Reincarnation?

“Often, when you say you ‘fall in love,’ it is just that you have come into contact with another field of energy that happens to fit, hand-in-glove, with the very patterns of consciousness that you carry in the depth of your being.

“Old memories of other incarnations are triggered when you visit a certain physical location.  And the emotion feels so good and warm in the heart, you think, ‘Surely this is where I must live on the planet.  This is with whom I must spend my life.’”  (“The Way of Transformation,” WOM, Chapter 17, Page 210)

These ideas are certainly interesting; they explain a lot about what we are attracted to in our lives.  We can look for such patterns in our past and see that Jesus has a point.  We do have a history in other realms of those individuals with whom we feel intense rapport and romantic love.  I believe this, and this quotation seems to confirm it.

We don’t need to believe in reincarnation to support these ideas.  A Course in Miracles counsels its teachers not to take a stand on reincarnation, because it is such a controversial issue, and we don’t want to limit our usefulness.  Giving up the ego (ACIM) and establishing a new identity (A Course of Love) are enough to keep us occupied on Earth.  We don’t have to bring in controversy that might divide us. 

Know that there are explanations for what we are drawn to in our lives.  We might all benefit from reflecting on the quotation and wondering how and why it might seem apropos to us.

Incarnation on Earth

“A decision is made in the mind, not forced upon you whatsoever.  In fact, we will share with you that the decision to incarnate need not have ever been made.  That is, you are not compelled by some force outside of yourself to come into this dimension.  Does that mean that you made a mistake?  Not at all.  There can be no mistakes in all of creation.”  (“The Way of Transformation,” The Way of Mastery, Chapter 17, Page 203)

What if what Jayem channeled here from Jesus is actually true? What if we really didn’t have to incarnate in this life at all?

Of course this makes sense when we realize that nothing is forced upon us because we have free will. So if we are here, we must have wanted to be here. And so it is entirely up to us to make the best of it, though we do have much help–from God, from other people, from angels.

Let us realize that there is a greater purpose to our being here, even when what that greater purpose might have been seems very elusive indeed. This quotation also says that there are no mistakes in all of creation. So we are not a mistake! And sometimes we feel that we have handled life so badly that we ourselves seem to be a “mistake”!

This is not true. We are not mistakes, though we do need to get assistance to make our way safely and serenely through this world.

Help us today. Teach us how to love and to be loved. May our day go smoothly in Your grace.

We Are God’s Song, His Melody

“Life-everlasting in form is not your only choice. As many of you believed that I was the Son of God and more than a man before my birth, during my lifetime and after my death and resurrection, so are you. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: A Treatise on the New, 5.1)

1 – Forms over Time

This quotation strongly suggests a continuance of life all round—before birth, during a lifetime, and after death. It stops short of describing reincarnation, but there are other quotations that could hint at that. Jesus is deliberately, I think, staying on the fence in regard to reincarnation. He knows that all time is Now, and so each of us is living the only life that we can live Now. Jesus doesn’t want to commit to other lifetimes, because he wants his message to be as acceptable as possible to all. Because all is really Now, we can focus on the present form and lifetime, knowing that birth into bodies is actually all part of the illusion. We feel the illusion, though, for our bodies feel solid enough to us. And so we experience within the illusion. We do not have to deny the reality of our senses. But we do need to avoid a stand on existence in multiple bodies over time and in many lifetimes. We need to be as open to those who believe in reincarnation as to those who don’t. That is what Jesus is trying to be.

“This could as easily be stated as your being a Song of God. You are God’s harmony, God’s expression, God’s melody. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: ‘A Treatise on the New,’ 5.2)”

2 – Blessed by God

We are blessed by God. We are His expression. And this is a good expression. We are living God’s lives for Him. It is the way that He experiences reality. Neale Donald Walsch, in Conversations with God (a trilogy), says much about this aspect of reality.

3 – Song

To be a song is a lovely metaphor. We want to give God good days. This means that we are not to feel sorry for ourselves, however dismal the weather (or our personal weather) seems to be. We live for the highest and best of which we are capable. Then we will truly know God’s reality. We will know that the divine spark truly is within each of us. The Divinity is within, as well as without. And, just as in hologram, the spark of the whole is embedded in each portion.

4 – Depressed?

