Hi there,
Short lesson today.
I don’t anticipate any resistance to practicing this one, however, I have certainly experienced either a little, some and much discomfort as I have worked through some of the other lessons.
I wrote yesterday that I really love “God is the strength in which I trust” lesson. Not sure if I should use the quotes around it when I speak to a lesson, anyone can let me know what the protocol is not that it really matters.
OK, I am very much aware that there are some, perhaps many, of you who may not particularly resonate with Ken Wapnick’s perspective on ACIM. I am not among you as I love what he writes if only because he takes a no-nonsense approach to the Course whereby he is empathic we have to look at the darkness to experience the light.
When I was reading his book on the Workbook, everything he wrote about Lesson 47 deeply spoke to me.
As one example, he referred to a dialogue Jesus had with Helen Schucman in The Absence of Felicity book he wrote on her life that is a comprehensive one exploring everything she experienced prior to putting forth His words in ACIM, her marriage with her husband, etc., well worth taking the time to read it. Anyhow, she was troubled because she just didn’t know how to help one of her patients and He responded that she must not be concerned about what to say to him or how to do so, but to see the individual through the eyes of truth and non-judgment, period.
Ken has referred to this example numerous times throughout his prolific writing as it summarizes what Jesus is teaching us, all of us, whether we resonate with him or not.
Bottom-line, I need not worry about what to say or what to do in any situation or interchange, all I need do is continue to practice the Course and when I am aligned with Jesus or the Holy Spirit, anything I do or say will be loving, regardless of the form in which it is expressed and/or how whatever is said or done is received by another individual.
Oh, and Ken reminded me, all of us, to recognize that just bringing the darkness to awareness is not enough, the more challenging aspect of the equation is to release it to Jesus/Holy Spirit for their undoing.
Reminded me of Lesson 23, “I can escape the world I see by giving up attack thoughts” where Jesus provides a three step process in relinquishing thoughts that keep us stuck in specialness, special interests, etc., which are expressions of our beliefs in sin/guilt and fear.
As a brief example, Bill and I are watching The Tudors, a pretty much true-to-life historical perspective through a four year series on Henry VIII’s life in the 1500s. Oh my goodness, he was a bit lost, I’ll leave it at that, and had innumerable individuals beheaded or hanged for various reasons, including his own wife, Queen Ann Boleyn. Many of us are familiar with his life in some form. I use my practice when we’re watching any episode as he manages to get into and stay into the ego thought system much of the time. I admit I go nuts at times with the decisions he makes based on advisors who are concerned with their own special interests. Ah, but I see pretty quickly, whatever I accuse him of in form may not be what I have done in form, but the beliefs and thoughts that lie behind his edicts or demands reflect a thought system that I, too, have been committed to by listening to its delusional counsel. It is my ability to detach from his actions and see that the form matters not. The content of vengeance, one aspect of separation, exists in all minds unless we choose again.
Today I remember there is nothing to fear because when I join with Jesus, when I am beyond time and space, when I feel some degree of peace, even if only for a minute, I am more motivated to continue with this ever so gentle mind training in which I am engaged. And I can practice ACIM in any situation in which I find myself, whether I am watching the political arena play itself out on TV and/or watching a TV series or brewing a pot of coffee. Everything, absolutely everything, can be used for healing and forgiveness.
Love to all,
Gayle
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