"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
Showing posts with label Judgment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judgment. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Friday, October 16, 2015
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
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
Saturday, August 8, 2015
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.
"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.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
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.
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.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
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 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
Friday, May 10, 2013
The Blessed Residue
"Every loving thought that the Son of God ever had is eternal. The loving thoughts his mind perceives in this world are the world's only reality." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 11, Section VII, 2:1-2
"In Heaven there is no guilt, because the Kingdom is attained through the Atonement, which releases you to create. The word 'create' is appropriate here because, once what you have made is undone by the Holy Spirit, the blessed residue is restored and therefore continues in creation. What is truly blessed is incapable of giving rise to guilt, and must give rise to joy." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 5, Section V, 2:1-3
I woke up in the wee hours last night, inspired to search my mind for unforgiveness. I woke up with a new understanding of hidden places and grievances. I realized that every expectation of person, place, or thing is only in my mind, is all made up, and is a grievance. Every person or organization that I want or expect something from, every animate or inanimate form I look to for anything at all is a fictional mental veil across the face of Christ. I experienced a flood of gratitude for each insight, and pure joy at letting it all go. And then I heard the Voice speak the words "blessed residue." I knew that I was to write about these words, and remembered reading them in the Course, so I asked if I should write them down or look them up. I was told to go back to sleep, that I would remember. And I did.
Love is the blessed residue. When everything is forgiven, there is only the innocence of pure Love. When everything is forgiven, even the things you thought were problems are revealed as pure, innocent Joy. This is a spiritual alchemy that has been written about by mystics throughout time. The irony is that we already know this, but pretend that we don't. If we open our minds even slightly, the floodgates open and we can no longer pretend that the minutiae of our world is true or even really there. So we practice tunnel vision on worldly problems and details, and even spiritual questions, clinging to them as if they were our safety and survival. This is their only reality. "I have given everything I see... all the meaning that it has for me." (ACIM; Workbook Lesson 2)
An utter dependence on Love and the Holy Spirit is our true safety and security. We can safely give our every question and care to the Holy Spirit and know that Love can only give and expand and increase in joyous intensity. This is true creation. "Love created me like ItSelf," we are reminded in ACIM Workbook Lesson 67. We have only to give over (forgive) each thought, each judgment, each expectation to the Holy Spirit to be undone. And the blessed residue, which is pure Love and our true Self, is restored to creative awareness. It was here all along.
"You have not lost your innocence. It is for this you yearn. This is your heart's desire. This is the Voice you hear, and this the Call which cannot be denied." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 182, 12:1-4
"In Heaven there is no guilt, because the Kingdom is attained through the Atonement, which releases you to create. The word 'create' is appropriate here because, once what you have made is undone by the Holy Spirit, the blessed residue is restored and therefore continues in creation. What is truly blessed is incapable of giving rise to guilt, and must give rise to joy." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 5, Section V, 2:1-3
I woke up in the wee hours last night, inspired to search my mind for unforgiveness. I woke up with a new understanding of hidden places and grievances. I realized that every expectation of person, place, or thing is only in my mind, is all made up, and is a grievance. Every person or organization that I want or expect something from, every animate or inanimate form I look to for anything at all is a fictional mental veil across the face of Christ. I experienced a flood of gratitude for each insight, and pure joy at letting it all go. And then I heard the Voice speak the words "blessed residue." I knew that I was to write about these words, and remembered reading them in the Course, so I asked if I should write them down or look them up. I was told to go back to sleep, that I would remember. And I did.
Love is the blessed residue. When everything is forgiven, there is only the innocence of pure Love. When everything is forgiven, even the things you thought were problems are revealed as pure, innocent Joy. This is a spiritual alchemy that has been written about by mystics throughout time. The irony is that we already know this, but pretend that we don't. If we open our minds even slightly, the floodgates open and we can no longer pretend that the minutiae of our world is true or even really there. So we practice tunnel vision on worldly problems and details, and even spiritual questions, clinging to them as if they were our safety and survival. This is their only reality. "I have given everything I see... all the meaning that it has for me." (ACIM; Workbook Lesson 2)
An utter dependence on Love and the Holy Spirit is our true safety and security. We can safely give our every question and care to the Holy Spirit and know that Love can only give and expand and increase in joyous intensity. This is true creation. "Love created me like ItSelf," we are reminded in ACIM Workbook Lesson 67. We have only to give over (forgive) each thought, each judgment, each expectation to the Holy Spirit to be undone. And the blessed residue, which is pure Love and our true Self, is restored to creative awareness. It was here all along.
