Day 284

Today's Lesson:

I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt.

Loss is not loss when properly perceived. Pain is impossible. There is no grief with any cause at all. And suffering of any kind is nothing but a dream. This is the truth, at first to be but said and then repeated many times; and next to be accepted as but partly true, with many reservations. Then to be considered seriously more ad more, and finally accepted as the truth. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. And I would go beyond these words today, and past all reservations, and arrive at full acceptance of the truth in them.

Father, what You have given cannot hurt, so grief and pain must be impossible. Let me not fail to trust in You today, accepting but the joyous as Your gifts; accepting but the joyous as the truth.

Miracles I'm noticing:

Yes, this is the truth. I know in my heart of hearts that I really can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. But sometimes it is just easier to play the victim. I can just hear myself now, trying desperately to justify the pain of loss and suffering I sometimes feel. "But you just don't understand," I can hear myself telling whom - myself? My Higher Self? When I feel the need to justify (which, by the way, doesn't happen nearly as often as it used to), it usually shows up as a thought that starts with "yeah, but ..." in my mind. For me, the word "but" is a sure sign that I'm trying to hold on to my need to be right, even though it may produce an unwanted thought like grief or suffering.

What if this lesson really is true, that I really do have the ability to change the way I think about things? What if pain really is impossible? I love how the lesson doesn't expect us to get it right away. That's too counter to what our ego has been convincing us for our entire lifetime. It allows us to try this new thought on, hold on to our doubt and our fear and our reservations, but keep repeating it to ourselves and see how that really feels.

I've just finished the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and I've learned so much. Not only is her writing style amazing and entertaining, the lessons I learned about myself and about God and food and love are somehow familiar to me. Things are not supposed to be as complicated as our egos want us to believe they are. Let's all work together and pull the mask off the ego we've become so familiar with all this time. What we will see is the Holy Spirit, waiting patiently for us to wake up and be calm, peaceful, happy, healthy and whole.

There is no order of difficulty in miracles. I'm ready to accept this one by just changing my mind about what's true. Join me and let's see what's there waiting.