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Study of Text, Chapter 10: III. The God of Sickness, P 7. 6-11-15

III. The God of Sickness, P 9
9 Very simply, then, you may believe you are afraid of nothingness, but you are really afraid of nothing. And in that awareness you are healed. You will hear the god you listen to. You made the god of sickness, and by making him you made yourself able to hear him. Yet you did not create him, because he is not the Will of the Father. He is therefore not eternal and will be unmade for you the instant you signify your willingness to accept only the eternal.

Journal
I used to feel fear when I thought of being not me, when I thought of surrendering to God my little self. I don’t feel that so much anymore. More and more, I have come to believe in a Self that I don’t remember, but must certainly be. I can’t really imagine what it is like to be that Self, but I do believe It exists and that I want to remember. Will there be anything left of me? That of course, is the ego talking. The ego wants to know it will still exist, and that is a non-question because, in reality, the ego never existed. And I am not the ego.

I, the essence of what I am exists, and will always exist. I have not changed since my creation and will never change. I am as God created me and nothing is added to that nor taken from that. This is the reason I am innocent. It is the reason I am saved. I was never endangered. I am the Son of God and part of God and in God. What could endanger me?

But right now and until it is time for me to Awaken, I am dealing with these stories. My job here is to usher in the happy dream, and as I remember that this is not reality and that I am safe, I can more easily accept the Atonement. I can forgive and remember my brother is part of me, and learn to hear Spirit more clearly than I hear ego. I can learn to laugh at the idea of guilt and fear, at suffering and death.

I do all this through the practices given me by Jesus in the Course and other sources. I pay attention to my thoughts and feelings. I notice when they are not in alignment with the truth and I allow the Holy Spirit to heal my mind. I am sick or afraid, and I remember that this is my story and that no one or no thing is to blame. I ask for healing of the mind that chose this story.

It has all become so simple and yet sometimes still seems hard. Every time it feels hard I realize that I am attached to a story, that I seem to find value in some grievance I am holding onto. Or maybe it is because I temporarily forget that I don’t believe in guilt anymore and something I said or did causes me to fall into that pit of despair. Then I have to crawl out of it, at least enough that I can remember I have help, and then as I turn to that Light, I am lifted out.

Always though, sooner or later, I remember that I am suffering because I believe the story and think I have to find a solution for the story. Then I turn from the story and ask that my mind be healed. I wait in certainty, knowing that the Holy Spirit responds to my slightest call for help. That sounds simple, doesn’t it? And it is just that simple. Sometimes, though, it occurs over a matter of hours or even days, depending on how deep into the rabbit hole I went before I realized I wanted out. ~smile~

Here is something funny. As I come out of the hypnotic trance of ego fears, I can always hear the ego calling me back. It says that I can’t leave this problem unsolved. I can’t just walk away. “Hey, what about this person or that circumstance?” But I just keep walking and the less attention I pay to the ego, the more peaceful and happy I become. Soon, I don’t even remember what the big deal was.

Then I laugh as I realize that I had once again got caught up in the idea I had to fix the story if I wanted to be happy. This is never the case. My happiness is not dependent on the story. I only had to shift my mind from the story to my function, which is to accept the Atonement (the Solution) for myself. This is my job here, my purpose, and all I need to do while I am still dreaming. It is enough. “

Come on, Happy Dream! What other block do I need to remove? I’m tired of pain and suffering and am ready for the dream to take a major turn. Holy Spirit, just let me know what you need me to do next. I’m committed to this undoing business.”

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, Chapter 10: III. The God of Sickness, P 6. 6-10-15

III. The God of Sickness, P 8
8 I do not bring God’s message with deception, and you will learn this as you learn that you always receive as much as you accept. You could accept peace now for everyone, and offer them perfect freedom from all illusions because you heard His Voice. But have no other gods before Him or you will not hear. God is not jealous of the gods you make, but you are. You would save them and serve them, because you believe that they made you. You think they are your father, because you are projecting onto them the fearful fact that you made them to replace God. Yet when they seem to speak to you, remember that nothing can replace God, and whatever replacements you have attempted are nothing.

Journal
My replacements, the gods I made to replace my true Father:
The body
Sickness
Jealousy
Fear and guilt
Sadness
These are the gods I worship daily, less than I used to, but still.

