Inspiration for Healing Through Changing Your Mind --The articles in this newsletter are written by people from around the world who are taking their perceived problems to the Holy Spirit, and sharing their miracles stories of how their thoughts are being healed.

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A New View -- by Maggie Walker

My son, Terry, was a teenager in the 1970s, a devotee of the 'grunge' look. With quiet determination he maintained the dress code of no socks, ragged jeans and long, unkempt hair that was characteristic of the era.

With uncharacteristic wisdom and not-so-quiet resignation, I closed his bedroom door, allowed him to make his statement, and prayed that we would not be reported to the Health Department.

In 1975, making another statement against "the establishment," he refused to participate in high school graduation ceremonies. He returned to school the next day to claim his diploma and handed it to me, saying quietly, "Here, Mom, this is for you." I accepted it and said a quiet, heartfelt, "Thank you." He had made A's in English and in auto-mechanics. I'm still not sure of the correlation, but am eternally grateful.

Six months later he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. I breathed a sigh of relief. The term 'peace time,' took on a whole new meaning. "They'll get the grunge out of him," I thought. And they did, for four years. Then with his passion for auto mechanics still high, he replaced the M-1 rifle with wrenches and tools. He let his hair grow out, making his statement this time with grease under his fingernails and ground into his knuckles, dirty shop pants, and the perpetual presence of a ragged, camouflage field jacket.

In 1988, Terry was thirty-one years old. He had a wife, three children, a respectable trade, and a mother who cringed every time there was to be a family get-together. I shuddered, knowing he would show up with grease under his fingernails and ground into his knuckles, unkempt hair, and wearing that grungy field jacket. I would start calling about a week ahead of time, encouraging a hair cut and a head start on melting away the grime, usually to no avail.

In early autumn of that year, I experienced a sudden onset of blindness. There were three weeks of pain and uncertainty before it was diagnosed as a rare bacterial infection. One Sunday I was invited to attend a social with my son and his family at their church. Functionally blind and led by my son, I was aware of how safe I felt with his arm around my shoulders. His manner was patient and kind. There was gentleness in the strength of his hands as he guided mine to identify objects before me. His self-assurance calmed my anxiety as he described steps and doorways we were approaching. I heard pride in his voice as he introduced me to his friends and his pastor. I couldn't see if there was grease under his fingernails and ground into his knuckles, if he had combed his hair, or if he was wearing clean jeans instead of dirty shop pants. Instead, I saw my son for the first time. For the first time, I saw his Soul.

Today, I have another guide. I travel about confidently with the aid of a noble, stout-hearted Golden Retriever named Guinness, trained by The Seeing Eye Foundation.

A fellow graduate, and friend of mine recently wrote a testimonial for The Seeing Eye. He noted that he had once seen the word BLIND used as an acronym for Bewildered, Lonely, Insecure, Nervous, Depressed. Being the person he is, my friend Clarence reworded the acronym into something powerful and positive. Being the person I am, I latched onto his creativity and now wave it high like a banner every chance I get. It serves as a reminder for me, of that early autumn afternoon in 1988 when I had my first glimpse of the adventure that lay ahead. When I saw my son through new eyes, I learned that BLIND can mean Being Led In New Directions.

I was taught to pray from early childhood, but never taught how to look for ways that prayer was manifesting in my life. Hence, the story above is the result of hindsight.

In 1984, recuperating from an injury suffered in a horseback riding accident, I prayed earnestly for God's guidance and intervention in my life. I had been introduced to A Course in Miracles®, but was not consciously pursuing it as a life-style.

When I experienced the onset of blindness in 1988, I was indeed bewildered, insecure and depressed, wondering if God was playing a cruel joke.

In March 2001, I was facing another crisis in my personal and spiritual life. I had no more answers. Once again, I prayed earnestly for God's guidance and Intervention in my life. Through a dream, I was led to ACIM® classes that were meeting on Tuesday and Thursday nights, where I learned that the Course was now available on CD ROM, which is accessible to me, with adapted screen reading equipment. I began attending the classes and studying the principles, and made the commitment to the workbook. It was four months later in July 2001, that this sequence of events came back to me. Now I am able to see how my prayers in 1984 brought about this whole new perspective of my life.

