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Learning to Listen

by Rev. Tacey Reese, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

I wanted to share about listening to the truth by listening to Holy Spirit. I’m not sure the truth can actually be put into words. In fact, I know it can’t.

One time my Muskogee Creek teacher told me that that’s why we call it the Great Mystery. But there’s a certain experience of Truth, isn’t there? We all know It when we feel It. And our experience is more important than our intellectual understanding.

There are two lessons from A Course in Miracles that stand out to me on this topic. Lessons 106 and 107 if you want to read them later. I like to put the two keynote ideas from these lessons together like this: “Let me be still and listen to the truth because the truth will correct all errors in my mind.” These lessons remind me of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”

We all need stillness in our lives, yet sometimes we forget to give ourselves this gift. And it is a gift. It’s a gift to ourselves and it’s a gift to our Creator. We need the stillness of just being without doing. And we need the stillness of contemplating our Creator and listening to Its Voice, the Holy Spirit, the Voice for God and the Voice of Truth.

Lesson 106 begins with this beautiful paragraph and I quote:  “If you will lay aside the ego’s voice, however loudly it may seem to call; if you will not accept its petty gifts that give you nothing that you really want; if you will listen with an open mind, that has not told you what salvation is; then you will hear the mighty Voice of truth, quiet in power, strong in stillness, and completely certain in Its messages.” (ACIM, W-106.1:1)

So, our Brother is asking us to put aside our thinking mind, our egoic mind, the mind that thinks it knows everything, even what salvation is.

And He tells us also that Holy Spirit’s Voice is strong in stillness. So to hear Spirit, I need to practice stillness. I need to incorporate stillness into my daily life.

In the next lesson we’re told more about truth, what it is and what it does. It says: “When truth has come it does not stay a while, to disappear or change to something else. It does not shift and alter in its form, nor come and go and go and come again. It stays exactly as it always was, to be depended on in every need, and trusted with a perfect trust in all the seeming difficulties and the doubts that the appearances the world presents engender…When truth has come it harbors in its wings the gift of perfect constancy, and love which does not falter in the face of pain, but looks beyond it, steadily and sure.” (W-107.4:1-3,5:1)

Well, that certainly sounds like something I want, and I know you do too! And later in the lesson, Jesus says, “It is impossible that anyone could seek it truly, and would not succeed.” (W-107.6:4) This is very reassuring! He doesn’t say it’s improbable that we won’t succeed, he says it’s impossible!

So, how do we do this? To start, I must enter into a relationship with Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is in my mind right now, placed there by God, so I’m already halfway there.

I’m actually already in relationship with Holy Spirit, but maybe I didn’t realize that. I just need to acknowledge that and to cultivate it. And I do that in stillness. Quietly listening. With an open mind and an open heart.

I talk to Holy Spirit too, all day long and into each night, but what I’m talking about here is how I listen to the truth.

I talk to Holy Spirit about all my needs, my thoughts, my feelings; I talk to Holy Spirit about everything. And I might be busily engaged in a task while I’m talking.

But when it comes time to listen, I get still. I watch my breath, and I notice the pause at the end of the outbreath. I let myself linger in that pause and I imagine it expanding.

I allow this peaceful pause to become what I call the sacred silence. And in this silence, I listen. Sometimes I hear messages in words, other times it comes as a feeling or a knowing.

As I mentioned earlier, the truth cannot be confined by words. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like I hear anything at all except the sound of my own breath. Yet even then, I know the truth is there.

Jesus has assured me of this. He told me it is constant and unwavering and looks beyond all illusion. So I stay steady in the stillness, knowing the truth is there, knowing it is part of me and so I can be just as constant and unwavering as It is, as God is. And lingering in this stillness, I listen and am renewed.
You will be too.

Rev. Tacey Reese, O.M.C., LPC, is a Pathways of Light minister living in Benton, AR. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2023, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Miracles News, April-June, 2023

 

We Welcome
the Light
of Love.

© 2023, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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We Heal as We Accept Our Oneness

by Robert and Mary Stoelting, founders of Pathways of Light

We have discovered over the years that whenever we think we are separate and alone, we are thinking with the mistaken ego mind. The ego is the false idea of being separate from our Creator. The ego mind always defends against Love’s oneness. It thinks that its job is to judge everyone and everything it sees.

