Together, We Light the Way

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My Self is Ruler of the Universe.

While I may sometimes wish that my life is someone else’s fault, I know this is not true. And really, I only wish to abdicate responsibility briefly because I understand that I can do something about it if I am responsible. As always, the only solution to every seeming problem is to choose the Holy Spirit as my teacher. Holy Spirit, I feel like I understand this lesson and accept it. Is there anything you care to share with me about this?

Dear one, be very vigilant for the subtle ways the ego mind would have you place responsibility outside yourself. Be very vigilant for signs of guilt when you notice these moments. Guilt is not a helpful response. Notice your thoughts and release them. Think of guilt as holding tightly to what you don’t want.

The thing to remember always is that you are the source of your experience. This is always true and there are no exceptions. While your experience is comfortable for you it is easy to think about this. When you are feeling physically ill or when the bank account is low, or when the children are in trouble and you are feeling helpless to do anything, the ego will argue that you did not do this.

Ah Holy Spirit, I am thinking about last night when I was playing with the baby and thinking that it would be most inconvenient if I were to get her cold right now. That thought indicates it would be out of my control, that something outside me could be my cause.

Yes, those are the thoughts to watch for. There is nothing outside your holy mind, so how could something outside you give you anything. Remember that you are seeking to master your thoughts, not control your world. Watch closely as the world shows you a picture of your thoughts. Be always certain that if it is in your awareness it is your responsibility. If what you see is not a reflection of truth, acknowledge and release. I cannot take from you what you value and want to keep, but I will always purify those thoughts which you give to me.

Holy Spirit, where my mind balks is when I think of those things in my awareness but outside my immediate control, like what is happening in Iraq and when my child is having a problem. It is hard to understand what to do about any of that.

Precious child, the confusion you experience is caused from being uncertain who you are. It is so easy yet, for you to forget that you are the Christ, because you are not experiencing yourself as the Christ. You most often still feel like you are Myron, that you are a single body living among many other single separated bodies on a planet in a solar system. When you make this mistake, you feel very small and very helpless which is exactly what you want to feel when you identify with the ego. The ego is the thought of separation and separation is the thought of helplessness and hopelessness. But it is, in the end, only a thought, and it is a lie.

Within the thought of the body it is the delusion that you have control even over your immediate environment. Remember that control is a reaction to fear. It is not control that is the goal, nor is it the environment that is the problem. What is happening in Iraq is your responsibility because it mirrors the conflict in your mind. The same is true of what happens in the lives of your children. The ego would run around trying to influence politicians. The ego would be frantically seeking solutions to everyone’s problems. Of course this would ultimately fail and the ego would have proven the point that you are helpless and hopeless.

There is only one place that you can make a change because there is only one place where the problem exists. Look within your mind for the source of all things. The war in Iraq is simply showing you that you hold the energy of conflict within your mind. Forgive yourself for doing so. Forgive the idea of conflict and you will know it is a lie. Do not confuse that with making the war stop in Iraq. Your responsibility is to make it stop in your mind, and even in that is your responsibility limited to noticing the need to do so, being willing to release all value you have in conflict, and allowing me to heal your mind.

You may at first think it is a simple matter to release all value in conflict, but you are heavily invested in this idea.  However, if you make the decision to change your mind, the opportunities for looking at conflict will arise before you and you will be given a chance to see differently. Choose to be aware of them and not to push the thought aside. Each time you want to push the thought of conflict out of your awareness understand that this is your attempt to keep conflict. This is the result of placing value in conflict.

If you choose not to look at the conflict in your life it is because you still think you might need it one day. When you notice this happening, simply be aware. Do not allow your mind to succumb to the ego desire for guilt. Choosing not to look is just another thought and you can see this differently, too.

Thank you, Holy Spirit for helping me to see this. I am willing to release conflict. I am willing to take total responsibility for everything in my awareness. I trust that I will be given the opportunities that I am ready for and that will be most helpful to my awakening.

© 2007, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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I Am in Danger Nowhere in the World

I am in danger nowhere in the world.

In order for this lesson to be meaningful to me I must understand where I am. Sometimes I know that I am not really a body on a planet spinning through space. Sometimes I understand that I am the mind which contains these thoughts that I am seeing as if it were real. It is something I understand, but don’t really know. As I practice this understanding by unraveling the ego thinking with the help of the Holy Spirit within my mind, I come closer and closer to knowing it to be true. It seems to be a step by step process for me.

