ACFIP Newsletter
Issue 37 - June 2013
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:
* Beyond Good and Bad
- Michael Dawson
* Kirtana lyrics
- Already Home, Already
Free
* Advice When in Distress - from A Course in Miracles
* A Soldiers Story - the power of acceptance
* A Conversation with Ken Wapnick: making it the
most important thing.
* Accepting Cancer - Byron Katie
* 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
1. Healing
the Cause -A Path of Forgiveness.
Inspired by A Course in Miracles.
This is the eBook version of the paper
back.
2. A Course
in Miracles - Explanations of Major Themes
New book in eBook format
3. Forgiveness -
A Path to Inner Peace.
Inspired by A Course in Miracles
This is the eBook version of the paper
back.
The
eBook versions can be read on Kindle, iPad, Microsoft
eReader, Nook, PDF readers (Mac and PC) and most eBook
readers.
¥ Downloadable MP3s of my Healing the
Cause self-help CDs now available.
See below for details.
For more details and how to purchase please
visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
Regards
Michael Dawson
___________________________________________________________________________
Beyond Good and Bad
by Michael Dawson
.... for there is nothing either good or bad
but thinking makes it so.
from
Shakespeare's Hamlet.
To judge anyone is to forget they are the
eternal, formless, perfect Spirit (Christ) that God created
and to see them as a body, an ego.
To see another as an ego is to reinforce the ego
in ourselves and thus lose our peace - an example of what you
give (teach) you receive (learn).
You have no idea of the tremendous release
and deep peace that comes from meeting yourself and your
brothers totally without judgement.
A Course in Miracles T-3.VI.3.
We believe we are qualified to judge, we know
what is right and wrong. Our culture, family, religion,
society have educated us in this matter.
The Course disagrees with us:
It is necessary for the teacher of God to
realize, not that he should not judge, but that he
cannot.... he puts himself in a position where judgement
through him rather than by him can occur. And this judgement
is neither "good" nor "bad." It is the only judgement there
is, and it is only one: "God's Son is guiltless, and sin
does not exist."
M-10.2.
Only the Holy Spirit knows how to judge and He
only sees people either asking for love or giving it. There is
no sin, only error. If our actions could change what God
created - the Christ - then it could be said there is sin. But
what God created is outside time, (the ego's invention) and
thus can't be changed.
In order to judge anything rightly, one
would have to be fully aware of an inconceivably wide range
of things; past, present and to come. One would have to
recognize in advance all the effects of his judgements on
everyone and everything involved in them in any way. And one
would have to be certain there is no distortion in his
perception, so that his judgement would be wholly fair to
everyone on whom it rests now and in the future. Who is in a
position to do this? Who except in grandiose fantasies would
claim this for himself?
M-10.3.
Thus ego judgement must always be wrong. This is
not to say we must not make judgements in practical things
e.g. what to eat and wear. The Course is referring to 'value
judgements' - what is right and wrong, good or bad.
There is Someone with you Whose judgement
is perfect. He does know all the facts; past, present and to
come. He does know all the effects of His judgement on
everyone and everything involved in any way. And He is
wholly fair to everyone, for there is no distortion in His
perception.
M-10.4.
The Holy Spirit does not take sides. His
judgement is always win-win. Taking sides is the hallmark of
the ego. It is an interesting exercise to watch the news and
see how often we label persecutors as wrong and bad, deserving
of punishment as opposed to healing. An enlightened society
would seek to heal and not punish criminals. Despite
appearances everyone is try their best.
Therefore lay judgement down, not with
regret but with a sigh of gratitude. Now are you free of a
burden so great that you could merely stagger and fall down
beneath it. And it was all illusion. Nothing more. Now can
the teacher of God rise up unburdened, and walk lightly on.
Yet it is not only this that is his benefit. His sense of
care is gone, for he has none. He has given it away, along
with judgement.
M-10.5.
The following true story from Kenneth Wapnick, a
teacher of A Course in Miracles, illustrates the
blessing given and received when right and wrong are dropped.
Our judgements keep our hearts closed and when we release them
our heart wisdom and love can flow out to any situation in the
world.
Be kind, for everyone
you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Plato
The
Burglar
from
The Meaning of Forgiveness by Kenneth
Wapnick.
Several years ago, I was awakened in the
middle of the night by the sudden realization there was
someone standing in my room. After the momentary
shock, I remembered Òthere is nothing to fearÓ (workbook
lesson 48), and calmly asked my uninvited guest: ÒWhat
can I do for you?Ó The situation was not obscure,
however. It was clear that the man was on drugs and
desperately needed money for his next fix; burglars
rarely enter occupied apartments. He threateningly
held his hand in his jacket as if he had a gun, to punctuate
his demand. My defenselessness seemed to change the
atmosphere in the room, however, and the man soon began
apologizing for having broken in and disturbing my
sleep. I gave him whatever money I had in my wallet,
and the man paused as he took it and then returned a couple
of dollars, saying: ÒThis is all your money, I canÕt
leave you with nothing.Ó And he went on
apologizing. I assured him it was all right, and urged
him to do what he had to do. As I ushered the man to
the hall, waiting with him for the elevator, I said:
ÒGod bless you.Ó HIs final words as he disappeared
into the elevator were: ÒPlease pray for me.Ó I
assured him I would, although I knew that this holy
encounter had been the prayer. No injustice had been
done, for there had been no real loss. The amount of
money was small ÒpriceÓ indeed for the blessing of
forgiveness that had been given and received as one.
