Reflections 338 to 351

 

338/ A New Year

1st January 2022

Accept the holy instant as this year is born, and take your place, so long left unfulfilled, in the Great Awakening. Make this year different by making it all the same. (ACIM, T-15.XI.10:10-11)

***

It’s the start of a new year. A new year promises a lot. Optimism and hope always abound at the start of a new year.

A new year is the end of the old year. It is likely that something wasn’t quite right about the old year. 

A new year is the time to understand that peace and guilt are antithetical (ACIM, T-13.I.1:3).  We can foster one or the other, but we can’t have both.

A new year is the time to be aware that “always” must be now (ACIM, T-13.I.8:5). A new year has started but we have no need to wait.

A new year is the time to know that love and guilt cannot coexist (ACIM, T-13.I.1:4). This means to accept one is to deny the other.

A new year is the time to know our brother. Out of love he was created, and in love he abides. (ACIM, T-13.I.6:6)

A new year is the time to know ourselves. This simply means to know that we are immortal and eternal.

A new year is a year to give to the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit knows what is best for us. Only the Holy Spirit knows what to do.

A new year is the time to put all this into practice. A new year becomes another new beginning.

____________________________________________________________________________

339/ A Mind that Is Whole

2nd January 2022

A Course in Miracles tells us that guilt stands in the way of remembering God. It also tells us that God’s pull is so strong that we cannot resist it. 

We learn that everything is within us. We have God’s Voice within us and we have the ego within is. Both are calling to us. The ego, however, drowns out God’s Voice. The ego interprets everything in a way that suits the ego. And, because the ego wants to be God, we feel that something is missing. This is why we might feel abandoned, isolated and alone.

Make no mistake about the depth of this fear. For you believe that, in the presence of truth, you might turn on yourself and destroy yourself. (ACIM, T-13.II.8:5-6)

A Course in Miracles tells us that the split mind is the cause of all our problems. A whole mind is the solution. It tells us that, to make our minds whole, we have to learn to free ourselves of all our unconscious guilt. We have to learn to free the mind of the ego. This means looking at our deepest fears. It means opening up old wounds. It means challenging our greatest secrets. It means looking at everything we prefer to ignore and seeing that actually it is not real.

 A Course in Miracles teaches forgiveness as the means of doing this. It is a course in the practical application of forgiveness to make our minds whole. It tells us that split mind is a mind that suffers. A whole mind is a mind that is at peace. 

A mind that is whole is not arrived at lightly. Many people begin A Course in Miracles, and stop. It’s inevitable. The words below act like a helping hand on the shoulder. They are meant to reassure and steady us.

To some extent, then, you must believe that by not learning the course you are protecting yourself. And you do not realise that it is only your guiltlessness that can protect you. (ACIM, T-13.II.7:5-6)

____________________________________________________________________________

340/ One Sock Is Missing

3rd January 2022

A Course in Miracles tells us this: You are more afraid of God than of the ego, and love cannot enter where it is not welcome. (ACIM, T-13.III.5:4)

This pretty well sums up society in general, and it definitely reflects back to us our state of mind. We might think we are looking for love in all the right places but fear permeates just about everything we do. Even if we don’t think so, fear is just beneath the surface. Below, a few more lines why this is so.

Your fear of attack is nothing compared to your real of love. (ACIM, T-13.III.2:3)

You can accept insanity because you made it, but you cannot accept love because you did not. (ACIM, T-13.III.5:1)

Your individual death seems more valuable than your living oneness, for what is given you is not so dear as what you made. (ACIM, T-13.III.5:3)

A Course in Miracles tells us that, to know love, we have to face our deepest fear. Our deepest fear is so terrifying that we hate even to look at it. It is the fear of punishment. It is the terror that comes as a result of our separation from God.

Everything we fear arises from just one thing: we are separate and we are fallible. We face inevitable death and we are scared. We can’t escape it. Death is always there, lurking in the background.

