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Abundance Is Awareness of God’s Eternal Love

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

Since my husband lost his job and is starting his own business, money is tight. For me, money was never about acquiring material goods. I was also learning that what we needed to support our needs would be provided for if we put our trust in Holy Spirit’s guidance.

So why did I burst into tears when I was gently asked about making a deposit for my lodging during ordination week? Why did I turn down a friend’s offer to gift me with a ticket to attend a dance concert with her? Why did I become shaky in accepting a gift of Pathways course 908: Abundance Awareness to help me learn the truth about true giving and receiving?

Workbook Lesson 5 in A Course of Miracles states: “I am never upset for the reason I think.” So I knew all the tears weren’t about the gifts that were so lovingly and abundantly being offered to me. I knew it had to be about past beliefs hidden in the darkest recesses of my unconscious mind which needed to come to the light for healing. “Before we can be aware of our true abundant reality, we need to be vigilant to recognize ego thinking and let go of these sick ideas of separation.” (Course 908: Abundance Awareness, p.23)

I invited Holy Spirit to join me in helping me to become aware of my false beliefs and heal them. I was asking Holy Spirit for a miracle. Holy Spirit initially guided me to start writing. The following words came tumbling out onto the page: If you can’t pay for it, you don’t deserve it. It’s shameful to ask for help; where’s your pride? Do you really want everyone to know you are poor? You don’t deserve to be given to because you haven’t done anything to earn it. And, then came the attack thought from the ego: “Fine, if I can’t afford to pay my deposit, I won’t go for my ordination.” This would be ego’s ultimate vengeance to stop me from becoming a minister of God and ego would continue to triumph over my mind.

As I looked at these words, I was shocked but not surprised. I recognized these beliefs as part of a childhood ego script I was still carrying around. In this ego script, my sense of worth and value was tied to having money. In the ego script money was the medium of exchange for giving and receiving love. In the ego script love was also associated with having enough money to give to those you love. Through A Course of Miracles and course 908: Abundance Awareness, I am learning that in the world of illusion, money and everything else of the ego’s making causes feelings of lack, separation, scarcity worthlessness, and specialness. Like the body, money makes false idols. Those who have money, a beautiful body or a special relationship are worshipped like gods who can bestow special favors over ones who don’t have these special things — the haves over the have-nots.

Myron, who has facilitated me through my ministerial training, asked me to consider what would happen when beauty fades, jobs are lost, or a special relationship ends. Does that make me less beautiful, less valued, and less worthy of love? In the ego script, it sure did. My ego self was convinced that I am what I value and I had been taught to value money as well as my body and my special relationships. So, not having these things, or losing these things made me feel the lack more acutely. It made me believe I was worthless and unlovable.

Believing in lack creates guilt; i.e. if I was deserving I wouldn’t be in need. Abundance in the ego script is making us believe our value and self worth is tied to having material things, including special relationships.

I knew that only Holy Spirit could help me correct these false ideas that were causing these feelings of worthlessness. I asked Holy Spirit to correct my false ideas about self worth, love and abundance.

At a Sunday morning meditation service at Pathways of Light, I heard Holy Spirit’s gentle and loving Voice whisper the following to me: “It doesn’t matter how you make a living. Extending Love, peace and joy is doing God’s holy work. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. Receiving God’s limitless Love will fill you with abundance. It doesn’t matter how your body looks. Your true Self lies in the one Mind of God. It doesn’t matter what your title is or what special rewards you receive. Your true value and worth comes from knowing who you are, an Innocent and holy Child of God. You are as God created you in Love. God’s Love for you and all your brothers comes without condition. By receiving His Love you will naturally and freely extend His Love to all. God’s Love for you and all His Children is eternal, timeless and abundant. You are a reflection of His perfection and in this Love you will never lack for anything.”

Holy Spirit is teaching me that love, value and self worth are not tied to having or not having money or anything else in the illusion. With the guidance of Holy Spirit I am learning that, “The real meaning of abundance is accepting the truth of our Reality as Love’s universal presence and nothing else.” (A Course in Miracles Study Course 908, p.26)

Linda Wisniewski is a Pathways of Light minister in training living in Plymouth, Wisconsin.

© 2005, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice and website address are included.

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I Am Already Whole

by Rev. Gail Hamley, O.M.C.