Jesus brought us the message that these gods have no power other than what we give them and that we can be saved from them simply by desiring only that. We will be healed of the sickness in our mind, but we will receive only and exactly what we are willing to accept. I have learned compassion as I realized that we are all fighting a hard battle, every single day. But I have also learned that it is a battle against nothing. I fight my own imaginary self. This is insanity and Jesus has brought us the cure.

When I was in the hospital for tests, I got caught up in the whole atmosphere of saving the body and so the body became very important to me, the center of my attention. I felt frail and vulnerable because the body is frail and vulnerable. This is what happens when we identify with the body. We think we are what the body is. Feeling frail and vulnerable, I felt fear. And actually, nothing was happening. I was fine. I was no different than I was the day before I had the strange symptoms that led up to the hospital stay.

When I made the decision to turn away from this kind of thinking, the ego tried to draw me back and still does. But who is the ego? This is not a power outside myself, this ego. It is simply a name I give my desire to remain separate from God. I am battling nothing but my own conflicted desires. There is no power outside the power of God, which is also my power.

I choose to stop using my own power to keep me in hell. Every time I notice the desire to feel afraid of what happens to the body, I remind myself that the body is a false god and I choose not to worship it. I am doing the same with all my false gods. I am reminding myself that Jesus offered to heal me and all that I need to do to receive that healing is to accept it.

I have made of myself a little thing of no value, but Jesus knows my value and he will restore that knowledge in my mind as well. I accept this healing.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, Chapter10: III. The God of Sickness, P 7. 6-9-15

III. The God of Sickness, P 7
7 When a brother is sick it is because he is not asking for peace, and therefore does not know he has it. The acceptance of peace is the denial of illusion, and sickness is an illusion. Yet every Son of God has the power to deny illusions anywhere in the Kingdom, merely by denying them completely in himself. I can heal you because I know you. I know your value for you, and it is this value that makes you whole. A whole mind is not idolatrous, and does not know of conflicting laws. I will heal you merely because I have only one message, and it is true. Your faith in it will make you whole when you have faith in me.

Journal
I have been sick in body as well as spirit, which makes absolute sense. What I believe is projected outward and outward includes the body I identify with. Jesus says elsewhere in the Course that if we use the body only for communication (communicating love) it will be perfectly healthy. There are times when I still choose fear or anger over peace, and it is this choice that comes from a sick mind, which is then projected onto the body causing it to appear sick.

While tests were being done, they threw in a thyroid test. It showed a bit high and I thought that maybe that explains why I have had so much trouble with my weight lately. I normally can lose weight as easily as I gain it, but that hasn’t been true in the past few months. So I thought it would be nice to get a pill and fix this problem. Then I laughed at myself. Does my body need to be repaired, or does my mind need to be healed?

If there is a thyroid problem then it came from an unhealed mind. This is the cure, this mind healing. A pill is just a temporary magical solution to a magical problem. When I get too involved in the medical community, I can temporarily lose my perspective. I began to think the body is what needs to be healed when really it is the mind that needs healing.

I am asking my dear brother right now to heal me in all ways, my sick mind, which when healed, will also reflect as a healed body. I ask that I be healed and that in my healing, I can heal others with my renewed faith. The outward appearance of the sickness in the mind is simply reflective of our belief that we have somehow damaged ourselves and God in our decision to play around with separation. It is not true and could never be true. This belief is ultimately what needs correction. Everything else will follow.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, Chapter10: III. The God of Sickness, P 6. 6-8-15

III. The God of Sickness, P 6
6 There are no idolaters in the Kingdom, but there is great appreciation for everything that God created, because of the calm knowledge that each one is part of Him. God’s Son knows no idols, but he does know his Father. Health in this world is the counterpart of value in Heaven. It is not my merit that I contribute to you but my love, for you do not value yourself. When you do not value yourself you become sick, but my value of you can heal you, because the value of God’s Son is one. When I said, “My peace I give unto you,” I meant it. Peace comes from God through me to you. It is for you although you may not ask for it.

