Holy Path

“I invite you to walk a holy path, a simple way, just as love is.”  Choose Only Love bk.2, 21:II

We are the ones who complicate our lives.  The way of Jesus, the way of love, is just simple.  The holy path that we walk is simple.  We introduce the complexity.  And if we introduce it, we can stop it.

Jesus has our best interests in mind.  He sees the turmoil of our world, the awful catastrophes we get involved in, and I often think it hurts his heart.  He tries hard to get us to reconsider our choices, to change our lives, to honor the love with which we were born.  Our innate leanings are all toward love.  We obscure this truth because it would hurt us so much to truly realize how and where we have gone astray.

Walk a holy path today.  Ask for help, for none of us can see the footpath if we don’t ask for vision.  Keep life a little simpler today.

And watch miracles unfold.

Expand Our Heart to the Fullest

“The only difference has been that I learned to train myself, hour by hour, to drop only unlimited pebbles, that send out vibrations of unconditional acceptance and Love, forgiveness, unconditional and unbridled vision and revelation, while you have selected to do that only a few times.” (“The Way of the Heart,” WOM, Lesson 8, Page 103)

The metaphor here is of pebbles being dropped into a pool that is our very being. If we drop unconditional acceptance, of ourselves and others; Love; forgiveness, etc., then we will walk a green earth. If we are stingy with our “pebbles” being dropped in our pool, we will know dissatisfaction and all the ills that this world can visit upon us.

Our vision will show us the way; it is revelation from God. Make a decision today to expand our heart to the fullest, to drop unlimited pebbles into our pool. Jesus has shown the way, and he would have us do so, also. If we train ourselves to experience with our heart, we will be well on the way to a new heaven and new earth.

Our heart does not need proof of God’s existence. Our heart just knows. And we will know when we listen to what our heart tells us. We will know unconditional acceptance, Love, forgiveness, and all the rest mentioned in this quotation.

We will be walking straight back to the heart of God. Let’s walk a smooth pathway, sure of our steps, focused on our aim.

Seeing Truly

“But this vision can be perceived only by the truly innocent. Because their hearts are pure, they defend true perception, instead of defending themselves against it. Understanding the lesson of the Atonement, they are without the will to attack, and therefore they see truly. This is what the Bible means when it says, ‘And when He shall appear (or be perceived) we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.’” (ACIM, COA ed., T-3.III.10:1-4)

Without the will to attack, we will indeed see truly. Our innocence will be something in which we believe, unlike now, when we want to believe we are innocent, but often feel, internally, a sense that we are very guilty indeed.
We are not guilty. Would God turn against a child who has simply made mistakes? Making mistakes is inevitable in this confused and confusing world, in which our companions, brothers and sisters alike, and ourselves, are lost in egoic intention. How could we choose rightly in every instance, when we are quite literally lost in madness, insanity?

When we start to lose the madness, we will be ripe to entertain the idea that we really have only made mistakes in our choices, that these are entirely forgivable, even by ourselves. We are our own judge, and we are a harsh judge at that.

Rest in God’s Love, and know that anything done wrong is gloriously forgiven in a universe that knows that we have simply strayed from the path.

Remove the Veils from Our Eyes

“And yet, what might seem contradictory is that I have said that we can also use the certainty you have felt about your identity for our new purpose, the purpose of the miracle that will allow you to exist as who you are in human form. How, you might rightly ask, can you cease to identify yourself as you always have and use the only identity you have been certain of for a new purpose?” (ACOL, T3:21.19)

We would like to experience miracles all the time, and with the art of thought, we can do so. The art of thought is the miracle-readiness in which we ought to hold ourselves. It is the way in which the new personal self takes hold. The new identity. When we live in the sense that everything is a miracle, we live rightly. Although there is a point in which miracles cease to be meaningful (according to A Course o of Love), we are not there yet. And we can use looser definitions for a miracle. These looser definitions do, indeed, let us see that everything coming from the hand of God is a miracle.

We need to develop a new identity, for, after all, this is the purpose of the existence of A Course of Love. This new ego-less identity will take us far, give us great benefits, allow us to live peaceably and well. This new identity will give us great happiness, a happiness and joy that is unending. And do we not all want that?

The Self will come into its own when the ego is forsaken. We will not be far from enlightenment, for we will recognize that it is only our own hand that will open the door to a full life. We closed that door when we exited from the Kingdom in presumed separation. Now, maybe, we are ready to turn the doorknob again.

Let fears and anxieties subside, for these are borne of an ego that doesn’t trust God. Trust in God’s good graces to save us from ourselves. He is living through us, and so He can do what no “separated” self could ever do. He will achieve for us. He will remove the veils from our eyes, releasing our vision once again.

We don’t remember how good it was to live in unity with God. Maybe we are now ready to try this again, with a better outcome this time.

Prayer

I am delighted to feel Your comfort 24/7. A great blessing. May You never withdraw from me, but keep me always close to Your side.

May this day end well. May my brothers and sisters have a similar outcome. May the prayers that I pray be heard, always and forever.

Amen.

The Key: Love Freely & without Fear

“You who do not know how to trade your separated state for that of union have still done so when you have loved freely and without fear. In this state your memory returns to you of who you are, and you are innocent and joyous and one with love itself. That this memory does not last, and these feelings seem unsustainable, is the result only of that which does discard and replace.” (C:14.28)

This is the key! We have union of mind and heart when we have “loved freely and without fear”! And this union of mind and heart leads to true vision, true reality. At such times we are ego-free. Our memory has returned to us, the memory that we buried deep within eons ago, and left to rot. It did not rot, but now has been restored to us with all its brilliance.

This truly is the secret kept from nobody but ourselves: love, loving freely and without fear. We have long realized from reading A Course of Love that fear and judgment are all that hold us back from Christ-consciousness. And love leads us to Christ-consciousness. But we have not known how to apply love, and we may not fully understand now. But we all have moments of loving freely and without fear, and these moments lead to a glimpse of Awakening.

That these moments do not merge and offer us sustainability of Christ-consciousness is only because of “that which does discard and replace,” and that comprises the remnants of egoic consciousness. Though Jesus tells us later on that the ego is gone from us, it is not gone early in our reading. It will be gone when we are able to turn from fear and judgment, and much of that is within our power to alter.