"You have not lost your innocence. It is for this you yearn. This is your heart's desire. This is the Voice you hear, and this the Call which cannot be denied." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 182, 12:1-4
Friday, April 26, 2013
Misplaced Trust
"Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols... influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the 'right' people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers. All these things are your replacement for the Love of God." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 50
It's pretty appalling to realize that every interaction I have in my daily life has some element of misplaced trust. At the same time, it's very liberating to realize that because I am actually seeing this, I am able to withdraw my investment in what perpetuates the insanity. In every situation, I have the opportunity to empty myself of assumptions, and listen to the Inner Teacher. In every situation, I have the opportunity to be a transparency for the Voice of God, the Holy Spirit. In every situation, I can trust in what is True and Eternal. In all things, I can trust Love to move through me and all concerned, whenever I cease to trust in the judgements I have made, the illusory mental constructs of the world.
"The real basis for doubt about the outcome of any problem that has been given to God's Teacher for resolution is always self-doubt. And that necessarily implies that trust has been placed in an illusory self, for only such a self can be doubted." -- ACIM Manual for Teachers, 7:5:1-2
When trust is placed in an identity (my own perceived self, or the perceived self of another) I have denied the Real Self, which lives and moves and has Its Being in God, Divine Love. One Self, wholly undivided and wholly Trustworthy. The Love of God is tangible and ever-present. It surrounds us and holds us, fills us and leads us, empowers us and gives us endless joy. We can truly trust the Love of God in all things and in all ways, because it is the Reality of all that is.
"Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 50
It's pretty appalling to realize that every interaction I have in my daily life has some element of misplaced trust. At the same time, it's very liberating to realize that because I am actually seeing this, I am able to withdraw my investment in what perpetuates the insanity. In every situation, I have the opportunity to empty myself of assumptions, and listen to the Inner Teacher. In every situation, I have the opportunity to be a transparency for the Voice of God, the Holy Spirit. In every situation, I can trust in what is True and Eternal. In all things, I can trust Love to move through me and all concerned, whenever I cease to trust in the judgements I have made, the illusory mental constructs of the world.
"The real basis for doubt about the outcome of any problem that has been given to God's Teacher for resolution is always self-doubt. And that necessarily implies that trust has been placed in an illusory self, for only such a self can be doubted." -- ACIM Manual for Teachers, 7:5:1-2
When trust is placed in an identity (my own perceived self, or the perceived self of another) I have denied the Real Self, which lives and moves and has Its Being in God, Divine Love. One Self, wholly undivided and wholly Trustworthy. The Love of God is tangible and ever-present. It surrounds us and holds us, fills us and leads us, empowers us and gives us endless joy. We can truly trust the Love of God in all things and in all ways, because it is the Reality of all that is.
"Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 50
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Key to Happiness
“You made this up. It is a picture of what you think you are; of
how you see yourself… Have you not wondered what the world is really like; how
it would look through happy eyes? The
world you see is but a judgment on yourself.
It is not there at all.” – A
Course in Miracles; Chapter 20, Section III, 4:3-4, 5:1-3
A friend recently asked me about the practice of forgiveness as the Course teaches it. It’s not really forgiveness as the world thinks about it, because it’s not about anything ‘out there’ at all. It’s a mental process, because everything I experience is in my mind, and then projected outward. And while our minds appear to sleep, there is a great need for reminders that the nightmares we project have no real effects. “What God has created follows His Laws, and His alone. Nor is it possible for those who follow them to suffer the results of any other source.” (ACIM 20, IV, 3:6-7) This means our insane projections, though scary, can have no real effects. Of course, as long as we’re asleep, we’re stuck in a nightmare thinking it’s really happening. So forgiveness is the way out of the dream.
Forgiveness as the Course teaches it makes use of the Holy Instant, the “little breath of eternity that runs through time like golden Light that is all the same; nothing before it, nothing afterwards.” The reality of God and the Holy Spirit (which is our reality) is always, now, and forever. “The past takes nothing from it, and the future will add no more. Here then, is everything. This gift returns the laws of God to your remembrance.”
Because our reality in God is already perfect, whole, and complete, there really is only one purpose to everything… to awaken from the dream we made up. So the Course reminds us repeatedly that forgiveness is our only function. Don’t bother judging the seeming situation, since trying to judge a dream is insane… it’s all made up. Practice forgiveness, and wake up to Perfection. Practice forgiveness, and be Happy.
“God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.” -- A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 101
Here is an example of how the function of forgiveness unfolds in the mind. Use your own words, and be specific and thorough with each individual person, situation, or feeling you are examining. Once you experience the deep peace this process brings, don't try and fill the clean and open space with concepts and stories again. Remember that it’s the false concepts and beliefs in your mind that project as the world you think you see. So step back and let Truth arise and lead the way. Ask the Holy Spirit whenever you need to make a decision. BE peace.
