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April-June, 2007

What Does Giving Our Day to Holy Spirit Mean?

by Revs. Robert & Mary Stoelting

This world is not made by our Source, which is undivided Love. Separation is not where Love’s oneness would have us be. In fact, undivided Love knows that we are not really separate bodies and that we are only dreaming a dream of having separate lives that fluctuate and change. The Love we truly are knows that we never really left our real Home in Heaven.

In Text, Chapter 25 we are told, “The Christ in you inhabits not a body. Yet He is in you. And thus it must be that you are not within a body. What is within you cannot be outside. And it is certain that you cannot be apart from what is at the very center of your life.” T-25.Intro.1:1-5

We are also told, “The world you see is based on the ‘sacrifice’ of oneness. It is a picture of complete disunity and total lack of joining.” T-26.I.2:1-2

So how does realizing this help us deal with the stresses that come up daily in our lives? The truth is we can’t go through our ‘life’ in peace thinking we are alone and on our own. When we think it is left up to us to decide on our own what anything means, we are mistaken and will not be in a state of peace.

In ACIM Text, Chapter 15 we are taught that the proper use of time for us now is the attainment of Holy Spirit’s peace. “Can you imagine what it means to have no cares, no worries, no anxieties, but merely to be perfectly calm and quiet all the time? Yet that is what time is for; to learn just that and nothing more.” T-15.I.1:1-2

When we give our day to the Holy Spirit, we are giving up the role of being the author of our dream script and handing it over to our true Self, Who knows how to guide our day in a way that is truly helpful to everyone. 

The following is a guided meditation from Miracles Practitioner course 910: Living in the World While Waking Up. We find that it helps us when we wake up in the morning to orient our minds to the healing touch of the Holy Spirit:

Focus on the idea that you are willing to relax… You are willing to soften and let go of tension…
Focus on the idea that you are willing, right now, to be in a state of ease…

You are willing to let yourself be aware of the peace that is your true Nature… You are willing to experience the peace of your true Self… (Allow peace to fill your mind.)

You realize right now, that you are willing to open up to what is behind the false mind… the awareness of Love’s Presence… You are willing to open up to be aware of and feel the truth about the real you… your real Beingness in wholeness… in Oneness… in Universal Love…

You are willing to let in and feel your true innocence… You are willing to open up and experience the Presence of Love…
the peace… the radiant Light that you are… Your only reality… You are now willing to remember that you are your real Mind, the Mind of Love… You are willing to remember that you are not the limited thoughts that you have identified with… You are not the limited self-identity.

You are willing to open up… to remember the truth… to return to your real Self in the Mind of Love… You are willing to connect with the Eternal Spirit of Love in everyone… You recognize this truth in everyone…  You feel It… You know It… You know you are one with It…

You… right now …let in the awareness of the Eternal Present… You reconnect with the One Mind that lies behind all illusions of form, time and space… You feel the peace… You feel the Presence of Love…

You recognize that you are in the Eternal Now… You gladly soften into the Eternal Now… Everything else falls away, and disappears in the gentleness of Universal Love… Love softens any remnants… and they fall away… The peace of the one Mind of Love is all that remains… It fills you completely…

This presence of eternal peace… is your Identity… You identify with this experience of peace… You witness your true Reality — the one Mind of Love — which includes all peace… all true happiness… all true joy… You are immersed in this Beingness… It is the real You… You feel the peace… the contentment… You are willing to hold this awareness of peace… this presence of quiet contentment and wholeness in your mind…

As you do, this deep peace washes away all fears… It is like an internal mind wash… This Presence of quiet contentment and deep peace transforms every thought that pops up from the limited, false mind that thinks it is separate…

This Eternal Presence of wholeness, contentment and peace stays with you eternally… is you eternally… This Beingness is coming from your right mind, the one Mind of Love, your true Self… You remember that all is one in this Beingness…

As you practice your willingness to be aware of Its constant presence, in every now moment, It heals your mind of all the fearful false ideas of the limited, false mind… You see that the false mind is not you… You realize that you are contented, fulfilled, and happy… You are patient… because you see that you are whole, perfect and complete in this Presence now…

You allow this Presence of peace and Love and joy into your mind… You give It welcome to reside in your awareness… This Eternal Presence, this Beingness of Love… is what you are… It is always in you… You give your real Mind a home. You accept It into your awareness.

