ACFIP Newsletter
March 2020
Issue 64
Quarterly
Newsletter of the Australian Centre for
Inner Peace
Announcements
¥My new website on the
dangers of 5G and radio frequency
radiation
¥Dražen who is currently translating ÒJesus:
My AutobiographyÓ channelled
by Tina
Spalding
has discovered an excellent
translation website. You may want to copy
and paste this newsletter into it.
1. Individual
healing sessions via Skype
I have been giving
healing sessions for over 30 years, and
have now decided to offer healing sessions
via Skype. When I travel and give
workshops I am often asked for a session
but have virtually no time available.
Recently I gave a healing session via
Skype and I noticed it was effective. The
client and I both felt we were in the same
room together. As A
Course in Miracles states, Òall
minds are joinedÓ, so perhaps I should not
be surprised. Time and space are ego
illusions, not SpiritÕs.
For more
information and fees please go here.
I will be adding more
videos on Course themes. If you
want to be automatically informed
of new additions please press
Subscribe on the YouTube page
where my video is showing and
click on the bell so it appears as
if it is ringing. This ensures you
will get an email update when new
videos are added.
3.
ACIM Workbook lessons and
commentaries.
Tina Spalding, a
trance channel, is reading all the 365
Workbook lessons and then channels a
commentary from Jesus.
I
am also collecting the audio only versions
which are available in my DropBox and will
be updated as new lessons are produced by
Tina:
4. Complete audio
version of A Course in Miracles and Supplements available
free of charge on YouTube.
These
audios are suppled by the publisher
of A Course in Miracles,
the Foundation for Inner Peace.
___________________________________________________
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 your
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.
CONTENTS:
A Course in Miracles Material
* A
Course In Miracles and
Forgiveness - Michael
Dawson
*
How does one forgive oneself? - Kenneth
Wapnick
Non Dual and Other
Teachings
* Gradual Awakening - Adyashanti and
Sally Bongers
* Quotes
Other
* 3 Workshops in
Germany - Bonn, Freiburg and Kempton
* Books and Audio
Materials for Sale
* Links
* Inspirational
Quotations
A Course in Miracles Material
A
Course In Miracles and
Forgiveness
Reprinted from the The
Findhorn Book of Forgiveness.
Findhorn Press
by Michael Dawson www.acfip.org
The Course is written on two levels -
metaphysical and practical. Metaphysics
investigates what is truth and what is
illusion. The following quotation is
from the metaphysical level of the
course.
You dwell not here, but in eternity.
You travel but in dreams, while safe
at home.
(T-13.VII.17:6-7)
The practical teachings of the Course
seek to awake us to the reality
contained in that statement.
Jesus teaches us that this universe is
not our real home. What is true is
eternal which means it was never born.
Anything that has a beginning must have
an end and as such is not real. As God
is eternal so must His creations be. His
creations exist outside of time and
space and therefore can not be
threatened by change or death. What we
mistakenly take as real changes all the
time and death can strike at any moment.
The Course sums this up on the first
page of the Text:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God
(T-introduction.2:2-4)
Our true reality is really eternal,
changeless, perfect formless spirit in
complete oneness with God. What God did
not create does not exist, apart from in
a dream. In contrast our world is one of
form, bound by time, is always changing
and is far from perfect. Thus God could
not of made this physical universe or
know of its existence. What we take as
reality, this time-space world, is
really a dream from which forgiveness
will awaken us. Its only value is as a
classroom of forgiveness.
Of course, the world does not seem like
a dream to most of us. But then our
dreams last night also seemed real when
we were dreaming them. Why does the
Course refer to the universe as a dream?
The symbology of the Adam and Eve story
in the Old Testament can help us here.
Adam and Eve were happy in the garden
(Heaven) until an idea came that perhaps
things could be even better if they ate
of the forbidden fruit. This fruit is
described in the Course as the thought
of separation and is referred to as the
ego. To be separate from God and do our
own thing is impossible. But to dream of
it is not. In our desire for autonomy
and individuality the Course says we
fell asleep so our wishes could come
true in our dreams.
Into this dream we bring fearful
thoughts of what we have done to our
creator. Believing we have knocked God
off his throne and stolen his power has
left us with a strong thought that we
have sinned. This thought must leave us
feeing very guilty and we expect there
will be a just punishment forthcoming
from God. This is depicted in Genesis as
God storming into the garden of Eden
looking for the two transgressors who
are trying to hide from his retribution
behind a bush. On being caught they turn
to their egoÕs for advice on how to
handle this situation. The egoÕs advice
is, as always, to deny and project.
ÒItÕs not my fault,Ó protests Adam, ÒIt
was Eve who tempted meÓ. ÒBut I was
persuaded by the snake,Ó protests Eve.
ItÕs love that makes Heaven Ògo aroundÓ
but in our dream world it has become
guilt.
