Making Explicit the True Meaning of Forgiveness: September Statuses

Two, or three, years ago, I set up a Facebook account, but I never really did much with it, until Sunday 8 April, Easter Sunday, auspiciously, when it occurred to me that I could post a Status statement on Facebook, daily.  These are my mini-essays for September.

9/1
Early in my college-teaching career, after being at a small college for a couple of years, I was informed that the college was facing financial difficulties, and a few relatively-new faculty members were being terminated, and I was one of them.

I had never been so devastated before in my life.  I found myself looking for a job, drawing unemployment, taking care of my family, paying the mortgage and other bills.
I filled my days by walking three miles to the library, reading employment sections in the newspapers, filling out job applications, and reading.  Then I would walk home in the evening.

One day, while walking in, this phrase popped into my mind:  “sea change.”
I knew this was huge; as soon as I arrived at the library, I looked it up:

A seemingly magical change, as brought about by the action of the sea.
Then it took me to Ariel’s Song in The Tempest.

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
The Tempest, 2.1:461-467

I sat there in tears, knowing that I was not so alone, I was being helped, and that this was, in fact, an opportunity to transform, that something very powerful would come out of this experience.  For the first time in my life, I felt that I was connected to something larger.

A couple of months later, in January, miraculously, in the middle of the school year, I found another job, making twice the money with better benefits.

And, then, soon after that, I came across A Course in Miracles, and then I did, indeed, “suffer a sea-change.”

9/2
When I began studying A Course in Miracles, I didn’t take me too long to realize that there is no world “out there.”  I am making up the world I see “in here;” we are always only looking into a mirror.

What I see is a result of my own mind.  I see one thing; you see another.

Right away, the question becomes, how do I conduct myself in the world?  For me, the answer is to ask for help, to ask for guidance; what is the next step?

Today’s Lesson 236, I rule my mind, which I alone must rule, is very helpful in this respect because it reminds me that “my world,” this world of my own making is my kingdom.

I have a kingdom I must rule. At times,
it does not seem I am its king at all.
It seems to triumph over me, and tell
me what to think, and what to do and feel.
And yet it has been given me to serve
whatever purpose I perceive in it.
My mind can only serve. Today I give
its service to the Holy Spirit to
employ as He sees fit. I thus direct
my mind, which I alone can rule. And thus
I set it free to do the Will of God.

To rule it properly, I have to be in the right state of mind; when I am in a receptive state of mind, I will receive directions enabling me to serve my kingdom well.  And then I will be a worthy servant, indeed.

 9/3
I have always liked this story floating around that a young girl was looking into the crib of her newly-born baby sister, and her mother came in and asked her what she was doing.

She said, “I am looking into her eyes because I know that not long ago they were looking at God.”

In her book To Heaven and Back, Mary Neal, MD, writes:

I believe very young children clearly remember where they came from and are still quite connected to God’s world.  I believe they easily recall the images, knowledge, and the love of the world they inhabited before their birth.  As young children become more engaged with the world, their memories fade and detours and dead-ends, of finding their way back to God.  Ultimately, they must not only find God, but must freely choose to accept God’s love and direction.  God gave humans this ability to choose freely; which makes us ultimately responsible for our choices, our actions, and our lives.  (pp. 147,148)

9/4
Early this morning, I sat down, closed my eyes, breathed in and out, and read this passage by William Wordsworth (1770-1850), Intimations of Immortality.

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:   
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,      60
        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      65
        From God, who is our home.
  
. . .trailing clouds of glory.

Poetry magnifies the soul, pulling it into realms unattended for ages, clearing a path through the debris of restlessness and shaking lose the fears that cling to our essence, shouting to our sleeping souls in words of Truth, color and form, shaking us awake, setting us apart from the usual, letting us greet our selves again with cleaner hands and faces, in a new moment of Promise.  (Karen Goldman, Angel Voices.)

Today, I will arise in glory, and
allow the light in me to shine upon
the world throughout the day. I bring the world
the tidings of salvation which I hear
as God my Father speaks to me. And I
behold the world that Christ would have me see,
aware it ends the bitter dream of death;
aware it is my Father's Call to me.
Lesson 237.1

9/5
It is hard to believe that what we see is a result of a choice we make, like, why would we ever choose see this?

What would you see? The choice is given you.
But learn and do not let your mind forget
this law of seeing: You will look upon
that which you feel within. If hatred finds
a place within your heart, you will perceive
a fearful world, held cruelly in death's
sharp-pointed, bony fingers. If you feel
the Love of God within you, you will look
out on a world of mercy and of love.
Lesson 189.5

It is always a case of where I am in my mind?  Am I aware of fear, or of love?
This became increasingly clear to me while reading The Lazy Man’s Guide to Englightenment by Thaddeus Golas (1924-1997), where he talks about love, or fear, in reference to vibrations—expanded and speeded up, or contracted and slowed down.
Expanded awareness is speeded up vibration. When we are at this vibration level, everything around us in time and space moves slowly, and now we are truly in the world, but not of the world.

Golas expresses the contrast of slow vibrations.

Note carefully that when your vibrations are slow, or contracted, events seem to happen fast, and you will feel that events are happening too fast for you to control them. And you may therefore feel impelled to try that much harder to exercise control. The slower your vibrations, the more unpleasant your life: you will contend with more conflict, mass, and pain.

The more you love, the faster you vibrate, then the less need you feel to control anything, and you are not fearful of change and variety. You experience everything deeper and slower and more lovingly.

9/6
While reading a theme of special relevance, 3. What is the World? in A Course in Miracles, I came across this sentence that gave me an “aha” experience:

When the thought of separation has been changed to one of true forgiveness, will the world be seen in quite another light. 3

The word “changed” made me realize that our thoughts, all our thoughts, are an extension of God’s thoughts, as expressed in the Title to Lesson 45, God is the mind with which I think.

You think with the Mind of God. Therefore you share your thoughts with Him, as He shares His with you. They are the same thoughts, because they are thought by the same Mind. To share is to make alike, or to make one. Nor do the thoughts you think with the Mind of God leave your mind, because thoughts do not leave their source. Therefore, your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you are. They are in your mind as well, where He is. As you are part of His Mind, so are your thoughts part of His Mind.
Lesson 45.2

The power of decision is my own; I can decide in each moment to change a real thought into a false thought, or to change an unreal thought into a real thought, being forgiveness.

In either case, God is our Source.

9/7
Forgiveness, of course, is at the heart of A Course in Miracles; yet it is almost impossible to comprehend.  “Comprehend” comes from the Latin, comprehendere,  meaning “to seize hold of, to grasp.” 

I will be honest with myself  today.
I will not think that I already know
what must remain beyond my present grasp.
Lesson 243.1:1,2

So, obviously, that is the problem; the conceptual mind tries to grasp its meaning, while forgiveness is an experience.

Sometimes, during the night, I wake up, look at the clock and mumble to myself, “Damn, I need to go back to sleep,” now being wide awake.  The temptation is to pray to go back to sleep.  It’s very subtle, but this takes you into dualistic thinking—to sleep, or not to sleep.

Sometimes, when this happens, I realize I want to stay out of duality, and I simply let go of any result, and I begin slowly reciting, say, The Lord’s Prayer, or The Prayer of St. Francis, and just focus on my breathing.  And quite often, I enter a state of pure bliss, or rather, it takes me over, suffusing my body, and I just enjoy the light, not caring whether I go back to sleep, or not, and this is the experience of forgiveness. 

The next thing I know, it’s time to get up.

Today, I will arise in glory, and
allow the light in me to shine upon
the world throughout the day. I bring the world
the tidings of salvation which I hear
as God my Father speaks to me. And I
behold the world that Christ would have me see,
aware it ends the bitter dream of death;
aware it is my Father's Call to me.
Lesson 237.1

9/8
Quite often, I look back at a day while I am drifting off to sleep, and I am amazed at how the events of the day, miraculously, unfolded.

An incredible conversation with a brother.  Seeing someone I hadn’t seen for a long time.  An inspiring passage in the Course that spoke to my current concerns.  Just taking a breath, looking around me, and seeing bright reflections, realizing full well that I am in the world, and not of the world.

This came to mind when I read this passage by Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1803-1882)

 A little consideration of what takes place around us every day would show us that a higher law than that of our will regulates events; that our painful labors are unnecessary, and fruitless; that only in our  easy, simple, spontaneous action are we strong and by contenting ourselves with obedience we become divine.  Belief and love—a believing love will relieve us of a vast load of care.  Oh my brothers, God exists.

9/9
Here is a passage from Angel Voices by Karen Goldman.

As mortals, we have tried to live in worlds of our own design, pulling many thoughts and moods around ourselves for comfort.  Through the centuries and ages and eons with every comfort we cloak ourselves in, we  become further from the One; layer upon layer, further and further, until finally, all that’s left to remind us is a memory of the One, a feeling way down underneath, and bits of light peeking out now and then through one another’s eyes.

