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Study of the Text 11-12-12

11-12-12
  5 Error cannot really threaten truth, which can always withstand it. Only the error is actually vulnerable. You are free to establish your kingdom where you see fit, but the right choice is inevitable if you remember this:

Spirit is in a state of grace forever.
Your reality is only spirit.
Therefore you are in a state of grace forever.

Atonement undoes all errors in this respect, and thus uproots the source of fear. Whenever you experience God’s reassurances as threat, it is always because you are defending misplaced or misdirected loyalty. When you project this to others you imprison them, but only to the extent to which you reinforce errors they have already made. This makes them vulnerable to the distortions of others, since their own perception of themselves is distorted. The miracle worker can only bless them, and this undoes their distortions and frees them from prison.

My mistaken beliefs cannot change anything. They cannot threaten truth in any way. The truth is true forever and nothing can alter it. Whew!! Since I can rest easy knowing that my mistaken thoughts are doing no real harm, I can afford to look at them without fear or guilt. I can ask the Holy Spirit to look with me and to correct my thinking where I have strayed from truth.

It is perfectly ok, and perfectly safe to build my own little kingdom outside of Truth, because it is only a sand castle, easily washed away by the desire to choose again. In the meantime I can play in it for as long as I can stand the pain. When I am tired of suffering, I can remember the truth, that I am Spirit and in a state of grace forever. This remembrance undoes all I think I have done and brings me to peace. The decision not to forget this brings me out of the illusion and to God.

Ways I practice making the right choice.

I awoke to the beginnings of a migraine and my first thought was, “What triggered this?” There is an interesting list I could go through, checking off possibilities and crossing out the ones that could not apply. I could start a regimen of medication after I decide if its going to get bad enough for that, and after I decide if it is worth the side effects. This is one place I could establish my kingdom and it would be ok if that is what I wanted. I’ve done that many times.

My second thought was, “The only thing that triggered this migraine is the denial of God, the denial of Self. Holy Spirit, please heal my mind.” I noticed when I did this that the pain began to recede. I also noticed that it would start coming back and I would have to decide again where I want my kingdom. It seems I am not entirely through with migraines. It seems that I still see value in them.

Not that the migraines are special. There are many other forms of the same thing that I use to represent the desire to establish a little kingdom outside Truth and to be the ruler of this kingdom. I get to decide when I have a migraine and how deal with it. I get to decide how the denial of God shows up in form.

Maybe it will be a problem with one of my children. That’s always good for some drama. Or a concern about money. I just bought a house and I notice that I entertain the mind for hours during the day making plans and creating problems, deciding for myself what I should do about these problems that have not even showed up in form. Yet.

The ways in which I get to choose between ruling this odd kingdom of mine and being at peace seem to be absolutely endless. However, something has happened to bring this to an end. One thing that happened is that I began to realize that all the problems I seem to have are the same problem. A migraine is no different than a shortage of money or a disagreement with a friend. The problems look different in form, but they are all sourced by the same belief, that I have separated from God and that I am guilty for what I have done.

As it turns out, I have not separated from God in any way except in my imagination. It is not possible to separate from God. It is not possible to change Reality in any way. Truth is true and is eternal. So I am not guilty. I am forever innocent because that is how I was created, and what God creates cannot be altered. I am saved from this self-inflicted condemnation I have been living under by the simple truth that:

Spirit is in a state of grace forever.
My reality is only spirit.
Therefore I am in a state of grace forever.

To be continued tomorrow.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of the Text 11-9-12

11-9-12
4 I am the only one who can perform miracles indiscriminately, because I am the Atonement. You have a role in the Atonement which I will dictate to you. Ask me which miracles you should perform. This spares you needless effort, because you will be acting under direct communication. The impersonal nature of the miracle is an essential ingredient, because it enables me to direct its application, and under my guidance miracles lead to the highly personal experience of revelation. A guide does not control but he does direct, leaving it up to you to follow. “Lead us not into temptation” means “Recognize your errors and choose to abandon them by following my guidance.”

Very clearly we are being asked to follow guidance and not to put ourselves in charge. This seems like a simple thing, but I notice that it is a habit for me to make decisions on my own and I still do this unless I am vigilant for the habit and make a conscious choice not to do so. Until yesterday I thought I was only dealing with a habit and that I understood and fully accepted the need to step back and allow myself to be led.

