Miracles News

October - December, 2006

Be Still. You Are Only Dreaming

by Rev. Michael L. Ciavarella

This past week, Walter Ego took a stand. It was a stand against all that I have been reaching for in the past year. Walter must feel threatened. He must feel attacked. He must feel afraid. He must feel as if he is losing control.

That would be okay, assuming that I understand this during the time that Walter decides to stand up for himself. What is it that causes me to forget that he is only as strong as I allow him to be? Why, in moments of combustion, do I forget the words of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North: “You have no power here. Begone! Before someone drops a house on you, too!”?

Then, after the whole silly nightmare has ended, I feel as though I blew a great forgiveness opportunity; I feel as though I failed an exam; I feel as though I am the biggest jerk that ever dreamed an illusion. In short, I feel as though I never read or understood a word of A Course In Miracles.

Now, I feel that I have sinned against God and His mighty authority. I feel that I have betrayed Him and His trust. I feel that, should He condemn me to Hell, or at least some bizarre punishment here in this life, I deserve whatever He would throw at me.

That is the precise instant that the Holy Spirit puts His gentle hand on my shoulder and whispers, “You are an innocent child of the Father. You cannot have done anything wrong because that part of you that is eternal is pure, undefiled, and sinless. The rest of what you may think you are does not exist. How can you be guilty if you have done these things in a dream?

“Child of God, you have had dreams during sleep where you have committed murder. Then, you, in your sleeping dream, began to hide the deceased body. You have had the police come close to finding you out and your guilt and fear brought you near to insanity. Then, upon waking from the dream, you felt guilty and threatened, but only for an instant. You realize that it was only a dream and the dream was not real.

“You are having a nightmare. You are on the path of awakening only to realize that it was a dream and the dream is not real. You have tremendous love in your heart and soul. You are love, oh child of God. You are light.

“You may find yourself struggling against your prerecorded tapes that tell you that you are guilty and you deserve to die. Those are old summer reruns; horror movies from another time. There are new programs this season. As you begin to learn the new scripts of these programs, you will find less and less guilt attached to your emotions. Soon, you will find that Walter Ego can do nothing to revisit those feelings of guilt and anxiety upon you again; at least, in lesser intensity.

”The Father has found you guiltless. He has seen you no other way. No punishment has been issued from His authority. No hell exists for His child. You are secure and safe. He smiles as He looks at His child asleep in His arms and whispers, ‘Be still, child. You’re only dreaming.”

Then, I wipe the tears from my eyes and walk away knowing that everything is still all right.

Rev. Michael L. Ciavarella is a Pathways of Light minister living in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Read more of his inspiring Healing Journal articles on the Pathways of Light web site.

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