And here is Lesson 8 from The Twenty-Minute Booklet of A Course in Miracles.

Today, there are those among us who consciously seek our Origin.  We search proudly, fearlessly for the road Home.  All existence then is a journey—not aimless, not outward, but back Home.   And those who went before us turn and stop to help, and those behind reach for us and seek our Wisdom.

9/10
Here is Jesus at the end of His Introduction to A Course in Miracles.

This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:

Nothing real can be threatened;
Nothing unreal exists;
Herein lies the peace of God.

This passage from Sri Maharaj echoes this perfectly.

But in reality only the Ultimate is.  The rest is a matter of name and form.  And as long as you cling to the idea that only what has name and shape exists, the Supreme will appear to you non-existing.  When all names and forms have been given up, the real is with you.  You need not seek it.  Plurality and diversity are the play of the mind only.  Reality is one. When you understand that names and shapes are hollow shells without any content whatsoever, and what is real is nameless and formless, pure energy of life and light of consciousness, you will  be at peace—immersed in the deep silence of reality.  I AM THAT, p. 38

9/11
Recently, I had a breakthrough while reading over and over Lesson 246, To love my Father is to love His Son.

For some time I had been walking around seething in anger and disappointment at some of His Sons.

It did not bring any relief to look at one of these individuals and say to myself, "This is God’s Son, I forgive him."

Let me not think that I can find the way
To God, if I have hatred in my heart.
Let me not try to hurt God's Son, and think
That I can know his Father or my Self.
Let me not fail to recognize myself,
And still believe that my awareness can
Contain my Father, or my mind conceive
Of all the love my Father has for me,
And all the love which I return to Him.

There. . .Let me not fail to recognize my Self.

When I stop for a moment, breathe in and breathe out, becoming aware only of my Self, I find in this peaceful state of awareness that the drama going on around me simply fades away. It’s always either/or; either I am aware of peace, or I am aware of fear. Forgiveness is simply the awareness of peace and love.

Now, I seem to be able to do this only moments at a time, and these moments are precious, and the more I practice, perhaps the more I will be at peace, and in this peaceful state I will be receptive to guidance from the Holy Spirit. I am just trusting that the way will be shown.

I will accept the way You choose for me
To come to You, my Father. For in that
Will I succeed, because it is Your Will.
And I would recognize that what You will
Is what I will as well, and only that.
And so I choose to love Your Son. Amen.

Hmmm.  It’s rather fortuitous that this is being posted on 9/11.


9/12
It just takes an instant, a moment, to shift our awareness from worldly thoughts to holy Thoughts of home.

I will be still an instant and go home. (Lesson 182)

Now, I realize that a moment in time is relative.  Here’s how Albert Einstein once stated it in an amusing way.

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity.

Nevertheless, I am going to suggest that a moment could be defined as a second.  Look at how many moments, or seconds, there are in a day; say, I get up at 7 am and go to bed at 11 pm.  That is 16 hours times 60 minutes times 60 seconds, or 57,600 seconds, moments, instants in my day.  These are the number of opportunities that I have during the day to experience a present moment.

How many of these moments am I still, peaceful, aware of my true Self?

Now, I am not going to carry around a clicker and count them, but I do find that when I look at a day in this way, knowing that I can stop at any moment, like right now, and breathe in and breathe out, being in the moment, I experience an increasingly peaceful day, no matter what seems to be going on around me.

(I wrote the above in the morning, and in the afternoon I came across this contrasting sentence in an essay by Pico Iver:

One teenager in Sacramento, I read recently, sent 300,000 text messages in a month—or ten a minute for every minute of her waking day, assuming she was a wake sixteen hours a day.)  “Chapels,” Portland Magazine.

Here is how Jon Kabat-Zinn expresses it in his book, Wherever You Go, There You Are.

By taking a few moments to “die on purpose” to the rush of time while you are still living, you free yourself to have time for the present.  By “dying” now in this way, you actually become more alive now.  This is what stopping can do.  There is nothing passive about it.  And when you decide to go, it’s a different kind of going because you stopped.  The stopping actually makes the going more vivid, richer, more textured.  It helps keep all the things we worry about and feel inadequate about in perspective.  It gives us guidance. (p. 12)

9/13
Mary Neal, MD, “drowned” in a kayaking accident, went to Heaven, and, reluctantly, returned to earth.  In her book, To Heaven and Back, she recounts her story.  During her long recuperation from the accident, she had some out-of-body experiences that involved talking with Jesus in a sunny meadow.

An interviewer asked her what Jesus looked like.

He was sitting on a rock while I was sitting on the ground and, like the people who led me down the path to Heaven, He was wearing some sort of flowing robe and exploded with beauty and brilliance.  His hair was long.  His features were indistinct.  I don’t know how to describe this but my greatest impression of His appearance was that of love (yes, I  realize we don’t typically “see” love, but as I said, I don’t know how to describe this phenomenon of “seeing” something we would  normally “feel”).  He conveyed the impression of complete love, compassion, kindness, and infinite patience.  (p. 216)

9/14
It is a bit audacious, but I am going to take a famous Greek saying by Archimedes (287BC-212 BC) and modify it to put it in the context of A Course in Miracles.


Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth.

Modification:

Give me a place to stand, in the light, and I will re-move earthly thoughts.

There is a light in you the world can not
perceive. And with its eyes you will not see
this light, for you are blinded by the world.
Yet you have eyes to see it. It is there
for you to look upon. It was not placed
in you to be kept hidden from your sight.
This light is a reflection of the thought
we practice now. To feel the Love of God
within you is to see the world anew,
shining in innocence, alive with hope,
and blessed with perfect charity and love.
Lesson 189 1

9/15
One of the rhetorical principles that Jesus uses in His Course to help us train our minds to a new way of seeing is contrast.  Here are the first two paragraphs from Section Vl, The Temple of the Holy Spirit, in Chapter 20.  To demonstrate the contrast, the ego’s voice is in italics, holy relationship is in bold.

The meaning of the Son of God lies solely in his relationship with his Creator.
If it were elsewhere it would rest on contingency,”but there is nothing else. And this is wholly loving and forever.“Yet has the Son of God invented an unholy relationship between him and his Father. His real relationship is one of perfect union and unbroken continuity.“The one he made is partial, self-centred, broken into fragments and full of fear.” The one created by his Father is wholly self-encompassing and self-extending. The one he made is wholly self-destructive and self-limiting.
Nothing can show the contrast better than the experience of both a holy and an unholy relationship. The first is based on love, and rests on it serene and undisturbed. The body does not intrude upon it.  Any relationship in which the body enters is based not on love, but on idolatry.   Love wishes to be known, completely understood and shared. It has no secrets; nothing that it would keep apart and hide. It walks in sunlight, open-eyed and calm, in smiling welcome and in sincerity so simple and so obvious it cannot be misunderstood.

9/16
My Course book is so full of Post-it Notes that have accumulated over the years.  I tried to get rid of them, systematically, but started reading them, and this one surprised me.  It is dated 3/29/1998, and Christine and I had arrived at Endeavor Academy only 8 months earlier, 8/7/1997.

I think my note was inspired by these sentences:

Anything in this world that you believe is good and valuable and worth striving for can hurt you and will do so.  Not because it has the power to hurt, but just because you have denied it is but an illusion, and made it real.  T-26.Vl.1:1-2

The warm-honey excitement in my chest is a place I can experience,  recognizing  the nothingness of my imaginings (images made with a part of my mind that has no source in reality).  The dark images fall into the warmth of forgiveness, and this is an experience.  From here I can see that everything has a dream-like quality and that we’re just playing our roles that we scripted with thoughts that have no source.  If this were not so tragic, it would be kind of funny.

9/17
Last Saturday, while Christine and I were walking around a Farmers’ Market in Sheboygan, WI., a street-corner preacher thrust into my hand, a flyer entitled, “Are you ready?”

Here are some gems from it:

Are you sure you will go to heaven when you die?
Do you have real Bible salvation that cleanses from all sin?
Many dear people have been deceived through all the false religions around us.
Jesus died to save us from our sins.
I did not engage the preacher man in dialogue, but later I said to myself after reading the flyer what my dear friend, Jack Davis, said to me years ago, “I stay ready, then I don’t have to get ready.”

I stay read by asking for help to experience the peace of God, thereby being vigilant and receptive to hear God’s Voice speaking to me all through the day.

9/18
At Endeavor Academy, hanging around with brothers who are dedicated to A Course in Miracles, I often hear the phrase, “There’s only your mind;” to which I say to myself, sarcastically, “Thank you, Dear One,” particularly if I am upset about something, nursing a grievance.

