Realizing God's Will Is Oneness

By Rev. Barbara Kraetsch

Most recent entries

(Drag to scroll down.)

Opening to Releasing Secret Fears with Holy Spirit

Some time back I sat with Holy Spirit because I was experiencing a period where I scratched my skin while I was sleeping, and thought it might be repressed memories, feelings or something. I have spoken about my experience with several people and they all suggested I share it in this column. So I am. The following is what I received from Holy Spirit.

“Do not deny there are hidden anxieties in your mind. Why do this? There is no reason. There is nothing to fear. Release your mind to Me. I will show you what is there. Do not try to hide what you think is dark, not in line with the Course, not in line with what you think sounds nice. This is Me you’re sharing it with. No one else. There is nothing to fear. Let thoughts come to your mind, if they do, about judgments and concerns, and then give them to Me. I know what to do with them and you do not.

Do not hide. First, you cannot hide. Second, you only hurt yourself and cut yourself off from help. Third, if is OK if people think you are ordinary or not a good Course student. It is perfectly OK. Is their opinion more important than Mine? I am, after all, The Teacher. Gifted teachers others may be, and much you can learn from them, but I am The Teacher.

I speak to you in many ways, and yes through others at times. In fact, quite frequently. But in the still of your mind is where you most often find My Voice for you, where the healing of your mind takes place. This requires time and quiet, and willingness to open the doors of cupboards with “hidden” fears and anxieties that you have locked away. We cannot there speak to the journey of others regarding this, but as to yours, we can speak clearly. Open the doors wide. Let’s take a look at what we find there. Lets examine whatever that is together. I will help you. Repressed thoughts do “sneak” out. Do not be afraid here. There is an answer. Of course, the bottom answer is always fear of separation from God. This is covered with other layers that sometimes must be gone through first. Denying their existence does not help. Give your mind to Me now.”

There followed a long meditation in which I looked at many possible scenarios of victim/perpetrator stories. I saw a cupboard marked secret. I walked toward it with Holy Spirit. I had the key in a little zipper purse in my pocket. I took it out, unlocked the cupboard and opened the doors. Inside were little boxes with labels. I took them out one by one, read the label, saw some story, then looked inside the box. The boxes were black and the lid slid off sideways. Each time I found the box was empty inside. There was nothing there.

This went on for some time. No matter what the label was, the result was the same. The box was empty. There was no harm and no lasting consequences. No difference if victim or perpetrator. At last the cupboard was empty. Then Holy Spirit gave it a wash with a hose that had light running from it. He washed the cupboard clean. It was light inside. Then we tipped the cupboard over so it lay flat and I could walk over it toward the future unemcumbered by the past. There is nothing under the labels of the past that separates me from God. There is no story I made up that denies me my true identity. I felt incredible relief as I saw the pile of empty boxes that I left behind.

I then asked Holy Spirit to wash my mind. He took the same hose of liquid light and washed my mind. I saw any remaining darkness wash away like a dirty film dissolving in water. Muddy streaks at first, then washed clean. All the while Holy Spirit was with me, showing me and telling me not to be afraid. There is nothing to be afraid of, not even the fear of doing or being part of something unforgivable. My secret boxes were empty. The secret cupboard was empty. There was nothing that separated me from the light. There never was, and there never will be. No matter how horrid I had judged the label, separation from God just wasn’t so.

I had tried to eliminate these hidden fears by burying them deep in a secret place in my mind. I was afraid that if anyone saw these horrid thoughts, they would know I wasn’t good. They were reminders to me that I identified with a body form, and if I did this, I must be separate from the light. I tried to deny I did this. As I had taken each box from the cupboard and looked at possibilities, I had thought to myself, “Is that all?” I could forgive others readily if I was victim. It was a little more difficult when I was perpetrator, but Holy Spirit kept showing me empty boxes. I could forgive myself for any made up story. I could see and feel most clearly that there was nothing to hide, nothing was hidden in truth.

I don’t need to know if any box contained a “past life” story. It is enough for me just to look at any possibility. No doubt we have done it all, as they say, over eons of time, every scurrilous thing the ego thought system can conceive, every nasty thing there is to do, always trying to eliminate by attack of every sort. Every bit just a story, many themes but just one story, that we are dark and dirty and guilty, that we are apart from God and live dirty shameful lives that we must keep hidden from ourselves and others, but most of all God. We are afraid to look at what we have made because we think the nasty business is stuck to us forever.

In the mind wash of Holy Spirit, we can see that no matter what label we give the story, what theme of degradation, murder, mayhem, torture or abuse, no matter what, the story just is not true. The box is empty. There is nothing real in it. There are no consequences in truth because there is no harm. There is only light in the mind. We think we can only have light if we hide the dark boxes of stories, but the opposite is true. If we look at the stories and see them empty, we know there is nothing that prevents us from being our true identity of light. There is nothing in truth that separates us from God.

It is pointless to try to hide from Holy Spirit and ourselves what we think is dark. He knows anyway, and we can’t eliminate from our mind what we are not willing to face. We have little pockets of ego resistance that would keep certain thoughts or behaviors as too horrid for forgiveness. Even the thought of it makes us cringe. Yet if we go with Holy Spirit to the cupboard of “secrets,” surrendering our mind to Him, He can show us the truth of what is, not what we imagine it to be. We imagine unforgiveness. He shows us our innocence and purity, unspoiled by imagined faults and actions.

The secret cupboard can be laid to rest so that we may step over it and away from past labels to be the light we are. We make the break from past condemnations and past labels with Holy Spirit. We are washed in forgiveness of ourselves, not matter how we labeled our story. There are no consequences in truth because it never was. This is the day of light. We go forward in light, our true identity to be who we are in truth. There is no hypocrisy in this, to leave behind what never was. There is only freedom to be who we are without labels of any kind except Child of God, Light of God.

Holy Spirit says to everyone, “Don’t be afraid to look in your cupboard with Me.”

© 2004, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Barbara Kraetsch.

Giving Thanks for Miracles

When I let go of the past, I can come to forgiveness now. How often the past wants to assert itself. Here comes the memory of our failure to be open and giving. Here comes the memory of our quiet resentment or anxiety. Here comes the memory of our judgment against our brother, maybe it was unspoken verbally, but it was there in our attitude and actions. We distanced ourselves from others.

I did this on Thanksgiving Day. In all the hustle-bustle, I felt resentment at all the work of putting on the big dinner. I felt judgment toward family members for their perceived failures. I felt jangled when the turkey roasting pan sprung a leak in the oven. I was not entirely peaceful. Realizing that this was all about me, not about my family or the smoking oven that still needs to be cleaned, I am left with forgiving myself for my perceived failures. In some ways I find this embarrasing to say to myself because as a Course student I think that my mind should never be in these petty thoughts. I think I should be farther along by now on the path to perfect peace, but I find myself saying once again that I am still in need of major mind healing.

In order to come to true forgiveness of myself for not being ‘perfect’ in the happy dream world, I must let go of all thoughts of harm. I must believe truly that no harm can occur from negative thoughts, even negative actions of complaining or distancing. The only way to God is through forgiveness. I must come to God in the appointed way because there is no other, and that means really coming to grasp the idea that sin remains impossible.

When I sit in the now moment, I feel forgiveness for myself and others. But the ego brings memory of the instant where I failed to see the Christ in me and my brother, just like a little reliving of the moment I thought I separated from God. Reliving the instant of the tiny mad idea over and over, the ego keeps bringing up the past and the idea of ‘what if’ harm really occurred. It’s the same guilt recycled again and again in a different form, a different sounding ‘what if,’ but the same underneath.

There is no embarrasment in looking at our mistakes - looking at them straight on and admitting we believed bodies real for a time. If I let the ego convince me that this keeps me from forgiveness, then I cherish the mistake and give it power. I did cherish the mistake for a little while as I allowed the ego thought system to keep bringing the memory to me. Today, God is my only goal. I let go of these ego memories of an illusive past. The thoughts weren’t real then and they are not real now. I can replace the dream of guilt with the dream of forgiveness by letting go of the memories of the past. I can only do this with the help of Holy Spirit. I am dependent on Him for this healing.

Only letting go of the past brings us to the now moment where we experience the miracle of healing. Only in letting go of the past can we come to true forgiveness of self for perceived shortcomings because it is only in the now moment that we can see they truly have no effect. No harm was possible and no harm was done, not to anyone else, not to me. All is well. Silly thoughts remain silly thoughts - they cannot keep me from God if I choose God as my only goal. Forgiveness is the way to return my mind to Him. I forgive myself for thinking I am sinful and pretending to be. Holy Spirit is right there with me, helping me to release the burden of the illusion.

What relief to let go of the past. No need to struggle against ego memories or push them away. I let go of the past by looking through the mistake to see the truth. I look with forgiving eyes to see only the love that was present, is present now and always will be present. I look with forgiving eyes and witness the sharing, the joy, the laughter, the giving of thanksgiving, the coming together in love. The Christ was present at Thanksgiving. I see Him now with Holy Spirit’s eyes. That is all that is important really - that I see Him now. All else is a false past that never was. The miracle of seeing is now. I give thanks for miracles that come everyday I let go of what never was and accept the truth of love with the help of Holy Spirit.

© 2004, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Barbara Kraetsch.

Jesus is Alive and Well in Us

Jesus lives in me. How often do you think about this statement? Do you think about it at all? Some may not think these are very important questions. However, these questions hold the key to peace and the feeling of security in our lives. The Son of God lives as us. We are one with this energy, this power of God, in a very real way. It creates our real life. How could we not think it was important to look at how often we consider what our real existence is.

So many people get caught up in the details of physical life. There is the commute to work, job stresses and deadlines, mulish co-workers, angry bosses, the commute home, the needs of family, home maintenance, and the list can go on and on. These details seems to make up our “real” life. We feel intimately connected to them most of the time because it appears as if we can never escape them. They do not appear in our minds as activity worthy of a Son of God, part of the Christ Self. We relegate that supposed activity to work or lives that we deem other worldly, perhaps ministering to the poor or sick, religious life, or something, anything other than the mundane details of a relentlessly busy life to get by or make ends meet. These details take on a lot of importance in our minds when there are bills to pay each month.

For some, the thought of the living Christ comes to mind at Sunday worship services. For others, there is daily prayer or meditation time in which they allow Christ to live in their minds for a short time. These times bring a deeper awareness of peace, but then soon seem to be forgotten in the performing of worldly functions. After all, there are schedules, deadlines, paperwork, emails, and the family requires dinner. There is the satisfaction of knowing that at least an effort has been made to pay attention to the spiritual component of life. And one can remember these experiences from time to time during the day or week as a help to be kindly and forgiving.

The question is, is this sufficient, and the answer is no. This is not sufficient. Its not even close, unless we want to walk the world like zombies or robots, devoid of real joy and happiness but subsisting on substitutes of mechanical body pleasure. Zombies walk half alive. The robot’s battery wears out regularly, and it needs a “fix.” This isn’t life, its wandering the world in search of fulfilling some purpose that seems to be just out of reach, just beyond our grasp. If only there were more time or energy, most people whine, so that I could do what needs to be done. Is this kind of life sufficient?

There is only one answer to a life that is sufficient, a life that meets our purpose for being alive. That goes back to the statement of truth that Jesus lives in me, and to the question about how often we think of this. We find this answer inside ourself and then take it with us wherever we go. To the extent that we can remember that Jesus is alive and well and lives in us and through us, we can be at total peace in all we do and every where we go. This, of course, takes more remembering than once a week, or once a day, or even several times a day. It takes remembering all the time. As a practical matter, remembering as often as we can goes a long way to making for a more peaceful and joyful life.

Remembering is not so hard, if we commit to practicing. There is the practice of brief daily meditations or prayers, certainly at the beginning and ending of the day, and often through out the day. Little post-its or reminder cards can remind us to take just a moment to remember that Jesus is alive and well in us. This need not be fancy or formal, just a simple little reminder at our desk, in our car, on the refrigerator, to give our lives over to God. Perhaps we play some music with a spiritual theme, or listen to a book on tape as we drive or work about the house. Any reminder to take a moment to think of God will do. These are not difficult if we are willing.

A commitment to remembering God more than we do now supposes that we think it is important to do so, that it is just as important as the every day functions and deadlines at work, or getting meals on the table or the laundry done for the family. And if we do think that remembering God is important, just as important as the laundry, then why do we not have a reminder on the washing machine and dryer to take a moment to thank God for the blessing of being alive to do it. It is the infusing of all our little details of life with the love of God that makes our life real and purposeful. In this Jesus lives in us for He remembers His Father always. When we remember with Him, we live in His peace and joy.

The Christ Self that we are lives a life of love and peace. It lives fulfillment and joy in the purpose given at creation at this very moment. There is only the one purpose in every moment and that is to remember the love of God and that every one is part of that love. That is what we are called to do, just remember who we are in all that we do. In this way Jesus lives in us. When we are aware of Jesus living in us, there is the feeling of complete fulfillment, complete peace, complete safety. Isn’t this worth remembering and taking the time to remember? Isn’t this worth just a little extra effort? Spending a few more moments each day remembering the peace of God is ours already, always has been and always will be, seems worth the trouble to put a little note of reminder where it will be seen. With practice the habit grows to remember more and forget less that God is always with us because we are one with Him.

The Christ lives as me. The Christ lives as you. The Christ lives as all of us. The Son of God is not remote or separate from us. We are Him. Why not remember a little more often this wonderful truth, this great source of joy and peace. The rewards of remembering far outweigh the little effort it takes to do so. A few more minutes of remembering can transform a seeming dismal or mundane life into one of great power because the power of love is allowed to be at work, be at the commute, be with the family, be wherever we go. When we remember to allow the power of love to be in our lives in a real way, Jesus lives in us in a real way. We bless the world every moment we remember that Jesus lives as us. The details of our outward lives need not change in big ways, or any way at all, but perhaps they may. What is important is the remembering we bring to the details. This is what makes all the difference.

© 2004, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Barbara Kraetsch.

Page 7 of 21 pages ‹ First < 5 6 7 8 9 > Last ›

<< Back to main page of Realizing God's Will Is Oneness

Has this page been helpful to you?
Make a tax deductible donation. Your support for this site is greatly appreciated.

Featured Store Items

Spiritual Counselor Training — based on principles of A Course in Miracles, including ordination. More….

24 ACIM Practitioner courses including 50-page study guide, CD's or MP3s, with facilitator. More….

Healing Inner Child Program Healing Inner Child 8-week program will help you nurture your inner child, connect with your Higher Self and heal relationships.

Listen & Receive 30-Day Home Study Learn to receive insight for your life in a form that is perfect for you …heal fears, find joy & peace. Learn more.

Hey, Holy Spirit, It's Me Again by Rev. Myron Jones. An indispensible guide for anyone on the path of ACIM with insights on the 1st 90 lessons. More…

True Forgiveness by Rev. Jennifer McSween. The Proven Path from Pain to Power and personal happiness in 5 Simple Steps. Learn more.

From the Christ Mind Book II scribed by Darrell Morley Price. A great supporting supplement to A Course in Miracles. We highly recommend it. More….

Forgiving Kevin Audio book by Rev. Larry Glenz. A moving and inspiring true story of a father/son relationship that withstood seven years of addiction, recovery, and relapse. More….

Healing Family Relationships Applying the Principles of A Course in Miracles audio book by Rev. Myron Jones. Learn how family relationships offer fertile grounds for forgiveness and healing your judgments of the world. More.