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Study of the Text 12-19-12

12-19-12
3 The Garden of Eden, or the pre-separation condition, was a state of mind in which nothing was needed. When Adam listened to the “lies of the serpent,” all he heard was untruth. You do not have to continue to believe what is not true unless you choose to do so. All that can literally disappear in the twinkling of an eye because it is merely a misperception. What is seen in dreams seems to be very real. Yet the Bible says that a deep sleep fell upon Adam, and nowhere is there reference to his waking up. The world has not yet experienced any comprehensive reawakening or rebirth. Such a rebirth is impossible as long as you continue to project or miscreate. It still remains within you, however, to extend as God extended His Spirit to you. In reality this is your only choice, because your free will was given you for your joy in creating the perfect.

Every time I listen to the thoughts of the ego mind and believe what I hear, I am Adam listening to the lies of the serpent. What the ego says to me over and over again is that I should be worried. I should be afraid. I am guilty. Then it says that it’s not my fault. It is his fault or her fault. The ego says that the world is real, my body is real and it is separate from every other body and every other thing. It says that not only am I separate from God, but that God is a threat and something to be avoided.

The ego says these things over and over in a thousand different ways every waking moment, and then it dreams of them all night. If I continue to believe these lies I will live in fear and regret. I will never let go of separation because I will believe I need my brother and the world to be separate so I can have someplace to project my guilt. I will never move toward God because I will be afraid of God. I will never create because I am so busy miscreating so that I can cover my tracks.

Do you wonder how to stop believing the lies when they seem so real, when you seem to have so much proof that they are real? Are you waiting for a sign? Are you looking for confirmation that the truth is true and nothing else is true? Are you asking the ego to show you this? Of course the ego will not, and if you are looking at the world for proof you are looking to the ego. The world is your proof against God. Do not look there for proof of God.

There was an Indiana Jones movie in which he desperately needed to cross a chasm. There seemed to be no way and the bad guys were fast approaching. His mind showed him that he was on one side and there was nothing but air and a long deadly fall between him and the other side. But he also had reason to believe that there was a path in spite of the emptiness his eyes were showing him. The only way to find out was to step out into the apparent emptiness.

It was a delicious moment of spine tingling suspense when he just closed his eyes and disregarded appearances. He stepped out into nothingness and put his foot down on a column rising from the floor of the cavern. It had not been visible to him until his foot touched it. He hesitated again and then stepped out on faith and as he put his foot down the next one appeared.

Again he hesitated, but as he was rewarded with another column to support him, his faith took him swiftly across. Each time his foot left the column it disappeared and when the bad guys caught up they were dumbfounded to see him on the other side with no apparent way to reach it.

This is it! This is the way it is done! I look at the world and I am so convinced that it is true, but the Course and the lessons in it have opened my mind to something else. I have allowed myself to believe in the “other side” and now I am putting my trust in what I cannot see to take me there. I am putting my foot forward and trusting that there is something to put it on. This is the only way to awaken. The proof that the truth is true comes from believing it, not from staring at the lie and waiting for it to reveal something else.

When the ego is desperate to regain my attention, the body becomes its fallback plan. Pain and sickness are good ways to make the world seem very real. But putting my foot out into apparent emptiness, I remember that Lesson 190 says that there is no pain. And if there is no pain, there is no sickness. I turn to that simple statement even as pain and sickness dog my heels. I turn to it even in the face of apparent proof.

The thought given me is that what is happening in the body cannot be real because the body is not real. I am reminded that there is nothing outside my mind. If nothing is outside my mind, then neither is this body outside my mind. It is only a thought I am having. I must be thinking of illness or pain for the thought of the body to be sick or in pain. And further, I must think there is some value in pain and sickness or I would not be doing this to myself. The column appears under my foot as I set it down. I ask the Holy Spirit to heal my mind of this obvious error in thinking.

