It occurred to me that since this blog will remain open, readers may be interested in starting A Course in Miracles again in 2008. If you'd like to start the course this year, please read from the beginning (January 2007).
If you'd like more information about studying A Course in Miracles, check out Marianne Williamson on Oprah and Friends radio, XM Channel 156.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
Day 365 - FINAL ENTRY
Today's Lesson:
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing - and Reflections on 2007:
This has been an incredible year. When I decided to post the daily lessons from A Course in Miracles, I had no idea what that would mean in my life. One of the things I noticed is that when I put my mind to something, I can accomplish it. The mental discipline it took for me to not only study the lessons each day, but post them here was something I don't think I've ever committed to doing before and now I know I can do whatever I determine I can do.
Watching the miracles that unfolded for the ACIM study group I'm a part of was also a miracle in itself. Peace, parenthood, business ownership, connection to personal authenticity, abundance, love - all of these were characteristics in the lives of the participants this year, and those participants attribute their miraculous lives at least in part to their study of this course.
Today's text reminds us to choose once again if we would take our place among the saviors of the world or would remain in hell, and hold our brothers there. It is really a very simple choice! We always choose between our weakness and the strength of Christ in us. And what we choose is what we think is real. When we choose to bring our weakness to Christ, he will take charge of everything we do. Whenever we make a faulty choice, we get trials which are simply lessons we failed to learn presented again so we can make a better choice.
I watched the documentary "Jesus Camp" last night on A&E and the fear that was instilled in those children was a perfect example of choosing fear over love and calling it God. I have learned so much since I began studying this course, and for me it is the difference between motivation and inspiration. Motivation is man-made - it is external and based on fear. Inspiration is God-created - it is internal and based on love. Motivation is a push from behind, telling me what I should do and using guilt and fear as its motive. Inspiration is a pull from within, lighting me up and inviting me to listen to my heart - the Christ in me - and using love to light that fire.
I was thinking as I was watching this movie last night: what might people do if allowed to listen to their own hearts and do what they think is right instead of being filled with fear? These little 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-year-old kids were told that Harry Potter was evil and if he would have been in the Old Testament he would have been put to death. I realize that this is just one side of the story and depicts one certain evangelical Christian side mixed with politics. I don't need to get caught up in the drama.
So I started really thinking about what we would all be like if we didn't have someone else telling us "how it is" or what we should think. What if we really allowed ourselves to listen to what's inside us. Would we be inherently good or inherently evil? I firmly believe that we are all created in the image and likeness of God and if we just remember that, we really can't go wrong.
Today's text tells us the images we make cannot prevail against what God Himself would have us be. We should never be fearful of temptation, then, but see it as it is; another chance to choose again, and let Christ's strength prevail in every circumstance and every place we raised an image of ourselves before. That's the ego vs. spirit debate.
We are as God created us, and so is every living thing we look upon, regardless of the images we see. What we behold as sickness and as pain, as weakness and as suffering and loss, is but temptation to perceive ourselves defenseless and in hell.
It goes on to say let us be glad that we can walk the world, and find so many chances to perceive another situation where God's gift can once again be recognized as ours! As we fight against things we don't agree with (like some of the scenes in "Jesus Camp"), we simply give more energy to those things that make us upset. And there should be no reason to be upset when we remember who we are (created in the image and likeness of God - along with everyone else we see).
The bottom line is that we are all one, regardless of race, religion, creed, nationality, doctrine, upbringing, wealth, poverty or belief. As I remember that and choose love instead of fear, I really do transform the world. Let there be peace on earth - and let it begin with me.
Thank you for studying with me this past year. Although I won't be reflecting on this blog in 2008, I will be studying again. And I'll be listening to Marianne Williamson on XM Channel 156 as she teaches the daily lessons. Look inside yourself and when you have a choice, choose love over fear - Spirit over ego. Notice what you notice and you will see that your life has become more peaceful, more loving, and happier. And isn't that what miracles are all about?
Much love and light to you and everyone in your world!
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing - and Reflections on 2007:
This has been an incredible year. When I decided to post the daily lessons from A Course in Miracles, I had no idea what that would mean in my life. One of the things I noticed is that when I put my mind to something, I can accomplish it. The mental discipline it took for me to not only study the lessons each day, but post them here was something I don't think I've ever committed to doing before and now I know I can do whatever I determine I can do.
