Is An Obsession with God Healthy?

About 15 years ago, I realized that I was “obsessed with God.”  It was a healthy obsession which grew out of my immersion in A Course in Miracles.  God was in my thoughts day and night.  I looked “normal” and behaved “normally” but I was no longer alone in my thought process.  God was constantly with “me.”   Trust grew.  Fear lessened.  Miracles and blessings occurred daily.

I went through several periods of disorientation as my personal identity was uprooted but remained completely functional.  My personality still threw ego thoughts at “me” but interest in them waned as surrender to the Creator prevailed.  In other words, the personality and its demands became less and less riveting as God illuminated my mind.  This undoing process continues to this day.

I highly recommend the God obsession.  Many people are afraid that an obsession with God means they are having a break with reality or will turn into a monk or nun.  It’s the opposite.  A healthy obsession with God returns you to your right mind which puts you on the path to Reality.  And most people are not called to celibacy or a life of solitude, although if you are, it will be perfect for you.

The key element to a healthy obsession is tuning in to your Internal Teacher.  A Course in Miracles calls the Internal Teacher the Holy Spirit.  It goes by many names and can be found on countless spiritual paths.  Eventually the Internal Teacher makes Itself obsolete, as “you” disappear back into the nothingness from which you came, and Truth Presides.

Read Five Steps to Cultivating Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit to develop your own healthy obsession with God 🙂

Gatita Sparkles

On July 12th, 2014, my darling, beloved cat, Gatita, emerged from the cocoon of the body and dissolved into timeless sparkles.  Many of you have expressed love for Gatita over the years, and I want to share some of the miracles that accompanied her “death.”

Gatita was 17 years old and the decline of her body had been going on for about three years.  During these years, she was the catalyst for many holy instants as I chose over and over again to purge fear and know Love in the present moment.

When the time came, overflowing with love for her, I held Gatita in my lap until her heartbeat ceased.  Then I gently handed her to Scott.  He felt a great relief escape from Gatita as she laid the body aside … and then a burst of joyous sparkles beyond anything words can describe as she effortlessly expanded into Limitlessness.  There was a clear sense she was still with us, not as a cat, but as Pure Being.  Scott and I alternated between tears of sorrow and of joy.  Weeping freely naturally served to release false beliefs and open us to Truth.

Gatita was laid in the ground in a place I felt she had chosen and shown me a few days before.  Within the hour, a family of deer who often graze on the land around our home, walked along the path near where Gatita’s body was buried.  They seemed to know she was there.

After paying homage, they continued into our backyard as if carried by joyous sparkles, prancing and playing with each other.  Next, they rounded the other side of the house, pausing to munch on grass and bushes.  Eventually, the deer arrived on our front lawn, sat down and settled in.  Their presence was full of grace.  They sat in stillness for a long time.

The full circle that the deer completed around our house was unusual.  It symbolized to us that the essence of Gatita was Whole, Holy and fully present–and therefore, so are we.  The stillness and beauty of the deer was profoundly peaceful and undeniably confirming of Timeless Love.

The next morning I learned that Gatita departed this world on Guru Purnima, the most auspicious day of the year for Self-realization.  “Gu” is Sanskrit for “shadows” or “darkness” and “ru” means “he who disperses shadows” or “bringer of light.”

For ACIM students, the Guru is the Holy Spirit, your Inner Teacher. “Purnima” means full moon.  The nights before and after Gatita’s passing were brightly illuminated by the fullest of full moons.  Darkness dissolved in this resplendent light.

It is said that the Guru principle is one thousand times more active on this particular full moon than any other in the calendar.  This is symbolic, of course, and that’s what miracles are: symbols of Truth.  The best time to awaken is always now.

“Today the promise of God’s Word is kept.  Hear and be silent.  He would speak to you.  He comes with miracles a thousand times as happy and as wonderful as those you ever dreamed or wished for in your dreams.  His miracles are true. … Hear Him today and listen to the Word which lifts the veil that lies upon the earth, and wakes all those who sleep and cannot see.  God calls to them through you.”  (W-106: Let me be still and listen to the truth.)

God calls to us through Gatita, Who cannot die because she, like you and me, is Life.  “There is no living thing that does not share the universal Will that it be whole, and that you do not leave its call unheard.  Without your answer is it left to die, as it is saved from death when you have heard its calling as the ancient call to life, and understood that it is but your own.” (T-31.I.9:2)

Please watch this YouTube video, called A Happy Conversation About Death with David Hoffmeister.  Hopefully it will ease any grief you may be experiencing, and replace it with Timeless Love instead.