A friend recently asked me about the practice of forgiveness as the Course teaches it. It’s not really forgiveness as the world thinks about it, because it’s not about anything ‘out there’ at all. It’s a mental process, because everything I experience is in my mind, and then projected outward. And while our minds appear to sleep, there is a great need for reminders that the nightmares we project have no real effects. “What God has created follows His Laws, and His alone. Nor is it possible for those who follow them to suffer the results of any other source.” (ACIM 20, IV, 3:6-7) This means our insane projections, though scary, can have no real effects. Of course, as long as we’re asleep, we’re stuck in a nightmare thinking it’s really happening. So forgiveness is the way out of the dream.
Forgiveness as the Course teaches it makes use of the Holy Instant, the “little breath of eternity that runs through time like golden Light that is all the same; nothing before it, nothing afterwards.” The reality of God and the Holy Spirit (which is our reality) is always, now, and forever. “The past takes nothing from it, and the future will add no more. Here then, is everything. This gift returns the laws of God to your remembrance.”
Because our reality in God is already perfect, whole, and complete, there really is only one purpose to everything… to awaken from the dream we made up. So the Course reminds us repeatedly that forgiveness is our only function. Don’t bother judging the seeming situation, since trying to judge a dream is insane… it’s all made up. Practice forgiveness, and wake up to Perfection. Practice forgiveness, and be Happy.
“God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.” -- A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 101
Here is an example of how the function of forgiveness unfolds in the mind. Use your own words, and be specific and thorough with each individual person, situation, or feeling you are examining. Once you experience the deep peace this process brings, don't try and fill the clean and open space with concepts and stories again. Remember that it’s the false concepts and beliefs in your mind that project as the world you think you see. So step back and let Truth arise and lead the way. Ask the Holy Spirit whenever you need to make a decision. BE peace.
This feeling
(fear, anger, hurt, pride, jealousy, frustration, pain, hopelessness or
whatever the unsettling emotion may be) that I feel toward and about you and
this situation seems to be about:
(Take time to
be honest about this, in detail)
I see that
every aspect of this is a projection of my belief that I am separate from God
and everyone and everything, which means I think I’m separate from this
situation and from the All, the Everything that is God, which includes all Goodness
and Love and Perfection and Completeness.
Because I think I’m separate, I’m projecting false images of conflict
and pain and lack instead of radiating the Wholeness and Peace that I am. I’m projecting false images of lack and
limitation instead of radiating the perfect Love and Completeness that I am.
I see that it’s
impossible to be separate from the Love of God, which is Everything and
All. I have never been separate and my fear is all
made up and projected as false images.
Everyone and everything that seems to be involved is also eternally One with the Love of God,
and so everyone and everything that seems to be in conflict is actually all Good
and only Good, Perfect, Innocent and Complete.
And so I
forgive myself and everyone and everything for what never even happened! I let it go, and overlook all the seeming
‘evidence’ of lack and pain and suffering.
I look instead to the Holy Spirit, and I give all these images to the
Holy Spirit to be dissolved in my perception throughout imaginary space and
time.
I know that as
I release these images to the Holy Spirit, they are completely undone
throughout the dream (past, present, and future… which are all made up, too)...
the false concepts and images dissolve in the Light like the dreams they are,
and now I know none of it ever happened in reality. All that remains is the Holy Instant of Light
and Love. There is only God, only innocence
and peace, only the clean and open space of Spirit… the Light, Perfection, Peace,
Love, and Joy that is our eternal Home.
By
being honest about our thoughts and feelings in this way, and giving them to
the Holy Spirit, we let Truth correct all such errors in our minds (which is where it all appears to be
happening!). We can then step back and
let our Wholeness (holiness) lead the way, and the symbols and projections in
the dream we call life begin to reflect this Wholeness. Innocence and Peace, Joy and Happiness… these
are the Reality behind everything. And
forgiveness is the way to remember the Reality behind it all.
“Forgiveness
is the key to happiness.” A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 121
Please join us for ACIM Teleclasses every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. central time.
Monday, March 25, 2013
As Common as Grass
"Therefore the Master says... I let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass." -- Tao te Ching, p. 57; Stephen Mitchell Translation
"Miracles are natural. When they do not occur, something has gone wrong." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 1, Section I, 6:1-2
What seems to come naturally in our lives is evidently not really natural. For example, babies aren't born with the ability to sing an Aria, or a pop song. But singing feels natural to me. If I inquire honestly though, it took a lot of practicing as a child and then as an adult to get to the point where it feels so automatic. Reading the above quotations has me thinking about just what is natural, what is common and ordinary? If Goodness and Miracles are actually what is common and natural, then we have done a bang-up job of obscuring the Truth with a lot of the un-natural and un-common.
A Course in Miracles explains that defenses are the costliest of habits. They obscure the ever-present Goodness and perfection of our true Self. And what are defenses? They are thoughts, perceptions, habits, projections... all to distract the awareness and attention from the perfection of Self. All with the common attribute of dividing and dissecting the awareness into multitudes of judgements about what is good, what is bad, what is me, what is them, what is here, what is there... and on and on and on. It's the original and ultimate defamation of character.