Some of our most strongly held values of right
and wrong are in our sexual attitudes. The ego identifies the
body as its home and takes it very seriously - what the Course
refers to as "the hero of the dream"(lesson 185). Certain
parts of the body are given special and important significance
and can only be touched by the "right" people. The joining of
two bodies is seen by some as a 'holy' act and thus of great
significance, whilst the Course points out that only minds can
join.
Yet if we study different cultures we soon find
different and sometimes opposite views on what is considered
important. Certain tribes find kissing repugnant. Some
societies allow more than one wife or husband. In parts of
Tibet a woman not only marries a man but all his brothers.
Some Inuits share their wives with their friends.
Who is 'right' and who is 'wrong'?
Out beyond ideas
of wrongdoing and rightdoing
there is a field. I will meet
you there.
Rumi
Religion is another area where there are strongly
held values of right and wrong such that much persecution has
been perpetrated and wars fought to try to establish the
'right' belief. The Course points out that there is no
difference between those who believe in God and those who
don't as neither actually knows the truth. The aim of
the Course is that through forgiveness our minds will quieten
and we will remember God and know. Only those who
don't know have beliefs and to make themselves feel secure
want others to share them. Jesus challenged the beliefs of his
time causing great insecurity and thus had to be killed.
Nor is belief in God a really meaningful
concept, for God can be but known. Belief implies that
unbelief is possible, but knowledge of God has no true
opposite.
P-2.II.4.
The following true story from Byron Katie
illustrates the power of dropping value judgements, being in
the present moment, and allowing the heart-wisdom or Holy
Spirit to guide her.
A man sticks a pistol into my stomach,
pulls the trigger back, and says, "I'm going to kill you." I
am shocked that he is taking his thoughts so seriously. To
someone identified as an I, the thought of killing causes
guilt that leads to a life of suffering, so I ask him, as
kindly as I can, not to do it. I don't tell him that it's
his suffering I'm thinking of. He says that he has to do it,
and I understand; I remember believing that I had to do
things in my old life. I thank him for doing the best he
can, and I notice that I'm fascinated. Is this how she dies?
Is this how the story ends? And as joy continues to fill me,
I find it miraculous that the story is still going on. You
can never know the ending, even as it ends. I am very moved
at the sight of sky, clouds, and moonlit trees. I love that
I don't miss one moment, one breath, of this amazing life. I
wait and wait. And in the end, he doesn't pull the trigger.
He doesn't do that to himself.
A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with
the Way Things Are
By (author) Byron Katie, With Stephen
Mitchell
There is a temptation to believe that perhaps
some 'good' and 'right' thoughts are really true and aligned
with God's purpose for this world. Surely God would like us to
start a healing centre or a Course in Miracles centre,
publish books, give healings, help the poor? If we are called
from within to do this we need to realise there is nothing
'holy' about this but our path of forgiveness. One persons
path of forgiveness may be to sweep the streets another's to
write books on healing. The Course gives a powerful warning on
this;
Anything in this world that you believe is
good and valuable and worth striving for can hurt you, and
will do so. Not because it has the power to hurt, but just
because you have denied it is but an illusion, and made it
real. And it is real to you. It is not nothing. ...
Who can believe illusions are the same, and still maintain
that even one is best?
T-26.VI.1.
The Course is written on many levels, there
is something for everyone. This can lead to seeming
contradictions in some of the statements unless this is held
in mind. The following quote could be described as an "end of
the line teaching" for those who are ready for it. It asks us
to let go of what we consider right or wrong, good or bad and
to go as far as releasing ALL concepts, even those in the
Course. The Course does teach concepts but only to replace
they painful ones we hold. In the end even these must be let
go.
This will create a great emptiness in our
minds such that finally the truth can enter and teach us Who
we really are. With this our virtual life of believing our
thoughts and judgements as truth will finally end, and peace
and quiet joy will awaken in us.
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 187
___________________________________________________________________________
A track from Kirtana's latest album "Unseen
Grace"
Already Home, Already Free
Nothing
to seek.
Nothing to gain.
Nothing to know.
Nothing
to lose.
Nothing to do,
but let go.
LetÕs
rest here
where the future
and the past disappearÉ
HereÐ
in
the sanctity of Now.
Nothing
to prove.
Nothing to own.
No one to be.
Nowhere
to move.
Already home.
Already Free.
LetÕs
just stay
in the cave of the heart today
and bask
in this
ever-present love.
Nothing
to fix.
Nothing to change.
Nothing to fight.
Only
what is.
What if what is
is just right.
Why
not trust
this Mystery living us
and rest
in the refuge of the
Self.
Nothing
to judge.
No one to blame or fear.
Only my face
greeting me in
the mirror.
Nowhere
to turn.
Nowhere to hide.
Nobody else.
Nothing
outside
that isnÕt inside
myself.
LetÕs
just see,
Is anyone here but me? Ð
HereÐ
in the present moment
now.
Nothing
to know.
Nothing to do.
No one to be.
Nowhere
to go.
Already home.
Already free.
Nowhere
to go.
Already home.
Already free.
Nowhere
to go.
Already home.
Already free.
_________________________________________________________________________
ADVICE WHEN IN DISTRESS
from
A Course in Miracles (ACIM)
The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are
trusting in your own
strength. ACIM Lesson 48
If you are willing to renounce the role of
guardian of your thought system
and open it to me, I will correct it very gently
and lead you back to God. ACIM T4.I.4:7
Remind yourself ÒI am never upset for the reason
I thinkÓ.
ACIM Lesson 5
The Holy Spirit's vision is merciful and His
remedy is quick. 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. ACIM
T-13.III.7.
