Joy for the New Year

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed... and all went to be taxed, every one to his own city." -- The Bible; Luke 2: 1-3

As I was listening to a reading of the Christmas story on Christmas Eve, it was as if a translation was going on in my awareness.  The world of Caesar, in this story, is the illusory material world with all its laws and limitations that seem to bind us and burden us.  The tax is the need to bow down to these laws, to sacrifice to them and obey them and suffer because of them.  Whether these are laws about bodies or laws about finances (and taxes!) or laws about relationships, the result is the same.  We are on a treadmill trying to keep up and we feel guilt if we don't measure up.  So we stay on that treadmill trying to fix it, to change it, or to succeed in it.  Sometimes we just feel the need to punish ourselves or someone else for not measuring up to those insane laws.  It's all the same thing, and the end result is a dizzying sense of burden and unease and guilt, even in the best of times.  

Then, in the midst of this story of all the world bowing down to Caesar and paying taxes in tribute, Mary goes into labor.  There is of course no room for this innocence in the insanity of guilt and need that is the world of Caesar.  No room in the inn, which is where that world says we must stay.  But in this amazing story of joy and deliverance, Mary gives birth to baby Jesus (Emmanuel, God with us!) right where she finds herself, which in the world's view is the lowliest of circumstances.  This birth is taking place right where we are, wherever we are!  No special circumstances needed!  The birth pains come from our clinging to stories of wrongness, guilt, blame, lack, and limitation.  The actual birth is the act of forgiving, of letting go of the burden of believing we are subject to laws of guilt, lack, and limitation.  And the baby (God with us!) is the dawning Awareness of our Eternal Innocence and abiding as expressions of the One Love and Light that is God.  We are that new born Awareness, expressing Love and Joy and Peace.  We are the Christmas Story.  This new day, and every new day. 

As 2018 approaches, we don't need health or relationship or financial or political or ecological miracles to experience security and fulfillment.  "Perfect security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance." (A Course in Miracles; Workbook 56:1:5).  True miracles are born of our perfect innocence (ALL of us!)  and Infinite Love (ALL of us!) as pure Awareness.  This Awareness is God expressing in the world of Caesar, and is the only miracle we ever need.  This pure and innocent Awareness reveals the true hope and joy we all bring to the new year as Emmanuel, God with us!  We are the Christmas Story.  This new day, and every new day!  

"There is one thought in particular that should be remembered throughout the day.  It is a thought of pure joy; a thought of peace, a thought of limitless release, limitless because all things are freed within it." (A Course in Miracles; Manual for Teachers 16:6:1-2) 

"When they saw the star [when the Awareness of Emmanuel, God with us! dawned], they rejoiced with exceeding great Joy!" -- The Bible; Matthew 2:10

The Guilty Identity

"Temptation has one lesson it would teach, in all its forms, wherever it occurs.  It would persuade the holy Son of God he is a body, born in what must die, unable to escape its frailty, and bound by what it orders him to feel."-- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 31, Section VIII, 1:1-2

Do you regularly find things about yourself or your surroundings that are lacking, or should be different?  Are you ashamed of things you have done or even are doing?  Are you judgmental of what others are doing, mentally shaming them?  All of these mental attitudes and actions are part and parcel of the guilty identity we learn as part of a separate self, living in a separate body in this world.  Do you know anyone who is free of this?

Even very happy people react and become apologetic if someone else is upset.  This is the conditioned guilty response.  "I am so sorry," we say, as if we could do something about it.  Or as if we should. 

A Course in Miracles helps us understand that guilt is how a sense of body awareness and a separate self is maintained.  Without the judgment and guilt, there is only the unified Mind, where all things exist in the Light of Awareness and Love, pure transparencies for God.  Without judgment and guilt, there is an Awareness of Oneness, which is All Good and only Good.  Perfect Oneness is our natural state, which is always and only God, reflecting and radiating the Light of Goodness and Love.

It's interesting, don't you think, that a small upset or affront to our egoic identity can send us into a seeming tail spin, can make us so agitated and fearful that it seems as if a huge thing has really occurred.  When in such a state, it's impossible to conceive of a unified Mind that radiates peace and joy.  And yet we are always and only reacting to our own judgments and guilty verdicts, the story of a separate body-self and the fearful 'others'.  And even in the midst of this story of separation and loss, all we have to do is forgive our judgments and let them go.  Right where all seems hopeless or angry or sad or lost or any other version of guilt, there is pure joy and perfect love.  Right where the problem seems to be, there is only Love, which is the only Law of God.  

"There are no laws but God's... there is no loss under the laws of God.  Payment is neither given nor received.  Exchange cannot be made; there are no substitutes; and nothing is replaced by something else.  God's laws forever give and never take." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 76, 9:1, 3-6

The story of the crucifixion and resurrection of God's Son is the story of everyone's life.  The guilty identity that we have carefully protected for so long is not real.  It can only seem fearful and shameful and wrong when we hang on to our 'laws' of judgment and refuse to forgive. A Course in Miracles gives us many ways to approach forgiveness, and all of them involve letting go of human laws of judgment and thus realizing what has always been true. The guilty identify was all made up, and has never been at all.  This realization is the resurrection of the Son of God.

"Learn then the happy habit of response to all temptation to perceive yourself as weak and miserable with these words:  I am as God created me.  His Son can suffer nothing.  And I am His Son.  You are as God created you, and so is every living thing you look upon, regardless of the images you see.  What you behold as sickness and as pain, as weakness and as suffering and loss is but temptation to perceive yourself defenseless and in hell.  Yield not to this, and you will see all pain, in every form, wherever it occurs, but disappear as mists before the sun."-- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 31, VIII, 5:1-4, and 6:1-3

Our Only Function here

"I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me... for just as you have done this to least of these, my brothers, you have done it unto me." -- The Bible, Matthew 25:35-36, 40

"Your home is built upon your brother's health, upon his happiness, his sinlessness, and everything his Father promised him."-- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 28, Section VII, 7:1

"Pain, illness, loss, age, and death seem to threaten me... yet perfect security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance."-- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 56:1:3 and 5

The images that pass across the mirror of our minds every day can seem daunting.  We see others suffering as well as witnessing our own suffering.  But over 2,000 years ago Jesus gave us a radical teaching... seeing our brother as whole, healthy, fulfilled and secure and letting all the images of lack and limitation go.  Allowing the radiance of Divine Love to so fill our minds and hearts that we see only that Light reflected in all that we seem to encounter. And then discovering that as we have seen the 'other', so we have seen our Self. 

Forgiveness as given to us through A Course in Miracles means the simple act of letting the daunting  images go, 'overlooking' them, and seeing all things safe and healed and whole.  "Spirit am I, safe and healed and whole; free of all limits, free to forgive, and free to save the world." The Course assures us that this practice will give us everything we have ever dreamed of or could ever want.  So what is stopping us?

