A Course
in Miracles introductory
video by Michael Dawson
I have recently
produced an illustrated 11 minute A Course in
Miracles' summary which looks at how the Course
came and its metaphysical and practical teachings. It
introduces the topics of heaven, the separation, guilt,
denial, projection, forgiveness and our spiritual awakening.
In July I
will add a recent 1h 50m interview with Jack Childs.The first
part covers my spiritual journey and in the second
part I answerA Course in Miraclesquestions
especially in regard to healing and metaphysics.
I will be
adding more videos on Course themes. If you want to
be automatically informed of new additions please
press Subscribe on the YouTube page where my video
is showing and click on the bell that appears so it
appears as if it is ringing. This ensures you will
get an email update when new videos are added.
These
videos will also be listed on my website at:
http://www.acfip.org/acim%20video%20channel.html
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with .au I put your address on my Australian list for advance
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not end in .au, please email me and I will include it.
If you are new to the
Course you might find my 3 summaries of help.
* Q.25 If all this is a
dream or an illusion, does that mean that the abuse I suffered as
a child is unreal and should be denied or ignored? - Kenneth
Wapnick
* Metaphysics and the
body (audio 6mins) - Tina Spalding
Non Dual Teachings
* From
Transcendence to Embodiment - Atreya Thomas
*The Breakthrough
Shift: Lost and Found - Jan Frazier
* Poem - 'Be still and
know God' by kironJ Gardner
* 24/7 technology can block
guidance - The Arcturian
Group
Other
* Workshops
* Books and Audio
Materials for Sale
* Links
* Inspirational Quotations
A
Course in Miracles Material
Opening to the
Light
by Michael
Dawson
Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek the light are
merely covering their eyes. The light is in them now.
Enlightenment is but a recognition, not a change at all.
from A Course in Miracles W-pI.188.1:1-4 The light, love and joy of God are ever present and wait
only our acceptance. We need not earn them as they were freely
given at our creation. Nor is sacrifice or suffering required.
So why do we rarely experience the light?
Within the illusion of time we long ago decided separation was
preferable to oneness. We entered space and time seeking
happiness outside ourselves. That we have not succeeded is
obvious - one look at the world clearly shows this. However,
we are still optimistic and carry on searching for that
elusive peace and joy. At times we find it only to see it slip
away from our grasp. Our ego encourages us to keep trying not
mentioning its real goal is to ensure we never succeed.
I have said that the ego's rule is, "Seek and do not find."
Translated into curricular terms this means, "Try to learn
but do not succeed." T-12.V.7:1-2
The ego is the thought of separation that we, the sleeping
Christ, have created. It lives as long as we give it power and
we will continue to do this while we think it serves us. It
wants to continue and thus seeks ways to keep us believing
it's worth keeping. As we begin to slowly realise that
following the ego's thought system of separation brings only
pain we start to turn to the Holy Spirit in our mind for help.
We start to open to the light.
Tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without
limit. Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however
dimly, that there must be a better way. As
this recognition becomes more firmly established, it becomes
a turning point. T-2.III.3:5-7
OBSTACLES TO THE LIGHT
The ego becomes alarmed at the direction we are starting to
take and counsels us to return to him. He warns us that the
Holy Spirit works for God and don't we remember we broke up
Heaven, took God's power and set ourselves up in time and
space where we hope God will not find us and exact his just
revenge!
I have watched participants on workshops having some form of
experience that brings them closer to God's love and light and
then a short time after they experience some fear, depression
or sickness.
As the light comes nearer you will rush to darkness,
shrinking from the truth, sometimes retreating to the lesser
forms of fear, and sometimes to stark terror. But you will
advance, because your goal is the advance from fear to
truth. T-18.III.2:1-2
On the one hand we are starting to tire of the ego's ways of
attack, judgement, justified anger and victimhood but are
terrified of losing our sense of identity, specialness and
individuality. We are strongly attached to thinking we are a
body with important roles and ambitions in the world. The
notion of spiritually advancing and finally sitting on the
right hand of God is very appealing. But notice something
about this picture. You are still there! Duality has crept
into the oneness of Heaven. This is the ego's version of
spiritual growth - you take him with you to God.
In the fifth stage of the "Development of Trust" in the Manual
for Teachers Jesus tells us we will all go through
a "Period of Unsettling". Although we are close to the top of
the ladder of trust, the Real World, we may remain a "long,
long time" at this penultimate stage. Why? We need to
willingly release the sense of "I", of a "me" before we can
return home.
Peace and joy exist only in the state of oneness or union with
God. To know this means releasing our investment in the ego's
thought system of separation. Our dilemma is illustrated in
the following story.
A man is swinging on a trapeze. He knows this trapeze well but
is starting to tire of it. He is not happy where he is and
knows he must change something. Suddenly he sees an empty
trapeze swinging backwards and forwards in front of him. On
closer inspection he sees his name written on the bar. He
knows he must let go of his familiar trapeze before he can
grasp the new one. His fear of the new and the death of the
old make him want to hold onto the old trapeze with one hand
whilst trying to grab the new one. An impossible task.