Imagine going through your day holding on to the awareness of the Eternal Presence of your spiritual nature… the presence of peace… the presence of knowing your real Self as you go through your day… as you seem to live in this world of form…

As you go through your day, see the opportunities present themselves to extend this Presence of peace to everyone you come in contact with, or even think of… You feel so contented, so fulfilled, as you are aware of your true purpose — that of focusing on the Eternal Spirit behind the form in everyone and everything… You realize you are lifting the veil of forgetfulness… seeing past the illusions generated by the false mind… to the one truth, the one Presence of Love that is the All…

Your happiness overflows, as you now know the secret to successfully living in the world while waking up… You know the true solution to every conflict that shows up in your dream. You remember to open up to the Presence of your real Mind, which helps you see all the false-self ideas as not you… You see the rest of your life is for practicing opening up, right now, to the Eternal Presence of Love that is always there, and letting It heal all the false ideas…

You feel so happy… You have the answer to every problem. You are free because your Eternal Spirit is in charge.

Mary & Robert Stoelting are co-founers of Pathways of Light. They live at the Pathways of Light Center in Kiel, Wisconsin.

© 2007, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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April-June, 2007

Sacred Healing

by Revs. Paul and Deborah Phelps

As we say in our workshop presentations, it seems that our assignment from Holy Spirit has been in the area of healing relationships. We do not say this tongue-in-cheek because both of us have gone through many experiences of having to work on our relationship with ourselves, each other, family, friends, co-workers, and with God. This is an ongoing process that will continue for the rest of our lives.

We have learned many ways of how not to handle relationships. For many years, we both made the mistake of listening to the guidance of our egos and did things our way. Unfortunately, this led us down many painful paths. It was not until we both came to a place of hitting our own personal rock bottoms that we began to seek help from a Source greater than ourselves.

A Course in Miracles eventually came into our lives and helped us find that Source, our Friend the Holy Spirit. Through the good times and bad, He has been there for us and has helped us along the way. He has been a true Friend and Companion, and has given us many tools to help us with healing our relationships. During our workshop we are going to share many of these experiences and help you to practice and deepen your own personal connection with your Friend and Advisor, the Holy Spirit within you.

Let’s face it, everyone has problems that come up in relationships and dealing with them is one of the most difficult things in life to learn. It is often difficult to know when it is time to do something about a particular situation or not; when it is time to speak up and say something or not. We can often find ourselves procrastinating and feeling stuck from taking action in a particular situation because of fear and uncertainty. In our hearts we know that we want to make the best decision for everyone involved but it is impossible to know what that decision would be. We cannot see the big picture, the outcome to every possible situation.

Perhaps we are feeling stuck in a painful relationship with someone and are not sure of which way to go — counseling, separation, divorce, etc.? Perhaps children are involved. Maybe we are having trouble in a relationship with a supervisor, co-worker or situation in our work place. We might be asking ourselves if we need to stand up and say something, or if we should forgive the situation and let it go. Perhaps there is a family member, friend or loved one in our lives who we can see is struggling with a variety of personal problems. Perhaps our relationship with our friends, partners or spouses are strained from a lack of communication, intimacy and resentments.

A simple, gentle, easy way of dealing with all of these situations is to take each and every one of them to the Sacred Healing Ground within. It is here that you will find your Friend, the Holy Spirit, Who will take your hand and gently help you to work through every problem. It is in developing the habit of doing this every day that you will be given the gifts of wisdom, certainty, kindness, peace, strength, confidence, happiness, freedom, joy, gratitude and love.

Through the process of asking and listening to the Holy Spirit during silent meditation and journaling, we have found that He helps us to move into being more open and honest about ourselves through communication and trust.

