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Escaping the Clutches of Delusion — Fear, Pain or Scarcity

by Rev. Nouk Sanchez, O.M.C.

If you’ve been on this undoing path for a while, have you noticed that when you’re in ego, when you’re in the midst of fear, conflict or pain, there seems no way to relinquish it? The fear has induced temporary insanity. All you can see is suffering at that moment.

The ego invests all its persuasive strength in making sure you stay in this mindless state and at best, it will allow you to ‘problem solve’ through its means, within its closed-paradigm. But under no circumstances will it tolerate surrender to Love through forgiveness. The reason is that in the instant you surrender to Love, to God’s Peace, the ego ceases to exist in your awareness. And if we invite enough of these holy instants, the ego must disappear entirely.

A recent discovery for me has been a whole new understanding of Jesus’ forgiveness as he teaches in the Course. I realized that for 20 years I had not truly recognized and therefore accepted, a very important factor in the forgiveness process. To set the foundation for this piece, we need to recognize that nothing that is not of God’s Love exists. Literally. Nothing that is not of Love has the power to do anything.  God’s Love and Joy are all-encompassing; an opposite to these does not exist except in our belief. The source of all suffering lies entirely in our mistaken belief, and not where we think we ‘see’ it — in others, self, the body and the world. And the process of truly recognizing that nothing can threaten us first involves defining what is of God’s Love, and what is of the delusional ego.

“All power is of God. What is not of Him has no power to do anything.” (T-11.V.3:6-7)

So occurrences that we take for granted and defend ourselves against such as disease, conflict, pain, loss, scarcity and finally, physical death, are quite literally hallucinations. We see them, we feel them, yes. However, this does not make them real. What appears to make them real in our experience is simply one solitary factor ­— our belief that they are real. And the ego trusts exclusively in what our body’s senses tell us is real. Yet it’s the ego itself that projects what we appear to see, what we seem to feel. It is 100% invested in trusting the body’s senses over that of trusting in Love. That’s why forgiveness of what we appear to see or feel is crucial to undoing the ego and its concept of suffering.

What we believe, we value, good or bad. Most of us don’t yet trust our Holy Self to show us the Real World of Love and Joy consistently, and we insist on still trusting (valuing) the body’s senses to tell us what reality is, ego-reality that is. While we continue to trust what our body’s eyes tell us is real, we cannot forgive. Jesus tells us that we cannot forgive something we still believe is real. It’s impossible. Nearly all our suffering arises from this misunderstanding about forgiveness.

“The ego’s plan is to have you see error clearly first, and then overlook it. Yet how can you overlook what you have made real? By seeing it clearly, you have made it real and cannot overlook it.” (T-9.IV.4:4-6)

“Forgiveness through the Holy Spirit lies simply in looking beyond error from the beginning, and thus keeping it unreal for you. Do not let any belief in its realness enter your mind, or you will also believe that you must undo what you have made in order to be forgiven.” (T-9.IV.5:3-4)

Before we can forgive anyone or anything, we must first bring something of paramount importance to mind — that whatever upsets us, regardless of the severity of the problem, is not a part of God’s Love. It is not God’s Will. Only God’s Love exists, and that means that what you perceive that’s so upsetting must be unreal. And more than this, you are God’s Will, His Love in expression. So how can something masquerading as opposite of God’s Love, possibly harm you? It cannot!

God’s Love Has No Opposite — Deny the Illusion

My soul buddy and teaching partner, Tomas Vieira, passed in Dec. 2010. Just after his passing, I fell into the most devastating state of confusion I’ve ever experienced. The subsequent ‘breakthrough’ experience was responsible for the most profound perceptual shift that I’ve had so far in twenty one years as a Course student. Below is an excerpt from my article. Link to entire article: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/625604/3c03b2a642/TEST/TEST/

“When I arrived back home in New Mexico after Tomas had passed, I slipped into a fearful state of confusion and grief. Rikki, our daughter, helped me to remember that only Love is real. How could separation be real as well? How could Tomas be anywhere but here and now? After all, he hasn’t gone anywhere. If there was grief, then there must also be a belief in separation — that Tomas had indeed died and that we could no longer communicate. On the night of my darkest time (even darker than when we nearly lost our daughter Rikki a few years ago), hell made itself known in my mind. Even with all the trust in Holy Spirit that I had developed (or more like despite all the trust I had developed), it all appeared to fall away that night. What was left was a godless hell in my mind. That was when I realized I must be hallucinating. Either this was real, or I was delirious.