Yesterday I read a scribed message from Jeshua through Brent Haskell about “the script is written” and I had to confront my desire to be in charge, which is just my desire for this world and the body/personality of Myron to be real. Here is a paragraph that I think, specifically, triggered the reaction I had.

And this is part of what I have told you, but is so difficult for you.  The thoughts you think you think are not real.  The thoughts of which you are aware are not real thoughts.  And that means this, as I have told you—The thoughts you think you think, the thoughts of the brain, if you will, the thoughts of space and time, are not real.  And as such, hear me well, they have no creative power. 
So can you, of your thinking, of your planning, of your struggling, of your doing things here, change anything, do anything at all?  And the answer must be no.  The answer must be no.

He goes on to say that there is nothing I can do in this life to change anything.

As ego, as a conscious thinking being, here, who seems to have life, and seems to have choice, and would seem to perhaps have power associated with your choices, is there anything you can do?  And the answer is – no.

In this message Jeshua is saying that as my true self I am creative and thus have the power to make things happen, but as the ego self, the little Myron in this story, I have no creative power and cannot make things happen. I am not in control. I thought I knew this and was thoroughly ok with it, and so was very surprised at how upset it made me to read this. I had to let Myron grieve the loss of what she never had.

I notice this morning as I read the same thing, I don’t have any reaction and I see it clearly and am back with the program. I think that the residual (and obviously hidden) desire for the ego to be real needed to come up so that I could let more of that go. Today I see that “the script is written” is upsetting when I am identified with ego and it is only reasonable when I am identified with Spirit. As Jeshua said many of us feel this way:

“I want to make a difference.  I want, when my life is over, to be able to stand tall and say, ‘I made a difference.  I changed my world.’”  And do you know that that is?  Truly, that is but the voice of the ego crying out not to die.

So now, today, I am ready to step back. Jesus has told us that miracles are natural. When they do not occur something has gone wrong. This means I am supposed to be performing miracles all the time. But he also tells me that I should allow him to guide me in this. Jesus says that he knows where they can most effectively be applied to lead each of us home.

The script is written. The story is already told. Jesus knows the whole story and so he knows where a miracle would shorten the need for time and how that miracle would link with another. While I think I am here in this story, I see only this little bit. How would I know what is needed? That is Jesus’ job. When I think I need to make these decisions on my own I am not hurting the plan, but I am keeping ego alive in my mind by believing it is actually creative. I (as Spirit) am creative, but ego is not.

I am going to start my day from now on by asking Jesus what miracles he would have me do today. I am asking him to guide me to complete my part in the Atonement. I cannot change this life, but this life does matter. It is through this life that I let go of false beliefs and this allows me to discover and experience my true self. Jeshua reminds us that:

And that, as I have told you, is your only function, to forgive this world, to forgive yourself, to forgive your brother, to forgive me, and to forgive God Itself.
 
Accepting the Atonement for myself is my only function and the miracle will always be some form of forgiveness and the extension of love.  “What do you want me to forgive today, Jesus? How can I experience and express love. I am ready to stop wasting my time trying to control this life and allow you to use this life to end time and bring us home. Please use me. I will do my best to not obstruct you. I will do my best to trust, knowing that while I see only a little you see the whole, and you know what needs to be done by me to complete my part in the Atonement.”

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of the Text 11-8-12

11-8-12
3 The forgiven are the means of the Atonement. Being filled with spirit, they forgive in return. Those who are released must join in releasing their brothers, for this is the plan of the Atonement. Miracles are the way in which minds that serve the Holy Spirit unite with me for the salvation or release of all of God’s creations.

There are a number of ways to join Jesus in his plan of Atonement, but the first thing to do is to forgive, forgive myself and forgive all others and all circumstances. Though really, I think that I am always really simply forgiving, and the form doesn’t actually matter. For instance, I seem to be forgiving my co-worker for something she said, but I am forgiving the belief I could be attacked, that we could be separate from each other, that we could be separate from God. However I happen to see it at the time, forgiveness is my function.

I don’t have to be through with forgiveness to be helpful to the Atonement. If this were true, then it would be slow going, indeed. Even if my mind is only momentarily clear, in that moment I can perform the miracle, and lift my brother up along with myself. An example would be something like this. I see someone’s post on facebook and it is an angry rant. They are in pain.  I feel an urge to do something.