Likewise, the ego still has a powerful hold on us whilst we
are being drawn ever more strongly to the light of the Holy
Spirit.
The "Obstacles to Peace" in Chapter 19 of the ACIM Text spells
out the various arguments the ego will use to persuade us to
stay with him. He tells us the body is valuable for what it
offers and that pain "proves" that it is real and the Holy
Spirit is a liar when He says it's an illusion. Death is
further "proof" that the body is real and separate from God.
Our attraction to guilt, attack, hate and anger also act as a
defense to experiencing the love of God, which would lead to
the death of the ego. The ego warns us that God is waiting at
the end of our spiritual path to exact his justified vengeance
(so don't go there!) Better to get caught up in the world's
ambitions, know the body is the only reality and don't rock
the boat.
As we slowly start to desert our ego its cries will follow us
until that day dawns when we finally give up all investment in
its illusions.
And the illusions subtly change. Seeing through the cruder
illusions of the eg (that materialism will bring us
happiness), we then fall into the trap off spiritual
materialism. Yearning for God and enlightenment can keep us
trapped for a long time.
The desire for truth is the highest of all desires, yet, it
is still a desire. All desires must be given up for the real
to be.....When all search ceases, it is the Supreme State.
from I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Knowing we will experience fear and ambivalence on our journey
is very helpful. The journey back to God is not sweetness and
light. As the ego continues to rear its ugly head we can start
to practise forgiveness.
FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does
nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist
it to appearances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and
judges not.W-pII.1.4:1-3
This quotation is asking us to look quietly at our ego and not
to fix them or improve it. We are asked not to hate or love it
for it is nothing, simply the absence of love which is
awaiting our welcome. It must wait while we welcome the ego
instead. The ego, not being real, merely needs to be observed
without judgement. As we learn slowly to maintain a witness
attitude to our ego's behaviour we remove our investment from
it and it begins to fade. Starved of attention and guilt its
food supplies shrivel and it must start to lose its grip on
our minds. But as soon as we feel guilty about its behaviour
or thoughts we are saying to it, "You are real, I believe in
you".
This is our day in and day out practice. Not yearning for God
or enlightenment. Just watching our mind and not judging what
we see while asking the Holy Spirit/Jesus for help in seeing
the situation peacefully. Slowly we start to smile at the
ego's goings-on. "Oh, I see I want to throttle the driver who
just cut me off on the road. That reminds me of the anger I
felt yesterday when someone jumped the queue I was waiting
patiently in. So what's new!"
Many times we will forget to forgive and ask for help. On
seeing this we can still learn to smile at our lack of
practice, to forgive ourselves for not forgiving.
I recently saw someone had summarised my AAA approach to
forgiveness and include it below.
1. AWARENESS
What is denied cannot be forgiven. Awareness of our inner
world is as important as awareness of our outer world. Our
egos will fight our attempts to become more aware of our
darker sides. Watch thoughts without judgment - develop a
"compassionate witness." The ability to watch thinking means
we are not our thoughts.
2. ACCEPTANCE
What you resist persists. Acceptance dissolves guilt.
Acceptance invites healing and change. Change is feared and
can block forgiveness.
3. ASKING FOR HELP
Awareness and acceptance are our responsibility. A genuine
desire for peace invites healing. Our inner guide completes
the forgiveness process and will choose the form forgiveness
takes: our job is to surrender to its guidance.
Reprinted from www.care2.com - adapted from The
Findhorn Book of Forgiveness, by Michael Dawson
As we practise our daily forgiveness lessons the wall of the
ego starts to fade revealing God's light behind it - a light
incapable of destruction, only of being hidden. The fear of
God's love for us, which will dissolve our egos, begins to
fall away and we understand and follow Jesus's guidance at
last:
My brother, you are part of God and part of me. When you
have at last looked at the ego's foundation without
shrinking you will also have looked upon ours. I come to you
from our Father to offer you everything again. Do not refuse
it in order to keep a dark cornerstone hidden, for its
protection will not save you. I give you the lamp and I will
go with you. You will not take this journey alone. I will
lead you to your true Father, Who hath need of you, as I
have. Will you not answer the call of love with joy? T-11.in.4.
(The theme of this article is developed in my workshop
"Opening to the Light")
Q.25 - If
all this is a dream or an illusion, does that mean
that the
abuse I
suffered as a child is unreal and should be denied
or ignored? -
Kenneth Wapnick
http://www.miraclestudies.net/QuestIndx.html
Following
from the answer to the preceding question, one can
understand that childhood abuse, or any victimization, is
part of a larger script that came into existence with the
original thought of separation, which then shattered into
billions of fragments. The ÒmeÓ that I experience as
myself, as well as all the experiences of the life I call
my own, are but one aspect of the larger script of the
decision maker. Indeed, all ego scripts are but projected
dreams of a world of opposites that results from the
belief that we (the victimizers) could banish God and His
unity (the victim) from our minds. Thus, any part of our
individual lives is a congealing in form of the ego script
of victim-victimizer. Moreover, I must accept
responsibility that my decision maker has written a script
where I would experience the pain of abuse so that I could
prove that God was wrong and I was right. In other words,
there is no unity of the Sonship because the thoughts of
separation and victimization actually occurred. Until I
can accept this fact of my dream. I will not be able to
accept the correction and healing of the Holy Spirit. Most
importantly, people should never deny what seems to be
happening to them in their dreams, for these events become
the means of helping them to awaken from the dream.