Now Òwe travel but in dreamsÓ,
forgetting we are Òsafe at homeÓ. We
seem to have got what we wanted -
separation in exchange for the oneness
of God and His creation which the Course
calls the Christ. Jesus describes
himself in the Course as a man who
remembered he was the Christ, as we all
are. The Christ shares in the love and
majesty of God for there is only a
perfect oneness in Heaven. Heaven cannot
be understood by us who only know time
and space, it has to be experienced.
In this dream we strive to be happy
believing that with enough time and
opportunity the world will provide us
with what we want. ÒIf only I can find
the right partner, earn enough money,
maintain my health, live long, become
successful in my job, etc. then I will
be happy,Ó we say to ourselves. Even if
all the conditions are met there will
always be a lurking fear in the back of
our minds that any of these conditions
could so easily change. The stock market
could crash, our partner may get sick,
war could be declared and so forth. We
seem to prefer all this uncertainty to
honestly saying to ourselves, ÒI have
been wrong. There can never be any
lasting peace here. Perhaps there is
another way.Ó (T-30.I.12) And like the
prodigal son, in the end all living
things will decide to return to their
loving Father in Heaven.
The world we have appeared to make is
based on murder. We believe, in our
unconscious, we had to kill God and take
His power to make our world. This
thought now manifests here in our dream
as every living thing needs to kill
something else to continue living and
spend much of its time protecting itself
or its young from being killed in turn.
In the last century over 100 million
people died in wars and many more were
maimed, raped and tortured. We might say
that we are vegetarians but still
another life form must always die for us
to continue. In contrast to Heaven
(where need does not exist) ours is a
world of scarcity where we fight over
the resources. We need to ask ourselves
the question, ÒCould a loving God have
created such a world?Ó (T-13.in.3)
Forgiveness is the Ôother wayÕ which
seeks to gently wake us from our
nightmare of separation and murder and
return us to the awareness of our true
home in Heaven. This dream seems so real
that without help we would never awaken.
When the separation from God appeared to
happen (it never did in reality) we took
with us into the dream a memory of God
(to borrow a phrase from Dr. Kenneth
Wapnick) we could never quite forget.
The Course calls this the Holy Spirit
and without His help we cannot awaken.
In this book I have referred to the Holy
Spirit as our inner guide.
The Holy Spirit is described as the
remaining communication link between
God and His separated Sons. In order
to fulfil this special function the
Holy Spirit has assumed a dual
function. He knows because He is part
of God; He perceives because He was
sent to save humanity. (C-6.3:1-3
)
The Holy Spirit knows the truth of our
oneness with God but also recognises our
illusions so that He can teach us how to
overlook them. Jesus is the
manifestation of the Holy Spirit and is
ever present to help us with our lessons
of forgiveness if we but invite him in.
As Jesus has transcended his ego his
patience is infinite and he will stay
with us until the end of time to help us
all wake up.
After the seeming separation from God
our minds became split into three parts,
the ego, the Holy Spirit and the
sleeping Son of God who has to decide
which of the two voices to listen to.
Although the Holy Spirit is always
present in our minds ready to teach us
another way of looking at the world, we
fear to turn to Him for help. We think
we have successfully abandoned God,
broken up Heaven in the process and
escaped into our self-made world where
He cannot find us. To have GodÕs
representative in our mind, the Voice
for God, is frightening and we prefer to
turn to our ego for help. ÒAfter all,
does not the Holy Spirit work for God,Ó
we exclaim! ÒAnd if we turn to Him for
help He will punish us for our sinsÓ.
Without the Holy SpiritÕs help we are
really lost as we have only the advice
of the ego left. The ego is a thought we
have made and, like any creation, wants
to live. Its advice to us is only to
ensure its own survival. Its counsel is
that to escape from our dreadful
feelings of guilt over the separation we
need to deny the problem and project it
onto the world. Until we learn to try
another way we are doomed to repeat our
errors. This reinforces our guilt which
in turn maintains the ego thought
system. The egoÕs ÔfoodÕ is guilt and
following its advice will always lead to
creating more guilt.
Although we seemed to have achieved the
goal of separation and individuality we
are left feeling that there is something
missing in our lives, we no longer feel
complete. The Holy Spirit would tell us
that what is missing is the oneness with
all life and God. But fearing this Voice
we have only the ego thought system to
turn to. The ego tells us that there is
something lacking in us and we can only
find it by looking in the world for it.
We try to fill the bottomless pit in
ourselves by plunging into work, eating,
drinking, sex, entertainment and above
all by Ôfalling in loveÕ. Another person
or object now becomes our substitute for
God - what the Course describes as a
Ôspecial loveÕ relationship. As long as
each person fulfils the needs of the
other the couple remains content for a
time. But soon as one breaks this
bargain the old feeling of emptiness
arises. The door over the inner pain
opens again and we try desperately to
close it. Our ego will counsel us to
attack the other in the hope that s/he
will become guilty enough to change his
or her behaviour. If this fails the
relationship is likely to end and
another sought instead.