At this moment I have a choice. I can listen to the ego voice and try to talk them out of their stance or give my opinion about the subject, or rant right back like that’s going to help. Even if I am using spiritual words, if I am motivated by the desire to be right, I am not helpful. I have done this and not only does it not help the other person but it doesn’t help me. I feel like I have just proven I am separate from the other person and that takes me deeper into the illusion.

My second choice is to ask Holy Spirit what to do to be helpful. I might be given something to say, but not necessarily so. Sometimes the urge to help is the Holy Spirit asking me to forgive. I can do this without saying a word or anyone even being aware that I am doing it. I can ask the Holy Spirit to heal within me that which caused this conflicted thinking in my friend.

When I see someone in pain of any kind I can remember that they are mistaken in their thinking. They have forgotten who they are if they think they can suffer. Even though they believe they are in pain, it can’t be real and is not their truth. In other words, I can remember the truth for them while they are temporarily unable to do so. These are ways I serve the Holy Spirit and in doing so I join with Jesus in releasing us all, and I did it without even opening my mouth.

Sometimes my guidance is to share what I am being given as I do with this writing, not because anyone needs a teacher other than their Inner Teacher, but because sometimes all of us become so confused and conflicted that we are unable to hear our own teacher, and sometimes simply because words are inspiring regardless of where they come from. But whether I am writing or speaking, when I am allowing the Holy Spirit to use me, I am always the first student.

That’s the beauty of teaching. I am always teaching what I most need to learn. Or if I am joining in the Atonement by silently forgiving, just as I am always my first student when I teach, when I forgive I am always forgiving myself first. If I am in an attitude of being led, the Holy Spirit will use me and this allows my actions to be part of the Atonement.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of the Text 11-7-12

11-7-12
2 “Heaven and earth shall pass away” means that they will not continue to exist as separate states. My word, which is the resurrection and the life, shall not pass away because life is eternal. You are the work of God, and His work is wholly loveable and wholly loving. This is how a man must think of himself in his heart, because this is what he is.

This first sentence was very confusing to me. I think it means that right now we see Heaven and earth as being separate. I am in earth and so I am not in Heaven. But Heaven and earth as separate states will be understood to be an error. There is only one, and never is there more than one no matter what we are talking about. There only seems to be separation.

Jesus says his word is the resurrection and the life, and it feels to me like that means his word will never cease to exist, will not change or become something else. It is like all else that is truth; it is changeless and eternal. I also feel like his word is more than the words in the Course, but I don’t know how to explain that. Sometimes I ask for clarity and I simply know something I didn’t know before, but sometimes, more excitingly, I am different than I was before. No words or concepts were part of this change. I think that is closer to what Jesus means when he uses the phrase, “my word.”

The last part of this paragraph reminds us of our true nature which is love, and it also reminds us that our nature is immutable because we are the work of God. I love that phrase and use it as an anchor to hold me in truth when the ego mind is vying for my attention. When I seem to fall short of being love, I know this cannot be true because I am the work of God. I may be pretending to be less than love and then acting as if it were true, but I cannot really be less than love because I am created as love.

I am the work of God. This is how I must think of myself in my heart. When I first read that I must think this way, I felt like I was being told that if I failed to think of myself this way I was guilty, or to use a word from my days as a Catholic, it would be a “sin” to see myself differently. What I think now is that I must see the truth of myself in my heart because that is all there is to see.

I become confused when I look in the ego mind to discover my nature. To return to the truth I only need to ignore the thinking mind and look to the heart, to his word that is eternal, to the Holy Spirit that is the memory of the truth. The heart holds the truth as it must because the truth is always true in spite of the illusion that continually vies for our attention and offers us an impossible alternative.

As an unlimited and perfectly free child of God, I can pretend to be something else, but I must be love. I can become confused about that, but as shift my attention from ego mind to the heart, I must find the truth. And I will tell you the truth; there are moments in my life when it is such a relief to remember that I am the work of God.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of the Text 11-6-12

11-6-12
III. Atonement and Miracles

1 I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook to begin. When you offer a miracle to any of my brothers, you do it to yourself and me. The reason you come before me is that I do not need miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in case you fail temporarily. My part in the Atonement is the cancelling out of all errors that you could not otherwise correct. When you have been restored to the recognition of your original state, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself. As you share my unwillingness to accept error in yourself and others, you must join the great crusade to correct it; listen to my voice, learn to undo error and act to correct it. The power to work miracles belongs to you. I will provide the opportunities to do them, but you must be ready and willing. Doing them will bring conviction in the ability, because conviction comes through accomplishment. The ability is the potential, the achievement is its expression, and the Atonement, which is the natural profession of the children of God, is the purpose. 

