Miracles News Summer 1999
Correspondence Courses | Studies of ACIM | ACIM Weekends | Ministry Training | Campus | Self-Study | FAQ | Miracles News| E-Cards | Shop | Home Membership | Ministers/Facilitators | Counseling | Chat | Links | Healing Journals | Sunday Service | ACIM Daily Lessons | ACIM Text Perspectives

Remembering There Is Only One Mind • A Vision of Remembering My True Purpose • Finding My Spiritual Ministry • Healing Unworthiness • More Summer '99 Articles
Click here to email a link to this page to your friends.

In this world, it appears as if there are many differences. Everything seems separate and distinct from everything else. As a child learning about this world, I was taught to have 'values.' I learned to evaluate everything according to the values of my family, teachers and classmates. I learned to compare and 'e-valuate' everything by focusing on the differences and then evaluating what was best. This applied to everything--the weather, people, food, colors, styles of clothing, music, games, TV programs, etc.

Everything that I was aware of through my physical senses was automatically evaluated and placed in a category based on what I thought was good or bad through the filters of the 'values' I had learned growing up. I learned to avoid or disregard what I evaluated as 'bad,' and gravitated toward what I evaluated as 'good.' It seemed that this was my job as a 'person' -- to evaluate and decide what I liked and what I didn't like. This is what gave me a 'personality.' This meant that I needed to have an opinion about everything. If I didn't know about something to have an opinion about it, then I needed to educate myself so I would have an 'educated opinion.'

As a student of A Course in Miracles, I am learning that it is not my job to do the evaluating. I am learning it is not my job to make decisions on my own. I now know that I cannot know the truth from the input of my physical senses because the purpose of the physical senses is precisely to defend against the truth. I see now that my job is to step back from my opinions based on my past learning, and to quiet my mind and listen to the perspective of the Holy Spirit.

I now know that only the Holy Spirit--which comes from a place of sanity and remembering oneness--knows what is real and what is not real. This has been quite challenging at times and I have rebelled often, thinking one more time that I already 'knew' and could evaluate something without Holy Spirit. Sometimes it seems as if my mind goes on automatic pilot, and I go along, not realizing that I am making decisions on my own again. One of my first clues is when I become aware that I am not at peace. This means my barriers are up and I am trying to do it on my own again. As soon as I recognize this, I again step back, take a deep breath and ask the Holy Spirit to take the lead. In this dance with Holy Spirit, I must be the follower. I cannot do this on my own. As I continue on this journey of remembering to follow and not to lead, I am gradually getting the idea that I really can't use my past learning to know the truth. One way that I am finding helpful is to take time out during the day to 'rest in God.' I need to be reminded of the truth with the Holy Spirit's help again and again.

The following is a message that was there for me one time as I stepped back from the activities of the day. Before you read the following, take a deep breath and let go of tension. Be like a sponge and experience these words as you read them.

I rest in God. I rest in eternal oneness. As I rest in Universal Love, I remember the truth about my brother. In reality we all are one Mind. One Mind… One Mind… One Mind… I breathe it in… I rest in the One Mind of Love, peace and joy… I rest in what is eternally True… No barriers… no defenses… no differences needed here… only deep rest… deep extending all to all… eternally giving and receiving all from all… Gratitude… I am so grateful to rest in Truth… It is so full and complete… so safe… so totally nourishing, giving me all I need…

This rest in God clears my mind of all the foolish thoughts of the world. It calms my mind. It washes away all fear. I let it in… I let it in… I let it in… This awareness alone gives me deep rest… all anxieties gently fall away.

Note: I recommend two lessons from A Course in Miracles Workbook that encourage the willingness to take time out to rest in God: Lesson 157: Into His Presence would I enter now, and Lesson 182: I will be still and instant and go home.

© Copyright 1999, Pathways of Light and/or the author.

The following article is an excerpt from the new A Course in Miracles Study Program: Healing Artificial Values. It is a vision I had about remembering my true purpose.

I step through a doorway into the light. I seem to be on a path. There are rolling hills with flowery ground cover. I am aware that there is Someone with me holding my right hand. It's a Hand with no bodily form. There is a sense of loving strength.

We are walking along the path. It feels like we are walking to no specific destination; it's just for the present experience. There is no conversation, just walking with a Friend. I'm aware that I seem to be really gripping that Hand. It's very important to me to feel that Hand. It feels strong. I'm aware of a sense of fear half way between my solar plexus and heart.

I hear in my mind, “It's all right. You are safe. I'm here. I'm strong." I hang on to that Hand. It reminds me of my father's hand when I was a child, big and strong. It feels comforting. In my mind I hear the thought, “We are going on a journey. It's a journey Home. Not to a place, but to a state of Being. Hold My Hand. Feel the strength of my Presence: I am always with you. I will always guide you toward lasting happiness, because that is the state of your true Home.

