It is possible for me now to walk through the world knowing that I am in the world, but not of the world. This awareness can also be expressed as entering into time and space from out of time. This is experienced as being in the state of mind of the peace of God and simply observing what is unfolding before my eyes. Objects come and go, time passes, the dream figures pass by, and I walk through the emphemeral rooted in the peace of God.
It is always a matter of forgetting and remembering. When I find myself walking through the world forgetting that I have come here from out of time, I ask for help to remember that I am not from here. That moment of recognition is a miracle. It is a miracle to know the difference.
When I do find myself remembering that I am from Heaven, I say “Thank You.”
In the state of mind of remembering, I am receptive to the Voice for God, and I ask:
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
In this manner, I walk through form informed by the formless.
And now, there is only now, the world shines brightly because it reflects the light of Heaven, the light of the formless.
Yes, Dear Reader, you can experience this for yourself.
Sit quietly and close your eyes. The light
within you is sufficient. It alone
has power to give the gift of sight to you.
Exclude the outer world, and let your thoughts
fly to the peace within. They know the way.
For honest thoughts, untainted by the dream
of worldly things outside yourself, become
the holy messengers of God Himself.
W-p1.188.6
And now enjoy in blank verse Lesson 188, The Peace of God is shining in me now.
Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek the light
are merely covering their eyes. The light
is in them now. Enlightenment is but
a recognition, not a change at all.
Light is not of the world, yet you who bear
the light in you are alien here as well.
The light came with you from your native home,
and stayed with you because it is your own.
It is the only thing you bring with you
from Him Who is your Source. It shines in you
because it lights your home, and leads you back
to where it came from and you are at home.
This light can not be lost. Why wait to find
it in the future, or believe it has
been lost already, or was never there?
It can so easily be looked upon
that arguments which prove it is not there
become ridiculous. Who can deny
the presence of what he beholds in him?
It is not difficult to look within,
for there all vision starts. There is no sight,
be it of dreams or from a truer Source,
that is not but the shadow of the seen
through inward vision. There perception starts,
and there it ends. It has no source but this.
The peace of God is shining in you now,
and from your heart extends around the world.
It pauses to caress each living thing,
and leaves a blessing with it that remains
forever and forever. What it gives
must be eternal. It removes all thoughts
of the ephemeral and valueless.
It brings renewal to all tired hearts,
and lights all vision as it passes by.
All of its gifts are given everyone,
and everyone unites in giving thanks
to you who give, and you who have received.
The shining in your mind reminds the world
of what it has forgotten, and the world
restores the memory to you as well.
From you salvation radiates with gifts
beyond all measure, given and returned.
To you, the giver of the gift, does God
Himself give thanks. And in His blessing does
the light in you shine brighter, adding to
the gifts you have to offer to the world.
The peace of God can never be contained.
Who recognizes it within himself
must give it. And the means for giving it
are in his understanding. He forgives
because he recognized the truth in him.
The peace of God is shining in you now,
and in all living things. In quietness
is it acknowledged universally.
For what your inward vision looks upon
is your perception of the universe.
Sit quietly and close your eyes. The light
within you is sufficient. It alone
has power to give the gift of sight to you.
Exclude the outer world, and let your thoughts
fly to the peace within. They know the way.
For honest thoughts, untainted by the dream
of worldly things outside yourself, become
the holy messengers of God Himself.
These thoughts you think with Him. They recognize
their home. And they point surely to their Source,
Where God the Father and the Son are One.
God's peace is shining on them, but they must
remain with you as well, for they were born
within your mind, as yours was born in God's.
They lead you back to peace, from where they came
but to remind you how you must return.
They heed your Father's Voice when you refuse
to listen. And they urge you gently to
accept His Word for what you are, instead
of fantasies and shadows. They remind
you that you are the co-creator of
all things that live. For as the peace of God
is shining in you, it must shine on them.
We practice coming nearer to the light
in us today. We take our wandering thoughts,
and gently bring them back to where they fall
in line with all the thoughts we share with God.
We will not let them stray. We let the light
within our minds direct them to come home.
We have betrayed them, ordering that they
depart from us. But now we call them back,
and wash them clean of strange desires and
disordered wishes. We restore to them
the holiness of their inheritance.