All too often we let ourselves get depressed when things do not go our way. At such times, go within to God. Ask for His presence to be made known. And He will respond. There is a whole world waiting for us to explore. Do not retreat to dismal thoughts when this is the world that God has made, and we are to rejoice within it.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I am blessed to be a Song of Yours. I do not fully understand this, but I do know that you love me–with a love that does not diminish, regardless of what I say or do. You are always there for me. I thank You often for Your presence, and today I mean it especially keenly.

I know that You will guide me. Guide me today to be a true and lovely Song of Yours.

Thank You for the books that we believe Jesus has channeled. That scribing is precious to us. May we learn from what Jesus has said so that we are focused, constantly, in Your arms. Our approach to You is assured as we move into Christ-consciousness again. The channels to You are no longer closed. Your presence comes close to us, closer than our own breath. May we know that we are a part of you, made of God-stuff. And may the divinity that shapes our ends direct my decisions today.

Amen.

We Can Occupy the Physical Eternally

“What this treatise is saying to you is that if the physical experience appeals to you, and if you create the union of the human and the divine as a new state of being, this choice will be eternally yours. It will be a choice of your creation, a creation devoid of fear. It will be a new choice. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: ‘A Treatise on the New,’ 4.18)”

1 – Living in Form

What this quotation is saying is not eternal life in the body we occupy now, but living in form as a choice for the future. We do not have immortality in our physical form as presently constituted, and to believe so would be a mistake. But future incarnations would seem possible for us, if we want to occupy physical form indefinitely.

2 – New Choice

This new choice is helpful to understanding that we are here to be happy in salvation, leading our brother and sisters down the right pathway. We cannot do so if we are removed from them. And so Jesus is implying here that we will want to resume physical form in new incarnations beyond this lifetime. This implication is an implication only, and it does not take a stand on reincarnation. We are ill advised if we do so, for many in our world cannot accept reincarnation and will resist our words if we seem to say this. Since all time is the Now, the question is a red herring anyway. Let us just be satisfied to live the life that we have fully, to enjoy our days, to serve God in the best way that we know how. This will bring us the happiness that we seek.

3 – Physical Attractive

This statement means that the physical may remain attractive to us. We do not necessarily want to achieve Awakening, and then abandon the world. We may want to enjoy the physical, but with a new emphasis on the divine in the physical. This is heaven on earth.

4 – Edgar Cayce

Edgar Cayce, an early 20th century psychic, indicated that many of us come to this world to help those who are “trapped” in matter. If this is true, and it very likely may be, then we would want to return to this world to help those who cannot free themselves without our help. We are doing God’s work; we are his hands and feet.

5 – Jesus

Jesus will help us to know the right pathway for our future. We can choose to live the physical, or, after death, we can remain on the Other Side. We do have choice in this matter. We are not pawns of the universe.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I do not know if the physical body will remain attractive to me, that I will return to this earth time and again in different bodies. ACIM recommends that we not take a stand on reincarnation. Help me today to be true to ACIM. If reincarnation is true, I think that I will want to return; I have thought this as long as I considered reincarnation as a viable option. May I be satisfied today just to live in the present, setting aside questions about the future until that time comes.

I do know that I thank You for the physical body that I have today. May this body remain healthy and strong, and may my emotions remain peaceful.

Amen.

Shall I Return Again and Again?

“Once the return to unity has occurred in form, the decision to continue in form or to not continue in form will be yours. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: ‘A Treatise on the New,’ 4.14)”

1 – Not in This Body

Elsewhere Jesus asserts in A Course of Love that he is not talking here about life-everlasting in the same body that we know now. He is not talking about immortality in this body, this same form. He may be talking about reincarnation, but, as I will explain below, we need not to take a stand that will only be controversial.

2 – To Help

We can do much in form to help others. We can also do much from the Other Side. The important point is that we assume the elevated Self of form, that we no longer reside in the personal self of the ego (what I have called the “little” self). We need to assume the Self that is Christ within. We need to reach that pinnacle. \

3 – Transition

Jesus is here giving us the means to make that transition to the elevated Self. His final pages in the Dialogues are a 40-day and 40-night trek to a mountain top, metaphorically, in which he guides us to Christ-consciousness. He knows, of course, that we will not all make it the first time, but that would be his wish for us. We can presume that it is God’s Will for us as well.

4 – Edgar Cayce

This quotation suggests, but does not spell out, that we have the choice of whether or not to return to earth in another incarnation. Edgar Cayce said that many of us are here to save others who would not be able to find their way back without us. This seems reason enough to know that many of us will choose to come back.

