Together, We Light the Way

Click link to go to:
Together We Light the Way Index

Study of the Text, C. Be Vigilant Only For God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 8. 2-11-14

C. Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 8

8 To teach the whole Sonship without exception demonstrates that you perceive its wholeness, and have learned that it is one. Now you must be vigilant to hold its oneness in your mind because, if you let doubt enter, you will lose awareness of its wholeness and will be unable to teach it. The wholeness of the Kingdom does not depend on your perception, but your awareness of its wholeness does. It is only your awareness that needs protection, since being cannot be assailed. Yet a real sense of being cannot be yours while you are doubtful of what you are. This is why vigilance is essential. Doubts about being must not enter your mind, or you cannot know what you are with certainty. Certainty is of God for you. Vigilance is not necessary for truth, but it is necessary against illusions.

I started my contemplation of this lesson by asking if there is someone in my life that I don’t want to think of as part of me, someone I don’t want to teach. A person was brought to mind and I was shown that I resist this person because he is very competitive and this triggers in me the competitive nature within myself that remains unhealed. I find it very unpleasant to be reminded of this in myself so I resent him for showing it to me.

Of course the ego’s solution is to avoid the one who triggers me. The ego will always want to fix the inner problem by seeing it outside me and fixing it there. The Holy Spirit’s solution is to heal the belief I am in competition with my brother, and that I need to win and winning means he loses. All I have to do to have this healing is to stop defending my belief, which in this case means stop hiding it from myself and pretending it isn’t there. The Holy Spirit says to bring it into the light and He will undo it for me.

I don’t want this barrier between me and this brother of mine, nor do I want it to keep me from any other brother. As long as I hold onto to the belief that I am in competition with others, I will exclude parts of the Sonship and so will not teach Wholeness because I don’t believe in it. With all my heart I want this belief to be undone because I want to know who I am, not as a concept, but to know it, to be it. I ask for and accept the Atonement for this. I open my mind to seeing any exceptions that I make to Wholeness so that I can ask for healing.

The Sonship is One, it is Whole. Nothing I believe can change that. But my belief does affect me. What I believe is true for me. Jesus has convinced me that there is One. I don’t understand this and don’t know how this works, but I know it is true. But when I am not vigilant for the truth in my mind, the mind reverts to separation thinking again.

Then I start thinking that my brother is my enemy and I must defend myself against him. I can’t teach Wholeness if I think I am separate from him and what I teach I learn. This puts me right back into the endless cycle of separation thinking, and I have lost sight of the truth of my being. I am not being vigilant for the truth in order to keep the truth true, but I am being vigilant against the illusions so that I remember only the truth.

© 2014, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text, C.Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 6. 2-6-14

C. Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 6
6 You learn first that having rests on giving, and not on getting. Next you learn that you learn what you teach, and that you want to learn peace. This is the condition for identifying with the Kingdom, since it is the condition of the Kingdom. You have believed that you are without the Kingdom, and have therefore excluded yourself from it in your belief. It is therefore essential to teach you that you must be included, and that the belief that you are not is the only thing that you must exclude.

I believe that I have left the Kingdom of God and that is the only thing that has happened. I have a belief. My belief convinces me that something has happened and that I am guilty for it. I try to rid myself of the intolerable burden of this guilt by projecting it. The Garden of Eden story is my attempt to project it onto God. Every time I think blame thoughts in any form, it is my attempt to project it onto someone else or onto some situation. But it doesn’t work, of course, because what I give is mine. What I teach is what I learn.

Jesus is showing us the way out of this. He is the way out. I was reading something I wrote earlier about the crucifixion and resurrection which was his part in the awakening. This is, in part, what I said:

The useless journey, or the journey to the cross is death in its many forms. It is sickness, loss, lack, hatred, anger, fear, judgment, jealousy, and depression. All suffering is a form of death. Then, of course, there is the death of the body, the coup de gras, the final proof that I am not what God created, that I am indeed my own creation. The journey through suffering and finally to my death is my ultimate victory against God.

Jesus overcame death and in doing so it is done. All that is required of me is that I accept this gift and then it is done for me, too. His was meant to be the last useless journey, done for all of us and done for the last time. Instead, we have chosen sacrifice (a form of death). We have chosen to follow in his footsteps, endlessly reenacting the crucifixion while rejecting the resurrection which proved that death is not real and it proved that the ego/body/ cannot overcome God’s Will.

So this is done. Now we need only accept it as done. We must do our part which is to reject every form of death and in so doing we will be resurrected from this dream of separation and begin to truly live. We do this every time we notice untrue beliefs in our mind and ask for and accept the Atonement for those thoughts. We do it every time we stop trying to give away our guilt and simply allow it to be healed.