Watching the miracles that unfolded for the ACIM study group I'm a part of was also a miracle in itself. Peace, parenthood, business ownership, connection to personal authenticity, abundance, love - all of these were characteristics in the lives of the participants this year, and those participants attribute their miraculous lives at least in part to their study of this course.
Today's text reminds us to choose once again if we would take our place among the saviors of the world or would remain in hell, and hold our brothers there. It is really a very simple choice! We always choose between our weakness and the strength of Christ in us. And what we choose is what we think is real. When we choose to bring our weakness to Christ, he will take charge of everything we do. Whenever we make a faulty choice, we get trials which are simply lessons we failed to learn presented again so we can make a better choice.
I watched the documentary "Jesus Camp" last night on A&E and the fear that was instilled in those children was a perfect example of choosing fear over love and calling it God. I have learned so much since I began studying this course, and for me it is the difference between motivation and inspiration. Motivation is man-made - it is external and based on fear. Inspiration is God-created - it is internal and based on love. Motivation is a push from behind, telling me what I should do and using guilt and fear as its motive. Inspiration is a pull from within, lighting me up and inviting me to listen to my heart - the Christ in me - and using love to light that fire.
I was thinking as I was watching this movie last night: what might people do if allowed to listen to their own hearts and do what they think is right instead of being filled with fear? These little 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-year-old kids were told that Harry Potter was evil and if he would have been in the Old Testament he would have been put to death. I realize that this is just one side of the story and depicts one certain evangelical Christian side mixed with politics. I don't need to get caught up in the drama.
So I started really thinking about what we would all be like if we didn't have someone else telling us "how it is" or what we should think. What if we really allowed ourselves to listen to what's inside us. Would we be inherently good or inherently evil? I firmly believe that we are all created in the image and likeness of God and if we just remember that, we really can't go wrong.
Today's text tells us the images we make cannot prevail against what God Himself would have us be. We should never be fearful of temptation, then, but see it as it is; another chance to choose again, and let Christ's strength prevail in every circumstance and every place we raised an image of ourselves before. That's the ego vs. spirit debate.
We are as God created us, and so is every living thing we look upon, regardless of the images we see. What we behold as sickness and as pain, as weakness and as suffering and loss, is but temptation to perceive ourselves defenseless and in hell.
It goes on to say let us be glad that we can walk the world, and find so many chances to perceive another situation where God's gift can once again be recognized as ours! As we fight against things we don't agree with (like some of the scenes in "Jesus Camp"), we simply give more energy to those things that make us upset. And there should be no reason to be upset when we remember who we are (created in the image and likeness of God - along with everyone else we see).
The bottom line is that we are all one, regardless of race, religion, creed, nationality, doctrine, upbringing, wealth, poverty or belief. As I remember that and choose love instead of fear, I really do transform the world. Let there be peace on earth - and let it begin with me.
Thank you for studying with me this past year. Although I won't be reflecting on this blog in 2008, I will be studying again. And I'll be listening to Marianne Williamson on XM Channel 156 as she teaches the daily lessons. Look inside yourself and when you have a choice, choose love over fear - Spirit over ego. Notice what you notice and you will see that your life has become more peaceful, more loving, and happier. And isn't that what miracles are all about?
Much love and light to you and everyone in your world!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Day 364
Today's Lesson:
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
You probably noticed that the lesson for the last five days of the year is the same one. By this time in our study this is probably the most important thing to remember. I don't have much to report today on my personal miracles because I spent a relatively uneventful day reading and lounging. I'm looking forward to spending tomorrow reflecting on 2007 and looking ahead to 2008. I'm reading Timothy Ferriss' The Four-Hour Workweek, so will be doing some journaling about that process. I'm also looking forward to beginning the new year with this course.
Watch for year-end reflections tomorrow!
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
You probably noticed that the lesson for the last five days of the year is the same one. By this time in our study this is probably the most important thing to remember. I don't have much to report today on my personal miracles because I spent a relatively uneventful day reading and lounging. I'm looking forward to spending tomorrow reflecting on 2007 and looking ahead to 2008. I'm reading Timothy Ferriss' The Four-Hour Workweek, so will be doing some journaling about that process. I'm also looking forward to beginning the new year with this course.
Watch for year-end reflections tomorrow!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Day 363
Today's Lesson:
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
I've been hearing more about Marianne Williamson's project to teach the daily lessons we've been talking about here in 2008 on XM 156. In fact, I saw a commercial on Oprah's TV show yesterday about the upcoming lessons and I heard more about it this morning on the radio. My friend Michael actually opened up a trial account on XM and listened to it on his computer yesterday and said he was really excited to hear about the lessons from Marianne.