5 – Reincarnation

This is not a statement on reincarnation, a statement that A Course in Miracles encourages us not to make. We will turn off those whom we are trying to reach if they do not find reincarnation plausible. So we do not take doctrinal stands, which can only divide. It is enough to know that the embodiment of form, the elevation of form, is our choice as we accept Christ-consciousness in our lives. ACOL calls this the “elevated Self of form,” and it is an oft-repeated refrain.

The passage does seem to say that we have some way to make a decision through the Higher Self about the time of our death. It does not condone suicide at all, though. It merely suggests that the Self of which we are a part–the Self that has not taken form–does in fact guide us in making life-and-death decisions.

6 – ACIM

A Course in Miracles echoes this theme in a passage on illness. It suggests that we choose the agents that will minister to us in sickness, and that we get well if that is our decision; if we choose not to get well, then we go on to the Other Side.

7 – Death

Of course, this decision is not made by the “little” self, the personality that we embody in this world. It is an “other-worldly” decision, and we cannot know for sure, normally, what the decision will be. But our spirit knows, and it is this that makes the decision of remaining in form (in body) or to go to the Other Side.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I am not ill unto death; most of us reading this are not. So my Self has chosen to have a form on this earth for the foreseeable future. May I make the most of this time. May I love and cherish You, and may I love and cherish my brothers and sisters in this world.

Thank You for helping me today when I falter. May I put my faith in You only. May I realize that the choice for illness is a faulty decision-making process, and that You are “for health” all the way. May I choose good emotional and physical health today.

May I remove the blocks to Christ-consciousness today. May I be patient, until God makes His move. May I recognize that I can remove the blocks, but that only He knows when I am really ready for this blessing.

Amen.

Changing Form Is Part of Life-Everlasting

“Changing form is part of the pattern of life-everlasting. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: ‘A Treatise on the New,’ 4.8)”

1 – Life after Death

This passage echoes a previous reflection on life after death. We are not meant, according to A Course of Love, to hope for new discoveries in science that will give us an eternal physical life on earth. Would we really want such a thing, if it were possible?

2 – The Same Form?

Some early writings on A Course in Miracles thought that a passage in those volumes promised that eternal physical life would be not only possible, but to be expected. This has not been upheld by more recent writings, and ACOL now comments on this hypothesis.

3 – Death

We may be threatened by death, in that it is the one thing that we cannot control. The control freaks among us may be especially threatened. We do not know exactly what form our body will take in the afterlife. Even careful readings of psychic commentary do not make this finally clear. But of one thing we can be certain: Life after death is not to be feared. We will change form, but we will know life everlasting. And we can hope that the death itself, as Ruth Montgomery’s Guides said, will be like “walking through an open door.”
4 – Reincarnation

Is reincarnation? Is this the changing form that is meant? It would not be wise for students/teachers of ACIM and ACOL to take any definite stand, outside the confines of close personal friends. All of us need to be as helpful as possible to all those we encounter, not to introduce tenets of controversy that would limit our usefulness. This attitude is a paraphrase of ideas in the Manual of A Course in Miracles.

5 – Afterlife

While changing form may suggest another form in the afterlife, and then a reintroduction of ourselves to form in this world, we do not know that for sure. Jesus’s words in ACIM can be read in two ways, and students/teachers of ACIM have differed on the point of reincarnation. But we do need to realize that in the grand scheme, we do change form, for our worn-out bodies need to be replaced. We cannot live indefinitely in these bodies. To change form is natural, nothing to be feared. It is, I believe, as Ruth Montgomery’s Guides told her (and us) “like walking through an open door.” That is what death really is.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I know in the depth of my being that death is not the end, that I only change form. I do not, therefore, have to fear death.

As time goes by, and pain comes to me through health changes, may I not suffer any more than would happen when I finally make the transition to life everlasting, life after death.

Amen.

Expression of the Self of Love in Physical Form

“Original intent has everything to do with the nature of things for original intent is synonymous with cause. The original intent of this chosen experience was the expression of the Self of love in observable form. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: ‘ A Treatise on the New,’ 3.4)”

1 – Chosen Experience

The “chosen experience” discussed in this passage is the advent of mankind on earth, the human form that we inhabit. But we did, in fact, have a “fall from Grace,” (as depicted metaphorically in the Old Testament), and we detoured into the ego (a part of our belief about ourselves, as discussed in A Course in Miracles). The ego led us to all kinds of fear, manifested mostly in anger and attack, and led us away from the love that we so desperately crave.

2 – Rejected God?