Whatever we do, wherever we go, we can never feel whole until this is healed. Superficially, it might feel as if one sock is missing. Deep down, it feels like we have lost a leg.

____________________________________________________________________________

341/ The Function That We Have

4th January 2022

A Course in Miracles talks about function. One is according to the ego, and one is according to the Holy Spirit. One is according to time, one is according to the timeless.

The ego's and the Holy Spirit's function are poles apart. The ego's function in the world is destruction, while the Holy Spirit's is healing. The Holy Spirit's also has a function in Heaven which is creating, while the ego has no function in Heaven. However, it does have another function on earth. When it becomes overtly savage, it offers us hell. 

Both the ego and the Holy Spirit exist within the mind, just as everything we see exists within the mind. We just put our own interpretation onto it.

A Course in Miracles tells us that what is true and everlasting can only be found in the present moment. To find the present moment is impossible with the ego, but forever possible with the Holy Spirit.

The function that we have is therefore simple. It is a simple choice between the past and the present. It is a simple choice between what was, and what is.

A Course in Miracles tells us that the ego only perceives the past and the future, and closes over the present moment so that it is shut off from our awareness. The Holy Spirit has a different use of time. Time is really seen as being temporary. Time is there for just one purpose. The purpose of time is to heal. 

Healing cannot be accomplished in the past. It must be accomplished in the present to release the future. This interpretation ties the future to the present, and extends the present rather than the past. (ACIM, T-13.IV.9:3-5)

____________________________________________________________________________

342/ The Vision of Christ

5th January 2022

Do not seek vision through your eyes, for you made your way of seeing that you might see in darkness, and in this you are deceived. Beyond this darkness, and yet still within you, is the vision of Christ, Who looks on all in light. (ACIM, T-13.V.9:1-2)

***

A Course in Miracles tells us we have a separate mind. The separate mind is our private world where we think private thoughts. It is filled with shadowy figures from our past, and these shadowy figures are precisely what we need to escape.

We have just two emotions in our private world. One is changeless and the other takes many forms. The changeless is continually exchanged. We need light in our mind to see it. We cannot see the changeless in darkness. 

The other emotion can only be seen in darkness. Its forms are clouded, illusory and obscure. They frighten us and fuel the shadowy figures that we see. They are shrouded in darkness because, quite simply, in light they would disappear. A Course in Miracles tells us that these two emotions are love and fear.

A vision of Christ is possible for any one of us. This is because we share it. It is not hidden from us. Christ unites each one of us in Oneness because we are all that Christ. A Course in Miracles simply tells us that this is the Self we share, uniting us with one another, and with God as well (ACIM, W-pII.6.1:2). 

Randy Kay's near-death gave him a direct vision of Christ. It took away all the doubts he ever had about God and religion, and enabled him to have an intimate experience of Jesus, Heaven and the Love of our Creator. He found that life never ends and the purpose that we might have had on earth simply continues after we die. He came to understand that hell is simply a state of mind because God has been banned from our awareness.

The interview is with Lee Witting of NDE Radio and it can be listened to on the link below.

____________________________________________________________________________

343/ Light and Dark

6th January 2022

"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.” Carl Jung.

***

The present is before time was, and will be when time is no more. In it are all things that are eternal, and they are one. (ACIM, T-13.VI.6:5-6)

A Course in Miracles is telling us that truth lies only in the present moment. The past can only cast a shadow on the present - that is, if we let it.

This is what we do, time and time again. We judge all things on past experiences.

A Course in Miracles wants us to get to the essence of what we are, and this is light. The challenge, then, is to see everyone in that light. This is impossible if we accept the challenge through the eyes of the ego. But ACIM tells us it is entirely possible if we see past the ego, and to what lies beyond.

God's guiltless Son is only light. There is no darkness in him anywhere, for he is whole. (ACIM, T-13.VI.8:4-5)

A Course in Miracles says that it is insanity to keep lingering on the past. It tells us that what is light and dark exists within us now. The solution comes from choosing just one. The solution comes through letting the darkness of the past go, and bringing light to the present.

