Home Page |
What is ACIM? |
Information on ACIM |
My Articles on ACIM |
My Books & Audio Materials |
Workshops |
Related Material |
Poetry and Quotations |
Healing |
- |
ACFIP
Newsletter
Issue 2 - SEPTEMBER 2004
Quarterly Newsletter of the Australian Centre for Inner Peace
Michael Dawson
PO Box 125, Point Lookout
North Stradbroke Island,
Queensland 4183,
Australia
Web site: http://www.acfip.org
FAX: 61- (0)7 3415 3267
CONTENTS:
___________________________________________________________________________
NEWS
Welcome to the second issue of the Australian Centre for
Inner Peace Newsletter.
If you wish to read previous issues please go to http://www.acfip.org/newsletterarchive.html
The renovations I talked about to our new home on North
Stradbroke Island, Queensland
are finally nearing completion.
In November I will travel to New Zealand to give a workshop and
should return sometime
in 2005 to Alice Springs to give another weekend on the Course.
I will also give
two workshops in Germany next year (see end of newsletter).
At present, all the workshops I am giving come from personal
invitations. I have
no dates of when I might be teaching at my new home as it can
take some time after
arriving in a new country before people find out what is being
offered.
Each of these newsletters will contain news of the centre, an
article on some aspect
of A Course in Miracles and a section on healing {which
will often feature
a story about how forgiveness brings about healing). I have
added a question and
answer section to this newsletter. Other items will include
information about my
talks and workshops at Point Lookout and elsewhere in the world
and details of my
books and audio materials for sale. If you are new to the Course
you might find my
summary of help. You can find it at http://www.acfip.org/sum.html
Michael Dawson
___________________________________________________________________________
ARTICLE
Creating Our Own
reality
I was recently asked the question "To what extent do we create
our own reality
over a lifetime?". This is an interesting topic and brings up
the old issue
of free will versus predetermination. A number of present day
teachers stress that
everything is predetermined; we are simply pawns in God's great
cosmic play. Some
people are created as murderers whilst others are their victims
and neither one has
any choice in the matter. The Course, however, stresses we do
have choice although
its not infinite. To understand the Course's position we need to
go into its teachings
on time which means looking first at the metaphysics of the
Course. After that we
can look at what the Course says about decision-making.
Time
Jesus states we need new ideas about time but also says how
difficult it is for us
to understand these ideas. Linear time is what we take as the
truth, whilst Jesus
tells us that time is holographic - everything is happening in
one moment.
The ego uses time to preserve itself. It tells us that in the
past we decided to
separate from God and achieved this. To save us from the
resulting overwhelming guilt,
it advised us to deny this ever happened. This imagined sin in
the past is experienced
in the present as guilt leading to a fear of punishment in the
future. All our fear
stems from this unconscious guilt from a separation that never
really happened.
In contrast the Holy Spirit reminds us that the "tiny mad idea"
(see below)
of separation was undone by the Holy Spirit the moment it was
thought.
God gave His Teacher to replace the one you made, not to
conflict with it. And
what He would replace has been replaced. Time lasted but an
instant in your mind,
with no effect upon eternity. And so is all time past, and
everything exactly as
it was before the way to nothingness was made. The tiny tick
of time in which the
first mistake was made, and all of them within that one
mistake, held also the Correction
for that one, and all of them that came within the first. And
in that tiny instant
time was gone, for that was all it ever was. What God gave
answer to is answered
and is gone. A Course in Miracles T-26.V.3:1-7
In that "tiny tick of time" the whole universe was born, evolved
and died
along with all the thoughts we experienced.
"All thinking produces form at some level." (T-2.VI.9:14), and
so all these
thoughts manifested in time and space. This is somewhat similar
to parallel universes
hypothesised by some quantum physicists - that all possible
results of an experiment
exist and the participating scientist chooses one of them to
manifest. Although everything
was corrected in that original instant we have chosen not to
accept the Holy Spirit's
correction and perversely continue as if we are still special
individuals separated
in space and linear time.
