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.

Wonder

“Here, in our time of bringing the miracle to mystery, we come as the feminine, bearing the way of Mirari—the way of wonder.”  Mirari

“Mirari” means “wonder,” and in this newly received book from Mary of Nazareth, Mari Perron talk intimately with her and shares Mary’s revelations.  We are entering a time when the feminine face of God will be more evident.  His two faces, the masculine and the feminine, will join together to assist us in creating a new world.

We often want to explain away every miracle.  This is just not possible, and it is to our benefit that it is not.  Wonder is a legitimate way to interact with the world.  Keeping the mystery alive is good for the soul.

When we are skeptics, we don’t see miracles.  They are just not there for us.  But when we open the mind and heart, our understanding deepens, and we don’t cast aspersions on what we are viewing that we don’t understand.

Let us open our mind and heart today to let God speak to us in mystery.  Let Him have His way with us.  Even seek to let Mary talk to us.

Love

“Bringing human nature to its fullness in love is what has been the purpose of Our incarnation, just like yours.  There are no differences between you and Us.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 8:III

Jesus is here speaking of himself and Mary.  If we know that we have one purpose in this world, and that purpose is to live in the fullness of love, then life becomes very easy.  We do things that promote love, and we avoid things that do not.  How hard can this be?

One purpose means that life becomes simple.  Oh, how our insane ego has made life in this world so complicated!

But we are through with this madness—and through with it now!  Affirm to God that we will walk His way, and His way only.

And then life will become completely bearable, and easy and simple in the extreme.

Jesus & Mary

“[T]hroughout the history of humanity I have manifested as a self separated into two realities, that of Jesus and Mary.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 8:II

Edgar Cayce, perhaps speaking metaphorically, said that Jesus and Mary started out as Adam and Eve.  We can’t know what this means, though we know that Adam and Eve represent the advent of human beings on earth.

Here Jesus is raising the feminine to new heights.  We have lived so long in a masculinely oriented world.  But the feminine has great value, and recently channeled writings—A Course of Love, Choose Only Love, Mirari—have said much about greater leadership, leadership of being as opposed to doing, coming from women.

We would all hope for a soulmate relationship such as Jesus enjoys with Mary.  Perhaps we all have such a relationship, if not here on earth, then waiting for us on the Other Side.

Let our minds play with the benefits that a feminine concept can give.  For one thing, feelings are often transcendent in a woman, feelings rather than the thinking of the mind. 

See what that idea can do for us today.

Need

“I do not need the one that you call my Mother; she does not need me.  But, oh, how we delight in creating together that which extends the holy, the good, and the beautiful—without end!  Will you come and play with us?”  (“The Way of Transformation,” WOM, Chapter 13, Page 168)

“Need” is a slippery term.  Jesus and Mary are both whole in themselves, united with God, and so the human aspects of needing a soulmate are muted. 

We might learn from Jesus’ example.  If we approach our significant others with “need,” they may be overwhelmed, and paradoxically be less able to actually help us.  Our neediness drives them away, something that we don’t want.  When we love from a full heart, united with God, we love aright.  And “needing” another person is not part of the equation.

Of course, we are not as advanced as is Jesus, nor Mary.  We sometimes do “need” human companionship and human love in addition to what we feel from God.  This is as it should be.  We don’t have to pretend that we are more advanced than we are.  But our relationships blossom when we don’t lean on each other.  We go to God for that support. 

Don’t burden our nearest and dearest with gigantic needs than only God can fulfill.  Enjoy the companionship and the love, but go to God when we feel needy.

This puts things in the right perspective.

We Are in League with Jesus & Mary

“Creation had to be restored, recreated again on the basis of divine love.  The original plan had become distorted and needed to be redirected back to the light of perfect love.  This is what my life and that of Jesus accomplished once and for all, in union with you.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 5:II

We have been part of the restoration of creation on the basis of divine love.  Of course, we don’t understand how this can, particularly because we don’t feel good enough.  But the lives of Jesus and Mary accomplished this, in union with us.  Here Mary makes this clear.

This is cause for rejoicing!  We must do what we can to bring salvation to the world.  We must allow ourselves to be conduits for divine love.  We can do this, if we reaffirm our dedication.  If we realize that everybody does a little bit for God, once a person has decided to be “for God” all the way.  We need to say, often, “I am determined to go God’s way.”

And it will be done.

Remember that we are loved deeply.  We couldn’t make any difference in the world unless we were loved, are loved.  Our tranquil and kind words and deeds, prompted by this love, do count for something.

Jesus and Mary

“Today the face which was first shown in the feminine figure of Mary and the masculine figure of Jesus of Nazareth is now shown to the world in you.”  Choose Only Love bk.3, 4:I

Here Jesus is saying that we are Christ.   While we may not have reached Christ-consciousness, our Self, deep within, is a Christ-Self just waiting to come out.  Be patient, because the great blessing Christ-consciousness may take some time.  It can’t be rushed.

When we remove barriers to love, principally fear and judgment, we are doing what we can to hurry Christ-consciousness.  And our role models are Jesus and Mary.  These role models were important long before Jesus’ channeled works arrived on the scene.  Now we are seeing these role models as ourselves.  If we can believe our holiness (as the Workbook of A Course in Miracles says), then we are making substantial progress toward our goal of being Christed.

Awakening comes to many in our world, especially now.  For reasons we do not understand, it is easier to reach Christ-consciousness today than it used to be.  Most people had to move into holiness after death, but now, right here in our bodies on earth, many will move into this step.

Pray for this blessing, a decision made by God Himself, today.  He wants it for us, and He will bestow Christ-consciousness as soon as He sees that only good will result.

Most Holy Beating of Our Humble Heart

“If you knew my Mother’s love for you, how She talks to me of your loving disposition, of the most holy beating of your humble heart, you would cry of happiness.  When you finish your journey on Earth, which is always temporary, we will meet in a new reality.”  Choose Only Love  bk.2, 21:II

This is Jesus, speaking of Mary’s reaction to us.  She certainly knows that sometimes we have a hard time on earth, and she is certainly forgiving.  We ourselves may not recognize our loving disposition, but it is true that the most important thing of all to us is the degree and amount of love we receive—and give.  That love is all that matters on one’s death bed.  This idea has been often mentioned in inspirational literature.

We may not recognize the love that is ours because we are actually rather humble about ourselves.  The fact that we feel sorry for our mistakes and our foibles is ample evidence that our hearts are in the right place.

Basically, I think Jesus is telling us that we don’t have to be so hard on ourselves.  We may not believe this when we first consider it.  We think that we are the ones being realistic, but actually we are mired in negativity.

If we forgive, we love.  And those two aspects of living on earth are the most important aspects.  Love and forgive, God and other people, neighbors.  And ourselves.  If we leave ourselves out of the equation, we aren’t able fully to love and forgive anyone else—including God and neighbors.

We will meet in a new reality when we are finished with this lifetime.  This gives us hope that we are finally on the right path.

Mysteries

“Pain is a mystery, as is life.  The path to peace requires it.  It is not helpful to try to understand what cannot be understood.”  COL bk.2, 20:II

This assertion, attributed to Mary in Choose Only Love, is an appeal to relax in God’s care.  We know that He is always with us, and that He wants us peaceful.  We also know that pain is something that many of us experience, at times, and for some, always, in our lives.  Mary says that the path to peace requires pain, but this is not something that can be understood.

Jesus differed from Mary in A Course in Miracles.  He said there that it is not necessary to learn through pain, that learning through rewards is more lasting.

This is the first instance that I have run across in which Mary and Jesus have different concepts.

I do agree with Mary, that pain cannot be understood, at least not in this world.  There are some things that we just have to accept, that this is the way that life shows up for us at times.

We don’t need to get ourselves hung up over this difference in advice.  Regardless of what Jesus told us in ACIM, many of us still endure pain—even when we think that we are following the new revelations.  So Mary’s advice may just be an acknowledgment that pain does dog our footsteps, and we can best live well when we don’t struggle for answers to the problem of suffering.

I do know that love heals suffering, this from A Course of Love.  So when we love enough, we are healed.  Not all of us can reach this pinnacle in every day.  It is quite possible that Jesus in ACIM was speaking on an ideal level.  Ken Wapnick talks a great deal in his works about the two levels of speaking that Jesus uses in A Course in Miracles.

There very well may be something that we don’t understand in this conflicting interpretation of pain.  Ask to understand; see if God moves to bring us to a better sense of what Mary and Jesus meant.

Being the Living Christ

“We know for sure that we are all we are being, and that what we are is nothing other than the living Christ.  Thus we begin to enjoy the sanctity of our being.”  COL bk.2, 19:II

In the next step that we will encounter, we will walk Mary’s way, which was the way of being as opposed to doing.  This, from A Course of Love.  Now Choose Only Love is telling us the same thing.  In this new world we are creating, we will reach Christ-consciousness, and thus our Christ-Self will be in the ascendancy.  The Christ-Self is the living Christ, for no longer is the term “Christ” reserved just for Jesus.  It is a plural concept in the new world, for all of us share the Christ spirit.