“You are ready now to look at old fears with Me beside you. Feel My strength. Know that I can never leave you because I am part of you. Together we have the strength to look at any fear and see beyond it with clarity. The fear lasts but an instant as the love and innocence that lies beyond it is recognized."

We come to a door and I realize that when I open the door, I will see a scene representing a fear. I'm reassured that it is safe to open the door. My Friend is with me. Holding tightly on to the Hand with my right hand, I open the door with my left. We step through the doorway.

I see a man who seems to be me walking around aimlessly in an empty room. He says he doesn't know what to do or where to go. He feels lost. Everything seems to be a blank. He says, “I don't even know what I'm doing here. There is nothing to do. But I feel like I should be doing something." Finally he sits down in a corner with his knees up and his arms holding his knees. He asks with a sense of desperation, “What am I to do?"

I feel the Hand guiding me away from that scene. We come to another door. I again hold on to the Hand while I open the door. I see a man bending over a machine as though he is fixing it. His head is practically in the machine. He is so involved in fixing the machine that he is unaware of anything going on around him. It is his only focus.

There is a sense that the men in the two different scenes are really doing the same thing, even though the form appears to be different. By focusing on fixing the machine, the man is closing out awareness of other possibilities. The man in the other scene is closing out awareness by focusing on the idea that he doesn't know what to do.

Again, I sense the Hand guiding me away from that scene. We are back on the path again and come to a place where the path turns to the right. We follow the path and come to a small temple. It is glowing with light. Together we go up the path and up the steps into the temple which is a single room. The room is filled with light from no specific source.

We walk to the center of the room. We stand there feeling the presence of the light. There is no furniture in the room. We lie down on the floor on our backs. I'm still holding my Friend's Hand. I'm aware that I am more relaxed on the right side of my body. On the left there is some tension. I'm aware now of a Being on my left. I take the Being's Hand. For a while I hold both Hands. I'm aware of a sense of floating, then moving through space. We seem to be moving faster and faster. There is no strain. There is a sense of moving so fast that we shift into another zone or dimension. I seem to be on a path again. It looks similar to the path I was on before. We come to a door. I don't want to let go of either Hand to open the door, but I have the thought, “I want to go through the door," and the door opens.

The three of us go through the door. It is once again a room with a man in it and nothing else. But this time the man is at peace. He says, “My purpose is to hold the Light in my awareness and extend It to all." And so he stands and radiates Light in all directions. And the walls that seem to be there fade away.

My Friends guide me to another door. There is the man fixing the machine. The man straightens up a moment from bending over the machine and he is very peaceful. He says, “My purpose is to hold awareness of the Light... and extend It to all..." He goes back to fixing the machine. He fixes it. While he is fixing it in form, he is also extending Light to it. As he extends Light to it, the machine fades away.

The message of these two scenes is that while the appearance of form may look the same, the experience of it changes when the purpose of all doing is held in focus: Hold awareness of Light--the symbol of Love and Oneness--and extend that Light at all times. With that focus, peace and happiness and wholeness are remembered, for they are the same.

The thought comes to my mind, “Take the time whenever necessary to remember the focus. That is your assignment, your top priority. The details of the form are secondary. They will be clear in the moment when you hold your focus on remembering Light and extending it to all. There will still be things to fix, places to go, things to do. There is still 'chop wood, carry water,' but the recognition of its real purpose brings peace. Health is inner peace.

“Hold Our Hands. We are strong. We remember Our Source and are one with It. There is no greater strength than Our Source. We remember you and We are one with you. And so We join you with the infinite strength of Our Source, which is your Source. Accept the strength that is yours. You accept that strength by remembering the Light and extending It to all. Let that remembering be your focus at the beginning of every day and practice it throughout the day. Remember the Light. Extend It to all."

Note: After reading this story, think about your life and what you may want to focus on as you are involved with the activities of your day.

© Copyright 1999, Pathways of Light and/or the author.

Finding My Spiritual Ministry -- by Martha Firnschild

This week I completed the Pathways of Light course called 'Introduction to Spiritual Ministry,' in which I was asked to let spirit guide me to the mission of my personal spiritual ministry. The answer didn't come until I decided to just begin writing. The message I got was that my spiritual ministry was “to extend love wherever I am and whatever I happen to be doing." I was disappointed. I wanted something straight from God like, “You will work with homeless children." or “Go work at the soup kitchen." Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it. The following event occurred within a week after I received this message from Spirit.

It was almost Easter and I wondered what I would wear for Easter dinner. I didn't especially want to go to Value Village that night but something was drawing me there. At first I thought it was the 'GAP' periwinkle blazer that I found. Then I heard a tremendous noise from outside the store. Outside the front window, a mini van was airborne, flying backwards down Michigan Avenue surrounded by a fog of dirt, glass and hubcaps.