Rather, they should pay careful attention to such
experiences andthenask the Holy
Spirit for help in becoming a happy learner, and accepting
His happy dreams of correction to replace the nightmare
dreams that their egos had made.
For
example, if one suffered such painful abuse as a child
that all memories had been repressed and therefore
rendered inaccessible to correction, some form of
therapeutic intervention that allows the person to recall
the early abuse can often be extremely helpful. If this is
not done, the thought of fear that ÒprotectsÓ the thought
of victimization is accorded power, and indeed continues
to exercise this power in the service of maintaining the
egoÕs thought system of separation and pain. Therefore, asA Course
in Miraclesrepeatedly
emphasizes, a happy dream of forgiveness must precede the
ultimate awakening, in whichÑstill within the context of
the dream of separationÑa person is able to look with
Jesus at the bitter symbols of the dreamÕs past, open them
to re-examination and therefore correction. This is the
meaning of the following all-important passage from the
text that conveys the gentleness of JesusÕ corrective and
healing love:
Nothing
more fearful than an idle dream has terrified GodÕs Son,
and made him think that he has lost his innocence, denied
his Father, and made war upon himself. So fearful is the
dream, so seeming real, he could not waken to reality
without the sweat of terror and a scream of mortal fear,
unless a gentler dream preceded his awaking, and allowed
his calmer mind to welcome, not to fear, the Voice that
calls with love to waken him; a gentler dream, in which
his suffering was healed and where his brother was his
friend. God willed he waken gently and with joy. and gave
him means to waken without fear (T-27.VII. 13:3-5).
And
so. any intervention that allows individuals to gain
access to their fear thoughts so that they can be looked
at through the eyes of JesusÕ forgivenessÑa vision of
non-judgmentÑis of help. That is why Jesus dictated to
Helen the pamphletPsychotherapy:
Purpose, Process and Practice. Though it clearly
occurs within the egoÕs dream of separation, psychotherapy
can nonetheless be redirected by the Holy Spirit to serve
His holy purpose of undoing the dreamÑthrough reversing
the dynamics of denial and projectionÑby reflecting in
therapist and patient the joining of God and Christ that
is the only truth.
As
we have stated previously, it is indeed true that
metaphysically speaking oneÕs early childhood abuse (oranythingwithin a
dream) is an illusion, but as long as one believes itdidindeed
happenÑotherwise there would be no fear, denial, anger, or
painÑthen help must be reflected in the form the person
needs. To dismiss a problem as mere illusion when one
still believes one is a body and personality is simply
silly, and not a legitimate spiritual practice. Such
practice in denial clearly serves no one well, and Jesus
did not give us a Course in denial, but one in itsundoing.
Question from
The Most
Commonly Asked Questions About A Course in
Miracles
This is an extract from a 22min
audio on this subject.
Email me it you want the whole
audio.
Tina is a
trance channel who brings through Ananda (a collective
consciousness) and Jesus.
Their
teachings are loving, wise, without judgement and in
accord with teachings of A Course in Miracles which they recommend.
ÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑ
Non Dual Teachings
This part of the
newsletter offers input from non-dual teachers. What is
non-duality? The word Ônon-dualÕ means not two. On the first
page of the ACIM text there is two line summary of a Course in
Miracles. It begins with the line ÒNothing real
can be threatened.Ó
This refers to what God
created Ð eternal, formless, spirit. Eternal means never born
and therefore cannot change or die. The Course uses the
expression Ôthe ChristÕ to denote this. Behind all the seeming
multiplicity of the universe there is actually only one
essential reality. Just as all the images on the cinema screen
seem different, the light that creates them is one.
There is
nothing outside you. That is what you must ultimately learn,
for it is the realization that the Kingdom of Heaven is
restored to you. For God created only this, and He did not
depart from it nor leave it separate from Himself. The
Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place of the Son of God,
who left not his Father and dwells not apart from Him.
Heaven is not a place nor a condition. It is merely an
awareness of perfect Oneness, and the knowledge that there
is nothing else; nothing outside this Oneness, and nothing
else within.
A Course in Miracles
T-18.VI.1.
The second line of the
summary states ÓNothing unreal exists.Ó This
refers to everything that is born and therefore dies - the
egoÕs world. Thus everything in the universe including
ourselves is not real according to the Course. It is like a
great dream. Only perfect oneness is real.
There are two forms of
non-duality Ð pure and impure. In the impure form God is aware
that the universe is a dream and experiences itself through it
- God's Leela or play as they say in the East. In the pure
form of non-duality God is unaware of the universe. The Course
is an example of pure non-dual teachings. A metaphor for this
is a cinema projector where the lamp in the projector
represents God. When the ego's film of separation is run past
the light it is projected onto the screen of time and space.
