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

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

Here I am Lord.

Relating to the scribing of ACIM, “Absence from Felicity” (Keneth Wapnick, 1991) does contain some interesting ideas. I’m presenting a few tidbits. Please read the text to verify the content and context of the material presented.

Karma/Past Lives/Reincarnation

·         Time is linear, the so-called past (karma, reincarnation) is merely symbolic of a more repressed thought that is actually coexistent with the more conscious ones experienced as occurring in the present.

·         Karmic theories tend to induce genetic fallasy (reducing all behaviour and feelings to the past whether in the form of past lives genetic make-up. or early developmental makeup), over looking the 'truly' religious fact that NOW is the only time.

·         Both karma and reincarnation are linked to linear time, as opposed to the REALITY of ETERNITY. Everything we DO, THINK or FEEL comes from a decision made by the mind in the present. NOW is the ONLY TIME.

Spiritual Power

·         Spiritual power can be misused so it becomes self-serving rather than God-serving. (para-phrased)

Atonement

·         In ACIM, the chalice represents a symbol of the Atonement, the Holy Spirit’s correction of the belief in the sin of separation.

·         The impersonal nature of miracles is because Atonement is one. By being one it unites all creations with their Creator.

·         Complete restoration of the Son-ship is the only true goal of the miracle minded.

Prayer.

·         “For where two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20) [There was also a reference to four of them going into the silence, asking for guidance and all receiving the same answer.”After all, minds are joined”. I found it interesting that I took a Prosperity course at Unity and they seemed to have missed the mark of True prayer and guidance.]

·         True prayer in ACIM terms is the joining with God in forgiveness and love.

·         Meditation is a collaborative venture with God. It cannot be undertaken successfully by those that disengage themselves from the Son-ship because in doing so they are disengaging themselves from Me.

·         I would like to pray that my will be united with Thine, recognizing that Thy perfect love will correct for my imperfect love. I pray that I may accept the Atonement with conviction, recognizing its inevitable worth, and my own divine worth as part of this identification with Thee. I pray that my fear be replaced by an active sense of Thy love, and Thy continual willingness to help me over come the split, or divided will , which is responsible for my difficulty with this. I accept the divinity of the messages I receive and affirm my will in both accepting  and acting upon the Atonement principle. Here I am, Lord.

·         I will to see myself only as I truly am. Nothing else can matter but this. The kingdom is entirely filled with peace and joy, and I am an essential part of it. \I will only for God and His kingdom. That is my reality, all else is illusion. I will be helpful as I offer to help others. I will know myself as I recognize my only true relationship with all my brothers. Amen.

Within the world of separation, every person’s mind contains both ways of seeing: the ego’s guilt and attack, and the Holy Spirit’s forgiveness and Unity.

Lighthouse analogy.

·         ‘Jesus represents an abstract presence of love in our minds, similar to a lighthouse that simply shines its light into the darkness. The ships lost at sea sail to the light. The light does not actively call them but merely reminds them where safety lies.’

·         We have sometimes seen an image of a lighthouse shining it’s light unto the sea, calling to it those passers-by who sought it. For us, the light is the Course’s teachings of forgiveness …

Why ACIM.

1.       A return to the original form of Christianity.

2.       Undoing the belief in the reality of separation and guilt.

3.       To have us choose the Holy Spirit as our Teacher.

Perhaps Quimby, Hopkins, Cramer, Brooks and others connected with the “new thought” were a 1^st attempt or sowed the seeds of that generation.

Learn better concentration. When the mind flits about too much for good communication use a very short phrase like "Here I am Lord" and don't think of anything else. Just pull in your mind slowly from everywhere else and center it on these words. This will also give you the realization that YOU really are.

Similar to the exercise that the French philosopher, Rene' Descartes, used as the foundation for his philosophical system. http://pvrguymale.blogspot.ca/2012/07/i-think-therefore-i-am.html

“Jesus, my brother, show me your love.”

What Emma Curtis Hopkins called the “race mind’, belief in SIN / GUILT / PUNISHEMENT / SEPARATION / DISEASE, I’ve often referred to as wRONG-minded thinking. RIGHT-minded thinking is listening to the Holy Spirit, the Christ Mind or the Christ Consciousness.

Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek the light are merely covering their eyes. The light is in them now. Enlightenment is but a recognition, not a change at all. You are the co-creator of all things that live. For as the peace of God is shining in you, it must shine on them.

‘There is no way to enlightenment, enlightenment is the way’.