The world of time is the world of illusion. What happened
long ago seems to be
happening now. Choices made long since appear to be open; yet
to be made. What has
been learned and understood and long ago passed by is looked
upon as a new thought,
a fresh idea, a different approach. Because your will is free
you can accept what
has already happened at any time you choose, and only then
will you realize that
it was always there. For we but see the journey from the point
at which it ended,
looking back on it, imagining we make it once again; reviewing
mentally what has
gone by. TM-2.3:1-5
To help make this a bit clearer I will use a couple of
analogies. There are currently
available novels which give the reader a choice of which plot to
develop. At the
end of each chapter you choose from several plots; for example,
if the hero gets
married or decides to say single. You are then directed to the
appropriate page and
the story continues based on your previous choice of plot. A
multiple, but not infinite,
story line. In that original instant of seeming separation we
also had an enormous,
but not infinite, number of stories which we now reviewing in
our time and space
theatre.
Dr Kenneth Wapnick, in his excellent book, A Vast illusion -
time according to
a Course in Miracles, uses the analogy of the VCR. The
sleeping son of God or
decision-maker is sitting there watching video tapes of what
occurred in that "tiny
tick of time". He has a choice between two huge and equal piles
of video tapes
- the ego tapes and tapes of their correction by the Holy
Spirit. One of the correction
tapes is entitled 'Atonement' in which the sleeping son of God
finally wakes up and
joyfully realises he never left his Father's home and that time
and space are illusions.
At this point he stops the pointless practice of viewing
videotapes of what has already
occurred.
The purpose of the spiritual path is to speed the time of
awakening. As Jesus states
a few times in the workbook, we could save thousands of years
(many reviews of ego
tapes) if we did a particular lesson correctly. Thus time can be
collapsed through
forgiveness. As an example, your partner may suddenly die and
leave you heartbroken.
In that original instant you may have had two thoughts - to turn
to drugs to alleviate
the pain or dedicate your life to finding a peace that no death
can take away - the
choice of two videos to review. If you turn to the Holy Spirit
for guidance He will
urge you to review the latter and so save time.
We do not wish to see the power of our mind for then we would
know that we are choosing
what happens in our lives. It would be impossible to feel a
victim, blame others
or to experience justified anger - all things our egos love and
use to maintain the
ego. The Course tells us that the ego overcomes this problem by
first making a decision
and then immediately denying it has made it. For example, faced
with a difficult
decision you turn to the ego for help. It might suggest you
avoid the problem by
getting sick. You, the decision-maker, decide it's good advice
and choose to get
flu and retire to bed and thus postpone the difficult decision.
The moment you decide
to get the flu you immediately deny making the decision. You can
no longer be blamed
for postponing the decision as you are the unfortunate victim of
a flu virus and
are no longer in a condition to make appropriate decisions.
Due to our fixation with linear time it is hard for us to
realise that all our problems
are solvable instantly. The correction video has always existed
and we need not delay
in reviewing it.
I seem to have problems only because I am misusing time. I
believe that the problem
comes first, and time must elapse before it can be worked out.
I do not see the problem
and the answer as simultaneous in their occurrence. That is
because I do not yet
realise that God has placed the answer together with the
problem, so that they cannot
be separated by time. The Holy Spirit will teach me this, if I
will let Him. And
I will understand it is impossible that I could have a problem
which has not been
solved already. W-pI.90.3.
This also relates to the teachings in the text about the Laws of
Chaos where it states
there is no hierarchy of illusions, no order of difficulty in
miracles. Any problem,
irrespective of its seeming magnitude, has already been
corrected and is simply waiting
acceptance. Our job is to turn to the Holy Spirit and ask His
advice on what video
to review thus speeding the time to when we review, the
Atonement video wherein we
awake from this dream of separation.