At this difficult time we could also
turn to forgiveness instead of attack.
The strife we are experiencing will seem
all too familiar. We can ask ourselves,
ÒPerhaps there is another way of looking
at this situation. What can I lose by
trying?Ó (Lesson 33) This is an
invitation to bring the power of the
Holy Spirit into our minds. Our partner
can be transformed from enemy to saviour
becoming a mirror to our guilt. The
relationship is now transformed into the
goal of a holy relationship where truth
and forgiveness and not ego needs take
first place. Nor does it take the other
to think this way for it is our change
of perception that will bring us peace.
The relationship may still end but the
forgiveness learnt will take us one more
step to peace.
We do not have to learn about love,
truth and joy for that was eternally
given us and but awaits our
welcome.(T-13.VII.9) What we do need to
do is to remove the blocks to that
awareness and that is the role of
forgiveness. Our world is a world where
perception rules. (This is unknown in
Heaven - in perfect oneness there is
nothing to perceive.) Our need is to
correct our perception with the aid of
the Holy Spirit or Jesus.
What we think is what we perceive.
Believing separation to be real that is
exactly what we perceive around us. But
when we awaken from the dream and
realise all is one we can only perceive
everything as part of ourselves. To
attack another will then be impossible
as it will seem as if we are stamping on
our own feet. Everyone here perceives a
different world because no two people
think exactly the same. We can observe
this in ourselves when we change moods.
When we feel happy the world looks a far
nicer place than when we are distressed.
Forgiveness teaches us that the world
but reflects our thinking and therefore
it is pointless to try to change the
world to make ourselves happy. As I
quoted earlier:
Projection makes perception. The
world you see is what you gave it,
nothing more than that. But though it
is no more than that, it is not less.
Therefore, to you it is important. It
is the witness to your state of mind,
the outside picture of an inward
condition. As a man thinketh, so does
he perceive. Therefore, seek not to
change the world, but choose to change
your mind about the world.
(T-21.in.1:1-7)
Of
course, we all have our preferences with
regard to clothes, climate, food, etc.,
which is normally linked to our
conditioning. There is nothing wrong in
this. However, understanding that what
we perceive in the world is mirroring
our state of mind is the road to lasting
peace and joy. Now we have the power,
with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to
change our mind about the world. We
realise its foolish to blame people and
circumstances for our unhappiness.
Nobody and nothing has that power over
us. Until this is seen we are forced to
defend the world we have made up by
using defence and attack. It takes a lot
of work to prop up our illusions about
ourselves. If we are invested in being a
victim we are forced to see a world
populated by persecutors just waiting to
have a go at us. Our perception of the
world becomes highly selective,
filtering out what does not support our
beliefs and selecting that which
reinforces them. Life now becomes a
self-fulfilling prophecy.
Forgiveness is a process where we start
to learn our perceptual errors and
decide we wish to see things
differently. As we correct out
perceptions we begin to undo the blocks
we have created and true perception or
spiritual vision starts to dawn on our
minds. The world we once saw as a
hostile place out to attack us was but
merely mirroring our own belief that
attack will get us what we want. When we
think anger would get us something of
value we also believe others will be
thinking the same. This must result in
us feeling insecure for now we are
waiting to be attacked. This is why
Jesus asks us to teach what we want to
learn. (T-6.I.6.)
Forgiving this false perception
immediately transforms the world we live
in. Now, when others attack us we can
see they think like we once did and do
not realise they are actually
reinforcing their own sense of
vulnerability. Our new perception is
that their attack is a call for our
help. (T-12.I.5) Not that they are aware
of this, which does not matter, it is
that we are now aware of what they are
doing as we have forgiven this behaviour
in ourselves. Wishing to reinforce the
love we feel growing within us we are
happy to extend our love to those who
attack us.
The form our behaviour will take we
cannot know in advance, for what we have
learned is under the direction of the
Holy Spirit to which we are learning to
turn more and more. If we are judged or
attacked by another we may be guided to
say something, to remain silent, to walk
away - the appropriate loving response
will be given if we are open to our
inner guide.
To the ego the body is its home. How the
body looks, what others think of it
becomes of prime importance. When it is
sick or in pain it is easy for us to
focus on the seeming reality of the
world. Now the Holy Spirit seems a liar
as we say, ÒDonÕt tell me this world is
not real. I am in pain!Ó. But the body
does not have a mind of its own. It must
be told by the sleeping Son of God what
it must feel, when it is to be born and
die, whether to be sick or well. With
the ego as our guide we play the game of
making our body our reality. Once we
change our allegiance to the Holy Spirit
the bodyÕs function will change. Now the
body is perceived as a loving tool of
communication instead of as a weapon of
attack. This will also produce gains in
vitality and health. The purpose of the
body will change, no longer being seen
as who we think we are. Instead it
becomes a vehicle in which we can learn
our lessons in our daily classrooms of
forgiveness.
