Day 243

Today's Lesson:

Today I will judge nothing that occurs.

I will be honest with myself today. I will not think that I already know what must remain beyond my present grasp. I will not think I understand the whole from bits of my perception, which are all that I can see. Today I recognize that this is so. And so I am relieved of judgments that I cannot make. Thus do I free myself and what I look upon, to be in peace as God created us.

Father, today I leave creation free to be itself. I honor all its parts, in which I am included. We are one because each part contains Your memory, and truth must shine in all of us as one.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I'm excited to live today's lesson. I'm thinking back to Monday when I started this supervisory training class I'm conducting. This is for first-line manufacturing supervisors, and this group I'm working with this week has never had training before. They're kind of a motley-looking crew from the outside and I could have really drawn a conclusion about them if I would have judged them from the outside alone. I am so impressed and pleased with them this week. This is all new information, and I've thrown a lot at them. We've talked about so many pretty deep concepts, including how effective communication really does start with them. If they hold grudges against people they supervise, it's really hurting them more than the person against whom they're holding the grudge. We touched on forgiveness, but I didn't get too deep into that.

I spoke yesterday back in Fargo-Moorhead about Transformational Talk, and have already gotten great feedback from the hour-long presentation. I find that the more authentic I am in my conversation and my presentation, the more I encourage others to be the same in their own lives. I'll be excited to hear how things go for this group. One of the things I talked about was how they really can see anything in front of them if they just open their eyes to the possibilities.

It's been a eye-opening week for me and I'm looking forward to noticing the miracles before me today!

Day 242

Today's Lesson:

This day is God's. It is my gift to Him.

I will not lead my life alone today. I do not understand the world, and so to try to lead my life alone must be but foolishness. But there is One Who knows all that is best for me. And He is glad to make no choices for me but the ones that lead to God. I give this day to Him, for I would not delay my coming home, and it is He Who knows the way to God.

And so we give today to You. We come with wholly open minds. We do not ask for anything that we may think we want. Give us what You would have received by us. You know all our desires and our wants. And You will give us everything we need in helping us to find the way to You.

Miracles I'm noticing:

It's so great to realize that no matter what, we are never alone. I'm so grateful for the awareness I've been given to realize so much more on this journey called life. I know that as I give today to God, I realize that it really is true - I will have everything I need.

Yesterday in the class I'm teaching, one person brought up a problem he was having with someone at work. The person he was having problems with had a head injury several years ago which affected his memory, so he just isn't able to do the work he used to do. Within the last couple of years, that person also lost his mother, got divorced, his son won't have anything to do with him, his best friend died, and he's gotten 3 DUIs. He comes to work on time and never misses a day - in fact, he never takes vacation days. But his work just isn't what it used to be. His attitude is poor and he can't seem to remember how to complete tasks he's done for years. Apparently his drinking is negatively affecting him, but that's what he sees his life centering around.

When I heard this story, I was immediately drawn not only to this guy, but to his supervisor, who is in my class, and his desire to keep this guy on even though his work isn't up to par, because he realizes that work is all this guy has. It really made me appreciate what I've got, and also to appreciate the guys in my class who are struggling to figure out what to do to help this guy.

I wanted to tell them to send him silent blessings and just be the change they wanted to see in him, but this is an introductory supervisory class for front-line supervisors in manufacturing, so I didn't think they were quite ready to hear that. However, I did tell them that when they change the way they look at things, the things they look at will change. If they're frustrated because this guy isn't able or willing to help himself, take a look at the life he's had to struggle through. If there is any chance they could find something to help him see differently by seeing it differently themselves, that might be something to look at.

They really seemed ready to hear that. It's amazing - I think everyone is hungry for new results in their lives, and we're probably at the point where we're ready to try something new in order to get those new results.

I'm so grateful that I'm able to see things differently. It really does change everything!

Day 241

3. What Is The World?

The world is false perception. It is born of error, and it has not left its source. It will remain no longer than the thought that gave it birth is cherished. When the thought of separation has been changed to one of true forgiveness, will the world be seen in quite another light; and one which leads to truth, where all the world must disappear and all its errors vanish. Now its source has gone, and its effects are gone as well.

The world was made as an attack on God. It symbolizes fear. And what is fear except love's absence? Thus the world was meant to be a place where God could enter not, and where His Son could be apart from Him. Here was perception born, for knowledge could not cause such insane thoughts. But eyes deceive, and ears hear falsely. Now mistakes become quite possible, for certainty has gone.

The mechanisms of illusion have been born instead. And now they go to find what has been given them to seek. Their aim is to fulfill the purpose which the world was made to witness and make real. They see in its illusions but a solid base where truth exists, upheld apart from lies. Yet everything that they report is but illusion which is kept apart from truth.

As sight was made to lead away from truth, it can be redirected. Sounds become the call for God, and all perception can be given a new purpose by the One Whom God appointed Savior to the world. Follow His light, and see the world as He beholds it. Hear His Voice alone in all that speaks to you. And let Him give you peace and certainty, which you have thrown away, but Heaven has preserved for you in Him.

Let us not rest content until the world has joined our changed perception. Let us not be satisfied until forgiveness has been made complete. And let us not attempt to change our function. We must save the world. For we who made it must behold it through the eyes of Christ, that what was made to die can be restored to everlasting life.

Today's Lesson:

This holy instant is salvation come.

What joy there is today! It is a time of special celebration. For today holds out the instant to the darkened world where its release is set. The day has come when sorrows pass away and pain is gone. The glory of salvation dawns today upon a world set free. This is the time of hope for countless millions. They will be united now, as you forgive them all. For I will be forgiven by you today.

We have forgiven one another now, and so we come at last to You again. Father, Your Son, who never left, returns to Heaven and his home. How glad are we to have our sanity restored to us, and to remember that we all are one.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I'm currently teaching a class in a small town in Minnesota, and yesterday I realized that I had forgotten to return a survey that is due on Friday. The survey needs to be printed out and faxed, and I don't have access to that from this Super 8 motel. So I went driving around yesterday looking to see if there might be a place where I could at least get something printed from my computer. I thought about stopping at a bank, because I figured bank employees might be able to point me in that direction. As I turned the corner to go to the bank, I noticed a sign that said "Color Printing" on a rather old-looking building. So I went in.

The first thing I noticed when I went in the door was the unmistakable smell of printing (I used to work at a newspaper, and I love that smell). There was one guy sitting behind a desk and I asked him if he could help me out with my project. Well, he ended up asking me what I was doing in that town, and one thing led to another, and pretty soon he was telling me all about his career and how he used to own a business, but hit a wall where he couldn't grow it anymore. He ended up selling the business and owing a lot of money to a lot of folks. He didn't file bankruptcy, and is almost completely paid off, but now he works here, at this shop which is really a branch of a national company which is headquartered about 30 miles from this small town in another small town.

As he told me more about his company, it sounded like a place I would like to learn more about (they don't do just printing, but also business supplies and even have marketing ideas for small businesses like mine). He told me that he thought the head guy in the nearby town might like to hear about my business and gave me his name. It turns out I have an appointment in this town today to meet with another business, so I'm going to be there anyway.

