Subject: What’s the Meaning Of “Ideas Leave Not Their Source”?
Beloved Brother David,
In the workbook, lesson 167, it states, “Ideas leave not their source.” I have heard you and other students of the course quote this short sentence, but I do not understand the meaning of this statement, and I respectfully request your clarification. (If you would rather, please feel free to direct me elsewhere that I may find an answer to my question).
In kindness and love
Beloved One,
Thanks for writing. In Heaven this idea means Christ remains in the Mind of God and can never really “leave.” With regard to this world the idea means that there are no problems apart from the mind because ideas leave not the mind which seemed to think them. Everything that seems to be “manifested in the world” are really thoughts and concepts, and thoughts and concepts never leave the mind that thought them. The ego’s attempt at projecting thoughts to a seeming “outside cosmos” is delusional because everything is mind and there is therefore nothing “else” at all. This is also why all seeming illness is mental illness and has nothing to do with bodily symptoms. Salvation or Enlightenment is therefore nothing more than escape from false concepts that have no reality or existence. This brings an end to the illusory idea that there can be an “inner” AND “outer,” for mind is one in forgiveness and Mind is One in Reality.
Love,
David
Subject: Is It Helpful to Have a Guru?
Dear David,
Is it helpful to have a guru in your life, especially when you have dark night of the soul to go through? I have read that we all need some kind of help to undo all that we have learned. That’s where Intercessory prayer comes in or a Guru with preferably a lineage that shows they have done this sort of work through the generation of their family. It all has to do with the energy of this individual and the group they travel with in spirit.
I study ACIM and find that I have grown tremendously in combination with all the other spiritual books and work I have been doing. However, I see now that even my guru has some unlearning to do. The course teaches us never put anyone on a platform and I see now. It has taken me a year and another dark night to see that I have put aside me knowing that there was another way to handle my illness. It was due to this guru that I postponed pursuing this. I believe the lesson maybe that we all have the energy within us and when my guru speaks like any other in life I must discern the info and go within for the final answer. Whenever I push away that urge I find obstacles in my path. So I’m confused, I see a major change in me with this guru but at the same time I find the advice can conflict with my most inner beliefs and am forced to listen. I thought I must listen for this is the lesson: Listen to the REAL SOURCE- the one WITHIN. Please help me with see what else I may be missing.
Beloved One,
Thanks for your heartfelt and sincere e-mail. Role models (such as gurus or teachers or guides) are very helpful stepping stones as the ego is undone. They can be inspirational and very supportive witnesses to the mind’s desire to Wake Up. They can offer very helpful and practical advise, teachings, and examples. Yet accepting the Atonement (Correction) is THE sole responsibility and this is a decision of mind that transcends the concept of personhood. Persons do not become enlightened, for the mind that believes itself to be a person is asleep and dreaming of exile from the Oneness of Spirit. While the deceived mind believes in linear time Awakening will seem to occur in stages. During the seeming “process” of Awakening symbols are used by the Holy Spirit as stepping stones that reflect “higher” or “more expansive” states of consciousness. A guru can be a symbol of the potential for Enlightenment, yet the experience of Enlightenment is impersonal, unconditional, and abstract. The final “dark night” is always the temptation to retain a sense of individuality, privacy, autonomy, and uniqueness. All perceived darkness reflects the belief in private minds with private thoughts. Mind is one in forgiveness and One in Truth.
It is wonderful that you are seeing that the lesson of discernment always rests with the perceiver. Use your feelings as a barometer in this discernment, for how you feel is the one right use of judgment until it is apparent that any judgment is entirely impossible. Follow the Joy! Follow the Bliss! As you look within and make no attempt to protect or defend the ego, you will experience the Love the ego was made to hide. Love simply Is, and when the obstacles to the awareness of Love’s Presence have been removed only Love remains.
When you think of the concept of guru think of this:
Gee YoU aRe YoU
This is the gentle reminder: I am as God created Me.
This is the Power of Now.
This is the simplicity of Being.
Truth is simple. The ego was the illusion of confusion and
complexity.
In Love & Oneness,
David
Subject: Is Sex Ever an Act of Love?
Hello David!
I am writing to you from Miramar Argentina.
I have been wondering what your view about having sex is? Sometimes I think that in a way that is a part of our ego, because we could think that that is our ego trying to make our minds think only about what the body might need. But I have talked it over with friends and we’ve come to the conclusion that depending on the situation or the person that you are with it is also an act of love, if you are doing it with the person you love. Acts of love are many, miracles I would call them. So what does A Course in Miracles say about it? What is your view?
Love always
Hello Beloved One,
Thanks for writing! Sex in a loving relationship dedicated to the Holy Spirit and Guided by the Holy Spirit is (in this sense) an act of affection and can continue to be so until the mind has become so unified in Purpose that there are no cravings or desires for form of any kind. When this desirelessness happens there is truly the miracle of Atonement and Christ is fulfilled in the Divine Love of Knowing God in Spirit. The miracle of Atonement transcends or dissolves the attraction to guilt in the sleeping mind. Sex solely for the purpose of pleasure and sensual gratification is an ego motivation, attempting to reinforce the “reality” of the body, and this always involves the illusion of guilt. In ACIM Christ speaks about the attraction to guilt (pain & pleasure) and this involves the attraction to the body and world – so as one deepens in Awakening the desires for anything of this world evaporate or fade away – and Joy radiates from within! All seeming needs or lacks are gone in Divine Love.
