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Study of the Text, Chapter 8: VII. The Body as a Means of Communication, Paragraph 5 10-7-14

VII. The Body as a Means of Communication P 5
5 Yet all loss comes only from your own misunderstanding. Loss of any kind is impossible. But when you look upon a brother as a physical entity, his power and glory are “lost” to you and so are yours. You have attacked him, but you must have attacked yourself first. Do not see him this way for your own salvation, which must bring him his. Do not allow him to belittle himself in your mind, but give him freedom from his belief in littleness, and thus escape from yours. As part of you, he is holy. As part of me, you are. To communicate with part of God Himself is to reach beyond the Kingdom to its Creator, through His Voice which He has established as part of you.

Jesus is telling me a lot in this short paragraph.

Loss is impossible.
I can believe I am lost when I think of my brother as a physical entity.
We are holy.
We are part of each other and part of Jesus.
We communicate with God Himself through His Voice which is part of us.

Someone I know was behaving badly. I saw the behavior but I didn’t believe it. I know this is not who he is, but is just a reaction to the fear thoughts in his mind. I didn’t correct him or berate him. I didn’t judge him, even in my thoughts. I didn’t attack him because I wasn’t, in that moment, attacking myself. I felt close to God and so close to the truth of my own power and glory.

My steadfast belief in myself made it possible for me to hold that same certainty for my friend, and helped him return to peace. Whether he is aware of it or not, he experienced a shift that will help him the next time his fear thoughts are triggered. My decision to see the truth instead of the confusion that his fear thoughts were causing strengthened my own faith. Now it will be easier to make that same decision the next time I am faced with a choice about how to see my brother.

My eyes show me a physical entity with all the frailties that go with the belief that using a body is the same thing as being a body. I can choose to believe what I see, or I can choose to believe what I know. Each time I choose to use my spiritual vision I come closer to full remembrance of my true nature. Remembering that to do less is an attack on both myself, and my brother, motivates me to be vigilant in my choices.

When I first started the study of A Course in Miracles I was not comfortable with the idea of communicating with God. I was too afraid, too full of self-loathing. I liked the idea of communicating with the Holy Spirit. This seemed safer. But now, with more mind healing and less fear I am ready to accept that the Holy Spirit is the Voice for God, that when I speak to the Holy Spirit I am speaking to God, and that when the Holy Spirit speaks to me, God is speaking to me.

I am not alone in returning my mind to the Kingdom. I am fully joined with all my brothers, including Jesus. I am also joined with God, through the Holy Spirit which He placed in my mind for that purpose. How could I experience loss of any kind except that I choose to willfully turn from my own power and glory? Alone I can do nothing, but then I am never alone, and in my true Self, which includes my brothers and my Father, I can do all things.

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Study of the Text, Chapter 8: VII. The Body as a Means of Communication, Paragraph 4 10-6-14

VII. The Body as a Means of Communication P 4
4 Communication ends separation. Attack promotes it. The body is beautiful or ugly, peaceful or savage, helpful or harmful, according to the use to which it is put. And in the body of another you will see the use to which you have put yours. If the body becomes a means you give to the Holy Spirit to use on behalf of union of the Sonship, you will not see anything physical except as what it is. Use it for truth and you will see it truly. Misuse it and you will misunderstand it, because you have already done so by misusing it. Interpret anything apart from the Holy Spirit and you will mistrust it. This will lead you to hatred and attack and loss of peace.

My body will be whatever it is I decide according to the use to which I put it. It will reflect that use which will always be attack or loss in one form or another. How I see another body will depend on my interpretation and that depends on what use I have given mine. So what I see in myself or in another is completely dependent on what I think, and what I believe.

I’m thinking about how I used my body this weekend. I used it to communicate as I willingly and gladly stepped back and allowed Spirit to speak through me with no desire to direct the words or give them meaning apart from His. I used my body to communicate as I did my grandson’s chore for him as an expression of love; a quiet gift, a little surprise, an expression of appreciation.

I misused my body while shopping as I wrapped myself in my own little world and spared not a smile or acknowledgment to those around me. I misused my body as I used it to attract admiration of its decorations, and equally when I used it to repel joining, and thus attacking our oneness. I misused it when I used it to teach myself that my discomfort was caused by my body. How ridiculous that was, as if the body is creative and could cause anything.

