Miracles News

Tweet

January-March, 2023

Remembering Who We Truly Are

by Rev. Derek Dube, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

I’ve been struggling over the past four months about my father’s passing away. Truth be told, he took his own life. For the first couple of weeks, I was in shock and then spent the next several weeks going through the “normal” emotions per the counselors and experts on suicide, (anger, sadness, guilt, happy memories, etc.).

At this time, and all the time since, I kept asking myself “WHY” and I concluded that a person takes their own life when the physical, emotional, mental, and/or spiritual pain becomes too difficult to bear. The question for me is not “WHY” anymore, but why did he/she/they have to get to the point where they decided this was their only option. I had heard many years ago that suicide was the cowards way out, but I DID NOT believe it then and I certainly DO NOT believe that now.

The pain, (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual), that a person experiences in those final moments, must be so intense, so debilitating, that the consequences and experiences for the people left behind is not a consideration or even on the pained person’s radar. They simply do not see any other alternative at all. And for that, I feel an enormous amount of empathy for them.

When my sister, Debra, passed away in June of 2021 and my mom, Pearl, in September of 2021, it definitely was sad, and I miss them both tremendously and love them a great deal. But they passed away due to health reasons and was not a total surprise.

Although my dad’s health was not the best, it still shook the hell out of me. When someone commits suicide, it is a whole new level of grief — a different kind of grief! A grief that I had never felt before.

I’m old enough to know that time has a way of healing, and we begin to function in life again, although the person and what they meant to us never goes away. I have been healing over the past 18 months of the pain of losing my beloved family members and I enjoy contemplating all the happy memories that I shared with each of them. The memories are a comfort and a joy that I will cherish for the rest of my life. This is my way of honoring the 92 years that my dad, Gerard Dube, walked his earthly experience and that his life had meaning — a huge meaning for me.

So how does this fit into my ACIM experience? I am reminded of a book written by Neale Donald Walsch, titled, “The Little Soul and the Sun” (I highly recommend this book). A quick synopsis tells us that there was this little soul in Heaven (me) who wanted to incarnate on earth to practice forgiveness and although God said there was nothing to forgive, the little soul still wanted to go ahead with his idea.

There was another little soul (my dad) who overheard the conversation and said that she would be willing to help the first little soul practice forgiveness together on earth because she Loves him. She would come into his life and do things to him to forgive. She would be the ’bad one.’ She would do terrible things to him so he could be the One Who Forgives. She had one request though, “In the moment that I strike you and smite you, in the moment that I do the worst to you that you could possibly imagine, in that very moment – Remember Who I Really Am.”

Well, my dad was physically, emotionally, and verbally abusive to me — and guess what — I forgot who he really was.

“Accept the dream He gave instead of yours. It is not difficult to change a dream when once the dreamer has been recognized.” (T-27.VII.14:1-2)

My dad’s actions toward me were really calls for love and for the vast majority of our time together, I did not answer his calls with love. I responded with anger, hate and resentment. I have been struggling with the guilt that comes with this type of response for many years. The last two years of his life, he had changed and took responsibility for his actions and asked for forgiveness. I told him that I forgave him and told him almost daily that I loved him. Our relationship improved vastly over the two years prior to his suicide and for that I am grateful.

I am still reeling and continue my healing process and my ability to forgive myself for my misguided responses. I have learned more about forgiveness in the past few months than I have in my 66 years combined before this. His physical death has helped me realize that we are all walking around with pains that nobody knows. The lesson for me is to be kind, understanding, gentle, compassionate, accepting, considerate and loving toward my brothers.

In many of the meditations that I have practiced since he left the earthly plane, I have experienced such empathy for people, a deep level of empathy that I have never approached before. I now know that his relationship in my life was for me to practice forgiveness, and I am truly grateful for the gift that he has bestowed upon me.