I must have decided wrongly, because I am not at
peace. I made the decision
myself, but I can also decide otherwise. I want
to decide otherwise, because I want
to be at peace. I do not feel guilty, because the
Holy Spirit will undo all the
consequences of my wrong decision if I will let
Him. I choose to let Him, by
allowing Him to decide for God for me
ACIM T-5.VII.6:7-11
I do not know what anything, including this,
means. And so I do not know how
to respond to it. And I will not use my own past
learning as the light to guide me
now. By this refusal to attempt to teach yourself
what you do not know, the Guide
Whom God has given you will speak to you. He will
take His rightful place in your
awareness the instant you abandon it, and offer
it to Him. ACIM T-14.XI.6.
You do not know the meaning of anything you
perceive. Not one thought you
hold is wholly true. The recognition of this is
your Þrm beginning. You are not
misguided; you have accepted no guide at all.
Instruction in perception is your
great need, for you understand nothing. ACIM
T-11.VIII.3.
These thoughts do not mean anything. The thoughts
of which I am aware do
not mean anything because I am trying to think
without God. What I call "my"
thoughts are not my real thoughts. ACIM
Lesson 51/rev4
You retain thousands of little scraps of fear
that prevent the Holy One from enteringÉ. Watch your mind for
the scraps of fear, or you will be unable to ask me to do so.
T-4.III.7.
_________________________________________________________________________
A Soldiers Story - the power of acceptance
William
Samuel
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 falling
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
Forgiveness ... is still, and quietly
does nothing. .... It merely looks, and waits, and judges
not.
A Course in Miracles W-pII.1.4:1,3
_________________________________________________________________________
A Conversation with Ken Wapnick: making it
the most important thing!
by Susan Dugan
I recently sat down again to interview Ken
Wapnick while attending a weeklong Academy class at
the Foundation for
a Course in Miracles (FACIM) in
Temecula, California, in which Ken emphasized more clearly
than ever the importance of looking at the egoÕs guilty
story of separation realized through the eyes of the part of
our mind that knows nothing really happened. He also urged
us to make asking that inner teacher of forgiveness to show
us how he looks on everyone and everything our top priority,
if we truly want to experience sustainable peace, not of
this world.
While there, I also had the pleasure of
interviewing KenÕs wife and Foundation Co-founder Gloria
Wapnick, the first in what I hope will prove a series of
interviews with her. Unfortunately, I had a new recorder and
must have pressed the wrong button because the conversation
did not record. Although Gloria kindly invited me to call
her to flesh out the details missing from my notes (which I
plan to), the incident offered me a fresh opportunity to
look at the self-judgment that arises for us on this seeming
journey home as we begin to withdraw our external
projections andÑin our unconscious fearÐturn them on
ourselves.
Well, this isnÕt where I planned to start
this interview, but itÕs where I am, so here goes. IÕm
having a bout of resistance flu. The last time I came here
for an Academy class in August, everything you said seemed
so easy to absorb and I felt totally supported and in sync
with that quiet center within. But this has been quite an
opposite experience. IÕve been really up and down
emotionally, really flip-flopping between the right and
wrong mind. When I failed to get the recording of my
interview with Gloria, I heard this voice scolding that
itÕs not acceptable, IÕm not acceptable. ItÕs
not OK to do something so stupid, so unprofessional. It
was the ego berating me, which is not uncommon, but it
really had my full attention. In general, thatÕs been
coming up lately. Since I was here last summer, I
experienced some real healing in a long-term, difficult
special relationship, but thereÕs also been a lot more of
this self-hatred.
Well, actually thatÕs good. The unforgiveness
hides that so when you can be more forgiving and healing in
your special relationship, the (remaining) unforgiveness
just rises to the surface.
Yes. Well, I know you say that looking at the
ego without self-judgment is looking with Jesus
or the Holy Spirit, but there seems to be a real time lag
for me between doing that and experiencing the comfort of
that healed perception. Sometimes I feel like IÕm missing
a step. I canÕt seem to get to the dropping self-judgment
part.
OK. But, you will. I think that this is all
coming up is actually wonderful. Just to repeat, the
unforgiveness you were experiencing for a long time in this
special relationship really masked the guilt. And so, as you
have begun to let go of your attacks, forgive more, and
allow the healing of your relationship, then what it was
protecting now surfaces, which, in the long run, is actually
very, very positive. It doesnÕt feel very good. But then you
have to realize that youÕre not only addicted to being angry
at this person, youÕre also addicted to being angry at
yourself, and the idea that you are the home of evil,
darkness, and sin.
And that preserves the idea of me, however
miserable?
Yes, absolutely. So, there is nothing you
should do, dear, except just be patient. And you want to
trust in the process, have faith that what took you this far
will continue.
And thatÕs like in that description of
forgiveness in the workbook where it says forgiveness
Òmerely looks, and waits, and judges not.Ó ItÕs that
waiting part?
Yes.
I guess a similar question that came up for
me while here listening to you was that what weÕre really
doing when we withhold forgiveness is pushing GodÕs love
away, JesusÕ love away. I have a lot of internal dialogue
going on throughout my day with Jesus, even though I
understand and believe that heÕs not really a body, at
least more than I understand and believe
that IÕm not a body. But I find that image of
him helpful to bring everything to, even though he doesnÕt
really have anything to say back. But since IÕve been
here, I canÕt even remember to check in with him as I
usually do throughout the day, to ask him to help me look
at everyone and everything from his perspective.
