ACFIP Newsletter
Issue 23 - December 2009
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
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS:
* The end of seeking
* Helping others to forgive
* Falling Awake
* Workshops
* Books and Audio Materials for Sale
* Links
* Inspirational Quotations
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 summaries of
help.
You can find them at http://www.acfip.org/sum.html and
http://www.acfip.org/art4.html
NEW - An eBook containing all my web site articles plus a
bonus chapter
from Healing the Cause and The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness is
available for download in PDF format from
http://www.acfip.org/ebook.html
Regards
Michael Dawson
___________________________________________________________________________
The End of Seeking.
Love waits on welcome, not on time,
Release is given you the instant you desire it.
Innocence is not of your making.
It is given you the instant you would have it.
A Course in Miracles T-13.VII.9:7,
T-18.VII.4:3,T-15.IV.9:3-4
Sometimes when I am waking in the morning, I may receive some
helpful
advice. It's that time when one is partly awake, and
partly
asleep. The thinking mind hasn't fully started up, and this
seems to
give spirit a chance to get in. It seems spirit will take any
chance
that it is given! Recently, I was given a picture of the
spiritual
seeker on his journey back home. He was walking along this
very long
path, which eventually led to the top of a mountain. He was
tired, but
kept on moving. However, as he was moving along the path,
there was a
hand reaching down from above his head. This hand was trying
to lift
him up, into peace and joy. But the seeker could not see this
hand, for
he always had his eyes on the distant goal of the mountaintop.
One day
the seeker was so exhausted by his search he stopped on the
path. He
had surrendered, he had given up his search. It was then he
looked up
and saw the hand above him. To his amazement the hand reached
down and
lifted him back to heaven.
Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek the light are merely
covering their
eyes. The light is in them now. Enlightenment is but a
recognition, not
a change at all.
A Course in Miracles Lesson188
When people cannot find peace and happiness following
the goals
of the material world, they often start a spiritual search.
After all,
if you don't search how can you find it? When I was in
my 20s, I
lived in London and had access to some of the best spiritual
bookshops
there were. I felt if I looked long enough, I would find a
book that
had the truth in it. I found that this searching was both
pleasurable
and exciting. All I had to do was follow this path and
it will
eventually lead me to the truth that I was seeking.
One of the teachers I was drawn to was Jiddu Krishnamurti. I
had been
following Buddhism for about five years before I first came
across his
books. As I was reading his first book I was delighted to see
him
putting organised religions into the dustbin. But then
he put
Buddhism into the dustbin! I found that very disturbing, as
this
thought system had given me security. Krishnamurti seemed to
be against
all forms of organised thought. Later I was to read the
following:
I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot
approach it by
any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my
point of
view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally.
Truth, being
limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path
whatsoever, cannot
be organised; nor should any organisation be formed to lead or
coerce
people along any particular path. If you first understand
that, then
you will see how impossible it is to organise a belief.
From part of the speech made by Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1929
when he
dissolved the Order of the Star (his own organisation).
A path can only lead to a fixed object. What if truth is not
fixed?
What if truth is ever new? Our minds dislike things that
cannot be
labelled and categorised and nicely ordered. Minds like
to be in
control, it makes them feel secure.
Recently I received the following guidance:
We use our concepts of God to direct and redirect ourselves
and the
direction of our lives. It takes humans a long time to realize
that
there is no concept for God and no direction to Him. The
oneness we
crave dissolves the moment we set ourselves on a path. To stop
in the
oneness requires dissolution of ourselves, so we keep moving
on our
path hastily.
This guidance made it very plain that our identification with
the ego -
the idea that we are separate - is kept safely intact whilst
we pursue
the seeming noble search for God. As I get older I have
a great
respect for the cleverness and the subtlety of the ego.
As the
Course points out:
…. the ego's maxim, (is) "Seek but do not find"
T-16.V.6:5
To seek something we must know what we are seeking, otherwise
how would
we recognise it? Truth is not objective, is not "out there".
People who
spiritually awaken, who have lost a sense of personal
identity, are
often surprised by what they find. It is not as they imagined.