So this is the key that has been missed until now. Think back to the moments when love has embraced us. Did we not feel that God was in His heaven and all was right with the world? That is a glimpse of Awakening, a powerful glimpse, and it behooves us to entice love into our illusion. Then the illusion will gradually fall away, and we will be living true reality. At such times, our mood will improve dramatically. This is the sign that we are living truly in a new reality. Though this heightened mood may not last, it is a harbinger of what is ahead for us. And having the experience gives us clues about what to do to entice the experience again later.

Ultimately, the clues lead to sustenance of the mood. And who among us would not want a happier mood to accompany all our days?

Love freely and without fear. We CAN do this; we have done it. Just expand those moments into hours, and then into days. And sustenance of Christ-consciousness will overwhelm us sooner rather than later.

Taking a Look at the Real World that God Created

“Let me say again that this is your misguided attempt to follow in creation’s way. God gave all power to his creations, and you would choose to do this as well. Your intent is not evil, but guided by the guilt and false remembering of the separated self. As much as you have desired anonymity and autonomy from God, still you blame God for creating a situation in which you think you have been allowed to hurt yourself. How could God allow all this suffering, you ask? Why does He tempt you with such destruc¬tive forces? Forces beyond your control? Why did not God create a world benign and unable to harm you?” (ACOL, C:9.46)

These questions, which Jesus suggests we would ask, are good questions indeed. But the primary Answer is that we have been given free will, and the secondary Answer is that we have remembered incorrectly how to make illusion—remembering just a bit of true creation, enough to trip us up. We are mimicking true reality when we make illusions in our world, but we have been protected by God. All that we see that is not an intangible benefit of love is illusion. And illusion does not truly harm anyone or anybody at all.

This is the false remembering of the separated self, and this false remembering is why we have gotten ourselves in such a mess. We don’t create truly when we are in our egoic frame of mind. We “make,” not “create.” And what we make does hurt, but only in the illusion, and only coming out of the illusion will save us. This healing of the separation is what A Course of Love is about. And even this separation has been illusory, for we could not separate from God, of whom we are a part, and still live.

A Course of Love indicates, in just the next paragraph from the one quoted, that God did indeed create a benign world. Of course, we can’t understand this while we are in egoic consciousness. We see misery and despair, but Jesus says in ACOL that we will not see this with our vision (our Christ vision) when we have joined God in union. I think that this assertion comes because our interpretation of what we see with Christ eyes will be different. We won’t look on misery and despair, and callously say that it is not there! No, not this at all. But we will actually see through understanding eyes, and we will know that the illusory misery and despair are not real. We will truly understand how this changes everything.

Does this make sense to us now? No, of course not. And Jesus is not just twisting words around to confuse our egos. He really means what he says, and he means it with love. Walk a little further in the heart-based commentary that A Course of Love really is, before we say that this can’t be true. What the heart sees with eyes that are not physical is a far cry from what our physical eyes and our limited understanding show us now. What our heart will show us is a benign world, created by God, not made by us. And we will thank heaven that this is so.

Fear Blocks the Vision of Our Heart

“This need not be, for you are not separate! The relationships you seek to end your loneliness can do so if you but learn to see relationship differently. As with all your problems in perception, fear is what blocks the vision of your heart, the light the Christ in you would shine upon the darkness.” (ACOL, C:9.18)

We only think that we are separate from other people. This has been what the ego has taught us, as it also taught us that we must be competitive for limited resources. The resources are not limited! There is enough to go around if we wisely allocate, something that in this difficult world we often don’t do at all. Thinking that we are separate has fueled the competition in which we normally find ourselves embroiled. And believing that we need to beat out the other guy is just plain insanity masquerading as the truth.

When we see relationship differently, we cooperate rather than compete. And A Course of Love says that much indeed is relationship, that relationship is how we know God, even. We cooperate with God, of course, if we are attuned to Him. And, as a part of Him, it behooves us to go ahead and cooperate, not shrivel in fear.

We often don’t do all that we ought to do with our days because of our neurosis, a neurosis that is often fueled by fear. If we are to establish a new identity while reading ACOL, we need to understand that egoic fear has no place in our developing identity. We need to realize that we indeed have nothing to fear at all. Jesus says in The Way of Mastery that the FDR quotation, “The only thing that we have to fear in fear itself,” is 98 percent right. We might come to understand that we don’t even have to fear, fear. It is a non-issue when our new identity has been thoroughly established, a condition that Christ-consciousness will bring upon us—securing our invulnerability for all time.

We aren’t to test out our invulnerability though in a way that would tempt fate. We are not about “proving” anything. But we are seeing the vision in our heart, the vision that fear would block.

Ask to have fear removed today. Ask to see clearly this new vision of which Jesus so eloquently speaks. We may not get a positive Answer all at once, but we are preparing the way for the end of fear. And the coming of a new vision that will enhance our contribution in this world.

Walk into the Light of Miracles Personified

“You do not doubt that the body’s eyes can see. You do not doubt the images they show you are reality. Your faith lies in darkness, not the light. How can this be reversed? For you it is impossible, but you are not alone in this.” (ACIM, W-91)

We are not alone. In the terms of A Course in Miracles, we always have the Holy Spirit with us—there, guiding us, if we are willing to listen. And we don’t really see anything except illusions with the physical eyes. We see truly when we have vision that is not of the physical eyes. Then we are not seeing “images” at all, but true reality.

If we can just remember that we are not alone, even when all around us the world seems to be disintegrating, then we will be reassured always. Even if the outer world weren’t in disarray (which it is), then our surrounding world does tend to fall apart from time to time. Then we need to keep the faith, to know that our guidance is true, that there is a legitimate, good, way out. And we are certain that all of our worries are usually borrowed troubles.

We need to doubt that the body’s eyes see truly. When we let that doubt in, we are primed for seeing with real vision. We see the intangibles that are all around us, even when things are going badly. We can, once again, see truth, beauty, sunlight, a beautiful morning, love, the affection that we get from our most significant others. We know, most of all, that we are all in this together. We don’t lament our lot in life any longer.