The ego does not easily give up the belief in pain and sickness. This has always been its ace in the hole, the way it convinces me that the body is real. The ego mind warns me that if I stop believing in the body as real, I am giving up my hiding place and will soon find myself face to face with God and this will be deadly.

A Course in Miracles says that God loves me and that it is safe to return to Him. I decide to put my faith in these words instead of the ego story, and I put my foot down again and find I am still being supported. Crossing this chasm has been slow and tedious as I question and doubt each step, but there is nowhere to go but forward, and my perseverance has paid off. I move forward more certainly and more quickly now.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text 12-18-12

12-18-12
2 These related distortions represent a picture of what actually occurred in the separation, or the “detour into fear.” None of this existed before the separation, nor does it actually exist now. Everything God created is like Him. Extension, as undertaken by God, is similar to the inner radiance that the children of the Father inherit from Him. Its real source is internal. This is as true of the Son as of the Father. In this sense the creation includes both the creation of the Son by God, and the Son’s creations when his mind is healed. This requires God’s endowment of the Son with free will, because all loving creation is freely given in one continuous line, in which all aspects are of the same order.

I like the way Jesus phrases our present experience. H calls it the separation, and the detour into fear, and later he calls it the tiny mad idea. I am relieved he doesn’t call it the unforgivable sin or the betrayal of God, or the last straw. However he describes it, he reminds us that in spite of how real it feels to us, it is only an illusion and never actually happened. He says this over and over in very clear and direct terms. Its amazing really, that we can read it over and over and still think it must mean something else.

I certainly spent a lot of time reading right over those words. Maybe I didn’t want to embarrass Jesus by pointing out his obvious error. ~smile~ I continued to look at the seeming proof that my story of pain and suffering was reality and that Jesus was delusional. Happy to say that my apparent mental confusion is a temporary illness and I seem to be recovering. I have not flung God from His throne, and reality has not abdicated to fantasy.

No matter how long I sit huddled within myself, quaking in fear and planning my defenses, God is still love and nothing else exists except in my fevered imagination. I detoured into fear, but I have an internal guide to direct me to the straight and narrow path Home. Thus forward when I speak of being afraid or of anger and guilt, and when I am uncertain or doubtful, when I shake at the thought of death, could one of you give me a gentle shake? I still tend to fall back to sleep now and again.

When my mind is clear I know I am the Son of God, the Son of Love. I know that only Love exists and so I must be Love as well. I know that I am whole, complete, and lacking nothing. I know that I have never left this state and that there is nowhere for me to go, nothing I need do, and no effort is needed to be me. Does an apple try to be an apple? God help me to obtain the clarity of an apple.

In spite of the clarity that I have gained, periodically my mind clouds and for a bit I think Reality has been set on its head by my imaginings, and momentarily I become confused and frightened again.  The lovely thing is, once the awakening begins, the forays into darkness are shorter and less frightening because the light I have uncovered never completely dims and I see my way back so much more easily.

Holy Spirit, I know I am the one wandering off the path, but I am also the one calling for salvation. When I become confused, please give me clarity. When I become afraid, please help me to see there could never be anything to fear. When I feel anger or disappointment at someone or something, point me inward. When I forget that eternal life is the only truth and I feel loss, comfort me and help me regain my vision.

Now that I have opened my eyes and see the words you gave me, Jesus, I can never again be fully blind. I see, if only dimly, and the joy of that vision will not be denied. God created me and creation moves in one continuous line. I am like my creator and my creations, when my mind is healed, are like my Father’s creations.

There does not in all of creation exist anything that is not Love. What ever I see or think I see can be easily categorized as real or not real. No other description need concern me. No other action needs my attention. “Here it is, Holy Spirit, this belief, this seeming thing, or person or situation. Is it true? If not, please heal my vision.” How free I am! Thank you, God. I love you God.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

A Morning Prayer and an Opportunity to Use It

My mind is full of prayer this morning. Father, as I do this work, please help me to remember that there is nothing outside my mind and therefore all healing is done in my mind. Please help me to resist the desire to find someone else to blame and to remember that there is no one else.

