“For faith is always given what is treasured, and what is treasured is returned to you.” What is my treasure? What is being returned to me? What am I putting out? It’s scary to think how often I condemn when I might forgive, censure when I might praise and thereby reduce the possibilities of my own experience. The Universe is infinite, holding much more than we humans can experience. Dogs hear more, cats see more; microscopes and telescopes expand the capacities our limited sensory equipment. Yet I know, as perhaps you do too, that there is still much more out of reach. Even at the most mundane level, I still cannot count the grains of sand on the shore, leaves on trees, or blades of grass. There is amazing abundance! Celeste Frazier says it takes ten billion snowflakes to make a snow man.
But we ignore this abundance and take it for granted. Because our treasure centers on our narrow self interest, what we can experience directly with our limited senses, which tends to focus us on a limited, non-infinite universe, we think we hear scarcity and competition when, in fact, the call from the universe and spirit is to be more. The “uncomfortable squirming” we feel, Celeste Frazier says, is not because there is not enough, the universe and spirit are infinite and abundant, but because spirit is seeking to break free through us. Spirit Itself is compelling us to expand. God is moving through each of us, but unless we are attuned, open and forgiving, with our egos and bloated nothingness out of the way, we will not allow God to be fulfilled through us. It is for me and you to allow God. That’s quite a shift. But try it and see. Act as if your are a unique way that God is expressing, and there is more to be revealed through you.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Guilt Blocks Light [Rock breaks Scissors]
Light is blocked by guilt and linking the future to the past, the Course says. “Guilt remains the only thing that hides the Father, for guilt is the attack upon His Son. The guilty always condemn, and having done so they will still condemn, linking the future to the past as is the ego’s law. Fidelity to this law lets no light in, for it demands fidelity to darkness and forbids awakening. The ego’s laws are strict, and breaches are severely punished. Therefore give no obedience to its laws, for they are laws of punishment. And those who follow them believe that they are guilty, and so they must condemn. Between the future and the past the laws of God must intervene, if you would free yourself. Atonement [at-one-ment – being at one with our and everyone’s reality as spirit] stands between them, like a lamp shining so brightly that the chain of darkness in which you bound yourself will disappear.
“Release from guilt is the ego’s whole undoing. [To be free of the ego and one with spirit, stop doing things that make you feel guilty] Make no one fearful, for his guilt is yours, and by obeying the ego’s hateful commandments you bring its condemnation of yourself, and you will not escape the punishment it offers those who obey it. [Cause and effect, be in an ego place, experience ego results.] The ego rewards fidelity to it with pain, for faith in it is pain. And faith can be rewarded only in terms of the belief in which the faith was placed. [Again, cause and effect, be in an ego place, experience ego results. If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.] Faith makes the power of belief, and where it is invested determines its reward. For faith is always given what is treasured, and what is treasured is returned to you.”
“Release from guilt is the ego’s whole undoing. [To be free of the ego and one with spirit, stop doing things that make you feel guilty] Make no one fearful, for his guilt is yours, and by obeying the ego’s hateful commandments you bring its condemnation of yourself, and you will not escape the punishment it offers those who obey it. [Cause and effect, be in an ego place, experience ego results.] The ego rewards fidelity to it with pain, for faith in it is pain. And faith can be rewarded only in terms of the belief in which the faith was placed. [Again, cause and effect, be in an ego place, experience ego results. If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.] Faith makes the power of belief, and where it is invested determines its reward. For faith is always given what is treasured, and what is treasured is returned to you.”
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Summer Solstice
Yesterday, 6/21, is considered the Summer Solstice in the USA; other parts of the world consider 6/23 the Solstice. The Summer Solstice is the time of the year when the Northern Hemisphere of our planet is closest to the sun and is therefore the longest day of the year. It is celebrated as the day of greatest inclination toward the sun.
