Miracles News

January-March, 2009

From a Rooftop in Montana

Rev. Jim Armfield

While pondering over what I could submit to the Pathways of Light Miracles News Magazine, my beautiful wife suggested I write about my recent experience re-roofing our family mountain home in Montana. It sounded simple enough — hard work and beautiful scenery. But what does this have to do with the healing of the mind? In a word, everything!

I agreed to spend three weeks removing and replacing a roof — no problem. But what the family was concerned about was that I would be working with and living with someone who everyone felt would be more difficult than the roof itself. However, I was heartened by my ability to get along with all, and my eagerness to be in Montana. Not being naïve, I did realize that this would be a great trial of my belief in patience, forgiveness, and awareness. In short, this experience required all these and something more powerful that I would learn — my willingness.

So while the family members worried about the wellbeing of the both of us, we took off for the mountains of Montana. (I later found out that they had placed bets as to how long we would work in concert without throwing each other of the roof!) And what was I thinking? Well, I asked my Higher Self to help me be awake and be at peace, no matter the circumstance.

Although captured by the beauty of the mountains, I was soon deeply involved in repetitive hard labor. At first you could say I was enlightened, in a chop wood/carry water kind of way. Frustrations and tiredness were easily faced with the lightheartedness of being in this wonderful moment and beautiful place. The ego was active, but even it was possibly under the influence of Montana’s spell.

As the days wore on, my fellow family member and co-worker’s obvious attitudes persisted. His ego was seeking out and antagonizing my latent thoughts of all that my own ego felt I should judge, and find fault with.

After a long day and an evening of my ego enticing me with thoughts of, “How can he be so angry? Why does he do this and that? He is so different and difficult.”

I finally went to bed. I read my books and asked the Holy Spirit for peace. Peace came in a soft voice: “Let him be who he thinks he is. Remember your willingness. That is your opportunity to change everything and return to Heaven here on the roof in Montana.” What I learned from this experience was the following:

Forgiveness Without Willingness
Is Not Truly Possible

We have heard a lot about forgiveness and how powerful quantum forgiveness is. There are books that have been written about this topic including The Disappearance of the Universe, a marvelous book and an excellent example of how we can move toward our God-like abilities. I am grateful for Gary Renard as he guides and awakens.

Quantum forgiveness can void time and bring us into the precious present moment, giving us the chance to truly understand the power of forgiveness. And in the process, our universe, our very mental belief constructs will begin to disappear, because we can change our minds about the world through forgiveness.

But what ignites all the wonders of forgiveness and what brings it forth? I suggest it is our individual willingness, accessible through our God given free will. Willingness? How could this bring on such power? Perhaps a better question may be, how can forgiveness begin without it? Willingness is so small and so simple, how can it possibly stop time and set in motion the disappearance of our universe? Could this willingness ultimately begin to change the most powerful creating device of all, our own minds? How indeed could this be? I believe the answer to be, by our own free will, and from this, we will see the power of our willingness.

God protects our free will; it is most sacred. Our free will is so sacred that we are free to choose to war, to love, and to forgive. This is why so many of us see a world where countries are at war, or where we witness our neighbors fighting, or experience the separation of people. This world seems to be falling apart but are we really powerless to change it? Why would God allow such suffering and pain? Where is the mercy, where is the love, where is the forgiveness? It is right here, right where God has placed it. The answer is in our willingness to choose.

When we choose to dream or to think of separateness, we are exercising our free will. It is in our willingness. It is that same free will that enables us to begin to awaken from the dream of what we think we are, and what we think we are doing to ourselves and to others. Therefore we must awake! We are not dead or dying; we are just asleep, dreaming of things in this life that we have created, and continue to create.

God only asks us for a little willingness to remember who we truly are and where we truly came from. For it is not for us to change the world, but to awake to the world we have created; and then be willing to change our minds about that world. Willingness is our God–Power to begin to open, to see, to begin to change. Our sacred free will is in our willingness. This is powerful stuff, for without it, all that is available is re-action, but with willingness we are provided a place from which we can create truth. Through our willingness, we can choose to see things differently.

Ask, and your will receives; from this you will be given the chance to see, to love, to forgive, and to change everything. For example, consider this angry exchange: I slap you on the face for berating me for doing something wrong. I can do this because I have the free will to re-act to your words and perceptions. Conversely, I could choose to use my free will to awaken to the moment and not re-act to the situation. How? By forgiving myself first. I can forgive myself for acting in such a manner that led to you having the perception that I should be berated in the first place. After forgiving myself, I can then be grateful that you gave me the chance to awaken to my errant behavior. By making this choice, forgiveness and gratitude encompass me! I have no need to be angry, or to forgive you, for you have done nothing to me but to remind me of the power of my own free-will. It is this willingness to choose, that is truly a God given gift. This

• willingness to awake

• willingness to forgive

• willingness to change the way we perceive… yes, all these are gifts, little reminders of what God asks of us. He simply asks us for a little willingness.
It may then be surmised, that without willingness there can be no true forgiveness, quantum or otherwise.

Rev. Jim Armfield is a Pathways of Light minister living in Fargo, North Dakota.

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