I had two major breakthroughs at this time. My desperate desire to understand exactly what happened to Tomas had overshadowed the trust that I had developed in Holy Spirit. The result was a dreadful sense of separation and I cried out for understanding. An answer came almost immediately, but it wasn’t at all the answer I was seeking! I heard Tomas’ voice in my mind ask me this question: “Do you want to understand OR do you want peace?”  I got it. The need to understand was an ego ploy. Choosing to accept without understanding would bring me back to peace and open communication with both Spirit and Tomas.

The second breakthrough came when I pulled an ACIM card and this is what it said: “...if you want peace, you must give up the idea of conflict entirely and for all time.” (T-7.VI.8:9) And that was that! From that moment on, I let everything not of God just fall away. Any thought, any emotion, any manifestation — they’re all just appearances and I choose to look past appearances to the face of Christ.

So the most astounding thing about all this is the lack of grief for Rikki and me. We see now how each moment that we consciously choose joy and peace — when we choose to be in the now moment without judgment, without believing a ‘story’ — that Tomas is here too. It’s impossible to be separated unless we go into the personal mind, the past and sentimental (special) love which has nothing to do with the real Love we share. How can we miss Tomas if we’ve been blessed with the awareness that he is still here and more accessible than ever before?”

This perceptual shift was responsible for the following teaching that I implement in any instant of lack of peace.

I learned that the primary step in forgiveness is to consciously ask this question concerning the person or situation that has upset us: “Is this (my loss of peace) an expression of God’s Love and Joy?” And when we respond with “no,” we remind ourselves that nothing exists apart from Love. So this loss of peace is an ego hallucination.

I learned that we must make an unequivocal choice to recognize that only God’s Love is real and all else is the ego. Now we can join Holy Spirit in letting our belief and therefore, our value of suffering be replaced with Truth. Without joining consciously in this step of choosing to deny illusion first, forgiveness won’t occur because we continue to choose illusion. And what we still believe in, Spirit cannot save us from. Now, once sanity has returned, we can move to the next step of forgiveness.

Jesus reminds us that the correction of fear is our responsibility. This is made so much easier when we remember that whatever upsets us is the ego’s projection and not God’s Love. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two.

“It is pointless to believe that controlling the outcome of misthought can result in healing. When you are fearful, you have chosen wrongly. That is why you feel responsible for it. You must change your mind, not your behavior, and this is a matter of willingness. You do not need guidance except at the mind level. Correction belongs only at the level where change is possible. Change does not mean anything at the symptom level, where it cannot work.” (T-2.VI.3)

“The correction of fear is your responsibility. When you ask for release from fear, you are implying that it is not.” (T-2.VI.4:1-2)

There is a process to forgiveness. Prior to forgiveness is the recognition of the following:

The instant that we find ourselves ‘falling’ for fear (or pain, loss, anger, scarcity), that is where delusion sets in. We’re in the grips of the ego thought system. Everything we perceive outside us in that moment is being projected outward, including our body. Now if we proceed to try to resolve the situation from within the ego’s thought system, we will exacerbate the problem, as well as increase our guilt. Sin, guilt and fear are its never-ending cycle.

We must first acknowledge from our lack of peace that we have fallen prey to ego delusion. No matter how real the pain or the problem seems, they are always ‘appearances’ and not real. Our escape occurs once we remember their unreality, choosing Love as our Guide instead of fear.

So the first step in true forgiveness is to acknowledge and say to yourself:

1) I Deny the Lie, the illusion: I deny anything not of God’s Love the power to harm me or another.

2) I Accept true Reality: I accept that despite my discomfort, nothing in this very moment is wrong. I (or another) am safe, secure and loved. I acknowledge that God’s Love is all there is. Therefore “I” am perfect. I join with You (God’s Love) and remember there are no problems, only the temporary absence of Your Love in my awareness. And that means that I have placed an ego problem on my inner altar instead of your miraculous and eternal Love. I recognize that I cannot have both, a) Your Love and, b) still sustain an ego problem on my inner altar together. I must choose which of these two to sustain on my inner altar, either the problem or You. I release all anxiety in this instant, and rest in being ‘okay’ with this present moment. I allow all resistance to fall away into Your Loving acceptance. From this place of peace, I have a choice to make in this moment:

1) To choose to believe that something is still wrong, there is a real problem that requires solving, OR…

2) To choose to believe in God’s all-encompassing Love, where there cannot be an opposite. Therefore this problem must be a convincing ‘appearance’ only. I offer my willingness in this instant to look past this appearance and to surrender this to your Love. And I trust that it takes only an ‘instant’ for You to heal my mind which is the one cause of all perceived problems that I see. I accept this instant of healing… I accept Your Atonement… Amen.