Click here to read the followup article:  Gatita’s Metamorphosis Into The Lady

If you are missing someone, you may find this article comforting: A Better Way to Say “I Miss You”

The “Gatita Sparkles” illustration was lovingly and beautifully drawn by Harper Wood.

The Atonement Principle

Atonement is an essential topic in A Course in Miracles. Over the years, I’ve compiled a list of references to the Atonement in order to clarify it in my own mind. They are in no particular order, but I did try to keep them short so the point would hit home 🙂 For longer explanations, read Chapter 2 and Chapter 9. Enjoy!

Jesus speaks, “Let me be to you the symbol of the end of guilt [Atonement], and look upon your brother as you would look on me.” (T-19.IV.B.6:1)

“The sole responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept the Atonement for himself.” (T-2.V.5:1)

“The sole responsibility for God’s teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself.” (M-18.4:5)

“When the Holy Spirit is permitted to look upon the defilement of the altar, He also looks immediately toward the Atonement. Nothing He perceives can induce fear. Everything that results from spiritual awareness is merely channelized toward correction. Discomfort is aroused only to bring the need for correction into awareness.” (T-2.V.7:5-7)

“Atonement might be equated with total escape from the past and total lack of interest in the future.” (ACIM, M-24.6:3 … and read the entire paragraph 6)

“The escape is brought about by your acceptance of the Atonement, which enables you to realize that your errors never really occurred.” (T-2.I.4:4)

“[The Atonement is] the acknowledgment that you are not in this world, for the world is unhappy.” T-6.II.5:7

“The full awareness of the Atonement, then, is the recognition that the separation never occurred. The ego cannot prevail against this because it is an explicit statement that the ego never occurred.” T-6.II.10:7-8

“Atonement corrects illusions, not truth. Therefore, it corrects what never was. Further, the plan for this correction was established and completed simultaneously for the Will of God is entirely apart from time. So is all reality, being of Him. The instant the idea of separation entered the mind of God’s Son, in that same instant was God’s Answer given. In time this happened very long ago. In reality it never happened at all.” (M-2. Who Are Their Pupils?)

“Any part of the Sonship can believe in error or incompleteness if he so chooses. However, if he does so, he is believing in the existence of nothingness. The correction of this error is the Atonement.” (T-2.VII.6:7-9)

“If the way seems long, let him be content. He has decided on the direction he wants to take. What more was asked of him? And having done what was required, would God withhold the rest?” ~M-22. How Are Healing and Atonement Related?

“Questioning illusions is the first step in undoing them.” ~T-3.III.2:6
(Atonement is the undoing of illusions)

“The best defense, as always, is not to attack another’s position, but rather to protect the truth.” (This is the Atonement.) ~T-3.I.2:1

“‘The wicked shall perish’ becomes a statement of Atonement, if the word ‘perish’ is understood as ‘be undone’. Every loveless thought must be undone, a wrod the ego cannot even understand. To the ego, to be undone means to be destroyed. The ego will not be destroyed because it is a part of your thought, but because it is uncreative and therefore unsharing, it will be reinterpreted to release you from fear. The part of your mind that you have given to the ego will merely return to the Kingdom, where your whole mind belongs. ” (T-5.VI.9:1-5)

The Atonement protects the truth. The Atonement denies guilt. The Atonement is the Love principle. The Atonement is the final Correction. “Atonement is the Word of God.” ~M-22.1:6
“Healing and Atonement are not related; they are identical.” ~M-22.1:1

“The teacher of God has taken accepting the Atonement for himself as his only function.” ~M-22.1:10

“The Atonement is but the way back to what was never lost.” (T-12.VIII.8:8)

“The Atonement gives you the power of a healed mind, but the power to create is of God.” (T-5.IV.7:1)

“… the Atonement which is the natural profession of the children of God is the purpose [of miracles].” (T-1.III.1:10)

Jesus says, “… I am the Atonement.” (T-1.III.4:1) [when I asked Jesus, I got, “Atonement is the resurrection.”]