I'm really excited that the course is getting to be more mainstream now - and it's fun to see how the world is waking up to new information. This morning our Saturday master mind group got together and talked about how much of a difference this Saturday gathering has meant to them because we're talking about issues that they don't have another venue to talk about them. That's vitally important as our world wakes up.
I'm so excited for how 2008 will allow this kind of dialogue in my home community of Fargo and how the world will shift with the ability to study this course with Marianne through XM radio.
Three more days to celebrate 2007!!
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
I've been hearing more about Marianne Williamson's project to teach the daily lessons we've been talking about here in 2008 on XM 156. In fact, I saw a commercial on Oprah's TV show yesterday about the upcoming lessons and I heard more about it this morning on the radio. My friend Michael actually opened up a trial account on XM and listened to it on his computer yesterday and said he was really excited to hear about the lessons from Marianne.
I'm really excited that the course is getting to be more mainstream now - and it's fun to see how the world is waking up to new information. This morning our Saturday master mind group got together and talked about how much of a difference this Saturday gathering has meant to them because we're talking about issues that they don't have another venue to talk about them. That's vitally important as our world wakes up.
I'm so excited for how 2008 will allow this kind of dialogue in my home community of Fargo and how the world will shift with the ability to study this course with Marianne through XM radio.
Three more days to celebrate 2007!!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Day 362
Today's Lesson:
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
Last night I spent way too much time surfing the web (it's been a long time since I've done that!) looking for information about Marianne Williamson's new XM radio show where she will be teaching this Course. I'm hungry for a deeper understanding of what I'm learning here, and I was hoping to find that from Marianne. What I found was a lot of controversy regarding this Course, Neale Donald Walsch (author of Conversations With God), Esther Hicks (author of Ask And It Is Given and others), Marianne and Oprah for promoting her soul series on her XM station.
What I read last night just proved that fear is still very prevalent in our world. People fear what they don't understand. It seems as though anything that makes us feel good about ourselves and our relationship with our Creator must be wrong because it's supposed to be difficult and there should be a sense of fear involved. Fundamentalists want the world to be the way they see it - and want everyone else to believe the same thing; however I didn't notice any other religions but Christianity in that fundamental pot. It seems as though the Christians really do believe that everyone in the world needs to understand the fundamental viewpoint as the only way to God and their fear keeps them from being open to any other pathway. I actually saw forum posts about the anti-Christ and the devil and evil in reference to this Course and Oprah and Marianne.
What occurs to me in noticing this information is 1) it came into my awareness, so there must be a lesson for me in it; 2) there is a place for ho'oponopono for me ("thank you, I love you, please forgive me, I'm sorry"); 3) a sense of intense gratitude that I am secure in my relationship with God; 4) the Knowledge of today's lesson - that if I need a word to help me, the Holy Spirit will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
I am not at all interested in fighting against anything anymore - I am much more vested in standing for what I believe in, despite what others might think. I am secure in my relationship with my Creator, and I believe that I am created in the image and likeness of that Creator, and He doesn't make mistakes.
As we come to the end of this year of studying the Course, I look forward to what the new year will bring to my awareness. I plan to leave this blog up, and will revisit portions throughout the year to see how my thoughts will evolve and transform from my deeper understanding next year. This has definitely been a labor of love, and I thank you for allowing me to work through my "stuff" with you here.
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
Last night I spent way too much time surfing the web (it's been a long time since I've done that!) looking for information about Marianne Williamson's new XM radio show where she will be teaching this Course. I'm hungry for a deeper understanding of what I'm learning here, and I was hoping to find that from Marianne. What I found was a lot of controversy regarding this Course, Neale Donald Walsch (author of Conversations With God), Esther Hicks (author of Ask And It Is Given and others), Marianne and Oprah for promoting her soul series on her XM station.
What I read last night just proved that fear is still very prevalent in our world. People fear what they don't understand. It seems as though anything that makes us feel good about ourselves and our relationship with our Creator must be wrong because it's supposed to be difficult and there should be a sense of fear involved. Fundamentalists want the world to be the way they see it - and want everyone else to believe the same thing; however I didn't notice any other religions but Christianity in that fundamental pot. It seems as though the Christians really do believe that everyone in the world needs to understand the fundamental viewpoint as the only way to God and their fear keeps them from being open to any other pathway. I actually saw forum posts about the anti-Christ and the devil and evil in reference to this Course and Oprah and Marianne.