This is what Jesus did, and this is what Jesus teaches us through A Course in Miracles. He tells us that we are afraid of the light. Only fear keeps us from the love's presence.

When you have learned to look on everyone with no reference at all to the past, either his or yours as you perceived it, you will be able to learn from what you see now. (ACIM, T-13.VI.2:3)

____________________________________________________________________________

344/ A Twisted Reference Point

7th January 2022

Love waits on welcome, not on time, and the real world is but your welcome of what always was. (ACIM, T-13.VII.9:7)

***

A Course in Miracles tells us there are two worlds. It tells us the real world is with us now, but we choose not to see it. This is the paradox. The world about us seems real enough, and yet we are being told that it is not. There is another world beyond it, and yet we have to believe it. It's simply a decision to want to see it.

All seeing starts with the perceiver, who judges what is true and what is false. And what he judges false he does not see. You who would judge reality cannot see it, for whenever judgement enters reality has slipped away. (ACIM, T-13.VII.5:3-5)

A Course in Miracles tells us the answer is within us. Everything is contained within the mind. This includes the ego, which makes the world we see, and it includes the Holy Spirit, who knows another world to see. And it includes the Christ, who is the World to God, and the Self we share. The choice is ours. We get what we ask for. 

And yet, while all this lives within us, we learn that everything really just exists quietly in the present moment. If it is not peaceful, it is just illusory. If it’s not related to truth, it has no basis in truth.

A twisted reference point therefore occurs because we misjudge ourselves. We think we are fallible and contrary, but we are not. 

A twisted reference point means a twisted world. We have to untwist it, and find the truth for ourselves. To do this, we just have to learn to calm the mind.

Calming the mind takes practice. Anyone who has achieved a calm mind would probably say that it is well worth the effort.

____________________________________________________________________________

345/ The Law of Possession

8th January 2022

"Possession isn't nine-tenths of the law. It's nine-tenths of the problem." John Lennon.

***

A Course in Miracles tells us that ownership is a dangerous concept, if it is left up to us.

Possession for its own sake is the ego's fundamental creed, a basic cornerstone in the churches it builds to itself. And at its altar it demands you lay all of the things it bids you get, leaving you no joy in them. (ACIM, T-13.VII.10:12-13)

Only the Holy Spirit knows what you need. For He will give you all things that do not block the way to light. And what else could you need? (ACIM, T-13.VII.12:1-3)

A Course in Miracles teaches trust. Trust requires certainty. Certainty and trust seem to go hand in hand, and both arise from a place deep within us. Both are quite silent. They don't need to be spoken.

The ego is only interested in self sufficiency and the ego’s goal is to accumulate. It has no trust in anything that is not solid and tangible. The law of possession is its motivation and its desire. Quite simply, the ego is frightened of loosing what it has. 

Two thousand years ago, Jesus said the following words: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Today, A Course in Miracles might re-word the above like this: “To know perfect love, we have to undo the poverty of the ego in order to become connected to perfect Oneness, which is Heaven. We are poor when we think we are separate.”

The law of possession needs to be looked at. Life is not about ownership. It is about understanding what is real, and then sharing it.

____________________________________________________________________________

346/ Everywhere, Everything and Forever

9th January 2022

“Spirituality is not about becoming special. It is about becoming one with everything.” Sadhguru.

***

A Course in Miracles talks about how we are all aspects of one reality: Every aspect is whole, and therefore no aspect is separate. You are an aspect of knowledge, being in the Mind of God, Who knows you. All knowledge must be yours, for in you is all knowledge. (ACIM, T-13.VIII.2:2-4)

This means we are just one miracle. There is just one reality. Within the miracle is everything. This means that every aspect of reality is completely harmonious with the one reality of God.

A Course in Miracles knows we have forgotten this. The sentences below are just summaries of what ACIM is telling us.

All healing is a release from the past. The Holy Spirit is the only Healer. 

