Reflections 1 to 14
1/ One Step at a Time
26th October 2024
“When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.” Buddha.
There is no confusion in the Kingdom, because there is only one meaning. This meaning comes from God and is God. (ACIM, T-7.II.7:3-4)
***
Lesson 1. Nothing I see... means anything. Yesterday: I still seem to be coming to terms with being the recipient of a fit of road rage. It was terrifying but I tried to remain calm even though the initial shock made me pee into my pants. Today: The first lesson brings home to me the veracity of the two thought systems; we either believe one totally or we don’t believe it at all.
A Course in Miracles tells us that this is not a course in the play of ideas, but in their practical application (ACIM, T-11.VIII.5:3). This is why we need the Workbook. It allows us to change the way we think and enables the mind to see with true perception.
The fact that we are not the body is one of the primary truths of A Course in Miracles. However, it is also clear that we have a huge investment in what this body means to us. All our thoughts arise out of this identification and it is why we suffer.
Another truth is that the world is just a projection of the mind. This is not a statement that is easy to accept and it is only by completely identifying with the thought system of the Holy Spirit that we can understand this totally. Until this happens, we just need to keep on with our practice of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is therefore the understanding that nothing has happened. The ego will always tell us that forgiveness overlooks what someone has done to us. A Course in Miracles teaches that the only thing we need to do is to forgive ourselves for what has never happened. We are in a dream of separation and it is only our resistance to truth that allows the dream we are having to seem real.
Really, then, the whole point of A Course in Miracles is to show us that there is only God and we are collectively His one Son. We need to see the holiness of God in everyone and we can only do this one step at a time. Today is the first day of the Workbook. If we understood today’s lesson perfectly then we wouldn’t need the other 364 lessons at all.
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2/ Dissolve the Darkness
27th October 2024
“The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.” Aung San Suu Kyi.
God would not have His Son made prisoner to what he does not want. (ACIM, T-30.II.2:8)
***
Lesson 2. I have given everything I see in this room… all the meaning that it has for me. Yesterday: I practised the lesson in the morning, as instructed, and twice during the day (which we weren’t meant to do) but forgot in the evening. I did remember when I woke up, but that would have been after midnight. Today: Have already done the initial practice. I tried not to be captivated by the beautiful sunrise but it did mean something because it was so stunning.
A Course in Miracles states this: You who have spent your life in bringing truth to illusion, reality to fantasy, have walked the way of dreams (ACIM, T-18.III.1:1). What this means is that we have been trying to bring the light to the darkness. Praying for help might be a typical example.
What we have to do is to bring our darkness to the light. The ego always hates this because the ego is the darkness. If the mind became fully aware of the light, the ego would quite simply disappear.
Our dreams at night are the reflection of an inner state of mind. Sometimes they are painful and sometimes they are less so. A Course in Miracles tells us that, just because the day has dawned, our state of mind does not disappear; it simply continues to be the cause of everything we see.
As stated at the top of the page, God does not want His one Son (which means the all-encompassing Self that lies within all of us) to remain the prisoner of his dreams. However, if the dream did end suddenly and dramatically, it would be too traumatic. We have to allow ourselves to awaken slowly by witnessing the battle instead of being part of the battle.
The ego has to be observed and we need to do this without judgement. We do this with a gentle awareness that simply does nothing and allows the Holy Spirit to do the rest. This is forgiveness.
The mind is split but really there is just the one mind. Our job is to bring all of the illusions that make up that split to the truth. The rest is easy because the light within us simply dissolves the darkness.
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28th October 2024
“He who is filled with love is filled with God himself.” Saint Augustine.
Love wishes to be known, completely understood and shared. (ACIM, T-20.VI.2:5)
***
Lesson 3. I do not understand anything I see in this room... Yesterday: A friendly acquaintance I know has become irritating. This is so clearly the ego at work, it is laughable. Today: Woke with a bombardment of thoughts about this person. Have practised forgiveness (sending a Christ blessing) and have practised the lesson for today once this morning. The “i” that I think I am feels at war with my Self.