The mind cannot know truth; it's not designed for that
purpose. The
mind is a wonderful tool for our day-to-day living. You could
not be
reading this now without its help. The American teacher
Adyashanti refers to this type of mind as the "toolbox
mind". If
you want to study science then you will need to reach into
your toolbox
mind and get out the tools of reason and logic. You won't get
far
without them. If we try to use the toolbox mind to find truth,
we will
condemn ourselves to a lifetime of fruitless search and
desperation.
I think most people who desire to discover their spiritual
reality will
embark on a spiritual search. I certainly did. By
the time
I was in my 30s I had collected about 1500 spiritual
books. My
mind had become a spiritual library. Books can be very
helpful at
the beginning, but at some point they become a block.
This also
applies to A Course in Miracles, as we can see from the
following
quotation from the Course:
Simply do this: Be still, and lay aside all thoughts of what
you are
and what God is; all concepts you have learned about the
world; all
images you hold about yourself. Empty your mind of everything
it thinks
is either true or false, or good or bad, of every thought it
judges
worthy, and all the ideas of which it is ashamed. Hold onto
nothing. Do
not bring with you one thought the past has taught, nor one
belief you
ever learned before from anything. Forget this world, forget
this
course, and come with wholly empty hands unto your God.
Lesson 189
Perhaps many of us do need to seek so we can discover that
it's
fruitless and put it aside. The sooner we can see the trap of
spiritual
seeking the happier we will be.
This is the irony, the great cosmic joke, the great secret of
"enlightenment." When the person who searches for
enlightenment
dissolves, then and only then is the object of the search
revealed -
having been obscured all along by the "me" who wanted it.
The discovery that "personal enlightenment" is a myth can be
received
as quite a shock. From my own experience I can verify that the
mind and
personality does not happily embrace this discovery when it is
first
glimpsed, for it makes one look somewhat ridiculous. All the
searching,
all the practicing, all the trying to "get" it, is seen as
worthless,
is seen as having per perpetuated the illusion of "me," as
having
obscured what was and is already here, what all this striving
and
practicing is occurring in-one's own limitless Self.
Surprised By Grace by Amber Terrell
If we are honest with ourselves we will see that we want to
attain
enlightenment. We want to add enlightenment to ourselves. I am
now
enlightened we say. In the Bible this is referred to as
sitting on the
right-hand side of God. Notice however that you are still
there. Now
it's you and God together in heaven. This is very comforting
to the
ego, because the ego is still alive. The ego has attained
enlightenment. But enlightenment is the absence of the ego!
Only when
you, the me story, is gone can your spiritual reality dawn
upon
you. This is why we keep moving on the spiritual path.
It's as if
God can't hit a moving target. Seeking truth can become
a game
and we are happy to seek as long as we don't find it! We are
no longer
a material seeker but are now a spiritual seeker.
Once you forget yourself, God remembers you: once you've
become His
slave, then you are free.
Rumi
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.
Halfway up the Mountain - the Error of Premature Claims to
Enlightenment by Mariana Caplan. Hohm Press 1999
All the above leads to the eventual conclusion that if you
want to
avoid truth, seek it! It is the ego's arrogance that
thinks it
knows the way to God. It first decides what God is, and then
designs a
path to Him. The ego is happy for us to work with A
Course in
Miracles for it can make our desired goal appear a long way
off and
thus ensure we will remain faithful to the ego and its
advice.
The Course, however, thinks otherwise.
We don't know the way to God.
From Lesson 189
Is it not He Who knows the way to you? You need not know the
way to
Him. Your part is simply to allow all obstacles that you have
interposed between the Son and God the Father to be quietly
removed
forever. God will do His part in joyful and immediate
response. Ask and
receive.
We do not remove the obstacles, instead we become aware of the
obstacles and agree to release them. These are the first two
steps of
forgiveness, the third is automatic - the removal of the guilt
by
spirit.
But do not make demands, nor point the road to God by which He
should
appear to you.
Our demand of God is to make us happy here in the ego's world.
We
resent God for not giving us what we want especially if we
think we are
faithfull students of His Course
The way to reach Him is merely to let Him be. For in that way
is your
reality proclaimed as well.
We must forget about trying to change God into the one we want
- a God
who treats us special. Humility is needed - we have been wrong
about
everything - we know nothing about how to be in a constant
state of
peace and quit joy.
