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How Much Do You Want?

by Rev. Stephan Mead, O.M.C.

Let’s start with money, since most course students seem to be over fifty years old. Do we have the amount of financial security we think we need? (Rent/mortgage, health insurance, retirement income, discretionary fund, and whatever else we can come up with.) How much money do we really want? Remember, when our budget spreadsheet is complete, if, (deep down) we would really like more, then we don’t have as much as we want.

What about our intimate relationship(s)? Are they what we want? Do we wish they were different? Perhaps if our partner was willing to change even a little bit, (for their own betterment — of course) we’d have the companionship going into our golden years, which would support our spiritual journey in the exact manner we’re certain we need.  Are our relationships good enough? Do we want more?

In addition, what about health? Do we want to experience our physicality differently than it is? How much “health” do we want? Again, if we wished our bodies were different, then we aren’t content with how we are now.

What else do we want?  What does any of this have to do with ACIM? How many of us have said/heard at Course meetings, “Above all, I want salvation, or a spiritual awakening or the Atonement?” We’ve all said/heard/thought that, right? Do we mean it? (I’m talking about the, “above all” part.)  Is there a litmus test for our resolve? 

A couple of days ago I was visiting a friend in a suburb of Seattle and feeling pretty good about it. My friend recently was paroled from prison and in the months before his release, all he could talk about was how he was going to live his life differently — once paroled. I felt I could be of great help to him. I sincerely believed if he followed even some of my suggestions, every aspect of his life would improve. I really, really believed that thought.

Ha, of course every single suggestion I offered was immediately dismissed, most of them rejected before I even completed the sentence my fabulous words of wisdom were in.

How much did I want him to live as I think he should? On my drive home I wondered what happened to my peace of mind.

Turning off the radio where the Seattle Mariners were getting massacred by 11-1 by the damn Red Sox, it seemed like a good time to quiet my mind and seek some help.

I did have to get past the part where I was defending my insane thoughts with the rationalizing that, “I only wanted to be helpful.”

As always happens when I get in a truly receptive to guidance state, calmness returned. How much did I want my friend to do as I think he should vs how much do I want to mind my own business, maybe by asking myself,  “Do I really know what is best for him?” 

As I was walking up to my home, experiencing gratitude for seeing how damn judgmental I still can be, I realized I didn’t have my wallet. How much did I want my wallet?

I tore my car apart, even looking in the back seat — which I have never sat in, all the while trying to remain calm but thinking of the tremendous hassle in front of me — credit cards, debit card, drivers license, social security card, VA identification etc. Plus I was low on gas and no cash. I never would have lost my wallet if I didn’t meet my ungrateful friend at a Starbucks — where we sat at an outside table, and, (of course) the coffee shop was in a sketchy part of town.

ACIM assures us again and again that the Holy Spirit can use any situation to help us heal. I wasn’t completely crazy, but wherever that line is, it was in sight.

Again, how much did I want my wallet? My desire, my focus, all my attention was on finding the wallet. Suddenly, (and it was sudden!) I thought, “What if I wanted to follow Spirit’s guidance with the same fervor I wanted to find my wallet?”

How much do I want to have? Money? Relationship? Health? Security? My wallet? (ha!) 

Who was I fooling? Instead of thinking in degrees about, “How much do I want?” I saw the truth. I wanted “it” all.

I called the Starbucks and someone had turned in my wallet. On my drive over to get it, instead of thanking Spirit for me not losing it, I thanked him for the experience of seeing what I was truly valuing. I no longer cared that it was found (but I am glad it was). I wanted the connection I felt with Spirit to continue. 

Okay, finally a quote from the Course,“To have, Give All to All.” (T-6.V.A)  Yes, I want “to have” and the Course tells me exactly how to accomplish it. All the Holy Spirit had to do was show me the confusion I had over what I thought I wanted.

Since my egoic thoughts are really nothing, giving them up to Spirit for correction and true guidance is having it All!

Rev. Stephan Mead, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Seattle, Washington. E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2019, 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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Receiving Holy Spirit’s Correction

by Revs. Mary & Robert Stoelting

It is helpful to reinforce what a miracle really is according to A Course in Miracles. In the ego’s thought system a miracle is getting that shiny new car, getting rich or finding that special someone who will always love us, no matter what.