And then, I woke up in the middle of the
night after that happened with Gloria and instead of
checking in again with him as I usually do which often
helps me go back to sleep and even experience some really
healing dreams, this time I had a sense of him sitting in
a corner of the room. And I thought, what are you doing
here? I didnÕt invite you. I was really upset. And then I
must have gone to sleep again and I had this dream where I
saw JesusÕ face everywhere I looked. Around every corner
and inside every door, on the bodies of every person I
passed on the street. I even opened the refrigerator and
there was a miniature Jesus, looking up at me from among
cartons of food. And I was terrified, and started running
and screaming. And I realized I donÕt want to see him in
everything, maybe I donÕt want to see him at all.
Well, part of you loves him very much. But the
part of you that wants to exclude him is the part that says;
donÕt take my life away from me. DonÕt take Susan away from
me. I may be miserable as Susan, but at least IÕm Susan, and
I like it. So what you want to do is donÕt mess with it.
DonÕt fight against yourself, donÕt feel guilty about
wanting to push him away, just see thatÕs what youÕre doing
and recognize youÕre just not there yet. ThatÕs all you have
to do. Just be easy.
Just sit with it? ThatÕs what IÕve been
trying to do. Just be with it, let it be.
Yes, just sit with it. It wonÕt last, dear.
Yeah, but are you talking about the Holy
SpiritÕs version of time, or our version?
Our version.
OK. I was listening to your CD set on
intimacy where you talk again about how listening to
BeethovenÕs final quartets was your entre into beginning
to really experience what we really are. But, it was a
process for you, as well, over a decade or so. And you
said you were conscious of the interference, the blocks
within yourself to completely joining with that music.
ThatÕs what you had to grow into, and growing into it is
what allowed you to have the kind of relationship you
later had with the Course and Helen and Gloria.
Well, I never analyzed the block. When I
started listening to the late quartets I was still in
college and I said, IÕm not ready for these yet. But I
continued to come back to it and I wouldnÕt have said that
then, but, in retrospect, it was a way of charting my own
spiritual progress. But I never analyzed it. IÕm not like
that. I donÕt think itÕs very helpful to do that. I just
always knew the day would come when I would feel totally one
with that music. And, I knew when that happened, that would
be it, there was nothing else beyond that. And then, it
happened.
So you had the desire for it, but not the
striving?
Yeah, I wasnÕt striving. I was working at a
mental health clinic near the water on the south shore of
Long Island and it was a ten-minute drive to the beach. At
lunch time I would go and walk the beach with the score of
the quartets, hearing the music in my head. It was always
with me. It was more important to me than anything else, my
marriage (which may be why my marriage fell apart) and my
career. It was something not of this world that I knew was
most important and I just knew it would happen. In a sense
my interest in the world receded and this just grew and grew
and grew.
It was as if I somehow knew there was a time
table I was just following. It was almost like I was biding
time, but I knew it would all come together one day. I
didnÕt know what form it would end up in, but I
knew where it would end up. It wasnÕt work, but I
was aware of it as a process.
You know, IÕm not a big Jungian, but IÕve read
all of Jung and I remember reading his
autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections,
which, it ends up, is not so honest, but he talked aboutÑI
forget the exact words he usedÑbut essentially that we live
our lives on two levels. And I could identify with that. I
was aware of living my life on the external track where I
was in undergraduate school and then graduate school, my
professional life, my personal life. And then there was the
internal, Beethoven track, that process of joining with
BeethovenÕs music. And they were (then) totally independent
of each other. And I knew that wasnÕt right, but thatÕs how
it was. Over time, the external track became less and less
important and the internal track became everything. I was
always good at functioning in the world, but hearing that
music and eventually becoming one with it was always the
most important thing.
And thatÕs what weÕre trying to do in our
relationships with each other, trying to hear that call to
join with that love?
Yes. Trying to hear the call and respond to it
and trust it. And, you know, the kind of thing IÕm really
saying, and emphasizing more and more these days as I teach,
is that this has to be the most important thing in your
life. And itÕs not for people. But it has to dominate
everything, even as youÕre living your normal life with work
and family and taking care of your bodyÑwhatever youÕre
doingÑthis has to be the most important thing. When I look
back on my life, focusing on BeethovenÕs music was the most
important thing.
You know IÕd studied and read so many things,
so much psychology, and really, nothing was true. A great
novel was true, or a great work of art, but really nothing I
studied was true because it didnÕt touch this. So, at the
same time that I became very good at psychology, learning
what I had to learn, learning to become one with that music
was always the most important thing because it is
everything. And so, I ask of Course students, donÕt you want
to go home? Because if you do, then everything in your day
should be geared towards wanting to look at everything
differently. Really wanting to recognize my ego, to take
this love of Jesus or the Holy Spirit and bring it with me,
no matter what IÕm doing.
Well, and I feel like the
Course is the most important thing to me and yet
I still have this pain that comes up; this judgment, this
self-judgment, this resistance.
But what you do which is wonderful, Susan, and
you donÕt give yourself enough credit for, is you know what
youÕre doing. You know when youÕre resisting, you know when
youÕre running away from that love, and thatÕs everything.
See, thatÕs what I was talking about this morning, you just
need to know what youÕre doing and trust that at some point,
resisting will be too painful.
Well, and, one of the questions I was going
to ask you is about that part of the Course that talks
about how Òtrials are but lessons that you failed to learn
presented once again, so where you made a faulty choice
before you now can make a better one.Ó Lately, when the
same lessons have come up again within my hierarchy of
illusions from micro to macro, IÕve had this experience of
knowing that I canÕt do this again, I canÕt respond by
feeling victimized and then justifying it like I did
before, itÕs just too painful. I donÕt have it in me. And
as soon as I saw that, I was able to do what I had to do
in form but none of the reactivity was there. I could take
the steps normal people take to deal with things but there
was no malice, no sense of anyone being guilty, and no
pain. So, thatÕs what the day-to-day practice of
forgiveness does over time. It just sort of disables that
muscle of condemnation?