So it was a mixed bag for me, and that reflects my decision for God. My decision is not absolute, but as I think about it, my decision is stronger than it used to be and I know I will continue to choose for God over and over until that is the decision I make every time. I feel a sense of anticipation as I look forward to another day of opportunity to use my body as the communication device it is.

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Study of the Text, Chapter 8: VII. The Body as a Means of Communication, Paragraph 3 10-3-14

VII. The Body as a Means of Communication P 3
3 If you use the body for attack, it is harmful to you. If you use it only to reach the minds of those who believe they are bodies, and teach them through the body that this is not so, you will understand the power of the mind that is in you. If you use the body for this and only for this, you cannot use it for attack. In the service of uniting it becomes a beautiful lesson in communion, which has value until communion is. This is God’s way of making unlimited what you have limited. The Holy Spirit does not see the body as you do, because He knows the only reality of anything is the service it renders God on behalf of the function He gives it.

How do I teach others that they are not bodies? By not attacking them. Only bodies can attack or be attacked, so by not attacking and by not defending against attack, I teach myself and others that we are not bodies. And of course, the opposite is true as well. In defense and attack I teach that we are bodies and separate and limited.

As a sales person I used to think of my customers as a means to earn a living and other sales people as competitors, enemies who were a threat to that goal. This is how the ego uses the body. It promotes separation and thinks of its needs as different from, and more important than, the needs of others. It can be very single minded in getting its own needs met.

As I began to experience more mind healing, I began to see my customers and even my competitors in a different way. Instead of seeing bodies that could be used to meet my perceived needs, I began to see brothers and sisters. I began to see opportunities to practice kindness and to extend love. I began to ask the Holy Spirit how He would have me serve God in these relationships.

Now, with this practice, I recognize when I am misusing the body by putting it into service to the ego, and I ask for correction. Usually, my vision shifts pretty quickly, but even if fear blocks that shift temporarily, I know the goal and I persist. I want to use the body as a communication device rather than a separation device. I want to teach myself and everyone else that we are one in spirit regardless of the appearance of separation.

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Study of the Text, Chapter 8,VII. The Body as a Means of Communication, P 2. 10-2-14

VII. The Body as a Means of Communication P 2
2 Remember that the Holy Spirit interprets the body only as a means of communication. Being the communication link between God and His separated Sons, the Holy Spirit interprets everything you have made in the light of what He is. The ego separates through the body. The Holy Spirit reaches through it to others. You do not perceive your brothers as the Holy Spirit does, because you do not regard bodies solely as a means of joining minds and uniting them with yours and mine. This interpretation of the body will change your mind entirely about its value. Of itself it has none.

The body has no value of itself. You wouldn’t guess this by the way the body is glorified in this world. The more beautiful and the more perfect the body, the more esteem it is given. People even tend to judge the person according to the body it is using, as if a sick or imperfect body were an indication of the state of the soul that is abiding as that body.

You would think that the body is a god, we spend so much time protecting it, glamorizing it, decorating it, and worshipping it. And yet, Jesus says it has no value of itself. Of itself it was made by the ego mind to stand for separation, as proof we are not connected to each other or to God, and as proof that we are unlike God. But everything made by the ego mind to prove separation, can be used by the Holy Spirit to undo separation.

I was checking into my hotel last night and there was a new clerk who was slowly and uncertainly doing her job of checking me in. As I noticed my eyes rolling and my fingers tapping in impatience, I remembered that this is the use the ego has for bodies. In my frustration I was assigning needs to this body that were not being met in a timely manner. She had given different goals to her body and that was her focus. I didn’t see our sameness in that moment, rather, I saw her as an obstruction to what I needed. That took me up short.

I saw this holy, Divine Being, disguised as the body of hotel clerk, as merely an obstruction to the perceived needs of this body. Let us all bow down before the body which takes precedence over kindness and whose needs are more important than love. Let us use this body to prove, once and for all, that there is no oneness, only many separate needy bodies scrambling to get their desires met before it is too late and someone beats them to it. What a sad and depressing little story of deprivation this is.

