Un-Learning the Ways of Un-Love

Here is a beautiful message that reinforces in me such a wonderful truth. It is from Swami Chaitanaya Keerti:

“Often I say, learn the art of love. What I really mean is learn the art of removing all that hinders love. It is a negative process. It is like digging a well – you go on removing layers of earth, stones, rocks and then suddenly there is water. The water was always there as an undercurrent. When you remove all the barriers, the water is available. So with love. Love is the undercurrent of your being. It is flowing but there are many rocks, much earth to be removed. That’s what I mean when I say learn the art of love. It is really not learning love but un-learning the ways of un-love.”

A Course in Miracles (ACIM) states the same truth in the Introduction to the Course:

“This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. 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. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.

“This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:

“Nothing real can be threatened.

“Nothing unreal exists.

“Herein lies the peace of God.”  [Bold Italics mine]

As a note to myself, I paraphrased the Introduction in the margin of my text this way: “This is a Course in un-doing and removing the ego-thought system of duality. It is a course in mind training. Collectively, we are the Son of God. So, I am to deal with myself to eliminate my fears. I am not destined to become “so cerebral and smart” so I can fix everyone else.”

I used to say to folks, “My spiritual job is to shine my light.” I was gently corrected. Now, I know my job is to allow my light to shine. That’s a significant difference. My light is always there – it is just covered up by all the crud I continue to clutter my mind with and believe is really important. I now understand my job is simply to remove the crud that has been hiding my light. It will shine on its own.

Consequently, my real “battle” has been (and still is) to un-learn my tendency to see all the barriers to love as being “out there” somewhere. The barriers to living my love are all in my head – all in my thinking and I can learn to change what it is I think. That is the mind training the Course discusses.

I am so grateful that I am a recovering alcoholic. When I get frustrated by my lack of progress, I just need to remember all that I have re-learned and un-learned in my decades of recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous. I am no longer the person who first walked into those rooms. What triggered my change of thinking? When did it actually happen? When did I become aware?

I have no clue.

However, by doing differently, by thinking differently, by responding differently, by reacting differently – day by day – I changed and so can you. I was changed and so will you be.

If I always do what I’ve always done, I’ll always get what I’ve always got. 

Amen.

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 Oct 2015

Copyright 2015

The Awesome Power Of Acceptance

I have written many times, including last week, about the transformative power of simple acceptance. For me, acceptance is a more meaningful word than “love,” which is so often overused and overworked that it has become almost meaningless for me.

I have also written about how my recovery from alcoholic behavior and the disease of alcoholism occurred within the rooms of AA – primarily because I fully felt, on a visceral level, that I was truly accepted for who I really was. It was the first time in my life I had really experienced that feeling of freedom of not trying to pretend who I was or figuring out the group dynamics so I could blend in without revealing what I thought was the real me. It led me to an understanding of spirituality that went far beyond comprehending the dogma of religion. That palpable acceptance, and its resulting sense of honest hopefulness, transformed my life.

As critical as that was however, it wasn’t just that people in the fellowship of AA accepted me. It was also that I began accepting me as well. I was told I was only as sick as my secrets. So, I had to trust the acceptance I was receiving in order to openly discuss internal secrets I had been hiding – some of which I had hidden from myself. As I slowly began unraveling my secrets, my compulsion to drink disappeared and I fully began what has become my lifelong transformation from a rule-based, dogma-based religion to an inclusive sense of spirituality – namely that I am no different than anyone else – including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Humanists and Fundamentalist Christians.

As I stated last week [Msg-1-Oct-2015; “I Want What I Want And I Want It Right Now!”], the only truly “real” thing about me is my spirit and my loving thoughts as I accept people for who they are. These things are real because they are as God created and the only real things out there are those created by God. My ego – which I call Felix – just doesn’t count.

My spirit, my loving thoughts and my acceptance of all people I meet are the only things that are true. I need to forgive myself for projecting Felix’s reality on people and for creating those projections I have made and am treating as reality. That forgiveness, itself, is an act of love and acceptance – both of myself and of others. That makes it “really” real and true as well.

My loving, accepting thougths. My acts of forgiveness. These are all I can do within the Truth of God.

For those of you who may still wonder what it is I mean when I discuss the transformative power of acceptance, you may want to “see” an image of what acceptance looks like. If so, I strongly suggest you buy, rent, or download the movie The Road Within. I saw it this week as a feature of the Cumberland County Film Society.

