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July-September, 2010

The Only Message Worth Teaching

by Rev. Larry Glenz

Teaching had been my profession for 36 years before I retired almost two years ago. I taught at the high school level – Global History and US History; and I stressed the great importance of the knowledge that history provides. Studying A Course in Miracles, however, certainly has changed my perception of the value of knowing details about the past. I made a nice living and now collect a healthy pension from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. But how valuable was the actual information in the course curriculum that I spent years teaching?

I also coached football, wrestling, and lacrosse with great passion over those years — and continue to volunteer coach today. But again, what value were the techniques and strategies that I imparted to my players? Of what value was my win-loss record, championships, or awards accumulated?

Now that I am retired, I have a lot more time to pour myself into my greatest passion: the study of A Course in Miracles. The more I practice these principles and concepts in my daily routine, the stronger and happier I feel. Looking back over my career as a teacher and coach, it is all the more apparent to me that the only things of value I taught happened whenever I was coming from a place of Love. ACIM distinguishes between what it calls “form” and “content.”  Form has to do with bodies, time, and distance. Content is about the Love we extend to others.

Recently I have received an outpouring of love from the community where I taught high school all those years. My son, Kevin, died suddenly four months ago — losing a seven year battle in his effort to recover from heroin addiction. People from all stages of my life reached out to me and my family with acts of love, kindness, and generosity that truly touched our hearts.  The form in which this took place is unimportant; the content of their “gifts” to me and my family is absolutely inspiring.

I’m starting to solidify what it is I want to teach. By my actions, more than my words, I want to teach that:

•  Forgiveness is the most essential aid to happiness.

•  There is no death because the “Spirit” is eternal.

•  I am a victim of no one and nothing in this world.

•  The only “real” thing in this world is the Love we extend.

I have such overwhelming gratitude for what I have learned in my 16 year study of A Course in Miracles. I have been able to receive this torrent of love from hundreds of my brothers and sisters — and it has served to help me heal. I give great thanks to the Source of all this Love.

There is a Manual for Teachers that is a key part of A Course in Miracles. I want to be the kind of teacher that it speaks of in the Manual. I don’t know what form it will take. I’ll let Holy Spirit take care of the details. I am experiencing the effects of being a student of ACIM. And I’m so grateful. Love is the only message worth teaching.

Rev. Larry Glenz is a Pathways of Light minister living in Long Island, New York. E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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July-September, 2010

Reconciliation

Rev. Vicki Rostant

Last week I received a call advising that the health day we had scheduled months ago at a publishing company for Tuesday this week had to be cancelled. When I received the call, although I had offered the day to Holy Spirit to make all decisions, the ego quickly took over and I started fretting about the inconvenience and lost income. Fortunately, sanity returned and I asked Holy Spirit what the freed-up day was to be used for. I was moved to call my sister and ask if she was free that day and if I could come to visit. She was delighted and we both looked forward to getting together. We would visit her husband’s grave (he passed away last June) to see the tombstone her son had chosen. I offered to plant some flowers at the site, then she would take us, her other son and me, out to lunch. Then I would leave in time to pick up my partner at her work-place (she is a teacher), where I had dropped her off in the morning. We parted after a delightful day together in sharing and fellowship, and she saw me off with thanks and a message of greetings and love to my partner.

That seemingly simple story was a long time in the making and demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit to heal and transform in ways that could not be imagined or envisioned. My sister and her husband and family and I had been estranged for almost 30 years. Their personal and religious beliefs did not agree with my life choices, so we had little to no contact for over 25 years. ACIM came into my life over 5 years ago when I begged God for help during a period of darkness in the midst of a seemingly very rich life. Since then, studying ACIM and other related materials, making attempts to practice the principles of Love and Forgiveness, to allow my perceptions of the world to be changed (add water and repeat again and again!), events started to happen that brought us together on a few occasions over the past 5 years. These were distant and formal.

