ACFIP Newsletter 
March 2018
Issue 56
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



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 3 summaries of help.
You can find them at http://www.acfip.org/sum.html, http://www.acfip.org/art6.html and http://www.acfip.org/art4.html

eBooks and MP3s
Price of all three eBooks has been reduced by half to AU$4.99
1. Healing the Cause -A Path of Forgiveness.
Inspired by A Course in Miracles.
This is the eBook version of the paper back. The paper back is available from my website.

2. A Course in Miracles - Explanations of Major Themes
New book in eBook format

3. Forgiveness - A Path to Inner Peace. 
Inspired by A Course in Miracles
This is the eBook version of the paper back. The paper back is available from my website.

The eBook versions can be read on Kindle, iPad, Microsoft eReader, Nook, PDF readers (Mac and PC) and most eBook readers.

¥ Downloadable MP3s of my Healing the Cause self-help CDs now available.
See below for details.

For more details and how to purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html

Regards 

Michael Dawson

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CONTENTS:


A Course in Miracles Material

Dedicating Your Day to Peace by Michael Dawson
Q. How did the ego originate, and what is to prevent the separation from happening again? - Kenneth Wapnick 
Non Dual Teachings

Thoughts on Forgiveness from Ananda
* A Life Not Wasted - Jan Frazier

Other

* Workshops
* Books and Audio Materials for Sale
* Links
* Inspirational Quotations



A Course in Miracles Material


Dedicating Your Day to Peace
"Would You Rather be Right or Happy?" T29.VII.1:9


The purpose of A Course in Miracles is to teach us how to be at peace no matter what is happening around us. It also teaches us that this is the last thing we want. One look at the state of our lives and the world will bear this out.

Why would we not want peace? There must be something we are very afraid of here - and there is. It will cost us everything we cherish. Our individuality, our specialness, our need to be right, the seeming control over our lives or, in a word, our ego. The Course defines the "ego" as the thought of separation, our desire to separate from God and do our own thing. The egos song is "I did it my way". The ego believes it knows everything needed to find happiness in the world and does not require any inner guidance thankyou. Jesus points out that we could progress quickly on the path to peace and happiness by listening to the ever-present help of the Holy Spirit, but we find the idea personally insulting (M-9.2:4). It implies that all our hard-won knowledge and experience in life counts for nothing when it comes to finding real joy. He goes further and states that if we believe we are bodies then we are insane. And how can the insane possible know how to find peace? They obviously need help from outside their deluded thought system. We are all psychotic to Jesus and all need his help to extricate ourselves from the pain and loneliness we are in.

I remember a period in my own life when I felt little trust in anyone, thought everything was up to me to do and arranged my life so that I was self-sufficient. I bought a campervan so that I always had a home and the ability to go where I liked. Now I needed help from no-one. My illusion of self-sufficiency was soon shattered, however, when the campervan developed an illusive starter motor fault. The only way I could start the van was to get a push. This meant asking for help, and not just from one person but two as the van was too heavy to be moved by one person. I found this embarrassing to do and quickly took the van to the garage for repair. Each time I did this they could find nothing wrong. Nonetheless the van still managed to break down on a regular basis, forcing me to ask for help. Looking back I see what a good lesson that was for me and I gradually learned a little about asking for help.

The only way we can return to peace is to willingly give up the ego through the practice of forgiveness and turning within for help. But the ego is our creation, an idea the sleeping Son of God once thought was a very good idea (and still does). However, as the Course points out, our "tolerance for pain may be high but is not without limit." (T-2.III.3:5). To maintain the seeming separation from God is very tiring. To be at home in Heaven but pretend we are in time and space takes a lot of effort and we slowly begin to think there must be "another way".