All fear is groundless because our freedom, which seems to be in the future, was given to us by God in our creation.

Our separation from God is merely an error in the mind, and this error can easily be corrected.

Any person that we see without a past brings us closer to the end of time. 

The mind that knows the truth of who we are is everywhere, has everything, and is forever. It is free and boundless. 

The only thing that prevents us from being everywhere, having everything, and existing forever is our fear. Fear has no place in the one reality.

____________________________________________________________________________

347/ Breaking the Law

10th January 2022

The world can give you only what you gave it, for being nothing but your own projection, it has no meaning apart from what you found in it and placed your faith in. (ACIM, T-13.IX.3:1)

***

A Course in Miracles says this: Guilt remains the only thing that hides the Father (ACIM, T-13.IX.1:1). Later, it also adds the following: Do not be afraid to look within. (ACIM, T-13.IX.8:1)

These two statements highlight the practical application of A Course in Miracles. Guilt has to be undone, and we have to look within. We are told that, each time we blame one another, we are simply projecting our own guilt. We are also told that this is what makes the world. The world is merely a projection of this guilt.

The Atonement is the complete dissolving of all guilt. The Atonement means that there is nothing that divides the mind. There is nothing between us and our connection to God. We also project a new world, and it's a world that is fuelled by love.

A Course in Miracles tells us that the ego has one law. This law links the future to the past and keeps us guilty. It means that we condemn ourselves and each other. It is the cause of all our suffering. It keeps us bound to bodies, and bound to fear.

The other law is the Law of God. It is found between the past and the future. This Law tells us that we are innocent of everything we ever thought we did. This Law heals us. It gives us only peace

Going within and finding this Law requires breaking the law of the ego. Breaking the law of the ego feels like a death sentence. But all it really is, is just a release from guilt.

A Course in Miracles only wants us to do one thing. It wants us to practice forgiveness in order to overcome all our unconscious guilt. It teaches us that there really is no law to break. There is only one Law, and that is the Law of Life.

____________________________________________________________________________

348/ Love Without Limit

11th January 2022

Like you, my faith and my belief are centered on what I treasure. The difference is that I love only what God loves with me, and because of this I treasure you beyond the value that you set on yourself, even unto the worth that God has placed upon you. (ACIM, T-13.X.13:1-2)

***

A Course in Miracles repeatedly states that everything is within us. The Love of God is within us. Fear and guilt are within us. The sun, the moon and the stars are within us. All we have to do is to decide what we want to see.

We have to learn this as Jesus learnt it, as Buddha learnt it, and as every ascended master who has ever lived has had to learn it. We have to see past the darkness to the light. A Course in Miracles tells us that only light is real. Everything else is just an illusion of being real.

Jesus gave us A Course in Miracles because he does not discriminate. He does not make any distinctions between what we are and what we believe we are. He merely wants us to see ourselves as he sees us. And he sees us as being equal in every way. He knows we are the same as him. He knows we are without any separation or division of any kind.

The fact is, where we put our faith informs our belief. We can have a multitude of beliefs simply because the mind is so vast. And yet, A Course in Miracles warns us, there is only one truth. The truth is that we can only love as God loves.

A Course in Miracles is all about re-joining with God’s love. It tells us that there is no love apart from His love. What this really means is that we are becoming aware of something we have never left.

Jesus gave us A Course in Miracles because we limit ourselves. We suffer and hurt ourselves. Jesus tells us that love is without limit. Love really has no boundries.

Alone we are all lowly, but together we shine with brightness so intense that none of us alone can even think of it. (ACIM, T-13.X.14:2)

____________________________________________________________________________

349/ Change and Shift

12th January 2022

“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” Chinese Proverb,

***

A Course in Miracles talks about the change and shift that needs to happen in the mind before we can have a mind at peace. It says this: Nothing in this world can give this peace, for nothing in this world is wholly shared (ACIM, T-13.XI.4:1). It also adds the following: Heaven is perfectly unambiguous. Everything is clear and bright, and calls forth one response. (ACIM, T-13.XI.3:8-9)

A Course in Miracles tells us that we only think we are outside of Heaven. The reality is so different.  The truth is we have never left Heaven. ACIM tells us that Heaven is the only state that really exists.