Maggie Walker Thomas is an author and student of A Course in Miracles from Nashville, Tennesee.
Email: immaggie@bellsouth.net

Hold to Love -- by Rev. Marcia Tribolini

I was elated to open my local paper from last week and read the article written by reader Bernard (Pat) Knier. Bernard, I applaud you for having the courage to speak to what I believe is the higher truth, and while I do not know you, I want to join my voice with yours in speaking to that truth -- love is the only answer.

The chaos that occurred on September 11th was heart wrenching. I believe it shook our sense of safety as individuals, as a nation, and as a world, to the very core of our being. It seemed as if the forces of darkness had a field day, and the reverberations we felt in the days that followed left many of us feeling stressed and exhausted.

As things seemed to fall apart around us. Many of us got on our knees, either figuratively or literally, and turned to prayer to regain our strength, to ask for understanding and guidance, and perhaps, for help in seeing things differently.

These are tough times to navigate in the world. Many of us grew up with the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Is this a sappy and sentimental viewpoint that holds no value in today's world, or is this truly a higher law? As Jesus said "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." These are not just idle pleasantries to spout off. These are basic laws of living, spoken as a guide to help us through our daily lives, and as a simple statement of the way things work in the universe. What you put out there will come back to you tenfold. Given these simple truths, how long do we want to pretend, as individuals or as a nation, that wielding the biggest stick ( for the moment) is our source of true Power, and that annihilating others in distant lands under the guise of having supreme power won't eventually boomerang and result in the same destruction and annihilation landing on our own soil? Is it possible that September 11th was just a mere glimpse of this principal in action?

There will be a day, very soon, in which every political faction on the planet will have access to the same BIG stick- the same nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare that can bring untold destruction to entire countries, and the entire civilization. Does this bring a sense of security and safety to any one of us?

There are only two emotions -- love or fear. Fear wears many faces: judgement, prejudice, anger, hatred, anxiety, depression, and addiction, just to name a few. Identifying with love results in the actions of kindness, compassion, and reaching out to support others in need. Identifying with fear, in any form, can only lead to attack, defense, and more fear -- a vicious and never ending cycle that drains our creative and life energies.

How much longer do we want to identify with fear? And how much longer do we want to reap the effects of sowing the entire thought system of fear? If we continue to believe that our safety lies in a bigger bomb and a bigger army to deliver that bomb, we are sorely mistaken, and the results of this fear-based thinking will be tragic for all involved.

As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Giving is receiving, in both the positive and negative sense. We have been a leader of nations. Let us now use the God-given power of our minds, collectively, as a nation and a world, to choose love over fear.

A basic tenet of our country is "United we stand, divided we fall." How true it is, another basic law of living. Let's move it to the next step, to the bigger picture. The time is NOW.

Beyond the fact that I am an American is the fact that I am a member of the human race. The only real separation between any of us is the walls and barriers we have built up in our minds -- defenses and barriers to the truth of who we all really are; a barrier to the fact that we were all created from the same Source of Love.

As Jesus said, "I am my brother's keeper." The buck stops here for me. If I am holding any thought of violence or hatred against anyone, I am contributing to the pain and wounding of the world.

Imagine this scene, if you will. Jesus is living among us today. He happens to live in America, and he happens to be running for a high political office in our nation's government. September 11th, 2001 occurs, and at the press conference that follows, a reporter asks: "Jesus, what is your response to today's events?"

Jesus steps up to the podium, gazes steadily at the audience and says: "Love them." The room suddenly becomes so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. (Jesus has a way of doing this to large crowds.) The reporter presses on and questions: "But Jesus, look what they did to us -- what should we do to them?"

Again, Jesus gazes steadily at the crowd, and from a place of knowing the truth and telling the truth, he speaks to our One Mind that also knows the truth. From a place of pure, radiant light that dispels all darkness, he simply says, "Just love them. Let all of your actions towards them come from a place of love, not fear."

