ACFIP Newsletter
Issue 18 - September 2008
Quarterly Newsletter of the Australian Centre for Inner Peace
Michael Dawson
PO Box 125, Point Lookout
North Stradbroke Island,
Queensland 4183,
Australia
Email: mdawson@acfip.org
Web site: http://www.acfip.org
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS:
* The AAA Approach to Forgiveness
* Grow as the Flower Grows
* And there was Light
* Workshops
* Books and Audio Materials for Sale
* New CD - 3 Exercises with German translation
* Links
* Inspirational Quotations
If you wish to read previous issues please go to
http://www.acfip.org/newsletterarchive.html.
If your email address ends with .au I put your address on my
Australian list for advance notice of workshops I am giving in
Australia. If you do not want to be on this list please let me
know. If you reside in Australia and want to be on this list,
but you address does not end in .au, please email me and I will
include it.
If you are new to the Course you might find my summaries of
help.
You can find them at http://www.acfip.org/sum.html and
http://www.acfip.org/art4.html
Regards
Michael Dawson
http://www.acfip.org
___________________________________________________________________________
THE AAA APPROACH TO FORGIVENESS
Awareness - Acceptance - Asking for help.
Awareness - The Undoing of Denial
Conflict must be resolved. It cannot be evaded, set aside,
denied, disguised, seen somewhere else, called by another name,
or hidden by deceit of any kind, if it would be escaped. A
Course in Miracles W-pII.333.1:4
For the process of forgiveness to begin we need to realise the
problem is in our mind and not in the world where our ego
asserts it is. If we get upset at dictators like Hitler it is
because we have a Hitler in our own mind. It is uncomfortable
and painful to realise what we have kept covered in our minds
and we resist this process. However, until we realise what needs
to be forgiven we are destined to keep our problems. Further, if
we allow our ego defences to be undone, the Holy Spirit would
enter our minds and shine away the ego, and this is our greatest
fear - the end of our uniqueness and specialness.
It is not necessary to seek for what is true, but it is
necessary to seek for what is false. T-16.IV.6:2
The main thrust of the Course is not in affirming the light and
love within us but discovering and forgiving the ego blocks we
have built to love's presence. When they are removed in the
process of forgiveness the light and love of God will
automatically dawn upon our minds. Jesus asks us to use our
relationships as mirrors to discover all that is unhealed in us.
For this we need awareness and this is our responsibility. As
Jesus reminded Helen Schucman:
You are much too tolerant of mind wandering, and are passively
condoning your mind's miscreations. T-2.VI.4:6
Acceptance - Not Taking Our Ego Seriously
It is sin's unreality that makes forgiveness natural and wholly
sane, a deep relief to those who offer it; a quiet blessing
where it is received. It does not countenance illusions, but
collects them lightly, with a little laugh, and gently lays them
at the feet of truth. And there they disappear entirely.
W-pI.134.6:1-3
When we discover, through awareness, that the problem is in us,
the ego tries to regain its lost ground by using our newfound
insights to accuse us of our sin. There is a great temptation to
believe this and our accusing finger now points at our own head.
Our response makes the ego's world real again. However, this
drama of ours is still occurring in the dream of separation from
God and nothing is really happening. Just as you awake from a
nightmare to realise nothing actually occurred, so Jesus asks us
to learn to laugh gently at our ego dreams. Nothing we do can
harm our Christ nature - otherwise sin would be possible.
To look at our guilt with acceptance is the shift of perception
the Course calls a miracle. Anything we resist persists, but
that which we accept will be healed. The Course is asking us to
look into the darkness of our minds and accept without judgement
what we find there. We are not asked to suppress our anger or
transform it but to simply to watch it with gentle acceptance,
waiting patiently for the time when it will no longer be there.
The cause of all our pain comes from our desire to maintain the
seeming separation from God and thus keep our individuality
preserved.
