It’s almost January 1st. Time for a new beginning.
And where better to start than the loving classroom of A Course in Miracles? To bring in the new year right-mindedly, I’d like to share with you some phrases from the Course that are so simple and beautiful they lift the heart, bring tears to the eyes, and open the doorway to Heaven.
In one of the early lessons, Lesson 12, we’re told, “If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy.” It goes on to say, ” … you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be. … Beneath your words is written the Word of God. The truth upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His.”
Lesson 65 gives us an exercise to help us discover the function God gave us, “On this clean slate let my true function be written for me.”
And Lesson 276, “The Word of God is given me to speak” asks and answers, “What is the Word of God? My Son is pure and holy as Myself.”
The Course explains that the entire ego thought system is based on guilt. When we allow God’s Word to be written, we discover our Innocence. This Innocence has nothing to do with naivete, purity or the body. It is the Innocence of Unity. What is Unified cannot be guilty of anything for It is Joined in an Absolute Loving State of Mind. It is a return to Love.
Ask yourself, “What is the Word of God?” Then answer, “I am pure and holy as God Himself.” This year, open to receive the Loving Message God has for you. How powerful and beautiful to be a clean slate …
If you are interested in using the ACIM Workbook practice as a means to awakening, perhaps you’d like to join us in Workin’ the Workbook. Click here to find out more.
Isn’t it interesting that in the section in A Course in Miracles which mentions Christmas, Jesus tells us not to welcome him “into a manger” which limits him (and us) to the world? He throws tradition out the window, and, instead, reminds us to return to the altar of holiness in our Mind. That’s where Perfect Peace abides. Then he goes on to reiterate that giving is receiving–a Message on which the Course is based.
Ken Wapnick** often teaches that the Jesus of A Course in Miracles is not the Jesus of the bible. The bible-story Jesus has human emotions and works miracles that heal the body. But the Course explains that “… the name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol.” In other words, Jesus the man is part of the illusory story the ego tells. ACIM would have us understand Jesus is actually the manifestation of the Holy Spirit–as are we. For a deeper understanding of this, read the Manual for Teachers, #23. Does Jesus Have a Special Place in Healing? and Clarification of Terms #6. The Holy Spirit.
In the Song of Prayer supplement, we’re told, “Without guilt there is no scarcity.” An Innocent Mind is a Whole, Unified Mind, and a Unified Mind overflows with abundance–It extends Love, Peace and Joy naturally, because that is All There Is. Lesson 108: “To give and to receive are one in truth,” begins, “Vision depends upon today’s idea.” It’s a lesson worth reviewing during the “gift-giving” season. It offers a simple practice you might want to use:
To give is to receive. Today we will attempt to offer peace to everyone, and see how quickly peace returns to us. Light is tranquility, and in that peace is vision given us, and we can see. Begin the practice periods by saying, “To give and to receive are one in truth. I will receive what I am giving now.
Then close your eyes, and for five minutes think of what you would hold out to everyone, to have it yours. You might, for instance, say: To everyone I offer quietness. To everyone I offer peace of mind. To everyone I offer gentleness. Say each one slowly and then pause a while, expecting to receive the gift you gave.
* T-15.III.9:6
**Ken and Gloria Wapnick have been teaching A Course in Miracles from the beginning and are founders of the teaching institute, Foundation for A Course in Miracles, which you can visit at www.facim.org.
“The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness.” ~T-15.XI.2:1.
Let us remember, this holiday season, that Christmas (and every religious celebration at this time of year) is really about awakening to our Oneness. Oneness is holiness, and holiness is wholeness. What makes us whole? Remembering that we are Loving Light.
True love is unconditional, and it includes everyone–all our brothers, and ourselves. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you remember this Light within you. Use this picture to shift your perception from the outer world to your Inner Light.
Feel how naturally the Light expands, illuminating you from within until you cannot help but radiate this luminous Love. Whether Christmas is a joyful time or a painful time for you, remember that you have an Internal Teacher Who can help ignite the spark that is always inside you. Can you feel that star of Light within you? Can you let yourself be that radiant star?