As he is thinking more about connections he can make for me, he asks what else I am doing with my business. So I tell him about the master mind groups I am starting to study the book "Think and Grow Rich." He immediately says he's interested in a virtual group and asks for a book. Then he thinks of one of the higher-up people I should contact and gives me a name. It "just so happens" that I know this person through another friend of mine (she's married to him) and then everything clicks into place about her email address and the name of this company.

I had just sent an email to my friend (this person's husband) a couple of weeks before, and he had invited me to stop by their house when I'm in their town (another town about 45 minutes from where I am right now). His wife is best friends with the woman who started the company Tastefully Simple, so the connections are all around.

And to think I was just looking for a place to fax a survey! What a miracle when we just trust and open our eyes! We really are all one, and can make connections anywhere. Why did this guy tell me all about his career and his path? I really believe people are hungry for connection and deep conversation. And this was surely a miracle that happened in an instant!

Day 240

Today's Lesson:

Fear is not justified in any form.

Fear is deception. It attests that you have seen yourself as you could never be, and therefore look upon a world which is impossible. Not one thing in this world is true. It does not matter what the form in which it may appear. It witnesses but to your own illusions of yourself. Let us not be deceived today. We are the Sons of God. There is no fear in us, for we are each a part of Love Itself.

How foolish are our fears! Would You allow Your Son to suffer? Give us faith today to recognize Your Son, and set him free. Let us forgive him in Your Name, that we may understand his holiness, and feel the love for him which is Your Own as well.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Yesterday on my way to my training (a 2-hour drive), I was listening, as I do most days, to my XM radio, Channel 156 and I heard Dr. Oz's interview with Gerald Jampolsky, founder of the Center for Attitudinal Healing. The thing I found most interesting about the interview was that Jampolsky founded his entire course of study on A Course in Miracles. They were talking mostly about his book Love is Letting Go of Fear, which is exactly what the Course teaches us, and what today's lesson is reminding us.

I'm thinking that maybe I should resurrect my speech "Getting Beyond the Fear Factor," because we also talked about fear in both of my Job Relations classes yesterday. I wonder where we would be as a society without the presence of fear in our workplaces and in our lives.

I'm inspired to do something about that ... I'm not sure what, but something. The first thing I'm going to do is order this book!

I'll watch now and see how many times the topic of fear shows up. My job today is to replace fear with love. Let's see what we can create - and allow!

Day 239

Today's Lesson:

The glory of my Father is my own.

Let not the truth about ourselves today be hidden by a false humility. Let us instead be thankful for the gifts our Father gave us. Can we see in those with whom He shares His glory any trace of sin and guilt? And can it be that we are not among them, when He loves His Son forever and with perfect constancy, knowing he is as He created him?

We thank you, Father, for the light that shines forever in us. And we honor it, because You share it with us. We are one, united in this light and one with You, at peace with all creation and ourselves.

Miracles I'm noticing:

How simple life would be if we would all just realize today's lesson! If we would not see guilt and sin in anyone (including ourselves) how free would we be to just be who we are instead of trying to be what someone else thinks we should be!

If we could first really understand this and really get to know it, that would be the first step to breaking our old paradigms. From there, the actions would follow; but it starts first in the mind.

How are our old paradigms working for us? Let's see what we can do - together - to get to some new results. Let's see what we can create - and allow - by just realizing and really internalizing these lessons!

Day 238

Today's Lesson:

On my decision all salvation rests.

Father, Your trust in me has been so great, I must be worthy. You created me, and know me as I am. And yet You placed Your Son's salvation in my hands, and let it rest on my decision. I must be beloved of You indeed. And I must be steadfast in holiness as well, that You would give Your Son to me in certainty that he is safe Who still is part of You, and yet is mine, because He is my Self.

And so, again today, we pause to think how much our Father loves us. And how dear His Son, created by His Love, remains to Him Whose Love is made complete in him.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Today's lesson is a really good one for me, because I spent many years of my life feeling not good enough - not worthy enough. It's a great reminder to me - and I'm guessing to all of us - to know that God trusts us enough to make the best decision regarding our brothers and sisters. As we forgive and love ourselves, the world is forgiven and loved. Salvation really does belong to each of us - and we are worthy!

Day 237

Today's Lesson:

Now would I be as God created me.

Today I will accept the truth about myself. I will arise in glory, and allow the light in me to shine upon the world throughout the day. I bring the world the tidings of salvation which I hear as God my Father speaks to me. And I behold the world that Christ would have me see, aware it ends the bitter dream of death; aware it is my Father's Call to me.

Christ is my eyes today, and He the ears that listen to the Voice for God today. Father, I come to You through Him Who is Your Son, and my true Self as well. Amen.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I woke up early this morning after a really cool dream about living in a city like New York City where everyone was outside hanging out with friends. Every day you would come home from work and immediately come outside and catch up with everyone. You would go for walks at night and everyone would be outside walking, chatting - there was a lot of buzz. When I woke up this morning, it was crisp and cool and the sun was just starting to come up. It was very quiet when I went to get the morning paper outside the door. It was nothing like my dream. But it occurred to me that I have that buzz - that happy commotion - if I just look for it.

It reminds me of the scene in the movie "The Peaceful Warrior" where Dan looks around the park and, for the first time, notices that "there is never nothing going on."

We will find whatever we're looking for. I choose to look for love and light and guess what - it shows up everywhere!

Day 236

Today's Lesson:

I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.

I have a kingdom I must rule. At times, it does not seem I am its king at all. It seems to triumph over me, and tell me what to think, and what to do and feel. And yet it has been given me to serve whatever purpose I perceive in it. My mind can only serve. Today I give its service to the Holy Spirit to employ as He sees fit. I thus direct my mind, which I alone can rule. And thus I set it free to do the Will of God.

Father, my mind is open to your Thoughts, and closed today to every thought but Yours. I rule my mind, and offer it to You. Accept my gift, for it is Yours to me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I wonder how many times a day I say "I think," as in "I think the blue one looks better," or "I think this is the way it goes," or "I think what we should do is ..." My friend Michael says that he used to add the words "I think" at the end of statements when he was a little boy because it could get him off the hook when he was not telling the truth.

Isn't it odd that we say "I think" so much more than we actually do think! We really have gotten into the habit of using those two words to help us try out opinions when we're really not sure or when we want someone else's opinion instead.

What if we really practiced and honed our mental muscles? How much more actual thinking might we be able to do? And today's lesson shows us that thinking is an inside job - and we've got the best Partner in Thought that we could ever imagine. If we alone rule our minds - not the TV commercials or our friends or our parents or our spouses or our kids or our bosses or the government or the church or anyone else - what might we conjure up when we give the service of our minds to the Holy Spirit?

No one has control of your mind but you, no matter what excuses you come up with for not thinking for yourself. If we open our minds to God's Thoughts and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, our minds really can only serve.