He bids you bring each terrible effect to Him that you may look
together on its foolish cause and laugh with Him a while. You
judge effects, but He has judged their cause. T-27.VIII.9:3-4
Asking for Help - Offering Our problems to the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit asks of you but this; bring to Him every secret
you have locked away from Him. Open every door to Him, and bid
Him enter the darkness and lighten it away. At your request He
enters gladly. He brings the light to darkness if you make the
darkness open to Him. But what you hide He cannot look upon.
T-14.VII.6:1-5
When we decide to be happy and not right we are inviting the
Holy Spirit into our minds to shine away the guilt we have been
grasping onto.
It is important to realise that it is not ourselves that heal
our mind - we simply allow the blocks to God to be removed by
the Holy Spirit. We don't need to understand how this happens.
Our work is in the first two stages of this process - Awareness
and Acceptance. To be healed we need help from outside our ego
thought system. This help must wait until it is called for as it
would never force itself upon us against our free will.
Next time you feel you have lost your peace it can help if you
stop a moment and become aware of where in your body you feel
uncomfortable. This area is a reflection in your body of an
unforgiveness in your mind. Place your hand on this area in a
gesture of simple acceptance and tell yourself it all right to
feel this way. When you feel ready, ask the Holy Spirit to help
you see the problem in your life a different way.
___________________________________________________________________________
GROW AS THE FLOWER GROWS
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.
A Course in Miracles. Lesson 188
The Futility of Seeking
If there is something wrong with our body we attend to it. For
example, if a finger is cut we would cover it with a plaster. We
normally would not try to pretend it was not bleeding. But if
there is something wrong in our minds we often seek to escape
from the problem. For example, we might turn to alcohol to try
to escape from sorrow. To heal the mind we must stay with the
problem so it can be healed through forgiveness.
One escape from the pain of living in the ego's judgmental mind
is to seek the light or God. It is not easy to see that the pain
in our mind and the object of our search are both created by the
ego. Now the solution to the suffering in our mind may appear to
lie somewhere in the future instead of in the present moment,
the only place where the Holy Spirit can help us with the aid of
the holy instant or miracle.
We think by searching we can find truth/God which also implies
we will recognise it when we find it. We can't search for
something we cannot recognise - otherwise how will we know when
we find it? It must be similar to something we already know. But
what if God is totally beyond what we are familiar with, as the
mystics have assured us it is? We are then doomed never to find
the goal of our search. "Seek and do not find" (T-12.IV.1:4) is
the ego's dictum.
So don't seek to become free of desire or "achieve"
enlightenment. Become present. Be there as the observer of the
mind. 'The Power of Now: A guide to spiritual enlightenment' by
Eckhart Tolle.
You can do nothing to bring (the awareness of God) about, but
you can avoid creating obstacles. 'I Am That' by
Nisargadatta Maharaj
When the mind is no longer seeking, no longer breeding conflict
through its wants and cravings, when it is silent with
understanding, only then can the immeasurable come into
being.'Commentaries on Living. Third Series' by J Krishnamurti
The Trap of Dependence
During this hopeless search for God we may be tempted to depend
on a guru or teacher to lead us to truth. This reminds me of a
story from Anthony de Mello's book 'One Minute Wisdom':
To a visitor who asked to become his disciple the Master said,
"You may live with me, but don't become my follower."
"Whom, then, shall I follow?"
"No one. The day you follow someone you cease to follow Truth."
Jesus asks us to follow his guidance which becomes clearer as we
practice our daily forgiveness lessons. We can, of course, learn
from other teachers and spiritual disciplines but should not
forget we carry our teacher with us in our right minds. Our task
is to remember that we can always turn to this teacher instead
of the ego.
God Knows The Way To Us
It is the arrogance of the ego that thinks it knows the way to
God. Jesus reminds us gently that we are but confused children
lost in our dream of separation and driven mad by guilt. Put
that way it perhaps make sense not to trust our own good
intentions!
Is it not He Who knows the way to you? You need not know the way
to Him. Your part is simply to allow all obstacles that you have
interposed between the Son and God the Father to be quietly
removed forever. God will do His part in joyful and immediate
response.
A Course in Miracles. Lesson 189
Thus Jesus is telling us to relax and stop striving after God.
Let us just do our part and then God will do His - but in His
own time, not ours.