How long this journey home takes is
entirely up to us. All the answers to
all our problems are existing in this
present moment, just waiting to be
accepted. The Holy Spirit sees time as
an illusion we have made as we could
have no separate world without it. The
ego relies on its past experience to try
and solve present problems, and always
fails. The Holy SpiritÕs answers to our
problems are like gifts just waiting to
be unwrapped and received. We do not
have to earn them or suffer or pray to
receive them but simply want them with
all our heart. The Holy Spirit will
never go against our free will but will
come instantly if He is made wholly
welcome. (T-13.III.9) But while we think
we know better and trust the counsel of
our ego the gifts must wait for the day
we are ready to accept them. These gifts
are but various forms of forgiveness
perfectly tailored to match the
complexity of our problems. In time we
learn His way works and will turn more
and more to Him for help.
Step by step as we tread the path of
forgiveness, we will be kindly and
gently led from our nightmares to happy
dreams of forgiveness. (T-13.VII.9) The
world we once perceived as dark and
threatening will start to be perceived
differently. Former enemies are now
perceived as our saviours as they offer
us the chance to forgive what we have
been projecting onto them. Our days
become dedicated to finding peace
through forgiveness. Our bodies gain
vitality as they serves a holy purpose,
no longer being perceived as our
identity. When all our lessons are
finally learnt we will perceive the
Christ in all living things. We realise
that there is nothing to forgive for
what God created is perfect and needs no
forgiveness. Further, having left our
ego behind there is nothing unhealed to
project and therefore nothing to
forgive.
With forgiveness complete we enter what
the Course calls Ôthe real worldÕ. It is
still this world but seen differently.
Now we walk quietly in peace. Finding
the Christ within our own mind it is now
impossible to see anything else in the
world. People are perceived as either
giving love or asking for it.
(T-12.II.1) This is the judgement of the
Holy Spirit and so becomes ours. Whether
the body lives or dies is not important.
It will be known when it is time to lay
it aside, just as everything else is
known. Choice has gone to be replaced by
an inner certainty and the need for
forgiveness is over.
.___________________________________________________
Q #7: How
does one forgive oneself? I have a pen pal in prison
who is new to the Course. He
is
in
prison for assaulting his
girlfriend. He says he is
learning to forgive others but
not himself. He
is
angry and ashamed of himself
for hurting her. I can see his
actions as a Òcall for love,Ó
a
mistake
to be corrected and not a sin
to be punished. He no doubt
was a victim who became
a
victimizer,
and keeps reliving it now. I
would tell him to let it
goÑÓBrother, choose again.Ó
But
could
I say this to myself? I have
dealt with depression most of
my life and guilt is a
familiar
companion.
My egoÕs accusations seem
overwhelming when I do one
thing wrong. I see when
I
project
my guilt onto others and I
know itÕs not helpful to blame
and accuse myself when I
judge
others.
But what if I really hurt
someone else in some way? I
could try to make amends
and
move
on, but I donÕt think my ego
would let me off the hook that
easily. I seem only to be able
to
release
myself from guilt by
experiencing pain for the
length of time my ego
dictates. I know
there
has to be Òanother way.Ó Why
am I kind to others and mean
to myself?
Top
To
top it all off, I seek my
addictions to get some relief
from the pain of the guilt,
and then I feel
guilty
for indulging in the
addiction. I need a way out of
this. Can we project guilt
onto ourselves
as
well as others? I know I will
come to understand why I donÕt
love myself and why I even
hate
myself
at times. I am still learning.
It is ironic that, as my
friend in prison is trying to
forgive
himself,
I am in my own prison trying
to do the same.
A:
It does seem that as we learn
more and more to release
others from the projections of
our own
guilt,
we then feel stuck with the
guilt ourselves. Jesus tells
us that Òas blame is withdrawn
from
without,
there is a strong tendency to
harbor it withinÓ
(T-11.IV.4:5). But he goes on
to say, ÒIt is
difficult
at first to realize that this
is exactly the same thing, for
there is no distinction
between
within
and withoutÓ (4:6), and then,
ÒBlame must be undone, not
seen elsewhereÓ (5:3). So
how
do
we do that?