Let the Spirit within Guide you in all things moment by moment.
Love & Blessings!
David
Subject: Questions about Jesus, Christ, God, and the Lord’s Prayer
David,
Are “Jesus” and “Christ” synonymous? If so isn’t that redundant? Is Christness exclusive? What is Christ? Can we be Christ? Is Sonship exclusive to Jesus? Are we to worship Jesus? Is there an ultimate God, as in the one Jesus referred to as “Father” in English translations. Why does Jesus teach his disciples “The Lord’s Prayer” in which Jesus is not prayed to? Is there any separation between God and us? What is the scoop!!!!!
Beloved One,
Thanks for your questions. Christ is a Perfect Divine Idea and Jesus is the name of one who demonstrates or represents or symbolizes this Divine Idea. The Name of Jesus stands for a Love that is not of this world, for Love is Eternal and the cosmos is temporary. Jesus Christ is therefore a symbol and the Love the Name represents is the Spirit that is One with God. True Identity is the Christ. The Sonship is synonymous with Christ and Jesus was the name of one who recognized the face of Christ in everyone and Awakened from the dream of the world. Jesus is a demonstration of the Love that is the Sonship. Jesus points to God Who is deserving of Awe, and God is worshipped as the Spirit of God’s Love is shared or extended. The attitude in which one treats one’s brothers and sisters and everything is the attitude one has with the Creator, for these attitudes are one. The One God might be referred to as the Creator and is the One referred to in the Bible by Jesus as “Father.” This term can correctly be interpreted as our Spirit Parent, for God is neither male nor female.
The “Lord’s Prayer” was taught as a model of prayer for generations beginning at the time of Jesus, though God knows the prayer of the heart before a word is ever spoken. Prayer is a medium of communication between the Creator and the Creation in which Answers and Divine Experiences come forth. To pray to Jesus is to pray to the Holy Spirit, for Jesus and the Holy Spirit are synonymous in function. They lead to Atonement or complete forgiveness and the happy dream that brings a close to all dreaming. In the Lord’s prayer Jesus is praying with everyone to the Creator. Even the Bible statement “I and the Father are one” has two parts in that Christ is the Creation and God the Creator. Creation and Creator are One Spirit and share the same Will for Perfect Happiness. There is no separation between God and God’s Creation. Forgiveness of illusion or error is its release, and this leads to Awakening or remembering God’s Eternal Love.
Blessings be upon You Holy One,
David
Subject: Karma Revisited
Hi David,
I cannot let go of this question of karma. Everywhere you turn someone has something different to say of it. Poonja said, “I don’t believe in karma.” Another said, “even after awakening there is still karma of the body.” What is going on? Does anyone really know what it is? Does karma = cause/effect? If so, then this whole nightmare, this hallucination, belief in separation, that’s the karma. But even then, when there is a so called ‘awakening’ the body’s still hanging out. It doesn’t disappear. And sometimes it still hurts or sneezes, or eats or sleeps. I really do not understand. Do you?
Beloved One,
Thanks for looking deeply at this universal law of mind. It has been written: “As you sow, so shall you reap” “Giving and receiving are the same” “What goes around comes around” “Cause and effect are one and there is no gap.” This one universal law of mind has seemed to bring harm and destruction to the mind which seems to sleep and dream of a separate world of unreality. Yet this one universal law is the key to forgiveness. If you realize that you always choose your state of mind and that what you choose you choose for the whole universe, the belief in victimization has been undone. Misuse of a divine law seems to result in miscreation until the realization dawns that in Truth it is IMPOSSIBLE to misuse or miscreate. What God creates is Spirit and Spirit creates only Spirit. If you follow this divine logic then there is the experience of Enlightenment: Truth is True. Love is Real. Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
The body was a symbol of a separate self that could never be. The enlightened mind sees the tapestry of the forgiven world in which no object or specific exists “in and of itself.” Illusions are one, and thus the illusion of a “body” and the illusion of a “time-space cosmos” are the same illusion. In forgiveness there is nothing that is “still hanging out,” for perception has integrated and is whole. There is nothing outside the mind and the cosmos reflects the Light of Heaven. Only a blessing remains and distortion has gone.
Since karma is a universal law, the only meaningful question is “What is it for?” What will you use karma for: to demonstrate that healing is accomplished or to maintain the wish to be separate? The first use is inevitable and the second use is impossible. It is best to accept the inevitable and release the attempt to make the impossible possible. Such is simplicity, for Enlightenment is simple.
In Heaven God and Christ, Cause and Effect are One. From the Holy Spirit’s Perspective mind is unified and cannot be broken apart. The law of karma can therefore release or imprison the mind based upon the mind’s use of this universal law of mind. Purpose is the only choice. Which purpose would you have it serve: love or fear? When you align with the Holy Spirit your Answer is Love. And the experience which comes from aligning with God is so obvious that you will never doubt again.
Peace be with you always,
David
Subject: Letting Go and Accepting
David,
Could you say something about my neck being in spasm for a week, during a time when many beliefs are being examined and seen as false. There are also other physical oddities.
I would like to hear what comes to you regarding letting go.