In truth, a miracle is receiving Holy Spirit’s correction in our perception of everything we see in the world of separation. A Course in Miracles tells us, “A miracle is a correction. …It merely looks on devastation, and reminds the mind that what it sees is false. It undoes error, but does not attempt to go beyond perception, nor exceed the function of forgiveness. …Yet it paves the way for the return of timelessness and Love’s awakening, for fear must slip away under the gentle remedy [the miracle] brings.” (W-pII.13.1)

We recently had an experience where we needed to practice receiving Holy Spirit’s correction in our perception. Robert had intense abdominal pain that led us to the hospital emergency room. On the way to the hospital we kept practicing opening to Holy Spirit’s peace and remembering in gratitude that we are eternally safe in God. When fear thoughts came up, we kept returning to the quiet mind, which opens us to Holy Spirit’s inspiration. We (Colleen Fee and Mary) would tell each other what we received from Holy Spirit. We received thoughts like, “There is nothing to fear. Everything is going to be all right.”

In the exam room, medical attendants were moving quickly in and out. We kept taking deep breaths to relax and asking Holy Spirit for help in seeing this with clarity and love instead of fear.

Holy Spirit brought the thought, “Move into a place of gratitude instead of fear. See everyone as angels being truly helpful to Robert.” We started mentally extending Love and gratitude to all the people going in and out of the room. We even told several of them how much we appreciated their kind help. Several of them stopped and said, “Thank you! We don’t often hear that,” and left with a big smile.

Finally the doctor came and announced that Robert would be admitted and staying for several days. We left about 1:30 a.m. in the morning, reinforcing to each other that Robert was in safe hands.

The next few days we had many opportunities to practice receiving a correction in our perception from Holy Spirit when we could see that Robert was in pain.

In the Workbook, Review VI on pages 386-387 I (Mary) received the help I needed:

“When you are tempted, hasten to proclaim your freedom from temptation, as you say:

This thought I do not want. I choose instead _____.
“And then repeat the idea for the day,
I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

“…we give these times of quiet to the Teacher Who instructs in quiet, speaks of peace, and gives our thoughts whatever meaning they may have.

…let Him teach you what to do and say and think, each time you turn to Him. He will not fail to be available to you, each time you call to Him to help you.”  (ACIM Workbook, Review VI,6:1-4,6;7:2-3, p.386-387)

After a week of testing, surgery was recommended as the best option. The surgery was successful.

During that time, I (Robert) focused on expressing appreciation and gratitude to all the support staff from the custodians who cleaned the room to the orderlies, nurses, doctors and the surgeon. One of them commented that I was always happy. I ended up giving her Rev. Maria Felipe’s book, “Living Your Happy.”

Appreciation and gratitude are aspects of Love. Holding this focus helped me keep my attention on the reality of changeless love instead of the appearance of something happening to the body image that is not what I am.

We have learned from this experience that we are receiving blessings from Holy Spirit with every experience, every day. We are learning the importance of looking past appearances to the reality of changeless Love. Here are some thoughts I received about the importance of overlooking appearances.

A free-form work of art stimulates the viewer to try to give it meaning. If it has color, he draws upon his past experience with that color to formulate a meaning for what appears before his eyes. The shapes and patterns may remind him of other past experiences, so he draws a thread from one and an idea from another until he has given some level of meaning to something he has never seen before, all based upon his past. We call this process human profiling.

The world we experience with the body is entirely form. Forms have no meaning of their own so we feel compelled to assign labels to everything. We organize and sort these labels to help us bring a sense of order to a world of chaos, where every form is meaningless in itself. This is the ego’s world. And to make it appear real, the ego tells us labeling everything is necessary for our survival.

We spend all our time labeling and categorizing. These labels make profiles of our world that we depend on for a sense of safety and stability. We use these profiles to decide the meaning of what we see, hear and think and how we should respond to our interpretations of appearances. The ego counts on our continued participation in its profiling game. It is its means to keep us convinced that the word of form is real.

It is time to set ourselves free. It is time to turn away from the ego’s advice and choose the vision of the Holy Spirit in our mind. Each time we turn over our labels, our interpretations, to the Holy Spirit and let Him teach us what true vision shows us, we loose ourselves from the ego’s illusions.

We are not a body. Labels we give the body, such as it has some physical ailment, some pleasant or unpleasant appearance, it does or says things we like or dislike, make the world seem real. The Holy Spirit will help us see that labels have no connection or effect on the truth that we remain as God created us — Love and nothing else. When we let the Holy Spirit replace our labels with His singular vision of Love’s innocence, the labels begin to fade in their importance. This is a journey of awakening in which the dreams of labels fade away and we awaken to the Heaven that is our Home. As we practice letting go of human profiling and accepting the Holy Spirit’s single profile of the Son of God, we bring healing to the world

In closing, the main lesson that was reinforced in us is that no matter what we may think, we are receiving blessings every day with every experience. As we continue to practice taking all our separation/fear thoughts to Holy Spirit to be corrected, we receive miracles and extend the miracles we receive. Workbook Lesson 194 tells us,

“Who entrusts himself to God has also placed the world within the Hands to which he has himself appealed for comfort and security. He lays aside the sick illusions of the world along with his, and offers peace to both.