Last year, in May, I looked in my day-planner and saw that there was a week coming up in which for 3 days I had absolutely no appointments, business or personal. I knew there was a purpose, so I waited. Around that time, my brother-in-law, who had been ill for a time, became worse and he was returned to the hospital. They had not done any planning around the event of his passing, and being a little unexpected, my sister obviously needed support. So, as per Holy Spirit’s plan, I was able to be there for my sister over a period of several days, to look at care facilities, as she would not be able to care for him at home if/when he left the hospital; to pre-plan his funeral; have frank discussions with his doctors about his prognosis, etc., etc.

What was even more astounding is the following: on the first day I went, I took my sister to the hospital to visit him. I thought I knew why I was there — to support her as was needed. However, I also knew that I needed to go and see my brother-in-law. I had some trepidation about whether he would receive me or ask me to leave. He had made it clear to me, not too long before, what the Bible had to say about my lifestyle. I put it in Holy Spirit’s hands as I went into his isolation room with my nephew.

He did not recognize me at first with my short hair-cut. So we told him who I was. Then his face lit up like a light had been turned on, he smiled broadly, said my name and we hugged. I sat with him for over an hour talking and laughing as he told me stories about his childhood, his mother, his walking miles to school, his journey to becoming a doctor. His son sat there the whole time, amazed, as he watched his Father connect with me and hear stories that he had never heard. I visited him with the family a few more times after that. He passed away three weeks later. All necessary details had been taken care of and his passing was peaceful.

That Holy Moment has healed the chasm that has been a part of the entire family for decades – those here in Canada and those in Trinidad. So, the simple fact that I went and had a lovely lunch with my sister and my nephew is a miracle. It is testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit, with a little willingness, to move mountains of separation and heal and transform them to Love and Unity. For this I give Thanks and will keep looking closely at what’s going on in my day book!

Rev. Vicki Rostant, OMC is a Pathways of Light minister living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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July-September, 2010

And Then There Was a Gathering

Rev. Stephen Cox

It was the evening of Sunday 16th May 2010 — well it was over on the United Kingdom side of the pond which we call the Atlantic. I was being ordained as a Pathways of Light Ordained Ministerial Counselor. It was being done ‘virtually’ over the ‘phone since it wasn’t actually possible to lay hands on me physically.

It was a lovely event. It was the culmination of the work that I’d put in to doing the Pathways course modules over the previous six months or so.

We’d decided to celebrate it with a Spiritual Awakening Ceremony that I’d written as part of my course work and an acknowledgment of the ordination on the following Thursday. We were going to do it in place of our usual A Course in Miracles study group.

In the end, 25 of us gathered together, both ‘Miracles’ students and others at my invitation. We celebrated in style with the ceremony that I’d written that concentrated on water and the spiritual qualities of water in leading us all towards the Spirit in our own lives.

After the ceremony had finished, my ‘Course’ colleagues were kind enough to lay on a fantastic buffet and one of them actually made a lovely cake which I cut for the group.

I am a Quaker. Quakers generally would have issues relating to ministers because of how they view equality: We are all ministers in our own way. I decided to go ahead with the ordination anyway because I feel I am likely to be able to be of more service to the world with the ordination than without it. It’s as simple as that, really. After all, the ordination is really just acknowledging that I’ve completed the Pathways of Light course rather than that I’m any different to anyone else.

Again, Quakers don’t tend to do ‘special’ in that everything is special yet there was something about the ceremony that we all shared that was worthy of note, if not special.

I’m grateful to the Pathways of Light Spiritual College for providing me with the opportunity of becoming an Ordained Ministerial Counsellor and for encouraging me to wake up to how to live this life in fullness.

I have no idea how my life will change as a result of my ordination for it will depend on what comes my way. That it will change as a result of my ordination seems incredibly likely.

Rev. Stephen Cox is a Pathways of Light minister living in Birmingham, United Kingdom.  E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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July-September, 2010

The Journey to Ordination

Rev. Barbara Siegel

The first time I was introduced to A Course in Miracles, I felt there was no way that I, a Jewish woman, could possibly study this book. First it was channeled by Jesus, secondly it talked about the Holy Spirit, and perhaps most difficult, it kept referring to Christ. Even saying the words Jesus, Holy Spirit and Christ made me feel I was betraying my entire Jewish heritage. At this point in my naivety, I thought G-d would “punish” me if I studied such a thing. So, I put it down. 

