A New Way to See

Choice of My Thinking

I share with you a train of thoughts that came to me this morning. I trust that by sharing these words, I am giving what has been given to me. Thank you, Readers, for giving me the opportunity.

Today’s lesson is: “I am not the victim of the world I see.”
How I would love to accept this idea as wholly true! It would be very helpful to remember that if I have victim thoughts, they can only be coming from the little, false mind. They (seemingly) come from a part of my mind, but that part is not real. Only my belief in it gives it a reality, yet it is always a dream reality.

I have chosen the circumstances that cause me to experience feelings of stress, failure or despair. These situations that I have made up are a way for me to choose again, and to give the hidden thoughts and beliefs over to Holy Spirit for healing. If I did not experience the dark thoughts, then I would not look for help from the true Teacher that is within me. I would go on thinking that my dream experience was hunky-dory. I would not be practicing on waking up, or letting go of the illusory world I think I “see” outside of me.

As I experience the chaos of the ego thinking, I learn that I really want something else, like peace, joy or love. I need a slogan to help remind me of what I really want in place of illusions. I am reminded of the old V-8 juice commercial, “I could have had a V-8.” My slogan would be: “I could have love instead of this!” As I allow Holy Spirit’s healing thoughts to replace the mistaken thoughts of separateness, I come to realize my wholly loving nature, my true Self. If I am wholly loving, then I must be extending and receiving love. It seems that most of the time, I am not aware of the extension of love, nor of being immersed in Love. Even in my quiet times, I am not often fully aware of Love’s Presence. There must still be a block within my mind to this truth. “I” may think that it is still necessary to hide from Love.

“I am not the victim of the world I see” means that I am choosing the thoughts, and the experience that seems to happen to me. If I feel unaware of Love, then I have subconsciously chosen the unawareness. That block to Love, seems to protect me, seems to keep me safe. But what it really does, is to keep me in my own prison, in my own insanity. The good news is that Holy Spirit will take me step by step as I am willing to give up the hidden thoughts that once seemed to protect me. He shows me that those thoughts are not what I really want, that deep within me is the desire to return to truth, peace and Love. I am ever grateful for this Inner Teacher, and His perfect correction for my delusional thoughts. I am thankful for the healing and love that I receive when I give my fearful thoughts over to Him.

© 2004, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Choosing to See Differently

Hi, Friends in Light.
the following are some thoughts that came to me after reading the daily lesson.
It was “I am determined to see differently.”

Dear Jesus,
help me through this day. Help me to see differently. Help me to forgive the images that I have put in my dream. Help me to forgive my foolish wishing. Help me to feel your presence in every step I take. This would I give to my brother, for as he is freed, then so am I.

It is not by my power alone that will save me. It is by my joining with Love, that I can save and be saved. By Joining with Love, I give up the silly dream images that I thought would make me happy or safe. I give up the idea that I can do anything on my own. I allow new thoughts to take the place of ingrained beliefs of how things are and how people are. It is by my choice to join with Love, that I am given all that I need. I am given a vision of truth, because I am willing to let go of the images I have put in my dream. I seem to see those images as outside of me, but they are only in my mind; “thoughts leave not their source.” Those images are in my mind and have not left, not until I am willing to lay them down. If I value them, then I have trouble laying them aside. If I start to question the value I think is in them, that opens a crack to Holy Spirit. I start having different thoughts about some thing in my world. I begin to consider that what I thought had worth, was not worthy after all. It was not the treasure that I once made it. When I have let this recognition into my mind, then I have peace, because I am willing to let go of the value I put on some image or idea.

Sometimes I am amazed at the idea, that everything that I “see” in my world, is only here for my forgiveness. But [the Course teaches me] that is all that it is for. It is neither good nor bad, it is not real, so it is here for me to let go of.
I had mistakenly thought that I was to be indifferent to the world I saw. But this does not help me to let it go. I have found that I need to experience the feelings that I had stuffed. To realize that those feelings are there, and to look at the thoughts/beliefs that lay behind the feelings. Taking those thoughts to Holy Spirit is my job while I am in this dream. My job is important! My part in the job, is important so that I may eventually return Home and help those brothers to go Home as well.

© 2004, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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My Meaningless Thoughts

“My meaning less thoughts show me a meaningless world.”
The key to forgiveness lies in this idea.

My thoughts do not mean anything as they are wrapped up in illusion. So my meaningless thoughts show me a meaningless world.
My thoughts are wrapped up in illusion, these thoughts keep me in fear, afraid of retribution from God. The illusion attempts to keep God out (Edging God Out). But my thoughts do not mean anything. My projected thoughts do not mean anything—so the world I dream that I see, does not mean anything. It is meaningless.

