Miracles News

Tweet

October-December, 2015

Miracles News, October-December 2015

 

As we truly
forgive, we step
through the clouds
into the Light.

© 2015, 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

October-December, 2015

Saying Yes to Spirit

by Rev. Larry Glenz, O.M.C.

When turning to my Higher Power, I received a clear message — “Attraction rather than promotion.”

Almost four years ago I self-published my book Forgiving Kevin, a memoir of my son’s seven-year struggle with heroin. I started writing the book when Kevin was in his last and longest period of recovery. It was intended to be a true story about the All-American boy who fell into the depths of opiate addiction and recovered to help others overcome the disease of addiction. Kevin was in his ninth month of recovery when I started writing.

Then Kevin relapsed and succumbed to a fatal overdose. So many who knew our family could not imagine how such a fate could befall a young man with such promise and potential.

I believed it was important that I finish writing the book. Although Kevin could no longer help others in their fight with addiction, perhaps his story could bring awareness of the problem that is now epidemic among young people, especially here on Long Island.

I felt like I was being guided to help other families who suffered from this disease. I also wanted to heal myself from my failed efforts to save my son. I needed my son’s life to count for something important.

Although my book was far from a best seller, I was inspired by the response from those who read it. I did little to promote the book but I did begin telling the story in local high schools, colleges, and community centers. I felt that Kevin and I were teamed up to bring about an awareness of heroin abuse to local schools and communities.

The response from the students, parents, and faculties of the schools in which I made presentations was very encouraging. Many told me that I was helping to save lives. I received many emails and messages of appreciation and gratitude for having the courage to expose my family’s struggle with Kevin’s addiction. Because of the stigma attached to heroin, many deaths are misreported as heart attacks or other less ignominious fatalities.

Although my book was not being promoted, it fell into the hands of a motion picture producer who had simultaneously lost his close friend to the same drug. We did not know each other but there was a connection through a friend of a friend. The producer, Chris Scott, asked if he could come out to Long Beach from Manhattan to meet with me.

Although I was skeptical about my personal story being told by a stranger, I accepted his invitation to visit me at my home. Chris explained to me how the book had helped him with his guilt from not being able to save his friend Louis. He wanted to turn the book into a full-length motion picture.

I told Chris Scott that I didn’t want my story to be told by someone else. After confirming that I wanted my book to help the families of those suffering from addiction, he asked me, “Is there any limit to the amount of people that you wish to help?”

“Of course not,” I replied.

“Well then,” he said, “do you think that a well made motion picture that captures the honesty and authenticity of your book could help many more people?”

I answered, “I guess so, but how do I know the film will capture this honesty and authenticity of which you speak.”

He replied, “There really would be no other reason to make this motion picture.”

I went to Spirit with this proposal. I was reminded that my guiding rule was “attraction rather than promotion.” Somehow, some way, without my efforts, a stranger was offering to buy the rights to my book. He offered to make me a co-writer of the screenplay, a consultant on the set, and a co-producer of the motion picture. He said, “I would not be able to do it without you.”

With Holy Spirit’s affirmation, I said, “yes” to the proposal. The first version of the screenplay is being completed. The casting director is hired. Investors are lining up to support the film. A crowd sourcing campaign to raise further funds has begun. All I have had to do is say, “yes.”

Saying, “yes” to Holy Spirit is exciting. The slogan for the fundraising campaign is “Love Heals Addiction.” Our motivation is to save lives from what has become a terrifying epidemic. Kevin’s spirit is guiding this. I call him Holy Spirit’s assistant coach. I feel like the two of us are teamed up as a force for good. It is a wonderful feeling.

It appears I have attracted an amazing project to help others. All I had to do is say, “yes” with Holy Spirit’s encouragement. And now I can’t wait to see the good that comes from all this.

Rev. Larry Glenz, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Long Beach, New York. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  See Rev. Larry Glenz at the ACIM Conference in Las Vegas, NV April 8-10, 2016. To read more about the movie production in progress and view a video by Larry Glenz about the purpose of the movie project, go to: www.forgivingkevin.com

© 2015, 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

October-December, 2015

Nothing Is Happening but Love in the Present Moment

by Rev. Linda Wisniewski, O.M.C.

I had an experience recently that showed me in a very concrete way that when I am in the present moment, in the Now and what the Course refers to as the Holy Instant, nothing is happening but Love and I am in a state of beingness, the essence of who I Am. It is very peaceful and joyful.

So, if I’m not peaceful, what is the problem? Is something or someone out there disturbing my peace of mind? Is it the hot, humid weather we get in the Midwest taking away my peace and my ability to have a good day? Does an argument with a loved one ruin my day? God’s Will for us is happiness. Is anyone out there responsible for me being happy, peaceful and content? Can anything in my life ruin my decision to be happy and have a good day?