And so today we do not choose the way in which we go to Him.
But we do
choose to let Him come.
We realise we have made a mistake in letting the ego be our
teacher.
And with this choice we rest. And in our quiet hearts and open
minds,
His Love will blaze its pathway of itself. What has not been
denied is
surely there, if it be true and can be surely reached. God
knows His
Son, and knows the way to him. He does not need His Son to
show Him how
to find His way.
Father, we do not know the way to You. But we have called, and
You have
answered us. We will not interfere. Salvation's ways are not
our own,
for they belong to You.
We need to admit we have been wrong and we know nothing of the
way to
God. Our job is to find the obstacles to God and let them be
removed.
What can we do?
If seeking is going to get us nowhere what can we do? To
we just
give up? Is there anything we can seek? Yes! It's not the
truth, but
the obstacles to truth.
An ancient Zen master nicely summed it up when he said;
Do not seek the truth, simply cease cherishing illusions
The Course states it this way:
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find
all of
the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
It is not necessary to seek for what is true, but it is
necessary to
seek for what is false.
T-16.IV.6:1-2
So here we are back on the seekers path! However, now we are
seeking
for something completely different. We are now seeking all
that blocks
the awareness to truth, love, joy and beauty. Thank God
we can
give up the search for the truth! That's what we already are.
No need
to find love, that's how we are created. What a relief!
All that is asked of you is to make room for truth. You are
not asked
to make or do what lies beyond your understanding. All you are
asked to
do is let it in; only to stop your interference with what will
happen
of itself; simply to recognize again the presence of what you
thought
you gave away.
T-21.II.7:6-8
Of course, for our egos it's much more pleasant to search for
truth
somewhere in the future. Searching the obstacles to
truth does
not sound so glamorous. It's uncomfortable to look within and
find
anger, guilt, shame, fear, lack of self-worth, and a whole
collection
of unpleasant thoughts that the ego would want to deny and
project onto
the world.
Conflict must be resolved. It cannot be evaded, set aside,
denied,
disguised, seen somewhere else, called by another name, or
hidden by
deceit of any kind, if it would be escaped. It must be seen
exactly as
it is, where it is thought to be, in the reality which has
been given
it, and with the purpose that the mind accorded it. For only
then are
its defenses lifted, and the truth can shine upon it as it
disappears.
Lesson 333
"Lead us not into temptation" means "Recognize your errors and
choose
to abandon them by following my guidance."
T-1.III.4:7
The truth, peace and joy we all crave is there and will be
revealed to
us when we do our part. We cannot find this by our
personal
striving. Humility teaches us that we need help from outside
our ego's
thought system. The ego wants to do everything by itself as it
seeks to
stay in control.
In the Course Jesus states that if you think you are a body
then you
are insane. The insane need help from the sane. We have that
help and
is just waiting for us to ask. It won't go against our free
will. We do
not even have to heal the obstacles we find. That will be done
for us
by spirit.
Do not hide suffering from His sight, but bring it gladly to
Him. Lay
before His eternal sanity all your hurt, and let Him heal you.
Do not
leave any spot of pain hidden from His light, and search your
mind
carefully for any thoughts you may fear to uncover. For He
will heal
every little thought you have kept to hurt you and cleanse it
of its
littleness, restoring it to the magnitude of God.
T-13.III.7:3-6
We are being asked turn our daily life into a classroom of
forgiveness.
The seeker's path continues, and now it's in the mirror of
relationships. Our daily interactions will often bring up
what's
unhealed in our minds. Underneath our unforgiveness lies
the
truth we have been seeking. It simply needs to be uncovered by
forgiving the judgement that overlays it. Putting it simply,
forgiveness is looking without judgement at our egos and other
people's
egos. We are not being asked to change our egos or other
people's
egos. That would be to make them real. Nor are we being asked
to love
our egos for that would repeat the same error. The ego is
nothing but a
thought that we still cherish. That thought is that we prefer
separation and being a special individual to unity or oneness
with all.
However, it's only in unity we will find what we crave for.
The speed at which we return to the awareness of our spiritual
reality
is up to us. We could have it now if we wanted to. We
need only
let go the hand of the ego and hold the hand of the Holy
Spirit.
