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Always

by Rev. Derek Dube

Our journey begins
the day we first arrive.
Roles, masks and secrets
become our tools to survive.
Love, compassion and acceptance
is for what we strive, but, in childhood,
into an empty pool do we dive.

We laugh, we cry, we watch, we try…

As our lives progress, we don’t seem
to understand, that the book of life
is written by our very own hand.
Acknowledging an inconsistent identity,
we choose the generic brand, searching
for hope beneath every grain of sand.

We laugh, we cry, we watch, we try…

The illusion we learned as children,
is simply a lie. It’s time we awaken
and refuse to die. We are safe, we are
innocent, we are loved, you and I!
The Truth is we are worthy,
abundant and free to fly.

We crawl, we walk, we run, we fly…

When expectations are not met,
and life is not up to par,
Let go of the past, and life’s
gentle answers won’t be far.
Are you looking for Truth and
the beauty of who you really are?
The answer is now, in this moment,
you bright, shining star.

We laugh, we sing, we dance,

we love… Always

Rev. Derek Dube is a Pathways of Light minister who lives in Sussex, Wisconsin.

© 2011, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The Power of Joining

by Rev. Ken Gorman

I have recently been contemplating what an important part all of the opportunities for ‘joining’ have played in my journey of healing in this lifetime. As with many of us, A Course in Miracles and related texts have been the foundation of my healing process along with my dedication and indescribable connection to our brother Jeshua.

However, I have also noticed that on a day to day basis the joining with my brothers who are sharing a similar path seems to have also played a vital role in my journey (despite the fact the ACIM is meant to be a self study course 😉. This sharing of experiences, insights and hope related to our journey with the Course has taken many forms such as in my weekly Study Groups, the interactions enabled by the POL Ministerial program, individual conversations with other students, participating in outreach committees, conferences/seminars, online discussion groups, etc. However, despite the form, they all seem to have a common theme, which is ‘joining’ with my brothers.

The interesting thing is that the concept that the power of ‘joining’ is critical on the spiritual path is not without precedent. For example, another great teacher, Buddha, said that three things were necessary for waking up… Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. My understanding is that the Buddha in our ACIM language would be Christ or the very fact of our inherit Christ nature. The Dharma is the ‘teaching’ about it which in our case would be the Course and related materials such as POL Ministerial and 900 series Courses. These two are straightforward. But the interesting third element is ‘Sanhga’.

Sangha basically means the ‘community’ of people that support each other throughout the awakening process. This is a well understood concept in Buddhism and in fact many Buddhist practitioners will take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamra and Sangha before doing any practice. It is also well understood that there are many varieties of Sangha, such as close Sangha, which for me would be the POL community and particularly people in my study groups or facilitation situations. Then there is the extended Sangha, which for me is many of the other people/groups/authors/speakers in the ACIM community and the Buddhist community, which my wife and I interact with on a regular basis. There is also the greater Sangha, which for me would be the many followers of Jeshua and Buddha for example, which leads into the ultimate Sangha, which of course is the whole Sonship in the end!

It also occurs to me that there is another example of the power of ‘joining,’ which in fact is one of the most successful spiritual support organizations in the world… Alcoholics Anonymous. Most of the people that attend their regular weekly groups have not used whatever substance got them there in quite some time but continue to go weekly or even more often to stay connected to their program, which has become in integral part of their lives.

In a way, I feel like my path is similar as it required a point of surrender to a Higher Power (i.e. Holy Spirit) and to a program (i.e. ACIM, the Atonement and my path as guided by Holy Spirit) and regular ‘joining’ with my community (Sangha) for support. I could even say sometimes I feel like I am an ‘Egoholic’ (addicted to fear) and my weekly study groups and conversations with my spiritual friends, for which I am so grateful, offer me the support and encouragement to stay on my path and choose Love instead of fear more and more often…

This has been of such benefit to me that I am very pleased to be part of the POL Study Group and Events Committees which have been recently initiated to help ministers who are guided to set up opportunities for regular ‘joining’ in their own communities as part of their ministries.

Rev. Ken Gorman is a Pathways of Light minister living in San Francisco, California.

© 2011, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Lesson 45: God Is the Mind with Which I Think

by Rev. Gail Hamley

Recently I recalled a moment in time when I was sitting next to my father.  He was talking and I sat in awe of his knowledge and all that was in his mind.  In contrast, I searched my seven year old mind and found it blank.  I wanted to be like my dad. Many times this memory has come to me throughout the years.

