Blake tells us:

“The art of living is forgetting and forgiving.”

Remember that it is the picture that is the gift. You always choose …

between truth and illusion;

 between the real “Atonement” and the ego's "atonement".

 It is not a picture, but a reality.

Forgiveness

Many people apply various kinds of salve or balm to old emotional wounds, but this simply does not work. They may self-righteously fore-go overt and physical revenge, yet "take it out" or "get even" in many subtle ways. A typical example is the wife who discovers her husband's infidelity. Upon the advice of her minister and/or psychiatrist, she agrees she should forgive him. Accordingly she does not shoot him. She does not leave him. In all overt behavior she is a dutiful wife. She keeps the house neatly; she prepares meals well; and so on. But she makes his life hell on earth in many subtle ways by the coldness of her heart and by flaunting her moral superiority. When he complains, her answer is, "Well, dear, I did forgive you-but I cannot forget." Her very "forgiveness" becomes a thorn in his side, because she is conscious of the fact that it is proof of her moral superiority. She would have been more kind to him, and been happier herself, had she refused this type of forgiveness and left him.

Salvation comes from my one Self.

Correct action is action against anything which is _wrong_, not merely against whatever is wrong with the neighbor or the social system. It is an endless trick of egotism to see wrongness outside of itself, while conveniently forgetting its own falsity which contributes to the very social system it denounces. By seeing both sides of wrongness at once, both within and without, we no longer divide it, which means we are no longer wrong. VH

Osteens talk role of faith after Boston, Texas tragedies

Forgiveness: When, will WE learn?

Sunday, January 22, 2012 When will we cease running after Truth, and learn to "be still, and know that I am God"?

St. Peter: “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?” Jesus saith unto him, “I say not unto thee until seven times: but until seventy times seven.” – St. Matthew, 21.

Sunday, July 4, 2010 This is the acid test of forgiveness.

In Warsaw, in 1939, a man watched as the Nazis machine-gunned hundreds of jews, including his wife, two daughters, and three sons.  “I had to decide right then whether to let myself hate the soldiers who had done this. It was an easy decision, really. I was a lawyer. In my practice I had seen too often what hate could do to people's minds and bodies. Hate had just killed the six people who mattered most to me in the world. I decided then that I would spend the rest of my life–whether it was a few days or many years–loving every person I came in contact with.” ‘—‘George G. Ritchie, Return from Tomorrow, pp. 115-116

Man's original nature

"A small child separated from his parents in a crowd will honestly sob out his terror. But mankind is not so honest; it bluffs by pretending that its parents are the ones who are lost. Its frantic bluffs lead to war, crime, alcoholism and every kind of disaster.
Clearly, these tragedies are not the basic problems; they are the inevitable results of self-deception. The basic problem is man's alienation from his original nature, which can be corrected. There is no alternative to this solution. It is man's frantic insistence upon substitutes which releases the flood of folly upon earth." VH

Love Has Forgiven Me.

Is it necessary to be at the mercy of painful moods and feelings? It is not.
Is there a practical plan for escaping from attacks of depression, dismay, nervousness? There is.

Vernon Howard

God’s Love is the basis of forgiveness. Fear condemns and love forgives. Forgiveness thus undoes what fear has produced, returning the mind to the awareness of God. For this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation. It is the means by which illusions disappear. “God is the Love in which I forgive you, [insert name]” put’s you in a position to forgive yourself. When you become aware of any kind of negative reaction to anyone, present or not, tell them silently: “God is the Love in which I forgive you.” God does not forgive because He has never condemned. And there must be condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is the great need of this world, but that is because it is a world of illusions. Those who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them. As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive only yourself. Lesson 46

ACIM / UNITY

Just a reminder of 2 invaluable resources from the Foundation for A Course in Miracles

1. TEACHING MATERIALS ABOUT A Course in Miracles
2. QUESTION and ANSWER SERVICE
   

Things we should do more often:

• Hug someone. If you can't, imagine who you would if you could.
• Those pennies you see on the ground. They're adding to your first million. Put them in the box at Tim's.
• Stop rushing. Hold the door for someone. Smile.
• Help someone else with leads to that job they need or with their computer problems.
• Compliment others that need it. Give them a boost, keep them positive. Joke with the cashier at Loblaws.
• Start a website. Join an online network. Blog. Share what you know. Inspire others. Show them where to get information(websites, books).

Goal Setting (Practical forgiveness)

Without a clear-cut, positive goal, set at the outset, the situation just seems to happen, and makes no sense until it has already happened. (CH17,VI,3.1)

No goal was set with which to bring the means in line. (CH17,VI,3.5).

The universe will serve it gladly, as it serves the universe. (CH17,VII,6.8)
Most of the LofA stuff leaves out the mutual beneficial component with the universe.

Unity Church in Kitchener has their Sunday services online.

They also have Prayers and Meditations.