As individuals, we too, have our moments of greatest inclination to the light. The light is always there, but we are not always inclined towards it. We stumble around, asleep, forgetting that the light is always there for us to turn to. We get pulled down by the weight of the world, forgetting that we are first spiritual beings having an earthly experience. We have what Celeste Frazier described as “holographic experiences” of lack, limitation, poverty and struggle.
None of these experiences lasts, because they are temporal conditions, not states of being, nightmares, not waking reality. We are spiritual beings having a human inclination. The inner spirit is not turned around by circumstances and conditions. The Rabbi Jesus, who in the Course called himself the great example rather than the great exception, knew this. He was able to access the consciousness of oneness, the Christ Consciousness, as we all can, and was able to say, “I am the light of the world.” When we incline to the truth and the light, we know we too, are the light of the world, more than the conditions that surround us.
The ‘resistance’ we experience in this earthly temple is the light seeking to expand Itself through our human existence. When we understand this, allow it, cease resisting the resistance and incline to the light, not only do we feel better, we are fulfilling our destiny and life purpose. We are God in the flesh. God must become more of Itself. Each bit of negativity and resistance is actually an opportunity to become more attuned to the spirit within and go where it is leading us. God as light waits for us to incline to it. Like the father of the prodigal son, God prepares a celebration each time we come home, come to ourselves – each time. Not one time, not at the end of our lives, not in ‘heaven’, but right now, each time you and I choose to incline to the light, the light welcomes, blesses and renews us. Each time, right now.
As individuals, we too, have our moments of greatest inclination to the light. The light is always there, but we are not always inclined towards it. We stumble around, asleep, forgetting that the light is always there for us to turn to. We get pulled down by the weight of the world, forgetting that we are first spiritual beings having an earthly experience. We have what Celeste Frazier described as “holographic experiences” of lack, limitation, poverty and struggle.
None of these experiences lasts, because they are temporal conditions, not states of being, nightmares, not waking reality. We are spiritual beings having a human inclination. The inner spirit is not turned around by circumstances and conditions. The Rabbi Jesus, who in the Course called himself the great example rather than the great exception, knew this. He was able to access the consciousness of oneness, the Christ Consciousness, as we all can, and was able to say, “I am the light of the world.” When we incline to the truth and the light, we know we too, are the light of the world, more than the conditions that surround us.
The ‘resistance’ we experience in this earthly temple is the light seeking to expand Itself through our human existence. When we understand this, allow it, cease resisting the resistance and incline to the light, not only do we feel better, we are fulfilling our destiny and life purpose. We are God in the flesh. God must become more of Itself. Each bit of negativity and resistance is actually an opportunity to become more attuned to the spirit within and go where it is leading us. God as light waits for us to incline to it. Like the father of the prodigal son, God prepares a celebration each time we come home, come to ourselves – each time. Not one time, not at the end of our lives, not in ‘heaven’, but right now, each time you and I choose to incline to the light, the light welcomes, blesses and renews us. Each time, right now.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Father's Day
Yesterday was Father’s Day. I don’t have any kids, but I was a kid. I’m quite comfortable and grateful for my life and glad I don’t have kids. Every blue moon I sometimes wonder what I’ve missed; but most of the time I’m deeply grateful, as is my wife, that I do not have children. When we were first married, 41 years ago, we tried furiously to have kids. It didn’t work out, so we didn’t have any. Adoption didn’t resonate for us.
Thinking back on my childhood, I’m extremely grateful to my mom and dad for how I was raised. There were plenty of difficult times and lots of negative judgments on my part. But basically, my parents were descent people who had kids and did the best they could. My dad modeled things that were good and strong, and things that weren’t so good and strong, but mostly things that were good and strong. I credit him and his wife for giving me an excellent send off! Some of who they were, a lot really, is alive and well in me today. It’s more than a mere physical, genetic or cultural heritage, its something deeper, a vibe in my core, my beingness.
Similarly, as Celeste Frazier wrote in SOM yesterday, “whatever is in God is in us. That’s an awesome thing to know. And sometimes we are daunted by that idea. The single drop of water has the same qualities as the ocean from which it came. It’s easier for us to see it our gene pool as we inherit all of the good and bad qualities from our family members. Yet all the attributes and qualities we inherit from God are the Good [and only the Good] – and I, for one, am grateful for it.” Me, too!
