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April-June, 2019

Finding

by Rev. Jim Peterson, O.M.C.

Father,
I search for you.

I Feel your presence.

It is a faded memory
but it draws me
like a humming bird
to nectar.

My yearning is ceaseless.

My love is boundless.

I sense this at the
core of my being.

Self doubts distract me
from this Truth.

I yearn for the memory
of your touch
your limitless presence
in my awareness.

Tears well up.

It is a longing.

But more than that
it is a knowing.

I am worthy of
your Love.

The full awareness of
our union is certain.

The joy in my heart
dries the tears.

I feel your Presence.

Words do not express
the Love that fills me.

Rev. Jim Peterson, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Portland, Oregon. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.alchemical-transformation-guidance.com
See more poems by Jim from his inspiring book, “Wisdom Rising.”

© 2019, 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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April-June, 2019

Holy Spirit, Teach Me to Love

by Rev. Dan Strodl, O.M.C.

At the beginning of 2019, I set my intention to bring love into the world. I considered how I could do this and thought of kindness, compassion, smiles, listening, affirming others. As I carried love into the new year, I felt more joy, love, and peace. My hourly mantra was “I am love.”

Last week I was reading a book called The Miracle of Real Forgiveness by Tom Carpenter. A passage from the book jumped out at me. Tom suggested we ask, “Holy Spirit, teach me how to love.” I felt drawn to it, and then I thought… “Hmmm ..... I already know how to love.” But I did it anyway.

Every hour I would stop and say, “Holy Spirit, teach me how to love.” And my experience of extending love grew in ways I never would have guessed.

I live in a large apartment complex with many neighbors, and have been treating them as friends even though I don’t know many of them. I have engaged them in conversation, smiled, and helped them in anyway that seemed appropriate.

There is one girl who I don’t know, and I said to her “Hi, are you new here?” She turned to me and said with an angry scowl on her face, “You already know that!” Then I asked what her name was, and she said “Why do you want to know?” I became frightened and decided to say nothing to her in the future.

Then I saw her last week, and we shared the tiny elevator together. She had the usual scowl on her face, and so I turned inward and said “Holy Spirit, teach me how to love.”

Then a thought came to me ... “Send her silent blessings.” And so I thought “I bless you in your joy, I bless you in your peace, I bless you in your happiness.” And as the elevator reached the ground floor she turned to me and smiled, and I smiled back. Thank you Holy Spirit.

A few days ago I was at home and my partner’s phone rang. She answered the phone ... made a grimacing expression ... and handed me the phone. On the other end was a neighbor who has mental health issues, and was screaming down the line. All I could understand was “Help me!!!” So I put on my shoes and went over to her apartment.

On the way I said, “Holy Spirit, teach me how to love.” As I walked in she was screaming so loud I couldn’t understand what she wanted. I asked her what was wrong, and all she could do was point to a dozen eggs broken on the floor.

I got a broom to clean it up and she screamed even louder, and pointed to a mop on the balcony. I got the mop and cleaned up the eggs, and then went over to her, sat down next to her, and held her hand. And a few moments later she calmed down.

I’m starting to see that as we bring love into the world, our world changes. Thank you Holy Spirit.

Rev. Dan Strodl is a Pathways of Light minister and publisher of Miracle Worker magazine in London, UK. His email is: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Visit Miracle Network online at www@.Miracles.org.uk

© 2019, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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April-June, 2019

Love Is the Strength in Which We Trust

by Revs. Mary & Robert Stoelting

We would first like to share that the subject of this article is what we want to reinforce and strengthen in our minds because our mind healing is the only thing that is truly important. We choose to join you in daily practice of opening to the strength of our united Love.

We will begin with the Preface of ACIM under “What it Says,” (on page xi). Here we are told, “The world we see merely reflects our own internal frame of reference — the dominant ideas, wishes and emotions in our minds. “Projection makes perception.” (Text, p. 445) We look inside first, decide the kind of world we want to see and then project that world outside, making it the truth as we see it. We make it true by our interpretations of what it is we are seeing. 