Because we thought that we had rejected God, we were reluctant to do what we perceived as His bidding, His “Will.” ACIM tries to change all that, explaining that to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit is to do our will, that He speaks for us.

3 – ACOL

So, as A Course of Love makes clear, we did not hold to the original intent of our entry upon earth. Now later reading in ACOL will support us as we endeavor to become the elevated Self of form, the original intent. May we take a few steps along this pathway today.

4 – Treatise

The Treatise on the New indicates that we can make a decision to continue to live in physical form, though this does not mean immortality without any death. It does seem to hint at reincarnation, however, though reincarnation is not a tenet of either A Course in Miracles or A Course of Love. Indeed, we are encouraged not to discuss our views on reincarnation except among friends; this from the Manual of A Course in Miracles. We are meant to be as helpful to those who believe in reincarnation as to those who don’t. All time is the Now, or, in another way of speaking, there is no time. So our purpose now would be to work out our salvation, not to become lost in daydreams of another possible life. Much confusion is possible when people get too intent on studying the concept of reincarnation, and it is always best to avoid controversy when trying to reach people. Reincarnation is certainly interesting, though, and friends might well discuss this concept at length. Jesus understands this well.

5 – Other Lives?

So if we do choose to live other lives here on earth, if that is a possibility, we can enjoy the physical embodiment and at the same time enjoy Christ-consciousness. Christ-consciousness or Awakening is meant for us here, and meant for us to sustain. We were never intended to divert ourselves into the ego, a part of our belief about ourselves. When we made the ego, we split our minds, and a split mind is of little permanent use to anybody.

6 – The Mind

We would reunite the part of our mind where the spirit dwells, the Holy Spirit, with the part of the mind where the ego dwells, thus taking the teeth out of the egoic experience. We will be much happier and more productive without the ego. We don’t need its protection, which despite what the ego says to us, is actually an impossible feat.

7 – Physical Embodiment

So: We learn in A Course of Love that physical embodiment is not to be lamented. We can live quite useful and joyous lives when we have dispelled the ego from our minds. Remember that we don’t actively resist the ego, for the ego is strong in strife, but we just turn aside from its bidding, reassuring ourselves that divine guidance is all that we really need to live a wonderful life.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I show the Self of love that I really am this day. May I not fall into attack and anger, as these are illusory and evidence of the ego having its way with us.

God created me loving. My Self has not changed from this, though we have fallen into an ego-oriented little self that knows much pain and suffering. Please take the pain and suffering from me today as I live the Self of love which God meant for me.

Thank You for the divine guidance that I am getting. I see the Holy Spirit as Your Voice, when I was not yet ready to listen to my inner Self, which is One with You, my inner Christ. I thank You for whatever means of guiding me You have created. Be with me as I seek to understand where You are in all of this.

Amen.

Atonement and Reincarnation

1 – Discussion about Reincarnation

“Does this mean that the teacher of God should not believe in reincarnation himself, or discuss it with others who do? The answer is, certainly not! If he does believe in reincarnation, it would be a mistake for him to renounce the belief unless his internal Teacher so advised. And this is most unlikely. (M61)”

2 – Interpretations

These words have been interpreted many different ways by those who have written about A Course in Miracles. Those who do believe in reincarnation think that Jesus is “siding” with them, and those who do not, think the opposite. Jesus does not mean to tip his hand in this statement on either side of the question. That would negate the words that he has channeled just previously. (See the last reflection.)

3 – Like Minds

But we are not forbidden to discuss our beliefs with those of like minds. Jesus does not hinder us from free discourse.

4 – Salvation

Reincarnation is said elsewhere not to be the important question that it is sometimes thought. We still have to work out our salvation currently. Spending too much time in theological speculation will only slow down our speed. Jesus needs us to reach out to our brothers and sisters, regardless of their theological beliefs. He needs for us to form holy relationships with them. This is the real secret of the Course (an interpretation, not a Course tenet).

5 – At This Moment

“The emphasis of this course always remains the same;–it is at this moment that complete salvation is offered you, and it is at this moment that you can accept it. This is still your one responsibility. (M61)”

6 – One Moment

This moment is all that we have—this one moment. There is no past or future, for there is no time. Time is an illusion that allows us to experience physical life on this plane. But the Now is all that we can know, and so believing in reincarnation is superfluous. We don’t want that belief to tangle us up. We can regale in the past lives that we may have had; we can look ahead to future lives. But it is only in the present, the Now, that we can work out our salvation.