What a great "thought" for the day!

Day 235

Today's Lesson:

God in His mercy wills that I be saved.

I need but look upon all things that seem to hurt me, and with perfect certainty assure myself, "God wills that I be saved from this," and merely watch them disappear. I need but keep in mind my Father's Will for me is only happiness, to find that only happiness has come to me. And I need but remember that God's Love surrounds His Son and keeps his sinlessness forever perfect, to be sure that I am saved and safe forever in His Arms. I am the Son He loves. And I am saved because God in His mercy wills it so.

Father, Your Holiness is mine. Your Love created me, and made my sinlessness forever part of You. I have no guilt nor sin in me, for there is none in You.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I watched a bit of a 20/20 expose on TV last night - and it was very strange to realize that I've watched very little TV in the past few weeks. It felt kind of awkward, but was nice to just kick back for a little while.

The show I caught was about a guy from Puerto Rico who claims he is the second coming of Jesus Christ. He has quite a following of Hispanic people, but is expanding his church to the U.S. now via Florida and Texas.

I found it really interesting that the reporter was doing his best to "expose" this as a fraud and to uncover the corruption. But the "Jesus" guy was really open about everything. He's got a criminal record and his second marriage just ended in divorce. He's a real guy, but he claims, not only that he's Jesus, but that he's the ONE God, too.

What was very interesting to me as I watched this, given what we're studying here, is that we really all are Sons of God, and Jesus made no bones about the fact that anything He did we, too, can do - and more. So it didn't bother me as much as I thought it might that this guy was claiming to be Jesus. After all, aren't we all in some sense?

But the part that I could see as disturbing was when he was trashing the Church - literally ripping up pictures of the pope and rallying against organized religion. And his claims - and the claims of little kids who were interviewed - that he is the one and only God didn't sit right with me. A little kid who was interviewed on camera said something like "yeah, my mom and dad drink and smoke and party, but it's OK - so does God." So that boy has a very different picture of God than I did of the old man with the white beard and robe who sits on a throne in the clouds.

I guess the point is that I've become much more open to new ways of thinking of religion and spirituality ... but I still do have a point at which I need to draw the line for myself. I'm all about choosing love over fear and spirit over ego - but I'm not sure I can believe that one human can represent and embody the one God.

The gratitude I have is that I can be more open-minded about people - without losing my own beliefs.

If you want to see more about this story, click here.

Day 234

Today's Lesson:

Father, today I am Your Son again.

Today we will anticipate the time when dreams of sin and guilt are gone, and we have reached the holy peace we never left. Merely a tiny instant has elapsed between eternity and timelessness. So brief the interval there was no lapse in continuity, nor break in thoughts which are forever unified as one. Nothing has ever happened to disturb the peace of God the Father and the Son. This we accept as wholly true today.

We thank You, Father, that we cannot lose the memory of You and of Your Love. We recognize our safety, and give thanks for all the gifts You have bestowed on us, for all the loving help we have received, for Your eternal patience, and the Word which You have given us that we are saved.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I love my Tuesday night Course gatherings. It's so wonderful to gather with others who are dedicated to this love and light. In addition to studying the lesson for the day, we also do what we call "miracle shares." It's so much fun to hear what everyone else is noticing and allowing in their lives. It truly is a miracle.

I've discovered for myself that finding this group to study and grow together is truly a miracle in my life. As a lifelong learner, I've always been hungry for new information, but with this group I get community as well. In addition to information (in form) I also get a huge dose of inspiration (in spirit).

I hear from some of my friends that they are craving community. My business partner and I were together yesterday meeting with a client and in that meeting we talked about how people - employees, in this case - are hungry for new information and, I will add, inspiration. It's so much fun to be alive in the world right now when we are starting to come together with those two types of knowledge.

I start a new Master Mind group studying Think and Grow Rich today, and I'm so excited to see how this disparate group of people will come together with the purpose of learning from each other.

It's truly a miracle!

Day 233

Today's Lesson:

I give my life to God to guide today.

Father, I give You all my thoughts today. I would have none of mine. In place of them, give me Your Own. I give You all my acts as well, that I may do Your Will instead of seeking goals which cannot be obtained, and wasting time in vain imaginings. Today I come to You. I will step back and merely follow You. Be You the Guide, and I the follower who questions not the wisdom of the Infinite, nor Love whose tenderness I cannot comprehend, but which is yet Your perfect gift to me.

Today we have one Guide to lead us on. And as we walk together, we will give this day to Him with no reserve at all. This is His day. And so it is a day of countless gifts and mercies unto us.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I had a bit of a down weekend - nothing major, just felt a bit like regrouping, even though socializing was in the plan. I did my best to my jolly self, but I'm sure people around me - especially those who know me well - knew I wasn't really myself. It was so great to understand the ups and downs of nature, like the tide, and not make it mean anything other than that. I knew - even in the middle of it - that it was simply the indication of really great things to come. And that's what happened. Yesterday I got return calls from some of the calls I made on Friday, and have even scheduled an appointment with a potential new client today in a town about 2 hours away.

I've been thinking a lot about how the world seems to worship the highs and discount the lows in everything we do. We celebrate when things are great and mourn when they're not. We don't want anything to do with the downs; yet without the downs we wouldn't know the ups. By discounting the lows, we cut in half our opportunity to experience what is.

What if, instead of trying to get rid of half of our experiences, we learn to love them all? What if the downs are simply a sign that an up is on its way?

That shift in awareness is what miracles really are. They're everywhere if we just open our eyes and see - and celebrate -them!

Day 232

Today's Lesson:

Be in my mind, my Father, through the day.

Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You. And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be there to hear my call to You and answer me. As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am your Son.

This is as every day should be. Today, practice the end of fear. Have faith in Him Who is your Father. Trust all things to Him. Let Him reveal all things to you, and be you undismayed because you are His Son.

Miracles I'm noticing:

There really isn't a lot more to say than what today's lesson tells us. How great to know that we need only pray this prayer throughout the day and will have the Father in our minds at every turn! The miracle is in the awareness we are all achieving through our study of this Course and the amazing changes that are taking place in our awareness! Truly blessed and duly grateful!

Day 231

What Is Salvation?

Salvation is a promise, made by God, that we would find our way to Him at last. It cannot but be kept. It guarantees that time will have an end, and all the thoughts that have been born in time will end as well. God's Word is given every mind which thinks that it has separate thoughts, and will replace these thoughts of conflict with the Thought of peace.

The Thought of peace was given to God's Son the instant that his mind had thought of war. There was no need for such a Thought before, for peace was given without opposite, and merely was. But when the mind is split there is a need of healing. So the Thought that has the power to heal the split became a part of every fragment of the mind that still was one, but failed to recognize its oneness. Now it did not know itself, and thought its own Identity was lost.

Salvation is undoing in the sense that it does nothing, failing to support the world of dreams and malice. Thus it lets illusions go. By not supporting them, it merely lets them quietly go down to dust. And what they hid is now revealed; an altar to the holy Name of God whereon His Word is written, with the gifts of your forgiveness laid before it, and the memory of God not far behind.

