Together, We Light the Way

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

Remembering My Goal

This was helpful

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I was enjoying the perfect weather as I drove along the highway to see my next customer. I had been sharing texts with my daughters about what was going on in our lives and was thinking how much I wished I could enjoy this beautiful weather with them in person. We could hang out in the sun and talk. If only we didn’t have to work.

Suddenly I realized that my mood had plummeted. I started to try to push the mood aside and get back to feeling good but then let myself explore it first. I was surprised that when I allowed the mood rather than trying to push it down that it was so strong. I felt like crying. I had a tightness in my chest and my stomach clenched.

I used The Work by Byron Katie to get some clarity on this because I was having trouble seeing it differently. I asked the four questions and did the turnaround. It looked like this.

I think I should not have to work.

Is that true?

It feels like it is true. But maybe not.

Can you absolutely know it is true?

No.

How do you feel when you believe that you should not work and you are working?

I feel sad enough to cry. I have a lump in my throat and a weight on my chest. My stomach clenches. I feel unhappy.

How do you feel when you are working and you don’t believe that thought?

I feel happy and satisfied with the day. My mind is open to possibilities.

Turn it around and give three valid reasons why it is true.

I should have to work.

1.  I want to earn a living.

2.  I like making money.

3.  I enjoy my customers and often enjoy my job. It is not often boring.

Then I did the same thing with the statement, “I would be happy if only I didn’t have to work. As I got more clarity and more detachment from these thoughts and my feelings I asked Holy Spirit to help me look at this differently. The question that came into my mind was, “What is your purpose? What is your goal?”

Is it my goal to win the lottery and quit work? Is it my goal to spend time with my girls? Is it my goal to have more free time? Is it my goal to write, to teach, to preach?

As I considered these goals, which I obviously have, I remembered that I have a goal, a purpose and that is to wake up. It is my purpose to do my part to help awaken the Sonship. In order for it to be effective it must be a single undivided goal; my only goal. I cannot awaken with one foot in the world. It is all of these small goals (which may seem inconsequential) that are distracting me and taking the place of my true purpose.

All of those petty goals pale in the light of my true purpose. As I realized this I felt the weight lift from my chest. I could breathe again. Then I remembered that I am awakening. In NTI 1 Corinthians, the Holy Spirit assures us that if we are reading this book (and by extension doing these lessons) then I am in the process of awakening. I said it aloud. “I am waking up!”

The words put a smile on my face and opened my heart to joy. All of the other feelings (I could barely bring them to mind by now) faded away completely and I spent the rest of the day happy and at peace.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.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.

I Was Just Thinking

I think that whatever appears in my life that is not adding to the Kingdom is something to heal. It doesn’t matter where it comes from. It might be the result of the little private hell that I call Myron’s mind. For instance, perhaps I had been thinking about my daughter’s life and thinking she should be living it differently if she wants to be happy. These are thoughts that Myron is thinking and these thoughts are not true in spite of appearances. Holding onto these thoughts keep me in hell.

I think that there are thoughts which do not necessarily originate in the story of Myron, but are simply thoughts held in the one mind that are not true and need to be healed. If these thoughts pop up in my mind or the effects appear in my life then it is because I can heal them. In other words salvation isn’t personal. It doesn’t matter who is holding the error thoughts, the one who is most able to heal them has that opportunity.

If I see that someone is living as if they are separate from God in a way that I no longer do , then I think it has come to my attention because I can forgive that thought in the mind. This way of looking at it has made it easier for me to understand that I do not stand alone in anything. I am always part of the Sonship and all I think say and do affects the Sonship. I am always 100% responsible.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.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.

Letting Go of a Cherished Grievance

I read this from the lesson: Let me realize today that the problem is always some form of grievance that I would cherish. Let me also understand that the solution is always a miracle with which I let the grievance be replaced.

I thought about something that happened yesterday. I was driving along minding my own business when suddenly, and with no warning, I attacked my peace with a memory of something I did a long time ago that causes me shame and embarrassment even today. This is not the first time this has happened, even with this same thought.