After my ordination in May, 2004, I was so excited, enthused and motivated to begin my new life as Reverend Gail, Pathways Minister. My journey had been a long one, with many hills and curves, but the decision to be ordained seemed like I had finally come to the road heading home. I had all kinds of thoughts, plans for classes filling my head. I even found locations to teach and interest was stimulated easily. As time went on, I became paralyzed with fear. I couldn’t do anything! Each time I prepared a schedule for a class, I would feel overwhelmed. I didn’t realize that Spirit was keeping gentle pace. I had a few students I was facilitating and a few Inner Wisdom Counseling appointments.

After the overwhelming fear came the guilt and retribution: I’m letting God down. I’m no good (for letting God down). I’m a wimp. As I was raking myself through the coals, a small Voice said, “You are perfect just the way you are. Relax. You are being guided and people will be guided to you naturally. You need not struggle.” I listened. I relaxed and I listened some more. You see, I work in a corporate environment yet I want to do my true love, teaching. I had been working diligently to pay off debts so I could quit this corporate job and fulfill my dream. Then I began noticing repairs that needed to be done around my home. At the same time, I began to see a great opportunity for teaching in my workplace.

One day, I realized how much fear played in my day-to-day experience. I began to see how fear was a great part of the entire experience. Egos were most often in charge and why not? We were rewarded and awarded for competing, winning, challenging and defeating. The motto I heard most often was: CYA (cover your ass). I began to pray for help. Shifts began to take place like-it wasn’t all about me. I began to have insights about other people and their fears. I began to have empathy and even humor. I began to understand that by seeing through the vision of my True Self, I could actually be a beacon of light to others. Today I offer a weekly meditation class and I have introduced Inner Wisdom Guidance counseling to some of my associates.

God is a gentle God and I am perfect just as I am. I don’t have to do anything, but I am willing to have God use me and I am so joyful when He does. He uses me at my own pace. In fact, he knows my pace better than I do. I have learned that God will use me wherever I am. That is my ministry. People and opportunities open up to me and I receive them in gratitude. Fear was my mask to prevent my light from shining through, a cloudy thought, that’s all. There may be a time when I leave this corporate environment. I am at peace with God’s plan now, though. I have been given many beautiful tools and I know that I am different because of them. Knowing that I am already whole has given me peace beyond anything I could have aspired to.

Rev. Gail Hamley is a Pathways of Light minister who lives in Tustin California.

© 2005, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice and website address are included.

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Highlighted Minister — Rev. Myron Jones

Interview of Rev. Myron Jones, O.M.C.

This month we are highlighting Pathways of Light Minister Myron Jones, who contributes to an ongoing Inner Healing Journal titled, “Together We Light the Way” on the Pathways of Light web site. She is also author of a delightful and inspiring book, “A Journey of Forgiveness.” With the book comes a companion DVD and CD, which Pathways includes as gifts of gratitude to Pathways of Light members. The following interview includes questions and Myron’s answers:

Q. Since your completion of the ministerial training, what have you done to continue to strengthen your connection with Inner Guidance?

I have strengthened my connection with Inner Guidance by making God the center of my life. I begin and end my day with meditation as often as I can. I keep the tapes from course 901: Introduction to Miracles Practice in my car and listen to them frequently while I drive. I have continued to do my daily ACIM lessons. I stop during the day just to breathe in the peace of God. I stay aware of my thoughts and emotions and when I experience dark thoughts, I take them to Holy Spirit for healing immediately.

Q. How has strengthening your connection to your Inner Guidance helped you in your daily life?

I’ve noticed that strengthening my connection to my Inner Guidance has helped me to let go of guilt, anger, fear — all of the dark thoughts that used to be a constant part of my life. Now they are only momentarily part of my life. I am so much quicker to recognize them for what they are, and so much more willing to let them go now. I also feel like I am never alone. I used to think that I was having to make all these changes by myself. It was very scary.

Q. What are some of your experiences regarding changes in your perception as you continue giving all your perceptions to the Holy Spirit to be healed?

One of the most significant changes I have experienced because of a change in perception occurred as I began to see my life as a script I wrote. I began to see very clearly that I did not become the person in this script. Understanding this allows me to release a lot of fear and guilt. Not only does this open the way to joy for me in my life, it allows me to interact with others in a much more positive way. Before, everything I said and did went through the filter of fear and guilt. For instance, I would sometimes feel suspicious of other people’s motives, even when they were trying to love me, because I didn’t accept that I was lovable. Through not accepting their love I was denying myself that joy and also I was teaching them that they were not lovable either.

Understanding that I do not have to live in fear just because I find myself there has been a true gift. I have total control over my emotions because I have total control over my thoughts. So, even though I still have excursions into fear, I quickly give it over to Holy Spirit, and I am able to see it differently. Sometimes the fear is gone instantly, sometimes it gradually subsides as I loosen my hold on the thought.