I’m sitting at my computer, physically tired, feeling sad, peaceful, and a twinge of anxiety. So, you are here to guide me through. I also feel a little cold, which seems to go with fear sometimes. What is the fear? Holding back the sadness. What is the sadness? That there is no perfect scenario, no perfect person, place or thing I can turn to. The only thing is right now. I notice that going home sometimes is scary; I think that I’ll get home and there’ll be nothing I want to do, that all the distraction (for the ego) and the meaning (talking with you, practicing presence, following intuition) is “out there.” Why have I made home feel like a prison sometimes? It represents shoulds. But if I give up all my shoulds: I should recycle, I should pay bills, I should take care of the yard, I should buy groceries, I should clean things, I should water plants inside, I should call the pest control, I should wash clothes, there will be no me. That’s sad. No me to love and be loved, no me to take care of things, no me to be kind, honest, smart, or original, no me to give advice, no me to be a good mom or a good friend, no me to even follow intuition and feel “good” about it. No me. There’s a knowing that walking through that letting-go-process allows the peace that surpasseth understanding… AND a more powerful knowing that I’m afraid to let it all go. So, I continue, ball by ball, to empty the basket (Eckhart reference.) The sadness comes from seeing that I have built my own prison and refuse to leave it, as it is familiar…As I confess my illusions, their hold on me lessens. Thank you for listening. I am peace now.
Beloved One,
Thanks for writing out the stream of thoughts and for your willingness to see beyond them. Whether the discomfort seems physical or mental, the Solution rests in acceptance. You are not responsible for the error, only for accepting the Correction. Do not project the error to the past or future and you will see you are free of it Now. You are afraid of the Present Moment Correction, believing it requires of you everything that seems to be familiar to the little “self.” Yet forgiveness asks for nothing. It rests on the idea that the Truth is True Now and Forever, and sees that all concepts are false. The miracle shows that nothing real can be taken away or lost. Be glad that there is no perfect scenario, no perfect person, place or thing to turn to. Right now is always Everything and forgiveness is never circumstance dependent. Forgiveness is the concept of now, and as this concept dissolves and melts there shines Eternity in awareness.
Align with God and it will seem the dream is happy from this new Perspective. Be happy paying bills, happy taking care of the yard, happy buying groceries, happy cleaning things, happy watering plants inside, happy from the Purpose that is far beyond the “doings” of a body. When at rest in mind everything and everyone is Still. It dawns that things shared in Purpose are effortless and easy. Personal effort is not required in Beholding God’s Glory. Accept Divine Ease, and there is nothing to be concerned about. You cannot lose Who You are, for God created You as Perfect and You remain so.
The Correction clearly demonstrates that Love is All there Is. Do you want the “problem” or the Answer? Love is never difficult. Love is natural to a mind that trusts. Spirit is trustworthy. You cannot mess up Who You are, so there is nothing left to doubt. Now is the only obvious choice for accepting this simple Fact.
Blessings shower upon You Holy One.
Love,
David
Subject: Looking past the Form by Releasing False Belief
Dear David,
I have been listening to some of the CDs Kathy sent me, wherein Resta is talking about seeing the raising of funds for the sick as believing in sickness and sickness in her brother/promoting an illusion (my words), so to speak. This is my question: I take care of the seeming body of the one who gave this seeming body birth. In so doing, am I promoting the belief in myself and in my brother in the illusion of sickness? The body lies there, not communicating, not moving, eating, etc. It is seemingly healthy, yet the mind does not make it function. Sometimes my brother looks at me. Sometimes my brother seems to be my mother. Sometimes, but seldom, I have talked to her, sometimes to my brother, reminding him of who he is; that is, when I am moved by the Spirit to do so. In those times the eyes lock on mine and seem to be connecting and resonating or absorbing, or something. If I speak on any other premise, such as saying what I am going to do (like move or bathe the body) or if I ask a question, the eyes shut real tight and avoid looking at me. I play Resta’s songs next to the bed during the day. At any rate, I seem to have a brother who has chosen to cease moving or communicating, yet has not yet chosen to lay the body down. At least, in my understanding, this is what seems to be happening.
I seem to have no choice in this matter. At least I have not heard any guidance from the Holy Spirit, or perhaps I am not willing to hear if it is saying to put the body in an institution. I am sure if Holy Spirit was saying to do that, He would make a way and give me peace about it. Not until I met Resta did I begin understanding my brother is my teacher, and I seem to still be learning through my experiences with this brother. Perhaps my brother is waiting for me to know that we are one. Sometimes my brother looks at me expectantly, seeming to be searching. Or perhaps my knowing will help my brother to know. Have you any answers for me?
Beloved One,
Thanks for your e-mail. Everything you think and say and do teaches all the universe what you desire, believe, think, feel, and perceive about yourself. Recently I wrote what Christ shares in ACIM about the holy encounter: “As you see him you will see yourself; as you treat him you will treat yourself; as you think of him you will think of yourself.” Everyone is our brother/sister in Christ and is due immense gratitude because they mirror what is still held in mind and believed to be true and needs to be released. Your state of mind and your perception are always your choice. Only you decide what you desire, believe, think, feel, and perceive. There are no “external factors” in a decision of mind for there is literally nothing “outside” of mind. The question is not really “what to do?” but instead “what do you want to see?,” for what you want to see is what you believe you are. Every question is a question of identity, and while you believe in a make-believe self-concept that God did not create your choices are limited. Your ability of choice is limited to either aligning with and choosing the ego’s personal perspective or aligning with and choosing the Holy Spirit’s Perspective. This is your range of choice and you have no other. Decide to accept Atonement and the concept of choice vanishes entirely, for in Heaven or Reality or Pure Oneness there is nothing to choose between. Decide for the miracle and you feel the peace of a mind that is whole and a glimpse of wholeness. Decide for the ego and you feel stuck in a frustration and conflict of trying to be something that you are not. You wrote that you see a body that is not functioning and needs to be cared for. This is a mirror perception of what the ego mind believes is true. When you allow the Holy Spirit to share ideas through you, you perceive one who whose eyes “…seem to be connecting and resonating or absorbing….” What does this tell you? It tells you that you have a function the Holy Spirit would have you fulfill by allowing Him to speak and smile through you. You have a Purpose to share true ideas, thus strengthening them in your awareness. What you teach is what you learn, and thinking is teaching. You are teaching all the time based on what you desire, believe, think, feel, and perceive about yourself.