Each day we have a choice to make. We can say, "I want to be right and happiness is unimportant," or we can say, "I want to be happy and peaceful, I dont need to be right." We should never underestimate our desire to be right. This is how the seeming separation from God started. We thought we knew how we could have something even better than Heaven. The idea of separate beings who could play at being God sounded right. What we have discovered is a loss of peace and joy, but we dont want to admit to that, and continue to try to find that elusive happiness here in the world. We are right but no longer happy. I will give a story from my own experience here that illustrates some of the points raised here.

One night shortly before going to sleep, Salice (my late wife) and I had an argument. My ego told me I had been unfairly treated and I should separate from her by not communicating. Salices ego had apparently given her the same advice, for neither of us was now talking to the other! I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I saw a pack of Workbook Lesson cards and felt the impulse to take one. The title of the Lesson was "I could see peace instead of this." (Lesson 34) The significance of the Lesson was not lost on me and simultaneously another line from the Course came into my mind: "Do you prefer to be right or happy?" (T29.VII.1:9) For a moment I considered my two options and then said to myself, "Id rather be right" and put the Lesson card down again. Feeling miserable but justified in my pain, I returned silently to bed and fell asleep.

In the morning I woke up still feeling separated from Salice, as she did from me. I returned to the bathroom and remembered picking up the lesson card from the night before. Out of curiosity I read the title again, "I could see peace instead of this", and remembered the choice I had to be right or happy. I became still for a moment and this time I chose to be happy. I felt the impulse to share what was happening to me with Salice. She was sitting quietly at the table and as I sat down next to her I said, "I want to let you know that Im not handling my side of this dispute very well". At this statement Salice began to cry and we began to share honestly with each other how we had been feeling.

Through this process we were able to understand each others fear and found ourselves quickly moving into a state of mutual openness, care and affection. In the language of the Course, we had joined and felt at peace. At these moments I always wonder why I choose to be right and not happy. However, I am also aware that it is taking me a shorter time to forgive than it has done in the past. What would upset me for days may only last a few hours now. I am also aware that some issues which triggered pain in me in the past no longer affect me. Progress on the spiritual path may be measured by how much of the day is spent listening to the ego compared to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
[reprinted from "Healing the Cause - A Path of Forgiveness" Findhorn Press. ]

At the start of Chapter 30 in the Text will be found a set of very practical rules on how to achieve a peaceful day. Actually, only the first rule is needed and reminds you, once again, that you only have a choice of listening to two counsellors in your mind - the ego or the Holy Spirit. And only the Holy Spirits counsel will give you peace.

Rules for Decision

Rule 1 - Today I will make no decisions by myself.
We are always taking advice, either from the ego or the Holy Spirit. Here we are being asked to ask advice from the Holy Spirit.
Rule 2 - If I make no decisions by myself, this is the day that will be given me (peaceful).
To help reinforce your learning Jesus uses rule 2 as a reminder, to be used throughout the day.
Rule 3 - I have no question. I forgot what to decide.
A major problem to be avoided is setting up your own answers to a problem which you then ask the Holy Spirit to choose between. Humility is required of us here, a willingness to be open to any answer the Holy Spirit gives us - not just the ones we want to hear.
Rule 4 - At least I can decide I do not like what I feel now.
Rules 4 to 7 are ways to return to your goal of a peaceful day if you have started listening to the voice of the ego again.
Rule 5 - And so I hope I have been wrong.
Rule 6 - I want another way to look at this.
Rule 7 - Perhaps there is another way to look at this.
What can I lose by asking?

I want the peace of God.
To say these words is nothing. 
But to mean these words is everything. 
If you could but mean them for just an instant, 
there would be no further sorrow possible for you in any form; in any place or time.
Heaven would be completely given back to full awareness, 
memory of God entirely restored, the resurrection of all creation fully recognized.
W-pI.185.1.1:4

Reprinted from;
A Course in Miracles - Explanations of Major Themes

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Q.11) How did the ego originate, and what is to prevent the separation from happening again? - Kenneth Wapnick 
http://www.miraclestudies.net/Question11.html


Kenneth Wapnick - This is unquestionably the most frequently asked question of all, and it seems as if every student of A Course in Miracles has wondered about this at one time or another. We have been impressed over the years by the ingenuity with which Course students have framed this question in many different forms; yet the basic question itself can be restated in this way: "If God is perfect and unified, and has a perfect and unified Son, how could an imperfect thought of separation and division have possibly arisen within such a Mind?"'

