Through A Mirror, Brightly

What I Have Come to Know: A Distillation

2011-11-27T08:34:00.021-06:00

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, I was sitting on the couch in our Sun Room early in the morning, reading the day’s Lesson 325, All things I think I see reflect ideas, enjoying the warmth of the wood-burning stove and watching the birds at our feeders, and the thought came in, “What does it all boil down to, after all these years of reading A Course in Miracles, learning from Master Teacher at Endeavor Academy, reading the New Testament, and going to Sessions almost daily at the Academy? What, exactly, is the distillate from the heat of this transformative process?

And then these words and sentences came into my mind, and I grabbed my notebook and scribbled them down.

* * *

Awareness

I am seeing either through the body’s eyes, or through the eyes of Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the bridge.

Forgiveness

Receptivity

God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day. Lesson 49

Since I am in the world, and not of the world, how do I conduct myself while I am walking in the world?

Help

Intention

Gratitude

* * *

Then it came to me that Lesson 325 provided a perfect context for expressing this transformative distillation.

The question is always, just where is my awareness. This Lesson makes it clear right away, that my salvation is my awareness of the source of my ideas.

All things I think I see reflect ideas. Lesson 325

This is salvation's keynote: What I see
reflects a process in my mind, which starts
with my idea of what I want.

I am seeing either through the body’s eyes. . .and now the Lesson makes it clear the process I engage in when I am seeing through the body’s eyes and brain.

From there,
the mind makes up an image of the thing
the mind desires, judges valuable,
and therefore seeks to find. These images
are then projected outward, looked upon,
esteemed as real and guarded as one's own.
From insane wishes comes an insane world.
From judgment comes a world condemned.

What I am seeing through the body’s eyes is a projection of what is in my mind, first; I am, literally, “throwing” out of my mind images, and then I “catch” them, thinking they are in the world, first. Not only are they second, but I initially judged the image, choosing this one over that one. Not recognizing the source of the image in my mind is insanity.

. . .or through the eyes of Christ.

And from
forgiving thoughts a gentle world comes forth,
with mercy for the holy Son of God,
to offer him a kindly home where he
can rest a while before he journeys on,
and help his brothers walk ahead with him,
and find the way to Heaven and to God.

When I am aware that I am seeing my insane projections, I ask for help, asking the Holy Spirit to bridge the gap between my world and the Real world.

With His strength, I am able to forgive, to relinquish, my insane thoughts that have no source in reality, and my dream vanishes, to be replaced by seeing through the eyes of Christ. This is a reflection of the peace of mind I am now experiencing.

Our Father, Your ideas reflect the truth,
and mine apart from Yours but make up dreams.
Let me behold what only Yours reflect,
for Yours and Yours alone establish truth.

And now in this peaceful state, I am receptive to the Holy Spirit, the Voice for God, speaking to me all through the day.

For me, this is absolute key. When I manage to remember to ask for help to step back and be aware of God’s Voice, I trust that I will receive His Thoughts.

Since I am in the world, and not of the world, how do I conduct myself while I am walking in the world?

The root meaning of conduct is crucial here. It comes from the Latin con, “with” and ducere, “to lead.” I am being led through the world by listening to the Voice of the Holy Spirit.

And now I know what my intention is. Intention comes from the Latin intendere, meaning “ to stretch towards.” I ask for help in a peaceful, receptive state of mind, stretching upwards to receive guidance coming down from the Holy Spirit.

And now I experience gratitude, a warmth in my chest, and I am exceedingly receptive to the Holy Spirit's intention.

And that is exactly what happened a little while ago when I began receiving thoughts about this distillate and grabbed my notebook and began scribbling down these thoughts coming into my mind.

And now that my intention is realized and honored, taking this particular form, I can stop writing, right now.

We Do Not Forgive People "Out There;" We Forgive Thoughts In Our Minds

2011-11-10T16:27:00.026-06:00

Recently, my friend, Pat Connor, came across a web site calling for papers for a Conference on this subject: Forgiveness, Probing the Boundaries. The Conference will be held at Mansfield College, Oxford, England, July 11-13, 2012.

The Conference organizers are calling for papers on Forgiveness. The abstracts for the papers are to be limited to 300 words, and they must be submitted by Friday, January 13, 2012. If an abstract is accepted for the Conference, a full draft of the paper must be submitted by Friday, May 11.

I am not sure that I want to prepare a paper to present at the Conference in England, but I like the challenge of capturing in 300 words, or less, what forgiveness means to me. Here is my writing exercise, weighing in at 281 words.

* * *

Forgiveness is an idea terribly misunderstood in this world. It usually takes the form of an individual saying to himself, “She wronged me, but I forgive her.” And in his "forgiveness," he feels superior. This is more like bargaining than forgiving; the wrong may be overlooked this time, but you owe me.

Forgiveness has nothing to do with another person "out there." Forgiveness is letting go of a thought in here, in the mind. Forgiveness is letting go of a thought/image projected outward. These thoughts are based on our individual judgments, stemming from our personal, past memories. A person standing next to you would see the situation differently. Forgiveness is liberation from these thoughts, these personal judgments.

That is why in The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus links trespassing to forgiveness. When I project my thought/images onto another, who is, in fact, the Christ, it is as if I am encroaching on His property, His Christhood.

Forgiveness is a shift from seeing thought/images through the eyes of the ego to seeing the reflection of an inner peace, seeing through the eyes of Christ. It is a shift from a state of mind of conflict, to a state of peace, a shift from seeing projected thought/images, to seeing a bright reflection of the Truth of what we are, the Christ.

Forgiveness is looking at your brother and saying to yourself, “Namaste, the Christ in me greets the Christ in you.”

And now I will walk into the world, inspired by this sentence from today’s Lesson in A Course in Miracles.

I have no purpose for today except
to look upon a liberated world,
set free from all the judgments I have made.
Lesson 312

* * *

To visit the web site, please click here.

A Sleeping Dream's Affirmative Message for my Waking Dream

2011-09-30T10:43:00.022-05:00

A couple of nights ago, I had this dream:

I am dressed up in a black sport coat, button-down collar, blue shirt, no tie, and gray slacks. I am about to go on stage as a main character, but I realize I have not memorized any lines. I am familiar with the play, but I don't know my lines. I think that, perhaps, I could carry the script on stage, but that doesn't seem right.

I have been puzzled by this dream ever since, and when I mentioned it today, my wife, Christine, over lunch, she immediately said, "That's good. It means that now you are in the waking dream, and you don't have a script. You are open and receptive to be guided." That's it! She cut right to it. I realized that lately I have been walking around, saying to myself, "Just be present, ask for help, breathe, let go of thoughts about what to do, resist the temptation to plan, trusting that I will be guided."

And, of course, the Holy Spirit is always offering guidance, whispering to us, and it is just a matter of making a space in our minds to hear His Voice, and letting go of our script is the way to make that space.

Your healing Voice protects all things today,
and so I leave all things to You. I need
be anxious over nothing. For Your Voice
will tell me what to do and where to go;
to whom to speak and what to say to him,
what thoughts to think, what words to give the world.
W-p.ll.275.2:1-4

When I look back at my sleeping dream, I see now why I was not the least bit upset about not knowing my lines. I was surprised, curious, but not concerned about what would happen. That mirrors my state of mind, now. I am trusting that all is well, and that all will be well, as long as I let my script go.

What do your scripts reflect except your plans
for what the day should be? And thus you judge
disaster and success, advance, retreat,
and gain and loss. These judgements all are made
according to the roles the script assigns.
The fact they have no meaning in themselves
is demonstrated by the ease with which
these labels change with other judgements, made
on different aspects of experience.
T-30.Vlll.2:1-4

I remember that not long ago, I was sitting on the couch, looking out the window at the falling leaves, sinking into deep peace, and I said to myself as I was coming out of it, "This is all I have to do, be present, let it all go; that is my only function, remembering that I am in the world, and not of the world. " What a relief.

In my sleeping dream, the play is a good analogy for the illusory world. Being without a script in a play is analogous to not following the dictates of my ego voice in the illusion. This creates a space in my mind for receiving the Voice for God, letting go of the temptation to follow the voice of the ego.

It is most appropriate to end with excerpts from Lesson 49, God's Voice speaks to me all through the day.

It is quite possible to listen to God's Voice all through the day without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not.

Here is whee my script comes in:

It is the other part of your mind that functions in the world and obeys the world's laws. It is this part that is constantly distracted, disorganized and highly uncertain.

Help me hear the next part:

The part that is listening to the Voice for God is calm, always at rest and wholly certain. It is really the only part there is.

Script:

The other part is a wild illusion, frantic and distraught, but without reality of any kind. Try today not to listen to it.

The Holy Spirit:

Try to identify with the part of your mind where stillness and peace reign forever. Try to hear God's Voice call to you lovingly, reminding you that your Creator has not forgotten His Son.
W-p1.49.1,2

Now, listen up!

My Passion for Creative Writing: How and When it was Aroused in Me

2011-08-05T11:56:00.015-05:00

In the preceding blog post (13 July 2011), I invited readers to participate in the upcoming event at Endeavor Academy in the Wisconsin Dells, The Passion of Creative Mind, 16 September -25 September, 2011, particularly in the writing portion of the Event.

The invitation is to write about an extraordinary experience in your life when you were Touched by God.

Meanwhile, I have been conducting Writing Workshops with members of the Academy, helping them learn how to express themselves in the written word. This has been an extraordinary experience for me and for them. Their essays are coming in, and we are collecting them in a book that will be available during the Event.

The experience has been extraordinary for me because it has triggered memories of how and when I became passionate about creative writing.

* * *

I was as freshman at Kalamazoo College, a small, liberal arts school in Michigan, founded in 1833.

This is me in the fall of my freshman year.

I am scared. No one in my family had ever gone to college, and I did not know what to expect. Not only that, but the Chicago Tribune had recently reported that Kalamazoo College ranked in the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the nation whose graduates went on to earn MD’s, and I had absolutely no scientific aptitude.

In fact, my primary concern is how I will measure up as a football player, having already been practicing for two weeks before school started. Yet, between me and the practice field are courses, five of them:

The History of Western Civilization
Freshman Biology
Russian
Introduction to Art
Freshman Composition

I had no confidence. I remember walking into my room in Harmon Hall after the first week, my desk littered with five syllabi and textbooks and notebooks, and I was already hopelessly behind.

One day in The History of Western Civilization, Lester Start was talking about euthanasia, and I wrote in my notebook: “youth in Asia.”

And then Larry Barrett threw me a life line.

Twenty of us gathered in Dr. Laurence Barrett’s classroom in Bowen Hall for Freshman Comp. Larry Barrett. Ph.D., Princeton; special field of study: John Milton. He is sitting on his desk, cross-legged, making searing eye contact with each of us in turn. He has the haircut of the times, a short flat top, his sport coat is dusted with chalk, his shirt collar ends are pointing up, his tie is awry across his chest, and he holds forth in a gruff, but loving manner. I loved it that his vocabulary is occasionally laced with mild profanity, like damn, piss and shit.

Here is the context for my inspiration. The standing assignment is this: Every two weeks, write an essay. No assigned topic. Write about what is important to you. It reminds me now of the opening stanza from Langston Hughes’ poem, Theme for English B.

The instructor said,
Go home and write
a page tonight
And let that page come out of you—
Then, it will be true.

The way Larry handled these tender pages was inspired and inspiring. He asked us to type our essays on mimeograph masters. He would then run them off, each one identified with a number instead of a name. He handed out these precious packets, and he lovingly taught us how to read and write, using our own writing. Over the course of the semester, in spite of the anonymity of the numbers rather than our names, we began to recognize each others’ distinctive writing voices that were slowly developing.

So, one day, while reading through a packet, Larry came to my essay. He read the first three paragraphs without stopping for a comment, or correction. Then he looked up and said, “Do you know what that means? You bet your bootstraps you know what that means.” He went on to say that it was a model of coherence.

Well, that was it, and that was everything.

At that moment, I breathed in the divine, and that is the root meaning of the word inspiration, from the Latin, inspirare.

After class, I walked out of Bowen Hall, headed across the quad, and resolutely said to myself, “If I can write for Larry Barrett, I can write for anybody.”

I remembered a line we had read from E. B. White’s 1947 essay, The Second Tree from the Corner:

In the jungle of my fear I glimpsed the flashy tail feathers of the bird courage.

In this case, it was confidence, and this gave me courage for the days and nights ahead.

Soon after reading my paper in class, Larry called me into his office about another essay, one whose topic was, of all things, the lack of school spirit. I had written a sentence something like, “On a Saturday afternoon, instead of going to the football game, pallid science majors head across the quad to Upton Hall, the science building, with slide rules strapped to their sides.” He read that sentence aloud, then he said. “Give me some more of that.” I began seeing images in my mind, and immediately turned them into sentences, as he nodded in approval.

Then it happened again. Breathing in the divine. I got it that writing is simply paying attention to the first thoughts going through your mind, trusting them, and turning them into sentences. Writing is standing back, listening, and then stepping up. It is not just the province of dead white men in anthologies. You and I can write, right now.

And let that page come out of you—
Then, it will be true.

* * *

In the fall of 2002, Christine and I had been at the Academy for five years. One day I received a call from a woman who said she was Larry Barrett’s daughter, that he had recently died, and that in going through his papers she came across this note:

“Ask Ray Comeau to give my eulogy.”

A few days later, I stood at the lectern of Stetson Chapel that crested a small hill, crowning the beautiful campus of Kalamazoo College, reading his eulogy. As I was coming to the end of my reading, I felt an insertion of Light, and I stepped aside from the lectern and said, “Larry didn’t really go anywhere, he is with us now in spirit.”

After that luminous moment in the Chapel, I stepped back behind the lectern and finished my eulogy.

What Larry extended to me as a freshman, and what he is extending to us in this moment, is Love and Love is Eternal. His Love is in this room at this time. His loving presence is in our thoughts. In this respect, there is no death. There is only the peace of God. The Son of God is free and loving and eternal.

Hold Larry in your thoughts, as I read this sonnet from A Course in Miracles, the incomparable modern day scripture:

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 peace to the world,
for it is here peace was received.
The song of our rejoicing is the call
to all the world that Love is eternal,
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.

Incidentally, the motto for Kalamazoo College, adorning its walls and its letterhead, is this Latin word:

Luxesto.

Let there be Light.

* * *

Christine and I returned to the Academy, and as we walked in for Session on a Monday morning, we saw that Dear One was teaching in the Reading room. When he saw me enter, he said, “Did you know I was there?”

I realized, then, that it was his presence that filled the Chapel with Light, and I cracked up saying, “Yes,” and he rolled back on the couch, his feet came up, cycling in the air, as he laughed uproariously.

Thank you, Larry. Thank you, Dear One. Thank you, Father.

Experiencing The Thought of God While Wandering in the Dream: A Writing Assignment

2011-07-13T10:28:00.010-05:00

Dear Reader,

I am extending to you an invitation to participate in The Creative Communication of Writing and Sound for the upcoming event at Endeavor Academy in the Wisconsin Dells, September 16-September 25, The Passion of Creative Mind.

This is an opportunity to share with us an extraordinary incident in your life, experiencing the Thought of God, as you wandered through your dream. Since we are God’s perfect Creations, it is inevitable that we will experience our inheritance, no matter how much we try to maintain the dream.

The Thought of God protects you, cares for you, makes soft your resting place and smooth your way, lighting your mind with happiness and love. Eternity and everlasting life shine in your mind, because the Thought of God has left you not, and still abides with you. Lesson 165.2:6,7

When I was talking with my wife, Christine, about the inevitability of experiencing the Thought of God, she said, “Oh, yes, I remember being very young when it happened,” and here is how she expressed it.

When I was a small child, I went to a funeral home for the first time, not for the funeral, but a visitation. I am holding my mother’s hand in this room filled with people. It is very quiet. People are speaking in whispers. My mom walks up to Grampa Percy and, letting go of my hand, hugs him and whispers something to him. He looks sad. She takes my hand and leads me up to what looks like a huge jewelry box where my Grandma is lying. I remember everything being pink. We are standing in front of the casket. My mom is looking in. I am too small to be able to look in. I can only see the outline of her form.

Then, I see my Grandma peaking around from behind the casket. She sees me and has this mischievous look on her face. Her eyes are sparkling, and she looks happy. I look up at my mom, and she is still looking into the casket and does not see that Grandma is not in the casket. When I look back at Grandma, she is holding her index finger over her lips as though “shushing” me in a conspiratorial way, and then she was gone.

Here are excerpts from an example written by my friend, Doris.

One night, a very clear memory of Home came to my mind while I was asleep: I dreamed of Heaven.

There was a song. It was the most beautiful melody I ever heard. Only thinking about it makes me cry. I remember Home.

Angels sang that song for me, me the holy Son of God who is at Home at last. They sang only out of joy that I am created as God created me.

They sang to praise me and to praise God. And sometimes when I am united with my brothers in that memory of Home, I hear them sing again for me.

Doris

I am quite sure that an incident has already come to mind for you. Here is an opportunity to share with us your experience of a Thought of God.

Please describe it in one page, or less, and send it along with your name, location, and e-mail address.

Please send it to me: chris.ray@charter.net

We will be publishing these articles in a book that will be available at the event, and through Amazon.

Please submit as soon as possible, no later than August 15.

Click here for the web site of The Passion of Creative Mind.

Thank you.

Ray Comeau

Escaping the Self-Made Matrix and Resting in God

2011-05-26T08:14:00.032-05:00

When I first awakened yesterday morning, I found myself in a state of mind where I had no sense of identity.

This is difficult to express; I was in a state of total, let's say, blankness. I did not begin saying to myself, "Well, today, I'll do this, I'll do that." I was totally blank. I felt totally relieved. Words can hardly express this sense of relief.

My sense of identity, or Ray, my limited self, narrating my life, was simply not in my awareness.

There was an experience of a state of mind that was still, limitless, changeless, and eternal.

There. That's more like it; no sense of an identity as a person, as a body, commenting on its state of mind.

My experience while waking up in this manner provides a clear reference point for certain passages in A Course in Miracles. For example, here is a helpful sentence from Lesson 161:
Complete abstraction is the natural condition of the mind. W-p1.161.2:1

This is a reminder that complete abstraction is natural; my state that identifies with my self, my ego, is totally unnatural.

While this post was still in draft form, I read the Lesson for the day, 129, Beyond this world is a world I want, and this passage leaped off the page.

Communication, unambiguous
and plain as day, remains unlimited
for all eternity. And God Himself
speaks to His Son, as His Son speaks to Him.
Their language has no words, for what They say
cannot be symbolized. Their knowledge is
direct and wholly shared and wholly one.
How far away from this are you who stay
bound to this world. And yet how near are you,
when you exchange it for the world you want.
W-pl.129.4

My experience while waking up is the reference point for this passage, as well.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
W-pl.Review Vl.Intro.3:3-5

And Jesus stops our minds for a moment in His effort to slow us down, by the two meanings, simultaneously, of the word "still;" I continue to be as God created me, and I am the stillness of God's creation.

Here is another sentence for which we now have a reference point.

I am God's Son, complete and healed and whole,
shining in the reflection of His Love.
W-pll.14.What am I?1:1

When I was reflecting on these ideas, I was driving down the highway. While idly driving along, I glanced at a passing billboard that said, "After you die, you will find God." Chuckling, I said to myself, "That's funny, I don't think I'm going to have to wait that long, I found God this morning."

That brought to mind, two phrases.

An ancient Hermetic precept stating, "Know ye not ye are gods?"

And St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:31, "I die daily," meaning that he experiences daily a state of mind of limitlessness, changelessness, thereby dying to limitation and change and mortality that we now refer to as the matrix.

It is no surprise that this experience occurred the day after an extraordinary weekend conference entitled, Out of the Matrix that took place at the Unity Church of the Heights, in Cleveland Heights, OH, May 20-22, 2011. This is a powerful program designed to be taken into schools and colleges and universities and prisons, enabling participants to transform their minds to come into a state of mind where they can take personal responsibility for constructing the matrix they find themselves in. This program is solidly based on the principles of A Course in Miracles, and they are expressed in secular metaphors, so that the illusion, or dream is the matrix, the Holy Spirit is the Inner Guide, and God's Son is What you Be, limitless, changeless, eternal.

In the sessions, worksheets are used to enable us as participants to recognize, own, and let go of limiting core beliefs. This emphasis is on learning to let go of our projections that constitute our self-made matrix. By learning to take responsibility for our thoughts and beliefs, we come into an awareness of our Being, and we are then able to walk in the matrix, knowing we are not of the matrix. To illustrate this, we were shown a clip from the movie, The Matrix, where Morpheus is taking Neo for a walk through the matrix, and all the time while walking through crowds, Morpheus, knowing he is in but not of the matrix, walks smoothly, his head half-turned to talk with Neo, gliding through, while Neo is constantly bumping into people, often distracted, particularly by an attractive woman walking by in a red dress.

The two men who presented during the weekend, Tony Senf and Christ Lauretig , were outstanding in articulating in straight-forward, clear language, often citing personal examples, the basic principles of A Course in Miracles, using parallel matrix metaphors that could easily sink into the ears of the person in the street. Their presentation was well-illustrated with a large number of salient clips from movies, slide presentations, worksheets, and all the time questions and comments were encouraged from the participants. Each participant was shepherded by a mentor each step of the way.

On Sunday morning, Rev. Tony delivered a powerful lesson entitled, "It's All a Dream," frequently quoting A Course in Miracles, demonstrating that the basic principles of the Out of the Matrix Program are soundly grounded in the Course.

Sunday afternoon during the conference, Chris, after making it crystal clear that our beliefs and thoughts are the foundation of our self-made matrix, these beliefs having been imprinted in us over the years by those conditioned by the matrix, said that he often had the thought that he should come in with a baseball bat, call us up one at a time, and hit us up aside the head; when we woke up, we would experience amnesia, and be open to experiencing our Being. We would forget our imprinting and conditioning, and no longer automatically construct the matrix.

For a moment this morning, I experienced complete amnesia, and thank God, I didn't need to be hit aside the head to experience it.

Amnesia is a powerful metaphor, demonstrating that forgetting what we wrought in the first place is liberating. Walking in the world, and recognizing that we are not of it because we realize that we constructed the nothingness of it is the true meaning of forgiveness, letting go of what never occurred, the dream, the matrix. And in this act of forgiveness, we rest in God.

This is the day of peace. You rest in God,
and while the world is torn by winds of hate
your rest remains completely undisturbed.
Yours is the rest of truth. Appearances
cannot intrude on you. You call to all
to join you in your rest, and they will hear
and come to you because you rest in God.
They will not hear another voice than yours
because you gave your voice to God, and now
you rest in Him and let Him speak through you.
W-pl.109.4

And now, after the weekend, experiencing the peace of God while waking up the other morning, I am increasingly receptive to hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit, talking to me all through the day, and trusting, and the more I trust the more I am hearing the guidance.

For more information on the Out of the Matrix Program, please click here.

An Out of the Matrix Conference is scheduled to be held in the Wisconsin Dells, August 26-28, 2011.

For more information, please contact me: chris.ray@charter.net, 608 254-2320

For registration, please contact Cindy Stanley: cindy@outofthematrix.org, 330-284-1025

Payment plans are available through Cindy.

Breathing in the Breath of God: The Holy Spirit

2011-05-11T11:22:00.023-05:00

I remember taking a class in graduate school that I found fascinating at the time, and I find myself today still drawing benefits from it, particularly as I read Jesus’ unworldly masterpiece, A Course in Miracles. The class was phonetics, a study of special speech sounds and their production.

I learned that each language operates from a set of phonemes, the smallest unit of sound. For example, in English, although the alphabet consists of only 26 letters, these letters represent 42 different sounds, or phonemes. For example, the letter /a/ is pronounced in two different ways, depending on the context. There's the /a/ in gap, and the /a/ in gape. This is one reason English is a difficult language to learn by a foreign speaker, same letters, different sounds.

One reason I am fascinated by phonetics is that it drives home the fact that words are air, i.e., each word is air passing from our lungs through our larynx and shaped by our tongue, lips, teeth, and cheeks. For example, the word “voice” consists of 4 phonemes, and each phoneme can be described. There is formal way to describe what happens in the mouth for each phoneme, and the following is a crude description.

/v/ vee

The upper front teeth touch the inner part of the lower lip and the air is forced out.

/o/ oh

The teeth release and the inside of the mouth constricts and the lips form a circle, emitting air, while the vocal chords in the larynx vibrate.

/i/ ee

The tongue rests on the back teeth, the front of the tongue slightly touches the back of the lower teeth, and raises up, and the lips are slightly open.

/ce/ hiss

The lips widen, the teeth almost close, the tip of the tongue slightly touches the back of the lower teeth, raises up and a hissing sound pours through the narrow slit formed by the teeth.

Now, I hear the word “voice” in a whole new way; my voice is truly air, a breath of air.

The reason for this unusual foray into phonetics is to lay the groundwork for this powerful connection: inspire and spirit have the same root meaning. Both words spring from the same Latin root: spirare, meaning “to breathe.” When I am inspired, I am breathing spirit, the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. His Voice is always speaking to me, and I am reminded of this each time I speak, knowing that my voice is breath.

God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day. (Title, Lesson 49)

It is quite possible to listen to God's Voice all through the day without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not.
W-p1.491:1,2

The part that listening to the Voice for God is calm, always at rest and wholly certain. It is really the only part there is. W-p1.49.2:1,2

Listen in deep silence. Be very still and open your mind. W-p1.49.4:1,2

This reminds me of a passage from the Urtext. Jesus is talking to Helen, and He says to her:

I inspired Bob (refer to elevator man who took Helen down from her apartment) to make that remark to you. (Urtext: The Original Unexpurgated Manuscript As It Emanated From The Mind And Heart of Jesus Christ Of Nazareth, p. 38)

This is so encouraging because it is as reminder that Jesus, indeed, is walking with us all the time.

If it helps you, think of me holding your hand and leading you. And I assure you this will be no idle fantasy. W-p1.70.9:3,4

As far as breathing, yesterday I came across a brief review of a new book of poetry by the American poet, Robert Pinsky. The reviewer just happened to quote the first stanza of his poem, Song.

Air is an instrument of the tongue,
The tongue an instrument Of the body.
The body
An instrument of spirit,
The spirit a being of the air.

Reading today’s Lesson 125, In quiet I receive God’s Word today, brings it all back to me, the phonetics, the breathing, the words, and I note once again the connection between my past experiences, e.g., the phonetics class, and the present, and how sometimes I feel I have been directed all along.

Since we come to the Course to learn to reverse our thinking, the first thing we need to do is to slow down.

Three times today, at times most suitable
for silence, give ten minutes set apart
from listening to the world, and choose instead
a gentle listening to the Word of God.
W-p1.1257:1

First, as we read this passage aloud, we, unconsciously, structure our breathing, i.e., we can only speak the lines by breathing out, and we are silent as we breathe in, preparing to breathe out. Isn’t that amazing? It is so habitual that we have forgotten that we breathe in in order to breathe out.

Secondly, Jesus postures our voice by the way He orders His words. For example, read the title of the Lesson aloud:

In quiet I receive God’s Word today.

First, Jesus is using only 10 syllables for each line; He has been doing this since Lesson 98, and He will continue using this convention for each line of each lesson until the end, Lesson 365. Not only that, but He postures our voice to speak each line by placing each syllable in a particular way, some are STRESSED and some are slack.