Journal

In Heaven there is great appreciation for everything God created, and this is because it is known that each one is part of Him. I want to remember this even here, and I think I can. I think this must be what I am to do here now. Can I appreciate everyone I meet, not because of how they look, or how they act, but because they are part of God? Can I have the calm knowledge that this is true?

I do not value myself so it is hard to value everyone else. I don’t always accept that I am part of He Who created me, and so I don’t always know my value. But Jesus does know this and knows it for me. He gives me his peace. I need only accept it. I am amazed at myself sometimes, that I seem so unwilling to accept this gift so freely given. The peace of God is all I want … until I want something else.

I was experiencing some physical challenges recently and I got very caught up in body beliefs. Untangling completely from these beliefs took a couple of days. Each time I returned my mind to God, I could feel the ego mind calling me back, telling me that the body needed my attention and that this is real and serious. Saying that I dared not turn away.

But in the turning away I felt such relief, like a great weight being lifted from my shoulders. This morning it happened again. I could feel the little tug of war returning to my mind as I looked first to the ego and then to God. This morning’s lesson riveted my attention on God. It brought the truth fully to mind, and felt tears of relief slide down my face.

Again, after a few minutes I could feel the ego try to call me back, planting little doubts and fears in my mind. I am not so interested now, but I do find it interesting to watch the ego at work. With some detachment now, I can see how sly the mind can be when it wants to plant an idea that will take root and yield a tangled garden of weeds to block my vision of the beauty that was there only a moment before.

The more clearly I see the ego manipulations the less I am fooled by them. I want the peace of God, and the peace of God is all I want. I don’t have to do anything for this because Jesus offers it to me. Peace comes from God, through Jesus, and to me, and all I need do is accept it. I open my heart and I receive, I give what I received, and then I know it is mine. That is the way salvation works.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of Text, Chapter10: III. The God of Sickness, P 5. 6-4-15

III. The God of Sickness, P 5

5 Look calmly at the logical conclusion of the ego’s thought system and judge whether its offering is really what you want, for this is what it offers you. To obtain this you are willing to attack the Divinity of your brothers, and thus lose sight of yours. And you are willing to keep it hidden, to protect an idol you think will save you from the dangers for which it stands, but which do not exist.

Journal
I wonder how I could have ever thought of the body as my salvation. It is such a frail and weak thing, subject to sickness, and every kind of suffering and finally and inevitably to death. And yet, given to the Holy Spirit for His use and never used by ego to defend and attack, it is a useful tool for as long as I need it. I was thinking of how I am to use the body and especially how I am not to use it. This weekend, I joined with several of my dear brothers and sisters to share in our love of God. Our words represented true communication because all we said was said in love.

On the other hand, I have experienced a lot of conflict at work lately. I have been aware of divisive thoughts in my mind, and even in my words. This is an example of using the body to attack my brother’s Divinity. I thought I was protecting this body as I protected my source of income, which I use to clothe and feed and take care of this body. I was protecting this small self, as I defended its position in the hierarchy of the company. In defense of this self, I attacked. I saw my brother as smaller than me, less important than me, and all of us as less than Divine.

This weekend I have been joyful. When I was defensive at work, I was anxious and unhappy. Each of these effects witnessed to the thought system from which I was operating. It is my choice, a decision I must make. With which mind will I think? Will I give this body over to the use of the Holy Spirit or to the use of the ego? It is a choice between joy and pain, between Heaven and hell. What I have seen is that if I remember my brother’s Divinity, it is easy to look past his ego actions and words and see the Light of his being. I can remember his Divinity. Maybe I should write it on my hand as a reminder, just to be sure. ~smile~

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of Text, Chapter10: III. The God of Sickness, P 4. 5-28-15

III. The God of Sickness, P 4
4 To believe a Son of God is sick is to worship the same idol he does. God created love, not idolatry. All forms of idolatry are caricatures of creation, taught by sick minds too divided to know that creation shares power and never usurps it. Sickness is idolatry, because it is the belief that power can be taken from you. Yet this is impossible, because you are part of God, Who is all power. A sick god must be an idol, made in the image of what its maker thinks he is. And that is exactly what the ego does perceive in a Son of God; a sick god, self-created, self-sufficient, very vicious and very vulnerable. Is this the idol you would worship? Is this the image you would be vigilant to save? Are you really afraid of losing this?