That’s why I want to get my bloated nothingness out of the way, resign as my own teacher, and know that it is not I, but my father in heaven who doeth the work.
Thinking back on my childhood, I’m extremely grateful to my mom and dad for how I was raised. There were plenty of difficult times and lots of negative judgments on my part. But basically, my parents were descent people who had kids and did the best they could. My dad modeled things that were good and strong, and things that weren’t so good and strong, but mostly things that were good and strong. I credit him and his wife for giving me an excellent send off! Some of who they were, a lot really, is alive and well in me today. It’s more than a mere physical, genetic or cultural heritage, its something deeper, a vibe in my core, my beingness.
Similarly, as Celeste Frazier wrote in SOM yesterday, “whatever is in God is in us. That’s an awesome thing to know. And sometimes we are daunted by that idea. The single drop of water has the same qualities as the ocean from which it came. It’s easier for us to see it our gene pool as we inherit all of the good and bad qualities from our family members. Yet all the attributes and qualities we inherit from God are the Good [and only the Good] – and I, for one, am grateful for it.” Me, too!
That’s why I want to get my bloated nothingness out of the way, resign as my own teacher, and know that it is not I, but my father in heaven who doeth the work.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Where is the Wisdom?
Continuing the conversation on knowledge and perception, George Moffett in the June 7 Christian Science Monitor quotes TS Eliot, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information.” How poignant now in this age of information overload, how essential to have the wisdom needed to discriminate between the trivial and the consequential; to provide points of fixity in life, a sense of context, and anchor in a society swirling in a sea of relentless change. Wisdom: that sees through the erroneous presumptions of human science, theology and medicine to discern a different reality based on the bedrock truth that humanity is spiritual, reflecting spirit.
The wisdom we need is waiting within us. We can access it now. We can give our bloated nothingness and so called human wisdom over to it, right now. Instead of being the exception, it can be our norm. With It to guide us, we can use words and works to point to that which is dimly perceived by the human senses but clearly visible to spiritual sense. It can redeem us from the belief that we are irresistibly inclined toward discord and death and enable us to realize our spiritual reality here and now, building a world that works for everyone.
The wisdom we need is waiting within us. We can access it now. We can give our bloated nothingness and so called human wisdom over to it, right now. Instead of being the exception, it can be our norm. With It to guide us, we can use words and works to point to that which is dimly perceived by the human senses but clearly visible to spiritual sense. It can redeem us from the belief that we are irresistibly inclined toward discord and death and enable us to realize our spiritual reality here and now, building a world that works for everyone.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Course
From Perception to Knowledge – the Course
“When you have seen your brothers as yourself you will be released to knowledge, having learned to free yourself through Him Who knows of freedom. Unite with me under the holy banner of His teaching, and as we grow in strength the power of God’s Son will move in us, and we will leave no one untouched and no one left alone. And suddenly time will be over, and we will all unite in the eternity of God the Father. The holy light you saw outside yourself in every miracle you offered to your brothers, will be returned to you. And knowing that the light is in you, your creations will be there with you, as you are in your Father.
“As miracles in this world join you to your brothers, so do your creations establish your fatherhood in Heaven. You are the witnesses to the Fatherhood of God, and He has given you the power to create the witnesses to your fatherhood in Heaven. The miracle that God created is perfect, as are the miracles that you established in His Name. They need no healing, nor do you, when you accept them.
“Yet in this world your perfection is unwitnessed. God knows it, but you do not, and so you do not share His witness to it. Nor do you witness unto Him, for reality is witnessed to as one. God waits your witness to His Son and to Himself. The miracles you do on earth are lifted up to heaven and to Him. They witness to what you do not know, and as they reach the gates of Heaven, God will open them. For never would He leave His Own beloved Son outside them, and beyond Himself.”