To you who still believe you live in time and know not it is
gone, the Holy Spirit
still guides you through the infinitely small and senseless
maze you still perceive
in time, though it has long since gone. You think you live in
what is past. Each
thing you look upon you saw but for an instant, long ago,
before its unreality gave
way to truth. Not one illusion still remains unanswered in
your mind. Uncertainty
was brought to certainty so long ago that it is hard indeed to
hold it to your heart,
as if it were before you still. T-26.V.4
Some of the above material has been extracted from an article
entitled "Collapsing
Time" which can be found at http://www.acfip.org/art2.html
Decision Making
I was recently asked if our house in Australia is to be the
Australian Centre for
Inner Peace? I replied that it was too small to be a centre
although it could accommodate
small workshops. I would like to use the theme of this article
to explore this question
further. Can I and should I start a centre for inner peace?
Drawing upon the metaphysics
of the Course I find I can only relive what occurred in the
ėtiny tick of timeî If
a 'video tape' of an Australian centre for inner peace does not
exist there is absolutely
nothing that anyone can do to create a centre for we can only
review what has already
happened. If there is a video tape existing I still have to
choose to replay it.
The only criterion for replaying it is if it would help or
hinder my awakening. Jesus
does not ask us to spread the word about A Course in Miracles
but ėto accept
the atonement for ourselvesî - that is, to awake from the dream
of time and space
and separation. I can't possibly know if it's in my highest
interests to have a physical
centre so I must seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If there
is a rightness about
the project I must wait for the right timing and opportunity. If
there is to be a
centre at some point I will become aware of something new in my
life, some current
or flow that is asking me to move in a particular direction and
I need to embrace
it and flow with it. I have thus made a decision to accept this
new direction although
I do not know the final destination or the timing. The journey
will be as important
as the the destination on my path of forgiveness.
Every moment we are making decisions, in this we have no choice.
Where we do have
choice is with whom we make the decisions. No decision is made
simply by ourselves.
We always turn to the ego or the Holy Spirit for counsel.
And yet, you cannot (underlined) make decisions by yourself.
The only question
really is with what you choose to make them. That is really
all. .... You will not
make decisions by yourself whatever you decide. For they are
made with idols (ego)
or with God. And you ask help of anti-Christ (ego) or Christ,
and which you choose
will join with you and tell you what to do. T-30.I.14:3-9
It is here we create our own reality by choosing either the
ego or the Holy Spirit
as our advisor on which 'video' to review. The number of
'videos' we have to choose
from is fixed and will depend on the number of choices we
originally had in that
"tiny tick of time". This is the predetermination part of the
equation.
Which 'video' we choose to review is where our free will comes
into play. Our last
act of free will will be to give it up and rely totally on the
Holy Spirit's guidance.
Only then will we experience peace as we drop forever our ego
plans for happiness.
A healed mind does not plan. It carries out the plans that it
receives through
listening to Wisdom that is not its own. It waits until it has
been taught what should
be done, and then proceeds to do it. It does not depend upon
itself for anything
except its adequacy to fulfil the plans assigned to it. It is
secure in certainty
that obstacles cannot impede its progress to accomplishment of
any goal that serves
the greater plan established for the good of everyone. Lesson
135
To release control of steering our own boat through life and
pass the tiller
to a higher power is perhaps the hardest of our lessons to
learn. Jesus says it was
his final lesson:
It is possible even in this world to hear only that Voice
(Holy Spirit) and no
other. It takes effort and great willingness to learn. It is
the final lesson that
I learned, and God's Sons are as equal as learners as they are
as Sons. T-5.II.3:9-11
However, each day we can practise asking the Holy Spirit which
'videos' He would
prefer us to review so that we can collapse time and speed the
day we choose to review
the wake up video of the atonement and remember our spiritual
reality and our true
home in heaven.
___________________________________________________________________________
HEALING SECTION
I plan to use this part of the newsletter to illustrate how
forgiveness brings about
healing. The following case history is taken from chapter five
of the The Findhorn
Book of Forgiveness. Findhorn Press 2003. See http://www.acfip.org/fbof.html
"John asked to see me about the chronic pain at the base of his
neck. He was
somewhat sceptical about experiencing this type of healing as he
came from a scientific
background. The neck pain had been present for some months and
his hospital had advised
a long course of physiotherapy. I explained to John that there
was a part of his
mind which knew exactly what the cause of this problem was. To
help him to access
this, I told him I would take him through a relaxation procedure
and try some ways
which might help him to let go oh his rational mind so he could
open to his inner
wisdom.