Jesus' answer to this question in the Course comes within a non-dualistic framework, and will hardly satisfy an intellectually inquisitive mind that demands an answer on its own terms. However, within the dualistic framework that we experience as our reality, the question is really a statement masquerading in question form, "asked" by an ego mind in order to establish its own reality and unique identity. Therefore, the questioner is really saying: "I believe I am here, and now I want you to explain to me how I got here."

Consciousness, being the first split introduced into the mind of the dreaming Son, is an ego state where a perceiver and a perceived seem to exist as separate "realities." Consciousness results in a concept of a limited false self that is separate and uncertain, seeming to experience an opposite to the true Self as God created It. And it is this false self that believes it is "here" and "asks" the question about its own seeming origin, thereby seeking to verify it. In truth, however, imperfection cannot emanate from perfection, and an imperfect thought of separation and division cannot arise from the perfect Mind of God's perfect Son, in which opposites cannot exist. Only in a world of dreams can these absurdities, and the beliefs that foster such uncertainty lead to musings like this.

The question therefore can only be asked by those who believe and experience that they are indeed separate and distinct, and it can only be answered by someone who agrees with this premise that the impossible has in fact happened, and therefore requires and even demands an explanation. Thus, only a dreaming ego would ask such a question, since a Son of God, certain of his Identity in Heaven and awake in God, could not even conceive of the separation which is the basis for asking the question in the first place. And obviously, if in reality the separation never happened once, how could it possibly happen a second time? Therefore, once again, it is a trick question, much like the comedian's question, "When did you stop beating your wife?" which, if answered, can only incriminate the person responding.

Jesus directly addresses this question two times: The first is found in the text, where he gives a very practical answer to what was originally a question posed by William Thetford, Helen's colleague and friend, as she was taking down the dictation:

It is reasonable to ask how the mind could ever have made the ego. In fact, it is the best question you could ask, There is, however, no point in giving an answer in terms of the past because the past does not matter, and history would not exist if the same errors were not being repeated in the present (T-4.II.1:1-3).

In other words, why worry about how and why the separation happened in the distant past, when you are still making the same choice to be separate in the present?
The next answer comes in two parts, and is found in the clarification of terms, the appendix to the manual for teachers. Here, Jesus' answer is much more to the point as it addresses the pseudo-nature of the question itself, and his answer is reflected in our discussion above:

The ego will demand many answers that this course does not give. It does not recognize as questions the mere form of a question to which an answer is impossible. The ego may ask, "How did the impossible occur?", "To what did the impossible happen?", and may ask this in many forms. Yet there is no answer; only an experience. Seek only this, and do not let theology delay you (C-in.4).

Who asks you to define the ego and explain how it arose can be but he who thinks it real, and seeks by definition to ensure that its illusive nature is concealed behind the words that seem to make it so.
There is no definition for a lie that serves to make it true (C-2.2:5-3: 1).


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Non Dual Teachings


This part of the newsletter offers input from non-dual teachers. What is non-duality? The word Ônon-dualÕ means not two. On the first page of the ACIM text there is two line summary of a Course in Miracles. It begins with the line ÒNothing real can be threatened
This refers to what God created Ð eternal, formless, spirit. Eternal means never born and therefore cannot change or die. The Course uses the expression Ôthe ChristÕ to denote this. Behind all the seeming multiplicity of the universe there is actually only one essential reality. Just as all the images on the cinema screen seem different, the light that creates them is one.