What I’m discovering is that nothing can ruin my decision to be happy and have a good day, except my thoughts.

Here is an example: My husband has been sober for more than 25 years. Recently he spent 10 days in Italy and enjoyed drinking their wine. No big deal, right? When he came home and we went out with family to a Greek restaurant, he ordered a beer with dinner.

Internally, I started to panic although I didn’t say anything to him. But, the ego thoughts in my mind were saying a lot and putting me into a state of fear. These thoughts were trying to convince me that my husband was becoming an alcoholic again and memories came up of the past when he wasn’t sober and how I believed I suffered as a result of this.

Thank God, I now have the Course and know that Holy Spirit is with me 24/7. So while I was at the table, eating my food, I went to Holy Spirit and immediately asked for help to see what was happening differently.

Even in the midst of the conversations going on around me, I was able to step back and be in stillness in the moment. I had the willingness to see the Truth, rather than listen to the fearful thoughts swirling around me. Holy Spirit lovingly showed me that nothing really was happening in the present moment. My husband was drinking a beer. I wasn’t upset about any of the other people drinking their beers, so why was I upset about my husband doing the same?

Holy Spirit was showing me that the disturbance was caused by my thoughts about what I thought it meant. I was being shown how I was bringing a past experience into the present moment and projecting it into the future by thinking that my husband was going to become an alcoholic again. The fact is that in the present moment, nothing was happening. The anxiety I was feeling was a result of my thoughts and fantasizing about a future. My peace was disturbed not by what my husband was doing, but, by what my thoughts were trying to do.

Another example that came up about how my peace is disturbed and takes me away from the present moment also happened when my husband was in Italy. I hadn’t heard from him in two days and there was no way to contact him. All of a sudden, I went into a state of anxiety as the thoughts came up that maybe he was dead or in an accident and no one was telling me. The same anxiety comes up when my husband comes home late from work. What is going on?

In the section in the Course in Chapter 19, Section IV. The Obstacles to Peace; section 3, it states that the Third Obstacle to Peace is: The Attraction of Death. It seems as I look at my thoughts, that most of my anxiety has to do with the fear of death which the Course says is really the fear of God. This fear is a real obstacle to my peace and to living in the present moment where God is, Love is, Peace is.

Again, my anxiety didn’t come from my husband not calling. He didn’t call because our phone couldn’t make calls overseas and he had to borrow a phone. My anxiety came from my fears about death and God.

There are many others examples I could share which show me that no person or circumstance can rob me of my peace. Nothing outside my mind can really hurt me or upset me in any way. It’s only my thoughts about something from the past or imagining a future based on the past that can disturb my peace.

Now, when I find myself getting riled up, or feeling fearful, anxious or angry, I’m learning to ask myself; Linda, right now in the present moment what is happening? Then I start to laugh because I realize that nothing is happening except my “stinkin” ego thinking which are all fantasies. In the Now, I can be at peace in every moment. It’s a decision I can make with the help of the Holy Spirit. In the present moment, the holy instant; peace is; love is; joy is; God is; I Am.

As I was reading the section in the Course on the Obstacles to Peace, my eyes went to a beautiful prayer to help us remove the obstacles to peace so we can remain in the present moment and experience our beingness as Love; as God, Which is Love.

It starts with the instructions: “Remember the holy Presence of the One given to you to be the Source of judgment. Give it to Him to judge for you, and say:

“Take this from me and look upon it, judging it for me.”

“Let me not see it as a sign of sin and death, nor use it for destruction.

Teach me how not to make of it an obstacle to peace, but let You use it for me, to facilitate its coming.” (T-19.IV.I.11: 6-10)

Using this prayer never fails and brings me back to the present moment where nothing is happening except the holy instant of peace, joy, and love.

Rev. Linda Wisniewski, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Plymouth, Wisconsin. E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2015, 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

October-December, 2015

Received in Love

by Rev. Michelle Rado, O.M.C.

Once upon a time, I trusted
that I was cared for.

As I came to a street corner,
My father’s hand would just appear
in front of me. Mine in his,
We walked across the street,
Navigating any obstacles
that came our way.

I didn’t question his lead.

Things changed over time;
The feeling of safety became a
faint memory of a storybook tale
that once felt real to me.

Sadness, suffering, pain,
loss and limitation,
I seemed to be so alone over the years,
But I always felt that
there was something else…
Something outside of my understanding…

I sought for this something…

I reached out my hand, And to my relief, I was received in Love.

Rev. Michelle Rado, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in
Agoura Hills, California. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  Web: http://www.revrado.org

© 2015, 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.