Let us come daily to this holy place, and spend a while together. Here we share our final dream. It is a dream in which there is no sorrow, for it holds a hint of all the glory given us by God. The grass is pushing through the soil, the trees are budding now, and birds have come to live within their branches. Earth is being born again in new perspective. Night has gone, and we have come together in the light.

From here we give salvation to the world, for it is here salvation was received. The song of our rejoicing is the call to all the world that freedom is returned, that time is almost over, and God's Son has but an instant more to wait until his Father is remembered, dreams are done, eternity has shined away the world, and only Heaven now exists at all.

Today's Lesson:

Father, I will but to remember You.

What can I seek for, Father, but Your Love? Perhaps I think I seek for something else; a something I have called by many names. yet is Your Love the only thing I seek, or ever sought. For there is nothing else that I could ever really want to find. Let me remember You. What else could I desire but the truth about myself?

This is your will, my brother. And you share this will with me, and with the One as well Who is our Father. To remember Him is Heaven. This we seek. And only this is what it will be given us to find.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I spent the afternoon and evening yesterday with good friends and good food. We had planned to make a trip to their lake place and play with their boat and outdoor activities, but it was rainy and chilly, so we went over to their house instead. I noticed that I really enjoy my time with my friends; but I've been making conscious healthy eating choices in the past month, and I don't feel so well today. It's almost like a food hangover! The food was outstanding - but I haven't been eating as much as I did last night and I can feel it today!

The miracle for me is in noticing how, without really realizing it, I had been feeling better by eating better. This relapse really let me know that. Instead of feeling depressed and upset for "falling off the wagon," I can simply use this as a reminder that I want to continue to eat healthy, and in reasonable portions.

Just the ability to shift my thinking to me is a miracle. Love instead of fear (or disappointment) is a much more happy way to live!

I also really like what the introduction to our next set of lessons tells us today. By simply doing nothing (not giving attention to that which we don't want), we are given salvation or undoing. It is in our doing nothing that illusions disappear. As we don't support the things we don't want, they will go away and what was hidden beneath or behind them is what we really want - the Word of God and His will for us.

Sounds like a miracle to me!

Day 230

Today's Lesson:

Now will I seek and find the peace of God.

In peace I was created. And in peace do I remain. It is not given me to change my Self. How merciful is God my Father, that when He created me He gave me peace forever. Now I ask but to be what I am. And can this be denied me, when it is forever true?

Father, I seek the peace You gave as mine in my creation. What was given them must be here now, for my creation was apart from time, and still remains beyond all change. The peace in which Your Son was born into Your Mind is shining there unchanged. I am as You created me. I need but call on You to find the peace You gave. It is Your Will that gave it to Your Son.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I woke up this morning at about 4:45 and decided to watch (and burn to DVD) Wayne Dyer's newest PBS special called "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life" which I have on my DVR. If you've been reading this blog you know that I'm currently reading the book upon which this PBS special is based. I'm taking one or two of the verses a day (at the least) and they're very profound. It's fun to see him speaking about the book he wrote over the course of a whole year of studying and living the Tao.

Today's lesson is really reflective of what Wayne is talking about as he studies the Tao. When I seek the peace of God, I will find it. That's a promise. The Tao, which in ancient Chinese, means "the Way," is really the same infinite wisdom we all have inside of us, but have done such a great job of covering up with busyness and activity and physical possessions.

Wayne says that he gets more done now by being instead of doing, which sounds paradoxical, but that's really the way life is, isn't it? When we can accept the cycles of life without trying to "do" things to those cycles, we find that in what we might call "imperfection" is actually the perfection of the universe.

What a great realization!

Day 229

Today's Lesson:

Love, which created me, is what I am.

I seek my own Identity, and find it in these words: "Love, which created me, is what I am." Now need I seek no more. Love has prevailed. So still It waited for my coming home, that I will turn away no longer from the holy face of Christ. And what I look upon attests the truth of the Identity I sought to lose, but which my Father has kept safe for me.

Father, my thanks to You for what I am; for keeping my Identity untouched and sinless, in the midst of all the thoughts of sin my foolish mind made up. And thanks to You for saving me from them. Amen.

Miracles I'm noticing:

This lesson reminds me how grateful I am for this Course. My traditional Christian upbringing was all about sin and wrong and bad - and this adds such a loving dimension. I also love that this Course encourages students not to take this as another dogma - nor to discount any former studies, but to add this to what we've learned from other sources.

As I read and study this material and learn and digest what I'm reading, I become attracted to different kinds of study material - and it turns out it's all the same kind of information. I love Marianne Williamson's work and she's a teacher of ACIM. I love Wayne Dyer's work and have for many years - even before I knew he was a student of ACIM. I'm very attracted to many different works, but they all have - and always have had - a similar theme. That is no accident. I realize more every day how everything I've done or been or said or read or experienced - mistakes and all - had to happen exactly the way it did so I could be where I am today.

I'm so grateful I can hardly stand it! What an amazing feeling - and what a comfort to know that as I find myself exactly where I'm supposed to be, I know I am safe and secure and loved and the future will unfold exactly how it is supposed to. Wow. Now that's surely a miracle!

Day 228

Today's Lesson:

God has condemned me not. No more do I.

My Father knows my holiness. Shall I deny His knowledge, and believe in what His knowledge makes impossible? Shall I accept as true what He proclaims as false? Or shall I take His Word for what I am, since He is my Creator, and the One Who knows the true condition of His Son?

Father, I was mistaken in myself, because I failed to realize the Source from which I came. I have not left that Source to enter in a body and to die. My holiness remains a part of me, as I am part of You. And my mistakes about myself are dreams. And I stand ready to receive Your Word alone for what I really am.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I'm currently reading Wayne Dyer's newest book: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life. It's his interpretation of the Tao Te Ching. I was especially moved by the 8th verse, especially after meeting with a group of manufacturing CEOs on Tuesday where we talked about the distinction between setting goals and achieving goals. Our conversation ranged from quantum physics to the book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari to Dr. Emoto's work with water crystals (I didn't bring up any of those topics, by the way!). Since we were talking about water and the effect of negative energy on water, it was no accident that the 8th verse of the Tao is about water. Wayne titled his chapter on this verse "Living in the Flow."

Here's what the verse says:

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It flows to low places loathed by all men.
Therefore, it is like the Tao.

Live in accordance with the nature of things.
In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
Stand by your word.
Govern with equity.
Be timely in choosing the right moment.

One who lives in accordance with nature
does not go against the way of things.
He moves in harmony with the present moment,
always knowing the truth of just what to do.

Wayne goes on to give his interpretation of the verse, saying that we really do take the mysterious magical nature of water for granted. "Try to squeeze it, and it eludes us; relax our hands into it, and we experience it readily. If it stays stationary, it will become stagnant; if it is allowed to flow, it will stay pure. It does not seek the high spots to be above it all, but settles for the lowest places."

