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Study of the Text 8-13-13

IV. This Need Not Be, Paragraph 10
8-13-13
10 The First Coming of Christ is merely another name for the creation, for Christ is the Son of God. The Second Coming of Christ means nothing more than the end of the ego’s rule and the healing of the mind. I was created like you in the First, and I have called you to join me in the Second. I am in charge of the Second Coming, and my judgment, which is used only for protection, cannot be wrong because it never attacks. Yours may be so distorted that you believe I was mistaken in choosing you. I assure you this is a mistake of your ego. Do not mistake it for humility. Your ego is trying to convince you that it is real and I am not, because if I am real, I am no more real than you are. That knowledge, and I assure you that it is knowledge, means that Christ has come into your mind and healed it.

I cried when I read the last sentence. Christ has come into my mind and healed it. It is done and I am healed. So what am I waiting for? Why do I still listen to the ego when it tells me how small and weak and vulnerable I am? The ego stands up and preaches fear and guilt and I just sit there in my wretchedness saying, “Amen, brother!” But I am healed and it is time to walk out on the ego’s sermon of misery.

I have, actually, walked out on the ego any number of times, but once in awhile I become mesmerized by its litany of judgments and suddenly I am right back there in its thrall until I again break free. All I have to do to be free is to want to be free, and the only thing keeping me bound to ego is my fear of freedom. The ego spins some story or another and for awhile I think that the answer to my problem is in the story, but eventually I always remember that there is only one problem appearing as many, and there is only one answer. My problem is that I have forgotten who I am and the answer is the Holy Spirit in my mind.

Jesus has not forgotten who I am and he has called me forward to take my place among his teachers. The ego, of course, is having a hissy fit about this. It keeps trying to bring me back into its fold with reminders of my many sins, and with dire warnings about lack of humility. Who am I to imagine I am a teacher for God? Who am I to imagine I stand side by side with Jesus? And yet, Jesus says he chose me and that he does not choose his helpers wrongly.

Just a very short time ago I would have cowered under the ego’s attack. I would have been willing to continue my practices and to commit to “someday” being ready, and the ego would have been there smirking at me as it pretended to go along with the plan knowing that someday would never come. But those days are over. I still practice, but I do so with conviction and passion.

I know who I am even as I act as if I am still an ego. I may be removing my costume a layer at a time, but I am removing it. I am stepping up and I am saying yes. Every morning now I am stopping for a moment to renew my commitment by saying yes, and by spending a few moments allowing the Holy Spirit to work in me. I don’t know what He is doing as I sit there, but I trust it is an essential part of the Second Coming.

© 2013, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text 8-12-13

IV. This Need Not Be, Paragraph 9I
8-12-13
9 You are a mirror of truth, in which God Himself shines in perfect light. To the ego’s dark glass you need but say, “I will not look there because I know these images are not true.” Then let the Holy One shine on you in peace, knowing that this and only this must be. His Mind shone on you in your creation and brought your mind into being. His Mind still shines on you and must shine through you. Your ego cannot prevent Him from shining on you, but it can prevent you from letting Him shine through you.

I am so grateful to know that I am a mirror of God’s perfect light. I have been aware for awhile that everyone and everything my eyes show me is a reflection of what I believe about myself. But it is not the truth of what I am, only the ego’s dark dream of itself. If I am actually a mirrored image of God, what I see can only be an illusion born of idle wishes to experience something else. I am not that.

What does the ego’s dark glass show me? I see my brother or sister as guilty. How could this be? God created them innocent and what He creates is certain and never changing. When I see guilt in my brother or my sister I know this could not be true. Then I sit in peace and allow the Holy Spirit to shine on me and the darkness is gone. I see my brother and sister as they truly are.

When I seem to be in pain, or someone else I know seems to be in pain, I am looking at the ego’s dark glass and I can change my mind knowing that this could not be true. Pain is not part of God and so it cannot be. Let me sit in peace and allow the Light to shine away this dark vision. I feel rejected and abandoned. I know this cannot be a true reflection so I ask that the Light of God shine away the darkness. Rejection and abandonment are reflections from a sick mind, and I gladly accept healing from the Holy Spirit.