Thus are our minds restored with them, and we
acknowledge that the peace of God still shines
in us, and from us to all living things
that share our life. We will forgive them all,
absolving all the world from what we thought
it did to us. For it is we who make
the world as we would have it. Now we choose
that it be innocent, devoid of sin
and open to salvation. And we lay
our saving blessing on it, as we say:
The peace of God is shining in me now.
Let all things shine upon me in that peace,
And let me bless them with the light in me.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Lesson 308, This instant is the only time there is.
You may find yourself increasingly dissatisfied with you life, and while looking for satisfaction, you may find comfort in the idea that you are on a journey, and in time you will find what you’re looking for.
What you have forgotten is that there is only now. Whoops! That now moment is gone, and there’s only now. Right now is this interval from what appears to be past to what appears to be the future. Now is a shift in your mind from the state of conflict to the state of the peace of God. In this state of mind you look through the eyes of Christ and experience only the reflection of the peace of God, now. The now is experienced as the absence of a chattering voice narrating you life of conflict. There is only the stillness of now.
These thoughts were inspired by today’s lesson.
http://acim.home.att.net/workbook308.html
“Conceive” comes from the Latin, concipere, meaning “to take in.” Through the eyes of the ego, we assume that what is outside is real, and we “take it in” and give it meaning. That is our conception of time. We look at the hands moving on a clock and make it real, while all the time this defeats our aim of experiencing the Christ being born in us, an expression for experiencing peace through the eyes of Christ, requiring simply a shift of mind from conflict to peace.
The purpose of the illusion of time is to use it to spring into Heaven. You can choose, you can elect now, to see through the eyes of the ego, or the eyes of Christ and experience now. This action of the mind is called forgiveness. Since there are only two emotions, love and fear, you can forgive fear and experience only love; fear is no more real than time. There is no world other than how I conceive it. When I forgive my conceptions, I experience salvation.
Here is Lesson 308 in blank verse. Hidden in the prose version of this lesson is a special gift from Jesus, the lesson in the sheer poetry of blank verse, meaning ten syllables per line in a particular pattern called iambic, slack STRESS. (For a fuller explanation of blank verse, please see the preceding blog on Lesson 304)
Enjoy.
Lesson 308
This instant is the only time there is.
I have conceived of time in such a way
that I defeat my aim. If I elect
to reach past time to timelessness, I must
change my perception of what time is for.
Time's purpose cannot be to keep the past
and future one. The only interval
in which I can be saved from time is now.
For in this instant has forgiveness come
to set me free. The birth of Christ is now,
without a past or future. He has come
to give His present blessing to the world,
restoring it to timelessness and love.
And love is ever-present, here and now.
Thanks for this instant, Father. It is now
I am redeemed. This instant is the time
You have appointed for Your Son's release,
and for salvation of the world in him.
What you have forgotten is that there is only now. Whoops! That now moment is gone, and there’s only now. Right now is this interval from what appears to be past to what appears to be the future. Now is a shift in your mind from the state of conflict to the state of the peace of God. In this state of mind you look through the eyes of Christ and experience only the reflection of the peace of God, now. The now is experienced as the absence of a chattering voice narrating you life of conflict. There is only the stillness of now.
These thoughts were inspired by today’s lesson.
http://acim.home.att.net/workbook308.html
“Conceive” comes from the Latin, concipere, meaning “to take in.” Through the eyes of the ego, we assume that what is outside is real, and we “take it in” and give it meaning. That is our conception of time. We look at the hands moving on a clock and make it real, while all the time this defeats our aim of experiencing the Christ being born in us, an expression for experiencing peace through the eyes of Christ, requiring simply a shift of mind from conflict to peace.
The purpose of the illusion of time is to use it to spring into Heaven. You can choose, you can elect now, to see through the eyes of the ego, or the eyes of Christ and experience now. This action of the mind is called forgiveness. Since there are only two emotions, love and fear, you can forgive fear and experience only love; fear is no more real than time. There is no world other than how I conceive it. When I forgive my conceptions, I experience salvation.
Here is Lesson 308 in blank verse. Hidden in the prose version of this lesson is a special gift from Jesus, the lesson in the sheer poetry of blank verse, meaning ten syllables per line in a particular pattern called iambic, slack STRESS. (For a fuller explanation of blank verse, please see the preceding blog on Lesson 304)
Enjoy.
Lesson 308
This instant is the only time there is.