We will still “do” things, but our primary responsibility is to “being.”  And this is a great relief.  “Doing,” all too often, made us think that we had to earn our way into heaven.  Not so.

Doing and being complement each other in this in-between time.  As A Course of Love makes clear, Jesus’ way was largely doing, but Mary’s was being, and therein lies the difference.  Those of us still called to doing will be helped by those called to being.  And vice-versus.  We are all in this together.

Being allows for more rest than does doing, or so we might imagine.  It is good that we are moving into a new era, where being will teach us how to live.

We never had to “earn” our way into heaven, and now we know it for sure.  Just being ourselves will take us straight to heaven, even heaven on earth.

Love

“You can never be inside my heart enough.  That is the same as saying you can never love too much or be too loved.”  COL bk.2, 16:I

The panacea for what ails us is always and ever the same:  love.  I fear that we hear this ode to love so often that we tune out, not seeing the wonderful implications.  It is true that hearts can be hardened to love, and love then does not transform negative actions.  But we never know when this is really true.  The offer of love may take root in a hardened heart at any time, softening it and turning it to the positive.

This is another quotation from Mary.  Her channeled writings always are filled to the brim with her love.  We often see her as the “mother,” and mother love is known to be all-inclusive, all-forgiving.  So we are “inside” Mary’s heart, and she would have us be there forever.  This is a particularly wonderful way of saying that Love means everything to our well-being.

Love does not mean that we accept abuse.  We have a concept called “tough love,” that is effective in some cases when faced with a particularly obstinate person.  But we must be careful that tough love does not hide a refusal to forgive, because forgiveness is the greatest message of A Course in Miracles.  The right overture from a heart filled with love will transform the most awful situation.  We just have to give love a chance.

When faced with a hard decision, ask, “What would God’s love do now?”  This is the same as the oft-repeated injunction to ask, “What would Jesus do now?” or “What would Mary do now?”

Contemplating this question will do much to see that our heart remains in the right place.

Ever More Love

“The more you love, the more free you will feel.”  COL bk.2, 16:II

We do want to feel free, to be free, even in the midst of circumstances that might seem to hem us in.  And if we give ourselves up to love, this quotation, from Mary, says that we will feel more free, and the more we love, the more free.

We can soften our hearts even in the midst of a bad day, or turmoil, or suffering, or just pain.  We don’t have to let agitation take us over.  When we soften our hearts, we are opening up to love, and love will take us back home to God. 

It is just that simple.  Turn to the love in our hearts, and know that God is acting on our behalf all the time.  He would have us taste freedom.  And here we are getting the instructions that we need to experience the freedom that we want.

We Need to Experience Unconditional Love

“I need you above all human understanding.  You are always in my heart.  Please meditate calmly on this message.  My love is not poetry, although it can be expressed in that way.  It is not philosophy, either.  My love is truth.”  COL bk.2, 16::I

In a statement attributed to Mary, this quotation suggests that she needs us.  Actually needs us.  And this need is above our understanding.  If she holds us in her heart, we know that we are in a safe place, being with her.  Her love, she says, is “truth.”

The scribe, Sebastian, is Roman Catholic, and his religion has had a history of revering Mary.  We might, whatever our religion, take to heart these messages.  Her words do indeed sound like poetry, though that is not how she describes her love.

If we know that we are truly loved, we can gain a good bit in our daily lives.  Part of the problem of our world is the fact that people do indeed feel unloved.  We can see this in everyday life, and a paucity of love has dire implications.  When things get desperate enough, tragedy happens.  The truth of love often cannot be heard in such circumstances.

Let’s take a step back and realize that God’s Love is always available to us.  And Mary is an apt messenger of that love, being, as she was, the mother of Jesus.  This quotation does not say it, but love of this nature is definitely unconditional.  And it is unconditional love that our tired ole world needs most keenly.

Drowned in Perpetual Ecstasy

“Sweet son!  Sweet daughter!  If you were aware of the ocean of love that gushes uncontrollably from my core and flows towards you, you would be drowned in perpetual ecstasy and you could not stay alive in the body.”  COL bk.2, 16:I

This statement is attributed to Mary, from Choose Only Love.  The statement exudes with love, overflowing love from a full heart. 

We can ask to accept such love in our depths, and this will make all the difference.  We need simply to open to the experience, to dwell on the positive, to drop our worries and concerns and realize that there are other entities who look out for us and bless us.

Mary’s statement is heartwarming in the extreme.  It is a way home to God.  Knowing that the mother of Jesus, chosen by God for that experience, wishes us well, is a great blessing.

Open our mind and heart a bit, and realize that this may just be the truth, to hear from Mary in the dailiness of our lives.

Accept the Essence of Love in Our Lives

“Now that you are ready to walk the Earth as gods, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, go through the world carrying love.”  COL bk.2, 15:III

What can this ever mean, to “walk the Earth as gods”?  This statement from Choose Only Love is a new way of phrasing how we will walk in this new era, the time of Christ.  I think the reference to our being “gods” has nothing whatsoever to do with egoic notions, that being a “god” happens when we have walked the pathway back to our Maker, God Himself, and we are living as Christ-conscious beings.

Other words in this quotation are unusual:  the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” and the “Sacred Heart of Jesus.”  We have to realize that the scribe is a very faithful Roman Catholic, devout in his practice, and he reveres Mary and Jesus.  Sebastian seeks to inject a sense of holiness in all that he writes, and here we see this sense of holiness magnified.

The essential point of this quotation is the oft-repeated injunction to love.  I fear that many of us don’t get the full meaning of love because we have heard this injunction so often.  If it were a new and strange word, never before tried, we might accept more readily, acknowledging our lack of understanding previously.  (This is an idea from other channeled writing.)  But we can’t change the word to something novel.  We just must humbly realize that we have not comprehended the essence of love in our lives heretofore.  It is incumbent upon us now to change that, to accept the essence of love as the most vital factor in our lives.

Seek a reverent attitude in devotionals today.  The holiness of Sebastian’s writing joins with the union that we will know with Jesus and Mary, for we will then, one day, all be joined with the omnipresent Christ soul.  Christ is a plural word in the new era, and it always includes the potential in us to be Christ-conscious, Awakened people.

Guidance

What do I truly want? What is it in my heart that keeps calling to me, keeps compelling me? (“The Way of the Heart,” WOM, Lesson 4, Page 50 – 51)

When we ask the Almighty to give us guidance about what we truly want, we are asking Him to give us what is the will of God. He wants us to know how to proceed; He doesn’t wish for us to stay in the dark. We will start knowing, much better, when we take the time to ask for divine influence.

We may simply “be,” in love, with all other creatures of God. A Course of Love talks of the way of Mary, of being; and the way of Jesus, of doing. And ACOL says that all of us will eventually follow the way of Mary. This means that putting our arms around our loved ones, and just simply giving them love is a gift of the greatest magnitude. It is being par excellence.

What does matter is how we accept ourselves, warts and all. We are not perfect, and it will take Jesus to correct the mistakes in our soul’s path that we have been unable to correct. (This is indicated in both A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love.) This correction, because Jesus is gentle, will be gentle and nothing to fear. Jesus can give us much help along the way, as we seek to walk a better path. And the Holy Spirit/Christ Self do their part as well.

We are not left dangling.

Coming to Know

Many called to the way of Mary will ‘do’ much that is greatly desired in the world but what they do will be a byproduct of their way of being rather than a means of facilitating that way of being. Many of the way of Mary will find acclaim, yet neither acclaim nor obscurity will matter to those following these ways. Being true to the self and the calling of the One Self is all that matters. Eventually all will follow the way of Mary and such ideas as acclaim and obscurity will be no more. But at this time of transition, both ways are needed to demonstrate the means of coming to know, which are what all true expression is about. (ACOL, D:Day19.11)

We are coming to know in this new world. And there is space for both being and doing, the way of Mary and the way of Jesus. Needing both, we cooperate with each other, supporting each other.

The way of Mary seems to be a less obvious way, in that people wonder if any acclaim would be due those who are following this way. There may be acclaim, as well as much doing, but these will be secondary to the relationships that we will form. The relationships in this new world are primary, above and beyond all. We won’t be concerned with acclaim, given or not given, and this will be a hallmark of knowing that the ego has faded away. We will listen for guidance, deep within, and then make our plans to carry out that guidance. We are then being true to our self of personality as well as our Christ-Self.

And that will be all that matters.

