Hello, Everyone!
My hope and intention for this blog is that it will be more about interchange among students than "teaching." Along these lines, I'd like to ask each of you to think about the most frustrating or challenging questions you have about Course. Then I'd like you to post those on the blog for discussion.
I'll start the ball rolling. CIM says the key to peace, the key to the kingdom within you, is forgiveness. I'd like to ask what methods or practices you've found most effective, from your personal experience, for forgiving your deepest or most longstanding hurts.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Where does fear come from?
Hello again, I'd like to address Jeremy's comment on "A Better Way to Catch a Snake." Jeremy commented that, if you want to catch a snake and not get bitten in the process, it's best to learn from a master snake catcher. ACIM was channeled from a master, Jesus of Nazareth. In the Course, Jesus attempts to share his experience with regard to "catching" peace.
Most of us live our lives in fear--fear that some nut will push the button for nuclear meltdown, that the stock market will collapse, that we won't have enough insurance coverage, that our loved ones will abandon us, and so on. Jesus is very clear in ACIM how to rid our lives of fear.
First, Jesus says, "Don't ask me to rid your mind of fear." Why? Because, he says, it's not God's will for anyone to control your life except you. God placed the kingdom of heaven within YOU. That gives you dominion over your life experiences. Jesus says in Course that he is your equal, one to be respected as an elder brother, but not one to "lord it" over your life.
At the same time, Jesus shares with anyone who "has ears to listen"how to rid oneself of fear. He begins by saying that, though we call them by myriad names, there are only two emotions: love and fear. The first is judgment free. The second entails judgment. When we judge, others or ourselves, we expect retaliation and that expectation creates fear. When we relinquish judgment, our fears dissolve. As uncomplicated as that.
As human beings, we often think our judgments are the measure of our intelligence. We think smart people are wary people, people who worry about the state of things. ACIM calls this a problem of authorship. We think we authored ourselves and the world and that it's about to blow up in our faces. True, we "author" or generate this illusion we call the world, but God created All That Is. And that means All That Is is good. There is no life outside of God, ergo, there is nothing to fear.
As the intro to the Course so aptly puts it: "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God." If God made it, it can't be threatened. If God didn't make it, it isn't real and is no cause for concern.
But how does a "normal" person get through his day, or even through a few minutes, without making a judgment? In the physical realm which we inhabit, we are constantly called upon to decide--what to wear, what to eat, where to buy our insurance, who to cast our vote for. These are decisions of preference, not judgments. I prefer short sleeves today. I prefer chocolate cake for lunch. The judgment that ACIM refers to is evaluating someone or something as not all that God created it to be. It's declaring that someone or something is "less than" or "inferior to" the perfection God created. This constitutes "attack." And what happens when we attack? We fear retaliation.
The bottom line of all fear is that we believe we have attacked God, as the parable of The Garden of Eden so poignantly portrays. (Also the story of the Prodigal Son.) And therefore we fear retaliation from the most Awesome Force there is. From God Herself. Yet are told in Course--by the master--that God has never judged anyone or anything--except as perfect. Who do you think is more likely to be correct? Jesus or you and me?
Most of us live our lives in fear--fear that some nut will push the button for nuclear meltdown, that the stock market will collapse, that we won't have enough insurance coverage, that our loved ones will abandon us, and so on. Jesus is very clear in ACIM how to rid our lives of fear.
First, Jesus says, "Don't ask me to rid your mind of fear." Why? Because, he says, it's not God's will for anyone to control your life except you. God placed the kingdom of heaven within YOU. That gives you dominion over your life experiences. Jesus says in Course that he is your equal, one to be respected as an elder brother, but not one to "lord it" over your life.
At the same time, Jesus shares with anyone who "has ears to listen"how to rid oneself of fear. He begins by saying that, though we call them by myriad names, there are only two emotions: love and fear. The first is judgment free. The second entails judgment. When we judge, others or ourselves, we expect retaliation and that expectation creates fear. When we relinquish judgment, our fears dissolve. As uncomplicated as that.