I asked John to lie down and made him comfortable with cushions
and a blanket. Using
a progressive relaxation method, I asked him to tense and
release all the muscles
in his body. Whilst he was doing this, I kept my hands lightly
on his head as this
helps me to join with the client as well as aiding their
relaxation. I asked John
to say a prayer to indicate his willingness to receive the help
that is always there
and to ask for help in seeing what thoughts he needed to change
in his mind which
would bring about healing. In my previous conversation with him
I had discovered
he was open to working with prayer. I joined his silent prayer
with one of my own.
I asked that I might open myself to my own source of help and be
used as a channel
in this healing session.
We remained in silence for a few minutes whilst I continued to
lay on hands. I then
asked John how he was feeling and if there was anything
happening for him. He told
me that the face of his aunt had appeared to him and had spoken
the following words:
"This pain in your neck is vengeance upon yourself for what you
did." John
told me that this was not said in any accusing manner but as a
simple statement of
fact. However, the words made no sense to John and we decided to
leave this intriguing
message for the moment. Although John had stressed that he had a
well-developed logical,
rational and scientific mind, he also appeared to possess strong
intuition. Accordingly
I felt drawn to try some imagery in the form of a guided
journey, to help lead him
to his own source of inner wisdom.
I began the journey by asking John to visualise himself walking
down a country lane
on a summer's day. To encourage him to experience all his
senses, I asked him to
feel the road underfoot, smell the flowers, hear the sounds of
nature and observe
the surroundings and the sky above him. In this manner he became
more involved with
his inner world which, in turn, loosened the hold of his
rational mind. I continued
to guide him on his journey in nature, sometimes stopping to
enable him to study
some object of interest.
The goal of this journey was to connect John with some symbolic
form of his inner
wisdom or guide. However, this guided journey was soon to come
to an abrupt end.
I had thought that I was leading him through a forest when he
stated, with some irritation,
that he had tried four times to enter this forest without
success. Each time he tried,
the trees would turn into a white mist and the forest would
disappear.
I suggested John should accept this mist, ask for help and
continue to walk through
it. As he continued, a human cell appeared in the mist
surrounded by violet light.
His scientific training enabled him to recognise it as a human
cell and, further,
to know that it was cancerous. Suddenly, the memory of his dying
mother returned
to him accompanied by strong feelings of guilt and shame. He
told me he had felt
unable to cope with the situation at the time and had given the
care of his mother
to his aunt. This was the same aunt who had appeared at the
start of the healing
session.
John began to cry tears he had been unable to shed at the time
of his mother's illness.
He realised he had repressed all his guilt and shame around this
issue and now needed
to obtain forgiveness. I encouraged him to 'invite' his mother
into this session
and express to her all the things he needed to say. I told John
to imagine that his
mother was really here in the room and to speak out loud to her.
When he had finished,
I asked him to listen to anything his mother wanted to say to
him and to speak out
loud what she said. In this way John was given an opportunity to
share his buried
feelings with his mother and forgive himself for his past
actions.53
I then asked John if he felt complete with his experience to
return his awareness
to the room we were in. He told me that the pain in his neck
felt much better and
he now understood the significance of his aunt's remarks at the
start of the session.
His mother had died of cancer of the base of the neck and John
felt his repressed
guilt and shame over the handling of his mother's illness was
reflected in his own
bodily pain occurring in the identical area.
About four days later, just before John was leaving, I asked him
about his neck pain
and he told me that the improvement had been maintained. We had
both experienced
a powerful example of how the guilt in our mind is reflected in
our bodily condition
and how the power of forgiveness can dissolve both."
___________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE NOTE: The Australian Centre for Inner Peace is
not a counselling
or psychotherapy centre; therefore, we do not offer telephone
service or counselling,
therapy, or crisis intervention for personal problems related to
the Course.
