Miracles News

January-March, 2005

From Fear to Faith and Love

by Rev. Linda Wisniewski, O.M.C.

Rev. Linda WisniewskiDuring the month of October and into the first weeks of November, I noticed I have been gripped by more fear than usual. It’s not surprising when I realized I had been watching more TV than usual and listening more to National Public Radio, ego’s boom boxes for gloom and doom. News about the flu vaccine shortage, the war in Iraq, cancer scares, ads for new drugs that would first promise cures and then kill you from the side effects, and electioneering all flooded my mind.

Both Kerry and Bush promised we would be safer if we voted for them and be subject to more terrorist attacks if we voted for the other guy. Before the election we were told to vote against same sex unions and the right of women to choose because this is what was making the world a dangerous place in which to raise our children. The elderly were threatened with losing Social Security and enjoying a ‘comfortable’ retirement. In addition to all this, my husband had recently lost his job and we were without health insurance. Is it a wonder that I lived in fear?

The seduction of worry or fear captured me. I was giving my life over to the ego and it was a nightmare. The ego was winning the battle that was taking place in my mind.

By the time of election night, everyone seemed to be going insane. The United States was divided into red and blue states; husbands and wives on opposite sides of the political arena were fighting with each other; children were even taking sides in the tug of war of good guys vs. bad guys. “The ego is nourished by the insanity that makes us feel separate.” (Casey, Karen; Daily Meditations for practicing the Course; June 29) “The separation we perceive is merely a figment of our ego imagination and gives rise to the fights, fears, and threats we endure daily.” (Daily Meditations; Dec. 30)

On the day of the election, I vowed I was not going to turn on the TV and watch the results. I went to bed early and felt proud that I made a choice not to let the ego seduce me further. I kept waking up and forcing myself to return to sleep. I even put on meditation music. But lo and behold, I awoke at 4 a.m. and turned on the tube, gazing at flashing lights proclaiming Bush the winner. The ego part of me went berserk. I rushed downstairs where my husband was calmly baking bread and ranted and raved. When I calmed down, I started to examine my thoughts and I wrote down; “I’m scared. I don’t feel safe. I wish there was somewhere I could run.” I felt so vulnerable.

It was not a surprise that I awoke the next day with a cold and an eye inflammation. My body had become a battle ground for the war games that were taking place in my mind. I was so focused on the dream of the illusory world created in one mad instant by the ego that I was making the error real. It really wouldn’t have mattered if Kerry, the person I voted for, won. It would only have given me a false sense of security in the illusion. The ego wants us to believe that the enemy is outside of us. The politicians were projections of that belief. But I have been learning that is was all being created by my thoughts — the elections and the ‘bad’ news are all reflections of my projections.

As I shared this with Myron, my facilitator in the Pathways of Light ministerial program, she gently reminded me that there is no place in the Illusion where we are safe. In fact Myron said, “There is no illusion. It’s all in our mind.”

The madness of the outside world is only a projection of the ego. “But the purpose of the madness is to finally bring us back to the other part of our minds — the part we call holy. When we choose that space, we are at peace. In that space we can’t see or hear the madness. In that space we are secure, filled with love and free from stories that haunt us.” (Daily Meditations, Feb. 13)

Since then, I have been letting Holy Spirit lead me into the still waters of my holy Mind. With Holy Spirit, I feel safe and secure, remembering that in the real world we are all one in God’s Love and nothing can harm us. I have been restored to sanity with Holy Spirit’s guidance.

The outcome of the election was a mass call for love and an appeal for help. I suddenly felt compassion for all my brothers and sisters who are coming from fear and crying out for love and to feel safe in this nightmare of madness. I am grateful for what I am learning through the Pathways of Light courses and A Course of Miracles itself. In my most fearful moments I am now turning to the Course and practicing the daily lessons.

I am learning in Lesson 50 that “I am sustained by the Love of God.” “Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all you faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.” (W-50.4.1:8)

In the days since the elections, instead of turning on the TV, I tune into Holy Spirit and I am transported into a sea of tranquility and calmness which spills over into every aspect of my life. Every day my joy increases knowing that, with the guidance of Holy Spirit, the conditions for our awakening are being created; we are being led to our true Home, safe in God’s Love.

Rev. Linda Wisniewski is a Pathways of Light minister in training living in Plymouth, Wisconsin.

© 2005, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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