There is nothing outside you. That is what you must ultimately learn, for it is the realization that the Kingdom of Heaven is restored to you. For God created only this, and He did not depart from it nor leave it separate from Himself. The Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place of the Son of God, who left not his Father and dwells not apart from Him. Heaven is not a place nor a condition. It is merely an awareness of perfect Oneness, and the knowledge that there is nothing else; nothing outside this Oneness, and nothing else within.
A Course in Miracles T-18.VI.1.

The second line of the summary states ÓNothing unreal exists.Ó This refers to everything that is born and therefore dies - the egoÕs world. Thus everything in the universe including ourselves is not real according to the Course. It is like a great dream. Only perfect oneness is real. 

There are two forms of non-duality Ð pure and impure. In the impure form God is aware that the universe is a dream and experiences itself through it - God's Leela or play as they say in the East. In the pure form of non-duality God is unaware of the universe. The Course is an example of pure non-dual teachings. A metaphor for this is a cinema projector where the lamp in the projector represents God. When the ego's film of separation is run past the light it is projected onto the screen of time and space. The light of God makes this possible, but the lamp is unaware of what is on the screen and would continue to shine when the film is taken away. To continue with this metaphor the light extending from the lamp is who we are, the Christ. ( See chart http://acfip.org/lightbulb.html)

You dwell not here, but in eternity.
You travel but in dreams, while safe at home. 
T-13.VII.17:6-7.

You are at home in God, dreaming of exile but perfectly capable of awaking to reality. 
T-10.I.2:1.


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Thoughts on Forgiveness from Ananda

  To quell the power of the ego that is the driving force behind so many of your decisions, you must have a plan of attack, for want of a better phrase. Perhaps we should call it a plan of healing to stay in line with our philosophy of love and kindness at all costs.
  The ego is familiar, so it makes sense that what we are going to ask you to do will seem unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable. We are going to be asking you to go against the egoÕs dictates of hatred, attack, judgment, and unrelenting resentments. We are going to ask you, in the beginning, to practice the art of forgiveness. This is not the egoÕs version of forgiveness that states you have done something bad and are forgiven, although the crime is remembered. This is true healing forgiveness. In this type of forgiveness the crime is not seen as significant at all. You are asked to see the behavior that is so offending as an error only, a mistake, not only in interpretation, but in action Ñ interpreted incorrectly by you and mistakenly acted on by the one being forgiven.
  You see, all crimes Ñ all sins, as you call them Ñ are not what you think they are. The actions are of those who know not what they do. Sound familiar? Is this phrase rattling around in your head somewhere? ÒForgive them, for they know not what they doÓ? Yes, we are repeating a most famous statement, made by one of the greatest spiritual teachers to have ever manifested on this plane: the one you would call the Christ, the one who saw the error of the ways of judgment. It is not sins that need to be forgiven but the very acts of judgment that keep you from heaven; it is not the actions of the error-makers that keep you from heaven, but the judgments you make about those actions. We told you this would be uncomfortable. The true act of forgiveness requires you to see your own judgments as the crime, the one thing that keeps you from connecting with Source.
  This is why it is so well hidden from your modern eyes, this path to what you would call heaven. You have to give up your most valued treasure, your best friend in all the world: judgment.
  Many of you will scream at this and say, ÒWe cannot go around forgiving rapists and murderers!Ó But that is not what we are asking of you. We are asking you to stop judging your partners, your children, your coworkers, and yourselves. We are asking you to stop the frequent judgments you all wash yourselves with at every moment of the day. Forgive the rude cashier, forgive the car that cuts in front of you, forgive yourself for not achieving all the goals your ego-driven culture has set for you, and learn to be at peace.
  It is this relentless judgment that prevents you from being at peace and in love. The true connection to Source about which we are speaking can only flow within the mind that is at peace.   .....É  

