THE POWER OF A CHILD’S FAITH by Teri Hooper
Posted on
June 28, 2017
This GUEST POST is written by my wise friend and colleague, Teri Hooper, author of Conscious Parenting Using A Course in Miracles. Under remarkable stress, she continues to practice the Course and
THE POWER OF A CHILD’S FAITH
FAR SURPASSES THE ABILITY OF ADULTS TO BELIEVE
A year ago I had to move my elderly mother into my home. She was no longer able to live by herself but did not want to move to an assisted living facility. In addition, my husband was diagnosed with young onset dementia at age 59. Throw in my 31 year old schizoaffective untreated uncooperative son and my home became stressful beyond measure.
I thought A Course in Miracles would help me keep my perspective through this but I found myself angry when it didn’t seem to work.
What I realized is that while I had knowledge of the Course and have studied it for years, I did not actually have FAITH in the Course. I found that I am still believing the illusion of the world.
How do I know that I am still engrained in the ego thought system? GUILT and ANGER and RESENTMENT! Just recently it dawned on me that I still felt an obligation to make sure everyone in my family is taken care of. I have been judging whether I am doing a good job of caregiving or not. I would feel anger and resentment and feel stuck with the responsibility of them all.
Silly, silly, ego. Those are ego thoughts. I just need to apply the same principles I talked about with children in my book, Conscious Parenting Using A Course in Miracles, to the adults in my family as well.
But the most important “ah ha” moment is when I realized the biggest error in perception with regards to them is my belief in the special relationship. When I make myself feel responsible for their well being, I am believing in the special relationship of them being family and being separate.
I now know that if and when the time comes that I can’t or don’t want to take care of them anymore, it is ok because this world is not what I want. They are not the bodies that my physical eyes see. I am not the body MY physical eyes see. This world is not home! Why would I feel guilty and anger and resentment for something that is not real? So silly of me.
The anger, guilt and resentment aren’t entirely gone. They still show up from time to time, but they are replaced more often than not with compassion, forgiveness, awareness, and detachment. The difference seems to be that I recognize ego feelings more quickly than before, and now find it easier to shift that perception to Truth.
My ego has made this far too complicated. I forgot to surrender my thoughts to the Holy Spirit for healing all the while thinking that the Holy Spirit is having a good chuckle at my idea that they need healing at all!