Change Is in the Air

Without those pursuing the way of Jesus, those pursuing the way of Mary would have a much more difficult task. There would be little space in which to anchor the new. Those following the way of Jesus create the openness of the spacious Selves who allow for the anchors of the new to be cast and thus to ride out the many storms of this time of transition. (ACOL, D:Day19.17)

Jesus’ way is preparing the new, and then Mary’s way embraces it. The spacious Selves are all of us who open to a greater way, in a “spacious” way. We are well fixed in this manner of creating a new world, because the ways of both Jesus and Mary make that new world possible.

There are storms in this time of transition. We need not fear them, for we have been prepared. Our understanding of Jesus’s message in A Course of Love (and other channeled writings) assure us that we are on the right track. We rest from our labors when we rest in his mercy.

But now is not the time of rest. We are working mightily to change things, to create new things. Ask, inwardly, for guidance as to what to do. That guidance will be forthcoming; we are promised this. Our Christ-Self, who has learned much, will now be in a position to make a bridge to God Himself, the larger Self, Who will see that we don’t falter.

Be reassured that all is well. We will make it back. Salvation is ours.

We Support Each Other

This is very tricky for those who reach highly individuated states and it is necessary for those of the way of Mary to support, encourage, and reflect the new to those being examples of the way. This too is tricky for it can lead to judgment. When there is more than one way, there is always room for comparison and judgment. Thus it is realistic to see the ways as intertwined circles existing in support and harmony with one another. As those given specific functions fulfill those functions, they move naturally to the way of Mary. (ACOL, D:Day19.16)

We will all be moving toward the way of Mary, in this new age, as we progress along our pathway to God. In the meantime, there are many still following the way of Jesus, which is more a matter of “doing.” Mary’s “being” needs to support these perhaps more extroverted people. If they don’t have support from those who are simply surrounded by relationships, then those who are doing will have nowhere to turn. We need, all of us, to support each other, but this is especially true of those who have chosen relationships, being, as their way of life—the way of Mary.

We need not judge any pathway taken by anyone. There is room for all of us. As Jesus says here, we are “intertwined circles,” and these intertwined circles need to find each other. Helping each other becomes a mission, a good mission. And in the doing of it, Mary’s followers also find a bit of “doing” as well as “being.”

Mirrors of the Truth

The truth of this way is not discovered through the passing on of knowledge in form but through relationship. Those following the way of Mary become mirrors of the truth they discover, reflecting the way to their brothers and sisters. This is why this is not a place or state of non-interaction but of great interaction. It is a state that facilitates knowing through relationship. This occurs through the one Self of form. (ACOL, D:Day19.14)

In our physical bodies, we engage in relationships with each other—especially true when we are following the way of Mary. In relationship, we are being our full Self, the Christ-Self, and in interaction with others, our brothers and sisters, in our world, we come into our own.

We teach in this mode. We reflect what we have learned or discovered (depending on where we are in the process), and in this exchange our brothers and sisters are loved into acceptance. It is quite easy to love other people into acceptance. Great love does that, and Mary’s way is nothing if it is not great love.

We set an example in the way of Mary. And this gracious living changes the world into something new and different.

We are about creating a new world, of course. And the way of Mary is what we are all coming to accept. Doing is the way of Jesus, the example life. And while we may still do much when we are embracing Mary, the doing is subsisted in the being.

Being defines us.

“To Do” Lists

Just as Jesus would not have been literally birthed without Mary, the way of Mary cannot be reborn without the way of Jesus. Both ways arose from Christ-consciousness as demonstrations of ways. Those who have thought of Mary as an intermediary are as inaccurate in this belief as are those who thought of Jesus in such a way. (ACOL, D:Day19.8)

We need active “doers” in the world, just as Jesus, in his day, was an active doer. His way paved the way for the Marys of the world. Doing leads to a chance to “be.” Being thus comes on the heels of the doing that has characterized our world for many generations.

We are moving into a new era, and in this era, being will trump doing. We have been too captivated by doing; our daily “to do” lists, with their cross-outs, prove it. We have an addiction to such lists. While Jesus would not have had one on parchment, he might very well have carried a mental list. And, like us, he might have gotten satisfaction from mentally crossing off his performed list.

We don’t need to act this way any longer. As we move into Mary’s way, we still accomplish, but it is a more internal thing. We don’t feel that outer accomplishments define our worth. We feel right in and of ourselves.
Mary was a pioneer in her time. So can we be. She was not an “intermediary” to Jesus, but a full accomplished being in her own right. So can we be.

In Christ-consciousness, doing and being are demonstrations of ways of living that we can assume. Even as we head into Christ-consciousness, this still is true. Let some balance overwhelm us. Experiment with being for a while if doing has been our thing. Experiment. See what fits us.

We will soon discover that there are advantages to both ways of living. It is just a matter of finding out what “fits” to our personality. And then growing into that way that fits most precisely.

Heartfelt Joy in “Being”

The answer lies in the simple statement of as within, so without. By living as who you are in the world, you create change in the world. You create change in the world through relationship. All live and create in relationship. Those called to the way of Mary, however, are called to the creation and anchoring of the new relationship in the new world. Their relationship of union, upon which their contentment is based, is the birthplace, the womb of the new. Their expression is expression of this union. (ACOL, D:Day19.6)

We want to live as who we are. “Being who you are” is the ultimate message of A Course of Love. But it is the real Self, the Christ-Self, who comes to us totally and completely when we have reached Christ-consciousness. Until that time, we do catch glimpses, and these glimpses are sweet.

If we are called to the way of Mary, we will focus on “being” rather than “doing” in this world. Many of us, in this new era of Christ, will be a blend of being and doing. A blend of Mary and Jesus, for Jesus was the “doing” aspect of life in this world. The example life. We too can be example lives, though those called to this way of living are few.

Being is more open to us, because we are heading into a world where being will be the watchword. The way of Mary will emerge in all its glory. While we may still “do,” (for nobody can live here and not do), our heartfelt joy will be found in the being. We will anchor new relationships in this world. We will keep the home fires burning.

Sexist categories will break down, for men and women both will focus on being rather than constantly seek to do in the world. The way looks bright to us, and indeed it is. Our hearts more often tilt toward the fact of being, and however warm and fuzzy, mellow, we can be, the better.

Life doesn’t get any better than this.

Living as Who You Are

The ultimate accomplishment is living as who you are within the world. But in what kind of world? This is the catch that causes feelings of purposelessness in those who are content to live as who they are within the world. Until they realize the power of reflection, they wonder why they, unlike their brothers and sisters called to ‘do,’ do not have a specific part to play in establishing the world in which all are able to be content with who they are. (ACOL, D:Day19.5)

As forerunners of the way that all of us will be later on, those living in the way of Mary, of being rather than doing, will influence all of us for the better. Jesus discusses the “power of reflection,” (D:Day19.5) which is a mighty power when under the sway of being. Those of the way of Mary will influence all of us to move faster toward the time when we live in a new world. If we are called to “doing,” the individuals who are called to Mary will have the solace that they need to carry out their tasks. Mary’s way is at that point in a supportive role, though that role will not long remain just supportive.

Mary’s way is the way we will all embody later on, once the new world has been created. We will relax in this new world, content that the weariness of the old egoic way is no longer—for almost everybody. Of course, there is work still to be done, and Mary’s adherents will effect that work in the most blessed way for the new time and place. Being who we are, we will transform the whole into something much better. And Love will have made this difference.

Just “Being” Can Effect Change

Those of the way of Mary are content with a way of living. Yet everyone has a function to fulfill in creation of the new world. Only those who express themselves are truly content. (ACOL, D:Day19.2)

Those of the way of Mary are content with a way of living. But everyone, everyone, has a function in the creation of the new world. In being who we are, in living our lives, we fulfill the spirit and law of love—if we are called as was Mary, if we are called now to the “being” mode of Mary.

Those of the way of Mary will still express themselves fully in creating this new world. It is perhaps obscure to come to grips with how just “being” can effect change. But aren’t we influenced greatly by the saintly people whom we have known? And weren’t many of them just “being” in the world? They may not have even tried to proselytize us; they may just have shined their light of love on us, and by so doing shaped our lives, and were a blessing to us.

The way of Mary is very powerful, for it effects change by just the very way that Jesus keeps advocating: being who we are, with an emphasis on “being.”

We Ourselves Are Just OK as We Are

You perhaps see no ‘specific’ accomplishment in your future, but see instead a way of living as the ultimate accomplishment. You see living as who you are in the world as the accomplishment that is needed from you and yet at times you compare yourselves to those who are able to live as why they are in the world and accomplish certain functions within the world. You perhaps feel function-less and purposeless at times, while at other times, you feel as if you are being exactly as you are meant to be. (ACOL, D:Day19.1)

When we are of the way of Mary, and being is paramount, we may feel that we can see no accomplishment in this world. We can feel function-less and purposeless at times, but at other times, we may be at rest, and we may realize that we ARE doing exactly what we are called to do: be ourselves, whole and complete, a Self Who has realized completion in the time of Christ.