Beneath your worldly cares lies the Truth. Your Source, the life force from which you originate, is always available. Holidays are a particularly good time to tune in to Inner Guidance so that you remember what is truly important: Love. To Love and Be Loved is the “being” part of “human being.” Christ-consciousness is simply “being” an extension of God’s Love.
“Being” and “creating” are the same Loving state of Mind. There is no “doing” in Truth–the undoing practice of A Course in Miracles teaches us to step back and let our Internal Teacher, the Holy Spirit (the memory of God within us), lead the way. Jesus was a follower, and he teaches us to follow the Holy Spirit, as he did. Surprisingly, to follow is to be empowered (that’s a subject for another day). And following is an unfolding that occurs effortlessly and naturally … if we let go of everything we’ve ever believed.
Holidays are Holy Days. Holiness is wholeness. This holiday season, I offer you this prayer, inspired by A Course in Miracles. It will help you let go of everything you’ve ever believed–and shine the Love of God instead. Repeat as often as you like:
God, help me know that the Truth in me remains as radiant as a star, as pure as Light, as innocent as Love Itself. Therefore, I am a beacon of Loving Light guided by the Light Within Me. And so it is. Amen.
It is the innocent and pure soul who has a capacity for learning. When a person comes to take a lesson on any subject, and he brings his own knowledge with him, the teacher has little to teach him, for the doors of his heart are not open. His heart that should be empty in order to receive knowledge is occupied by the knowledge that he already had acquired. In order to know the truth or to know God earthly qualifications and earthly wisdom or learning are not necessary. What one has to learn is how to become a pupil.
It is the receptivity of our heart and the passivity of our mind, it is the eagerness, the thirst and hunger after truth, it is the direction of our whole life to that Ideal from who all light and truth come, that alone can bring us truth and the knowledge of God. All knowledge of the earth is as clouds covering the sun. It is the breaking of these clouds and clearness of the sky, or in other words the purity of heart, which give the capacity for the knowledge of God.
The innocence of Jesus has been known through the ages. In his every moment, in his every action, he appeared to be as a child. All the great saints and sages, the great ones who have liberated humanity, have been as innocent as children and at the same time wiser, much more so, than the worldly-wise. And what makes it so? What gives them this balance? It is repose with passiveness.
When they stand before God, they stand with their heart as an empty cup; when they stand before God to learn, they unlearn all things that the world has taught them; when they stand before God, their ego, their self, their life, is no more before them. They do not think of themselves in that moment with any desire to be fulfilled, with any motive to be accomplished, with any expression of their own; but as empty cups, that God may fill their being, that they may lose the false self.
The heart must be empty in order to receive the knowledge of God.
Bowl of Saki, November 26, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan is one of my spiritual teachers. Thank you, Murshid.
And thank you Wahiduddin for your selfless service in providing us with this priceless Bowl of Saki every day! For those of you interested in seeing more of Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings, which weave so well with A Course in Miracles, here’s a link: Wahiduddin’s Web
Yes, thanksgiving is necessary–but not as a national holiday!
Use this practice from A Course in Miracles and experience the Peace, Joy and Love of true thanksgiving every day.
Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You. And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be there to hear my call to You and answer me. As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son.
This is as every day should be. Today, practice the end of fear. Have faith in Him Who is your Father. Trust all things to Him. Let Him reveal all things to you, and be you undismayed because you are His Son. ~Lesson 232: Be in my mind, Father, through the day.
Practice means just that. Repeat Lesson 232 over and over again. Let everything that bothers you be a reminderto practice Lesson 232. Be relentless. See what happens.
Many years ago, when I thought I had come a long way and shouldn’t be in pain anymore, I reluctantly picked up Louise Hay’s classic book, You Can Heal Your Life, and read a section called, “My Daily Work”. It turned out that even Louise Hay did daily maintenance. One line from her routine stuck with me, and I’ve used it ever since, “This is one of the best days of my life.”
I was intrigued at the idea that every day, no matter what occurred, could be one of the best days of my life. In fact, I took it one step further and revised it to, “This is the best day of my life”. How liberating! How mind-opening! As a Course student, I knew that I cannot judge anything because I truly do not know what anything is for. So no matter what seemingly happened, I could still see it as the best day of my life. What a reversal! What a shift in perception!