The
question you raise, ÒHow does
one forgive oneself?Ó is a
good one, but it is actually
the
wrong
question. Because we are still
so strongly identified with
our egos, we can not
forgive
ourselves,
at least not by ourselves
(i.e., on our own, which is
the ego state). That is why we
need
Jesus
or the Holy Spirit, or
whatever nonjudgmental symbol
of love and acceptance we
feel
comfortable
with, to look with us at our
Òsins.Ó We need someone
outside of our
guilt-based
thought
system who knows the truth
about who we really are, to
whom we can give our
guilt,
once
we have uncovered it and
recognized its purpose and its
cost. We believe that we are
bodies
that
can hurt and be hurt by each
other. Jesus knows we are
spirit, the guiltless Son of
God who
is
incapable of attack. We donÕt
believe that and in fact we
donÕt want to believe it,
because we
still
want the separation and our
own individuality to be real.
And so the forgiveness
process
must
involve joining with someone
or something outside of
ourselves, such as Jesus, who
knows
separation
and attack and guilt are not
real. We are incapable of this
realization on our own,
by
definition.
The
ego, as you are experiencing
it for yourself, tells us that
we need to atone for our
sins
through
suffering and sacrifice. But
that only reinforces our
belief that our guilt is real
and that
God
is a punishing God who seeks
revenge for our very real
sins. And all of our attempts
then to
gain
release through expiation are
just forms of magic that fail
to address the real problem in
the
mind.
We need to understand that the
problem is not the guilt we
believe we are experiencing
for
our
transgressions here in the
world. Those ÒsinsÓ are really
deliberate distractions,
serving the
purpose
of keeping our focus here in
the world, looking for magical
solutions to release our
guilt
(e.g.,
making amends) or to avoid
experiencing it (e.g.,
addictions). But these only
prevent us
from
looking deeper into our mind
to the real source of all of
our pain and guilt (and
everyone
elseÕs)Ñthe
belief that we have not only
separated ourselves from our
loving Source, but that
we
have
been willing to kill Him, to
destroy Love, to be on our
own.
However,
if we can join with a
reflection of that Love, such
as Jesus or the Holy Spirit,
and look
at
our self-accusations with
their loving presence beside
us, we will have to realize at
some level
that
we have not destroyed love.
And in that recognition, real
forgivenessÑfor what has
never
happenedÑis
possible, dissolving all guilt
and releasing us from our
self-imposed prison. And
then
whatever action or behavior,
if any, may be most helpful
and healing in response to our
so-
called
transgressions against others
in the world will simply flow
through us.
_________________________________________________
Non
Dual Teachings
This part of the
newsletter offers input from non-dual
teachers. What is non-duality? The word
Ônon-dualÕ means not two. On the first
page of the ACIM text there is two line
summary of a Course in Miracles. It begins
with the line ÒNothing real
can be threatened.Ó
This refers to
what God created Ð eternal, formless,
spirit. Eternal means never born and
therefore cannot change or die. The Course
uses the expression Ôthe ChristÕ to denote
this. Behind all the seeming multiplicity
of the universe there is actually only one
essential reality. Just as all the images
on the cinema screen seem different, the
light that creates them is one.
There
is nothing outside you. That is what you
must ultimately learn, for it is the
realization that the Kingdom of Heaven
is restored to you. For God created only
this, and He did not depart from it nor
leave it separate from Himself. The
Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place
of the Son of God, who left not his
Father and dwells not apart from Him.
Heaven is not a place nor a condition.
It is merely an awareness of perfect
Oneness, and the knowledge that there is
nothing else; nothing outside this
Oneness, and nothing else within.
A Course in
Miracles T-18.VI.1.
The second line of
the summary states ÓNothing
unreal exists.Ó This refers to
everything that is born and therefore dies
- the egoÕs world. Thus everything in the
universe including ourselves is not real
according to the Course. It is like a
great dream. Only perfect oneness is
real.
There are two
forms of non-duality Ð pure and impure. In
the impure form God is aware that the
universe is a dream and experiences itself
through it - God's Leela or play as they
say in the East. In the pure form of
non-duality God is unaware of the
universe. The Course is an example of pure
non-dual teachings. A metaphor for this is
a cinema projector where the lamp in the
projector represents God. When the ego's
film of separation is run past the light
it is projected onto the screen of time
and space. The light of God makes this
possible, but the lamp is unaware of what
is on the screen and would continue to
shine when the film is taken away. To
continue with this metaphor the light
extending from the lamp is who we are, the
Christ. ( See chart http://acfip.org/lightbulb.html)
You
dwell not here, but in eternity.
You
travel but in dreams, while safe at
home.
T-13.VII.17:6-7.
You
are at home in God, dreaming of exile
but perfectly capable of awaking to
reality.
T-10.I.2:1.
___________________________________________________
Material from ETs
I introduce ET
material from loving, wise and
non-judgemental sources in most
newsletters. I realise this is a
controversial subject so I want to
introduce below the science behind the
possibility of other life forms in this
universe, some of which are far in advance
of us.
I
recently learned that the US space
agency NASA has been pointing an
orbital telescope at one small part
of our Milky Way galaxy and found
about 3000 planets to date. This led
to one of their department heads
saying there must be more planets in
the universe than stars.