I have conceived of time in such a way
that I defeat my aim. If I elect
to reach past time to timelessness, I must
change my perception of what time is for.
Time's purpose cannot be to keep the past
and future one. The only interval
in which I can be saved from time is now.
For in this instant has forgiveness come
to set me free. The birth of Christ is now,
without a past or future. He has come
to give His present blessing to the world,
restoring it to timelessness and love.
And love is ever-present, here and now.
Thanks for this instant, Father. It is now
I am redeemed. This instant is the time
You have appointed for Your Son's release,
and for salvation of the world in him.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Lesson 304: Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.
For the past several weeks, I keep coming back to this five-step formulation of the utter simplicity of salvation. I often sit back and run these steps through my mind, rehearsing them, and then when the drama begins, when the director says “Action,” I am ready.
1. When I find myself experiencing fear and pain, I say to myself, “This certainly seems fearful, but it is not so. In my mind there are only two states, one is the state of mind of the peace of God, and this state is the only one real; the other state is one of ear and conflict, and it has no source in reality.”
2. Further, I make it very concrete by using the metaphor of seeing: When I look out at the world, what I see mirrors, either the state of mind of fear, or the state of mind of peace. What I see, then, is seen through, either the eyes of the ego, or the eyes of Christ.
3. Since this is all going on only in my mind, I have the power, I have the responsibility, to choose the eyes through which I see. I remind myself that what I am seeing through the eyes of the ego is not real, and in fact, no longer exists. What I see through the eyes of Christ is real and loving and eternal.
4. Now, it is just a matter of asking for help to let go of, relinquish, forgive that which is not real, so that I can shift from the false state of mind to the true. It is simply an action of the mind.
5. Finally, if I do not immediately experience forgiveness in the next moment, and sometimes I do with a warm wave of gratitude, then I trust that I am God’s beloved Son, and the lag time will soon pass, and I will soon see again with the eyes of Christ, mirroring the peace of God.
Remembering these lines in my daily drama, I was astonished and grateful to read Jesus’ words today in Lesson 304, Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.
I can obscure my holy sight, if I intrude my world upon it. Nor can I behold the holy sights Christ looks upon, unless it is His vision that I use. Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward. I would bless the world by looking on it through the eyes of Christ. And I will look upon the certain signs that all my sins have been forgiven me.
You lead me from the darkness to the light; from sin to holiness. Let me forgive, and thus receive salvation for the world. It is Your gift, my Father, given me to offer to Your holy Son, that he may find again the memory of You, and of Your Son as You created him.
To obscuremeans to hide, or veil meaning. Seeing through the eyes of the ego presents a world that veils the truth of what I am, what we are, and when one of us sees truly, it is a gift to all our brothers.
Hidden in the prose version of this lesson is a special gift from Jesus, the lesson in the sheer poetry of blank verse, meaning ten syllables per line in a particular pattern called iambs, slack STRESS. Try scanning the lines to find the rhythm, for example: chris TINE.
Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ
I can obscure my holy sight, if I
intrude my world upon it. Nor can I
behold the holy sights Christ looks upon,
unless it is His vision that I use.
Perception is a mirror, not a fact.
And what I look on is my state of mind,
reflected outward. I would bless the world
by looking on it through the eyes of Christ.
And I will look upon the certain signs
that all my sins have been forgiven me.
You lead me from the darkness to the light;
from sin to holiness. Let me forgive,
and thus receive salvation for the world.
It is Your gift, my Father, given me
to offer to Your holy Son, that he
may find again the memory of You,
and of Your Son as You created him.
Here you go:
let NOT my WORLD ob SCURE the SIGHT of CHRIST
i CAN ob SCURE my HO ly SIGHT, if I
You can practice scanning the rest of the lines.
in trude my world up on it. Nor can I
4. be hold the ho ly sights CHRIST LOOKS up on,
un less it is His vis ion that I use.
Per cep tion is a mir ror, not a fact.
And what I look on is my state of mind,
re flect ed out ward. I would bless the world
by look ing on it through the eyes of Christ.
And I will look upon the cer tain signs
that all my sins have been for giv en me.
12. YOU LEAD me from the dark ness to the light;
from sin to hol i ness. Let me for give,
and thus re ceive sal va tion for the world.
It is Your gift, my Fath er, giv en me
to of fer to Your ho ly Son, that he
may find a gain the mem or y of You,
and of Your Son as You cre at ed him.