This would mean giving up our victimhood, judgement, justified
anger,
the desire to blame others, the desire to be separate and our
individuality. Most of us are not ready to give up all
that once.
Jesus is very aware of that and is happy to lead us
step-by-step on our
forgiveness path. To feel guilty that we still want to hold
onto these
"gifts of the ego" is to allow the ego to come back in again
through a
back door in our minds. Jesus asks us to gently smile at the
ego and
not to take it seriously.
With a sigh of relief we can now take off our truth seeker's
hat and
put it down. We still have something to seek, but it
will be easy
to find! As we notice these daily obstacles and learn to
gently smile
at them they will dissolve. And then the light that is
underneath
them will start to show through. This will encourage us to
follow the
path of forgiveness. No need to think anything more about
enlightenment. That will come in God's time.
Grow as the flower grows, unconsciously, but eagerly anxious
to open
its soul to the air. So must you press forward to open your
soul to the
Eternal. But it must be the Eternal that draws forth your
strength and
beauty, not desire of growth.
For in the one case you develop in the luxuriance of purity:
in the
other you harden by the forcible passion for personal stature.
Light on the Path by Mabel Collins
___________________________________________________________________________
from
The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness by Michael Dawson.
Extract from Chapter Five
HELPING OTHERS TO FORGIVE
I am here only to be truly helpful.
I am here to represent Him who sent me.
I do not have to worry about what to say or do,
because He who sent me will direct me.
I am content to be wherever He wishes
knowing He goes there with me.
I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.
[A Course in Miracles T-2.V.18:2-6]
Working with Others This chapter enables me to share with
other people
- especially those involved with counselling and therapy - an
overview
of some of the ideas and techniques I have found helpful in
trying to
facilitate others to forgive themselves. However, the case
histories I
have included in order to illustrate the techniques used may
be of
value to all - therapists or not. I assume that anyone drawn
to trying
these approaches will already have received training in
psychotherapy.
A healing technique is of secondary importance compared with
the
presence of the therapist. By "presence", I am referring to
the
therapist"s state of mind whilst working with a client. For
healing to
occur therapists need to be guided from within, and this can
only
happen if they are at peace around the client. A wonderful
healing
technique used at the wrong moment is useless. Knowing when to
speak or
remain silent, when to use a different approach or method,
must be
guided from a place higher than reason and logic. Therapeutic
skill
needs to be combined with inner listening. The following
account of a
therapy session conducted by Dr. Kenneth Wapnick illustrates
this point:
"One of my first therapy experiences after I began working
with the
Course in Miracles afforded me a powerful example of the
relationship
between healing and forgiveness. I had seen Sister Annette for
about
two months. She was fifty years old and had been in religious
life
almost thirty years. She was also one of the angriest people I
had ever
worked with, filled with a silent hatred toward those in
authority that
would have destroyed mountains. Over the first few sessions,
Sister
Annette was able to begin questioning some of her attitudes
toward her
Order and her desire for revenge. She no longer seemed quite
as
committed to the retaliative steps she had contemplated. Or so
I
thought. One day Annette walked into the office with her face
coldly
exhibiting the "wrath of God!" Her convent co-ordinator had
done
something she judged as being beyond forgiveness, and Sister
Annette
was hell bent on war, absolutely closed to any suggestions she
do
otherwise.
That same morning I had come down with a very bad cold and
felt
miserable. Not all my prayers and meditation were able to
shift this,
and I sat before Annette feeling utterly helpless and
discouraged. I
knew that if she left me as she had come in, she would be
making an
irrevocable mistake she would regret the rest of her life. Yet
nothing
I said could budge her, and my growing frustration only made
my cold
worse. The more frustrated I became, the more real I made
Annette"s
angry symptoms and, correspondingly, my own as well.
Obviously, I was
projecting my unforgiveness of myself onto Annette, seeing in
her
stubborn clinging to her anger the mirror of my stubborn
clinging to my
cold, not to mention my own failure as a therapist. Separation
through
our symptoms became reinforced, and healing through joining
retreated
still further behind clouds of guilt and anger.
