Every Single Thought!

"Every thought you have contributes to truth or illusion; either it extends the Truth or it multiplies illusions.  You can indeed multiply nothing, but you will not extend it by doing so." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 16, 2:3-4

Today's blog post is very short.  Perhaps it will help you (as it helped me through the writing of it) to rest and to trust.

The above passage from A Course in Miracles  is most comforting to me, although to my conditioned self it does at first seem overwhelming.  What's comforting is that when I lose myself in my daily routine, or am momentarily shocked or fearful because of seeming events, I haven't really done more than multiply zero.  And no matter how large a number you multiply by zero, the result is still nothing. 

Similarly, I don't have to do anything to extend the Truth except be Aware.  When I'm Aware, I see that the infinite, all-encompassing Truth of Being is all that is ever going on.  It extends because it IS.  I am safe because I am living and moving and having my being in, as, and through the Infinite Self.  I acknowledge this Presence, and It extends through me.

"In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." -- The Bible; Proverbs 3:6

Constant Comfort

"The miracle establishes you dream a dream, and that its content is not true. This is a crucial step in dealing with illusions. No one is afraid of them when he perceives he made them up." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 28, Section II, 7:1-3

"The world is full of miracles. They stand in shining silence next to every dream of pain and suffering, of sin and guilt. They are the dream's alternative, the choice to be the dreamer, rather than deny the active role in making up the dream. Beginning here, salvation will proceed to change the course of every step in the descent to separation, until all the steps have been retraced, the ladder gone, and all the dreaming of the world undone." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 28, Section II, 12:1-3, 7

When I was very small, comfort was hanging out under the trees, or in the barn with the animals. There was no pressure to be or do anything there... just the constant comfort of natural rhythms and living in the moment. Now I realize that the comfort I experienced was the miracle of the holy instant... a glimpse of reality that is always available to us. Miracles show us the constant comfort of reality behind every appearance.

What we consider our normal, everyday perceptions and activities are the dreams we choose to immerse ourselves in, to absorb our attention so completely that we aren't aware of our true Self. It's like immersing yourself in a good book, a good story (or a scary one); you become so involved you're no longer conscious or aware of who or where you really are. It's interesting, isn't it, that we live in a world that so values the ability to lose oneself in a book or a movie? Dreams beget dreams... worlds within worlds...

There is constant comfort in knowing that none of it is true. There is constant comfort in resting in what IS. There is constant comfort in knowing Who We Are: "You are One Self, united and secure in light and joy and peace. You are God's Son, One Self, with One Creator and one goal; to bring awareness of this Oneness to all minds." (ACIM; Workbook Lesson 95, 12:1-2) To remember this, and to make it primary in our lives... this IS the miracle. And it extends beyond our imagining.

"You are One Self, and it is given you to feel this Self within you, and to cast all your illusions out of the One Mind that is this Self, the holy Truth in you." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 95, 13:3

Comfort and Joy

"The fulfillment of spiritual selfhood takes place within, not without, although it becomes apparent without. There is no mistaking the man or woman who has found inner joy and satisfaction, who is at peace with himself and the world. Even though such a person might come to a place where some outer circumstance throws him off balance for a time, he quickly recovers from it because he realizes that the outer is not of too much importance." -- from God, the Substance of All Form, by Joel Goldsmith

"God's Will for me is perfect happiness." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 101

Hello to all of you... it has been a little over a month since I last posted... a busy month indeed. The appearance of busyness, at any rate. Beneath it all is a current of quiet joy and an invisible comfort that is always here. When I get caught up in the current of life, there is a discontentedness that alerts me... I'm not happy when I go unconscious and forget. This little mechanism is invaluable to me. Restlessness and discontent no longer means that the outer world needs to be changed. It means that I need to go within and remember Who I Am. When I do, all is indeed very well. And the outer story becomes completely irrelevant and completely precious at the same time.

Where are you looking for comfort and joy? There is only one place that it will ever be found... and that is within your very own consciousness. As A Course in Miracles reminds us, "... You can't have what you're not willing to be." You are the embodiment of spirit, of the very Being of Spirit. And when you forget that, you look for comfort and fulfillment, for joy and happiness in the people and circumstances around you. It is not there.

So whenever that lovely alert system tells you that you are feeling discontented, whenever you think someone or something else needs to change, reverse yourself. Be still, and become Aware of what is always here. You remain as God created you, and will forever be living and moving and having your very Being in God. Comfort and Joy and Goodness and Mercy, all the days of our lives.

"Seek not outside yourself. For all your pain comes simply from a futile search for what you want, insisting where is must be found." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 29, VII, 1:6-7