But what remains when these defenses are forgiven and released is the natural perfection of our Christ Self. The miracle is natural because the Christ is our reality. The miracle reveals what has always been effortlessly true, and so is the most natural thing in the world. All that is required of us is the willingness to let our judgements go, to forgive our false witness to the Son of God. We can twist ourselves into un-natural and un-worthy caricatures, but we can never make them true. Who we are remains holy... wholly innocent and free, eternally One in the Mind of God.
"All your difficulties stem from the fact that you do not recognize yourself, your brother, or God." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 3, Section III, 2:1
"Miracles are natural. When they do not occur, something has gone wrong." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 1, Section I, 6:1-2
What seems to come naturally in our lives is evidently not really natural. For example, babies aren't born with the ability to sing an Aria, or a pop song. But singing feels natural to me. If I inquire honestly though, it took a lot of practicing as a child and then as an adult to get to the point where it feels so automatic. Reading the above quotations has me thinking about just what is natural, what is common and ordinary? If Goodness and Miracles are actually what is common and natural, then we have done a bang-up job of obscuring the Truth with a lot of the un-natural and un-common.
A Course in Miracles explains that defenses are the costliest of habits. They obscure the ever-present Goodness and perfection of our true Self. And what are defenses? They are thoughts, perceptions, habits, projections... all to distract the awareness and attention from the perfection of Self. All with the common attribute of dividing and dissecting the awareness into multitudes of judgements about what is good, what is bad, what is me, what is them, what is here, what is there... and on and on and on. It's the original and ultimate defamation of character.
But what remains when these defenses are forgiven and released is the natural perfection of our Christ Self. The miracle is natural because the Christ is our reality. The miracle reveals what has always been effortlessly true, and so is the most natural thing in the world. All that is required of us is the willingness to let our judgements go, to forgive our false witness to the Son of God. We can twist ourselves into un-natural and un-worthy caricatures, but we can never make them true. Who we are remains holy... wholly innocent and free, eternally One in the Mind of God.
"All your difficulties stem from the fact that you do not recognize yourself, your brother, or God." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 3, Section III, 2:1
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Forgiving by Making it All the Same
"Make this year different by making it all the same." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 15, Section XI, 10:11
"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
"It is impossible that one illusion be less amenable to Truth than are the rest. But it is possible that some are given greater value, and less willingly offered to Truth for healing and for help. No illusion has any truth in it. Yet it appears some are more true than others, although this clearly makes no sense at all. All that a hierarchy of illusions can show is preference, not reality." -- A Course in Miracles; Chpater 26, Section VII, 6:1-5
Happy Boxing Day! I meant to write this post for Christmas, but am a day late... so Boxing Day it is. Which is actually perfect for the ACIM quotes I'm writing about. And for making it all the same.
From infancy we are all carefully conditioned to differentiate and categorize, to establish values for everything we see. Good, bad, better, best, ugly, beautiful, or just O.K. Regardless of the placement in a hierarchy of values, everything we come across has this in common. We judge it to be valuable or valueless, and place it somewhere in our personal hierarchy of illusions.
Now this is how we seem to make sense of the world, and how we manage to get out of bed in the morning. The problem with this sort system is that it hides the ever-present Truth... that we have given everything (EVERYTHING) all the meaning that it has... that everything exists in Mind, and Mind alone. As long as we're categorizing and judging, this simply cannot be seen or known, and true forgiveness is impossible. It's only when we realize that it's all the same because it's all made up... only then can we begin to glimpse the Truth.
How many of us are willing to see the world without the conditioned judgments of a lifetime? Without the comfort of our own bias? As the Mind that is projecting it all, rather than some fictional character it's all happening to? Forgiveness is impossible without this realization. Otherwise, we think something really happened that needs our forgiveness. Whereas true forgiveness is the simple realization that nothing actually happened except our own misplaced categorizations and judgements.
How liberating this is! "I will forgive, and this will disappear." ACIM Workbook 193, 13:3
"It is a dream of judgment. So must [you] judge not, and [you] will awaken." A Course in Miracles; Chapter 29, Section IX, 2:3-5
"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
"It is impossible that one illusion be less amenable to Truth than are the rest. But it is possible that some are given greater value, and less willingly offered to Truth for healing and for help. No illusion has any truth in it. Yet it appears some are more true than others, although this clearly makes no sense at all. All that a hierarchy of illusions can show is preference, not reality." -- A Course in Miracles; Chpater 26, Section VII, 6:1-5
Happy Boxing Day! I meant to write this post for Christmas, but am a day late... so Boxing Day it is. Which is actually perfect for the ACIM quotes I'm writing about. And for making it all the same.
From infancy we are all carefully conditioned to differentiate and categorize, to establish values for everything we see. Good, bad, better, best, ugly, beautiful, or just O.K. Regardless of the placement in a hierarchy of values, everything we come across has this in common. We judge it to be valuable or valueless, and place it somewhere in our personal hierarchy of illusions.