Each time we reject a wrong minded belief it is a little step toward the Kingdom. We will take this journey a step at a time until the mind has healed to the point that we are ready for resurrection and then ascension. The Kingdom has already been won. All we are doing is preparing ourselves to accept our place in it, and we do this by rejecting anything that is not part of the Kingdom.

I have had this crazy belief that I will be at peace when my children are. I will be at peace when I get my house and car paid off. I will be at peace when I am retired. When I have more time. When I have made amends for all my mistakes. When my body has healed. All of these conditions that I put on peace are barriers to the Kingdom of Heaven. I stand at the door with my heavy burden of needs and all I need to do to enter is lay that burden aside. Just lay it down and go on in. The way has been made.

I stand there with my grievances piled high. My dad was an alcoholic. I never knew a normal relationship with a father and that scarred me and kept me from forming healthy relationships with men. My ex husband was not the man I needed him to be. My friend betrayed me. My kids don’t give me what I think I need from them. The guy at work makes me mad.

My competitor took my customer by lying about me. People are unkind, and close minded and the cause of my misery. I stand at the gate with my list of grievances, the proof that these people are unworthy and should not be allowed entrance. And so, of course, I cannot enter either, because then who would bar the door?

All I need to do to enter the Kingdom is throw away my list of grievances. I cannot approach God with hate in my heart, not because I am guilty for my hate, but because hate is not in God. I am learning that to know my nature and to return to truth, I must reject all that is not God’s nature, because that is my nature, too.

© 2014, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text, C. Be Vigilant Only For God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 5. 2-5-14

C. Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 5

5 Choosing through the Holy Spirit will lead you to the Kingdom. You create by your true being, but what you are you must learn to remember. The way to remember it is inherent in the third step, which brings together the lessons implied in the others, and goes beyond them towards real integration. If you allow yourself to have in your mind only what God put there, you are acknowledging your mind as God created it. Therefore, you are accepting it as it is. Since it is whole, you are teaching peace because you believe in it. The final step will still be taken for you by God, but by the third step the Holy Spirit has prepared you for God. He is getting you ready for the translation of having into being by the very nature of the steps you must take with Him.

May this day, all my choices be made through the Holy Spirit. I am running so late this morning that I thought I might skip this writing, but I set aside what I thought I should so and left my heart open to guidance. I would make no decisions on my own, make no plans without the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The ego doubts the Holy Spirit’s choice and feels nervous about the time. But I remember how often I thought I knew something and how wrong I was. I remember the times I turned to Spirit for guidance and I cannot remember a single time that I was misled.

I used to treasure the right to make choices. I felt uneasy and even resentful at the idea of surrendering that right. Now I notice the ego’s grumbling about it, but I feel relieved that I am no longer trying to make decisions based on the little bit I actually know and understand. I am peaceful to know that I am being led step by step to the remembrance of my true Self. I am exhilarated to see what unfolds without my interference.

Choice is the only freedom I have in this illusion. But there are not an unlimited number of things from which to choose. There are only two choices from which to pick; I can choose to live from the ego or choose to be lived by Spirit. I have made my choice. I will spend today protecting that choice. I am allowing the Holy Spirit to prepare me for God.

© 2014, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text, C. Be Vigilant Only For God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 4. 2-4-14

C. Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 4
4 While the first step seems to increase conflict and the second may still entail conflict to some extent, this step calls for consistent vigilance against it. I have already told you that you can be as vigilant against the ego as for it. This lesson teaches not only that you can be, but that you must be. It does not concern itself with order of difficulty, but with clear-cut priority for vigilance. This lesson is unequivocal in that it teaches there must be no exceptions, although it does not deny that the temptation to make exceptions will occur. Here, then, your consistency is called on despite chaos. Yet chaos and consistency cannot coexist for long, since they are mutually exclusive. As long as you must be vigilant against anything, however, you are not recognizing this mutual exclusiveness, and still believe that you can choose either one. By teaching what to choose, the Holy Spirit will ultimately teach you that you need not choose at all. This will finally liberate your mind from choice, and direct it towards creation within the Kingdom.

Jesus is stressing the need for vigilance. I must be vigilant for God rather than the ego. We have already established that we can be vigilant. We have been vigilant for the ego and so we know it is possible. Now we are learning that we want to choose God instead. We are learning this through making the choice for Holy Spirit Who chooses God for us.

For awhile the mind is going to be chaotic as it vacillates between ego and God, choosing one then choosing the other, but this cannot last. Consistency of choice will quiet the mind. I choose God over and over and soon the mind begins to calm because there is not the desire for ego, and so there is not the chaos of conflict in the mind.

Thinking of making a choice for God or ego over and over again just makes me tired. I am ready to give up choice altogether. There was a time when that idea just seemed wrong. The ego rebelled and brought up every objection it could think of. Now it just feels peaceful and right. Jesus tells us why we are drawn to this idea even as the ego mind fights against it. Choice took the place of creation in our Mind, and in giving up choice we truly return to our Self as Creators beside God.