In QUI/ et I/ re CEIVE/ GOD’S VOICE/ to DAY

Five sets of syllables, basically in a slack STRESS, or iambic pattern. And Jesus, not only slows us down with this rhythmic pattern, but He postures our voice to say the words as He intends. GOD’S VOICE is what’s important here, and we find ourselves emphasizing those two words, whether we know it or not. And at one level, we certainly know it, and this is a reminder.

Only be quiet. You will need no rule
but this, to let your practicing today
lift you above the thinking of the world,
and free your vision from the body's eyes. W-p1.125.7:1,2

When I am looking through my body’s eyes, I am making up a world, unconsciously and habitually, and listening to the wrong voice, my narrative voice, associating, judging, separating, but when I slow down and listen to the Voice of God soothing me into silence, I slow down my breathing, and I can begin to see with vision, seeing a bright reflection of my silent mind.

For the past several weeks, I have been facilitating a class here at Endeavor Academy in the Wisconsin Dells. The class is called, “Listen, Learn, and Write.” It is highly interactive because we are doing writing exercises that enable us to be inspired by the Holy Spirit to express ourselves. At the end of the class a couple of days ago, we were sitting quietly, listening to music after sharing our inspired writing, and suddenly and spontaneously, Peg Elizabeth, a woman who has been at the Academy for some time, said to no one in particular, “Boy, in this class it is easy to get in touch with your soul.” That pretty much sums up what it means to open up and be receptive to spirit.

Peg Elizabeth's sentiment is echoed in a article I came across in the Wisconsin State Journal about Maggie Delaney-Potthoff who teaches voice in a class offered through UW-Madison Continuing Studies. What caught my eye is that she starts and ends her training with emphasis on breathing.

Someone looking in the window of the church’s gathering room, where the class is held, might easily mistake this for a yoga class or some kind of new-age meditation session. (Wisconsin State Journal, May 1, 2011, Section G, Unleash the Scream, Andrea Azni, p. 1.)

Delaney-Potthoff says, “Our voice is directly connected to our soul. The voice is the ultimate instrument. . .I am looking for that natural voice that’s behind the curtain, and all singing takes place through the third eye.” (Azni, p. 2)

Breathe in, breathe out, knowing that you are spirit, the holy breath of God.

Matter Doesn't Matter; What's Real Matters

2011-04-29T19:08:00.025-05:00

In spite of the fact that I have been at this for some time, i.e., the transformation of my mind through A Course in Miracles I still find myself in a bit of a funk lately. I mean, without going into specifics, I find that certain individuals around me are really pissing me off.

You see, I know better.

There is no one outside of me.
I am not a victim of the world I see.
There is only my mind.
I am never upset of the reason I think.

Still. . .

So, this morning I woke up early, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sat down to find some solace in reading the Course, specifically this morning I found myself reading, randomly, Chapter 14, Teaching for Truth, Section Vlll, The Holy Meeting Place.

Let your mind wander not through darkened corridors, away from light's centre.

OK. I took a sip of coffee, closed my eyes, and experienced a moment of peace, light, not hearing my narrative voice tempting me to wander.

You and your brother may choose to lead yourselves astray, but you can be brought together only by the Guide appointed for you.

I brought to mind a particular person pissing me off and realized that I didn’t have to play the “If only game,” i.e., if only she wouldn’t do this or say that, I’d be OK. We cannot join at the level of time and space, but I can be guided to experience peace and light, no matter what she does or says. The “If only game” places me squarely in the duality; if she only did this instead of that. This is like waking up from a sleeping dream and saying, “I’m going to try to go back to sleep and hope for that to happen instead of this.” I would be trying to make better a dream of my own making.

He will surely lead you to where God and His Son await your recognition.

We can never recognize each other in time and space, but only join when I recognize that my being pissed off is occurring in the dream only; it’s of my own making, and it can be undone. I can choose to wake up.

They are joined in giving you the gift of oneness, before which all separation vanishes.

They, of course, refers to God and his Son, and in the experience of their oneness, I let go of separating thoughts, seeing only light. It does not matter what I thought she did to me.

Unite with what you are. You cannot join with anything except reality.

I had forgotten for a moment that in time and space there is no possibility for joining; it’s a dream. Wake up and be what you are, real.

God's glory and His Son's belong to you in truth. They have no opposite, and nothing else can you bestow upon yourself. 3

Prior to this recognition of reality, I had tried in my mind to make the dream real by fixing it and suffering the consequences.

There is no substitute for truth. And truth will make this plain to you as you are brought into the place where you must meet with truth.

By being preoccupied with substituting my thoughts for truth, I was depriving myself of the peace of God.

And there you must be led, through gentle understanding which can lead you nowhere else.

Indeed, I was grateful to gently understand these passages, finding solace after wandering along in a funk.

Where God is, there are you. Such is the truth. Nothing can change the knowledge, given you by God, into unknowingness.

Here it is again. This is the Word of God. My separating thoughts, and they are only my thoughts, cannot undo our Godly connection.

Everything God created knows its Creator. For this is how creation is accomplished by the Creator and by His creations. In the holy meeting place are joined the Father and His creations, and the creations of His Son with Them together. There is one link that joins them all together, holding them in the oneness out of which creation happens. 4

And now I can create because in this state of mind of the peace and oneness of God, I look out and see the reflection of my own peace of mind. I am seeing with the vision of Christ; I am creating.

So, I took another sip of coffee, looked up with soft eyes, seeing the loveliness of God’s Creation.

It’s so simple.

Just then, Christine, my wife walks into the room and says, “I stand here, and I am connected, and I stand there, and I’m disconnected.” And I thought, my God, what a metaphor for what I am writing at this moment. I allow my thoughts to disconnect me from peace when a particular individual says or does something, and in a moment, I can ask for help and reconnect.

I know Christine can read my mind; in fact, I often feel that my forehead is really a window for her to look into, but I say to her, “What are you talking about?”

She says, “My Bluetooth in my ear and sometimes I’m connected with the source, and then with the slightest shift of my head, I’m disconnected.”

And I think, Thank you very much for the metaphor because that is what I am trying to express right this moment, the utter simplicity of this conversion in my mind, shifting from funk to peace; it’s as simple as a slight movement of my head, connecting, or disconnecting with Source.

And once again, the phrase comes to mind, “It makes a difference, and it doesn’t matter.” What happens in space and time seems to make a difference, yet it does not matter in eternity. For example, just after writing this, I ran into a woman who generally pisses me off, and sure enough, she said something completely out of line, and I went into reaction, but this time only for a moment, because I caught myself, took a breath, and peacefully walked on by. What she said seems to make a difference in the dream, it matters not in eternity. She can say the same thing the next time, and what will it have to do with me, my Self, and I, joined with God? She doesn’t have to change; no "If onlys" here; I just need to shift out of the duality.

I just remembered that a long time ago, I was walking in a mall, and two women passed by, and I heard one say to the other, "It's a case of mind over matter; if you don't mind, it doesn't matter." That is, if I am in my right mind, the peace of God, it does not matter.

Nevertheless, navigating in the dream can sometimes seem quite difficult, and we are not alone. We are, indeed, in the world, and not of it. So the last point I want to make is that when I am experiencing peace, I am in a receptive state of mind, disregarding my narrative voice, receptive to hearing the Voice for God speaking to me all through the day, and in hearing His Voice, I know what to do next.

Right at this point, as Christine was reading the draft of this essay, she looked up and said, "That's like what happened once when I was riding my horse."

After she told me the story, I said, of course, "Write it up."

And she said, "I knew you'd say that."

The thought of God’s Voice speaking to me all through the day is reassuring. What is it like to hear God speaking to me all day, all the time? This reminds me of something that happened to me a long time ago. This is the story:

I was riding bareback on my all black appaloosa named Aphrodite, nicknamed Aphro, through the woods on a beautiful summer day. Then, I decided to leave the woods and ride through the brush, down a small incline to the road. Suddenly, Aphro was thrashing and trying to back up, her eyes wild with fear. I slid off to discover she was tangled up in an old fallen, wire fence, covered with brush and leaves. I realized that if she didn’t calm down, I would not be able to get near enough to her to untangle the fence from her legs without injuring myself and her. I began whispering to her in a soothing voice, petting her, becoming calm in my own mind. I kept talking to her, telling her everything will be okay in a soft, reassuring voice. She began to settle down, to stop struggling. I was able to untangle the fence, still talking with a calm voice. She stopped struggling as I removed the fence from her legs and walked her down the embankment to the road still whispering to her, reassuring her, petting her on her neck, the side of her face and the bridge of her nose. She started nuzzling into me, and I knew she felt safe.

When I am walking along in the dream and become entangled and fearful, I can remember to be still and ask to hear the Voice for God softly speaking, and I can become untangled and continue walking, trusting and smiling.

Our Brains Bring Color To A Dirty, Gray World, But What We Are Looking For Is Vision.

2011-04-02T09:37:00.049-05:00

One of my great joys in life is reading A Course in Miracles. What is particularly joyful is transforming a general statement into a specific experience. For example, I read the sentence, I am the light of the world; I close my eyes, letting the statement wash over me, and feel a lightness and a tingling in my head and a warmth in my chest, my narrative voice is silent, and I sit and smile in gratitude, experiencing light.

In today's Lesson, 92, Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one, we are reminded of this strength.

You do not think of light in terms of strength, and darkness in terms of weakness. That is because your idea of what seeing means is tied up with the body and its eyes and brain. W-pl.92.1:2,3

As far as making the general specific, regarding how the brain works to make up a world, I came across an an article yesterday in the current Harper’s Magazine, entitled, Video Ergo Sum: Oliver Sacks and the Plasticity of Perception. In the article, Israel Rosenfield reviews a book by Oliver Sacks entitled, The Mind’s Eye.

What caught my eye was Rosenfield describing, precisely, how the eyes and brain interact to make up a world we think is real.

There is a simple fact about evolution that, although rarely mentioned, is very revealing: plants don’t have brains. Only animals—even very primitive animals and insects—have brains. Brains evolved because moving creatures, no matter how simple, are confronted by ever-changing, unpredictable surroundings. Plants don’t have brains because they don’t need them; they don’t move from place to place. For animals, motion creates a world of visual, tactile, and auditory sensations that are unorganized and unstable; in short, the world is constantly changing. What the brain must do—it’s probably the principal reason brains evolved—is create a stable, coherent sensory environment for the individual organism to understand and use. (Israel Rosenfield, Video Ergo Sum: Oliver Sacks and the Plasticity of Perception, Harper's Magazine, April, 2011, pp. 78-82)

This passage brought to mind these passages from the Course.

Nothing I see means anything. Title, Lesson 1

Perception is a mirror, not a fact. W-pll.304.1:3

Perception is projection. The world you see is what you gave it, nothing more than that. T-21.Intro.1:1,2

All things I think I see reflect ideas. Title, Lesson 325

The brain does this by “inventing” a range of perceptions: a series of constructs that we “see,” “hear,” and “feel” when we look, listen, and touch.

What really inspires me is the specificity of exactly how the brain works to make a world that we think we see, hear, taste, touch, and feel. And then Rosenfield describes how this is done, demonstrating the interaction between the brain and the wavelengths given off by various objects.

The creation of a coherent environment out of chaotic stimuli is one of the brain’s primary activities. There are no colors in nature, only electromagnetic radiation of varying wavelengths (the visible spectrum is between 390 and 750 nanometers). If we were aware of our real visual worlds we would see constantly changing images of dirty gray, making it difficult for us to recognize forms. (Rosenfield, p. 79)

Wow. There’s the specificity. What we “see” in general is merely an activity of the brain interacting with wavelengths of energy.

Our visual stimuli are stabilized when the brain compares the variations in the different wavelengths of light; the consequence of these comparisons is what we perceive as “color.” The brain creates a sense of “color constancy”: no matter the lighting conditions—bright sunlight, filtered sunlight, or artificial lighting—colors remain more or less the same. But colors themselves are not in our surroundings. Brains therefore create something that is not there; and in doing so they help us to make sense of our environments. (Rosenfield, p. 80)

I have invented the world see. Title, Lesson 32

Rosenfield ends with this metaphor.

We might say the brain is baking a cake. The ingredients that go into the cake are transformed when they are put into the oven, transforming the raw batter into springy chiffon. (Rosenfield, p. 80)

What I think I see now is taking the place of vision. I must let it go by realizing it has no meaning, so that vision may take its place. W-pl.51.(1).1:4,5

In the title of his review, Video Ergo Sum: Oliver Sacks and the plasticity of perception, Rosenfield uses the metaphor of a video camera, i.e., the brain is like a camera, capturing moving images of whatever our eyes glance upon. His title echoes the famous dictum by the philosopher, Rene Descartes (1596-1650), Cogito ergo sum; I think therefore I am.

Both men make the mistake of ending their phrases in a limited manner. In both cases, the implication is. . .therefore, I AM, i.e., videoing and thinking are the essence of what I AM.

You also believe the body's brain can think. If you but understood the nature of thought, you could but laugh at this insane idea. It is as if you thought you held the match that lights the sun and gives it all its warmth, or that you held the world within your hand, securely bound until you let it go. Yet this is no more foolish than to believe the body's eyes can see, the b rain can think. W-pl.92.2

I described in the beginning of this essay that I closed my eyes and experienced the light. What I did not go on to say is that when I opened my eyes, I looked through what my body's eyes glanced upon, seeing a reflection of the light within, seeing with vision.

We know that we are not limited to our brains, either videoing, or thinking. False perception is an obstacle to knowing the truth of what we are; we are the holy sons of God, seeing through our limitations, seeing with vision.

God is my strength. Vision is His gift. Title, Lesson 42

Specifically, seeing with light is seeing with vision; although the video camera keeps running, as you look through its images, catching the reflection of your true Self.

Right at this point, when my wife, Christine, was reading this post as a rough draft, she looked up and said, "That's what I experienced in Saugatuck," referring to an experience last summer when we were vacationing in Michigan, and I said, "Write it up."

When we checked into this simple, old-time motel, the man at the counter was very business-like. My impression at the time was that he was very rigid and unforgiving. As we were leaving, he said, “There will be coffee and donuts in the morning;” as I turned to look at him and acknowledge what he said, the atmosphere shifted, everything seemed to be in slow motion, and as I looked into his eyes, there was a profound connection that we both entered into. All pretense fell away, we were so connected, I realized that nothing was as it seemed. The room quietly disappeared and there was only the awareness of a profound nature that left the world behind. This experience lasted less than a minute and yet was timeless.

The next morning I was in the dining area, pouring my first cup of coffee. As I was looking around, thinking these digs are not too impressive, there was this profound shift in my seeing, again. The entire room became alive, effervescent. It is difficult, impossible to put the unworldly into worldly terms. The motel did not change in appearance in the sense that everything became clean and new and fresh, it changed in the sense that everything, every thing, had a quality about it. All I saw was what I felt-- love, peace. There was a profound stillness, and as I walked back to our room, I realized I was seeing everything in Truth and not through my body's eyes. I was walking on the sidewalk, feeling part of the sidewalk; I opened the door and walked into part of me, I felt a part of everything immersed in myself. Everything was one, the same. I was seeing beyond my own eyes. I was the awareness of the experience. I was pure, free and unlimited. I was joy, happiness and love. I was everything and yet nothing. I was affected and unaffected. I was functioning in my world, and yet I knew I was not of my world. I fell through the false into certainty. Everything and everyone is all-encompassing singularity.

Then, what came to mind for me almost immediately when she mentioned this incident is that a couple of days ago I was caught in the act of seeing with vision, all-encompassing singularity.

Beth, our little neighbor, seven-years old, lovely and loving, was sitting on our deck with Christine and me on a beautiful Spring afternoon, eating cookies and drinking juice, chattering away in her child’s innocence about her four sisters and her cat, Jingles, and her teacher and television programs and her Dad taking her for ice cream, and then she looks at me and says, “You’re doing it again.”

I said, “Doing what?”

She said, “That look in your eyes.”

I said, “What look?”

Then she stood up right in front of me, her hands on her hips, and looking directly into my eyes, she said, “This one,” slightly staring and widening her eyes, mirroring for me how I looked when I was seeing with vision.

Then, I realized what she was referring to; occasionally, while she was chattering away, I would look up, gazing at the leaves in the high branches canopying our yard, watching the play of light and shadows of the leaves moving in the soft breeze, feeling the peace of God, seeing the reflection of the eyes of Christ. Her gift to me was the recognition that what I was experiencing was being communicated through me to all that I looked upon, and I was exceedingly glad!

A miracle is a shift in perception, a shift from seeing with the body's eyes and brain to seeing with vision. I consider it miraculous that I just came across for the first time a poem by Walt Whitman (1819-1892 ), entitled Miracles. In this poem, Whitman gives us a delightful tapestry by shifting from seeing through the body's eyes and their associations of the limited, false self, to seeing the bright reflections of his true Self.

If Beth had been walking with Walt, she would have looked into his eyes and said to him, "You're doing it again."

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dark my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with anyone I love, or sleep in the bed at night
with anyone I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—
the ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?

Miracles are only strange to the body's eyes, conditioned to see only appearances.

Strength sees past appearances. It keeps its steady gaze upon the light that lies beyond them. It unites with light, of which it is a part. It sees itself. It brings the light in which your Self appears. W-pl.92.4:1-5

Walt, you are definitely a singer of your Self, and your title of one of your greatest poems is prophetic, Song of Myself, because we know it is a song of your Self, and what you celebrate is your Self appearing, a pure reflection.

* * *

And now I invite you to enjoy a YouTube photo presentation, 1 minute 54 seconds, of Walt Whitman's Miracles by Susan Nastro. Click here.

Listen, Learn, and Do: The Holy Spirit Bridges the Gap

2011-03-11T10:42:00.027-06:00

As day was dawning one morning in July, 1922, Robert Frost, forty-eight years old, felt “impelled” to write the poem, Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. He had, uncharacteristically, stayed up all night writing another poem. It is fascinating to see how he came to write one of his best poems.

Fatigued and yet elated, after finishing the rough draft of the poem “New Hampshire” in one stretch of work, Frost was not immediately aware he had written straight through the night. When he put his pen down and stretched, looking out through the window, he was surprised to see there was light in the east and that the syringa bush at the end of the front lawn was already coming out of darkness. With a sense of unusual excitement, he stood up, walked stiffly to the front door, opened it, descended the stone steps to the dew-heavy grass, and stood marveling less at the dawn than at his night’s work. Never before, in all his years of sitting up late to write, had he worked straight through until morning. Even now, with the poem tentatively finished, he was not ready to stop. There was something else he wanted to write—or felt impelled to write—although he had nothing immediately in mind as a starter.

Back into the house he went, moving through the living room to the dining room almost as though he were sleepwalking. He picked up his pen, found a clean page, and began a lyric that had nothing to do with the dawn of a July day. He seemed to hear the words, as though they were spoken to him, and he wrote them down as best he could, in his fatigue, even though they came so indistinctly at times that he was uncertain what he heard. In a short time, and without too much trouble, he completed these four quatrains. (Lawrance Thompson and R. H. Winnick, Robert Frost: A Biography (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston: 1981), pp. 26,27.)

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

This entire poem poises for a moment on one word in the second line of the last stanza, “But.” Here the narrator is perfectly balanced between staying and leaving, then he falls, inexorably, towards moving on.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,

The word “poise” comes from the Latin, pensum, meaning “to weigh”. The narrator stops, weighing his options of stopping, or moving on, but the tension of fulfilling his promises forces him to move on.

Although the promises are abstract in the poem, they have specific references for Frost.

The tensions between his promises to himself as artist and to his wife and family (and others who made demands he often resented) continued to make him feel guilty. Equally serious to him was the feeling that although he had promised himself, years ago, he would do everything in his power to succeed as a poet, he often doubted whether he had the creative energy to keep adding elements of newness to his poetic performance. (Thompson and Winnick, p. 287.)

Frost’s narrator feels that he accomplishes something by resisting the temptation to stay stopped. In human terms, this is an accomplishment in will power, but we are not human, Thank God, we are divine, having the function to follow God’s Will and not our own, not mine but Thine. Not only does it seem to be a human imperative to keep moving, but it also seems to be a manly thing. You can see this in the last four lines of Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem, If.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

So, there it is, you can decide to inherit the Earth, "But," Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (Corinthians 3:16)

To understand how it is that we tend continually to decide for earthly promises over divine treasures, it is necessary to take a hard look at where everything begins, and thank God, can end. It all begins and ends in my mind. Our minds are like a stage where a cast of characters is acting out the drama of our lives, where there is probably more tragedy than comedy. These characters have well-defined roles, and the best description of these roles comes from Jesus’ unworldly masterpiece, A Course in Miracles. In a Shakespearean playbill the characters would be referred to as Dramatis Personae: Self, Christ, ego, Holy Spirit, and the mechanism of decision, the Stage Manager.

Let’s start with the first character that ever appears in my mind, my Self. I am as God created me.

What Am I?

I am God's Son, complete and healed and whole,
shining in the reflection of His Love.
In me is His creation sanctified
and guaranteed eternal life. In me
is love perfected, fear impossible,
and joy established without opposite.
I am the holy home of God Himself.
I am the Heaven where His Love resides.
I am His holy Sinlessness Itself,
for in my purity abides His Own.
W-pII.14.1

And the second character on the playbill:

What Is the Christ?

Christ is God's Son as He created Him.
He is the Self we share, uniting us
with one another, and with God as well.
He is the Thought which still abides within
the Mind that is His Source. He has not left
His holy home, nor lost the innocence
in which He was created. He abides
unchanged forever in the Mind of God.
W-pII.6.1

Then there is in your mind what is called the ego, a part that split off from your Self, separating into a dream-world of darkness, forever guilty and fearful that it will be punished for its separation. To defend itself, it always keeps preoccupied, always keeps moving, fulfilling promises.

What is the ego?

But a dream of what you really are. A thought you are apart from your Creator and a wish to be what He created not. It is a thing of madness, not reality at all. We name it but to help us understand that it is nothing but an ancient thought that what is made has immortality. But what could come of this except a dream which, like all dreams, can only end in death? (C-2.1:4-11)

Fortunately, there is a plan in place, God’s plan, and God placed in your mind a bridge between the ego and your Self, the Holy Spirit.

What Is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit mediates between
illusions and the truth. Since He must bridge
the gap between reality and dreams,
perception leads to knowledge through the grace
that God has given Him, to be His gift to
everyone who turns to Him for truth.
Across the bridge that He provides are dreams
all carried to the truth, to be dispelled
before the light of knowledge. There are sights
and sounds forever laid aside. And where
they were perceived before, forgiveness has
made possible perception's tranquil end.
W-pII.7.1

Finally, there is you, Dear Reader, the one deciding which character will take the stage next.. You are experiencing yourself, right now, speaking these words in your mind as they unfold on the page. You are your voice, narrating your life’s drama. As narrator, as Stage Manager, you are the center of consciousness in your mind.

Consciousness is the receptive mechanism, receiving messages from above or below; from the Holy Spirit or the ego. (C-1.7:3)

Your mind is the mechanism of decision, always deciding between listening to the voice below, the voice of the ego, or the voice above, the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Your mind is the means by which you determine your own condition, because mind is the mechanism of decision. It is the power by which you separate or join, and experience pain or joy accordingly. (T-8.1V.5:7,8)

Now the stage is set, the actors are standing on their marks, making last-minute adjustments to their costumes, clearing their throats, and we can take another look at the poem. The narrator stands poised for a moment, but decides to move on, rather than experience the lovely woods. Within the frame of reference of the characters in your mind, you can see that he decides in that moment to listen to the voice of the ego. The ego fears its own loss, and if it stops in its frantic journey, driven by fear and guilt that it may disappear. If it ever stops for a moment to face its Self, that may be long enough to lose itself, the ego’s greatest fear.

This reminds me of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Alice saw him run by, saying to himself, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late, actively taking a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, looking at it, and then hurrying on.” (Lewis Carroll, The Annotated Alice (Norton: New York, 2000), p.6.)

Here is another poem, but in contrast to the first one, this narrator truly stops in silent expectancy.

My Name

One night when the lawn was a golden green
and the marbled moonlit trees rose like fresh memorials
in the scented air, and the whole countryside pulsed
with the chirr and murmur of insects, I lay in the grass
feeling the great distances open above me, and wondered
what I would become—and where I would find myself—
and though I barely existed, I felt for an instant
that the vast star-clustered sky was mine, and I heard
my name as if for the first time, heard it the way
one hears the wind or the rain, but faint and far off
as though it belonged not to me but to the silence
from which it had come and to which it would go.
Mark Strand

When the narrator first lays in the grass, his mind is still preoccupied with ego thoughts,

what I would become—and where I would find myself—

But realizing at some level that he barely existed. In fact, he does not exist at all as an ego; he is the Self, always, already, here, now, and he stays, and he hears his name,

as if for the first time

because he allows himself to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit whispering to him, and he remembers his Self, his true Identity, his name.

as though it belonged not to me but to the silence
from which it had come and to which it would go.

And this is exactly what Frost experienced in writing his poem.

He picked up his pen, found a clean page, and began a lyric that had nothing to do with the dawn of a July day.

His poem was given him, Voiced from within, not influenced by externals; on a July day he wrote about snowy woods.

He seemed to hear the words, as though they were spoken to him, and he wrote them down as best he could, in his fatigue, even though they came so indistinctly at times that he was uncertain what he heard. In a short time, and without too much trouble, he completed these four quatrains.

I will step back and let Him lead the way,
For I would walk along the road to Him.
W-155.14:1-3

And I heard my name for the first time.

God keeps his promises; His Son keeps his.
In his creation did his Father say,
“You are beloved of Me and I of you
forever. Be you perfect as Myself,
for you can never be apart from Me.”
His Son remembers not that he replied
“I will,” though in that promise he was born.
Yet God reminds him of it every time
he does not share a promise to be sick,
but lets his mind be healed and unified.
His secret vows (But I have promises to keep) are powerless before
the Will of God, whose promises he shares.
And what he substitutes is not his will,
who has made promise of himself to God.
T-28.V1.6:3-9

Now, you can see the narrator’s secret vows in contrast to God’s promise to you. We are tempted to keep promises that are of this earth, forms that we can see, hear, taste, smell, and touch. These things are thought-images projected out from a thing that does not know itself, the ego.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal.
Matthew 6:19

Do you realize that the ego must set you on a journey which cannot but lead to a sense of futility and depression? To seek and not to find is hardly joyous. Is this the promise you would keep?
T-12.1V.4:1-3

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:20-21

The Holy Spirit offers you another promise, and one that will lead to joy. For His promise is always, “Seek and you will find,” and under His guidance you cannot be defeated. His is the journey to accomplishment, and the goal He sets before you He will give you. For He will never deceive God’s Son whom he loves with the Love of the Father.
T-12.1V.4:4-7

Frost went on to write poems for another 40 years, often saying that he “lodged a few poems where they can’t be gotten rid of easily,” and we can see in his poetry that he learned to overcome the “But” in order to stop and listen to God's Voice, hearing the words, as though they were spoken to him.

When you stop by the lovely, dark and deep woods, really stop.

2011-02-05T11:37:00.037-06:00

It is most appropriate, sitting here on my couch next to the wood-burning stove, looking out of the window on a snowy evening in late January, the snowflakes slanting at an angle blown by a strong wind, to take another look at a poem by Robert Frost (1874-1963), Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Sitting here, it is easy to be lulled into the peace of mind while reading this poem. Frost is a master poet. Look at his internal rhyming that is a perfect blend of sound and sense, almost hypnotically lulling your senses.