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Thích Nhất Hạnh (born October 11, 1926) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist who now lives in France where he was in exile for many years. Born Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Thích Nhất Hạnh joined a Zen (Vietnamese: Thiền) monastery at the age of 16, and studied Buddhism as a novitiate. Upon his ordination as a monk in 1949, he assumed the Dharma name Thích Nhất Hạnh. Thích is an honorary family name used by all Vietnamese monks and nuns, meaning that they are part of the Shakya (Shakyamuni Buddha) clan. He is often considered the most influential living figure in the lineage of Lâm Tế (Vietnamese Rinzai) Thiền, and perhaps also in Zen Buddhism as a whole.

He was awarded the Courage of Conscience award in 1991, has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English and has been featured in many films, including The Power of Forgiveness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thich_Nhat_Hanh
“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”― Thich Nhat Hanh
From Northern Ireland to Beirut to Ground Zero, featuring Elie Wiesel, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Moore, Marianne Williamson, James Forbes and others, The POWER of FORGIVENESS explores the challenges and reveals how forgiveness can transform your life.
“We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

Commitment, the acid test of forgiveness

Forgiveness may be considered simply in terms of the person who forgives including forgiving themselves, in terms of the person forgiven or in terms of the relationship between the forgiver and the person forgiven.

If you have truly forgiven someone, you will remember the incident, but will no longer feel the sting or hurt.This is the acid test of forgiveness. You must meet it psychologically and spiritual. Otherwise you are simple deceiving yourself. You are not practicing the art of true forgiveness.

To Understand All Is to Forgive All

Once you understand the creative law of your own mind, you stop blaming other people and conditions for making or marring your life. You realize that your own thoughts and feelings create your destiny. Furthermore, you are aware that externals are not the causes and conditioners of your life and your experiences. To think that others can mar your happiness, that you are the football of a cruel fate, that you must oppose and fight others for a living-all these ideas reveal their destructive nature once you understand that thoughts are things.
This principle is clearly set forth in the Bible:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7; King James)
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
Rev. Joseph Murphy

I was reminded of that today. I received an email: “If only we … If only you … “.
The reality is “What is IS”
No pain, no shame, no regrets.
Commitment
Although it's not always easy,
this is part of loving someone
unconditionally
with all your heart and
with all you have to give!

It's a promise that should last a lifetime.

It
describes you as a person
and
describes the essence of your soul.

It's a promise to be there,
one for the other,
no matter what happens,
no matter who falls.

For better or for worse.

For better
or
for worse.

ForgetMeNot.

The phrase "I will forgive but never forget" is a well-known one and is used by many groups and people. It is typically what the world thinks of as forgiveness: yes, you have done something terrible, unconscionable, and sinful, and I do forgive you, but I will not forget. One of the rationalizations for that position is that if I forget and if the world forgets what you did, then we can end up in the same boat again.
. . .
" A Course in Miracles is quite clear about why that does not work. . . . If you accuse someone of sin, whether you are doing it on a global scale or a personal scale, and then you adopt the position, "I will forgive but I will never forget," you are accusing them of a sin because you do not want to see that sin in yourself.
. . .
"I am a wonderful, sincere, faithful Christian; therefore, I forgive you for what you have done, but you have done it." There is no way you can take that position without looking down on the person you are so-called forgiving.
. . .
Love does not judge, condemn, make comparisons, or see sin. Therefore, if you see sin, if you accuse anyone of anything on any level, it must be because in the instant you are making that misperception, you have pushed love away in your mind. Whenever we push love away, as we all did right at the beginning when as one Son we pushed God's Love away, we must feel guilty. Must. (From http://www.facim.org/excerpts/s13series.htm)
. . .
The world of linear time—past, present, and future—is one of the frameworks of our physical universe, and it is certainly one of the frameworks of our experience here. We all have a past, we all experience ourselves in the present, and we all anticipate a future, both as individuals and as members of races, various groups, and species. But linear time is a projection of what we usually refer to as the ego's unholy trinity, which is a constellation of the thoughts of sin, guilt, and fear in the mind that preceded the physical universe. They are the foundations of what A Course in Miracles refers to as the wrong (wRONG) mind: the part of the split mind that is the home of the ego, which is the home of the thought system of separation. (http://www.facim.org/excerpts/s13e2.htm)

Every special relationship you have made has, as its fundamental purpose, the aim of occupying your mind so completely that you will not hear the call of truth. (T-17.IV.3:3–4:3)

Foundation for A COURSE IN MIRACLES excerpted material here
Foundation for A COURSE IN MIRACLES Web site here

Herein of course lies the problem. I do not want to remember the Father, because if I remember the Father I will remember His Son. And I will remember that His Son is totally at one with his Father, which means the separation never happened, which means I never happened. I do not like that. And if peace is the only way that I can remember God—as the later section says, "The memory of God comes to the quiet mind" (T-23.I.1:1)—then I sure as heck will not be peaceful and will not be quiet.