The light of God makes this possible, but the lamp is unaware
of what is on the screen and would continue to shine when the
film is taken away. To continue with this metaphor the light
extending from the lamp is who we are, the Christ. ( See
chart http://acfip.org/lightbulb.html)
You dwell not
here, but in eternity.
You travel but
in dreams, while safe at home.
T-13.VII.17:6-7.
You are at
home in God, dreaming of exile but perfectly capable of
awaking to reality.
T-10.I.2:1.
_________________________________________________
FromTranscendence
to Embodiment
from: Awakening into
a Complete Human Being: Merging the Outer with the
Innermost Self by Atreya Thomas
I mentioned the
witness briefly earlier, but let us examine this state
with a more critical eye. The witness state is what is
left of an individual after awareness breaks away from
mind and body. The witness state can be completely
detached from worldly affairs, or it can oscillate
between spirit and form. The depth at which someone
enters the witness state is often determined by the
intensity of his or her devotion, as well as by how much
they have suffered while remaining identified with the
mind and body.
For
example, someone who has experienced a lot of trauma and
anxiety feels remarkable relief when they discover the
witness. Finally, the seeker is free from the torturous
prison of OCD, addiction, anger, depression,
frustration, and so on. This always feels like it is the
final state to achieve, because what else is there? In
this space, you have no real connection to anything, as
you know yourself to be the unchanging awareness in an
ever-changing world of fleeting objects, thoughts, and
emotions. This is the experiential bliss of the Self.
One merely witnesses as life rises and falls, remaining
unaffected by phenomena.
Personally,
I remember feeling that the most horrific situation
could manifest in my life and wondering if I would feel
anything, at all. It sounds extreme, but in this state,
you are very much divorced from the objective, concrete
aspects of life, since your primary experience is that
of pure, unbroken bliss.
Multiple
times for almost a decade, I experienced this state of
going back into identification with mind and body and
then swinging back into the witness state. This pendulum
swing is common, as it is part of the process of the
breaking down of the persona, or dysfunctional ego.
After years of this, I dropped into a witness state that
was abiding and deeper than anything I had ever
experienced. I sat for at least six hours a day in the
backyard whenever I did not have something I absolutely
needed to do. I did not speak for nearly a year. The
kids climbed on me, hit me in the face with pillows,
stuck dirt in my ears, and more. I had sunk into a place
that was completely unaffected by form. I had discovered
my abstract, eternal nature and was absorbed in that
state exclusively.
During that
time, my mind was pristine and as still as calm waters,
with flashes of extraordinary insights. I wrote down
these insights, and they became the content for my first
book:Revealing
the Absolute: Where Seeking Ends and Learning Begins.Looking
back, I see that this book was primarily concerned with
transcendence, as that is the state I was in. I had gone
beyond form. After about a year of remaining in this
state, I came to a threshold that I can only describe as
ÒDeathÕs door.Ó
DEATHÕS
DOOR
The witness
has the shreds of dysfunctional ego built into it
because there is still a sense of dualityÑthe witness
and that which is being witnessed. Therefore, in my
experience, the witness has a choice: it can cling to
the bliss of detachment, or it can die back into form. I
remember coming to a threshold and being presented with
this option, although I did not understand its
significance at the time. I felt that I had the choice
to die or to stay on my meditation cushion. My heart
rate jumped higher than I had ever before experienced,
and I was accustomed to strenuous exercise. In the past,
I had been a seasoned runner who could run a six-minute
mile. I had never felt my heart rate so high. I wanted
to get up and run away, but I decided to remain. I
remember saying to myself, ÒOkay, I am going to die; it
is my time.Ó I knew I could get up and seek help, but I
decided to stay and die.
What
happened next is indescribable, because the experience
did not come through the vehicle of the mind or body.
However, I can say this: It was timeless. In other
words, the sense of continuity, memory, or linear
experience was not present, and yet, there was
existence.
UNITY
CONSCIOUSNESS
Returning
to my senses after this experience can be described as a
birth back into the body. Except this time when I opened
my eyes, the world was different. Objects were
recognizable, but somehow changed. The best way I can
describe it is that they all somehow appeared the same,
although they were physically different. I got up,
walked into my house, and saw my wife. I looked at her
intensely, and what I saw next explained my
experience.
As I looked
at her, I saw my own face superimposed upon hers. For
quite some time, this was my primary experience:
everything I saw, touched, tasted, and interacted with I
somehow experienced as myself in the most literal sense.
This feeling has never left, but has become more of an
undertone over time. Nevertheless, the intensity can be
dialled up or down by certain embodiment practices I
discovered.
It is
important to note that not everyoneÕs experience will be
like the one I described. In fact, you can bet that it
will not be, because everyoneÕs experience with
transcendence and unity consciousness seems to be
unique, although there are always some
similarities.
_________________________________________________
The
Breakthrough Shift: Lost and Found
Jan Frazier
https://janfrazierteachings.com/teachings/
So much seeking is
misguided. Many get hopelessly lost in the impression that
somebody else Òhas itÓ while they do not. Awakeness is
made into something extraordinary Ð something outside the
one longing for it. Yet the only difference between
someone whoÕs steadily awake and one whoÕs not is this:
the awake person has discovered what always was within,
and has come to dwell there. For others, the discovery is
yet to be made. If something life-altering occurs at
awakening, itÕs got to do with perspective only.