The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

Here is the internal rhyme of sound and downy and sweep and easy, and the rhyming of flake with shake and mistake. As far as the over-all rhyme scheme, in the first stanza, we have know, though,snow, and here is picked up in the next stanza, queer, near, year, and then lake, in the third, shake, mistake, and flake, and finally, sweep, is picked up in the fourth, deep, keep, sleep and sleep.

In addition, with all this going on, Frost casts the poem in iambic tetrameter, meaning each line has four sets of iambs, a slack STRESS cadence.

He GIVES his HARN ess BELLS a SHAKE
To ASK if THERE is SOME mis TAKE.
The ON ly OTH er SOUND'S the SWEEP
Of EAS y WIND and DOWN y FLAKE.

Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night, thinking about this post, and I tried to go back to sleep focusing on my breathing, and then I got real excited because I discovered that our breathing is iambic! That is, breathe in, breathe out:

in OUT/ in OUT/ in OUT/ in OUT/ in OUT/

No wonder Frost lulls us into an easy state of mind with his masterful blend of rhythm and rhyming, sound and sense.

Now, to contrast my peaceful state of mind with the mind of the narrator, I want to point out that in the last stanza, he will not permit himself to stop and sit there, idly, peacefully. It is as if he is hearing his parents say to him, as they probably did when he was a child, “Don’t just sit there, do something!” Rather than saying to himself, “Don’t just do something, sit here,” he forces himself to move on, tempted by his thoughts, his promises that he must keep. Frost does not elaborate on these, but we can imagine his sense of obligations to family, and friends, and his job; his goals and aspirations and his worldly responsibilities. His life is ahead of him. He has too far to go, too many miles to travel before he sleeps, too much to do before he dies.

But, in truth, we know that there is only this moment, there is only now. What is pushing him along on his journey can only be his thoughts. In today’s Lesson in A Course in Miracles, Lesson 34, I could see peace instead of this, Jesus speaks directly to this fact that only our thoughts are the problem. Here is the sentence that captures exactly what I am doing right now, as my thoughts arise and fall, sitting here on the couch watching the snow flakes fall.

Note them all casually, repeating the idea for today slowly (I could see peace instead of this) as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go, to be replaced by the next. W-p1.34.3:3

It is always a matter of becoming aware of your thoughts and then letting them go, releasing them, forgiving them, so that you can experience your natural, still, peace of mind. In the Lesson, a few sentences later, Jesus uses the word temptation, referring to your thoughts.

The purpose of these exercises is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. 5:2

My thoughts tempt me to turn from my peaceful state to face my troubled world that I have made up with my thought-images, and it is only by standing here in my certainty that I can see peace instead of this this thought, that temptation.

In fact, sitting here on my couch, I find myself rewriting the last stanza, with apologies to Frost.

The woods are filling with snow, deep.
I sit here, still, almost asleep.
I have no promises to keep,
I have no promises to keep.

In addition, I asked a young friend of mine, Veronica Mejia , to practice writing the last stanza as well. She is a young woman, 16, from Cali, Colombia, South America, who is transforming through A Course in Miracles, and I am tutoring her in literature in preparation for college.

Nature at peace calls me with ease.
I enter to find God waiting for me.
And in a Holy Instant I join Him,
And in a Holy Instant I join Him.

Magnifico!

And now here is a passage from Jesus, Lesson 182, I will be still an instant and go home.

When you are still an instant, when the world
recedes from you, when valueless ideas
cease to have value in your restless mind,
then will you hear His Voice. So poignantly
He calls to you that you will not resist
Him longer. In that instant He will take
you to His home, and you will stay with Him
in perfect stillness, silent and at peace,
beyond all words, untouched by fear and doubt,
sublimely certain that you are at home.

And now, if you would like a respite from your worldly promises, I invite you to take a moment to listen to my friend, Doug, play the piano and sing his song inspired by Lesson 182, I will be still an instant and go home. Click here.

Render Unto God

2011-01-27T10:35:00.024-06:00

For many years now, I have started over doing the Lessons in the Workbook of A Course in Miracles on New Year’s Day, Lesson 1, Nothing I see means anything. And now, today, January 20, Lesson 20th, I am determined to see.

These early Lessons make it abundantly clear that I am walking around in a dream of my own making. The dream is woven by thoughts that have no source in Reality; they are not my Real Thoughts. These Lessons are helping to remind me, again and again, to reverse my way of thinking because I think that the object comes first, and then I think about it. In fact, the thought that makes the object comes first.

It is always the thought that comes first, despite of the temptation to believe that it is the other way around. W-p1.17.1:3

When I truly ask for help to reverse my thinking, something else occurs beyond my making, and I begin to see with vision, looking through my dream, seeing with the eyes of Christ, seeing the reflections of my True Self. And this brings me to Lesson 29, God is in everything I see, because when I see with vision, I am seeing His sure Reflection.

Even though I diligently practice in this manner, I still often find it confusing. While I am in the world, in the body, what do I do, especially as I am coming to realize that there is no world, that I am not a body, that I am free, being God’s Son? How do I conduct myself in the world, in the dream?

So, all kinds of questions arise while I walk through this world that is not so. To what extent do I take care of my body, since I am not a body. If I have a sore throat, should I go to the doctor? Perhaps, I do not need to work to make money for rent and clothes and things?

To learn to reverse my thinking, is it OK to read anything other than the Course? I mean, what about books by Eckart Tolle and Murdo MacDonald-Bayne and Adyashanti and Mary Baker Eddy and Michael Brown and Joel Goldsmith?

Is it all right to do Yoga and breathing exercises and chant and TM?

Is it all right to read novels and magazines and newspapers and watch television and go to movies?

Dear Reader, you are probably beginning to realize that I have been raising questions that seem legitimate, but, really, they are taking me deeper into the dream by maintaining the duality. Whether I choose this or that, I am dragging myself into choosing among illusions, demonstrating that I am in an illusory state of mind myself.

Fortunately, I have found a way out of this apparent dilemma. The way out for me is to stay conscious, to stay aware of the fact that being is the key, not doing, not choosing this or that, but becoming aware of my True Being.

When I face these apparent dualities, I ask for help by remembering certain key phrases. For example, here is a life-saving sentence for me from Brother Laurence.

It is not what you do, it is the state of mind in which you do it.

This simple phrase helps me face false dualities. When I slip into a state of mind of the peace of God, I am free; in this state of mind, I am free of the thoughts pouring through my mind that are posing these dualities in the first place, having no source in Reality. And experiencing this freedom, I am receptive to hear the Voice of God speaking to me, God's Voice speaks to me all through the day. Lesson 49

By slipping into this state of mind, I am free to do as I am directed, and this answers the question I posed earlier, how am I to be in the world, knowing I am not of the world. This is one way that Jesus expresses it in His Urtext, The Original Unexpurgated Manuscript AS It Emanated from The Mind And Heart of Jesus Christ Of Nazareth.

Having been restored to your original state, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself. You now share MY inability to tolerate the lack of love in yourself and in everyone else, and MUST join the GREAT CRUSADE to correct it. The slogan for this Crusade is “Listen, Learn, and DO. This means: Listen to MY Voice, Learn to undo the error, and DO something to correct it. Urtext, p. 6.

This is the value of slipping into that state of mind of the peace of God: receptivity. Now my little "I" does not have to choose. My True Self is receptive to the Voice for God, answering these questions.

What would You have me do?
Where would You have me go?
What would You have me say, and to whom?
W-p1.71.9:3-5

This is another way Jesus expresses it in His Course.

So do we lay aside our amulets, our charms and medicines, our chants and bits of magic in whatever form they take. We will be still and listen for the Voice of healing, which will cure all ills as one, restoring saneness to the Son of God. No voice but this can cure. Today we hear a single Voice which speaks to us of truth, where all illusions end, and peace returns to the eternal, quiet home of God.
W-p1.140.10

And in His Urtext, He expresses it this way.

Plan ahead is good advice in this world, where you should and must control and direct where you have accepted responsibility. But the Universal Plan is in more appropriate hands. You will know all you need to know. Make NO attempts to plan ahead in this respect. Urtext, p. 1

(Have a good day.) Since only eternity is real, why not use the illusion of time constructively. You might remember that “underneath are the Everlasting Arms.” Urtext, p. 5

Because my feet are on the ground and my hands are in heaven, I can bring down the glories of Heaven to my brothers on earth. Urtext, p. 21

As I quote Jesus, what comes to mind is this: It is obvious that Jesus, walking in the world, receptive only to the Voice for God, would be confronted by the Pharisees, attempting to entangle Him, demanding to know what to do, for example, when asked to pay taxes to Caesar. Here is a passage from Matthew 22.

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.

And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
Matthew 22:15-22

And this is what I learn from Jesus: Emptying my mind of worldly thoughts, I ask to be directed how to conduct myself in the world, trusting the Voice from out of this world.

Recently, I have been enthralled by reading a book entitled The Holy Spirit's Interpretation of the New Testament, scribed over a one-year period by Regina Dawn Akers. I quote now from the Introduction because it demonstrates the value of stepping back and listening.

Regina learned that scribing is a process of letting go. As she read the New Testament, she found that her mind was filled with thoughts about what she read. Sometimes she felt she understood what she read. Sometimes she seemed to judge what she read. But Regina learned that as she held to her own thoughts regarding what she read, she could not hear the Holy Spirit’s thoughts. Regina learned to empty her mind by letting go of any thoughts she had about her reading. She found that when she came to the point of complete emptiness within her mind, desiring only the words of the Holy Spirit, a Voice would come streaming into her mind. At this point, Regina would begin scribbling into a spiral notebook as fast as she could, focusing on capturing the words that she heard. (The Holy Spirit's Interpretation of the New Testament, O Books, John Hunt Publishing, 2007,)p. 7

Here is an example of what came streaming into her mind. This is the Holy Spirit's interpretation of Matthew 22.

The journey to the wedding banquet seems to be time in the world. On this journey, the distraction of the world may be great.There will be times that you have forgotten you are on the journey, because the distraction of the world is great. Let this not distress you.Your joy will come when you have completed the journey, for then you will know where the journey led. But until then, do not feel guilty for journeying, my child. For this seems to be something you must do.

This is the meaning of the analogy of the wedding banquet:

Marriage is the symbol of joining, and the kingdom of Heaven is joining. It is all right to journey in the world, as long as you remember that you are not of the world.

On your journey, remember Me and keep Me close to your heart. But do not deny the journey you are on. It leads to Me and the disappearance of the journey. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” means, do what you seem to need to do while you are in the world.

When you have forgotten you are on the journey, there will seem to be many things that need your attention. I am in those things too, whether you see Me or not, so do them in peace.

It is not what you do, it is the state of mind in which you do it.

When you remember you are on the journey, many things of the world will seem to fall away. Let them go, but do not worry about the things in the world that seem to need your attention. Just as I have always been with you, I am there in those things too. As you learn to see Me in all things, the journey will seem easier, but it is not until you arrive at the wedding banquet that the journey will fall away. So live within your journey in peace and with Me. Be happy, and rest your mind. I am walking beside you, pleased, as we journey to the wedding banquet together.

Do not be confused by what you see in the world, for Heaven is nothing like the world at all. In the world, there are differences; there are conflicts; there is suffering, and there is death. But none of these things exist in Heaven. Think of the world as a dream, for it seems real while you are here. But think of Heaven as awakening. Upon reaching Heaven, you will realize that the world, and all you thought there, was never true and so it mattered not.

I tell you, the truth is always true, and there is no truth in the world. Do not let your worldly concerns distract you long. Lay them aside that you may continue your journey and awaken to that which calls you.

And so the greatest commandment shall lead you on your journey: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. Let your love for God be your guiding light in all you do and all you think. Never forget your love for God, and give all things to Him. In this way, you will move steadily along your journey.

And the second commandment is like it, for the second commandment guides you within the distraction of the world. Love your neighbor as your Self, because he is. There is no greater truth than this. Your Father, of course, is right. You are joined and at the wedding banquet, but the dream of the world keeps you from knowing this is true. Awaken from the dream by accepting the truth. The journey to acceptance is the journey to Heaven. Accept the truth, and you are there.

Finally, here is the Holy Spirit's interpretation of Matthew 23:1-4, summing up how to be in but not of the world.

Listen.The truth is calling you, and the truth is not of this world. I have already told you that you are free to give what is Caesar’s to Caesar. This means, you are free to live in the world and do as you need to do while you live in the world. Do not feel guilty for paying taxes, obeying laws, raising children or for doing any of the things that the world requires, but do not get lost in those things either. The world is but a distraction, and it distracts you from Heaven. So you must live in the world, but not be of the world. You do this by doing all things for Me...by giving all things the purpose of Heaven. In this way, all things can be used to lead you to Me. And I will show you how to use them. So live in your world, but be not distracted by it.

The root meaning of the word, distract, is tract, Latin, meaning "to be drawn", and dis, "apart"; I do not want to be drawn into duality, apart from God.

I am going to end with some practical ways of expressing being in but not of the world.

I have always appreciated this sentence from the Course:

. . .if your brothers ask you for something “outrageous,” do it because it does not matter. T-12.111.4:1

The key to understanding this sentence is to realize that the two "its" have different references. The first "it" means to find a peaceful state in your mind so that you are not drawn into the duality, and the second "it" refers to whatever your brother is asking in his dream. In a peaceful state, I am drawn out of the duality and receptive to the Voice for God, and then I will know what to do, where to go, what to say, and to whom, and I am saved.

Salvation is for the mind, and it is attained through peace. This is the only thing that can be saved and the only way to save it. Any response other than love arises from a confusion about the “what” and the “how” of salvation, and this is the only answer. T-12.5:1-3

A long time ago at a New Age Workshop, the presenter wrote this phrase on the board, and it puzzled me until I saw its meaning after I learned to reverse my thinking through the Course.

It makes a difference,
and it doesn’t matter.

And now I see that the "it" refers to what seems to be happening in the dream;

It seems to make a difference in space and time,
but it does not matter in eternity.

God knows nothing of my choices in duality, and I am free.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
W-pl.Rev.Vl.3:3-5

I am the stillness of God's creation.

Finally, my friend, Diane, taught me something she learned through doing Improv, or improvisational, skits over the years. When you are on stage making it up, and someone in the skit asks you to do something, you never say, "Yes, but . . ." because that will kill the skit by stopping the flow. The key to Improve is always to say, "Yes, and . . ." then the whole thing flows, just as my life does when I am in the world saying "Yes and . . ." trusting that I will be directed from out of this world, thereby rendering unto God.

On Gratitude

2011-01-06T10:30:00.023-06:00

For the Christmas Holidays, my wife, Christine, and I were grateful yet again to spend time in her childhood home in southwest Michigan in her hometown of White Pigeon, traveling from Wisconsin Dells, where we have been students of A Course in Miracles at Endeavor Academy for the past several years. Staying with her mother, we celebrated Christmas with Christine’s brothers and wives and children and grandchildren.

Out of my regular routine at the Academy and with considerable time on my hands, I wandered into a mall bookstore in a nearby town, and a book practically fell off the shelf into my hands, On Gratitude, a book in which 51 celebrities share what they are most grateful for. The award-winning journalist, Todd Aaron Jensen, interviews each of them, and his brief introductions are very succinct and insightful, capturing their essence.

I knew this was just the right book when I read the first interview with Ray Bradbury, and he related this anecdote with a Christmas theme.

Love is easy. You can’t resist love. You get an idea, someone says something and you’re in love. I went to dinner in Denver about twenty years ago and heard the lady at the next tab e say to her friends, “Oh, my God, I’ll bet dogs think every day is Christmas.” I went up to her and said, “Madam, thank you. You’ve just given me a title. I’m going back to my hotel, and I’m going to write a book called Dogs Think That Every Day Is Christmas.” That’s how these things happen.

Here are some other juicy quotations from other celebrities regarding gratitude and love.

Jeff Bridges

You can’t take yourself too seriously, and you can’t take your thoughts too seriously. They’re only thoughts. That awareness allows what you really are to just be there, to be open. I believe that’s where creativity and happiness come from.

Deepak Chopra

The measure of your enlightenment is the degree to which you’re comfortable with paradox, contradiction, and ambiguity. I have been married for forty years. The secret? Total acceptance and give up being right. It’s the advice for everyone in every relationship.

Ben Kingsley

But life is always richer when we’re not playing who we are, but being who we are. We are all spiritual creatures and live spiritual existences, however confused and disguised and sometimes downtrodden these lives might sometimes feel. But this is why we can be so profoundly moved by certain experiences and certain art, why millions of people can be moved by a sequence of notes written by Mozart or Beethoven or Elgar. Why does that series of notes move us? It resonates with something inside of us that is beyond explanation. It’s ineffable. That is spiritually. That is what connects us all. That is why it is important to me to do what I do, to be a storyteller. Because telling stories heals us, doesn’t it?

Dolly Parton

Everything I do, all of these blessings, everything I give, it all come back to me ten-fold. I just give it away, everything I can, everything about me. It’s always a cycle. I give. It comes back to me. Then I energize it and put it right back out there. That’s just the way I share, and it’s the best blessing of all to me.

Ringo Starr

I heard a great line recently by Carl Jung. He was being interviewed when he was, like, 300 years old. His family was ministers and church people. At the end of the interview on this old BBC show, they said, “Well, do you believe in God?? And he said, “No, I know.” And it stuck with me so hard. How beautiful was that? “I know.” Well. . .okay then. . . .

At the end of his book, Todd Aaron Jensen invites the readers to share what they are grateful for and send it to him: todd@thegratitudelist.org

Well. . .okay then. . ., thanks for the invitation.

I am so grateful for A Course in Miracles, the unworldly-masterpiece, a direct communication from Jesus 2000 years after His Resurrection. By using this Course as a guide over the years, I have trained my mind to reverse my thinking from believing to knowing, from belief to knowledge.

When I experience gratitude, say, when a brother makes direct eye contact with me, or a brother smiles, or an acts in a kindly way, I slip into a state of mind beyond belief, the experience of peace, a state where the narrative voice is silent, a state of stillness, serenity, knowing.

Gratitude is a springboard for experiencing this peaceful state.

Through A Course in Miracles, I have learned to be receptive to gratitude, to go beyond perceptual beliefs to knowing. This training is systematic, and the Course uses our perceptions to go beyond them.

Perception is the medium by which ignorance is brought to knowledge. (T-14.VII.1:7)

I have learned to utilize the 365 Lessons of the Workbook of the Course, day after day, each year, for many years, to learn to slip into peace and knowledge. For example, today’s Lesson is Lesson 1, on New Year’s Day. Happy New Year!

Lesson 1: Nothing I see means anything.

To give you, Dear Reader, an idea of how the Course works to reverse your thinking from believing to knowing, here are some other titles in the first few Lessons.

Lesson 10: My thoughts do not mean anything.

Lesson 21: I am determined to see things differently.

Lesson 34: I could see peace instead of this.

Lesson 45: God is the mind with which I think.

Lesson 50: I am sustained by the Love of God.

By simply reading these Lesson titles, you can see how the daily practice outlined in each Lesson enables you to learn to reverse your thinking, incrementally, from believing to knowing.

After 123 days we come to this Lesson, I thank my Father for His gifts to me, and we can pause for a moment and spend a day in gratitude. As I expressed earlier, gratitude is a springboard into knowing from believing.

Today let us be thankful. We have come
to gentler pathways and to smoother roads.
There is no thought of turning back, and no
implacable resistance to the truth.
A bit of wavering remains, some small
objections and a little hesitance,
but you can well be grateful for your gains,
which are far greater than you realize.

A day devoted now to gratitude
will add the benefit of some insight
into the real extent of all the gains
which you have made; the gifts you have received.
Be glad today, in loving thankfulness,
your Father has not left you to yourself,
nor let you wander in the dark alone.
Be grateful He has saved you from the self
you thought you made to take the place of Him
and His creation. Give Him thanks today.

The self you made is the ego, the narrative voice that ceaselessly speaks to you, until the moment you slip into a peaceful state of mind. The momentary lack of mind chatter is the main reason for this moment of experiencing peace.

Give thanks that He has not abandoned you,
and that His Love forever will remain
shining on you, forever without change.
Give thanks as well that you are changeless, for
the Son He loves is changeless as Himself.
Be grateful you are saved. Be glad you have
a function in salvation to fulfill.
Be thankful that your value far transcends
your meager gifts and petty judgments of
the one whom God established as His Son.

As God’s Son, our function while we are in this world is to learn to shift away from believing that we are egos, personalities, our narrative voices, to knowing that we are our True Selves, the holy Sons of God. Thank you, Carl Jung. Well. . .okay then. . .

Today in gratitude we lift our hearts
above despair, and raise our thankful eyes,
no longer looking downward to the dust.
We sing the song of thankfulness today,
in honor of the Self that God has willed
to be our true Identity in Him.
Today we smile on everyone we see,
and walk with lightened footsteps as we go
to do what is appointed us to do.

We do not go alone. And we give thanks
that in our solitude a Friend has come
to speak the saving Word of God to us.
And thanks to you for listening to Him.
His Word is soundless if it be not heard.
In thanking Him the thanks are yours as well.
An unheard message will not save the world,
however mighty be the Voice that speaks,
however loving may the message be.

Dolly Parton's comments about giving and receiving echo the following passage.

God knows that we need help in making the transition from believing to knowing, and he created the bridge, the Holy Spirit, the Voice for God, His Voice.

Thanks be to you who heard, for you become
the messenger who brings His Voice with you,
and lets It echo round and round the world.
Receive the thanks of God today, as you
give thanks to Him. For He would offer you
the thanks you give, since He receives your gifts
in loving gratitude, and gives them back
a thousand and a hundred thousand more
than they were given. He will bless your gifts
by sharing them with you. And so they grow
in power and in strength, until they fill
the world with gladness and with gratitude.

It is truly amazing to come to the realization that God is grateful for us, His Children.

Receive His thanks and offer yours to Him
for fifteen minutes twice today. And you
will realize to Whom you offer thanks,
and Whom He thanks as you are thanking Him.
This holy half an hour given Him
will be returned to you in terms of years
for every second; power to save the world
eons more quickly for your thanks to Him.

Receive His thanks, and you will understand
how lovingly He holds you in His Mind,
how deep and limitless His care for you,
how perfect is His gratitude to you.
Remember hourly to think of Him,
and give Him thanks for everything He gave
His Son, that he might rise above the world,
remembering his Father and his Self.

My gratitude enables me to slip into the remembrance of my Father and my True Self.

Thank You, Father.

Pensees

2010-12-04T11:40:00.023-06:00

This morning I made a journal entry, and now this evening I am posting it. I am calling it, Pensees, Thoughts, because that is the name of my online journal. It is a carryover from my college days.

In the summer between my sophomore and junior years at Kalamazoo College, a small liberal arts college in Michigan, I won a Light Scholarship to travel abroad the following year, giving me my junior year to learn a language. I had three choices: French, Spanish, or German. I selected French and studied it intensively that fall, winter, and spring, and attended the University of Caen, in Normandy, for the summer of 1962.

I kept a journal of that incredible summer, and I called it Pensees, inspired by reading Blaise Pascal’s Pensees. In fact, I walked around saying one sentence from his book that I just loved:

Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait pas.

The heart has its reasons that reason cannot know.

I just went a long way to explain the form of this post, expressing my thoughts, a simple journal entry.

* * *

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
W-p1.RevVI.Intro.3:3-5

God created me as an extension of His Thought.

His Thought manifests as consciousness, Mind.

It all comes down to my state of mind.

There are three:

The state of mind where I ally with the ego.

The state of mind where I unite with the Christ in me.

The state of mind where I find myself in between, i.e., the mechanism of decision, deciding between allying with the ego, or uniting with Christ.

It is always a question of where my awareness is, now.

If I am uniting with the Christ, then my awareness is truly now, and in this union I am experiencing peace and joy and truth.

If I am allying with my ego, it is in the past or future, and in this alliance I am experiencing the illusions of disaster and disunity and pain.

If I am in the state of mind, deciding, I am in between, experiencing indecisiveness.

The root meaning of decide comes from the Latin word, decidere, meaning “to cut.” When I decide for union, I cut away from any experience of alliance with the ego; when I decide for alliance, I cut away from any experience of union.

Here is Jesus addressing these decisions in His Text of A Course in Miracles.

What is temptation but a wish to make the wrong decision on what you would learn, and have an outcome that you do not want? The reference for the pronoun “you” is the mechanism of decision.

It is the recognition that it is a state of mind unwanted that becomes the means whereby the choice is reassessed; another outcome seen to be preferred. You are deceived if you believe you want disaster and disunity and pain. The reference for this “you” is the you allied with the ego.

Hear not the call for this within yourself. But listen, rather, to the deeper call beyond it that appeals for peace and joy. And all the world will give you joy and peace. For as you hear, you answer. And behold! Your answer is the proof of what you learned. Its outcome is the world you look upon. (T-31.I.11) This is the “you” united with the Christ.

Thank God that I am not alone in making these decisions. God created the Holy Spirit to be the bridge between pain and peace, whispering to me forgiveness all through the day.

The Holy Spirit mediates between
illusions and the truth. Since He must bridge
the gap between reality and dreams,
perception leads to knowledge through the grace
that God has given Him, to be His gift to
everyone who turns to Him for truth.
Across the bridge that He provides are dreams
all carried to the truth, to be dispelled
before the light of knowledge. There are sights
and sounds forever laid aside. And where
they were perceived before, forgiveness has
made possible perception's tranquil end.
W-pll.7. What is the Holy Spirit? 1

Thank you, God, that I am not alone in making these decisions.

I have this strength in the face of temptation.

What is temptation but a wish to make
the wrong decision on what you would learn,
and have an outcome that you do not want?
It is the recognition that it is
a state of mind unwanted that becomes
the means whereby the choice is reassessed;
another outcome seen to be preferred.
You are deceived if you believe you want
disaster and disunity and pain.
Hear not the call for this within yourself.
But listen, rather, to the deeper call
beyond it that appeals for peace and joy.
And all the world will give you joy and peace.
For as you hear, you answer. And behold!
Your answer is the proof of what you learned.
Its outcome is the world you look upon.
T-31.1.11

Now I see the wisdom of Pascal's quotation, even though I certainly did not see it at the time.

Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait pas.

When I decide to ally with the ego, I am tempted to use reason and logic to maintain my world, my dream, but mon coeur, my heart, my Self, the Christ, is knowledgeable in ways that la raison, reason, cannot know.

And, now, I can declare my decision to follow my heart.

I am God’s Son, complete and healed and whole,
shining in the reflection of His Love.
W-p11.14 Who am I? 1:1

Experiencing the "Sleeping Sickness," and, Simultaneously, the Absolute Clarity of Mind

2010-11-18T16:07:00.019-06:00

For the past couple of weeks, I have found myself sleeping more than being awake during the day. That is, instead of being awake, say 16 hours a day, and sleeping 8, I have been experiencing the reversal. At first, I just called it the “sleeping sickness” and went about my business. Then, I developed a rash on my left side, and my wife, Christine, took one look at it and said, “Go to the doctor!”

Yesterday, the doctor diagnosed my malady as Shingles, explaining that I must have had chicken Pox as a child, and the virus that caused it never left my body, being held in check by my immune system, but when it was compromised, the virus re-erupted as Shingles. She prescribed anti-viral pills that I am to take, 10 per day for 10 days.

