“The fruits of forgiveness and mind-watching are Pure Joy! Accept the Gifts of the Spirit Now! Be not tempted by specialness and the littleness of form when the Content of Spirit is available for the Asking. Behold the Good News of the Kingdom Now.”
– David Hoffmeister
The Little Gift
by Helen Schucman
Let it be so. Our willingness is all
Salvation asks. We could not find a gift
So tiny yet so mighty; one which has
The power to awake God’s Son, and lift
His heart to Heaven. Be it as God wills,
And nothing still remains to block the light
From entering where God would have it be,
And shimmer up to greet Christ’s holy sight.
Opening to Receive the Answer
Today is a new day at La Casa de Milagros and we are experiencing the rest that is inherent in accepting what is. The only choice that seems to have been made is one for content, not form, and we have discovered that all else is given as we willingly open up to an authentic experience of innocence.
As I relax my mind to receive what to write, I hear an unequivocal reminder that to receive freedom I must give it. To receive love I must extend it. To receive peace it must be the only thing I want.
The Kingdom is at hand and everyone here is feeling it. There is a deepening into a place of silence and a willingness to face the blocks that are still being cherished. The purpose of the mind training is being embraced as we learn to watch the thoughts rise up from their hiding place, expose them to the light, and give them to the power of healing that Love provides. Grace is the only healer!
By letting everything be just as it is, while relinquishing all judgment on whatever seems to arise, we make way for a fresh experience to occur. Every day is a new beginning and past references are abandoned. We don’t plan either. Instead, spontaneity of the Spirit is becoming the guide and happiness is the gift we are receiving as we join in singularity.
Meanwhile, as we speak, Jenny and Geoff have answered an invitation to Monterrey in northern Mexico, and are sharing the gifts of love and welcome that only the Christ can offer. They have 6 gatherings in 5 days, and so far many hungry hearts have been nourished by the Gifts of the Spirit that they jointly demonstrate.
If you too would like to open like a flower and receive the abundant gifts of God, you are invited to a weekend retreat here at La Casa de Milagros from Friday, Dec. 5, to Sunday, Dec. 7. This is a celebration, not in the worldly way of a fiesta, but a lifting up high in the gifts of joy and peace that can only be experienced in the unity of the present moment.
See the flyer below in our Coming Events section and click here for further information.
Love,
Sue
A Spontaneous Outing
Join our spontaneous community breakfast outing that was given so joyously when we opened up to receive God’s gifts! The waiter served us with love, and roving musicians came and went, delivering joy through inspired music.
My Gift of Unwillingness!
Not to downplay willingness, but much more unwillingness seems to be needed now. You might ask, “What?” You may even be tempted to reread the sentence. But, you don’t have to. I’ll explain. I have to be unwilling to accept error in every situation, every brother, and in myself. I have to be unwilling to live with upset, unwilling to not inquire into beliefs and self-concepts. Yes, this journey takes a huge amount of unwillingness. After all, every error was corrected long ago, yet here I seem to be, fingers hunting and pecking at the sweaty keyboard.
Nevertheless, there is only the perfection of God’s plan for Atonement happening at all times now. It only seems to be my choice to see it. It is the wind through the trees, the butterfly’s color, the thick rain clouds, the three legged cat, the complete unfolding, which includes typing. It’s all the plan. A Course in Miracles says, “Heaven and earth will not continue to exist as separate states.” Thank God for the Course, right?
In accepting the Atonement completely, I experience a huge amount of guilt, for it is simply the guilt that needs to be recognized and released. It’s blocking. It comes in disguise, it comes in voices, and it comes in a recalled past and imagined future. Yet, those mechanics are so foreign to the plan, to the present moment, they seem to hurt. Right! I’m not at peace, and if I’m not at peace, there’s some work that needs to be done. I do this work to align my mind back to openness, to receptivity of the plan. I am wholly loved and wholly loving, and if I accept this wholly, I am unwilling to believe anything else! This is how to live.
Love,
Kris
Happy at La Casa de Milagros!
Enjoy the Spirit of spontaneity, and the authentic letting go we experienced as we gathered one morning and let the dance dance us! Dylan put the footage together to the song Happy by Pharrell Williams.