It is a true statement, and it is only helpful when I realize that in each moment I have choice of how I respond to an event.

Here is a simple example that takes it out of the realm of personalities.


Suppose severe lightning suddenly strikes, followed by loud thundering.
I can see this happening, either through the body’s eyes, or through the eyes of Christ.  That choice is my responsibility in each moment, i.e., my response depends on how I see it.  That is what it means to say that I am totally responsible; it is truly only my mind.

This all came to mind when I read the first sentence of Lesson 253, My Self is ruler of the universe.
It is impossible that anything should come to me unbidden by myself.
It is always a question of whether I am asking for it from my self, or from my Self, and how I respond to it, as my self, or my Self because, after all, “There’s only my mind.”

9/19
Anything I make up by perceiving it through the body’s eyes is all the same; it is all taking place in time and space.  It is all illusion.  Obviously, perception is the same with all my senses:  smelling, hearing, tasting, feeling.


Perception did not exist until the separation introduced degrees, aspects and intervals.    T-3.1:5

Experiencing the “thisness” of all things is a big step in helping me forgive all things.

I just love it that Jesus makes this crystal clear to us in His Lessons 81-90, reviewing Lessons 61-80.  Each Lesson contains three applications.
Here is an example from Lesson 82:

Let me not use “this” to hide my function from me.
I would use “this” as an opportunity to fulfill my function.
“This” may threaten my ego, but cannot change my function in any way.

In His Reviews, He uses “this” 50 times. 

It is so helpful to remember that “this” is not so.
To read all of the Lessons, please go to my blog site to read the post entitled, This is not so!, September 18, 2012, by clicking on this link:

www.throughamirrorbrightly.blogspot.com

9/20
In “What is the Body?” a theme of special relevance in His Course in Miracles, Jesus repeatedly uses the metaphor of “fences,” to describe the body’s primary function.

This brought to mind Robert Frost’s poem, Mending Wall.  Frost uses the metaphor of a stone fence, describing what separates him from his neighbor, while all the time, he knows that the fence represents a barrier to love.
Here is a juxtaposition of lines from the poem in quotation marks, with lines from the Course.

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.

The body is a fence the Son of God
imagines he has built, to separate
parts of his Self from other parts. It is
within this fence he thinks he lives, to die
as it decays and crumbles. For within
this fence he thinks that he is safe from love.

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?

The body is the means by which God's Son
returns to sanity. Though it was made
to fence him into hell without escape,
yet has the goal of Heaven been exchanged
for the pursuit of hell. The Son of God
extends his hand to reach his brother, and
to help him walk along the road with him.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.

Love is your safety.

I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly,

Fear does not exist.

and I'd rather
He said it for himself.

Identify with love, and you are safe.
Identify with love, and you are home.
Identify with love, and find your Self.

9/21
It is so helpful to look at the words that Jesus uses in Lesson 261, God is my refuge and security, to contrast our strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

Identify, from the French, to make one with; refuge, from the French, to flee back to; security, Latin, freedom from care; citadel, French, fortress commanding a city;

Safe, peace, God, Father, Son, Self

Weaknesses:

Idols, from the French, mental images of a false god, and from the Greek, reflections in water, or a mirror.

Attacked, danger, murderous attacks

I will identify with what I think
is refuge and security. I will
behold myself where I perceive my strength,
and think I live within the citadel
where I am safe and cannot be attacked.
Let me today seek not security
in danger, nor attempt to find my peace
in murderous attack. I live in God.
In Him I find my refuge and my strength.
In Him is my Identity. In Him
is everlasting peace. And only there
will I remember Who I really am.
Let me not seek for idols. I would come,
my Father, home to You today. I choose
to be as You created me, and find
the Son whom You created as my Self.

9/22
In “What is Sin?” a theme of special relevance in His Workbook of A Course in Miracles, Jesus uses the term “aim” several times.

The body is the instrument the mind
made in its efforts to deceive itself.
Its purpose is to strive. Yet can the goal
of striving change. And now the body serves
a different aim for striving. What it seeks
for now is chosen by the aim the mind
has taken as replacement for the goal
of self-deception. Truth can be its aim
as well as lies. The senses then will seek
instead for witnesses to what is true.
Using the word “aim” is masterful because it puts into proper perspective the true meaning of sin, placing it in the Aramaic framework of “sin” simply meaning “off the mark.”

Sin was originally meant to be helpful feedback for the archer.  The English translation of the Aramaic word, Khata, is sin.  When an archer fired at a target and missed the bull’s eye, the scorekeeper yelled, “Khata,” simply meaning he was “off the mark,” giving him an opportunity to make a correction.

In this sense, “sin” is just a mistake, calling for correction, not for damnation.
Jesus urges us to put away our  “sharp-edged children’s toys,” and be on the mark.

How long, O Son of God, will you maintain
the game of sin? Shall we not put away
these sharp-edged children's toys? How soon will you
be ready to come home? Perhaps today?
There is no sin. Creation is unchanged.
Would you still hold return to Heaven back?
How long, O holy Son of God, how long?

9/23

Of course, Jesus resurrected.

Two thousand years later, He dictated His Course to Helen.

This came to mind when I read this passage from Lesson 262, Let me perceive no differences today.

Let me not see your Son as a stranger to
his Father, nor as stranger to myself.
For he is part of me and I of him,
and we are part of You Who are our Source,
eternally united in Your Love;
eternally the holy Son of God.

This echoes John 17:20, 21

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

He is Risen, indeed.

9/24

As the day unfolds, I often ground myself by remembering to focus on simply breathing in and breathing out.   It is so helpful for me to remember that the word inspiration comes from the Latin, spirare, meaning to breathe.

The Holy Spirit is the breath of God.

To be inspired means to breathe in the breath of God.

Our speaking voice is simply breath coming from our lungs through our larynx  into our mouth and shaped by our tongue and cheeks and lips.  It is always a question of whether we are speaking with the voice of the ego, or the Voice of God.

You can speak from the spirit or from the ego, as you choose. If you speak from spirit you have chosen to 'Be still and know that I am God'. These words are inspired because they reflect knowledge. If you speak from the ego you are disclaiming knowledge instead of affirming it, and are thus dis-spiriting yourself. Do not embark on useless journeys, because they are indeed in vain. The ego may desire them, but spirit cannot embark on them because it is forever unwilling to depart from its Foundation. T-4.Intro.2

After writing this, I came across this quotation from Jon Mundy.

Living A Course in Miracles means integrating the principles of the Course into our lives.  The Holy Spirit’s voice is as loud as our willingness to listen.  As we have over-learned the lessons of the ego, we have a bit of work to do to engage in a reversal of the thinking; heal the terrorist within; learn a new lesson from a  Perfect Teacher and do what God would have us do.  We cannot behave appropriately unless we perceive correctly and then do what Go is asking us to do.  It is the only way to true happiness.

9/25
From the moment I wake up in the morning, I am perceiving worldly objects—the clock, bed, rung, floor, shower, towel.

And yet, I am repeatedly told in the Course that there is no world.

At the same time, I am told this:

\Father, your Mind created all that is.  Lesson 263.1

What is the way out of this paradox?

It all depends on whether we are looking through the eyes of the ego, or the eyes of Christ.

Lesson 263, My holy vision sees all things as pure.

Father, Your Mind created all that is,
Your Spirit entered into it, Your Love
gave life to it. And would I look upon
what You created as if it could be
made sinful? I would not perceive such dark
and fearful images. A madman's dream
is hardly fit to be my choice, instead
of all the loveliness with which You blessed
creation; all its purity, its joy,
and its eternal, quiet home in You.

And while we still remain outside the gate
of Heaven, let us look on all we see
through holy vision and the eyes of Christ.
Let all appearances seem pure to us,
that we may pass them by in innocence,
and walk together to our Father's house
as brothers and the holy Sons of God.

For now we see through
a glass, darkly; but then face
to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even
as also I am known.
 Corinthians 14:12

9/26
Simply do this:

Forget this world, forget this course, and come
with wholly empty hands unto your God.
There. . .There. . .There

Now, please read the rest of this passage, fully appreciating the nothingness, the “thisness” that you gave up to experience, simply, the peace of God.

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.
Lesson  189.7

9/27

I am sitting on my couch early in the morning on a day just after the autumnal equinox, looking at the brown leaves falling from the trees, reading Lesson 265, Creation’s gentleness is all I see, and I realize that it is a quick shift from seeing with the eyes of the ego, or seeing with vision because after all, my mind is the mechanism of decision.

I place my hand over my right eye, looking out of my left, pretending that I am seeing a world of sin, being off the mark, experiencing fear;  I place my hand over my left eye, pretending that I am seeing a world of “celestial gentleness,”  experiencing my  true reflection, and then I slowly read this sonnet by Jesus, the first 14 lines of Lesson 265.