Your function will carry you far beyond a bedside, far beyond Alabama, far beyond the time-space cosmos, for your function will carry you to the Gate of Heaven, the Atonement. You have a Light to shine. Do not hide this Light under a table. You have a love for the Bible and can speak for God using the inspired words and verses of the Bible. The opportunities are many and they are waiting only on your Answering God’s Calling for you. You will be a teacher of God and will seem to speak to many in the years to come. And through this function you will find the experience of the Answer you have requested, for Who You Are is the Answer that everyone who walks this world seeks. Christ is the Answer! Love is the Answer! You will be given specific instructions and direction from the Holy Spirit once you are willing to hear them. There are many answers you have received but have not heard. The Holy Spirit is holding these answers you seek for you until you are ready to hear them. They all reside within your heart and await the readiness of mind to be heard.
I close with a quote from the Bible: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” Is your brother/mother flesh or Spirit? Remember, as you see your brother/mother you will see yourself. And remember that the Way God created You is Reality: Perfect, Eternal, Innocent, Loving, Spirit Which has no opposite. 🙂
Love Always,
David
Subject: The Experience of Love Is beyond the Belief in Attachment
Dear David,
Forgiving illusions means forgiving what a body does. If a body cheats or lies, hurts our body, or takes something away by deception, it is still not deception because we are attached to that something and this can include our own body which are illusions. It is our attachment or belief in illusions of things or body that can make us judge others or feel hurt or angry or say it was unjust. If we recognize that only spirit exists and it is all powerful and cannot be hurt then nothing that happens here matters. And we see everyone and everything from the point of wholeness. Even the ‘deceitful’ thing that happened is probably to teach us a lesson not to value any thing including body of this world. Thus we see sinlessness in all persons things and events. If something happens that feels disturbing (fearful) we just have think that it will not have any effect on our living. This is really hard. We are afraid of losing our friends, family, our living conditions etc. I just have an understanding of these principles but have no firm conviction. Then we also have to develop present trust that the Holy Spirit will provide for all our needs as long as they are necessary. But first we have to experience miracles and that we are spirit and for conviction and inner knowing to come. Is it not? Otherwise, it will be just based on theory. How do we get these miracle and Spirit experiences? In spite doing ACIM, I have not had any such experience to speak of. At least this is my understanding of Christ’s vision. Would you provide us with some insight into this? As always your valuable vision is tremendously appreciated.
Thank you
Beloved One,
Thanks for sharing what is on your heart and for your sincere opening to the Spirit within. You have written what you are just beginning to grasp:
“It is our attachment or belief in illusions of things or body that can make us judge others or feel hurt or angry or say it was unjust. If we recognize that only spirit exists and it is all powerful and cannot be hurt then nothing that happens here matters. And we see everyone and everything from the point of wholeness. Even the ‘deceitful’ thing that happened is probably to teach us a lesson not to value any thing including body of this world.”
Miracles bring conviction for they demonstrate what you have just written – the valuelessness of the body and world and the value of the Spirit Which is unchanging. Miracles are experiences that dissolve belief and collapse time. If you are willing to question what you seem to believe and apply the words you have spoken to everything in your awareness, the experience of inner peace will be evident. If you seem to be “…afraid of losing our friends, family, our living conditions, etc.” then there is an identity attachment to these things which is blocking the experience of the miracle. The miracle costs nothing and offers a glimpse of Everything. There is no sacrifice in Knowing God’s Will and our Will is One with God’s Will. Nothing real is lost or given up in serving God because the temporary never had any value whatsoever. All Value is Eternal and even a glimpse of this Fact brings immediate peace of mind. If you apply the principles of miracles and make no exceptions you will experience what I am writing about. Words can but point to the experience of Love that is truly far beyond words.
Who is family to Christ? Who is friend to Christ? What are living conditions to Christ? Everyone and everything, for mind is one. Everyone and everything is included in healed perception, the forgiven world. Christ sees no body and no thing as special or unique or distinct or different. Divine Love looks upon ItSelf and sees only Perfection. Love makes no comparisons for there are not “two” of anything to compare. Welcome to the Oneness Which sees that there is nothing apart from Mind Which experiences the Family of Spirit. Christ is Friend to All and the beatitude of friendliness is universal and all-encompassing – it cannot be limited to a person or group of persons. The Living Condition of Spirit is Joy and anything that seems to be of form can at most be a reflection of the Joy of the mind that hears only One Voice. In Purpose the mind is unified and specifics and details fade in importance, for Abstraction is the natural condition of the mind.