Amen

I had an opportunity to put this prayer to work early this morning. Right before I left for work my brother called me to say he had bad news. I bought a house recently and there were a few things to do to get it ready to move in. One of those things was to replace the roof. My brother has been overseeing the projects and he got the shingles and other things needed for a roof delivered to my house at 9AM on Saturday. At 10AM the roofers showed up to work through the weekend, and the tiles were gone. In that one hour in broad daylight someone had stolen them. So I have to buy them all over again. I think its around $2500-3000.

After the initial surprise I realized that someone took my money but my peace is not for sale. I cannot change what has happened and I’m not going to worry about it. It will work out. Shortly later as I was leaving for work, I was closing the door behind me and looked back to see the things in my house. I had the thought that someone could take them, too. I cannot live like that. There is nothing in my home that is worth my peace. I let that go, too.

As I thought about having to buy the shingles again, I had a couple of stressful feelings that I gave to the Holy Spirit. I asked that He heal my mind and that He tell me what He wants me to know about this. The thought that came to me is that as long as I hold the belief in loss and lack in my mind this kind of thing will continue to happen. A belief held in the mind is like a prayer and all prayers are answered. So I asked that my mind be healed of the belief in anything that God did not create and He did not create lack or loss. 

I could easily have seen this situation as something done to me by someone else. I could have seen myself as a victim and the thief as guilty. I am so glad I began the morning with this prayer. It was like a beacon light that guided my mind to the helpful answer.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of the Text 12-17-12

Father, as I do this work, please help me to remember that there is nothing outside my mind and therefore all healing is done in my mind. Please help me to resist the desire to find someone else to blame and to remember that there is no one else.

Amen

12-17-12

Chapter 2: THE SEPARATION AND THE ATONEMENT

I. The Origins of Separation

1 To extend is a fundamental aspect of God which He gave to His Son. In the creation, God extended Himself to His creations and imbued them with the same loving Will to create. You have not only been fully created, but have also been created perfect. There is no emptiness in you. Because of your likeness to your Creator you are creative. No child of God can lose this ability because it is inherent in what he is, but he can use it inappropriately by projecting. The inappropriate use of extension, or projection, occurs when you believe that some emptiness or lack exists in you, and that you can fill it with your own ideas instead of truth. This process involves the following steps:

First, you believe that what God created can be changed by your own mind.

Second, you believe that what is perfect can be rendered imperfect or lacking.

Third, you believe that you can distort the creations of God, including yourself.

Fourth, you believe that you can create yourself, and that the direction of your own creation is up to you.

What a very clear explanation. I am created perfect and so am a perfect creator which means I create through the extension of what I am. This ability is inviolate. It cannot be lost. But I can also project Projection is the inappropriate use of my powers of creation. This occurs when I believe lack exists in me (even though I cannot lack because that would mean I was not a perfect creation) and I try to fill that emptiness with my own ideas instead of truth.

(I note that these points Jesus makes about my beliefs are not things I could believe or might believe or sometimes believe, or that my neighbor believes but I don’t. He says very clearly; you believe. It won’t be helpful to the healing of my mind if I go back into denial.)

This seems very strange and not really possible. I mean, I am perfect, and I am a creator. And yet, I have forgotten how to create, and use my powers to project instead. I do this because I feel empty and yet I cannot be empty. I think I have a better idea than God and so I try to fill up the imaginary emptiness with my own ideas of what things are and how they should be. Its all a mess and I feel guilty and afraid of what I have done, afraid to keep doing it and afraid to stop.

I feel a little better now because I am receiving an explanation for what happened and a way to undo what I have done. I am discovering that the truth is in my mind and has always been there. I am allowing that truth to be uncovered and to rise to the level of conscious awareness. I am grateful for the following explanation.