You see, when we suggest forgiveness or non-judgment, the connections between this behavior and your own health and happiness become apparent. When you believe you are completely separate and that your thoughts are meaningless, you will keep them to yourself, unhealthy and unloving, believing that you do not affect anything at all. Indeed, you affect everything and everyone you think about very profoundly. This is the first Ñ and perhaps most important Ñ revelation we will share.
  This is not a vague and Òairy-fairyÓ idea of positive thinking or happy dreams, fantasized and having no true effect. The thoughts you have and keep to yourself shape the very world you walk in, the very people you meet, and the very experiences you have, down to the tiniest detail.
  ÒAnd how does this happen?Ó you ask. Well, the world does not work as you have been told by the religions and old scientific ways that have been drummed into your confused, gullible minds. The truth of the matter is that you are responsible for every person, place, and thing you experience in your life, in no uncertain terms Ñ good, bad, and indifferent. ÒNo!Ó you shout, Òthis cannot be true! I am the unwitting victim of so much badness around me and people who hurt me when I am totally innocent.Ó Yet we are here to tell you that is not the case. You are the most powerful creator, endowed with a force beyond your comprehension when you were conceived in the mind of Source, endowed with the same creative force that made you. This is a secret that has been kept from many of you for millennia.   .....É  

Take each day as it is, and love to the best of your ability in the moment. Each act of love, passion, and forgiveness will have huge repercussions in your future, and you will begin to feel the change in your minds manifesting as peace and a gentle joy that you are not familiar with. The changes will come quickly if you are faithful and disciplined in the healthy practices we speak of, and the help you ask for will be real and felt almost immediately.


Making Love to God
Ananda through Tina Spalding

Remember that no one is where he is by accident, and chance plays no part in GodÕs plan. (A Course in Miracles - M26)
No accident nor chance is possible within the universe as God created it. (T-21.II.3:4)


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 A Life Not Wasted - Jan Frazier
Posted on February 6, 2018
https://janfrazierteachings.com/a-life-not-wasted/