There
are trillions of stars in the
universe. A trillion is a thousand
billion. A billion is a thousand
million. A million days have not
gone by since Jesus died. This is a
very big number.
There
are also trillions of moons. Are
they all empty of life and the only
life is all crowded onto this one
planet? A few hundred years ago we
thought the Earth was at the centre
of the universe and everything else
revolved around us. If some of this
ET life is just a few thousands
years ahead of us technically, they
would have learned how to travel
beyond Einstein's light speed
barrier and easily and quickly visit
us here.
I
believe many of them have much to
teach us especially as some have
been through our current challenges
a very long time ago.
Michael Dawson
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Gradual
Awakening - Adyashanti and Sally Bongers
IÕve
met people for whom awakening almost
happened as if in retrospect, like it
crept up on them. The transition may not
have been marked by distinctive, obvious
moments. ItÕs almost like they crept out
of the dream or crept into outer space,
and then at some point there was
recognition, ÒOh, when did that happen?Ó
They
canÕt really point to any distinct
moment when there was a change, but they
recognize at some point that a real,
total change has happened. So it can
sneak up on you; it can happen that way,
too.
From
The End of Your World by Adyashanti
from: I
am the tree
"Everyday
Enlightenment"
Seven Stories of Awakening - Sally Bongers
There
was a kind of gradual awakening going on
over that time. Sometimes
I felt I was almost getting it but wasn't
sure. The concept of getting it all at
once, I felt, was a block because while it
was taking place I was waiting for the big
bang and blocking what was already there.
That is what the story was - this big
light would come on and angels would sing
or whatever. So it was hard for me to
recognise that it was me, it was this, not
something else.
With
some, realisation comes imperceptibly,
but somehow they need convincing.
They
have changed, but they do not notice it.
Such non spectacular cases are often the
most reliable.
Nisargadatta
Maharaj - I
Am That
You
don't want to accept the ordinary. It's
like: "This can't be it. Is this all there
is to it?" That's what keeps you from
recognising what it is - the expectation
that it is not this, but it's over there
somewhere, it's going to get better,
brighter - whatever the expectations are,
whatever you have been conjuring up in
your mind.
Eventually
the idea that you haven't got it yet just
peters out. Even the thoughts that come up
about it are just the story. It's your
mind. It doesn't want to lose control.
It's not going to let you go so easily.
It's going to keep on running, though the
fact that you don't believe it takes the
juice out of it and weakens it more and
more.
It
will die a natural death.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe
that's why so many of us are waiting for
the big wow, the implication being that
we are missing the awakening that's
going on right here and now in front of
us, because it is so soft and
subtle. We've been conditioned to
look for it in only one kind of package,
and miss it when it comes wrapped
differently, because it doesn't look to
us as expected.
If
awakening comes with a soft "oh my,"
instead of a big, mind-blowing "wow,"
don't overlook the possibility of the
"oh my" in favor of waiting for the big
"wow."
From
an interview with Adyashanti
___________________________________________________
Split
Mind
We're
with you again dear ones. Your journey
continues with us through these subjects
that we are bringing forth here on a
relatively regular basis.
Now
our dear one (Tina Spalding) is a being
who has taken on this work as her life's
purpose. So we would like you at this
point of the interaction... in getting to
know us and in getting to know our deal
one as we call her... we would like you to
pay attention to the judgments that arise
in your mind.
Pay
attention to the judgments that question
the reality of this experience.
Pay
attention to the feelings and emotions
that arise as you begin to gaze into your
own mind, as you begin to shift your own
interaction with your own
consciousness.
What
we want to tell you here, some basic
consciousness rules.
Your
life is a journey through your own
consciousness.
You
have been taught that this world is
objective, that it arises of its own
volition, that things that happened to you
have nothing to do with you. Some of you
are opening up to this idea of creating
your own reality, but for many of you,
this is not a fully formed concept, not a
fully understood belief. You still think
that you are victimized by people. You
still think that your suffering is caused
by others. But it is not. It all arises
within your own consciousness, and your
consciousness plays out in front of
you.
It
plays out in all of your relationships, it
plays out in your work, it plays out in
your car accidents and your sicknesses.
These are all places that your
consciousness expresses itself. But you
have a great rift in your mind and the
rift in your mind is what we call a split
mind. The split mind is a consciousness
that is trying to keep itself at peace,
and this is not a bad purpose. We are
trying to bring you to a state of peace,
but with an integrated mind.
What
most egoic consciousnesses do, and
remember, this is a place of the ego, this
is a place of the split mind. For most
beings on this plane at this time, except
those who are on the very leading edge of
awakening, they believe that the world is
happening to them and that they have no
influence over it. And this is a very
powerless and frightening place for you to
be. We are here to tell you that you have
great influence, that you have great
power, that you have, in fact, at your
fingertips the creative power of a God,
and you can change your world.