Our way of living is the accomplishment, and only if the ego tries to intrude again (though it has been banished) will we doubt our function. Know that remnants of the ego, its patterns, do still influence our minds, and it is these remnants that give us uncomfortable moments. We ourselves are just OK as we are.

Mary

Those of you who are the forerunners of the way of Mary may have felt confusion over your sense of calling. You know you are called to something, and something important, but it does not have a form within your mind and so you see not how it can become manifest in the world. In other words, you know not what to do. (ACOL, D:Day19.1)

There are forerunners to the way of Mary in our world today. They sense that, for them, they are simply to “be” in their relationships with others. Doing is not required of these individuals at all, though they may do much in the midst of being who they are.

These individuals may, in the midst of the busy doings of our world, feel cut adrift. They may feel that something important is asked of them, but they may be unable to give form and meaning to that conception. When this indecision happens, we are asked to simply abide in the knowingness that being who we are is all that is asked of us. This being will inevitably include our brothers and sisters.

There are some who will be significant others, our relationships, but in the long run, we are in relationship with all who share our Self, for the Self of union is universal. Be patient with all that is unsolved in our heart, and know that we are on the right pathway, when intuition has prompted a “being” rather than a “doing.” The rightness of this pathway will be proved by subsequent events in one’s life.

Transformation

What was created cannot be uncreated. Thus transformation is needed. The miracle makes you fully aware of the embrace and the consciousness of unity and places you outside of time. In this state, no duality exists. Doing and being are one. (ACOL, D:7.5)

The only circumstance under which what was created would be uncreated is if God ceased to love us. And this would never happen, we can imagine. We have never done anything so terrible that He, All Love, would deny us love because we have made mistakes. We have merely been calling for help in our misdeeds, and a call for help (and love) is met by Love, the greatest Love, from God, that can and does exist.

So, since we are not going to be uncreated, we know that we need transformation. And this transformation comes in the form of enlightenment, called in A Course of Love, Christ-consciousness.

A miracle will make this inevitable happening come about. We join in the embrace with the One, and with our brothers and sisters, and Jesus (another brother), and we become aware in a way that we lacked heretofore. The embrace is called upon many times by Jesus in ACOL. It is the recognition that we are loved, and that we are held tightly in that Love. We can appeal for love, we can ask for help, and we can cuddle with Jesus, as we lay our head upon his shoulder. The imagery is very touching as well as very profound.

When a miracle occurs, we are momentarily outside time. Outside time is where the Self of unity lives. There is no duality here, because doing and being are one. This somewhat mystical statement is not totally clear in this context, but it does reappear often in ACOL. We are to both “do” and “be,” in the way of Jesus and of Mary, and as time passes, we will move into just being more and more. We will live as Mary did, deriving our sustenance from relationship. Example lives such as that of Jesus will then be no longer necessary.

Way of Mary: Relationship Is Paramount

“The way of Mary is not a place or state of non-interaction however. This is not the state or place of the monks, nuns, or the contemplatives of old. It is not solitary nor isolated, nor confined to a specific community. It is a way of existence in which relationship is paramount. It is not listening to a calling to “do” but a calling to “become.”” (ACOL, D:Day19.9)

Here we have a further explanation of the “way” of Mary. As explained, this way focuses on relationships. It doesn’t focus so much on achieving out in the world. We might well understand how all of us will flow into the way of Mary when we have reached Christ-consciousness. Previously, much of our “doing” had been ego-based. And now, if we can believe Jesus (and we can), at this point in A Course of Love we have left behind the ego. What a relief this is! Something that never served us nor the world well at all.

Doing may still occupy some of us called to the way of Jesus. Some of us will be example lives, though of course not to the extent that he was. The way of Jesus needs Mary souls, though, to anchor in symbiosis. And it goes without saying that there should only be cooperation between the two ways. Our years of competition have ended with the end of the reign of the ego.

We are “becoming” when we adopt the way of Mary. We must, though, keep in mind that what we are talking about is a calling to a way of life, and so our free will should be bent to the guidance that we receive. God is actually choosing for us, in that His will and our real will are always the same. We function best when we live by our intuitive lights.

Becoming has its place in the evolving of Christ-consciousness. I think that this truth is another reason that many of us will be adherents to the way of Mary in future times.

Dear God,

I feel myself personally a blend of “doing” and “being,” but I can intuit that the doing that I enjoy will give way one day to less achievement in the world and more satisfaction with just my relationships. This change often occurs in growing older. I ask that You guide my progress in the ways of Jesus and Mary.

Thank You for my many blessings today. It is so human of me to take for granted all the good things in my life. But it is not very laudatory, and I would try to stay close to appreciation in reviewing my life.

Amen.

Mary’s Way: “A Way of Living”

“The key here is discernment between true contentment and denial. Although this is overly simplified, you might think of this as the artist being content in creating art, the musician in creating music, the healer in creating health. Those of the way of Mary are content with a way of living. Yet everyone has a function to fulfill in creation of the new world. Only those who express themselves are truly content.” (ACOL, D:Day19.2)

All of us have talents in this world, and they are unequal, because we are in this world. In eternity, all talents will be shared in equality, but we are not there yet. So: It behooves us to use our talents for the movement toward salvation of all. We will then be expressing ourselves, as the individuals depicted in this passage are expressing themselves. If we are of the way of Mary, we will be content with a way of living in this world. That, expressed in relationships, will be our contribution. And Jesus says in A Course of Love that we are heading into the time in which all will express themselves as Mary did, when a “way of living” will be all that is asked of us.

Mary’s way is being more than doing; Jesus’s way is doing more than being. The two, in this time and place, complement each other. One could not succeed without the other, and so there is no room for disagreement or competition between these two ways.

It is very inviting to think that a “way of living” would be all that would be asked of us. Those of us who strive and struggle in today’s workaday work might well envy the place that our children and grandchildren will occupy. But there are many today called to the way of Mary, and if you are one of them, you know yourself. Let nobody downplay this role; it is vital. Jesus’s way could not hold sway without the anchor of relationships that those of the way of Mary occupy. It is just that simple.

Dear God,

Let any of us of the way of Mary take heart. The same for those of the way of Jesus. Relationships as well as actions in this world are needed. I would seek to find my place and occupy it wholeheartedly.

Be with me today as I walk into a new world. Most of us don’t feel quite ready for that new world, but it is already upon us. And I would do well to accept this new world.

Amen.

Jesus & Mary

“The way of Jesus represented full-scale interaction with the world, demonstrating the myth of duality, the death of form, the resurrection of spirit. The way of Mary represented incarnation through relationship, demonstrating the truth of union, the birth of form, and the ascension of the body. Both ways were necessary. Both ways were necessarily represented or demonstrated. Both ways were represented and demonstrated by many other individuals as well. The way was a choice.” (ACOL, D:Day17.10)

A Course of Love describes two symbiotic “ways”: the way of Jesus and the way of Mary, his mother. They are intertwined ways, each needing the other, just as Jesus and Mary “needed” each other. Jesus interacted with the world; elsewhere he says that he was an “example life.” Mary associated, in relationship, with those closest to her, which of course included her son Jesus. As time passes, all of us will move into the realm that Mary enjoyed. We will not attempt to make ourselves example lives, interacting with the world as a whole, but will act in our relationships to fulfill our purpose. Of course, the world will change very much once this alteration is in effect, in ways that we cannot predict (and we should not try to predict).

Jesus makes apparent his distaste for competitive ways, though he acknowledges that when there are two ways, the impulse to compete may be great. Instead, the new and best way to interact is actually an old way, freshly considered, and that best way is cooperation. When we see that the ways of Jesus and Mary need each other, that they are naturally symbiotic, we can easily see that cooperation among those of us called to different ways is essential.

What will the way of Mary look like? That we can’t yet tell, though it is possible that there are enlightened individuals in our circle who represent this way. We can imagine that it is a total disregard for notoriety in the world, a focus on family and friends, a loving gesture toward our relationships. It is a tantalizing glimpse of the future when Jesus tells us that eventually all of us will move into the way of Mary.

Dear God,

I would focus on my relationships today, even though I reach out in the world also. I would play one way against the other, seeking to actualize the best in me. Be with me as I seek to do this. Actualization of my personality is advantageous as I walk the pathway back to You.

The way to You is not, as I have repeated said, not hard. It demands close attention to the best that we know, a wholehearted approach to living Your way. May I listen to Your guidance, wholeheartedly, today.

Amen.

Considering Mary

“The new pattern of life is the ability to resurrect in form. The ability to resurrect in life. The ability to resurrect now.