What added to my difficulty was the belief that Annette had
been sent
to me from God, and as she was in serious trouble it was my
responsibility to help her. And I was obviously failing. About
midway
through the session, my desperation led me finally to remember
that I
was not the Therapist, and that I certainly could not be more
concerned
for Annette than Jesus was. Even as I was talking and
listening to her,
in another part of my mind I began to pray for help, asking
Jesus to
provide the words that would heal her anger and fear, and
restore to
her awareness the love that was her true identity.
The response was immediate, and I suddenly became available to
the help
that was there - for me. A warm surge of energy rose up from
my chest,
through my lungs, nose and throat, and I could feel my cold
being
healed and my head clearing up. At the same time I began to
speak. I
don"t recall what I said, and doubt if it were anything too
different
from what I had said previously. Only now I was different. I
no longer
saw Annette as separate from me, a patient in trouble whom I,
as
therapist, had to help. She now was my sister, and by joining
with her
I was joining with Jesus. I had become the patient as well,
and
together we received healing from the forgiving love of God.
By the end
of the session, her softened face reflected the shift from
anger and
fear to forgiveness and love, as my well being reflected the
same shift
in myself. I had learned my lesson that day, to be relearned
many times
thereafter."
- from Forgiveness and Jesus by Dr. Kenneth Wapnick. Published
by
Foundation For A Course In Miracles © 1983
Without the help of an inner guide, it is impossible to work
out what
is best for the client. Fortunately, we all have access to
this wisdom
once we can relax and be willing to be helped from that
source. The
therapist needs to be peaceful to access this inner wisdom.
If therapists find the presence of their clients disturbing,
then their
first duty is to restore their own peace of mind before
attempting to
help their forgivenesspp of clients. To achieve this they need
to
honestly admit they have lost their peace, that the client is
not
responsible for this and they could do with some help to see
the
situation differently. If their intention is sincere, they can
rest
assured the inner help will come.
When clients are in the presence of therapists who are at
peace they
are given a message that they are not being judged, that they
are not
being seen as a sinner. This provides an opportunity for
clients to
change their minds and release the burden of self-imposed
guilt.
In the previous account of a counselling session, Dr. Kenneth
Wapnick
describes the turning point in the session as the moment he
began to
ask for help, in his case praying to Jesus. No longer knowing
how to
help he turned within for guidance and received the help, both
for
himself and for his client.
The following is a summary of some of the techniques I use
when helping
others to forgive and heal themselves. I think of these
healing
approaches as keys on a piano. I need to know these keys well,
but try
to allow a higher part of myself to know when to play them.
Therapeutic
training enabled me to practise particular keys well (for
example,
guided visualisation), but it is only through happily
surrendering to a
wisdom beyond my personality that the appropriate keys get
pressed at
the right moment.
A therapist does not heal; he lets healing be.
He can point to darkness but he cannot bring light of himself,
for light is not of him. Yet, being for him, it must also be
for his
patient.
The Holy Spirit is the only Therapist.
He makes healing clear in any situation in which He is the
Guide.
You can only let Him fulfil His function. He needs no help for
this.
He will tell you exactly what to do to help anyone He sends to
you for
help,
and will speak to him through you if you do not interfere.
[A Course in Miracles T-9.V.8:1-8]
End of Chapter Five extract
see case histories
___________________________________________________________________________
Song Lyrics from Falling Awake CD by Kirtana
(highly recommended - Michael)
www.kirtana.com
Track1. Falling Awake
Copyright © 2007 Kirtana; Published: Wild Dove Music / BMI
You make it harder than it has to be right now
when you rail against what is.
Even your search for truth is burdensome somehow.
Maybe you should flunk the quiz.
Ah-ah-ah........ Just don't show.
Find out who needs to know.
And if your mind still won't let go,
walk outside and consider the lilies.
You keep clinging to a moment from the past
wishing it would re-appear.
But when you try so hard to make what's fleeting last,
you only miss what's always here.
Ah-ah-ah.... So why try.
Just this once, let all hope die.
And I will sing a lullaby
about spaciousness and ease of being.
You don't need to row your boat
to make it down this stream -
even that's too much to do.
Just lean back and float -
it's simpler than it seems.
Let the river carry you.
Every night you offer up your busy mind to God,
allowing sleep to overtake.