In lines 4 and 12, Jesus breaks the pattern to emphasize His meaning by using a particular pattern called spondees, STRESS STRESS.
In the Workbook from Lesson 98 to 365, Jesus’ lessons are all in blank verse, and in the Text, from Chapter 26 to 31 His chapters are in blank verse, the rhythm of the universe.
I express my gratitude for Jesus’ Course in Miracles in this poem of blank verse.
Jesus speaks and Helen scribes, precisely,
so that not one syllable goes astray,
marching stately across the pages in
blank verse, the rhythm of the universe.
1. When I find myself experiencing fear and pain, I say to myself, “This certainly seems fearful, but it is not so. In my mind there are only two states, one is the state of mind of the peace of God, and this state is the only one real; the other state is one of ear and conflict, and it has no source in reality.”
2. Further, I make it very concrete by using the metaphor of seeing: When I look out at the world, what I see mirrors, either the state of mind of fear, or the state of mind of peace. What I see, then, is seen through, either the eyes of the ego, or the eyes of Christ.
3. Since this is all going on only in my mind, I have the power, I have the responsibility, to choose the eyes through which I see. I remind myself that what I am seeing through the eyes of the ego is not real, and in fact, no longer exists. What I see through the eyes of Christ is real and loving and eternal.
4. Now, it is just a matter of asking for help to let go of, relinquish, forgive that which is not real, so that I can shift from the false state of mind to the true. It is simply an action of the mind.
5. Finally, if I do not immediately experience forgiveness in the next moment, and sometimes I do with a warm wave of gratitude, then I trust that I am God’s beloved Son, and the lag time will soon pass, and I will soon see again with the eyes of Christ, mirroring the peace of God.
Remembering these lines in my daily drama, I was astonished and grateful to read Jesus’ words today in Lesson 304, Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.
I can obscure my holy sight, if I intrude my world upon it. Nor can I behold the holy sights Christ looks upon, unless it is His vision that I use. Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward. I would bless the world by looking on it through the eyes of Christ. And I will look upon the certain signs that all my sins have been forgiven me.
You lead me from the darkness to the light; from sin to holiness. Let me forgive, and thus receive salvation for the world. It is Your gift, my Father, given me to offer to Your holy Son, that he may find again the memory of You, and of Your Son as You created him.
To obscuremeans to hide, or veil meaning. Seeing through the eyes of the ego presents a world that veils the truth of what I am, what we are, and when one of us sees truly, it is a gift to all our brothers.
Hidden in the prose version of this lesson is a special gift from Jesus, the lesson in the sheer poetry of blank verse, meaning ten syllables per line in a particular pattern called iambs, slack STRESS. Try scanning the lines to find the rhythm, for example: chris TINE.
Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ
I can obscure my holy sight, if I
intrude my world upon it. Nor can I
behold the holy sights Christ looks upon,
unless it is His vision that I use.
Perception is a mirror, not a fact.
And what I look on is my state of mind,
reflected outward. I would bless the world
by looking on it through the eyes of Christ.
And I will look upon the certain signs
that all my sins have been forgiven me.
You lead me from the darkness to the light;
from sin to holiness. Let me forgive,
and thus receive salvation for the world.
It is Your gift, my Father, given me
to offer to Your holy Son, that he
may find again the memory of You,
and of Your Son as You created him.
Here you go:
let NOT my WORLD ob SCURE the SIGHT of CHRIST
i CAN ob SCURE my HO ly SIGHT, if I
You can practice scanning the rest of the lines.
in trude my world up on it. Nor can I
4. be hold the ho ly sights CHRIST LOOKS up on,
un less it is His vis ion that I use.
Per cep tion is a mir ror, not a fact.
And what I look on is my state of mind,
re flect ed out ward. I would bless the world
by look ing on it through the eyes of Christ.
And I will look upon the cer tain signs
that all my sins have been for giv en me.
12. YOU LEAD me from the dark ness to the light;
from sin to hol i ness. Let me for give,
and thus re ceive sal va tion for the world.
It is Your gift, my Fath er, giv en me
to of fer to Your ho ly Son, that he
may find a gain the mem or y of You,
and of Your Son as You cre at ed him.
In lines 4 and 12, Jesus breaks the pattern to emphasize His meaning by using a particular pattern called spondees, STRESS STRESS.