___________________________________________________________________________
STORY - The Power of Acceptance
The following true story illustrates the power of acceptance and
surrender.
A Soldiers Story
When we begin to experience the permanent Peace beyond
comprehension, it is a sure
sign that Reality is our Foundation and we are beginning to know
what it is about.
It is our intention during the following pages (as in our talks)
to persist in this
matter of Tranquillity until it becomes plain to the reader as
his own experience.
Let me begin by telling you an enlightening, door-opening
experience of the Korean
War.
I was commanding a rifle company in the mountains, in close
contact with the enemy.
Late one afternoon, a machine gun began to fire directly over my
command post bunker
where I, and several others, lived. Every few minutes it fired
another burst of bullets
a few scant feet over our heads. Those who have heard such
sounds are likely to remember
the sharp cracks, their resounding echoes from the
mist-enshrouded peaks, accentuated
by the crisp mountain air. It is a sound and a feeling quite
unlike any other.
The bullets weren't doing a bit of actual harm, sailing overhead
as they were and
falling into an empty green-brown valley below; but the shooting
of that single gun
went on interminably, day after day, night after night, burst
after burst, in exactly
the same place, over the command post. We paid little attention
for a day or so,
but as might be expected, it fast became a source of annoyance,
especially after
several attempts to silence the gun had failed.
By the end of the week it had become sport to gamble a dollar or
two on the exact
time and number of rounds (bullets) in the next burst, but,
despite the diversionary
tactics to make light of it, our annoyance was growing into
monumental proportions.
Soon we could tell when the enemy gunners changed, having
learned the rhythm of,
their shooting; and when a fire fight developed, I could easily
distinguish that
one gun cracking away, no matter where I happened to be along
the line. It stood
out above all the rest, Those of us who lived in the bunker,
over which that gun
fired without ceasing, gave way (to say the very least) to
unrestrained irritability
and frustration.
During this time, my affairs as a commander did not prosper. I
spent every available
minute attempting to eliminate the source of that disturbing
sound, but the Chinese
had dug the gun into the rocks of the mountain in such a way
that it seemed no power
on earth could dislodge and silence it. My anger and frustration
went from blue to
black.
One morning after a particularly anguishing night that had seen
every attempt to
rest shattered, I decided the machine gun would have to go or I
would surely come
apart at the seams. I called for the artillery liaison officer
attached to my command;
from him, I summarily demanded and received the fires of an
entire battalion of artillery
poured onto the offending gun emplacement. Oh, it was an
awesome, thunderous event!
As tons of shells crashed into the mountain top, I gleefully
imagined my nemesis
hanging on for dear life, choking amidst the dust and debris of
my revenge.
The thunder of our exploding salvos was followed by a tingling
silence-a beautiful,
golden silence that lasted for about ten seconds; then, another
strident, excruciating
and particularly long, nose-thumbing burst of bullets cracked
over our heads from
that damnable gun! It was still in action and my spirit was
crushed! Surely, I thought,
the gunner on that hilltop must be a nine-lived cat, laughing,
no doubt, and, though
his bullets touched no one, they were more effective than if
they had.
There was no question about it; agony, despair, frustration and
pure misery had taken
me over completely and grown out of all proportion. I remember
trying and failing
to write a letter to my family that morning. Then, in quiet
agony, my world came
to an end and I gave up-simply gave up. In utter dejection,
thinking I could not
bare the grind in my stomach another instant, I surrendered
within, not caring what
happened. I was helpless. I wanted an end to the death and
destruction and the end
to my agony, but more than anything, I wanted inner peace; or,
if not that, at least
the "sleep that knits the revell'd sleeve of care."
This is when it happened, Reader; this is when the illuminative
"lesson"
came, when I had given up, completely, utterly, in hopelessness
and helplessness.
In an instant, the Light came with healing on its wings! As is
always the case, it
seems, help appears when the intellect surrenders, when the
intellect gives up the
ghost, when our concern for the Real is greater than our love
for the old man (ego).
While no words were involved in this "Light," and though it
seemed to arrive
as an instantaneous "block of knowing" already finished, I can
now only
try to put it into the words which, in effect, it communicated.