From a very early age we are taught habits of mind and thought that are supposedly normal, habits that we are told will keep us healthy and safe within the tribe of humans.  Of course, they are actually the mental chains we willingly wear day after day until we seem to age and die, worn out by the struggle to be something we are not.  These conditioned habits of thought and behavior can only be let go by a disciplined willingness to practice this new way of looking at things every minute of every day. This is forgiveness.  This is our only function here. 

"These insubstantial images will go and leave your mind unclouded and serene, when you accept the function given you. Salvation of the world depends on you who can forgive.  Such is your only function here." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 186, 10:1 and 14:5-6

Stories and Laws

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"Reality observes the laws of God, and not the rules you set.  It is His laws that guarantee your safety.  All illusions that you believe about yourself obey no laws." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 30, Section IV, 4:1-3

"I am under no laws but God's." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 76

Every day seems to be an endless round of things to be done, people to please, and stories to tell and listen to.  Such are the laws of work, of friendship, of being a good person.  Such are the laws of survival of the body and its relative bodies, be they persons, animals, or structures.  We like to tell the story that we want more 'free' time to meditate, to read, to write, to listen to God.  Such are the laws of being spiritual, of being dedicated to a spiritual path, of being enlightened.  Such rubbish!  There are no laws but God's, and God's laws are unchanging and perfectly complete!  There is no need to search for what is effortlessly true. And there is no need to look for laws in the world, where there simply aren't any!  It's all made up!

Buddha said that desire is the source of all suffering.  But he might have said  that the desire to tell stories about what binds us is the source of all suffering.  Because every imagined desire, every imagined problem, every imagined pleasure, every imagined encounter... all of it... has absolutely no substance and no power but the story we tell of it.  That's all there is to it.  And stories can be forgiven and dropped.  We can allow the laws of God to tell the true story of All that Is. In the unified vision of God (our true Eye), there is only Love, the story of Everything.

The conditioned mind is quick to defend its stories.  There is an existential fear of having nothing to say and nothing to do, of being nothing.  The irony is that as the stories are forgiven and relinquished, we experience the expanded Awareness of Self, our true Being, which has always been and will eternally be all there Is.  And the only laws in this expansive, eternal Life we share are laws of Love, Joy, Abundance, Peace, and Ever-New Joy.

When we forgive and cease believing our own stories, with new-born senses we see and hear a new story of Everything: "No matter how this appears, this is Good.  No matter what story you have been told, there is only Love in you and around you and AS you.  No matter what laws you think you must obey, you are always in the arms of Love, and need only follow Love's promptings."  As we listen to the Truth that Divine Love whispers to us, the old stories and fears fall away, and the world is reborn in our experience.  This isn't a fictional story.  This is experiential Truth.  Beyond all stories and earthly laws, the Truth of Being remains and longs to remind us that we are under no laws but God's.

"God's laws forever give and never take." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 76, 9:6

Questions from a Reader

Dearest Friend:

I just wanted to share some thoughts about your questions yesterday, which are very similar to the ones you had last week.  The gist of it is (if I am hearing you correctly), there are thoughts you are having that you don’t like.  Last week you were having thoughts of judgment that you didn’t like.  So both of these are really the same seeming problem.

Forgiveness is key here, but not as you seem to be using it.  The thing is, forgiveness isn’t a tool to be used to make the human self feel better.  It is an act of completely surrendering judgment and being clueless, empty of judgment, unknowing and not needing to know.  As the Course teaches it, we give our thoughts to the Holy Spirit, which is our True Self, the communicative part of the Christ Mind we share.  None of this is true, but it is what the course calls a ‘happy fiction’ that moves us toward completely relinquishing the imagined separate self. The Absolute Truth is that we never left our right Mind.  But while seeming to live and move in the relative and dualistic dream world, the Holy Spirit will ‘translate’ all our thoughts into Truth (“Truth will correct all errors in my mind.” WB 107).  Translate actually doesn’t mean to change at all, but to make clear.  For example, if I say ‘hola’ to you and you don’t know Spanish, you don’t know what I mean.  But if I then say, ‘that means hello’ to you, I have made the true meaning clear to you.  I haven’t changed anything… I have simply made it clear.  

In the same way, the Course reminds us that if we give every thought to the Holy Spirit, all of it will be used to make clear and obvious what has always been.  The translation of every thought and every situation is the same:  the meaning is always Perfect Goodness, Happiness, Joy, and Infinite Love.  Our True Self has not been affected by any of our misperceptions, just as ‘hola’ means hello whether you know it or not.  

Forgiveness means letting go, not analyzing, worrying, getting angry, or any other form of judging thoughts and situations.  Judging your judgments is just another way of holding onto them, instead of giving them completely to Holy Spirit.  And thinking that you have to ‘do’ something, or to forgive them somehow differently, is another delaying strategy of the personal self.  The personal self will always see personal problems.  That is what holds the illusion of a personal self in place, so of course we are constantly judging.  We fear the loss of self.  Ironically, Our Real Self has no problems.  And from the standpoint of the Real Self, all problems not only disappear, but their relative reflection will either go away or be transformed somehow.  That’s the way projection works.  Either way, you will be happy, safe, and blissfully content resting in Truth.  

Happiness is the only Reality of all things. It’s not like we need to get rid of or change anything (what in the Allness of God could be deleted or changed?).  We simply need to let go of (forgive) our judgments and meanings and thinking we know.  Once that is given, we see that right where we thought there was a negative thought, there is only happiness.  Right where we thought we saw tragedy or disaster, there is only comfort, joy, and laughter.  This is what the Course means when it says our perceptions are upside down and backwards.  “To give up (forgive) all problems to one Answer is to reverse the thinking of the world entirely.” (Manual for Teachers 4:IX:1:6)

God’s Will for us is perfect Happiness, and there is no will but God’s.  (WB Lessons 74 and 101)  So you see, even the belief in outcomes has to be translated, because Happiness and Goodness and Love are what has always been and all that can ever BE.  The belief in laws of behavior and reciprocity have to be translated, because we are in Truth under no laws but God’s… which is another way of saying that the Love of God, which includes Perfect Joy and Peace, is ALL THERE IS. (WB Lesson 76)  So nothing else is ever going on but this Love, this Joy, this Happiness.  Nothing!

“Forgiveness is the key to Happiness,” the Course reminds us.  “Forgiveness is my only function here.” “Forgiveness offers everything I want.”  “I will forgive and this will disappear.”  Obviously, this is all we need to wake up.  Not a tool, but the only practice in the dream that can never lead to suffering.  Just give every thought to the Holy Spirit, and allow the Beauty and Joy of each moment, each action, each thought to be translated.  Heaven is here and now.  This Oneness of Being must include everyone, everything, and yes, every thought! 