In the Workbook from Lesson 98 to 365, Jesus’ lessons are all in blank verse, and in the Text, from Chapter 26 to 31 His chapters are in blank verse, the rhythm of the universe.
I express my gratitude for Jesus’ Course in Miracles in this poem of blank verse.
Jesus speaks and Helen scribes, precisely,
so that not one syllable goes astray,
marching stately across the pages in
blank verse, the rhythm of the universe.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
True Security, the peace of God
I was inspired to write this blog by reading a column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, entitled Security is an Elusive Mental Blanket by Philip Chard, a psychotherapist and regular columnist for the Sentinel.
Please read Philip's column by clicking on this link:
http://www.jsonline.com/lifestyle/advice/oct05/365340.asp
Dear Philip,
I rather enjoyed yesterday’s column on Security. I began tracking you right away when you emphasized “illusion” in your first paragraph. Illusion comes from the Latin ludere, meaning “to play, to mock.” An illusion is a mockery of truth. I began tracking you in the sense that a correspondence was set up in my mind between my terminology based on Jesus’ Course in Miracles and yours. “Small picture” is an illusion projected from within by a self that has no source in reality. It is an internal state of mind, the ego mind, projected to appear out there. When it seems to be out there, we make adjustments regarding money, relationships, and fixed patterns of behavior, not recognizing that we are responsible because there is no out there separate from in here, in the mind. There is only my mind. Since there is no out there, only in here, I have the responsibility of choosing to see from the “small picture” state of mind, or from the state of mind of the peace of God, the “big picture.” I also like the word “elusive” in the title; our focus out there on the “small picture” is an evasion of reality, of the truth.
The “big picture” is simply the recognition of a state of mind of the peace of God that is our natural inheritance as children of God. The recognition that the peace of God is shining in me now is seeing the “big picture.” This is our only security because any investment in the “small picture” is an investment in an illusion, a mockery of truth.
That’s why I like your paragraph that begins, “True security grows from an abiding faith. . .”
Now, I think you will find this incredible. Here is the title for the lesson for today from Jesus’ Course in Miracles, Lesson 299: Eternal holiness abides in me. Your use of the word “abide” is inspired. My mind, your mind, is the abode of God’s holiness. Here’s the lesson:
My holiness is far beyond my own
ability to understand or know.
Yet God, my Father, Who created it,
acknowledges my holiness as His.
Our Will, together, understands it. And
our Will, together, knows that it is so.
Father, my holiness is not of me.
It is not mine to be destroyed by sin.
It is not mine to suffer from attack.
Illusions can obscure it, but can not
put out its radiance, nor dim its light.
It stands forever perfect and untouched.
In it are all things healed, for they remain
as You created them. And I can know
my holiness. For Holiness Itself
created me, and I can know my Source
because it is Your Will that You be known.
These comments came to mind regarding the lesson in the context of your column.
My holiness is far beyond my own
ability to understand or know.
Holiness is synonymous with the “big picture.” We can know it by recognizing it, but we cannot understand it from the ego perspective.
Yet God, my Father, Who created it,
acknowledges my holiness as His.
The state of mind of the peace of God is an extension of God.
Our Will, together, understands it. And
our Will, together, knows that it is so.
My will is only to experience the peace of God, to look through the illusion and say, “This is not so.” Only the peace of God is so. The letting go of the “small picture” is forgiveness.
Father, my holiness is not of me.
It is not mine to be destroyed by sin.
“Sin” comes from the Aramaic, Jesus’ language, and it is an archery term. To be on the mark is to hit the target. To be off the mark is to miss, to sin. Isn’t that amazing! Sin has nothing to do with violating a church code; sin simply means to invest in the illusion.
It is not mine to suffer from attack.
Illusions can obscure it, but can not
put out its radiance, nor dim its light.
I am, you are, the light of the world. We are very holy.
It stands forever perfect and untouched.
In it are all things healed, for they remain
as You created them. And I can know
my holiness. For Holiness Itself
created me, and I can know my Source
because it is Your Will that You be known.
So, I begin each day looking forward to reading the lesson for the day. Today’s is 299, meaning the 299th day since lesson 1 on January 1, 2005. And how do you think Jesus helps us begin our great undoing, investing in the “small picture?” His first lesson title forces us to take a direct look at it, and say to ourselves: Nothing I see means anything.