It was as if an inner and outer Presence absorbed me suddenly
and violently to force
my attention. It seemed to ask,
"What is bothering you so much?"
"The bullets from that ungodly gun," I answered.
"But, those bullets didn't hit you or anyone else," the Voice
within spoke.
"Thousands of them have passed overhead, and not a one has
touched you. They
are faIling harmlessly into the valley below."
"It's the sound!" I almost shouted. "The incessant sound is
cutting
through me like a knife!"
"Listen to me carefully," said the Light. "A sound is just a
sound.
What is the' difference between the sound of thunder and the
soft sound of rain?
What is the difference between the sound of the gun and the
sound of music? Aren't
all of them simply sounds within the Consciousness you are?"
"One is good and one is bad!" I answered vehemently.
"The sound that has you at your wit's end is a bad sound?" the
Light asked
me.
"Yes! My God, yes'"
"Has the sound a power of its own?"
For an instant I seemed supra-conscious of sounds of every tone
and intensity. Then
the Light asked again, "Has the sound a power of its own to make
you call it
good or bad? Tell me, has the sound the ability to make you
detest it?-or love it?"
.
"No," I nearly whispered.
"Has someone twisted your arm and forced you to call that
particular sound bad?"
"No."
"Then tell me," the Voice asked, "if the sound has no power of
its
own and nothing external has forced you to make a judgment, who
determines that what
you hear within yourself-within consciousness-is good or bad to
you, tranquilizing
or upsetting to you? Who is the sole judge who has decided the
sound of the gun is
bad?"
"I am," I answered.
"Yes, but Awareness is your Identity; the Awareness-you-are
simply 'hears' the
sound, and Awareness is not a judge! Judgments are made by
judges, and judges suffer
from their likes and dislikes, from their 'good' and their
'bad.' That is the one
who suffers, at his own hands from his own foolishness, but
Awareness does not suffer.
Dear Bill, you are Awareness voluntarily playing the role of
judge, reaping all he
has sown."
After a time-I don't know how long-I admitted that this was so.
"Why, this is
true," I said. "Yes, this is a fact! Who says the sound has
power to make
me call it good or bad? Who says so if it is not me alone? A
sound is only a sound!
Who is causing me to feel so miserable if it isn't me myself?"
Suddenly I knew! I alone make the decisions I like or dislike; I
alone am the master
of such notions of the sights and the sounds. The bond making me
so miserable was
my own judgment that powerless sounds were bad and I didn't like
them!
Here was a pearl of great price, revealed such that I heard, I
saw, I knew! The Heart
had spoken! For an instant I had entered my own Holy of Holies
wherein "nothing
maketh a lie"; I had entered the Secret Place, the Shekinah! The
truth I discovered
there was enough to solve the immediate problem and infinitely
more beside. Vividly,
I remember feeling as though a physical water of warm comfort
poured over my head,
washing away every vestige of tension. I remember the smiles of
release, the laughter
of peace. I recall telling myself that the pesky sound was
certainly serving to show
all of us how well we could hear.
From that day, nothing about the war-sight, sound or
feeling-bothered me again. No
one was more amazed than I at the unshakeable equanimity I
carried with me up and
down those mountains. Here, in an instant, the Heart taught me a
lesson in tranquillity
that has stood me in good stead countless times since.
Reader, now listen closely, listen carefully, for I tell you a
fact: Just as a "sound"
has no power of its own to make you worry, neither has a "sight"
any ability
to cause you grief, lest you give it that ability! I tell you,
no image, no picture,
no "thing" within Awareness-be it sight, sound or feeling-has
any power
of its own! Has it? Who says so if it isn't "you" yourself
acting as a
judge of the images within yourself? Even according to the
allegory, there was no
grief in the garden until the forbidden fruit yielding "good"
and "evil"
judgment had been eaten. Reader, your Identity is
Beholding-Awareness itself, not
the judge of it who says this is good and that is bad. That is
the one to "let
go."
from "Awareness and Tranquillity" by William Samuel
http://www.williamsamuel.com/Index.htm
___________________________________________________________________________
WORKSHOPS, TALKS and TRAININGS
2004 Workshops
New Zealand
RELATIONSHIPS AS PATH OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH
- from the perspective of A Course in Miracles
Learning to understand ourselves
by seeing how we relate to others.