We are so much bigger than we think we are. Everything that we imagine ourselves to be is false. The truth lies hidden by our secret fears and neuroses. But truth is here and it is ours for the taking.
A Course in Miracles talks about the holy instant. This is the present moment that we can never find. The holy instant is all there is but we imagine it to be all that it is not. We are told that all we need to do is to have a little willingness to accept it. We do not have to achieve anything.
Everything that is held within the holy instant is the Self that we are. We are the Love and the Light of God. We are His Son and the Christ. We are the Peace of God Itself.
All the mental chatter that goes on outside of the holy instant is just a masquerade. It is what we are not. It is actually a lie. We are so deceived by our thoughts that we cannot know ourselves.
We therefore need to train our minds to know this, which is why we tackle the Workbook.
As stated in the current lesson, we do not understand anything. However, what we do need to understand is that there is a God Who does not know of suffering. Only love exists.
Everything God wills is not only possible, but has already happened. And that is why the past has gone. It never happened in reality. Only in your mind, which thought it did, is its undoing needful.(ACIM, T-18.IV.8:4-7)
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29th October 2024
“The false is the beginning of all suffering.” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Love cannot suffer, because it cannot attack. (ACIM, T-10.III.3:2)
***
Lesson 4. These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the thoughts I see in this room... Yesterday: I did the lesson more times than instructed and this is really because my mind was restless. I notice that I drink way too much tea, to get the ‘hit’ that I crave, and also like to suppress that restlessness at the end of the day with a glass of alcohol. Today: Just completed the first practice of the lesson. I am aware of the point of this lesson but I am not aware of its effects.
A Course in Miracles tells us that we can stretch out a hand and reach to Heaven (ACIM, T-18.VI.10:1). It states that nothing exists outside of us (ACIM, T-18.VI.1:1). And it also reminds us that the body also exists outside of us, acting like a barrier that cuts us off from peace (ACIM, T-18.VI.9:1).
At no single instant does the body exist at all. It is always remembered or anticipated, but never experienced just now. Only its past and future make it seem real. (ACIM, T-18.VII.3:1-3)
Examining our thoughts can only prove that we are ruled by chaos. Our minds have no order or control. We have no idea of what our next thought will be. We can swing from happiness to desolation in just the blink of an eye.
All ‘good’ thoughts and ‘bad’ thoughts are therefore just a veil to truth, making this a practice in which we need to be extremely patient and vigilant. We either identify with the ego or the Holy Spirit and, if we are practising the Workbook, then it is because we believe we are the ego.
We are not who we think we are. However, it is by going beyond our thoughts that we find the truth.
Our thoughts dictate our reality. In the end, there is just the one reality and this is complete peace.
Patience is the key. The paradox, though, is that we are searching for something we have never lost.
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5/ Ripples and Sunbeams
30th October 2024
“An awake heart is like a sky that pours light.” Hafez.
You will awaken to your own call, for the Call to awake is within you. If I live in you, you are awake. (ACIM, T-11.VI.9:1-2)
***
Lesson 5. I am never upset for the reason I think. Yesterday: Woke up in the early hours with thoughts racing. Began a practice where I observed my thoughts and then said to myself: “Yes, but what has this got to do with the love and peace of the Holy Spirit in my mind.” Today: This lesson feels appropriate. When I practised the lesson a few minutes ago, I was amazed at how many things I could find to be upset about in just one minute.
A Course in Miracles likens us to little ripples on the ocean and sunbeams from the sun. The sun and the ocean are quite unaware of their presence but, without them, both the ocean and the sun would be incomplete.
We, as isolated individuals wrapped up in bodies, are terrified of our Source, which is God. And God is quite unaware of our predicament as He continues to extend love out to the whole.
