Unlearning Classroom

Nirvikalpa Samadhi

In A Course in Miracles, Jesus uses metaphors to speak with us in human language in order to elevate us beyond the self-imposed limitations of humanity to a recognition of our deeper Knowing of what is truly True. Jesus speaks of the ladder we descended from Heaven to earth and how to retrace our steps back to the Real World.

The Real World, in A Course in Miracles, is the highest rung of the imaginary ladder we descended; the closest rung to the Kingdom of Heaven. God, we are told, takes the final step, and lifts us up to Him from there. The story of the yogini, which Mooji tells, below, is a variation of the ladder metaphor. The yogini’s experiences are like climbing the rungs of the ladder back Home. Nirvikalpa Samadhi is the heavenly state of absolute union with God.

Read the story with your heart and let it transport you through your soul all the way to Undifferentiated Spirit.

Beloved MOOJI tells a story:

A great Yogini was deep in meditation.  Suddenly, beautiful and melodious sounds could be heard, appearing as if from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously.  It was like nothing she has ever heard.  She felt: this music is truly wonderful but it cannot be what I am for I am here to hear it.  The music faded away.

Next appeared the most exquisite colours, like no painter could paint; nor could any flower display it for it was not of this earthly realm.  She thought: this is, indeed, astonishingly beautiful.  However, it cannot be who I am nor can it be real for it cannot appear if I were not here to perceive it.  This phenomenon, too, she ignored.

Shortly afterwards, it also vanished in the presence of her deep and unmoving silence.  Shortly after this, there appeared several beings shaped as if from pure light, floating through space and smiling lovingly at her in a welcoming manner.  She felt profoundly touched and filled with loving emotions but inwardly, she somehow, kept her composure.  “How profound,” she felt, “but this also cannot be what Is the unchanging reality, for, were I not here, who would see them?”

As soon as this insight occurred, the figures vanished.  Her mind entered her heart and could no more produce any effects.  A deep silence prevailed as her mind merged inside her indivisible, unconquerable and essential being — a state known to the Yogis as Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

The Kitten Story

I had just parked my car in a local shopping center to run some errands when I saw a tiny kitten pawing at the window of Burger King. Now I don’t know about you, but kittens in distress leap to the top of my “to do” list.

“You are the kitten,” said the Holy Spirit.

My heart propelled me toward the wee creature, but I tried to casually saunter so as not to alarm her. She let me come close but then eluded me when I reached out to pick her up. I cooed soothingly, assuring her she was safe and that food and shelter awaited her if she came with me. She backed away.

So I returned to my car, went and got some cat food, came back and put a plate under a bush outside the Burger King. Then I sat in my car and waited. Sure enough, she sniffed out sustenance and ventured to nibble at the kibble.

It just so happens it was my birthday, and a bright beam of happiness surged through my heart as I watched the kitten eat. This little darling was my birthday present! I was going to take her home. I had found Smudges, my adorable orange cat (assuredly my boyfriend in a past life), in a parking lot eight years before. It must be my karma to find irresistible kittens in parking lots from time to time.

While the kitten took nourishment, I tiptoed up to her and just as I was an arm’s length away, she nimbly evaded me and darted off. I hightailed after her. She was faster than expected. Dodging from bush to bush, she quickly disappeared. I waited. And waited. And waited. But she did not reappear.

Heart heavy, I finally left. And returned every day for three days after that, bringing food, leaving my phone number with the Burger King manager (who confirmed this kitten had been hanging around), and waiting to see if she materialized. To no avail. That was the last I saw of her.

With a big sigh, on Day Four, I asked the Holy Spirit why It took away my birthday present. After all, I didn’t encounter the kitten on just any day — it was my birthday! And Holy Spirit said, “The kitten wasn’t your birthday present. You were playing my role with the kitten. As Holy Spirit, I offer you safety, sustenance and unconditional love every day. And every day you run away. Your birthday present is realizing you are the kitten!”

Can you beat that? I was offering the kitten safety, sustenance and unconditional love. Even though it was hungry and asking for help, the kitten didn’t recognize help from me, was afraid and ran away. Now the Holy Spirit was telling me that every day, when I turned to It with willingness and asked for Guidance, when It offered me safety, sustenance and unconditional love, I was afraid and ran away!

Yes, it was true. I had willingness to reject ego and connect with the Holy Spirit, but when Spirit responded, something in me snapped shut, turned tail, and bolted. Asking for Help was one thing, accepting Help was another.

Acceptance requires the ability to slow down and catch myself before snapping shut. Which depends on my ability to trust that the Holy Spirit is not a threat. Ego prompts me to panic. Remembering the kitten allows me to laugh at that faulty cue and remain open to the Mind through which Peace is experienced. Amen.