He goes on to say that "when you're free to flow as water, you're free to communicate naturally - information is exchanged, and knowledge advances in a way that benefits everyone."

What a great reminder as I prepare to speak for US Bank student loan officers from all over the US this morning!

Blessed and grateful!!

Day 227

Today's Lesson:

This is my holy instant of release.

Father, it is today that I am free, because my will is Yours. I thought to make another will. Yet nothing that I thought apart from You exists. And I am free because I was mistaken, and did not affect my own reality at all by my illusions. Now I give them up, and lay them down before the feet of truth, to be removed forever from my mind. This is my holy instant of release. Father, I know my will is one with yours.

And so today we find our glad return to Heaven, which we never really left. The Son of God this day lays down his dreams. The Son of God this day comes home again, released from sin and clad in holiness, with his right mind restored to him at last.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Despite the rather gloomy weather here recently, the spirits around me have been nothing but sunny. I spoke yesterday with a group of CEOs from manufacturing companies in central Minnesota about goal setting, and their openness and hunger for growth was very inspiring. I think I'm beginning to understand that what I put out is reflected back; and vice versa. I so much enjoy reflecting back the positive and sunny dispositions and somehow the crabby ones just don't show up in my space anymore. One of my teachers of this material told me that that is the proof that my work is showing through. She told me - and I'm also learning from my Bob Proctor studies - that the results in our lives speak for themselves and I'm really noticing that.

As I can step into my own power, I become more confident and my energy is attracting more confident and positive people. It's a great place to be. I remember a day when I used to attract negative people and would love to commiserate with them about how really rotten things were. Yuck! I can't even imagine that person anymore. I don't know who she is. And the really cool thing is that all of us can change our minds and our attitudes in an INSTANT. If we want to live in the now, we're fooling ourselves - there is no now because it's gone as soon as you identify it. We can only make choices that will allow our conscious thoughts to be positive and create and allow a future we want to live into; after all, we're living into it on an immediate basis!

I am so blessed and grateful for this work - and for everything I'm seeing, learning, feeling, believing and being. Life is sooooo good!!

Day 226

Today's Lesson:

My home awaits me. I will hasten there.

If I so choose, I can depart this world entirely. It is not death which makes this possible, but it is change of mind about the purpose of the world. If I believe it has a value as I see it now, so will it still remain for me. But if I see no value in the world as I behold it, nothing that I want to keep as mine or search for as a goal, it will depart from me. For I have not sought for illusions to replace the truth.

Father, my home awaits my glad return. Your Arms are open and I hear Your Voice. What mind have I to linger in a place of vain desires and of shattered dreams, when Heaven can so easily be mine?

Miracles I'm noticing:

The first time I read this passage this morning I was a little confused. But upon a second reading, I realize it is all about changing my mind about the world I see. It reminds me of Gary Renard's book "The Disappearance of the Universe." If we decide to, we can alter the way we see everything, including the entire universe. By simply choosing to see the world the way we've been studying here, we can forgive ourselves and others for things they haven't done, but that we have held them to. We can shift from a perception of fear to a perception of love, and see Heaven instead of what we see right here in this physical existence.

I know that's a much more attractive place for me to place my understanding. As I line up my thoughts, feelings and actions, I alter my attitude, and that produces a much higher vibrational level in my being, which attracts people and things to that level of vibration instead of the one that is lower and heavier. It makes sense to me as I study Bob Proctor and Wayne Dyer - and I am seeing the results in my physical being.

I can choose Heaven over anything else. What a miracle!

Day 225

Today's Lesson:

God is my Father, and His Son loves Him.

Father, I must return Your Love for me, for giving and receiving are the same, and You have given all Your Love to me. I must return it, for I want it mine in full awareness, blazing in my mind and keeping it within its kindly light, inviolate, beloved, with fear behind and only peace ahead. How still the way Your loving Son is led along to You!

Brother, we find that stillness now. The way is open. Now we follow it in peace together. You have reached your hand to me, and I will never leave you. We are one, and it it but this oneness that we seek, as we accomplish these few final steps which end a journey that was not begun.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I think people are really ready to hear some of the messages we're learning in this Course. I think we understand, more now than ever, the concept of oneness, at least in some circles. I don't think we've figured that out yet in politics or in the war, but I think there are many more people willing and able to actually think more deeply about it.

As we act toward another, we act toward ourselves. The Golden Rule is very effective, but only when we love ourselves. If we don't believe we have any responsibility to achieve better results for ourselves, we will continue to see the world outside us and not the world inside us. There really is no difference, but apparently that's a tough nut for some to crack.

I look forward to the day when we as a human race can figure that out - and see that every little step toward peace will help the whole world. It's got to start with me - and start within me. That's a HUGE step.

Choose love instead of fear. That will be a wonderful place to begin.

Day 224

Today's Lesson:

God is my Father, and He loves His Son.

My true Identity is so secure, so lofty, sinless, glorious and great, wholly beneficent and free from guilt, that Heaven looks to It to give it light. It lights the world as well. It is the gift my Father gave to me; the one as well I give the world. There is no gift but this that can be either given or received. This is reality, and only this. This is illusion's end. It is the truth.

My Name, O Father, still is known to You. I have forgotten It, and do not know where I am going, who I am, or what it is I do. Remind me, Father, now for I am weary of the world I see. Reveal what You would have me see instead.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I've been thinking a lot about the Truth recently. I think people really are craving the Truth - with a capital T - but they may not really know what it is they are craving. It seems to me that people are getting to the point where what they have been doing just isn't working anymore. There is frustration in families, in jobs, in community activities, in politics and education and religion. People are realizing that something is missing, but they may not know what it is.

I'm really feeling called to figure out how to integrate what I'm learning here from this Course with business. The Proctor materials I'm learning are a great start. The foundation for Proctor's work is spirituality - a Higher Source - a Knowing - the Truth. Byron Katie's "The Work" is based on Truth, although she may not capitalize it. The 12 step recovery programs all have a Higher Self as the foundation. Wayne Dyer's new book is all about the Tao - the Great Way - the Truth.

As I realize this for myself and my business, I want to start integrating it into other businesses I do work with. I'm not sure yet how it looks, but I worked all day yesterday to put together some ideas about this. I'm also thinking it may end up in my next book, which maybe will be called "The 200% Factor" where 100% is the outside results and 100% is the inside work. We might have to turn ourselves inside out in order to achieve the results we want on the outside. And it's got to start on the inside in order to manifest the results we want on the outside. That's the true meaning of "Rich," as I'm learning from studying the book "Think and Grow Rich."

So for me, that's the miracle of the weekend. Seeing the softer side of things ... noticing the love ... produces hard results; I just have to be willing to see them. Love conquers fear without conquering it at all. The light absorbs the darkness.

Day 223

Today's Lesson:

God is my life. I have not life but His.

I was mistaken when I thought I lived apart from God, a separate entity that moved in isolation, unattached, and housed within a body. Now I know my life is God's, I have no other home, and I do not exist apart from Him. He has no Thoughts that are not part of me, and I have none but those which are of Him.

