Transformed Thinking

“Thus we must dispel, with the illusion of fear, the illusion of specificity.  You have not been asked to request a specific miracle.  Although your thoughts have naturally gone to consideration of the specific, this is but an indication that you are still in the habit of thinking that you learned under instruction of the ego-mind.  This Treatise must change that habit in order for all your thoughts to become the miracles that express the truth of who you are.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 4.2)”

Affirmation:  “I would relinquish the ego-mind today.”

Reflections:

1 – Thoughts

All of our thoughts will become miracles that express who we are!  That sentence is a quotation from the passage, paraphrased, and is vitally important to understanding what Jesus is trying to say to us.  We are not asked to request a specific miracle, because ultimately all of our thoughts will become miracles.  We will know the truth of who we are.  We will know that we are the Christ/Self who is within us.

2 – Hoodwinked?

Do we feel hoodwinked by this progression of thought, in asking for a miracle?  We should not be, for Jesus is teaching us something very important.  We have always thought in terms of an external God who granted miracles, or of an external Jesus who directed miracles (from A Course in Miracles).  But the real truth is that when we transform, all that we think will become a miracle.  All that we see will be experienced as a miracle.  This is the glory in which we will find ourselves when Christ-consciousness has come upon us.

3 – Wait Long?

Will we have to wait long for this blessing?  Perhaps, but it will not seem long when we have the patience to wait for God’s grace.  He will not leave us comfortless in the interim.  And He will not hesitate, when the time is ripe, to act and to act quickly.

4 – Too Specific in Our Thinking

We have been too specific in our thinking, the specific thinking of the ego-mind.  We need, before we can rightly ask for Christ-consciousness, to do what we can accomplish to let the ego wither away.  We do know when the ego is informing our decisions of what to say or what to do.  And we would not have the ego so inform our decisions.  Be patient with God, but know that He cannot act toward us as long as our own personal selves have the ego in ascendancy.  We need to get our act together first.

5 – Glimpses of Christ-Consciousness

And this is why we see only glimpses of Christ-consciousness or Awakening now.  We have not fully relinquished the ego’s hold on our thought processes.  Until this hold is abandoned, we are not ready for this great blessing that God has waiting for us.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

It is a glorious blessing that ultimately all of our thoughts will become miracles.  How can I think this of myself?  I cannot, and certainly I cannot when in the ego-mind.  It is only with Your pleasure that I recognize miracles at all.

Could I recognize a miracle at high noon?  Could I really?  Then, if I could, I am on the right pathway.  May I walk the right pathway today.

Amen.

Leave Fear Behind Permanently

“All your reasons for fear-based living have been discounted one by one.  And yet you dare not try to live without it.  Why?  Because of the thoughts of the ego-mind.  The ego-mind is concerned only with its own survival but it has you convinced it is your survival that depends on it.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 3.5)”

Affirmation:  “I would leave fear behind permanently today.”

Reflections:

1 – Anxiety

Most of us have known anxiety far more than we would like to admit.  This is not a personal failing, but just evidence that the ego-mind has not withered away.  We can make a determination that we will not reinforce the fear, when it arises, but take a timeout and commune with God.  We can and will relax in such communion.  Gradually the times of anxiety and fear will lessen, and we will know that we are making progress.  Watch for hints of intuition that will lead us out of this long-time trouble.  Listen for what to do and say that will weaken the ego.  And then the anxiety that has dogged our steps will eventually be a thing of the past.

2 – Ego

The fact that the ego-mind has not withered away is not cause for downheartedness.  We spent eons building up the ego, and it will take some time to reverse the process.  We need to realize that the ego gives us nothing that we want.  Sure, we have flights of pleasure (we think “joy,” but it is not), but the pleasure is balanced with times of dejection.  We always pay for our flights with tears of pain.  Is this any way to live?

3 – Relinquish

I think not.  We must be willing to relinquish egotistical attitudes, ask God for help, and then be reassured that we are asking in His will.  He will help us.  His help is a free offer; he wants to help.  And then we will know the blessedness of peace that passeth understanding (from the Bible).

4 – Release

At any time that we are aware of an egotistical attitude, let us go within and release it to God.  We would not dwell in fantasies of ego-inspired notions.  We would let all of this foolishness go, and with the vacuum, God himself will inspire us to listen to our Christ/Self, which never acts or thinks from egotism.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would release whatever fear I still have in me today.  Not tomorrow, but today.  Help me to do my part to accomplish this.