This is true thanksgiving. Every day is the best day of your life, because every day is a day you can use to dwell with your Father. Feel free to enjoy the holiday if that suits you. Or not. But whatever you do, remember:
Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You. And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be there to hear my call to You and answer me. As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son.
This is as every day should be. Today, practice the end of fear. Have faith in Him Who is your Father. Trust all things to Him. Let Him reveal all things to you, and be you undismayed because you are His Son. ~Lesson 232: Be in my mind, Father, through the day.
Recently a phrase popped into my head, “Inexplicably predictably happy.” That’s one way I experience God — words come to me and I can tell they are not mine (some people call this “channeling”).
I was actually grieving at the time I “heard” those words, but even though I was grieving, I remembered to ask God to remind me of who I really was. In that moment, as I cried, I felt my heart expand and a peace move through me that was filled with joy. There was no logical explanation about why I needn’t grieve — I just felt at peace, even as I wept.
There was a smile inside me that said, “Inexplicably predictably happy” and I knew it to be True. “Inexplicably” because the joy of God is beyond words and explanations. “Predictably” because God is reliable, and if I ask Him for help, I will receive His help. “Happy” because God is full — full of joy, peace, love, eternal life, infinite creativity, and there is no way I cannot be happy because God’s treasures are my inheritance. Joy, peace, love, eternal life, infinite creativity are always mine — I just forget.
These days I remember my inheritance more and more and life is so interesting, full of wonderful surprises and beautiful people. I know that when I’m scared and overwhelmed that I’ve just forgotten Who I really am, and knowing that is a great comfort. Another name for the Holy Spirit is The Comforter, and He really is. When I accept Him, I am inexplicably predictably happy 🙂 And then comes the realization, just like A Course in Miracles says: there is no “me”!
This lesson equalizes all upsets. It calmly, with authority, states that I am seeing something that is not there, namely, the illusory world, the world of form. I am seeing something that is not there, and then I am attributing my upset feelings to a world that is not there. I am projecting my upset feelings outward, in order to avoid awareness of what caused my upset feelings. As I practice the exercises in Lesson 6, there is an undoing process that takes me back to the original upset–the tiny, mad idea that I could separate from my Father’s Mind.
LESSON 6
I am upset because I see something that is not there.
The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:
I am angry at _________ because I see something that is not there. I am worried about __________ because I see something that is not there.
Today’s idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you, and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.
Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:
There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
And:
I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.
Let’s practice together! Watch and listen to me reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube. Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, my online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.
It seems to us as if we’re upset for a never-ending number of reasons. But the metaphysical explanation that A Course in Miracles offers us is that we believe we’ve separated from God, and the terror and the horror we feel at the thought that we are exiled from Heaven permanently, is the only reason we are ever upset. Everything that we think we are upset about is just an ego distraction. The ego believes it will be annihilated if we wake up. And it will disappear back into the nothingness from which it came. In the meantime, we can practice “I am never upset for the reason I think.”
The lesson goes on to say we can apply it to specific personal situations, as well as to whatever comes to mind. I can fill in, “I am not angry at Mayor Bloomberg for raising the subway fare and bridge and tunnel tolls for the reason I think. I am not afraid of my bills going up for the reason I think. I am not worried about money for the reason I think.” And what’s more, all upsets are equal. A splinter, a tumor, a scratch on the new furniture, a death in the family–it is all the same. The ego gloats at the obscenity of equalizing what, to it, clearly have different levels of importance. We will never choose God if He is so insensitive to our feelings. But the truth is that God knows us as we Are. Our “work” is to undo the layers of forgetfulness which “cover” our True Nature.
“I am never upset for the reason I think” is one of the best reminders I have. I apply it as often as I manage to remember and it always helps.
LESSON 5
I am never upset for the reason I think.
This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.
When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset, and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:
I am not angry at _____________ for the reason I think. I am not afraid of __________________ for the reason I think.
But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for “sources” of upset in which you believe, and forms of upset which you think result.
In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises with this statement:
There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.
You may also find yourself less willing to apply today’s idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first of this:
I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them as all the same.
Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of the feeling as you experience it. Further examples are:
I am not worried about _________________ for the reason I think.
I am not depressed about ________________ for the reason I think.