The only reason to even mention this is because I am astonished to be walking around physically exhausted, but finding that my Mind is totally clear. My Mind is crisp and clear and clean. For example, I read passages from A Course in Miracles and experience it with complete clarity.

I AM not a body. I AM free.
For I AM still as God created me.
W-p1.Rev.VI.3.3-5

I use I AM to express that I AM God's creation, and my clarity of Mind is my direct experience of my inheritance.

I AM God’s Son, complete and healed and whole,
shining in the reflection of His Love.
W-p11.14.1:1

In fact, right now I am writing this in the middle of my sickness; it is noon, I slept all morning, and now I am having a cup of coffee, writing with a clear head.

When I sit here and look out the window, I AM seeing differently than usual; it is as if I am seeing through all things, seeing a reflection of my Mind. That is, I am not stopping to look at each image, naming it. I would ordinarily mark it, judge it, with the associations of my ego-mind. For example, "This is my bird feeder, carefully protected from squirrels, that damn squirrel just got by the baffle." Instead, it is as if my ego-mind and body are laid aside for a moment, not constantly engaged in making images real. It is as if my body and brain are put on hold because of exhaustion, making way for seeing through.

Just before I started writing this, I read a section from the Text of the Course, entitled “The Anti-Christ.” Here are the first three sentences.

What is an idol? Do you think you know? For idols are unrecognised as such, and never seen for what they really are. That is the only power that they have.
T-29.VIII.1-4

And then I started thinking about exactly what an idol is, knowing it is not referring to movie stars, or the winners of “American Idol.” I looked up the very first reference to “idol” in the Text.

As you can hear two voices, so you can see in two ways. One way shows you an image, or an idol that you may worship out of fear, but will never love.
T-7.V.9:1,2

This is what I was looking for. An idol is simply an image that I have selected from the myriad objects in front of me, like the bird feeder, and in effect, because I selected this one over that one, I tend to worship it.

Of course, this is one of the first things that Jesus teaches us, Lesson 15, My thoughts are images I have made.

The other way shows you only truth, which you will love because what you understand you can identify with, and by making it part of you have accepted it with love. Understanding is appreciation, because what you understand you can identify with, and by making it part of you, you have accepted it with love. That is how God Himself created you; in understanding, in appreciation and in love.
T-7.V.9:3-5

This is what I am experiencing with clarity of mind, truth and understanding and love.

The ego is totally unable to understand this, because it does not understand what it makes, does not appreciate it and does not love it. It incorporates to take away. It literally believes that every time it deprives someone of something, it has increased. I have spoken often of the increase of the Kingdom by your creations, which can only be created as you were. The whole glory and perfect joy that is the Kingdom lies in you to give. Do you not want to give it?
T-7.9:6-11

Yes! I am attempting to give it now, Dear Reader, the joy of the Kingdom that is our inheritance.

And now there comes into my mind a sonnet I remember reading in college by William Wordsworth (1770-1850), It is a beauteous evening, calm and free.

It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquility;
The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the Sea;
Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
And doth with his eternal motion make
A sound like thunder—everlastingly.
Dear child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year;
And worshipp'st at the Temple's inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not.

The narrator is expressing his clarity of Mind, seeing its reflection as he walks with the child in the evening at sunset.

It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration;
the broad sun Is sinking down in its tranquility;

In the next four lines, even the thundering waves crashing on the shore cannot take him out of his clear mind.

The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the Sea;
Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
And doth with his eternal motion make
A sound like thunder—everlastingly.

The narrator knows full well that she is a holy child of God, Divine.

Dear child! dear Girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham's bosom all the year;
And worshipp'st at the Temple's inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not.

And Jesus expresses this Divinity in this paragraph from His Text.

Come therefore unto me, and learn of the truth in you. The mind we share is shared by all our brothers, and as we see them truly they will be healed. Let your mind shine with mine upon their minds, and by our gratitude to them make them aware of the light in them. This light will shine back upon you and on the whole Sonship, because this is your proper gift to God. He will accept it and give it to the Sonship, because it is acceptable to Him and therefore to His Sons. This is true communion with the Holy Spirit, Who sees the altar of God in everyone, and by bringing it to your appreciation, He calls upon you to love God and His creation. You can appreciate the Sonship only as one. This is part of the law of creation, and therefore governs all thought.
T-7.V.9:11

There is one last thing I want to try to express about my experience of seeing through, and these words from Jesus in this passage help, Let your mind think with mine. It is as if I am experiencing Christ's presence in my head behind my eyes thinking with me, simply looking through the myriad objects in my view, taking no notice of any one thing, being free, and when we see another, it is direct eye-contact, no bodily image, saying silently, “Namaste,” as Wordsworth's narrator implicitly said to his Dear child, God being with thee when we know it not.

The Casting Director, Remembering, Stops for a Moment, and Says to an Actor, "Namaste."

2010-10-13T11:31:00.019-05:00

I have come to experience, miraculously, through the mind-training of A Course in Miracles the stillness of the peace of God. I have come to know that this experience of stillness is how God created me, how God created you. This is the reference point for declaring that I AM God’s Son.

I AM God’s Son, complete and healed and whole,
Shining in the reflection of His Love.
W-p11.14.What am I? 1:1

I find myself seeing “I Am, ” rather than "I am," ever since coming across this passage in Eckhart Tolle’s book, Stillness Speaks.

Your innermost sense of self, of what you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I AM that is deeper than name and form.
(Eckhart Tolle, Stillness Speaks, (Namaste Publishing, Vancouver, CA, 2003), p. 3.

I AM not a body. I AM free,
For I AM still as God created me.
W-p1.Review VI.3:3-5

The word still carries two meanings, I continue to be, and I AM stillness.

I find myself expressing this most frequently as, I AM in the world and not of the world. It is always a matter of remembering not of and letting go of in, remembering that I AM God’s Son, Light and Love and Peace and Stillness, and letting go of the dream that I made myself a body, seeing through the body’s eyes, using my physical brain to project and then interpret what I see in my dream.

One way I persist in maintaining my dream is to cast my brothers in particular roles in my drama. It is as if I were a casting director facing a stage and behind the curtains are assembled my brothers, the Holy Sons of God. I call them out one-by-one and assign each of them roles, garb them in costumes and give them lines to speak, forgetting that a moment ago they were standing behind the curtain as God created them, forgetting that I am assigning them roles in my dream, making them characters as I would have them be and responding to them as if they were on a stage outside of my mind. When all the time, I am only seeing what I fashioned in the first place inside my mind.

Casting our brothers to play certain roles happens so rapidly that we are usually unaware that we are doing it; it just seems to be the way things are. An image appears and we deal with it, forgetting that we projected the image “out there” with a thought. These projections happen unconsciously.

They seem unconscious but because of the rapidity with which you choose to use them. W-p1.136.3:3

We make a choice each time we “look out” and see one of our projections. We choose between seeing through the body’s eyes, or through the eyes of Christ. We choose to see our brother as a body, or as the face of Christ.

I want to slow down this automatic, unconscious, rapid process of casting our brothers to play certain roles, and what comes to mind is Hamlet’s advice to his players. Just imagine that you were to stop for a moment and give each brother you assign a role his or her instructions. Be Hamlet for a moment and say to each actor in your drama:

Speak the speech I pray you as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. . . Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature. . . Go make you ready.
Hamlet.3.2:1-36

Perhaps, this will slow us down a bit, pretending that we take time to instruct each player in our drama to play his part as we are assigning it as he steps from behind the curtain.

It is always a case of remembering that I am walking around in a play, a drama, of my own making. While all the time, I AM home in Heaven with my Father. I AM in this world and not of it, and my stay here on this worldly stage is temporary.

It is a delicate balance, this remembering and forgetting, because it is not a matter of either/or, it is both; it is the simultaneity of stepping into time and space from out of time, and while I AM walking around, remembering my true Home.

When I experience the stillness of I AM, it is a holy instant, and what I then see in the world is a clear reflection of what is in my healed mind.

Come to the holy instant and be healed,
for nothing that is there received is left
behind on your returning to the world.
And being blessed you will bring blessing. Life
is given you to give the dying world.
And suffering eyes no longer will accuse,
but shine in thanks to you who blessing gave.
The holy instant's radiance will light
your eyes, and give them sight to see beyond
all suffering and see Christ's face instead.
Healing replaces suffering. Who looks
on one cannot perceive the other, for
they cannot both be there. And what you see
the world will witness, and will witness to.
T-27.V.6

And, if I think for a moment that a brother does not appreciate something I did, or said, I say to myself, before casting him as a villain,

It does not matter if another thinks
your gifts unworthy. In his mind there is
a part that joins with yours in thanking you.
W-pI.197.4:1,2

Or, I look into a brother’s eyes, no matter the role I assigned to him, and say, silently, “Namaste, the Christ in me greets the Christ in you.” And in that moment, I fully remember that I AM not of this world.

There is a way of living in the world
that is not here, although it seems to be.
You do not change appearance, though you smile
more frequently. Your forehead is serene;
your eyes are quiet. And the ones who walk
the world as you do recognize their own.
W-pI.155.1:1-4

And here’s Shakespeare, again.

Jacques: All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances.
As You Like It, 2. 7. 139-167

May I be aware that I am totally responsible for all my players, their entrances and their exits, as I tell them now, Go make you ready.

Bringing Into Application Presuming God and Being Glad!

2010-09-18T10:53:00.024-05:00

(The title, of course, refers to the preceding blog post).

When I write an essay and post it as a blog, I am, of course, only doing it for myself. These essays often take several weeks to complete, after receiving the initial inspiration. Before, during and after writing one, I find myself bringing its central idea into application during the day, and by the way, “application” is the heart of Michael Brown’s 2010 New Year Letter: Sparkling Through Application. He makes it clear in his Letter what is very apparent to me, personally, and to the people around me and what is happening in the world, that this year is a very difficult year, but he assures us that towards the end of the year we will experience a great deal of light, much like moving through the night towards dawn.

Remember that as we move through the last moments of dawn toward the sunrise, there is great propensity for unconsciousness. It is important we remember this, realize the implications, and behave accordingly. Therefore, application, application, application.
(Michael Brown, p. 9)

From moment to moment, I am asking for help to come into alignment with my true Self, no matter what appears to be going on in my dream. I am trying to remember to practice presuming God. It is always a matter of remembering and forgetting, moment to moment.

As I expressed in my preceding post, I am determined to be aware of where my awareness is. That is, I am aware of being either the mechanism of decision, i.e., in transition from seeing through the body’s eyes (separation), allying with the ego, or seeing through the eyes of Christ, uniting with my true Self (healing).

Healing is the way in which the separation is overcome. Separation is overcome by union. It cannot be overcome by separating. The decision to unite must be unequivocal, or the mind itself is divided and not whole. Your mind is the means by which you determine your own condition, because mind is the mechanism of decision. It is the power by which you separate or join, and experience pain or joy accordingly. T-8.IV.5:3-8

This is why we are all powerful; we have the power to decide between Heaven or hell.

If I decide to see through my body’s eyes, I am walking around in time and space in fear, making my own hell.

Is it not evident that what the body's eyes perceive fills you with fear? Perhaps you think you find a hope of satisfaction there. Perhaps you fancy to attain some peace and satisfaction in the world as you perceive it. Yet it must be evident the outcome does not change. Despite your hopes and fancies, always does despair result. And there is no exception, nor will there ever be. The only value that the past can hold is that you learn it gave you no rewards which you would want to keep. For only thus will you be willing to relinquish it, and have it gone forever. T-25.II.1

If I decide to see through the eyes of Christ, my true Identity, I am experiencing timelessness and love, having forgiven what I saw through the body’s eyes.

My Self is holy beyond all the thoughts
of holiness of which I now conceive.
Its shimmering and perfect purity
is far more brilliant than is any light
that I have ever looked upon. Its love
is limitless, with an intensity
that holds all things within it, in the calm
of quiet certainty. Its strength comes not
from burning impulses which move the world,
but from the boundless Love of God Himself.
How far beyond this world my Self must be,
and yet how near to me and close to God!

Father, You know my true Identity.
Reveal It now to me who am Your Son,
that I may waken to the truth in You,
and know that Heaven is restored to me.
W-p11.252

Jesus expresses exactly how we get the results of our decisions in a variety of ways:
1) Specialness, 2) hostage to the ego, or Host to God, and 3) self-concept vs Self.

1. Specialness

When consciousness is allied with the ego, seeing through the body’s eyes, it faces the enormous task of defending this decision. It does this by seeing itself as special.

Specialness is the great dictator of the wrong decisions. Here is the grand illusion of what you are and what your brother is. And here is what must make the body dear and worth preserving. Specialness must be defended. T-24.I.5:1-4

This is the primary motivation for attacking your brother. The worse you see him, the better you are. It is always a matter of one-up-man ship; if I can see my brother as “down,” then I can see myself as “up.” This is a classic mistake in the dream.

For what your brother must become to keep your specialness is an illusion. He who is 'worse' than you must be attacked, so that your specialness can live on his defeat. For specialness is triumph, and its victory is his defeat and shame. How can he live, with all your sins upon him? And who must be his conqueror but you? T-24.I:6-10

Just after writing this section on Specialness, I stopped writing for the day and began reading the newspaper, and much to my surprise and delight, I came across this cartoon.

The regular font “I’s attack the italicized “I” who is different.

When I showed it to my wife, Christine, who did not know what I had just been writing about, she said, “They attack him because they think he’s special.”

Thank God that all is not lost because we engage in games of Specialness. The Holy Spirit can use these special situations as a means for correction.

The specialness he chose to hurt himself did God appoint to be the means for his salvation, from the very instant that the choice was made. His special sin was made his special grace. His special hate became his special love. T-25.VI.6:6-8

When I decide to ally with the ego, I create sons as my Father created me, but my son is a child of earth, a parody of god’s creation, and I am very protective of his specialness.

How bitterly does everyone tied to this world defend the specialness he wants to be the truth! No effort is too great, no cost too much, no price too dear to save his specialness from the least slight, the tiniest attack, the whispered doubt, the hint of threat, or anything but deepest reverence. This is your son, beloved of you as you are to your Father. Yet it stands in place of your creations, who are son to you, that you might share the Fatherhood of God, not snatch it from Him. What is this son that you have made to be your strength? What is this child of earth on whom such love is lavished? What is this parody of God's creation that takes the place of yours? And where are they, now that the host of God has found another son whom he prefers to them?T-24.VII.1

2. Hostage to the ego, or host of God

This is another way that Jesus expresses that we get the results of our decisions. When I decide to engage in one-up-man ship, I am, as the mechanism of decision, held hostage to the ego in time; when I decide to forgive these thoughts, I am hosting God, and this is my salvation.

I asked you earlier, 'Would you be hostage to the ego or host to God'? Let this question be asked you by the Holy Spirit every time you make a decision. For every decision you make does answer this, and invites sorrow or joy accordingly. When God gave Himself to you in your creation, He established you as host to Him forever. He has not left you, and you have not left Him. All your attempts to deny His magnitude, and make His Son hostage to the ego, cannot make little whom God has joined with Him. Every decision you make is for Heaven or for hell, and brings you the awareness of what you decided for. T-15.III.5

3. Self-concept vs Self

Finally, Jesus expresses specialness and salvation in another way—self- concept versus Self. As we have seen, our self-concept seems to be a hard-won sense of ourselves, a personality that we molded through years of seeming victories and defeats. Our self-concept is what we are expressing each time we use the pronoun “I,” and we steadfastly defend it against other “I’s” around us, thereby preventing us from knowing the truth, our true Self.

The concept of the self stands like a shield,
a silent barricade before the truth,
and hides it from your sight. All things you see
are images, because you look on them
as through a barrier that dims your sight
and warps your vision, so that you behold
nothing with clarity. The light is kept
from everything you see. At most, you glimpse
a shadow of what lies beyond. At least,
you merely look on darkness, and perceive
the terrified imaginings that come
from guilty thoughts and concepts born of fear.
And what you see is hell, for fear is hell.
T-31.VII.7:1-6

This is a result of the mechanism of decision allying with the ego, forming the self-concept. This prevents the awareness of the true alternative, uniting with the Self.

You are one Self, in perfect harmony
with all there is, and all that there will be.
You are one Self, the holy Son of God,
united with your brothers in that Self;
united with your Father in His Will.
Feel this one Self in you, and let it shine
away all your illusions and your doubts.
This is your Self, the Son of God Himself,
sinless as its Creator, with His strength
within you and His Love forever yours.
W-p1.95.13:1-4

By becoming aware of your Self, your alliance with the ego is shined away.

Now, Dear Reader, I invite you to sit back, breathe in and breathe out, and decide to experience the peace of God.

I am going to end by emphasizing that we have all power in Heaven and earth as decision makers. We must not take this power lightly, or actually we should, if we take it to mean going towards the Light. We share this power with Jesus, and here He expresses His equality with us.

My mind will always be like yours, because we were created as equals. It was only my decision that gave me all power in Heaven and earth. My only gift to you is to help you make the same decision. This decision is the choice to share it, because the decision itself is the decision to share. It is made by giving, and is therefore the one choice that resembles true creation. I am your model for decision. By deciding for God I showed you that this decision can be made, and that you can make it. T-5.II.9

If you wish to read Michael Brown's New Year Letter in its entirety, please click here.

Presuming God and Being Glad!

2010-08-28T11:44:00.030-05:00

In John 16, Jesus says,

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; at that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 19,20

There is no doubt, of course, that He is in complete alignment, His mind is linked to God and to your Christ mind.

Now, two thousand years later in His Course in Miracles, Jesus has us practice being aware of this alignment by doing the Lessons, and here is an example, Lesson 237, Now would I be as God created 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.

In Matthew 5, Jesus says,

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. 48

Being perfect has nothing to do with right or wrong, but simply being aware of your Oneness with God, your alignment, extending the love that you are; your perfection is guaranteed by God, and by receiving it, you can give it away, for giving is receiving.

In His Course, Jesus gives us this Lesson, today’s Lesson 225, in fact, 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!

In this passage, the reader is also given an opportunity to practice alignment; we need the practice because we are usually, habitually, naturally, normally, out of alignment.

Father, I must return your Love for me.

Must is used, not because it is an obligation, not because I will be punished if I don’t, but I must, I want, to return God’s love for me in order to be in the experience I have always avoided, experiencing the love and peace of God. It is a practice because it is an unnatural experience, although, in reality, this aligning connection is the only natural experience there is. Alignment is experiencing the peace of God, now, completely abstracted from what I seem to be looking at, specifically, in time and space.

Complete abstraction is the natural condition of the mind. W-p1.161.2:1

However, we continue to experience things unnaturally because we separated from the aligning consciousness, and formed a separate “I.” We grew up making a little “I” separate from the part of us aligned with God. That this resulted in a false world of our own making is a well-kept secret. The little, limited “I,” the ego, is a disguised form of “I” aligned with God.

To this point, two referents for “I” have been defined: the “I” aligned with the Self, seeing with the eyes of Christ, and the “I” allied with the ego, seeing with the body’s eyes, separated from God.

Throughout His Course, Jesus addresses the third “I,” the mechanism of decision; this is the part of the mind that decides between separation and union. Jesus know full well that this decision is ours to make because we are free to choose.

Separation is overcome by union. It cannot be overcome by separating. The decision to unite must be unequivocal, or the mind itself is divided and not whole. Your mind is the means by which you determine your own condition, because mind is the mechanism of decision. It is the power by which you separate or join, and experience pain or joy accordingly. T-8.IV.5

In summary, while reading His Course, I want to be vigilant to the three possible referents for “I.”

THE MECHANISM OF DECISION

THE BODY'S EYES

THE EYES OF CHRIST

When the “I” as the mechanism of decision, decides to see through the body’s eyes, it allies with the ego; when this “I” decides to see through the eyes of Christ, it unites with God.

These are states of mind, of course, and I like a term a friend of mine used the other day for the mechanism of decision, “the transition state.” When we are in the state of mind of deciding, we are in transition from one state to another, either moving from fear to love, or from love to fear; it is our decision, moment to moment.

“Decision” comes from the Latin, decidere, meaning to “cut off.” When “I” decide to ally with the body’s eyes, awareness of union with the true Self is automatically cut off; when “I” decide to unite with the true Self, awareness of alliance with the false self is automatically cut off. It is always either/or, no compromise. By uniting with the Self, “I” will to align with God’s Will.

Nothing God created can oppose your decision, as nothing God created can oppose His Will. God gave your will its power, which I can only acknowledge in honour of His. If you want to be like me I will help you, knowing that we are alike. If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind. I can teach you, but only you can choose to listen to my teaching. T-8.IV.6:1-5

One way I have learned to listen to His teaching is to pay close attention to each pronoun and its reference in His Course. And I find His Review of the first 50 lessons to be very helpful in this respect. For example, in the title to Lesson 1, Nothing I see means anything, the referent for “I” certainly is not the “I” united with the true Self. It is a reference to the false “I,” the ego seeing through the body’s eyes, and what they see in time and space is not real.

In Lesson 13, the referent for “I” is an example of a part of the mind that decides, that chooses, the mechanism of decision.

But such a world is not real. I have given it the illusion of reality, and have suffered from my belief in it. Now I choose to withdraw this belief, and place my trust in reality. In choosing this, I will escape all the effects of the world of fear, because I am acknowledging that it does not exist. 13

The reference for “I” in the following passage from Lesson 36 is the “I” joined with the Christ within, seeing with His vision.

Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself. 36

And here are the three referents for "I" are expressed in this particular paragraph in the Text.

The Christ in you is very still. He looks on what He loves, and knows it as Himself. And thus does He rejoice at what He sees, because He knows that it is one with Him and with His Father. (the eyes of Christ) Specialness, too, takes joy in what it sees, although it is not true. (the body's eyes) Yet what you seek for is a source of joy as you conceive it. What you wish is true for you. Nor is it possible that you can wish for something and lack faith that it is so. Wishing makes real, as surely as does will create. (the mechanism of decision) The power of a wish upholds illusions (the body's eyes) as strongly as does love extend itself. (the eyes of Christ) Except that one deludes; (body's eyes) the other heals. (the eyes of Christ) T-24.V.1

I offer the following as an opportunity to practice becoming aware of the three referents to “I” in the Review of the first 50 Lessons, remembering Jesus saying, I can teach you, but only you can choose to listen to my teaching.

I went through the lessons and grouped sentences into the following three categories:

THE BODY’S EYES

Nothing I See Means Anything. The reason this is so is that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning. 1 (The number after each sentence, below, simply refers to the Lesson in the Review in which it occurs.)

I have judged everything I look upon, and it is this and only this I see. 2

What I see is the projection of my own errors of thought. 3

If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing. 9

Since the thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world that pictures them can have no meaning. 11

THE MECHANISM OF DECISION

I am willing to recognize the lack of validity in my judgments, because I want to see. 2

I choose to have my meaningless thoughts be replaced by what they were intended to replace. 4

When I have forgiven myself and remembered Who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I see. 7

Now I would choose again, that I may see. 9

Would I not rather join the thinking of the universe than to obscure all that is really mine with my pitiful and meaningless “private” thoughts? 10

I can therefore see a real world, if I look to my real thoughts as my guide for seeing. 11

I am grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to value it. 12

Now I choose to withdraw this belief in the illusion of reality, and place my trust in reality. 13

Why should I continue to suffer from the effects of my own insane thoughts, when the perfection of creation is my home? Let me remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I really abide. 14

It is illusions I choose when I try to see through the body’s eyes. Yet the vision of Christ has been given me to replace them. It is through this vision that I choose to see. 43

THE EYES OF CHRIST

I can see only what is now. 9

But God has kept my inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what it is. 26

From my holiness does the perception of the real world come. 36

Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself. 36

As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of the world shine forth for everyone to see. 37

I am blessed as a Son of God. 40

My Father supports me, protects me, and directs me in all things. His care for me is infinite, and is with me forever. 40

I am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go. 41

I am walking steadily on toward truth. There is nowhere else I can go, because God’s Voice is the only voice and the only guide that has been given to His Son. 49

And now we come to the title of this essay, Presume God and Be Glad! “Presume” comes from the Latin, praesumere, meaning “to take beforehand, to take for granted.” When I ask for help to be in alignment with God, then whatever occurs in time and space can be looked through, or as Jesus often says in the Course, overlooked, in effect, cut out, and the result is gladdening.

This morning I had this experience, and as I come to the end of writing this, I will express it this way.

I was sitting there, saying to myself, there is only this moment, and right now I am experiencing the peace of God.

(This expresses “I” uniting with my true Self.)

And then I experienced a situation with a brother that triggered negative thoughts.

(With incredible rapidity, “I” cut away from union to separation, allying with my false self, seeing through the body's eyes)

And then “I” (the mechanism of decision) stood still for a moment, and said to myself, “These thoughts are based on my conditioning, imprinting, and “I” (the mechanism of decision) am asking for help to let them go.”

(Soon, “I” was experiencing the peace of God, alignment, seeing with the eyes of Christ.)

And then I read again, listening to Jesus teaching me, the first sentence of today’s Lesson, 235, 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.

* * *

Yesterday, I was caught in the act of presuming God and being extremely glad. Beth, our little neighbor, seven-years old, lovely and loving, was sitting on our deck with Christine and me on a beautiful late-summer afternoon, eating cookies and drinking juice, chattering away in her child’s innocence about her sisters and her cat, Jingles, and her new teacher and television programs and her Dad taking her for ice cream, and then she looks at me and says, “You’re doing it again.”

I said, “Doing what?”

She said, “That look in your eyes.”

I said, “What look?”

Then she stood up in right in front of me, her hands on her hips, and looking directly into my eyes, she said, “This one,” slightly staring and widening her eyes,” mirroring for me my expression of an easy, peaceful feeling, and I experienced that giving is receiving.

I realized that while she was talking, I would occasionally look up, gazing at the leaves in the high branches canopying our yard, watching the play of light and shadows of the leaves moving in the soft breeze, feeling the peace of God, seeing the reflection of the eyes of Christ, presuming God. Her gift to me was the recognition that what I was experiencing was being communicated through me to all that I looked upon, and I was exceedingly glad!

Being With Mighty Companions is a Tricky Endeavor

2010-07-15T11:34:00.029-05:00

In His Course in Miracles, Jesus notes that as we walk the earth, we go with mighty companions beside us. (M-4.1.A.6:11) And this phrase is just right because we are joined with our brothers on this incredible mission of waking from the dream and coming into the experience of being in the world and not of the world.

Waking up from the dream means knowing there is no world and that we are as God created us, realizing that we habitually make up a world with our body’s eyes and brain and stubbornly persist in thinking that seeing is believing. Just yesterday, I came across a children’s book that explains how easily we are duped into believing that what our eyes see is the truth, describing how the eye sees.

Your eyes work by taking pictures of the world and sending them to your brain. Light from an object passes through the lens in the middle of your eye. The lens focuses the light onto the retina at the back of the eye. The retina changes light patterns into signals that it sends to the brain. The brain changes the signals into a picture to tell you what your eyes are seeing.
(Louise Spilsbury, Knowledge: How? Why? Where? When? London: Tall Tree Limited, 2007, p. 106.)

Such simplicity. The brain, an organ that has no source in reality, is constantly telling you what your eyes are seeing. Hmmm. Nothing I see means anything. (Lesson 1)

Here is one way that Jesus expresses it in His Course.