The impression is that ÒIÓ exist, that I am here Ð that each of us is a person, recognizable, ongoing. That life is a medium, like water or air, through which each person moves. That life is something that happens to you, or something you attempt to direct the course of, and so you (that person you seem to be) are affected in some way. 
If you do nothing else in your inner explorations, pay attention to this. How in a given moment of life, of awareness, ÒyouÓ are not separate from life. ItÕs in the now (and only in the now), in the momentary felt sensation of actual experience (inner and outer), that you can tell somebody is here, aware, alive. Life isnÕt happening to you, nor are you bringing it about. Life Ð this moment of it Ð is what you are, just now. It is how you get a sense of a self-being-here.
What is presently occurring is not separate from your perception of it. You cannot directly know anything of present-moment life in the immediate scene except what your senses indicate to you. This is the primary thing; this is life itself. ItÕs only in the very next instant, when the mind takes hold of what has been perceived, felt, experienced Ð itÕs only then that all the trouble has a chance to begin. ItÕs only then that ÒlifeÓ starts to look like something happening to you, something needing an opinion, a story, an emotional reaction.
Missing momentary life in favor of the mindÕs occupations is why regret comes to terrible flower on the death bed. Learn this then or learn it now.
What you call your life, looking back over the so-far of it all, is really just a collection of the mental/emotional images of these re-collected lived moments of life itself. Moments in which you were the experience, the impression, the encounter. What you call ÒyouÓ is the sum total of what your mind has made of it all, the vast collection of stories and opinions and beliefs about all the lived moments.
What each of us wants Ð how vivid this becomes approaching death! Ð is to live. More and more moments. We want to sense ourselves being here, tuned in, feeling life itself surging through us. It isnÕt more stories and achievements weÕre starved for. (If this isnÕt clear yet, just imagine lying on your death bed.)
The appearance of a continuity of a self thatÕs roughly stable and familiar, that has ÒissuesÓ and desires, is something that occurs in the mind, as it looks back and ahead, making stories and judgments, assigning significance, searching outside present-moment awareness for Òmeaning.Ó
But see this: when do you feel alive? ItÕs not when youÕre in your mind. ItÕs when your senses are attuned, when your body is in motion, or when youÕre paying close attention to something beautiful or alarming, demanding or fun, or to some ordinary physical task. ItÕs when all of awareness is on something thatÕs here right now. When youÕre looking deeply into anotherÕs eyes. ItÕs when your heart cracks open Ð with exhilaration, with grief, with surrender. Notice how alive you feel at such a moment. ItÕs the alive of it that deeply registers, that matters Ð not the ÒgoodÓ or Òbad.Ó
ItÕs when your mind has taken a rest, however briefly. Let this observation be your teacher, your constant companion as you continue on. See how thinking and awareness are different. How both are available to you, constantly.
Actual life Ð felt experience, in which awareness is enlivened Ð does not involve the mind and its ongoing assessments. Life is momentary, fleeting. When you take hold of it with the mind, you are putting yourself at an artificial distance from it Ð as if you could be separate from a moment already under way! Or as if you could ÒliveÓ a moment thatÕs already come and gone. You are ÒlivingÓ in your head. Which is not (alas) living at all.
Missing momentary life in favor of the mindÕs occupations is why regret comes to terrible flower on the death bed. Learn this then or learn it now.
Discover how life is not apart from you. You are life: this moment of it. And thatÕs all. Where is there a ÒselfÓ in that? ItÕs without significance whether you like or dislike the moment. (Imagine that.)
Oh, but see how we want there to be a self! We want our assessments to matter terribly. Everything weÕve ever been taught insists that there is a self, and that it is of enormous value. Worth cherishing and healing and asserting and all the rest of it.
What, dear one, is the cost of this apparently-real self? The self is created and maintained at the expense of life being lived. But itÕs no wonder (isnÕt it clear?) why there is the reluctance to see through the whole thing, to stop taking it so seriously. ItÕs no wonder so few people ever come to know the deep truth of existence. What, after all, is at apparent risk?
Yet the very thing that seems to be at risk (what could be more ironic?) isnÕt even real. The self exists in the mind, which is at a distance from life. To the extent that the self feels real and important, we are doomed to a life at a distance from the only thing that is real: this momentÕs awareness.
Pay attention to how all of it goes on, in your daily life. In the moment-to-moment. When you notice the mind trying to do its habitual thing, be gentle on yourself. ItÕs a lifelong habit, after all. Do observe it, but donÕt waste your time (life!) in lamenting it, or in trying to change it.
The miracle, you will discover, is this: simply by observing the thing happening, without judgment, bit by bit the habitual machinery will lose momentum. ItÕs only because youÕve been unconscious of it all your life that itÕs continued in its seemingly-inevitable way. Once you see it happening, itÕs stopped being inevitable. ItÕs held in conscious awareness. Just keep returning awareness to the now. ThatÕs all. What could be more simple, more blessedly rinsed of effort? Finding your way to the truth does not involve strained effort Ð contrary to the impression of so many seeking freedom and clarity.
Be patient with yourself. But do remember: the cost of looking away, of taking refuge in the mind, is life itself.
When awareness is allowed to be its naturally spacious self Ð when the self is felt to be the present moment Ð whatever happens is received absolutely, without resistance or mental handling. Life moves through you, as you. The familiar tendency of the ego to like or not like the moment, to process it in any way, has wound down to stillness. Unresisting awareness is what is. You are life. Then everything changes. Life in the next moment is a different thing. Like you, it is ever new.
ItÕs not what you Òdo withÓ life, or what you make of Òyour self,Ó that turns out to matter. ItÕs that you live.


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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. 
Please see the Contacts section at the end of this newsletter.
___________________________________________________


Other


Forthcoming Workshops on A Course in Miracles


For up to date information on my workshops go to http://www.acfip.org/fws.html 


Germany 2018 Dates


Bonn - Sat 9 and Sun 10 June - 2018
10am to 6pm



I need do nothing - moving from doing to being.