"Beloved Son of a wholly blessing Father, joy was created for you.  Who can condemn whom God has blessed?  There is nothing in the Mind of God that does not share his shining innocence.  Creation is the natural extension of perfect purity.  Your only calling here is to devote yourself, with active willingness, to the denial of guilt in all its forms." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 14, Section V, 3: 1-5

Blessings...
Mary

The Beauty of Holiness

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness." -- Psalm 29

"Your purpose is to see the world through your own Holiness." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 37, 1:2

We are taught at a very early age to see differences.  These differences are quickly sorted into good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable.  And as we get older,, the compulsion to avoid the so-called bad and seek the imagined good is the only thing that motivates us (and the entire world!).

Ironically, this endless seeking to avoid pain and seek pleasure doesn't work.  It may appear to work for short periods of time, but all you have to do is look around.  We continue to pretend it works because the alternative is too fearful to the mind.  We avoid looking at the Truth, because we have carefully and methodically been living in the thought system we inherited from our parents or from our social peers.  And all of it is made up.  We make it up daily, as we obey the so-called rules and judgments we have so carefully constructed.

The first glimmers of hope come when we realize that everything is Mind.  What you are aware of is what you experience, even when it is all made up.  Who is experiencing this pain, or this pleasure?  Certainly it seems to be a body, but Who is aware of this body?  And certainly this awareness seems to come and go, but whenever you check, it is always here.  Whenever you become aware of Awareness, it is always here.  Mind Awake is pure Awareness.  And the only Awareness is that of Wholeness, which is what Holiness is.  And it is pure Beauty, pure Love, and pure Joy.

One of the first Bible verses I learned as a child was the famous Shema: "Hear, O Israel:  The Lord your God is One.  And you shall the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind."  To be in alignment with the world of differences, this is interpreted as being something we have to do.  We have to work at being good, work at loving God.  But after studying A Course in Miracles for many years I have gradually come to know that it is a statement of fact.  God is One Mind, and that Mind is Who We Really Are.  This Mind is Whole, Holy, and wholly Loving.  It can only be known when the need to pretend that everything is separate and different falls away.  And this need falls away when we want to know the Truth more than we want to hang on to the carefully constructed ideas and judgements of the world around us.

As the earlier quote reminds us, our purpose here is to finally see the world through our own Holiness.  As we begin to see that there is only Mind, we begin to accept that this One Mind is our true vision.  This begins the process of mental housecleaning that The Course calls forgiveness.  And as the mirror of the mind is swept clean of the compulsion to judge and see differences, all that remains is the Beauty of Holiness. 

Everyone, Everywhere, and Always

"The reflections you accept into the mirror of your mind in time but bring eternity nearer or farther. You will turn from time to holiness, as surely as the reflection of holiness calls everyone to lay all guilt aside.  Reflect the peace of Heaven here, and bring this world to Heaven.  For the reflection of Truth draws everyone to Truth, and as they enter into it they leave all reflections behind." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 14, Section X, 1:2-7

"I will forgive, and this will disappear." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 193, 13:3

I woke up this morning from a nightmare.  It was a convoluted dream, complete with an evil nemesis who took away everything I loved.  Interestingly, such dreams don't make me afraid anymore.  I just wake up from them feeling muddy and tired... but unafraid.  I know that this is a very good sign.  It means that all the remaining hidden beliefs and obstacles to Love's Presence are finally coming to the surface to be forgiven and released.  As the Course reminds us, "I will forgive, and this will disappear."  Not because forgiveness is magic, but because as soon as we let go of the judgment (which is all the reality or meaning that it has), there is nothing there.  It's all made up, just like my convoluted dream.

"Perception is a mirror, not a fact." -- A Course in Miracles;

Everything I see and experience in the life called Mary is in my mind, and nowhere else.  No matter how much I project it 'out there' it remains in my mind, since ideas can't leave their source.  True forgiveness is the process of recognizing that all of these thoughts and experiences are images I have made, and so I can let them go.  The Reality of our shared experience is beyond these perceptual images we call our lives.  Our Reality is One, unified, safe, and sure.

"In Heaven reality is shared and not reflected." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 14, Section X, 2:1

I love that I can awaken from every dream of hatred or dissatisfaction or pain or even pleasure (all based on projected judgments of self or others... no difference), and find myself instantly in Joy, unconditioned and free.  I love that my judgments are nothing.  I love that salvation is always present, in every Holy Instant of Now.

"A dream of judgement came into the mind that God created perfect as Himself.  And in that dream was Heaven changed to hell, and God made enemy unto His Son.  How can God's Son awaken from the dream?  It is a dream of judgement.  So must he judge not, and he will waken.  For the dream will seem to last while he is part of it." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 29, Section IX, 2:1-6

The nightmare seemed to last while I was part of it.  But as I became aware that I was dreaming, I was able to stop judging the figures in the dream, and so it disappeared.  Then I was able to let go of analysis or judgment of self, and remembered: "I will forgive, and this will disappear."  This clearing process is our only function in the world.  "Reflect the Peace of Heaven here, and bring this world to Heaven." My vocation is to forgive and release all perception (the good included).  What remains is a clear Reflection of Truth.  What remains when all is forgiven is the Luminous Mind of God and the Reflection of Heaven, which is everyone, everywhere, and always.

Impossible Things

"There is no use trying," said Alice. "One can't believe impossible things."
"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age I always did it for half an hour a day.  Why sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." -- from Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

"It is through the holy instant that what seems impossible is accomplished, making it evident that it is not impossible." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 15, Section VI, 14:1

Trying to understand the notion that all is Mind, and that Mind is the only Substance that exists, is like trying to tell the Emperor that he isn't wearing any clothes.  We have a very vested interest in the world we have projected, and we have no real desire to have the Truth revealed to us.  We like to play at seeking the Truth, but we don't really want to find it.  Like Alice, we have already judged that one can't believe such impossible things.

In moments of true quiet, moments of present awareness when walking in the woods or by the ocean, we feel an unexplainable contentment and joy. These holy instants reveal what is True, and what has always been True.  We are Infinite Mind, infinitely Aware, infinitely Perfect, infinitely Whole, infinitely Loving and Aware of the Perfection of Self.  These instants of awareness are the storehouse of every so-called miracle.  Perfection can only see the perfect.  Wholeness can only see the whole and holy.

The practice of mindfulness touches on this, but as commonly practiced mostly limits us to being mindful of a body and limited self image.  It can help quiet the mind, which can lead to glimpses of awareness.  But we can practice mindfulness of Mind, of Awareness ItSelf.  What A Course in Miracles calls the holy instant is this moment by moment mindful awareness of our True Self, which is Infinitely Loving and Aware.  

Self is Mind, and Mind is Self.  There is no other.  And as ACIM reminds us, "Ideas leave not their Source."  We are like waves in the ocean of Mind, and we cannot be other than Mind.  What we call matter does not matter; it doesn't exist in the sense that we imagine it does.  If Mind is all, then we have simply misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misjudged the world.  We have forgotten Who We Are, and so we have forgotten the Reality of all things.

