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April-June, 2019

Love Is the Strength in Which We Trust

by Revs. Mary & Robert Stoelting

We would first like to share that the subject of this article is what we want to reinforce and strengthen in our minds because our mind healing is the only thing that is truly important. We choose to join you in daily practice of opening to the strength of our united Love.

We will begin with the Preface of ACIM under “What it Says,” (on page xi). Here we are told, “The world we see merely reflects our own internal frame of reference — the dominant ideas, wishes and emotions in our minds. “Projection makes perception.” (Text, p. 445) We look inside first, decide the kind of world we want to see and then project that world outside, making it the truth as we see it. We make it true by our interpretations of what it is we are seeing. 

“If we are using perception to justify our own mistakes — our anger, our impulses to attack, our lack of love in whatever form it may take — we will see a world of evil, destruction, malice, envy and despair. All this we must learn to forgive, not because we are being “good” and “charitable,” but because what we are seeing is not true. We have distorted the world by our twisted defenses, and are therefore seeing what is not there. As we learn to recognize our perceptual errors, we also learn to look past them or “forgive.” At the same time, we are forgiving ourselves, looking past our distorted self-concepts to the Self That God created in us and as us.”

This section teaches us that this world we see with the body’s eyes is not where our strength lies. Our strength lies in our awareness of Love’s oneness, Love’s indivisible unity and eternal innocence.

Today we join together with the Holy Spirit and you to practice opening to the truth of everyone’s inherent unity in Love. Today we practice opening to the awareness that our eternal nature is only Love.

How do we do that?

We step back from our habitual thoughts of thinking what we see through the body’s eyes is real. We let go of focusing on our differences and place our trust in Love to show us the truth in everyone.

Together we practice:

• focusing our thoughts on the Love we all are…

• listening to the Voice for Love…

• letting Love lead the way to a new perception…

• relaxing and welcoming Love’s inspiration in the moment…

• noticing when ego thoughts try to slip back in…

• returning to Love’s kind and gentle guidance …

• making room for Love’s peace…

• feeling Love’s gratitude and joy…

• trusting in Love to lead us Home…

• resting in Love…

As we pause frequently and listen to the thoughts we are entertaining, we notice the artificial values that habitually pop up.  We recognize with constant practice that these are just mindless thoughts and behaviors that are trying to replace our awareness of Love’s eternal presence with images of weakness, division, conflict, lack, guilt, depression and pain.

We pause and listen again and again, a thousand times over. As we become more and more consistent with what we truly want to see, we naturally place our trust in Love’s Thoughts instead of placing our belief in ego thoughts.

“Love is the strength in which I trust” becomes our mantra when we find ourselves thinking fearful thoughts of lack or not having enough, or thoughts of guilt, judgment of ourselves or others.

We become more willing to give Holy Spirit the “time” needed to return to Love. We follow instead of making decisions on our own based on what we learned in the past. We stop trying to take the wheel and remember once again that we do not know what anything means on our own. As we let go and let God, we carry the mindset that we are indeed being carried by Love’s strength, not our own.

Love Knows No Limits

“It is only the awareness of the body that makes Love seem limited. For the body is a limit on love. The belief in limited love was its origin, and it was made to limit the unlimited. Think not that this is merely allegorical, for it was made to limit you. Can you who see yourself within a body know yourself as an idea? Everything you recognize you identify with externals, something outside itself. You cannot even think of God without a body, or in some form you think you recognize.
“The body is a tiny fence around a little part of a glorious and complete idea.
“Each body seems to house a separate mind, a disconnected thought, living alone and in no way joined to the Thought by which it was created. Each tiny fragment seems to be self-contained, needing another for some things, but by no means totally dependent on its one Creator for everything; needing the whole to give it any meaning, for by itself it does mean nothing. Nor has it any life apart and by itself.” (T-18.VIII.1;2:5;5:2-4)

In truth we are all one Love, joined in the unity of the Self God created as His one Son. There are no differences or distinctions in Love’s oneness; nothing that can be set apart and remain Love.

Love’s changeless oneness cannot be experienced in a world based on the false idea of separation. Our identification with a body distinct from other bodies makes us unaware of our unity in Love. Yet our lack of awareness does not change our unity in Love. Love created us like Itself. Because only Love is real, nothing but Love exists in truth. Our true Self knows no limits. Because It is Love, It is eternally extending that Love to all. Love is our strength, our very Life.

Our attempt to limit Love by identifying with a body leaves us feeling alone and vulnerable. Yet Love’s strength is still ours. Love’s strength is available to us in every now moment. As we learn to recognize our true Identity as Love, we realize the body has no meaning of its own. All the things that seem to disturb us in the world stem from believing that our little self, fenced off by a body, is real. This belief can be changed.

We have been given a Teacher in our mind to distinguish the false images of separation from the unity of Love that we are. With His help, we learn to let go of our attachment to bodies and what they do. We learn to look past appearances of form in the world to the Light of Love in everyone. With this vision comes increasing peace and happiness.

Our Identity is Love. Love is one and extends forever, without limit. God guarantees that the Self we are cannot be divided and cannot be limited.

Inherent in this changelessness is perfect peace. There is no change to be feared or defended against. Only the belief that we have changed ourselves by disconnecting from our Creator makes fear and change seem possible. This belief makes illusions that seem to confirm that we are no longer the Love that God created us to be. Thankfully, God did not allow this change to actually occur.

We can return to our original state as God created us by letting go of the false belief that we are separate. As we let go of that belief (forgive), we see the face of Christ. We see the innocence of Love reflected back to us, which reminds us of our true Identity as Love and nothing else. Forgiveness removes our self-made barriers to Love. And we remember we are at Home in Love.

The greatest gift we can possibly give ourselves is to recognize and let go of the fearful, limited thought patterns that cause stress and unhappiness in our lives. We can replace these patterns with a growing sense of deep peace that comes from an awareness that we are innately loving, loved and worthy of Love.

Dedicating time to this purpose is the most valuable use of our time. It is the answer to everyone’s deepest need, whether we realize it or not. We are not separate, little, vulnerable self-identities that are disconnected from Love. We are children of God, of Love, whole, innocent and eternal.

The way back to our remembering the truth is to let go of ideas that are not true. The Holy Spirit is always in our mind, ready to lead us to forgiveness and healing. We are willing to let that time be now.

© 2019, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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