Giving up Nothing to Receive Everything
I felt quite confident in my decision to join community. The prompts, support, and ease of people and things falling away made it easier than expected to answer this call of awakening. This past August I literally stepped out of my old life into a new life, feeling peaceful in my decision to be here.
I heard David say that jumping off the cliff to get to community is the easy part. The real work comes next. I thought, “Holy buckets! I gave up everything but one suitcase, one carry-on and my purse, and that was the easy part?!” All I could say was, “Wow.”
My ego even had a hayday thinking that I already had given up everything for God. The guilt of leaving my husband for God was lurking beneath the confidence. I didn’t have a clue. I am like a baby who is just learning to roll over. I’m not even close to the crawling stage yet!
I am learning to listen in a whole new way. Now I am pausing, being quiet, and truly listening without preparing to respond while someone or Spirit is communicating to me. This has not become natural for me yet, so it does take consistent focus and vigilance. I haven’t a clue about anything and I certainly don’t know my own best interests!
I am now discovering that communication from Spirit can be a quiet nudge, a thought, or a sign seemingly from outside of me. Then, the important question here is, do I follow Spirit or follow the ego? As I said before, I am still at the baby stage in this respect!
Another helpful focus for me has been watching that my thoughts don’t tailspin into a story. All my life, I have taken these senseless thoughts as gospel without giving it a second thought, without questioning their validity. Now, that is true insanity! And many of those thoughts were lies I was telling myself. I have learned that these are truly just thoughts with no meaning and that I have the opportunity to question whether they are true or not. Also, if they are judgment thoughts of me or my brother, they are all a reflection of thoughts I have about myself.
It is time to truly see myself as a Son of God, that I have the Name of God. That is very powerful to think about and a thought that I hold with me as Truth. And that’s why I’m here. This has been my prayer for too many years to count. I am blessed beyond words to be here in community, among mighty companions on the pathway to God. In Truth, I have given up nothing to receive everything!
Love,
Desi
Movie Pick of the Month
Copying Beethoven (2006)
Themes: Collaboration, relationship assignment, Purpose, oneness, mystical experience
Director: Agxnieszka Holland
Stars: Diane Kruger, Ralph Riach, Ed Harris
Summary:
Collaboration is when two minds join as one and experience being in the divine flow. The purpose of relationship assignments is to lose awareness of separate interests and join together in a unified Purpose.
Music is a pathway to God. Beethoven receives incredible downloads from the Spirit in the form of symphonies of music, unlike anything the world has ever heard. His direct experiences with God are a huge contrast to the frustration and intensity he experiences when dealing with the world. Without mind-training or a context for dealing with the ego, he is experienced by those around him as a fearful, unpredictable ‘force’.
Anna Holtz also has a Calling that involves music, and she recognizes the depth and purpose of a Spirit-given assignment to share in and extend the music Beethoven has received. Her willingness to be a clear, direct communication channel supports them both to go beyond their fears into true collaboration. Pride and arrogance fall away as the Call for Love is answered.
Ludwig van Beethoven describes how the presence of God is found in the silence between the notes. How taking down the music and playing it, is as close to Creation as one can be. “Music is the language of God. Musicians are as close to God as man can be, we hear His Voice, we read His lips, we give birth to the children of God who sing His praise.”
Coming Events in Mexico!
Extending the Presence of Love Gathering
Jalisco, Mexico
Saturday, November 22, 2014
5-8pm
Love is here and now, just waiting for us to be aware of it together!
Join Lisa Fair and Kris Everts for an evening of expanding Hearts. Sharing their experiences of living in a community based on A Course in Miracles, they demonstrate how Love has become much more than a concept. It is a living experience.Contact Cathy Urroz (español) at [email protected] for more information.For the Spanish flyer, please click here.
Also, don’t miss…
Opening to Receive the Gifts of Spirit Retreat
Chapala, Mexico
Friday, December 05, 2014-Sunday, December 07, 2014
7pm-12pm
Join The Messengers of Peace and friends from La Casa de Milagros for a weekend of immersing and receiving all that Spirit wishes to bestow on us. Together we experience a present moment opening that reveals all of life leaning towards us to bless us.The weekend will include opportunities for spontaneous joy through movies, experiential activities, and quiet prayer.
Contact Sue Daniel (English) at [email protected] or Cathy Urroz (español) at [email protected] for more information.