The Road Within is a 2014 American film written and directed by Gren Wells and is a "road movie" where the characters interact and change in the course of their journey.  However, in this road movie, each of the characters is very flawed. Each has a severe psychological malady that he/she must deal with:  one with Anorexia, one with an Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and one with Tourette’s syndrome.  The film has won several awards at film festivals. It depicts how the power of acceptance actually heals – themselves as individuals and collectively as a trio of very disturbed, but very human, beings. Be aware that, since Tourette’s is noted for outbursts of inappropriate and disturbing language, there is a lot of swearing and profanity. But the movie also portrays a lot of compassion and belly-laugh humor.

Find it. Get it. Borrow it. Download it. It is amazing!

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

#2 Oct 2015

Copyright 2015

I Want What I Want And I Want It Right Now!

This is a short message today – I’m scheduled to be out of town next week and I’m to go into the teeth of this awful rain and flooding complicated by hurricane Joachim.

As I’m wrestling with travel plans and schedules I simply cannot seem to get the folks on the other end of the phone to accommodate me the way I expect. How odd! What is the matter with them? Are they dense? Don’t they know I am concerned and they need to bend over backward to make my trip better?

I read a quote the other day from a fellow in Alcoholics Anonymous [Michale Z of TheWisdomoftheRooms.com]: “I may not know how to make it better, but I sure know how to make it worse.” This is very true for me, as well. I want to “fix” things. I want to make things better, as I see them. I want to make you better. I want to make the Republican Party better. I want to make “haters” better and, if I can’t, I’ll hate them with God’s blessing … or so I tell myself.

Bottomline: I want what I want and I want it right now.

Then I remember a line in the quote I used last week from Beverly Hutchinson McNeff in this month’s “Holy Encounter” magazine:  Virtually everything we do is relatively meaningless except “…our spirit and our loving thoughts, which are eternal and the only things that are true about any situation in which we find ourselves.”  The Holy Encounter [September/October 2015, emphasis mine. [www.miraclecenter.org]

The only truly “real” thing about me is my spirit and my loving thoughts. They are real because they are as God created and the only real things out there are those created by God. My ego – my Felix – just doesn’t count.

As I struggle to deal with travel specialists about my trip, I need to hear this message for myself: My spirit and my loving thoughts are the only things that are true. I need to forgive myself for projecting Felix’s reality on these people and for creating these images I have made and am treating as being real. That forgiveness, itself, is an act of love. That make it “really” real and true as well.

My loving thougths. My acts of forgiveness. These are all I can do within the truth of God. All else is a figment of Felix’s very limited mind.

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

#1 Oct 2015

Copyright 2015

The Power Of The Genuine Reality Of The Pope

Slowly I am coming back around to a place of quiet assuredness – rather than the frenzied whirling Tasmanian devil of old cartoons. Thank goodness! Selling a house is not for spiritual sissies.

The headlined message in the recent issue of The Holy Encounter [September / October 2015, Miracle Distribution Center. www.miraclecenter.org] is entitled The Gift of Salvation by Beverly Hutchinson McNeff. It is excellent. She writes:

“A Course in Miracles tells us truth is true and only what God created is real. What God created is eternal and can never change. Right there you can see that truth and reality have nothing to do with the world or our bodies [both of which] are constantly changing. It does, however, have everything to do with our spirit and our loving thoughts, which are eternal and the only things that are true about any situation in which we find ourselves.

“This does not mean, though, that we deny the world or our bodies, for to deny them is to give them more power than they deserve. If the world is not real and the body is not who we are, our focus should be on who and what are real rather than on denying an illusion. We spend way too much time talking about our problems rather than focusing on the solution. As the Course tells us, ‘To be in the Kingdom is merely to focus your full attention on it.’ [T-7.III.4:1]

“The world will be transformed as we focus our attention on what is true. This takes practice; not because truth is hard to learn but because we have become so comfortable with the lies. Peace is possible here, forgiveness is the key to happiness, and God Himself shall wipe away all our tears. It’s time for us to stop thinking the Course was written for the other guy to follow. It was written for us! That’s why the only question God’s Voice asks each one of us is: ‘Are you ready yet to help Me save the world?’ [C-2.9:1] 

“[Why would we not say ‘Yes, I am ready?’] … probably because we see ourselves and others as guilty; after all, look at this world! It’s a mess. And from our current perspective, we see no way out. But if you look for the ‘mess,’ you will see the mess. Jesus’ time was just as hateful and chaotic, and he still came to bring us the message that love is stronger than hate and peace is more powerful than attack. His entire life was a testament to this shift in perception and that is exactly what a miracle is!”