It is important to practice what you are beginning to grasp. Share these ideas as the Holy Spirit directs and this sharing will strengthen them in your awareness. You cannot give away what you do not have. By sharing these ideas you become aware that you HAVE them and you will see that you ARE them. You are a Perfect Idea in the Mind of God and nothing is ever “lost” by giving your Self away. Share Love and Know that You are Love. Share Love and see that there is nothing “outside” this All-encompassing Love. You are the Light of the world, for God creates only Light and God is our Creator.
Blessings of Love always,
David
Subject: Mind-Watching with the Holy Spirit
Dear David,
You needn’t reply to this (unless your Guidance calls on you to do so, of course) – I’m writing it mainly to help me retain the value of our phone conversation by reviewing what I perceive as most important for me to remember.
First and foremost is the idea of impersonalising and generalizing anything that arises in my consciousness that is contrary to God’s nature, anything inharmonious, seeing it as a manifestation of the primal error of believing it’s possible to separate from God. This I would do with the help of The Holy Spirit by saying in effect, “Holy Spirit, help me to see through to the Truth that this illusory appearance is a lie about.”
Connected to the above idea is the idea of “making no exceptions,” or endeavoring to be vigilant enough to ask the Holy Spirit to help me hold everything up to the light of Truth, everything without exception, and to ask for the Holy Spirit’s Guidance in every situation without exception.
And the idea that the ego’s inclination to conceal an erroneous appearance so that it won’t be dissolved by the above described process, is prevented or at least reduced by surrendering or accepting fully whatever experience is being served up at the moment with full attention of the experience in the Now moment.
And finally, your idea of “simplicity” such that what’s written above is as “complex” as the process need be.
Also, I felt much more of your being my “shepherd”, so to speak, always available (“call anytime”) and always reliable (YOU yourself make no exceptions to the Truth). Connected with this is your encouragement to write to you about how I’m doing, which is another way to hold whatever’s going on up to the light of Truth, and which also opens up another powerful avenue through which Guidance can get my attention and get its point across through the content of your replies, whenever a reply is called for.
In closing, thank you again, David, for having “worked on yourself” so as to have become a being of such exceptional “Purity”-where I feel such assurance that your comments will always be, without exception, “Purely Divine” and feel so relaxed and comfortable.
I will write you much more frequently from this point forward, in the realization that just by having the current content of my consciousness being known by someone whose consciousness is a few octaves higher in Divine Purity than my own, helps greatly to loosen the more encrusted, or more hidden, erroneous beliefs, as well as giving you the opportunity to give direct Guidance in a reply whenever your own Guidance indicates that that’s called for.
Thank you, David.
With much Love
Beloved One,
Thanks for your openness and willingness to hide nothing from the healing Light of the Holy Spirit. When darkness is brought to Light, when illusion is brought to Truth, darkness/illusion disappears. The ego’s seeming “existence” was “maintained” through deception and concealment – like a complex hall of mirrors – and the cosmos was made as a distractive device to guard against exposing and dissolving the original lie (the belief that separation from God is possible) and accepting the Atonement (Correction). From the belief in separation and one with it came the belief in private minds with private thoughts. This belief induced the illusion of guilt and therefore it is this belief which must be exposed as false. Enlightenment or Salvation is simply seeing the false as false, and this distinction is made with the Holy Spirit’s Perspective. Such is discernment. Your willingness to watch your mind with the Holy Spirit, yielding to Love and turning over all judgments and comparisons, opens the mind to the Present Moment. Thanks for sharing your experience of mind watching for the benefit of the mind which is engaged in the “practice” – Practicing the Presence of Now.
Glory to God in the Highest!
Love,
David
Subject: Not Going Anywhere
Dear David,
The Course says:
“Why would I choose to stay an instant more where I do not belong, when God Himself has given me His Voice to call me home.” (Lesson 202) “..I am His Son, Not slave to time, unbound by laws which rule the world of sick illusions…” (Lesson 204)
My question is this:
You have written that desire for salvation is enough. We need do nothing and in fact everything is done for us by the Holy Spirit and we cannot add anything to it. Also we need not come to the Holy Instant already healed of our fears. It is meant to heal us. If these statements are true why am I still here in spite of many years of practice and the strongest desire possible? Why is it so hard for me to have atonement and what am I doing wrong?
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely
Beloved One of God,
Thanks for your sincere question and devotion to Awakening. You have “done” nothing wrong in the Great Awakening to Purity of Heart. All “doings” and “behaviors” and “perceptions” seemed to spring from a heart that desired God AND desired idols. Single desire might be called desirelessness, and this is the State of Creation. This is the meaning of “Let thine eye be single” and points to spiritual Vision or Light. Vision does not involve the body or perception, yet this Vision is veiled from awareness as long as desire is split. The entire time-space cosmos is nothing but a reflection of split desire. As you attempt to meditate and sink into Perfect Stillness you will notice the ego’s resistance arise. This is the resistance to the “do nothing” experience of “Be Still and know that I am God.” It will seem difficult to do nothing while you still believe in the ego, in personality, in linear time-space.
The ego was false belief. The ego was the belief that Creation could be broken into meaningless bits and parts. The “I” that seems to be “here” after “many years of practice” is a self-concept that has no Reality and has been dissolved by the Holy Spirit. The past is gone. This self-concept included “Srini” and “Srini’s family and friends” and the entire cosmos that seemed to surround the personality self. Now mind is opening to the acceptance of this solution, this dissolving, this undoing in the Present Moment or Holy Instant. Look directly and calmly with the Holy Spirit at everything you are not, and happily Who You Are remains forever and ever untouched. Let go of all transitory thoughts of past and future, and Who remains is the Present Self God creates forever Perfect.