“Now are we saved indeed. For in God’s Hands we rest untroubled, sure that only good can come to us. If we forget, we will be gently reassured. If we accept an unforgiving thought, it will be soon replaced by love’s reflection. And if we are tempted to attack, we will appeal to Him Who guards our rest to make the choice for us that leaves temptation far behind. No longer is the world our enemy, for we have chosen that we be its friend.” (W-pI.194.8:4-9:6)

We have great gratitude for all the loving prayer support we received during this time.  Thank you.

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 operate the office and publish the quarterly Miracles News magazine.
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2019, 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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The Final Day

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

Father, if today I were to
join you in Heaven
I would want to bring
the total awareness of
Our Love with me.

I would want to see,
up until my last breath,
the Love that emanates
and fills all things within
this world of form.

I would want to touch the
purity that is at the root
of all forms and all people
that rest upon the earth.

I would soak in the beauty
inherent in all that surrounds
me and see the Love
that is desired in every action.

I would extend your Love
in thought and action.
I see that such a state
of being is the door step
to Heaven.
The place of my birth,
The place of my dreaming,
and the Home to which
my awareness joyfully returns.

This is the awareness
I desire to bring
to every moment.
It is the awakening
to Heaven on earth.
It is the fulfillment
of the dream.

That upon the earth,
as is in Heaven,
only God’s Love is real
and all that Is.

Rev. Jim Peterson, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Portland, Oregon.
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
website: http://www.transformation-guidance.com

© 2019, 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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A Miracle with 8% Interest

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

What is a miracle? A miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love. Instead of seeing the world through fear, anxiety, stress, judgments and grievances, we see through the eyes of love, peace and happiness. While miracles are a healing of our mind, they can manifest in our outer world ... as healing of an illness, money issues, relationship struggles etc.

To choose a miracle is to invite Holy Spirit to guide us. To hold a grievance is to forget who we are. When Holy Spirit replaces a grievance with a miracle, we re-awakened to the truth of who we truly are. The result is happiness. The opportunity for everyday miracles is there for all of us, we just need willingness and mind training. True forgiveness (letting go of judgments) is the key to bringing miracles into our lives. As we notice our upsets, grievances, judgments, and hand them over to the Holy Spirit, they dissolve into nothingness, and in their place comes peace. When practiced regularly it becomes a habit, and in time our world shifts from anxiety to peace, from judgments to acceptance, from fear to happiness.

I have been practicing this for many years, and my world has changed beyond recognition. I rarely get trapped by fear, and if I do I quickly hand it over to the Holy Spirit for healing. I feel a happiness and joy that has nothing to do with what’s going on outside. I am so grateful for the gifts of God. So many things of the world that had to be a certain way have disappeared, like needing to be right, worrying about what others think of me, getting my way, and on and on. 

But there was one area I struggled to let go of ... money. Money has always been an idol. I was trained in the ego thought system to believe that money was necessary for happiness. And although intellectually I knew this wasn’t true, I couldn’t let it go.

Then last year I got snagged by a big internet scam. Online thieves wrangled their way into my bank and stole £11,000. I went to my bank and told them what happened. They listened intently to the story and concluded that I allowed them into my account and there was nothing they could do, it was my fault. End of story. I was devastated. I was trapped in fear of lack.

So I did the only thing I knew, I saw it as a forgiveness opportunity and took it to the Holy Spirit. I asked “How would you have me see this?” What I received was “All is well. You will always have enough”. That helped me to calm down for a short period, but the fear returned. So I kept handing it over to Spirit … and kept receiving reassurance that all is well. I decided not to talk about it to anyone because that was giving energy to the story and feeding the fear. In time I was able to let it go and I returned to peace.

“What could you not accept, if you but knew that everything that happens, all events, past, present and to come, are gently planned by One Whose only purpose is your good?” (W-pI.135.18.1)

I realised I had experienced a miracle. I had let go of the money that was stolen ... it meant nothing to me. The miracle showed me that happiness and peace have nothing to do with money, possessions, cars, holidays, or stuff. I am so grateful for this. I felt such a wonderful sense of freedom from the money prison I had been trapped in all my life.

“The world that seems to hold you prisoner can be escaped by anyone who does not hold it dear. Withdraw all value you have placed upon its meagre offerings and senseless gifts, and let the gift of God replace them all.” (W-pI.127.3)

Then last week I received an email from my bank. They had decided to give me the money back, with 8% interest.

A miracle with 8% interest!!

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
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice and website address are included.

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