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.
'Halfway up the Mountain - the Error of Premature Claims to
Enlightenment' by Mariana Caplan. Hohm Press
Realistic Goals
In reading the lives of saints we can discover people who seem
to have reached exalted states and we can be tempted to desire
the same for ourselves. After all, who would not want to be one
with God? However, can the unenlightened judge who is truly
enlightened or are they forced to always be dealing with their
own ideas and projections of what the enlightened state is? Is a
permanent union with God a realistic goal and is it actually
possible whilst we still desire to exist as bodies?
Sometimes a teacher of God may have a brief experience of direct
union with God. In this world, it is almost impossible that this
endure. It can, perhaps, be won after much devotion and
dedication, and then be maintained for much of the time on
earth. But this is so rare that it cannot be considered a
realistic goal. If it happens, so be it. If it does not happen,
so be it as well. All worldly states must be illusory. If God
were reached directly in sustained awareness, the body would not
be long maintained. M-26.3.1:8
The body, which was created so we could hide from God, could not
last long in the presence of what it was originally designed to
hide from.
The goal of A Course in Miracles is peace, brought about by
forgiveness. With peace the memory of God returns and who we
really are - the formless, eternal Christ. This is a realistic
goal and one that is promised to all of us.
Daily Practice
Once we begin to realise that seeking the light is but an escape
from facing our pain and that we cannot know the path to God, we
can really begin our journey home. When we realise the movement
away from what is actually happening in our minds to the pursuit
of some far-off solution is a false and useless journey, we can
start the real work which will lead to peace of mind and the
return of the awareness of God's love for us. Every day we are
presented with fresh opportunities to look at our self-created
pain, accept it and let it go with Jesus's help. The ego's
advice to deny our guilt and project it onto others can now be
chosen against. A constant vigilance or awareness of our ego
thoughts is required so we can give them to the Holy Spirit for
healing. This is not easy, as indicated in this remark to Helen
Schucman by Jesus, "You are much too tolerant of mind wandering,
and are passively condoning your mind's miscreations."
(T-2.VI.4:6 ) When we fulfil our part in the plan for salvation
we will experience peace.
.
Deepen and broaden your awareness of yourself and all the
blessings will flow. You need not seek anything, all will come
to you most naturally and effortlessly.
'I Am That' by Nisargadatta Maharaj
Our yearning for permanent peace and happiness can now be set
aside and this energy directed into the daily classroom of our
relationships. And we can smile gently at our desire to be
enlightened in this life and leave the timing of that in God's
hands.
Grow as the flower grows, unconsciously, but eagerly anxious to
open its soul to the air. So must you press forward to open your
soul to the Eternal. But it must be the Eternal that draws forth
your strength and beauty, not desire of growth. For in the one
case you develop in the luxuriance of purity: in the other you
harden by the forcible passion for personal stature.
'Light on the Path' by Mabel Collins
___________________________________________________________________________
AND THERE WAS LIGHT
Lack of forgiveness is like a wall erected against the
ever-present light that is shining on us. Forgiveness removes
bricks from this wall, letting the light in to do its work of
dissolving our unforgiveness and restoring us to peace. We do
not understand the ways of spirit, our inner guide, nor do we
need to know. What is required of us is a willingness to be
helped to see the situation we are in differently. With this
invitation, our inner guide can step in and heal our mind.
The idea of surrendering the last part of the process of
forgiveness to an invisible power within us will not be welcomed
by our egos. After all, by its very nature the ego believes it
alone can solve all problems. After living on this planet for a
few years the ego feels it has the experience it needs to handle
any situation. What it doesn’t accept, is ego got us into
trouble in the first place. Without the guidance of a higher
part of us we are spiritually blind, trying to live on the
advice of our ego. Being blind, we continually ‘bump’ into
situations that cause us pain.
The following book extract describes how Jacques Lusseyran, who
was accidentally blinded in both eyes when he was eight years
old, came to rely on inner help to navigate his world. Jacques
discovered to his surprise that an inner light was available to
help him. When walking down a tree-lined road he could sense
where the trees were. If he was sufficiently at peace within
himself he could even sense where the branches were positioned.