May my ego-mind just disappear in the light of Your sun.  Your light gives true vision, and it is true vision that I would seek today.

Amen.

Choosing to Leave Pipe Dreams Behind

“You have already succeeded in learning in this new way once or you would not be here.  This is your proof that you can do so again and again until the new way totally replaces the old and the art of thought leaves behind forever the need for what the ego-mind once but seemed to offer you.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 2.9)”

Affirmation:  “May I leave the ego-mind behind from now on.”

Reflections:

1 – Pipe Dream?

It surely seem a pipe dream that we can leave the ego-mind behind from now on.  But Jesus would not mislead us.  It is possible, and indeed probable, if we follow his advice.  We do not have to think egoistically.  We can “think” with our heart, which loves all others (and ourselves too, for we must not forget that we love our neighbor as ourselves).  The ego-mind has never given us anything that was a lasting peace.  We had flights of joy, but if these were ego-based, there was a low that followed the high.  We paid for those flights of joy with tears of pain.  And we would no longer have it so.

2 – Leaving the Ego-Mind

The change from ego-mind does not usually happen in one felt swoop.  We venture ahead, led by the heart, then take a step backwards into ego-mind, and then disown the ego-mind once again, choosing the heart instead.  This oscillation is common, and it should not be a cause for downheartedness.  We have listened to the ego-mind for eons, and now that we are leaving it behind, it does not go quietly.  We are constantly confronted with temptations of the ego, temptations to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.  And these temptations trip us up.  But we do not have to remain tripped up.  We ask for help, and the help is forthcoming.  Always.  When we ask help of God, He responds, gladly and quickly.  The solution is always with the problem.

3 – How to Have Lasting Joy

The ego-mind never gave us joy that was lasting.  But the heart, and the mind and heart together, do just that.  The joy is lasting.  There may seem to be some effort involved, but it is a peaceful effort.  And the peace that it gives soon makes the effort itself effortless.  There is no strain when we follow in God’s way.

4 – Perfect Calm and Quiet

We are just beginning to understand the art of thought.  It is totally alien to the ego-mind, and so there will be some difficulty in understanding.  But the difficulty will soon melt away.  And only perfect calm and quiet will remain.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

Jesus has promised me that to think with my heart is a way that the art of thought manifests in my life.  I would have this new way of thinking encompass my living day to day.  Help me to understand enough to at least begin on this new way of living.  I would miss much in life, the full life that you want for me, if I still insist on listening to the ego-mind.

Help me to reach out to others in a way that is understandable.  We need each other in this world.  Let us reach forth our hands and join them in silent communion one to the other.  May we keep in mind that we first commune with You, and then we commune with the others whom we encounter.

Amen.

Disengage the Ego-Mind

“The closing pages of A Course of Love instructed you to think no more.  A break in time was needed for you to disengage the ego-mind that produced the type of thinking that needs to come to an end.  This ending is but a beginning in truth and has led you to readiness to learn the art of thought.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 2.1)”

Affirmation:  “May I remember that thinking is not always required.”  

Reflections:

1 – Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now; A New Earth), an enlightened current-day teacher, tells us that his own thinking processes are much reduced in number.  We ourselves usually have such busy minds, busy minds that match our busy bodies.  But we would not have it so.

2 – Break in Reading ACOL

A break is recommended between reading A Course of Love, the original volume, and the remaining two volumes in the trilogy.  The Treatises are the second volume, and to be read next, after the break.  Here we learn the reason for the break.  We needed to teach the ego that it was not in charge any longer.  And the ego has been bent on its kind of learning.  We are now to learn to think a new way, because that is what this treatise is about.

3 – Observation

We are beginning something very new.  The art of thought is basically observation without engaging the thinking mind and its egotistical bent.  We have in truth left the ego behind by now, but we may not fully comprehend what this means.  The Treatise on the Art of Thought will tell us.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I truly leave the ego behind in the days and weeks ahead, as I study the art of thought as described by Jesus.  I would not be buffeted about by fate, succumbing to times of depression brought on by an egoic thrust toward ecstasy.  The ego always knows highs and lows, and I would have my right mind seek drama no more.  Drama is not necessary, and the sooner that all of me recognizes this, the better off I will be.

Be with my brothers and sisters today.  May I respond in a compassionate way to real need, though I would not take on obligations that do not belong to me.  May I love with my whole heart, but in no way seek love from another who is unwilling to offer it.  May the blessings of this earth be bestowed on others whom I know, and may these blessings also come to me. 

Amen.