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January-March, 2010

A Christmas Illusion

by Rev. Joanne Schneider

As the Christmas holidays approached, the usual (or I should say insane) family dynamics began. My sister, who comes in from out of town every other year, announced that if I brought someone outside of the family to our family Christmas gift exchange, she and her family would not be there.

She believed this was a time for only family and outsiders should not be present. I had already invited a friend of mine who could not go home for the holidays and would therefore be alone. Needless to say, this became a big issue very quick. My sister called my mother and father who were dumbfounded by her demands.  Never would they exclude someone who would be alone over Christmas.

As the days progressed, my mother talked to my two brothers and their wives who were completely accepting of an outsider joining our Christmas activities. But my sister would call my parents regularly and continued to debate the issue. My parents were quite distressed.

Then during one of those phone calls, my mother, in an attempt to appease my sister, asked her to tolerated the outsider this year and promised that no outsiders would be invited any future years when my sister and her family plan to visit for Christmas (every other year).  As you can imagine, I went in and out of various levels of anger over the approaching few days before Christmas thinking about my sister’s demands and my mother’s promise.

Then one day, during my prayer time, I read about true prayer. Jesus tells us in the Song of Prayer, “Praying to Christ in anyone is true prayer because it is a gift of thanks to His Father.” (S-1.I.7:1)

This was difficult for me. With my egoic mind I knew that Christ is in my sister and my mother, but praying to that Christ in them would be difficult. How was I to pray to that Christ? In the Song of Prayer Jesus also says, “Prayer is a stepping aside; a letting go, a quiet time of listening and loving.  It should not be confused with supplication of any kind, because it is a way of remembering your holiness.” (S-1.I.5:1-2) 

I knew that meant their holiness also. I decided that instead of looking for some resolution to this issue, I would do as Jesus instructed, I would let go and have a quiet time of listening and loving.

So in my meditation, after the usual chatter of thoughts, I saw my sister, my mother, Jesus, and me standing in a semicircle. Then our physical forms fell away and our Spirits were there as light beings.  Then the light being of God moved to complete the circle and eventually moved to the inside with the four of us around Him blending with His Light. Sitting with this image for a while, I realized that others could join the circle and almost immediately a couple of other light beings, reflecting physical forms with whom I hold grievances, joined the circle of light and blended with God. 

I came out of this meditation relieved but I knew that, until Christmas, I would have to spend more time in the prayer Jesus describes, a time of letting go, listening, and loving.

During the next few days, Spirit again directed me to the words Jesus gave us. “When someone calls for help in any form, He is the One to answer for you. All that you need do is to step back and not to interfere. Forgiveness-for-salvation is His task, and it is He Who will respond for you.” (S-2.III.2:5-7)

I do not need to worry. Again, my part is simply to step back. “Let Him take charge of how you would forgive, and each occasion then will be to you another step to Heaven and to peace.” (S-2.III.3:4)

I started seeing the pattern. I need to do NOTHING! I listen for His guidance. I let Him be in charge of my forgiveness. But being the “doer” that I am, I was not sure how to DO that, nothing. What should I really DO to step back and let Him take charge?  The Holy Spirit pushed me further. “Forgive him as the Christ decides you should, and be His eyes through which you look on him, and speak for Him as well. He knows the need; the question and the answer. He will say exactly what to do, in words that you can understand and you can also use. Do not confuse His function with your own.  He is the Answer. You the one who hears.” (S-2.III.5: 5-10) 

Wow, there it was! I heard that I should look at my sister and mother through Christ’s eyes and listen for His words. And, because “Christ is the Self the Sonship shares…” (T-15.V.10:10), I heard that I was to look through the eyes of the single Self, the Sonship and part of the Trinity, as Jesus would look upon them. And Jesus assured me, “Do you but listen. For He will be heard by anyone who calls upon His Name, and places his forgiveness in His hands.” (S-2.III.6:5-6) So this Christmas provided a healing experience for me, an occasion for “another step to Heaven and to peace.”

Rev. Joanne Schneider, PhD, OMc is a Pathways of Light minister living in St. Louis, Missouri.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this copyright notice and website address are included.

