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.

Create the Good, the Holy, the Beautiful

“So, you see, where I abide is everywhere at once.  And so do you; you simply do not know it yet.  I abide with an infinite array of friends who have realized the Truth and have been set free.  They are infinitely creating, without ceasing, that which extends their treasure, which is the good, the holy, and the beautiful.  Many have given you images of choirs of angels singing the praises of God.  It is the same thing.”  (“The Way of the Heart,” WOM, Lesson 12, Page 148)

Here we get a glimpse of the world that Jesus inhabits now.  Like “choirs of angels,” seeking the “good, the holy, and the beautiful.”

Might we do the same, even in this conflicted world?  We won’t enjoy the ecstatic embrace of Love to the same extent as choirs of angels, but we can have our own experience, an experience which can be very good indeed.

What does Jesus mean by saying that he abides everywhere at once?  And that we do, too?  I think he means that there is nothing outside of him, nothing outside ourselves.  This belief that there is nothing outside us is a tenet of A Course in Miracles.  It means that projection makes perception, that we are a hologram that contains the Whole, though our finite mind cannot conceive of such a glorious Truth.  We are a part of God, and with this, we can know that anything is conceivable.  Even knowledge of the Whole.

Our days in this world can be glorious, if projection makes perception.  What we hold inside our ourselves, we see outside.  If we hold conflict inside, we project this, and this is our experience of the world.  If we hold Love inside, we see evidence of Love in the world.  And the experience changes to something very grand.

We can create the good, holy, beautiful, as well.  Let us be about our Father’s business, as Jesus is, and see what may transpire today.

Let Love guide us.  And there will be no turning back to a lesser world.

Take Time for the Holy

“Special relationships have been replaced by holy relationship.

“By saying that special relationships have been replaced by holy relation¬ship it is being said that your only relationship is with the truth and that you no longer have a relationship with illusion. All of your fears in regards to special relationships are temptations of the human experience.” (ACOL, T3:16.13 – 16.14)

Our special relationships were illusory relationships, lived in an illusory world. Our holy relationships partake of the real world, the world of positive emotions and experiences—love, harmony, peace, joy. If we believe that we are moving into what is truly real, we will not regret that we cease to look upon our significant others in the same way as in the past.

It is imperative that we realize that in making the special, holy, we are giving up nothing. We have actually not been fair to our loved ones by demanding that they give us part of themselves to fill our presumed lacks. This is the unfairness of it all. When we realize that we are fine just as we are, we accept ourselves, and them, and we don’t make impossible demands any longer.

It is just that simple. Know that we are alright in accepting ourselves, that this is the way that things are meant to be. And don’t reach out to others in an attempt to fill lacks in the Self. The Self knows no lacks.

The holy is where the action is going to be in the new world that we are creating. The holy is real rather than illusory. And the holy will sustain us through all changes in our changing world. The future will get brighter, and the holy will have helped this to come about. Indeed, the holy is the way.

Prayer

I needed to realize today that turning to others, rather than You, is not always a viable option, not always a good option. Our brothers and sisters will often help us, but they have their own problems. You, on the other hand, are the infinite, always available for help and counsel. May I turn to You today if the crises of the present become too much.

Be with me for another good day. And thank You for the good day yesterday. My physical form felt well and mellow, and mellowness is an indication of a glimpse of enlightenment. Thank You for that glimpse. May my attitude today reflect what I learned from You yesterday.

Amen.

Holy Imagining

“Is not all you can imagine holy when you imagine with love?  Is not all you cannot imagine holier still?  (A Course of Love, 20.12)”

Affirmation:  “May I see the holy today.”

Reflections:

1 – Love

Love is the most important aspect of our living in this world and in world beyond (I believe).  And with love comes holiness, if it is a pure love.  And what love is not pure unless it is chosen for base reasons?  We do imagine that love brings the holy, and we do imagine that that which is beyond us, in worlds beyond, is holier still.  We do not know this, but somehow our hearts tell this to us, and we believe (when we don’t let the skeptical mind interfere).

2 – Look with Loving Eyes

If we look out on the world with loving eyes, we will see the holy.  We will abstain from attack and anger, and we will be certain that our eyes see rightly.  We will not fall into depressed spirits, usually, and we will have the means to climb out of a depressed pit when we do so fall.  The joy that comes from love is genuine.

3 – We Can Have Good Days

We cannot expect never to have difficulties.  But Jesus says in A Course in Miracles that we do have the means to have good days.  If our day starts wrongly, we can start over.  And we can do so repeatedly.

4 – Charity

Be with us today to ensure a good day.  Remind us, when we forget, to look on all that we see with love.  And that includes the thoughts of our minds, the things that we do not say.  We need to have charitable views about everybody with whom we encounter, and if we do not feel this, then something is amiss, and we need to pray for greater understanding, to see the whole picture.  Be with us as we seek to make aright all of our relationships.  And may we always be forgiving, knowing that we are merely forgiving illusions, nothing real.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May this day be truly a grand one for all whom I touch in any way.  May the people who read this blog be blessed.  Guide me in what I say.