When we looked at the variety of relationships (work, family, friends, romantic, etc.) from our past and the problems that ensued, we found that they were primarily due to a lack of being honest with ourselves and others, and a lack of communication.

This lack of communication may be due to unconscious fears of another’s response, fear of loss of affection or approval, fear of loss of basic needs, or fear of abandonment. We give up the Truth in ourselves to gain a false sense of security in a relationship or situation. When this security does not follow our plan or when the other person does not meet our expectations, conflict erupts. Old habits of blame and resentment can easily rise to the surface and become the ingredients for mudslinging disagreements.

The most important communication to learn is how to be in communication with the Holy Spirit within ourselves. How does the situation really feel? What does Holy Spirit think about it? What is true for me right now?  What do I really want? This is how we become deeply honest in our core. This is the time to examine our own perceptions.

As we practice this in our lives, we learn how to work with our Inner Advisor, the Holy Spirit. We offer to Him in complete honesty the dark thoughts lurking in the shadows, too afraid to step into the light. We are reassured that this is what the Holy Spirit’s function is for — to shine away the darkness.

Getting to the ‘real deal’ within ourselves is so very important. It does not work to hide our thoughts from Him, because we are truly only deceiving ourselves.

As we come into a place of being more honest with ourselves and gain clarity about how to handle a situation, we may find that the Holy Spirit is guiding us to take some kind of action. It may be time to practice true honesty in the relationship. This may be a hard pill to swallow but we trust and know from personal experience that following the guidance always leads us to a better place.

Unfortunately, many of us have been conditioned to give pat answers, to appease our parents; to say yes when we really mean no; to take on too many projects at work. These situations often lead us to feeling stressed, overwhelmed and resentful. This comes from unconscious guilt. Guilt is what keeps us in pain. Guilt is what drives our addictions. Guilt is what fuels the conflicts between us and others.

When we apply this in our lives, we simply call it ‘standing in our Truth.’ For example, when we are asked to take on another project, we may know our Inner Guidance is saying no. Instead of feeling a sense of guilt and obligation to do it anyway, we acknowledge the Inner Guidance we feel and say no, without excuses or explanations. We say what we mean. We speak our Truth. When we do this there is a sense of freedom and relief from guilt and hidden resentments. We know this from personal experience.

With this deep level of honesty we are indeed trusting in our Inner Guidance to provide for us the perfect solution to every perceived problem that is presented to us. When we feel uncertain about how to respond to a particular situation in a moment’s notice, we pause, turn our attention inward and ask Holy Spirit if He would have us do this and then wait for the response.

It is only when we practice doing these very simple steps that we can be certain we are making the best choice in every situation. We are not asked to suffer or make a sacrifice. We are asked to follow Holy Spirit’s guidance. Only He knows what is right for each one of us individually. Standing in our Truth is standing with Holy Spirit’s decision alone. We remember that by following His plan and not our own, peace will be ours.

Since we have been practicing this type of honesty for quite some time now, it has made our lives happier and certainly more peaceful. We have practiced this with each other in our marriage relationship, friends, co-workers, and others. Being true to our own Guidance is happier and more peaceful. Following the lead of the ego is not. There is nothing that we have to do, or should do, or feel obligated to do. Follow each step in the moment with Him Who Knows. This strengthens us.

If you find yourself in a situation where you feel that you are in a conflict with someone else, take some quiet time in your sacred space with Holy Spirit to become aware of how you are feeling. What thoughts are you having? What do you perceive in this relationship?

Perhaps use a notebook or journal as you reflect. Write several pages until you feel that all aspects have been cleared from your mind. Whatever it may be, write it down as openly and honestly as you are able to while you are in communion with Holy Spirit.

After you are done with this portion, ask Holy Spirit what His guidance is for you in this situation. It may be to share with the other person directly, indirectly or even to let it go entirely. He will let you know what to do. Follow what is received. If you are to speak, then do so. If you are led to write a letter or an e-mail, then do so. If you are led to say no or to wait, then do so. If you are led to say yes, then do so. Follow Him.

