Letting Love Lead the Way

Resisting Happiness

Prior to morning meditation the other day I was guided to draw a tarot card and to question “what am I in resistance towards?” I drew the Sun card and thought “no way… I am not resisting happiness (as the Sun represents fullness, joy, clarity, happiness, etc)” but was also open to being shown differently. In meditation it was made clear that I am in resistance to happiness ANY time that I am in resistance… period.
Resistance is synonymous with judgement because you can’t judge without resistance or resist without first judging. And so, any time that I am judging and resisting, thinking something should be other than what it is and get all contracted and tight inside, I am removing happiness from my awareness. The KEY here is that the reason that when in resistance I don’t experience happiness is because What I AM is happiness; it is our natural state/essence and our natural essence as Love/Happiness simply does NOT judge/resist but rather it embraces/contains all things.  What we ARE is the conscious awareness/Spirit that truly contains EVERYTHING… nothing is outside of us. And so when we go into resistance/judging, we are denying our true nature and believing ourselves to be something we are not…. We believe that we are just these small finite individuals rather than the expansive consciousness/Spirit of all things.  Of course this belief and therefore experience is going to bring a sense of dissatisfaction, hurt and fear.
The frequency of judgement and resistance (resisting my Self) has been on a slow decline as I become more aware of it and allow the beliefs and feelings that uphold the resistance (namely the belief that something should be other than what it is in this very moment and the emotion of fear though these can take different shapes), to be seen and transformed through the Love that I AM. With this decline and the increase in acceptance, it becomes more and more evident that truly all is well, even in the more challenging moments and indeed the Sun is always shining in my consciousness and I am at peace, in my Self.
ACIM Lesson 352
Judgment and love are opposites. From one come all the sorrows of the world. But from the other comes the peace of God Himself.
Forgiveness (holding no grievances/judgement) looks on sinlessness (innocence, perfection) alone, and judges not. ²Through this I come to You. ³Judgment will bind my eyes and make me blind (to Truth). ⁴Yet love, reflected in forgiveness here, reminds me You have given me a way to find Your peace again. ⁵I am redeemed when I elect to follow in this way. ⁶You have not left me comfortless. ⁷I have within me both the memory of You, and One Who leads me to it. ⁸Father (Spirit/Love/Truth), I would hear Your Voice and find Your peace today. ⁹For I would love my own Identity, and find in It the memory of You (Our Identity is God/Love/Truth).
*** parentheses are mine.
(ACIM, W-352.1:1-9)

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About Rev. Kelly Lewis

This is the second journal I have had through Pathways of Light. The initial Journey was taken down as I did not post in it for quite a while (this article goes into that time of quiet for me). So when I went to post this journal I was surprised to learn that I needed to restart the journal.  Briefly, I will share a bit about myself and then share about the break in posting as this was what I was called to write about in the first place.

I was introduced to ACIM approximately 15 years ago and immediately felt intuitively drawn to it a; it became my primary spiritual focus for many years. I have also explored and felt connected to other spiritual paths with ACIM having been like an anchor, tethering me to the core of who I am. In time, however of having followed the teaching of ACIM and other paths, there has been what feels like an integration of spiritual teachings where they all are seen as a way to reconnect with the Truth of who/what we are. While I still love ACIM and what it offers on the path of awakening, I have come to the place where Spirit/Love is the guide and teachings/ texts are a lovely inspiration from time to time but no longer necessary.

Professionally, I work as a therapist, and because my passion is spiritual understanding and awakening I aim to be open to the inspiration that comes to allow these two to be one. My decision to become a minister of Pathways of Light was inspired by this vision and I write from an understanding of the human psyche and from an understanding of our spiritual nature.

The past year and a half has been one of introspection and solitude, and now there has been a resurgence of an interest in engaging again. It feels apropos given spring is near, marking a time of transition, newness, and emergence.

This phase of quiet has served the purpose of allowing me to have more time for contemplation and enjoying being over doing, and made room for an increased awareness of the fundamental nature of our shared being. While this has been a necessary time and has felt quite rejuvenating, our relationships with others which provides the most fertile ground for our growth, offering the opportunity for the darkness to be brought to light, or what is unconscious to be brought into our awareness,  I am feeling the nudge to once again share of my time, energy, space, connection and love with others. I have not been a total recluse but had significantly pulled back on daily interactions and there was a decreased interest in even sharing of thoughts through writing, blogging, posting, etc. hence not posting and having the journal deactivated ????

And so this “journal” comes after a hiatus with the intent of acknowledging the importance of following the urges that come from Love/Spirit (I use the words interchangeably) to withdraw from time to time, to allow for introspection, connecting with the source of Love that is our Nature, and for integration of new understandings to occur. It is necessary for any type of transformation to be given the chance to integrate through a period of respite, in order to be able to embody the new. Butterflies come to mind as a perfect metaphor of our shared journey.

Going within is necessary, for it is here within our minds that we touch the Light of our being and only in doing so can we bring it back into the world. This time of solitude may be for an hour, day, week, months or year/s at a time. The important thing is to follow your inner wisdom, the voice for Love that is intrinsic to us because it is us.

These times of quiet, where the “need to do” diminishes, and allow the awareness of peace’s constant presence to be known, are a gift that serve not only us, but the whole;  when we awaken to our peace, that awareness lights up the one Mind that we are. May we each accept this gift, knowing it is accepted for all of existence.

From ACIM Workbook Lesson 109 : “I rest in God”

“You rest today. And as you close your eyes, sink into stillness. Let these periods of rest and respite reassure your mind that all its frantic fantasies were but the dreams of fever that have passed away. Be still and thankfully accept its healing. No more fearful dreams will come, now that you rest in God. Take time today to slip away from dreams and into peace.

Each hour that you take your rest today, a tired mind is suddenly made glad, a bird with broken wings begins to sing, a stream long dry begins to flow again.  The world is born again each time you rest, and hourly remember that you came to bring the peace of God into the world, that it might take its rest along with you.”

And from workbook Lesson 189:

“The peace of God is shining in you now, and from your heart extends around the world. It pauses to caress each living thing, and leaves a blessing with it that remains forever and forever. What it gives must be eternal. It removes all thoughts of the ephemeral and valueless. It brings renewal to all tired hearts, and lights all vision as it passes by. All of its gifts are given everyone, and everyone unites in giving thanks to you who give, and you who have received.
The shining in your mind reminds the world of what it has forgotten, and the world restores the memory to you as well.”

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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