Yet it seems some kind
of change (or acquisition) needs to occur. As if the
reality of stripped-downbeingnesswerenÕt
already within, accessible to any who will pause long
enough to let it be felt Ð to touch whatÕs beyond the
reach of the mind.
Nearly all spiritual
effort engages the mind. The mind can never take you
anyplace but another part of itself. It cannot deliver you
to whatÕs beyond all thought.
* * * * *
To be awake is to be
consciously aware in the moment. ItÕs to be attuned to
whatÕs occurring here and now, both around yourself and
within Ðwithout
mental filtering,without
resisting or assessing. This is as true of a fleeting
moment of awakeness (experienced by many) as it is of a
stable condition.
During the long
intervals of unconsciousness, instead of attention being
on momentary reality itself, itÕs onideasabout whatÕs
happening. Or itÕs on a mental image of the past, or on
some imagined moment (occurring elsewhere or later). The
mindÕs content is endlessly absorbing only because itÕs so
good at convincing you of its reality. A person doesnÕt
realize, mostly, that this impression of reality is
entirely a homemade production. Hence the vast majority of
life is ÒlivedÓ inside the head. Meanwhile, youÕve lost
touch with that part of yourself thatÕs purely alive:
awareness itself.
Learn to mistrust
the assumption that any moment of self-examination is
useful to your spiritual life.
Yet what do seekers
tend to focus on? They try to change themselves,
discouraged by lack of Òprogress.Ó Mostly it goes
unnoticed that all of this engages the mind. Meanwhile,
people constantly fail to question the fundamental
delusion on which everything depends: that the familiar
self (with all its exotic mental lenses, its drive to
improve) has an independent existence outside the head,
and that itÕs capable of awakening. They neglect to askWhat is it
in me that experiences suffering Ð that wants it to go
away?The
result is that people filled with longing constantly
by-pass whatÕs always available, inside themselves. ItÕs
just that they keep looking in the wrong place.
The greater part of
any lifeÕs attention is on the wish to attain happiness.
(ItÕs this desire that draws many to spirituality.) In the
attempt to figure out how to be happy, how to reduce
suffering (often via some imagined spiritual
ÒattainmentÓ), people miss the fundamental reality.
The wellspring of
equanimity is as palpable as bodily warmth. But it isnÕt
perceived because it exists at a level deeper than the one
typically drawing attention Ð the level where suffering
and hope flower, where seeking occurs. Only unfiltered
attention to present-moment reality can bring equanimity,
the kind thatÕs subject to nothing at all.
* * * * *
Rarely does a person
grow still enough to feel himself simply being. Being
aware, sensing aliveness. How many times in a typical day
does someone seethat
she sees,feelthat sheÕshere?This
noticing Ð or its absence Ð is the only difference between
sleep-walking and really living.
Whenever it occurs to
you, pause and ask,WhereÕs
my attention? Even a brief noticing can shift
the usual way of perceiving, opening the door to a new
orientation to the moment Ð to yourself. Asking this
question attunes you to whatÕs real. It stops everything,
locating you(consciously) in
the present. Next, ask this:What is it
in me thatÕs capable of seeing where attention is?This
question gently moves you into the ÒpartÓ of you thatÕs
been awake all along.
This is not a ÒmethodÓ
to waking up. Itisbeing
awake (however fleetingly). ItÕs the thing itself.
This momentary shift
in awareness has been celebrated by a well-known writer:
ÒWho could ever tire of this heart-stopping transition, of
this breakthrough shift between seeing and knowing you
see, between being and knowing you be?Ó
That passage appears
in a book not about spiritual awakening but about what
itÕs like to be a child. InAn
American Childhood,Annie
Dillard is describing a kind of knowing thatÕs innate to
the human being. To sense the living reality of conscious
self-awareness is truly thrilling, especially when it
first occurs, which is likely in childhood. (Not that a
child could articulate it; that remains for the restless
adult sheÕll turn into. Is it any wonder weÕre often
wistful for childhood, pained by the sense that something
precious has been lost?)
Isit
lost? Or is it just obscured? As the child develops, other
things begin to seem more important than the attunement to
timeless being. Things like making friends and being well
thought of, like self-esteem, doing well in school,
obeying oneÕs elders, learning to belong, to achieve (and
for some, to survive). On and on it goes. After an early
immersion in the now, we learn to believe in time and its
exotic promises. The primal sensation of conscious
awareness is buried beneath the rubble of things weÕre
taught to believe matter more. Is it any wonder that along
the way we inevitably lose track of our dearest selves?
Yet what each of us most deeplyismoves
along with us, always, however obscured it may be. As if
patiently waiting to be discovered anew, fresh as it was
in childhood.