I have indeed misunderstood the world,
because I laid my sins on it and saw
them looking back at me. How fierce they
seemed! And how deceived was I to think that what
I feared was in the world, instead of in
my mind alone. Today I see the world
in the celestial gentleness with which
creation shines. There is no fear in it.
Let no appearance of my sins obscure
the light of Heaven shining on the world.
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.

9/28

In His Course, Jesus is always reminding us of the difference between ego projection and vision, inviting in either fear, or love and salvation.

In a section of His Text entitled, The Investment in Reality, Jesus makes this incredible declaration;

If your brothers ask you for something “outrageous,” do it because it does not matter.  T-12. lll.4:1

This is understandable to me only when I look at the two different references to the pronoun “it.”  In the first case, doing “it” means to be still and experience peace in the recognition that doing the second “it” does not matter because you are being asked in respect to worldly matters.  The first “it” means taking it to the altar, first.

The altar of God where Christ abideth is there. You have defiled the altar, but not the world. Bring your perceptions of the world to this altar, for it is the altar to truth. There you will see your vision changed, and there you will learn to see truly. From this place, where God and His Son dwell in peace and where you are welcome, you will look out in peace and behold the world truly. Yet to find the place, you must relinquish your investment in the world as you project it, allowing the Holy Spirit to extend the real world to you from the altar of God. 10

This is so helpful because there do seem to be some crazy requests out there.

9/29
In his book, Imagine:  How Creativity Works, John Lehrer refers to a metaphor as a bridge.

From the perspective of the brain, a metaphor is a bridge between two ideas that, at least on the surface, are not equivalent or related.  When Romeo declares that “Juliet is the sun,” we know that he isn’t saying his beloved is a massive, flaming ball of hydrogen.  We understand that Romeo is trafficking in metaphor, calling attention to aspects of Juliet that might also apply to that bright orb in the sky.  She might not be a star, but perhaps she lights up his world in the same way the sun illuminates the earth. p. 10

In His Course Jesus uses metaphor to carry us beyond time and space, the dream, the illusion, particularly in Lesson 61, I am the light of the world.
True humility requires that you accept today's idea because it is God's Voice which tells you it is true. This is a beginning step in accepting your real function on earth. It is a giant stride toward taking your rightful place in salvation. It is a positive assertion of your right to be saved, and an acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save others. 3

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

You are the light of the world.

9/30
One of my favorite metaphors has to do with sight, either seeing through the body’s eyes, or seeing through the eyes of Christ.

Father, You gave me all Your Sons, to be
my saviors and my counselors in sight;
Lesson 266.1,2

Counselors are elders, advisors.  I remember when I first came to Endeavor Academy, reading in the Text that the Holy Spirit will speak to us through your brothers, I remember paying real close attention to what my brothers said.

the bearers of Your holy Voice to me.
In them are You reflected, and in them
does Christ look back upon me from my Self.3-5

We are always looking into a mirror; may we catch a light reflection, not a dark projection.

This is not so!

Anything I make up by perceiving it through the body’s eyes is all the same; it is all taking place in time and space.  It is all illusion.  Obviously, perception is the same with all my senses:  smelling, hearing, tasting, feeling.

Perception did not exist until the separation introduced degrees, aspects and intervals.    T-3.1:5

Experiencing the “thisness” of all things is a big step in helping me forgive all things.

I just love it that Jesus makes this clear to us in His Lessons 81-90, reviewing Lessons 61-80.  Each Lesson contains three applications.

Here is an example from Lesson 82:

Let me not use this to hide my function from me.
I would use this as an opportunity to fulfill my function.
This may threaten my ego, but cannot change my function in any way.

In His Reviews, He uses this 50 times.

It is so helpful to remember that this is not so.

Here are the applications in the Reviews.

Let me not obscure the light of the world in me.
Let the light of the world shine through this appearance.
This shadow will vanish before the light.

Let this help me learn what forgiveness means.
Let me not separate my function from my will.
I will not use this for an alien purpose.

Let peace extend from my mind to yours, [name].
I share the light of the world with you, [name].
Through my forgiveness I can see this as it is.

Let me not use this to hide my function from me.
I would use this as an opportunity to fulfill my function.
This may threaten my ego, but cannot change my function in any way.

My perception of this does not change my function.
This does not give me a function other than the one God gave me.
Let me not use this to justify a function God did not give me.

This cannot separate my happiness from my function.
The oneness of my happiness and my function remains wholly unaffected by this.
Nothing, including this, can justify the illusion of happiness apart from my function.

Let me not see an illusion of myself in this.
As I look on this, let me remember my Creator.
My Creator did not create this as I see it.

This is no justification for denying my Self.
I will not use this to attack love.
Let this not tempt me to attack myself.

Let me not use this as a block to sight.
The light of the world will shine all this away.
I have no need for this. I want to see.

Let this not tempt me to look away from me for my salvation.
I will not let this interfere with my awareness of the Source of my salvation.
This has no power to remove salvation from me.

God's plan for salvation will save me from my perception of this.
This is no exception in God's plan for my salvation.
Let me perceive this only in the light of God's plan for salvation.

I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this.
If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for my salvation.
This calls for salvation, not attack.

This cannot hide the light I will to see.
You stand with me in light, [name].
In the light this will look different.

Let me perceive this in accordance with the Will of God.
It is God's Will you are His Son, [name], and mine as well.
This is part of God's Will for me, however I may see it.

This cannot show me darkness, for the light has come.
The light in you is all that I would see, [name].
I would see in this only what is there.

My perception of this shows me I believe in laws that do not exist.
I see only the laws of God at work in this.
Let me allow God's laws to work in this, and not my own.

Behind this is a miracle to which I am entitled.
Let me not hold a grievance against you, [name], but offer you the miracle that belongs to you instead.
Seen truly, this offers me a miracle.

I would not hold this grievance apart from my salvation.
Let our grievances be replaced by miracles, [name].
Beyond this is the miracle by which all my grievances are replaced.

This presents a problem to me which I would have resolved.
The miracle behind this grievance will resolve it for me.
The answer to this problem is the miracle that it conceals.

I need not wait for this to be resolved.
The answer to this problem is already given me, if I will accept it.
Time cannot separate this problem from its solution.

Making Explicit the True Meaning of Forgiveness

Two, or three, years ago, I set up a Facebook account, but I never really did much with it, until Sunday 8 April, Easter Sunday, auspiciously, when it occurred to me that I could post a Status statement on Facebook, daily.  This would enable me to express myself regarding the meaning of forgiveness, and spread the word about the incredible event coming up in the fall, International Forgiveness Week and Weekend of Perfect Peace, September 14-23, 2012, at the Healing Center of Endeavor Academy, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

It was clear to me that each day I could make explicit the meaning of forgiveness in a pithy statement, and at the same time, encourage readers to send in their statements expressing their forgiveness experiences.
We will collect these statements and make them available during the Event, as well as possibly publish them in a book.

Please write about your experience of forgiving thoughts in 600 words, or less, and Submit Your Essay, using this link:
http://www.forgivenessweek.org/writing.php

It was also clear to me that on the first of each month, I would post a blog containing the statements from the preceding month.
These are my Status postings for August, 2012.


8/1
It is very helpful for me to be aware of either seeing through the body’s eyes, comparing and judging and projecting, or seeing through the eyes of Christ, catching a pure reflection of a peaceful state of mind.  This passage expresses this peacefulness very nicely.

The mirror is thoroughly egoless and mindless.  If a flower comes, it reflects a flower; if a bird comes, it reflects a bird.  Everything is revealed as it is.  There is no discriminating mind or self-consciousness on the part of the mirror.  If something comes, the mirror reflects; if it disappears, the mirror just lets it disappear. . .no traces of anything are left behind. (Zenkei Shibayama (1894-1974, Japan)

Christ's eyes are open, and He will look upon whatever you see with love if you accept His vision as yours. The Holy Spirit keeps the vision of Christ for every Son of God who sleeps. In His sight the Son of God is perfect, and He longs to share His vision with you. He will show you the real world because God gave you Heaven. Through Him your Father calls His Son to remember. The awakening of His Son begins with his investment in the real world, and by this he will learn to re-invest in himself. For reality is one with the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit blesses the real world in Their Name. Chapter 12.VI.4:4-10

8/2
It is so sad that, rather than asking for too much, we ask for so little and settle for practically nothing, while all the time we could be walking the world with full awareness that we are as we were created by God.  Nevertheless, it is inevitable that we occasionally catch a glimpse, a Light, a song.  And these two passages express it well.