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January-March, 2010

Spiritual healing, Dissolving Your Fears

by Rev. Nancy Miiller

All of us desire a more meaningful, peaceful, joyful and loving life. So why do we see the world filled with chaos, anxiety, and overall fear? We look around and perceive this person doing this to us and we perceive this event doing that to us, and we keep judging, judging and judging until we think we feel better. But do we, really?

If love conquers all fears then why are we not tapping into our inner love and light at each moment? Because we are on autopilot and the ego loves playing this game. If we step back we can see the game at play and in that moment we can be healed with the help of Spirit/Higher Self.

In A Course In Miracles we are taught that we are to seek and find all of the barriers within ourselves that we have built against Love, our true Self. Barriers are fears and they come in all forms, some obvious and some subtle.

These fears are the pieces to the game, which the ego uses to distract us from knowing our true Self. The game board is the perceived world we see with our body’s eyes. Our role is to identify the fears, bring them to Spirit/Higher Self and thus allow in love and peace to see beyond the game to the truth of Oneness.

So how do we do this and what are the benefits?

Let’s talk about the benefits first. We all experience stress in all aspects of life, what if your daily stress were significantly reduced or even eliminated? Would this entice you? What if you had high blood pressure and then one day it became normal? What if your significant other’s complaints, nagging or anger was completely gone? What if you had a boss that was on your back each day and then he began expressing gratitude for your work?

What is really going on here is the healing of the hidden barriers/fears that are held in the ego mind, the unconscious mind. With the help of Spirit/Higher Self light and love is coming forward and we thus experience more peace, joy and love in our life. Our perception has now changed.

You cannot control what is happening, but you can change your perception about what is happening. You are beginning to understand the rules of the game, you are doing your part, and you are turning the tide in your favor, the tide of love.

So why not get started in partnership with Spirit/Higher Self and allow love to shine forth Truth.

Discover your barriers to love.

Let’s talk about conscious fears, those that are easy to identify and good practice to start with. Many times these fears are expressed as a lack of some kind. Begin by writing down these fears in life stages, such as, what were my fears as a young child, adolescent, and young adult.

Here are some idea starters:

• I do not have enough money

• He/she does not love me enough

• I am not confident

• I am not pretty/handsome enough

• It is always my fault or it is always your fault

• I will never be successful

• I am not lovable

Another way to identify your fears is through recognizing that you are not in a peaceful state. Any upset whether it is a concern, headache, anxiety, stress, tension, anger, judgment, stubbed toe, worry, resistance of any kind, or a simple paper cut, you are not in peace and love.

You probably are thinking, you guys are nuts!

Keep in mind there are only two emotions, love and fear. In Truth, we are all love, peace and joy, so if you are not at peace, love and joy, then you are at some conscious or unconscious fear state. The form does not matter, fear will manifest in a numerous variety of ways. Remember, these are the pieces of the ego game to distract us.

Healing your barriers to love.

We cannot heal our fears alone, we need the assistance of Spirit/Higher Self because It remembers our Oneness and removes these fears from our mind, slowly dissolving the ego mind and the illusory game of life. Spirit/Higher Self only sees love and thus teaches us to see with only love, past our fears to our Truth of Oneness with God.

Spirit/Higher Self knows we have never left Oneness, we just do not remember, we think we have separated from Oneness. Healing our fears awakens us and allows us to remember our Oneness; the veil begins to lift. We see with love and our perceptions change.

The process to use in healing our fears is forgiveness. In A Course In Miracles, we are taught that forgiveness recognizes that what you thought another did to you has not occurred. If we are still at home in Oneness then how could another do something to you?

So how do you apply forgiveness when stuff hits the fan?

As hard as it may be, do not react and take a step back to remember, “I am not in peace.”

Here is a simple four-step forgiveness process to work with Spirit/Higher Self.

State the following to yourself:

1. You/this event is really not happening.

2. If I think you/this event is causing this (state your fear) and I made you up then this fear really resides in me.

3. Since the separation from Oneness has not occurred we are all innocent and forgiven.

4. I now align with Spirit/Higher Self to show me Truth.

You can now apply this process to the fears you have written down and at each moment you are not at peace.