What occurs to me in noticing this information is 1) it came into my awareness, so there must be a lesson for me in it; 2) there is a place for ho'oponopono for me ("thank you, I love you, please forgive me, I'm sorry"); 3) a sense of intense gratitude that I am secure in my relationship with God; 4) the Knowledge of today's lesson - that if I need a word to help me, the Holy Spirit will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
I am not at all interested in fighting against anything anymore - I am much more vested in standing for what I believe in, despite what others might think. I am secure in my relationship with my Creator, and I believe that I am created in the image and likeness of that Creator, and He doesn't make mistakes.
As we come to the end of this year of studying the Course, I look forward to what the new year will bring to my awareness. I plan to leave this blog up, and will revisit portions throughout the year to see how my thoughts will evolve and transform from my deeper understanding next year. This has definitely been a labor of love, and I thank you for allowing me to work through my "stuff" with you here.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Day 361
FINAL LESSONS
Introduction
Our final lessons will be left as free of words as possible. We use them but at the beginning of our practicing, and only to remind us that we seek to go beyond them. Let us turn to Him Who leads the way and makes our footsteps sure. To Him we leave these lessons, as to Him we give our lives henceforth. For we would not return again to the belief in sin that made the world seem ugly and unsafe, attacking and destroying, dangerous in all its ways, and treacherous beyond the hope of trust and the escape from pain.
His is the only way to find the peace that God has given us. It is His way that everyone must travel in the end, because it is this ending God Himself appointed. In the dream of time it seems to be far off. And yet, in truth, it is already here; already serving us as gracious guidance in the way to go. Let us together follow in the way that truth points out to us. And let us be the leaders of our many brothers who are seeking for the way, but find it not.
And to this purpose let us dedicate our minds, directing all our thoughts to serve the function of salvation. Unto us the aim is given to forgive the world. It is the goal that God has given us. It is His ending to the dream we seek, and not our own. For all that we forgive we will not fail to recognize as part of God Himself. And thus His memory is given back, completely and complete.
It is our function to remember Him on earth, as it is given us to be His Own completion in reality. So let us not forget our goal is God, and points the way to Him and to the Heaven of His peace. And shall we not forgive our brother, who can offer this to us? He is the way, the truth and life that shows the way to us. In him resides salvation, offered us through our forgiveness, given unto him.
We will not end this year without the gift our Father promised to his holy Son. We are forgiven now. And we are saved from all the wrath we thought belonged to God, and found it was a dream. We are restored to sanity, in which we understand that anger is insane, attack is mad, and vengeance merely foolish fantasy. We have been saved from wrath because we learned we were mistaken. Nothing more than that. And is a father angry at his son because he failed to understand the truth?
We come in honesty to God and say we did not understand, and ask Him to help us to learn His lessons, through the Voice of His Own Teacher. Would He hurt His Son? Or would He rush to answer him, and say, "This is My Son, and all I have is his"? Be certain He will answer thus, for these are His Own words to you. And more than that can no one ever have, for in these words is all there is, and all that there will be throughout all time and in eternity.
Today's Lesson:
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
This is such an appropriate way to close out this fabulous year of 2007. To reduce our last days of study - and the last days of this blog - to stillness.
I will still notice the miracles all around me, and for the last few days of this year I will let you know what I see. But it is not for my ego - it is simply to point out that through this year of study, we are all able to see the miracles that abound in all our lives. My hope is that you, too, can see in your own lives, all that wonderful beauty God has placed here for us. We may call them coincidences or luck or chance, but deep down we know there are no such things as coincidences. As Wayne Dyer says, and I've said here before, in mathematical terms, coincidental angles are those angles that fit together perfectly. No mistakes, no luck, no chance.
My miracle yesterday was a call I received from a radio host here in town whom I have know for many years. He called to see if I could come in and be on his show this morning to talk about New Years' Resolutions. I spoke about this very topic in Minneapolis on December 6, so I'm well prepared for it, even with very little notice. As we talked on the phone, he mentioned that he has some other dreams for his life that he isn't living out, and he asked if we could meet after the show and talk about some of those. It turns out that his dream is an area of my business that I need help with as well, so there's a strong possibility that we may be able to support each other in growing our dreams through barter, so neither of us has to put out any cash. If that's not something that fits together perfectly, I don't know what is.