How to Know When You Have Truth? That's easy. If you have been healed, whether of physical afflictions or mental disturbance or domestic in harmony or business perplexities, or worry, doubt, fear or anything, all is well. [How To Put The Subconscious Mind To Work By David V Bush (1924)]

God's universe is to every man exactly what his mind sees it to be. If the mind be free, and light, and joyous, the world is ablaze with sunlight, joy, and happiness, even though in appearance it be the darkest day of all the year. But if sorrow and despair have found lodgment there the world's delights and grand activities are huge mountains of dreariness in which is no fascination at all, but intense weariness instead. [How To Put The Subconscious Mind To Work By David V Bush (1924)]

How to look at all the various theories and concerns surrounding 2012 from the point of view of the A Course In Miracles.

http://youtu.be/CuBst9mEY6U

2012, Solar activity, Planetary movements, New Awakening, 100th Monkey (Consciousness shift being healed as ONE), healing the planet. These are ego related (wRONG minded thinking or projections).

That doesn’t mean you will condone things like GMOs,
but you treat them as forgiveness lessons and act accordingly.

“I AM” the way, this applies to you the reader.
You believe you’re separate from God.
So you heal your mind.
Whether others follow your example really doesn’t matter.
You’re safe in the Kingdom.

Murphy, Woodward, Goddard, Rawson got it.
So did some New Thoughters.
WE/You can too.

The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.

"The secret of imagining is the greatest of all problems, to the solution of which every man should aspire; for supreme power, supreme wisdom, and supreme delight, lie in the solution of this great mystery.”

When you solve the great mystery of imagining, you will have found the cause of the phenomena of life. Imagination is called “Jehovah” in the Old Testament and “Jesus” in the New, but they are one and the same being. Divine Imagination, containing all, reproduces itself in the human imagination; therefore, all things exist in the human imagination. When you solve the problem of imagining, you will have found Christ, the secret of causation.

Let me share with experiences which came to me this past week. A lady said:

"Returning from a wonderful cruise recently, I checked my baggage at La Guardia Airport, bound for Chicago, where I expected to spend a few days with friends. Arriving in Chicago, I discovered that the bag which contained most of my clothes and all of the presents I had bought for my friends and relatives - as well as a locket I had had made from the engagement and wedding band my late husband had given me - was missing. I immediately reported the loss to the airline, but when I arrived in California there was still no trace of it.

"A week later I received a letter saying that the bag could not be located, and my first reaction was to curse the airline for their negligence; but then I remembered that imagining creates reality. I tried to reconstruct the letter, but when I couldn't feel its words were true, I began to assume that the bag had arrived at the house. I lifted it up on the bed, opened it, put my clothes away, as well as the gifts which were there. I did this every night and during the day, when I would notice my thoughts going astray.

"When the grandchildren would ask about their presents, I told them that they were on their way, as I never admitted to anyone that the bag was lost. How could I, if I believe what I had imagined? Six weeks later I received a letter from the airline saying: `If you do not pick up your bag within five days, you will be charged storage.' I picked up the bag to find everything there, and put them all away, just as I had imagined doing."

Then the lady added this thought:

"Love's labor is never lost. Everything in that bag was loved, and I knew that if this principle was true, it would prove itself in the testing - and it did."

This lady's first impulse was to curse the person who stupidly lost the bag. Then, remembering what she had heard, she tried to revise the letter. When that didn't seem natural, she asked herself what she would do if the bag was now in her possession. Assuming it was there, she did everything she would do if it was a physical fact - and six weeks later it was.

The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.~ William Blake

That is what I mean by imagining creating reality, for an assumption is faith; and without faith it is impossible to please your own wonderful human imagination. Divine Imagination, containing all, reproduces itself in human imagination; therefore, the human imagination contains all. The world is the human imagination pushed out. Not knowing this, man cheats himself, murders himself, declares war against himself, and does all sorts of evil against himself; but do not let yourself be intimidated by the horror of the world. Leave it alone, for it is only the misuse of the power exercised by sleeping mankind.

This world is every bit as much a dream as that world, and you, its dreamer, are God learning to exercise your powerful imagination, in love.

You can take this message on either level. Use it as my friend did, when she would not accept the fact that her luggage was missing, or test your power from above. Scripture claims that: Whatever you desire, if you will believe you already have it, you will.