God’s Mind shone on me in my creation and brought my mind into being. If God’s Mind shone on mine then it must still shine on my mind because God does not take back His gifts. Everything in our world is unreliable, unpredictable, and unstable and so we have trouble envisioning something that does not vary. We have nothing with which to relate it. What in this world can we depend on? Even the earth itself is heading toward its own annihilation. But God is and that will never change. What God creates remains as it was created.

Because God created us like Himself, we are free and so while we cannot undo creation, and so we cannot prevent God from shining on us, we are free to deny it. When we deny the light we are unaware of what it would show us. This is the reason I can pretend to feel something God did not create and then convince myself that it is really happening.

My denial blocks the light that reveals the truth, and heals the mind that has blinded itself. But since I am the one who chose to be unaware of the perfect light that never ceases to shine on me, I am also free to change my mind. I do this by looking away from the dark reflection, refusing to believe it in spite of appearances. I look away from what I have done, and toward what God has done.

© 2013, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text 8-9-13

IV. This Need Not Be, Paragraph 8
8-9-13
8 Have you really considered how many opportunities you have had to gladden yourself, and how many of them you have refused? There is no limit to the power of a Son of God, but he can limit the expression of his power as much as he chooses. Your mind and mine can unite in shining your ego away, releasing the strength of God into everything you think and do. Do not settle for anything less than this, and refuse to accept anything but this as your goal. Watch your mind carefully for any beliefs that hinder its accomplishment, and step away from them. Judge how well you have done this by your own feelings, for this is the one right use of judgment. Judgment, like any other defense, can be used to attack or protect; to hurt or to heal. The ego should be brought to judgment and found wanting there. Without your own allegiance, protection and love, the ego cannot exist. Let it be judged truly and you must withdraw allegiance, protection and love from it.

“Your mind and mine can unite in shining your ego away, releasing the strength of God into everything you think and do.” This is my job, my purpose, my goal. This is what I do all day, every day. I am alert for the ego thinking and am willing to step away from it when I notice it. Often it is my emotions that let me know I am thinking with the ego mind rather than with God. Jesus says that judging how well I am doing in my vigilance is the right use of judgment.

Last night I had an opportunity to do this. I was part of a group text with my girls and one of them said something that triggered a reaction in me. It seemed to me she was being critical and unkind, and her comment felt like a knife piercing my heart. I felt angry and hurt. At the same time I felt these emotions, an “ego alert” went through my mind and so as I was experiencing these feelings, I also watched my thoughts.

I questioned my reaction. My daughter seemed to be deliberately rude and unkind. Is that true? I don’t know but it seems unlikely since normally she seems to love me. Maybe she was simply expressing herself in the same way she does to other people. Maybe sarcasm and sharply pointed words are just her way of making a point. Actually, I think these things are true about her, and I think maybe I had touched on something that triggers fear in her and she doesn’t like it so she tries to shut it down quickly and completely. It is not about me, but about her.

So why is it that I reacted so strongly to her comments? I didn’t know and had to ask the Holy Spirit what He wanted me to see. Suddenly I remembered that I used to do this to my mom. Also, I remembered how I thought I knew so much more than her when I was younger and I often spoke to her disrespectfully and unkindly. Two things were being triggered by my daughter’s comments to me.

One was the guilt I obviously still carried concerning my mother. I let that guilt come up and had a good cry. Such strong emotion! I could have sworn I had forgiven all that, but there it was, undeniable in its strength of emotion. I asked the Holy Spirit to heal my mind of the belief in guilt. This is how we shine the ego away.

The second thing that was triggered was a result of the guilt I felt about my behavior to my mom. I was always afraid that my kids felt the same contempt for me that I had sometimes felt for my mom. This was why I had such a visceral reaction to my daughter’s comments. I was afraid I was guilty and deserving of punishment, and my daughter’s words seemed to prove I was right. This fear is very strong in me. When my kids treat me with the love and respect that I don’t believe I deserve I am at the least, surprised, and sometimes even suspicious.