Yes. And itÕs a question of trusting that a
happy outcome is ensured and really knowing that,
not just in some kind of abstract sense that weÕre all
really home. And then trusting that doing this religiously,
with real commitment, especially when itÕs rocky,
when the ego gets viscous, to just know that itÕs all part
of the process, and not be afraid of it.
And each time, you canÕt take it quite as
seriously as the last time because you know this cannot
really be. YouÕve gotten to the peace on the other side
before and even if the pain and the fear is there right
now, you know youÕre going to shift out of this and into
all you really want.
Right.
I have a question around the idea of being
normal that you talk about all the time and have talked
about a lot this week. I totally understand what you mean
by that in terms of still doing things in the world and
taking care of your body, meeting people where they are,
and not confusing levels. But, on the other hand, in
living this, normal people donÕt usually spend a couple
thousand dollars to fly across the country and sit in a
room five hours a day for a week to be told they donÕt
really exist. And in my life, except for the Course
friends IÕve made since I found the Course nine years ago,
my husband, my daughter, my friends, my very devout
Catholic parents and relatives, this is not normal to
anyone around me. ItÕs like the elephant in the room; that
IÕve gone off the deep end. ThereÕs an unspoken donÕt ask,
donÕt tell policy.
This has completely become my major priority
and, over time, the work of my life. IÕm studying and
writing and teaching all the time and no one ever asks me
what IÕm working on, including the people I live with. So
thereÕs a sense of having a foot in both worlds, trying to
be kind, and yet feeling sort of, well, not at all normal
by the worldÕs standards, certainly.
Well, thatÕs true. I mean, taking you as an
example, youÕre a normal person, a wife, mother, daughter,
friend, youÕre very good at what you do, but you have a
secret life. So youÕre not normal in that sense, but you
donÕt act in a way that separates you from other people.
ThatÕs what I mean when I tell people to be normal. You
know, IÕm always making fun of Course students because so
many of them; you canÕt have a normal conversation with
them. You canÕt use the word special in front of them, for
example. And, you know all the funny things Course students
do and say and they donÕt realize theyÕre separating
themselves from other people. And so, when I say be normal,
I mean look like everybody else. But that doesnÕt mean you
donÕt have a secret life and that your involvement with the
Course in the eyes of the world would be very strange.
I was very normal in many ways when I was in
graduate school. We had small classes and we were all very
close. People would ask me about my secret life and I shared
as much as I could, but it was obvious there was something
different. I wasnÕt walking around with psychology books,
but reading great novels instead. I would cut classes to go
to concerts and operas, but otherwise I was normal. So you
have a secret life, but you donÕt use it as a way of
separating from other people. YouÕre being faithful to your
secret life, the true love of your life, but at the same
time youÕre being faithful to all your various roles and
responsibilities.
And then you should just watch when you try
to make a feeling of them separating
from you because of it real?
Of course. Look at any desire to use the Course
as a way to justify separating from other people.
Along those same lines, I have friends who
formally teach the Course who, from my perspective, appear
to be deviating. Making real detours from the CourseÕs
underlying non-dualistic metaphysics. When that happens
and I go within to look at it, it seems the only response
is to just be kind?
Yes, unless they specifically ask you. And, if
they do, donÕt hit them over the head with it.
But itÕs OK to say, thatÕs just not my
understanding. Can we just agree to disagree?
Yes, and thatÕs a perfect way to do it, just
the way you said it.
I have a tendency at times to think that
teaching the Course and writing about the Course is more
important than, say, being a Congressman or gangster or
plumber when, in fact, it doesnÕt matter what you do in
the world as long as youÕre using it to learn to express
love instead of fear. But then I am more and more aware of
the pain any choice for specialness brings. And so I go
back and forth, wanting to make sure I honor my desire to
share my passion for practicing forgiveness and then
judging myself as arrogant for believing I have anything
worth sharing. So, itÕs like the ego seems to get me
hooked on specialness from both directions. Do you have
any advice about the right-minded way to approach teaching
and writing about the Course?
What keeps you honest is realizing that, in one
sense, itÕs true that teaching the Course and becoming part
of whatever its role is in the world is important, but that
doesnÕt make the people who do it more important than people
doing anything else in the world. So itÕs not identifying
with what you do, but with whom you do
it, with that quiet center within. So that it doesnÕt matter
whether you teach the Course or not, the thing is not to get
caught in the trap of judging that this is more important
than that, which is just another way of trying to fill up
the hole inside. I canÕt feel important unless I teach the
Course. What changes all that is just staying focused on
that love inside. Then youÕre identified only with that
love.
Which, honestly, when IÕm teaching, thatÕs
where I am only focused.
Yeah, but then the ego jumps in and says, this
is special.
And that feels yucky.
So when that happens, just say, enough already!
OK. HereÕs another question about teaching
that IÕve gone back and forth with and have friends who
teach and go back and forth with and have talked to me
about. I feel that your teaching has been the most helpful
thing to me in terms of being able to really understand
the Course and practice it, because if you donÕt
understand it, you canÕt possibly practice it. And you
have both. You embody it, and you wonÕt let us get away
with all the worldly things we want to do with it. But
itÕs hard sometimes because my weekly class is open to
anybody and I have a lot of beginners and sometimes
spiritual dabblers show up and I try my best in terms of
whatever weÕre working on to review the metaphysics in as
kind of way as I can, explaining that God didnÕt make the
world and this is all happening in our mind. But I
sometimes wonder if thereÕs something I should be doing to
make this easier for them. And when I take that question
within, the answer I get is no. ItÕs not my responsibility
to make it more palatable for anybody. They will find it
when theyÕre ready. All I need to do is tell the truth in
as loving a way as I can. Is that right?