When his childhood playmate ran away from him he could still
follow her as she left a ‘red trail’ behind her. The book also
illustrates how he could lose touch with this guidance. His
story mirrors our own lives and our spiritual blindness when we
try to do everything by ourselves.
Still, there were times when the light faded, almost to the
point of disap- pearing. It happened every time I was afraid.
If, instead of letting myself be carried along by confidence and
throwing myself into things, I hesitated, calculated, thought
about the wall, the half- open door, the key in the lock; if I
said to myself that all these things were hostile and about to
strike or scratch, then without exception I hit or wounded
myself. The only easy way to move around the house, the garden
or the beach was by not thinking about it at all, or thinking as
little as possible. Then I moved between obstacles the way they
say bats do. What the loss of my eyes had not accomplished was
brought about by fear. It made me blind. Anger and impatience
had the same effect, throwing everything into confusion. The
minute before I knew just where everything in the room was, but
if I got angry, things got angrier than I. They went and hid in
the most unlikely corners, mixed themselves up, turned turtle,
muttered like crazy men and looked wild. As for me, I no longer
knew where to put hand or foot. Everything hurt me. This
mechanism worked so well that I became cautious. When I was
playing with my small companions, if I suddenly grew anxious to
win, to be first at all costs, then all at once I could see
nothing. Literally, I went into fog or smoke. I could no longer
afford to be jealous or unfriendly, because, as soon as I was, a
bandage came down over my eyes, and I was bound hand and foot
and cast aside. All at once a black hole opened, and I was
helpless inside it. But when I was happy and serene, approached
people with confidence and thought well of them, I was rewarded
with light. So is it surprising that I loved friendship and
harmony when I was very young? Armed with such a tool, why
should I need a moral code? For me this tool took the place of
red and green lights. I always knew where the road was open and
where it was closed. I had only to look at the bright signal
which taught me how to live. [From: 'And There Was Light –
The autobiography of a blind hero in the French Resistance' by
Jacques Lusseyran. Floris Books, 1963]
The inner light that guided Jaques also helped him discern whom
he could trust and whom he could not. This talent helped him
become the leader of a large group of French resistance fighters
in the Second World War. The one time he went against this inner
knowing resulted in him being arrested and imprisoned in a
concentration camp. His reliance on his inner guide allowed him
to survive the harsh conditions of the camp and to go on to
become a university professor after the war.
Reprinted from 'The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness' by Michael
Dawson. Findhorn Press
___________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE NOTE: The Australian Centre for Inner Peace is not a
counselling or psychotherapy centre; therefore we do not offer
telephone or email service or counselling, therapy, or crisis
intervention for personal problems related to the Course. Please
see the Contacts section at the end of this newsletter.
___________________________________________________________________________
Forthcoming Workshops on A Course in Miracles
in Australia and Germany
Australia 2008 Dates
Clare, South Australia
September 27/28 2008
(2hrs drive north of Adelaide)
Awakening to Our Spiritual Reality.
A Course in Miracles workshop
You do not have to seek reality.
It will seek you and find you when you meet its conditions.
A Course in Miracles T-8.IX.2:4-5
The deepest but forgotten truth about ourselves is that we are
one with the love and mind of God. Identification with our
bodies and personalities blinds us to our spiritual reality. The
Course teaches us how to awaken from this dream of separation
from God and to experience joy and peace. If our intention to
awake is sincere and we have the humility to realise we know
nothing and are willing to be taught by spirit we will meet the
conditions of awakening.
Topics will include:
What is enlightenment?
Why we fear to awaken
Traps on the spiritual path
Pointers on the path
Not knowing-the need for humility
The need for a full heart and an empty mind.
Sinlessness
Forgiveness
Undoing our blocks to guidance
Exercises will be used to help remove the obstacles to peace and
open to the guidance within.
No previous knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.
TIME:
Sat September 28 - 9.30am TO 5.30pm
Sun September 29 - 9.30am TO 4.30pm
BOOKINGS:
Tel: 08 8842 3114
PO Box 614
Clare, SA 5453
Cost
Deposit: $60 to cover basic costs ($30 non-refundable)
plus a donation for the workshop.