“As the light comes nearer you will rush to darkness, shrinking from the truth, sometimes retreating to the lesser forms of fear, and sometimes to stark terror.  But you will advance, because your goal is the advance from fear to truth.  The goal you accepted is the goal of knowledge, for which you signified your willingness.  Fear seems to live in darkness, and when you are afraid you have stepped back.  Let us then join quickly in an instant of light, and it will be enough to remind you that your goal is light.” ~ACIM, T-18.III.2

Direct Experience Via the Five Senses by Rupert Spira

“There is a kind of experience so different than what the ego can offer that you will never want to cover or hide it again.” ~ACIM, T-4.III.5:1

In this video, Rupert Spira simply, and brilliantly, walks us through a different kind of experience that intersects neatly with where Jesus points us in A Course in Miracles.

If you found this investigation compelling, you can follow up with The Miracle of Experience, also by Rupert Spira.

I Choose to Be Awake by GurujiMa

Here is a meditation called “I Choose to Be Awake” by GurujiMa that aligns very nicely (not perfectly) with A Course in Miracles. GurujiMa’s eloquence lifts my heart, and her guidance is supremely practical. I hope it enriches your practice.

Beloved GurujiMa

Are “Psychic” Powers Desirable?

In the third book of A Course in Miracles, the Manual for Teachers, section 25 is titled, “Are ‘Psychic’ Powers Desirable?” In this section, Jesus explains that, technically, the only real power is of God, however, in the process of encountering the Loving Power which is always Here Now, psychic abilities, when used purely for the purpose of awakening, can play a valid part.

Two teachers who are gifted with psychic communication and share it with loving integrity are Gina Lake (attend her Christ Consciousness transmissions and see for yourself) and Kristin Kirk, who gives a much needed Non Dual Explanation of Communication with Non Physical Beings.

Exploring psychic phenomena and spirit guides is not for everyone. Only if you feel a pull in that direction, need you go further. Otherwise, it’s one less thing to distract you as you follow Jesus’ pointing throughout A Course in Miracles.

Identifying Your Inner Teacher by Liz Cronkhite

Liz Cronkhite is a fellow ACIM/non-duality teacher (and friend) whose wisdom and clarity I have found beneficial over and over again throughout the years since first discovering her. The article below is written by Liz.

Everyone experiences their inner teacher at some point, but they may not identify it as such. So, let’s look at some obstacles to identifying your inner teacher.

The expectation that your inner teacher will stand out, be something dramatic, lofty, or special in some way. Your inner teacher is always in your mind, and its ordinariness may make it hard for you to pick it out from ego’s many, also familiar experiences. So, it sounds and feels like you, but a quiet, rational, detached you.

Your inner teacher is quiet, so easily lost in ego’s cacophony. However, this quiet can be how you distinguish it from ego—in time. Ego will try to be quiet to mimic it, but you will sort that out in time through other indicators (see below).

We discuss your inner teacher as a “voice”, and we say things like “hear it” when it does not always come as a voice or with words. Often it is an intuition or unformed thoughts, or simply an unexplained, comforting presence or peace, or a strong feeling to say something or act in some way.

You may feel “unworthy of God”, so even when you do experience your inner teacher, you do not identify it as coming from truth within.

What your inner teacher says may be what you have decided it will never say, so you dismiss it. For example, it may suggest setting boundaries with someone or even letting go of a relationship when you expect it will tell you how to “forgive” so that the relationship is “healed”. Or, you may have decided that because A Course in Miracles says (or anyway you think it says) that you should heal the body with the mind that it can’t possibly be your inner teacher telling you to get to the doctor pronto for that persistent pain you’re having.

Your inner teacher may say what you do not want to hear. In this case, you may recognize it is your inner teacher but play an elaborate game with yourself to deny it is your inner teacher. Later, when you’ve dropped the denial, you will say, “Well, I always knew that was my inner teacher, but I didn’t want to do what it said.”

Your inner teacher may say what you do want to hear so you think it cannot possibly be your inner teacher. Sometimes, what ego wants and what is to happen line up, although ego and your inner teacher will have a different perception or interpretation of the situation. For example, ego in you may want a certain job for prestige and you recognize this is ego, so you feel you shouldn’t apply for it. But you still feel strongly prompted to apply for it. Just because ego comes along doesn’t mean the situation is not to happen. In fact, while your mind is split (ego is still there), ego will be coming along all the time, and you will have conflicting motivations, perceptions, and interpretations. The trick is to learn to sort ego out from your inner teacher so you know which is which, not to avoid situations just because ego is using them for itself.

Some refer to their inner teacher as their wiser self or higher self. This indicates how it can show up, how it can feel. It is detached, never emotional. This includes its love, which is not personal, but is just love itself. If you wonder if you are experiencing ego or your inner teacher, your inner teacher leads to a sense of liberation from guilt and fear. When it is ego, guilt and fear remain the same or increase.

It can take a long time to sort out your inner teacher from ego. In a way, that process never stops while ego is in your mind, because not just religions but all spirituality occurs only in ego-consciousness. So, your experience of your inner teacher is a distortion of truth. This doesn’t matter, of course, because none of this has any effect on truth. What we’re concerned with here is your experience in the framework of ego, which becomes more peaceful in direct proportion to your awareness of and trust in your inner teacher.

For more of Liz’s work, visit acimmentor.com