Now this is how we seem to make sense of the world, and how we manage to get out of bed in the morning. The problem with this sort system is that it hides the ever-present Truth... that we have given everything (EVERYTHING) all the meaning that it has... that everything exists in Mind, and Mind alone. As long as we're categorizing and judging, this simply cannot be seen or known, and true forgiveness is impossible. It's only when we realize that it's all the same because it's all made up... only then can we begin to glimpse the Truth.
How many of us are willing to see the world without the conditioned judgments of a lifetime? Without the comfort of our own bias? As the Mind that is projecting it all, rather than some fictional character it's all happening to? Forgiveness is impossible without this realization. Otherwise, we think something really happened that needs our forgiveness. Whereas true forgiveness is the simple realization that nothing actually happened except our own misplaced categorizations and judgements.
How liberating this is! "I will forgive, and this will disappear." ACIM Workbook 193, 13:3
"It is a dream of judgment. So must [you] judge not, and [you] will awaken." A Course in Miracles; Chapter 29, Section IX, 2:3-5
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Awake in the Dark
"There is nothing you can hold against reality. All that must be forgiven are the illusions you have held against your brothers. Their reality has no past, and only illusions can be forgiven. God holds nothing against anyone, for He is incapable of illusions of any kind. Release your brothers from the slavery of their illusions by forgiving them for the illusions you perceive in them. Thus will you learn that you have been forgiven, for it is you who offered them illusions." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 16, Section VII, 9:1-6
I lay in bed in the dark, in the wee hours, unable to sleep. Thought upon thought weaves through my awareness, everything murky and uncomfortable. Nothing awful, mind you... simply the haziness of illusion, weaving itself in a downward spiral into stories and projections of judgment and separation. None of it true. How do I know that none of it is true? Because it is restless, murky, and unclear. There is no peace. When a thought arises that is in alignment with the Reality of God, there is an immediate lightening in consciousness. And that thought leads to another, and then another, on an upward spiral back to peace.
Remembering that all my judgments are nonsense helps a lot. "Forgive your brothers from the slavery of their illusions by forgiving them for the illusions you perceive in them." Yes, I'm the perceiver... whenever I see a problem, I'm always the one naming it and weaving a story about it in my mind. So I'm the only one who can forgive it. "Thus you will learn that you have been forgiven." Yes, all the judgments about me were in my mind, too. They are all my stories.
Everything is mind... mind asleep, or Mind Awake. Mind asleep is not really doing anything or creating anything... simply dreaming, even when it seems to be awake. Our One Mind Awake is the Source of All that is Real. It is the Mind of God, and it is my real mind. And yours. And everyone's. In Reality, there's only One of Us.
The One Awakened Mind, the Mind that created us and lives us, is joyous and free and at peace. It has always been. "The sleep of forgetfulness is only the unwillingness to remember." (ACIM; Chapter 16, Section VII, 12:4)
Why do we seem to prefer our dream stories and problems? Why do we worship them with our time and attention, when only a little sigh of release will return us to sanity and peaces? Forgiveness offers this and so much more. "Remember that you always choose between Truth and illusions." Minute by minute we get to choose. So every holy instant is a new beginning. Awake in the dark, I remember.
"Seek and find His message in the holy instant, where all illusions are forgiven. From here the miracle extends to bless everyone and to resolve all problems, be they perceived as great or small, possible or impossible. There is nothing that will not give place to Him and to His Majesty. The Truth lies here and nowhere else. You choose this or nothing." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 16, Section VII, 11:1-3, 6-7
I lay in bed in the dark, in the wee hours, unable to sleep. Thought upon thought weaves through my awareness, everything murky and uncomfortable. Nothing awful, mind you... simply the haziness of illusion, weaving itself in a downward spiral into stories and projections of judgment and separation. None of it true. How do I know that none of it is true? Because it is restless, murky, and unclear. There is no peace. When a thought arises that is in alignment with the Reality of God, there is an immediate lightening in consciousness. And that thought leads to another, and then another, on an upward spiral back to peace.
Remembering that all my judgments are nonsense helps a lot. "Forgive your brothers from the slavery of their illusions by forgiving them for the illusions you perceive in them." Yes, I'm the perceiver... whenever I see a problem, I'm always the one naming it and weaving a story about it in my mind. So I'm the only one who can forgive it. "Thus you will learn that you have been forgiven." Yes, all the judgments about me were in my mind, too. They are all my stories.
Everything is mind... mind asleep, or Mind Awake. Mind asleep is not really doing anything or creating anything... simply dreaming, even when it seems to be awake. Our One Mind Awake is the Source of All that is Real. It is the Mind of God, and it is my real mind. And yours. And everyone's. In Reality, there's only One of Us.