The closer I come to the knowing, the more meaningful this lesson becomes to me. One thing I am doing right now is asking to see the fear within myself. I want to feel the fear and understand that fear does not hurt me. I want to look at the thoughts that cause the fear reaction and allow the Holy Spirit to correct those thoughts. Because I set that intention, I notice these thoughts coming up. Because I don’t want to run from the emotional response I am feeling the fear very strongly. This seems to help me, because before I would bury the thoughts that were causing the fear and I never get rid of them.

I have had some interesting things happen since I made that decision. There was the ferry incident that I talked about in another lesson. There have been fearful reactions within relationships. It doesn’t seem to matter if it seems to be happening in the world, or within my mind, I can still feel the fear, look at the thoughts with the Holy Spirit and ask for healing. One thing I notice is that when I allow myself to really feel my reaction to these fearful thoughts I am surprised at the intensity. Evidently I have spent a lot of time telling myself that I wasn’t really afraid of these things anymore and so didn’t need to look at them. And evidently, that was not true.

My work is nearly all outdoors, often in rural areas, and sometimes I am alone when I do it. Yesterday while I was returning to my car I noticed a large white dog coming toward me. I used to be very afraid of dogs and over time I lost that fear…I thought. Suddenly I became terrified of the dog. Thoughts of being attacked, such as I had read about in the paper, flashed through my mind, and overwhelmed any sensible thoughts I was having at the same time. My fearful thoughts consumed me. I made a dash to the car and barely beat the dog to my front seat. As I quickly closed the door I nearly hit the poor thing and he scurried off probably wondering what got into the crazy lady, or why it was some people just didn’t want to say hi.

I sat there and noticed my reaction. My heart was pounding and my breath was quick. I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my body. I was so surprised by my reaction, and I felt silly as well. When I faced the ferry fear I had been building toward looking at the fear so I was somewhat prepared, but this incident was sudden and unexpected. After it was all over, I asked the Holy Spirit to help me see these fear thoughts differently. Holy Spirit, what am I supposed to do with this, and how am I supposed to see it?

Dear one, could you be willing to forgive yourself for holding that energy of fear? Could you be willing to forgive yourself for looking foolish in front of people? Could you forgive yourself for falling short of your own expectations, and for not living up to what you thought you believed? Could you understand that this energy of fear is just something you are holding in your mind temporarily? It is not who you are.

Do not forget that your part is to look at the fear and to be willing to see differently. You did that. There is nothing more for you to do. Are you really asking me how to not react in that way again? Are you really afraid of the feeling of being so vulnerable?  Forgive yourself, and then forgive others for temporarily holding the same energy of fear in their minds.

Holy Spirit, I think you are referring to the other question I had in mind. I have been puzzled about why I am upset with a friend who seems to have a sudden lapse in understanding of a primary Course principle. I seem to be taking it personally, as if it is an affront to me that she would do this. So you are saying that she is dealing with her fear and that my fear is just as illogical as hers?

I am saying to you that it does not make sense to protect the body when you know the body is not real. When you think it is real, you feel compelled to protect it. Our friend is only protecting something she has temporarily forgotten is not real. It makes perfect sense that you are both protecting the unreal if you consider that you don’t know it is unreal. When you see her do it, you feel uneasy because a part of you recognizes that you are doing the same thing, and not just with a dog. That incident was just a symbol of what is happening in your mind every time you defend an ego thought.

It will be easier to understand if you look at the dog as representing an ego thought. You saw the dog, had a fearful reaction and ran from it. Is this not what you often do with the ego thoughts you encounter in your mind? What if you had stopped within the fenced yard and asked Me to correct your thoughts? The result would have been different just as it often is during your day when you take those steps.

When you simply react, you give power to ego thinking that it does not really have, just as you gave power to the dog it did not have. Your mind turned a friendly dog looking for an affectionate pat on the head into a rabid animal out to tear you limb from limb. Your thoughts are much the same. They are simply thoughts with no particular meaning, and you decide what that meaning is depending on which teacher you are listening to. When you experience a fearful reaction in the world or within your own mind, stop for a moment and ask for my interpretation.

Then when your friend is experiencing resistance you will not project your own fear onto her because you have forgiven it. You will then be able to feel compassion rather than judgment. Never forget that you cannot see anything that is apparently without unless you have first seen it within. The place to work is never at the level of effect, but always at the level of cause. Look with Me at what needs healing within your mind. That is always the answer.

Thank you, Holy Spirit for untangling these thoughts for me. Sometimes I get caught up in the ego thinking and have trouble stepping back from it and seeing clearly. It really is quite simple and it is always the same answer, just different form.

© 2007, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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