I have become very aware that there is nothing outside of me that can affect me, and in fact, since I exist in God and God is all there is, there is nothing outside of me. First I have accepted this on an intellectual level, then I have noticed how this idea impacts my daily life. When I feel angry with someone or a situation, I bring myself to the truth by remembering that my anger does not stem from something outside of me. My anger is a result of my thoughts. This is the place where I can make a change. This is the place where I begin my work. This is the only place where I can make a difference.

It is the same way when I feel sick. I know that sickness is not caused by germs, or by something I ate, or by anything outside of myself. Sickness is a result of my own mistaken thoughts, and since I know this I can begin the healing process through opening my mind to Holy Spirit and asking Him to show me a different way of thinking. It requires great vigilance on my part to do this consistently. I get better at it as I practice it.

Q. How is the Holy Spirit helping you with healing your mind and with your ministry?

After I was ordained, I surrendered my ministry to God and offered my services to Him without any exceptions. Evidently, setting that intention was all that was needed because He keeps sending me opportunities. I just try to stay open to His guidance and focused on what He tells me to do. I now am facilitating two ministerial students. One will be ordained in May and the other in July. This has been a real joy, and my favorite part of my ministry. I notice that as I offer my services, I am healed.

I am facilitating a workshop based on Kenneth Wapnick’s treatment of the 50 miracles principles as part of my ACIM group study. I am also doing an in-depth study of course 906: Healing Through Forgiveness as a group and plan to do other 900 courses when we finish this one.

Q. What form is your ministry taking right now in your life as you continue to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit with all your daily decisions?

I am now on a regular rotation to give sermons at the Lake Charles Community Church of the Brethren. I give a sermon every third week. I ask the Holy Spirit what He wants me to say and then I try to quiet my mind so that He can send me His thoughts. We’ve got a pretty good partnership going here. Not only is this giving me an opportunity to serve my brothers, it is also helping me to become a better channel for Spirit through regular practice.

Sometimes I feel led to write something, either for the Miracles News, on the Inner Healing Journals or to someone I correspond with by e-mail.

I am now doing ceremonies. I have performed a holy union and a wedding. I have two more wedding ceremonies scheduled soon. I did not seek this out because they can be time consuming and I don’t have much time, but they have come into my life so I can only assume the Holy spirit brought them to me for a reason. I have been surprised to discover how much I enjoy doing them.

I also created a Spiritual Awakening ceremony for the group that meets at my house for A Course in Miracles study. I wanted a spiritual ceremony for this group to help cement our commitment to our spiritual work. It was a moving experience and I am glad that, although I had not been interested in ceremonies, I remained open to Holy Spirit’s guidance, because these ceremonies are enlightening my life as well as the lives of others.

Q. Get quiet and go to the Holy Spirit. What do you receive about how you can be more helpful to your brothers and sisters on our mutual journey of awakening?

Learning to listen and be open to guidance to the Holy Spirit is something I work on every day because I understand how important it is if I want my ministry to grow in a positive way. I understand that my doubts and fears are just another attempt by my ego to stop this process and I want to give that up. I also understand that I need to devote more time to quiet listening. I need practice doing this. It is so essential and I have neglected it because it is not something that comes easily for me. My guidance in this is that I can do it and that it doesn’t have to be hard and as I practice listening it will, in fact, become as rewarding for me as anything I “do.”

Rev. Myron Jones is a Pathways of Light minister living in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

© 2005, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice and website address are included.

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Accepting Christ’s Vision

by Revs. Robert and Mary Stoelting

One of the lessons we are currently working on is accepting the fact that if we think we have a problem, no matter what it looks like, we are forgetting to accept Christ’s vision. It does not matter whether the problem seems to be coming from someone else or whether it appears to be beyond our ‘control.’ We are learning that in every circumstance the reason we think there is a ‘problem’ is because we are looking at the situation through the filters of the ego’s thought system.

In Lesson 158 Jesus tells us, “Christ’s vision has one law. It does not look upon a body and mistake it for the Son whom God created. It beholds a light beyond the body; an idea beyond what can be touched, a purity undimmed by errors, pitiful mistakes, and fearful thoughts of guilt from dreams of sin. It sees no separation. And it looks on everyone, on every circumstance, all happenings and all events, without the slightest fading of the light it sees.” (W-158.7:1-5)

This seems like a pretty tall order — always seeing the pure Light of truth in every Son of God — always focusing on the eternal Love that is everyone’s reality, and recognizing consistently that the truth about every brother is unaffected by his mistaken thoughts of separation and his fearful projections of guilt.