“If we are using perception to justify our own mistakes — our anger, our impulses to attack, our lack of love in whatever form it may take — we will see a world of evil, destruction, malice, envy and despair. All this we must learn to forgive, not because we are being “good” and “charitable,” but because what we are seeing is not true. We have distorted the world by our twisted defenses, and are therefore seeing what is not there. As we learn to recognize our perceptual errors, we also learn to look past them or “forgive.” At the same time, we are forgiving ourselves, looking past our distorted self-concepts to the Self That God created in us and as us.”

This section teaches us that this world we see with the body’s eyes is not where our strength lies. Our strength lies in our awareness of Love’s oneness, Love’s indivisible unity and eternal innocence.

Today we join together with the Holy Spirit and you to practice opening to the truth of everyone’s inherent unity in Love. Today we practice opening to the awareness that our eternal nature is only Love.

How do we do that?

We step back from our habitual thoughts of thinking what we see through the body’s eyes is real. We let go of focusing on our differences and place our trust in Love to show us the truth in everyone.

Together we practice:

• focusing our thoughts on the Love we all are…

• listening to the Voice for Love…

• letting Love lead the way to a new perception…

• relaxing and welcoming Love’s inspiration in the moment…

• noticing when ego thoughts try to slip back in…

• returning to Love’s kind and gentle guidance …

• making room for Love’s peace…

• feeling Love’s gratitude and joy…

• trusting in Love to lead us Home…

• resting in Love…

As we pause frequently and listen to the thoughts we are entertaining, we notice the artificial values that habitually pop up.  We recognize with constant practice that these are just mindless thoughts and behaviors that are trying to replace our awareness of Love’s eternal presence with images of weakness, division, conflict, lack, guilt, depression and pain.

We pause and listen again and again, a thousand times over. As we become more and more consistent with what we truly want to see, we naturally place our trust in Love’s Thoughts instead of placing our belief in ego thoughts.

“Love is the strength in which I trust” becomes our mantra when we find ourselves thinking fearful thoughts of lack or not having enough, or thoughts of guilt, judgment of ourselves or others.

We become more willing to give Holy Spirit the “time” needed to return to Love. We follow instead of making decisions on our own based on what we learned in the past. We stop trying to take the wheel and remember once again that we do not know what anything means on our own. As we let go and let God, we carry the mindset that we are indeed being carried by Love’s strength, not our own.

Love Knows No Limits

“It is only the awareness of the body that makes Love seem limited. For the body is a limit on love. The belief in limited love was its origin, and it was made to limit the unlimited. Think not that this is merely allegorical, for it was made to limit you. Can you who see yourself within a body know yourself as an idea? Everything you recognize you identify with externals, something outside itself. You cannot even think of God without a body, or in some form you think you recognize.
“The body is a tiny fence around a little part of a glorious and complete idea.
“Each body seems to house a separate mind, a disconnected thought, living alone and in no way joined to the Thought by which it was created. Each tiny fragment seems to be self-contained, needing another for some things, but by no means totally dependent on its one Creator for everything; needing the whole to give it any meaning, for by itself it does mean nothing. Nor has it any life apart and by itself.” (T-18.VIII.1;2:5;5:2-4)

In truth we are all one Love, joined in the unity of the Self God created as His one Son. There are no differences or distinctions in Love’s oneness; nothing that can be set apart and remain Love.

Love’s changeless oneness cannot be experienced in a world based on the false idea of separation. Our identification with a body distinct from other bodies makes us unaware of our unity in Love. Yet our lack of awareness does not change our unity in Love. Love created us like Itself. Because only Love is real, nothing but Love exists in truth. Our true Self knows no limits. Because It is Love, It is eternally extending that Love to all. Love is our strength, our very Life.

Our attempt to limit Love by identifying with a body leaves us feeling alone and vulnerable. Yet Love’s strength is still ours. Love’s strength is available to us in every now moment. As we learn to recognize our true Identity as Love, we realize the body has no meaning of its own. All the things that seem to disturb us in the world stem from believing that our little self, fenced off by a body, is real. This belief can be changed.

We have been given a Teacher in our mind to distinguish the false images of separation from the unity of Love that we are. With His help, we learn to let go of our attachment to bodies and what they do. We learn to look past appearances of form in the world to the Light of Love in everyone. With this vision comes increasing peace and happiness.

Our Identity is Love. Love is one and extends forever, without limit. God guarantees that the Self we are cannot be divided and cannot be limited.