My first reaction is always to put the memory aside so I don’t have to think about it. But for some years now I have stopped myself from doing that, and have looked at it with the Holy Spirit, asking that I be healed. Each time I thought it was done, that I no longer would feel shame when that memory arose. When it rose in my mind yesterday and I felt those same regrets I couldn’t believe it. I asked Holy Spirit just how long it was going to take to be through with this, and why couldn’t I let it go. It wasn’t even something important, but rather a petty reaction to some insignificant moment in my life, and yet every time I thought of it I felt shamed. What’s the deal, Holy Spirit?

Here (more or less) is what came into my mind.
 
I cannot let this go. It must be unforgivable.

Ha ha ha. That’s ridiculous. It wasn’t even all that important.

It happened. You did it and you can’t take it back. You are guilty. You will always be guilty. There is no forgiveness for this. That is why you cannot let it go.

Holding onto this guilty thought is keeping me from waking up.

Oh, my God. Thank you for showing me that. I don’t want this guilt. I want to wake up.

Holy Spirit: Now you see what the ego was really saying to you. You didn’t acknowledge this message before because it frightened you too much. The reason it frightened you is because you believed it. So you hid the message from yourself, but you could not hide the effect of the fear. The fear that your error was unforgivable kept you from truly looking at it with Me and thus kept it in your mind, where it periodically jumped up to terrorize you. This time, Myron, you truly wanted this clarity and so it was yours.

Me: Holy Spirit, thank you so much. My gratitude is so big I can barely contain it.

I would like to share with you the guilty memory that I allowed to hold me hostage for so long, but I cannot even remember what it was. It is a miracle.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.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.

Losing Weight

I was thinking about a discussion with a friend about losing weight. This has been a long time challenge for me. It is really one of those issues that I have wrapped up so tightly with ego thoughts that I have only been able to work my way out of it a little at a time. First I had to understand that food is not the cause of weight gain though it is the vehicle I use in the illusion to create the illusion of a heavy body. That seems pretty simple and obvious but it took me years to get there. I truly didn’t want to know I was responsible for this. I wanted it to be my mother’s fault, the result of a fat gene, or any of dozens of other excuses. I was even willing to, finally, be responsible if responsibility looked like guilt, but I just didn’t want to know that if I was overweight then I wanted to be overweight.

But of course, that is where I finally had to go, because that is where I can accept correction and begin to heal. What I understand now is that being overweight or underweight or any shape and size of body projection is not a problem. It needs no solution. Being a certain size and thinking I should be a different size, and believing I would be happy if my size changed is the problem that needs a solution. This belief that I am somehow victim to my body is the problem that needs a solution. It goes without saying that the solution is not a diet or exercise program or any application of self will. These solutions keep the solution separate from the problem.

This is not to say that I should not exercise or eat a certain way. It is to say that any solution that comes from ego is an attempt by ego to maintain control, that is to be god. What I am doing right now, and this is to the best of my present understanding, is to be honest. When I say I want to lose weight and then have an éclair I have just lied to myself. Obviously, using the rules I set for myself if I eat an éclair I have no intention of losing weight. Can I change the rules I set for myself? Maybe, but first I think I need to work on honesty. I need to stop using the present rules to create victimhood and failure. So when I eat the éclair I notice what I have done and how it makes me feel. I hand-off the guilty thoughts and the fear thoughts to the Holy Spirit and consider my job done. Oh, here is a self judgment thought. I hand that one over, too.

I look in the mirror and see too much of me. I notice those thoughts I am thinking without God and hand them off to the Holy Spirit. I can’t fit into my favorite jeans and feel self-loathing; I hand that feeling off to the Holy Spirit. I am faced with a buffet of delicious food and notice I am not asking Holy Spirit to help me choose what the body could most use. I notice guilt and hand that off to the Holy Spirit. I watch closely for self judgment all the time and hand it off when I see it.

Will all of this help me lose weight? I don’t know, but it is my job, my purpose for being here. It will bring me peace and happiness. We’ll see about the weight. I don’t think it would even matter. Why do I want to lose weight? My reason for being thinner is so that I will feel accepted, loved, and admired because I think that will make me happy. Maybe I will just hand off those goals and allow the Holy Spirit to purify them and then I can skip the whole diet thing and go straight to being happy.