It is a great blessing to know that we can have good days, and if the day turns bad, we can start anew.  Truly a great blessing.  It is reasurring to know that we are meant to have good days.  And when something doesn’t go well, it can be rectified.  Help me to remember this good news today.

Amen.

We Are Holy

“Holy are you, eternal, free and whole, at peace forever in the Heart of God.  Where is the world, and where is sorrow now?  (M-15.1)”

Affirmation:  “We are all holy.”

Reflections:

1 – Comfort

This passage is comforting, even when we do not find it (at first reading) to be believable.  We do want to be whole people, able to give and receive love.  And we do want to be free and at peace.

2 – Being Free

Before we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have an “imprisoned will” (from the Text).  Once we begin, ever so tentatively, to follow Him as our Guide, we learn, slowly at first (usually) what being free actually entails.   The Holy Spirit guides us to our real will, which is totally at One with God’s Will.  The Holy Spirit choose for us (from ACIM); he leads us to our heart’s desire.  But this is our real desire, not the frivolous and useless “pleasures” of the world that soon turn to ashes and dust in our hands.

3 – Heart of God

When we live in the Heart of God, we do not fret or worry.  Of course, and certainly in the beginning, we do not consistently feel God’s mercy.  The transition normally takes some time (though it can happen instantaneously).  We have glimpses of the real world, the world we see just before Awakening.  But we have to realize that these perceptual differences, while miracles, will not last, because miracles are perceptual and nothing perceptual is lasting.  (These are paraphrases from ACIM.)  So let us take one tiny step after another in the direction of God today.  Let us ask for His “felt presence” (a quotation from Eckhart Tolle).

4 – God’s Felt Presence

Sorrow is no more when we are experiencing God’s felt presence.  We know that we are beloved, and we do not agonize about the future (or even the present, and certainly not the past).  We are living in the present, as God would have us do.

5 – Peace

And we are at peace.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

Most of us do not really believe that we are holy, and when we are consumed by the ego, being called “holy” seems to be not credible.  But we have not changed from our creation; we are as You created us, and we only made a detour into fear–an egoic mistake because of a “tiny, mad idea.”

Help me to leave all such foolishness behind today.  You know that we all try the best that we can at even given moment.  We make mistakes, but You and we together can correct those mistakes.  I would correct my mistakes today.

Help me to feel the gratitude for You that keeps me safe from all harm.

Amen

A Holy Body

“Use it to bring the Word of God to those who have it not, and the body becomes holy.  Because it is holy it cannot be sick, nor can it die.  When its usefulness is done it is laid by, and that is all.  The mind makes this decision, as it makes all decisions that are responsible for the body’s condition.  Yet the teacher of God does not make this decision alone. . .God’s Voice will tell him when he has fulfilled his role, just as It tells him what his function is.  He does not suffer either in going or remaining.  Sickness is now impossible to him.  (M-12.5)”

Affirmation:  “the Word of God”

Reflections:

1 – The Ideal

This is the ideal.  And not all of us can reach it.  This passage says that the body does not get sick; but our body gets sick.  And sometimes we suffer.

2 – We Are Still Children

This passage gives us a goal toward which to reach.  It does not mean that we have failed if we do not reach it.  As has been said, would you blame a child in kindergarten for not being able to master graduate school work?  We are such a child.

3 – God’s Voice

But what we can do, as has often found its way into this blog, is to listen to God’s Voice in our daily lives.  We can intuit what to say or do next.  We do have some control over how we view sickness.  We can frequently prevent pain from turning into suffering, just by our attitude.

4 – The Body Will Become Holy

If we follow the way pointed out in A Course in Miracles, the body will become holy.  This happens when the only use toward which we put the body is communication.  And we communicate what the Holy Spirit has told us as an inner Guide.  We do not ever make decisions alone:  Either we listen to the ego or we listen to our Guide, the Holy Spirit (an ACIM tenet).  Until we truly listen to the Holy Spirit, we are not often aware that we actually have been seeking advice of the ego.  This egoic bent is what we have been used to following.  But we can change.

5 – Listen to Our Guide

Listen to our Guide today.  See what a difference this change makes in in the day that we have.  And then thank God for this change.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May this day be a glorious one!  I thank You for the increased vitality I have as summer gets underway in a big way.  Help me to appreciate this warm weather, not to rail against it.  Your seasons in this world are a blessing to us.

Be with us in the United States as we celebrate Independence Day today.  Thank You that we are still friends with our British friends.  May we recognize that all of us are One on this earth, and just as the British forgave us for departing, we must look to today’s world for the times that wars have happened, noting forgiveness as a lodestone.

Amen.