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May-August, 2024

Letting Go of Limiting Beliefs

by Rev. Joyce Peebles, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

Sometimes written words or phrases jump out at us. For me it was the phrase, “when you are ready.” To be ready is to be willing. I am discovering choices I did not know I had, specifically the choice of getting rid of fear and guilt completely.

Pathways of Light courses have us say a preparation before studying the course material. It is, “I am willing to take responsibility for letting go of limiting thoughts and beliefs that reflect separation and specialness.” I’ve read these words many times and had questions about how to do this exactly. The purpose of this article is to give you three distinct ways to actually let go of limiting thoughts and beliefs. I am grateful for the help given to me from others who have shown me exactly how to do this. Jesus tells us this life is an illusion and fear and guilt do not exist. They were made up by me. These are the epitome of the limiting thoughts I need to let go.

In the past I threw away some books. One was A Course in Miracles; another was by Jan Frazier called When Fear Falls Away. Looking back, I can see I was not ready or willing to accept the ideas they contained. At that time, I was thinking of myself mostly as a victim, fearful, guilty and just wanting to escape from the miseries of life. What I did not understand at that time was that both books emphasized the ideas of willingness or readiness. There is a huge difference between wanting to escape the world or wanting a happier ego body experience and wanting to wake up and know your real Self.

I remember praying, thinking I was sincere in asking for relief and help. What I really wanted back then was a more spiritualized ego. I thought if I could make myself a better person, I would be happier. The idea that I could literally have all my fear and guilt taken away was not a choice for me. I did not ask for those things because I did not know I could ask. I thought anxiety and fear were just part of life, not an option.

Over a period, I’ve read enough books by people just like me who were able to let go of fear and guilt. They let go because they were finally willing or ready to do so. I said to myself if they can do these things then so can I. I am in the process of doing exactly that. How? First, when I have a fearful thought or attack thought , I stop and say, “I don’t want this thought anymore.” I use these exact words. I had to understand the goal was not a happier existence on earth. The goal was the recognition of my real Self. I also had to understand that what I was seeing with the body’s eyes was the direct result of my thoughts in the mind.

I have read books that talk about joy that does not go away despite outside circumstances in the world. It was the understanding that fear and guilt are choices I made, and can let go of, that made the difference. I was unaware I was choosing to be fearful and guilty. I was a prisoner of my own thinking. Also the Holy Spirit brought to my awareness that I have no control over the atonement. I have no choice; I will wake up no matter what. I cannot make myself into something I am not, such as an ego body. I can fantasize or deceive myself, but I am still as God created me. I chose to have amnesia about reality.

I choose how long I’m going to stay in this state of deception. Not whether I’m going to stay in it but how long. That’s the choice. The end is certain. I can deceive myself for as long as I want but the Holy Spirit will bring me back to the awareness of who I really am, when I am ready.

Jan Frazier in her book and other authors including Jesus, talk about witnessing. This is the second habit I am utilizing to let go of the limiting beliefs of fear and guilt. It is cultivating the idea of who am I, watching that this story is not the real me, not the body character I see going through daily activities.

I watch the body figure, but I do it from a distance. I detach as if I was watching a movie on TV. I can get engrossed in the story or movie, but I know it’s a movie, just a story. I am not the character in the movie. I am the one watching it.

The Holy Spirit’s Voice from this witnessing or watching mode is easier to hear. This is also the way to get above the battleground that Jesus talks about.  It is a battleground between my real mind and the fictitious limited self.

The third way to let go of limiting thoughts is to practice forgiveness. I still use the example in Gary Renard’s book, “The Disappearance of the Universe.” It is as follows:

“You’re not really there. If I think you are guilty or the cause of the problem, then the imagined guilt and fear must be in me. I made you up. Since the separation from God never occurred, I forgive both of us for what we haven’t really done. Now there is only innocence, and I join with the Holy Spirit in peace.”

The human brain thinks logically. If it does not agree with or understand something, it dismisses the information as invaluable. Gary Renard’s book and A Course in Miracles are saying the same truth. The introduction to the lessons says, “Remember only this; you need not believe the ideas, you need not accept them, and you need not even welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required.” (W-in.9:1-5)

I say this because it is not easy to follow a script that does not seem logical to the brain. Do it anyway. You will begin to see and feel more peace as you are ready and willing to accept ideas your mind previously rejected.

The reason we sometimes reject ideas is because they frighten us. I think about the lion in the Wizard of Oz who desired courage. He faked it until he felt he had it. Courage feels better than fear. Believing that Jesus is really on our side, our constant companion like the Holy Spirit, has been helpful in gaining courage and comfort.

I accept and claim these promises.