“Dream softly of your sinless brother, who unites with you in holy innocence. And from this dream the Lord of Heaven will Himself awaken his beloved Son. Dream of your brother’s kindnesses instead of dwelling in your dreams on his mistakes. Select his thoughtfulness to dream about instead of counting up the hurts he gave. Forgive him his illusions and give thanks to him for all the helpfulness he gave. And do not brush aside his many gifts because he is not perfect in your dreams. He represents his Father, whom you see as offering both life and death to you.” (T-27.VII.15:1-7)

Rev. Derek Dube is a Pathways of Light minister living in Waukesha, Wisconsin. 
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2022, 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.

Tell a Friend

Printable Page

---

Tweet

January-March, 2023

What Do I Really Want?

by Rev. Christine Anderson, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

Last year I was living at my son’s house and my granddaughter stayed at my son’s on occasion. I have a good rapport with my granddaughter and love her very much. However, with her being a high school student and having friends, we weren’t able to spend much time together.

At that time I was in the process of letting go of material possessions. I had gathered a lot of things to fill the emptiness that was in me that came from not being aware of Love’s presence that was always within me, but I didn’t know it. So I collected a lot of things that I thought would fill the emptiness and it was time to start letting go of some of those things. By the way folks, the emptiness I spoke of is not real. It is an illusion. I made it up, so I can give it up. I am only Love. That is the only way God sees me. And that’s the way I want to see myself.

So, I had an idea to give my granddaughter some of my jewelry pieces and jewelry making supplies. I asked her if this was okay with her, and she agreed that she would be willing to receive these items. So, I asked her to help me to go get a few things from my collection and she was very excited and pleased with this idea. I had made form very important in my life and had put a lot of value on form, not realizing I was trading everything for nothing.

I saw her excitement as I gave her the items and I was so happy when she started to make things from the supplies. So it turned out that the items were given a good use.

Then one day when we joined together to visit, I looked and I saw a piece of my jewelry around her neck. It almost took my breath away. It was a pendant I didn’t realize she had found. I didn’t formally give it to her and so I was really taken aback. And so I said to her “I didn’t intend for you to have that; would you mind giving it back?” Then I saw the sadness that came over her. I listened to what I had said and I was so alarmed at this.

Suddenly Spirit came to my mind and I wanted to step back and rethink this. So I said to her “Wait a minute; no. Let me go to Spirit and rethink this again.” And I thought to myself, “What am I teaching her if I take this back? I’m teaching her that form is more important that Love. I want my granddaughter to know she is a beautiful child of God and that she is loved without conditions.”

After taking a moment to receive Spirit’s help, I said to my granddaughter, “I want you to keep the pendant; it looks beautiful on you and I’m glad that you want to wear something that belonged to me.” She received this message with great happiness and she told me that she is going to make something for me. So now I know that she’s in the mode of giving and receiving and that as she grows up her spiritual life will mature in this. I know she is God’s Love, and that she will be alright.

After this happened, I reviewed in my mind what took place and I asked myself, “What do I really want? What do I want for me and my granddaughter? Do I want us to continue the game of the ego, making form more important than love?  Or do I want to give my granddaughter the message that Love is the only thing that’s real, and that she is that Love and so am I?”

What I truly want is the Peace of God, the Love of God, the joy of God, and the well being of God. I already have it and I know its within me and within my granddaughter too. I’m grateful for the lesson that I was given and for the Love that came through the Holy Spirit to help me see that only Love is real and that I can continue to let go of form. I’m still learning and still growing. God’s Love is what I’m worthy and deserving of.

I am so grateful to realize that the Holy Spirit is working on my behalf in my life, helping me to see that everything is in good order and everything is alright, and I can relax now. Regarding my granddaughter, I feel so grateful to realize now that Holy Spirit repurposed that pendant to be a tool of healing for my granddaughter and myself.

Looking back I see how form used by the Holy Spirit can bring an awakening to a greater awareness of Love. This experience has helped me to see that the Reality of Spirit is real, yes indeed. It is real and I appreciate lessons like this one to help me see in a very gentle, wonderful way that I’m not going to lose anything when I let go of form.

I realize now that form can be used by Holy Spirit in a wonderful way. I don’t have to be afraid of form because I know great good can come through the Holy Spirit’s use of form while we’re in this dream. I feel so blessed and now I can rest knowing that I have a wonderful friend, the Holy Spirit, who is always with me to guide me through all situations to the Truth of my being and the Truth that is in all things.