The One Awakened Mind, the Mind that created us and lives us, is joyous and free and at peace. It has always been. "The sleep of forgetfulness is only the unwillingness to remember." (ACIM; Chapter 16, Section VII, 12:4)
Why do we seem to prefer our dream stories and problems? Why do we worship them with our time and attention, when only a little sigh of release will return us to sanity and peaces? Forgiveness offers this and so much more. "Remember that you always choose between Truth and illusions." Minute by minute we get to choose. So every holy instant is a new beginning. Awake in the dark, I remember.
"Seek and find His message in the holy instant, where all illusions are forgiven. From here the miracle extends to bless everyone and to resolve all problems, be they perceived as great or small, possible or impossible. There is nothing that will not give place to Him and to His Majesty. The Truth lies here and nowhere else. You choose this or nothing." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 16, Section VII, 11:1-3, 6-7
Saturday, September 11, 2010
The Judge of What You Are
"Let Him be Judge of what you are, for He has certainty in which there is no doubt, because it rests on Certainty so great that doubt is meaningless before Its Face. Christ cannot doubt HimSelf. The Voice for God can only honor Him, rejoicing in His perfect, everlasting sinlessness. Whom He has judged can only laugh at guilt, unwilling now to play with toys of sin; unheeding of the body's witnesses before the rapture of Christ's holy face. And thus He judges YOU." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 151, 8:1-4
Wow, in the last couple of days alone I have had five or six conversations with people who are judging themselves very harshly. This is of course my own journey as well, so it's a wonderful opportunity to see my projections in living color.
Who is the judge of who and what I am? I've taken it upon myself to judge my inadequacies at every opportunity. I've imagined I see the physical flaws, the mental limitations, the emotional vulnerability, the failures and the successes as I judge them. These are the false perceptions that begin within and are projected without as a flawed and struggling world full of flawed and struggling people. Whether I see them as enemies or friends is irrelevant. I don't see them at all. I see my projections, and nothing else. "You cannot judge. You merely can believe the ego's judgements, all of which are false. It guides your senses carefully, to prove how weak you are; how helpless and afraid, how apprehensive of just punishment, how black with sin, how wretched in your guilt." -- ACIM; Workbook 151, 4:3-5
But we all know how very familiar and real this false sense of self and other seems to us. The compulsion to live our life as this false self dictates is nearly overwhelming at times. How do we stop this addictive and destructive behavior, this constant judging of everyone and everything, this constant assumption that we know who we are and what we're doing? ACIM says we must learn to doubt the evidence of our senses rather than our Self. As we cease to judge according to appearances, we "clear the way to recognize Self, and let the Voice for God alone be Judge of what is worthy of belief."
And so we come down to it, once again. Forgiveness is our function here, not judgment. We do not and cannot know the big picture while we walk about in this dream world. But we can forgive and release our judgments to One Who Knows, and allow Him to lead the way. "Let Him be Judge as well of everything that seems to happen to you in this world. His lessons will enable you to bridge the [seeming] gap between illusions and Truth. He will remove all faith you have placed in pain, disaster, suffering, and loss. He gives you Vision which looks beyond these grim appearances and beholds the gentle face of Christ in all of them. You will no longer doubt that only good can come to you who are beloved of God, for He will judge all happenings and teach the single lesson that they all contain." -- ACIM; Workbook 151, 9:6-7, 10:1-3
And what is the single lesson that everything contains? "Let Him evaluate each thought that comes to mind, removing the elements of dreams, and give them back again as clean ideas that do not contradict the Will of God. Give Him your thoughts, and He will give them back as miracles which joyously proclaim the wholeness and the happiness God wills His Son, as proof of His eternal Love." -- ACIM; Workbook 151, 13:4, 14:1
The single lesson is always that the Son of God that we are remains in God, sinless and eternally perfect and beloved and loving. And no dreams or fantasies have ever had the slightest effect on this Reality.
God is the only judge of what you are, and what I am, and what all creation is. And the single judgment is always the Truth about the Son of God.
"As each thought is thus transformed, it takes on healing power from the Mind which saw the Truth in it and failed to be deceived by what was falsely added. All the threads of fantasy are gone. And what remains is unified into a perfect Thought that offers its perfection everywhere. Your ministry begins as all your thoughts are purified. So are you taught to teach the Son of God the holy lesson of his sanctity." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 151, 14:2-4, 15:2-3
Wow, in the last couple of days alone I have had five or six conversations with people who are judging themselves very harshly. This is of course my own journey as well, so it's a wonderful opportunity to see my projections in living color.