Letting go of these judgements, interpretations, and misunderstandings is what the Course calls forgiveness.  Forgiveness is the bridge to Awareness, because once the mind is cleared of the clutter, Truth is radiantly Present.  Forgiveness and miracles go hand in hand, since we cannot be aware of the miracle of Perfection that is already here, as long as we insist on the imperfections we think we see.  Like Alice, we have already decided that perfection is impossible.  But like Alice, we can let the rabbit holes in our lives reveal the Truth to us. We can forgive and jump in... we can let go of what we think we know.  And we can let the Awareness of Truth in each holy instant set us free to experience the impossibly possible Goodness of Life and Truth and ever-present Love.

"There is nothing outside you.  That is what you must ultimately learn, for it is the realization that the Kingdom of Heaven is restored to you.  For God created only this, and He did not depart from it nor leave it separate from Himself.  The Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place of the Son of God, Who left not his Father and dwells not apart from Him.  Heaven is not a place nor a condition.  It is merely an awareness of perfect Oneness, and the knowledge that there is nothing else; nothing outside this Oneness, and nothing else within.  What could God give but knowledge of Himself?  What else is there to give?  The belief that you could give and get something else, something outside yourself, has cost you the awareness of Heaven, and of your Identity." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 18, Section VI

With God, all things are possible. -- Matthew 19:26

The War Against My Self

"Innocence is strength, and nothing else is strong.  No one is strong who has an enemy, and no one can attack unless he thinks he has." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 23, Introduction,1:2, 5

The news lately doesn't bear repeating.  There appears to be so much anger and hatred teeming everywhere, so much unfairness and senseless violence. 
My question to myself is, "Who is seeing this?" 
I am seeing both victims and enemies. 
I am seeing both villains and innocents. 
I am seeing this. 
And as ACIM reminds me, no one can attack (and seeing a world like this is an attack on Self, on the Christ that I Am!) unless he believes in enemies and victims.  So how do I give up this War Against My Self? (ACIM Chapter 23)

"Walk you in glory with your head held high, and fear no evil. The innocent are safe, because they share their innocence [see it everywhere, in everyone and everything]. Nothing they see is harmful, for their awareness of the Truth releases everything from the illusion of harmfulness.  And what seemed harmful now stands shining in their innocence, released from sin and fear and happily returned to Love.  They share the strength of Love because they looked on innocence."

To those of us who deeply cherish our belief in suffering and death, this is a challenging section of the Course.  To accept the responsibility that my awareness of the Truth releases everything from the illusion of harmfulness can seem impossible.  But remember, forgiveness (the release of everything from the illusion of harmfulness) is our only function here.  Remember, the Course says very plainly and literally, "I will forgive, and this will disappear."

These are not pretty words to read and then put away.  They are the Truth, and so encompass everyone and everything as the Reality of All.  When we forgive, nothing is really happening.  We are simply letting go of all the seemingly harmful ideas and concepts we held about ourselves and the world around us.  When the concepts are shed, it's like the veil is lifted, and the Beauty and Joy of Truth is revealed as All, literally All that is ever happening.

Awakening to Truth is not escapism, and it is not for those who still think there is truth in the world of images and concepts.  It is the Way given to us by Buddha, by Jesus, by all the Awakened Ones throughout the seemingly endless stories of the world.  In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells his disciple Arjuna, "Fear Not. What is not real, never was and never will be. What is real, always was and cannot be destroyed."  A Course in Miracles says the same thing in the Introduction, where it says quite plainly: "This Course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:  Nothing Real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.  Herein lies the Peace of God." 

While we struggle with judgments about the appearance of things, with stories of villains and victims, of good and bad, we cannot see the Truth.  We are covering the face of Christ with masks and veils, and cannot remember Who We Are. We are valuing our conditioned beliefs over our commitment to knowing the Truth. The good news is that we can forgive literally everything we see, knowing that right where the evil seems to be, there is only our God-Self, only Goodness and Infinite Love.

"Brother, the war against yourself is almost over.  The journey's end is at the place of peace.  Would you not now accept the peace offered you here?  This 'enemy' you fought as an intruder on your peace is here transformed, before your sight, into the giver of your peace.  Your 'enemy' was God HimSelf, to Whom all conflict, triumph, and attack of any kind are all unknown." A Course in Miracles; Chapter 23, Section I, 4:1-5

The Illusion of Differences

"This world seems to hold out many purposes, each different and with different values.  Yet they are all the same.  Again there is no order; only a seeming hierarchy of values." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 20, Section VIII, 8:8-10
 
I have had several conversations with friends in the past week about wanting something different in their lives.  Of course, this is a familiar feeling and story for all of us.  Something is perceived as wrong or lacking or uncomfortable or simply unsatisfying, and so we think that something different is the answer.  Not this, but that.  Not here, but there.  Not now, but someday.  Not that person, but this person, or no person.  Something different, which will hopefully be something better.

The illusion of differences is the ego's maintenance plan.  This body is different from that body, that car is different from this car, that job is definitely different than this job!  And on and on and on and on...  there's no end to the ego's litany of needed improvements (translation: differences).

A Course in Miracles gives us many simple and direct ways of seeing through this chaos.  One of my favorites is: "Make this year different  by making it all the same." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 15, Section XI, 10:11

And how can we make it all the same, when the very nature of our lives seems to be the constant focus on shifting challenges and victories,  failures and successes, pleasures and pains?  I had a glimpse of this yesterday while filling the water tank for the horses.  I only had a few minutes between coaching calls, and went out to make sure the water tank was full.  It was a summer mid-afternoon, with rain clouds in the distance, but no air stirring.  My focus on the details and differences dropped, and there was crystalline, All-Inclusive Awareness.  Silent but Alive.  Still but including all movement.  Awareness ItSelf.   Then the water tank began overflowing and my awareness contracted to take care of business.  This is the way of it as we practice letting go of differences.  I can focus on the water tank, knowing that The Self that I Am is the Reality of even this seeming.  I have only to drop the contracted focus, and my True Self that is Everything, and knows ItSelf as the All where all differences fall away.  No matter, just pure Awareness, pure Spirit, pure Mind that includes All.

To the Unified Mind, there are no differences!  Perception is a contracted point of view, happening IN you, not TO you.  YOU ARE THE SEER AND THE SEEN.  There are no differences.  And forgiveness, the dropping of the addictive need to project differences, is our unified purpose.  A Unified Mind with Unified Purpose returns us to the Awareness of Perfect Oneness (Heaven!) that is Our Reality.
  