“Atonement undoes all errors in this respect and thus uproots the source of fear.” (T-1.III.5:5 emphasis mine)

“But the Atonement restores spirit to its proper place.” (T-1.IV.2:10)

“The purpose of the Atonement is to restore everything to you; or rather, to restore it to your awareness. You were given everything when you were created, just as everyone was.” (T-1.IV.3:6-7)

“Accepting the Atonement for yourself means not to give support to someone’s dream of sickness and of death.” (T-28.IV.1:1)

Jesus teaches us that Atonement denies “the denial of truth” (T-12.II.1:5)

C-Intro: This is not a course in philosophical speculation, nor is it concerned with precise terminology. It is concerned only with Atonement, or the correction of perception. The means of the Atonement is forgiveness.

“The Holy Spirit has the task of undoing what the ego has made.” ~T-5.III.5:5

The sole responsibility for God’s teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself. Atonement means correction, or the undoing of errors. ~Manual for Teachers, 18. How Is Correction Made?

READ Lesson 139: I will accept Atonement for myself. (Lots of clarity and definition of Atonement.)

from Lesson 140: “Atonement does not heal the sick for that is not a cure. It takes away the guilt that makes the sickness possible.”

Miracle Principle #25: Miracles are part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness which, when completed, is the Atonement. Atonement works all the time and in all the dimensions of time. … a bit later in Chapter 1, III.9 it says, “Miracles are selective only in the sense that they are directed towards those who can use them for themselves. Since this makes it inevitable that they will extend them to others, a strong chain of Atonement is welded.”

Miracle Principle #26: Miracles represent freedom from fear. “Atoning” means “undoing.” The undoing of fear is an essential part of the Atonement value of miracles.

“ … the Atonement, which is the natural profession of the children of God, is the purpose [of miracles].” T-1.III.1:10

Jesus says in Chapter 1, “I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook to begin.” Read III. Atonement and Miracles for complete version.

“I am the only one who can perform miracles indiscriminately, because I am the Atonement. You have a role in the Atonement which I will dictate to you. Ask me which miracles you should perform. This spares you needless effort, because you will be acting under direct communication. The impersonal nature of the miracle is an essential ingredient, because it enables me to direct its application, and under my guidance miracles lead to the highly personal experience of revelation.” T-1.III.4

The Atonement is the only defense that cannot be used destructively because it is not a device you made. The Atonement principle was in effect long before the Atonement began. The principle was love and the Atonement was an act of love. Acts were not necessary before the separation, because belief in space and time did not exist. It was only after the separation that the Atonement and the conditions necessary for its fulfillment were planned. Then a defense so splendid was needed that it could not be misused, although it could be refused. Refusal could not, however, turn it into a weapon of attack, which is the inherent characteristic of other defenses. The Atonement thus becomes the only defense that is not a two-edged sword. It can only heal. ~T-2.II.4 read the rest of II. The Atonement as Defense

Chapter 9: The Acceptance of the Atonement

M-22. How are Healing and Atonement Related? “Accept Atonement and you are healed. Atonement is the word of God.”

People like to break the word “Atonement” into “at one ment,” but Ken Wapnick always protests strongly against this. His reasoning is that when we accept the Atonement for ourselves, we reach a state of at One ment which is the Unity of God’s Mind. In the meantime, Atonement is a tool and a reminder that Christianity distorted this idea and turned Atonement (and salvation) into punitive devices. Under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we use Atonement as a loving Correction, the one “defense” that never harms because it is the Love principle–the reminder that the ego dream of separation has never actually occurred.

“Salvation is recognition that an error has been made. Atonement is acceptance the error has been corrected.” ~Helen Gordon, ACIM teacher, There’s Nothing Going On But Your Thoughts

What Is Easter, Really?

Easter, according to A Course in Miracles, is a purification of our thoughts.  Not in a sinful, guilty, watch-what-you-think way, but as a way to clear your mind.  In ACIM, Jesus offers us a mind training, which is another way of saying purification.