 

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.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.

It’s Perfect

When I noticed that I was feeling guilty for feeling guilty I knew that the ego had lured me into one of its crazy cycles with no exit.  And when I notice that my thoughts are indicative of a false belief I am holding in my mind and I feel guilty or helpless in its grip, I know that , once again, I’ve stepped into the ego’s endless loop of guilt.

For the last couple of days I had been feeling sad, and mildly anxious. At first I wasn’t sure what story had hooked me, but when I examined my thoughts I realized it was the story of my daughter changing our special relationship. She has a boyfriend now and they have hit it off in a big way. This relationship could lead to her moving to be with him. I live on the same piece of property she does so the ego interprets this as meaning she is leaving me for him.

When I realized what was going on with me and really looked at this, it was pretty embarrassing to me. I’m sixty years old. I have lived alone for ten years and like my life. She is thirty-eight years old and has been independent for a long time. I feel ridiculous about the whole thing. Of course, if I hold the belief of loss and special relationships in my mind then I will feel these things when one of those special relationships changes. That’s just how it is.

I was also feeling guilty because my feelings imply I would have her stay alone and single so that she would remain near me. This is doubly ridiculous because even though she does live just a few steps away from me we don’t see each other very often, maybe only a couple of times a week and some weeks it is only in passing. I like that she is there, though, and I can now see my grandkids when I want to, so that relationship will change, too.

I asked the Holy Spirit to look with me as I examined my thoughts and my emotional reaction to them. I felt embarrassed, ashamed, and guilty. The thought that came clearly into my mind is, “this is perfect.” At first I didn’t understand and so I sat with it awhile. Suddenly I got it. I have asked the Holy Spirit to transform my special relationships so that they will be holy relationships. How else could this happen except to see the specialness in them and to choose to have this healed. That is all that is happening here. It is my request being fulfilled. It’s perfect.

I also asked the Holy Spirit to show me everything in my mind that needs to be healed so that I can awaken. This is being done as well, as I have asked. I see the belief in lack and loss as I look at this. I see the belief that I could truly be separate from all others and be alone. This is absolutely what I asked for and absolutely perfect. It only appeared to be painful because I asked the ego what it meant. Of course, he showed me guilt because that is what he knows.

Here is the way the Holy Spirit helped me to see this more clearly. I saw myself working on an assembly line.  My job was to examine each part that came out and when I saw one that didn’t look right I was to take it off the line. It wasn’t my fault a piece was not as it should be, but it was my responsibility to spot it. I wouldn’t feel guilty because it was malformed, I would just remove it.

It’s the same way with my thoughts. I don’t create thoughts; they simply arise into my awareness. Most of them simply pass through my mind and I let them go on. They hold no emotional charge for me. They don’t hook me.  Some of them do get my attention and I react to them. These are the ones I believe. But none of them are my creation. I have no more reason to feel guilty they are passing through than I would have reason to feel guilty about a damaged part passing by on that imaginary assembly line. But just as on the assembly line it is my responsibility to spot it.

After seeing my special relationship problem in this new light I was able to use it for healing rather than to feel victim to the circumstances. Yesterday when I visited Sheryl’s house Barry was there. What I noticed is that I felt like crying and so I let the tears come. The reaction came and went. I invited them to eat supper with me, and cooked shrimp stew for them. This morning I notice that I am not reacting to the situation. Perhaps I am through with it. I remain open in case there is more to heal. It’s perfect.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. https://www.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 357 of 380 pages ‹ First  < 355 356 357 358 359 >  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…

Gary Renard Workshop CDs and DVDs, including The Art of Advanced Forgiveness, Love Has Forgotten No One, and 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 scribed by Darrell Morley Price. A simple, yet profound message that you can immediately apply to current circumstances. More….

Eternal Life and A Course in Miracles by Jon Mundy, Phd. A Path to Eternity in the Essential Text. Sale, 32% discount. Learn 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 6 CD audio book by Rev. Myron Jones. Learn how family relationships offer fertile grounds for forgiveness and healing your judgments of the world. More.