A Course in Miracles has taught us to be mindful of when ego (false separate identity) thoughts come up and take these thoughts to the Holy Spirit to receive another way of seeing. The Holy Spirit sees the truth of everyone’s unity instead of the ego’s judgmental thoughts. The ego is never at peace because it is in a constant battle with Love’s oneness.

Because Jesus has already completed the journey Home, he knows that he is not alone nor is he separate from us. He asks us to join with him in God’s Love so we can learn we are not alone. As we join with him, we invite all our brothers to join with us, as Jesus does. Knowing that we are not alone, we offer all that we learn to everyone and our strength grows. We become aware that… “The whole power of God’s Son lies in all of us, but not in any of us alone.” (T-8.VI.8:5)

Jesus tells us we cannot return to the Kingdom alone because we cannot be alone. Thinking we are alone is a denial of God’s Will and makes us unaware of What we are. To return to the awareness of What we are, we need to accept our oneness with our brothers. “We begin the journey back by setting out together, and gather in our brothers as we continue together. Every gain in our strength is offered for all, so they too can lay aside their weakness and add their strength to us.” (T-8.VI.1:2-3)

In the Mind of God, Love extends forever. God’s extension of Love is the Sonship, which is God’s treasure. God’s Will is only to extend Love. Because we are part of God, that is also our will. We are the extension of God’s Love and as Love, we also extend It.

We know What we are by being What we are. To be Love, we must extend or give Love. That is our only will because it is Love’s Will. Nothing else can bring us joy. Nothing else can satisfy.

When we choose to believe that we are separate and alone, we lose awareness of what Love is. By the grace of God, this insane wish cannot and does not change Reality at all. God knows that we remain part of Him and so we are.

The insane belief that we are separate blocks our awareness of What we are, but it does not change It. Herein lies our salvation.

We simply need to let go of this false belief and truth will dawn upon our minds. God’s Will that we remain one with Him saves us from our illusion of being a separate self. The truth of What we are is held safely in God’s Mind for us, undisturbed and shimmering in God’s radiance, waiting for our awakening from the dream of separation.

Like the prodigal son, we are coming to the awareness that what we thought would bring us happiness has only brought us emptiness and suffering. That is why Jesus tells us, “Forget not the Kingdom of God for anything the world has to offer.” (T-8.VI.1:5)

We are realizing that we have made a mistake. The Course is telling us that this mistake has not changed God’s Will for us. God’s Will is that we be one with Him. His joy is that we remain part of Him and extend His Love as He extends It to us. We are God’s treasure, and as Love, our extensions of Love are our treasure. They remain in our mind as we remain in God’s Mind. Love extends forever in the Mind of God.

When we find ourselves thinking we are alone, how do we heal?

Healing comes to the quiet mind. Attitudes are changed. Circumstances are seen in a new way. It is like the black and white picture where, if you focus on the black area, you see two faces looking at each other. If you look at it focusing on the white area, you see one vase.

Through the quiet mind, the world is seen anew. The quiet mind sees through the thin veneer of separate bodies. The mind that is quiet is brought to God’s peace. The conflict brought about by ego’s thinking is laid aside and dissolves into the nothingness it is. The quiet mind sees clearly.

Here there is rest. Here there is God’s peace. What was once perceived as complicated and difficult now is seen as simple as the fear is dissolved and the Love that was always there shines forth. All false ideas fall away and the truth comes forth as Love’s simplicity is seen. Here is the eternal truth. Here is the soul’s deepest nourishment, what we all long for in our heart of hearts.

And all this comes when we are willing to quiet our minds and rest a while in Love’s healing presence. The deep inner longing and the search for God ends. It has always been right here, in the quiet mind, waiting for our return.

This inner door is opened by being willing to still our tortured minds and rest awhile in Love’s healing presence. It just takes a willingness to step back from the world and let the mind be quiet a while. In stillness all that is true is known. All that is real is recognized. This opportunity for healing is always present. It just takes a willingness to quiet our minds and listen to receive God’s word. That is all.

Mary: Recently I had an experience where I became aware that I was upset when I observed discordance between friends. I knew that if I did not feel peaceful, I needed to go to the Holy Spirit to learn how He sees this. Later on, when I had the opportunity to relax into a deeper place, the Holy Spirit reminded me that what I observed were simply calls for Love.