I read through this once and I felt the, now familiar, almost overwhelming sense of gratitude toward Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for awakening, for beginning the process of Atonement and for cancelling out all the errors I can’t correct myself. Thank you for providing opportunities for me to work miracles and for directing me to those miracles. Thank you for having my back in those times when I slip back into the old way of thinking, for the times when I feel unworthy and those times when I am doubtful and uncertain.

The second time I read this I had the feeling that Jesus and the Holy Spirit have blended into one as I suppose we all will do as we are ready. The Holy Spirit has always been clearly defined in my mind as the Voice for God and Jesus was defined as the author of the Course and other books, the one of us who awakened and then stuck around to help us all awaken. He feels more like a person to me while the Holy Spirit feels more like a mechanism.

In this paragraph Jesus seems to be taking on the functions I gave the Holy Spirit. He says to listen to him and to allow him to undo error and correct it. I wonder if this is the Holy Spirit working through Jesus. I imagine Jesus is a completely clear channel now and so there is no self left to obstruct the flow. And maybe none of this is right and I cannot in my present state understand the pure truth. I suppose it doesn’t matter. I give names and functions because I still separate everything, and then give them labels to keep them separate. Jesus, I seem unable to stop separating everything. Maybe you will have to correct this for me.

The third time I read through this paragraph I was very aware of my responsibilities. I am to prepare my mind for working miracles so that when Jesus directs an opportunity to do so, I will be ready. I have been doing this. I watch my mind for thoughts and beliefs that will obstruct my vision and cause me to see the error rather than the truth. I give these to the Holy Spirit for correction. I accept His vision to the degree I am able.

I am vigilant, consistent, and persistent. When I am strongly distracted from the truth as I was recently with my son, I just keep at it. I feel the uncertainty and doubt and continue bringing it to Holy Spirit. I feel discouraged and fearful and continue bringing it to Holy Spirit. I sit and cry and shake all over, and I bring it to the Holy Spirit. This is my only job and I will do it with as little judgment as I can, but no matter what, I continue to do it.

My fear and doubt has evolved through acceptance into understanding and now into a new vision. When I think of Toby and his back I know that the injury and all the effects of that injury are as unreal as everything else in the illusion. He is healed because that is God’s Will. The ego keeps pointing at proof to the contrary but I am not interested.

The last time I read this paragraph this morning I returned to gratitude. I am grateful for my part in the Atonement. I am ready to continue preparing my mind. I am ready to be directed to whatever miracles I am to perform. I am ready to be a link in the chain of Atonement, to stand beside my brother and sister, holding a hand in each of mine, one strong and powerful chain of miracle workers.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of the Text 11-5-12

11-5-12
6 The miracle minimizes the need for time. In the longitudinal or horizontal plane the recognition of the equality of the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time. However, the miracle entails a sudden shift from horizontal to vertical perception. This introduces an interval from which the giver and receiver both emerge farther along in time than they would otherwise have been. The miracle thus has the unique property of abolishing time to the extent that it renders the interval of time it spans unnecessary. There is no relationship between the time a miracle takes and the time it covers. The miracle substitutes for learning that might have taken thousands of years. It does so by the underlying recognition of perfect equality of giver and receiver on which the miracle rests. The miracle shortens time by collapsing it, thus eliminating certain intervals within it. It does this, however, within the larger temporal sequence. 

What is the purpose of the miracle? To make my life here more comfortable? No. To cure the body of disease? No. To prove that God exists? No. Not that these effects cannot happen, because often they do. But they are not the purpose. Right in the first sentence Jesus tells us that miracles save time. Later in the paragraph he says that a miracle can substitute for thousands of years of learning so he is not kidding when he says it saves time.

And what are we learning? We are learning that all members of the Sonship are equal. And how does this work? How does the miracle help me to know that we are all equal? When my son was in physical distress I, at first, had trouble taking my eyes off the problem, and so what was happening is that I was separating us. I saw Toby as the one who was sick, the one who needed a miracle.