Inherent in this changelessness is perfect peace. There is no change to be feared or defended against. Only the belief that we have changed ourselves by disconnecting from our Creator makes fear and change seem possible. This belief makes illusions that seem to confirm that we are no longer the Love that God created us to be. Thankfully, God did not allow this change to actually occur.

We can return to our original state as God created us by letting go of the false belief that we are separate. As we let go of that belief (forgive), we see the face of Christ. We see the innocence of Love reflected back to us, which reminds us of our true Identity as Love and nothing else. Forgiveness removes our self-made barriers to Love. And we remember we are at Home in Love.

The greatest gift we can possibly give ourselves is to recognize and let go of the fearful, limited thought patterns that cause stress and unhappiness in our lives. We can replace these patterns with a growing sense of deep peace that comes from an awareness that we are innately loving, loved and worthy of Love.

Dedicating time to this purpose is the most valuable use of our time. It is the answer to everyone’s deepest need, whether we realize it or not. We are not separate, little, vulnerable self-identities that are disconnected from Love. We are children of God, of Love, whole, innocent and eternal.

The way back to our remembering the truth is to let go of ideas that are not true. The Holy Spirit is always in our mind, ready to lead us to forgiveness and healing. We are willing to let that time be now.

Revs. Robert and Mary Stoelting are co-founders of Pathways of Light over 30 years ago. They reside in Ormond Beach, Florida, where they, along with a Pathways of Light team, continue to manage the office and publish the quarterly Miracles News magazine. E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2019, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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April-June, 2019

Spirit’s Serenade

by Rev. Paula Richards, O.M.C.

Have you ever noticed how easily you can sometimes recall lyrics from a song you listened to years ago? I’ve often said that, if you want to remember something, just put it to music. That’s what the Holy Spirit often does for me.

There’s a little ditty I remember hearing as a teen:

Show me the way to go home. I’m tired, and I want to go to bed.
I had a little drink about an hour ago, and it went right to my head. No matter where I roam, over land or sea or foam, you can always hear me singing this song,
show me the way to go home.

At age 97, my mom is reverting more and more often to singing songs from long ago. That song is a particular favorite. I’ve begun to notice that she always seems to start singing it right when I am exasperated about something (even though I think I am hiding my frustration from her).

It finally dawned on me that, if I substitute the word “dream” instead of “drink,” the song takes on a whole new meaning.

Every morning I do ask Holy Spirit to show me the way home. And now, when I’m upset, I know He serenades me with that song to remind me that I’m caught up in the dream.

A year or so ago I had a similar experience. For many days in a row, the same melody kept running through my head. When I finally took notice and tried to think what song it was, I sensed that it was a John Denver song.

When it finally came to me, I felt like Jesus was speaking directly to my heart!

Follow me, where I go, what I am, who I know.
Make it part of you to be a part of me.
Follow me up and down, all the way, all around. Take my hand and say you’ll follow me.

Sometimes, not all the words of a song seem relevant, but when there is guidance given, you just know. You hear what you are meant to hear. Another song segment that I find helpful goes like this:

Follow me, everything is all right.
I’ll be the one to tuck you in at night.
And if you want to leave, I can guarantee
you won’t find nobody else like me.

Holy Spirit has guided and comforted me through song many, many times over the years. I am so grateful for these loving and gentle reminders that I am not alone.

I’ve especially learned to pay attention to the very first lyrics I hear when I turn on the car radio. The most profound communication I ever received through music happened the morning of my late husband’s passing. He had been in a motorcycle accident, and I was called to the emergency room. He passed away just before I arrived. As I drove home that morning, amid my intense grief, I had the crazy urge to turn on the radio. The first lyrics I heard were these:

As I lay me down to sleep, I pray that you will hold me dear. Though I’m far away, I whisper your name into the sky, and I will wake up happy.

I can’t begin to tell you how much comfort that brought.

Often, when I first wake up or throughout the day, songs will be playing in my head. Sometimes it is simply a tune I’ve heard recently that I haven’t let go. But, more often than not, if I pay attention, I will recognize the Holy Spirit lovingly guiding me — showing me the way to go home.

Rev. Paula Richards, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in North Billerica, MA. View her inspiring videos at: http://www.pathwaysoflight.org/home/video_links Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Web: spiritrisingministries.com

© 2019, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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