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May-August, 2024

Deciding with God

by Rev. Tacey Reese, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

I recently took one of the ACIM Practitioner Courses that is offered by Pathways of Light called The Power of Decision — Cause and Effect.

It helped me develop the practice of continually asking myself, “Am I deciding with God or am I deciding with the ego?” I noticed that ego decisions were reactive decisions, an automatic response to a perceived threat. Sometimes the threats were obvious and sometimes I would have to dig deep to find out what I was feeling threatened by.

I knew that if I was out of peace, I was feeling threatened in some way. That was a helpful insight. So, then I made the decision to respond rather than to react.

My first step in responding is to be willing to surrender to the Source of all Love to make my decision. And sometimes I had to ask to be willing to be willing!

I wanted to blame my feeling of fatigue on stress.

I wanted to blame my office landlord for not maintaining my office grounds in a tidy way that looks nice when people walk up to it.

I wanted to blame the new natural gas company that my state has switched over to for such a high bill and label someone there as greedy. My bill had certainly not been that high before! So, it must be some greedy person in the new company that caused that! I wasn’t sure who that someone was as I thought it so then I decided to blame ALL corporations for greediness!

Then later I was deliming my coffee pot and when I came back into the kitchen it had overflowed and the water was running toward the washing machine instead of being right there beside the counter.

As I examined this more closely, I could see that the flooring was not completely level. I started feeling very anxious, knowing I would need a professional to come look at it and see if I needed some flooring work. I didn’t know how I would pay for such an expense.

My mind started spiraling into egoic thoughts and then I saw I was still wanting to be a victim. That got my attention.

I realized that being a victim was a decision I made long, long ago, many lifetimes ago, or perhaps before the first lifetime.

I’m not really sure how that works but what I knew was that it was not a wise decision. It was wrong. I was wrong.

So, I let that belief go; I let that decision go. I chose a different decision by stepping back and remembering What I really Am. An extension of Love.

The question came to me, What would Love do? Love would let things be and follow Holy Spirit’s guidance. Love would extend and forgive. Love would overlook perceived threats and re-purpose those for mind healing. And that is what happens every time I decide with God.

Now I feel glad and grateful to have been wrong! I realized I was deciding wrongly because I was deciding on my own, which means deciding with ego.

When I want only the peace of God, I decide only with God. And I am willing to do this and only this. I know the day will dawn when this is my default mode of decision making and I am glad and grateful it is so!

Rev. Tacy Reese is a Pathways of Light minister living in Benton, Arkansas.
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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May-August, 2024

Sea of Love

by Rev. Maureen L. Yarbrough, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

The tides of change in this world,
Beat you down in tumultuous waves.

Gritty sand blurs the vision,
Encrusting sight with indecision.
Swim or sink, is that the choice?

In fighting for survival, I lose my voice.
Drowned out by the thrashing of my limbs,

It dawns on me to relax, release, let go…
And I am carried to safety by the winds.

Oftentimes in this life we are presented with obstacles that seem so incredibly impossible to overcome. Loss, grief, fear, disease, sickness, financial fear…the list goes on and on.

In my repeated, and often very painful, experience it has only been in forgiving… in releasing…. letting go, and turning to Holy Spirit, that my faith and trust has been restored.

I have attempted over and over to try to fill the space within me that just cannot be filled with anything of this world. No relationship, job, drug, exercise, food plan, sex, vitamin, shopping, a dog! (yes, I said it – we have 8!) can fill that “God sized hole,” as I have often heard it referred to. 

I had a dear friend “unfriend” me on social media because she said that she had no option to choose peace with all that she had going on in her life. She then proceeded to give me her laundry list of reasons why… a chronic disease, depression, limited income, no family, no one to help, etc., etc.

I (definitely the small “I”) then shared with her tips and tricks on how she can try. She became offended, as I am sure I would when dressed all up in my snazzy victim suit (I can still go there, to be sure!).

I wish that I had not responded and only loved her, but I wasn’t in my “right” mind myself at that moment. My job is only to love, not try to change, fix, make better…only love.

That was a good lesson for me, albeit painful. I’m pretty sure it is only the painful ones that teach me, unfortunately!

This leads me to the awakening power of pain. It will stop hurting once I identify the feeling behind my suffering and where it stems from and let that s@#$ go!

It has always proven to be a form of fear I am clutching protectively. I often get surprised when I see another manifestation of it sprouting up…like, “whoa, I thought we already let that go.” The booger creeped up on me again in a different guise. This continues over and over and over again as I imagine it will as long as I am in this chaotic world.

Currently, my husband and I are moving some great changes now (again!). Oh, what fun! he-he. He is exceptionally optimistic, though not a student of A Course in Miracles, he states that he is “by proxy.”