As mortals, we have tried to live in worlds of our own design, pulling many thoughts and moods around ourselves for comfort.  Through the centuries and  ages and eons with every comfort we cloak ourselves in, we become further from the One; layer upon layer, further and further, until finally, all that’s left to remind us is a memory of the One, a feeling way down underneath,  and bits  of light peeking out now and then through one another’s eyes. (Karen Goodman, Angel Voices, Simon & Schuster,New York, 1993), p. 101

Listen—perhaps you catch a hint of an ancient state not quite forgotten; dim, perhaps, and yet not altogether unfamiliar, like a song whose name is long forgotten; and the circumstances in which you heard completely unremembered. Not the whole song has stayed with you, but just a little wisp of melody, attached not to a person or a place or anything particular. But you remember, from just this little part, how lovely was the song, how wonderful the setting where you heard it, and how you loved those who were there and listened with you. Chapter 21.1.6

8/3
It is always a matter of awareness.  Am I aware of my petty self, perceiving false thought-images, or am I aware of my Self, experiencing a reflection of a peaceful state of mind?  Awareness of my self blocks the awareness of my Self.
It is always either/or, Yes/No, Help/Thank You.

When you attack a brother, you proclaim
that he is limited by what you have
perceived in him. You do not look beyond
his errors. Rather, they are magnified,
becoming blocks to your awareness of
the Self that lies beyond your own mistakes,
and past his seeming sins as well as yours.
Lesson 181.1

A brother once said this to me when I first came to Endeavor Academy, and it has always been very helpful to me:

“When I feel conflicted, I ask for Help; when I feel peaceful, I say Thank You.”

8/4
In studies of perception, there is a very helpful way of looking at things:   “figure” and “ground.”

If you focus on your hand, say, it becomes “figure” and everything else around you becomes “ground,” say, the computer monitor.

If you shift your focus from your hand and glance at your surroundings, say, the computer monitor, your hand becomes “ground” and the monitor becomes “figure.”

Obviously, we shift our focus thousands of times a day.

It is very useful to keep this distinction in mind while reading this passage in Lesson 181, I trust my brothers who are one with me.

Perception has a focus. It is this
that gives consistency to what you see.
Change but this focus, and what you behold
will change accordingly. Your vision now
will shift, to give support to the intent
which has replaced the one you held before.
Remove your focus on your brother's sins,
and you experience the peace that comes
from faith in sinlessness. This faith receives
its only sure support from what you see
in others past their sins. For their mistakes,
if focused on, are witnesses to sins
in you. And you will not transcend their sight
and see the sinlessness that lies beyond. 2

If I focus on a brother’s “sins,” his Christhood becomes “ground.”  When I focus on his Christhood, his “sins” becomes “ground.”  This can only happen when I become aware of my own Christhood. 

This shift in my perception is forgiveness.

8/5
There is only now.  There is only this moment, an interval between the past and the future.  I am sitting here, quietly, breathing in and breathing out, my feet planted squarely on the floor, grounded.  And in this moment, now, my focus on my false thoughts has gone away, and with pure intent for peace, reaching for the Thoughts of God, focusing on my sinlessness, I am receptive.

Therefore, in practicing today, we first
let all such little focuses give way
to our great need to let our sinlessness
become apparent. We instruct our minds
that it is this we seek, and only this,
for just a little while. We do not care
about our future goals. And what we saw
|an instant previous has no concern
for us within this interval of time
wherein we practice changing our intent.
We seek for innocence and nothing else.
We seek for it with no concern but now. 
Lesson 181.3

(And now I’m laughing, because just after writing this peaceful thing, Christine and I had one of those crazy, meaningless arguments about nothing, and I am marveling at how quickly we can lose focus.)

I just told her that prior to the craziness, I was peaceful, and she said she was in Light, and we laughed and hugged, and it was all over.

8/6
I don’t know how often I have said, “Thank God for A Course in Miracles.”
This morning I was in a meeting, and a brother was going on and on about something that made me so angry my stomach started churning.

When the meeting was over, I went home, still seething, and said to myself that I had given myself the next few hours to write and read, and how could I do that in this state of mind?

I sat down on the couch in misery and said I’ve got to read something to pull myself out.

I read this passage from Lesson 181, I trust my brothers who are one with me.

Sure.

 So, for a little while, without regard to past or future, should such blocks arise we will transcend them with instructions to our minds to change their focus, as we say:

It is not this that I would look upon. 6:3,4

It is obvious that my brother is not the problem; s/he is not “out there.” What I am seeing in him/her is a projection of blocks in my own mind; “I” am the problem, not him/her.

I trust my brothers, who are one with me. 5

And we will also use this thought to keep us safe throughout the day. 7:1

By this practice, we are being kept safe from our own projections.

We do not seek for long-range goals. As each obstruction seems to block the vision of our sinlessness, we seek but for surcease an instant from the misery the focus upon sin will bring, and uncorrected will remain. 7:2,3

Ah, there it is. . .surcease an instant from the misery. . .Now, for a moment, I have that easy, peaceful feeling, and I can keep working it as the day goes on.  And now I am able to write this with a clear head.

“Thank God, I learned to forgive through A Course in Miracles.”

8/7
I came across this quotation in Facebook, today.

The more real you get, the more unreal the world gets. 
John Lennon

I find that during the day, the more often I sit quietly and experience the peace of God, or do what I do from a grounded state of mind, the more I can see the dream for what it is.  Looking out at the world from this perspective, I don’t take quite so seriously the thought-images that appear and disappear in my mind.  In respect to A Course in Miracles, my unreality is sinful, i.e., off the mark, separate from God, miserable; however, my reality is in union with God, sinless, joyful, peaceful. 

We seek but for surcease an instant from
the misery the focus upon sin
will bring, and uncorrected will remain.
Nor do we ask for fantasies. For what
we seek to look upon is really there.
And as our focus goes beyond mistakes,
we will behold a wholly sinless world.
|When seeing this is all we want to see,
when this is all we seek for in the name
of true perception, are the eyes of Christ
inevitably ours. And the Love
He feels for us becomes our own as well.
This will become the only thing we see
reflected in the world and in ourselves.
Lesson 181.

When I was talking about this with my son, Stephen, the other day, he said, “This is like lucid dreaming.”  I like that.  Lucid comces from the Latin, lucidus, meaning “light, bright, clear.” 

It is quite possible to be “in” the world, and not “of” the world, seeing brightly.

8/8 
It is so difficult not to take ego perception and memory for reality, and the following serves as a good reminder.  A newspaper columnist, Christian Schneider, begins an article this way.

I can remember my first Milwaukee Brewers baseball game as clearly as if it were a week ago.  It was 1981, and the heavily mustachioed Brewers Crew were on their way to their first playoff appearance.

As I walked into County Stadium on that warm night, my eyes grew to the size of manhole covers—I had never been in a stadium packed to capacity before.  Tommy John was on the mound for the hated New York Yankees:  the Brewers Gorman Thomas hit two home runs, and my dad and I went home as happy and worn out as if we had played the game ourselves.

There’s only one problem with my fondest of memories: None of it is t rue.
I was able to debunk this warm memory of mine within about three clicks of a mouse while surfing the internet.  I now wonder how many other formative elements of my childhood are incorrect.

With memories, perception is reality; a strong recollection, even if incorrect, has the force of fact.  (“The Internet’s attack on memory,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 25, 2012, p. 13A)

Schneder provides a most appropriate example of what Jesus is teaching us in His Course in Miracles.

Perhaps you think it is your childhood home
that you would find again. The childhood of
your body,  and its place of shelter, are
a memory now so distorted that
you merely hold a picture of a past
that never happened.
Lesson 182.4

And Jesus offers us His Course, so that we can learn to be in touch with our true Child, already, always present in us.

Yet there is a Child
in you Who seeks His Father's house, and knows
that He is alien here. This childhood is
eternal, with an innocence that will
endure forever. Where this Child shall go
is holy ground. It is His Holiness
that lights up Heaven, and that brings to earth
the pure reflection of the light above,
wherein are earth and Heaven joined as one.
Lesson 182.4

8/9
There is no question that we have always been called.  The only question is whether or not we hear the call.

Here’s our great American poet, Walt Whitman.

Would you sound below the restless ocean of the entire world?  Would you know the dissatisfaction?  The urge and spur of every life; the something never still’d—never entirely gone?  The invisible need of every seed?

And here is Guy Finley’s commentary:

We’re asked a vital question:  is there a part of us that longs to know—that’s willing to seek out—what lies hidden just beneath the thought-tossed surface of ourselves?  If our answer is “Yes,” then Mr. Whitman goes on to suggest what awaits us there in that great, undiscovered country of our innermost Self. (The Seeker The Search The Sacred, Weiser Books, San Francisco, CA., 2011), p. 4

Whitman finishes with this sentence.

It is the central urge in every atom to return to its divine source and origin, however distant.

And here’s Finley:

In summary, Walt asks:  Are we willing to bear—to share in the being of an unceasing creation—to merge with the highest part of ourselves?
And here’s Jesus in Lesson 182, I will be still an instant and go home.