It is hard to resist accepting Atonement, for forgiveness is the most natural experience one can have with regard to this world. Being as God created One Self is the Meaning of Natural in Truth. What God creates, Spirit, is forever Natural. Anything which seems to cover over the Natural is not natural and can thus be easily forgiven or released.
Look at what is believed with persistent determination to See beyond belief with the Spiritual Vision of Christ. By desiring only God the remembrance of God comes back into Full Awareness. False desires will go for they have no Foundation, no Reality, no Source. Only desire Truth and watch and observe that all seeming decisions are already made. Effortless Observance or Witnessing is ours as the Dreamer of the dream. Nothing can touch the Dreamer Who remains aware that the cosmos was but a dream.
All Glory to the One for creating Spirit Perfect. Gratitude to the Holy Spirit for beholding the dream as false from a Perspective of happiness and peace. We are joined in this holy Perspective!
Love & Blessings shower upon the Living One.
Love always,
David
Subject: Nothing Happening and Not Seeing
Hello David,
I appear to be in a situation that is calling for forgiveness, but despite all of the reading of ACIM and your web site and your ACIM group, and all of the meditating and lesson applications, nothing seems to bring peace to this situation. I am very much aware of two sides to my mind. One side wants very much to forgive, but another part of me wants very much to ‘punish’ the perceived wrongdoer (i.e. project the anger). My means of punishment BTW is attempting to blatantly ‘ignore’ and make the other person aware in a roundabout way that I am pissed off with them. Intellectually, I can see that ultimately this other person has nothing to do with my problem, but but the ego wants to make this person know that they have hurt me (make sin real). I have asked the holy spirit for miracles, and soon after doing so this person will attempt to speak to me in an obvious effort to open up some communication again, and sometimes I have reacted positively, and often times I have thought that the problem has finally gone and I have forgiven. The thing is, my need to ignore this person ALWAYS comes back because the ego’s goals for a special relationship have not been met, the miracle wasn’t enough, and so the cycle continues, but usually slightly worse in that I will be even more obvious in my attempt to ignore and psychologically hurt this person. Not only that, but now even my friends are feeling the brunt of this attack, if I see that they are getting along well with this other person (which is what I want!).
I cannot seem to just forgive (i.e. do nothing: merely look, wait and judge not) because when I do I get a strong feeling of loss, that any opportunity (i.e. special relationship which I feel cannot have come from anyone else) that might have existed with this person has gone forever, and that scares the shit out of me (I cant see past the idea that my happiness can only come from this person). I also really fear that this person will just finally move on and I will no longer have contact with them and closure will be impossible (so I cannot just let this person go without feeling intense loss). One part of me wants closure, one part wants specific form outcome.
Saying things like “these thoughts about ‘person x’ do not mean anything”, and saying “God is the love in which I forgive ‘person x’” or “…myself” over and over just hasn’t worked (because they are just words to me because the experience that they are pointing towards just isn’t there), and im really becoming aware that deep down, I DONT WANT TO FORGIVE THIS PERSON, I WANT TO HATE THEM. I feel like I am in an impossible situation where I cannot see any outcome that will satisfy me COMPLETELY and that’s the scariest thing of all, because I can see only despair. Yet despite my desire for special relationship I still want enlightenment, I want to understand completely, to see the truth.
I am tired of meditating, I am tired of repeating the lessons because they don’t work: NOTHING HAPPENS. I’m still left with problems, I am still left with complete non-understanding, and I am no closer to enlightenment. No matter how long I sit in meditation, nothing happens. I can sit there and attempt to watch my thoughts and not hang on to them, and I can repeat a particular lessons words in my mind briefly and then attempt to put aside all concepts ideas and thoughts, but I have never experienced any “holy instant” or anything which would make me certain that the course’s promises aren’t just a load of shit. Maybe I feel bodily peaceful and somewhat mindfully relaxed for a short while, but as always, it doesn’t last, and according to the course what doesn’t last isn’t real, and so I’m just deluding myself, therefore what good are the lessons themselves. People have been studying ACIM for many more years than I have and they still haven’t ‘got it’. You could say to me that the lessons aren’t working because of my lack of willingness, yet if the lessons are not helping to increase my willingness then what good are they? Its appears to be a catch 22 situation, I need an experience which will show me that there is something other than the ‘happiness’ of this world and thus its giving up is no loss, yet I cant experience this happiness until I’m willing to lay aside the ‘happiness’ of this world, but im still not convinced that loss isn’t real. There lessons are just not helping me to see the TRUTH, to see the FALSE as being FALSE and nothing. But even then, I don’t want just an experience that will go away again. I don’t want the delay any more, I don’t want the wait. My whole life is so obviously a delay now. I do external form activities only because there is nothing else to do. I have form ‘wants’ because I don’t have the experience of something beyond it. I could meditate, which I still do, but like I said, nothing happens, its just boring. I want to get to that ‘master switch’ you talk about, but I just don’t SEE it, no matter how many times I read things like your mind overhaul text and attempt to apply it.