If you were guided to do something, after you have completed it, go back to your journal and write about your experience. How did it feel to ‘stand in your Truth’ with this person, to be honest with this person about how you were feeling? What difference has it made in the relationship? Was there a healing that took place? What difference has it made in you?

We have seen for ourselves that pent up anger and resentment is due to a lack of communication. Sometimes it is because one of us has been away and we have not had an opportunity to discuss some issue that needs discussion. One may make a decision without the other’s knowledge, which sets the stage for the beginning of a conflict.

It seems that it takes so much time to do all of this, to tune in and honestly express ourselves. But it really creates more time in the end because there is less time spent in arguments, disagreements or hidden resentments. In an open atmosphere, the healing can occur. Clearing the air makes it possible for the other person to understand.

What if someone is unreasonable and can react in an adverse way? Is it more important to seek this person’s approval or to be true to your own self, your own Guidance? These are important questions to answer for yourself.

It is important for us to continue to build our relationship with Holy Spirit. We break down the barriers to communication by sharing intimately with Him. And as we do for Him, we can do for each other. Sharing intimately with another more often than not will actually assist us rather than hurt us. Of course this must all be in alignment with the guidance that we receive.

In situations of abuse or violence, it is important to listen to what steps may need to be taken to protect one’s self. In this world, we do still believe that we are a body and that is important to remember. We don’t have to prove that we are enlightened spiritual beings by getting ourselves injured or into abusive situations. Asking and following guidance is key.

Our spiritual journey has led us out of the path of pain and onto the path of healing. We have found it by finding our Friend in the Sacred Healing Place within ourselves. It is the place where our relationship with God is made whole through the healing of our relationships with ourselves and our brothers.

This is a place where fear, anger and judgment are transformed with forgiveness, peace and love. This is a place, “where an ancient hatred has become a present love.” It is “The holiest of all spots on earth.” It is, “The Sacred Healing Ground of Relationships.”

Rev’s Paul & Deb Phelps are Pathways of Light ministers living in Madison, Wisconsin. Their web site: http://www.miraclesone.org

© 2007, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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April-June, 2007

Guilt and Projection

by Nouk Sanchez

With one ‘tiny mad idea,’ we brought our wish to fruition. Oneness became ‘otherness’ and the one became ‘individuals,’ all complete with the ego’s self seeking goals. Time, matter and space were born and for the first time we got to experience ‘relating.’ In the pre-separated state of oneness, there was no comprehension of anything outside this oneness. All was one and we were all. There was no need to relate to anything. In the separated state that we’re now dreaming, everything and everyone appears to be apart and outside us.

We effectively introduced an alternate mind reality (dream), which we call the human ego or false self. Its claim to fame was that it truly believed that it should play the role of God by usurping God’s power. The cost of this universal charade was immense. Massive guilt was the legacy of shunning our creator to make this loveless reality we call the cycle of life and death. The monumental guilt we felt just had to be placed somewhere where we did not have to face it; where it was unseen and that’s when we came up with the ‘projection’ idea. In creating the concept of separation we off-loaded our deep unconscious guilt by projecting it onto others thus believing that we were the ‘victims’ of others and outer influences.

We see in others what we don’t wish to acknowledge is within us. Projection creates the illusion that we need to attack and defend, that we’re victim to the chaos of human existence. It also convinces us that ‘giving’ means sacrifice, that by giving something we will lose or have less. Human nature’s two greatest misperceptions are: 1. That we are victims of outside influences and we need to defend or attack because of this. 2. That if we give money, objects, our time, forgiveness, acceptance and support that these things will diminish for ourselves. We believe that what we give away, we lose.

As we release the ego’s perception, we see a vastly different reality appearing in our lives. One of the most magnificent truths to be revealed is that whatever we give or share is actually increased in our lives!

We learn that anything of value is increased by being shared (forgiveness, acceptance, love, understanding, patience, gratitude etc.) If we’re feeling a lack of any one of these in our own life it is because of one oversight; We need to give it to others!

The need to defend or attack is withdrawn also, as we discover that the entire source of all our fear lies with the ego’s projection. Through the PIQ formula (Presence, Inquiry & and Quantum forgiveness) we see that we create our fears and the pure light of honest self-observation dispels that persistent sense of threat that previously haunted our daily lives. And peace becomes our regular companion.