Rev. Christine Anderson is a Pathways of Light minister living in N. Aurora, IL.
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Phone: 773-704-5483

© 2022, 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.

Tell a Friend

Printable Page

---

Tweet

January-March, 2023

God’s Orchids

By Rev. Vicki Rostant, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

The reading for the Pathways of Light International Weekly ACIM Interactive Discussion Sunday group meeting on September 25th was: “The Branching of The Road.” (T-22.IV)

This weekly teleconference call gathering is one of the highlights of my week. After we read a selection of the Course together, we go back and reread each paragraph and then Rev. Colleen Fee encourages the participants to discuss what stands out to them and share examples of how their practice of the Course’s teaching is helping them heal their minds.

For most of the hour I just listened and bathed in the wisdom of the reading and ensuing discussions by the group. Then, towards the end, a line stood out: “To all who share the Love of God the grace is given to be the givers of what they have received.” (T-22.IV.6:1), and an image arose in my mind, which Holy Spirit prompted me to share.

The image was of the orchid sitting on my kitchen counter, in full, glorious bloom! This plant had been given to us by a neighbor after the completion of our kitchen renovation, the year before the COVID pandemic.

At the beginning, while I was working, I did not pay much attention to it. It sat there, I watered it, it had a few blooms, the blooms died — and that was that.

During COVID, when I had to stop working, I started paying more attention to it. I started talking to her, telling her how beautiful she was as she grew and bloomed.

I changed her small pot for a bigger one; I moved her around on the counter for sunlight.

During that year, I noticed a lot of growth, and the number of blossoms increased. By the end of the year, we had a solid relationship!

I told her every day how beautiful she was! The next year, the number of leaves and blossoms increased, the color of the blossoms intensified, and they stayed on longer.

This year, she is even more glorious, with many more blossoms and new leaves, looking happy and joyful!

I then shared on what the image of the orchid reflected back to me.

I shared what is possible when Love is extended. I extended that to the plant, and beauty and joy were returned to me, making my world brighter! I ended my sharing with the questions then in my mind:

“If God, my Creator, looks at me with Love; bathes me in Light; offers care and attention; provides for all my highest needs, how am I responding? Am I closed? Resistant? Separate?

Or am I open, like the orchid, to receiving the Love and these blessings? Am I soaking up the Light? Reflecting, offering, growing in joy and beauty with all that I am?”

At the close of the meeting, our facilitator, Reverend Colleen Fee, closed the meeting with; “Let us all be God’s orchids!”

Rev. Vicki Rostant, OMC is a Pathways of Light minister living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2022, 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.

Tell a Friend

Printable Page

---

Tweet

January-March, 2023

Choice Is Our Super Power

by Rev. Myron, Jones, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

“And so again we make the only choice that ever can be made; we choose between illusions and the truth, or pain and joy, or hell and Heaven. Let our gratitude unto our Teacher fill our hearts, as we are free to choose our joy instead of pain, our holiness in place of sin, the peace of God instead of conflict, and the light of Heaven for the darkness of the world.” (W-190.11:1-2)

Our purpose is to learn to make the choice for Heaven rather than for hell. You would think this would be the simplest choice of all, and you might be wrong. I have to say that I didn’t find it to be easy. At least not at first. But I discovered some basic truths from A Course in Miracles that helped me to become consistent in choosing Love rather than fear.

Everything I see and experience is an effect of a belief in my mind.

Through the study and practice of A Course in Miracles, I have made a habit of being aware of my thoughts and I know they matter. It is time to make a real change and the Course explains how to do that. We learn we have the Holy Spirit in our mind. It is His function to correct our thinking. Our part becomes clear: We are to notice our thoughts and desire correction. We then ask the Holy Spirit to look with us at those thoughts, and correction occurs. At least it occurs to the degree we are ready for it.

It can be such an astounding shift in thinking that it feels miraculous. And so, it is. Sometimes we must look at a strong belief many times with Him before we are ready to accept the correction. That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we continue to do our simple part. We are assured of our success because it is the Will of God that this be done.