"I will forgive, and this will disappear."  A Course in Miracles; Workbook 193, 13:3
 

The Truth About You

"The Truth about You is so lofty that nothing unworthy of God is worthy of you.  Choose then what you want in these terms, and accept nothing that you would not offer to God as wholly fitting for Him/Her.  You do not want anything else." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 9, Section VII, p.8:4-6 

Well, it has been exactly six months since my last blog... that is the longest I have gone without posting since this blog began over 7 years ago.  And yes, since time is illusion, I know that the Voice speaks to all of us daily, with or without symbols like this blog.  However, we all seem to have a story of being less than good, other than God.  Thank Goodness for the Truth about you (and me), which is beyond measure, beyond all judgement.  The story of 'me' fears this Infinite Glory, because it fears everything.  It judges and measures and compares because, "The ego cannot survive without judgement, and is laid aside accordingly." (ACIM; Ch.4, II, 10:3).  To help understand this, remember that the ego is story.  And what is a story without protagonists and antagonists, after all?

In this world of stories, a dream world of continual judgment and conflict, how can we know the Truth?  A Course in Miracles puts it so very simply:  "How can God's Son awaken from the dream? It is a dream of judgement.  So must he judge not, and He will awaken." (ACIM; Ch.29, IX, 2:3-5)

I urge you to try releasing all judgement in every situation, in all circumstances.  Since God is All, and we live and move and have our Being in and as that All, then there can be nothing but God, nothing but Good.  So the only thing we are ever letting go of, or releasing (another word for forgiveness), is a false sense of things, a story that is the projection of a sleeping mind.  What remains, and is ever-present behind every projection, is the Truth.  The Truth of a villain or a hero or a rock or a tree is the same, because there is only the One Self, only God.  It is always the Truth About You.

"You are surrounded only by Him.  What limits can there be on You Whom He encompasses?" -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 18, Section VI, p.10:6-7

Please join us for ACIM Teleclass to study A Course in Miracles, every Sunday evening at 7:30 pm CT. 

The Miracle

"Judgment is the weapon I would use against myself, to keep the miracle away from me." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 347

The miracle.  How often are those two words repeated in ACIM, always pointing to the wholeness and perfection that exist without an opposite.  It isn't really anything, doesn't really do anything, never changes and never opposes.  The miracle is what is revealed with a shift in awareness from physical sight (projection) to Spiritual Sight (extension).  It reveals the Spiritual Reality that is all there is, or ever will be. Only the perceptual mechanism of judgment made a world other than perfect and whole appear to exist.  When judgment is forgiven and released, only the innocence of Spiritual Perfection is here.  Only One, only God, only pure Spirit, Mind Awake and Aware of Its Infinite Beauty.

So why would any aspect of mind judge?  Why would any aspect of this Infinite I Am attempt to hide from Self-Awareness?  What part of One Self imagines that there is another to defend against or hide from?  How foolish this all sounds, and yet how familiar.

The great reversal, as ACIM calls the process of mind awakening to Itself, can seem long indeed.  Judgment is used in many forms, in many disguises, always to justify our addiction to the contracted mental state we call a self.  But no matter what we call this upside down perception, these inverted and projected images have no relationship to Reality.  They don't need to be changed or understood.  They simply need to be forgiven and released.

When all judgment is finally put aside, projected images fall away and reveal the miracle of One Spiritual Self abiding and unchanging, All-Loving and All-Whole, Encompassing all that appears to be with pure and radiant Joy.  This is the miracle, the coming of the Christ Child... your own Beloved Self.

"And the angel said unto them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." -- Luke 2:10

The Great I Am

"Death is a thought that takes on many forms, often unrecognized.  It may appear as sadness, fear, anxiety or doubt; as anger, faithlessness, and lack of trust; concern for bodies, envy, and all forms in which the wish to be as you are not may come to tempt you.  All such thoughts are but reflections of the worshipping of death as savior and as giver of release." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 163, 1:1-3

When I read this passage before my morning meditation it was like a cartoon light bulb lit up over my head!  When Jesus said the last thing we'll overcome is death, he wasn't talking about bodies!  He was talking about the wish to be something else... the desire for change.  How often have we heard that change is the only constant?  How often have we thought, "I just need a change."  Maybe it's a change of mates, a change of jobs, a change of scenery.  Maybe it's a diet or exercise plan, yoga, meditation, or a commitment to read the Course every day.  "But wait!" I can hear you all saying... "those are all good things!  It's good to focus on health, on awakening, on self-improvement!" But the one thing all of these good intentions have in common is the wish to be as you are not.

Think carefully about this... the only reason to improve something is if it is somehow lacking.  It is this that is impossible.  God created only God, everywhere and always.  There can be no other substance or existence.  What would it be made of?  Where would it be?  And the continual search for improvement is the same as saying, "I am not" instead of "I Am."

While we dream of a world that seems imperfect and in constant flux, we have great need of forgiving the desire to be as we are not.  As we let go of wanting things to be different, as we let go of wanting ourselves or them or it to change, we discover the unchanging I Am as the very Ground of Being. When Buddha said that desire is the source of all suffering, he was pointing out that it is the desire or wish for change that spins the wheel of samsara, the dream of life as change and suffering and death.  Awakening from the dream is simply recovering our Awareness of Self, of I Am without a fluctuating object.

Ironically, there can never be a change in Reality.  As Jesus pointed out, "Before Abraham was, I Am."  Before and after are dream-concepts, meaningless to the radiating Bliss that I Am.  What we call the Christ, the birth of the Awareness of Changeless Oneness we celebrate as Christmas, is "the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow."  We are perfect ideas, extensions in pure Spirit, forever in the Mind of God.  Emmanuel, God with Us, is the Great I Am. 

"God Wills you learn what always has been true: that He created you as part of Him, and this must still be true because ideas leave not their Source.  Such is Creation's Law; that each idea the mind conceives but adds to its abundance, never takes away." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 26, Section VII, 13:2-3

This or That

"Peace is impossible to those who look on war.  Peace is inevitable to those who offer peace." -- A Course in Miracles; Manual for Teachers 11:4, 1-2

How then do we offer peace?  In our Wednesday night ACIM Tele-class we were talking about judgment.  We discovered that we even judge our spiritual experiences, those moments of Revelation that seem all too rare. This one was amazing, that one wasn't real, etc. Interestingly, it's the very judging and labeling of our experiences that makes peace seem fleeting and impossible.  To the mind asleep and dreaming, every person, place, thing, or phenomenon is either/or.  Everything is either this or that to the mind dreaming in duality.  The categories of this or that are irrelevant.  It's the categorization of every aspect of life that makes peace impossible... because where there is either/or, there is war.

Into this impossible situation comes the Teacher of God, the Voice that speaks in each and every seemingly separate mind.  The Voice is One, and has One judgment that is Its' function: "We are One, not many.  We are Whole, not parts.  We are Peace.  We are Joy.  We are Love Itself.  There is nothing else... There is no either/or..."  Over and over the Voice echoes in our minds, behind every image of incompleteness, every image of conflict, every competitive or ambitious urge, behind every call to struggle and war with the images or people and situations we project and then think we see: "Nothing Real can be threatened.  Nothing unreal exists.  Herein lies the Peace of God." -- A Course in Miracles; Introduction, 2:2-4

This Peace extends infinitely and eternally.  This means It isn't subject to our imagined concepts of time or space or circumstance.  This means that when we remember our only function is forgiveness, we can forgive and release every imaginary obstacle to the awareness of this eternal Peace, Whose other name is Love.  We are literally swimming, floating, flowing, Being as this Peace, this Love.  We have no other existence.