So there you are. You fired me up. Thank you.
Take care.
To place this blog in the context of Jesus' teaching, please read my "Latest Article," entitled Yours is the Power of Decision on my website:
http://www.throughamirrorbrightly.com/
Please read Philip's column by clicking on this link:
http://www.jsonline.com/lifestyle/advice/oct05/365340.asp
Dear Philip,
I rather enjoyed yesterday’s column on Security. I began tracking you right away when you emphasized “illusion” in your first paragraph. Illusion comes from the Latin ludere, meaning “to play, to mock.” An illusion is a mockery of truth. I began tracking you in the sense that a correspondence was set up in my mind between my terminology based on Jesus’ Course in Miracles and yours. “Small picture” is an illusion projected from within by a self that has no source in reality. It is an internal state of mind, the ego mind, projected to appear out there. When it seems to be out there, we make adjustments regarding money, relationships, and fixed patterns of behavior, not recognizing that we are responsible because there is no out there separate from in here, in the mind. There is only my mind. Since there is no out there, only in here, I have the responsibility of choosing to see from the “small picture” state of mind, or from the state of mind of the peace of God, the “big picture.” I also like the word “elusive” in the title; our focus out there on the “small picture” is an evasion of reality, of the truth.
The “big picture” is simply the recognition of a state of mind of the peace of God that is our natural inheritance as children of God. The recognition that the peace of God is shining in me now is seeing the “big picture.” This is our only security because any investment in the “small picture” is an investment in an illusion, a mockery of truth.
That’s why I like your paragraph that begins, “True security grows from an abiding faith. . .”
Now, I think you will find this incredible. Here is the title for the lesson for today from Jesus’ Course in Miracles, Lesson 299: Eternal holiness abides in me. Your use of the word “abide” is inspired. My mind, your mind, is the abode of God’s holiness. Here’s the lesson:
My holiness is far beyond my own
ability to understand or know.
Yet God, my Father, Who created it,
acknowledges my holiness as His.
Our Will, together, understands it. And
our Will, together, knows that it is so.
Father, my holiness is not of me.
It is not mine to be destroyed by sin.
It is not mine to suffer from attack.
Illusions can obscure it, but can not
put out its radiance, nor dim its light.
It stands forever perfect and untouched.
In it are all things healed, for they remain
as You created them. And I can know
my holiness. For Holiness Itself
created me, and I can know my Source
because it is Your Will that You be known.
These comments came to mind regarding the lesson in the context of your column.
My holiness is far beyond my own
ability to understand or know.
Holiness is synonymous with the “big picture.” We can know it by recognizing it, but we cannot understand it from the ego perspective.
Yet God, my Father, Who created it,
acknowledges my holiness as His.
The state of mind of the peace of God is an extension of God.
Our Will, together, understands it. And
our Will, together, knows that it is so.
My will is only to experience the peace of God, to look through the illusion and say, “This is not so.” Only the peace of God is so. The letting go of the “small picture” is forgiveness.
Father, my holiness is not of me.
It is not mine to be destroyed by sin.
“Sin” comes from the Aramaic, Jesus’ language, and it is an archery term. To be on the mark is to hit the target. To be off the mark is to miss, to sin. Isn’t that amazing! Sin has nothing to do with violating a church code; sin simply means to invest in the illusion.
It is not mine to suffer from attack.
Illusions can obscure it, but can not
put out its radiance, nor dim its light.
I am, you are, the light of the world. We are very holy.
It stands forever perfect and untouched.
In it are all things healed, for they remain
as You created them. And I can know
my holiness. For Holiness Itself
created me, and I can know my Source
because it is Your Will that You be known.
So, I begin each day looking forward to reading the lesson for the day. Today’s is 299, meaning the 299th day since lesson 1 on January 1, 2005. And how do you think Jesus helps us begin our great undoing, investing in the “small picture?” His first lesson title forces us to take a direct look at it, and say to ourselves: Nothing I see means anything.
So there you are. You fired me up. Thank you.
Take care.
To place this blog in the context of Jesus' teaching, please read my "Latest Article," entitled Yours is the Power of Decision on my website:
http://www.throughamirrorbrightly.com/
Friday, October 28, 2005
Skeptic
Dear Glenn,
I will start with the last sentence in your e-mail: I really would like to believe that I’ve not wasted my life chasing illusions.