* * * * *
Attention is alwayssomewhere. YouÕre
a physical being, perhaps in motion, located in a
particular space. Something observable is going on Òout
there,Ó and inside as well (in body, in mind). YouÕre
equipped with sense receptors, capable of attunement to
the immediate surroundings and to the inner condition. Yet
seldom is a person self-aware enough to notice where
attention is at any given moment. Pausing to see where
attention is, you find itÕs on something: the red light
youÕre waiting to turn green, the button being buttoned,
the thing being said to you, the pain in your back. Most
often, attention is absorbed by the apparent reality of
whatever story is currently playing on the mental screen,
sapping all attention from immediate reality (so that
youÕre paying no attention to the outer activity). The
mind has convinced you that its production is as real as
whateverÕs going on in front of you. Having no access to
reality, all the mind can touch is its own content.
Thinking and attention
are capacities innate to every human being. They are not
the same. Each has its own terrain.
Thinking is the
processor Ð not theexperiencerÐ of
reality. Although it occurs at a remove from life,
thinking and its content take on the feeling of the real.
The result is the generation of dissatisfaction, fear,
anger, judgment, and resistance. In the mind dwell all
identities, all ideas and beliefs Ð including spiritual
ones. These are especially potent in their capacity to
delude, to keep a person trapped in the head, wondering
(most ironically) why awakening never occurs. The most
deeply-entrenched beliefs and identities are often not
even seen, because they appear to be Òsimply trueÓ or
Òjust who I am.Ó They are the building blocks of the rigid
structure that constitutes the personal prison.
Most essential to see
is this: theI(being quite
literally made of thought) existsonlyinside
the head, which spawns and maintains it at extravagant
cost to a life. However real it appears to be (and however
off-putting or unnerving this may be),the self
has no independent reality, outside the mindÕs
impression of it.
* * * *
While the mind can
know only its own creations, attention has access to life
itself. It tunes into whatÕs happening in the immediate
field of awareness, engaging at a more primary level than
thought. Absent the conspicuous tension of mental
processing, attention is simply tuned in. It feels alive,
present, reallyhere.
It doesnÕt generate ideas (including spiritual ones), or
set intentions. Learn to recognize these impulses as
coming from the mind.
Simply tuned into the
now, attention doesnÕt attach labels or project to whatÕs
next. Of course, the mind will be eager to step in with
its busybody ways, and it almost always does. But itÕs key
to notice that attentionprecedesprocessing,
always. ItÕs possible to really be here for the moment
without mentally handling it at all. Imagine that! (In
order to discover this, you need first detect the split
second that separates sensory perception from mental
engagement.)
Thinking and attention
function all the time for everyone. But seldom are we
encouraged to notice them, to distinguish one from the
other. Nobody teaches us about this in school or at home,
and at terrible cost. (ItÕs never too late to learn.)
Learning to recognize the difference, in a moment of
self-awareness, leads you to that ÒpartÓ of yourself where
insight Ð and a potent shift Ð can occur.
* * * * *
If I ask, ÒWhere were
you born?Ó what capacity is engaged? ItÕs the thinker that
turns on. Attention doesnÕt have access to stored
information. ThatÕs the mindÕs terrain.
If I say, ÒCan you
tell in this moment that you are alive, aware, here?Ó what
do you use to tell? Clearly it isnÕt the same capacity as
the one that knows where you were born. Yet in an instantyou can
tell.See
how the reality of being is afeltthing Ð
not a mentally ÒknownÓ one. Nothing requiring mental
engagement can deliver you to that level of bodied
recognition. Mental recollection of a birdÕs name cannot
hope to approach the effect of the nameless creatureÕs
song on your interior.
This is what being
awake is about.
If I ask, ÒWhere has
your attention been, the moment before this one?Ó often
what youÕll realize is that itÕs been on the content of
your mind, having mistaken it for reality. But now,suddenly
conscious, you canrecognizeit as mental
content. And you can discover (most usefully) that during
the interval of being Òlost in thought,Ó youÕd been
largely unaware of the immediate scene. Since attention
has now been re-directed from the real-seeming mental
dramato
the phenomenon of thought,you
have arrived in the now, no longer distracted by what was
masquerading as the real.
Contemplate this
clear-eyed observation by Red Hawk: ÒThought gains its
dominance and control by a simple device:not being
observedÓ[inSelf
Observation: The Awakening of Conscience].The
transformative power of observing the mind at work cannot
be overestimated. This applies equally to an obvious
stream of thought and to more subtle forms of mental
content Ð real-seeming things such as identification,
attachment, belief, and memory.
See, for
transformation to come about, you donÕt need to make
yourself stop thinking. You need only recognize thought
for what it is. This seeing drains the energy right out of
a mental movie, changing it from three-dimensional color
(with youinsideit) to
a pencil sketch youÕre lookingat.
Perspective is
everything.
* * * * *
In a moment of
dissatisfaction or desire, ask yourself,What
capacity is engaged here, in this moment?Learn
to mistrust the assumption that any moment of
self-examination is useful to your spiritual life. Simply
notice whatÕs happening in the head, and then invite
attention to attune to whatÕs actually real in the moment:
the sensation in the body, the look and feel of the
immediate scene. This simple gesture can teach you more
about freedom than all the spiritual ideas in the world.