The ego means separation, as in opposites, a constant dueling of ever changing and random phenomena. It created the ideas of evil, hate, suffering and death. There is no outside evil force, there’s only one absolutely absurd culprit responsible for the entire history of humanity’s suffering — our own individual and collective egoic perception.

God is all loving. The pre-separated state was without chaos in any form. All forms of human suffering, including the idea of death, are fabrications made by ego to increase our fear thus consolidating our allegiance to it.

Recently, there has been an evolutionary leap in our collective search for ‘purpose and meaning.’ Beyond the confines of organized religion, a surge of independent spiritual seekers is questing for Truth. For most though, they still search for truth by trying to gain more spiritual knowledge and this will be an impossible task. Why? Because only the ego seeks knowledge and the end result would be an enlightened ego. Real Truth however, is who we are, beneath the ego image we think of as ‘I.’ The way to reveal the truth under the ego is to dismantle the ego perceptions that obscured it for so long. This is the ‘undoing of ego.’

Heaven’s state is not a place we go to after death; it is a state of mind that is our natural inheritance once we have demolished our ego’s perception. Infinite Love permeates every particle of our existence, because anything that is not Love does not exist. If we see or feel anything other than Love, then we literally perceive illusion. Suffice to say that to the degree we still perceive suffering of any kind is the degree to which we must release the ego.

Nouk Sanchez & Tomas Vieira are authors of the book, Take Me To Truth, Undoing the Ego. It will be released Sept. 28th. Go to their web site at: http://www.takemetotruth.com

© 2007, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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April-June, 2007

I Am Sustained by the Love of God

Revs. Sue Borg and Frank Arnold

Rev. Sue Borg —We will be giving a weekend workshop at Pathways of Light August 4-5 that will be based on Lesson 50 in the Workbook: I am Sustained by the Love of God. This lesson begins with — “Here is the answer to every problem that will confront you, today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, ‘protective’ clothing, influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the ‘right’ people and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers.” How many “gods” or “idols” do you place before God? 

I discovered that I even placed the bathroom before God. My first thought every morning used to be, “I have to get up and go to the bathroom.” When I realized I thought about using the bathroom before I even had a notion of thinking about God, I changed that waking thought and now upon waking I think and even say out loud,  “Good Morning, God. Here I am wanting to know where to go, what to say and to whom.” A much nicer morning greeting!

During our weekend workshop we will practice ways to reassure ourselves that the Love of God always sustains us, but only always and in every way. We will do exercises to clear up the notion that we have to do anything but Love God and ask for direction.

By practicing what this lesson teaches, we will discover a different way of living in the world. We will explore the profound impact this lesson can have on us and how we can more fully live from a place of love instead of fear.

Rev. Frank Arnold — This lesson gave my life all the meaning it has. I ‘heard’ this message for the first time on March 19, 1993, but like many others, I struggled with it and tried to make it hard. About a year and a half later, I ‘heard’ it again and I finally ‘got it.’
I will tell this story at the workshop and share with you all the ways we can know without a doubt that we are sustained by the Love of God, and that gratitude is the only appropriate response to our inherent gifts from God, our Source. 

When you compare the time you spend with God to the time you spend doing everything else, it begins to look a little lopsided, so we’ll discuss the ways we can be with God no matter what we are doing.  When I tell people where I’ve been and where I am now, the story is a compelling reason to study the Course and particularly know the truth of this lesson. 

There are ways to make this life easy and prosperous. You do not have to give up anything and, in fact, cannot give up anything that God has given you, and he has given you everything. You are sustained by the Love of God.

“Put all your 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.”

Revs. Sue Borg and Frank Arnold co-founded an organization called It’s A Miracle Center, created to educate and inspire the study of A Course In Miracles.  They have been students of the Course since 1983, and have taught a weekly A Course In Miracles group since 1989. They were the hosts for the 2005 International ACIM Conference in Salt Lake City.

© 2007, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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