Anastasia Wesselink Moellering's near-death experience proves all of the above. The NDE happened at the end of 2019, as a result of being given nitrous oxide prior to an invasive dental procedure. Her experience shows us the change and shift that happens when we leave our physical life and move to the spiritual realm. She says that there was no pain, no suffering, and no feeling at all of the physical body. There was just a complete interconnection with everyone and everything.

Anastasia’s experience shows us the huge potential we all have for spiritual growth in our lifetimes. Everything we do is just another opportunity to learn about ourselves. Everything that happens is just another chance to see things differently.  Equally, when we learn about where we come from, it can inspire us to change our lives. Small acts of kindness become more important than any act that lacks compassion.

"There is no getting it wrong in this life. There is no decision that you can make that is going to impact your ability to connect to that love and bliss and that oneness when we get to the other side."

Anastasia has a few accounts on YouTube.  The interview with the quote above is with the Jeff Mara Podcast. The link is below.

____________________________________________________________________________

350/ Infinite Love and Cruel War

13th January 2022

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting" Sun Tzu.

***

There's no doubt that war is cruel. There's no doubt that war is about the ego. A Course in Miracles looks at war with different eyes. It looks at something that is not there.

No one finds himself ravaged and torn in endless battles if he himself perceives them as wholly without meaning. (ACIM, T-13.XI.1:5)

Your wildest misperceptions, your weird imaginings, your blackest nightmares all mean nothing. They will not prevail against the peace God wills for you. (ACIM, T-13.XI.7:2-3)

This gets to the crux of what A Course in Miracles is teaching us. It teaches us that all war is an illusion. No war is there. Nothing is happening. What seems real is not real at all. 

A Course in Miracles tells us that the war is happening within our minds. ACIM also tells us that we are blessed but do not know it. We are blessed because the solution is right here with us now.

The solution has been placed within our minds to save us from this war. This is why A Course in Miracles is here; to teach us how to find it. Then, when we do find it, we can mute the sound of gunfire and rise above the battleground.

A Course in Miracles tells us that the logic of the ego leads to war. It tells us that the logic of the Holy Spirit leads to love. The logic of the ego is cruel because it separates us from infinite love. The logic of the Holy Spirit is healing because it connects us to Infinite Love.

Infinite Love is only another term for God. A cruel war is simply our separation from Infinite Love.

____________________________________________________________________________

351/ A Greater Awareness

14th January 2022

This is an insane world, and do not underestimate the extent of its insanity. There is no area of your perception that it has not touched, and your dream is sacred to you. That is why God placed the Holy Spirit in you, where you placed the dream. (ACIM, T-14.I.2:6-8)

***

Within us, we might hope for something better. Within us, we might sense there is something bigger. A dilemma then arises. How do we find it? 

There are many paths to the discovery of what is bigger and better. This usually means the dissolution of something smaller. The dissolution of something smaller is the undoing of all the concepts we hold dear. This means undoing our identity, which means undoing the ego.

This isn't simple because the ego wants it to feel terrifying. The ego wants it to feel like we are being plunged into an abyss. The ego wants  this change to feel dark and dangerous. It wants it to be a journey with no return.

A Course in Miracles shows us there is a return. It shows us something so vast, it is impossible to imagine. It dismisses our smaller self, and offers us support every step of the way. However, of itself, it can do nothing. 

Completing the teachings of A Course in Miracles requires a commitment to the Holy Spirit.  We are taught that there is no other solution. There is nothing that is bigger than what the Holy Spirit gives us. There is no awareness that is greater than what we really are.

A greater awareness therefore begins with surrender. A greater awareness starts with honesty. A greater awareness ends with laughter. We laugh at the absurdity of all that we considered important.