Would we crucify the One Son of God again for being and speaking only of love? Do we need the lesson again, or do we get it this time?

With his platform of extending love only, would we elect Jesus to run our country? Maybe not. Yet. But I hold to the conviction that love will prevail.

And on the day that we collectively hold to this highest Truth in our thoughts, words, and deeds -- that Love is the only Answer -- on that day we will have truly honored those who died on September11th. On that day will we truly have a sense of Universal safety, and a sense of peace that passeth all understanding. On that day, we can truly say, Amen.

Let us join together in extending Peace, Love, and Light,

Rev. Marcia Tribolini is a Pathways of Light minister living in Kiel, Wisconsin.
Email: mtribolini@iglide.net
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And a Little Child Will Lead Them -- by Rev. Georgeann Medved

On a recent Saturday my nephew, Jeff, asked his six year old son, Cody, what he would like to do that afternoon. Cody brightly replied, "Go hunting!"

After lunch, Jeff and Cody dressed warmly and departed for what Jeff expected to be a brief, leisurely stroll in the woods and fields around their home. Cody carried a snack that they had prepared and Jeff carried his gun.

It was a pleasant day and after about two hours of exploring, Jeff asked the boy if he wanted to go back home. Cody said no. So they sat on an old, rotted out log, ate their snack, then walked some more.

After another two hours, Jeff again asked Cody if he was tired and wanted to go home. Cody again said no. So Jeff stayed out with him even though he had chores to do at home and felt guilty about not getting them done.

Dusk started to set in and Jeff told a reluctant Cody that they had to get back home before dark. Cody reluctantly walked home with his dad.

After arriving home and putting their gear away, they sat down to a nice supper that my niece, Kathy, had prepared. After the meal. Cody turned to his dad and said, "Dad, I had a really, really good time today! Thanks for taking me hunting. Can we go again?"

That thank you was much appreciated by a very tired father who was deeply moved. It was a gentle reminder of how important it is to spend quality time with his children and to cherish those special hours of enjoyment.

I was deeply touched when Jeff told me this story. It reminded me that giving someone a gift of my time is very important. "…And a little child will lead them"! (Isaah, 11:6)

Rev. Georgeann Medved is a Pathways of Light minister living in Columbiaville, Michigan. Email: revgeorgeann@juno.com

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Hope Is a Thing with Feathers -- by Rev. Bob Thompson

While walking in the cornfield one day, I found the body of my giant, white, leghorn hen. A few days later I found eight of her white eggs in a nest in the woodshed. I don't know why, but I left the eggs sitting there.

Imagine my surprise when, a few days later, I found a tiny bantam rooster sitting on the eggs! I did not know how old the eggs were and was sure that they were infertile. After all, there was no large rooster to mate with the very large, now deceased, leghorn.

I looked in every day and found the little rooster patiently sitting there. I thought, "He sure is a handsome, multicolored little fellow. But his dedication to dead eggs is a hopeless task and a waste of time." I was reminded of Emily Dickinson's words, "Hope is a thing with feathers that perches on the soul." I wondered how long he would sit on the probably rotten eggs. My curiosity caused me to look in every day, and each time I looked, there he was, quietly sitting.

And so it went, day after day, week after week. After three weeks I noticed the little rooster outside the woodshed. When I looked inside, I was surprised to see a light gray, newly hatched chick, cheeping outside the nest! Inside the nest were the other seven chicks! All eight had hatched! No two were alike. The genetic and color diversity of the father had helped make each chick a colorful and unique individual.

I cupped the little gray chick in my hands to take it down to the house to show my family. When I opened my mouth to tell the story, the tears came, and I was not able to say a word.

(Moral from the little rooster): "To judge not, that the impossible task before you, is truly impossible. A solution is always there, if you will but sit on it long enough!"

Rev. Bob Thompson is a Pathways of Light minister living in Portage, Wisconsin.
Email: thetwowolves@webtv.net

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