When we think of healing or
being healed we usually think of some sort of remedy for an illness. We do the
remedy and it works. We are healed. So, sickness and its corresponding healing is
of my body. When I am sick I am aware – really aware – of my physical body.
According the ACIM, that is the real function of my body – to provide Felix (my
Ego) “proof” that my body and my Self are one and the same. But I have learned
I am not my body. Nor am I what I think. So, what kind of healing is the Course
talking about? What kind of healing do I really need?
In the text of A Course in
Miracles (ACIM), it is stated: “The only
thing that is required for a healing is a lack of fear. The fearful are not
healed, and cannot heal. This does not mean the conflict must be gone forever
from your mind to heal. ... But it does mean, if only for an instant, you love without attack. An instant is
sufficient. Miracles wait not on time.” [ACIM: T.27.V-2:5-14; emphasis mine]
As an aside: I think a perfect
definition of Acceptance would be: Love Without Attack or Conditions.
The Course tells me sickness and
healing are entirely of my mind. Felix’s sick mind is the source of all my
pain. Healing is the replacement of wrong thinking with right thinking – the
release from fear and the acceptance of love. Ultimately, I will find healing
through the letting go of my old perceptions – both of myself as well as of
others – that I am separate and alone. This will let me see past my sick
appearances to the underlying wholeness – both of me and of all others.
I sure found this to be true, as
I became a part of Alcoholics Anonymous, although I would not have expressed it
in these words. For the first time in my life I felt totally accepted in those
dank church basements sitting at tables designed for elementary school
children. I was simply me – as honestly as I could be – warts and all. And that
was good enough. That was valued. I was valued. That transformed my life. I
have never been the same since. In ACIM lingo, I was being healed as I was
honestly sharing in those rooms. “What
occurred within the instant that love entered in without attack will stay with
you forever.” [ACIM: T.27.V-11:4] Amen Brother! Amen!
The reality of healing, no
matter how trivial you may think it is – or how profound (as in my case) – will
forever change your life. In AA I heard many old-timers say to a newcomer: “If
you want what we have (serenity, joy, and the lifting of the compulsion to
drink), then do what we do. Don’t drink, get a temporary sponsor, and come to
90 meetings in 90 days. After that, if you want to go back out and resume your
previous life, we will gladly refund your misery. However, please remember,
having become just a little acquainted AA, your drinking will forever be
ruined.”
I stayed after 90 days. I was
driven, not so much by the act of not drinking, but by the fear of losing the
acceptance I found in those rooms. I was beginning to perceive that a
developing spirituality was bringing me peace and joy because life in that
context was always a win-win. Either I was presented with an outcome that
materially benefitted me or I was presented with an outcome from which I needed
to learn – often referred to as “… another frigging growth experience (AFGE).”
So, what is to fear or be angry
about? I’m either getting what I need or I’m given an opportunity to grow in a
way that will benefit me. Where’s the downside? Win-Win.
That was simply marvelous.
That was simply wonderful.
That was simply a miracle.
And I began a process – that is
still in progress – of changing from the inside out.
And here I am on the eve of my
29th AA anniversary. I could never have imagined this was where I
would be when I first entered a small house in Reston, Virginia called “The
Stepping Stones.” There were 7 or 8 grizzled old men, who could tell I was new,
and who gently began accepting me as the most important person in the world,
while the Holy Spirit began healing my mind by providing me with a different way
of looking at life.
Although these messages are
mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this
message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual
journey.
Don
#3 Apr 2016
Copyright 2016
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