Rev. Joyce Peebles, OMC is a Pathways of Light minister. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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May-August, 2024

Holy Vision Is 20/20 Vision

by Rev. Vicki Evans, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

Continuing my 2024 journey, I am furthering my learning by taking Pathways of Light course 905: Special Relationships vs. Holy Relationships.

By taking this course, I have succeeded in prioritizing my goal of transforming specialness to holiness through meditation, daily practice, and looking for opportunities to give myself and others grace in the form of seeing all as One. I have experienced the truth that embracing this Oneness means that “everyone completes you.”

In this course was a meditation I experienced called, “From Specialness to Holiness Meditation.” I really connected with this meditation as I found some practical information such as the importance of letting go of thoughts of blame or anger, guilt and vulnerability. It has also helped me with perceived hurts from the past, which is a work in progress for me.

The first gift of this meditation was a vision that came to me when I went to Holy Spirit and felt the warmth of His Love. In the meditation, I saw red valentine-type hearts leaping forth from this holy union.

Then it came to me that I could practice trading in false ideas of perceived hurts and slights and look instead to find two positive traits in the relationship.

Sometimes even one positive idea brings me peace, as part of my self-grace is no pressure to set up a self-competition.

It became easier to focus on the positives by first visualizing all as one, the same, and together in innocence.

I saw a vision of each person then putting on a cloak of ego identity where each of us became unique. Cloaks of specialness of competition, hierarchy, worry, anxiety, guilt, and regret were worn, and I realized that my reactions to life may be driven by the cloak of identity I am wearing.

At the end of the day, each of us removed our individual cloaks of separateness and returned to sameness and Oneness, our true selves.

I thought that during the time of wearing the cloaks, each person was doing the best they could with their given cloak and this thought evoked Love, kindness, and empathy as I realized that even when cloaks of individuality are worn, the true self is still the same for each person — no separateness, no uniqueness.

Then I asked myself, “How can I put this vision into practice?”

Now, when thoughts of specialness or uniqueness pop into my conscious mind, I remember the cloak vision and remember that I do not want to judge or compete with others based on a false identity.

I go to Holy Spirit to remember that everyone completes me and then I work on making it a habit to lay down defenses and dismiss thoughts of competition or hierarchy with the result of not feeling like I need to verbalize competitive statements.

I feel so much more peace and joy by choosing to look at encounters and relationships through “happy eyes” as defined in Course 905.

I want to start each day by choosing to see experiences through happy eyes of Oneness. I get the gift of peace in now knowing that I can take a step back, listen to others, and look at their joy and blessings as an extension of myself in Oneness with each person.

Rev. Vicki Evans, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in Dallas, Texas. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 713-775-9153

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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May-August, 2024

Quiet Above the Battleground

by Rev. Bill Poppa, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

In developing a forgiving mindset, the ego-self resists by not raising to question long-held beliefs about “Who” and “What” I am.

Moreover, my ego personality self does not even question whether the outside material world is the essence of reality. This unconscious bypass is a veil for my True Self to extend outward the peace deep within me to embrace all the Sonship.

My True Self is the Christ Mind and is an extension of God’s Love as Spirit, which is abundant, eternal, and complete joy. The True Self, the Sacred Self, is “Who” I am, and the one Son of God is “What” I am.

How can I receive what is my true inheritance as the Son of God if I do not accept all that I am? This question of identity is a critical aspect of forgiveness. It begins to focus my mind with the intent of waking up from a dream of separation.

If I mindlessly continue to identify as my ego personality self, I will have little to no opportunity to remember I am as God created me — completely innocent.

Identifying as an ego-self, I experience constant change, a never-ending sense of lack, fear of losing what I have accumulated, and an ongoing defense against a world with strife and unknown threats. It is a world whose laws of casualty are trapped in time. It is a world of unfaltering beginnings and endings.

The Course views Reality as composed only of God’s thoughts, which are loving, constant, timeless, and eternal.

Sin, guilt, and fear are mere misperceptions. Sin is described as a lack of love or a mistake. Because it is only a mistake, it calls for love and correction rather than guilt and punishment. When I stand as Spirit, I understand and accept that I am already Spirit and solely Spirit. I am not human but an extension of God’s perfect Love. My body is not “Who” or “What” I am. It serves instead as a communication device for Holy Spirit.

By staying above the battleground, I experience gentleness within my mind. There is a stillness that takes hold, and my mind is quiet.

It is a calm only my Inner Teacher can lead me to. It is an excellent remembering, and I learn with each Holy Instant that I have a power I never knew I had as I begin to consolidate trust in Holy Spirit.

My Inner Guide illuminates trust in the only power available to me, the ability to choose again how I perceive the world as a Son of God.