And it is no mystery why we are healed.

See with True Vision

“Perception is a choice and not a fact. But on this choice depends far more than you may realize as yet. For on the voice you choose to hear, and on the sights you choose to see, depends entirely your whole belief in what you are. Perception is a witness to this, and never to reality. Yet it can show you the conditions in which awareness of reality is possible, or those where it could never be.” (ACIM, T-21.V.1)

Our perceptions are choices made within a deluded mind. What we see inwardly, we project outwardly, seeing thereby what we really want to see.

There is no exception to this rule. The oft-repeated phrase, “Projection makes perception,” makes illusion mandatory. We are not seeing reality at all. But: We know how reality can be made aware in our perceptions also, though exactly how is not spelled out. This is one of the more obscure assertions in A Course in Miracles.

We don’t want to see illusions, but we can find a modicum of reality even in what we see—if we are faithful to our inner Guide, the Holy Spirit (or, as A Course of Love says, our inner Christ Self). In what we see, we form our opinion of what reality really is, what we truly are. And from this there is no escape.

Look today beneath the sights and sounds of an illusory world, looking for the reality that lurks behind the camouflage. You will get glimpses, if you look truly and without hidden agendas to see what you want to see, regardless. The love that is all around us is true, for example. But we often don’t see these intangibles, and look instead for the material world, a world that always disappoints.

Look for the reality that is hidden from our physical eyes. Real vision, according to A Course in Miracles, sees into the true reality and is not dependent on physical sight at all. It is independent of physical sight.

In Atonement We See in the Outer World What Finds a Place in Our Hearts

“Atonement corrects illusions, not truth. Therefore, it corrects what never was. (M-2.2)”

This is a central theme touched on earlier. The world that we see before Awakening is a projection; we are told repeatedly in A Course in Miracles that “projection makes perception.” We see in the outer world what finds a place in our hearts to see. We don’t see truth; we don’t see reality.

But when we accept Atonement, we are ready to move from illusions that we have projected onto what we see with our physical eyes. We have real vision, which is not something that the physical eyes see, but which is an inner light. This vision is often the face of Christ, though not always, and perhaps not even primarily.

So illusions are being corrected when we accept Atonement. And illusions were always illusions, and therefore never really existed at all in God’s truth and God’s reality. Not in the real world, as ACIM calls it.

We need to realize how pivotal Atonement really is to our peace of mind. We will never know joy and the absence of suffering until, on some level, we have cleared our minds of illusions, and live the real world that Jesus points out to us.
The real world comes quickly once illusions have been discarded, once Atonement has been accepted for real.

The Curriculum to Guide Us to the Fulfillment of Our Purpose

“Learning to see anew is the precursor of learning to create anew. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: A Treatise on the New, 2:33)”

1 – A New Way

We are deep into an attempt to learn in a new way, through observation of what is rather than through traditional learning through teachers, reading, and study. But for this change to occur, we need to have a new vision, and seeing anew is that new vision.

2 – A New Vision

The new vision emphasizes God’s love, harmony, peace, joy—not material possessions. Material possessions are the bailiwick of the ego, and until we learn anew to leave the ego behind, we won’t ever set foot in the new world that is coming. We will remain in a previous era, struggling along through effortful ways to accomplish dubious goals.

3 – Shared Vision

“Remember, only from a shared vision of what is can you begin to produce unity and relationship through unity and relationship. This is your purpose now, and this the curriculum to guide you to the fulfillment of your purpose. (The Treatises of A Course of Love: ‘A Treatise on the New,’ 2.33)”

4 – Only Way?

Jesus never says that his way is the only way; he just says that his readers of A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love have chosen him as their guide, and it would be unwise to confuse our minds with ways meant for others (a tenet of ACIM).

5 – Jesus’s Approach

He has an almost “hands-off” approach to whether or not we accept his teachings. He does not force anyone to believe him. I think that he has enough faith in his teachings and in his relationship to the Father to know that those who read with any open mind and heart will accept what he says. There is an authority here that is found only when one interacts with Jesus. It is akin to the experience portrayed in the New Testament, when it is said that Jesus spoke with authority.

6 – ACOL

In this passage, he is speaking of A Course of Love as the curriculum to guide us. Certainly, in my reading, A Course of Love is the logical, practical next step to A Course in Miracles. A Course of Love works. It is not as complicated a reading as is ACIM, but it is no less authoritative. Jesus partakes of his channel, Mari Perron, to the extent that she has lent her mind and heart to the process. He writes very beautifully through her. Mari did not use the blank verse that is a hallmark of A Course in Miracles. The co-scribe to A Course in Miracles, Helen Schucman, was a Shakespearian scholar, and so perhaps it is natural that transcribed in iambic pentameter. A Course of Love is also part of the curriculum, as Mari heard internally–”another Course in Miracles.”

7 – Practical Works

Both works, A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love, are eminently practical to the daily life. Jesus said in ACIM that a universal theology is impossible, but that a universal experience is not only possible but necessary. This experience I believe he continues to give to us, through Mari, in ACOL.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May we join with our brothers and sisters today for a shared vision. May we build upon A Course in Miracles by reading A Course of Love. May both works bring us ever closer to Awakening and to Christ-consciousness.

Thank You for the knowledge God brings to us through these readings.

Be with me as I seek, once again today, to walk Your way. Your way is always the effortless way, but my own anger and attack sometimes rear their ugly heads. I would be done with that way of reacting, as would many other people as well. I am through with the ego; it is only vestiges of old ways of reacting that trip me up still. Help me, I beg of You. I know that the help You will give is in Your will. You know what I need. You know how to need to react.

May this day be a new walk in the sunlight with You.

Amen.

Ceasing to Learn in the Old Way

1 – Learning

“Learning is not meant to last. This is why even this course work comes to an end. It comes to an end here and now as we move past study and learning to observation, vision, and revelation. (A Course of Love: Treatise on the New, 9.1)”

2 – Controversial

This first quotation from Treatise on the New is startling in its implications, and well it is meant to be. To say, “Learning is not meant to last,” is a controversial assertion. If we believe that it is Jesus who says it, we will think twice before dismissing whatever might be meant. The whole Treatise on the New seeks to explain what awaits us as the old ways of learning fall away from us.