A memory of home
keeps haunting you, as if there were a place
that called you to return, although you do
not recognize the voice, nor what it is
the voice reminds you of. 1

8/10
This lyrical and inspiring passage offers a wonderful introduction to A Course in Miracles.

God introduces the soul that has been made holy to a rhythm of alternate ecstasy, of contentment and of a yearning for an irreducible otherness, so that the soul does not cease to renew its love and spread itself in the inexhaustible store of God’s riches.  Olivier Clement (1921-2009, France)

Here is Jesus writing in the “rhythm of alternate ecstasy,” blank verse, the rhythm of the universe.

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.
Lesson 156.4

8/11
We are conditioned from birth to think without reservation that “seeing is believing.”  We place complete trust in our senses and what our senses in conjunction with our brains show us.  In fact, the word evidence comes from the Latin, videre, meaning “to see,” in the sense of proof by appearance.
While all the time, we can see only with true vision, looking through the eyes of Christ.

First, here are examples of the interaction between the brain and the senses.
Sight

But for all the eye’s extraordinary ability, seeing is a function of the brain—humans’ visual cortex is more developed than that of any other mammal.

(To read more, please read my blog post, “Seeing is not Believing,” August 10, 2012).  Click on this link:

http://www.throughamirrorbrightly.blogspot.com

8/12
It is hard to believe, as we walk through a world of seeming pain and misery, that it is a result of our thoughts; we are affected only by our thoughts. 
Yet, we can say God’s Name, and all these thoughts disappear.  It is always a matter of remembering and forgetting.

God's Name can not be heard without response,
nor said without an echo in the mind
that calls you to remember. Say His Name,
and you invite the angels to surround the ground
on which you stand, and sing to you
as they spread out their wings to keep you safe,
and shelter you from every worldly thought
that would intrude upon your holiness.
Lesson 183.2

You can remember what the world forgot,
and offer it your own remembering. 9:3

8/13
Some time ago, I heard one line from a Jeep commercial that knocked me out because of how it echoes A Course in Miracles.

“The things we make, make us.”

Today we learn a lesson which can save you more
delay and needless misery than you
can possibly imagine. It is this:
You make what you defend against, and by
your own defense against it is it real
and inescapable. Lay down your arms,
and only then do you perceive it false.
Lesson 170.2:4-7

You maker of a world that is not so, take rest and comfort in another world where peace abides. Chapter 25.IV.3:1

Thank God that He has provided us a step by step procedure to learn to experience rest and comfort and peace.

In you is all of Heaven. Every leaf that falls is given life in you. Each bird that ever sang will sing again in you. And every flower that ever bloomed has saved its perfume and its loveliness for you. What aim can supersede the Will of God and of His Son, that Heaven be restored to him for whom it was created as his only home? Nothing before and nothing after it. No other place; no other state nor time. Nothing beyond nor nearer. Nothing else. In any form. This can you bring to all the world, and all the thoughts that entered it and were mistaken for a little while. How better could your own mistakes be brought to truth than by your willingness to bring the light of Heaven with you, as you walk beyond the world of darkness into light? 5

8/14
It is not February 14, but here is as valentine for my wife, Christine.
I have often thought this about us, and now I can express it clearly.
The mark of a good relationship is this:

In response to a request, a “Yes” or “No” is equally accepted.

In the context of A Course in Miracles, this is the difference between a special  relationship, and a holy one.

In specialness, there are always bargains and comparisons.

Specialness is the seal of treachery upon the gift of love. Not one believer in its potency but seeks for bargains and for compromise that would establish sin love's substitute, and serve it faithfully. And no relationship that holds its purpose dear but clings to murder as safety's weapon, and the great defender of all illusions from the 'threat' of love. Chapter 24.11.8

In forgiveness, it is possible to overcome specialness.

You who would be content with specialness, and seek salvation in a war with love, consider this: The holy Lord of Heaven has Himself come down to you, to offer you your own completion. What is His is yours because in your completion is His Own. He Who willed not to be without His Son could never will that you be brother-less. And would He give a brother unto you except he be as perfect as yourself, and just as like to Him in holiness as you must be? Chapter 24.V.8

8/15
I love to read passages that echo A Course in Miracles, especially in this case, when the writer was born 100 years before Jesus began dictating to Helen.

Listen to James Allen (1864-1912, England).

That which is real cannot be destroyed, but only that which is unreal.  When a man finds that within him which is real, which is constant, and abiding, changeless, and eternal, he enters into that Reality, and becomes meek.  All the powers of darkness will come against him, but they will do him no hurt, and will at last depart from him.

That which is real cannot be destroyed,

Nothing real can be threatened.

but only that which is unreal.

Nothing unreal exists.

When a man finds that within him which is real, which is constant, and a biding, changeless, and eternal, he enters into that Reality, and becomes meek.


Herein lies the peace of God. ACIM.Introduction.2:2-4

All the powers of darkness will come against him, but they will do him no hurt, and will at last depart from him.

What is described as “meek” is defenselessness in the face of unreality, and with this recognition that all power is his, his defenselessness is his safety.

8/16
In Matthew 23, Jesus uses this phrase three times:

“But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees,  hypocrites!”

The Greeks used the word “hypocrite” to refer to an actor because the word means “to pretend.”

When I forget that I am the son of God and walk around in an ego state of mind, making up a false world of thought-images, I am like an actor playing a role, being a hypocrite.

8/17
I love reading personal accounts of individuals being “touched by God.” Here is a brief account by Mary C. Neal, MD, describing an event that occurred when she was young from her book, To Heaven and Back.

The tiny two-track road in the remote mountains of Mexico was saturated with rain from the previous night.  Our traveling group consisted of the fifteen-year old me, an adult missionary couple, another teenager, and a little baby.  Our truck’s spinning wheels were unable to gain traction and the  truck quickly sank to its axels.  It was imperative that we get the truck back on the road, as we had driven this desolate stretch of road many times over the summer and had never seen another vehicle.  As we worked, we began to pray with great fervor and specificity:  We prayed that God would “put rock under us,” and soon.

The words had barely floated off our lips when we were shocked to see a rusty old pickup truck rumbling up the road.  When told of our predicament, the driver  graciously offered to give us as ride to town.  The cab was too small to hold all of us, so we eagerly climbed into the truck.

We were filled with joy at the sight of rock, knowing that our prayers had been heard.  pp. xv, xvi.  

8/18
Since David was a shepherd as a boy, he drew on his experiences as a young shepherd when he wrote Psalm 23, using the analogy that God is to us as a shepherd is to his flock.

A modern-day shepherd named Phillip Keller has written a remarkable book entitled, “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.” 

http://www.antipas.org/commentaries/articles/shepherd_psa23/shepherd_01.html

What follows are key lines from Psalm 23, and passages from Keller’s book, demonstrating David’s shepherding analogy.

"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT."

When all is said and done the welfare of any flock is entirely dependent upon the management afforded them by their owner.
I have become increasingly aware of one thing ... It is ... the Master in people's lives who makes the difference in their destiny.

(To read the complete article, please go to my blog post entitled, “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23,” August 17, 2013):

http://www.throughamirrorbrightly.blogspot.com




8/19

Once we have caught a glimpse of the truth of what we are and experience that peace, we can more easily be reminded by occurrences around us.  We suddenly look up on a rainy day that seems unusually bright, and we see a rainbow, a multicolor arch across the sky. We hear the soft sound of thunder on a warm spring day, the first spring rain. On a summer night we see fireflies sprinkling the darkness with flecks of light.

And, we can count on the poets to capture these moments. Here is a poem by Chase Twichell, catching a reflection of what is available in our minds, awaiting our awareness.

Tea Mind

Even as a child I could
induce it at will.
I'd go to where the big rocks
stayed cold in the woods all summer,
and tea mind would come to me
like water over stones, pool to pool,
and in that way I taught myself to think.
Green teas are my favorites, especially
the basket-fired Japanese ones
that smell of baled hay.
Thank you, makers of this tea.
Because of you my mind is still tonight,
transparent, a leaf in air.
Now it rides a subtle current.
Now it can finally disappear.

8/20
Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to shake us out of our preoccupation with thoughts running through our minds, thoughts with no source in reality, narrative thoughts telling us, “This is so, deal with it.”

Here is Robert Frost (1874-1963), capturing this shift in awareness from conflict to peace, from rueful brooding to stillness and joy.

Dust of Snow

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
and saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

8/21
A friend said to me the other day, “So, what’s this A Course in Miracles about?”

I found myself saying, “Namaste, and you say to me, Namaste.”
“Namaste.”

“The Christ in me greets the Christ in you.”

I went on to say that it all comes down to our awareness of the Christ that we are.