Well, you have.
Just as I wrote that sentence, this poem flashed into my mind.
LYING IN A HAMMOCK
AT WILLIAM DUFFY’S
FARM IN PINE ISLAND,
MINNESOTA
Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,
Asleep on the black trunk,
Blowing like a leaf in green shadow.
Down the ravine behind the empty house,
The cowbells follow one another
Into the distances of the afternoon.
To my right,
In a field of sunlight between two pines,
The droppings of last year's horses
Blaze up into golden stones.
I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.
A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.
I have wasted my life.
James Wright
Now, I am very excited about this flash because it shows me a way to answer your question. In respect to the poem, let me establish that there are two states of mind, one is the peace of God, and that is the only one real, and the other is the state of mind of conflict, ruled by the ego, having no source in reality, being completely unreal, an illusion.
Now, the poet lying in the hammock is experiencing the peace of God and thereby, seeing only this reflection in whatever his eyes light upon, including horseshit. Seeing the reflection of the peace of God does, indeed, light up everything you see. In the last line is the recognition that he has spent most of his life experiencing the conflict of his ego-centered life, thereby seeing only his projections, making his illusory, wasted life.
Since I am in the direct experience of the peace of God, right now, sitting here writing, I am in the state of mind receptive to the Voice for God, the Holy Spirit. That’s what I heard when the poem flashed into my mind.
It is quite possible for you reading this right now to join with me, momentarily bypassing, forgiving, your ego state of mind, the peace of God, and in that moment your skepticism would vanish as you melted into the peace of God.
But the chances are good that your skeptical state of mind interfered with the experience of the true state of mind. There is no way then, that I can convince you of the validity of my experience. Imagine that I am floating in the ocean near the shore, and you are standing on a low cliff looking down and asking me what the water is like. No matter the metaphors I might use to convey to you the temperature of the water, you could only know by jumping in. Your wanting to know on your conceptual terms prevents you from the experience.
Jump into the lessons of The Course in Miracles with little willingness and trust and ask for help to experience the peace of God.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
Lesson 1: Nothing I see means anything.
Jump.
Thank you.
I will start with the last sentence in your e-mail: I really would like to believe that I’ve not wasted my life chasing illusions.
Well, you have.
Just as I wrote that sentence, this poem flashed into my mind.
LYING IN A HAMMOCK
AT WILLIAM DUFFY’S
FARM IN PINE ISLAND,
MINNESOTA
Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,
Asleep on the black trunk,
Blowing like a leaf in green shadow.
Down the ravine behind the empty house,
The cowbells follow one another
Into the distances of the afternoon.
To my right,
In a field of sunlight between two pines,
The droppings of last year's horses
Blaze up into golden stones.
I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.
A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.
I have wasted my life.
James Wright
Now, I am very excited about this flash because it shows me a way to answer your question. In respect to the poem, let me establish that there are two states of mind, one is the peace of God, and that is the only one real, and the other is the state of mind of conflict, ruled by the ego, having no source in reality, being completely unreal, an illusion.
Now, the poet lying in the hammock is experiencing the peace of God and thereby, seeing only this reflection in whatever his eyes light upon, including horseshit. Seeing the reflection of the peace of God does, indeed, light up everything you see. In the last line is the recognition that he has spent most of his life experiencing the conflict of his ego-centered life, thereby seeing only his projections, making his illusory, wasted life.
Since I am in the direct experience of the peace of God, right now, sitting here writing, I am in the state of mind receptive to the Voice for God, the Holy Spirit. That’s what I heard when the poem flashed into my mind.
It is quite possible for you reading this right now to join with me, momentarily bypassing, forgiving, your ego state of mind, the peace of God, and in that moment your skepticism would vanish as you melted into the peace of God.
But the chances are good that your skeptical state of mind interfered with the experience of the true state of mind. There is no way then, that I can convince you of the validity of my experience. Imagine that I am floating in the ocean near the shore, and you are standing on a low cliff looking down and asking me what the water is like. No matter the metaphors I might use to convey to you the temperature of the water, you could only know by jumping in. Your wanting to know on your conceptual terms prevents you from the experience.
Jump into the lessons of The Course in Miracles with little willingness and trust and ask for help to experience the peace of God.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
Lesson 1: Nothing I see means anything.
Jump.
Thank you.
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