“Thus is the glory that is yours returned to you in life rather than in death.

“The male provided the manifestation or the effect of the cause created by the female in the virgin birth. My mother, Mary, was responsible for the incarnation of Christ in me as I am responsible for the incarnation of Christ in you.” (ACOL, T1:8.14 – 8.16)

Here Jesus is expanding upon what he has touched on in earlier passages I have selected. He says “virgin birth” easily, and this makes us wonder. Can—should—we really believe this? Later on, he refers to the “myth to end all myths” in regard to Mary. So was there much about Mary that was myth?

We can’t tell. Edgar Cayce, seer of the last century, who accessed the Akashic records, said that not only was Jesus born of a virgin, but that Mary was also. Jesus’s roundabout way of speaking of the virgin birth may be his belief that he needs to attract all of us—not falling in line with an interpretation that just appeals to a few. He felt the same way about reincarnation, not wanting those of us who study A Course in Miracles to take a stand, that the ego would be enough for us to contend with, that we didn’t need controversy.

I agree with Jesus on this point. It is enough that he doesn’t close the door on either concept—truth or myth about the virgin birth. Our interpretations, our analyses, our theology, often only divide us from each other, and this we don’t need. It is enough to know that we are resurrected as Jesus was resurrected, and, as he also says about Mary, for us it is in form. This is the elevated Self of form, about which he speaks often and much.

We will stay in life, resurrected, as did Mary (according to Jesus in ACOL). We do not have to die to be resurrected. This is the new revelation, the new thought that Jesus is giving us now. We will be united with our Self, but remain in form, and this physicality will not deter us in any way. We will be home free. Christ-consciousness will have happened for us, and for most of us, it will happen quietly. We don’t have to fear that we will be hurled precipitously into reality. Our reality will dawn in quiet and in peace.

And we will ask for little more.

Prayer

Thank You for the gentleness with which Jesus approaches Mary. He is trying to keep all of us in his corner, not appealing to a few, to turn off a few others. We don’t need controversy, do we?

Be with me as I seek to live perfectly calm and quiet nearly all the time. I won’t say “always,” because “always” is probably more than I can muster. I am human, of course, with human frailties, and to set up goals can involve difficulties. I would be mellow in my days, have a zen-like attitude. I am convinced that this is the best way to live.

Help me to live in a peaceable way, keeping friends of long-standing, keeping significant others close to my heart. I thank You for the comfort that You bring to me in the day, and in the night, also. I sleep soundly, knowing that You are deep within me, giving me a serene sleep.

Amen.

What It Means to Be God’s Child

“Within the story of the human race there is a story about the coming of God’s son, Jesus Christ, who was born, grew into a man, died and rose again to live on in some form other than that of a man. Those who believe the story have accepted that Jesus was God’s son before he was born, while he walked the earth, and after he died and resurrected. Whether this is your belief or not, it comes close to the truth in a form that you can understand. Jesus is simply the example life, the life that demon¬strated what it means to be God’s child.” (ACOL, C:P.27)

Jesus, and Mary, are seen in A Course of Love as example lives. Jesus is seen as the one who is “doing,” and Mary is seen as the one who is “being.” Both are valid ways to be, though Jesus indicates that as time passes, more and more of us will choose Mary’s way of “being.”

But many of us are caught in Jesus’s way of doing. We think, perhaps erroneously, that there are things that we have to do in the world to help ourselves and to help others. We are the active ones, teaching, learning, playing in this world.

Jesus indicates in this passage that perhaps his form in the resurrected state was other than that of a man. What does he mean by that? Was the resurrected body the ethereal body? I am inclined to think so. But resurrected he was, at least as he tells us, and I believe him. His pathway in life 2000 years ago is something that we can identify with. We won’t be crucified in the way that he was, but we will be eventually resurrected to new life in our Awakening—our Christ-consciousness. And if we pray, perhaps this new form of the elevated Self will come to us sooner rather than later.

Let’s spend some time today reflecting on Jesus’s life on earth. What can we learn from it? What do we want, still, to reject? And what might this reflection do for our soul’s progress? If we are to see that he is an example life, then does it not behoove us to follow that example, even these many years hence?

I think that it does; we need to follow Jesus. The way will be easier because he has walked this way before. Try not to let the judgmental nature of many of Jesus’s pronouncements in the Gospels disturb us. He was under pressure, and stress creates anger (which he experienced). Let the dictum of A Course in Miracles not confuse, the dictum that anger is unjustified. In the largest sense, it is, but we too are human, just as Jesus was on earth, and we too will experience moments of anger.

Jesus is a very real figure in history. The stories about him told in the Gospels may not all be true, but they are, in my opinion, more true than not. And as an example life, Jesus performs admirably. Of course. What more would we expect of him?

Illusions

“No sacrifice is possible in the relinquishment of an illusion recognized as such. Where all reality has been withdrawn from what was never true, can it be hard to give it up, and choose what must be true?” (ACIM, T-26.III.7)
We don’t have to struggle to give up our illusions. They are very easy to give up, once we recognize that they have brought us images of sacrifice and pain, pain that often turned to suffering. The giving up of illusions represent a milestone on our journey.

—

“Illusions are illusions and are false. Your preference gives them no reality. Not one is true in any way, and all must yield with equal ease to what God gave as answer to them all.” (ACIM, T-26.VII.6)
We have some illusions that we like, and these are the hardest to give up. But if we are clinging to what has no true reality, we will be disappointed sooner or later. Why not entertain the idea that now is the time to walk into true reality?

—

“This is how all illusions came about. The one who makes them does not see himself as making them, and their reality does not depend on him. Whatever cause they have is something quite apart from him, and what he sees is separate from his mind. He cannot doubt his dreams’ reality, because he does not see the part he plays in making them and making them seem real.” (ACIM, T-27.VII.7)
We made this dream in which we live, and in the making, we got what we wanted. This may seem hard to believe when we realize that some of our dreams are actually nightmares. And we can give up those nightmares as easily, and perhaps more easily, than pleasant dreams.

Do so today.

—

“The gap between reality and dreams lies not between the dreaming of the world and what you dream in secret. They are one. The dreaming of the world is but a part of your own dream you gave away, and saw as if it were its start and ending, both.” (ACIM, T-27.VII.11)

This explains how to outer world can seem real when it is actually just a dream as untrue as inner imaginings. We made this world, made it easily because the matter is actually illusory. This can be hard to envision, but the sooner we contemplate the truth of this assertion, the better our outer “reality” becomes. The happy dreams brought by the Holy Spirit will overwhelm us with blessings.

—

“What grieves is not myself. What is in pain is but illusion in my mind. What dies was never living in reality, and did but mock the truth about myself.” (ACIM, W-248)

“This illusionary world is full of things you have told yourself and been instructed that you have to do, but that you do not want to do. The more your life consists of such things, the smaller your reality becomes. All that would join with you and become part of the real world of your creation remains beyond your reach.” (ACOL, 5.18)

We don’t have to do those things that we detest. If we don’t want to do them, we need to ask why these things are a part of our “truth.” What do we gain by keeping them in our lives?

Of course, all of us have responsibilities that ought not to be shirked. Others depend upon us, especially our significant others, our spouse and our children, our aging parents. But we can change our minds in the midst of resistance, and then our resistance changes to an embracing of our legitimate responsibilities.

This then becomes a part of our real world. And we are living in illusion no longer.

—

“Whether you believe the virgin birth was reality or myth matters not as myth and reality have no concrete distinction in the illusion within which you live. In other words you live as much by myth as by truth and myth often more accurately reflects the truth than what you would call real. This is not a call, however, to embrace myth, but to embrace the truth.
Jesus does not answer definitively whether or not the virgin birth occurred. He leaves his message open to any and all, regardless of their beliefs about this possible miracle.

—
“Mary is called upon now as the myth to end all myths for in this example life alone is the key to the riddle provided.” (ACOL. 8.11 – 8.12)

Mary gets a lot of attention in A Course of Love. She is said to have lived a life of “being,” not “doing,” and this is said to be the wave of the future (not an exact quote). She was an example life, just as was Jesus.
When we contemplate the myth/truth of Mary, we come closer to understanding why the Atonement happened at all. Not the crucifixion, but the resurrection. This was Jesus’s most important contribution, and never does he say in A Course in Miracles or A Course of Love that the resurrection never happened. We are left to wonder “how.” And in the wondering, we rise above doubt and embrace truth as we see it.

—

“To realize the difference between truth and illusion is not to call one right and the other wrong but to simply recognize what they are. This is an important distinction that must be kept in mind as we proceed so that you are not tempted to judge those living in illusion or their reality. Their reality does not exist. Believing in the reality of illusion will never make it the truth.” (ACOL, Treatise on the Personal Self, 11.13)

Many are still living in illusion. All are living in illusion until the truth dawns. And then things are never the same again. We are freed to live in reality.