As human beings, we often think our judgments are the measure of our intelligence. We think smart people are wary people, people who worry about the state of things. ACIM calls this a problem of authorship. We think we authored ourselves and the world and that it's about to blow up in our faces. True, we "author" or generate this illusion we call the world, but God created All That Is. And that means All That Is is good. There is no life outside of God, ergo, there is nothing to fear.
As the intro to the Course so aptly puts it: "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God." If God made it, it can't be threatened. If God didn't make it, it isn't real and is no cause for concern.
But how does a "normal" person get through his day, or even through a few minutes, without making a judgment? In the physical realm which we inhabit, we are constantly called upon to decide--what to wear, what to eat, where to buy our insurance, who to cast our vote for. These are decisions of preference, not judgments. I prefer short sleeves today. I prefer chocolate cake for lunch. The judgment that ACIM refers to is evaluating someone or something as not all that God created it to be. It's declaring that someone or something is "less than" or "inferior to" the perfection God created. This constitutes "attack." And what happens when we attack? We fear retaliation.
The bottom line of all fear is that we believe we have attacked God, as the parable of The Garden of Eden so poignantly portrays. (Also the story of the Prodigal Son.) And therefore we fear retaliation from the most Awesome Force there is. From God Herself. Yet are told in Course--by the master--that God has never judged anyone or anything--except as perfect. Who do you think is more likely to be correct? Jesus or you and me?
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Course Momma
Hello, This is my first post. I recently had an interchange with a woman through a Linkedin group who said her life had been ruined by A Course in Miracles (CIM). Because of it, she said, she'd lost her boyfriend, her job, her very sanity. Having facilitated CIM for more than a decade and seen so many lives joyfully transformed by it, I've long had a dream of finding a means to dialog with CIM students to try to assist and support them in having the best possible experience with their studies. The blog appears a perfect forum for that.
Though CIM is often touted as a "self-study" tool, trying to study it in isolation actually defeats the purpose of the Course. Also known as A Foundation for Inner Peace, the goal of the Course is to attain inner peace through the remembrance of our Oneness. The only way to remember our Oneness is through relationships. So trying to approach these studies in isolation is sort of like trying to play a minor chord without the black notes.
The method of the Course is first to break down and silence the ego and its non-stop chatter of error/fear thoughts. This is done through mind re-training practices. There are 365 lesson, one for each day of the year. The first thirty lessons are devoted to breaking down the ego, a scary process but necessary to "clearing one's slate" so that a new paradigm, based on universal truth, can be introduced. It's during these first thirty lessons that it's particularly advisable to work with others who've already run that gauntlet and "survived."
My plan is to start with Lesson One on Jan. 1, 2012, to provide weekly commentaries on the lessons, and to entertain questions and comments from anyone following the blog. In the meantime, I'll make periodic posts to give background on the Course--how it came about, what it says, basic terminology, etc. Questions and comments are also welcomed during this phase. I hope you'll join me in this Life-transforming "journey without distance."
Though CIM is often touted as a "self-study" tool, trying to study it in isolation actually defeats the purpose of the Course. Also known as A Foundation for Inner Peace, the goal of the Course is to attain inner peace through the remembrance of our Oneness. The only way to remember our Oneness is through relationships. So trying to approach these studies in isolation is sort of like trying to play a minor chord without the black notes.
The method of the Course is first to break down and silence the ego and its non-stop chatter of error/fear thoughts. This is done through mind re-training practices. There are 365 lesson, one for each day of the year. The first thirty lessons are devoted to breaking down the ego, a scary process but necessary to "clearing one's slate" so that a new paradigm, based on universal truth, can be introduced. It's during these first thirty lessons that it's particularly advisable to work with others who've already run that gauntlet and "survived."
My plan is to start with Lesson One on Jan. 1, 2012, to provide weekly commentaries on the lessons, and to entertain questions and comments from anyone following the blog. In the meantime, I'll make periodic posts to give background on the Course--how it came about, what it says, basic terminology, etc. Questions and comments are also welcomed during this phase. I hope you'll join me in this Life-transforming "journey without distance."
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