The Workbook’s goal is merely to return us from fear to love, which means removing all the blocks that prevent love’s presence from being known.
The mind is split. Therefore, to consider ourselves as little ripples or sunbeams arising out of the whole is personally insulting to the ego. The ego wants us fully appreciate that it rules the body.
A Course in Miracles tells us that the ego represents our collective insanity. We are all part of the whole and, to appreciate the wholeness of life, we have to heal the mind of the ego. This is why we practise forgiveness.
We are not confined by limitations. As we trust in love and extend love, then we become that love.
Like to the sun and ocean your Self continues, unmindful that this tiny part regards itself as you. (ACIM, T-18.VIII.6:1)
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6/ Faith in the Formless
31st October 2024
“A flower blooms for its own joy.” Oscar Wilde.
And every flower that ever bloomed has saved its perfume and its loveliness for you. (ACIM, T-25.IV.5:4)
***
Lesson 6. I am upset because I see something that is not there. Yesterday. The lesson was practised four times, as instructed, although the last time was quite late at night and I was tired. Today. Today’s lesson feels more valid, in the sense that it feels more rewarding as I practise it. I can sense the futility of a lot of my upsets.
Jesus is the Voice of A Course in Miracles. It’s easy to sense this as one reads the Text. There are so many first-person pronouns and references to his life that to think otherwise becomes impossible.
Jesus identified only with Spirit during his physical incarnation. Today, he teaches that our identity with the body means that we see ourselves as being separate and apart from God. He tells us that this is dreaming because God can have no opposite. We are collectively the one Son of God.
Anything that has form is not of God. Only the formless is real and this is why we need faith. We need to nurture our faith in Spirit and fully understand that peace is our natural inheritance. If we don’t do this and trust in the physical, we are turning our backs on love and replacing it with fear.
The Workbook sets the foundation for faith by undoing our belief in separate identities. It trains our minds to think with the Holy Spirit, which is the opposite of the ego in every way. In effect, we are all channels for one or the other - which means we can be channels for untruth as well as for truth.
Below are two videos. One is a short interview with Erin Michelle Galito, providing insight into why she channels Jesus. The second video shows her channelling and includes questions-and-answers. The framework is always A Course in Miracles and the message is consistently about awakening.
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7/ Heaven just Is
1st November 2024
“Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace.” Eckhart Tolle.
Forgiveness is the healing of the perception of separation. (ACIM, T-3.V.9:1)
***
Lesson 7. I see only the past. Yesterday. Completed the four practice periods and the lesson made sense to me. I realised that thoughts are powerful and are ultimately destructive. Today. This lesson made complete sense to me as soon as I read it. It came to me that I am basically led by past experiences in all that I do.
We choose either Heaven or hell. This is the central teaching of A Course in Miracles. Hell is the past and Heaven is the present.
The practice of A Course in Miracles is therefore all about coming back to the present moment. It is about undoing the effects of the ego. It is about being present enough to know that we are always being pushed around by our thoughts.
“Now” has no meaning to the ego, The present merely reminds it of past hurts, and it reacts to the present as if it were the past. (ACIM, T-13.IV.5:1-2)
We are learning that love has no opposite but the ‘we’ who we think we are (the ego) is determined that it has. We see opposites everywhere and in all that we do.
The ego scares us into believing that being in the present moment is boring. It hurts us into believing that anything that is not based on time is based on instability. The ego wants us to believe that we will become mentally unstable if we ever step away from its control.
A Course in Miracles is showing us that this is insanity. It tells us that we are all collectively insane because are all collectively choosing hell over Heaven.
We choose one or the other. However, the choice of Heaven does not need time because Heaven just Is.
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8/ Truth and Love
2nd November 2024
“We look for good on earth and cannot recognize it when met” Euripides.