We are not to judge others. This is traditional Christian thought, of course, and Jesus says the same in the Treatise on the Personal Self, in ACOL. If we give up our judgments, we will be removing one barrier to coming Christ-consciousness.
Need we not to make this choice today?

Living the Way of Mary

1 – Day 19

“Those of you who are the forerunners of the way of Mary may have felt confusion over your sense of calling. You know you are called to something, and something important, but it does not have a form within your mind and so you see not how it can become manifest in the world. In other words, you know not what to do. You perhaps see no ‘specific’ accomplishment in your future, but see instead a way of living as the ultimate accomplishment. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 19)”

2 – Way of Living

A way living is the ultimate way of Mary; it is not achieving, out in the world, as doers have done in the way of Jesus. This becomes a reflective way of life, a way of relationship, often in the family, and is sometimes understood, perhaps, by women more so than by men. This is according to the stereotype of how women have been viewed in a patriarchal society. And in the new world, men and women both will be far more likely just to live, just to live in relationship, than to try to achieve, even if that achievement is ego-less.

3 – Comforting

This way is a comforting way, this way of Mary. It is a very loving way, this way of relationship. We move in circles that are near to us; we heal each other in ways that are impossible if one is out in the world trying to make a mark, to actively change the world for the better.

4 – Change Happens from Within

A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love both emphasize that change of the world happens only when we first see an inward change. We change amiss when we attempt to overturn the old order by force of external means. We change what we perceive, and then we change what we know, and in the doing, we change quite a bit in the outside world. Even followers in Mary’s tradition will change quite a bit in the outside world, but it will be a by-product of that change that happens closer to home, closer to the heart.

5 – Contented

“Being content is being fulfilled by the way in which you express who you are—by the way you express your content—your wholeness. Those who use their gifts to create the truth they see are those who in ‘doing’ find their way to true contentment and true creation. . . .Those called to the way of Mary are called to be what they want to see reflected in the world and to the realization that this reflection is the new way of creation. In their being they become what they want to create. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 19)”

6 – Becoming

Those of the way of Mary are in the midst of “becoming” a being whom they want to create. In their Selves they embody change. If one first becomes something that is actually desired in the outside world, we truly make a change over which we have some control. We can always change our own selves. And in the changing does the world itself change as well.

7 – Being

We rest content when our very being has been transformed, and if the way of Mary is our way, then this is what we are about.

8 – Interaction

“The way of Mary is not a place or state of non-interaction however. This is not the state or place of the monks, nuns, or the contemplatives of old. It is not solitary nor isolated, nor confined to a specific community. It is a way of existence in which relationship is paramount. It is not listening to a calling to ‘do’ but a calling to ‘become.’ (A Course of Love: Dialogues, p. 180)”

9 – Relationships

Relationships do matter a great deal. And when we are following Mary’s way, we major in relationships. They are our focus, they are our reason for living. Cannot we see that women have historically played this role, even when the ego was the dominant inner force?

10 – Rest

There is rest in the way of Mary. We no longer try to change anybody or anything that is outside of us, unless that change happens naturally through our interaction with them. We aren’t trying to a role model for anyone; we are just “being.” We are not “doing” in the active way that Jesus was doing. His example life is not called for by those who follow Mary.

11 – Not “Doing”

The way of Mary is not a “doing” so much as a way of “being.” This does not mean that doing will be absent from our brothers and sisters who follow Mary’s way, but their primary mode of living will be in relationships. They will not always be as known by our world as those who are actively doing. But they will not dwell in obscurity. As we fulfill the obligations and mission for which we live in the world, we will naturally move more toward being rather than doing.

12 – All

Eventually all will follow the way of Mary. This may be hard for us to understand at this time in our history, when there is so much that we perceive as “wrong” with this world. But as we all learn to “be” rather than to try (sometimes misguidedly) to “do,” then we will see that no change is lasting that does not include an internal change. This is a largely unexpressed but implicit tenet of Jesus in both A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love.

13 – Anchors

Both Jesus and Mary are anchors in this time of transition. Both ways–doing and being–are needed as we seek to bring to our world a new, transformed world.

14 – Acclaim

“This is not to say that those called to the way of Jesus will find acclaim and those called to the way of Mary will find obscurity. Many called to the way of Mary will ‘do’ much that is greatly desired in the world but what they do will be a byproduct of their way of being rather than a means of facilitating that way of being. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 19)”

15 – In Relationship

So we live, first of all, in relationship when we are called to the way of Mary. And we may find acclaim, but it is no longer foremost to us, even when we are outside the realm of the ego. We don’t have to “do” to achieve our purpose in life; we just “are.”

16 – Way of Jesus

“Without those pursuing the way of Jesus, those pursuing the way of Mary would have a much more difficult task. There would be little space in which to anchor the new. Those following the way of Jesus create the openness of the spacious Selves who allow for the anchors of the new to be cast and thus to ride out the many storms of this time of transition. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 19)”

17 – New Age

Those of the way of Jesus have paved the way for the new age, those who will follow in the way of Mary. Someone needed to actively work in the world to bring about change—by setting an example, and, earlier, by teaching and learning. Now those goals have been achieved, and many of the way of Mary have gained much from the accomplishment. Now the time is ripe for simply “being,” no longer out in the world creating a new order.

18 – New Order

Yet the way of Jesus, the new order, needed to be achieved, to give the Marys of the world a place to rest content. Now those of the way of Mary can walk serenely in a world that did not exist a few years ago. It exists now, for a few followers of Mary—and more followers of Mary will come in the years henceforth.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I have spent most of my life “doing”–sometimes in a feverish pace. I am so relieved that Jesus does not ask me to “do” compulsively any longer. Thank You for the words that indicate that “being” in relationships is also a good thing. Help me to truly understand the way of Mary.

As I balance the way of Jesus–the doing–with the way of Mary–the being–may I have Your constant support. I cannot live well in this world without Your guidance every step of the way. Thank You.

Amen.

Following Jesus and Mary

1 – Fulfillment

“You have been preparing for this final stage of the fulfillment of the way of Jesus. You have also been preparing for the beginning of the fulfillment of the way of Mary. . . .Each way is as needed now as it was two thousand years ago. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 18)”

2 – Attention to Both Jesus and Mary

So we need to give attention to both Jesus and Mary. Mary was left out of A Course in Miracles, but she is very much in evidence in A Course of Love. She is said to have reached Christ-consciousness also, as, of course, did Jesus. We are ending the “time of Jesus” in that example lives and “doing” are not to be the way of the future. We are heading into a time to fulfilling relationships and simply “being.” But right now we are caught on the cusp of each. We are not finished with Jesus’s way, and Mary’s way is not fulfilled for many. So we learn from both at this juncture.

3 – Preparing

We have been “preparing.” While we have moved beyond learning in the old sense, the sense in which we learned with the aid (nefarious aid) of the ego, we are learning through observation of this glorious world. Even amid pain, we can see glory. And with the words of Jesus to sustain us, we can heal at least a portion of that pain.

4 – Mary’s Way

Mary is not the exalted bringer of salvation. Her way is quieter, but that does not mean that everyone who follows in her way will be obscure, unknown by the world. Those following her may achieve a great deal, but their primary consideration is for relationship and being contented in “being” rather than “doing.”

5 – Active / Receptive

“One way is active. One way is receptive. Yet the ways are not separate any more than Jesus was separate from Mary—or any mother separate from her child. The ways are rather complimentary and symbiotic. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 18)”

6 – Legitimate Ways

We see that both the ways are legitimate. Even as Mary was not separate from the child of her womb, Jesus. Jesus’s way is active, and Mary’s is receptive. In this we can see an echo of stereotypical attitudes toward men and women, and their places in this world. But we do not have to turn aside from the characterizations herein because we are liberated. We can see value in seeing the male as active, the female as receptive. Certainly we know that even in the workplace, the way of women is different from their male counterparts. There is often more cooperation and less competition when women hold the sway.

7 – Jesus’s Way

“As has been said, the time of teaching and learning is over. If the way of Jesus was a way of acceptance, teaching, learning, and leading an example life, then the remaining ways of Jesus that are still applicable and appropriate in this final period are those of acceptance and of being an example life. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 18)”

8 – Teaching and Learning

In this quotation from the Dialogues of A Course of Love, we see that Jesus is dropping out both teaching and learning in our present day. Even though we are still on the cusp of Mary, we still find reasons for acceptance and being an example life. We are not so sure that teaching and learning are our way, though some of us might still be caught up in it. Our hearers will see something different, though, in our acceptance and our example life. They will observe, rather than take unto themselves, as though external to themselves, the teaching that they hear. They will not learn in the old way. They will take unto themselves only what resonates internally, and they will turn aside from an external source of presumably higher wisdom. There is no wisdom higher than the internal.

