going on here.  She was being led, ever so gently and before A Course in Miracles was published, to give up her interest in being special (and having someone else be special as well).  In retrospect, holiness is the transforming key to relationship that goes sour.  And there doesn’t have to be any continuing contact with the other at all to effect a holy relationship.  Relationship that is holy is thus seen to be mystical.

We are meant to enjoy joyousness is our relationships.  Special love invites the highs and lows of drama, and egoic drama at that.  A holy relationship is one that has been dedicated to the Almighty, a Source beyond just our little personality.  And this dedication to Something bigger than ourselves is what makes all the difference.

When we feel united with all other people, our brothers and sisters, we know a peace that is not of this world.  We are meant to live in unity, and of course, we can see that seeing one small part as more special that another would make this joyous unity impossible. Ask to see with a greater vision today.  Ask to comprehend as never before what a special love transformed into a holy one can really mean.  There is no comparison, but until each of us has seen the difference for ourselves, we will remain skeptical that we aren’t losing something in the transformation.

Nothing Real Can Be Threatened. Nothing Unreal Exists

“This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:

     Nothing real can be threatened.

     Nothing unreal exists.

Herein lies the peace of God.”  (A Course in Miracles, T-in.2)

What is real?  Do we have any idea?  What is unreal?  Do we know that either?

At the start of A Course in Miracles, we know neither, for we cannot tell the real from the unreal.  And a firm definition would not be helpful in the beginning.  It is enough to know, right now, that we want the real and we do not want the unreal.  Glimpses of which is which will emerge as we read the Text, and, especially, as we do the Workbook lessons.

We can say a few things at the outset, though.  The real is what is of God, and we know immediately that the intangibles of love, harmony, peace, joy, are real.  These cannot be threatened by anything other than an insane mind, and the insane mind can really do nothing, ultimately.  The insane mind is run by the ego, which is a part of ourselves that we have made in an attempt to be separate from God.  An attempt that could never succeed, but which we have thought could succeed.  Yet the ego is the first concept that we can understand is unreal, and therefore does not really exist.

A Course in Miracles is written on several levels, none of which conflict with each other.  On the ideal level, we know that what the above quotation tells us is true.  On the more practical level (which most of ACIM embodies), we are not so sure.

We would invite into our lives today all that is real, eliminating, with the Holy Spirit as our Guide, those aspects of our made-up world that are unreal.  We want the peace of God, and we cannot have inner peace when we are anguishing over the ego’s machinations.  So let us think today of what we know will bring us peace, and let us concentrate only on that, for that only is real and therefore cannot be threatened.

Prayer

“True prayer consists of living in the truth.  Every time you connect with the truth of who you are, you are praying, for prayer is love, and love is union.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 8:III

Here we see, from Jesus, several words that actually mean the same.  These words are prayer, truth, love, and union.  And when we are engaged in any of these ultimate values, we are being who we are.

No longer do we have to feel guilty that we don’t pray enough.  When we seek to tell the truth just always, not only when it is convenient to ourselves, we (Jesus says) are praying.  And then we are living in love, and we are living in love with All that exists.  That All includes Jesus, of course, and it also includes our Creator.  When we sense love from Him, we are set for a good day.

Union is where we are all headed, though this does not necessarily mean an absorption into the Deity.  We are One, and this is the real meaning of union.  We have relationship with diverse entities, but together we are united in God.

When we live in love, truth, union, we are praying.  And our prayer life will then transform everything else.

Traveling the Path of the Living Christ

“I traveled the path of the living Christ because that is what I am.  It is exactly the same path you travel.  Yours may not include portentous miracles.  You may not be famous.  You may not transform water into wine for humanity to begin to see a power not of this world.  You may not heal the sick, externally speaking.  None of that matters.  None of that is essential.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 8:III

I think Jesus is here giving us a context for believing that we can one day be equals of him.  Of course, those of us of faith don’t usually think in these terms.  Yet Jesus says things like this repeatedly in various received (channeled) works from the recent past.  We don’t have to perform the miracles that he did, though elsewhere he says that we will actually do more than he—certainly a startling assertion.

Jesus wants companions, not subservient individuals who idolize him.  He can be an ideal for us, of course, but that is not the same thing as idolatry.  He has pointed out the way, 2000 years ago, and he continues to be available to us in a mystical fashion that our finite minds and hearts cannot fathom.  Many of us believe that he indeed did channel A Course in Miracles, A Course of Love, and The Way of Mastery.  Now in Choose Only Love there are numerous portions coming from him as well.

Jesus doesn’t want us to assert things that we don’t quite believe.  Even if we doubt the practice of channeling or receiving from a discarnate being, we still can read the words and be inspired.  Much of what we read has a basis in traditional Christianity.  This provides continuity from Jesus that is tremendously reassuring.

Ask today how we might emulate Jesus.  Ask what our contribution might best be.  Set up a dialogue in a journal, with questions and answers, and see if there doesn’t seem to be a way out there for all of us to experience directly.  Ask to know what our mission is.

We will not be disappointed in what we “hear.”

Hope for Transformation in This Decade

“We are close now, close to a time in which a new choice can make true living available here and now.  This is the decade in which transformation proceeds, and the time in which the mother’s heart enters to show the way to care of the living, and the end of what does not need to be.  This is time of Mirari:  The Way of the Marys.”  Mirari

The “mother’s heart” is Mary herself, but she extends this to all mothers everywhere.  “The Way of the Marys” is the way of women everywhere.  And this decade Marys will be coming into their own.

One cannot adopt the name Mary without being overcome with love for all beings, all creations of God, all people everywhere.  But when we do adopt this name for our own, we are proceeding into a transformation that will affect all life.

The patriarchal society will be influenced more and more by women, and if women choose love, that change will be a good thing.  Women have historically cared for the living, especially their own children.  But now the female aspect of God is moving to a new level of Being, and the female in our societies will be asked to take a more leading role.

If women succeed, we will have greater harmony throughout the world.  Women have historically been close to intuition, and intuition is of the heart.  It is the way that we hear from God—all of us, men and women.

THIS decade is when all this New will be born, for Mirari was received just in the last few years.  We are fortunate indeed to live in a time of hope, when so much around us seems to be crumbling. 

The old is making way for the New, first announced in A Course of Love.