The biggest obstacle to our awareness is our preoccupation with our narrative voice, constantly making up what seems to be “out there” with thought-images that are only projected from “in here.”  By giving names to things “out there,” we think we are establishing our “reality,” while all the time, “thinking” is our problem.

Yet we have learned that things but represent the thoughts that made them. Lesson 187.2:3

And this narrative voice, the ego, is terrified that you will shift your awareness from it to the Christ within.

What are these names by which the world becomes
a series of discrete events, of things
ununified, of bodies kept apart
and holding bits of mind as separate
awarenesses? You gave these names to them,
establishing perception as you wished
to have perception be. The nameless things
were given names, and thus reality
was given them as well.
Lesson 184.3:1-3

That is why Jesus begins His Lessons as He did.

Lesson 1:  Nothing I see means anything.
What I see is meaningless because I made it up with thoughts having no source in “reality.”

His Course is a direct challenge to our narrative voice, thus beginning our journey to true awareness, learning to see through the eyes of Christ.
When I finished, he said, “Thank you.  I’ll think about it.”

And I thought to myself, “Aye, therein lies the rub.”

8/22
As I walk through the day, I find it very helpful to say this sentence to myself quite often:

I am “in” the world, and not “of” the world.

That is, I am, indeed, walking around in a body, seeing through the body’s eyes, making it up as I go, being my false self, while all this time I can choose to be aware of my true Self, the holy son of God; it’s always a matter of awareness.
It is this grounding awareness that I ask for help to experience.  It is all going on, simultaneously, being “in” and not “of” the world, and it is simply my awareness that counts.

Master Teacher of Endeavor Academy often said:  “I don’t care what you do; it’s what’s going on in your mind that matters.”

Here is a helpful passage from Lesson 184, The Name of God is my inheritance.

It would indeed be strange if you were asked
to go beyond all symbols of the world,
forgetting them forever; yet were asked
to take a teaching function. You have need
to use the symbols of the world a while.
But be you not deceived by them as well.
They do not stand for anything at all,
and in your practicing it is this thought
that will release you from them. They become
but means by which you can communicate
in ways the world can understand, but which
you recognize is not the unity
where true communication can be found. 9

8/23
I find that stuff just keeps coming up in my mind—bad stuff, conflicting thoughts, pain and misery.  These are just thoughts arising, moving across, and falling from my mind, having no source in reality.

The temptation is to ask for the opposite; I don’t want this; I want that, please help me.  And this request keeps us in the duality.  While all the time, there is only one thing I want, the peace of God.  Asking for the peace of God, not an opposite, is the way out of duality.

To say these words is nothing. But to mean
these words is everything. If you could but
mean them for just an instant, there would be
no further sorrow possible for you
in any form; in any place or time.
Heaven would be completely given back
to full awareness, memory of God
entirely restored, the resurrection
of all creation fully recognized.
Lesson 185.1

No one can mean these words and not be healed.
He cannot play with dreams, nor think he is
himself a dream. He cannot make a hell
and think it real. He wants the peace of God,
and it is given him. For that is all
he wants, and that is all he will receive. 2:1-5

8/24
Endeavor Academy, where Christine and I have been students and teachers for the last 15 years, is located in the Wisconsin Dells.  A nice term for this location is a “tourist Mecca,” particularly in the summer months.  A not so nice name might be “traffic nightmare.”

At noon on Sunday, after work, flipping eggs at the Cheese Factory Restaurant, I went to a nearby convenience store to buy a newspaper.  The young woman working the cash register and I exchanged stories about the traffic and working, and as I was walking away, she said, “Stay home, or be patient.” 

This cracked me up, since it echoes in practical terms, A Course in Miracles.  Stay home in your mind, a peaceful state, and if you can maintain it walking through the world, you can walk, patiently.

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.
Lesson 182.8

8/25
I have always felt very strongly that the action of personal transformation is very individual.  Each individual who wishes to find his way out of the dream into reality is guided in his own direction, and the guidance will be given in the form most useful to him.

For love must give,
and what is given in His Name takes on
the form most useful in a world of form.
Lesson 186.13:5

I can look back and see when a particular book at a particular time guided my next step; or something a person said; or a “synchronistic” event; or a certain move; or a special song; or an “ah hah” moment; or a sleeping dream.
With these thoughts going through my mind, I was just delighted to read this passage from Lesson 185, I want the peace of God.

And when the wish for peace
is genuine, the means for finding it
is given, in a form each mind that seeks
for it in honesty can understand. 6:2

Guidance is given in a form, precisely appropriate, for each individual.  It comes down to how genuine is the wish.  Genuine means “natural.”  The form naturally follows his particular bent.

Whatever form the lesson takes is planned
for him in such a way that he can not
mistake it, if his asking is sincere. 6:3
It fits him, perfectly, if his wish is sincere, meaning, “sound, pure, whole.”
But if he asks without sincerity,
there is no form in which the lesson will
meet with acceptance and be truly learned. 6:4

We must be vigilant because we always get the results of our thinking. 
Now, I know why Master Teacher of Endeavor Academy often said, “Don’t let anyone tell you who you are.”

Become your wish for peace fulfilled, naturally, individually.
You choose God’s peace,
or you have asked for dreams.  And dreams will come
as you requested them.  9:3,4

8/26
Several years ago, now, I found myself going through complete devastation.  It seemed that I was going blind.

Everything became blurry.  The internal dialogue was non-stop. Can I read that sign?  Who is that walking towards me?  I need a bright light to read a book.  What’s to become of me?

I found myself on my knees asking for help, asking for healing, asking to see better.

Then, one morning, I realized that I was praying for a particular result; I was asking for help on my own terms.

At this moment, I asked to experience peace, peace of mind.  Whatever happened, I asked to experience the peace of God.

And then peace flowed through me like warm water.  I was free of all those fearful thoughts.

No one who truly seeks the peace of God
can fail to find it. For he merely asks
that he deceive himself no longer by
denying to himself what is God's Will.
Who can remain unsatisfied who asks
for what he has already? Who could be
unanswered who requests an answer which
is his to give? The peace of God is yours.
Lesson 185.11

From that day forward, my sight seemed to stabilize; it hasn’t gotten better; it hasn’t gotten worse. 

And I try to stay vigilant, not to ask for “this” or “that” in the duality; the peace of God is ours, always, already, for the asking.

8/27
I am immensely enjoying reading this book by Mary C. Neal, MD, “To Heaven and Back:  A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again.”

She was “drowned” when her kayak was forced underwater in the swift rapids, and she was unable to extricate herself from her bindings.

I read her description of her soul leaving her body in the context of this passage from A Course in Miracles.

I am not a body.  I am free.
For I am still as God created me.
ACIM.Review VI.Intro.3:3-5

At the moment my body was released, I felt a “pop.” It felt as if I had finally shaken off my heavy outer layer, freeing my soul.  I rose up and out of the river, and when my soul broke through the surface of the water, I encountered a group of fifteen to twenty souls (spirits sent by God), who greeted me with the most overwhelming joy I have ever experienced and could ever imagine.  It was joy at an unadulterated core level.  They were sort of like a large welcoming committee or a great cloud of witnesses as described in Hebrews 12:1:

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
This welcoming committee seemed to be wildly cheering for me as I approached the “finish line.” pp. 68,69


8/28
One of the ways that we establish and maintain the illusion, the dream, is to give everything a name.  Just think of how strongly we reinforce an infant’s first words, like, “Daddy,” “Mommy.”

Here is the first paragraph of Lesson 184, The Name of God in my inheritance.

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. By this you designate
its special attributes, and set it off
from other things by emphasizing space
surrounding it. This space you lay between
all things to which you give a different name;
all happenings in terms of place and time;
all bodies which are greeted by a name.

Henry Reed (1914-1986) wrote this remarkable poem, “Naming of Parts.”  Here is the first stanza:

To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens,
          And to-day we have naming of parts.
(To read the rest of this Status, please click on the link to my blog post, entitled, “Naming of Parts Versus the Peace of God,” August 27, 2012.)

www.throughamirrorbrightly.blogspot.com

8/29
I wonder how many times a day I have to remind myself that I am walking through the world, playing a part, like an actor on a stage, while all the  time in time, I am eternal, God’s most holy son?

I am, indeed, “in” the world, and not “of” the world.

I like the way Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) expresses it.

In eternity there is indeed something true and sublime.  But all these times and places and occasions are now and here.  Time is but a stream I go a-fishing in.  I drink at it, but when I drink, I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is.  Its thin current slides away but eternity remains.

While I find myself “in” the world, I might as well enjoy it, remembering “how shallow it is,” yet “eternity remains.”

8/30
Boy, this title of a newspaper article in the Business Section certainly caught my eye:

Forgiveness is an option.