9 – Separated State

“”Your separated state was a sickness, an unwanted state, and thus a temporary manifestation. The joining of mind and heart provided reunion of the human and divine and thus accomplished the resurrection of the eternal in form. Your virgin state, the state unaltered by the separation, has been returned. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 18)”

10 – Elevated Self of Form

This describes the elevated Self of form, no longer in separation. The quotation also harkens back to joining of mind and heart (into wholeheartedness), a tenet of the original volume of A Course of Love. We are merging the human (the little or personal self, so soon having relinquished the ego) and the divine (the inner Christ Self). We are growing closer to God, our very Being inside.

11 – Interaction / Relationship

“The new visual pattern is that of spirit resurrected in form. It is the ascension of the body, or elevation of the self of form. You are called to demonstrate this pattern. The choice is to demonstrate this pattern through interaction with the world, or through incarnation through relationship. Neither is exclusive. Both are contained within the other. (A Course of Love: Dialogues, p. 177)”

12 – Essence

This passage encapsulates the essence of Day Eighteen. Some will follow the way of Jesus through interaction (the active way) with the world, some will follow the way of Mary through relationships (the receptive way), and some will combine both ways in their time in this world. All ways are needed in this time of transition.

13 – Feelings

Feelings are now our way of coming to know. This idea has been expressed previously, but now is reiterated. We lay aside all sickness as a temporary manifestation of external searching, and we turn within to find our knowing. The way that we exemplify this knowing, though, differs–whether the way of Jesus, the way of Mary, or a symbiotic relationship of the two.

14 – The Self

This passage also encapsulates the entire Forty Days and Forty Nights quite well. We are to become the resurrected self of form, elevated to the Self that has always been innate in us. This Self has never left God, and when we welcome this Self into our little self, we will know love and peace and joy as we have not known them for many eons.

15 – Self and Relationship to Self

“Both the self and the relationship of self to all must become known in order for the paradise that has been re-found to be re-created for everyone. What else would life be for but to make the invisible paradies of love visible and livable for all? (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 18)”

16 – Read Carefully

This quotation takes some explanation, although the meaning is clear when read carefully. The self is union with God and everybody and everything else; the relationship of self to all is the second half of what we need to do. Consequently, this quotation begins as a reassertion of unity and relationship.

17 – Paradise

We want paradise here on earth. We can have it. We do have it when we experience the union of God and man internally, coupled with the relationship that we have with God and man externally. Union and relationship; unity and relationship. The terms are used over and over in A Course of Love, and so Jesus must mean something very important by them. It is hoped that we won’t become jaded in our reading of these two terms, for in their fullness of meaning they are crucial to our establishment, with God, of a Heaven on earth, of Paradise in this world.

18 – Re-create

We need to re-create, because we have been lost in the illusion of separation. We are not really separate, indeed we could not be and still live. But we were unaware of our union with God as long as the ego was in the ascendancy. Now that the ego has fallen away (or is in the process of falling away), we know God in a way that was veiled for us by our egoic notions. We wanted the material above all else, but it ever failed to satisfy for longer than a moment. We wanted love, but found ourselves unable to give—and we know now that what we give is what we receive.

19 – Virgin State

So now we seek to recreate Heaven on earth, the return to the Garden of Eden, to return to our virgin state.

20 – Blessings

Let’s not delay any longer. These great blessings can be ours today. Only believe. And if you can’t believe, it isn’t to be yet for yourself.

21 – Patience

Be patient. The way will be shown to you in the privacy of your inner Self.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I earnestly want to fulfill your plan for me: that my little self elevate into the Self that I truly am. This means that earthly being is not less than heavenly. What a joy this means that life in this world can become! Thank You.

I do not yet know whether my way is the way of Jesus, the way of Mary, or a combination of the two. Guide me in this dilemma. I will listen to Your Voice today.

Help me to get through this one day with grace. I am very much wanting to feel Your Presence. This is a great blessing to me as I live the way of Jesus, leaning toward the way of Mary. I am very much a homebody, though I have been out in the world. Guide me to no longer try to “teach,” as this is not the way that people will come to You now. Guide me to remind others of what they already know internally. Just to observe what is true, and to say it. I ask this of You today. Thank You.

Amen.

Christ-consciousness Is the Awareness that God Is Everything

1 – Creation

“Just as the creation story had to start somewhere—so you had to start somewhere. . . . Thus there must be a difference between life-consciousness and Christ-consciousness, since you have been life-conscious without being Christ-conscious. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

2 – Eternity

We have been in eternity for a very long time. There is no way to recall when we were separated from God in illusion. After this happened, we were conscious of life, but no longer of union, no longer of Christ-consciousness. And no longer did we see God as our Friend. The die was cast; we were outside of the Garden of Eden.

3 – Life-conscious

We have thus been life-conscious. Now we seek to become Christ-conscious, though this is not totally in our control. God, as Union, makes this decision. But we are part of God. God is everywhere, and everything. He is the All, the One, the union that we seek to experience now.

4 – Christ-consciousness – a Definition

“You have been told Christ-consciousness is neither God nor man but the relationship that allows the awareness that God is everything. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

5 – Who We Are

This quotation gives a definition of Christ-consciousness that will aid our discovery and recreation of Who we are. We have a relationship with God, when we have reached Christ-consciousness, that is different from the egoic state of mind. We are living in wholeheartedness, a union of mind and heart that Jesus described in A Course of Love’s original volume.

6 – God

Do we really believe that God is everything? Do we really believe this? Let us entertain the possibility that the earth, indeed the universe, is not God’s handiwork, but, so to speak, His Body. Out of what would He create, if not from Himself? Try to open your mind a little to encompass this great idea. The idea will tease you out of thought, get you out of your mind. And knowing that this Body of God is Love personified, we can rest easy. We do not have to have primordial fears.

7 – The “I Am”

“Christ is the ‘I Am’ of God, the expression of ‘I Am’ in form, the animator and the animated, the informer and the informed, the movement, being, and expression of creation. Christ is that which anointed form with the ‘I Am’ of God. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

8 – Elevated Self of Form

Here we are verging into the “elevated Self of form.” This phrase, so far as I know, is unique to A Course of Love. Only A Course of Love comes up in a Google search, and the phrase is used only in my own blog. So we see that in A Course of Love, Jesus is not negating the body, but elevating it to something better than it has ever been. We will still be physical, on this earth and in this world, but everything else will have changed in Christ-consciousness.

9 – Physical Form

To think that form, physical form, was anointed the “I Am” of God in the elevated Self of form is a gigantic statement, a truly momentous choice to make in this world.

10 – Drive

“What is the drive that kept you reading the Course, caused you to enter this dialogue, kept you examining, kept you attempting to move beyond learning to a new means of knowing? Christ-consciousness. This is why it was said in the beginning pages of the Course that the Christ in you was the learner. The Christ in you is what was created to inspire movement beyond simple awareness to knowing. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

11 – Christ

The Christ in us is apparently present in embryo form long before we are gifted with Christ-consciousness. The Self that is Christ has always been within; God has always been there. We may be aware, in an intellectual sense, that Christ is within, but this awareness will soon move to knowing, which is a much bigger concept.

12 – Knowing

Knowing is comforting. It is beyond perception, which is our normal mode of operating with the outside world. When we know something, we are certain in a way that no other kind of awareness can give us. We don’t need proof when we know. Jung was once quoted as saying that he knew that God existed: “I don’t think, I know.” Certainly he was a mystic as well as an intellectual, and his word does help us to realize that men of great intellect are not dissuaded from belief by intellectual doubts, at least not always.

13 – Study

So it has been the Christ within Who has led us to study diligently A Course of Love. We might extrapolate from that that the Christ within also led us to study diligently A Course in Miracles. We have not been walking in the dark. Christ, our real Self, has been influencing us all along. A great comfort to realize.

14 – Challenged Patterns of Learning

“There have always been individuals who challenged the predominant patterns of learning because of the strength of their connection to Christ-consciousness. While no one has more access to Christ-consciousness than another, some exhibited more willingness to let that consciousness be their guiding force—that by which their being gained movement and expression. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

15 – Inner Direction

The more inner-directed among us have allowed their inner Christ to have full influence on them. These are individuals who are not peer-pressured to the same extent as others of us. And many of us move to inner direction when we realize that inner direction is the only thing that can take us home in God.

16 – Jesus

Leaders in the spiritual realm have been pioneers in following the Christ within. And sometimes they suffered for it, Jesus of course being the most obvious example.

17 – Access

So we all have the same access, but not all listened to this access to the same extent. Not all heard what the Christ Self was trying to say.