Myself, well, I am witnessing and forgiving, witnessing and forgiving, witnessing and forgiving, as often as is necessary to not allow this illusory existence power over me to steal my joy.

I know that no matter what, we will be okay… our true kingdom cannot be dismantled by anything here.

It can be quite entertaining to see all the different fears crop up; it’s quite the game!

Oh, there you are again! Time to go! I surrender you in the name of LOVE, peace and joy! Ahhhhh….Yes, that’s it! Relief!
I will never stop. No matter what. This ocean is not real.

Only the sea of Love can carry me. And when I forget, I will choose again.

I’m grateful that I can open up A Course in Miracles randomly to any page and be given a gentle hug of a reminder, too.

Rev. Maureen L. Yarbrough, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Yulee, Florida.
Email:momohere@gmail.com
Web: https://runningwithbulldogs.com/acim/

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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May-August, 2024

I Hear Your Love

by Rev. Ashley Rose Legrand, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

I hear your Love
It calls to me in the silence.

A peaceful melody
embracing me
Wrapping its arms
around my mind
Soothing all my fears,
one at a time. 

Into a nothingness
I enter with you.
Holding your hand, the
strength of Heaven is in me.

I enter in, a new world
Beautifully embellished with
nothing but Love.
Unburdened, expansive,
free, unlimited.

Every object glimmers with the
Light of your perfection.
Your Holy word caressing,
blessing each precious thing.

My face is beaming.
My smile, cannot be contained.
My heart, wide open.
Shining in radiant Light,
as grand as its ever been.

Your Love transformed by being,
called me to a new space,
a higher place,
Where only Love exists.

In your comfort and sure protection
I come to recognize
my eternal safety.

Now I rest, in you.
I see your Love,
I feel your Love,
I hear your Love.

The sweet sound, reverberating
out into infinity. And here in this
Holy place, full of grace
is everything made new.

Everything is at peace.
Everything is healed.

Rev. Ashley Rose Legrand, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Metuchen, New Jersey.
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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May-August, 2024

All Attack Is Self Attack

by Rev. Myron, Jones, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

“The only safety lies in extending the Holy Spirit, because as you see His gentleness in others your own mind perceives itself as totally harmless. Once it can accept this fully, it sees no need to protect itself. The protection of God then dawns upon it, assuring it that it is perfectly safe forever. The perfectly safe are wholly benign. They bless because they know that they are blessed. Without anxiety the mind is wholly kind, and because it extends beneficence it is beneficent. Safety is the complete relinquishment of attack. No compromise is possible in this. Teach attack in any form and you have learned it, and it will hurt you. Yet this learning is not immortal, and you can unlearn it by not teaching it.” (T-6.III.3)

There is only one way I will feel safe in this life. As I let go of the belief that I am anything less than what God created me to be, I remember my true Self. I become gentle and loving, wholly kind and harmless. Knowing myself as God’s Son, I know God’s protection. There will be no desire to defend or attack. So, I know what I am to do.

I watch my mind for the desire to attack.

When I find an attack thought, I remember that it is in my defenselessness my safety lies. If I attack, I teach myself that I need defense and am weak and vulnerable. If this is true, then I cannot be as God created me, and to believe I can alter creation is not sane.

As Jesus tells us, safety is the complete relinquishment of attack. No compromise is possible in this. I appreciate these uncompromising statements. I know exactly what to do in every circumstance in which I feel unsafe.

Rarely do I feel the desire to attack anymore. But I still notice those attack thoughts in my mind sometimes. This can happen when I read the news or consider politics. But I am aware and grateful for the opportunity to remember the truth.

The mind always gives us what we ask for, and I no longer want to ask it for dissension and anxiety. So when I realize I am attacking anyone in any way, I laugh at myself for my foolishness and ask the Holy Spirit to correct my thinking.

The following is from my journal:

I was still working at that time. I both loved and hated my job. Though I loved many things about it, at the same time, it seemed to cause me a lot of anxiety.

In retrospect, I understand how important that job was to my spiritual awakening. In overcoming the ego fears and desires that were triggered in the workplace, I healed my mind. Here is something that happened and how I worked through it then.

Before I could even begin to journal this morning, I had to clear my mind of something that had been hurting me since yesterday. I woke up with it on my mind, realizing I still had not relinquished it. I reviewed my process, examining the thoughts causing the anxiety and asking for the Atonement. As I did so, I realized that I was relinquishing attack, and I read this paragraph. It was perfect. Here is the process as it happened for me:

Yesterday, we had our sales meeting, and a new person is working for us with whom I have had more than one forgiveness lesson. He asked a question that I should have let the boss answer, but instead, I jumped in with an answer. I was not really answering his question but telling him that he hasn’t worked there long enough to know everything and should sometimes say, “I don’t know, but I will find out.”

I didn’t use those words,
but that is what I was saying.