Now in
your Judeo Christian culture, for you are
in a Judeo Christian culture, you have
forgotten that. It seems modern, it seems
evolved and liberated, but it is in fact
quite restricted by ancient teachings that
were inflicted upon your society and upon
which your society has been built.
Behavioral norms that are, in fact,
Christian in nature, as defined by the
Christian church. You are now living in a
society that was founded on these rules,
founded on these ancient traditions. But
some of these ancient traditions, some of
these rules, are not so, are not true in
that sense. And so we are leading you
through an experience that is going to
take you into many, many different realms,
many, many different aspects and facets of
your own consciousness, in an effort to
reintegrate your mind.
You
see, you have placed many ideas outside of
your mind that you do not like. And you
call them wars, you call them sickness,
you call them horrible people. But in
actual fact, they are manifestations of
your own mind, ideas that you have
disconnected yourself from, ideas that you
have refused to accept. And this is a
complicated concept for the western mind,
for you are raised in a scientific
tradition that tells you that this world
is materialistic, not spiritual. It tells
you it is objective and not subjective.
But we are here to tell you
different.
We are
here to bring into the modern times some
ancient teachings that have been forgotten
in your secular world, that have been
dismissed by fundamental religious beliefs
over the centuries. And now we are
speaking the truth to you, we are speaking
the truth that you are a great magnet. You
are a great creator. And the ideas and
beliefs that you hold in your mind are
that which is creating your body, are that
which is creating your world, and are that
which is creating your experience.
So
over these many, many days of instruction
that you will receive, if you continue to
join us in this excursion into mind, you
will find out about many different aspects
of mind that perhaps you have not heard
about before. Perhaps you have heard about
them, but spoken in different ways,
different language.
But we
are here to tell you that it is YOUR mind
that is creating your experience. Your
life is YOU showing up as people, places
and things.
So if
you have conflict in your world, that is
because you have conflict in your mind. If
you have sickness in your body, it is
because you have unhealthy ideas in your
mind. If you are experiencing poverty, it
is because you have ideas of scarcity
within your own mind. And you are
manufacturing things of like-vibration,
and attracting them to you.
There
are many, many ways to change this
experience. You can have many, many
different practices, many different
mantras or exercises. But the biggest
concept that we want to introduce in this
daily lesson is the idea of
'forgiveness'.
Forgiveness
is a practice that asks you to look at the
world differently. It asks you to look at
the world with a soft eye, a gentle eye, a
questioning eye, an open heart, an open
mind. Not judging it as wrong. Not judging
it as evil. Not judging it as 'other'. But
asking that question, "Does this situation
have something to do with me? Does this
person who is yelling at me angry and
frustrated have something to show me about
my own anger? Does this family member who
is ignoring me, do they have a message for
me? Do I ignore people?
This
world is a reflection of you and so we
want you to plant that idea in your mind
today. We want you to go out into your
world today. Look at the people in your
life. Look at the jobs, look at the
frustrations, look at your home, look at
your finances. Just with an easy eye, and
ask yourself where are you thriving? Where
are you happy? And look at the beliefs
that you hold about that particular area
of your life. The joy you bring to it, the
enthusiasm you bring to it perhaps? And
then look at a part of your life that is
not thriving. Look at a part of your life
that is stilted or limited. And then look
at the beliefs that you hold about that
part of your life. Are they fearful? Are
they unloving? Are they frightened?
This
is what is creating your world. This is
what is bringing to you in physical form,
a reflection of that which is ideological
in the mind. And this is a revolution,
indeed, for once you grasp this truth,
once you grasp this idea, then you will in
fact have in your hands the reins of your
life, the control of your life, and you
will be able to begin to manufacture, in
physical form, that which you wish. You
will be able to attract to you the kinds
of relationships, the kinds of abundance,
the kinds of experiences that you
want.
But to
do that, you must understand how creation
works. You must understand that it is
vibrational in nature, that is YOU, coming
to YOU, in physical form. It is a
reflection, a mirror of your internal,
unmanifested world, ideas, thoughts,
beliefs, coming to you to show you what is
actually going on in your mind. This seems
a big topic for you to understand what is
going on in your mind. But trust us, this
is where it all begins. This is where your
life begins. This is where your health
begins. And this is where you see where
you are unloving and disconnected from
love. For that as all humans want, they
want to give love and receive love, feel
healthy and happy and creative and enjoy
themselves. So we are teachers that are
leading you along this road to those
experiences, but you must understand how
creation works. You must take
responsibility for your own experience and
your own creative power.
We
will look forward to these many
conversations, but today that is our
lesson to give you.
We
would say look inside your world and ask
yourself, where are you happy? Where are
you unhappy? And see if you can discern
the difference between the ideas that you
have about the good parts of your life,
and the ideas that you have about what you
consider the bad parts.