As we continue to patiently go through these steps, our minds become healed and our lives change at the same rate. Where we once experienced anger and fear, now there is happiness. Our lives might have been chaotic, and are now peaceful. Perhaps we felt hate or hated, now love pervades our experience.

“There are no idle thoughts. All thinking produces form at some level.” (T-2.VI.9:13-14)

When I realized that thought always comes before form, I stopped trying to change my behavior and I stopped trying to manipulate the world to my liking. I began to look at my thoughts instead. For instance, I was sick recently, sick enough to see a doctor. I was congested, achy and had a fever as well as an upset stomach. At one time, I would have been wondering how I got sick, where I caught it.

And in the world, this seems to be the way sickness happens. I catch a virus from someone. But what actually happens is that there is a belief in sickness and there is some value in being sick and so I choose sickness to fulfill a purpose. Then I hide that thought from myself. I choose instead to believe in this complex set of circumstances that we made to obscure our responsibility for our own choices. And what a good job we did of it. It is so much easier to believe in germs and viruses and genes than it is to believe in the power of our mind.

Even though there was the thought that I was a victim of sickness, it was not a thought I could now believe. Instead, I asked Jesus to clarify this for me, helping me to understand what actually caused the sickness. Whatever thought or belief I needed to look at with him, I was ready to do that. I sat quietly and waited for the answer. I began to think about my son who is going through a difficult situation. I started to worry about him and, bingo! “I see, Jesus. I have been worried about him for a few weeks. This is what you wanted me to understand.” I continued to sit with Jesus until I felt the worry dissipate and my mind return to peace.

It is never about anyone else. Always turn it around.

If I consider the situation with my son, I might think at first that the cause of my upset was his problems. But I would be wrong. If I am upset it is never about the other person or the situation. My upset is always caused by my thoughts about the person or the situation. Understanding this opens me to forgiveness very quickly. In the case of my son and his problems, I forgave the thought that I was a victim to his circumstances. I forgave the belief that his circumstances were the cause of his upset. Or even that his difficult circumstances were a problem at all. In truth, they were his next step Home, just as mine are for me.

I have learned to surrender. I give my children to God. I surrender their care to Him. That means I give up the idea I know what is best, what they should have or do. I give up protecting and defending them. I give up wanting their life to be easier. I give up worrying about them. I give up needing them or anything from them. In the place of all that I surrender, I keep only what is true of them, their perfection, their beauty, their glory, their wholeness. And as a result, my relationships with my children are better as my peace of mind is more stable.

Using these kinds of specific situations for healing the mind is important.

“It is clear that while the content of any particular ego illusion does not matter, its correction is more helpful in a specific context.” (ACIM, T-4.VII.1:1)

Also, we are asked many times in the lessons to be specific in their application. In Lesson 161, we read, “The mind that taught itself to think specifically can no longer grasp abstraction in the sense that it is all-encompassing. We need to see a little, that we learn a lot.” (ACIM, W-161.4:7-8)

And in the Manual for Teachers it says this. “Unless a specific referent does occur to the mind in conjunction with the word, the word has little or no practical meaning, and thus cannot help the healing process.” (M-21.2:3)

This is the purpose of our life stories. They provide us with situations that are meant to be our classroom. I always ask the all important question: What is this for? I want to know the lesson I am supposed to learn. In this way, I am using what the ego made to undo the ego, just as the Holy Spirit intends.

I am using my super power, the power of choice or another way to say it, the power of decision. And, lest I underestimate this power, I will remember that I am always choosing between Heaven and hell. May I always choose Heaven.

Rev. Myron Jones, OMC is a Pathways of Light minister living in 2008 Guillory St. Westlake, LA   Phone 337-515-1042 Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) http://www.forgivenessisthewayhome.org  https://www.youtube.com/@RevMyron

© 2022, 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.

Tell a Friend

Printable Page

---

Back to main page of Miracles News.

Has this page been helpful to you?
Your contribution to support this site is greatly appreciated. To make a tax deductible contribution with a credit/debit card, click here.
Click here to donate from your PayPal account.
Or send a check to Pathways of Light, 12530 Lions Chase Court, Huntley, IL 60142.