Who is the judge of who and what I am? I've taken it upon myself to judge my inadequacies at every opportunity. I've imagined I see the physical flaws, the mental limitations, the emotional vulnerability, the failures and the successes as I judge them. These are the false perceptions that begin within and are projected without as a flawed and struggling world full of flawed and struggling people. Whether I see them as enemies or friends is irrelevant. I don't see them at all. I see my projections, and nothing else. "You cannot judge. You merely can believe the ego's judgements, all of which are false. It guides your senses carefully, to prove how weak you are; how helpless and afraid, how apprehensive of just punishment, how black with sin, how wretched in your guilt." -- ACIM; Workbook 151, 4:3-5
But we all know how very familiar and real this false sense of self and other seems to us. The compulsion to live our life as this false self dictates is nearly overwhelming at times. How do we stop this addictive and destructive behavior, this constant judging of everyone and everything, this constant assumption that we know who we are and what we're doing? ACIM says we must learn to doubt the evidence of our senses rather than our Self. As we cease to judge according to appearances, we "clear the way to recognize Self, and let the Voice for God alone be Judge of what is worthy of belief."
And so we come down to it, once again. Forgiveness is our function here, not judgment. We do not and cannot know the big picture while we walk about in this dream world. But we can forgive and release our judgments to One Who Knows, and allow Him to lead the way. "Let Him be Judge as well of everything that seems to happen to you in this world. His lessons will enable you to bridge the [seeming] gap between illusions and Truth. He will remove all faith you have placed in pain, disaster, suffering, and loss. He gives you Vision which looks beyond these grim appearances and beholds the gentle face of Christ in all of them. You will no longer doubt that only good can come to you who are beloved of God, for He will judge all happenings and teach the single lesson that they all contain." -- ACIM; Workbook 151, 9:6-7, 10:1-3
And what is the single lesson that everything contains? "Let Him evaluate each thought that comes to mind, removing the elements of dreams, and give them back again as clean ideas that do not contradict the Will of God. Give Him your thoughts, and He will give them back as miracles which joyously proclaim the wholeness and the happiness God wills His Son, as proof of His eternal Love." -- ACIM; Workbook 151, 13:4, 14:1
The single lesson is always that the Son of God that we are remains in God, sinless and eternally perfect and beloved and loving. And no dreams or fantasies have ever had the slightest effect on this Reality.
God is the only judge of what you are, and what I am, and what all creation is. And the single judgment is always the Truth about the Son of God.
"As each thought is thus transformed, it takes on healing power from the Mind which saw the Truth in it and failed to be deceived by what was falsely added. All the threads of fantasy are gone. And what remains is unified into a perfect Thought that offers its perfection everywhere. Your ministry begins as all your thoughts are purified. So are you taught to teach the Son of God the holy lesson of his sanctity." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook 151, 14:2-4, 15:2-3
Friday, September 3, 2010
A Long Time Coming...
First, all links are working on the CD website, and I have also posted a new YouTube video. Enjoy! And don't forget to purchase mp3s or order the whole CD, and support the animals at The Claire Foundation Animal Sanctuary.
All quotes today are from the Manual for Teachers in A Course in Miracles. Where no reference is given, quotes are from section 10, "How is Judgment Relinquished?"
"And now must [you] attain a state that may remain impossible to reach for a long, long time. [You] must learn to lay all judgment aside, and ask only what [you] really want in every circumstance." -- A Course in Miracles; Manual for Teachers 4, I, A, 7:7-8
Of course, time is an illusion. What seems like a long time coming is just how it seems to us, as we cling to the remnants of personal judgment, guilt, and fear. We cling to our personal judgments and conditioned self-image (which is nothing but a collection of judgments) because we think it is who we are... and it seems that giving up judgment would be the death of our identity and individuality. In fact, the false identity keeps us blind to our true Self and individuality in God.
Every snowflake, every grain of sand is unique and individual... no two are ever the same. And yet their only identity is in the collective. A snowflake is nothing without the snowfall or the snowbank. A single grain of sand is useless, but the sand dunes create shelter and habitat. Each of us is unique, too, but not in the ways we imagine. We each reflect God and only God in this world, each in a unique way that only has meaning within the Whole. When we judge what we or anyone else should be, or what we should be doing or saying based on human perspectives (which are simply the memories we carry around as if they were true), we are projecting a false image over the face of Self... which is the face of Christ.
So how in the heck do we give up judgment? How in the heck do we let go of who we think we are, or should be, or will be? A Course in Miracles gives us clear direction: "It is necessary... to realize not that he should not judge, but that he cannot. In giving up judgment, he is merely giving up what he did not have. He gives up the illusion; or better, he has an illusion of giving up. He has actually become more honest. Recognizing that judgment was always impossible [which of us could ever know or be aware of the full spectrum of possibilities or circumstances, past, present or future?], he no longer attempts it. This is no sacrifice. On the contrary, he puts himself in a position where judgment through him rather than by him can occur. And this judgment [of the Holy Spirit] is neither 'good' nor 'bad'. It is the only judgment there is, and it is only One: "God's Son is guiltless, and sin does not exist."