And in the morning, if the offer were the same,
maybe you would fall "awake."
Ah-ah-ah.... Could it be?
I know one good way to see.
That's to trust the mystery
And give God a chance to find you.
Maybe God is trying to find you.
Be still, stay here, don't move.
Be still, stay here, don't move.
Be still, stay here, don't move.
And give God a chance to find you.
What if God is trying to find you.
Be still, stay here, don't move.
___________________________________________________________________________
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.
___________________________________________________________________________
Forthcoming Workshops on A Course in Miracles
in Australia and Germany
2010
For up to date information on my workshops go to
http://www.acfip.org/fws.html
Australia 2010 Dates
Cleveland, QLD
Venue o be advised
Sat. 6th of February 2010
From 9.45am – 4.45pm
HEALING OURSELVES and OTHERS
from the perspective of A Course in Miracles
Health Is Inner Peace....Health is the result of relinquishing
all
attempts to use the body lovelessly.
A Course in Miracles
Using the spiritual path of A Course in Miracles we will
explore what
true healing is - the return to our awareness of our spiritual
identity. Identification with our body as our home is the
origin of all
our physical and psychological suffering.
The basis of this workshop is that the cause of all disease
lies in the
mind and not the body. Disease is a shadow on the body, of the
guilt in
our minds.
During the workshop we will focus on undoing the blocks we
have built
to the presence of God's love and joy within us through the
understanding and practising of forgiveness.Only this love
heals.
We will investigate what the Course means by healing ourselves
and
others and contrast the differences between the healed and the
unhealed
healer. Practical exercises will be used to help understand
the ego and
to practice forgiveness and turning within for guidance.
An overview of the Course's metaphysical, psychological and
spiritual
teachings especially in regard to healing of the mind, body
and
relationships will be covered.
No previous knowledge of the book A Course in Miracles is
required.
Contact
Edeltraud for registration ( 30.-dep. via cheque or
internet
banking) and further info Tel: 08 8842 3114, PO Box 614,Clare
SA
5453 or e-mail: tayen@activ8.net.au - our website
www.tayenpark.com.au
COST 110.-
Light refreshments included
___________________________________________________________________________
Clare, SA - Sat 17 and Sun 18, April 2010
(2hrs drive north of Adelaide)
Applying A Course in Miracles in Our Daily Lives
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find
all of
the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
It is not necessary to seek for what is true, but it is
necessary to
seek for what is false.
A Course in Miracles T-16.IV.6:1-2
The Course asks us to use our daily life as a classroom of
forgiveness.
We will explore how we can find peace when challenged by
money, anger,
sex, relationships and sickness. Exercises will be used to
help us
identify and heal the issues that confront us.
No previous knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required.
VENUE:
Clare
SA 5453
(2hrs drive north of Adelaide)
TIME:
Sat - 9.30 TO 5.30
Su - 9.30 TO 4.30
BOOKINGS:
Edeltraud Ennich
PO Box 614
Clare, SA 5453
Tel: 08 8842 3114
Email: tayen@activ8.net.au
COST
Deposit: $60 to cover basic costs ($30 non-refundable)
plus a donation for the workshop.
Lunches provided.
Cheques or postal monies made out to Edeltraud Ennich.
Germany 2010 Dates
For up to date information on my workshops go to
http://www.acfip.org/fws.html
Bonn
June 5/6 2010
9.30am to 5.30pm
HEALING OURSELVES and OTHERS
from the perspective of A Course in Miracles
Health Is Inner Peace....Health is the result of relinquishing
all
attempts to use the body lovelessly.
A Course in Miracles
Using the spiritual path of A Course in Miracles we will
explore what
true healing is - the return to our awareness of our spiritual
identity. Identification with our body as our home is the
origin of all
our physical and psychological suffering.
The basis of this workshop is that the cause of all disease
lies in the
mind and not the body. Disease is a shadow on the body, of the
guilt in
our minds.
During the workshop we will focus on undoing the blocks we
have built
to the presence of God's love and joy within us through the
understanding and practising of forgiveness.Only this love
heals.