As I said in an earlier post, I am a student of The Course in Miracles. I do not claim to know and understand all of it. Part of what I’m learning about is what the Course means by our “creations.” I have left it in the above excerpt, even tho I don’t fully appreciate its meaning, because I wanted to maintain the integrity and beauty of the quote. Each time I read it, I feel a resonance and an intuitive understanding that perhaps one day, I will be able to articulate and share.
“When you have seen your brothers as yourself you will be released to knowledge, having learned to free yourself through Him Who knows of freedom. Unite with me under the holy banner of His teaching, and as we grow in strength the power of God’s Son will move in us, and we will leave no one untouched and no one left alone. And suddenly time will be over, and we will all unite in the eternity of God the Father. The holy light you saw outside yourself in every miracle you offered to your brothers, will be returned to you. And knowing that the light is in you, your creations will be there with you, as you are in your Father.
“As miracles in this world join you to your brothers, so do your creations establish your fatherhood in Heaven. You are the witnesses to the Fatherhood of God, and He has given you the power to create the witnesses to your fatherhood in Heaven. The miracle that God created is perfect, as are the miracles that you established in His Name. They need no healing, nor do you, when you accept them.
“Yet in this world your perfection is unwitnessed. God knows it, but you do not, and so you do not share His witness to it. Nor do you witness unto Him, for reality is witnessed to as one. God waits your witness to His Son and to Himself. The miracles you do on earth are lifted up to heaven and to Him. They witness to what you do not know, and as they reach the gates of Heaven, God will open them. For never would He leave His Own beloved Son outside them, and beyond Himself.”
As I said in an earlier post, I am a student of The Course in Miracles. I do not claim to know and understand all of it. Part of what I’m learning about is what the Course means by our “creations.” I have left it in the above excerpt, even tho I don’t fully appreciate its meaning, because I wanted to maintain the integrity and beauty of the quote. Each time I read it, I feel a resonance and an intuitive understanding that perhaps one day, I will be able to articulate and share.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Today is Flag Day
Today is Flag Day. I wouldn’t have known that but for today’s reading in Science of Mind magazine. Celeste Frazier is writing the Daily Guides this month and doing a fine job – as do all the people who write the Guides each month! She talks about an incident that inspired Martin Luther King to write a sermon called, “The American Dream.” The incident is described in the book, A Knock at Midnight.
Driving past the Jefferson Monument, and recalling Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” King came to realize, “Never before in the history of the world has a sociopolitical document expressed in such profound, eloquent, and unequivocal language the dignity and worth of human personality.”
In his sermon, rooted in the best American ideals, Martin Luther King challenges us to make the American dream a reality, and engaged us to “meet…physical force with soul force,” promising to “transform… dungeons of shame to havens of freedom.” Ms. Frazier goes on to say, “That is freedom. To know ourselves as powerful spaces of truth is freedom. When we know who we are, there are no lies that will move us. There is no force that can threaten us. There is no will that can oppress us. We are the Thing Itself.
“Today is Flag Day. More important than the red, white or blued, greater than the blood or the first colonies represented therein, is the intention behind it. This freedom is not given by governments, nor won through wars, but is inherent in everyone’s being.”
Driving past the Jefferson Monument, and recalling Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” King came to realize, “Never before in the history of the world has a sociopolitical document expressed in such profound, eloquent, and unequivocal language the dignity and worth of human personality.”
In his sermon, rooted in the best American ideals, Martin Luther King challenges us to make the American dream a reality, and engaged us to “meet…physical force with soul force,” promising to “transform… dungeons of shame to havens of freedom.” Ms. Frazier goes on to say, “That is freedom. To know ourselves as powerful spaces of truth is freedom. When we know who we are, there are no lies that will move us. There is no force that can threaten us. There is no will that can oppress us. We are the Thing Itself.
“Today is Flag Day. More important than the red, white or blued, greater than the blood or the first colonies represented therein, is the intention behind it. This freedom is not given by governments, nor won through wars, but is inherent in everyone’s being.”
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