18 – Time of Christ

“What Jesus represented or demonstrated has now been realized, which is why this is called the time of Christ. The ‘time’ of Christ, whom so many associate with Jesus Christ, represents the ‘time’ of fulfillment of the way of Jesus. What could be taught and learned has been taught and learned. Now it is time to move beyond what could be taught and learned to what can only be realized through relationship. Now is the time of the final revelation of what can be realized, or made real, through following the example life of Jesus. (A Course of Love: Dialogues)”

19 – Time of Learning

We have been in a time of learning, a time that emphasized the mind. As we move into Christ-consciousness, we are bade to come into knowing. The mind and its learning have fulfilled their time. We are now to move into the sustaining of Christ-consciousness, rather than simply the maintenance of this state intermittently.

20 – Acceptance

The way of Jesus was acceptance, and the realization of an example life. It was Christ-consciousness through teaching and learning. Now we are coming into a different form of Christ-consciousness, through relationship, which is exemplified in the life of Mary, his mother. We have “learned” all that we can; we are encouraged now to live with our feelings in relationships. We will truly “know.” And this knowing is beyond needing proof of any kind. It is the fulfillment of all that the sustaining of Christ-consciousness can offer to us.

21 – Mary

“Christ-consciousness was represented not only by Jesus, but by his mother, Mary. Mary, like Jesus, realized full Christ-consciousness and full expression of Christ-consciousness in form. Each did so in individual ways, ways that revealed the choices available to those who would follow them. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

22 – Relationship

Day Seventeen affirms that Mary also realized Christ-consciousness. But as Jesus accepted, and was an example life, Mary taught through relationship. And it is this time of relationships in which we find ourselves now. The final paragraph in this chapter begins, “Thus we enter the ending stage of what can be realized through fulfillment of the way of Jesus and the beginning of the fulfillment of the way of Mary.”

23 – Christ-consciousness in Mary

We learn that Mary also realized Christ-consciousness. We learn also that the example life of Jesus was one of “doing,” and that Mary’s life was one of “being.” The being aspects are relationship-oriented, and are not so much out in the world. Jesus needed the support of the “being” of Mary to fulfill his work. All of us need the support of both types of personalities: doing and being. There are aspects of both in each of us, but previously the “doing” has received most attention. Being is coming into its own, though, as the wave of the future.

24 – Second Coming of Christ

This generation will see the culmination of the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus never says anything about what he means by this in regard to physicality. Whether or not there will be another incarnation is left to doubt. But the understandings of this era do place it squarely in the Second Coming. And we can be grateful that this is so.

25 – Teaching and Learning

“What could be taught and learned has been taught and learned. Now it is time to move beyond what could be taught and learned to what can only be realized through relationship. Now is the time of the final revelation of what can be realized, or made real, through following the example of Jesus. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

26 – Doing and Being

We are still now following the example of Jesus: Most of us are doing, as opposed to simply being. The time will come when this will change.

27 – A Change

“Thus we enter the ending stage of what can be realized through fulfillment of the way of Jesus and the beginning of the fulfillment of the way of Mary. This ending stage of the fulfillment of the way of Jesus is the stage of interaction with the world, the time of miracles, the death of the old way and the birth of the new. (Dialogues of A Course of Love, Day 17)”

28 – Doing

We are now in this ending stage of the time that we will be constantly doing. We do miracles (when prompted by Jesus). We work in the world. But later on our real work will be inner work, work that will find its genesis in relationships one to the other. We will then truly know what love is all about.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I am so used to learning. I have sought You in so many ways, and now I am tired of seeking. You, through Jesus, tell me that the time of learning is over, that knowing will happen now. Thank You. I realize that I have longed for this, without realizing what I longed to reach.

May I reach out to others through more loving relationships to them. This heralds the time of Mary, and,, while I do not fully comprehend what this means, I know that the living out of it will make it clearer. Jesus, please guide me in this new phase of my development as a spiritual being.

Thank You for the gifts with which I have been blessed this day. Today has been good, and I pray that tomorrow will be likewise. Thank You for the insight that You have granted me today, but may I not be tempted to think of any insight in an egoic way. I would be rid of the ego, though I also know that turning aside is best. A frontal assault on the ego would be resistance, and that would only cement it further in my mind. Be with me as I move into living in an ego-less state. Be with all of us as we do this.

Amen.

What Would Mary Do?

“I repeat, and will do so again and again, that the ego self is gone from you. Whether you fully realize this or not matters not. This A Course of Love has accomplished. Now the choice is before you to do one of two things. . .to proceed toward love or fear. If you proceed with fear you will assemble a new ego-self, an ego-self that perhaps will seem superior to the old, but which will nonetheless still be an ego-self. If you proceed with love, you will come to know your Christ-self. (Treatises of A Course of Love: Treatise on the Personal Self, 4.8)”

Affirmation: “I would leave fear behind today.”

Reflections:

1 – Fear

Fear is our great enemy, but if we dwell on this fact too long and deeply, we will scare ourselves, making the ego strong. And the ego is strong when one is fearful. Let us leave behind this state of affairs today.

2 – When Baited

Let us proceed toward love. This means that we need to make a decision about how we will react when we are baited by those closest to us. We must determine what we will say and do, ahead of time, or we are likely to attack or otherwise react with anger.

3 – Personal Experience

I have found that the easiest way to handle a difficult conversation is to say a reminder, just the word “gentle,” followed by the question, “What would Mary do?” By “Mary,” I mean the mother of Jesus, a woman given great importance in A Course of Love (though not in A Course in Miracles). This immediately puts me in a conciliatory state of mind. I tried the phrase, “quiet control,” but I found that it tended to put me in an uptight attitude, just the reverse of what I wanted.

4 – Communion with God

You will find other words, or perhaps none, just a communion with God. Many of us do need words that help us in times of difficulty.

5 – Proceed toward Love

I would proceed toward love always with those closest to me. And this movement will take me into the Christ/Self, sooner rather than later. We need to move toward the Christ Self, because if the ego is gone, which Jesus says it is, we need to have a replacement in mind to whom we can turn.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

Thank You for giving me the words, “What would Mary do?,” when I am stressed, in a difficult conversation, when I am being baited. There is no reason that I can’t keep my cool, except a lack of discipline. And You would have me be gentle with all those with whom I come in contact.

I would proceed toward love today, away from fear. I have tried this many times, but perhaps not strongly enough, because anxiety dogs my steps from time to time. I would make a determination today to slow down and relax, to meditate when I can.

I never get angry unless I am stressed. May I remember this today.

Amen.

Mary

“Illusion is the death you need but arise from.  Arise and awaken to your resurrected self!  There is no longer a god-head to follow into paradise.  Take not the example of any of these and know instead the example of woman, of Mary, Mother of God.  (Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 8.9)”

Affirmation:    “What would Mary do?”

Reflections:

1 – Mary in ACOL

Jesus does not mention Mary in A Course in Miracles.  But she plays a pivotal role in A Course of Love.  She is said to emphasize the life of “being” as opposed to the more active life of Jesus, which was “doing” (from ACOL).

2 – The God-Head

I think that the description in the passage of the god-head is meant to encourage us not to see God as an external figure who will usher us, after we die, into heaven (if we, presumably, have so merited).  These ideas are partially derived from traditional Christianity, which has a theology of a God Who stands outside His creation, His handiwork.

3 – ACIM and ACOL Differ

A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love are different in philosophy.  We are all enclosed in God’s umbrella Self.  There is nothing outside.  Indeed, as in a hologram, there is nothing outside ourselves (the latter from the Text of ACIM).  For the whole is in each part.

4 – Theology

But, again, do not let theology delay you.  If these ideas feel foreign to you, you do not have to believe them to experience the value of A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love.

5 – Mary

Mary incorporated in herself the more passive elements of God, the “being” rather than the “doing.”  She gave birth to Jesus, and nowhere in A Course in Miracles or A Course of Love does Jesus deny the Virgin Birth.  Yet we are not required to take any particular beliefs that are theological unto ourselves if we have doubts.  We are encouraged that Jesus takes us where we are, and guiding us by holding our hands, he leads us onward.

6 – Mari Perron

Mary is a great icon of the Roman Catholic faith.  Her mention is ACOL may in part have been that Jesus channeled the trilogy through Mari Perron, who is herself Catholic.  As with all channeled works, Jesus speaks first to the one who is receiving the material.  But Helen Schucman, who scribed A Course in Miracles, was also Catholic (though Jewish), and Jesus does not mention Mary in ACIM.  Perhaps we are ready to see men and women as equally important to the furtherance of salvation.  And so Mary takes her place, in ACOL, beside Jesus.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I spend much time today just “being” instead of doing.  May I reflect on the part that Mary played in the life of Jesus, and may I learn from her.

Be with me today through thick and thin.  You have always been there for me, even when I sensed nothing of Your presence.  I would sense Your presence today.  May I walk in Your way, as always.

Amen.