Once the Holy Spirit helped me to look honestly at my feelings and my thoughts I asked Him to help me see differently. I had wanted to change the way my daughter speaks to me but now with the Holy Spirit joining with me I felt the strength of that joining and right minded thoughts came to me. The solution to my problem was not going to be in blaming my daughter or changing her mind. The solution was to forgive myself and to accept the truth that I am that I am, and that does not change according to someone else’s judgment of me, or even my own judgment. I can choose to feel bad about myself, but I remain forever innocent.

After giving myself time to accept God’s judgment of me, I was able to see my daughter differently. I was able to see her need for me to be different with compassionate understanding. Didn’t I just go through the same thing with her? I had wanted to make her see me differently, or at least to talk about me behind my back where I wouldn’t have to look at my own fears and guilt. It always amazes me that simply forgiving something takes all the sting out of it. Suddenly hurtful words are just words.

Last night I withdrew my allegiance and my protection from the ego. I accomplished my one goal. I did this because I have learned to be vigilant for the ego, and I have carefully nurtured my willingness to be healed. I gladly joined with the Holy Spirit for this purpose and together our strength overcame the part of me that was still attached to the story and the ego thinking in this situation. I am grateful.

© 2013, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text 8-8-13

IV. This Need Not Be, Paragraph
8-9-13

7 The habit of engaging with God and His creations is easily made if you actively refuse to let your mind slip away. The problem is not one of concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is worth consistent effort. Side with me consistently against this deception, and do not permit this shabby belief to pull you back. The disheartened are useless to themselves and to me, but only the ego can be disheartened.

I remember what it feels like to be disheartened, and I remember it because occasionally my mind goes back to that state. I have a hard time letting go of some grievance, and after trying a few times and failing I begin to feel disheartened. I begin to feel like I can’t do this and there is a part of mind, familiar with this feeling, that says its no use. This is the part of my mind that used to believe I wasn’t worth the trouble.

I approached a customer about buying a new product that he needs for his water system and I am pretty sure that I failed to explain myself clearly. I sense that I did not gain his confidence and that he may not buy it or may buy it from someone else who inspires his confidence. Every time I think about this I feel guilty and fearful. I did not do a good job for my company or my customer. I feel like I have been doing this job for a long time now, and I should not have made this error. I feel bad about myself.

I knew that I was not thinking clearly and that my thinking was not in alignment with God’s Will. I knew this from the very beginning, but knowing this didn’t seem to help me let go of the thought that I was guilty for my failure. I have tried and failed to forgive myself. I feel like I have failed both as a sales person and as a spiritual student. This morning, I noticed the feeling is still popping up, but I noticed two other things.

I noticed that while I feel frustrated, and while the ego wants me to feel disheartened, and to give up, that is not happening. Instead, I am following those feelings and noticing the thoughts that create them. In so doing, I have realized that I became confused about what I was forgiving. The fact is that I might have failed to do my job in the way I thought I should. That is the only fact in this story and I am not sure that it is true. It is too early to tell.

Everything else about the story is something I made up. It is the ego interpretation of what the situation means. The ego says that if I did fail to make the sale it means I am unworthy and guilty. This interpretation is not in alignment with the Will of God. And it is this interpretation that I forgive. I accept the Atonement instead. I allow the Holy Spirit to heal my mind of the belief that convincing my customer to buy from me is what makes me worthy and failing to do this makes me unworthy.

The same is true about the feeling that taking days to come to this conclusion makes me an unworthy student of the Course. If it took me the rest of my life to let this go and accept the truth in its place, my reality would remain unaffected by that. I would still be innocent. I would still be exactly as God created me. In other words, and this is the second thing I realized, only the ego can feel disheartened and I am not the ego.