Thank God we are neither this nor that.  We are the All, the Everything... the All-Loving, All-Encompassing, Infinitely Joyous Peace that we mentally tried to distance ourselves from by calling it 'that'.  Such machinations have never, and will never succeed.  We offer Peace because we ARE the Peace of God, forever One and forever extending the Light of Love that shines from the heart of Peace. 

This Holy Christmas Season, please don't get caught up in judging the world and its inhabitants as this or that.  Let's forgive this madness, and see every Radiant aspect of Life as the Peace and Joy and Love that is its Reality.  Whether it appears as big or little, cheap or expensive, good or bad, old or young, cold or hot, enjoyable or miserable, even alive or dead... these are just illusory judgment-veils, instigators of war.  Peace remains untouched and radiant throughout Creation. 

"Like to the sun and ocean your Self continues, unmindful that this tiny part regards itself as you.  It is not missing; it could not exist if it were separate, nor would the Whole be whole without it.  It is not a separate kingdom, ruled by an idea of separation from the rest.  Nor does a fence surround it, preventing it from joining with the rest, and keeping it apart from its Creator.  This little aspect is no different from the Whole, being continuous with It and at One with It.  It leads no separate life, because its life IS the Oneness in which its being was created.  Do not accept a little, fenced-off aspect as yourself." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 18, Section VIII, 6:1-6

Nothing Else at All

"Mind reaches to itself.  It is not made up of different parts, which reach each other.  It does not go out.  Within itself it has no limits, and there is nothing outside it.  It encompasses everything.  It encompasses you entirely; you within it and it within you.  There is nothing else, anywhere or ever." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 18, Section VI, 8:5-11

I've been undergoing a lot seeming outer change.  Travel, work, new friends, many holy encounters that are very much outside the box.  But the one constant is the reassurance of the Holy Spirit, the still, small Voice of Self that always says there are no real differences.  There's nothing any different now than before, nothing any different here from there, nothing any different anywhere at all.  In fact, it becomes more apparent there is only Mind Awake, and there is never (and never has been) anything else, anywhere, ever.

Mind Awake reveals the complete illusory nature of time and space and all the differences that masquerade as the material world.  Each seeming challenge resolves and melts into nothingness.  Each seeming judgement reveals itself as nothing, which is what forgiveness is.  Each person, place, and thing reveals the Love that shines within Mind Awake, the only Reality.  And all that was ever needed was my full attention.

Ironically, my full attention has nothing to do with the seeming individual human mind.  It has nothing to do with busyness or thinking or any seeming distractions.  No matter what the human mind is immersed in, Mind Awake remains eternally Present and unchanged.  I don't have to do anything at all.  Because Mind is not made up of different parts that need to wake up.  Mind encompasses me and all that I seem to think or do or be.  Each Holy Instant reveals full Presence and the Light of Self.  Nothing to do, nothing to change, and nothing else at all.

"When peace comes at last to those who wrestle with temptation and fight against the giving in to sin; when the Light comes at last into the mind given to contemplation; or when the goal is finally achieved by anyone, it always comes with just one happy realization; "I need do nothing." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 18, Section VII, 5:7

All Loving and All Worthy

I have a human pattern of judging a situation and then feeling wrong, or then concluding that I'm not good enough for whatever.  I know this is a familiar story for some of you, too.  Human beings are always feeling bad about something, and either blaming self or someone else for the feelings.  But the Atonement reveals that even these feelings bear unexpected spiritual fruit.  When we're willing to suspend judgment through forgiveness, the still, small Voice of Truth is heard in the midst of the sadness, the anxiety, the hopelessness.  And it always returns the Mind to the Awareness of ever-present Joy.  It always reveals that the images of judgment are simply false.  The feelings the ego conjures have no meaning, because they have no substance.  They are simply not there.

"When you are sad, know this need not be.  Depression comes from a sense of being deprived of something you want and do not have.  Remember that you are deprived of nothing except by your own decisions, and then decide otherwise.  When you are anxious, realize that anxiety comes from the capriciousness of the ego, and know that this need not be.  You can be as vigilant against the ego's dictates as for them.  When you have given up this voluntary dis-spiriting, you will see how your mind can focus and rise above fatigue and heal.  Yet you are not sufficiently vigilant against the demands of the ego.  This need not be.  The problem is not one of concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is worth consistent effort.  You are a mirror of Truth, in which God Himself shines in perfect Light.  To the ego's dark glass you need but say, "I will not look there because I know these images are not true."  Then let the Holy One shine on you in peace, knowing that this, and only this, must be." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 4, Section IV

So am I worth the time and attention it takes to reverse these human patterns?  Certainly not as I imagined myself, nor is anyone else that I've imagined worth the effort.  But Who AM I?  Christ appearing as me is far beyond any human measure of worth.  I AM worth consistent attention and effort, because I AM is the Truth about me and thus about all that Is.  I AM a mirror of Truth, where God shines in Perfect Light and Joy.  Only this IS.  As the Course says, "This, and only this, must be."

I was reading a transcript of a workshop given three decades ago by Herb Fitch, and this passage transported me: “Whenever you are reverting to the opinion that you are a human being, you’re blocking the Light, you’re blocking the Voice.  The Voice does not come except where there is purity.  And purity means not a divided concept of matter and Spirit.  So please examine your deeper feelings and know that you are not both Christ and a human being.  You are not both Spirit and a human being.  You are pure Spirit, Christ and no other. The greatest thing I have is the assurance that I and the Father are One. If I and the Father are One that means I am not human.  I must learn how to accept this in the quietness of my own Being, resting there, waiting for the inner impulse that tells me Who I AM, feeling the nature of my true Being and trusting what I feel and hear enough to LIVE it, and act upon it. ” – Herb Fitch

So purity means not having a split mind, not seeing the projected concepts of separate bodies and separate things we call matter as if they were the truth.  Because we cannot see two worlds.  We are unable to know Self as Infinite, as Pure and Perfect Spirit, as long as we believe in the limited forms we call matter.  Knowing Who I AM means knowing I am not both Christ and a human being.  And if I and the Father are One, there is nothing but Spirit.  Consistent effort is needed only to return my attention to this Awareness in my own Being.  I must remember Who I really AM, and that I AM worth it.  There are no human beings here.  Only the Christ We Are and Our Infinite Expressions.  All Loving and All Worthy.