Our Father, let us see the face of Christ instead of our mistakes. For we who are Your holy Son are sinless. We would look upon our sinlessness, for guilt proclaims that we are not Your Son. And we would not forget You longer. We are lonely here, and long for Heaven, where we are at home. Today we would return. Our Name is Yours, and we acknowledge that we are Your Son.

Miracles I'm noticing:

As I wrote yesterday, it's been such a joy to watch others around me thrive and grow in their own understanding and awareness regarding what we are learning from this Course. As I grow and expand myself, I notice when my light is attracting others and also when it is repelling others. The lesson for me is to know that regardless of what others say or do or think, when my intention is in love and light, there can be nothing wrong. When I can remember to see the face of Christ instead of mistakes - both mine and others - I will remember in whose likeness I am created.

Despite the bumps and twists and turns along the pathway that is life on this earth, all roads lead to love and light and our outcome is sure. Remembering that we are all connected - that this journey is simply a continuation along the same path - makes it easier to enjoy the ride!

Day 222

Today's Lesson:

God is with me. I live and move in Him.

God is with me. He is my Source of life, the life within, the air I breathe, the food by which I am sustained, the water which renews and cleanses me. He is my home, wherein I live and move; the Spirit which directs my actions, offers me Its Thoughts, and guarantees my safety from all pain. He covers me with kindness and with care, and holds in love the Son He shines upon, who also shines on Him. How still is he who knows the truth of what He speaks today!

Father, we have no words except Your Name upon our lips and in our minds, as we come quietly into Your Presence now, and ask to rest with You in peace a while.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I attended two gatherings last night with two sets of friends (some of them crossed over between the two events). Both gatherings were called goddess gatherings, which are groups of girlfriends who connect with their own inner goddesses. At the second one, which was sponsored by my friends, and fellow Course students, Darcy and Sheila - owners of The Grateful Goddess - another friend and fellow Course student Jodie talked about her new business venture called Crossroads Consulting. It was a great intro, and Jodie did a fabulous job. Darcy and Sheila announced that the next gathering, to be held next month, would feature another friend, Gina - and also a fellow Course student - who will be demonstrating belly dancing. It was then that I realized how much this Course is influencing each of the members.

Chanda and Troy are off on new adventures, each having left their jobs and now forming a new venture called Parkinson Productions. I heard last night that they are pitching a show for The Travel Channel about their work as intuitives. It will involve their love of travel and their gifts as intuitives. What an amazing story they have! Chris has written a new book called Cinderella on the Couch, which just came out about a month ago. She also is very busy with her Diva Dance productions. Carolyn and I presented our first workshop together yesterday based on our learnings from Bob Proctor and it was a huge success. Carolyn is off and running with her new business as a Life Success Consultant and it's a pleasure to share the stage with her! I haven't seen Sharon for a while, but rumor has it that she's gotten a job offer and is off to Minneapolis. Good for her, but sad for us! Sheri is dreaming up big plans for expanding her business as a craniosacral healer and she has recently returned from a trip with Troy and Chanda to the west coast and Hawaii for 3 weeks. Michael recently moved into a new and bigger office for his business The CE Shop, which celebrated its one-year anniversary earlier this spring. His business is thriving and he and Carolyn and her husband Jonathan and Gina (all Course students) were privileged to hear Deepak Chopra speak in Minneapolis on Monday. Jonathan is getting ready to travel to India where he will be studying and teaching next year as part of his professorship (he's a literature professor). In addition to her belly dancing, Gina is working on a book about meditation called Be Quiet. She and her husband Ross are currently building a brand new home where they are using Feng Shui principles to make sure they have the best energy possible. I can't wait to have our Course gatherings there! Susan is expanding her medical practice, Catalyst Medical Center, and is just about finished building a brand new HUGE office building! She plans to have the lower level available for learning opportunities, so I'm looking to spend a lot of time there!

I apologize if I've missed anyone on their journeys ... please let the world know what's up here in Fargo with our amazing collective spiritual journey. It's SO MUCH FUN to sit back for a moment and observe the miracles all around in each of our lives. I know each of us would be quick to give lots of credit for our individual and collective transformations to what we're studying here in A Course in Miracles!

Day 221

Introduction:

Words will mean little now. We use them but as guides on which we do not now depend. For now we seek direct experience of truth alone. The lessons that remain are merely introductions to the times in which we leave the world of pain, and go to enter peace. Now we begin to reach the goal this course has set, and find the end toward which our practicing was always geared.

We will continue with a central thought for all the days to come, and we will use that thought to introduce our times of rest, and calm our minds at need. Yet we will not content ourselves with simple practicing in the remaining holy instants which conclude the year that we have given God. We say some simple words of welcome, and expect our Father to reveal Himself, as He has promised. We have called on Him, and He has promised that His Son will not remain unanswered when he calls His Name.

And so we start upon the final part of this one holy year, which we have spent together in the search for truth and God, Who is its one Creator. We have found the way He chose for us, and made the choice to follow it as He would have us go. His Hand has held us up. His Thoughts have lit the darkness of our minds. His Love has called to us unceasingly since time began.

Now is the need for practice almost done. For in this final section, we will come to understand that we need only call to God, and all temptations disappear. Instead of words, we need but feel His Love. Instead of prayers, we need but call His Name. Instead of judging, we need but be still and let all things be healed. We will accept the way God's plan will end, as we received the way it started. Now it is complete. This year has brought us to eternity.

One further use for words we still retain. From time to time, instructions on a theme of special relevance will intersperse our daily lessons and the periods of wordless, deep experience which should come afterwards. These special thoughts should be reviewed each day, each one of them to be continued till the next is given us. They should be slowly read and thoughts about a little while, preceding one of the holy and blessed instants in the day. We give the first of these instructions now.

1. What is Forgiveness?

Forgiveness recognizes what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It sees there was no sin. And in that view are all your sins forgiven. What is sin, except a false idea about God's Son? Forgiveness merely sees its falsity, and therefore lets it go. What then is free to take its place is now the Will of God.

An unforgiving thought is one which makes a judgment that it will not raise to doubt, although it is not true. The mind is closed, and will not be released. The thought protects projection, tightening its chains, so that distortions are more veiled and more obscure; less easily accessible to doubt, and further kept from reason. What can come between a fixed projection and the aim that it has chosen as its wanted goal?

An unforgiving thought does many things. In frantic action it pursues its goal, twisting and overturning what it sees as interfering with its chosen path. Distortion is its purpose, and the means by which it would accomplish it as well. It sets about its furious attempts to smash reality, without concern for anything that would appear to pose a contradiction to its point of view.

Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and judges not. He who would not forgive must judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he who would forgive himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.

Do nothing, then, and let forgiveness show you what to do, through Him Who is your Guide, your Savior and Protector, strong in hope, and certain of your ultimate success. He has forgiven you already, for such is His function, given Him by God. Now must you share His function, and forgive whom He has saved, whose sinlessness He sees, and whom He honors as the Son of God.