Lesson 151 mentions Eastertide and explains that purified thoughts lead to resurrection.  In Chapter 6, Jesus tells us, “Your resurrection is your reawakening. … rebirth itself is merely the dawning on your mind of what is already in it.  God placed it there Himself, and so it is true forever.”  As we clear the mind of false beliefs (that is, purify our thoughts), we uncover our true Identity, which is formless, infinite and eternal, without the need for crucifixion or human death. Remember, “The body neither lives nor dies, because it cannot contain you who are life.” (T-6.V.A.1:4)

Miracle principle #7 states, “Miracles are everyone’s right, but purification is necessary first.” Purification, in the Course, is a synonym for forgiveness. When we practice forgiveness, we discover that the Holy Spirit removes “all faith that you have placed in pain, disaster, suffering and loss.  He gives you vision which can look beyond these grim appearances, and can behold the gentle face of Christ in all of them.”  The gentle face of Christ is “the great symbol of forgiveness.” (C-3.4:5)  “Seeing” the face of Christ has to do with insight, not eyesight.  It is spiritual vision–the recognition that within, under and behind every form in the world of form lies formless Truth.

But, you have to give Him your belief in pain, disaster, suffering and loss.  This is both the purification process and the practical application of forgiveness–giving your thoughts to the Holy Spirit.  No rituals are necessary; no fasting, no self-punishing atonement.  All that is necessary is the willingness to follow Guidance, to think differently, to change your mind.  Clear directions as to how to do this are all throughout the Course, especially in the 365 lessons found in its Workbook for Students.  Helen Schucman once complained to Jesus that his course did not work!  He asked her to be honest about whether she was actually applying its principles.  Purification can only occur if we actually use the ACIM practices 🙂

Last but not least, let’s be clear that ACIM is a mind training–not brainwashing–program.  We chose to dream a dream of bodies and brains.  Mind training undoes the sticky attachment to the dreamer of this dream, to the ego’s hypnosis that you are a person.  Jesus says in the Course, “The message of the crucifixion is perfectly clear: Teach only love, for that is what you are.”  It is not the personal self that is teaching love.  It is opening the mind to God’s Thought and allowing It to move through what seems to be “you” at this point in your undoing that produces miracles by practicing forgiveness and results in recognizing Who you already are.  That is the Joyful outcome of the ACIM purification process.

Happy Easter!

Previous Easter posts from The Unlearning Classroom are:  From Crucifixion to Resurrection and It’s Easter–Time to Wake Up!

If you need help practicing the Workbook lessons from A Course in Miracles, sign up for my online class, Workin’ the Workbook.

Practice Should Not Be Perfect

The First Lesson Is Humility

Before I discovered A Course in Miracles, the Sufis came into my life.  Actually, there is no “ism” to Sufism. It is the all-embracing religion of Love, encompassing all religions, and all peoples, everywhere.  Even so, there are different lineages of Sufis, and my teachers stemmed from the Chishti master, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Bless his heart, Wahiduddin has been providing the world with a message a day from the master for as long as I can remember.  I love the way they interweave with ACIM.  Here is one of my favorites.

Bowl of Saki, March 13. Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

Every moment of our life, if we can see wisely, contains some fault or error, and asking pardon is just like purifying the heart and washing it white. Only think of the joy of humbling yourself before God! … humbling yourself before that Spirit, that Ideal, who is the true Father and Mother, on Whose love you can always depend — it is a spark of His love which expresses itself in the earthly father and mother — and in whatever manner you humble yourself before Him, it can never be enough. To humble your limited self before His Perfection, that is to deny yourself. Self denial is not renouncing things, it is denying the self, and its first lesson is humility.

This is self-denial: that a man says, ‘I am not, Thou art;’ or that an artist looking at his picture, says, ‘It is Thy work, not mine;’ or that a musician, hearing his composition, says, ‘It is Thy creation, I do not exist.’ That soul then is in a way crucified, and through that crucifixion resurrection comes. There is not the slightest doubt that when man has had enough pain in his life he rises to this great consciousness. But it is not necessary that only pain should be the means. It is the readiness on the part of man to efface his part of consciousness and to efface his own personality, which lifts the veil that hides the spirit of God from the view of man.

As life unfolds itself to man the first lesson it teaches is humility; the first thing that comes to man’s vision is his own limitedness. The vaster God appears to him, the smaller he finds himself. This goes on and on until the moment comes when he loses himself in the vision of God.

Thank you, Wahiduddin, for Bowl of Saki! 

From the Heart, Radhika aka Amy Torres.

“Of your ego you can do nothing to save yourself or others, but of your spirit you can do everything for the salvation of both. Humility is a lesson for the ego, not for the spirit. Spirit is beyond humility, because it recognizes its radiance and gladly sheds its light everywhere. The meek shall inherit the earth because their egos are humble, and this gives them truer perception.” ~ACIM, T-4.I.12:1-4