 To do nothing is to rest, and make a place within you where the activity of the body ceases to demand attention. 
Into this place the Holy Spirit comes, and there abides.

A Course in Miracles. T-18.VII.7

Our modern age is characterised by busyness, doing and speed, leaving little room to be guided This busyness often extends into our spiritual life as well. 

The Course reminds us that the memory of God, our spiritual reality, returns to the quiet mind and not one filled with busyness - whether material or so-called Òspiritual.Ó As we learn to give up ego-based action, slow down and do nothing our actions will spontaneously come from a source of wisdom only found in the quiet mind. 

Save time for me by only this one preparation, and practice doing nothing else.  "I need do nothing" is a statement of allegiance, a truly undivided loyalty. Believe it for just one instant, and you will accomplish more than is given to a century of contemplation, or of struggle against temptation.
A Course in Miracles. T-18.VII.6

This workshop explores the following:
Effort versus relaxation
Need to surrender
Being not doing
I need do nothing
Forgiveness
End of seeking
Journey from a somebody to a nobody.
Planning and decisions
Not knowing
What keeps us from the now?
Fear of the unknown
Attaining a quiet mind

Exercises will be given to help us leave the control of the ego and move into a state of beingness and receptivity.
No knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.




An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri 8th June 2017
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  2018 June

Fri 15,[6pm tp 9pm] Sat 16 [10am to 6pm] and Sun 17 [10am to 5pm]


I need do nothing - moving from doing to being.

 To do nothing is to rest, and make a place within you where the activity of the body ceases to demand attention. 
Into this place the Holy Spirit comes, and there abides.

A Course in Miracles. T-18.VII.7

Our modern age is characterised by busyness, doing and speed, leaving little room to be guided This busyness often extends into our spiritual life as well. 

The Course reminds us that the memory of God, our spiritual reality, returns to the quiet mind and not one filled with busyness - whether material or so-called Òspiritual.Ó As we learn to give up ego-based action, slow down and do nothing our actions will spontaneously come from a source of wisdom only found in the quiet mind. 

Save time for me by only this one preparation, and practice doing nothing else.  "I need do nothing" is a statement of allegiance, a truly undivided loyalty. Believe it for just one instant, and you will accomplish more than is given to a century of contemplation, or of struggle against temptation.
A Course in Miracles. T-18.VII.6

This workshop explores the following:
Effort versus relaxation
Need to surrender
Being not doing
I need do nothing
Forgiveness
End of seeking
Journey from a somebody to a nobody.
Planning and decisions
Not knowing
What keeps us from the now?
Fear of the unknown
Attaining a quiet mind

Exercises will be given to help us leave the control of the ego and move into a state of beingness and receptivity.
No knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.

Contact:
Margarete Sennekamp
Winterhaldenweg 4,
79856 Hinterzarten,
Tel./Fax: 07652-917530
email: M.Sennekamp@t-online.de
www.Sophia-Institut.de


Workshop dates Germany 2019

Bonn: 14 - 16 June

Freiburg: 21-23 June

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BOOKS AND AUDIO MATERIALS FOR SALE - by Michael Dawson


New teaching and healing materials - eBooks and downloadable MP3s:

Ebooks:
Price of all three eBooks has been reduced by half to AU$4.99

1. Healing the Cause -A Path of Forgiveness.
Inspired by A Course in Miracles.
This is the eBook version of the paper back.