The thoughts I seem to have, only reflect my belief that I am alone. If I choose, I can turn to Holy Spirit for correction of this belief. I can listen to His interpretation and let my meaning fall away. His Voice offers only the the truth. His Voice says:

“How can you be anything but loving? How can you be anything but complete? Love made you loving, Perfection made you perfect, Wholeness made you whole, Oneness made you one.

“All the things that you dream in your dream of fear, are nothing, they have no meaning—they are empty shadows. You will not find true answers within the dream, you need a Guide that discerns the real for you. To escape the dream, you can accept help, and be willing to change your mind about what you think is true. Reflection of truth is in loving thoughts, and light can be brought to darkness; the loving thoughts will shine away the false ones as you give them to me.

[I then had thoughts about the loss of money in the stocks I bought.]
“The key to forgiving your self is to remember that it is meaningless. Your choice to buy stocks was a mistake, nothing more. It was a choice in a dream; what is dreamt cannot have truth. Thoughts that are irrational cannot have truth. To look at that choice and make yourself guilty is useless. The mistake was thinking that you lacked anything—and the mistake was added to by other choices in the dream consciousness. It is still a mistake, and nothing real happened there. Your meaningless thoughts show you a meaningless world.

“This little mistake is a reflection of the mistaken belief that you are not Loved by your Creator.
If you are but a thought in the Mind that created you, how could you not be loved by that Mind? You would not exist without that Mind, so you must be loved and held eternally within Love. You mistake your self for a form, and do not see yourself as an idea. It is by forgiveness that you will understand that you are not the form of a body.

“You are learning that being a body—a form of specialness—does not give you what you want. Being a special body has only brought fear, pain, tension, remorse, and belief in separation (which is the cause of fear, pain, tension and remorse.)

“Do you now see the cost of the belief in what you think is true? The cost is peace of mind. Every little thought that you think is true, removes peace from your awareness. As you learn to give up the thoughts (that make the dream) you will receive more awareness of peace. Giving up thoughts that are untrue, gives to you, it does not take away. We have said that God never takes, but only gives. Why would you fear finding out that this is fact? The barriers to Love are as unreal as anything else in your dream.

“Your beliefs (and barriers) will be undone one by one, as you elect. It is your choice, your decision that undoes the chain of illusion. Be willing then, to let go of the meaning that you have put on everything. Be willing to let go of the value you have put on everything. What is in a dream cannot be made real. And the truth of what you are is far beyond your dreaming. Be willing to remember that you dream, and you are the dreamer.”

© 2004, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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About Rev. Mary Manke

As a child, the fairy tale, “Cinderella” was my favorite story. Wasn’t that what I wanted?—to be rescued from an unloving family, a family that did not understand me?

I was always drawing pictures of what the “ever after” story looked like. That pastime became making up my own inner stories of how I could live a “better” life away from the biological family I was in. I was in a day dreaming state a good part of the time. On my arrival to school I learned to wear masks so I would not be discovered as “different” from my classmates. I was on my guard, trying to fit in, otherwise I was in a fantasy land, it felt safe there. 

I guess then it is not surprising that I looked for that “prince” to rescue me the rest of my early adulthood. I found different ones at different times, but none lasted. When I finally realized that I needed to change something about me, then I was led on a different path. In the mid 70’s I began working with “self help” type tapes. In the 80’s I went to 2 annual seminars, and learned through “automatic writing” to listen to the Voice within.

By 1989 I had discovered quite near my home the “light center,” now called Pathways of Light. Still looking at self help, I began taking the courses offered there. There I was introduced to ACIM. When I decided that I needed a copy of this book, I would go into the book store, and silently ask Spirit if it was time for me to “get” the book. I discovered much later, that I did not receive the green light, until my partner was also ready to hear the words. The summer that I brought the book home, I would read aloud for us both, often stumbling over the syntax.

With the recent publication of Gary Renard’s book, I was able to discover that I had not been practicing nor healing as much as I had thought or hoped. The words from his teachers rang clear to me, and stimulated me to go deeper into my closet of beliefs. To look on the world as my dream, and know that it is in my choice to believe the dream or to let it go, and to trust Holy Spirit’s strength; those were the most beneficial ideas to me.

I realize that I have the daily opportunity to practice forgiving. Any form of fear that pops up for me is there so that I can choose to let it go; I can give it to Holy Spirit.  The daily practice of giving my thoughts up for correction is now a gift to me, a gift I want to accept. To “see” differently means that I am willing to let go of my version of the world—the version that I thought I wanted. I am learning there is no scary adversary, no vengeful god, no fire breathing dragon, nor evil stepsisters. These pictures were all a diversion to keep me away from the truth.

Some days I practice “better” then other days. Some days the story seems too real, and then of course it is difficult for me to let it go. I hope that as I share my experiences with you, the days of not letting go will become fewer for all of us. (By the way, the thought just accurred to me, that ACIM must be the ultimate “self help” book! I ‘think’ that is humor from Spirit.)

© 2004, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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