I knew I was not helping because I was right there in the ego problem with him. The thoughts and feelings I had were: I am his mom, and so I should be helping him. I should be performing the miracle, and relieving him of his pain and healing him of his injury. As a Course student and teacher I was falling down on the job, teaching one thing and doing another. I felt very guilty on top of feeling afraid and upset for my son.

I also knew that all this was wrong-minded thinking, but I had a hard time stepping out of it. I stayed with it, though, asking the Holy Spirit to help me let go of my fear and see clearly. I began to back out of the ego thinking that was preventing me from being helpful. I began to remember that as a teacher of God I am always teaching what I need to learn so there was no reason to feel guilty that I was not being a “perfect” teacher. The teacher of God teaches perfection over and over until she learns it.

In my frustration I finally made the right choice. I said, “Jesus, I want your miracle!” And when I said it, I realized that something had changed. It was as if all of Heaven let out a sigh, “Finally, she asks.”  I began to remember that the miracle is a change of mind, not a change of circumstance. This was really hard because I desperately wanted a change of circumstance and felt guilty for even thinking I should ignore my son’s physical pain for an instant. The ego is very attracted to guilt, isn’t it? But again, I continued to ask for help even through my doubt and fear.

What happened is that as I slowly rejected each ego belief, the truth began to emerge. I began to realize that, in this situation, as in all situations, there is no separation. A couple of mornings after this all began, I awoke to Jesus speaking to me through my I-Pod. (No, that was not the miracle. It was A Course in Miracles recorded. ~smile~)

It was saying, “There is nothing outside your mind.” Of course. If nothing is outside my mind, then my son is in my mind. His injury is in my mind. His pain is in my mind. So what needs healing? My mind. I began asking the Holy Spirit to heal my mind, but this time I had a different understanding of that request. My son and I are not separate. We are the same, and we are equal members of the Sonship. I am not the teacher doing for the student, but a part of the Sonship healing Itself.

I may become distracted from this truth at some time in the future, but I will never forget it. Who knows how many years (maybe a thousand) of learning I would have had to experience if not for the miracle of my mind being healed of the belief that healing takes place outside my mind, that there is someone else who needs healing, and that I am somehow different and apart from that someone, greater or lesser than that someone.

This miracle raised me up in my thinking. This is the vertical shift in understanding, and Toby and I emerged further along the horizontal line (time) than we began. By the way, Toby is doing much better now, much better than he “should” be doing according to medical expectations. The doctor is in my mind as well as Toby’s body, the treatment is in my mind, the idea of time is in my mind. There is nothing outside my mind. The cause and the effect are both in my mind and so as the cause is healed, the effect is changed.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of the Text 11-2-12

11-2-12
5 Revelations are indirectly inspired by me because I am close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of my brothers. I can thus bring down to them more than they can draw down to themselves. The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower communication, keeping the direct channel from God to you open for revelation. Revelation is not reciprocal. It proceeds from God to you, but not from you to God. 

Reading about revelation and hearing from those who have experienced revelations I cannot help but desire this experience for myself, but I accept that since I have not done so yet, it is not time for this to happen. Jesus says he is alert to my level of readiness. He says he can inspire revelation when it is time. I trust Jesus. Revelation will occur when it will be a blessing to me.

We are told that the Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower communication which I take to mean from God to me. Another word for mediate is facilitate. I like that word because I understand facilitating. I facilitate courses for my students. This is different than teaching them. As a facilitator I don’t tell my students how they should see the lessons; I witness, encourage and guide. I make it easier for them to do the lessons.

When Jesus knows the time is right he will inspire revelation and then bring it down to me. The Holy Spirit, Who keeps the channel from God to me open, will make it easier for me to experience revelation. My sense is that revelation readiness may depend on how much the fear of God has been loosened. But really, I don’t know.

I looked up revelation in the dictionary. It says: the revealing of something previously hidden or secret. Or, in Christianity, a showing or revealing of what is believed to be divine will or truth. So when Jesus says that revelation is from God to me and not from me to God, I have to laugh. I will assume I don’t have any secrets to reveal to God, or any divine truth that is unknown to Him. ~smile~

Have a good weekend, friends. If any of you were in the path of the hurricane, I trust you are safe in God’s care. This weekend I am delivering the Sunday message at the Creative Life Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas and facilitating a workshop afterwards. If you are near Hot Springs, perhaps you would like to join us. I would love to see you.

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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