As readers, we have been seekers, probably all of our lives. We have longed to know of the hidden things of heaven and earth. Surely many who preceded our time in this world were also seekers. It is our blessing to have more words of reassurance upon which to draw, words from these more recent readings. Many of us do view both A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love as channeled writings of Jesus.

3 – Relentless Seeking

Are we to keep seeking through our reading, and through other means, relentlessly? Is there a place where we will rest easy, that we are justified?

4 – Transformation

A Course in Love indicates that there is a time when learning, as such, ought to cease. Or perhaps to be transformed into another means of coming to know. It does take a a bit of “learning” to understand what is meant by “observation, vision, and revelation.”

5 – Observation

“Observation” is akin to noticing what surrounds us, even in this sometimes misguided world. “Vision” and “revelation” are familiar words from A Course in Miracles also. Vision gives us the means to see, and it is viewed in ACIM as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Revelation is viewed in ACIM as a gift of God, and proceeds from God to us (never the reverse). A significant passage from ACIM indicates that revelation may occasionally reveal the end to us, but to get there the means are needed.

6 – Welcome News

It ought to be welcome news to us that there comes a time to end learning in the old way. We do still learn, of course, but the new way is effortless—mainly through observation of what surrounds us in this world. And, if we have been following Jesus, what surrounds us will have been transformed. We may see suffering and pain, but it won’t affect us in the same way that it used to. We will simply categorize all suffering and pain as unreal. It is not of God, and so it is unreal, a manifestation of illusion in a world of dreams, a world of unreality.

7 – Hard

Learning in the old way has always been hard, even when we were enjoying what we were coming to know. It takes work, intense concentration, and it tires us out.

8 – New World

Jesus would have us learn from him now that in the new world, we won’t be so overcome with fatigue from being faced with an impossible learning situation. Such learning situation are essentially disheartening, and very depressing. The new way of observation will mean that we learn effortlessly, and this is something with which all of us can look forward to experiencing.

9 – Time of Christ

ACIM is meant to be those means for the time of the Holy Spirit. A Course of Love, meant for the time of Christ, takes us a step farther along.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

As I reach forth to understand what living in the time of Christ really means, may I be reassured that You are always there. This time is what many generations have waited to find.

Be with all of us as we embark on a consideration of the Treatise on the New. Give us understanding that comes not from fretful learning, but from the vision that comes to us effortlessly.

Thank You for my life during this time.

Thank You that I can be reassured that my life does not have to be a constant seeking, that there is an end point, a point of arrival. Help me to know what this means as my pathway ahead unfolds.

Amen.

See the Real World Truly

“To look inward at the real world requires another kind of vision:  the vision of your heart, the vision of love, the vision of the Christ in you.  (A Course of Love, 5.15)”

Affirmation:  “I would see with my heart today.”

Reflections:

1 – A Vision of the Heart

When we see the real world truly, we have seen the vision of our heart.  When we have walked farther enough along Jesus’s indicated pathway inward to God, we also know that we are viewing the Christ, the Self, within.  And we are feeling love.  Mind and heart will ultimately be joined into what Jesus terms “wholeheartedness.”  And then the ego’s reign will be over.  The heart will have made a tremendous contribution to this withering away of the ego, for the heart does not ask for proof in the way that the mind does.  The heart simply “knows,” and in this knowing is something different and more profound than the perceptions of the mind.

2 – Further Explanation of the Real World

It is a great blessing to have a further explanation of the real world.  I had personally been confused by this concept, and I struggled to understand what Jesus meant when he described the “real world” in A Course in Miracles.  Of course, struggle is always ill-advised, but that did not stop me.   I was wrongly using my mind to understand something that could only be understood by my heart, a point that Jesus seems to consider in ACOL.

3 – A Vision of Love, of the Heart, of the Christ Within

May we all have a vision of love today, a vision of the heart, a vision of the Christ within.  And may we walk farther along the pathway that leads to Christ-consciousness (a concept in ACOL that appears to be equated with the Awakening described in ACIM).

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would look within today with my heart and therein see a vision of love.  When I am feeling love, all is well with my little world.  And I feel a tremendous gratitude, when my mind is tranquil.  May my mind and spirit be tranquil today.

May we come to understand what the “real world” is all about.  I would not be lost in misconceptions.  We do not see the real world with our physical eyes; we see with an inward vision, the vision of the Christ/Self within.  May this blessing me bestowed upon me today.

Thank You.

Amen.

For Inner Vision Close Your Eyes

“Close your eyes on all that you have become accustomed to seeing.  And you will see the light.

“In the light that comes only to eyes that no longer see, you will find the Christ who abides in you.  (A Course of Love, 3.5 – 3.6)”

Affirmation:  “Christ abides in me.”

Reflections:

1 – An Invitation to Meditation?

This passage seems almost an invitation to meditation, but it does stop short of recommending meditation.  Many people see in the concluding pages of the Workbook of A Course in Miracles a call to meditation.  And perhaps it is.  We ought not to invite controversy into our thinking.  We will just see what there are in both A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love that we can take unto our hearts and live with in gladness.  Turn aside from anything that we seem unready yet to accept.  But read carefully, and contemplate in our hearts, and we will be well off indeed.

2 – Christ Abides in Us

Christ abides in us.  He/She is our Self, a Being deeper (or higher, depending on the concept that one has) within that guides us and comforts us.  Christ is in Jesus, of course, but in A Course of Love, Jesus makes clear that he has nothing that we cannot aspire to have.  And this is a great blessing.  Later on in the trilogy of A Course of Love, he will resign as our teacher, and become our true heart’s companion.  This is where we are heading in A Course of Love.

3 – Christ = Our Real Self

Christ is an all-encompassing term, meaning our real Self, a Self that we will later come to understand, in part, as our “elevated Self of form.”  Jesus has been stressing that the real world is not  seen with physical eyes, but with inner vision.  And there is no form that is truly real.  We do live in an illusion.  But in the illusion we experience form, and that is not a bad thing, nor a thing to be lamented.  God chose for us, as adolescents, to seem to depart from Him, because to hold on would be to deny free will.  Jesus compares this action to the action that parents take toward an unruly adolescent who would assert his/her freedom.  The parents let go, just as God Himself let go.  And only then did we realize how much we needed Him.