Both Heaven and earth are in you, because the call of both is in your mind. (ACIM, T-5.II.8:5)
***
Lesson 8. My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. Yesterday. After practising the lesson once in the morning, I completely forgot about it until the afternoon. It popped into my mind when we were out for a walk and I completed the fourth practice in evening. Today. Again, this lesson resonates with me. As I did my first practice just a few minutes ago, it came to me that even my thoughts about future events are influenced by experiences of the past.
A Course in Miracles tells us that it is the nature of love to look upon only the truth, for there it sees itself, with which it would unite in holy union and completion (ACIM, T-19.IV-A.10:2). Clearly we don’t know what true love is. We are too caught up in anger and frustration.
The lesson today tells us that love is only attracted to love. Fear is not part of the equation. Fear is always man-made and wholly illusory.
The ego cannot accept this. If we do examine our thoughts, we can see that we really believe what we think. Our thoughts are our reality and we are living a dream.
We also learn that, when we think with the ego, the mind is actually blank. We are refusing to listen to truth. Truth is barred from our awareness but it is always there.
We therefore have to go past all our judgements and notions of what is right and what is wrong. We need to be led by peace and refuse to follow fear.
Fear punishes us and peace makes us joyful. It is always our choice as to whether we live or we die.
Truth and love therefore go hand in hand. One cannot live without the other. Together, we thrive and, apart, we become sick and simply stagnate.
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9/ Thought of God
3rd November 2024
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu.
Where is hope while sin is seen as outside? (ACIM, C-4.6:5)
***
Lesson 9. I see nothing as it is now. Yesterday. Managed to practise the lesson for the five times that was requested throughout the day. I was busy with work but I am also aware that I make this busyness in order to distract myself from looking at my inner world. Today. Can we actually believe that what we see is not there? This was the first question that crossed my mind when I read this lesson. However, I do feel that I understand the principle, even if my mind never feels in the present moment.
A Course in Miracles states that the body is a means and not an end. It does not bring us peace nor turmoil, and neither does it bring us joy or pain (ACIM, T-19.IV-B.10:4-5).
We also learn that death is the result of the thought that we call the ego, while life is the result of the Thought of God (ACIM, T-19.IV-C.2:15).
To fully appreciate the Thought of God, we have to establish a mind without the thought of the ego. What, then, do we have to go through in order to makes this happen?
First of all, we have to be aware of all our thoughts. We have to be aware of where they lead us to and what they do. However, we never judge them. Without judgement, the ego cannot survive.
Secondly, we have to love unconditionally. We have to see in others what we desire in ourselves. If we want to have peace, then we have to manifest peace.
And thirdly, we have to practice forgiveness whenever we slip up. This means that we overlook what has happened and let it go. All slip ups are just errors that need to be corrected and not condemned.
A Course in Miracles states that everything arises out of the mind. The body reflects what we believe in. There is only the one mind but bodies are proof that we have forgotten the Thought of God.
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10/ Mighty Companions
4th November 2024
“The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.” Shakti Gawain.
Know yourself in the One Light where the miracle that is you is perfectly clear. (ACIM, T-3.V.10:9)
***
Lesson 10. My thoughts do not mean anything. Yesterday. Completed the four practices of the lesson. I always tend to be a bit rushed but, because we didn’t have to close our eyes during our practise, it was quite easy to do it when walking around. Today. This lesson appears to be an essential part of learning the truth. If we are thinking with the thought system of the ego, our thoughts cannot mean anything because we are told that the ego is an illusion. To me, this feels scary.
A Course in Miracles tells us that there is no death, but there is a belief in death: As you approach the Beginning, you feel the fear of the destruction of your thought system upon you as if it were the fear of death. (ACIM, T-3.VII.5:10)
The fear of God and the fear of death arise out of our belief in separation and are always there, even if we want to believe that they are not. We can’t escape our thoughts about death, but we do if we confront them and walk through them to the light. This requires courage and it also requires trust.
We are told that we are never alone, even if we think we are. At one point in the Manual for Teachers, Jesus talks about the “mighty companions” that walk beside us; if we knew we had this kind of help, we would never be fearful again.