Remember,
you are not here to be perfection, you are
here to come to see that which is untrue
in your mind. You are on a journey to
return to love, to return to your natural
state as a loving giving creative part of
God-mind if you want to call it
that.
We are
merely here to assist you in helping to
identify where your lack of love lies, so
that you can begin to bring love to that
part of your mind, and therefore to that
part of your life. It will begin to
flourish, it will begin to flower just
like the strong and thriving parts of your
life already are. You know how to do it in
some areas. But for most of you, you have
an area or two, or three, where you are
frustrated, where you are having a
difficult time. And that is where we want
to help you ease your experience. Where we
want to help you raise your vibration so
that you may begin to experience more joy,
more happiness, more health, more
abundance. We are Ananda, we are your dear
teachers and friends and we will speak to
you again soon.
July
13, 2015
___________________________________________________
Quotes
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..... The
search for reality is the most
dangerous of all undertakings for
it will destroy the world in which
you live. But if your motive is
love of truth and life, you need
not be afraid.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That
The beginning of
freedom is the realization that
you are not the possessing entity
- the thinker. Knowing this
enables you to observe the entity.
The moment you start watching the
thinker, a higher level of
consciousness becomes activated.
You then begin to
realize that there is a vast realm
of intelligence beyond thought,
that thought is only a tiny aspect
of that intelligence. You also
realize that all the things that
truly matter -- beauty, love,
creativity, joy, inner peace --
arise from beyond the mind.
You begin to awaken.
Eckhart Tolle
Practicing the Power
of Now
When you are willing
to accept sole responsibility for
the ego's existence you will have
laid aside all anger and all
attack, because they come from an
attempt to project responsibility
for your own errors. But having
accepted the errors as yours, do
not keep them. Give them over
quickly to the Holy Spirit to be
undone completely, so that all
their effects will vanish from
your mind and from the Sonship as
a whole.
A Course in Miracles
(T.7.VIII.5:4-6).
This world is a dreamÑdon't
be deluded;
if in a dream a hand is
lost, it's no harm.
In dreams, no real damage
is done if the
body is maimed or torn in
two hundred pieces.
The Prophet said of this
apparently substantial
world that it is but the
sleeper's dream.
You've accepted this as an
idea, but the spiritual
traveler has beheld this
truth with an open eye.
You are asleep in the
daytime; don't say this is
not sleep.
- Rumi
Version by Camille and
Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of
Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
The journey to God
The journey to God is
merely the reawakening of the
knowledge of where you are always,
and what you are forever. It is a
journey without distance to a goal
that has never changed. Truth can
only be experienced. It cannot be
described and it cannot be
explained. I can make you aware of
the conditions of truth, but the
experience is of God. Together we
can meet its conditions, but truth
will dawn upon you of itself.
A Course in Miracles
T-8.VI.9:6-11
The real does not die,
the unreal never lived..... The
world and the mind are states of
being. The supreme is not a state.
It pervades all states, but it is
not a state of something else. It
is entirely uncaused, independent,
complete in itself, beyond time
and space, mind and
matter.....There is nothing to
recognise it by. It must be seen
directly, by giving up all search
for signs and approaches. When all
names and forms have been given
up, the real is with you. You need
not seek it. Plurality and
diversity are the play of the mind
only. Reality is one.
I Am That
Nisargadatta Maharaj
Well, we can tell you
that if you actually go into
the minds of many beings, they
are not thinking smart things
at all. They are regurgitating
old family stories. They are
replaying old resentments and
fears. They are projecting
into the future of things they
don't want to have happen, not
understanding the power of
their mind. Not understanding
that every thought is a
prayer.
Every thought you have
is sending out a frequency
that will attract to you
things of a like frequency
very, very quickly.
You may notice that if
you have one negative thought
it tumbles into another
negative thought, and before
you know it, you are feeling
terrible and the day is
ruined. That is the Law of
Attraction playing out in the
non-physical sense.
But those negative
thoughts are also going to
attract to youÑ if you keep
having them Ñ they are also
going to attract to you
experiences, people, places,
and things of that frequency.
So when you have, we
will call it, what do you call
it, 'a brain worm' where
something just keeps going
around and around and around
and around in your head Ñ that
is something that is creating
and manifesting a single
thought into a thought form. A
thought form then has more
power because it is infused
with your power. You are
powerful creators.
So the thought forms
that you are feeding Ñ
"I am not worthy
enough."
"I am poor.
"Nobody loves me."
"The world is
dangerous."
Ñ those kinds of
thoughts you have held in your
mind repeatedly, create
thought forms which then begin
to become more and more
powerful because of your
imbuing them with your
creative power.
It is not God working
against you, it is not the
world working against
you,
it is your thought
forms magnetizing to you
something of a like frequency.
_________________________________________________