He reminded me that mentally extending Love to everyone was always the answer. He encouraged me to focus on the truth of everyone’s unity in Love instead of anyone’s judgmental thoughts, including my own.

I observed that this lesson was another great opportunity to heal my mind. I was reminded once again that Love is always the answer. I got another opportunity to rest awhile in Love’s healing presence.

One of the ego’s most prevalent defenses is busyness. The more it can keep us preoccupied with activities in the world, the safer it is from intrusions of peace. The ego considers peace as an intrusion because peace interferes with the ego’s primary goal of maintaining guilt.

When we quiet our minds and allow ourselves to experience the peace of God, our minds are open to receive His Word. His Word tells us that we remain one with Him, undivided, unharmed and incapable of harm. His Voice tells us we remain innocent, as we were created.

This is the last thing the ego wants us to hear, for if we hear and accept it, it would be the end of the ego. And so the ego is constantly looking for things to do, keeping us busy doing things in the world that lead nowhere, accomplishing nothing in truth. This effectively serves the ego’s goal of keeping our minds busy so that we will not receive God’s Word. Because we have taught ourselves well to follow the ego’s lead, we need to practice diligently quieting our minds, opening to God’s peace and listening to His Voice.

As we let go of selfishness (thinking we are separate and alone) and open to Self-fullness, we open to Its joy, peace and deep fulfillment. Love overflows and cannot be contained. This is what we were created for and this is What we are. This is the extension of Love’s Being and is our only function.

This Self-fullness must include all our brothers to be Itself. In Love’s wholeness, every brother’s extension of Love is our extension of Love because we are one. “The creations of every Son of God are yours, since every creation belongs to everyone, being created for the Sonship as a whole.” (T-7.IX.5:3)

Love is always all inclusive. As miracle workers, we are learning this and are letting the miracle of Holy Spirit’s correction of our perception return us to our one and only vocation that has any meaning.

Robert and Mary Stoelting are Founders of Pathways of Light.
Website: http://www.pathwaysoflight.org Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2023, 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 Forever an Effect of God

by Rev. Myron, Jones, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

Every morning as I do my lessons, I ask Jesus to give me clarity and then I write from that clarity. Here is the one I am doing today.

Lesson 326: I am forever an Effect of God.

1. “Father, I was created in Your Mind, a holy Thought that never left its home. I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause. As You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide. And all Your attributes abide in me, because it is Your Will to have a Son so like his Cause that Cause and Its Effect are indistinguishable. Let me know that I am an Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You. And as it is in Heaven, so on earth. Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know that You will gather Your effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where earth will vanish, and all separate thoughts unite in glory as the Son of God.

2. Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then, forgiven, fade entirely into God’s holy Will.”

“As You created me I have remained. Where You established me I still abide.”

Wow! What an incredibly beautiful lesson! This is the absolute and only truth of what we are. We are forever an Effect of God. What God creates is always as He created it. This is how we know that our present experience is just that, an experience. These bodies are not what we are and this world is not where we are. We only dream of this.

We are like God in every way because He created us as an extension of Himself. Imagine that I were to draw a dot on a sheet of paper and then extend that dot into a line. The dot would be black ink and the line would also be black ink. It could never become red ink or yellow crayon. It is an extension of the dot, not the dot as something else. We are an extension of God and can never be something else.

Unlike the inked line, we can think of something else and imagine that we are different, but what we are remains safe and unaffected. We might wonder how it is that we could imagine something that appears so very real. The answer is that we have the power to create like God. How then, did it all become such a mess? And the answer is that we did not follow God’s plan, that is, we did not extend Love. However, we can change the plan now and choose love over fear. In so doing, we will bring the earth itself into alignment with Heaven.

We have been given a simple plan to accomplish our purpose, one that cannot fail. Recognizing that all things are images of thoughts, the solution is to choose loving thoughts every time. And when we choose less than loving thoughts, it is a simple matter to forgive that choice, let it go and choose again. Consistent practice creates a permanent change.

I am a Thought in the Mind of God, an Effect, and He is my Cause. I must be as God created me and where He created me because that is His Will. I gladly follow His plan because I long to return to that state. Words, no matter how beautiful, no matter the emotion they evoke, are not the same thing as the experience of it.
Even as I use the word experience, I realize that knowing I am in the Mind of God is not an experience, it simply is.