Food provided.
___________________________________________________________________________
Hillier (Gawler), South Australia
(40 minutes drive from the centre of Adelaide)
October 4/5 2008
The Key to Inner Peace.
Moving from a somebody to a nobody
A Course in Miracles workshop
You are not special.
If you think you are, and would defend your specialness against
the truth of what you really are,
how can you know the truth?
A Course in Miracles
One day, I discovered I didn't need a personal history,
so, like drinking, I dropped it.
Carlos Castaneda in Tales of Power
As we let go our beliefs, concepts, seeking, self importance and
goals, peace and joy will return.
When we no longer defend our self created image (ego), awareness
of our eternal spiritual reality awakens.
Exercises to help undo our ego and listen within will be given.
No previous knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.
VENUE:
"Riverdell"
Clifford Road
Hillier
South Australia
(40 minutes drive from the centre of Adelaide)
TIME:
Sat and Sun - 9.30 TO 5.00
COST:
Booking Fee - $30 (non refundable)
Workshop Fee - By Donation at the workshop
Some accommodation on site - $40
Bring food to share for lunch both days
For details Contact:
Pamela St Claire
(08) 8322 0444
email: pstclaire@chariot.net.au
People should send their Booking Fee to:
Pamela St Claire
36 The Causeway
O'Halloran Hill SA 5158
and include a cheque made payable to P. St Claire
___________________________________________________________________________
Germany 2009 Dates
Bonn
June 20/21 2009
9.30am to 5.30pm
A Full Heart and an Empty Mind
- A Course in Miracles workshop -
Let me not think that I can find the way to God, if I have
hatred in my heart.
Let me not try to hurt God's Son, and think that I can know his
Father or my Self.
A Course in Miracles Lesson 246
There is no path to truth, it must come to you. Truth can come
to you only when your mind and heart are simple,
clear, and there is love in your heart; not if your heart is
filled with the things of the mind.
J Krishnamurti
The deepest but forgotten truth about ourselves is that we are
one with the love and mind of God.
To let this memory return to our awareness we need to question
everything we think is true, to realise we know nothing about
how to awaken to peace and joy so that we may be guided, and
learn to extend kindness and goodwill to others. Insight of the
mind must be balanced with compassion of the heart.
This workshop will explore how we can awaken through the healing
power of insight, kindness, awareness and forgiveness.
Exercises will be used to help us open our hearts and connect to
our inner guidance.
No previous knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.
An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri June 19
7.30pm to 9.30pm
Contact:
Albert-Schweitzer-Haus
Beethovenallee 16
Bonn 53173
tel: 0228 - 36 47 37
http://www.albert-schweitzer-haus-bonn.de
___________________________________________________________________________
Freiburg
June 27/28 2009
10am to 6pm
A Full Heart and an Empty Mind
- A Course in Miracles workshop -
Let me not think that I can find the way to God, if I have
hatred in my heart.
Let me not try to hurt God's Son, and think that I can know his
Father or my Self.
A Course in Miracles Lesson 246
There is no path to truth, it must come to you. Truth can come
to you only when your mind and heart are simple,
clear, and there is love in your heart; not if your heart is
filled with the things of the mind.
J Krishnamurti
The deepest but forgotten truth about ourselves is that we are
one with the love and mind of God.
To let this memory return to our awareness we need to question
everything we think is true, to realise we know nothing about
how to awaken to peace and joy so that we may be guided, and
learn to extend kindness and goodwill to others. Insight of the
mind must be balanced with compassion of the heart.
This workshop will explore how we can awaken through the healing
power of insight, kindness, awareness and forgiveness.
Exercises will be used to help us open our hearts and connect to
our inner guidance.
No previous knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.