Journal
I have made a lot of progress toward accepting that the world is not real, that my life as I am experiencing it is not really my life, and that everything I see, everything I experience through my senses is an image I have made, including the body that experiences it. I am spirit, awareness, mind, whatever name I choose to give it. I am part of God, in God, and that is as far as I can go with it without feeling a little anxious.

Yes, I say I am the Son of God and I know this must be true for any of the rest of it to be true. But if I am in God, if He created me as an extension of Himself and like Him, then I am a God, too. Oh my, that is just too strange for me to say. I feel like I must say this, and yet I feel like apologizing for saying it. I don’t know if I am ready to step into that, yet.

God created me to be like Him and so I must be, but I just have trouble with completely embracing this thought. Well, of course I do. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be running around her pretending I am an aging body, moving relentlessly toward death. If I believed, no, let me rephrase that, if I knew what I was, I would know that all others are part of the same God Mind and I would treat them as if they are Divine as well.

Maybe that is why I choose sickness and other forms of suffering. Maybe I am too afraid to be what I am and so I deliberately choose to be small in every way I can. I have been stepping out of that self-created image I made of myself, and I am writing about this so maybe I am closer to accepting my own Divinity than I think. But writing this helps me to see how resistant I am still, and that I am afraid to re-claim my true Self. This helps me to understand why it is that I am constantly, moment by moment, sustaining this false image of self.

Jesus is helping me, in this paragraph, to see that what I am doing is a form of idolatry. I have chosen an image of a sick god to represent me. That has to be the most ridiculous and clearly insane choice of all. And yet, here I am, worshiping this frail, weak, and very vulnerable image of my self, and sickness, in all its forms, is a most effective defense against what God made me to be. As Jesus intimates… really? That’s what I want to protect?

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of Text, Chapter10: III. The God of Sickness, P 3. 5-27-15

III. The God of Sickness, P 3
3 To believe that a Son of God can be sick is to believe that part of God can suffer. Love cannot suffer, because it cannot attack. The remembrance of love therefore brings invulnerability with it. Do not side with sickness in the presence of a Son of God even if he believes in it, for your acceptance of God in him acknowledges the Love of God he has forgotten. Your recognition of him as part of God reminds him of the truth about himself, which he is denying. Would you strengthen his denial of God and thus lose sight of yourself? Or would you remind him of his wholeness and remember your Creator with him?

Journal
When Jesus talks about sickness he means that the mind is confused to the point that we do not know who we are. This is reflected in our lives as stories of suffering. We experience ourselves in lack, we suffer loss, our bodies become ill or injured, our relationships cause us pain. It doesn’t matter what form suffering takes, the cause is the same. We have chosen to see ourselves as if we could be outside Love.

In this paragraph Jesus is explaining to us that the remembrance of love will bring invulnerability with it. As I remember who I am, I suffer less. I have less sickness and my relationships are more loving and less conflicted. I am at peace far more than I am in fear. He also is reminding us that it is our function to remember the truth for everyone. I do this very well most of the time. A confused brother is in my presence and I see through his confusion to the truth about him. I know he is not his suffering. I know that he is the love in which he was created.

But I don’t see clearly all the time. Sometimes I am triggered by someone else’s confusion. This happens when I am confused about the same thing, and actually, when this happens it can be helpful to me. Sometimes I am surprised by my reaction because I didn’t realize that this was a problem for me. In that moment I can ask for healing of my mind, which is also healing of my brother’s mind.

It can be difficult for me when the one suffering is very close to me, such as when it is one of my children. I might find myself suffering with him or her. I used to think this was love, but now I understand that it is not loving to strengthen someone’s denial of God. It certainly doesn’t help either one of us. Again, I have another option. I can use this moment to ask for healing. Jesus tells us that it does not matter where in the Sonship healing occurs, because we share one mind. As I am healed so is everyone else, including my sick child.

How do I remind someone of his wholeness? Sometimes, if it is appropriate, I use words. At other times words would not be helpful. I can simply listen without judgment, waiting for the Holy Spirit to guide me to do what is needed. Regardless of what is said or not said, love is the intention, and so sometimes all I need to do for someone is love them. And always, whether this is expressed out loud or not, I know for them who they are.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.