Three or four times during the day is enough.
Let’s practice together! Watch and listen to me reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube. Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, my online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.
This lesson asks us to look at our thoughts–watch them parade by, and then, apply today’s idea, “These thoughts do not mean anything” to some of the specific thoughts I am having. It explains that what I consider “good” and “bad” thoughts are really neither, since they are often contradictory, which is why they don’t mean anything. Ramana Maharshi just said the same thing in Regina Dawn Aker’s new book, The Teachings of Inner Ramana, “If all of the concerns for one day are written down, it may be seen that concerns and imagined solutions conflict with one another, so that no true peace can be found with the mind.”
Lesson 4 goes on to say that good thoughts are “but shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows make sight difficult. The ‘bad’ ones are blocks to sight, and make seeing impossible. You do not want either.” After reading this, Bowl of Saki arrived in my email box and Hazrat Inayat Khan had this to say, “When you stand with your back to the sun, your shadow is before you; but when you turn and face the sun, then your shadow falls behind you.”Synchronicity. Reinforcements of The Message I’ve often thought that good thoughts are the way the ego keeps us tempted to stick with it and bad thoughts are the way the ego keeps us narrowly consumed with a problem, therefore endlessly distracted from our True Nature.
Towards the end Jesus says, “Do not, however, examine your mind for more than a minute or so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied.” This makes me bust out laughing. I have a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied with nonsense all day long … I guess I feel understood, lol.
LESSON 4
These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place].
Unlike the preceding ones, these exercises do not begin with the idea for the day. In these practice periods, begin with noting the thoughts that are crossing your mind for about a minute. Then apply the idea to them. If you are already aware of unhappy thoughts, use them as subjects for the idea. Do not, however, select only the thoughts you think are “bad.” You will find, if you train yourself to look at your thoughts, that they represent such a mixture that, in a sense, none of them can be called “good” or “bad.” This is why they do not mean anything.
In selecting the subjects for the application of today’s idea, the usual specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use “good” thoughts as well as “bad.” None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by them. The “good” ones are but shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows make sight difficult. The “bad” ones are blocks to sight, and make seeing impossible. You do not want either.
This is a major exercise, and will be repeated from time to time in somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in the first steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful. It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of training your mind to recognize what is the same and what is different.
In using your thoughts for application of the idea for today, identify each thought by the central figure or event it contains, for example:
This thought about ______________ does not mean anything. It is like the things I see in this room [on this street, and so on].
You can also use the idea for a particular thought that you recognize as harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a substitute for the more random procedures to be followed for the exercises. Do not, however, examine your mind for more than a minute or so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied.
Further, since these exercises are the first of their kind, you may find the suspension of judgment in connection with thoughts particularly difficult. Do not repeat these exercises more than three or four times during the day. We will return to them later.
Let’s practice together! Watch and listen to me reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube. Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, my online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.
The instructions state, “The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them.” We are asked to keep an open mind and suspend judgment. In the world, if I keep an open mind and suspend all judgment, couldn’t I get into trouble? But when Jesus firmly suggests that I follow his instructions and have my own experience, how can I refuse? I gaze around the room and find that my mind softens … I, who love precision, have no desire to even assign words to what I’m seeing … there is a blur of familiar objects devoid of names or relevance. My heart eases in my chest as some internal pressure I live with daily abates. Something widens expansively, moving through the heart, the lungs, the arms, and radiates beyond the body. Here is the love, peace and joy the Course promises.
LESSON 3
I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place].
Apply this idea in the same way as the previous ones, without making distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a proper subject for applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the suitability of anything for the application of the idea. These are not exercises in judgment. Anything is suitable if you see it. Some of the things you see may have emotionally charged meaning for you. Try to lay such feelings aside, and merely use these things exactly as you would anything else.
The point of these exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them. It is therefore essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment, in selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be applied. For this purpose one thing is like another; equally suitable and therefore equally useful.
Let’s practice together! Watch and listen to me reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube. Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, my online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.
I’ve often thought that good thoughts are the way the ego keeps us tempted to stick with it and bad thoughts are the way the ego keeps us narrowly consumed with a problem, therefore endlessly distracted from our True Nature.