As we continue on our daily practice of forgiveness and awakening to the truth, we are learning to recognize that this only seems like a tall order if we are still resisting the acceptance of Holy Spirit’s ongoing gifts. We are learning that at some level, we still want to on look at ‘others’ through the ego’s eyes if we continue to dwell on their errors and their mistakes. When we acknowledge what is going on in our minds, we are then in a position to ‘choose once again,’ this time with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The good news is that the Holy Spirit is always giving us the gift of Christ’s vision and, as we are ready and willing, we can accept this gift that is always there for us. We have to want Christ’s vision. We have to welcome it. Christ’s vision shows us our unity and equality with our brothers. Christ’s vision shows us we are one and the same. Where there is no conflict, there is peace.

But if we want to keep our individuality, our unique and special identity, we will not welcome Christ’s vision. It offers us happiness and peace beyond anything in this world, but we will not accept it if we treasure the little niche we have carved out of nothingness to call our own. The world of the ego is filled with battles in defense of these little niches. Or we feel that what we have is not enough and we want to get more. We would rather be right about the identity we have made for ourselves than accept the gift of joy offered us by Christ’s vision.

Jesus reassures us that with consistent practice, we can see beyond separation in every circumstance, all happenings and all events. But this takes a willingness to practice. Jesus tells us, “This lesson is not difficult to learn, if you remember in your brother you but see yourself. If he be lost in sin, so must you be; if you see light in him, your sins have been forgiven by yourself. Each brother whom you meet today provides another chance to let Christ’s vision shine on you, and offer you the peace of God.” (W-158.10:3-5)

Stepping Back

We are finding that we do not remember to accept Christ’s vision unless we are willing to consistently step back from the ego thought system. This stepping back takes diligent effort at first. When we get caught up in the ego’s world, it seems that there is no time left to ‘step back.’ It seems that, if we take the time that is needed, we will be missing out on something that is important. We will be neglecting all that we have to do on our busy ‘to do’ list. When we get caught up in the ego’s frame of mind, we also think we already know the best way to solve our problems. The merry-go-round of the world of separation seems to be unending and creates an endless list of problems that need to be attended to immediately.

We are finding that the endless list of problems will continue popping up until we are willing to spend the time to go within and let our minds quiet. In this quiet place we have the opportunity to view the world differently. We have the opportunity to accept Christ’s vision. “Christ has dreamed the dream of a forgiven world. It is His gift, whereby a sweet transition can be made from death to life; from hopelessness to hope. Let us an instant dream with Him. His dream awakens us to truth. His vision gives the means for a return to our unlost and everlasting sanctity in God.” (W-159.10:4-8)

In our daily practice we have found that sometimes we need an extra boost in order for us to get into the frame of mind where we can receive Christ’s vision. We asked for help with this and this is what we received:

Be gentle with yourself… Be kind to yourself on your journey of awakening… Relax… Soften and let the tension go… You need not hold on so tightly… You need not do this alone… Let yourself be carried…

Let yourself become aware that you are surrounded by the Love of God… You are surrounded by Heaven’s peace… Let it in… Take a while to breathe it in… Let yourself open up to the peace that is forever yours… Let yourself rest awhile in this peace…

Let yourself become aware of the truth that you have never left Heaven… You are still as God created you… You are still the Light of God… You have just been dreaming of something else… It is not there…

To make the transition easy, let Christ’s dreams replace your dreams… Let Christ show you the forgiven world… Let Christ show you your safety… and everyone’s safety… Nothing has changed to harm God’s Son… No one can harm or be harmed…

Listen in quiet… and accept Christ’s vision…

We have found this to be helpful to pave the way to the acceptance of Christ’s vision. Frequently reminding ourselves that our priority is to accept Christ’s vision pays with dividends of peace and happiness. Gradually we learn to discern more effectively what has value on our ‘to do’ list and what is valueless. There is less efforting and fretting. There is less and less doing in search of approval or to measure up to some self-imposed standard of performance.

We recognize these efforts as just reflections of a mistaken belief in limitation and lack. The more we accept Christ’s vision, the more we know that we are already complete because we were created complete. As our willingness to accept Christ’s vision grows, we remember that we always have what we need.

Revs. Mary & Robert Stoelting are co-founders of Pathways of Light. They live in Kiel, Wisconsin.

© 2005, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice and website address are included.

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