THIS is the Glory

"You are not saved from anything [there is nothing but God], but you are saved for glory [the extending of the Light of God that we are].  Glory is your inheritance, given you by your Creator that you might extend it." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 11, Section IV, 1:4-5 (brackets hold the whispers of Holy Spirit about this quote)

Last night I dreamed about a trio of friends, a girl and two boys.  They were part of some much larger community, a typical hierarchical organization of some sort, which was transitioning from an old building and format to a much newer building and organization.  It was a big deal, with a new head administrator and gala celebration in the works.  And as in all group situations, everybody wanted to be in charge, everybody had personal ideas and preferences, and everybody had an agenda.  Somehow (in the way of dreams) my characters decided to kill off the new administrator and take his place, since no one really knew him yet.  The ringleader took on that appearance and persona, with the other two going along and making sure everyone believed it.  Then ensued a series of such ‘take-overs’, where one of them would kill someone else off and morph into that appearance and persona to take their place.  I kept wanting to wake up, but felt powerless to do so until the impostors were somehow ‘safe’.  I kept hoping they would just be happy with what they had done, but they kept it up until they started killing each other off to be in charge.  I only woke up when my dog-alarms woke me, and I felt hung-over and desperately bad and guilty, as if ‘I’ had been the one doing all the killing, posturing, and deception.  And of course, I had been the one.  What other one could there be? Whose mind dreamed this? 

The Course says in the Manual for Teachers that it takes great learning to understand that ALL things, events, encounters, and circumstances are helpful.  Our nightmares are gifts that bring the buried guilt to the Light to be forgiven.  What is the source of this guilt?  Nothing real, but a lifetime (or lifetimes) of believing the impossible… that we are separate and in competition with many others and with God.  Who knows how many dreams we have projected onto the screen of the sleeping mind, with casts of thousands of players, some seemingly innocent and some obviously guilty.  But all simply perpetuate this insane desire to kill off what gets in the way of our seeming preferences, and to cast as innocent our desire to do so.  All the while we are generating the smoke screen of many separate and sleeping parts, when there is only the One, and that One forever Awake and Aware.

This compulsion to create multiple forms and meanings and needs and versions is hell.  Heaven is the unified Awareness of our Eternal Self, the Oneness of Perfect Wholeness and Love without limits.  This is not boring sameness, but Infinite Creation, Infinite Bliss.  The extension of Love is Our only Purpose, and this Love has no object and no agenda.  It is eternally free and isn’t limited to or by imagined forms.  It doesn’t need to get rid of anything, or change anything, or keep anything. 

Every Sunday in my little church, we sing these words:
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: World without end, AMEN, AMEN.”

Glory is the sheer joy of reveling in the Truth, the Source, the One, that shines and extends and includes ALL.

The Son is ALL that extends in and as the Awareness of that One.

The Holy Spirit is the extension of this Glory even within the dream, as the Awakening and Quickening of this Awareness.

This Glory, this ALLNESS, this Quickening of Awareness of Self is the only Purpose of every dream, whether by night or by day (because make no mistake, everything sensed with the body is a dream).  How is this Purpose lived?  By shedding every judgment, every preference, every personal agenda, every belief in limits and limitations of form.  THIS is true forgiveness and the Atonement.  THIS is the Glory.

Only One Perceiver

"The Holy Spirit begin by perceiving you as perfect... The perfect equality of the Holy Spirit's perception is the reflection of the perfect equality of God's knowing." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 6, Section II, 5:1 and 7:1

"This Mind is unequivocal, because it hears only One Voice and answers only in One Way." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 5, Section II, 10:2

The concept of Oneness is impossible for the so-called separate mind to grasp.  It can think about Oneness, and conceptualize about Oneness.  But if you want cake, you can't eat a picture of a cake.  You can't eat the word cake.  You can't even eat the recipe!  What you can do is read about cake, and decide if you want the experience of eating it.  Similarly, there comes a time even in the most comfortable of lives, when an expansion takes place and leaves us wondering what lies beyond the known.  We want to know what Oneness is, not simply talk about it or read about it.  And we begin to realize that what we think we know is not the truth.

This begins the shedding process the Course calls forgiveness.  Over and over, we let go of everything we think we know, every judgment about how things are, every perception of differences and mistakes and flaws and lacks.  Every opinion about how things work or should work, every rule we think we have to follow or that we expect the so-called others to follow.  We give everything in our minds to the Holy Spirit, the One Mind that all perceived separate minds share.  We do it fitfully at first, but as we begin to glimpse the Peace it brings, we find that we are more and more willing to turn everything we think we know over.  Why would we want to keep what has only given us a world of seeming duality and struggle and suffering?

At this point we begin to have glimpses of Oneness.  There is One who is always aware of the shenanigans of the perceived separate mind.  This is the Holy Spirit, who sees only the Perfection that is All. One Mind, One Voice, One Perceiver Who sees only Love and radiates Only Love.  As we become anchored in this Presence, we begin to realize that there has always been only One Perceiver.  Our tunnel vision simply projected a split world, but it had no substance. When we begin to experience the miracle of the unified Presence everywhere, we become more and more willing to stop projecting.  We stop the projector by acknowledging that the projector has never known anything, while the One Perceiver has always Known EVERYTHING, and always will.

This unified Presence and Perception is the closest we can get to Reality while still walking in a world of seeming duality.  It is what the Course calls the Happy Dream... pure Joy, with the Awareness that there are no limits to this Love and Joy, this limitless Wholeness and Perfection, this Perfect Peace.  And It radiates pure appreciation of the Perfection everywhere.  This is the Kingdom of Heaven that Jeshua told us to seek first and always.  This is the unified Mind of the Miracle Worker. 

There's only One. One Perceiver of Perfection and Holiness on earth, as it is in the Pure, Unconditioned Awareness of Heaven.

"It is hard to understand what "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you" really means.  This is because it is not understandable to the ego, which interprets it as if something outside is inside, and this does not mean anything.  The word "within" is unnecessary.  The Kingdom of Heaven is You." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 4, Section III, 1:1-3

The Least of These: Animals & A Course in Miracles

There are many places in A Course in Miracles where the voice of Jesus speaks to us directly.  I open and close this blog posting with two of those passages, like book-ends that echo His message.

“I assure you that I will witness for anyone who lets me, and to whatever extent he permits it.  Your witnessing demonstrates your belief, and thus strengthens it.  Those who witness for me are expressing, through their miracles, that they have abandoned the belief in deprivation in favor of the abundance they have learned belongs to them.” -- ACIM Chapter 1, Section IV, 4:6-8

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” -- Matthew 25:40 

Who are the least of these?  In the world of ideas and projections in which we live, the least of these refers to everything that lives, especially the ones we tend to overlook as less important.  And the reality of even the least of these is the Christ-Self that is the Truth of Being for everything that lives.  Do we extend our spiritual practice to knowing the Christ in all that lives?  Or do we overlook the least of these?

“In His Thoughts, which have no opposite, we understand there is One Life; and that Life we share with Him and with all creation, whom He created in a unity of Life that cannot separate.” – ACIM Workbook Lesson 167

When people think about practicing the principles from A Course in Miracles and bearing witness to the Christ in all, they usually don’t think about animals.  But there are many passages in the Course that clearly show that Life doesn’t mean human life.  Since we’re pure Spirit, not bodies at all, it is easy to see that the Oneness of this Spirit includes all… literally all.

