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Nothing Has Changed

by Revs. Robert and Mary Stoelting

The night before writing this article we asked the Holy Spirit to bring us inspiration. The following is what transpired:

Mary — While I was showering, the idea kept coming to me: Nothing has changed. Then a picture came to me. When I was a child, I had a picture of Jesus across from my bed. When I woke up in the morning, there he would be, reassuring me that no matter what seemed to be happening in my life, he was there. His picture reminded me that everything was going to be all right. This picture was the face of kindness, the face of gentleness.

Now, when I read in the Course that the face of Christ is all there is to see, I am reminded of that picture. Through that picture, I am reminded that nothing has changed. No matter what story is seeming to be told in the moment with all its ups and downs, twists and turns, the fact is that, “The sight of Christ is all there is to see. The hand of Christ is all there is to hold. There is no journey but to walk with Him.” (T-24.V.7:7,9-10) I am reminded that nothing has really changed. Everyone is still as God created them. If I am willing to remember the truth, I am willing to see the face of Christ. I am willing to see that nothing has changed. Love is still Love, and no dream to the contrary can change that. I am being gently guided to remember the constancy of truth, the changelessness of Love.

Many times it seems very enticing to follow the dream’s story line. When I am watching a movie, I want to watch it to the end to see how the story turns out. Many times the story is like “The Perils of Pauline,” with one problem after the next to overcome. More than once I have asked myself, “Why am I attracted to these stories? Why am I drawn to them?” Last night we watched a program called, “Extreme Makeover Home Edition.” In the program, an eight year old girl who had been in a children’s hospital cancer ward requested to have the grey and cheerless ward made over with bright colors. She wanted other children to have a more cheerful environment as they were going through their cancer treatment.

The producers decided not only to bring in a team of Disney artists to redo that wing of the children’s hospital, but they also decided to build a big, beautiful home for the girl’s family. The family had six children and their home was very cramped. Instead of renovating the old home, they leveled it to the ground and started over. On that same ground a new home was erected. Volunteers came from near and far to help bring this family a new home that would abundantly meet all their needs.

It was so touching to see this story unfold. It reminded me of what the Course is teaching us regarding letting go of the old ego “home” we built in our insanity. We have a poster beside our bed that says, “To every apprehension, every care, and every form of suffering: I will forgive and this will disappear.” (ACIM W-pI.193.13:3-4) I see this as the means by which we level the old home that no longer serves us. We do this letting go by releasing ego thoughts when they come up. When “The Perils of Pauline” stories run in our minds, we now have a way to choose differently. With every apprehension and every concern, we can remind ourselves, “I will forgive and this will disappear.”

As Course students we are learning that this clears the way for the Holy Spirit to bring us an awareness of our real Home, the House that Love built. We are learning that we all live in this same magnificent Home, where all our needs are always met. As we continue to let our minds be changed by the Holy Spirit, we are gradually being brought to an awareness of our real Home, the Home we never really left. We have just been feverishly dreaming up stories of leaving home and being alone and friendless. But these stories were never true.

The awareness of our eternal Home comes to us as our willingness to awaken to it increases. We learn that we have never left. We learn that the sight of Christ really is all there is to see. Nothing has happened to change God’s Son. In truth there never were separate minds with separate and unique bodies. “The Perils of Pauline” stories never happened. They were all made up. We have remained safe at Home in the Mind of Love all the while.

The Course is teaching us that this is our lesson to learn now. We know the ending and we are all winners together. The losing stories are simply not true. Our job is to remove our attachment to these trauma drama stories. They do not bring us peace. They have only brought us fear and guilt and pain. We realize that we can be done with believing in these stories. We realize that we can forgive, or let these stories go. We can let go of deciding what anything means on our own. We can let go of judging for ourselves alone what is real and what is not real. We can let go of thinking we have a private mind with private thoughts we do not share.

The good news is that in letting go, or forgiving, these old trauma drama stories, our real Home is revealed to us. We come to realize that our real Home fills our every need. Only our real Home brings us true and everlasting happiness. It is up to us to decide to accept the truth of our real Home now. Our real Home is waiting for our acceptance.

As we wake up, we return to the truth that the sight of Christ is all there is to see. The hand of Christ is all there is to hold. There truly is no journey but to walk with Him. We return to the awareness that nothing has changed God’s Son. Despite the appearances of the stories, we are all God’s one Son. Together we share His one Mind. This willingness to share requires a willingness to let go of the private stories, the private trauma dramas, the private judgments.

Our true Home is there now, waiting for us. As we are willing to give up our belief in littleness, the magnitude of our true Home comes into our awareness. We are one with the united Mind of Love. We all have the same Home and are the same Home. As we are willing to listen, Jesus reminds us that we are in Heaven because we are Heaven. Like the prodigal son, we have dreamed of going away awhile. Now we are returning, grateful that our Father has a banquet waiting for our return. As we awaken, this is the universal truth that we learn: Nothing has happened to change God’s Son. Love is. God is. Nothing else is real.

Robert — The fact that nothing has changed is the basis for forgiveness. As we remember that we remain Love as we were created by Love, we realize that nothing ever really happened that needs to be forgiven. True forgiveness is the recognition that there is nothing to forgive. There never was justification for guilt.

With the help of the Holy Spirit in our minds, we can learn to recognize that the stories of attack and loss, fear and guilt are just dreams. When we become aware they are just dreams, the automatic next step is to disregard them. It’s as easy as disregarding our dreams when we wake up in the morning. With our eyes wide open, we have no trouble recognizing that the images and stories we experienced in sleep were really nothing because they had no effect. Nothing changed.

As we learn to bring all of our stories to the Holy Spirit and receive His perception, we realize that these stories have no effect. They change nothing. The Holy Spirit helps us open to a new way of seeing that disregards what the body’s eyes see. The Holy Spirit shows us His vision of reality. In that vision we see that only Love is real. With His help every situation becomes a lesson in Love. Every situation becomes a lesson that moves us closer to the full recognition that we remain Love as we were created to be. There is nothing else. Love is our Home.

Revs. Mary & Robert Stoelting are co-founders of Pathways of Light. They live in Kiel, Wisconsin

© 2005, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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