4 – See with Non-Physical Eyes

Return to God today.  See with non-physical eyes the vision that Jesus would have us see.  And all will be really well.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would forget the world for awhile today, reveling in the mysteries inside of me.  Thank You for reminding me that my physical vision, my physical eyes, do not see aright.  It takes inner vision to see the Self who I really am.  May that Self become ever more a part of my outer being today, so that I can let my light shine aright for You.

Be with us today as we walk together in this world of illusion.  May we quiet ourselves when such quiet seems warranted, and may we find in the quietness a holiness in ourselves that only You put there, and only You can lead us to see.

May I so let my light shine today that You can be seen by the others in my world.  And may I not let You down in any way.  May I not let my brothers and sisters down.  We all need to be good examples for each other, so when one of us slips, the other can catch his/her hand.

Amen.

Eyes of Love See Not Misery nor Despair

“There is not a soul that walks this earth that does not weep at what it sees.  Yet the Christ in you does not weep, for the Christ in you sees with eyes of love.  The difference is the eyes of love see not the misery or despair.  They are not there!  This is the miracle.  The miracle is true seeing.  Think not that love can look on misery and see love there.  Love looks not on misery at all.  (A Course of Love, 2.10)”

Affirmation:  “The Christ in me does not weep.”

Reflections:

1 – The Illusory World

A Course of Love does not elaborate on the sometimes confusing statement made here, “They [misery and despair] are not there!”  Given the theology of A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love, I think that we are here to view the misery and despair that we observe as being illusory–not real.  ACIM is particularly keen on this interpretation.

2 – Need for Compassion

This conclusion does not mean that we lack compassion, nor that we fail to offer compassion to ourselves and to our brothers and sisters who are in need.  We know that bad things happen in our illusory world, and these bad things certainly can indeed bring pain and suffering.  The pain does not turn into suffering, though, if we acknowledge clearly enough to our beleaguered minds that what we are experiencing is not real.  We can be healed in many ways, and sometimes we are not “healed” physically, but emotionally.  Yet we are assured by Jesus that healing will always be accepted when the individual is ready for it.  (He does not state whether or not he is speaking of physical or emotional healing.)  I think it is best that we take Jesus at his word, even when we are incapable of fully understanding.  He has shown us much in A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love that have brought us out of the forest of discontent.  Surely we can trust him to lead us rightly in the matter of healing.

3 – The Other Side

Of course, most of us make the transition to a better world in death through an illness of some type.  And so, in these cases, our healing is a graduation ceremony, for nobody believes that he/she takes his/her infirmities to the next world (the Other Side).

4 – See with the Heart

Still this passage may appear confusing.  How can love not look on misery at all?  We have physical eyes that see, but my interpretation is that Jesus would have us look with our hearts, and with our hearts we love.  We do not judge ailments as something real.  We know that the love that we feel in our hearts is the only truly real aspect of this sometimes difficult world in which we find ourselves.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would see with my heart today, recognizing that the misery that I feel or that I see if illusory, because this whole world is illusory.  May we find the real world today, inwardly, so that our joy might be complete.

May my heart be soothed as I begin this day.  May Your blessings abound, and may I not forget to thank You for those blessings.

Be with me throughout this long day.  May I put aside my own contribution to any misery that I feel, knowing that to focus on it is to make it seem more real.  And the misery is not real.  Thank You for the knowledge of this truth.

Amen.

Yearning for Love

“This is what you have made this world for:  To prove your separate existence in a world apart from your creator.  This world does not exist.  And you do not exist apart from your creator.  Your yearning for love is what tells you this is so.  It is the proof you do not recognize.  (A Course of Love, 1.15)”

Affirmation:  “I am a part of my Creator.”

Reflections:

1 – Maya

This passage harkens back to A Course in Miracles and it familiar refrain, “projection makes perception.”  ACIM also said that this world does not exist.  So what are we seeing?  We are seeing an illusion, maya (in Eastern terms).  What we see inwardly, without physical eyes, is then projected outward to what appears to be a wholly concrete reality that cannot be denied.  But deny it we must, if we are to have peace.  Yet first we must change the nature of our inward look.

2 – Calm Oasis in Our Hearts

If we look inwardly and see rancor in our mind, we cannot be at peace outwardly.  And we will perceive rancor outwardly.  Our hearts are always at peace (whether we recognize it or not), always a part of God and a calm oasis, regardless of the emotions that seem to besiege the mind.  We, in A Course of Love, are told to make a distinct difference in  understanding the thoughts of our minds, and the feelings of our hearts.  ACOL seeks to bypass the mind, because the mind is what is so important to the ego, which we would see end in our experience.  In bypassing the mind, ACOL‘s words of Jesus influence the heart to see (inwardly) more clearly.  These are not physical eyes that see; this is true vision (and vision is discussed in A Course in Miracles as well).

3 – Solitary?

We do yearn for love, the love of our Creator and the love of our brothers and sisters.  We are not meant to be solitary creatures, though some of us are more introverted than others (and this is just an aspect of personality not to be denied or denigrated).  Jesus tells us here that it is our yearning for love that will prove to us that we are a part of God (though he uses other words in the quoted passage).

4 – Talk to God

We do not recognize that this yearning for love is proof that we are meant to communicate with our Creator.  A Course in Miracles said that we have taught ourselves the most unnatural habit of not communicating with our Creator.  But we can open our hearts to the love of our Creator, and the love of our brothers and sisters in union and relationship to ourselves, and then we will be at home in God, at last.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I ask You to listen to me today when I talk to You, even when my thoughts are peevish and irrational.  I am not always living the life that You would wish for me.  I know that You listen, and respond–especially, perhaps, when I am least likely to comprehend a response.  I need You today.  I need to know that the yearning in my heart is my wish for You.

Thank You for the words of Jesus, communicated to Mari, that we would wish to be close to You.  All of us have always known this in our hearts, but we have for eons allowed our egos to rule our minds, and so we have felt very lost.  I know that we have never been lost, but to think has made the illusion so real as to seem insurmountable.