“The fear of healing arises in the end from an unwillingness to accept unequivocally that healing is necessary. What the physical eye sees is not corrective, nor can error be corrected by any device that can be seen physically. As long as you believe in what your physical sight tells you, your attempts at correction will be misdirected. The real vision is obscured, because you cannot endure to see your own defiled altar. But since the altar has been defiled, your state becomes doubly dangerous unless it is perceived.” (T-2.V.8)

Here is an excerpt from our new book, The End of Death; The Power of Power, to be released in 2012. It’s a prayer that helps in shifting from wrong-mindedness to Right-Mindedness:

“Every fear, all pain and every concern I have about my own or another’s safety, is always my defense against God’s Love. I choose now to be mindful of every instance of fear, seeing fear for what it truly is — rejection of my Self as Love and innocence. In defending myself from fear, I make fear real in my belief. And by making it real, I reject the Love and guiltlessness that is my true safety, my Holy Self.

In the name of God’s Love, I join His Will now, and we choose against fear and pain. In His Will I am safe. In His Will I remember that I have dominion over everything the ego made. And fear and pain are not His Will. When I allow myself to be consumed by fear or pain, I isolate myself from God’s Love as my Holy Self. I willingly accept only God’s Joyous Will for me and reject anything the ego uses to try to distract me from my One-minded path Home. Amen.”

Pain is a wrong perspective. When it is experienced in any form, it is a proof of self-deception. It is not a fact at all. There is no form it takes that will not disappear if seen aright. (W-190.1-4)

If God is real, there is no pain.  If pain is real, there is no God. (W-190.3:3-4)

About the Author: Nouk Sanchez is co-author of best seller, Take Me to Truth; Undoing the Ego. Nouk is co-facilitating “life-changing” Retreats in 2012. Please visit: http://www.undoing-the-ego.org/events.html

© 2012, 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 Have Not Betrayed God

by Rev. Vicki Rostant, O.M.C.

There had been an ongoing situation where I felt deeply hurt by a perceived behavior. In my deluded perception, this behavior inflicted me with the deepest, most personal kind of pain. At first, there were all the usual suspects in attendance: Why are you doing this to me? How could you do this to me? In what universe could you think that that is okay? How can you hurt me like this?

Despite repeated assurances from my “tormentor” that I was wrong about the situation, and despite the fact that in my saner moments I had no reason to doubt the veracity of that statement, from time to time I continued to experience the agony of what I perceived to be a total transgression against what I believed to be appropriate. Over time, when it was clear that I could not go on this way, and through the grace of a little willingness to practice ACIM principles, whenever I felt caught in the maelstrom of my feelings about this behavior, I would offer these feelings to Holy Spirit and ask for help.

At first it was for help to have the behavior stopped. Next, it was for help to remove this hell from my mind. Then, it was for help to see it differently. Each time, the sting would become less and less, until it got to a stage where I was not completely overwhelmed by the madness of the feelings I felt.

Finally, I was able to ask for help to see what was truly behind what I was feeling, for there was now a little clarity, and a smidgen of understanding that there was something deep in my mind, a strong belief system, that was fueling this rather extreme reaction to something that I was perceiving as being done, not only to me, but against me. 

At this stage, I sat down with Holy Spirit and was able to look at the situation from a distance: The perceived behavior; my extreme reactions to what I perceived; how difficult it seemed to get to the bottom of the issue.

What became clear was that in all the previous times when I had wrestled with this demon, I had not named it. I was flabbergasted. Imagine spending all that time and energy with a foe in battle, and scars to prove it, and never once did I have the presence of mind to call it by its name!  So I asked Holy Spirit for help to see it clearly.

The next three revelations were simultaneous: 1) It came up, and its name was “betrayal.” It was recognized instantly: I felt betrayed by the behavior. 

2) As soon as it was named, there was the blinding recognition that “someone” had to inflict a deep betrayal on me in order to punish me, because I felt I had betrayed God by seeking separateness. 

3) This was instantly followed by the certainty that I have never betrayed God — it never happened!

In that Holy Instant, God and I were again joined in Love. This correction in my mind brought with it Peace, Joy and Love, and as to my brother, “what behavior are you talking about?!” I am grateful to the Holy Spirit for freeing me from the prison of my false perceptions.

Rev. Vicki Rostant, OMC is a Pathways of Light minister living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

© 2012, 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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Biting the Hand that Feeds Me

by Rev. Sharyn Zenz, O.M.C.

I was recently bitten by a dog on the right hand. After being in quite a bit of pain with it, I asked my Self “ Why was I bitten in my hand and have to go through so much pain?” As I sat quietly I heard,  “Sharyn, why are you biting the hand that feeds you?” WOW. I thought about that for a minute and asked Holy Spirit to please give me an explanation of this and how would He see it. This is what I received from Holy Spirit:

Food may feed your body my dear, but God feeds your soul. God is your Source for everything you will ever need. He knows what is best for you always. But when you do not take the time to go to Him for your answers to every single situation in life, or you forget to ask Him, you are biting the hand that feeds you. He will only feed you Truth. And that is all you need.