Whenever we're confronted with decisions or problems, it may seem excruciatingly hard not to judge it 'practically'... but there is nothing practical about the world of suffering that arises from these false projections we call judgments. Each of us will "lay it down happily the instant he recognizes the cost. All of the ugliness he sees about him is its outcome. All of the pain he looks upon is its result. All of the loneliness and sense of loss; of passing time and growing hopelessness; of sickening despair and fear of death; all these have come of it [judgment]. And now he knows that these things need not be. Not one is true. For he has given up their cause, and they, which never were but the effects of his mistaken choice, have fallen from him. Therefore lay judgment down, not with regret but with a sigh of gratitude. Now are you free of a burden so great that you could merely stagger and fall down beneath it. And it was all illusion. Nothing more."
I am writing this blog today because giving up judgment has seemed to be a long time coming for me. I thought I was a very judgmental person, even very recently. I thought I had to struggle to somehow 'overcome' judgment. But Grace has a way of correcting our false perceptions of ourselves in the unlikeliest of circumstances. I am so grateful for every false judgment I ever thought I made... because I now know that it was all made up, including all self-judgment. Every circumstance has become a happy dream, another way to remember God, and my Self.
"His sense of care is gone, for he has none. He has given it away, along with judgment. Now he makes no mistakes. His Guide is sure. And where before he came to judge, he comes to bless. Where now he laughs, he used to come to weep." -- A Course in Miracles; Manual for Teachers 10, 5:7-13
All quotes today are from the Manual for Teachers in A Course in Miracles. Where no reference is given, quotes are from section 10, "How is Judgment Relinquished?"
"And now must [you] attain a state that may remain impossible to reach for a long, long time. [You] must learn to lay all judgment aside, and ask only what [you] really want in every circumstance." -- A Course in Miracles; Manual for Teachers 4, I, A, 7:7-8
Of course, time is an illusion. What seems like a long time coming is just how it seems to us, as we cling to the remnants of personal judgment, guilt, and fear. We cling to our personal judgments and conditioned self-image (which is nothing but a collection of judgments) because we think it is who we are... and it seems that giving up judgment would be the death of our identity and individuality. In fact, the false identity keeps us blind to our true Self and individuality in God.
Every snowflake, every grain of sand is unique and individual... no two are ever the same. And yet their only identity is in the collective. A snowflake is nothing without the snowfall or the snowbank. A single grain of sand is useless, but the sand dunes create shelter and habitat. Each of us is unique, too, but not in the ways we imagine. We each reflect God and only God in this world, each in a unique way that only has meaning within the Whole. When we judge what we or anyone else should be, or what we should be doing or saying based on human perspectives (which are simply the memories we carry around as if they were true), we are projecting a false image over the face of Self... which is the face of Christ.
So how in the heck do we give up judgment? How in the heck do we let go of who we think we are, or should be, or will be? A Course in Miracles gives us clear direction: "It is necessary... to realize not that he should not judge, but that he cannot. In giving up judgment, he is merely giving up what he did not have. He gives up the illusion; or better, he has an illusion of giving up. He has actually become more honest. Recognizing that judgment was always impossible [which of us could ever know or be aware of the full spectrum of possibilities or circumstances, past, present or future?], he no longer attempts it. This is no sacrifice. On the contrary, he puts himself in a position where judgment through him rather than by him can occur. And this judgment [of the Holy Spirit] is neither 'good' nor 'bad'. It is the only judgment there is, and it is only One: "God's Son is guiltless, and sin does not exist."
Whenever we're confronted with decisions or problems, it may seem excruciatingly hard not to judge it 'practically'... but there is nothing practical about the world of suffering that arises from these false projections we call judgments. Each of us will "lay it down happily the instant he recognizes the cost. All of the ugliness he sees about him is its outcome. All of the pain he looks upon is its result. All of the loneliness and sense of loss; of passing time and growing hopelessness; of sickening despair and fear of death; all these have come of it [judgment]. And now he knows that these things need not be. Not one is true. For he has given up their cause, and they, which never were but the effects of his mistaken choice, have fallen from him. Therefore lay judgment down, not with regret but with a sigh of gratitude. Now are you free of a burden so great that you could merely stagger and fall down beneath it. And it was all illusion. Nothing more."
I am writing this blog today because giving up judgment has seemed to be a long time coming for me. I thought I was a very judgmental person, even very recently. I thought I had to struggle to somehow 'overcome' judgment. But Grace has a way of correcting our false perceptions of ourselves in the unlikeliest of circumstances. I am so grateful for every false judgment I ever thought I made... because I now know that it was all made up, including all self-judgment. Every circumstance has become a happy dream, another way to remember God, and my Self.
"His sense of care is gone, for he has none. He has given it away, along with judgment. Now he makes no mistakes. His Guide is sure. And where before he came to judge, he comes to bless. Where now he laughs, he used to come to weep." -- A Course in Miracles; Manual for Teachers 10, 5:7-13
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