7 – Folly

And we are going to embroil ourselves in folly if we focus on the past and future of reincarnation. Many people who hold this belief also think that they were famous people of the past. This may or may not be true, but for any given individual, it is probably only a fantasy. There are too many ordinary people whom we might have been in the past—far more than names that we know from history or the Bible.

8 – Gain

This doesn’t mean that our speculation is ALL folly. We may gain much from imagining that we have been a well-known figure in the past. We may be led to live up to that reputation. But we need to focus on the present and not make studies of our previous lives (if that were possible). We need to work out our salvation now.

9 – Atonement

“Atonement might be equated with total escape from the past and total lack of interest in the future. Heaven is here. There is nowhere else. Heaven is now. There is no other time. (M61)”

Heaven is Now! What a glorious statement! And when we accept Atonement, or the undoing of the ego, we are living (or trying to) in the present.

10 – Heaven Is Here

And Heaven is here. We can indeed have Heaven on earth; we do not have to wait for the afterlife. How so? We won’t be internally disturbed; we will have an equanimity that is self-assured and poised. We will move to help people in pain and suffering, but we will know that we are caught in illusion, that the pain and suffering are not real. Of course, a physical cut hurts. Our bodies seem very real to us. But, in the final analysis, the inner Christ Self has not been hurt in the least. We are merely children playing a game.

11 – Happy Game

Salvation can be the happy game that children play (from ACIM). We do not have to dwell on the unfortunate. We do what we can to help others, but we realize that what we are seeing that is pain and suffering is unreal. So we don’t take it to heart the way that we used to. This doesn’t mean that we are unfeeling; it simply means that we are seeing life on earth for the illusion, the maya, that it is, for the first time.

12 – Happy Dreams

We can and will have happy dreams even in the midst of pain, once we have accepted Atonement, the undoing of the ego, in the way that ACIM recommends. We will find our illnesses falling away; we will be led to healing, sometimes miraculous, sometimes through the medical establishment. We will find a healed mind, first, in all likelihood. But projection makes perception, and so from a healed mind we look out on a healed world. Sickness doesn’t stand a chance.

13 – Sickness

Of course, there is sickness that is never healed in any way that we can recognize. But even this sickness, this illness, can hold blessings. Our inner Self is making these decisions, and we experience nothing that our inner Self has not passed on as an acceptable experience for us. Learning can be gotten by many means, and pain and suffering are one such means.

14 – Hard Road

We can choose a gentler path, but sometimes the hard road is faster. Reincarnation teachers have long seen the hard life as the one in which we learn the most, we make the most progress.

15 – Adversity

Humankind is at its best in adversity. A soft life may mean that we are prone to backslide, and none of us wants that. So be grateful for the little crosses that come. There is a reason; cling to that, even when the reason is obscure.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I have feelings about reincarnation, but it is best that I share those theological ideas only with intimates. I do not want to hinder my usefulness to my brothers and sisters.

May I realize that reincarnation is not the real issue. I have to work out my salvation now, and this means to be focused in the here and now always. Thank you for clarifying this for me.

Amen.

Is Reincarnation So?

1 – Not to Deal with Now

“Reincarnation would not, under any circumstances, be the problem to be dealt with now. If it were responsible for some of the difficulties the individual faces now, his task would still be only to escape from them now. If he is laying the groundwork for a future life, he can still work out his salvation only now. (M60)”

2 – Take No Stand

“For our purposes, it would not be helpful to take any definite stand on reincarnation. A teacher of God should be as helpful to those who believe in it as to those who do not. If a definite stand were required of him, it would merely limit his usefulness, as well as his own decision making. (M60)”

3 – Litmus Test?

Many people would use reincarnation as a litmus test for the validity of the Course, if we were to take a public stand on where we stand on this issue. Jesus is not interested in controversy, but only in what will work for us in our lives in a practical way. So he recommends that we avoid the question of reincarnation publicly, for to engage in debate would only lessen our usefulness.

4 – Jesus

Elsewhere Jesus says that the Course can be used by both those who believe in reincarnation and those who don’t. Jesus is not interested in theological interpretation, but only in the day-to-day lives of his followers. Elsewhere he says that there can be no universal theology, but a universal experience is necessary.

5 – Only Way? No

This universal experience he spells out in the Course. This is not to say that the Course is the only Way. It is one way that many people have now chosen for salvation in this world. And the introductory pages of the text say that this is a required course, with only the time that we take it to be voluntary. Our way is to have brothers and sisters in significant relationships–holy relationships–with ourselves. This eliminates the tedium of long hours spent in meditation. All special relationships, the Course says, are meant to become holy. This is the practical means that the Course is bringing us Home.