Let us take down all barriers today that separate us from You.  You are within, waiting for us to talk to You.  Gently remind me today, when I forget.

Amen.

Still Mind / Vision Restored

“Here [God’s justice, pointing to Heaven] all attack and condemnation become meaningless and indefensible.  Perception rests, the mind is still, and light returns again.  Vision is now restored.  What had been lost has now been found.  The peace of God descends on all the world, and we can see.  And we can see!  (M-19.5)”

 

Affirmation:  “May my vision be restored today.”

Reflections:

1 – Light Returns

This passage reflects what we are trying to reach–our way home to God, with separation (as we perceive it) healed.  We do not feel the stress that leads to attack and condemnation.  We do not fret about what our perception shows us.  Our minds are still.  We are quiet.  “Light” returns.  And what is light?  The cleansed perception that we all want.  Until knowledge comes to replace perception, we aim for cleansed perception.  And with cleansed perception comes vision, but not with the body’s eyes.  The type of vision meant is the vision that the Holy Spirit gives, which allows us to “see” accurately and without judgment (only His judgment is relevant).  God’s peace returns to all the world.  And this includes all of our brothers and sisters, a description of what will happen when all have made their way back to God.

2 – Eons, but Take Heart

This is the ideal, and A Course in Miracles talks about this ideal quite a bit.  We should not be disappointed if we do not reach this ideal soon.  It may be eons away, “millions” of years, as Jesus says.  But as long as we are on the right pathway, the Holy Spirit will bring to us “happy dreams.”  These happy dreams presage the coming of Awakening, and the happy dreams must come if we are to awaken quietly, without fear.  Otherwise, we would be terrified by the light.

3 – Happy Dreams

There is a particularly apt passage in the Text in which Jesus says that when the light is turned on in a room where we have been asleep, we may at first fear, be afraid.  We think that the light is something to fear, that it is part of our dream.  But when we fully awaken, we soon realize that the dream we dreamed in our sleep was only an illusion, and we have nothing to fear.  The “happy dreams” of the Holy Spirit are akin to this.  We would be too terrified to welcome Awakening if we were still perceiving attack and condemnation.

4 – Awakening / Enlightenment

Be with us today as we seek Awakening.  We do not prepare the way; that is up to the Holy Spirit.  But we can be attentive to what we say and do, and then we will be more ready than not ready.  But we need to be humble about our part in what we do, because we have very little asked of us.  The vast majority of the work is done effortlessly by the Holy Spirit.  And we can be glad that our part is so small, for we would be sure to mess something up.  The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes, and certainly we do.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I convey to myself and others that it is not a bad thing for each of us, individually, if we, in trying to effect salvation for all, find that eons may pass before all are awakened.  In the meantime, we will either have the happy dreams the Holy Spirit brings, or we will have Awakening (i.e., Enlightenment).  We are meant to lead the way, though we must be careful of this statement, for surely the ego is pleased when we let unselfish motives be attributed to our doing.  We are led by You and the Holy Spirit (or Christ-consciousness) every step of the way.  We would know not what to do unless You were in the background, directing every step.  May we always attribute a good deed to the motivation that You have given to us.  And may we not take credit for what You through us.  By ourselves we could do nothing.  We would mess things up.

Be with me today as I seek to live these words.  May others take nothing unto themselves unless it finds a place in their hearts.

Thank You for this excellent day.  We are at the beginning of the rest of our eternity, and indeed, we know, somehow, because of You, that we will live in eternity.  Eternity is the Now.  And there is no time that is not Now.  May I remember this definition of Now throughout this glorious day.  Thank You for granting me happiness and peace and serenity today.

Amen.

What You Feel Within = What You See Without

ACIM Workbook Lesson 189 – for Sunday, July 8, 2012

Affirmation:  “I feel the Love of God within me now.”

 

“What would you see?  The choice is given you.  But learn and do not let your mind forget this law of seeing:  You will look upon that which you feel within.  If hatred finds a place within your heart, you will perceive a fearful world, held cruelly in death’s sharp-pointed, bony fingers.  If you feel the Love of God within you, you will look out on a world of mercy and of love.  (WB359)”

Reflections:

1 – A Lovely Passage

What a lovely passage from the Workbook!  And the images are so profound.

2 – Fear = Hatred

If we have ever lived in fear, perhaps we have not realized that hatred has found a place within our heart.  Perhaps this seems too harsh.  But Jesus frequently equates attack with hate (in other places in ACIM); he goes the whole distance in categorizing our emotions.  Jesus does not see lukewarm emotions, indicating to us elsewhere that a hint of irritation is the same as intense fury (separated from us only by a veil).

3 – Not Always Fearful

We do not always see a fearful world.  So we are not always caught by the hatred (and attack) that the ego would foster.

4 – The Love of God Within

We see a world of mercy and of love, perhaps increasingly so as our study of A Course in Miracles proceeds.  According to the passage for today, this sight means that we are feeling the Love of God within.  What a blessing this is!

5 – A World of Mercy and of Love

We would not view “death’s sharp-pointed, bony fingers.”  We would see a world of mercy and of love.  Let us go forth today to see Love wherever we are, and if someone else seems to attack us, let us remember that he or she is really calling for help (an ACIM tenet), and may we give help accordingly.  This is the way that Love works.  And it is our holy relationships that will carry us home to God.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would see a world today of mercy and of love.  I would feel within the love that You wish for me to feel.  And I know that when I feel that inward love, then the world that is externally is very different, very much better.  Thank You for helping me to reach this understanding.

This workbook lesson teaches me what is repeatedly said in A Course in Miracles:  projection makes perceptions.  May I project from a mind and heart that is rooted in love, and by so doing to see a world that is beautiful.  I know that the suffering in this world is actually illusory, but let this understanding in no way detract from the compassion that I would feel for others.

Be wtih me today as I walk through my world.  May my words be sweet, my demeanor graceful.  I would be the person today that You wish for me to be.  May I reach out to my brothers and sisters with the help that You know that I am suited to give.  But may I never try to overreach, to help when I am being an unhealed healer.

Amen.