On my way out the door I passed a woman yelling “Call 911." Through the black night air cut the sound of a horn, blowing continually. I heard someone say “Where's the driver?" Someone else shouted “They must be laying on the horn." My feet carried me past the wrecked car in the parking lot of the store, straight toward the street. It looked like someone was lying in the road. With each step I could make out more of what was in front of me.

There were white gym shoes and dark jeans. It was a young woman, the side of her ebony face streaked by blood. There was blood in her hair; on the street around her head, more blood. I knelt down and took her cold limp hand in mine. Suddenly, it struck me that she might be dead. No, she was still breathing. Her chest was moving in a sharp heaving way. I knew I needed to talk to her to make her know that she was not alone. Searching for the right words, I said,"We are here and we love you." I looked up from the girl and saw her mother who turned out to be the driver of the car. “My baby" she screamed. Frightened people were gathering and just standing, hands on their mouths, eyes wide with fear, waiting. For what? In that same instant I felt the same fear and darkness that was engulfing them and knew it was my role to bring love and light!

I motioned to the mother to come to us. “Mom, put your hands on her" I said. The daughter's eyes were expressionless and half open, half shut. I searched for something to say, “Jesus is here and He has His hands on you." At the name of Jesus her eyes slowly shut and opened again. I talked continuously, saying things like “Help is coming," and “We will take good care of you." But it was the second time I said Jesus' name that I felt strength come into her hand, trying to bring it to her bloody face. I gently restrained her hand from scratching her face. It seemed to me that movement was a good sign. We kept our hands on her and kept talking.

It seemed like an eternity but the paramedics finally came. They carefully straightened out her neck and put a brace on it, raised her up into the ambulance and drove her away. My arm was around mom's shoulders as she explained that they were broadsided, the car hood flew up and she couldn't see where she was going but jammed on the brakes. Her car stopped about six feet from the front of the store! Apparently the fifteen year old was ejected from the car out into the street. The woman's husband and two young adult children came to take her to the hospital. They were angry and afraid but they were together. I left to go home after I hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Walking through the crowd I heard someone say,"Do you know that lady?" I was one of about three white faces in that crowd, but we were not black or white, we were family.

This was as close to a Voice from God as I will ever need to get! The mission is no longer vague. I know now that in seeking my spiritual ministry I don't have to join the Peace Corps. I don't ever have to leave home. The everyday opportunities to extend love will always be there... wherever I am and whatever I happen to be doing.

© Copyright 1999, Pathways of Light and/or the author.

Healing Unworthiness -- by Rev. Paula Marie Smigun

Last summer I was praying and asking Spirit what my next step on my spiritual journey was to be. My Inner Guidance said, “Inquire into the ministerial training program at Pathways and enroll." Immediately my ego began throwing a fit at this news, saying, “Who are you to be a minister of God?"--hitting right at the core of my worthiness issues. It then continued to give me a list of my limitations ending with, "How are you going to afford the tuition?" This all took a matter of seconds and the decision was either to give in, buy into the uproar of ego, or to follow my Spirit. I called and requested information and later enrolled in the training program. This decision for my spiritual growth was a priority in my life. Regarding the financial aspect, arrangements were made for monthly payments. I could now focus on my course work.

In the beginning of my training, while finding the facilitated courses very helpful, my ego made a judgment about some repetition in the materials. My know-it-all aspect had appeared saying, “Look at all the courses you've taken leading into more advanced levels of consciousness. Don't you already know this? Do you really need to continue with this course work?" I talked with Spirit about this and was basically told, “I needed to hear the truth about myself over and over and practice living from this place of higher consciousness." Peace was established once again.

This training program fit in perfectly with another decision of mine--I decided to return to the daily study and practice of A Course In Miracles. My recommitment to ACIM™ and the program at Pathways of Light fit together creating a synergistic impact upon my life. I finally knew a sense of True Purpose.

Despite these positive experiences, my ego wasn't happy and decided to step itself up. The closer I got to the truth about myself, the more it acted out. It would present itself in various forms and levels of resistance. Ah, the 'big R' I called it.

Moving through the 'big R' (resistance), was frequently challenging, yet rewarding. Resistance would encourage me to procrastinate with the course work and remind me over and over how vulnerable I was. Did I really have to share so deeply with others? If I saw myself progressing it would remind me how far I had to go and ask “How much are you living what you're learning?" It also told me I wouldn't make it through to graduate. My old ego was a pro at stepping up the stakes when I wouldn't listen. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

The main way I moved through the resistance was to continually surrender all to the Holy Spirit over and over. I also offered my little willingness to continue. Of course this worked. Once I was into each course I enjoyed what I was learning. This was a great healing experience for me in not giving into the big R. I knew I was doing the work of my Spirit. What could be better than following my Spirit? Nothing!

© Copyright 1999, Pathways of Light and/or the author.

The ideas represented herein are the personal interpretation and understanding of the author(s) and are not necessarily endorsed by the copyright holder of A Course in Miracles.