The brain interprets to the body, of which it is a part. But what it says you cannot understand. Yet you have listened to it. And long and hard you tried to understand its messages. T-22.I.2:9-12

Through the Course, we come to learn that physical sight is not so because, in truth, we can see only with vision, seeing through the eyes of Christ, experiencing the reflection of our True Identity as the holy Son of God.

Only your vision can convey to you what you can see. It reaches you directly, without a need to be interpreted to you. What needs interpretation must be alien. T-22.I.6:4-6

This is where our mighty companions come in. We join in this vision; we look at each other and say with our eyes, “Namaste,” the Christ in me greets the Christ in you, experiencing a warm-honey feeling in our stomachs.

And our mighty companions fulfill another function, just as important. My brother does or says something that totally upsets me. This can be seen as a great opportunity, if I use it right. If I can realize quickly enough that s/he is triggering an emotion based on my particular imprinting, I can utilize it. If I can see this behavior as a message triggering my experiences at an early age, then I can dismiss my brother as the messenger, and learn more about myself, looking at the message, feeling the emotion, and asking for help to let it go, coming into the realization that there is nothing outside of myself that can cause me pain or pleasure. It's always only my thoughts.

Here is an example, perhaps crude but real. When I was seven or eight years old, my dad took me to a shop, where a man, Bob Harsh, made bows and arrows. I was so excited to walk out of his shop with a custom-made bow and six arrows. My dad set up for me in our backyard a bail of straw with a paper target, and every day I spent hours learning to shoot my bow.

I would often lose arrows in the deep grass in the backyard, and one day, my neighbor, my “buddy,” Dick, said, smiling, “Here’s an arrow I found,” and I happily grabbed it by the end, only to find that he had smeared it in dog shit that was encrusting my palm, as he laughed heartily.

I felt humiliation and anger and scorn. To this day, I don’t like tricks to be played on me, and I tend not to play tricks on other people.

Some time ago, my wife, Christine, truly my mighty companion, pulled an elaborate trick on me. On my birthday the idea was to go out for dinner and then go to a play. After dinner, she looked into her purse and said, “I forgot the tickets.” We hurried home, went inside, and walking down the hallway, we heard a sound from the basement, glass breaking. My adrenaline hit, and I slowly walked down the stairs, assuming a karate posture, right hand in a fist, drawn back, left hand in front of my stomach to ward off an attack, my knees bent.

When I was half-way down the stairs, a group of family and friends who had assembled while we were at dinner yelled, “Happy Birthday!” And I yelled, “Fuck you!” The ancient imprinting of being tricked was triggered, and I felt humiliation and anger and scorn, especially since I was walking down the stairs as if I were a Kung Fu fighter.

This is just one example of a myriad of things that I must have experienced early on that imprinted deeply in my mind and trigger emotions in me today. I continued, unconsciously, to allow external events to trigger emotions, not realizing that I was the cause, preventing me from experiencing peace of mind. The key is to learn to take full responsibility for my reactions, and dismiss the messengers as quickly as possible, my mighty companions.

And so in each moment, I am seeing my brother, either through the body’s eyes, as the brain interprets based on the past, or through the vision of Christ; I crucify myself, or I resurrect; I ma miserable, or at peace; it is always my choice. I am totally responsible; I am not a victim of the world I see. (Lesson 31)

This is the only thing that you need do for vision, happiness, release from pain and the complete escape from sin, all to be given you. Say only this, but mean it with no reservations, for here the power of salvation lies:

I am responsible for what I see.
I choose the feelings I experience,
and I decide upon the goal I would achieve.
And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for,
and receive as I have asked.

Deceive yourself no longer that you are helpless in the face of what is done to you. Acknowledge but that you have been mistaken, and all effects of your mistakes will disappear. T-21.II.2

To make a mistake means, literally, "to take an error as true," and error comes from the Latin, errorem, meaning “to wander, go astray.” I am totally responsible for wandering from vision to physical sight based on past shit, and I can always ask for help to get back on the mark.

And this brings me back to my bow and arrow. On the mark is an archery term that comes from Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. When an archer fired at a target and missed the bull's eye, the scorekeeper yelled "khata," sin, meaning that the archer was off the mark. He is simply giving him information, giving him helpful feedback.

When the scorekeeper pulled out the arrow, he yelled "bisha," evil, simply indicating exactly where the arrow landed in reference to the bull's eye, telling the archer how far he was off the mark, helpful information enabling him to make a correction, to correct his error, so that he can be on the mark with his next shot.

Sin and evil took on quite different meanings over time, while the original meaning is simply helpful information that enables me to make a slight correction from seeing with the body's eyes to seeing with vision.

Sin is a block, set like a heavy gate, locked and without a key, across the road to peace. No one who looks on it without the help of reason would try to pass it. The body's eyes behold it as solid granite, so thick it would be madness to attempt to pass it. Yet reason sees through it easily, because it is an error. (T-22.III.2-5) Everything the body's eyes can see is a mistake, an error in perception, a distorted fragment of the whole without the meaning that the whole would give. And yet mistakes, regardless of their form, can be corrected. Sin is but error in a special form the ego venerates. It would preserve all errors and make them sins. (T-22.III.4:3-6)

And here is the function of the Holy Spirit, the great Corrector.

My present happiness is all I see.

Unless I look upon what is not there,
my present happiness is all I see.
Eyes that begin to open see at last.
And I would have Christ's vision come to me
this very day. What I perceive without
God's Own Correction for the sight I made
is frightening and painful to behold.
Yet I would not allow my mind to be
deceived by the belief the dream I made
is real an instant longer. This the day
I seek my present happiness, and look
on nothing else except the thing I seek.

With this resolve I come to You, and ask
Your strength to hold me up today, while I
but seek to do Your Will. You cannot fail
to hear me, Father. What I ask have You
already given me. And I am sure
that I will see my happiness today.
W-p11.290

This makes it pretty simple because I have already been given what I ask for.

Finally, to keep it real holy, holding a grievance against a brother is like focusing on the spot of bird shit on the windshield, rather than taking in the magnificent view.

Deciding to be Totally Objective is a Subjective Decision

2010-05-26T10:49:00.031-05:00

Soon after the disciples had participated in the feeding of the multitude by setting the seven loaves before them and feeding the four thousand, they were in a boat with Jesus, and yet they were concerned, realizing that they had forgotten the bread, and reasoning among themselves. Jesus, fully aware of their doubts, said to them:

Why do you reason because you have no bread?
Do you not perceive nor understand?
Is your heart still hardened?

Having eyes, do you not see?
And having ears, do you not hear?
And do you not remember?
Mark: 8:17,18

Jesus had taught them to see with vision, rather than with human eyes, yet He knew full well that now they were not being mindful of the things of God because they were still caught up in seeing with the eyes of man and hearing with human ears, experiencing what they wished to see and hear.

The purpose of all seeing is to show
you what you wish to see. All hearing but
brings to your mind the sounds it wants to hear.
W-p1.161.2:4,5

For a moment they had forgotten that they were the holy Sons of God.

In the 2000 years since, unfortunately, not much has changed in the way we see and the way we believe. We are still reasoning and murmuring among ourselves, seeing with the eyes of man, rather than seeing with the eyes of Christ. That is why Jesus begins the Lessons of His Course in Miracles as He does.

Lesson 1: Nothing I see means anything.

Jesus knows that our mind-training must begin by learning to question what we consider an absolutely true proposition:

Seeing is believing.

What we see, and by extension, hear, touch, smell and taste, we believe to be real, and yet this seeing is illusory, false.

Yet eyes accustomed to illusions must
be shown that what they look upon is false.
W-p1.137.4:5

These eyes are insane.

As you look with open eyes upon your world, it must occur to you that you have withdrawn into insanity. You see what is not there, and you hear what makes no sound. And the vision of Christ is not in your sight, for you look upon yourself alone. T-13.V.6:1-1,2

The purpose of the mind-training is to shift from believing in appearances to seeing with Christ vision, looking through appearances, experiencing knowledge. Jesus assures us that He went through the same experience, saying early in His Course:

I was a man who remembered spirit and its knowledge. I demonstrated both the powerlessness of the body and the power of the mind. By uniting my will with that of my Creator, I naturally remembered spirit and its real purpose. I cannot unite your will with God’s for you, but I can erase all misperceptions from your mind if you will bring it under my guidance. Only your misperceptions stand in your way. T-3.lV.7:3-8

As I undergo this mind-training moment-to-moment, I am being asked to be vigilant, keenly watchful of how I see things, exactly how I make up my illusory world, exactly how I misperceive.

I came across a poem the other day that helps me in my vigilance. Here is A Study of Two Pears by Wallace Stevens (1879-1955 ).

l

Opusculum paedagogum.
The pears are not viols,
Nudes or bottles.
They resemble nothing else.

II

They are yellow forms
Composed of curves
Bulging toward the base.
They are touched red.

III

They are not flat surfaces
Having curved outlines.
They are round
Tapering toward the top.

IV

In the way they are modelled
There are bits of blue.
A hard dry leaf hangs From the stem.

V

The yellow glistens.
It glistens with various yellows,
Citrons, oranges and greens
Flowering over the skin.

VI

The shadows of the pears
Are blobs on the green cloth.
The pears are not seen
As the observer wills.

In his poem, Stevens is taking a stand, declaring that we must be absolutely objective in how we look at things, appearances. He ironically labels his call for objectivity opusculum paedogogum, a Latin phrase meaning “ minor lesson.” He is deliberately being ironic because in his mind, being objective is a major lesson in seeing.

In stanza l, he makes his point by catching us in our automatic associating, immediately bringing to mind images of comparison, viols, nudes, or bottles.

In the next four stanzas, the pears are carefully discerned, objectively, simply in terms of form and color.

And in stanza Vl, he summarizes his “objective” seeing in this manner:

The pears are not seen
As the observer wills.

Now, what Stevens does not see, but what we do, is that this last line is truly ironic. In spite of his determination to be objective, it is impossible. All seeing is subjective.

That is why deciding to be totally objective is a subjective decision.

Here is the first meaning of subjective in the dictionary: "belonging to the thinking subject, rather than to the object of thought."

The root meaning of subjective, objective, object is the Latin ject, meaning “to throw.” In each case, we are throwing out into the world what is first in our minds. This happens so rapidly that we think that what is “out there” is separate from what is “in here,” when, in fact, it is a duplication, and we are instantly, constantly being duped by this action of mind.

Projection is perception. The world you see is what you gave it, nothing more than that. But though it is no more than that, it is not less. Therefore, to you it is important. It is the witness to your state of mind, the outside picture of an inward condition. As a man thinketh, so does he perceive. T-21.Intro.1:1-7

The root meaning of perceive comes from percipere, meaning "to take, to lay hold of, to receive." We rapidly catch what we forgot that we threw out in the first place. This rapidity makes our part in seeing unconscious, invisible. Making our illusory world is like playing catch with ourselves: we throw the ball in the air and then we catch it; we project an image and then we receive it.

I am grateful to Stevens because he is so determined to show us that we can have nothing to do with what we see, when, in fact, we can see that we have absolutely everything to do with what we see, always seeing our own projections.

The pears are not seen
As the observer wills.

In the end, with our eyes, and our human mind, we can see ONLY As the observer wills.

Therefore, seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world. Perception is a result and not a cause. Everything looked upon with vision is healed and holy. Nothing perceived without it means anything. And where there is no meaning, there is chaos.
T-21.Intro.1:7-12

In sharp contrast to Stevens’ quest for objectivity is Walt Whitman’s deliberate attempt to express himself subjectively. The great American poet (1819-1892) begins his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, with this line:

I CELEBRATE myself,
And what I assume you shall assume.

This makes it clear that Whitman intentionally filters his poetry through his own experience and expresses these associations. A good example is his poem, When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed, his moving attempt to come to terms with his grief for the assassination in April of 1865 of his beloved Abraham Lincoln Here is the first stanza.

WHEN lilacs last in the door-yard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d—and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
O ever-returning spring! trinity sure to me you bring;
Lilac blooming perennial, and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.

It is clear that for the rest of his life, particularly in the spring, Whitman will associate the lilacs and the western star with mournful thoughts of Lincoln. His subjective expression drives a powerful poem.

This dichotomy between objective and subjective poetry is obviously false. You have no choice but to express yourself, in effect, to CELEBRATE yourself, and there is nothing objective about this.

Lesson 2: I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.

Now we come to the reason for taking you through this false, objective/subjective dichotomy. It provides a sharp contrast for understanding what it means to go beyond having eyes but not seeing, and having ears but not hearing.

Here is a poem by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963 ) that helps make this transition; it helps take us beyond.

A Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white
chickens.

At first glance, this may appear to be an attempt at objectivity in the spirit of Stevens, just images, no commentary, no interpretation. The word depends, however, carries another connotation, as in, “My life depends on it.” Williams is saying that my life depends on seeing things exactly as they are. This echoes Lesson 268, Let all things be exactly as they are.

Let not our sight be blasphemous today,
Nor let our ears attend to lying tongues.
Only reality is free of pain.
Only reality is free of loss.
And it is only this we seek today.
W-p11.268.2:1-5

I came across The Red Wheelbarrow in an anthology, and the anthologist, Douglas Hunt, intuited this larger meaning, the search for reality.

At the bottom of Stevens’ poetry there is wonder and delight, the child’s or animal’s or savage’s joy in his own existence, and thankfulness for it. He is the poet of well-being. His sigh of awe, of wondering pleasure, is underneath all these poems that show us the “celestial possible,” everything that has not yet been transformed into the infernal impossibilities of our everyday earthly seeing. He sits surrounded by all the good things of this earth, with rosy cheeks and fresh clear blue eyes, eyes not going out to you but shining in their places, like fixed stars. (Douglas Hunt, The Riverside Anthology of Literature, (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1988), p. 938)

In this passage, Hunt reminds us that far beyond our dualistic ideas about seeing either objectively, or subjectively, i.e., the infernal impossibilities of our everyday earthly seeing, is the glorious celestial possibility of seeing with vision.

Today I see the world in the celestial gentleness with which creation shines. W-p11.265.1:4

The smallest leaf becomes as thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God's perfection. T-17.ll.6;3

Right now, today, we can see the shining of creation by shifting our awareness from our fearful, sightless eyes to the eyes of Christ, and then:

What is reflected there is in God’s Mind.
The images I see reflect my thoughts.
Yet is my mind at one with God’s. And so
I can perceive creation’s gentleness.

In quiet would I look upon the world,
which but reflects Your Thoughts and mine as well.
Let me remember that they are the same,
and I will see creations’ gentleness.
W-p11.265.1:7-10,2:1,2

So much, indeed, depends on this shift from my seeing to Thy Seeing, from mine to Thine.

So much depends—peace and happiness and love—on seeing a red wheelbarrow with vision.

Jesus said to His disciples, And do you not remember?

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.
T-13.v.9:1,2

Christ's is the vision I will use today.

Each day, each hour, every instant, I
am choosing what I want to look upon,
the sounds I want to hear, the witnesses
to what I want to be the truth for me.
Today I choose to look upon what Christ
would have me see, to listen to God's Voice,
and seek the witnesses to what is true
in God's creation. In Christ's sight, the world
and God's creation meet, and as they come
together all perception disappears.
His kindly sight redeems the world from death,
for nothing that He looks on but must live,
remembering the Father and the Son;
Creator and creation unified.

Father, Christ's vision is the way to You.
What He beholds invites Your
memory to be restored to me. And this I choose,
to be what I would look upon today.
W-p11.271

Learning to see with Christ vision is a restoration process, and now I want to be about it, looking up from this page, now, and seeing through appearances to the bright reflection of God’s creation.

Guy on a Cross

2010-05-08T11:47:00.016-05:00

Recently, my friend, Diane Poe, asked me to read a draft of Guy on a Cross. I found reading it to be powerful and riveting, and its impact lingered in my mind for some time after wards. Now I want to share it with you.

* * *

Guy on a Cross
　
I

We hear a hammer hitting wood. Guy is hanging on a cross, his friends just finishing up the job. They pick up their tools, getting ready to leave.

Friend 1: You OK up there, Guy? You need anything. Water?

Guy: No. I’m fine. Thanks. This is great, guys, I owe you. See you later.

Friend 2: Right, then. Well, we’re off. Hey you guys, want to get a beer, or something?

All: Yeah, great, let’s go.

Guy: So long, guys. Thanks again!

They go. One friend hangs back.

Pete: Say, Guy, can I ask you a question?

Guy: Sure, Pete. What’s up?

Pete: I’m sorry, Guy. I know you’ve explained it already; but I still don’t get it. Could you go over it one more time? For the dummies?

Guy: OK, here goes. The abridged version: I’m a sinner, right? I’m scum. I’m no good. Trash. Jesus was perfect, the Holy Son of God. He died for me. The only way I can show my love and appreciation for Him is to go through the same thing He did. I want to be perfect like He was, so I have to do what he did. Punishing myself is the only way I can get rid of my guilt. Expiate. Justify. There. Have I made myself clear?

Pete: Well, that’s the same thing you’ve been saying for the past few days. I understand the words, but I still don’t get it.

Guy: You will one day.

Pete: I guess. How long are you gonna be up there?

Guy: I don’t know. I’ll know when the time is right, though.
　
Silence.

Pete turns to leave. Another friend enters.

Friend 3: I forgot my hammer. There it is. Hey, Pete. You coming with us?

Pete: Hey, can I ask you a question? Come over here.

They move to where Guy can’t hear them.

Pete: Do you get this? I mean, we didn’t actually nail him there, did we? We were just pretending, weren’t we?

Friend: Sure. You know Guy. He loves his drama. He’s fine. He’ll hang up there until he decided it’s time to get off. It’s up to him. I, for one, don’t want to stand here and watch him. Let’s go.

They leave.

Guy wriggles around a bit to get comfortable. Finds a position that is what he thinks is more comfortable. Looks up.
Guy: Wow. This isn’t too bad. Why didn’t I think of this before? It’s almost morning. It’s going to be a beautiful day. This is great.

2

Sun coming up. A cap is on the ground below him. Guy has dozed off. His body slumped down, head to one side. He wakes up.

Guy: Wow. Must have dozed off. Hmm. Sun’s coming up. This is going to be great…..

There it is! Oh man this is unbelievable. …

Wow is it bright. (squints) Right in my eyes. (Tries to avoid the sun). Guess I should have thought this out a bit more. Maybe faced south east .. Oh, man. Should have asked for a cap or something.

Looks down. Sees the cap.

Guy: Hmmm. How did that get there??

A lot of good that does me, down there on the ground. (pause)

Looks like it’s going to be a hot one. Bet I get a hell of a burn. Just my luck. Those stupid guys should have put me under a tree where at least I could get a little shade.

((looks around)

There’s a tree right over there! Why can’t I be over there? Hey! There’s another guy under that tree. Damn it! Some guys have all the luck. What’s that? Why is there a chair under his cross? Does he get to sit in that chair? Why does HE get to sit in a chair??? Damn it! (listens) And he has music!? DAMN IT!”

3

It’s hot, and Guy is sweating and has a sunburn.

Guy: Oh, God, is it hot! (he squirms a bit) Ouch! Man! I look like a lobster! I can’t get comfortable with this sunburn.

(looks around)

Hey, Mr. Cross under a Tree is gone! That’s not fair! He could have at least left me his chair.

God, is it hot! A breeze would be nice. (a breeze kicks up. He lifts his head to catch it, then flinches) Damn! That wind is blowing sand in my eyes. It’s stinging my sunburn! DAMN! (turns head to avoid the breeze. It stops)

Now I’ve got sand in my eyes. Thanks a lot!! And in my mouth! I NEED A DRINK OF WATER!!!!!

The sky darkens, and it begins to rain. It’s gentle, almost caressing him, washing away the sand. He enjoys it. He opens his mouth, gets a mouthful and spits it out to rid it of the sand. Then he takes a long drink. He makes happy sounds.

Hey, that was great. This isn’t so bad after all.

4

Mid afternoon. A chair and small table are at the foot of the cross. There is food and drink on the table. The cap hangs on the chair. Guy wakes up from his nap.

Huh?? Oh. Must have been dreaming. (yawns) Afternoon nap (a little laugh) I guess it wasn’t too bad considering I’m hanging on a cross in the middle of the desert with no food or water in sight. Hey, what’s that down there? Did someone….? (looks around) Is that for me? (looks at it suspiciously) Looks OK. I AM hungry. Haven’t had a drink all day. Well, except for the rain, if you can count that. It was more of a storm, if you ask me, and it left me cold and wet, and now my muscles are cramping!

JESUS!! I hate this!!! I never get anything I want! All I ask for is a little food, a drink of water…..hmmm.(looks down at the table, considers getting down, but a stubborn look comes over his face. Looks away)

I wonder what time it is.

5

Evening.

Guy: It’s almost dark. At least with the sun down it won’t be so hot. And it might rain again. I could use another drink.

I thought the guys might come by. Get some pictures at least. Guess they’re too busy having a good time. All they seem to think about is doing what makes them happy. What a bunch of losers. At least I’m doing something with my life. (straightens himself on the cross, sighs)

I wonder where that other Guy went. He just upped and left. How’d he do that? What do you do? Just get tired of hanging on this stupid cross and get off? I mean, he’s nailed there just like I am, isn’t he?

(looks at his hands. He‘s holding on to the cross) Where’d the nails go? I told those guys to NAIL ME TO THIS CROSS, DAMN IT!! CAN’T ANYBODY DO ANYTHING RIGHT AROUND HERE??? I could have fallen off!!

(He sneezes, and moves his hand to rub his nose. He looks at his hand now in front of his face, surprised. He looks at his other hand, still holding onto the cross, and slowly moves it. He looks at both hands. Then, wondering, he looks down at his feet. He’s standing on a platform. He picks up one foot, looks at it, and puts it down. Repeats with the other. He looks around to see if anyone is watching. He looks at the table to see if the food is still there. It is. Cautiously he climbs down. He picks up the water and takes a long drink. He notices a blanket on the chair and wraps it around himself. Then he sits down at the table. He pulls the food toward him and picks up a piece of bread. He tears it apart. He stops. Looks back at the cross. He’s not sure what to do. He looks at the bread. Looks around him.)

Guy: (quietly) Thank you. .

Begins to eat.
　
6

Guy is on the cross, humming a little tune. Is wearing his hat. The blanket is draped over the cross piece. The table and chair is set up below him, food and drink on a clean white tablecloth. A shade tree is nearby.
Guy’s friends walk by, laughing and talking. They call and wave to him as they pass. One stops to talk.

Friend 4: Hey, Guy. We’re going to a movie. Want to come along? It’s a good one. Got two thumbs way up.

Guy: No thanks, guys. I’m going to be up here for another couple of hours.

Friend 5: You sure? You’ve been on that cross a lot lately. What’s going on, anyway?

Guy: Oh, nothing, really. It’s just something I have to do. Guilt, you know. Shame.

Friend 6: Oh, sure. I get it. (doesn’t) Well, hang in there. I mean, good luck!

Guy: Thanks.

Beat

Same guys come by from the other direction, laughing and talking about the movie. They stop to talk to Guy.

Friend 7: Hey, Guy, you missed a really great movie. It was right up your alley.

They all have comments about the movie.

Friend 8: We’re going to get a drink, Guy. Want to come along? You don’t have to stay there, do you?

Guy: Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I need to stay here for a bit longer. You all go ahead. Have a good time.

Friend 9: Hey, Guy. I feel bad that you’re up there on that cross while we’re down here going to movies, laughing and having a good time. You sure you’re ok?
　
Guy: I’m fine. Don’t worry. This is something I have to do.

Friend 10: You mean, like, you think God told you to do this?

Guy: (as the others stop their conversation and listen) Yeah. Yeah. That’s it. God told me to do this.

Friend 10: OK, Guy. Well, we’ll see you later.

Guy: Later.

7

Guy is sitting at the foot of his cross, having a snack, maybe listening to an iPod. Suddenly he looks off as though he hears someone coming. He quickly hides his food and drink, puts away the iPod and gets back on the cross.

8

Guy is on the cross. He is watching his friends playing cards below. They are comfortable with him and no longer think him out of the ordinary. They occasionally ask him if he wants to sit in on the next hand. Or they ask him if he wants a drink. He almost agrees, but then refuses.

Guy: No, I’d better not.

9

Guy is on the cross. A group comes in from off right, excitedly talking.

Guy: Hey, what’s going on?

Voice: It’s Jesus! He’s coming!. Guy straightens up, getting ready for an audience with Jesus. He looks off left, expectantly.
Jesus comes in, talking to the crowd. Guy tries to catch his eye. He writhes and moans. Jesus is busy with the others. Finally Guy gets off his cross, picks it up and joins the crowd behind Jesus, still trying to get his attention. Unsuccessful, he tries to make his way in front of Jesus. Finally he throws himself and his cross on the ground in front of Jesus.

Jesus: (looking at Guy) Hey, Guy, you ought to let go of that thing.

Guy: What?

Jesus: You ought to let go of that thing!

Guy: What?

Jesus: (louder) YOU OUGHT TO LET GO OF THAT THING!

Guy: What? (It’s not that he doesn’t hear. The entire idea is incomprehensible to him. He really has no idea what Jesus is saying.)

Jesus: “LET GO OF IT!!”
Guy, still not understanding, picks up his cross and takes it back to its place. He gets back on it. Jesus and the crowd leave.

10

Guy is on the cross, feeling lonely. A group comes in, arguing about something. They decide to ask Guy for advice. He gives them an answer and they leave happily. Guy straightens up a bit and is proud of what he has done. More guys come in to ask questions. Soon they are sitting at his feet, listening, asking questions. They think he is very wise. They praise him. Some bring gifts to put at his feet.
　

11

Guy is talking to the crowd from his cross. A small group comes in and criticizes him, asking what he thinks he’s doing. Why is he on that cross? What is his teaching? Why aren’t these people working? Guy has no answer. “His” group defend him at first, then become confused and begin listening to the newcomers. As the newcomers leave, Guy’s crowd follows, listening intently. One comes back to pick up his offering and takes it with him. Guy is dumbfounded.
　

12

Guy is on his cross. Jesus comes in and looks at him. Guy looks at Jesus.

Guy: What?

Jesus laughs softly.

Guy: WHAT?

Jesus: That’s really not what I had in mind, you know.

Guy: What?
　

13

Guy is on the cross. Jesus stands far to the right, looking at him. Guy looks at Jesus. Jesus holds out his hand, inviting Guy to join him. Guy hesitates, shrinking back, clutching at the cross. Jesus smiles at him. Guy gets off the cross slowly and takes a few steps as Jesus watches. Guy slowly gets closer, reluctantly; he stops, looking back at the cross. He’s undecided. He looks longingly at his cross, then at Jesus. This goes on for a few moments, with Guy becoming increasingly upset. Slowly he first leans toward the cross, then takes a small step toward it. Still looking at Jesus, then, he backs up to the cross, feeling for it as he gets closer. He touches it, wraps his arms around it, clings to it, increasingly more and more upset. Weeping openly now, he totally embraces the cross, looking at Jesus, who is still smiling at him.

The Last Scene
　
A bunch of guys are sitting or lying around a low fire. It’s just coals, really, and it’s cold. They are quietly talking and laughing. Maybe they’re camping.

One bends over the fire to blow on it, hoping to stir up a flame. He puts in a few sticks.

Friend 1: Hey, the fire’s almost gone out. We need more wood. It’s going to get cold tonight.

Friend 2: We’ve already used all we brought with us, and we’ve already searched for more on the ground.

Friend 3: Any ideas, anybody?