The thoughts that rage in our minds are really just distractions. They hide both the peace and the light that is always there. Our thoughts are like clouds that drift across the sky; the sky doesn’t disappear but, occasionally, the cloud cover does.
And the Holy Spirit - the essence of any invisible mighty companion that is accompanying us - is that inner, eternal peace. The truth is, we are searching for what we have with us all the time.
The silence and stillness within us are our might companions. This is so at odds with what the world teaches us that it seems laughable. But, then, we also learn that the world just arises from the mind.
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11/ Immortal and Complete
5th November 2024
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” C.S. Lewis.
In the holy instant there is no conflict of needs, for there is only one. (ACIM, T-15.V.11:4)
***
Lesson 11. My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world. Yesterday. The practice was to get a sense of how our thoughts do not mean anything. It was in the early evening, when I was with my mother’s dog, that I realised that my thoughts do mean a lot. I hadn’t visited my mother for a few weeks and the dog’s eyes looked a little cloudy, despite the wagging tail and unstoppable affection. My thoughts told me it was old age and possible cataracts, and the practice suddenly seemed very benign and quite painful. Today. As I did the first practice session of today’s lesson, I found it quite reassuring. My eyes scanned the room and touched on the dog, beside me at my feet. I could feel the ego in action but I could also sense the Holy Spirit.
A Course in Miracles tells us we have the Son of God and we have the body. We either give a crown of thorns or we give a gift of lilies. And it constantly reminds us that fear does not exist within love.
From the beginning to the end of A Course in Miracles, we are told that there are only two ways of seeing; one is with the ego and the other is with the Holy Spirit. When we look with the ego, we look with the body; when we look with the Holy Spirit, we see with vision.
In the lesson today, we are introduced to the concept that our thoughts dictate the world that we see - in other words, we either see a false world full of pain or the real world full of truth.
The false world is one of anger, greed and death; things seem to come and go. The real world is one of love and appreciation. Nothing opposes this and the difference between the two is startling and irresistible. If we knew life without fear, we would just fall into the arms of love.
Jesus is leading us to the truth of what we are. The truth is that we are immortal and complete.
We go beyond the veil of fear, lighting each other’s way. The holiness that leads us is within us, as is our home. So will we find what we were meant to find by Him Who leads us. (ACIM, T-20.II.9:4-6)
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12/ Truth or Sin
6th November 2024
“No one is more worthy of your kindness and compassion than you are.” Thich Nhat Hanh.
No learning is acquired by anyone unless he wants to learn it and believes in some way that he needs it. (ACIM, T-1.VI.1:2)
***
Lesson 12. I am upset because I see a meaningless world. Yesterday. Yet another panic attack. Fingers were trembling as I played a board game with my mother, sister and brother-in-law. But, on the positive side, I stuck with it, calmed myself down and joined in with the fun. The ego did not win. Today. The lesson tells me that all my fear comes from within me and has nothing to do with the external world. It states that the world is meaningless and is only a mask for the Word of God. Believe the ego and we believe in the world of form.
A Course in Miracles tells us that salvation is the reawakening of the laws of God in minds that have established other laws (ACIM, T-20.IV.2:10).
What we are used to doing is seeing other people as a threat or as a friend. We think we are separate individuals all with our own needs.
Our education has also ingrained us with a belief in sin. This makes us feel that we will never be good enough. We are told that Christ died for our sins but A Course in Miracles tells us otherwise. The crucifixion of Christ had only one purpose. It was to show us that we can never die.
The Son of God therefore appears to have a mind that is split between the fear of death and the Love of God. A Course in Miracles tells us that we are all, collectively, the Kingdom of Heaven. Within us all is the peace that passes all understanding.
We have to learn that it is all about relationship. We either see the Love of God in another, or we see the fear of separation. We either travel towards the truth, or away from truth and on to sin.