Decisions used to be difficult for me, but now they have become so much more difficult. The procrastination is almost unbearable. I get caught between ego goals, and cannot give over decisions to the holy spirit because I cant trust that its actually the holy spirit directing me. This idea that I can use peace of mind as my barometer is also no help to me, because one day I can feel happy about the decision and the next day I can feel very fearful about it and want to change it (even in simple decisions like social outings etc). It makes sense that decisions between forms are merely hiding the one decision that I need to make, and I very much want to make it, but when I think I’ve made it (“heaven is the decision I must make, I make it now and will not change my mind, because it is the only thing I want” nothing really happens and situations still arise where I am called on to choose between form, and so the part of me that still feels stuck in time and form is left with having to make a decision between form and not knowing which way to decide. I’m just not SEEING the one decision I need to make, I’m not SEEING he ‘heaven option’, not seeing that choosing for form and the world is actually a choice for nothing, and no amount of reading, studying or meditating is helping in that seeing. If it was the case that by choosing heaven I see that there can be no choices made within form at all, then that would mean that if a ‘person’ within this dream world came up to me and asked me if I wanted to go to a social gathering for example, then I just cannot answer. This body that I perceive myself to be in would have to stare silently at them, because any answer is meaningless. I can see intellectually that the above scenario still shows an underlying belief that the world is real and that there are separate forms within that world and there are choices are possible so lets talk about releasing beliefs, and the one ‘master belief’ that spawns them, because nothing is working there either. Its like what I said earlier, that I can say something in my mind like “God did not create ‘loss’ and so it is not real” , yet they are just words and the feeling and fear of loss keeps coming back. I can think that I give over the belief in sickness to the holy spirit, yet the sickness remains. Not only that, there are so many beliefs that are apparent that it would take forever to release them all unless you take it back to the master belief, and it is easy to follow through reasoning that shows that every belief leads back to the one belief in separation, but saying to myself “god did not create separation and so it is not real” still leaves me exactly where I am. So it is obvious then that I haven’t really done anything, which begs the question how the fuck am I supposed to release beliefs at all? (Having just read over that last line it became apparent that it is still implying an underlying belief that there really is a little separate self that needs to release beliefs that are ‘really there’ 🙂 )
If I become aware of a form of sickness and thus a belief that sickness is possible, suppose I say “God did not create sickness and so it is not real” and thus give it over to the holy spirit, do I then just ACT as if it isn’t there? Isn’t that just hiding/ignoring it. I cant resist it, cause that would give it power, but what to do? I cant overlook it because I have already seen it.
That’s all I feel like writing at the moment. I trust that you will make sense of the above. I know that you’ve answered all of this sort of stuff before but it just isn’t getting through and I needed to write.
Beloved One,
Thanks for writing. I am grateful that you could write out everything that is going on in your mind. And I know it is helpful to get in touch with the full extent of the ego’s hatred before one can let it go. It is very necessary to allow these feelings to arise in awareness before you will be willing to let the hatred go forever. The hatred still seems specific and still has a target in the world, yet as the deepening continues it will seem more and more nonspecific. The ego’s anger is actually at God for not granting reality to the time-space cosmos, but this hatred of God is kept out of awareness. The belief in competition with God mentioned in lesson #13 is usually not allowed into awareness, for it is too threatening to keep in awareness. So the ego uses the unreturned “love” of the special relationship to attempt to justify the anger until the deeper hatred at God and fear of God is exposed. But in looking deeper the “original error” is uncovered and the ineffectiveness of the special relationship becomes acute in awareness.
Give your mind the permission to let the seeming beast rear its head. You will go past these feelings and be free of them. Simply do not attempt to protect or project them, and they will dissolve.
I am joined with you in going through the darkness to the Light within. We cannot fail.
I love You always Beloved,
David
Subject: Having a Gathering of One’s Own
Dear David,
How simple and joyful my life is when I think about how all the pain and suffering in the world isn’t real. But it is hard sometimes with all that’s been happening in my life. I’m sure this year has been hard for every one. I’ve tried to solve everyone else’s problems and at the same time avoiding and making my own problems worse. This year has been beyond stressful. I started 7th grade last year and it has been one of the hardest changes in my life with friends, teachers, and family. The work is very overwhelming. Both emotional and physical hard times. I’m usually a straight A student but this year it all went down the drain. My family is also very stressed right now. My mother who introduced me to the Course of Miracles and is the one I turn to when I start to give in to depression. And I help her when she needs it even though I try to help everyone and have even explained to some friends who wanted to know the truth.
Have you ever done of your gatherings in any towns in NV? My mother and I would like to invite you sometime. I have one question. Would it be for anyone, even people who had never read or heard of the Course of Miracles? I’ve been listening to Resta’s songs and find them very touching. I was even thinking of holding a gathering of my own this summer and share some of the songs with people.
I would love any advise or comforting words from you.
God Bless You
Beloved Child of God,
Thanks for writing and for your dedication to Awakening to the truth within. Trials can be used to strengthen your faith and call you deeper within. It becomes increasingly apparent that we cannot solve other people’s problems and always need to watch our own mind. This is truly our full-time job. Resta and Kathy and I have received invitations to Las Vegas, Nevada and the St. Johns, Utah area so maybe we could have a gathering at your home when we are Guided to come to the Southwest. It is a great idea to have a gathering of your own and share Resta’s music. Write to Resta and she will send some CDs for your gathering. I will send her a copy of this e-mail.