Guy: (He‘s been sitting among the others and we don‘t realize who he is until he stands up)
Anybody got an axe?
Guy walks over to his cross, which is leaning against their equipment, and drags it out.

Guy: Somebody help me with this.

One hands Guy the axe while others help him take it apart and throw it into the fire.
We hear the sound of an axe hitting the wood, and see the fire grow larger as the others crowd around it appreciatively.

One starts to laugh, quietly. Others join in; the laughter grows. Finally everyone is laughing with joy. It grows quiet, then one cackles, and it starts again.

Curtain

The Decision-Maker Decides to Shift from Allying with the False Self to Uniting with the True Self

2010-04-08T12:20:00.031-05:00

As I sit here in my house looking out of the window on this fine morning in early Spring, drinking coffee and reading A Course in Miracles, Lesson 95, I am one Self, united with my Creator, it is clear to me that what I am looking at in the world, the bird feeders, the lawn, the squirrels, the trees, are being brought to my awareness by my familiar narrator. His voice is natural, normal, and ordinary, naming things and giving them my personal associations, e.g., “That damn squirrel is in my bird feeder again;” “That Blue Jay is beautiful.” At any moment, what I am experiencing is a result of this personal narration. In fact, this is pretty much how the word “experience” is defined: A particular instance of "personally" encountering, or undergoing, something.

(I invite you, Dear Reader, to listen a moment to your narrative voice to become personally aware of its commentary on what you are reading right now.)

Look at the word, personally. It comes from the Latin per, meaning “through,” and son, meaning “sound.” The ancient Greek dramas took place in coliseums, and the actors wore wooden mask through which their voices were amplified, so that they could be heard. Our personal narrator projects our personality into what it sees.

What I took for granted to be real a moment ago, looking out the window, was simply a series of images seen through my false self, my personality, a mask I wear over my True Self. Of course, I realize now that, ironically, I looked up from the Course and immediately forgot what Jesus is constantly teaching us—what I am seeing is a world of my own making, and I need to train my mind to recognize what I am making. My forgetting of His lessons shows me just how difficult it is to train my mind to see in a different way.

Yesterday, I read an article in the newspaper about Eckhart Tolle. When he experienced in his mind at the age of 29 that there were two of him, a false self and a True Self, it was an awakening experience.

Born Ulrich Tolle in a small town in Germany, he spent his teen years with his father in Spain, then moved on to prepare for an academic career. By the time he was 29 and studying philosophy in London, he says, he was so miserable "I couldn't live with myself any longer." Suddenly he realized, "If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the 'I' and the 'self' that 'I' cannot live with. Maybe, I thought, only one of them is real." As he tells the story in his first book, The Power of Now, he was so stunned by the idea that "my mind stopped. I was conscious, but there were no more thoughts." ("Now is the time for Tolle," USA Today, April 15, 2010, Section D, p. 1,2)

This demonstrates to us what we are up against. It is so difficult to break out of our habitual pattern of taking for granted that what we see is real. But when we do, it is an awakening. Our familiar narrative voice has been telling us these stories since we acquired language in our infancy.

Children are born into the world through pain and in pain. Their growth is attended by suffering, and they learn of sorrow and separation and death. Their minds seem to be trapped in their brain. T-13.Intro.2:5-7

This world is a picture of the crucifixion of God's Son. And until you realize that God's Son cannot be crucified, this is the world you will see. T-13.Intro.4:1,2

Of course, Jesus is well aware of our tendency to crucify ourselves, and He frequently reminds us that this is simply a mistake, not a sin, and to get on with learning to forgive.

When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course, you have merely made a mistake. This calls for correction, and for nothing else. To allow a mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes, based on the first and reinforcing it. It is this process that must be laid aside, for it is but another way in which you would defend illusions against the truth. W-p1.95.7

One of the things I do to meet the requirements of the Course is to remind myself to be vigilant about the exact reference to each pronoun. For example, look again at the pronouns in the first sentence of the above passage.

When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course, you have merely made a mistake.

In this sentence, both "you's" refer to our consciousness, our awareness, our mind that is the decision-maker. I am using the notation of regular font, you, to help me remember the referent, the decision-maker.

However, you, the decision-maker, are often tempted to fall into the trap of making an alliance with the false self. An italicized, smaller font, you represents this alliance.

The self you made is not the Son of God. Therefore, this self does not exist at all. And anything it seems to do and think means nothing. It is neither bad nor good. It is unreal, and nothing more than that. It does not battle with the Son of God. It does not hurt him, nor attack his peace. It has not changed creation, nor reduced eternal sinlessness to sin, and love to hate. What power can this self you made possess, when it would contradict the Will of God? W-p1.93.5

What we want is for the decision-maker to dissociate from the false self and unite with the True Self, indicated by bold you.

You are one Self, in perfect harmony with all there is, and all that there will be. You are one Self, the holy Son of God, united with your brothers in that Self; united with your Father in His Will. Feel this one Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and your doubts. This is your Self, the Son of God Himself, sinless as Its Creator, with His strength within you and His Love forever yours. You are one Self, and it is given you to feel this Self within you, and to cast all your illusions out of the one Mind that is this Self, the holy truth in you. W-p1.95.13

This bold you blends in with, unites with, everything around it.

In summary, I want to be vigilant to pronoun references:

you
decision-maker

you
True Self

you
the false self

You, the mind, the consciousness, the decision-maker. Spirit makes use of mind as means to find its Self expression. W-p1.96.4:1

You, an alliance with the false self. Yet mind can also see itself divorced from spirit, and perceive itself within a body it confuses with itself. W-p1.96.4:4

You, united with the True Self. And the mind which serves the spirit is at peace and filled with joy. Its power comes from spirit, and it is fulfilling happily its function here. W-p1.96.4:2,3

Jesus gave us His Workbook, knowing full well the training necessary for us to learn to shift our alliance with our false self to unity with our True Self. Already in Lesson 3, we can see the referents shift for the pronoun “I.”

Here is Lesson 3, These thoughts do not mean anything,
in its Review form. W-p1.51.4(4)

The thoughts of which i am aware do not mean anything because i am trying to think without God.

Once again, the notation, i, (lower case, italicized) is an attempt to convey that the conscious mind, the decision-maker, is totally allied with the false self, the wavy italics, wavering, uncertain.

What I call "my" thoughts are not my real thoughts.

In this state of mind, the decision-maker, I, in regular font, stands in the dim recognition that somewhere beyond its current awareness are real thoughts, blocked by the unreal thoughts it experiences in its unholy alliance. For Tolle, this was a profound recognition.

My real thoughts are the thoughts I think with God.

The decision-maker, I, bold, unites with real thoughts, God, its True Self. This sentence is an assertion of truth.

I am not aware of them because i have made my thoughts to take their place.

The decision-maker, I, recognizes its alliance with its illusory thoughts, i, thereby blocking its awareness of God's thoughts.

I am willing to recognize that my thoughts do not mean anything, and to let them go.

This is a very bold willingness that will lead to forgiveness of the false self and a healing union with the True Self.

I choose to have them be replaced by what they were intended to replace.

Here we are, only in Lesson 3, and we are learning that I have choice; the familiar, natural, normal, ordinary is not so. There is, indeed, something else that can dawn on my awareness, and for Tolle the awareness of Now.

My thoughts are meaningless, but all creation lies in the thoughts I think with God.

This I is, indeed bold, in its union with God.

This shift from alliance with the false self, sin, or separation, to union is acquired by forgiveness.

Forgiveness is acquired. It is not
inherent in a mind, which cannot sin.
As sin was an idea you taught yourself,
forgiveness must be learned by you as well,
but from a Teacher other than yourself,
Who represents the other Self in you.
Through Him you learn how to forgive the self
you think you made, and let it disappear.
Thus you return your mind as one to Him
who is your Self, and who can never sin.
W-p1.121.6

* * *

Again, I, the decision-maker, am sitting on the couch, looking out the window, seeing the bird feeders, the lawn. . . Stop! I close your eyes. Breathe in and breathe out. Help. I want to unite with God, remembering that I have choice, that I am responsible.

I am responsible for what I, or i, see.

I choose the feelings I,or i, experience, and I decide upon the goal I, or i, would achieve.

And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have asked. T-21.II.2:3-5

Now, I breathe in, breathe out, and open my eyes; I see a reflection mirroring my peaceful mind, actually it’s not so much seeing as feeling. . .

Your foot has reached the lawns that welcome you
to Heaven’s gate; the quiet place of peace. W-p1. 194.1:3

Now.

Welcome Home!

Happy Easter! Everything is all right.

2010-04-01T16:34:00.007-05:00

Everything is all right.

There is nothing to worry about.

That’s because there is only Everything.

Nothing was made by me to defend against Everything.

Everything is real, Light, Truth, Love.

Nothing is unreal, darkness, illusion, fear.

Experiencing Everything, or nothing, is simply a reflection of my state of mind.

What I see can only mirror my state of mind.

Seeing through my limited eyes, I see nothing, darkness.

Seeing through Christ eyes, I see Everything, light.

When I find myself seeing through Christ eyes, I am grateful, and I say, “Thank You.”

When I am seeing through my limited eyes, I am troubled, and I say, “Help.”

The miracle is a shift in perception from seeing with my eyes to seeing with the eyes of Christ.

While seeing with my eyes, I am crucifying myself.

While seeing with the eyes of Christ, I am resurrected.

Now, Everything mirrors my resurrected Christ Mind.

Everything is all right.

Connecting Alice's Experiences in Wonderland in Tim Burton's Movie with the Problem-Solving Power of Sleeping Dreams

2010-03-17T10:15:00.048-05:00

The other night, my wife, Christine, and I went to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Walking out of the theater, I found myself thinking of one scene, in particular. At the end, soon after Alice emerges from the rabbit hole, she walks into the ongoing Garden Party. Because of her adventures down the rabbit hole, she is now certain and decisive and confident, addressing each person, one by one, resolutely solving the problem that had been left irresolute. This is quite a contrast to her state of mind at the beginning when she was uncertain and indecisive and passive. Her new-found confidence is demonstrated in the following scenes, contrasting her behavior before and after her descent into Wonderland.

Before.

HAMISH. Alice Kingsley, will you be my wife? The question hangs in the air. The musicians' bows are poised. The party has fallen silent. It seems the whole world is listening. Unsure of herself, unsure of her future, unsure of anything in that moment, Alice stammers.

ALICE. I. . .I. . .would have to say. . .everyone thinks I should. . .and there's no reason not to. . .so I suppose my answer would have to be. . .I would have to say. . . She trails off as she sees the White Rabbit leaning against a pillar, glaring at her with undisguised impatience.

After.

Alice turns to Hamish, her adventure, although unremembered, has given Alice unwavering confidence and self-awareness.

ALICE. I'm sorry Hamish, I can't marry you. You're not the right man for me.

Before.

Alice continues to look for the elusive rabbit. She hears rustling ahead and peeks around a tree. . surprising a man and a woman kissing. The woman gasps and runs off. The man turns. It's Margaret's husband, Lowell.

ALICE. Lowell?

LOWELL. Alice. We were. . .Katrina is an old friend.

ALICE. (upset) I can see you're very close. He's caught and he knows it. So he goes on the offensive.

LOWELL. You won't tell your sister about this, will you?

ALICE. I don't know. I need time to think.

LOWELL. Think of Margaret. This would be devastating to her.

ALICE. I know!

LOWELL. Marriage is based on trust. She would never trust me again. You don't want to ruin your sister's marriage, do you?

ALICE. But I'm not the one. . .

LOWELL. She must never know about this.

After.

ALICE. (to her sister) You shouldn't act so smug, Margaret. Your life may not be as perfect as you think it is. She whispers the truth about her husband in Margaret's ear. Margaret gasps and glares at the suddenly sheepish Lowell.

Before.

IMOGENE. Alice? What's this I hear that you don't want to marry Hamish?

ALICE. I didn't say that. I'm not certain. .
.
IMOGENE. Marry him, Alice. If you don't, you'll lay awake at night in your cold, cold bed, growing older and older waiting for the perfect man.

After.

ALICE. (gently to Aunt Imogene) There is no prince, Aunt Imogene. You need to talk to someone about these delusions.

Before.

Strolling with Alice in the garden, Lady Ascot sees something off.

LADY ASCOT. Incompetence The gardeners planted white roses when I specifically asked for red.

ALICE. I like white roses.

LADY ASCOT. You couldn't possibly. They're too bland.

After.

ALICE. (to Lady Ascot) I happen to love white roses, Lady Ascot, as well as rabbits.

Before.

MARGARET. Such an embarrassment. And now that Father is gone, you can't depend on Mother to support you. You don't want to be a burden, do you?
She's succeeded in making Alice feel not only insecure but guilty as well.

After.

ALICE. (turning to her mother) Don't worry, Mother. I won't be a burden. I'll find something useful to do with my life.

Finally.

ALICE (looks around) Is that everyone?

LORD ASCOT. You've left me out.

ALICE. No, I haven't. You and I have business to discuss. sir. They're all surprised to hear the word coming out of a young woman's mouth.

When we arrived home that evening after the movie, I was still musing about the connection between Alice's dreams in Wonderland, and her new state of mind that enabled her to solve the problems in her life. We decided to watch a television program, and "by chance" we watched a NOVA program entitled, "What are dreams?"

It just so happens that the theme of the program is that sleeping dreams prepare us for solving problems in our waking life, or rather, as Teachers of A Course in Miracles, we refer to it as a waking dream. There's not really any difference between sleeping dreams and waking dreams.

During the program, I was struck by one of the commentators in particular, Dr. Deidre Barrett, a professor at Harvard Medical School, who has studied extensively the connection between dreams and problem-solving. She demonstrated this connection by citing examples of musicians and writers and scientists who solved problems in their dreams that they were unable to solve during the day. For example, Stravinsky dreamed essential elements of Rite of Spring; Robert Lewis Stevenson dreamed two key scenes of his novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Mendeleev described dreaming the periodic table of the elements in its completed form.

In fact, Barrett did a scientific study entitled, "The 'Committee of Sleep': A Study of Dream Incubation for Problem Solving." The title comes from a statement by John Steinbeck, " It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it."

This is how the study was set up:

Seventy-six college students (47 women, 29 men, ages 19-24) were asked to incubate their dreams. They were instructed to select a problem of personal relevance. They were asked to write out the problem in a simple fashion. Subjects followed this procedure nightly for one week. Two raters then judged all dreams in the week's journals. (Journal of the Association of the Study of Dreams, 1993, The "Committee of Sleep": A Study of Dreams Incubation for Problem Solving, pp. 115-123, p. 1)

Here is one example of a problem and its solution:

Problem: I have applied to two clinical psychology programs and two in industrial psychology because I just can't decide which field I want to go into. Dream: A map of the United States. I am in a plane flying over this map. The pilot says we are having engine trouble and need to land and we look for a safe place on the map indicated by a light. I ask about Massachusetts which we seem to be over right then and he says all of Massachusetts is very dangerous. The lights seem to be further west. Solution: I wake up and realize that my two clinical schools are both in Massachusetts where I have spent my whole life and where my parents live. Both industrial programs are far away, Texas and California. That was because originally I was looking to stay close to home and there were no good industrial programs nearby. I realize that there is a lot wrong with staying at home and that, funny as it sounds, getting away is probably more important than which kind of program I go to. (Committee, p. 4)

Here is another:

Problem: I'm trying to decide whether to be on the softball team again this spring. I love it, but practice does take time away from my studies. I could just go to watch the games this year and still see my friends from the team. Dream: I'm camping in an open place in a tent that doesn't come all the way to the ground. People are all around staring at me. I feel very uncomfortable and exposed: Solution: The dream reminded me of the phrase "a watcher rather than a doer" which has very negative connotations for me. I don't think I'd be happy with just going to the games. (Committee, p. 5)

Here is a summary of her study:

Subjects incubated dreams addressing problems chosen by the dreamer nightly for one week. Approximately half recalled a dream which they judged to be related to their problem; a majority of these believed their dream contained a solution. Problems of a personal nature were much more likely to be viewed as solved than ones of an academic or general objective nature. (Committee, p. 2)

(I recently experienced a problem-solving dream, and I invite you to read my account in my blog post immediately preceding this one, entitled, "Learning to Move Mountains by Saying to Myself, "Yes, and.")

Alice's experience in Wonderland and the study subjects' problem-solving dreams provide powerful analogies. Alice emerges from the rabbit hole confident, and the subjects solve problems in their sleeping dreams. Nevertheless, in both cases they are still left in the waking dream, i.e., Alice returns to the ongoing Garden Party, and the subjects return to their daily lives.

As Teachers of A Course in Miracles, we know that we are walking around in a waking dream of our own making. It's just a matter of remembering to ask for help to forgive the thought-images that make up the waking dream. These two sentences towards the end of the study lead me to think that, at some level, Dr. Deirde Barrett, is also aware that something else is going on.

Perhaps the "committee of sleep" may have workers outside of the dream state. This experiment occurred at a religious college and several of the responses indicated a firm conviction that the dreams came from God. (Committee, p. 7)

There is no perhaps about it. As Teachers of God we know that there is a worker outside of the dream state. Here is the analogy: Just as Alice's experiences in Wonderland prepare her to emerge from the rabbit hole with certainty and decisiveness and confidence, so can my waking dreams be used to enable me to be more certain that I am the Holy Son of God. That is why we often use the phrase, "Utilize, don't analyze."

We can learn to give our waking dreams over to the worker, the Holy Spirit, who translates our illusory dreams into truth. We can ask, we must ask, the Holy Spirit to be the mediator.

The Holy Spirit mediates between
illusions and the truth. Since He must bridge
the gap between reality and dreams,
perception leads to knowledge through the grace
that God has given Him, to be His gift to
everyone who turns to Him for truth.
Across the bridge that He provides are dreams
all carried to the truth, to be dispelled
before the light of knowledge. There are sights
and sounds forever laid aside. And where
they were perceived before, forgiveness has
made possible perception's tranquil end.
(W-p11.7. What is the Holy Spirit? 1)

If Alice were to become a Teacher of God, she would find that she may still find herself in the duality, i.e., asking herself whether to marry Hamish, or not; to stand up to her mother, or not; to tell her sister the truth, or not. However, she would learn that choosing this dream over that dream will not lead to truth. But asking the Holy Spirit for help to forgive these dreams, recognizing their unreality, can lead to the truth that she is a Holy Son of God, and that she is in the world, but not of the world, thereby learning to "Wear the world like a loose garment." (St, Francis)

The goal the Holy Spirit's teaching sets
is just this end of dreams. For sights and sounds
must be translated from the witnesses
of fear to those of love. And when this is
entirely accomplished, learning has
achieved the only goal it has in truth.
For learning, as the Holy Spirit guides
it to the outcome He perceives for it,
becomes the means to go beyond itself,
to be replaced by the eternal truth.
(7:2)

What is helpful for her, and for us, is that the phantasmagorical figures that appear in Wonderland, like the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, and the White Queen, are, in fact, only slightly more exaggerated and distorted than the thought-images that we seem to see in our waking dreams, or what we consider the "outside" world.

"Phantasmagoria" is defined as: a shifting series of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as crated by the imagination. It is a great reminder that Alice's dreams in Wonderland and those that we seem to see in our waking dream are really not different at all. For example, you could take your thought-image of your "worst" enemy and give him red, curly hair, a lot of eye make-up, and a hat, and he becomes only a slight exaggeration of your own image that you are projecting onto him. This is how we people our world.

In this manner, Alice could come to know the truth that what appears to be without comes entirely from what is within.

Your picture of the world can only mirror what is within. The source of neither light nor darkness can be found without. Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a darkened world. Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you look upon a world of light. We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of grievances is easily passed, and cannot stand between you and your salvation. The reason is very simple. Do you really want to be in hell? Do you really want to weep and suffer and die? (W-p11.73.5)

Alice can learn moment to moment, that she can look outside, and if she is feeling pain, she can look inside and ask for help to forgive painful thoughts. Instead of saying "Nonsense" to the Queen, she can say "Nonsense" to her own grievances, her own thought-images, recognizing the illusory nature of what she pictured before. And when she experiences a moment of light, of clarity, she will see that light reflected in her world.

If you but knew how much your Father yearns
to have you recognize your sinlessness,
you would not let His Voice appeal in vain,
nor turn away from His replacement for
the fearful images and dreams you made.
The Holy Spirit understands the means
you made, by which you would attain what is
forever unattainable. And if
you offer them to Him, He will employ
the means you made for exile to restore
your mind to where it truly is at home.
(7:3)

So it all comes down to forgiveness, forgiving thoughts in your mind that have no source in reality, leading to knowing exactly who you are.

From knowledge, where He has been placed by God,
the Holy Spirit calls to you, to let
forgiveness rest upon your dreams, and be
restored to sanity and peace of mind.
Without forgiveness will your dreams remain
to terrify you. And the memory
of all your Father's Love will not return
to signify the end of dreams has come.
(7:4)

Accept your Father's gift. It is a Call
from Love to Love, that It be but Itself.
The Holy Spirit is His gift, by which
the quietness of Heaven is restored
to God's beloved Son.

For Alice, now, there is no way that she could possibly refuse to take on her function, and I can just hear her emphatic answer to this question that ends the passage:

Would you refuse to take the function of completing God, when all He wills is that you be complete? (7:5)

ALICE. "Nonsense!"

Learning to Move Mountains by Saying to Myself, "Yes, and."

2010-03-01T09:42:00.019-06:00

Lately, because of some things that “appear” to be going on in my life, my trials and tribulations, I have found it necessary, in fact, absolutely essential, to rely more and more on A Course in Miracles, particularly, the lessons for each day, to remind myself, constantly, of the truth of who I am, so that the falsity of what I think I am can fade into the nothingness from whence it came.

It is not necessary to go into the content of the things going on in my life because the content changes from moment to moment; it is the form that needs attention. The form is always a thought-image that has no source in reality. When I let go of the thought-image, the content simply melts away, much like an ice cube sliding across a hot, flat grill; as the ice (form) melts, the water (content) evaporates into nothingness. The heat of the grill represents transformation. All that it required is the loving warmth of gratitude and the right belief and the constancy of trust and the certainty of forgiveness.

It is no surprise that, while constantly asking for help, I had this remarkable dream the other night.

I am on a mountain, and I am walking along a road leading to the bottom where I am supposed to attend a meeting. I go to the edge of the road, looking down the side of the mountain, and I decide to bound my way down. I simply jump and land softly, bending my knees, crouching and then springing up again, and leaping downward again. This was fun and easy and simply a delight.

Close to the bottom I come upon some beautiful Roman ruins, fallen marble columns lying in soft sand. I quickly walk through them, wondering how far it is to the bottom, and I come to a short, gently-inclined dirt path. At the bottom is a vertical board blocking the entrance to the road, and I easily break through it.

I woke up thinking that I had made my trials and tribulations into mountains, and I remembered a Biblical passage where Jesus says that you can move mountains.

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:20

Firmly standing in the state of mind of the peace of God, I can forgive thoughts that have no source in reality; I can, literally, remove thought-images that seem as large as mountains. Blissfully bounding down a mountain is a demonstration of this.

This simply requires my belief that it is possible because it is only a mistaken belief that makes thoughts seem mountainous in the first place.

What keeps the world in chains but your beliefs?
And what can save the world except your Self?
Belief is powerful indeed. The thoughts
you hold are mighty, and illusions are
as strong in their effects as is the truth.
A madman thinks the world he sees is real,
and does not doubt it. Nor can he be swayed
by questioning his thoughts' effects. It is
but when their source is raised to question that
the hope of freedom comes to him at last.
W-p1.132.1

And, then, I remembered, once again, that trials are but opportunities for me to practice coming into the awareness of the truth of who I am.

Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn
presented once again, so where you made
a faulty choice before you now can make
a better one, and thus escape all pain
that what you chose before has brought to you.
In every difficulty, all distress,
and each perplexity Christ calls to you
and gently says, 'My brother, choose again'.
He would not leave one source of pain unhealed,
nor any image left to veil the truth.
He would remove all misery from you
whom God created altar unto joy.
He would not leave you comfortless, alone
in dreams of hell, but would release your mind
from everything that hides His face from you.
His holiness is yours because He is
the only Power that is real in you.
His strength is yours because He is the Self
That God created as His only Son.
T-31.Vlll.3

For me, practice is essential. Over the years, I have practiced in different ways, and right now, this is how I practice moving mountains, and it is as simple as ice sliding across a hot grill.

As often as I remember, I focus my awareness is on breathing in and breathing out, breathing in and breathing out.

For these moments, my awareness is not on my thought-images showing me a meaningless world. These thought-images have nothing to do with my True Self. In fact, my awareness of a particular thought-image is preventing me from experiencing my Self as God’s Son; thus, I am depriving myself of the awareness of His Love.

My preoccupation with a thought-image prevents me from being aware of the Thoughts of God.

God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.
W-p1.49

Not my will, but Your Will. Not mine, but Thine.

Now, and I mean, in this moment of peace, I can say to myself when thought-images come into view, “Yes, and,” meaning let them arise “and” let them go. Let them melt away.

This practice enables me to shift from looking at the thought-images and saying “Yes, but.” It is a very subtle difference that the “but” enables me to, encourages me to, linger for too long on the thought-images that have no source in reality, thereby making them seem real. It is a very subtle difference that I use to keep me separate from God. The difference between “and” and “but” is as subtle as that “b,” but it is there.

Consciously, breathing in and breathing out and saying “Yes, and” enables me to do this.

Let go all the trivial things that churn and bubble on the surface of your mind, and reach down and below them to the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a place in you where there is perfect peace. There is a place in you where nothing is impossible. There is a place in you where the strength of God abides.
W-p1.47.7:3-6

Ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Robert Frost, "Nothing Gold Can Stay:" But Golden Inspiration is Eternal

2010-02-18T12:05:00.023-06:00

Last week, I came across a book of Robert Frost poetry called Seasons. What is unique about this beautiful book is that Frost's poems are grouped according to the seasons and powerfully illustrated by exceptional photographs. For example, here is a Spring poem.

Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

And here is the illustrative photograph.

This photograph provides a perfect context for understanding the meaning of the poem.

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.

When you look at a tree, say, a Maple, during the day in late summer, the leaves are all totally green. However, on a clear day, the leaves, catching the early-morning light, are bright gold. But that hue won't last, as the sun moves on.

Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.

That early, golden leaf, briefly, looks like a flower.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,

Just as the golden sun moves on and gold leaves return to green, so was man tempted by the serpent to give up his golden innocence by eating of the apple of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, thereby causing his grief and expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

So he drove out the man;
and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,
and a flaming sword which turned every way,
to keep the way of the tree of life.
Genesis. 3:24

So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

The analogy is tight: dawn and day, gold and green, innocence and grief.

At first, after reading the poem this time, I ask myself what is there about this poem that makes it last, that makes it valuable. After all, it is a grim reminder of the human condition; nothing in time and space will last, and by immersing ourselves in the illusion of time and space, we have expelled ourselves from eternity.

Then it occurred to me:

This poem, itself, is gold because it is an expression of Thoughts that come from out of time, that come from a part of our mind, the timeless Thoughts of God.

The poem lasts because it stems from the Tree of Life. The poet's inspiration, an artist's inspiration, comes from the awareness of God's Thoughts. "Inspire" comes from the Latin inspirare, meaning "to breathe in;" we breathe in the breath of God, spirit, the Holy Spirit, God's Voice, the Bridge between time and eternity.

