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
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.
eBooks and MP3s
Price of all three eBooks has been reduced by half
to AU$4.99
Inspired by A Course in Miracles.
This is the eBook version
of the paper back. The paper back is available from my website.
New book in eBook format
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.
See
below for details.
Regards
Michael Dawson
______________________________________________________
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;
ÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑ
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).
ÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑ
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.Ó
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.
_________________________________________________
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)
_________________________________________________
A Life
Not Wasted - Jan Frazier
Posted on February 6, 2018
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.
___________________________________________________
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
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.
Workshop dates Germany 2019
Bonn: 14 - 16 June
Freiburg: 21-23 June
______________________________________________________
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
Inspired by A Course in
Miracles.
This is the eBook version
of the paper back.
New book in eBook format
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.
Downloadable
Mp3s:
This MP3 contains the
identical four exercises as the CD
This MP3 contains the
identical four exercises as the CD
This MP3 contains the
identical three exercises as the CD
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.
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
______________________________________________________
CONTACTS and
COURSE INFORMATION
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.
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
by Kenneth and Gloria
Wapnick
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.
A Course In Miracles Pen
Pals:
They will send you
updated lists of other e.pals and inform them of your
e-mail address.
This Belief.net web-based discussion
is hosted by Joe Jesseph.
_________________________
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
________________________
Michael Dawson
PO Box 125
Point Lookout
North Stradbroke Island
Queensland 4183
Australia