Could then, the relinquishment of choice be a sacrifice? In time choice is our only remaining freedom, but as we allow the mind to be healed we leave behind time to discover we exist in eternity. In eternity we are at peace and choice is not even a memory. For now, I begin to remember who I am through choosing consistently for God.

© 2014, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text, C. Be Vigilant Only For God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 3. 2-3-14

C. Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom, Paragraph 3
3 This is a major step toward fundamental change. Yet it still has an aspect of thought reversal, since it implies that there is something you must be vigilant against. It has advanced far from the first lesson, which is merely the beginning of the thought reversal, and also from the second, which is essentially the identification of what is more desirable. This step, which follows from the second as the second follows from the first, emphasizes the dichotomy between the desirable and the undesirable. It therefore makes the ultimate choice inevitable.

Jesus has told us that he teaches through contrast, and nowhere is this more apparent to me than when he teaches me that I want peace. I was so confused that for years I did not even know that peace was what I wanted. I didn’t value peace. I was always focused on winning which is the opposite of peace because to win, I needed to defeat someone or something. Being in opposition guarantees separation stays in place, and this cannot bring me peace because it goes against my nature.

This is an example of how it might have appeared to me in the past. My daughter seemed to be upset with me about something. I did’t know what it could be and maybe I was just being egocentric as I saw her upset and assume it was directed toward me. But she would not even meet my eyes when we visited and so I thought she was angry with me about something I said or did.

My first thought would have been that I was being unfairly treated because I did nothing to deserve this. I would want her to stop acting like I did something wrong. I would think I needed her to love me and not be angry with me. If none of this happened, I would become depressed about the situation because I could not make her love me or not be angry with me.

Then I would be angry with her. I would try to manipulate her with guilt. I might try the silent treatment. I would try to gather allies who would agree that she was being unfair and a bad daughter. It would never have occurred to me to seek peace, and if it did, I would have placed the burden of my peace on her.

Now I have one desire. I want the peace of God. I want the peace of God more than I want anything else. I want to have peace and so I teach peace to have it. The situation is the same. I see signs my daughter is upset with me. I ask if there is anything she wants to talk about and she rejects that offer. I watch my thoughts and feelings.

Her rejection feels personal and so I feel rejected. I cannot be rejected so I must be listening to the ego version of the story. I hand this over to the Holy Spirit to heal for me. I want the peace of God. I want my daughter to be healed, too, but I realize that I cannot do this for her. I feel helpless. I ask that my mind be healed of the belief I could be helpless and I am reminded that my daughter cannot be helpless either.

I will teach what I want to learn. My daughter is having her story. That is all that is happening here. The ultimate ending of all stories is God. Nothing to worry about here. I am at peace. I want only peace. The story cannot bring me peace, nor rob me of peace. It can only be the story. As I choose peace regardless of the direction the story takes, I am teaching peace. Perhaps it is a lesson my daughter is ready for. Because it is a lesson I am ready for, I learn it.

The ego offers me another opportunity to choose war, another chance to win this “argument,” but I am not interested. It tries to scare me with stories of loss. I am not interested. If I become attracted to any of its enticements, I will ask for correction and return to peace. I will do this as often as I need to. This is how my life is different now that I realize that peace is all I want. The contrast between my life now that peace is my goal, and the life I lived when I thought winning was my goal is so stark that I cannot miss the lesson.

© 2014, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

Tell a friend about this post.

Printable Page

Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Page 247 of 389 pages ‹ First  < 245 246 247 248 249 >  Last ›

<< Back to main page of Together, We Light the Way

Featured Store Items

Spiritual Counselor Training — based on principles of A Course in Miracles, including ordination. More….

24 ACIM Practitioner courses including 50-page study guide, CD's or MP3s, with facilitator. More….

Healing Inner Child 8-week program will help you nurture your inner child, connect with your Higher Self and heal relationships.

Listen & Receive 30-Day Home Study Learn to receive insight for your life in a form that is perfect for you …heal fears, find joy & peace. Learn more.

Hey, Holy Spirit, It's Me Again by Rev. Myron Jones. An indispensible guide for anyone on the path of ACIM with insights on the 1st 90 lessons. More…

True Forgiveness by Rev. Jennifer McSween. The Proven Path from Pain to Power and personal happiness in 5 Simple Steps. Learn more.

From the Christ Mind Book II scribed by Darrell Morley Price. A great supporting supplement to A Course in Miracles. We highly recommend it. More….

Forgiving Kevin Audio book by Rev. Larry Glenz. A moving and inspiring true story of a father/son relationship that withstood seven years of addiction, recovery, and relapse. More….

Healing Family Relationships Applying the Principles of A Course in Miracles audio book by Rev. Myron Jones. Learn how family relationships offer fertile grounds for forgiveness and healing your judgments of the world. More.