It is quite possible to listen to God's Voice all through the day without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not. W-p1.49.1:1,2

There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions and lead my feet. I am walking steadily towards truth. W-p1.60.(49).2:3,4

All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of inner stillness. The mind then gives form to the creative impulse or insight.
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now, (Namaste, 1999), p. 24

It is the human condition to be in the world, to be in time, to have thoughts of good and evil, without an awareness of a reference point out of time, the stillness of God, the peace of God. Adam and Eve walked out of Eden, paradise, eternity into time, and we are doing the same thing.

You have elected to be in time rather than eternity, and therefore believe you are in time. Yet your election is both free and alterable. You do not belong in time. Your place is only in eternity (Eden), where God Himself placed you forever.
T-5.VI.1:4-6

It is possible to be in the world, and not of the world, and although Frost did not use this terminology, he had an out of the world awareness that enabled him to tap into inspiriting thoughts. (OK, I meant to type "inspiring," but I typed "inspiriting," and I can't help but leave it. To be inspired means to breathe in the Voice of the Holy Spirit.) For this experience, Frost uses the word "delight," and I like to focus on the light in the word.

Here is Jesus:

When I said "I am come as a light into the world," I meant that I came to share the light with you. T-5.VI. 11:1

Frost expresses this in an essay entitled, The Figure a Poem Makes, his Introduction to his Collected Poetry.

A poem begins in delight, it inclines to the impulse, it assumes direction with the first line laid down, it runs a course of lucky events, and ends in a clarification of life. For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I knew. I am in a place, in a situation, as if I had materialized from cloud or risen out of the ground.

I like to think that Frost is describing here what it feels like to be transported to a state of mind receptive to inspiration.

There is a glad recognition of the long lost and the rest follows. Step by step the wonder of unexpected supply keeps growing. The impressions most useful to my purpose seem always those I was unaware of. It must be a revelation, or a series of revelations.

That which is eternal is being revealed in his heightened awareness.

Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting. A poem may be worked over once it is in being, but may not be worried into being. Its most precious quality will remain its having run itself and carried away the poet with it. Read it a hundred times: it will forever keep its freshness as a petal keeps its fragrance. It can never lose its sense of a meaning that once unfolded by surprise as it went.

Touched by God, the golden innocence is always fresh and new.

Days come and God, and the gold of inspiration is eternal. (OK, I am going to leave it like that; I meant to type "go," but I am delighted to see that "God" is most appropriate.)

Only gold can stay.

The First 7 Lessons of A Course in Miracles: Emerging from our Immersion in Thought

2010-01-13T13:14:00.036-06:00

It has been one week now since the beginning of the New Year, and I have been doing the early lessons of A Course in Miracles each morning, and they are brand new.

This morning an idea came floating into my mind, a phrase from the past, a Zen question, “Does a fish know water?” And my next thought was, “To what extent am I aware, moment-to-moment, of my total immersion in my thoughts making up this dream, this illusion, this mirage, surrounding me?” To what extent am I so familiar with this imaginary world that I am oblivious of floating in it? Preoccupied with form, I forget that I am formless; while submerged in the world, I forget that I am not of the world. It is always a matter of forgetting and remembering.

My habitual preoccupation with my immersion in thought is the reason Jesus begins His Workbook as He does:

Lesson 1, Nothing I see means anything.

Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see. (Paragraph 1: Line 1)

Sitting on my couch, looking around the room, I slow down and glance at objects, one at a time. But I find that I can hardly look at an object and move on because associations rapidly pour into my mind, instantaneously. . . the new bird feeder attached to the window, my son, Stephen, gave me that for Christmas. . .my coffee cup, containing French-pressed Italian Roast from World Market. . .the wood-burning stove, the Woodman delivers wood from northern Wisconsin.

Here I am practicing that none of these thoughts mean anything, and not for the first time, either, and yet I automatically bring associations to each object my eyes light upon, giving each object a particular meaning. Thus, in my immersion, Jesus offers a lifeline, a reminder, this truth, nothing, no thing, no object I see, no thoughts I think, means anything.

(At the end of this post, each of the 7 Lessons is printed in its entirely.)

Lesson 2, I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.

Oh, I see. Each object has a personal meaning, and another person looking at it would see only a meaning personal to him/her. Furthermore, the phrase, Oh, I see, reminds me that we associate seeing with understanding. The false connection between seeing/understanding is built into our language.

It is also obvious that when you and I look at something, some thing, we each see our own meaning, making true communication between us extremely difficult.

If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. 1:5

Now, this gets me every time. Not only do I personally give meaning to every thing, every thing is not even there until I perceive it! I am walking around with this camera-head, making personally real only what I focus on, while all other objects disappear because they are not appearing in my camera lens, my eyes. . . what was behind you.

Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. 2:1

When Jesus says relative importance to you, He reminds me of the associations I am making rapidly, automatically, habitually. Now I understand why Master Teacher often referred to us as “Associations,” and those of us at Endeavor Academy belong to an “Association.”

Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room.

Because I am in a constant state of mind of associating ideas with objects, it is impossible for me in this state to understand, or to see, any thing as it is.
Anything is suitable if you see it. 1:5

Here we go again. . .if you see it. The object is not even there until I see it, until my camera-eyes snap a picture of it. As far as the metaphor of a camera, would it only be so that my eyes were as objective as a camera.

Some of the things you see may have emotionally-charged meaning for you. 1:6

To this point, Jesus has only emphasized thoughts and understanding and associations, and now He brings in emotions and feelings. Jesus is methodically revealing to us exactly how our minds work. And once again, the teaching is not to resist, not to stifle these thoughts and feelings, but simply be aware of them and lay such feelings aside. 1:7

The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them. 2:1

All I need do is clear my mind, and that is everything. Most likely, I was not even aware that my mind was cloudy in the first place. Probably, before this exercise, I had no reference point other than my total immersion in the world of thoughts and objects. And Jesus slips in now; now, this moment, is the only time there is. Being present with a clear mind is the only time there is. Now is not an interval between the past and present; it is a state of mind of clarity.

Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.

The only thing that could possibly cloud my mind is a thought. Because of the rapidity of thought, I am not aware of the nano-second of a clear mind before and after the cloud passes. Jesus asks us merely to note these thoughts, not associate with them. He tells us not to evaluate them as good or bad. Just be aware of each thought as it rises and falls, as it floats across our minds. We really cannot label them as good or bad, anyway.

This is why they do not mean anything. 1;7

These passing thoughts that we hold near and dear mean nothing. Thoughts are thoughts and real meaning is something else.

None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by
them. 2:3

Now Jesus makes a distinction between unreal and real thoughts. This is intriguing because I was not aware for my entire life of a layer of real thoughts covered over by thoughts that are unreal, meaningless.

Jesus uses the word train; He is training our minds to learn to separate the meaningless from the meaningful. In truth, we are full of meaning, although we have squandered a great deal of time on things with less, actually, no meaning. Jesus moves us from things that appear outside, to the thoughts we experience inside.

It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. 3:3

When did I ever look at thoughts before. Prior to this time, thoughts were to me like water to a fish. Yet, Jesus cautions:

You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied. 5:4

There it is. I have a chance to become aware, but not pointlessly preoccupied with meaningless thoughts because I am being trained purposefully.

Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.

I'd like to think of myself as a reasonable person, i.e., I can connect the dots; I can move from facts to conclusions. I can certainly be reasonable about my upsets. I have a lot of practice connecting my upsets with persons, (Christine, my wife, did not do what I expected her to do.), situations (The squirrels are ruining my bird feeders.), and events (It is 5 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit, and my car won’t start.). I am reasonably upset.

Michael Brown, the author of The Presence Process, makes a great play on the word, “upset.” Here's an example in the training:

I am not angry at Christine for the reason I think. 2:3

Michael Brown calls these upsets, “set ups.” They are opportunities for us to come into the recognition that these thoughts do not mean anything, either about the event, or the feeling. Jesus gives us the opportunity to use these upsets as set ups by connecting the event with the feeling, realizing that they are both of our own making, based on thoughts that have no source in reality. In fact, this preoccupation is covering up, clouding over, our real thoughts. We can learn to use the set up to break through our "reasonable" connecting of the dots, connecting events and feelings.

Lesson, 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.

Now I am learning that I am applying my reasonability improperly. I am not connecting the dots properly. There are no dots. My emotional reactions, and what I think is causing them are not connected. I have been set up, heavily invested in the premise that seeing is believing. Yet, Jesus brought that into question in is His very first Lesson, Nothing I see means anything. Here is the first exercise in Lesson 6;

I am angry at Christine because I see something that is not there. 1:4

Here is how Jesus concludes His Introduction to His Course:

Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.

Recognizing the difference between what is real and what is unreal will lead to my peace of mind, my clarity of mind, my experience of now.

Lesson 7, I see only the past.

In this Lesson, Jesus makes clear why we are simply associations, associative thinkers. I am simply incapable of looking at an object without seeing, or understanding , it in reference to my past experiences.

Here is a demonstration of how we see only the past.

Please glance at this sketch.

Now look at this picture.

What do you see? The chances are good that when you looked at the picture, you associated it with the sketch and saw a young woman. You may say, what else is there to see?

Please look at this sketch.

Now look back at the compossite picture. What did you see this time? You probably saw an old woman.

Our past thoughts predispose us to seeing what we are now looking at. Notice the rapidity of past thoughts and the impact they have on the present.

So, Happy New Year! I am so grateful to begin the New Year being reminded that all my thoughts about form mean nothing because all things in form are given current meaning by past references. This is a good beginning that will lead me to experience what is real and formless, and Herein lies the peace of God.

And now back to my beginning query: “Does a fish know water?” A fish cannot know water without a reference point different from water. I am rather amazed that while writing this post, an article appeared in the newspaper that announces that there is just such a fish. Paleontologists in Poland report finding the footprint of a tetrapod.

The water-dwelling ancestors of modern-day mammals, reptiles and birds, emerged onto land millions of years earlier than previously believed. A set of fossilized footprints show that the first tetrapods—a term applied to any four-footed animal with a spine—were treading upon ground 397 million years ago, well before scientists thought they existed.

This was a critical period in evolution when sea-based vertebrates took their first steps toward becoming dinosaurs, mammals, and—eventually—human beings, giving our fishy forebears an incentive to explore open land. (Emergence of 4-legged animals pushed back, Raphael G. Satter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Section B, p. 3, January 9, 2020.)

A tetrapod leaving his footprint on dry land now knows water in reference to knowing land.

Now, this fish knows water!

Dear Reader, this may be a long way to go to explain the idea for us who are totally immersed in our meaningless thoughts to recognize with gratitude that Jesus in His Course in Miracles is guiding us to the experience of a reference point, a footprint, enabling us to stand on the firm ground of reality, the peace of God.

In Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, Jesus offers several phrases, expressing a place to stand, reference points enabling us to emerge from our immersion in thought, anchors to hold us steady.

. . .perfect peace and safety

The eternal calm of the Son of God.

The Love of God within you.

. . .a blanket of protection and surety the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.

In summary, here is the analogy:

fish: water

man: thought

And:

fish: a tetrapod's footprint

man: The Love of God within you

In this New Year, as we continue to walk in the world of form, and not of the world, being formless, we need to be reminded constantly that we are God's Son, sustained by His Love. This reference point will strengthen us to remember when we forget, to help us remember, to help us emerge from our long immersion in thought.

Here is Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, in its entirety.

Here is the answer to every problem that will confront you, today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, "protective" clothing, influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the "right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers.

All these things are your replacements for the Love of God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body identification. They are songs of praise to the ego. Do not put your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you.

Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances. It will lift you out of every trial, and raise you high above all the perceived dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It will transport you into a state of mind that nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God.

Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.

For ten minutes, twice today, morning and evening, let the idea for today sink deep into your consciousness. Repeat it, think about it, let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow peace to flow over you like a blanket of protection and surety. Let no idle and foolish thoughts enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.

Happy New Year!

* * *

Lesson 1, Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.

Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see:

This table does not mean anything.

This chair does not mean anything.
This hand does not mean anything.
This foot does not mean anything.
This pen does not mean anything.

Then look farther away from your immediate area, and apply the idea to a wider range:

That door does not mean anything.
That body does not mean anything.
That lamp does not mean anything.
That sign does not mean anything.
That shadow does not mean anything.

Notice that these statements are not arranged in any order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied. That is the purpose of the exercise. The statement should merely be applied to anything you see. As you practice the idea for the day, use it totally indiscriminately. Do not attempt to apply it to everything you see, for these exercises should not become ritualistic. Only be sure that nothing you see is specifically excluded. One thing is like another as far as the application of the idea is concerned.

Each of the first three lessons should not be done more than twice a day each, preferably morning and evening. Nor should they be attempted for more than a minute or so, unless that entails a sense of hurry. A comfortable sense of leisure is essential.

Lesson 2, 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.

The exercises with this idea are the same as those for the first one. Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the idea to whatever your glance rests on. Then increase the range outward. Turn your head so that you include whatever is on either side. If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. Remain as indiscriminate as possible in selecting subjects for its application, do not concentrate on anything in particular, and do not attempt to include everything you see in a given area, or you will introduce strain.

Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. Take the subjects simply as you see them. Try to apply the exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an arm or an apple. The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely that your eyes have lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything particular, but be sure that nothing is specifically excluded.

Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street, from this, window, in this place].

Apply this idea in the same way as the previous ones, without making distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a proper subject for applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the suitability of anything for application of the idea. These are not exercises in judgment. Anything is suitable if you see it. Some of the things you see may have emotionally charged meaning for you. Try to lay such feelings aside, and merely use these things exactly as you would anything else.

The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them. It is therefore essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment, in selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be applied. For this purpose one thing is like another; equally suitable and therefore equally useful.

Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.

They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place]. Unlike the preceding ones, these exercises do not begin with the idea for the day. In these practice periods, begin with noting the thoughts that are crossing your mind for about a minute. Then apply the idea to them. If you are already aware of unhappy thoughts, use them as subjects for the idea. Do not, however, select only the thoughts you think are "bad." You will find, if you train yourself to look at your thoughts, that they represent such a mixture that, in a sense, none of them can be called "good" or "bad." This is why they do not mean anything.

In selecting the subjects for the application of today's idea, the usual specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use "good" thoughts as well as "bad." None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by them. The "good" ones are but shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows make sight difficult. The "bad" ones are blocks to sight, and make seeing impossible. You do not want either.

This is a major exercise, and will be repeated from time to time in somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in the first steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful. It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of training your mind to recognize what is the same and what is different.

In using your thoughts for application of the idea for today, identify each thought by the central figure or event it contains; for example:

This thought about _______ does not mean anything. It is like the things I see in this room [on this street, and so on].

You can also use the idea for a particular thought that you recognize as harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a substitute for the more random procedures to be followed for the exercises. Do not, however, examine your mind for more than a minute or so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied.

Further, since these exercises are the first of their kind, you may find the suspension of judgment in connection with thoughts particularly difficult. Do not repeat these exercises more than three or four times during the day. We will return to them later.

Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.

This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.

When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset, and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:

I am not angry at ______ for the reason I think.
I am not afraid of ______ for the reason I think.

But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for "sources" of upset in which you believe, and forms of upset which you think result.

In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:

There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.

You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first of this:

I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.

Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of the feeling as you experience it. Further examples are:

I am not worried about ______ for the reason I think.
I am not depressed about ______ for the reason I think.

Three or four times during the day is enough.

Lesson 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.

The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:

I am angry at ______ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ______ because I see something that is not there.

Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you, and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.

Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:

There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

And:

I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.

Lesson 7, I see only the past.

This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.

It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.
It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.

Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first.

Look at a cup, for example. Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast and so on? Are not your aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else would you know whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? What do you know about this cup except what you learned in the past? You would have no idea what this cup is, except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see it?

Look about you. This is equally true of whatever you look at. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye. For example:

I see only the past in this pencil.
I see only the past in this shoe. I see only the past in this hand.
I see only the past in that body.
I see only the past in that face.

Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing specifically. Glance briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next. Three or four practice periods, each to last a minute or so, will be enough.

The Only Thing Standing Between Me and the Experience of God's Perfection is a Thought

2009-12-14T09:12:00.018-06:00

There is a place where I go several times during the day to experience peace, and thank God, it is never very far away. It is my couch. On my left is my desk, piled high with books, and over the top of them I can look out into the woods. In front of me, just beyond the wood-burning stove in the corner to my left, is a window looking out over our lawn and trees and our neighbor's house. To see her house, I look trough hanging chimes and bird feeders and colorful twirlies catching the wind. On my right are windows and the door looking across the lawn to the street and the houses across the way.

Early on this particular morning, a cold day in December, -2 degrees Fahrenheit, I sit down to read the day's Lesson, 346, Today the peace of God envelops me, and I forget all things except His Love.

Father, I wake today with miracles
correcting my perception of all things.
And so begins the day I share with You
as I will share eternity, for time
has stepped aside today. I do not seek
the things of time, and so I will not look
upon them. What I seek today transcends
all laws of time and things perceived in time.
I would forget all things except Your Love.
I would abide in You, and know no laws
except Your law of love. And I would find
the peace which You created for Your Son,
forgetting all the foolish toys I made
as I behold Your glory and my own.

And when the evening comes today, we will
remember nothing but the peace of God.
For we will learn today what peace is ours,
when we forget all things except God's Love.

After reading the Lesson very slowly, sitting here enveloped by peace, I look up and study the yellow twisty twirly hanging in front of the window, absolutely covered with ice, the frozen water having dripped down to a very small point, catching the golden sunlight.

I sit transfixed, experiencing the reflection of my peaceful mind, and then, and then, a thought enters in, shattering the peaceful moment.

This is the thought: "If this house were insulated properly, there wouldn't be icicles."

Am I insane, or what? Are we all insane?

I went on thinking that the heat burns through the ceiling, pushes through the roof, and forms ice dams that melt into icicles, causing high heating bills for natural gas.

So, of course, the Lesson is perfect. I haven't even left my house, and I need a miracle.

Father, I wake today with miracles correcting my perception of all things. And so begins the day I share with You as I will share eternity, for time has stepped aside today.

For a moment, time, indeed, had stepped aside today. But then, it suddenly intruded with a vengeance.

I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look upon them.

Just then, my wife, Christine, came into the room, and I told her what was going on. I said that now I would sit quietly and ask for help to try to regain my peace, and then look at the icy twirly again.

She said, "Too late."

She was right. I was asking for an outcome based on what "I" wanted. I was not asking to be in eternity with God. I was making the common mistake of asking God for help on my terms.

I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look upon them.

The answer to a prayer does not lie in things at all.

I would forget all things except Your Love.

And now it flashed on my mind how Jesus is so exacting in his use of words to train our minds to see differently. Dear Reader, look at the word would, above. As I put on my English teacher's hat, I am going to remind you that this is the "conditional tense" of the verb. Using this tense, instead of, say, the future, "will," reminds me that what I experience is conditional on the choice I make between God's Love and fear.

I would abide in You, and know no laws except Your law of love.

If I were successful in forgetting all things, I would abide in God and finding peace, I would transcend the world. Experiencing transcendence is conditional on the choice I make. In every moment I am choosing to invest, either in God, or in thoughts that have no source in Reality. And, of course, there is really no choice at all. There is only God's perfection.

And I would find the peace which You created for Your Son, forgetting all the foolish toys I made as I behold Your glory and my own.

And now I sit and experience peace and open my eyes and see, or rather, experience the peace in the reflection I gaze upon, mirroring the peace in my mind, looking through "things."

And when the evening comes today, we will
remember nothing but the peace of God.
For we will learn today what peace is ours,
when we forget all things except God's Love.

“No BUT’s about it.” Bringing into Application the Principles of A Course in Miracles: Ray and Christine

2009-12-10T12:24:00.014-06:00

At Endeavor Academy we have daily morning Sessions, and in the afternoons we have classes where students have an opportunity in smaller, interactive groups to bring into application the principles of A Course in Miracles.

Yesterday, in our class we decided to share our personal mission statements that we had prepared in advance, each of us taking turns standing in front of the class to make our declarations. We listened in hushed silence, marveling at each deeply-felt expressions, each so individual, so powerful. What came to mind is a prism, the single light coming through and manifesting in so many individual, brilliant colors. We are, indeed, bright rays of God's light.

Here is my statement, and then my wife, Christine’s.

“No BUT’s about it.”

My mission, moment-to-moment, is to remember this:

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me. Lesson 199

The key here is in the word still; in my stillness of mind I am in the experience of being as God created me. This stillness is marked by the absence of mind-chatter, thoughts that have no source in Reality, thoughts that make up a world that is not Real.

In the book Embraced by the Light, Betty Edie “died” on the operating table, and she said later: My first impression was that I was free. My sense of freedom was limitless, and it seemed as if I had been like this forever.
Yes, we are as God created us before we came into this life, while we are here, and when we return Home.

For me, it is always a matter of forgetting and remembering. When I forget that I am God’s son, I say things like this to my self:

Perception is a mirror, not a fact. Lesson 304

I am in the world, and not of the world.

“It is not what you do, but the state of mind in which you do it,” Brother Laurence.

“No matter where you go, there you are,” Buckaroo Banzai
No matter where you go in time and space, you are home in eternity.

It makes a difference,
But it doesn’t matter.
That which appears to happen seems to make a difference in time and space, and it does not matter in eternity.

I am affected only by my thoughts. Lesson 358

Now, the thing is to be vigilant.

I watch myself very carefully so that when something “bad” happens, I don’t say, “That happened, BUT.” If I say to myself BUT, then I will continue entertaining it in my mind. However, if I say “That happened AND, I will be heading to a state of mind where the negative experience will melt into the peace of God. I am in the world, AND not of the world. I want to say this just happened AND this drama unfolding is not so. Help!

Simply do this. Be still. Lesson 189

And in this stillness I am receptive.
God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day. Lesson 49
In this stillness I am open to hear the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I particularly like this phrase, “Wear the world like a loose garment.”

From the book, Twenty-Four Hours a Day.

I must live in the world and yet live apart with God. I can go forth from my secret times of communion with God to the work of the world. To get the spiritual strength I need, my inner life must be lived apart from the world. I must wear the world as a loose garment. Nothing in the world should seriously upset me, as long as my inner life is lived with God. All successful living arises from this inner life. March 29

And now I want to look at a brother and say, “Namaste,” the Christ in me greets the Christ in you and be in the experience of it.

My latest practice is to see my “worst enemy” as the Christ because if I see him or her any less, I am not experiencing the Christ in myself, and I am projecting my fears onto him or her, and I am depriving my self of the peace of God, and now I am asking for help to experience this peace, experience the Christ, because I know that in reality:

My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me. Lesson 199

* * *

Here is Christine's.

My Mission Statement

Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31

Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39

My mission is to immerse myself in God. I Rest in God. In applying this to my being will bring me to quiet, peace and a state of grace. By remaining vigilant and constant moment to moment, I can extend my serenity and peace, remaining in a state of grace. It will be my privilege to give of myself in whatever manner is required.

And as I Rest in God I am renewed. And as I recognize the truth in me, I give myself away in pure extension. By recognizing the Christ in me, I can then see the Christ in everyone I encounter. When greeting a brother, I vow to consciously acknowledge the Christ by saying “Namaste”, the Christ in me greets the Christ in you. This creates a clean slate in my mind to be receptive, activating a channel to receive the Voice of the Holy Spirit. Now I am truly open. It will be my privilege to give to my brother. I will be a light that reflects love and peace and pure extension. I will come to know that, feel that, and understand that everything I see, feel, touch is a emanation of my mind, and when I love my extensions, I can truly love myself. I will rejoice in life because of who I am. I am as God created me. His Son can suffer nothing. And I am His Son.

I am the Son of God. Nobody can contain my spirit, nor impose on me a limitation God created not.

And I remind myself that God wants for me only happiness.

Let me remember love is happiness, and nothing else brings joy. And so I choose to entertain no substitutes for love.

Happy Thanksgiving! All things that live bring gifts to you.

2009-11-25T11:10:00.008-06:00

Early this morning I am sitting on the couch,
just looking out the window before doing the Lesson.
I catch some movement off to my right,
and I look over and see the brown leaves on the low-hanging boughs
just above the driveway,
moving up and down and back and forth, joyously.
I look away, scanning the yard, and much to my surprise,
there is no other movement, there is no breeze,
it is utterly still.
It’s as if they are waving just to me,
and I look over and wave back.

There is a light in you which cannot die;
whose presence is so holy that the world
is sanctified because of you. All things
that live bring gifts to you, and offer them
in gratitude and gladness at your feet.
The scent of flowers is their gift to you.
The waves bow down before you, and the trees
extend their arms to shield you from the heat,
and lay their leaves before you on the ground
that you may walk in softness, while the wind
sinks to a whisper round your holy head.
W-p1.156.4

The Fall of the Berlin Wall and Robert Frost's Poem, The Mending Wall

2009-11-09T13:19:00.017-06:00

Yesterday, I was reading newspaper articles about the Twentieth Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, November 9, 1989. While reading, I was surprised and pleased at what came floating into my mind, Robert Frost’s poem, Mending Wall, written long before the Wall went up.

What the poem does is bring out the symbolic significance of the Wall, like a barrier in our minds, a wall of fear and darkness separating us from love and light. Here are the first two lines of the poem:

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it.

The frozen ground-ground swell is like the light penetrating darkness.

Later in the poem, the speaker contrasts this recognition with his neighbor’s idea that 'Good fences make good neighbors', noting that he moves in darkness.

Here is the poem.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

While the theme of the poem is set in the first two lines, the speaker matter-of-factly details the repairing of the wall for the next 23 lines, and then he thinks:

There where it is we do not need the wall.

When he tells this to his neighbor, he can only repeat his father’s saying,
'Good fences make good neighbors.'

Although the speaker does not name what does not love a wall, calling it something, he is aware at some level that it refers to the light and love that he is; at some point along the way, he had caught a glimpse of the truth of his wholeness.

Yet, his neighbor is moving in darkness, aware only of his separateness from God, having learned from his father who was a liar from the beginning in the sense of the human conditioning being passed on, deceiving from generation to generation.

Holiness can never be really hidden in darkness, but you can deceive yourself about it. The deception makes you fearful because you realize in your heart it is a deception and you exert enormous effort to establish its reality. T-1.lV.2:1,2

In this darkness, he moves like an old-stone savage armed.

He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.

This is the darkness of separation in illusion. There is, however, an end to his journey in darkness, and the fall of the Wall gives us a physical demonstration.

There is a hush in Heaven, a happy expectancy, a little pause of gladness in acknowledgement of the journey's end. For Heaven knows you well, as you know Heaven. No illusions stand between you and your brother now. Look not upon the little wall of shadows. The sun has risen over it. How can a shadow keep you from the sun? No more can you be kept by shadows from the light in which illusions end. Every miracle is but the end of an illusion. Such was the journey; such its ending. And in the goal of truth which you accepted must all illusions end.
T-19.lV.6

And the Wall and the illusions came tumbling down.

And all the king’s men and all the king’s horses
couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Simply Letting a Single Thought Melt into Stillness Dismantles an Entire Hallucination

2009-10-16T11:18:00.022-05:00

Several weeks ago, three Texas fishermen were rescued from atop their capsized boat in the Gulf of Mexico, after having been stranded for eight days. The men, Tressel Hawkins, 43, James Phillips, 30, and Curtis Hall, 28, were found sitting on their twenty-three foot catamaran, 180 miles from land, having endured hunger, blistering heat, scares from sharks, and hallucinations.