What I am having here is an experience. It’s been fun and awful and I am ready for the experience to end. Reading about my true nature and being reassured that I have not lost it are helpful. Hearing that the world will one day fade into God’s Holy Will is reassuring. These things are also motivating. I want this very much. Though my current goal is to reinforce and deepen what I have now, I look ahead to the next step as well and to the final step with a sense of awe.

Here is something I wrote about this lesson a couple of years ago.

What a wonderful and glorious prayer to begin my day! I am created in God’s Mind, a holy thought that has never left its home. Thank You, God. Thank You so much for creating me like You. Thank You for loving me. I gladly do the practices that will heal the error in my mind and return my full awareness to You.

When I did this lesson two years ago, the part that stood out to me was the line that said I would fade entirely into God’s holy Will. It was a little scary to think of because I worried about Myron disappearing. I know that there may still be some attachment to Myron but right now all I can find is the love I feel for God.

Holy Spirit, please help me with my practices today. I want to let go of all that is not God. I want to gladly and eagerly fade into the Will of God with no thought of preserving Myron who does not exist at all. I want to know, not think or understand, but really know, that I am God’s Son. I want to do my part to remove anything from the mind that blocks that awareness.

That prayer is being answered. Each day I find myself more willing to let go of the Myron persona, much less attached to it. Shoot, I even have trouble believing it exists now. It seems more and more like a mirage, no more tangible than smoke. Myron is only a collection of thoughts, beliefs, ideas, and preferences; things I have been taught and decided to believe, bits of the past glued together and called a personality/mind/body.

I laugh and cry to think how dedicated I have been to preserve this bit of nothing, how much value I have placed in each of these silly beliefs. Then the sliver of my self that is reluctant to give up this sandbox of illusions, and thinks there is surely one more story worth exploring, tries to convince me of the reality of the body-self. I have a cold; see there is a body. So I sneeze, and cough, and blow my nose and laugh at the absurdity of it all, and marvel at the determination this self has to remain in its shadowy existence.

I let the body be. I let the body do what the body does. It cannot be me. I am indistinguishable from God. Can God have a cold? I will not be fooled by absurd appearances. I am untouched by what seems to be happening in the illusion. When I leave this quiet, happy moment and go to work I may forget the truth again, but my true desire is to awaken and so I will. Holy Spirit, I ask that You go before me and make clear my path. Continue to look with me at my thoughts and to show me what they really mean. Continue to heal my mind of all ego confusion. Thank You.

This morning, practically from the moment I woke up, I was thinking about being Awakened. I don’t know how that happens. I am preparing for the moment as I let go of the untrue thoughts in my mind. I forgive and forgive as often as it comes to me to do so. I practice the Course and allow my mind to be healed, accepting the Atonement as much as I can. Preparing to be awakened seems to be my part and so I do it.

But I have moments when I long to be awake and moments I long for God to be fully in my awareness, and to remember who I am. This morning was one of those times, especially when I read this lesson. “I am forever Your Effect, and You forever and forever are my Cause.” This sentence makes my heart sing! Something in me remembers this and so I long to know it again. And surely, I can and am meant to, because, as He created me I have remained. Where He established me I still abide. My heart cries out to know Him again.

And I had the thought to make this a day of knowing God and knowing who I am. I can’t make myself awaken, I don’t think, but I can spend today as if I was awakened. At least I can spend it in peace and joy. When the ego tries to establish itself in my mind once again, I can laugh at it. I can accept each thing that happens to me as perfect and if the ego objects and calls me a fool, and if I wonder if that could be right, I can ask to be shown the perfection of the moment.

So that is my plan today. I have a lot to do, but I am going to settle into today and treat it as if it is endless and there is no hurry to finish anything. And I am going to act as if every word in today’s lesson is true, not in some unseen future, but in this moment, as surely it must be since truth is eternal and so can never not be. If I become confused as I try on this idea, I will just ask how to see this moment as the Christ that I am.

Jesus, I will need your help today.

Rev. Myron Jones, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living at 2008 Guillory St. Westlake, LA 70669. 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

© 2023, 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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