Miracles are simply shifts in perception from fear to love. And that's what showed up in my space yesterday, and will show up today and every day that I ask God to help me learn His lessons, through the Voice of the Holy Spirit.
Enter the Peace that surpasses all human understanding, but is perfect in the eyes of Spirit.
Introduction
Our final lessons will be left as free of words as possible. We use them but at the beginning of our practicing, and only to remind us that we seek to go beyond them. Let us turn to Him Who leads the way and makes our footsteps sure. To Him we leave these lessons, as to Him we give our lives henceforth. For we would not return again to the belief in sin that made the world seem ugly and unsafe, attacking and destroying, dangerous in all its ways, and treacherous beyond the hope of trust and the escape from pain.
His is the only way to find the peace that God has given us. It is His way that everyone must travel in the end, because it is this ending God Himself appointed. In the dream of time it seems to be far off. And yet, in truth, it is already here; already serving us as gracious guidance in the way to go. Let us together follow in the way that truth points out to us. And let us be the leaders of our many brothers who are seeking for the way, but find it not.
And to this purpose let us dedicate our minds, directing all our thoughts to serve the function of salvation. Unto us the aim is given to forgive the world. It is the goal that God has given us. It is His ending to the dream we seek, and not our own. For all that we forgive we will not fail to recognize as part of God Himself. And thus His memory is given back, completely and complete.
It is our function to remember Him on earth, as it is given us to be His Own completion in reality. So let us not forget our goal is God, and points the way to Him and to the Heaven of His peace. And shall we not forgive our brother, who can offer this to us? He is the way, the truth and life that shows the way to us. In him resides salvation, offered us through our forgiveness, given unto him.
We will not end this year without the gift our Father promised to his holy Son. We are forgiven now. And we are saved from all the wrath we thought belonged to God, and found it was a dream. We are restored to sanity, in which we understand that anger is insane, attack is mad, and vengeance merely foolish fantasy. We have been saved from wrath because we learned we were mistaken. Nothing more than that. And is a father angry at his son because he failed to understand the truth?
We come in honesty to God and say we did not understand, and ask Him to help us to learn His lessons, through the Voice of His Own Teacher. Would He hurt His Son? Or would He rush to answer him, and say, "This is My Son, and all I have is his"? Be certain He will answer thus, for these are His Own words to you. And more than that can no one ever have, for in these words is all there is, and all that there will be throughout all time and in eternity.
Today's Lesson:
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Miracles I'm noticing:
This is such an appropriate way to close out this fabulous year of 2007. To reduce our last days of study - and the last days of this blog - to stillness.
I will still notice the miracles all around me, and for the last few days of this year I will let you know what I see. But it is not for my ego - it is simply to point out that through this year of study, we are all able to see the miracles that abound in all our lives. My hope is that you, too, can see in your own lives, all that wonderful beauty God has placed here for us. We may call them coincidences or luck or chance, but deep down we know there are no such things as coincidences. As Wayne Dyer says, and I've said here before, in mathematical terms, coincidental angles are those angles that fit together perfectly. No mistakes, no luck, no chance.
My miracle yesterday was a call I received from a radio host here in town whom I have know for many years. He called to see if I could come in and be on his show this morning to talk about New Years' Resolutions. I spoke about this very topic in Minneapolis on December 6, so I'm well prepared for it, even with very little notice. As we talked on the phone, he mentioned that he has some other dreams for his life that he isn't living out, and he asked if we could meet after the show and talk about some of those. It turns out that his dream is an area of my business that I need help with as well, so there's a strong possibility that we may be able to support each other in growing our dreams through barter, so neither of us has to put out any cash. If that's not something that fits together perfectly, I don't know what is.
Miracles are simply shifts in perception from fear to love. And that's what showed up in my space yesterday, and will show up today and every day that I ask God to help me learn His lessons, through the Voice of the Holy Spirit.
Enter the Peace that surpasses all human understanding, but is perfect in the eyes of Spirit.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Day 360
Today's Lesson:
Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.
Miracles I'm noticing:
I notice more all the time how peace has become the theme of this Course in its final days and how I really want to be intentional about making peace a big part of my daily practice in 2008. I know that the way I will go from working on the Course to actually transferring my working to actual living is through peace and meditation.