Sin has no place in Heaven, where its results are alien and can no more enter than can their source. And therein lies your need to see your brother sinless. In him is Heaven. See sin in him instead, and Heaven is lost to you. (ACIM, T-20.IV.2:1-4)
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13/ Life Is all about Love
7th November 2024
“I am not devaluing thoughts. Just do not mix up what we think with what actually is.” Taizan Maezumi.
Do not make the mistake of believing that you understand what you perceive, for its meaning is lost to you. (ACIM, T-11.VIII.2:3)
***
Lesson 13. A meaningless world engenders fear. Yesterday. It was quite easy to practise this lesson throughout the day since we are asked to do it with our eyes open. However, I didn’t relate to it at all - there was something about the meaninglessness of the world that just didn’t resonate. Today. This lesson seems to expand on the preceding lesson. It is showing us that the ego believes that it is in competition with God and, yes, I did feel quite fearful as I practised the lesson for the first time a few minutes ago.
A Course in Miracles tells us that the Son of God has invented an unholy relationship between himself and his Father. His real relationship is one of perfect union and unbroken continuity (ACIM, T-20.VI.1:4-5).
The Holy Spirit (our inner peace) can only be found in its relationship with other minds; the ego (all that we fear) is only known in a relationship between bodies.
Jesus is therefore telling us that all relationships are either holy or unholy. One will always exclude the other, and this is without exception. Relationships are therefore a reflection of how we feel. Do we want know God’s Love completely, or not?
Sometimes, it probably feels as if we are more dead than alive, and it is in the understanding of the near-death experience that we find that we don’t die at all. We are immortal spirit and that’s a fact.
Betty Eadie’s near-death experience was in 1976 and it began and ended with Jesus. If there is one thing that this account teaches us, it is that we should never judge anyone or anything. Nothing happens by chance. We are all here for a purpose and, since only love exists, life is all about love.
* The link is below, if the video cannot be watched directly. Or just go to YouTube and you can see Betty's interview with Lee Witting and NDE Radio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm8edJOUQu4
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14/ Trust in the Unseen
8th November 2024
“Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” Saadi Shīrāzī.
Be patient a while and remember that the outcome is as certain as God. (ACIM, T-4.II.5:8)
***
Lesson 14. God did not create a meaningless world. Yesterday. A key point in yesterday’s lesson was how the ego feels that it is in competition with God. As I write this, this feels about right. Within me is the perennial sense of doom that I always carry during the early hours of the morning, and this is clearly the ego. It is vicious and absolutely terrified of anything to do with God. Today. After reading today’s lesson, I learn that the world I see has nothing to do with reality. I made it up and it does not exist. This implies that everything I relate to has arisen out of my pain. Truth and peace are therefore totally incomprehensible to this little self that I call Mark.
A Course in Miracles tells us that it is impossible to see a brother as sinless and to also look upon him as a body (ACIM, T-20.VII.4:1). It states that holiness is merely the result of allowing the effects of sin be lifted, so that what is forever true can be recognised (ACIM, T-20.VII.4:3). And we learn that the body is always neutral. It is neither sinless, nor is it sinful.
The body can only know pain if we allow the mind to make it so; likewise with pleasure. A Course in Miracles therefore stresses that it is the mind that is the cause of everything, and never the body.
We learn that Jesus had his body crucified on a cross and it meant nothing, except to other bodies. The importance of the crucifixion is the central teaching of the Christian tradition but, to A Course in Miracles, its significance is only important to the illusory self that we call the ego.
A Course in Miracles tells us that people want to crucify each other every day, and it always arises in the mind. Even the subtlest snipe means that we are pushing the crown of thorns onto another.
The mind has to be observed, and it is the Holy Spirit that heals our guilt. Really, it is all about complete trust in the unseen. We have to face our fears and ask that they can be seen differently.
Every healing thought that you accept, either from your brother or in your own mind, teaches you that you are God’s Son. (ACIM, T-11.II.2:5)
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