Evening Introductory Talk - Fri June 26
8pm to 9.30pm
Location of workshop:
Center Margarete Sennekamp
Schauinslandstr. 39
79100 Freiburg-Günterstal
Tram 4, Klosterplatz
Contact:
Sophia-Institut
Margarete Sennekamp
Adalbert-Stifter-Str. 16
79102 Freiburg
Tel/Fax : 0761-73930
www.Sophia-Institut.de
Biography
Michael discovered A Course in Miracles whilst visiting the
Findhorn Foundation in 1982. He subsequently became a member of
the Foundation for about six years and involved himself with
healing and teaching. In 1994 he published Healing the Cause - A
Path of Forgiveness which serves as an introduction to the
Course. His second book, The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness
(Findhorn Press) uses exercises, stories and case histories to
guide the reader to inner peace through forgiveness. Michael now
lives in Australia and gives workshops on the Course world-wide.
_______________________________________
BOOKS AND AUDIO MATERIALS FOR SALE - by Michael Dawson
Books:
Healing the Cause - A Path of Forgiveness. Findhorn Press
1994
The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness. Findhorn Press. 2003
For more details and how to purchase please visit:
http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
Audio Tapes and CDs:
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)
*New 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.
For more details and how to purchase please visit:
http://www.acfip.org/audio.html
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTACTS
Foundation for A Course In Miracles
41397 Buecking Drive, Temecula, CA 92590
Tel: 909 296 6261 Fax: 909296 9117
Books, videos, CDs and audio tapes by Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick
are available from their web site http://www.facim.org
Question and Answer Service:
Their electronic outreach section has a question and answer
service http://www.facimoutreach.org/ 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.
Their publications can also be ordered in Australia at:
Adyar Bookshop
230 Clarence Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Foundation for Inner Peace - the publishers of A Course in
Miracles
http://www.acim.org/
ACIM study groups:
Go to The Miracle Distribution Center
http://www.miraclecenter.org/ for the largest and most
frequently updated list of A Course in Miracles study groups
available anywhere.
Miracles Studies Australia
http://www.miracle-studies.net.au lists study groups for
Australia and new Zealand
A Course In Miracles Pen Pals:
The Miracle Network http://www.miracles.org.uk hosts a A Course
in Miracles pen pals group:
To join this e-mail discussion group, send your
e-mail address to e.pals@miracles.org.uk.
They will send you updated lists of other e.pals and
inform them of your e-mail address.
A Course In Miracles Chat Groups:
The aim of this board is to provide a place for people to chat
about ACIM.
Any related discussions are more than welcome and I believe
helpful! - moderated by Glyn Milhench
http://glynbo.proboards84.com/index.cgi?board=acim
Belief.net ACIM discussion:
This Belief.net web-based discussion is hosted by Joe Jesseph.
http://community.beliefnet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=151
___________________________________________________________________________
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTATIONS
About three or four 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.
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
---------------------------------------------------------------
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
---------------------------------------------------------------
In your light I learn
how to love.
In your beauty, how
to make poems.
You dance inside my
chest,
where no one sees
you,
but sometimes I do,
and that
sign becomes this
art.
Rumi
---------------------------------------------------------------
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
---------------------------------------------------------------
Yet searching is inevitable here. For this you came, and you
will surely do the thing you came for. But the world can not
dictate the goal for which you search, unless you give it power
to do so. Otherwise, you still are free to choose a goal that
lies beyond the world and every worldly thought, and one that
comes to you from an idea relinquished yet remembered, old yet
new; an echo of a heritage forgot, yet holding everything you
really want.
A Course in Miracles Lesson 131
---------------------------------------------------------------
There's one great delusion
that lies at the core
of all of our
suffering: the false belief in the reality
of the separation of
life and in the subsequent
true existence of an
individual ego.
All fervent attempts
to control or to mortify this
illusory ego through
penance, rituals and sacrifice,
however, will only
serve to intensify the delusion
that this ego is
actually very real and that it only
needs to be, somehow,
subdued, conquered or
destroyed.
Chuck Hillig
Seeds for the Soul, Black Dot Publications,
2003
__________________________________
Michael Dawson
PO Box 125
Point Lookout
North Stradbroke Island
Queensland 4183
Australia
EMAIL: mdawson@acfip.org
WEBSITE: http://www.acfip.org