Here are the first three sentences of the article:

There’s a new type of forgiveness out there.  It comes with your car insurance.  More auto insurers are offering accident forgiveness, not to factor an accident into the calculation of your premium.
I think I will stick to the “old” type if forgiveness, in here.

Forgiveness recognizes what you thought
your brother did to you has not occurred.
Forgiveness merely sees its falsity,
and therefore lets it go. What then is free
to take its place is now the Will of God.
1.  What is Forgiveness?  1

8/31
A couple of mornings ago, I came across this passage in A Course in Miracles, wrote it down, put it in my pocket, and referred to it several times as the day went on.

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.
Lesson 235.1

I also wrote this down because it immediately popped into my mind:

. . .things but represent the thoughts that made them.
Lesson 187.2:2

These passages certainly lightened my burden as the day went on, remembering that I am always dealing only with thoughts.    What a relief.
. .
“Pop. Pop.  Fizz.  Fizz.
Oh, what a relief it is.”

Hmm.  Forgiveness is about as simple as taking an Alka-Seltzer.
 

Naming of Parts Versus the Peace of God

One of the ways that we establish and maintain the illusion, the dream, is to give everything a name.  Just think of how strongly we reinforce an infant’s first words, like, “Daddy,” “Mommy.”

Here is the first paragraph of Lesson 184, The Name of God is my inheritance.

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. By this you designate
its special attributes, and set it off
from other things by emphasizing space
surrounding it. This space you lay between
all things to which you give a different name;
all happenings in terms of place and time;
all bodies which are greeted by a name.

Henry Reed (1914-1986) wrote this remarkable poem, “Naming of Parts.”  Here is the first stanza:

To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens,
          And to-day we have naming of parts.

Throughout his poem, Reed contrasts the naming and the training with the narrator’s mind shifting away , looking out the window.

Japonica glistens like coral in all the neighboring gardens

For me, the narrator is shifting his awareness from the body’s eyes, to Christ vision.  This is an interval whereby he escapes the naming of parts, experiencing peace.

Thus what you need are intervals each day
in which the learning of the world becomes
a transitory phase; a prison house
from which you go into the sunlight and
forget the darkness. Here you understand
the Word, the Name which God has given you;
the one Identity which all things share;
the one acknowledgment of what is true.
And then step back to darkness, not because
you think it real, but only to proclaim
its unreality in terms which still
have meaning in the world that darkness rules.
Lesson 184.10

Now, Dear Reader, please enjoy reading the poem within this context.

NAMING OF PARTS

To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens,
          And to-day we have naming of parts.

This is the lower sling swivel. And this
Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see,
When you are given your slings. And this is the piling swivel
Which in your case you have not got. The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
          Which in our case we have not got.

This is the safety-catch, which is always released
With an easy flick of the thumb. And please do not let me
See anyone using his finger. You can do it quite easy
If you have any strength in your thumb. The blossoms
Are fragile and motionless, never letting anyone see
          Any of them using their finger.

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
          They call it easing the Spring.

They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards,
          For to-day we have naming of parts.

It is perfectly easy to bring in  the Spring, if we are in the right state of mind.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

Since David was a shepherd as a boy, he drew on his experiences as a young shepherd when he wrote Psalm 23, using the analogy that God is to us as a shepherd is to his flock.

A modern-day shepherd named Phillip Keller has written a remarkable book entitled, “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.”
 
http://www.antipas.org/commentaries/articles/shepherd_psa23/shepherd_01.html

What follows are key lines from Psalm 23, and passages from Keller’s book, demonstrating David’s shepherding analogy.

"THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT."

When all is said and done the welfare of any flock is entirely dependent upon the management afforded them by their owner.
I have become increasingly aware of one thing ... It is ... the Master in people's lives who makes the difference in their destiny.

"HE MAKETH ME TO LIE DOWN IN GREEN PASTURES."

The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very make-up, it is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met.
Owing to their timidity, they refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear.
Because of the social behavior within a flock, sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind.
If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Only when free of these pests can they relax.
Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free from hunger.

“HE LEADETH ME BESIDE THE STILL WATERS.”

Water determines the vitality, strength and vigor of the sheep and is essential to its health and general well-being.
It is the shepherd who with much effort and industry has provided the watering places. And it is to these spots that he leads the flock.
 
"HE RESTORETH MY SOUL."

A “cast” sheep is an old English shepherd's term for a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself. A "cast" sheep is a very pathetic sight.  Lying on its back, its feet in the air, it flays away frantically struggling to stand up, without success. Sometimes it will bleat a little for help, but generally it lies there lashing about in frightened frustration.
If the owner does not arrive on the scene within a reasonably short time, the sheep will die.
 
"HE LEADETH ME IN THE PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE."

Sheep are notorious creatures of habit. If left to themselves they will follow the same trails until they become ruts; graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes; pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites.
The greatest single safeguard which a shepherd has in handling his flock is to keep them on the move... they dare not be left on the same ground too long.
 
"YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEYOF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVEIL; FOR THOU ARE WITH ME."

The long treks into the high country take place in the summer.  Their summer will be spent in the close companionship and solitary care of the good shepherd.
With the approach of autumn, early snow settles on the highest ridges, relentlessly forcing the flock to withdraw back down to lower elevations. Finally, toward the end of the year as fall passes, the sheep are driven home to the ranch headquarters where they will spend the winter.

It is well to remember that all of this is done against a dramatic background of wild mountains, rushing rivers, alpine meadows and high rangelands. All the dangers of rampaging rivers in flood; avalanches; rock slides; poisonous plants; the ravages of predators that raid the flock or the awesome storms of sleet and hail and snow were too familiar to him. He was fully prepared to safeguard his flock and tend them with skill under every circumstance.
 
"THY ROD AND THY STAFF THEY COMFORT ME."

The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. And it was, furthermore, the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away.
...an interesting sidelight on the word "rod" ... the slang term "rod" has been applied to hand-guns such as pistols and revolvers which were carried by cowboys, and other westerners. The connotation is exactly the same as that used in this Psalm.
He opens the fleece with the rod; he runs his skillful hands over the body; he feels for any sign of trouble; he examines the sheep with care to see if all is well.
We turn now to discuss and consider the shepherd's staff. In a sense, the staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. It is designed, shaped and adapted especially to the needs of sheep.
The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their "comfort."
The staff is also used for guiding sheep. Again and again I have seen a shepherd use his staff to guide his sheep gently into a new path or through some gate or along dangerous, difficult routes.

“THOU PREPAREST A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES:

In thinking about this statement, it is well to bear in mind that the sheep are approaching the high mountain country of the summer ranges. These are known as alplands or tablelands, so much sought after by sheepmen.
In some of the finest sheep country of the world, especially in the Western United States and Southern Europe, the high plateaus of the sheep ranges were always referred to as "mesas" -- the Spanish word for "tables."
There is another chore which the sheepman takes care of on the tableland. He clears out the water holes, springs and drinking places for his stock. He has to clean out the accumulated debris of leaves, twigs, stones and soil which may have fallen into the water source during the autumn and winter.

"THOU ANOINTEST MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP RUNNETH OVER."

As one meditates on this magnificent poem it is helpful to keep in mind that the poet is recounting the salient events of the full year in a sheep's life. He takes us with him from the home ranch where every need is so carefully supplied by the owner, out into the green pastures, along the still waters, up through the mountain valleys to the high tablelands of summer.
Here, now, where it would appear the sheep are in a sublime setting on the high meadows; where there are clear running springs; where the forage is fresh and tender; where there is the intimate close contact with the shepherd; suddenly we find "a fly in the ointment," so to speak.
For relief from this agonizing annoyance, sheep will deliberately beat their heads against trees, rocks, posts, or brush. They will rub them in the soil and thrash around against woody growth. In extreme cases of intense infestation, a sheep may even kill itself.
At the very first sign of flies among the flock, he will apply an antidote to their heads. I always preferred to use a homemade remedy composed of linseed oil, sulphur and tar which was smeared over the sheep's nose and head as a protection against nose flies.
What an incredible transformation this would make. Once the oil had been applied to the sheep's head, there was an immediate change in behavior. The sheep would start to feed quietly again, then soon lie down in peaceful contentment.

"SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCEY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE: AND I WILL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER.”

All the care, all the work, all the alert watchfulness, all the skill, all the concern, all the self-sacrifice are born of His love -- the love of One who loves His sheep, loves His work, loves His role as a Shepherd.
In ancient literature sheep were referred to as "those of the golden hooves" -- simply because they were regarded and esteemed so highly for their beneficial effect on the land. In my own experience as a sheep rancher I have, in just a few years, seen two derelict ranches restored to high productivity and usefulness. More than this, what before appeared as depressing eyesores became beautiful, park-like properties of immense worth.
In other words, goodness and mercy had followed my flocks. They left behind them something worthwhile, productive, beautiful and beneficial to both themselves, others and me.