Refusing to believe her luggage was missing, my friend fulfilled her desire by placing it on the bed, removing its contents, and putting them away. This she did every night for five weeks, and then one day she received a notice saying that if she did not pick up her luggage within five days she would be charged storage! I can't thank her enough for sharing this experience with me, that I may share it with you to encourage you to control your human imagination; for if you would steer a true course toward a certain goal in life, you must ever be aware of the end that you are shaping by your imaginal activity, and not allow doubt to enter for one moment. When you know what you want, you must think from your belief in its possession, morning, noon, and night. If you do, no power can stop its appearance, because you are the dreamer of your dream, pushing yourself out, shaping your world by your imaginal activities.

When you call with the name, you say: I am unpacking the suitcase. I am hanging the clothes in the closet. I am putting the presents away. I am arresting the activity within and silencing those who stand before me. I am saying: "You love her and she loves you.'" That's calling with the name of God. And from that moment on, men began to call with the name of God.

If you really believe me, you will prove my words in the testing.

From this level she brought her luggage back with all of its contents in place, while the other went into a deeper level of her being to discover that there was nothing on the outside but herself.

Vision is simply awakening in the dream. Asleep, you seem to be the victim of your dreams; but awake, as you are here, you can become discriminating.

Any time you exercise your imagination lovingly on behalf of another you have done the right thing. But if it is not done in love there is a question mark, for God is love. This knowledge is not the result of some philosophic reasoning, but of self-revelation. God unveiled himself within me and now I know that God is Infinite love. Yes, he is Infinite Power and Wisdom as well, but power without love can raise horror.

One day you will know this truth, but in the meanwhile believe me as the lady did. When her natural human impulse was to curse, she blessed by imagining her luggage on her bed. Then she performed in her imagination what she would do in the flesh if her desire was now out pictured on her screen of space. This world is a play, peopled by those in costumes. You are its author, writing your play. You can change it (as my friend did) and prove to yourself that you can take a fixed idea and change it.

Believe me, imagining does create reality.

Take my message to heart and apply it from now on. You can be the man you would like to be. Don't start dreaming about it. Awake and think from it. Do not concern yourself about trying to meet the so-called "right" people. They are simply reflections of the activity you have placed within you. Change your thoughts and you will change the behavior of those who surround you for they are nothing more than yourself made visible.

Neville 12-05-1969

From THE SECRET OF CAUSATION

Metaphors of life.

A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea.
Examples:
• "Her eyes were glistening jewels.",
• ” She was a hippo compared to her aunt.”,
• ” The sun opened its sleepy eyes and smiled down on the Earth as a new day began.”

Do you stand on your principles? Beside them? Behind them?
What if someone pulls the rug from under you.

Where do you stand on your health, relationships, family or business?

Jesus taught in parables. A parable is a short tale that illustrates universal truth, one of the simplest of narratives. It sketches a setting, describes an action, and shows the results. It often involves a character facing a moral dilemma, or making a questionable decision and then suffering the consequences. Though the meaning of a parable is often not explicitly stated, the meaning is not usually intended be hidden or secret but on the contrary quite straightforward and obvious. “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed...” (Mark 4:30-31).
How do you see God?

Are you disconnected?
Do you need to be reconnected?




Is someone above looking out for you?




What about the “Fall From Grace”?
“Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.”
Sitting on the wall of indecision, giving in to our fears, stops our growth as human and spiritual beings.
It wasn’t just a “great fall.” It was a “GREAT FALL!”
This is the “fall from grace”, the descent into darkness.
The ego must be shattered for us to enter the light of spirituality.





Do you go against the flow?
Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
The song has been used extensively in popular culture, often to reflect existential questions about reality, reflecting issues about the need for self discovery.





How do you view the Christ within?




"The Metaphysics of Separation and Forgiveness" is an edited recording of the one-day workshop conducted by Kenneth Wapnick at the Foundation's Institute and Retreat Center in February 1992. This presentation summarizes the Course's teachings, specifically addressing how the metaphysical principle that the thought of separation and the physical world are illusory becomes the foundation for true forgiveness. http://facim.org/excerpts/mpseries.htm

Stand on, beside or behind your principles and values. Whatever best works for you.

You can also stand on, beside or behind health, family, business, social or personal. What ever works best for you.

But stand on Faith.

I keep an American penny. On one side it is stamped
“In God We Trust”.

This is the acid test of forgiveness.

If you have truly forgiven someone,you will remember the incident, but will no longer feel the sting or hurt. This is the acid test of forgiveness. You must meet it psychologically and spirituall. Otherwise you are simple deceiving yourself. You are not practising the art of true forgiveness.
To Understand All Is to Forgive All