Today I Let Christ’s Vision Look Upon All Things

ACIM Workbook Lesson 349 – for Thursday, December 15, 2011

Affirmation:  “Today I let Christ’s vision look upon
All things for me and judge them not, but give
Each one a miracle of love instead.”

“Father, Your gifts are mine.  Each one that I accept gives me a miracle to give.  (WB478)”

Reflections:

1 – All Miracles Come from Love

All miracles come from Love.  And vision is what we will see when we have let Christ’s vision take the place of our false perception.  May we offer miracles today that Jesus prompts us to offer.  May we make no decisions today, ourselves, about what miracles to offer, for our own decisions will be faulty.  We look to our elder brother, Jesus,  for his guidance in these matters.  Time is under his control, and he can arrange time to allow us the time that we need to perform the miracles that he asks us to perform (from the Text).

2 – Vision vs. Perception

May our perception be replaced today by vision.  Then we will be seeing truly.  The body’s eyes do not really have vision; they only perceive, and falsely.  Vision shows us the things of eternity–the intangibles of peace, love, joy, tranquility, calm.

3 – Accept God’s Gifts

God grants us many gifts over the course of a lifetime.  When we accept His gifts with grace, we are well on the way to accepting Him and the salvation which he offers to us.  When we accept a gift, we are granted the power to offer a miracle.  And our miracles will foreshorten time considerably (a Text tenet)–each one of us, acting in concert with one another.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May my day be filled with miracles.  This seems a bold request, but I know that You wish joy for me.  Happiness is a laudable goal.  And it is in happy times that we can give the most to the others in our world.

Help me to know which miracles to offer.  I realize that this are not to be under conscious control, as this would be misguided.  But I ask You to use me today in any way that You deem appropriate.

Amen.

Christ’s Vision I Would Use Today

ACIM Workbook Lesson 306 – for Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Affirmation:  “The gift of Christ is all I seek today.”

“What but Christ’s vision would I use today, when it can offer me a day in which I see a world so like to Heaven that an ancient memory returns to me?  (WB452)”

Reflections:

1 – “Wisp of a Melody”

The ancient memory meant here is the “wisp of a melody” (from the Text) that we remember in holy instants, the wisp of a melody that would make us weep, because it reminds us of what we have lost.  But it does not have to remain lost.  Jesus in A Course in Miracles is telling us how to find the ancient memory again and how to incorporate that memory in our daily life.

2 – The Memory of Heaven

What is this memory?  It is the memory of the Heaven that we threw away when we forgot to laugh at a “tiny, mad idea” (from the Text).  We did not value Heaven enough, thinking that we would find in separation something that we liked better..  It matters not that we could not actually separate from God.  It was enough that we thought that we could do so.  So we started the long trek away, and for all of us to return may take millions of years.  But that is not a reason to start; it is not even a reason to become discouraged.  Anywhere along the way, the inclusiveness of the Holy Spirit’s guidance may dawn on us (an ACIM tenet), and, when it does, we are on the pathway.  The ending is sure.

3 – What about Our Brothers and Sisters?

Could we be happy in a Heaven of another realm if if meant that all of our brothers and sisters were not there with us?  This understanding is why we need to lead others home with us.  We can have a Heaven on earth because our projection has made perceptions that are cleansed.  And then we will be in a better position to help.  We do not, though, choose the miracles that we will perform.  We let Jesus, our elder brother, choose for us.  Consciously chosen miracles are normally misguided (a Text tenet).  Let greater guidance that we can manifest come into our minds and spirits and show us the next step.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

Help me to understand what I need to understand to use Christ’s vision today to return a memory of Heaven lost.  I would experience the “Heaven on earth” that is indicated in Jesus’s words.  I would not want to experience this great blessing alone, though.  I would share this blessing of a new world with all with whom I come in contact.

Help us to want to help all others.  May we turn aside from the selfishness that might want God’s blessings only unto ourselves.  We need to reach out to others in this world.  We are not meant to travel alone.  Help me today to share a message with those who are ready for that message.  Thank You for being in and with me always.

Amen.

Perception = A Mirror = Not a Fact

ACIM Workbook Lesson 304 – for Monday, October 31, 2011

Affirmation:  “Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.”

“Perception is a mirror, not a fact.  and what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward.  I would bless the world by looking on it through the eyes of Christ.  And I will look upon the certain signs that all my sins have been forgiven me.  (WB451)”

Reflections:

1 – Projection Makes Perceptions

This is a repetition of the oft-repeated “projection makes perception.”  It is the way in which we create our own reality.  There is no other answer.  The Holy Spirit will give the Answer when we are ready, and we can pray that this blessing will come soon.

2 – May We See with the Eyes of Christ

If perception is a mirror of our state of mind, it behooves to be careful what we entertain in our minds.  This would encourage us to seek out uplifting reading, good entertainment, happy experiences.  We can do much to effect this.  When we see with the eyes of Christ, we will see a new and joyful world.  The old will no longer attract us, the old with its egoistic notions–notions which led only to pain.  May we find the way today.  May we delay no longer.

3 – Our Forgiven “Sins”

When we know that our “sins” have been forgiven, we will realize that we are still as God created us.  We are innocent, though this may be one of the most difficult tenets of the Text to incorporate into our worldview.  We will bless ourselves and others.  We will know love intimately for the first time.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I see with the eyes of Christ today, and may I not be tempted to attach any egotism to this.  It is Your Will that I have vision.  May my projections make a perception that is good and true, loving and peaceful.  Be with me today as I attempt to make changes that will influence my world to be a better place.

May we come to understand what it means to say, “projection makes perception.”  We do not often understand fully what this means.  I would keep its meaning, that this world is simply an illusion that I have projected, close to my heart today.

Amen.

Fear Disappears when Love Comes

ACIM Workbook Lesson 302 – for Saturday, October 29, 2011

Affirmation:  “Where darkness was I look upon the light.”