Whenever you think that you can do anything on your own, or that you know the answer yourself, there will be much pain in your life, like the dog bite! Your life will not run smoothly and effortless. Your happiness is squelched, and your joy is gone. It is what this world calls depression!

You can change all of that by just remembering to ask the Mind that feeds you. Remember to go to the One Who knows all of your answers and what is best for you. He will never lead you down a path that is painful. The reason you go to Him is let Him to show you a better way so that you don’t feel the pain and heartache associated with this world and living by its rules.

The world you live in is ego’s world. It is a world where dogs bite you, and situations happen that seem to hurt you.

Remember this, “Nobody or no one can hurt you.” Not even a dog! You feel pain or hurt because of your choices. And when you remember to go to Holy Spirit before making any choices in your life, you will not experience the pain that you do when you don’t remember to go to Him. We all have and were given by God an Intuition that guides us and a strength beyond our comprehension. Use it. Every time you don’t listen to it, or forget to ask, you are biting the hand that feeds you.

Rev. Sharyn Zenz is a Pathways of Light minister living in Luxemburg, Wisconsin.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The One About Employees

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

I didn’t see this one coming…

For the past six months, the project I am working on has been a 10-12 hour a day commitment. In addition to work, I am involved in several Pathway’s 900 courses, have two teaching/learning slots on ACIM Gather Radio per week, and regularly meet with another 5 or 6 people for an hour at a time, and meditate every morning. My life seems full!

You might think that with all this constant “spiritual stuff” being poured into my brain on a daily basis, I should be getting a break from my ego. Not happening!

The other day I was planning the content of a meeting I wanted to hold with my employees — in which the end result would be that they would find much motivation in my inspired words, and work harder, more productively and show a little appreciation for what a great boss I have been. It is almost like they have forgotten the promises they made me when I hired them.

“Why can’t my employees be like I want them to be?” This was the thought that I ended up identifying as my main problem. I did try and word it differently because even to me it didn’t sound like a very spiritual description of a problem; in fact it seemed completely crazy. That thought was however, an exact reflection of my belief.

At home, sitting in my meditation chair, I quieted my mind and examined all the evidence carefully and dispassionately and came up with the same conclusion, “My employees need to change, or I will make some changes they won’t like.”

I drew up a list of the changes I wanted to see from the work crew and was prepared to call a meeting the next morning. Nancy, (my mighty companion,) came over to my house after her work. I explained the dissatisfactions I was experiencing with my employees, and my reasons for the upset. Nancy gave me what I thought was an odd look. As I was preparing to repeat the whole story again, in case she wasn’t paying close enough attention, she said, “The only problem is that you are insane. What’s for dinner?”

Because I care so much for other people, I have noticed that occasionally I am very sensitive to criticism, perceived or real, from others and especially from Nancy. As dinner ended my thoughts about how I was being unfairly treated were interrupted when Nancy said, “Why don’t you read lesson 5 in the Workbook while I do the dishes? Then maybe we can have a sane conversation for a change.”

Lesson 5 in the course reads, “I am never upset for the reason I think.” The word “never” was what caught my attention. Okay, all joking aside, I really consider myself a serious Course student. My goal is to be sober, which means to me, that I see the truth and only the truth as being true. (Some call it awakening, some call it enlightenment and some call it living in bliss.)

I again tried to quiet my mind, set everything I thought was happening to me aside and ask for a new perspective. The first thing I did was admit I was upset and did not want to be upset. I wanted peace in my mind.

Pretending I saw the truth about my situation was not an option I exercised. “My employees need to change” was the idea I just could not get out of my mind. By now I was also agreeing with my ex-wife. “I am insane!” What happened next is the whole point of this article.

After writing and rewriting several more drafts of the employee meeting I wanted to hold, I gave up. I simply asked the Holy Spirit to help me and then watched an episode of “Law & Order” with Nancy before going to bed. (I probably don’t even need to mention that the episode dealt with some maniac who thought he was right and everyone else was wrong.)

Anyway, the next day at work, I actually forgot I was going to hold a meeting. Everyone, including me, seemed to perform their duties just fine and I ended up feeling at peace. I “did” nothing.

Why am I still going through these periods of ego beliefs, after all these years of trying to discern what the truth is? I don’t have an answer. The Course, and Course related materials continually show me where there is still a need to heal my mind… Hey, maybe that is the reason! Perhaps I just answered my own question!

I didn’t see that one coming either.

Rev. Stephan Mead, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Seattle, Washington.

© 2012, 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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