Yes.
And IÕm really teaching so that I can learn
to follow our inner teacher and learn true forgiveness and
the only way I know to teach is from my experience, from
the inside out.
Yes. And thatÕs always the best teaching.
Thank you. I had something come up with my
husband recently where I once again seemed to be very
triggered by something that seemed to be going on with him
and I was very upset, even though on some level, thereÕs
always this sense that IÕm making this up. And I watched
myself trying to make it real and embellish it even. And I
was conscious that I was doing this even as I felt
victimized. Anyway, there was a time lag between this all
going on in my mind and the time when I actually
confronted him about it. When I finally did, he was really
kind. He listened, which I didnÕt feel like he used to do.
I didnÕt used to feel like I could express anger with him
because he would get so reactive, and so I didnÕt. But
this time he sounded really right-minded and it just kind
of stopped me. And I realized I was being insane and he
was being the sane one. That had never happened to me
before. He was even using language I would use, language
you would use when trying to meet someone where they are.
So, is that like the Holy Spirit, our right mind, talking
back to me?
Yes. I think that what happened is your
defenselessness and your being aware of what you were doing
connected up with him. And, since minds are joined, he
didnÕt feel attacked; he didnÕt feel the need to be
defensive.
Even though I was angry?
Yeah, but you kind of knew what you were doing,
you said. There wasnÕt the venom that might have been there
in the past and so, minds are joined. Remember, you donÕt
have to be ego-free; you just have to be aware of it. That
cuts right through all of it.
I have a question about my daughter again.
SheÕs in her second year at Colorado College only an hour
away and they have a block program where they have a
couple days off after each block. Last year she and her
friends who are all from out of state would come to our
house a lot so I didnÕt really feel the brunt of her
leaving so much. This year they all have cars and they go
away on their block breaks and IÕm feeling that sense of
loss again. And I just kind of watch myself going into it.
She was always one of those old soul-type kids, whatever
that means. I always felt this really deep connection with
her, even beyond the usual mother-daughter connection, and
she has been a big comfort to me. IÕm very aware sheÕs
doing exactly what she needs to be doing right now to
separate from me and IÕm very supportive of it, but I
still feel the loss. And I still fantasize that, in her
presence, I will feel more love than I do when sheÕs gone.
ItÕs normal. YouÕre very close with her and
sheÕs been a big part of your life, obviously, but at the
same time you know she needs to leave the nest. So you want
to be honest about your specialness need that she fill up
the emptiness in you, but you donÕt want to use that to hurt
her. So just be aware of that and trust that the love within
you will fill up that hole. And so while itÕs normal to miss
her, it wonÕt hurt. ItÕs the same thing I was saying
earlier, just trust in the love inside you, stay open to the
part of you that wants to feel abandoned or alone, know that
that is not loving for you or your daughter, and trust the
love will be there.
And thatÕs where that inner relationship
becomes everything. The one thing IÕm certain the Course
has given me, at least when IÕm right-minded, is the sense
that IÕm never alone, and that when IÕm feeling alone, I
can go to that relationship within.
Yes. So whether you personify it in terms of
Jesus or you use any other symbol; that love, that stately
calm within, becomes the center of your life. There youÕre
never alone and you feel your love and you feel his love and
that helps you deal with all the external things.
Right. And thatÕs where that inner
conversation comes in. In which we need to bring
Jesus/Holy Spirit everything we believe would hurt us, has
hurt us?
ThatÕs right.
Thank you so much, Ken.
Renowned Psychologist, Teacher, and Author
Kenneth Wapnick, PhD, has been studying, teaching, and
writing about A Course in Miracles since 1973, and
worked closely with Course Scribe Helen Schucman and
Collaborator Bill Thetford in preparing its final
manuscript. With his beloved wife, Gloria, he is president
and co-founder of The Foundation for a Course in Miracles in
Temecula, California.
___________________________________________________________________________
Accepting Cancer
I have questioned my thoughts, and I've seen that
it's crazy to argue with what is. I don't ever want anything
to happen except what's happening. For example, my
ninety-year-old mother is dying of pancreatic cancer. I'm
taking care of her, cooking and cleaning for her, sleeping
beside her, living in her apartment twenty-three hours a day
(my husband takes me out for a walk every morning). It has
been a month now. It's as if her breath is the pulse of my
life. I bathe her, I wash her in the most personal places, I
medicate her, and I feel such a sense of gratitude. That's me
over there, dying of cancer, spending my last few days
sleeping and watching TV and talking, medicated with the most
marvelous painkilling drugs. I am amazed at the beauty and
intricacies of her body, my body.
And the last day of her life, as I sit by her
bedside, a shift takes place in her breathing, and I know:
it's only a matter of minutes now. And then another shift
takes place, and I know. Our eyes lock, and a few moments
later she's gone. I look more deeply into the eyes that the
mind has vacated, the mindless eyes, the eyes of the no-mind.
I wait for a change to take place. I wait for the eyes to show
me death, and nothing changes. She's as present she ever was.
I love my story about her. How else could she ever
exist?
from
A
Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way
Things Are
By (author) Byron Katie, With Stephen
Mitchell
___________________________________________________________________________
Forthcoming Workshops on A Course in
Miracles
in Australia and Germany
For up to date information on my workshops go
to http://www.acfip.org/fws.html
Brisbane
Relaxation Centre
BRISBANE - 1 day - Sunday 14 July, 2013
Letting in the Light
A Course in Miracles workshop
The Course teaches "Love waits on welcome, not
on time".