In chapter 28 of the text, Jesus says,

“The miracle comes quietly into the mind that stops an instant and is still. It reaches gently from that quiet time, and from the mind it healed in quiet then, to other minds to share its quietness. Their own remembering is quiet now, and what has come to take its place will not be wholly unremembered afterwards.” (T-28.I.11:1-2,5)

Jesus speaks of the importance of cultivating a quiet mind in this passage and even suggests that linear time is non-existent in the effect of a miracle worker.

It is Holy Spirit, not ego, that does the work in quieting the mind in this unspeakable peace.

To be sure, the ego has its version of peace as well. But its interpretation relies on temporary rest for the body or perhaps a change of scenery.

It always focuses on form and anything outside the mind as a solution. The ego does not comprehend eternal peace for the Son, for the ego’s meaningless private thoughts continue to intrude like a lousy habit drawing the mind’s attention into the world.

Jesus wants us to regard these ego thoughts as an opportunity to forgive. We can be thankful for these meaningless thoughts if we learn to give them as a gift to Holy Spirit. He will return them to us as miracles instead.

Finally, in lesson 132, entitled “I loose the world from all I thought it was,” Jesus instructs us this way: “Begin the fifteen-minute periods in which we practice twice today with this: ‘I who remain as God created me would loose the world from all I thought it was. For I am real because the world is not, and I would know my own reality.

Then merely rest, alert but with no strain, and let your mind in quietness be changed so that the world is freed, along with you.’” (W-132.15:1-4)

This particular lesson is a great forgiveness practice, and it leads my mind to God’s Love as one.

It is also a great lesson in quieting the mind, and it is in that quiet that my mind can stay above the battleground.

Rev. Bill Poppa, O.M.C., is a Pathways of Light minister living in New Orleans, LA. Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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May-August, 2024

Prayer of Atonement

by Rev. Greg Hesch, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

Holy Spirit, thank you for another healing day that will be full of love, full of peace and full of forgiveness.…

Thank You for continuing to help us in this awakening process; for reminding us that our brothers and sisters are our saviors and that we are theirs.…

We are the Son of God, One with God, One with all our brothers and sisters, we are One with everything.…

Thank you for reminding us that we are not victims here.…

We’re the ones that thought we wanted to see the separation…

We got scared.…

We thought we chose the ego thought system.…

Now we choose atonement!

Now we choose to bring You all of these ego thoughts and fears…

so that You can show us that they are not the truth… 

and we can use forgiveness for thinking that they were.…

Thank you for reminding us that the body’s aches, pains and needs were made as a way take God’s Peace away from our True Self;

to keep us thinking that we’re separate.…

We give you the body’s aches, pains, needs and we bless the body.…

We thank the body for putting up with everything that we think we give it.

Thank you for reminding us that the separation is not real, it is a dream and we will all wake up.… 

We are not bodies.…

We are not separate.…

We are Whole, we are free.…

We are all One in Spirit, in God.…

We Are the Light, we are Love, we are Peace, we are Joy.…

Whole Spirit, please take all of these ego thoughts and fears (as we bring them to You), and exchange them with Your healing and correcting thoughts of Love, and Peace and Forgiveness.…

Help us to keep the door open and the light shined on all of these thoughts that we’ve been hiding since the beginning of time.…

We’re ready to bring them to You, we’re ready to forgive.…

Please take the ego wishes and plans and dreams, as we bring them to You.…

You know what is best for the Sonship and we put our trust in that!

We know that we will always be fine, always be taken care of and we will always have enough.…

We are so grateful!

Help us to see our brothers and sisters not as bodies.… 

Help us to see their true Self.… 

Help us to see the Love within us all!

Help us to see their innocence and their sinlessness.…

Help us to see Christ in our brothers, our sisters and in ourselves.…

Help us to remember that our function is not to attack, not to condemn… 

not to correct, not to defend, not to have grievances, not to have hate thoughts, not to have ego judgments.…

Not to get mad at ourselves when we do have these thoughts, but we get to bring them to You; we get to look at them with Your healing Light.…

Help us to remember that there will be many opportunities for us to choose love and peace.…

When we forget, help us to see it, so that we can look at them with You, release them to You, then choose love and peace again.…

Please teach us how to listen to Your voice inside us better.…

Help us to hear Your guiding thoughts and Your plans.…

Help us to reinforce our connection so that we can remember our True Self.…

Please use us as Your servant for love through the day.… 

Please be in our thoughts.…

Help us to stay in the present moment, not to dwell in the past or have any fears of the future.…

Above all else, we want to continue to remove the blocks to Love…

so that we can hear Your voice…

so that we can wake up to our True Self.

We are so thankful.  We are so grateful!

We are!  We are forever!  Amen

Rev. Greg Hesch is a Pathways of Light minister living in San Antonio, Texas.
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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