As I saw that moment for what it was, I changed my mind. I didn’t want my room in a timely manner. I didn’t want to be treated with respect. I didn’t want to put this body on a pedestal for all to worship. I just wanted to know this woman as my sister and self, and so that is what I asked for. No, I didn’t freak out the clerk, it was the Holy Spirit I spoke to. I asked Him to heal my mind so that I could allow the body to be used for a different purpose.

“I give this body to You today, Spirit. Please use these feet to bring this body where you need it to be. Work through it to bring us together. Please speak through this mouth words that bring understanding, use these hands to bring comfort and ease. Spirit, this body was made to symbolize and sustain separation; convert it to Your use so that it might become a symbol of oneness instead.”

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Study of the Text, Chapter 8: VII. The Body as a Means of Communication, Paragraph 1 9-30-14

VII. The Body as a Means of Communication
1 Attack is always physical. When attack in any form enters your mind you are equating yourself with a body, since this is the ego’s interpretation of the body. You do not have to attack physically to accept this interpretation. You are accepting it simply by the belief that attack can get you something you want. If you did not believe this, the idea of attack would have no appeal for you. When you equate yourself with a body you will always experience depression. When a child of God thinks of himself in this way he is belittling himself, and seeing his brothers as similarly belittled. Since he can find himself only in them, he has cut himself off from salvation.

At first I wondered if this could be true, that attack is always about the body. Then I realized that yes, it is. I had attack thoughts yesterday. I thought my coworkers were being too loud and interfering with my concentration. I was equating myself with a body, right? I felt tired and distracted. Body again. I felt like I needed to hurry that I wasn’t going to get through. Need a body for that. I resented everyone who interrupted me. Again, some bodies come into play.

I had trouble focusing and my mind wandered. Isn’t that about the mind? What I noticed is that I had this problem because the body was tired. I also noticed the distractions were always about other bodies and that had a lot to do with loss of focus. Anything that stems from the idea of separation is about bodies, is about others.

We obviously have bodies here, but it is when we equate ourselves with these bodies that we have problems. When I identify with my ego self, the body and personality of Myron, I get all wrapped up in her story. It is a natural consequence of ego identity that I perceive attack and defend myself. The idea of separate selves, unconnected with each other creates an atmosphere of comparison and contrast and competition.

Time is part of the separation story. I have to get this body moving and get to this other space in a timely manner. Otherwise some other body is going to be unhappy with me. All these other bodies seem to be determined to keep me from doing what I absolutely have to do. It is all their fault. Life becomes a war that I feel I have to win and everyone is my enemy, just obstacles to my plans. Well, except for a few “special” bodies designated as “loved ones.” And even they get booted into the enemy camp sometimes.

I have discovered that I can live in a body without identifying with the body as self. I have not succeeded in doing this all the time, but having done it at all, I know I will succeed. In the Course, Jesus tells us that we can learn to listen to only the Voice for God, even here. The more often I choose that Voice, the less I think of myself as this body. I more often now identify self as spirit.

When I think of myself as spirit, I feel expansive about life and toward my brothers and sisters. They no longer seem to infringe on my space because I have no space that is not their space, too. I don’t blame them for whatever is going on with me because as spirit I know that I choose my life and everything that happens to me in this body. My brothers and sisters are playing at life with me, not fighting against me.

When I identify closely with spirit rather than with ego, everything feels different. I feel close to everyone. I feel like they are working on my behalf, that the world is for me rather than against me. I see little or no gap between us. Yes we are playing in bodies, pretending to be this one and that one, but I can’t believe in the separation and I don’t take the game too seriously. I certainly don’t get mad at someone else for living their story. It becomes more interesting than obstructing.

Sometimes it feels like I have a split personality. I will be the happy someone who finds life fascinating and feels treasured by others and by the universe itself. Other times, I feel like my whole day is devoted to defending myself from everyone who shows up for my story. After one of those days, I am exhausted and generally by the next morning, I am feeling ridiculous and regretful. I look back on how I felt and reacted and I can’t believe I attacked so often during the day.