Looking back, I realize that I had been on a journey seeking G-d since I was young. I liked praying even as a little girl. As I grew older, I would go to synagogue with my grandfather. I felt special sitting with him and praying. In the Jewish tradition, he was considered to be from the tribe of the ancient rabbi’s, so, I figured, I must be, too. I could see that women did not seem to have much of a role in the ceremonies, but I brushed that aside.

Then something profound happened, my mother died when I was 16. As was the tradition, the rabbi came to our house and special prayers were said for her morning and night for 6 days. Even though this was my mother, I, as a female, was not allowed to be part of the group that said the prayers. I think on an unconscious level, this was the beginning of my search for a more “spiritual” approach to G-d, one that would not be ruled by dogma.

After the death of two premature babies, I went through a phase of being very angry at G-d. My turning away from G-d went on for several years, but the tug to come back was very strong. I searched within reformed Jewish congregations and transcendental meditation, but could not find the spiritual connection I was looking for. 

By 1990, I was on my third marriage and living in St. Louis, Missouri. Friends introduced me to Science of Mind, a spiritual philosophy developed by Earnest Holmes. I was very involved in the teachings, but something still did not “Feel” right.

Then, I met a woman who was to change my way of thinking about A Course in Miracles, a teacher and therapist named Ruth Hanna. I took an introductory class Ruth gave on the Course at the local junior college and joined her study group which included many other Jewish students.

I also read Return to Love by Marianne Williamson and subscribed to her weekly tapes. I was surprised when I heard a Christian student say that they had trouble with the Christian language in A Course in Miracles. I didn’t realize how much the Christian organized religion had used the Christian terminology to induce fear and guilt. I thought the people coming from a Christian background would feel very comfortable with Course language. It was a real “Ah ha” moment when I realized that we all had to adjust our previously conceived interpretations of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Christ. 

Terminology aside, the philosophy of the Course truly hit home. Yes! I did feel separated and a “victim,” and attack thoughts went through my mind from morning to evening. I wanted to find G-d, but had never realized how much my ego and the stories it told me over and over were in the way.

Within a few years of finding Ruth and this wonderful study group, we had to relocate to Scottsdale, Arizona for my husband’s career. I could not find an ACIM study group that I resonated with, but by word of mouth, G-d lead me to perhaps the greatest teacher I have ever had the privilege to study with, Michael Shapiro, a brilliant teacher and musician of mystical Judaism.

For the next six and a half years, I would study with Michael and his group of followers two to three times a week. I had no idea that there was so much spirituality in Judaism. Michael talked about ego, sin, and forgiveness, much in the same way as A Course in Miracles talked about them (without the Christian terminology, of course). He talked about illusions, mindfulness, and our eternal selves. He talked about loving G-d and G-d’s great Love for us. 

Michael had studied for years in Israel, something I certainly could not do at this point in my life. But one day, I felt pulled to pick up A Course in Miracles again. I realized, this is something I can study.  The philosophy is the same. It truly did seem like a miracle. I would read the Course on Monday morning, and Michael, with no knowledge of what I had read, would “coincidentally” talk about what I had read in his class on Monday night. This happened time after time. I knew I had to look beyond terminology and read the essence of the Course as this seemed to be the essence of all the spiritual paths I had knowledge of. 

I was now 64 years old. I had years of college, but no degree. I wanted to finish my degree, but not in a traditional manor. I looked up “Spiritual College” on the internet, found Pathways of Light, and started the course work to ordination. It has been a profound journey of weaving together my life experiences and the teachings of all my wonderful life teachers with great emphasis on the extraordinary teachings of Michael and, of course, Jesus.

I finished my course work and was ordained on May 16, 2010 at age 66. I give you my biological age to say it is never too late. I still work on forgiveness and seeing the true Self in everyone. With practice, it has become much easier and peace is my priority.

My e-mail and web site address are Btheblessing. In my reading of A Course in Miracles a few days ago, it came to me that the true blessing is seeing the innocence in each person I interact with, their true Self. May we all be the blessing.

Rev. Barbara Siegel is a Pathways of Light minister living in St. Louis, Missouri.
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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