6 – Reversal of Thought

“It cannot be too strongly emphasized that this course aims at a complete reversal of thought. When this is finally accomplished, issues such as the validity of reincarnation become meaningless. Until then, they are likely to be merely controversial. (M61)”

7 – When It Is OK to Discuss Reincarnation

This passage gives the reason that we are not to discuss reincarnation unless we are with people of a like mind. We don’t need to invite controversy. I myself have tried very hard, over the years, to keep controversy out of my blog. My innate reaction is to avoid controversy, to keep life smooth, and I would like to feel that people who read my blog are looking for a calm reassurance that all is well.

8 – Our Witness

Controversy would just interfere with our witness. We don’t need to start arguments; we need to avoid them. We don’t have to dissemble, but we can be circumspect is what we say.

9 – ACIM Leaders

Leaders in the ACIM movement differ on how they feel about reincarnation. Based on his writing, I have concluded that Jon Mundy, publisher of Miracles magazine, does not believe in reincarnation. Most other leaders have not taken a stand, and so I don’t know how they feel. I find that I can read the words of ACIM two ways, and so there is much room for disagreement.

10 – Silence

But the benefit is that we don’t have to proselytize for our opinion. We can remain silent on this issue unless and until we are in a group of kindred spirits. Then we are encouraged to discuss reincarnation, if we so desire.

Dear Father/Mother,

Remind not to engage in controversy, because this will only limit my helpfulness. May I discuss reincarnation only in intimate circles of like-minded individuals. Publicly to take a stand on reincarnation might limit my usefulness.

I know that You will guide my speech. May I not be tempted to run ahead of Your guidance.

Amen.

Rejoice! Doubt Is Gone.

 

“How can you not rejoice when doubt is gone and love fills all the space that doubt once occupied?  No shadows linger when doubt is gone.  Nothing stands between the child of God and the child’s own Source.  There remain no clouds to block the sun, and night gives way to day.  (A Course of Love, 4.5)”

Affirmation:  “Night gives way to day.”

Reflections:

1 – Night Gives Way to Day

What a wonderful promise:  “Night gives way to day”!  This is where A Course of Love says that we are heading, where there are no shadows, doubt is gone, and we recognize that as a child of God, He is our Source and One with us.

2 – Grandeur – Not Grandiosity

We must not let the ego latch onto these statements and make grandiosity out of them.  There is grandeur here, certainly, but it is a grandeur that is of God, and our personal selves would never know how to act if it weren’t for the grace of God to show us what to do.  The same goes for what we say, and even what we think.  When we enthralled by love, we are well on the way to our home in God, with no division in our minds and hearts.  There is no separation, the separation that we once believed in.  There is no need to think that in order to experience everything, we need to imagine ourselves separate from our Creator.

3 – Does God Know of Us?

And there is no reason to think that we are less because we communicate with God.  There is thinking among us that God does not know about us, because we are caught in illusion, and He is does not enter illusion.  But this is not my experience, and therefore I do not try to teach this lesson.  We need, however, to accept from ACIM what speaks to our hearts, and we need not to divide from each other.

4 – Reincarnation

The same desire to avoid controversy is present when the subject of reincarnation comes up.  In A Course in Miracles, Jesus says that our teaching and learning should be acceptable to all–to those who believe in reincarnation and to those who don’t.  Any stand on this question is best left alone.  We need to teach and to live only what can enhance the message of Jesus.  And controversial issues, including theological ones, are not the “practical” that ACIM (and, by extension, ACOL) seeks to teach.

5 – Vision Will Return

May we enjoy the light of the day today.  May we know that night is only a rotation of the earth, and not a constant state.  And if our own lives comes to seem dark, may we know that vision can and will be returned to us when we turn to God in whatever way He seems most real to us.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I thank You for this glorious day, another day to live in a world that can become vivid in its joy.  I am grateful for my many blessings, and foremost is my good state of mind.  You have found a place in my heart that nobody else fulfills.  And thank You for filling my heart with Your love.

May the love that I feel when I sense Your “felt Presence” be especially keen with me today.  May I watch my moods, and turn aside from any dark ones that seem to descend upon me from nowhere.  They are not worthy of my attention.

Be with me throughout the rest of the day.  And thank You for taking good care of all of my brothers and sisters.

Amen.