I think that’s what I saw as I watched Pope Francis these past several days. I saw mine and other’s perceptions shifting and bending and twisting. Here was a powerful man surrounded by police motorcades, armored cars, bulletproof glass and armed, alert “protectors” of all stripes. Well, where was he in all this? In his little black 4-seater Fiat or in his converted Jeep pope-mobile. It was like watching a pod of orcas, dolphins, and 40-ton whales swimming around in order to protect a trout.

His openness, inclusiveness, and unbridled desire to be, not with the powerful but with the “least of these” – reflected, as well, in his words as he addressed White House guests, Congress, and the U.N. General Assembly – spoke volumes. His beaming smile was infectious. It was a true reflection of his joy – as he embraced children lifted to him by their parents or his bodyguards and as he sought out and embraced the infirmed. He beamed. The children beamed. Their parents beamed.

What he did, the joy with which he did it, and the words of his straightforward addresses were all simply facets of the same message: “I’m here. I’m overjoyed to see you. I love you. I care for you. You are not alone. Be happy with each other. Love and serve each other. That’s what Jesus did. That’s what we are to do. It will change the world”

The impact of his open, honest, straightforward and joyous Self was palpable. I could see it ripple through the crowds. I could see it in the face of the Speaker of the House. I could see it the dazzling smiles of the President, the Vice President, as well as their families. I could see it in conservative and progressive politicians alike.

It was transformative. It was a glimpse of the reality A Course in Miracles is trying to teach me.

It is not about dogma. It is not about perceived biblical truths. It is not about ecclesiastical polity or programs. It is not about cerebral, structured theology.  It is about joy. It is about peace of mind. What I witnessed was how our loving thoughts – expressed as joy and peace – can be used by the Holy Spirit to change the world.

What a week!

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

#2 Sep 2015

Copyright 2015

I Give My Recent Spirituality A Grade Of D+

For the last several weeks I have gone crazy. That madness included not sending a message out to you. For those who inquired about the reason(s) you weren’t hearing from me – thank you for thinking of me and accept my apology for not alerting you.

We are putting our house on the market. We interviewed realtors to choose one for the Listing Agreement and were trying to get all sorts of odds and ends fixed up for the photo shoot and virtual tour that need to accompany the MLS listing. It was a crazy time. For example, one morning I was to do some pruning in the yard, some minor furniture repairs, and then …  my sciatic back went out. I was scheduled to go to a family reunion in Indiana, and I became focused on getting my back repaired by my chiropractor for the trip. The pruning and furniture repair stayed on my list of things to do. In this process I simply missed getting the intervening messages out.

Things are settling down a bit now, but I am exhausted. We went from room-to-room discussing what needed to be done. All the accumulated “chores” began mounting up and my notes on my yellow legal pad began to look like chickens had walked through red ink and had fought off a rooster while still on my note pad. I got short with my wife and she got short with me. Since the two of us, standing on the other’s shoulders just might reach the bottom threads of the net of a basketball hoop, we don’t have a lot of height from which to get short. It was tense at times to say the least.

I truly wish I could share with you that, as these tense times came and went, I completed my chores while simply observing my thoughts, smiling with the grace and serenity of the Dalai Lama, and silently chanting “OOOOOMM” to myself.

All I can share with you now is that the last two messages of August I sent – listening to my heart – were totally violated by me.

My reality? The last thing on my mind was to connect to the Oneness of nature by listening to my heart. I was too edgy, too goal oriented working from my “to-do” list, too nervous, and too worn-out. Until we get a satisfactory contract, my punctuality in getting these weekly missives published will probably suffer. I am apologizing in advance, should that happen.

There is a sentence (in fact, many of them!) in A Course in Miracles (ACIM) that states: “The memory of God comes to the quiet mind. It cannot come where there is conflict, for a mind at war against itself remembers not eternal gentleness.” [T-23-I-1:1-2] Certainly, the picture I have painted of myself over the last several weeks is not one of eternal gentleness.

If you also have difficulty at times trying to calm yourself and your thoughts to allow for some refreshing quiet time, all I can say, based on my less-than-stellar example, is “Welcome to my world – Sometimes.”

Although I personally would give myself a D+ in remembering how to become quiet and still, listening for the whispers of my Spirit Guide, I will urge you to try to relax and enjoy the most difficult journey you’ll ever take – the trip that will take you from head-thinking to heart-absorption. Simply practice being the observer of your thoughts and, in that stillness, listen for the whispers of your Holy Spirit.

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

#1 Sep 2015

Copyright 2015