First I believe that what God created can be changed by my own mind. This must be the source of the deep well of unconscious guilt that keeps fueling the apparent guilt in my life. I think that I have singlehandedly undone God. Jeepers creepers! What a belief! I want to let this go but I keep getting distracted by all the apparent proof I have that this is true.

That proof shows me that I really have undone God and made myself different. I have distorted creation and am now in charge. Just look at the killing of those little kindergarteners. Either God did it or I did it in spite of God. Either way I am totally creeped out and don’t want to think about it.

There is a place in me that, while outwardly denied, is certain that this is not the work of God. If this is my work, my “creation” I messed up badly and so now I want to jump in and make it better. I suspect I feel desperate to make up for it. I have projected this bit of drama and now I further project by making it someone else’s fault.

This confused part of mind is probably very glad right about now that it thought to make a lot of bodies on which to project. It’s those self-centered gun mongers who are at fault. It’s the makers of the violent video games, the lack of funds for more mental health care, or maybe we should just lock up all the loonies before they get a chance to hurt anyone. One newscaster suggested we start keeping an eye on our neighbors for signs of aberrant behavior. (According to what is considered normal in our world, I’ll probably be the first one they take in.)

And so I have believed that what God created can be changed by my own mind. And because I believe it I see it as if it is real. I believe that what is perfect can be rendered imperfect or lacking. And because I believe it I interpret everything I see as not only real, but imperfect and lacking. I believe that I can distort the creations of God, including myself. And because I believe it, I seem to be distorted and my brothers even more so, and I provide, through my beliefs, all the proof you could want. And obviously, I believe that I can create myself, and that the direction of my own creation is up to me.

I also suspect that I don’t want to give up all this “power” to miscreate, and that I think giving it up would be a sacrifice. I am obviously very confused but I see signs that this is true. Thinking of this is very scary because I don’t see an acceptable way out of it and at the same time I see myself getting in deeper and deeper as the world goes to hell in a hand basket. Thank God for Voice in my mind that is leading me gently from my delusions back to truth.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

On the Killing of the Kindergarten Children

From yesterday: I fully and without exception accept responsibility for the whole world. I did this, and it is I who must undo it. I am not guilty for it and I have lots of help from my brothers who have already gone before me.

And so today as I think about the children killed at their school, I accept responsibility. We are one. We share the same mind. I contribute to the beliefs that are then projected onto the world as form. This man who killed his mom and then brought the guns to her school and shot those children and adults is an image, a projection of the angry, fearful and insane separation thoughts that live in the mind because they are supported by my continued belief in them.

I am not guilty for this, I am simply responsible for it. The way to end the slaughter of children is to heal my own mind. Is it a tragedy? In time, yes, it is. That is why Jesus wants us to end time. This is why we are here on this page, studying this book, practicing it’s lessons and watching our minds for the separation thoughts that keep time in place, and support the insanity of the ego thinking. We do this so that we can heal the one mind.

I’m clear on this. Here is what I find happening in my mind this morning. I feel very sad for the families of the shooter and the children. I notice that I still believe the world is real, because I cry when I think of them. This will take care of itself as I continue to do the work.

I notice as I read the postings on Facebook this morning that I want to step into the world and fix this problem with gun control. It just makes sense to me in so many ways, and seems to be supported by the facts. Then I remember that while this may or may not be true, it is not where I want to put my energy.

I can never fix the world within the world. I cannot control who has a gun or who does not. I cannot keep the more insane of us from acting on their distorted perceptions. I cannot gather all the children and safeguard them. And even if I could, I still would not do that. There is nothing outside my mind. All healing takes place in my mind and only in my mind, and as I accept the Atonement for myself, I do it for my brothers and sisters as well, just as Jesus did it for us.

We all suffer today with the families directly involved in this awful thing. We suffer with them because we are one with them. They are the expressions of our own fears and our belief in loss, in suffering and death. But in the midst of all this suffering, we are surrounded by angels who come to comfort us. May the families of the children and adults killed yesterday, and the family of the man who killed them, feel the love and comfort that is being offered them.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.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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