He rightly ignored me and went for the real answer. ~smile~ I immediately regretted my attack on him and wished I had kept my mouth shut.

This problem I have with this man and my reaction to him bothered me all day, and I was still asking for healing last night before I went to bed. But the thing is, I wanted to be healed of my anxiety, not the problem.

This morning, I noticed that I was still exhibiting signs of anxiety. For instance, I woke up exactly the moment I wanted to wake up and started my writing with plenty of quiet time.

It should have been a happy, relaxed time for me, but instead, I was anxious that I would not get everything done and worried about forgetting something. I knew I needed to take care of this before I went any further.

I started watching my thoughts, and the first thought I noticed was that from now on, I would keep my mouth shut when this man talks.

Holy Spirit told me that was not the problem, so it wasn’t the solution. I waited for more and realized that I would not have to keep quiet if I allowed my mind to be healed. A healed mind is gentle and does not attack.

So, I asked for the problem so that
I could also ask for the solution.

I saw that I have felt threatened ever since he came to work here. I know he will take my job someday, which is fine. After all, I don’t want to work here forever, and it is the kind of job that takes a while to grow into.

I am glad that my boss had the foresight to hire him early so he could learn the ropes. Also, I am grateful because he has taken over the hard work I used to do.

It would seem a perfect solution, except that he is doing such a good job that I feel threatened. I don’t really think I am going to get fired, but I feel like I am not as important to the company. Once I admitted this to myself, the thoughts began to rush through my mind.

I think that I am what I do.

And I think that my worth is determined by my value to the company.

I have always been secure in knowing that I would be very hard to replace, and maybe that is no longer true.

My ego projects these beliefs, and I see the problem as this interloper with the gall to come into the company and start doing a really good job immediately. Ha ha.

It is good to just get all these feelings out into the open and see what is happening. It is a relief to see that the problem isn’t really this man but my own mistaken beliefs about who I am.

“Holy Spirit, who am I?” I know my worth is not established by what I do but by God in my creation. And I am grateful to remember this.

I looked at my fear of loss.

I not only fear my loss of my value to the company but also the loss of my job. What if I did get fired? I fear the loss of my income, my home, my new car. As I think about this, I realize that this is a real fear in my mind that I have not looked at.

I know it is not supposed to be true, so I tell myself it is not true, but really, I see the fear right there in my mind.

I look with the Holy Spirit and ask that my mind be healed, but He wants me to see the rest. So, I see that I am also afraid to say that all I want is to wake up, that waking up is my only purpose.

I want to say that my purpose is not to earn a living or be the best employee in the world. My purpose is to wake up.

But I am afraid to say this because what if it is a “one or the other” kind of thing and I really do lose my job so that I can wake up?

I know what this is.

It is the ego belief that I have reason to fear God. It is the belief that God wants my sacrifice.

I think of the Old Testament story of the guy who put his son on the altar and was going to sacrifice him to God, and at the last moment, he got a reprieve. Is this what God wants me to do? Put my job on the altar and sacrifice it to prove I want to wake up? What if there is no last-minute reprieve? I say I want only the Will of God in my life but could pain and suffering be the Will of God? Is the ego trying to confuse me again?

I waited to see if there were any more ego thoughts about this situation.

Nothing else came, so having looked honestly with the Holy Spirit (and felt the fear), I was finally ready to ask for the Atonement.

None of those thoughts are true, but that doesn’t mean they are without effect. These fearful thoughts lead directly to projection and attack. I attacked the man in question, and I attacked myself, and I attacked God. No wonder I felt awful.

So, I have asked for and accepted the Atonement, and now I am testing the waters to see where I really am with this. I don’t want to kid myself about the level of my acceptance.

I know I did my best, but I need to be honest about what that is. So, I did the acid test. I visualize putting on the altar my dearest desire, knowing it will be fulfilled. What is that desire?

I try it out. “God, I want to wake up.”

I want to wake up more than be respected and admired. I want to wake up more than I want a job, home, and car. And I want to remember who I am and remember You.

I want to remember what it feels like to love unconditionally, and I want to remember what it feels like to be One. This is what I want, and it is all I want.

My commitment passed the first test, as I am not reluctant to make that statement. I did feel a shadow of fear cross my mind, and I ask that my mind be healed of even the slightest belief that I want something else, that the world has anything to offer me that compares to the peace of God.

“Holy Spirit, I remain open and willing to see any belief in my mind for which I need the Atonement.

If this is not done, then I am willing to do it. No more hiding behind my projections.” I don’t want to teach attack ever again.

Rev. Myron Jones, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Westlake, LA. Read her inspiring Healing Journal articles on the Pathways website. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Myron’s website is: http://www.forgivenessisthewayhome.org 
Phone: 337-515-1042

© 2024, 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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