When Jesus said to be “as little children,” did he mean to have a mind like a blank slate as mine seemed on that day? Years later as I was instructed in AA to be mindful of my thoughts and to turn any negativity into positive thoughts, I was appalled at how my thoughts had become so negative. Certainly my life reflected this negativity. I began to turn them around and magically my life began to change, too. Often I have felt separated from God in my life and the “getting back” to God seemed like a journey without end.  Often I could not even find the beginning to get on the journey!

When I read and practiced Lesson 45: “God is the Mind with which I think,” I was struck by the Truth and simplicity of it. There is no journey to begin and no end. We are One, so there is no place to go. The Lesson says we are a Thought in the Mind of God and Thoughts do not leave their Source. I felt the magnificence of this statement. 

So, the Lesson continues, the mind with which I think is also the Mind of God. But where do I put my focus? If it is the outer ever-changing world, I am distracted from the Thoughts of God, not that they aren’t still always there, it is that I am only distracted. My focus is submerged in a world of unreality. When I contemplated the words ‘thoughts do not leave their source and I am a thought in the Mind of God,’ I felt this Oneness that I have periodically experienced in meditation. There is not anything about me nor anything around me that is not One with God. 

Native Americans refer to God as Creator and treat all things with deep respect: The rocks, water, air, animals, one another as living parts of our reality. My heritage as Turtle Mountain Chippewa has given me this understanding, yet as I contemplated this lesson I realize how easy it is to continue to think I am separate. 

Today I can accept that there is no separate part of me from Creator/God. What is it I truly desire? I still desire to be like my father. Only this time I have a new understanding of who my real Father is. I can release all the cluttered thoughts of the world and choose again. I can silence the unreal and “try to think of Light, formless and without limit, as I pass by the thoughts of this world. And do not forget that they cannot hold me to the world unless I give them the power to do so.” (Lesson 44)  The thoughts I thought with God are still with me, unchanged. “Here is your mind joined with the Mind of God. Here are your thoughts one with His.”

Rev. Gail Hamley is a Pathways of Light minister living in Tustin, California.

© 2011, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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What Are You and What Do You Want Now?

by Rev. Gary W. Ledson

These questions never go away, do they? You were always asked, “What do you want to be?” We wrapped who you were and what you wanted to be into a job title. We did this because we saw ourselves as an extension of our ego — what we did, our jobs, families, roles, our bodies, our possessions, our traditions, even our culture.

We identified with our egos. We still do. But Jesus told the rich man who wanted to enter Heaven to let go of all of it. Was it the money he had to let go of? Was it just the attachment to money he had to let go? Or, was it to let go of all attachments, all things not of God… All thoughts not of Love? Was it to let go of all the personal ideas we use to identify with, to make ourselves special and different, to separate ourselves from the rest of the world, and peoplekind? Was it to let go of our self-made separation from God? Or, ultimately, was it to let go of our attempts to separate from our one, true Self?

But who and what am I if I don’t identify with my ego/personal self?

I was blessed to be able to attend the recent ACIM Conference. Thank you Spirit for the generosity that came through several people to make it so. There I received useful insights to address the above questions that I’d like to share with you.

Lessons 25 (I do not know what anything is for) and 50 (I am sustained by the Love of God) were referred to a lot. Mary Lenihan relayed how allowing yourself to be vulnerable to the Holy Spirit would change your life. How could that happen if I know what everything is for?

Nouk Sanchez spoke of how she suffered trying to understand Tomas’ transformation. She suffered until Spirit showed her she could be happy if she was willing to let go of her “personal” interests, her personal “right” understanding.

Mary Stoelting expressed how Spirit guided her to change her “bummer” of a flight experience to a beautiful one and a funny story to boot. Mary was willing to let go of what was happening, of what it meant and was for, to let Spirit inside.

Regina Dawn Akers told of when she let go of her “fear of being afraid” she allowed room for God to take care of her in so unexpected ways. And Marriane Williamson emphasized the importance of our daily practice and that in our desire to abide with God we can experience our identity in the Truth, in God.

Through my daily practice of being in the Holy Spirit, I no longer believe I am who I once believed I was. By asking what I want to do, not from a place of fear or gain for a separate self but from a place in which I am carried by the Love of God, I can experience the surrender of my ego/personal self. By coming from my True identity I am now in my “right” mind to choose what I truly desire to demonstrate in this world. 

At the Conference, I got to be around others who are willing to replace their personal/ego identity with their True Selves. That is what I want to do now. With and through each of you. Thank you for each of you.

Rev. Gary Winslow Ledson is a Pathways of Light minister living in Kenwood, CA.

© 2011, 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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