Day 19

Today's Lesson:

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.

So it's not only the effects of my seeing, but also the effects of my thoughts that I share with everyone else. It really doesn't matter whether the thought comes first or the seeing comes first because thinking and the results of the thinking (the seeing) are never separate. Cause and effect go together.

This lesson reminds me of the part of The Secret where they talk about monitoring your thoughts. Joe Vitale says that it will seem difficult at first, but that's where the fun comes in. It may seem impossible or maybe even unfair that each of us has to be responsible for our thoughts because they affect more than just the one thinking them. But it helps to remember that we are all connected. When I remember that the other members of my study group are also working on the same lesson today, I almost feel a sense of relief because there is an unspoken accountability partnership in place. As I understand the effects of my thoughts on not just me but each of them as well, I see a little more clearly how each of us is part of the healing of the universe.

Miracles I'm noticing:

The text for today emphasizes the need to free ourselves from fear quickly, "because you must emerge from the conflict if you are to bring peace to other minds." This shows again how I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.

I had dinner with my friend Dave a couple of nights ago and we were talking about how nothing exists in a vacuum. Whenever there is a void of information, for example, our minds will automatically fill it in with fear because we're so conditioned to expect the worst. Yesterday's TUT message said "The one who prepares for adversity, Jodee, builds not a bridge of retreat, but one upon which adversity advances." Why should we be surprised about the state of affairs in our world these days? I read an article somewhere yesterday about worry and the effects of worry on health. Worry is almost exclusively present only in the mind. Think of how much stress we could alleviate in the world if we just concentrated on filling in the gaps with positive energy instead of the automatic negative energy we allow to seep in.

And speaking of miracles, here is today's TUT message:

The reason most people don't recognize the miracles that are performed on their behalf, Jodee, is because there's just so blomin' many of them.

Like this very moment...

And this one...

And this one...

The Universe

One of those things that makes you go "hmmmmmm......"

Miracles On Day 2!

Today's Lesson:

I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me.

This has been a very interesting lesson for me as I recognize how much meaning I attach to objects, concepts, and even people. By themselves, they really don't have any meaning apart from that which I've attached to them. If I can open my understanding to detach my own judgment, I will be able to see situations and people in a much different light - the light of love as opposed to fear.

Miracles I've noticed:

Situation #1. Last night I did some blogging, and visited a blog where Liz Strauss was writing about Extreme Leadership as written by Steve Farber, one of my favorite authors and one of the people who endorsed my book, The 100% Factor. I posted a comment on Liz's blog and about 5 minutes later I got an e-mail from her asking if she could call me. We ended up talking for about an hour about some ideas she has - because she's working with Steve Farber on his next book and she wanted to talk to me about my ideas. It turns out we have several mutual acquaintances, including Gerald Haman. She said when she was at the Thinkubator in Chicago a couple of months ago, Gerald actually showed Liz my book, because he might want to talk to her about helping him with a book. I know there are no coincidences - so consider all the signposts that were working miraculously in that connection! It occurs to me, as I consider yesterday's lesson (nothing I see means anything) that just observing this outside the ego which would want this all to mean something huge, it just becomes a "what you sow, you reap" kind of situation - outside of ego. It's just the way it is.

Situation #2: I noted on my other blog a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to write for Motto magazine sometime in 2007. I talked to my friend Phil last night and he said he had been e-mailing with Kevin Salwen, the editor of Motto, and mentioned my blog post to Kevin. Kevin said he would like me to let him know what I'd like to write about. And that happened within 1 day of it being 2007! Again, getting outside the ego, this is the way this is supposed to happen. It's not about me, but it's through me or around me that miracles are always happening. It's just that I need to notice!

Shifting Perceptions

A Course in Miracles provides a very different way of looking at the world than the way we have become used to seeing it. It reminds me of the way don Miguel Ruiz describes this concept in The Four Agreements. He says there that we have become "domesticated" - or trained to see the world a certain way and we have stopped questioning things that might not work for us anymore. If we want to get rid of some of the "agreements" we've made over our lives, we can replace those old ones with four new ones:

Agreement 1
Be impeccable with your word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

Agreement 2
Don’t take anything personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

Agreement 3
Don’t make assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

Agreement 4
Always do your best - Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

The first part of the workbook of A Course in Miracles is similar because it helps undo the way we see now. It helps train our minds in a systematic way to a different perception of everyone and everything in the world.

So each day I'll post the lesson for the day from the workbook, along with the miracles in my own life. The miracles are there every day - whether I notice them or not. By shifting my perception, it is my intention to notice at least one miracle a day - and to invite readers to share the miracles they notice in their own lives.

Today's Lesson:

Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.

What I noticed today:
New Year's Day has typically been a day I've chosen to relax and contemplate my intentions for the new year. Another ritual I've taken on is watching the Festival of Roses parade on TV. This morning I discovered that Direct TV is having a problem with my local channels today and they have been off air all morning. I noticed that, since this doesn't mean anything, there is no need to get upset about this. This may seem small, but every time I can notice that something that used to upset me doesn't anymore, I consider that a miracle. I'm just glad I'm not a college football fanatic because those bowl games aren't on my TV today! That's something I can be grateful for!

Happy 2007!

UPDATE: I turned over to the local channels and, after being off-air all morning, just after I published this post, the channels came back. Coincidence? Or Miracle?