Today’s Lesson says the stillness of the peace of God is mine. It doesn’t say it could be mine, but that it is mine. I can keep the regret for yesterday if I prefer regret, but the peace of God is mine so I can choose that instead if I want. I can laugh at yesterday and at my choice to see bodies and identify with this body.

I wasn’t able to choose peace yesterday, but I am able to see what I did and how that feels, and today, make a different choice. Yesterday wasn’t a wasted day because today I know that I don’t want to attack or be attacked. Yesterday taught me that I want to return my mind to God and to the peace of God.

© 2014, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of the Text, Chapter 8: VI. The Treasure of God, Paragraph 10 9-29-14

VI. The Treasure of God, P 10
10 What God has willed for you is yours. He has given His Will to His treasure, whose treasure it is. Your heart lies where your treasure is, as His does. You who are beloved of God are wholly blessed. Learn this of me, and free the holy will of all those who are as blessed as you are.

God gave me His Will and so it is mine. I cannot lose it or be without it, not even temporarily. God’s Will is my will. I can pretend not to know this and pretend to have a different will, and it will seem very real to me because of the power of my mind. But even then, even while I am choosing to believe in a different will, God’s Will is my will. It is mine eternally because God’s gifts are eternal.

I have imprisoned my holy will and I am now making a different choice. Here I am, God. I open my mind and my heart to You. I choose to turn from the illusion of separate wills and to embrace the gift of Your Will. I am so grateful to find it still there where you put it, in my heart. It is my treasure. I desire to keep it in my awareness by giving it. Help me to do this. How would you have me bless my brothers and sisters?

I am almost afraid to claim my inheritance like this because I have recently experienced an ego backlash and still feel the sting. But, I feel the desire to return home drawing me toward You, Father. It is irresistible. I feel so close and yet, I also feel fear. Even as I say this I hear the answer in my mind; We are the Sons of God. There is no fear in us.

The fear that I feel must be in the ego mind, and I am not the ego. It cannot be in me because I am God’s Holy Son and there is no fear in me. I am created by God and in my creation, I was given all that God is. There is no fear in God so there is no fear in me. The more I allow these thoughts to fill my mind, the more peaceful I am. It feels so freeing.

Guide me today, Father, and help me to be the Son You created. I am so ready to throw off the illusion of separation and accept Your Will as my will. I give You my total dedication and I devote myself joyfully to this purpose. Please work in me and through me to awaken myself and my brothers. I am Yours.

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Study of the Text, Chapter 8: VI. The Treasure of God, Paragraph 9 9-26-14

VI. The Treasure of God, P 9
9 I share with God the knowledge of the value He puts upon you. My devotion to you is of Him, being born of my knowledge of myself and Him. We cannot be separated. Whom God has joined cannot be separated, and God has joined all His Sons with Himself. Can you be separated from your life and your being? The journey to God is merely the reawakening of the knowledge of where you are always, and what you are forever. It is a journey without distance to a goal that has never changed. Truth can only be experienced. It cannot be described and it cannot be explained. I can make you aware of the conditions of truth, but the experience is of God. Together we can meet its conditions, but truth will dawn upon you of itself.

Jesus is helping me to clear away the cobwebs of forgetfulness, and to release the wrong minded thinking that has kept me from awakening. He is not teaching me what love and truth are. He is only helping me to meet the conditions that will allow truth to reveal itself to me. That is why we are on a journey with no distance. There is nowhere to go to reach the Kingdom; we are the Kingdom.

I cannot know truth because I have accepted the ego story of separation as my truth. In my determination to believe I am something I am not, I block the truth of what I am. Truth will not force itself on me. I must welcome it, and I welcome it as I make a space for it in my mind. I make that space as I let go of the thoughts I made to take its place.

This is where Jesus helps me. He gave me A Course in Miracles to help me recognize the ego when I hear its voice and to help me realize that there is another Voice I could listen to instead. Through the words in this book, and especially the practice of what I am reading, I am learning that I want to hear only the Voice for God, and that this is possible.

I will know what I am as I let go of what I think I am. That’s the whole of it. This is not hard to do. I watch my thoughts. I allow my mind to be healed of the ones that are not true. All that is left is the glorious truth of my being. The only thing keeping me from that truth is my desire for something else, and together, Jesus and I are working to undo that misguided desire.

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