I stand outside these feelings that come and go and are based on mistaken beliefs, and am untouched by them. I see that the ego is disheartened and I realize that there are beliefs in the mind that need to be healed, but I also see that I am not the ego and I have nothing to fear because I belong to God. As my mind clears of its confusion, I am filled with gratitude. I am grateful I stuck with it and did not allow myself to succumb to the ego desire to give up. I am grateful for the clarity. I am grateful to let this craziness be undone for me and for all of us.

© 2013, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text 8-7-13

IV. This Need Not Be, Paragraph 6
8-7-13
6 Watch your mind for the temptations of the ego, and do not be deceived by it. It offers you nothing. When you have given up this voluntary dis-spiriting, you will see how your mind can focus and rise above fatigue and heal. Yet you are not sufficiently vigilant against the demands of the ego to disengage yourself. This need not be.

Over time I have been vigilant for the ego beliefs I still hold in my mind, and I am becoming more and more willing to let them go realizing they cannot be true. This has been quite a job! I keep finding layers and layers of belief. For instance, I have learned that I can do this writing in the mornings without worrying about the time. Jesus said he will take care of time for me and so I allow him to do so. It is such a relief not to be constantly watching the clock and worrying about time. The ego keeps trying to drag me back into the fear of time passing too quickly, but I remind myself that Jesus has got this.

Recently, I was worried about time because I was moving too slowly getting ready for work, getting distracted by things, many unimportant. I had the thought that I could give time to Jesus in this case as well, but didn’t do it. I felt that gentle tap on my shoulder and stopped to question my decision. Why not give all my time to Jesus and trust that it will be manipulated to my advantage?

As I watched my mind I saw that I felt like it would be wrong, because I could take care of this by myself if I just tried. I felt like I didn’t deserve help because I was goofing off. I felt like I deserved help while doing my writing because the work itself made me worthy. I questioned these thoughts and opened my mind to the Holy Spirit. He reminded me that I am not worthy because I do something and I am not unworthy because I do something else.

He asked me to imagine a world where I drifted through life without concern because I knew I belonged to God. I try to imagine that. I try to see myself looking at the clock and instead of being afraid, simply knowing that everything will work perfectly for me, not because I did something to deserve it, but because it is God’s Will that I be perfectly protected at all times. Could it be that I never have anything to fear unless I choose to believe in fear? Truly, am I volunteering to live in fear?

Living by the ego’s dictates is dispiriting. It wears me out and leaves me limp and listless at the end of the day, and that end comes earlier and earlier. I am willing to know that this need not be. As I wrote this the Holy Spirit spoke to me about another layer I had missed.

Holy Spirit: Dear one, you have heard Me when I spoke to you about fatigue and its cause. You understand that you become tired, not because the body wears out or because of lack of sleep, but because the mind engaged with ego beliefs and fears drains you of joy and robs you of peace. You have been very vigilant for the many opportunities to see this in your life, and you have taken advantage of these opportunities to let go of many of these beliefs.

What you have not seen is that you still believe that the failure to do this perfectly means you must accept the consequences of being dispirited and fatigued. This is not so. Could it ever be the Will of your Father that you suffer? You have glimpsed what I am saying to you, because you have asked me to help you see this differently, but then you allow the ego to persuade you to guilt and fall back into exhaustion. You but do this to yourself, my friend.

Let me tell you clearly, this need not be. When your day begins to wind down and you start to feel tiredness and discouragement in your mind, ask Me to intervene. I will undo this feeling for you if that is your choice. Already you have begun to see this differently and now you sometimes make a deliberate choice to focus on gratitude instead of fear and guilt.

Listen closely to what I say to you right now. You can do this every time. You can choose healing, gratitude, and joy every single day. At no time is it necessary that you indulge the ego and fall listlessly into your chair or enter sleep in a discouraged state. Joy is not something you earn. It is your right and nothing you do or fail to do can strip you of that right. Joy is yours simply for the asking. Ask Me to heal your mind when you think otherwise. It is My delight to do so.

© 2013, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.

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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

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