Today's Lesson:

Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still.

Father, I come to You today to seek the peace that You alone can give. I come in silence. In the quiet of my heart, the deep recesses of my mind, I wait and listen for Your Voice. My Father, speak to me today. I come to hear Your Voice in silence and in certainty and love, sure You will hear my call and answer me.

Now do we wait in quiet. God is here, because we wait together. I am sure that He will speak to us, and we will hear. Accept my confidence, because it is yours. Our minds are joined. We wait with one intent; to hear our Father's answer to our call, to let our thoughts be still and find His peace, to hear Him speak to us of what we are, and to reveal Himself unto His Son.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Today's message about forgiveness is always relevant in my life. I'm noticing more and more the judgments that creep into my mind; and as I notice them, they happen less frequently. Those judgments are the places I haven't forgiven people for what they haven't even done. I have somehow made up a story that there is a right and a wrong, a good and a bad, and in so doing I have established myself as the judge. When I can notice that and give it up, I find myself in a state of peace and love and I wonder why I would ever choose the place of judgment.

It becomes easier and easier with practice, and I'm grateful for the extra time I've been taking in the morning as I get up earlier to really allow what I'm reading here to get into my conscious mind so I can reprogram my old paradigms.

I'm getting ready this morning to deliver a workshop with two of my friends and colleagues called "The Winner's Image" and it will involve a lot of these ideas. I'm so blessed to be able to share what I'm learning with audiences and I trust that my abilities will be strengthened so that I can be even more effective in sharing this message.

What is it that you were meant to do in this lifetime? How might you be able to share that with the world? What is standing in your way? Examine where in your life you might be holding on to some past grudges that might be blocking your ability to move to a different level of awareness. That's what forgiveness does. It gets rid of the blocks we have in our own way. That's surely a miracle!

Day 220

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(200) There is no peace except the peace of God.

Let me not wander from the way of peace, for I am lost on other roads than this. But let me follow Him Who leads me home, and peace is certain as the Love of God.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Last night's course gathering was inspirational, as it always is. We talked about healing and how the body is not what needs healing; it is the mind. It is so parallel to what I'm learning as I study Bob Proctor's material. We put so much emphasis on our bodies when really we can change our lives by changing our minds about our lives.

Wayne Dyer says that he doesn't get sick anymore because if he feels the first sign of a sniffle or anything like that, he welcomes it and loves it. By doing that, he raises his vibration to a level where the illness cannot reside. It is physically impossible. We all know that what we resist persists - or maybe we don't all know that, which is why we have so many lingering ailments - in our physical bodies and in our physical world.

As we learned from The Secret, what we push against gains momentum and power. We have a war against terror and terrorism and fear are rampant. We have a war against drugs and our drug problem does not go away. We have a war against war instead of a stand for peace.

What is it that you stand for? Today I take my stand for love. I will love this tickle I'm beginning to feel in my throat today, which normally would turn into a summer cold. There's no way that will happen for me because I'm for health, not against the cold.

I'll let you know what happens!

Day 219

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(199) I am not a body. I am free.

I am God's Son. Be still, my mind, and think a moment upon this. And then return to earth, without confusion as to what my Father loves forever as His Son.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

As I study my Bob Proctor materials more closely, I see how all I'm learning in every aspect of my life is really the same message in different clothes.

As I learn to think more and respond instead of react, I take control of my results - and I mean control in the most positive sense of the word. Another book I'm re-reading is David Hawkins' "Power vs. Force," and in that book I'm reminded that Force is ego and Power is spirit. When I say "control" as I did here, I mean the "Power" kind of control. When I can respond and reflect, I realize that today's message is true, and I have nothing to fear - only to love.

That's a miracle today and forever.

Blessed and grateful!

Day 218

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(198) Only my condemnation injures me.

My condemnation keeps my vision dark, and through my sightless eyes I cannot see the vision of my glory. Yet today I can behold this glory and be glad.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

It is really remarkable to me how as I increase my knowledge about anything, my inspiration is increased as well. As I understand my purpose, vision and goals (in that order), all the things necessary for me to achieve what I was created to achieve are attracted to me in order to help me carry out my function.

Today's lesson is very timely for me where I am in my own growth. It is only my condemnation - of others and of myself - that will injure me. "Through my sightless eyes I cannot see the vision of my glory." Sometimes I still seem to need external validation to keep me going on the path I know is mine. I have struggled with that my entire life - but that's no excuse to stay stuck. Knowledge is power, certainly, but inspiration is truth.

I am committed to growing my business so I can share this information and inspiration with companies, corporations, organizations and individuals who want to grow and prosper by discovering their purpose, vision and then goals. As I play small, I keep my world small. I want to play big and I know that is my glory.

As I'm studying for a seminar I'm going to be delivering with two of my good friends and colleagues this Thursday, I heard a story about the acorn which really resonated with me. It's been said that the mighty oak lives in the acorn. But that's not true. The POSSIBILITY and POTENTIAL of the oak live in the acorn - the oak itself resides in the universe. If I hold the acorn in my hand, the oak remains potential because the elements necessary for the growth and prosperity of the acorn are not present in my hand. But if I put the acorn into the earth - which is its purpose - then all the elements necessary for the growth of that acorn are attracted to it and it can serve its purpose. The acorn doesn't have to go running around looking for all those elements - everything necessary for its purpose is attracted to it.

This is such a great reminder to me. As the acorn begins to grow and change, the elements necessary for its purpose will grow and change as well. At first it needs nutrients from the earth. But as it shoots out into the atmosphere, its needs change to water and sunlight. Those elements now are being attracted to the acorn on its way to becoming the oak tree, which is the domain of the universe.

If the acorn was not in a place of greatest possibility, i.e. in my hand, it could never achieve its purpose. So when we realize that our glory cannot be seen through sightless eyes clouded by condemnation, we have a new choice to make which will allow us to live our purpose. Today I can behold this glory and be glad - and put myself in a place which will allow all the elements necessary for the achievement of my purpose to be attracted to me.

I don't have to know HOW I will achieve my purpose, I only need have a big enough WHY. And my WHY is because I see a world of people who have potential, but just like the acorn in my hand, may not realize that they are not in the place of expanded capacity - or in the best place to allow all the elements necessary to their growth and expansion to come to them. That's my WHY. I want to share and teach what I know.

No fear - only love. That's my vehicle to take me to that place of my own expanded capacity. As I grow, all the elements needed for me to fulfill my purpose are attracted to me. And I need only get out of the way.

What a miracle!!

Day 217

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(197) It can be but my gratitude I earn.

Who should give thanks for my salvation but myself? And how but through salvation can I find the Self to Whom my thanks are due?

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Today's review reminds me of the personal accountability I am becoming more and more aware of in so many aspects of my life. As I become more awake to this work, I notice how much of our lives we have left to victim thinking and how much we believe we are entitled to in our world.