2. A Course in Miracles - Explanations of Major Themes
New book in eBook format

3. Forgiveness - A Path to Inner Peace. 
Inspired by A Course in Miracles
This is the eBook version of the paper back.

The eBook versions can be read on Kindle, iPad, Microsoft eReader, Nook, PDF readers (Mac and PC) and most eBook readers.
For more details and how to purchase please visit: www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html


Downloadable Mp3s:

1. Healing the Cause: Self-Help Exercises 1
This MP3 contains the identical four exercises as the CD

2. Healing the Cause: Self-Help Exercises 2
This MP3 contains the identical four exercises as the CD

3. Healing the Cause: 3 Self-Help Exercises in English with German translation
This MP3 contains the identical three exercises as the CD

For more details and how to purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html


Paperback Books:

Healing the Cause - A Path of Forgiveness.  Findhorn Press 1994
Also available in German, Romanian, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.

The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness.  Findhorn Press. 2003
Also available in German, French, Polish and Romanian.

For more details and how to purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html

MP3s (see above) and CDs:

Healing the Cause:
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)

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.
 
Workshops:

1. Three Steps of Forgiveness. 
This workshop concentrates on the process of forgiveness from the perspective of A Course in Miracles. Includes 3 healing exercises.
 Recorded at the Annual Miracle Network Conference in London, November 2001. 1 hour 12 mins. One CD

2. Finding and Eliminating the Blocks to Receiving Guidance. 
This talk investigates what stops us hearing the guidance that is ever present in our lives. Recorded at the Annual Miracle Network Conference in London, October 20001 hour. One CD

For more details and how to purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/audio.html

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CONTACTS and COURSE INFORMATION 
Search Engine for ACIM Sites, Definitions and Articles by Joe Jesseph.
A Web search engine dedicated to finding discussion and definitions of terms and concepts found in 
A Course in Miracles as well as Web sites, articles and other writings related to the Course.

Question and Answer Service from the Foundation for A Course in Miracles. 
Their electronic outreach section has a question and answer service 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.

Foundation for Inner Peace..........................Publishers of A Course in Miracles and responsible for the translation programme. On-line mail order.

Foundation For A Course In Miracles................FACIM is the official teaching organisation of the Foundation for Inner Peace and the copyright-holder of_A Course in Miracles and all related materials. Publishes the quarterly Lighthouse newsletter. They have extensive on-line mail order for their books, CDs and DVDs.
The Foundation was started by Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick and has moved to Temecula in California. Kenneth is my teacher of A Course in Miracles. His body died in December 2013.
Their publications can also be ordered in Australia at:
Adyar Bookshop
230 Clarence Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Kenneth Wapnick ......ÉÉÉ Biographical information and excerpts from his writings
Kenneth Wapnick on YouTube
Glossary of ACIM terms from FACIM
"The Most Commonly asked Questions about A Course in Miracles"
by Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick
Index of Links to Miracle Studies Resources ...ÉÉ....... A rich resource of materials on A Course in Miracles by an ex-staff member of the Foundation For A Course In Miracle. Joe also has a blog and has recently published  A Primer of Psychology According to A Course in Miracles.
miraclestudies.net  ÉÉÉÉ A Course in Miracles Resource Web Site for ACIM Students
A Course in Miracles Study groups
Search for A Course in Miracles Study Groups Around the World. 
The Foundation for Inner peace also has a study group search engine.
Miracles Studies Australia  http://www.miracle-studies.net.au  lists study groups for Australia and new Zealand

Purchase ACIM on line
ACIM Historical Recordings & Video

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.

Belief.net ACIM discussion:
This Belief.net web-based discussion is hosted by Joe Jesseph.
http://community.beliefnet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=151

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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTATIONS

About three 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.


How long, O Son of God, will you maintain the game of sin? Shall we not put away these sharp-edged children's toys? How soon will you be ready to come home? Perhaps today? There is no sin. Creation is unchanged. Would you still hold return to Heaven back? How long, O holy Son of God, how long?

A Course in Miracles  Lesson 250


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
I Am That

 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

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


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Michael Dawson
PO Box 125
Point Lookout
North Stradbroke Island
Queensland 4183
Australia

EMAIL:       mdawson@acfip.org
WEBSITE:   http://www.acfip.org