Today's lesson talks about the Great Rays which remain forever still and undisturbed within me. According to the Glossary of Terms from A Course in Miracles, the Great Rays are "the Rays of light and holiness that shine out from the Christ within each person. These are lit by a spark that God placed in each individual at creations. We begin the journey by seeing our brothers as bodies. Then we at some point begin to see the little spark in them. Then we will see the Great Rays shining out from that spark. We 'see the Great Rays shining from them [our brothers], so unlimited that they [the Rays] reach to God' (T-15.IX.1:1). The body will then fade from our sight and we will give up special relationships for relationships without limit. The body will then disappear and we will again know the light of the Rays in direct knowledge. Note: The Rays are revealed through vision; they are not composed of visible light nor seen through the body's eyes."
If you have access to the text, you can read more about the Great Rays in Chapter 10, Section IV.8 and Chapter 15, Section VI. 4, 6.
The way I interpret the Great Rays in people is more about their energy or their spark. As the definition above says, this is not something you can see visually, but more what you can sense and just Know. It says that these Great Rays are there in everyone and at some point we will be able to "see" them in everyone.
Today's text is called "Recognizing the Spirit," and it says that we either see the flesh or recognize the spirit. "There is no compromise between the two. If one is real the other must be false, for what is real denies its opposite.... Choose the spirit, and all Heaven bends to touch your eyes and bless your holy sight, that you may see the world of flesh no more except to heal and comfort and to bless." That is seeing the Holy Rays.
Today's text also goes into some of what I use in my speeches and training which I learned from my Bob Proctor training and The Secret. Henry Ford actually said this back in the early 1900s when he said "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, either way you are right." Today's text says, as it is speaking of choosing the body or the spirit:
"Only in arrogance could you conceive that you must make the way to Heaven plain. Thee means are given you by which to see the world that will replace the one you made. your will be done! In Heaven as on earth this is forever true. It matters not where you believe you are, nor what you think the truth about yourself must really be. It makes no difference what you look upon, nor what you choose to feel or think or wish. For God Himself has said, 'Your will be done.' And it is done to you accordingly.'"
It also reminds me of something my spiritual teacher has said, and also something I read in Neale Donald Walsch's Conversations With God. All that matters is who I say I am. And every day I am telling people by my actions and my being who I am. I am created in the image and likeness of God, and as I live my life by that Knowledge, I allow others to be who they are as well. For me, the distinction in that statement is Knowing who I am. If I think I am a physical being, I will see the world through those eyes - I will recognize the flesh. But if I think I am a spiritual being having a human experience, then I will recognize the spirit. That is what I choose.
Today's text goes on to say that if we believe we can choose to see the Son of God as we would have him be, we forget that no concept of ourselves will stand against the truth of what we are. We cannot undo truth. But we can change concepts. The truth is that we are created in the image and likeness of God. One vision, clearly seen, that does not fit the picture as it was perceived before will change the world for eyes that learn to see, because the concept of the self has changed.
We will see the world as we see ourselves. And we will always be right about that. If we think the world is evil, we will see that manifest. If we forgive, we will see the world as forgiving. If we see ourselves as bodies, we will perceived the world as treacherous, and out to kill. If we are spirit, deathless, and without the promise of corruption and the stain of sin upon us, then the world will be seen as stable, fully worthy of our trust; a happy place to rest a while, where nothing need be feared, but only loved.
Yesterday I had a minor altercation with my mother (I know I promised I was through with issues with my mother, but apparently I was being tested and I flunked). She was telling me yet again about how I need to be careful so my purse doesn't get stolen. I asked her why she was always so fearful about everything from the weather to burglars. I asked he what had happened in her past that kept her in such fear. I wish I had just sent her a silent blessing and just listened, but I knew that she wouldn't be bringing this up yet again if I didn't have something to heal in myself. Where do I not see her - and myself - as spirit because if that were the case, I would see the world as fully worthy of trust, and so would she. That is an area where I'm still in need of lessons, I guess.
The awareness of that conversation which will lead me to new choices is my miracle for today. Stay tuned for the last week of this Course, which will conclude next Monday, December 31!
Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.
Father, it is Your peace that I would give, receiving it of You. I am Your Son, forever just as You created me, for the Great Rays remain forever still and undisturbed within me. I would reach to them in silence and in certainty, for nowhere else can certainty be found. Peace be to me, and peace to all the world. In holiness were we created, and in holiness do we remain. your Son is like to You in perfect sinlessness. And with this thought we gladly say "Amen."