A weekend workshop in Paekakariki, New Zealand
When:
November 27/28 - 2004
Saturday, 9 am - 5 pm
Sunday, 9 am - 4 pm
Cost: $200
Workshop Contact:
Krissy Dussler
15 Haumia Street
Paekakariki
New Zealand
Tel: 04 2927 228 2004
"When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter.
As you see him you will see yourself. As you treat him you
will treat yourself.
As you think of him you will think of yourself. Never forget
this, for in him
you will find yourself or lose yourself." from A
Course in Miracles
A relationship based on truth and awareness is one of the most
powerful tools for
healing and growth. How we relate in the instant we pass someone
in the street, how
we relate to our friends, an employer, family members or our
partners all provides
us with mirrors reflecting our own beliefs about ourselves and
the world.
In our lives we create barriers to the presence of peace and
love within us. We pursue
substitutes of power, money, sex, possessions, status and so on,
which can never
satisfy the yearning within for deeper fulfilment.
In this workshop, using the mirror of relationships, we will
look at what needs to
be healed in ourselves and how, by changing our relationships
based on dependency
to ones based on honesty and forgiveness, we can discover a path
that will return
us to the awareness of love's presence within us. A gentle and
safe space is created
enabling participants to trust and go deep.
This workshop is not specifically for couples. It is designed
for anyone who wishes
to improve how they relate to others in any type of
relationship.
An introduction to the Courseís metaphysical, psychological and
spiritual teachings
especially regarding relationships will be covered.
2005 Workshops
GERMANY
BONN - 16/17 July 2005
Opening to the Light
- from the perspective of A Course in Miracles
Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does
nothing.
... It merely looks, and waits, and judges not.
A Course in Miracles W-pII.1.4.
The light, love and joy of God are ever present and wait
only our acceptance.
We need not earn them as they were freely given at our creation.
Nor is sacrifice
or suffering required. So why do we rarely experience the light?
This workshop will
look, firstly, at why we are afraid of the light and the
illusions we fear to let
go. Our illusions and unforgiveness stand as barriers between us
and the light.
The second part of the workshop will focus on overcoming our
fear through forgiveness
- the path of awareness, acceptance and asking for help.
We will use material from 'The Obstacles to Peace' in the ACIM
Text and the 'Development
of Trust' in the Manual. Exercises will be used to help identify
our illusions and
fear of sacrifice so they can be healed through forgiveness. We
will practise watching
our minds without judgement or as the Course puts it ...
(forgiveness) "merely
looks, and waits and judges not."
No previous knowledge of A Course in Miracles is required
but attendance at
the Friday night talk would be helpful for people new to the
Course.
Intoductory talk evening 15th July
Contact:
Albert-Schwitzer-House
Beethovenallee 16
53173 Bonn-Bad Godesberg
Germany
Tel: 0228 364737
___________________________________________________________________________
FREIBURG - 9/10 July 2005
Opening to the Light
- from the perspective of A Course in Miracles
(description as Bonn
w/s)
Intoductory talk evening 8th July
Contact:
Sophia-Institut
Margarete Sennekamp
Adalbert-Stifter-Str. 16
79102 Freiburg
Tel/Fax : 0761-73930
www.Sophia-Institut.de
___________________________________________________________________________
BOOKS AND AUDIO MATERIALS FOR SALE - by Michael Dawson
Books:
Healing the Cause - A Path of Forgiveness. Findhorn
Press. 1994
The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness. Findhorn Press. 2003
For more details and how to purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
Audio Tapes and CDs
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)
For more details and how to purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/audio.html
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTACTS
Resources
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
hundreds of questions
and answers is searchable and you can ask your own questions.
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.miraclestudies.webcentral.com.au/
lists study groups for Australia and new Zealand