Last week I wrote, “Your ‘job’
is not to shine your light, but to allow your light to shine…. Over time I
began to understand the significance of making that little shift. How do I do
that? How do I make that shift? How do I make myself passive?”
Technically, I don’t. My True
Self is an already-loved eternal spirit full of loving light. The ego-thoughts
I choose to keep in my focus dims this loving light. All I need to do is be
willing, ask the Holy Spirit for a different way of seeing, and still my mind
enough to hear the whispers of guidance. That’s it. That’s what ACIM suggests.
But that’s really tough for me to do – especially when I’m in the middle of sitting
on my pity-pot, enjoying my martyrdom, or relishing my righteous anger.
In response to that post
(Allowing Rather Than Doing – Msg-3-Jan-2014) I had several communications
asking how I go about “allowing.” We hear of politicians or corporate bigwigs
caught in some hurtful scandal and their part was that they “allowed” things to
go on too long, or “allowed” things to become too punitive, or “allowed” things
to remain mismanaged. That may be what happens to Gov. Chris Christie in New
Jersey. Is that the kind of “allowing” we’re talking about – which is basically
doing nothing when you could have done something?
The Introduction to A Course in
Miracles (ACIM) states: “… The Course
does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be
taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s
presence, which is your natural inheritance….” [ACIM, T: Introduction, p.1]
Well, what are the “blocks” I
have that prevent me from seeing or living in love’s presence? What do I do or
say or think that prevents me from being aware of love’s presence? I believe
the answer to these questions is also the answer to the question: How do I
“allow?”
Essentially, ACIM is a course in
“un-doing” and removing the
ego-thought system of duality, fear and guilt. Guilt is especially important
because it is the primary expression of fear. These are the “blocks” that keep
me from seeing love’s presence. Fear. Guilt. Duality.
From the text [T-12:VII.5.1-6]: “You see what
you expect, and you expect what you invite. Your perception is the result of
your invitation, coming to you as you sent for it.... Two ways of looking at
the world are in your mind [Ego & Holy Spirit],
and your perception will reflect the guidance you have chosen.”
From the text [T-12-VIII.3-6]: “When you made visible what is not true,
what is true became invisible to you…. It is invisible to you because you are
looking at something else. Yet it is no more up to you to decide what is
visible and what is invisible, than it is up to you to decide what reality is.
“Because
of your Father's Love you can never forget Him, for no one can forget what God
Himself placed in his memory. You can deny it, but you cannot lose it. A Voice
will answer every question you ask, and a vision will correct the perception of
everything you see....
“You
have but to ask for this memory, and you will remember… [The] memory of God can
dawn only in a mind that chooses to remember, and that has relinquished the
insane desire to control reality. You who cannot even control yourself should
hardly aspire to control the universe…. By making nothing real to you, you have
seen it. But it is not there. And Christ is invisible to you because of
what you have made visible to yourself.”
Although these are tremendous
words, let me give you a simple example. We see babies trying to catch floating
spots they think they see after looking into the flash of a camera. If the
babies could comprehend what you’re saying, what would they think when you told
them there were no real floating spots of light? They would think you’re an
idiot! “Of course they are there. I see them, can’t you?” Then they would
continue to reach for them as if these floating spots were real.
So, what floating spots do I
look at and believe are real? What kind do you look at? What floating spots are
preventing me from seeing the true world of the spirit Perhaps: Our belief in
the reality of money as freedom, power or security? Our belief in the power of
force, might, or war based on our concept of being right? Our belief that all
poor people are lazy? Our belief that if someone attacks me, it’s okay to
attack back? Our belief that the Bible (or the Torah, or the Quran, or ACIM,
or…) is the ONLY correct guide to a spiritual life?
Here’s what ACIM describes as a
bunch of floating spots we think are real [T-13.Introduction, 1-3]:
“If you did not feel guilty you could not attack, for condemnation is
the root of attack. It is the judgment of one mind by another as unworthy of
love and deserving of punishment. But herein lies the split. For the mind that
judges perceives itself as separate from the mind being judged,… For it is
guilt that has obscured the Father to you, and it is guilt that has driven you
insane.
“The acceptance of guilt into
the mind of God's Son was the beginning of the separation, as the acceptance of
the Atonement [seeing with Holy Spirit’s perception of things] is its end. The world you see is the
delusional system of those made mad by guilt. Look carefully at this world, and
you will realize that this is so. For this world is the symbol of punishment,
and all the laws that seem to govern it are the laws of death. Children are
born into it through pain and in pain. Their growth is attended by suffering,
and they learn of sorrow and separation and death. Their minds seem to be
trapped in their brain, and its powers decline if their bodies are hurt. They seem
to love, yet they desert and are deserted. They appear to lose what they love,
perhaps the most insane belief of all. And their bodies wither and gasp and are
laid in the ground, and are no more. Not one of them but has thought that God
is cruel.
“If this were the real world, God would be cruel. For no Father
could subject His children to this as the price of salvation and be loving. Love
does not kill to save. If it did, attack would be salvation, and this is
the ego's interpretation, not God's….”
Sound familiar to you? It sure does
to me. So, what do I do?
I cannot ask my ego to stop
seeing the world through my eyes of guilt, fear, and duality. That is my ego’s
way of existing. I can only ask. Ask what? Ask for a different way of looking
at the situation, event or person. This isn’t a “Once and Done” kind of
occurrence. This is constant. I cannot stop my mind from having thoughts. However,
I can learn to train my mind to understand that no thought is “idle.” I can,
at times, control which thoughts I will (or will not) pay attention to.
“Every thought in our mind is producing something all the time,
contributing to truth or to illusion. [The Course’s] aim is to make us aware of
our thoughts and their effects. It desires us to be intimately involved in the
process of choosing the thoughts that occupy our minds and produce their
effects in the world around us.” [Allen Watson, A Workbook Companion, Vol.
1, Circle Publishing, 2005, p.47]
The Course gives me instruction
as to what I can do. It tells me to realize that it is my thoughts that are
truly upsetting me – and my thoughts are not real. It teaches me that all I
need to do to change my thoughts is to be willing to see things differently. To
do that all I need to do is ask the Holy Spirit for a different way of looking
at things. Then I need to stop, still my mind, and listen to the whispers of
truth. Even if I don’t hear a whisper, I can stop listening to my thoughts. I
can just let them be. I don’t have to give voice to them. I don’t have to act
on them. I don’t have to argue with them. I can simply do nothing with them.
However, when I do hear the
whisper, I need to act. It does me no good to hear the whisper of the Holy
Spirit and then say to myself: “That’s a nice suggestion, but….”
I hope this helps.
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
#4 January, 2014
Copyright, 2014