Miracles I'm noticing:
I notice more all the time how peace has become the theme of this Course in its final days and how I really want to be intentional about making peace a big part of my daily practice in 2008. I know that the way I will go from working on the Course to actually transferring my working to actual living is through peace and meditation.
Today's lesson talks about the Great Rays which remain forever still and undisturbed within me. According to the Glossary of Terms from A Course in Miracles, the Great Rays are "the Rays of light and holiness that shine out from the Christ within each person. These are lit by a spark that God placed in each individual at creations. We begin the journey by seeing our brothers as bodies. Then we at some point begin to see the little spark in them. Then we will see the Great Rays shining out from that spark. We 'see the Great Rays shining from them [our brothers], so unlimited that they [the Rays] reach to God' (T-15.IX.1:1). The body will then fade from our sight and we will give up special relationships for relationships without limit. The body will then disappear and we will again know the light of the Rays in direct knowledge. Note: The Rays are revealed through vision; they are not composed of visible light nor seen through the body's eyes."
If you have access to the text, you can read more about the Great Rays in Chapter 10, Section IV.8 and Chapter 15, Section VI. 4, 6.
The way I interpret the Great Rays in people is more about their energy or their spark. As the definition above says, this is not something you can see visually, but more what you can sense and just Know. It says that these Great Rays are there in everyone and at some point we will be able to "see" them in everyone.
Today's text is called "Recognizing the Spirit," and it says that we either see the flesh or recognize the spirit. "There is no compromise between the two. If one is real the other must be false, for what is real denies its opposite.... Choose the spirit, and all Heaven bends to touch your eyes and bless your holy sight, that you may see the world of flesh no more except to heal and comfort and to bless." That is seeing the Holy Rays.
Today's text also goes into some of what I use in my speeches and training which I learned from my Bob Proctor training and The Secret. Henry Ford actually said this back in the early 1900s when he said "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, either way you are right." Today's text says, as it is speaking of choosing the body or the spirit:
"Only in arrogance could you conceive that you must make the way to Heaven plain. Thee means are given you by which to see the world that will replace the one you made. your will be done! In Heaven as on earth this is forever true. It matters not where you believe you are, nor what you think the truth about yourself must really be. It makes no difference what you look upon, nor what you choose to feel or think or wish. For God Himself has said, 'Your will be done.' And it is done to you accordingly.'"
It also reminds me of something my spiritual teacher has said, and also something I read in Neale Donald Walsch's Conversations With God. All that matters is who I say I am. And every day I am telling people by my actions and my being who I am. I am created in the image and likeness of God, and as I live my life by that Knowledge, I allow others to be who they are as well. For me, the distinction in that statement is Knowing who I am. If I think I am a physical being, I will see the world through those eyes - I will recognize the flesh. But if I think I am a spiritual being having a human experience, then I will recognize the spirit. That is what I choose.
Today's text goes on to say that if we believe we can choose to see the Son of God as we would have him be, we forget that no concept of ourselves will stand against the truth of what we are. We cannot undo truth. But we can change concepts. The truth is that we are created in the image and likeness of God. One vision, clearly seen, that does not fit the picture as it was perceived before will change the world for eyes that learn to see, because the concept of the self has changed.
We will see the world as we see ourselves. And we will always be right about that. If we think the world is evil, we will see that manifest. If we forgive, we will see the world as forgiving. If we see ourselves as bodies, we will perceived the world as treacherous, and out to kill. If we are spirit, deathless, and without the promise of corruption and the stain of sin upon us, then the world will be seen as stable, fully worthy of our trust; a happy place to rest a while, where nothing need be feared, but only loved.
Yesterday I had a minor altercation with my mother (I know I promised I was through with issues with my mother, but apparently I was being tested and I flunked). She was telling me yet again about how I need to be careful so my purse doesn't get stolen. I asked her why she was always so fearful about everything from the weather to burglars. I asked he what had happened in her past that kept her in such fear. I wish I had just sent her a silent blessing and just listened, but I knew that she wouldn't be bringing this up yet again if I didn't have something to heal in myself. Where do I not see her - and myself - as spirit because if that were the case, I would see the world as fully worthy of trust, and so would she. That is an area where I'm still in need of lessons, I guess.
The awareness of that conversation which will lead me to new choices is my miracle for today. Stay tuned for the last week of this Course, which will conclude next Monday, December 31!
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Conversations With God
The Four Agreements
A Course in Miracles
The Disappearance of the Universe
A Return to Love