The love will shine through you to people who have never heard of the Course as you let the Holy Spirit direct. When people see your light they may then be curious and ask to know more about what you think. There is never anyone to convince since peace is an internal matter. Your life will be profound and inspirational. Do not be concerned about the grades, and always remember that you have the light within when you are tempted to be depressed. You have entered the 7th grade but your wisdom is beyond the learning of subjects and information. You are the light of the world and everyone is blessed by every step you take in unlearning the ego.
I am with you every step of the way.
Blessings of Love,
David
Subject: Opening to Divine Providence
Dear David,
I have been so blessed to have received much from you these past few months. Being a student of ACIM, I am aware of how giving your life to God is a serious undertaking. I seem now to be torn between really trusting God and wanting the trust of the world. I have debt that I owe and cannot right now pay back. It greatly distresses me because I want to make things right with the people I owe and I just don’t have the money right now. I become scared that I will never get it paid back and will always wander under this burden of being a failure financially. I am really trying to be under no laws but Gods. And I am really aware of my true inheritance. I just want to be free. As I write this, I am getting a clear message that I am free; I am just going through a period of sorting out – and it’s pretty uncomfortable. My irresponsibility in the finance department is one of shame and distress sometimes because my family was so successful. I do have great need of seeing this differently. I used to base all my hopes and dreams and visions of “success” in dollar signs. That is changing, but not completely. I still must see this as a way to measure my worth. My worth was established by God and I need to remember that. I have a long, long way to go spiritually. I am still looking at the two worlds. How do I resolve this? Can you help? I’m sorry to be a bother. I really need understanding.
Love
Dear Beloved One of God,
It is an honor to hear from you. Rest assured that a request from you is never a bother and that you never need to feel sorry for anything or apologize for anything. Our Worth is truly established by God and nothing that is said or made or done or undone can change Whom God created Perfect. Together we are questioning the ego belief system so that the Holy Spirit may reveal the Truth of our Identity in God. Your questions are sincere and there are beliefs about debt and responsibility that need to be uncovered and released. The fear of future consequences (i.e., “I become scared that I will never get it paid back”) is only a cover or distraction away from the fear of the Present Moment. The Present Moment is the Point of Intimacy with Christ and God, and nothing is so fearful to the ego as the Moment in which it is undone and dissolved away forever. This is another way of describing the resistance to extended and deep meditation.
It is Helpful to be reminded that financial debt and financial irresponsibility are only projections of the debt of ego belief and the denial of accepting the Atonement/Correction for the error (our SOLE responsibility). You are not responsible for the error, yet you will need to see the error exactly as it is (in mind) in order to accept the Correction, which is our responsibility. The cosmos was the ego’s attempt at “seeing” the error in form, thereby concealing itself (the error) from being uncovered as merely a belief in the mind. The ego was made by false belief and is undone by withdrawing all belief from it. The ego is anger and guilt and fear and uses these emotions along with denial and projection to maintain these unreal emotions which keep the Light beneath it concealed from awareness. The Light is buried deep within and we must go through the darkness of false belief to reach the Light of truth (the Kingdom of Heaven within).
The ego (or Satan in Christian terms) is the belief that debt is possible. It is the belief that something is lacking, something is owed, and something needs to be paid back. Debt implies a repayment for something that was borrowed or taken away, yet in God there is only completion and Eternal Giving and nothing CAN BE borrowed or taken away. The belief in debt is the same as the belief in scarcity, and this belief has nothing at all to do with God – Who is All-Loving and All-Knowing and All-Powerful. The belief in debt needs only to be raised to awareness and forgiven or released, for debt has no reality on which to stand. The Holy Spirit is sorting out the true from the false in your mind, and you can rest assured that the ego and all its concepts of debt and economics and abundance and scarcity are false. Our Inheritance is Spirit and the Holy Spirit leads directly to the remembrance of Eternal Spirit and Divine Love.
As you perceive yourself in awareness “you” have needs, and if you are willing to be a miracle-worker you will increasingly recognize those “needs” as being handled through our Higher Purpose. All needs have already been dissolved in the Atonement/Correction, yet while the mind seems to invest in the ego belief system it will experience the illusion of debt. Miracles show that the mind is sustained by the Source of Love, God, and thus the mind is willing to relinquish all false concepts of sustenance. The mind asleep (everyone who seems to walk this world and believes in its reality) believes in the “laws” of economics, scarcity, supply & demand, and reciprocity. Miracles undo these false “laws” by demonstrating that the mind is not bound by them. It is impossible to serve two masters and it is therefore impossible to serve the ego AND the Holy Spirit because they teach opposite lessons. The ego teaches imprisonment/guilt/fear and the Holy Spirit teaches freedom/innocence/joy. Financial freedom is therefore a contradiction in terms, for freedom is of and for the mind and cannot be found in specific forms such as money and possessions.
The Holy Spirit is Guiding you surely. You can trust this because it is true. The ego is being undone in your awareness and “it” seems to feel “pretty uncomfortable,” “shame,” and “distress,” because “it” seems to be vanishing. It is always Helpful to be reminded that You are not the ego, Christ is not the ego, and Spirit is forever of God and is our True Identity in God. As you become more confident in allowing miracles to be performed through you it will dawn in awareness that mind is one and there is nothing apart from mind.
I am with you every “step” of the way, for we share the same Self. Salvation from illusion is certain because no illusion can stand in the Light of Truth. We walk together on the Self same road and must recognize our Oneness to remember God. There is literally nothing “else,” for Love is All.
Blessings of Love shower upon You Holy One of God.
Love,
David