We will investigate what the Course means by healing ourselves
and
others and contrast the differences between the healed and the
unhealed
healer. Practical exercises will be used to help understand
the ego and
to practice forgiveness and turning within for guidance.
An overview of the Course's metaphysical, psychological and
spiritual
teachings especially in regard to healing will be covered.
No previous knowledge of the book A Course in Miracles is
required.
An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri June 4
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
June 12/13 2010
HEALING OURSELVES and OTHERS
from the perspective of A Course in Miracles
Health Is Inner Peace....Health is the result of relinquishing
all
attempts to use the body lovelessly.
A Course in Miracles
Using the spiritual path of A Course in Miracles we will
explore what
true healing is - the return to our awareness of our spiritual
identity. Identification with our body as our home is the
origin of all
our physical and psychological suffering.
The basis of this workshop is that the cause of all disease
lies in the
mind and not the body. Disease is a shadow on the body, of the
guilt in
our minds.
During the workshop we will focus on undoing the blocks we
have built
to the presence of God's love and joy within us through the
understanding and practising of forgiveness.Only this love
heals.
We will investigate what the Course means by healing ourselves
and
others and contrast the differences between the healed and the
unhealed
healer. Practical exercises will be used to help understand
the ego and
to practice forgiveness and turning within for guidance.
An overview of the Course's metaphysical, psychological and
spiritual
teachings especially in regard to healing will be covered.
No previous knowledge of the book A Course in Miracles is
required.
An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri June 11
Contact:
Margarete Sennekamp
Winterhaldenweg 4,
79856 Hinterzarten,
Tel./Fax: 07652-917530
email: M.Sennekamp@t-online.de
Tel/Fax : 0761-73930
www.Sophia-Institut.de
Biography
Michael discovered A Course in Miracles whilst visiting the
Findhorn
Foundation in 1982. He subsequently became a member of the
Foundation
for about six years and involved himself with healing and
teaching. In
1994 he published Healing the Cause - A Path of Forgiveness
which
serves as an introduction to the Course. His second book, The
Findhorn
Book of Forgiveness (Findhorn Press) uses exercises, stories
and case
histories to guide the reader to inner peace through
forgiveness.
Michael now lives in Australia and gives workshops on the
Course
world-wide.
___________________________________________________________________________
BOOKS AND AUDIO MATERIALS FOR SALE - by Michael Dawson
New
An eBook containing all my web site articles plus a bonus
chapter from
Healing the Cause and The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness is
available for
download in PDF format from http://www.acfip.org/ebook.html
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, Polish and Romanian.
For more details and how to purchase please visit:
http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
Audio Tapes 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.
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
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTACTS
Foundation for A Course In Miracles
41397 Buecking Drive, Temecula, CA 92590
Tel: 909 296 6261 Fax: 909296 9117
Books, videos, CDs and audio tapes by Kenneth and Gloria
Wapnick are
available from their web site http://www.facim.org
Question and Answer Service:
Their electronic outreach section has a question and answer
service
http://www.facimoutreach.org/ 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.
Their publications can also be ordered in Australia at:
Adyar Bookshop
230 Clarence Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Foundation for Inner Peace - the publishers of A Course in
Miracles
http://www.acim.org/
ACIM study groups:
Go to The Miracle Distribution Center
http://www.miraclecenter.org/ for
the largest and most frequently updated list of A Course in
Miracles
study groups available anywhere.
Miracles Studies Australia
http://www.miracle-studies.net.au lists study groups for
Australia and new Zealand
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.
A Course In Miracles Chat Groups:
The aim of this board is to provide a place for people to chat
about
ACIM.
Any related discussions are more than welcome and I believe
helpful! -
moderated by Glyn Milhench
http://glynbo.proboards84.com/index.cgi?board=acim
Belief.net ACIM discussion:
This Belief.net web-based discussion is hosted by Joe Jesseph.
http://community.beliefnet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=151
___________________________________________________________________________
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTATIONS
About three or four 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
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
Gamble everything for love,
if you're a true human being.
If not, leave
this gathering.
Half-heartedness doesn't reach
into majesty. You set out
to find God, but then you keep
stopping for long periods
at mean spirited roadhouses.
Rumi
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
EMAIL: mdawson@acfip.org
WEBSITE: http://www.acfip.org