Awaiting us is a love, peace and quiet joy that
the world can't give or take away.
What blocks this spiritual awareness? Using
awareness and forgiveness exercises we can start to find and
undo the blocks to this realisation, allowing us to awaken.
9.30a.m. to 4.30p.m.
Cost: $55
VENUE:
Relaxation Centre,
15 South Pine Road
Alderley
Brisbane 4051
BOOKINGS:
Relaxation Centre
07 3856 3733
(Please do not book through me)
The Brisbane Relaxation Centre has informed
me that many people are increasingly booking at the last
moment.
I check the number of participants on
Friday morning before the workshop.
If numbers are small I cancel the workshop
so those the are booked can be informed and make other plans
for their weekend.
If you wish to attend the workshop please
book by the Thursday before.
___________________________________________________________________________
Germany 2013 Dates
Bonn
June 15 and 16, 2013
10.00am to 6.000pm
Relationships: A Fast Path to Spiritual
Awakening.
A Course in Miracles workshop
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 T-8.III.4.
Our relationships can become our daily
classroom of forgiveness. "Relationships" does not just
refer to our partners but everyone we meet. How we react to
our family, colleagues, strangers, animals, people in the
media mirrors what is contained in our minds. Daily we walk
around in a hall of mirrors and when we lose our peace we
are being shown something unhealed, unforgiven in our
minds.
The Course seeks to take our difficult
relationships and change their direction towards the goal of
holy relationships in which we practice honesty and
forgiveness.
As we learn to look at ourselves and others
without judgement (forgiveness) we gradually remove the
obstacles to the love and peace within us. Judgement is
gradually replaced by compassion, and instead of separation,
true acceptance, friendship and genuine intimacy become
possible.
The workshop will contain exercises to help
understand and heal painful dynamics found in ego-based
relationships, allowing our natural state of peace and joy
to be uncovered.
An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri 14th June 2013
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 22 and 23, 2013
10.00am to 6.000pm
Relationships: A Fast Path to Spiritual
Awakening.
A Course in Miracles workshop
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 T-8.III.4.
Our relationships can become our daily
classroom of forgiveness. "Relationships" does not just
refer to our partners but everyone we meet. How we react to
our family, colleagues, strangers, animals, people in the
media mirrors what is contained in our minds. Daily we walk
around in a hall of mirrors and when we lose our peace we
are being shown something unhealed, unforgiven in our
minds.
The Course seeks to take our difficult
relationships and change their direction towards the goal of
holy relationships in which we practice honesty and
forgiveness.
As we learn to look at ourselves and others
without judgement (forgiveness) we gradually remove the
obstacles to the love and peace within us. Judgement is
gradually replaced by compassion, and instead of separation,
true acceptance, friendship and genuine intimacy become
possible.
The workshop will contain exercises to help
understand and heal painful dynamics found in ego-based
relationships, allowing our natural state of peace and joy
to be uncovered.
An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri 21 June 2013
8pm - 9.45pm
Contact:
Margarete
Sennekamp
Winterhaldenweg
4,
79856
Hinterzarten,
Tel./Fax:
07652-917530
email:
M.Sennekamp@t-online.de
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.
______________________________________________________________
Germany 2014 Dates
Bonn
28th-29th June, 2014
10.00am to 6.000pm
Inner Peace - Our Natural State
- A
Course in Miracles workshop -
It (inner peace)
is given you the instant you would have it. ACIM
T-15.IV.9.
The purpose of this world is not to find a
permanent peace and happiness.
It cannot be found here.
You do not really want the world you see,
for it has disappointed you since time began. T-13.VII.3.
Instead, if we see the world as a classroom
of forgiveness we will discover the uncaused happiness that
lies within - our natural state. To forgive is to look at
everything in our minds and in the world without
judgement.
Forgiveness offers everything I want. Lesson
122
While we search to fulfill our desires in the
expectation of happiness we block the awareness of the
constant, uncaused happiness within.
You will first dream of peace, and then
awaken to it. ..... Love waits on welcome, not
on time, and the real world (inner peace) is but your
welcome of what always was. T-13.VII.9.
Peace is the absence of desire; forgiveness
reveals our natural state.
This workshop explores, with the aid of
exercises, how we block this happiness and peace and how it
can be revealed.
No knowledge of A Course in Miracles is
required.
An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri 27th June
2014
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
July 5 and 6, 2014
10.00am to 6.000pm
Inner Peace - Our Natural State
- A
Course in Miracles workshop -
It (inner peace) is given you the instant you
would have it. ACIM T-15.IV.9.
The purpose of this world is not to find a
permanent peace and happiness.
It cannot be found here.
You do not really want the world you see,
for it has disappointed you since time began. T-13.VII.3.
Instead, if we see the world as a classroom
of forgiveness we will discover the uncaused happiness that
lies within - our natural state. To forgive is to look at
everything in our minds and in the world without
judgement.
Forgiveness offers everything I want. Lesson
122
While we search to fulfil our desires in the
expectation of happiness we block the awareness of the
constant, uncaused happiness within.
You will first dream of peace, and then
awaken to it. ..... Love waits on welcome, not
on time, and the real world (inner peace) is but your
welcome of what always was. T-13.VII.9.
Peace is the absence of desire; forgiveness
reveals our natural state.
This workshop explores, with the aid of
exercises, how we block this happiness and peace and how it
can be revealed.
No knowledge of A Course in Miracles is
required.