“Father, our eyes are opening at last.  Your holy world awaits us, as our sight is finally restored and we can see.  We thought we suffered.  But we had forgot the Son whom You created.  Now we see that darkness is our own imagining, and light is there for us to look upon.  Christ’s vision changes darkness into light, for fear must disappear when love has come.  Let me forgive Your holy world today, that I may look upon its holiness and understand it but reflects my own.  (WB450)”

Reflections:

1 – Out Eyes Are Now Open

This lovely prayer summarizes much from A Course in Miracles.  We see when our eyes are open, and we do not “see” at all when we have sightless eyes that see an illusory world.  Jesus is preparing us to see the real world, the reality that God would have us see.  When we have seen little edges of light around familiar objects, and perhaps the Great Rays have visited us, we will know that we are following along the right pathway.  It may be years before the real world arises before our eyes, but arise it will.  The certainty of our right direction, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, assures this.

2 – Fear Has Disappeared

When fear has disappeared, we will know that we are on the way home.  This too may take a long time, but as we have noted in previous blogs, the pace and timing of the universe is different from our own.  We don’t know how long a “day” is in God’s time.

3 – Forgive = Doing Our Part

If we forgive, we are doing our part.  We do not have, even, to forgive totally, because Jesus stands at the end of the road to correct the errors that we have not been able to correct.  Just a little willingness is all ACIM asks of us.  But it is enough.  The work of the Holy Spirit is infinitely more than what we do, and we are blessed that this is true.  We would in all likelihood mess everything up, if left to our own devices.  (Much of the above are paraphrases from ACIM.)

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would walk with open eyes, seeing with vision, today.  I would not believe that this world is real, that my eyes show me a real world, but I will believe that when I see love, I am seeing reality.  May I experience love today wherever I go.  May I do my part to have this experience be mine.  Thank You for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Who will lead me in the right way to look without error.

May I forgive if I believe myself wronged today.  May I know that even this experience is one that, on some level, I have chosen.  We are always living the world that we have made.  May I choose today to make that world a loving, peaceful, joyous place, and may I confront my brothers and sisters with only goodness in my heart.

Thank You for the guidance that will enable me to have a good day.

Amen.

Feeling Abandoned

ACIM Workbook Lesson 279 – for Thursday, October 6, 2011

Affirmation:  “Creation’s freedom promises my own.”

“The end of dreams is promised me, because God’s Son is not abandoned by His Love.  Only in dreams is there a time when he appears to be in prison, and awaits a future freedom, if it be at all.  Yet in reality his dreams are gone, with truth established in their place.  And now is freedom his already.

“I will accept Your promises today, and give my faith to them.  My Father loves the Son Whom He created as His Own.  Would You withhold the gifts You gave to me?  (WB436)”

Reflections:

1 – We Are in the Eternal

In the present our dreams are gone.  This is the eternal present, the eternal Now (an interpretation, not stated in ACIM).  We will get past even the “happy dreams the Holy Spirit gives” (a quotation from the Workbook), and know the real world that God will grant us to see when we are ready.  Only He knows the place and the hour.  But we can pray that our experience of the real world comes soon.

2 – See the World with Vision

In reality, our dreams are gone.  The world will look different because we will see with vision, with new eyes.  We know that this blessing is on the way when we have seen little edges of light around familiar objects.  Real vision is coming.  It may take a long time, but time itself is an illusion, and so this truly does not matter.  The end is sure, now that we have started of the pathway.  (These are paraphrases from ACIM.)

3 – The Gift of the Real World

The gift of the real world would not be withheld by God.  The prayer for today counsels this.  May we wait in expectation, not beset by preoccupations that only scatter our consciousness.  May we wait for God to act, and may we know that He would choose for us to listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him act in us, to bring about our readiness.  We do not have to do a lot, only a “little willingness” (a Text quotation) is required.  The Holy Spirit accomplishes the vast majority of the change that we wish to see in ourselves.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I long to see the real world on a sustainable basis.  May my dreams of this illusory world stay happy, and edge into reality.  I long for the vision that only You can give.  May my eyes see with real vision today.

Be with me as I do the small part that the Holy Spirit requires of me.  I know that His part is much larger than mine, and that this is a blessing.  I would only choose amiss, without His guidance.  Be with me today as I seek to follow Your Voice, Your Universal Inspiration, throughout any temptations of the day.

Amen.

I Will Not Use the Body’s Eyes Today

ACIM Workbook Lesson  270 – for Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Affirmation:  “I will not use the body’s eyes today.”

“How glorious and gracious is this world!  Yet how much more will I perceive in it than sight can give.  The world forgiven signifies Your Son acknowledges his Father, lets his dreams be brought to truth, and waits expectantly the one remaining instant more of time which ends forever, as Your memory returns to him.  (WB430)”

Reflections:

1 – May We Perceive the World Anew

This prayer is an insightful explanation of what will transpire when we perceive the world as we are meant to perceive it.  Our sight of the world, what our eyes light upon, is not all that will change.  We are acknowledging our relationship to God, our Father, and we are bringing our dreams (our illusions) to truth.  The final phrase in the prayer indicates the time of Awakening, as we “remember” God.  Nobody who has yet to experience this great blessing can truly understand all that its promise holds out to us.

2 – “The Happy Dreams the Holy Spirit Brings”

We do express gratitude for a world seen anew, even when we are seeing it in the “happy dreams the Holy Spirit brings” (a quotation from the Workbook).  With a grateful heart, much that troubles us currently will just fall away.  Even if times are tough, our hearts will sing with praise, a praise that helps us, as well as others with whom we come in contact, more than God needs to hear it.  Jesus says in the Text that we hardly need to tell God how “wonderful” He is; God has no ego with which to accept such praise.  But we need to feel the attitude of gratefulness and praise.  We are more helped than even our brothers and sisters.

3 – May We See the World with New Eyes

May we walk today a pathway of peace.  May we see the world with new eyes.  Let us pray for that blessing.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would see the world anew today.  Nothing has to change for this change to be effected.  Only You know how this is done, but I know that it is Your Will that I do see anew.  Thank You.

I would be grateful for my many blessings.  All too often I focus on the few things that are wrong, ignoring the many that are right.  I would change that today; I would see only what is right and let what is wrong just wither away from lack of attention.  We can indeed make the world that we see, even while You create the real world for us to see shortly.  

Thank You for always being here for me.  Help me to aid my brothers and sisters in their “journey without distance” today.

Amen.