The men rationed their salvaged bubble gum, crackers, beer and chips and used a hose to suck fresh water out of the internal “washdown” tank. Fishermen often keep such a tank to wash fish slime off their boat when they are out in the salt water. “We’d eat crackers one day, and then a handful of chips,” Phillips said. “Everything tasted like gasoline and saltwater.” (Texas Boaters Fought Heat and Hunger, USA Today, 8/31/2009, Section 1, p. 1)

What first caught my attention in this account is that they started hallucinating about the fourth or fifth day.

“We started hallucinating about people dropping off food and water,” Phillips said. “And we were talking to them, but they weren’t there.” (Texas Boaters, p. 1)

What is fascinating to me is how Hawkins, in particular, dealt with his hallucinations.

Hawkins said he initially wondered whether his rescuers were another figment of his imagination. “My first reaction was, ‘Is this really real?’ You must have to kind of sit back and say is this real or hallucination. You have to wake yourself up three or four times to make sure it is real.” (Texas Boaters, p. 1)

Now, what you and I know, and Hawkins may not, is that he is continuing to hallucinate now while safe at home, and we do, too, when we are not experiencing the peace of God and seeing with the eyes of Christ. We hallucinate each moment we take for real the dream that we are making up by believing that what we see with our eyes has reality, believing in our miscreations. We hallucinate when we listen to the voice of the ego, rather than the Voice for God. This is one way Jesus expresses it in A Course in Miracles.

The distractions of the ego may seem to interfere with your learning, but the ego has no power to distract you unless you give it the power to do so. The ego’s voice is an hallucination. T-8.l.2:1-2

The root meaning of the word distract is helpful here. It comes from the Latin, distractus, meaning “to draw away from.” We can choose not to give into the temptation of being drawn away from experiencing the peace of God. We can stand still for a moment and question the reality of our dream. Hawkins teaches us to kind of sit back and say is this real or hallucination. He did not, automatically, give it power.

You cannot expect it to say “I am not real.” Yet you are not asked to dispel your hallucinations alone. You are merely asked to evaluate them in terms of their results to you. If you do not want them on the basis of loss of peace, they will be removed from your mind for you. T-8.l.2:3-6

The word hallucinate comes from the Latin hallucinatus, meaning “to wander in the mind, in the sense of to have an illusion.” When we wander from the state of mind of the peace of God, we end up distracted by images in time and space, walking through an illusory world of our own making, believing it to be real.

Jesus tells us very early in His Text:

You are much too tolerant of mind wandering, and are passively condoning your mind’s miscreations. T-2.VI.4: 6

What if you recognized this world is an hallucination? What if you really understood you made it up? What if you realized that those who seem to walk about in it, to sin and die, attack and murder and destroy themselves, are wholly unreal? Could you have faith in what you see, if you accepted this? And would you see it? T-20.Vlll.7.3:3-7

Hallucinations disappear when they are recognized for what they are.

That is why I love so much the lesson that Hawkins teaches.

“My first reaction was, ‘Is this really real?’ You must have to kind of sit back and say is this real or hallucination.

My God! That’s all I have to do. I just have to step back for a moment and ask if this is real?

This is Lesson 155, I will step back and let Him lead the way.

The world is an illusion. Those who choose
to come to it are seeking for a place
where they can be illusions, and avoid
their own reality. Yet when they find
their own reality is even here,
then they step back and let it lead the way.
What other choice is really theirs to make?
To let illusions walk ahead of truth
is madness. But to let illusion sink
behind the truth and let the truth stand forth
as what it is, is merely sanity.
W-p1.155.2

This is Lesson 182, I will be still an instant and go home.

When you are still an instant, when the world
recedes from you, when valueless ideas
cease to have value in your restless mind,
then will you hear His Voice. So poignantly
He calls to you that you will not resist
Him longer. In that instant He will take
you to His home, and you will stay with Him
in perfect stillness, silent and at peace,
beyond all words, untouched by fear and doubt,
sublimely certain that you are at home.
W-p182.8

For the past couple of weeks, I have been actively practicing stepping back and being still. It came to me one night just before going to bed, while I was sitting quietly, simply being aware of breathing in and breathing out, that I could practice doing this during the day from moment to moment, when I remembered, particularly, when I found myself hallucinating.

This also coincides with the fact that I have been memorizing this passage from Lesson 189, I feel the love of God within me now.

Simply do this: Be still, and lay aside
all thoughts of what you are and what God is;
all concepts you have learned about the world;
all images you hold about yourself.
Empty your mind of everything it thinks
is either true or false, or good or bad,
of every thought it judges worthy, and
all the ideas of which it is ashamed.
Hold onto nothing. Do not bring with you
one thought the past has taught, nor one belief
you ever learned before from anything.
Forget this world, forget this course, and come
with wholly empty hands unto your God.
W-p1.189.7

I realized that I was beginning to live into the meaning of this passage by simply taking these steps.

1. Be aware of breathing in and out.

2. Ask for help to let go of thoughts.

3. Be present and receptive.

So, I am walking down the street, and I come face to face with a brother against whom I have a grievance; recognizing my hallucination, I breathe in and out and ask for help to let it go, and I become present and receptive, smile, nod my head in greeting, and walk on by.

I am becoming increasingly intolerant of mind wandering.

And now it comes to me to express it this way:

A single thought melts away in stillness,
dismantling an entire hallucination,
making way for the state of mind of the peace of God.

"The brain can think, and the eyes can see." "Nonsense!"

2009-09-09T11:02:00.017-05:00

I came across an article in The New York Times a couple of days ago that summarizes research that demonstrates, empirically, exactly how our brains lure us into causal loops, making us believe that we are seeing something real going on outside of ourselves. The article is entitled, “Brain is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop,” and here is the first paragraph.

If after a few months’ exposure to our David Lynch economy, in which housing markets spontaneously combust, coworkers mysteriously disappear and the stifled moans of dying 401K plans can be heard through the floorboards, you have the awful sensation that your body’s stress response has taken on a self-replicating and ultimately self-defeating life of its own, congratulations. You are very perceptive. It has. Researchers have discovered that the sensation of being highly stressed can rewire the brain in ways that promote its sinister persistence. (Natalie Angier, "Brain is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop, " Science, p. 18-19, August 18, 2009)

The researchers discovered that highly-stressed rats actually underwent physical changes in their brains’ neural circuitry.

On the one hand, regions of the brain associated with executive decision-making and goal-directed behaviors had shriveled, while, conversely, brain sectors linked to habit formation had bloomed. “Behaviors become habitual faster in stressed animals than in the controls, and worse, the stressed animals can’t shift back to goal-directed behaviors when that would be the better approach,” Dr. Sousa said. “I call this a vicious circle.” (Brain, p. 18)

Just now, much to my surprise, a voice came into my mind, shouting, “Nonsense! The brain cannot think, and the eyes cannot see!” That’s a familiar voice, it is the plucky Alice of Alice in Wonderland. Just after entering the rabbit-hole, she found herself only a little startled seeing the Cheshire Cat, astride a branch. She even stood up to the nasty Queen who looked at her and said, “Off with her head.” “Nonsense!” said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent. Her “decidedly” echoes my certainty that the images our brains present to us are no more real than Alice’s bizarre adventures down the rabbit-hole.

It is for this reason that Jesus begins His Workbook of A Course in Miracles with this Lesson, Nothing I see means anything. In the Text He refers to the brain’s illusory interpretations.

The brain interprets to the body, of which it is a part. But what it says you cannot understand. Yet you have listened to it. And long and hard you tried to understand its messages.T-22.l.2:9-11

You cannot understand the brain’s interpretations because they are not real.

Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein, lies the peace of God.

That which is real cannot be seen because it is invisible, intangible—Truth, Love, Joy, Peace.

That which is unreal is visible, tangible—the brain, the body, the eyes and the images they make. This is our human conditioning. Our father was a liar from the beginning.

Children are born into the world through pain and in pain. Their growth is attended by suffering, and they learn of sorrow and separation and death. Their minds seem to be trapped in their brain, and its powers to decline if their bodies are hurt. T-13.In.2:4-6

Children, like Alice, fall into a rabbit-hole, an illusion, a dream.

For the content of individual illusions differs greatly. Yet they have one thing in common, they are all insane. They are made of sights that are not seen, and sounds that are not heard. They make up a private world that cannot be shared. For they are meaningful only to their maker, and so they have no meaning at all. In this world their maker moves alone, for only he perceives them. T-13.V.1:4-9

The problem is that we forget the fall, and we become entranced by the images our eyes see and the sounds the ears hear, not realizing that there is another way of seeing, seeing through the eyes of Christ.

We are on a mission here to learn to see truly, to see with vision, and we cannot do this alone because we are constantly deceived by seeing through blind eyes. And we are not alone. The Holy Spirit will guide us to see through the brain’s sleeping eyes, so that we can recognize the vision of Christ. It is a matter of remembering and forgetting; forgetting, i.e., relinquishing the sights and sounds projected by our brains, and remembering to see with the eyes of Christ. This is an awakening to the real and letting go the unreal. T-12.Vl.4

The researchers studying the brains of the stressed rats were joyously surprised to learn that the changes in behavior and brains could be reversed. That is, although, the induced stress caused particular sections of the brain to shrivel, they found that pampering the rats particular parts of the brain “resprouted.”

But with only four weeks’ vacation in a supportive setting free of bullies and Tasers, the formerly stressed rats looked just like the controls, able to innovate, discriminate and lay off the bar. Atrophied synaptic connections in the decisive regions of the prefrontal cortex resprouted, while the overgrown dendritic vines of the habit-prone sensorimotor striatum retreated. (Brain, p. 19)

The "resprouting" of the atrophied synaptic connections is, of course, looked on as favorable, and this is a real temptation while looking through eyes that cannot see. We tend to see dualities, e.g., a stressful, or non-stressful situation, sad or happy, good or bad, and we try to find a solution more favorable rather than less favorable, forgetting that we are looking at completely illusory situations, dream-figures of our own making, characters at the bottom of a rabbit-hole.

So, it always comes down to the basics. When I see an image and respond to it stressfully, or non-stressfully, for that matter, I ask for help to remember that it is not so, it is not real, it is a dream, and ask to see through the images with vision, with the eyes of Christ, thereby, experiencing truth and love and peace.

At the end of Alice in Wonderland, we discover what we may have suspected all along—Alice Liddel, the young girl Charles Dodgson based his story on, was dreaming all the time. She finds herself in her sister’s lap, dreaming that cards are fluttering down all around her, and she wakes up discovering her sister brushing leaves off of her face.

Here is the way I expressed it in the last section of a poem in blank verse I once wrote about Alice, entitled The Wonder of Alice.

At this the whole pack of cards rose up in
the air, and came flying down on Alice
Liddel, lying on her sister’s soft lap;
she was gently brushing away some dead
leaves that had come fluttering down from the
trees upon her face. So Alice got up
and ran off, thinking while she ran, as well
she might, what a curious, wonderful dream.

If you wish to read the poem in its entirety, please click here.

Scissoring Our Dream Out of Unity

2009-08-13T10:53:00.028-05:00

Leafing through A Course in Miracles the other day, I came across a copy of a poem paper-clipped to Lesson 184, The Name of God is my inheritance, entitled The Way by Albert Goldbarth. It is faded and yellowed, and I probably cut it out of The New Yorker some time ago.

THE WAY

The sky is random. Even calling it “sky”
is an attempt to make a meaning, say,
a shape, from the humanly visible part
of shapelessness in endlessness. It’s what
we do, in some ways it’s entirely what
we do—and so the devastating rose

of a galaxy’s being born, the fatal lame
of another’s being torn and dying, we frame
in the lenses of our super-duper telescopes the way
we would those other completely incomprehensible
fecund and dying subjects at a family picnic.
Making them “subjects.” “Rose.” “Lame.” The way

our language scissors the enormity to scales
we can tolerate. The way we gild and rubricate
in memory, or edit out selectively.
An infant’s gentle snoring, even, apportions
the eternal. When they moved to the boonies,
Dorothy Wordsworth measured their walk

to Crewkerne—then the nearest town—
by pushing a device invented especially
for such a project, a “perambulator”: seven miles.
Her brother William pottered at his daffodils poem.
Ten thousand saw I at a glance: by which he meant
too many to count, but could only say it in counting.

I find this poem to be a remarkable description of how we make up an illusory world.

The sky is random.

I am sitting on our deck on a warm, sunny day in August, and I casually glance about me, seeing the bird feeder, the chimes, the trees, and the sky. I am simply looking, randomly, defined as “occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern.” Yet, I automatically name things, cutting each thing out of the whole, selecting one thing at a time by symbolizing it with a name.

You live by symbols. You have made up names
for everything you see. Each one becomes
a separate entity, identified
by its own name. By this you carve it out
of unity.
W-p1.184.1:1-4

Even calling it “sky”
is an attempt to make a meaning, say,
a shape, from the humanly visible part
of shapelessness in endlessness.

And once again, this is wired into our brains. In an article in the newspaper today, Michael Shermer, an author who studies how the brain functions says this:

We are pattern-seeking primates. We connect the dots, and often they really are connected. We just assume all patterns are real. You can show people a random collection of anything and they will find a pattern.(The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 2, 2009, p. A9.)

What is humanly visible we consider real, and what is shapeless and endless we consider unreal. The poet, Albert Goldbarth, intuits that this is what we do, and unfortunately for us, it is almost all that we do.

It’s what
we do, in some ways it’s entirely what
we do—

This is the way reality is made
by partial vision, purposefully set
against the given truth. Its enemy
is wholeness. It conceives of little things
and looks upon them.
W-p1.184.4:1-3

and so the devastating rose
of a galaxy’s being born, the fatal lame
of another’s being torn and dying, we frame
in the lenses of our super-duper telescopes the way
we would those other completely incomprehensible
fecund and dying subjects at a family picnic.

Even the birth of a galaxy, however huge it seems, is small because it is unreal. Even the beautiful metaphors of devastating rose and fatal lame do not make it real. In the phrase, super-duper telescopes, I saw the word “dupe.” We are always being duped by what we see and name, our own projections, reminding me of this sentence from out of the past: Whether we are looking into a telescope, or into a microscope, we are always looking only at the back of our heads.”

“Dupe” becomes even stronger when its origins become clear. It comes from (tête) d'uppe, or “head of a bird thought to be especially stupid.” You gotta to love it. We are stupid birds believing our illusions.

Even our family members seem to be getting old and sick and dying because we see them as illusions, as subjects, not as the truth of what they are, children of God.

They are made of sights that are not seen, and sounds that are not heard. They make up a private world that cannot be shared. For they are meaningful only to their maker, and so they have no meaning at all. In this world their maker moves alone, for only he perceives them. W-13.V.1:6-9

Making them “subjects.” “Rose.” “Lame.” The way

our language scissors the enormity to scales
we can tolerate. The way we gild and rubricate
in memory, or edit out selectively.
an infant’s gentle snoring, even, apportions
the eternal.

Once again, Goldbarth intuits that space and time are carved out of unity, and we cut by scissoring with language. This is seeing with the body’s eyes, partial vision, purposefully set against the given truth.

And yet, there is only one vision, seeing with the eyes of Christ, the other vision.

Yet does this other vision still remain
a natural direction for the mind
to channel its perception. It is hard
to teach the mind a thousand alien names,
and thousands more. Yet you believe this is
what learning means; its one essential goal
by which communication is achieved,
and concepts can be meaningfully shared.
W-p.1.184.5

When they moved to the boonies,
Dorothy Wordsworth measured their walk

to Crewkerne—then the nearest town—
by pushing a device invented especially
for such a project, a “perambulator”: seven miles.
Her brother William pottered at his daffodils poem.
Ten thousand saw I at a glance: by which he meant
too many to count, but could only say it in counting.

It is with a sure hand that Goldbarth ends his poem by evoking William Wordsworth (1770-1850). Wordsworth knew, first hand, that we are of God, not of man. Here is a famous stanza from his poem, Intimations of Immortality.

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
hath had elsewhere its setting,
and cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
but trailing clouds of glory do we come
from God, who is our home.
59-66

Wordsworth experienced resting in God, our true nature, even though he referred to the daffodils by “counting;” for him it was simply a convenient metaphor. Here is the last part of Wordsworth’s poem, I wandered lonely as a cloud.

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
in vacant or in pensive mood,
they flash upon that inward eye
which is the bliss of solitude;
and then my heart with pleasure fills,
and dances with the daffodils.

He captures perfectly what it means to step back from seeing with the body’s eyes, and in the bliss of solitude experiences seeing with the inward eye, seeing with Christ vision.

It is not completely clear to me why Goldbarth entitled his poem, The Way. I will assume that he is resting in the unity and wholeness of his true identity, knowing that there is no world, other than the illusory one we make by seeing through only the body’s eyes. I trust I am on the right track because Goldbarth does use the phrase in this manner three times in his poem:

the way we would. . .

the way our language scissors

the way we gild and rubricate

If so, he recognizes that only by demonstrating exactly how we scissor our dream out of unity and wholeness is the way we come to experience another way of seeing.

Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am.
John 8:58

And Jesus expresses it this way in today’s lesson, 224, 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.
W-p11.224

The way means to ask for help to be reminded of the truth of what I am, so that I can learn to see through my illusory world of time and space, and experience in its place the peace of God, seeing with the inward eye.

Jesus saith unto him:
I am the way, the truth and the life.
John 14:6

Hamlet's, "There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so," and Jesus' Course in Miracles.

2009-07-28T14:02:00.021-05:00

Early in the second act of Hamlet, King Claudius secretly summons Hamlet’s school chums, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, from Germany to spy on Hamlet who suspects that Claudius, his father’s brother, recently usurped the throne after having poisoned his father. When they first meet, Hamlet is surprised and asks them what they have done to deserve being sent to prison. They ask him what he is talking about, and he says that Denmark is a prison. They disagree, and Hamlet speaks this famous line, “There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.” (Hamlet.11.2:251)

This sentence can be broken down into three parts:

1) There is nothing

For a split-second, I am always only looking at a blank slate.
No thing I look at and give a name to exist at all.

2) but thinking makes it so

I keep missing the fact that nothing exists until my thinking, automatically, brings it into existence.

Things but represent the thoughts that made them.
(W-p1.187.2:3)

Our brains in conjunction with our senses write on the blank slate.

3) good or bad

I quickly preoccupy my thinking by automatically slipping into judgment.

In the context of A Course in Miracles, that is a powerful sentence coming to us from across the centuries, echoing the title of Jesus’ Lesson 1, Nothing I see means anything. The lesson begins with this sentence: The reason this is so is that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning. This is followed by Lesson 2, I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me, and the first sentence reads: I have judged everything I look upon, and it is this and only this I see.

Obviously, Jesus begins his 365 Lessons by making clear and precise the problem we face. We take for granted, for granite, that what we see is trustworthy, and we walk around with the strongly ingrained belief that “seeing is believing.” His Lessons enable us to practice learning that what we see is illusory, of our own making, and that we can learn to see differently; we can learn to see with vision.

What I think I see now is taking the place of vision. I must let it go by realizing it has no meaning, so that vision may take its place.
(W-p1.51.1:4,5)

I am willing to recognize the lack of validity in my judgments, because I want to see. My judgments have hurt me, and I do not want to see according to them.
(51.2:5,6)

Overcoming my conditioning that “seeing is believing” is, obviously, a giant obstacle. In addition to the Lessons, it does help to see a clear demonstration that it is the judging brain that uses the eyes to “see,” but this is not vision. (In a recent blog post, “Stick out your tongue and look at me: Images we see in the world are first formed deep in our brains," I use the BrainPort to demonstrate this.)

Recently, I came across a fascinating article demonstrating that we are more than a brain, more than a body and brain, more than our sensory perceptions, more than our petty judgments. When we manage to strip away our nothingness, we can come to experience our wholeness. The article demonstrates what we are without our brains; we are souls.

In 1991, Pam Reynolds was found to have an aneurysm on her brain stem. Faced with a ticking time bomb, she opted for an experimental operation called a "cardiac standstill." The surgeons put her under anesthesia, taped her eyes shut and put molded speakers in her ears that emitted loud clicks, about as loud as a jet plane taking off. When her brain no longer responded to those clicks, the surgeons lowered her body temperature to 60 degrees and drained the blood out of her head, like draining oil from the engine of a car. The aneurysm sac collapsed for lack of blood. The surgeons drilled into her skull, snipped the aneurysm and sewed it up, and then reintroduced the blood into her body.

Finally, they raised her body temperature and brought her back to consciousness.

When Reynolds awakened, she had a story to tell. She said she floated upward and watched part of the operation. She could describe what the operating theater looked like and how many surgeons there were. She could describe the unusual-looking bone saw that cut open her head, as well as the drill bits and blade container. She heard conversations, including one in which a female surgeon observed that Reynolds' left femoral vein was too small for a tube, to which the chief neurosurgeon responded, "Try the right side."

Records from the surgery confirmed all these details. Reynolds' neurosurgeon says he is flummoxed by the episode: "From a scientific perspective," he told me, "I have absolutely no explanation about how it could have happened."

Her story raises the question: Was Reynolds' consciousness operating separately from her brain?

Reynolds' experience — and that of many others — is prompting researchers at institutions such as the University of Montreal and the University of Virginia to investigate the astonishing proposition that a person might have a consciousness — or (gasp) a soul — that can operate when the brain is off-line. (Barbara Bradley Hagerty, The God Choice, USA TODAY, June 22, 2009, p. 9A)

It is always fun to see an empirical demonstration of the truth of what we are.

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
(W-p1.RVI.Intro.3:3-5)

No matter what my brain tells me, I am still, i.e., I remain as God created me; and I am the stillness of God’s creation. That which I am has been expressed with a variety of words—soul, mind, the Christ, God’s Son, Atman, spirit, light, Self.

You are one Self, united and secure in
light and joy and peace. You are God's Son,
one Self, with one Creator and one goal;
to bring awareness of this oneness to
all minds, that true creation may extend
the allness and the unity of God.
You are one Self, complete and healed and whole,
with power to lift the veil of darkness from
the world, and let the light in you come through
to teach the world the truth about yourself.
(W-p1.95.12)

All we are asked to do, and it is everything, is to forget, relinquish, forgive our small self, and the world it projects. We are asked to recognize that nothing is good, or bad, but my "stinking" thinking makes it so. And this nothingness is all going on in a small, dark place in the back of my brain, and it is that that I write on the blank slate.

Just for a moment, let me step back and ask for help to forgive what I have made, now.

Forgiveness gently looks upon all things
unknown in Heaven, sees them disappear,
and leaves the world a clean and unmarked slate
on which the Word of God can now replace
the senseless symbols written there before.
Forgiveness is the means by which the fear
of death is overcome, because it holds
no fierce attraction now and guilt is gone.
Forgiveness lets the body be perceived
as what it is; a simple teaching aid,
to be laid by when learning is complete,
but hardly changing him who learns at all.
(W-p1.192.4)

And I must be constant, I must be exceedingly vigilant, I must be determined, because the brain and body unite to convince me to turn away from the truth of what I am. The brain and body present a strong case. The temptation is great to accept what the brain offers.

For example, just do this:

1. While sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number ‘6’ in the air with your right hand.

3. Notice that your foot now changes directions, moving counter-clockwise.

Our brains have a mind of their own, if you will, and we cannot seem to will it otherwise. But the good thing is there is only God's Will, and our brains/bodies are not real. Jesus makes this absolutely clear in His Introduction to the Course.

Nothing real can be threatened.

What is real is truth, light, peace, joy, serenity, God, infinity.

Nothing unreal exists.

What is unreal is made by the brain and body senses, and it is finite.

Herein, lies the peace of God.

Recognizing the truth and relinquishing, forgiving, what is not so gives us peace.

At the end of the pay, Horatio holds the dying Hamlet in his arms, and he says his last words, The rest is silence.

Horatio: Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Returning to God on earth as in Heaven is resting in silence, stillness, and peace.

The Holy Spirit: The Great Corrector

2009-07-11T12:49:00.010-05:00

Right now I am using Microsoft Word to type this essay. I notice that when I misspell a word, an unseen program automatically corrects it. For example, this is how I just typed c-o-r-e-c-t, and as I hit the space bar to go to the next word, the program instantly corRected it. In effect, the mistake was instantly forgiven.

There is an invisible program running in the background that is guiding my every keystroke. Although I cannot see it, I experience its effects. Its correction is automatic. It uses what I type to make it right. I just make mistakes. There is no guilt in that; there is no shame. I can trust this program. I can trust what is invisible. It is just a matter of typing away, and when it is right it is right, and when I make a mistake, it is simply an offering to be corrected.

Of course, the program running in the background is analogous to the Holy Spirit's invisible presence within us. The typing mistakes are simply illusions and dreams. The Holy Spirit bridges the gap, carrying us to truth and reality, as bodily mistakes are forgiven.

In this manner, misspellings are dispelled.

The Holy Spirit mediates between
illusions and the truth. Since He must bridge
the gap between reality and dreams,
perception leads to knowledge through the grace
that God has given Him, to be His gift to
everyone who turns to Him for truth.
Across the bridge that He provides are dreams
all carried to the truth, to be dispelled
before the light of knowledge. There are sights
and sounds forever laid aside. And where
they were perceived before, forgiveness has
made possible perception's tranquil end.
W-p11. 7. What is the Holy Spirit? 1

Just as the Microsoft program replaces mistakes with accuracy, the Holy Spirit replaces worldly errors with Eternal Truth.
The goal the Holy Spirit's teaching sets
is just this end of dreams. For sights and sounds
must be translated from the witnesses
of fear to those of love. And when this is
entirely accomplished, learning has
achieved the only goal it has in truth.
For learning, as the Holy Spirit guides
it to the outcome He perceives for it,
becomes the means to go beyond itself,
to be replaced by the Eternal Truth.
7:2

It is just a matter of offering to the Holy Spirit our mistaken key strokes, our fearful images and dreams. They can be utilized for another purpose.

If you but knew how much your Father yearns
to have you recognize your sinlessness,
you would not let His Voice appeal in vain,
nor turn away from His replacement for
the fearful images and dreams you made.
The Holy Spirit understands the means
you made, by which you would attain what is
forever unattainable. And if
you offer them to Him, He will employ
the means you made for exile to restore
your mind to where it truly is at home.
7:3

I also notice that when I do not space the wordscorrectly, a red line appears beneath the words, reminding me to go back and leave a space. When I see that red line, I need but stop a moment, return to the underlined words, place the cursor between them, hit the space bar, and in that moment, in that stillness, the words separate (words correctly) and the red line disappears.

From knowledge, where He has been placed by God,
the Holy Spirit calls to you, to let
forgiveness rest upon your dreams, and be
restored to sanity and peace of mind.
Without forgiveness will your dreams remain
to terrify you. And the memory
of all your Father's Love will not return
to signify the end of dreams has come.
7:4

The program is a gift, replacing my wayward key strokes with correct ones. Thy will be done. Not mine. Learning to stand still for a moment and asking for help to be corrected is my only function.

Accept your Father's gift. It is a Call
from Love to Love, that It be but Itself.
The Holy Spirit is His gift, by which
the quietness of Heaven is restored
to God's beloved Son. Would you refuse
to take the function of completing God,
when all He wills is that you be complete?
7:5

I walk down the street now, fully trusting the Holy Spirit's correction, and I find that when this judgment or that judgment appears on the screen of my mind, these ideas come to my awareness for a moment, and then they are washed away, leaving a clean slate, making way for heavenly thoughts.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew.6:10