An Evening Introductory Talk - Fri 4 July 2014
8pm
- 9.45pm
Contact:
Margarete Sennekamp
Winterhaldenweg 4,
79856 Hinterzarten,
Tel./Fax: 07652-917530
email:
M.Sennekamp@t-online.de
www.Sophia-Institut.de
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.
___________________________________________________________________________
BOOKS AND AUDIO MATERIALS FOR SALE - by
Michael Dawson
New teaching and
healing materials - eBooks and downloadable MP3s:
Ebooks:
1. Healing
the Cause -A Path of Forgiveness.
Inspired by A Course in Miracles.
This is the eBook version of the paper
back.
2. A Course
in Miracles - Explanations of Major Themes
New book in eBook format
3. Forgiveness -
A Path to Inner Peace.
Inspired by A Course in Miracles
This is the eBook version of the paper
back.
The
eBook versions can be read on Kindle, iPad, Microsoft
eReader, Nook, PDF readers (Mac and PC) and most eBook
readers.
For more details and how to purchase please
visit: www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
Downloadable Mp3s:
1. Healing the
Cause: Self-Help Exercises 1
This MP3 contains the identical four
exercises as the CD
2. Healing the
Cause: Self-Help Exercises 2
This MP3 contains the identical four
exercises as the CD
3. Healing the
Cause: 3 Self-Help Exercises in English with German
translation
This MP3 contains the identical three
exercises as the CD
For more details and how to purchase please
visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
Books:
Healing the Cause - A Path of
Forgiveness. Findhorn Press 1994
Also available in German, Romanian, French,
Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.
The Findhorn Book of Forgiveness.
Findhorn Press. 2003
Also available in
German, French, Polish and Romanian.
For more details and how to purchase please
visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
MP3s (see above) and CDs:
Healing the Cause:
Since 1986 I have been conducting healing
workshops in the UK and abroad, and have continually
experimented to find healing and forgiveness exercises that
are effective. I have found that a particular exercise
can be effective for one person but not another.
Accordingly, I was led to develop a series of exercises.
Over the years workshop participants asked if these
exercises could be put onto audio cassettes and CDs so they
could repeat them. This has resulted in the Healing the
Cause - Exercise series - Tapes 1 to 4 (2
exercises on each tape) and CD1 and 2 (4 exercises on each
CD)
CD - 3 Healing Exercises in English
with German translation. 10 Euro
Content:
Ex1. Forgiving Ourselves.
Ex2. Changing Perception and Finding
peace.
Ex3. Changing Perception of another -
exercise for two people.
These exercises are similar to existing
exercises already available on CDs but are translated into
German.
Workshops:
1. Three Steps of Forgiveness.
This workshop concentrates on the process
of forgiveness from the perspective of A Course in
Miracles. Includes 3 healing exercises.
Recorded at the Annual Miracle
Network Conference in London, November 2001. 1 hour 12
mins. One CD
2. Finding and Eliminating the Blocks
to Receiving Guidance.
This talk investigates what stops us
hearing the guidance that is ever present in our
lives. Recorded at the Annual Miracle Network
Conference in London, October 20001 hour. One CD
For more details and how to purchase please
visit: http://www.acfip.org/audio.html
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTACTS and COURSE INFORMATION
Search Engine for ACIM Sites, Definitions
and Articles by Joe Jesseph.
A Web search engine
dedicated to finding discussion and definitions of terms and
concepts found in
A Course in Miracles as well as Web
sites, articles and other writings related to the Course.
Question and Answer Service from
the Foundation
for A Course in Miracles.
Their electronic outreach
section has a question and answer service on the theory and
practice of the Course. Their database of 1,400 questions
and answers is searchable. They no longer take new questions
as they feel all possible questions have now been put.
Foundation
for Inner Peace..........................Publishers
of A Course in Miracles and responsible for the
translation programme. On-line mail order.
Foundation
For A Course In Miracles................FACIM
is the official teaching organisation of the Foundation for
Inner Peace and the copyright-holder of_A Course in
Miracles and all related materials. Publishes the
quarterly Lighthouse newsletter.
They have extensive on-line mail order for their books, CDs
and DVDs.
The Foundation was started by Kenneth and Gloria
Wapnick and has moved to Temecula in California. Kenneth is
my teacher of A Course in Miracles.
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
Glossary
of ACIM terms from FACIM
"The Most Commonly asked Questions
about A Course in Miracles"
by Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick
Index
of Links to Miracle Studies Resources ...ÉÉ....... A rich resource of materials
on A Course in Miracles by an ex-staff member
of the Foundation For A Course In Miracle.
Joe also has a blog and has recently published A Primer of Psychology According
to A Course in Miracles.
miraclestudies.net ÉÉÉÉ A Course in
Miracles Resource Web Site for ACIM Students
A Course in Miracles Study groups
Search for A Course in Miracles Study
Groups Around the World.
The Foundation for
Inner peace also has a study group search engine.
Miracles Studies Australia http://www.miracle-studies.net.au
lists study groups for Australia and new Zealand
ACIM
Historical
Recordings & Video
A Course In Miracles Pen Pals:
The Miracle Network http://www.miracles.org.uk hosts
a A Course in Miracles pen pals group:
To join this e-mail discussion
group, send your e-mail address to e.pals@miracles.org.uk.
They will send you updated lists of
other e.pals and inform them of your e-mail address.
Belief.net ACIM discussion:
This Belief.net web-based
discussion
is hosted by Joe Jesseph.
http://community.beliefnet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=151
______________________________________________
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
EMAIL:
mdawson@acfip.org
WEBSITE: http://www.acfip.org