More and more you will find yourself living not in your
head but in the now Ð really alive! Any time youÕre
self-aware enough to notice where attention is (even if
the moment just prior was missed by being lost in the
head), youÕve just arrived in the present. Which is, of
course, the whole point.
You may be surprised
to notice, along the way, that the fierce drive to awaken
has quieted down. (It was, after all, a thing of the
mind.)
As you grow ever more
aware of how much is mind-based, donÕt get discouraged.
The growing attunement relieves you of a crippling
delusion. Say goodbye to the habit of self-judgment. Set
down the exhausting attempt to change, to exercise
vigilance. Instead, with great kindness to self, observe
the compelling nature of the mental content. Discover how
things of the mind manage to draw and hold your attention.
Explore Ð ever more deeply Ð the fullness of what is
mind-generated. There is much youÕve yet to recognize as
mind-made. To the extent that youÕre willing to see it
all, you will become free of its tyranny.Thought
gains its dominance and control . . . bynot being
observed.
Present-moment
awareness is where the breakthrough shift occurs. Simply
hold still. Look and feel. Be here. Attention itself
becomes the teacher.
Rediscover what came
so naturally in childhood. It wasnÕt lost after all.
'ACIM facilitator and
events manager of the Miracle Network'
What ifÉ
this really was the one answer to everything
What ifÉ
there was absolutely nothing else to do but be still,
and ask to know God
What ifÉ
by asking to know God, and asking for nothing else, this
allowed our lesser concerns to be addressed
automatically and perfectly Ð with no effort or
searching
What ifÉ
God answers all the time, but we best understand the
answers if we want to know Him above all else
What ifÉ
when our only focus is to know Him, His answers bring us
more and more peace
What ifÉ
by being still we really do get to know God
Individuals are
only able to hear guide suggestions and intuition when
they are quiet enough to hear the still, silent voice
within. Technological distractions are serving to
block inner communication for many. It is not only
important, but imperative that anyone seeking guidance
from within, learn to detach themselves from 24/7
technology . Anyone choosing to evolve and live
spiritually, will have a very difficult time if they
are plugged into and checking phones and computers
every five minutes.
Some will say, " I
need it for my work" which may be true for those who
believe that success is entirely dependant upon
personal effort because according to the three
dimensional belief system, it is a "dog eat dog"
world. However, you who read these messages are beyond
this level and have become aware of the bigger
picture. For you, a continuing reliance on three
dimensional concepts will no longer serve you because
you are no longer in alignment with that energy.
Let go of the
temptation to stay constantly plugged in to news and
information that quickly becomes obsolete. Technology
is an important and powerful tool especially as it
serves to awaken those of the status quo with video
exposing situations the world over that heretofore
were being ignored or covered up. However never lose
sight of the fact that Technology is a tool to serve
you, not for you to serve it.
Children must be
taught that technology is a tool for learning and for
fun, but must never become a distraction from living
real life. Many children as well as adults, are losing
their ability to play, love, evolve, and interact with
others on a mature personal level because their
obsession with technology leaves no room for real life
experiences and allows them to live "fake" lives.
You have evolved
beyond living in slavery to material distractions in
order to feel fulfilled. This is not to say you cannot
enjoy quality television, films, books, games, or take
advantage of the latest technology but it must be
remembered that the moment any of these things become
"needs" necessary in order for you to feel complete
and happy, you are in the old belief of separation.
The three
dimensional world continues to seek your loyalty,
interest, and purchases, through promotional efforts
that inform you of latest trends guaranteed to solve
everything troubling you. As the evolved states of
consciousness you now are, you must accept the fact
that it is time to come out and be separate, reclaim
your innate power, and refuse to accept at face value
everything so called experts, government, and
religions tell you is true.
It is a new time,
a time in which your inner self/SELF can become your
best news source, technology, and font of information.
To do nothing is to rest,
and make a place within you where the activity
of the body ceases to demand attention.
Into this place the Holy
Spirit comes, and there abides.
A Course in Miracles.
T-18.VII.7
Our modern age is characterised by busyness, doing
and speed, leaving little room to be guided This
busyness often extends into our spiritual life as
well.
The Course reminds us that the memory of God, our
spiritual reality, returns to the quiet mind and
not one filled with busyness - whether material or
so-called Òspiritual.Ó As we learn to give up
ego-based action, slow down and do nothing our
actions will spontaneously come from a source of
wisdom only found in the quiet mind.
Save time for me by only this one
preparation, and practice doing nothing
else. "I need do nothing" is a statement
of allegiance, a truly undivided loyalty.
Believe it for just one instant, and you will
accomplish more than is given to a century of
contemplation, or of struggle against
temptation.
A Course in Miracles. T-18.VII.6
This workshop explores the following:
Effort versus relaxation
Need to surrender
Being not doing
I need do nothing
Forgiveness
End of seeking
Journey from a somebody to a nobody.
Planning and decisions
Not knowing
What keeps us from the now?
Fear of the unknown
Attaining a quiet mind
Exercises will be given to help us leave the
control of the ego and move into a state of
beingness and receptivity.
No knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.