So who is in charge?

Your choice each day is to determine who you want to be in charge, the ego mind or the Spirit/Higher Self mind. Do you want fear or love to rule your daily thoughts?

Each day, awaken and put Spirit/Higher Self in charge of your thoughts, actions and words. Continually remind yourself that peace, love and joy are your goals to share with others.

As you use these steps, you will notice your perceptions changing. The steps may appear easy but when things go haywire remembering to forgive may seem difficult. Do not be hard on yourself, when you do remember, forgive and be at peace. Let love shine forth to dissolve all your fears.

Rev. Nancy Miiller is a Pathways of Light minister living in Scottsdale, Arizona.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this copyright notice and website address are included.

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January-March, 2010

Illusion or Not Illusion?

by Rev. Jean Weston, O.M.C.

This is the question! Or, to be or not to be… that is the question!

Are we here in the illusion or are we spirits and all of this is over? Which is True? Well, if we want ‘Truth’ in the sense of the ultimate, it is the latter. But as Ken W. says, we need to act like we are here while we still see our reflections in the mirror in the morning.

So the answer to this question is YES! Yes we are in the illusion while we believe we are in bodies and experience form… which is time and space. And there are really no beings on this earth that do not experience themselves as bodies.

Some may try to tell you differently. Watch out and be careful. For if you are a true ACIM student you know ACIM says the closest we can come is to be in the Real World, where we stop experiencing each other as separate beings with separate minds, and live in abundance instead of scarcity. This can come to us all while we are here on the earth, and it is not some ‘magical’ experience that you obtain after you have paid your dues. It can happen in a ‘twinkling’ or in an ‘instant’ as ACIM calls it. It is simply a choice you make in each moment in your lives. Some moments will reach this by choosing with the ‘right’ mind and others will miss it by choosing with the ‘wrong’ mind. With practice and a lot of dedication and undestanding, you can spend more time in the ‘right’ mind, to the point of ‘living’ there… this is the real world.

As we work in this way within the illusion, we are strengthening our Spirit, which is part of our mind. We don’t really know what the creations are that our Spirits extend in eternity but we do know that we help it along with each correct choice we make. Just beware, that it is not quite as simple as it can sometimes be said to be. For example, ACIM says our purpose is ‘to be happy.’ But this does not mean we are supposed to be happy and comical at someone’s funeral, if this would not be helpful to those present. Likewise, if we are in any way causing our brothers to ‘suffer’ by our happiness, we aren’t really choosing ‘love’ which would be the ‘right mind.’

What a glorious time we will all have when we really understand these ideas and know when to apply them and when not to! All it takes is a little ‘willingness’ and remember that choosing love does not mean the happiest idea of the moment… but the idea that will bring more of our separated selves together, ultimately. For, it is still a ‘process’ while we are all still here in time.

Rev. Jean Weston is a Pathways of Light minister living in Salisbury Mills, New York.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this copyright notice and website address are included.

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January-March, 2010

I Am Still, Watching

by Rev. Michael Gardner

I am still, watching

For the thoughts that come unbidden
They are not me
Though they pretend to be
I am the still Presence beyond them,
Watching

I am still, watching

For the pain that rises without warning
It is not me
Though it pretends to be
I am the still Presence beyond it,
Watching

I am still, watching

For the fear that strikes at odd hours
It is not me
Though it pretends to be
I am the still Presence beyond it,
Watching

I am still, watching

For a thought of past that is no more; For a thought of future that
need not make me whole;
For expectations of any kind;

For a need to know beyond my being;
For discontent with anything;

For loveless thoughts
that harden my heart;

For a need to be special,
a need to be more;

For a need to find fault
or to complain;

For a need to play roles
or to play games;

For a need to define myself to anyone;

And when I seem to see
Any of these things
I pause
And remember
It is not me
Though it pretends to be

I am still the Presence beyond it,

Watching

I Am the still Presence
Beyond it all,

Watching

Rev. Michael Gardner is a Pathways of Light minister living in Elgin, Illinois.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this copyright notice and website address are included.

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