I see it so much more clearly in others now because I have been there myself. Whenever I sense a "yeah, but" in my own mind, I realize that it only comes up because I have a need to be right. As I notice victim thinking in others, I send a silent blessing and a note of gratitude that I am learning what I am learning. I am grateful for my salvation - and through salvation can I find the Self to Whom my thanks are due.

Blessed and grateful!!

Day 216

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(196) It can be but myself I crucify.

All that I do I do unto myself. If I attack, I suffer. But if I forgive, salvation will be given me.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Today's review reminds me of a story I heard on a Gary Renard CD (if you haven't read Gary Renard's books - The Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality - you might want to check them out. Disappearance does a great job of explaining our Course in Miracles in terms that make a lot of sense). Gary was talking about his father-in-law who spend 8 years in misery because he absolutely hated Bill Clinton. During his entire presidency, Gary's father-in-law spent every waking hour talking about how much he didn't like Clinton and took on additional stress he didn't need to take on by carrying around this weight. Now do you suppose Clinton gave a hoot that Gary's father-in-law didn't like him? Highly doubtful. So who was his attitude hurting? Himself.

That's what I'm learning about holding a grudge and forgiveness. Today's review says it's only myself I crucify. Isn't that true? When you're mad at someone else because you're believing your story about him or her, it's only you who suffers. Most of the time when you're spending all your time dwelling on something that happened in the past with someone else, that other person isn't even doing whatever it is you're mad at him or her for doing in the present moment, yet you're bent out of shape now. That's like crucifixion.

Forgiveness gives up that grudge. Forgiveness also works on ourselves - and we can forgive ourselves for things we don't even remember - or things that aren't even any of our business. I love what Bob Proctor says about that: "What other people think of me is none of my business."

If I'm spending all my time and energy worrying about what someone else thinks of me, I don't have enough energy to spend in the now. I just don't worry about those things anymore. It's so freeing to just BE!

That's truly a miracle!

Day 215

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(195) Love is the way I walk in gratitude.

The Holy Spirit is my only Guide. He walks with me in love. And I give thanks to Him for showing me the way to go.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Yesterday I was meeting with an HR person at a rather large company here in town who had found me through someone else who was looking for a speaker for a conference she was planning for next winter. I wasn't really expecting anything from the meeting - I went in to learn more about what she needed.

As I was waiting in the lobby to meet with the person, the CEO of the company showed up and started asking me questions about who I was there to see, what I was going to talk to her about, and what it was I did. It was a great, direct conversation and it was fun to have someone be that up front in asking those questions. I knew who he was because I'd met him several years ago while I was working at another job.

I knew that he had written a book about his leadership style, so I mentioned that to him and we had a great conversation.

Then I met with the HR person to plan the conference, and as a result of our conversation, she asked me to give her a proposal for 4 different breakouts, and also will be talking with me about the possibility of working with her company, which has 30 branches. It could be a really big deal for Bock's Office and it just "happened."

There are no coincidences ... and as I keep my vision for Bock's Office, the universe brings me many opportunities to fulfill that vision. I just need to act.

I have rewritten my goal in the past week based on the lessons I've been reading here. This is my current goal statement:

I am so happy and grateful now that I am willing to be holy and to be a conduit for the Holy Spirit to work through me in whatever way God wants. I am willing to let the holy instant be what it is and to accept myself as I was meant to be.

I am not content with littleness, but am blessed and grateful for the greatness that comes from me. I am worthy and I am the only ME the world has ever or will ever have.

I will be looking at this goal as I begin each day, and will trust that all my business and personal dealings will reflect this focus. That's a miracle!

Day 214

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(194) I place the future in the Hands of God.

The past is gone; the future is not yet. Now am I freed from both. For what God gives can only be for good. And I accept but what He gives as what belongs to me.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I met a friend last night for dinner. I hadn't seen her for a long time - like maybe 5 years - because we've both been so busy. It's a terrible reason for not getting together, but it is what it is. I wanted to meet with her because she's an educator, and I want to talk to her about how I might be able to get what I'm learning from my Proctor training into a school setting. For some reason I really have a passion for teaching this to kids before they get to be adults with so much baggage to get rid of.

It turned out she had other things to talk about, including how she's noticing that her workaholic tendencies are catching up with her. She doesn't really do much outside of her work, and it's gotten to the point where she has to make some tough decisions about her career. I write this as a miracle because there is no reason she needed to tell me as much as she did about what's going on with her. She told me she just hasn't told anyone about what she's thinking, she just felt she could tell me. And that's how I know my purpose. That happens to me all the time. People tell me things and then don't know why they told me. I'm happy to be of service because I realize that I am as God created me, which frees me up to really step into that.

Although I didn't have today's reminder in front of me, that's basically what I told her. With baggage from the past and worry about the future, we really don't have the presence of mind to concentrate on the now. And the now is SOOOOO fleeting. Try to capture now. You can't. As soon as you utter the word "now" it's gone. So the present really is a state of being rather than a time to be measured. It is so important that we be present in the present because we can create it each moment.

I choose to accept whatever my present holds for me because I know that what God gives can only be for good.

That's a miracle - and I'm blessed and grateful to be able to serve the world with who I am.

Day 213

Today's Review:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

(193) All things are lessons God would have me learn.

A lesson is a miracle which God offers to me, in place of thoughts I made that hurt me. What I learn of Him becomes the way I am set free. And so I choose to learn His lessons and forget my own.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Today's review is so powerful I don't think I'll have to add many of my own comments. When I can give up my own place in my life and leave the door open to have God lead the way, amazing things happen.

Here's a perfect example. My wonderful business partner Merrill just sent me an e-mail right now in regard to yesterday's post here. He's an amazing guy with unbelievable insight and here's what he shared with me:

"Jodee: In regard to your blog [yesterday] morning:

"The Soul's Companion" by Tian Dayton
"BEING USEFUL"
"I will make my life useful and relevant today. I am not an alien living in isolation from planet earth. I am a part of the world I live in and there are countless ways for me to participate in co-creating this society. When I do what I see needs to be done, I am working in accord with the natural evolution of society, with what needs to happen, and I will have support from unexpected corners. Because I am addressing a need rather than imposing my needs and desires, I am flowing with the tide instead of against it.
When I work with the needs of the universe, I work with spirit. I co-create this world .... When I am in touch with and being useful to this world, I am in line with divine energy."

Buckminster Fuller, "I look for what needs to be done...After all, that's how the universe designs itself"

Gerald G Jampolsky, MD - "It is suggested that we being each encounter with an entirely different kind of mindset. We resolve beforehand that we will scan the other person for signs of love, gentleness and peace, and that the only information we will retain in our mind is that which will permit us to continue looking upon this person kindly. In other words, we see only their innocence, not their guilt. We look at them with our heart, not our our preconceived notions. This approach is one we all can use in our daily lives.... whether at work or in our more intimate relationships."

How perfect is this? And what timing! Sometimes the miracles are just there ... I need only open my eyes. Thank you, Merrill, for you! BLESSED AND GRATEFUL!