“God gave you all there is.  And to be sure you could not lose it, did He also give the same to every living thing as well.” -- ACIM Chapter 29, Section VIII, 9:7-8

In 2007 I founded a 501c3 animal sanctuary which is currently home to over 40 animals, large and small.  Since then this has been much of my practical application of A Course in Miracles, seeing the Christ in all of that lives, and using the Atonement principle of Oneness to care for all the animals.  Yes, I have continued to teach the Course and to take on private clients.  But the animals and farm have been my training ground.  Learning to live in a state of miracle-readiness and allowing the Divine Mind to continually reflect the means for care and support has been a real stretch for me.  Through many challenges I've learned that there can be no compromising when it comes to the actual practice of miracle principles.  As the Course frequently reminds us, we can’t live in two worlds.  So realizing that the animals aren’t bodies, that they are pure spirit, and that none of us is dependent on anything but pure Spirit for our daily care, is a continual practice that leads to joy and remembrance of Who I Am.   And as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Consider the lilies of the field… they neither toil nor gather, yet even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.”

The hardest part of this spiritual practice has been coming out of the closet.  There have been so many demonstrations of physical and financial miracles over the past six years, but I have kept them very private and not shared these stories with very many people.  I thought my reasons were humility and practicality until I heard a YouTube video by David Hoffmeister about spiritual honesty.  And I realized that my reasons were linked to my own fear of joining with others, my own judgments and fears about disapproval and criticism, which sounded something like this: "I mean, people probably won't think an animal sanctuary is too weird, but one based on the spiritual principles of A Course in Miracles?  In the Midwest?  And really, who else will be interested in this?  It’s pretty rough, certainly nothing fancy… and it’s a lot of hard work, with so many things needing to be done.  And there are so many animal organizations asking for help, people aren’t interested in another non-profit.  They’ll either think this endeavor is very naïve or extremely presumptuous, or both!"  My limiting beliefs and fear of joining in the form of judgments went on and on… and on… and on…

Thanks to that YouTube video by David, and through a lot of self-inquiry about all these judgments and beliefs (and forgiveness of those I've dredged up thus far),  I’ve realized the necessity of spiritual transparency for Awakening, and how important it is to bring our own hidden fears, judgments and beliefs to the Light.  To truly Awaken, the last thing we want to do is hold things in or hide them, because then they continue to project themselves as a world of separation, and the dream goes on and on.  So for purposes of Awakening, mental privacy is not a necessary thing, but an egoic construct that acts like a veil over our awareness.  Only a body needs privacy… the Christ Mind is One with all, and welcomes all.  Coming out publicly with the spiritual nature of this Sanctuary, welcoming the input and support of all, is direct and loving guidance from Holy Spirit.  Welcoming others and their ideas, including those who might want to visit and experience this Sanctuary and join in living the Course more deeply is also part of Holy Spirit's guidance. 

“God hides nothing from his Son, even though His Son would hide himself.” -- ACIM Chapter 11, Section III, 5:1

 “…the recognition that there is nothing you want to hide even if you could… brings escape from fear.  When you have become willing to hide nothing, you will not only be willing to enter into communion but will also understand peace and joy.” – ACIM Chapter 1, Section IV, 1:3-5

So this blog is an invitation for input, participation and support to any who care to join me in witnessing to Christ in this way, through these words, in this place, in whatever capacity.  Through volunteering, through visiting, through sharing of resources, through simple phone or e-mail conversations… all are welcome.  There is no plan and no agenda.  But as David Hoffmeister points out, we all need Mighty Companions to share in this Great Awakening, as we daily listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and deepen our witness to the Christ in all that lives.

“The miracle is a sign that the mind has chosen to be led by me in Christ’s service.  The abundance of Christ is the natural result of choosing to follow Him.” -- ACIM Chapter 1, Section V, 6:1-2 

Click here to learn more about The Claire Foundation Animal Sanctuary.

Do Not Reconsider

"In everything be led by Him, and do not reconsider.  Trust Him to answer quickly, surely, and with Love for everyone who will be touched in any way by the decision.  And everyone will be.  Would you take unto yourself the sole responsibility for deciding what can bring only good to everyone?  Would you know this?" -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 14, Section III, 17:4-8

A friend asked why, when forgiveness is practiced, it sometimes seems to not be working... in other words, why there is still no peace with the situation, or why there is still fear, etc. The answer lies in the passage above... "In everything be led by Him, and do not reconsider."  All of us have the experience of going through the motions of forgiveness, of completely giving over the situation to Holy Spirit, and then continuing to think about it and what we will do.  This is reconsidering. 

This habit of reconsidering is so ingrained that it's easy to forget that you are choosing to do it.  Like all habits, it is a choice that has been relegated to the subconscious so it's automatic.  But like all choices, it can be brought to awareness, so you can change your mind.  It simply involves the choice to stay present with your own mind.

"You do not guard your thoughts carefully enough.  You are not used to miracle-minded thinking, but you can be trained to think that way.  All miracle workers need that kind of training.  Miracle working entails a full realization of the power of thought in order to avoid miscreation.  The miracle worker must have genuine respect for true cause and effect as a necessary condition for the miracle to occur." -- ACIM; Chapter 2, Section VII

Open your mind and heart to the Holy Spirit, the part of your Self that has never gone unconscious.  Give everything over to the Holy Spirit, which is your very own sane Christ Mind.  Let this Presence of pure Divine Love decide for you.  Let this Divine Love care for you.  Let this Divine Love take care of all the details.  And because it is your true Self, you will always know if there are actions to take or words to be spoken.  You can absolutely trust this Self, which is all-loving because it is pure Love.  This Love is You, the Holy Son of God. 

Reconsidering is a deliberate decision to forget Who You Are, in an attempt to maintain autonomy, to stay separate.   Never doubt the power of your own holy mind to choose... and it is really good at hiding.  When the Son of God chooses to hide, he convinces even himself that he is lost.  It reminds me of small children when they first learn to cover their face and play peek-a-boo.  When their face is covered, they are convinced no one can see them either!  Such is the power of the mind!

Only when we insist on reconsidering can we not experience the ever-present Peace and Joy forgiveness reveals.  Which really means we have still not made the decision to stop hiding.  Our Reality remains ever-present, simply awaiting our decision to Awaken.

"This is the only thing that you need do for vision, happiness, release from pain, and the complete escape from sin, all to be given you.  Say only this, but mean it with no reservations, for here the power of salvation lies:
          I am responsible for what I see.
          I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide
              upon the goal I would achieve.
         And everything that seems to happen to me
              I ask for, and receive as I have asked.
Deceive yourself no longer that you are helpless in the face of what is done to you.  Acknowledge but that you have been mistaken, and all the effects of your mistakes will disappear." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 23, Section II, 2:1-7