Fri 15,[6pm tp 9pm] Sat 16 [10am to
6pm] and Sun 17 [10am to 5pm]
I need do nothing -
moving from doing to being.
To do
nothing is to rest, and make a place within you where
the activity of the body ceases to demand
attention.
Into this place
the Holy Spirit comes, and there abides.
A Course in
Miracles. T-18.VII.7
Our modern age is characterised by busyness,
doing and speed, leaving little room to be guided This
busyness often extends into our spiritual life as
well.
The Course reminds us that the memory of God,
our spiritual reality, returns to the quiet mind and not
one filled with busyness - whether material or so-called
Òspiritual.Ó As we learn to give up ego-based action, slow
down and do nothing our actions will spontaneously come
from a source of wisdom only found in the quiet
mind.
Save time for me
by only this one preparation, and practice doing
nothing else. "I need do nothing" is a statement
of allegiance, a truly undivided loyalty. Believe it
for just one instant, and you will accomplish more
than is given to a century of contemplation, or of
struggle against temptation.
A Course in Miracles. T-18.VII.6
This workshop explores the following:
Effort versus relaxation
Need to surrender
Being not doing
I need do nothing
Forgiveness
End of seeking
Journey from a somebody to a nobody.
Planning and decisions
Not knowing
What keeps us from the now?
Fear of the unknown
Attaining a quiet mind
Exercises will be given to help us leave the
control of the ego and move into a state of beingness and
receptivity.
No knowledge of A Course in Miracles is
required.
Since 1986 I have been
conducting healing workshops in the UK and abroad, and have
continually experimented to find healing and forgiveness
exercises that are effective. I have found that a
particular exercise can be effective for one person but not
another. Accordingly, I was led to develop a series of
exercises. Over the years workshop participants asked if these
exercises could be put onto audio cassettes and CDs so they
could repeat them. This has resulted in the Healing the Cause
- Exercise series - Tapes 1 to 4 (2 exercises on each tape)
and CD1 and 2 (4 exercises on each CD)
CD - 3 Healing Exercises
in English with German translation. 10 Euro
Content:
Ex1. Forgiving
Ourselves.
Ex2. Changing Perception
and Finding peace.
Ex3. Changing Perception
of another - exercise for two people.
These exercises are
similar to existing exercises already available on CDs but are
translated into German.
Workshops:
1. Three
Steps of Forgiveness.
This workshop concentrates
on the process of forgiveness from the perspective of A Course
in Miracles. Includes 3 healing exercises.
Recorded at the
Annual Miracle Network Conference in London, November 2001. 1
hour 12 mins. One CD
2. Finding
and Eliminating the Blocks to Receiving Guidance.
This talk investigates
what stops us hearing the guidance that is ever present in our
lives. Recorded at the Annual Miracle Network Conference in
London, October 20001 hour. One CD
Their electronic outreach
section has a question and answer service on the theory and
practice of the Course. Their database of 1,400 questions and
answers is searchable. They no longer take new questions as
they feel all possible questions have now been put.
Foundation for Inner
Peace..........................Publishers of A Course in
Miracles and responsible for the translation programme.
On-line mail order.
Foundation For A
Course In Miracles................FACIM is
the official teaching organisation of the Foundation for Inner
Peace and the copyright-holder of_A Course in Miracles and all
related materials. Publishes the quarterly Lighthouse newsletter. They
have extensive on-line mail order for their books, CDs and
DVDs.
The Foundation was started
by Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick and has moved to Temecula in
California. Kenneth is my teacher of A Course in Miracles. His
body died in December 2013.
Their publications can
also be ordered in Australia at:
Adyar Bookshop
230 Clarence Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Kenneth Wapnick ......ÉÉÉ
Biographical information and excerpts from his writings
About three times a week I
send a short quotation from some spiritual teacher or poet to
people who have requested some uplifting thoughts. I have
included some below. If you wish I can add your name to the
email list.
How long, O Son of God,
will you maintain the game of sin? Shall we not put away these
sharp-edged children's toys? How soon will you be ready to
come home? Perhaps today? There is no sin. Creation is
unchanged. Would you still hold return to Heaven back? How
long, O holy Son of God, how long?
A Course in
Miracles Lesson 250
Do understand that you are
destined for enlightenment.
Co-operate with your
destiny, don't go against it, don't thwart it.
Allow it to fulfil itself.
All you have to do is to
give attention to the obstacles created by the foolish mind.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That
When you listen to
the voice in your head, that
is to say, do not
judge. You'll soon realize: there
is the voice, and here I
am listening to it, watching
it. This I am
realization, this sense of your own
presence, is not a
thought. It arises from beyond
the mind.
Eckhart Tolle
The Power of Now
One is more likely to
awaken through surrender than through seeking to waken. The
effort to awaken is the effort of ego, whereas to surrender is
to give up all efforts and to place oneself in the hands of a
vast force that is more powerful than any realization of non
duality.
When one finally gives up
one's futile attempts to make reality conform to one's own
wishes, and allows it to unfold on its own terms, all the
energy that was tied up in foolish attempts to manipulate the
universe is freed up.
Mariana Caplan
Halfway Up the Mountain -
The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment