Through A Mirror, Brightly

I AM

2020-06-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

It is early morning, and I am sitting on our couch in the Sun Room, aptly named because of the five large windows and two doors, sipping coffee and reading the Lesson. It is the beginning of the reading of several spiritual texts, and sitting quietly.

My mind is fairly free of wandering thoughts.

Complete abstraction is the natural condition of the mind. (Lesson 161, Give me your blessing, holy Son of God)

And yet, as the day goes on, I find my mind wandering with thoughts just pouring through my mind as I perceive them passing by like clouds.

Perception is a mirror, not a fact. (Lesson 304, Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ)

I sum it up in this way:

I have given everything I see in this neutral world all the meaning it has for me, seeing either the projections of my false self, or the reflections of my True Self.

When I realize that I am seeing falsely, I stop and focus on my breathing. I consciously breathe in, tilting my head back, then stop my breath for a moment, and breathe out, tilting my head forward.

By focusing on my breathing in this manner, no thoughts come into my mind.

Usually, as I tilt my head back, I say to myself, “I,” and as I tilt my head forward, I say, “AM.”

And now I AM receptive to hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit.

Lesson 49, God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.

Of course, as the day goes on, I will, unconsciously, fall victim to these thoughts that have no source in reality, and when this happens, I tense up. This awareness inspired these two lines of blank verse:

I AM embracing the light while asking

for help to unbrace my “en garde” shoulders.

Lesson 162, I AM as God created me.

And, now, I AM sitting on our patio, simply present, taking in the sights and sounds:

The birds flying to and from the four bird feeders,

the flowers and green plants and the leaves on the trees bobbing in the breeze,

the white clouds floating in the blue sky,

the squirrels chasing each other around the tree,

the hummingbirds darting to and fro from their red feeders,

and all the time, the birds are singing,

and the doves are cooing.

I breathe in, and I breathe out, all is well, I AM.

And then, synchronistically, after writing my article, I read a piece channeling Jesus, and these two passages from “You incarnated solely to live lovingly”, Jesus through John Smallman, June 7, 2020, sent out a wonderful echo:

“By fully opening to and embracing Love, your true and eternal nature, you allow It to dissolve your fear as the realization dawns on you that truly there is nothing to fear. If you doubt this, remember what those who have had near death experiences (NDEs) have shared in books and interviews: that there is no death, that they have fully experienced knowing the truth of this, and that as a result of their experience they have lost all fear of death. By opening fully to and embracing Love you too will come to the personal realization that there is nothing to fear, because you will know that there is only Love.”

“To arrive at this realization daily meditation must be practiced by relaxing into your holy inner sanctuaries, as you let arising thoughts just flow through your mind without engaging with them. It does take practice, relaxed practice, where you let go of all judgments about your competence or ability – egotistical thoughts arising – that distract you from being at One with Yourself. When you let go of self-assessment and self-judgment, and accept yourself just as you are, peace will arise within you as you enjoy the moment: ‘smelling the rose,’ ‘watching the sunshine playing on the water,’ ‘hearing the bird song,’ ‘listening to the breeze rustling the tree leaves.’ Truly all is well.”

An Apple a Day

2019-08-14T10:20:00.001-05:00

Until I had a stroke on July 8, 2019, I strongly believed the adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

For me an “apple” was analogous to a variety of health-inducing activities:

--being a vegetarian; for over 25 years Christine and I had been enjoying only strictly vegetarian meals.

--being in a loving relationship. Christine and I recently celebrated our 30^th Anniversary on May 20, 2019.

--relishing my conversations with my son, Stephen, now 50, who calls once a day from his home in Colorado.

--walking for 30 minutes each day through the seasons; for me this was an attempt to sustain an athletic body that had for 8 years in Three Rivers High School in Michigan and Kalamazoo College very successfully run the high and low hurdles and the quarter mile; played football as a fullback and linebacker, ending up as an All-Conference Defensive End as Co-Captain of a undefeated team my senior year in college.

--running the Chicago Marathon (26.2 miles) in the fall of 1978, at the age of 37, in 3 hours and 36 minutes, an 8 minute per mile pace. (I am so grateful that Stephen at age 9 was there to watch me run the race.)

--living a spiritual life. Christine and I came across A Course in Miracles in the fall of 1986, and we have been bringing the principles into application ever since. Miraculously, we crossed the threshold of Endeavor Academy in the Wisconsin Dells on August 7, 1997, (22 years ago today) experiencing the privilege of learning from an enlightened being, The Master Teacher.

--being with like-minded friends. We still live in the Dells, enjoying our friends, particularly watching Mooji videos together a couple of times a week.

--starting each day, reading a Lesson from the Course, beginning with Lesson 1 on January 1, and then reading such texts as “God Calling,” “Jesus Calling,” “From The Christ Mind,” scribed by Darrell Price, “A Course of Love,” “The Jesus Trilogy,” scribed by Gina Lake, and so forth.

Now, I know, (and notice how powerful the word “know” is, containing the word “now,”) that an apple a day may not keep the doctor away, knowing that I could be a heartbeat away from a physical trauma, and yet I am going to passionately “love them there apples.”

Very often during the day,

I sit quietly and consciously breathing in and breathing out,

remembering that the Latin root of

spirit” is spirare,

meaning “to breathe,”

breathing in The Holy Spirit,

the breath of God,

and in that moment I AM present,

thoughts come and go like clouds,

and I AM so grateful for each passing moment,

savoring my meals,

enjoying being with Christine,

talking with Stephen,

walking, carrying a cane,

not using it,

loving the Course,

hanging out with our friends,

and reading the spiritual books on my Kindle.

For me, now, these activities have nothing to do with prevention; they have everything to do with living life with a grateful heart, and a smile on my face, and each time I greet a friend, I say to myself, “Namaste.”

Inspired by Jon Mundy's essay, "After Enlightenment, Zen What?"

2018-08-20T12:21:00.002-05:00

I am just loving Jon Mundy’s new book, entitled “A Course in Miracles and. . .”

In the Introduction he makes clear his intention:

It is the intention of this book to show how many of the ideas contained in A Course in Miracles are reflected in a host of different religions, individual thinkers and schools of thought which both pre-dated the printing of the Course and can now be found in the teaching of other contemporary teachers.

In the 32 Chapters, you will find comparisons with The Bhagavad Gita, Yoga, Buddhism, Judaism, Alcoholics Anonymous, and so forth.

One of the first Chapters I read was Jon’s, “After Enlightenment, Zen What?”

This section of his Chapter, “Make Believe” caught my eye:

In 1958, Country Music Singer, Conway Twitty (1933-1993) had a number one hit song entitled, “Make Believe,” in which he bemoaned the fact that all the hopes and dreams he had about a possible loving relationship were—only make-believe. “My only prayer will be. . .someday you’ll care for me, but it’s o o only make believe.” Zen says, “Be in the world but don’t be of the world.” Don’t be caught in make-believe. There is no need to renounce the world—just see its illusory nature and let it be. That which needs to be fixed isn’t in the world—it’s in the mind. Thus, Mahatma Gandhi can say, “Be the change you want to see.”

It is obvious to me that Conway Twitty, the narrator of the song, recognizes that he is experiencing only “make believe,” and, yet, he does not see the alternative; he does not see that it is possible to shift from a special relationship to a holy relationship.

This morning, after reading that Chapter yesterday I, synchronistically, read these two stanzas in Chapter 30, “The New Beginning,” Section Viii, “Changeless Reality.” In these stanzas, you will see that I played with the pronouns and added some parenthetical comments, as if I were talking with Conway Twitty.

Because reality is changeless is

a miracle already there to heal

all things that change, and offer them to you

to see in happy form, devoid of fear.

It will be given you to look upon

your sister thus. But not while you would have

it otherwise in some respects. (make believe) For this

but means you would not have her healed and whole.

The Christ in her is perfect. Is it this

that you would look upon? Then let there be

no dreams (make believe) about her that you would prefer

to seeing this. (holiness) And you will see the Christ

in her because you let Him come to you.

And when He has appeared to you, you will

be certain you are like Him, for He is

the changeless in your sister and in you.

This will you look upon when you decide

there is not one appearance you would hold

in place of what your sister really is.

Let no temptation to prefer a dream (make believe)

allow uncertainty to enter here.

Be not made guilty and afraid when you

are tempted by a dream (make believe) of what she is.

But do not give it power to replace

the changeless in her in your sight of her.

There is no false appearance but will fade,

if you request a miracle instead.

There is no pain from which she is not free,

if you would have her be but what she is.

Why should you fear to see the Christ in her?

You but behold yourself in what you see.

As she is healed are you made free of guilt,

for her appearance is your own to you.
(5,6)

The Course and many other spiritual teachings show us how to make this shift.

He/She: Lovingly Describing Some Male/Female Differences

2018-08-18T15:35:00.001-05:00

In our Writing Workshop, we decided to practice writing a brief narrative from the point of view of an anonymous narrator going into the minds of two characters.

Here is my narrative, exploring the male/female differences in awareness.

He and She

The couple walk into Biaggi’s Restaurant in Madison, WI., and wait to be seated. He is in his mid-40’s, with an athletic build, trim, a closely-shaved head, wearing wire-rimmed glasses. She is in her mid-30’s, slim, with long, black hair, dark eyes, and a pretty face with high cheekbones.

When they are seated, the Host hands them the menus, and he orders a cup of coffee, and she is not sure what she wants.

He quickly scans the menu and selects the Eggplant Parmesan.

She looks around the restaurant, noticing how the cream-colored curtains match the brown napkins and beige tablecloths.

He sips his coffee and looks at the overhead flat-screen snowing a football game, and he sees that five minutes remain in the third quarter: Packers 14, Bears 10.

She looks at the young couple sitting nearby and admires her hair, and the way her orange earrings match her orange camisole underneath her white blouse. She observes that they are very much into each other.

The waiter returns and asks if they are ready to order, and she says, “I haven’t looked at the menu, yet, but I will have a cup of coffee.”

He checks his cell phone for messages during commercials.

She notices that an older couple at the table to their left are not having a good time, their faces impassive. They are hardly talking.

Finally, she looks at the menu and tries to make a decision between the Butternut Squash Ravioli and the Quattro Formaggi Tortelloni.

“So, I see the Packers are winning,” she says.

He smiles, nodding his head.

“I think this coffee tastes funny, what do you think?” she asks.

“I didn’t notice,” he said.

It is as if he walked in wearing a headlamp, focusing on one thing at a time; while she walked in holding a candle, softly illuminating the entire room, giving her diffuse awareness.

He looks at her and smiles, recognizing their differences, and says, clicking his cup on hers, “Prost,” remembering this line from a poem by Andy Petro:

When I highlight our Oneness
And celebrate our differences
I experience unconditional love.

She nods her head, smiles, and says, “Namaste.”

“Let it Be”: Paul McCartney and his Mother, Mary

2018-07-14T16:41:00.000-05:00

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

As we walk through the day, seeing with our body’s eyes, we tend to react to negative situations with conditioned responses, imposing the past, taking away any chance for a peaceful day.

That is why I love “Let it Be;” it is a gentle reminder to step back, take a breath and just let things be as they are. This is a very powerful teaching, echoing Jesus in Lesson 268, Let all things be exactly as they are.

Let me not be Your critic, Lord, today,

and judge against You. Let me not attempt

to interfere with Your creation, and

distort it into sickly forms. Let me

be willing to withdraw my wishes from

its unity, and thus to LET IT BE

as You created it. For thus will I

be able, too, to recognize my Self

as You created me. In Love was I

created, and in Love will I remain

forever. What can frighten me, when I

let all things be exactly as they are?

Let not our sight be blasphemous today,

nor let our ears attend to lying tongues.

Only reality is free of pain.

Only reality is free of loss.

Only reality is wholly safe.

And it is only this we seek today.

For me, the “it” in “Let it Be” has two references. When I face a negative situation, I can say to myself, “Let it Be, meaning, just let go of what the body’s eyes are seeing; and in that moment, I can experience “Let It Be,” meaning, let me experience seeing with Christ’s vision, moving from “it” to “It.”

As I listen to the repetition of the phrases, I hear “Let it be,” and then I hear “Let It Be,” freeing my mind.

This brings to mind one of my favorite poems, “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963):

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens

Indeed, so much depends on seeing things exactly as they are, seeing with Christ’s vision.

If God’s Voice assures you that salvation needs your part, and that the whole DEPENDS on you, be sure that it is so. (Lesson 186)

Salvation of the world DEPENDS on you, and not upon this little pile of dust. (Lesson186)

There is a way to look on everything
that LETS IT BE to you another step
to Him, and the salvation of the world.
(Lesson 193)

Finally, here is Paul McCartney’s account of writing the song

from Barry Miles, “Many Years From Now.”

Paul McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after he had a dream about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles ("The White Album") in 1968. According to McCartney, the song's reference to "Mother Mary" was not biblical.

“I had a dream I saw my mum, who’d been dead 10 years or so, It was so great to see her because that’s a wonderful thing about dreams: you actually are reunited with that person for a second; there they are and you appear to both be physically together again. It was so wonderful for me and she was very reassuring. In the dream she said, ‘It’ll be all right.’ I’m not sure if she used the words ‘Let it be’ but that was the gist of her advice. It was, ‘Don’t worry too much, it will turn out OK.’ It was such a sweet dream I woke up thinking, ‘Oh, it was really great to visit with her again.’ I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing the song ‘Let It Be.’”

The Mask of Personhood

2017-11-12T18:25:00.002-06:00

To the Ancient Greeks, theater was a form of entertainment taken very seriously. People would come from all across the Greek world to attend the popular theaters held in open air amphitheaters. In their glory days, some amphitheaters could hold crowds of up to 15,000 people. The theater was a place where politics, religion, the human condition, popular figures, and legends were all discussed and performed with great enthusiasm.

The origin of the dramatic arts in Greece can be found in Athens, where ancient hymns were sung in honor of their gods. These hymns were later adapted into choral processions where participants would dress up in costumes and masks.

The starting point of modern western theater is often credited to the Greeks. Highly decorated masks. These masks were constructed out of lightweight wood. There were two holes for the eyes, large enough for the actor to see the audience but small enough so as not to allow the audience to see him. The shape of the masks amplified the actor’s voice, making his words easier for the audience to hear.

The wooden masks were called personas, from the Latin, per, meaning “through,” and son, meaning “sound.”

This is the origin of our words, person, personality, personification, and persona. Our personality is a mask we wear, a mask created by our conditioning, well in place by the time we are five years old.

I appreciate so much Mooji’s use of the words Person and Isness. In our Personhood we are projecting the egoic-mind, seeing “out there” what is first “in here.” When we experience our Isness, we can see through the duality and relativity of our Personhood, our mask, our masquerade, and see a true reflection.

This is so well expressed in a poem by Juan Ramon Jemenez (1891-1958), I Am Not I.

I (Person) am not I. (Isness)
I (Isness) am this one
walking beside me
whom I (Person) do not
see,
whom at times I (Person)
manage to visit,
and whom at
other times I (Person)
forget;
who remains calm
and silent while I (Person)
talk,
and forgives,
gently, when I (Person)
hate,
who walks where I (Person)
am not,
who will remain
standing when I (Person)
die.

Let me give a PERSONAL example.

Booth my father and mother had little expression on their faces. My father was usually stoic, and my mother seemed to have a suffering, but almost expressionless, face.

As a child, I would search their faces to see what they were thinking of me. To this day, I need to be aware of this conditioning. When I encounter a PERSON with an expressionless face, I usually have a negative reaction. I have learned to be aware of this conditioning and ask for help to see through the mask to his or her Isness.

Receptivity is the Key

2017-10-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

After all this time, it has come down to one thing for me: receptivity.

How often during the day, can I step back, be present, and listen for the Voice of the Holy Spirit, speaking to me all through the day?

These passages are excellent reminders for me.

from A Course in Miracles,

Lesson 49, God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.

It is quite possible to listen to God's Voice all through the day without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not. It is the other part of your mind that functions in the world and obeys the world's laws. It is this part that is constantly distracted, disorganized and highly uncertain.

The part that is listening to the Voice for God is calm, always at rest and wholly certain. It is really the only part there is. The other part is a wild illusion, frantic and distraught, but without reality of any kind. Try today not to listen to it. Try to identify with the part of your mind where stillness and peace reign forever. Try to hear God's Voice call to you lovingly, reminding you that your Creator has not forgotten His Son.

from the Bible, Luke 6:11

Give us today our daily bread.

from A Course of Love, The Addendum,

A.11 What you are finding is receptivity. You are coming home to the way of the heart. What you gain by sharing with others is a situation in which you “learn” in unity through the receptivity of the heart.

A.12 Am I telling you not to question? Not to enter discussion? I am only telling you to receive before you seek to perceive. I ask you not to receive as one who does not have what another has, as this is not a passing on of information that you do not possess. I ask you merely to receive in order to learn receptivity, the way of the heart. I ask you only to pause, to give the mind a rest, to enter a realm foreign to the mind and yet beloved to the heart. I ask you but to give yourself a chance to let the relief of not having another task to apply your effort to fill you. I ask you but to give yourself a chance to forget about approaching this as one more self-improvement exercise, or one more objective to accomplish. Only in this way do you come to realize you are already accomplished.

A.13 Through receptivity, what your mind finds difficult to accept, your heart accepts with ease. Now you are ready to question what you must. Now you are ready to hear the answer that arises in your own heart or from the voice of the man or woman sitting next to you. Now you are ready to hear all the voices around you without judgment, to enter discussion without an agenda to attend to, to not be so anxious to say what you are thinking that you forget to listen. Now you are ready to let understanding come without the aggressiveness of going out to get it.

A.14 You are patient, loving, and kind. You have entered the time of tenderness. You begin to hear what your feelings are saying to you without the interferences and cautions of your thinking mind. You begin to trust and as you begin to trust you begin to extend who you are. True giving and receiving as one begins to take place. You have entered Holy relationship.

A.48 Go forth not as complete works of art but as permeable energy, ever changing, ever creating, ever new. Go forth with openness for revelation to happen through you and through all you encounter. Go forth joyously on this adventure of discovery. Be ever new, ever one, ever the beloved.

A.49 Bring your voice to this continuing dialogue. This is all that is asked of you. This is the gift you have been given and the gift you bring the world; your own voice, the voice of Who You Are. This is not a voice of separation or of the separated self but a voice of union and of the One Self. It is how union is expressed and made recognizable in form. It is what will usher in the new and change the world. It cannot be accomplished without you—without your ability to stand in unity and relationship as The Accomplished.

A.50 Behold brothers and sisters, You are The Accomplished.

This is my daily affirmation:

I am in the world, and not of the world.

I am a body, and I AM Spirit.

I am human, and I AM Divine.

I am form, and I AM formless.

I am a person, and I AM Isness.

I AM God's Son, complete and healed and whole,

shining in the reflection of His Love. (Who am I?)

I will be still an instant and go home. (Lesson 182)

And in that instant I will experience Isness.

And in that experience, I will be receptive, receptive to the still, small Voice for God speaking to me all through the day, telling me where to go, what to do, and what to say, to whom.

How Sarah Young was “Graciously Guided” to write, “Jesus Calling.”

2017-01-13T17:14:00.000-06:00

Soon after posting a Blog entitled, “We Are Now, and We Always Have Been, Graciously Guided,” (1/7/2017)I was guided to read Sarah Young’s Introduction to her book, “Jesus Calling.” I was fascinated by how she was “graciously guided” all along the way to writing her book.

These are the “signposts” that led her along the way, step by step. I have simply excerpted these passages that pointed the way for her.

I firsts experienced the peace of God in a setting of exquisite beauty. I was living and studying at a Christian community in a tiny Alpine village in France.

A few months earlier my brother had asked me to read Francis Schaeffer’s, “Escape from Reason.” Schaeffer’s teaching drew me to this pristine place.

One night I found myself leaving the warmth of our cozy chalet to walk alone in the snowy mountains. Suddenly I felt as if a warm mist enveloped me. I became aware of a lovely Presence, and my involuntary response was to whisper, “Sweet Jesus.”

The following year, back in the United States, I had another encounter with the Presence of Jesus. Alone in my room, I felt waves of desolation wash over me. So I began walking the streets of Atlanta aimlessly. I glanced at some books in an outdoor stall and was drawn to “Beyond Ourselves” by Catherine Marshall. That night as I read the book, I no longer felt alone. That night as I read the book, I felt an overwhelming Presence of peace and love come over me. I knew that Jesus was with me.

During the next sixteen years I lived what many people might consider an exemplary Christian life.

I was ready to begin a new spiritual quest. It started with delving into a devotional book, “The Secret of the Abiding Presence” by Andrew Murray.

My days started alone with God, equipped with Bible, devotional book, prayer journal, pen, and coffee. As I waited in His Presence, God began to reveal Himself to me.

During that same year, I began reading “God Calling,” a devotional book written by two anonymous “listeners.” These women practiced waiting quietly in God’s Presence, pencils and paper in hand, recording the messages they received from Him.

The following year I began to wonder if I, too, could receive messages during my times of communing with God. I decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I believed He was saying. Soon, messages began to flow more freely, and I bought a special notebook to record these words.

I have continued to receive personal messages from God as I meditate on Him. The more difficult my life circumstances, the more I need these encouraging directives from my Creator. During the years that I have been listening to God with pen in hand, I have found themes of His Peace becoming more prominent in my writing.

I have included Scripture references after each daily reading. As I listened to God, Bible verses or fragments of verses often come to mind. I have interwoven these into my messages.

These messages are meant to be read slowly, preferably in a quiet place. Remember that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. May He bless you with His Presence and Peace in ever-increasing measure.

We Are Now, and We Always Have Been, Graciously Guided.

2017-01-06T17:22:00.000-06:00

When I look back at my life, I realize that I have been guided all along; I did not see the guidance along the way, I saw it only in retrospect.

from A Course in Miracles:

What could you not accept, if you but knew
that everything that happens, all events,
past, present and to come, are gently planned
by One Whose only purpose is your good?
(Lesson 135.18)

Time is a trick, a sleight of hand, a vast
illusion in which figures come and go
as if by magic. Yet there is a plan
behind appearances that does not change.
The script is written. When experience
will come to end your doubting has been set.
For we but see the journey from the point
at which it ended, looking back on it.
(Lesson 158.4)

And here is a passage from Jane Gage Govoni’s, “Faith, Love, and Hypnosis: An Inspirational Memoir of the Dance Between Stroke and Healing.

It is very amazing when we look back at the long road of our life and see all the signposts that we have been given but didn’t understand at the time. I received a signpost when I was 12. Each of us had a Bible verse chosen for us, and mine was Isaiah 40:29-31:

²⁹He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

³⁰Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

³¹But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

You can imagine my surprise when the same verse was chosen for me at my high school graduation four years later. Maybe Soren Kierkegaard said it best when he wrote, “We understand our lives backwards but we must live them forwards.”

I was going to need the comfort of the words I was forced to learn 30 years before the stroke. (pp. 73,74)

And now, I am going to look back on my life to demonstrate how I was graciously guided. I am going to focus in on only four incidents, “signposts,” in respect to my education and my profession.

ONE

When I was a senior in high school in Three Rivers, MI, I began receiving recruiting letters from colleges and universities, inviting me to visit their campuses and talk with coaches about playing football and running track.

No one in my family had ever gone to college, and I was not receiving any guidance. One day in the middle of the summer, an Admissions Counselor from Kalamazoo College, appeared at my door and said, “Look, we have offered you a most significant scholarship; so significant that we offer only two of them each year. Now, are you going to take it, or not?”

I said, “OK, and what do I have to do next?”

He said, “I need a $50.00 deposit.”

I said, “Let’s walk to where my Dad is working at Reen’s Super Market.”

When we arrived, I asked my Dad for the money, and he said, “I don’t have it; I’ll borrow it from Reen.”

And, then, it was a done deal.

(Incidentally, tuition and room and board in those days at K was $1500.00, yearly, and the Chet Barnard Scholarship was for $1000.00. Somehow my parents managed to come up with the rest for four years; my father was a butcher, and my mother worked as a secretary at the Continental Can Company in Three Rivers.)

TWO

After a wonderful four years at K, playing football, running track, becoming an English Major, and winning a Light Scholarship to go on foreign study to France for a summer, at the University of Caan in Normandy, I found myself in the spring, again, wondering what I was going to do next.

(Also, I was being directed early on towards the light because the Kalamazoo College motto is, “LuxEsto,” meaning, “Let there be light.”)

One day, while walking across the Quad, an English Professor, Larry Barrett, walked by me and said, “Oh, I just received a brochure from The University of Chicago; the University is offering a Master of Arts in Teaching Program (MAT) you might be interested in. Go grab the brochure.”

Well, l applied, received a generous scholarship, and began the two-year program in the fall of 1963.

I had never thought much about teaching, and after practice teaching in the University Lab School, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do.

I also practice taught for a semester in a Chicago public school, and I wrote a Master’s Thesis, a critical essay on “The Great Gatsby,” and a three-week lesson plan.

THREE

Once again, in the spring of my final year, I found myself wondering what to do next. I filled out forms at the University’s Career Center, and one day, I had an appointment set for a meeting with a high school Principal from San Francisco. I was simply looking for a job, not thinking about any particular location.

I received a call that he canceled, and a Principal could interview me from Westport, Ct. I met with Ken Brummel, and we had a very exciting, inspiring interview. At the end, he said, “Look, I will fly you out to Westport, and you can stay with me and my family, and tour the Bedford Junior High School.” Well, I flew there, was blown away by the strength of the school system, the teachers and students, and returned to Chicago with a contract that simply needed to be signed and returned; and I promptly sent it to Ken.

FOUR

That turned out to be a very exciting four years; my two wonderful roommates, also first-year English Teachers, were Don Schuman from Princeton, and Ed Elenausky from Johns Hopkins.

My English Department Chairperson, Annette Silverstone, was very encouraging. One time, during my first fall teaching, I told her of some cool idea I had about making a connection between Joseph Campbell’s, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” and Homer’s “Odyssey,” and she said, “Try anything once.”

During the spring of my fourth year, I received a call from Janet Emig, my Supervisor during my MAT Program at the University of Chicago, who said, “Listen, Ray, we are beginning a Doctoral Program in training teachers how to teach, and I thought of you.” She went on to say that she often used my Master’s Thesis as an example to show other students of how it could be done.

In the fall of 1969, I entered the doctoral program, receiving my doctorate four years later, yes, in the spring.

from A Course in Miracles:

Whatever your appointed way may be,
it was selected by the Voice for God.
His is the only way to find the peace
that God has given us. It is His way
that everyone must travel in the end,
because it is this ending God Himself
appointed. In the dream of time it seems
to be far off. And yet, in truth, it is
already here; already serving us
as gracious guidance in the way to go.
(Final Lessons)

And, here is a Haiku:

Graciously guided
we see it looking backwards
Now, trusting next step

Jesus and Trump and the Christ and Namaste

2016-10-08T11:31:00.001-05:00

What follows is 1) an article that appeared in USA Today by Tom Krattenmaker, a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors, and communications director at Yale Divinity School)m 2) my e-mail response to him, and 3) his e-mail response to me.

Friday, 26 August 2016

What Jesus would do:
Love Donald Trump

Tom Krattemaker

“Love your enemies,” Jesus said.

But does the daunting concept really apply to our hostile politics today? Can Democrats love conservatives? Is it possible for Hillary Clinton supporters to — gasp — love Donald Trump? Can Trump be loved even by Republicans who are convinced he is destroying their party?

Yes, actually.

As a staff member at Yale Divinity School and as a secular person who has been unpacking the central teachings of Jesus for an upcoming book, I have come to see ways in which this principle can be applied today. Even to the inveterate commandment-breaker and bad-behavior-modeler Donald Trump.

It helps if we get clear about the meaning of “love” in the biblical context. John Collins, a prolific Yale scholar who teaches a popular class on biblical values and their application to public issues today, reminds me that the word conveys something quite different from what comes to mind for most of us.

This biblical love, Collins points out, is not a surge of affection or a romantic attraction to someone (feelings, not incidentally, that can change and fade). Rather, it can be thought of as a commitment to and regard for our fellow human beings — even those not like us and not on our side, politically or culturally speaking — and refusing to reduce them to their worst ideas and behavior.

Does “loving” one’s political rivals mean ceding elections to them, or abandoning our own principles and policies to push theirs instead? Of course not. If we believe Trump’s values and politics would harm the country and the people who populate it, love compels us to resist his election and the advancement of what he stands for.

What does this love of enemy imply? I find it’s easier to answer that with respect to Trump supporters than Trump himself. This is not to endorse the bigotry frequently on display at his rallies, or the “lock her up!” vitriol and threats of violence against Clinton. There is no place for these. But an empathetic look at Trump supporters surfaces the frustration and bewilderment of a subset of the country that has felt abandoned by rapid economic and social upheaval and politics as usual.

To love them is to tease out what might be legitimate about their grievances and to want them to have decent, dignified lives. It means relating to them in a way conducive to a change of heart whereby that heart might eventually change — might store more than resentment against immigrants, minorities and “politically correct” liberals.

What of Trump himself? Bible scholars will tell you that an important aspect of Jesus-style love is wanting the best for others, even those you label “enemy.” In Collins’ view, this suggests wanting for Trump a newfound ability to resist firing off mean-spirited tweets and ill-conceived ideas that malign other people and reveal his own lack of knowledge and character.

Loving Trump also implies wanting the best for him personally even as we thwart his political desires. For a narcissistic power seeker, winning the presidential election would only feed his worst tendencies. His massive and problematic ego — “I alone can fix it,” as he boasts when discussing the country’s problems—would likely soar to destructive new heights were he to occupy the most powerful office in the land.

Better for Trump’s character — better for his soul, if you will — that he experience and accept a very public loss in this biggest contest of his life and spend his remaining years devoting himself to ends more edifying than inflating his superiority and degrading his rivals.

Loving Trump means resisting any urge to clamor for his imprisonment or execution, as some of his supporters have demanded for Clinton. No need for any symbolic walk of shame like that endured by Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones. (We know what that led to: She sought and got revenge on a massively destructive scale.)

The funny thing about loving our political enemies is that the minute we change our regard for them, they morph before our eyes. They remain our political opponents, but they are no longer our enemies — and no longer deserving of the treatment the word implies.

They become, instead, human, and deserving of all that implies. Even if their name is Donald Trump.

# # #

Saturday, 27 August 2016

Der Tom,

I am so grateful for your article, “What Jesus would do: Love Donald Trump.” Several million readers will be reminded that Jesus taught us to love our neighbor.

Following your example, I am going to express to you what loving your neighbor means to me.

First, when I think of Jesus, what comes to mind is His resurrection, not his crucifixion. His resurrection demonstrates His Divinity, his eternal Spirit.

While He was waking on this earth, He underwent a transformation, an illumination, so that he experienced his eternal Spirit, and his resurrection demonstrated it to the world.

When He taught, love thy neighbor as thy Self, He meant to recognize in your neighbor the eternal Spirit. When you experience your Self, you can see this Self, this Spirit, in your brother. You are seeing your brother with the eyes of Christ.

An example of this is greeting your brother, saying, “Namaste,” the Christ in me greets the Christ in you.

Therefore, “Namaste, Donald Trump.”

Obviously, in the past two thousand years, there has been ample evidence that Jesus is Spirt; Jesus is present with us in every moment.

Here is my favorite example. In October of 1965, He said to Helen Schucman, a Psychology Professor at Columbia, “This is A Course in Miracles, please take notes,” and she dutifully did for seven years, and A Course in Miracles was published in 1975. It consists of a Text with 31 Chapters, a Workbook for Students, consisting of 365 Lessons, one for each day of the year, and a Manual for Teachers.

This Course provides an opportunity to transform our minds, so that we can fulfill our only function of being on this earth, coming into awareness that we are Spirit.

Since we are Spirit, we are the Sons of God, we are as He created us. The Course constantly teaches us this holy truth.

My wife, Christine, and I begin again with Lesson 1 on January 1 of each year.

For example, today’s Lesson is 240, Fear is not justified in any form.

Here is a passage from the Lesson:

We are the Sons of God. There is no fear in us,

for we are each a part of Love Itself.

How foolish are our fears! Would You allow

Your Son to suffer? Give us faith today

to recognize Your Son, and set him free.

Let us forgive him in Your Name, that we

may understand his holiness, and feel

the love for him which is Your Own as well.

When we recognize God’s Son in our neighbor, we set him free.

Sincerely,

Ray Comeau, Ph.D.

Here is a little bit about myself. I received my BA from Kalamazoo College in 1963, my MA from the University of Chicago in 1965, and my Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1973.

I have written four books:

1. Through a Mirror, Brightly: Reflections of a Mind Illuminated Trough A Course in Miracles, 2000.

2. There Must Be Another Way, 2008.

3. 100 Haiku: Inspired by the Mind Training of A Course in Miracles, 2015.

4. 100 Haiku: Book Two, 2016.

# # #

Sunday, 28 August 2016

Dear Ray,

Wow, what a great message. Thank you so much for getting in touch and sharing this wisdom with me.

I'm familiar with the Course in Miracles! Can't say I have done it or know much about it, but it sounds like a transformative set of teachings.

Thanks again for being in touch. All the best to you,

Tom

P.S. Four books, eh? Hats off to you. Books are a lot of work! My third is coming out in just over a month.

Running the Chicago Marathon , October 26, 1978

2016-07-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

In the fall of 1977, I returned to Kalamazoo College as an Assistant Professor of Education, having graduated from K in 1963 with an English Major and a career as a track athlete, high and low hurdles and the quarter mile, and football player, defensive end, and my football coach, Rolla, now Athletic Director, asked me to coach the men and women’s cross country teams, and I said, “I have never even seen a cross country race,” and the sly fox said, “OK, why don’t you be Ed Baker’s Assistant Coach ng in track this spring, and I said, “OK,” and I was hooked, I had forgotten how much I knew about running and, I just loved working with the guys, and I went up to Rolla and said, “I want to coach cross country, starting next fall,” and then I looked in the mirror and realized I was about 30 pounds overweight and I hadn’t done any walking or running for years, and in January, 1978, I was reading the magazine, “Runner’s World,” and saw an article that said if you want to run a marathon, 26.2 miles, this is the way to train, and I went to the track the next day, telling myself I would run a mile, ran two laps, a half-mile, and said that’s it for today, completely winded, and so it began, going to the track every day and slowly increasing my distance and in a couple of months I hit the road, running two miles a day, and then over the months I increased it, until I was running about 5 miles a day, 6 days a week, and then in June I began increasing my speed until I was running 8 minute pace per mile, for 6 miles, and day after day I built-up my stamina, my speed and my distance, occasionally, some of the guys from the cross country team would join me on a run, particularly Joel Menges, and kindly run my pace, and I had long ago picked out the Chicago Marathon in October, and in late September, I ran my longest distance, 15 miles at 8 minute pace, and that was the farthest I had ever run, 11 miles shy of a marathon, and on the day of the marathon, it was 89 degrees F, and I began, at 5 miles, 40 minutes, 10 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes, and at 20 miles, it was 2:41.19, that is, 79 seconds off pace, it looked as if I were going to do it, and then….at 24 miles, I hit the wall, suddenly, I could hardly put one foot in front of the other, let alone keep my pace, I had never experienced anything like it, and I said to myself, “Look, you fucker, you are going to finish, even if you crawl in,” and I shuffled to the end, taking 24 minutes to run the final 2 miles, and the reason I hit the wall is because, stupidly, I didn’t drink any water along the way, although it was offered every couple of miles, I was stupidly thinking that if I slowed down for water, I wouldn’t be able to keep my pace….well, I ended up completing it in 3 hours and 36 minutes, my goal was 3 hours and 30 minutes that would have qualified me to run the Boston Marathon in the spring. . . and, I did finish what I set out to do.

I Can Never Forgive a Person; I Can Only Forgive a Thought

2016-05-27T21:39:00.000-05:00

Defining what true forgiveness is is tricky. At first, it seems that I am trying to forgive a person. Someone does something that hurts me, and I ask for help to find the strength to forgive that person. This is bargaining, and I probably think I am a better person than that person.

The thing is, I can never forgive a person; I can only ask for help to let go of my thought-image that is making up that person, simply a projection.

I can only forgive a thought.

That’s good because it keeps it all within my mind; obviously, the image I am projecting outside begins inside, and there is where I need to focus.

And, I am up against it because I am dealing with several thousand thoughts pouring through my mind all day.

Not only that, these thoughts are based on my habitual conditioning, my core beliefs, that were well in place by the time I was five years old. This automatic conditioning is the basis for the thoughts that are triggered by another person’s behavior.

And, I can let it go because I am placing my finger on my nose, taking full responsibility, looking inside.

What comes to mind is this passage from Luke:

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (23/34)

Jesus is acknowledging that those crucifying Him are not aware of their projections. They completely focused on Jesus, outside of them as a body, completely unaware that He is simply a thought-image, in fact, they all have slightly different thought-images of Him.

Jesus knows full well that they are unaware of their projections and lovingly asks our Father that they be forgiven.

And from Lesson 134, Let me perceive forgiveness as it is:

Forgiveness looks on thoughts with quiet eyes, and merely says to them, “My brother, what you think is not the truth.”

I can never forgive a person; I can only forgive my thoughts projected on a person.

Again, from Lesson 134:

He has been gently awakened from his dream by understanding what he THOUGHT he saw was never there.

# # #

On July 4^th, I began reading “In The World But Not Of It,” by Jesus, as scribed by Gina Lake.

I came across theses brilliant passages by Jesus describing our thought-stream, and I am placing them here because they echo my experience of forgiving thoughts, not people.

Chapter 2

The Clouds

The illusion Spun by Thoughts

The obscurations to Christ Consciousness, to experiencing your divine nature, are simply thoughts. These thoughts are the ones that flow continually through your mind, speaking to you as if they were you, and authority figure, or a friend. They are primarily about you and your life, what to do, how to be, what happened, and what will be. I will be referring to this mental commentary as the thought-stream, the voice in your head, or the egoic mind.

Imagine that: Something as flimsy and ephemeral as a stream of thoughts is powerful enough to hide your divine nature from you and, in its place, create a sense of yourself as separate, limited, vulnerable, and lacking. Thoughts create the illusion of a self that has problems, fears, desires, struggles, emotions, and pain. They create the false self. Without thoughts, problems and suffering disappear and so does the false self. Thoughts perform quite a magic trick!

Thoughts can come and go in the background without affecting you, because you understand they are simply the programming common to all humans and not uniquely yours. You see that your thoughts actually have nothing to do with your and mean nothing about you—the real you, that is—although they have everything to do with the false self.

You come to see that you are the spacious, silent Presence in which thoughts, feelings, desires, sense impressions, intimations, knowing, insights, inspiration, and motivations come and go. You share the ground of being out of which everything you experience arises. You are that which is eternal and untouched by the coming and gong of thoughts, feelings, desires, sense impressions, and the whole world of form. And there is total love for form and for its coming and going. What a miracle this world is! In Christ Consciousness, you are in love with life itself and with every way that life manifests.

What "Amazing Grace" Means to Me

2016-05-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

Judy Collins writes the Introduction to “Amazing Grace: The Story of America’s Most Beloved Song,” by Steve Turner. She writes that in the late 60’s she was going through a difficult time in her life, protesting the war in Vietnam, facing difficulties in her marriage and trying to maintain custody of her son. For help she joined a support group.

“One night after a particularly argumentative meting I was asked to sing a song that might bring us all back together; a song we could all sing and relate to. I chose ‘Amazing Grace.’ Instantly, all disquiet faded from the group. We stood together, singing. Everyone seemed to know at least part of the song. We were transformed to a lace that was calm and serene, peaceful and loving.

My producer, Mark Abramson, with whom I was working on my current album, was at the meeting that night and called me in the morning to tell me ‘Amazing Grace’ was a song that should be included on the album. I quickly agreed.

In 1970 I recorded the song at St. Paul’s chapel on the campus of Columbia University in New York. The chorus singing was comprised of many close personal friends, including Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, Yafa Lerner, and even one of my brothers, Dinver John. The recording was truly a coming together of family and friends, kith and kin.

The song swept across the country, becoming an instant hit and for that reason, creating room for other spiritual songs in the poop repertory. “

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BD_xvH01DY

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
'Twas blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Then when we first begun.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
Was blind, but now I see.

John Newton (1725-1807) was a slave trader for 20 years, and then he became an Anglican Cleric, serving Olney, Buckingham, for 20 years. For his Sunday sermons, he often wrote hymns to supplement his readings. During this time he underwent a conversion experience, overcoming the guilt he experienced as a slave trader, and in December of 1772, he wrote “Amazing Grace,” expressing how grace overcame his wretchedness.

“John Fawcett, a Baptist minister, was so impressed when he heard Newton speak of his dramatic conversion that he asked him to write his story so that it could be passed around. This was done in a series of letters to Fawcett, completing the last letter with this comment, ‘I pray God this little sketch may animate those who shall peruse it to praise the exceeding riches of His goodness to an unworthy wretch.”

# # #

I selected this song because I, too, felt like a wretch for a good part of my life. In time, I came to learn that it was not my effort that saved me, it was God’s Grace, and I know precisely when and where that occurred.

On August 7, 1997, Christine and I crossed the threshold of Endeavor Academy.

Looking back, I see that moment as an apex:

Everything I had experienced in my life, came to a point here, and then opened up, and is till opening.

Always looking ahead in my life, I thought if anything were to get done, I would have to do it. Looking back, I realize that all along I was being guided, and the way was constantly narrowing.

The sports, he degrees, the studying, the reading, the writing, the failed marriage, the failed jobs, drinking and smoking pot and partying, even the apparent successes in teaching and coaching and writing, and the clear-cut crossings, meeting Christine in the fall of 1985,coming across the Course in the fall of 1986, sitting in the closet of my classroom in the late 90’s during my Free Period, meditating, pleading, “God, please get me out of here,” encountering brothers on the 4^th of July Weekend, 1997, and finally crossing the threshold of Endeavor Academy, “just for 30 days,” and meeting Master Teacher.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I'm found.
'Twas blind, but now I see.

Salvation’s time has come. Today is set by Heaven itself to be a time of GRACE for you and for the world. (Lesson 131, No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.)

The power that this song has held for 250 years is because it is the perfect blending of sound and sense, medium and message, form and content.

First, the sheer poetry of it; its rhythm is iambic.

a MAZ/ ing GRACE,/ how SWEET/ the SOUND
that SAVED/ a WRETCH/ like ME./
i ONCE/ was LOST,/ but NOW/ i'm FOUND/
'Twas BLIND,/ but NOW/ i SEE./

As far as sound and sense, listen to the assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds:

amAzing, grAce, sAved

swEEt, mE, sEE

hOW,sOUnd, nOW, fOUnd, nOW

lIke, I’m,blInd, I

Listen to the consonance, the repetition of consonant sounds:

amAZing, grACe, SWeet, SOund, SAved, wretCH, onCE, wAS, loST, T’wAS, SEEE

Whenever Christine and I did Session, the last song we played before we began talking was Ronnie Earl’s, “Amazing Grace.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x3gNhRi9Ig

I Was Struck

2016-03-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

The other morning, reading the Lesson for the day, 71, Only God’s plan for salvation will work, ideas started pouring in about how thoughts come to mind that lead to creative expression. I grabbed my notebook and recorded in thoughts as they came in.

I Was Struck

“One winter morning I was struck by the beautiful graphic quality of our oak trees and bare branches. I set up my easel in front of the window, which framed this composition, Winter Morning Trees.” Nancy Cox.

. . .I was STRUCK by. . .

Turning a phrase into blank verse

Father, please help me see

how You are manifesting through me.

Fa ther, please help me see

how You are man i fest ing through me.

FA ther,/ please HELP/ me SEE/

how YOU/ are MAN/ i FEST ing/ through ME./

It came to me to say.

Give us this day our holy bread.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Insertion of light

Alignment

Attune

Resonate

Frequency

Vibration

The issue here is to discuss what it means to be aligned to a Christ vibration in a body that walks around and encounters other bodies in frequency. “(I Am Word”, channeled by Paul Selig.)

Receptivity

Lesson 49, God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.

from today’s Lesson 71, Only God’s plan for salvation will work:

What would You have e do?

Where would You have me go?

What would you have me say, and to whom? (11)

Give Him full CHARGE of the rest of the practice period, and let Him tell you what needs to be done by you in His plan for your salvation. He will answer you in proportion to your willingness to hear His Voice. (Lesson 71.12)

The world is CHARGED with the grandeur of God.

God’s Grandeur

Gerar Manley Hopkins (1844.1889)

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;

And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;

There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;

And though the last lights off the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

from “The Impersonal Life,” channeled by Joseph Brenner.

I have been with you always, but you did not know it.

I have purposely led you through the Wilderness of books and teachings, of religious and philosophies, keeping ever before your Soul’s eyes the vision of the Promised Land; feeding you with the mana of the Desert, that you might remember and value and long for the Bread of the Spirit.

Now I have brought you to the river Jordan that separates you from your Divine heritage.

Now the time has come for you consciously to know Me; the time has come for you to cross over into Canaan, the land of Milk and Honey.

Are you ready?

Do you want to go?

Then follow this My Word, which is the Ark of My Covenant, and you shall go over dry shod.

BE STILL AND KNOW.

For me, when I am struck, I grab a notebook and a pen, not an easel and a brush, sit before the window and compose a Haiku:

A gray evening sky
latticed with dark black branches
a bird lands, branch bobs

SINGULARITY Certain Connections Between Earthly and Heavenly Experiences

2016-02-21T11:40:00.003-06:00

Saturday, 23 January 2016

Five-Minute Writing Exercise

Everything that I experience begins in my mind with an image to which I attach a story, or a thought to which I attach an image. And I believe them. Beliefs are powerful, indeed. This, then, is my “world,” totally in my mind and projected outward.

It is only when my mind is free of my thought- images and beliefs that it is truly itself, present, and joined with all other minds, joyous and free.

Sunday, 24 January 2016

A Haiku

Do only this, now
Do that next, making that this
This is heart-centered

A Direct Experience

While walking the endless corridors of the Kalahari Resort, I say to myself, OK, now simply do this, be attentive to walking. Let go of that thought-image coming up in front of me, and let go of that that thought-image that was behind me, making that this moment.

Be aware of my feet striking the soft carpet, heel-toe, right foot, heel-toe left foot, breathe in and breathe out.

When I begin thinking about thethat that is coming up this afternoon, let that become this.

When I only do this, I am whole-heartedly receptive to the still small Voice speaking to me all through the day.

While I was walking, this essay kept going through my mind.

Then, I said to myself, OK, get back to walking and focusing on this, stepping through the corridors, letting that essay go.

Now is the only time there is.

Be here now.

I am going directly home after finishing my walk, and then the that of writing this down will become the this of the moment.

And, now, at home, sitting on my couch, I listen to this Voice and write this essay.

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

(William Wordsworth, “I wandered lonely as a cloud.”)

As your heart is the Source of your rue Self, your thoughts, once removed from those of the ego-mind are the expression and extension of your true Self. (A Course of Love: The Treatises, 2.4)

My Heart Leaps Up When I Experience Singularity

While driving to Michigan on the Sunday following our Friday Writing Class, where, among other things, we read William Wordsworth’s poem, “My heart Leaps up,” I “just happened” to come across this account of an ADC (After Death Communication) in “Hello from Heaven” by Bill and Judy Guggenheim.

Victoria is a homemaker in Manitoba, Canada. Her husband and she shared this wonderful symbolic ADC 15 years after their daughter, Gail, died in an automobile accident at age 19:

Last year we went to The Compassionate Friends picnic. It was a bright, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. At the end of the picnic, we all released helium balloons, and to ours I attached a note to Gail from all of us. The last line said, “Wishing you lots of rainbows, Sweetheart.” Then off it went into the atmosphere.

As we were leaving the park, we looked at the clear blue sky, and there was a rainbow from horizon to horizon! My husband and I looked at each other, and I said, “Gail got our message and is sending one back to us!”

The park is about twenty-two miles from our home, and that rainbow followed us all the way! As we got back into town, my husband said, “Take a look, honey!” It had become a gorgeous double rainbow! We stood beside the car holding hands just looking at the sky.

My Heart Leaps Up
William Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold

   A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

   Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety.

Experiencing
singularity, my heart
leaps up! Thank you, God.

On Composing Haiku

2016-02-09T14:23:00.003-06:00

Early morning,
sitting in the living room,
reading the Lesson,
sipping coffee,
being still.

Wild exactitude
five-seven-five, exactly
wild imaginings

Pine branches, bouncing
like dog tails wagging with joy
“Good Morning” to you

Wings of glass angel
hanging in Eastern window
catching morning sun

Skylight, pale blue sky
Wispy, cottony clouds pass
moving so swiftly

A crispy brown leaf
strangely caught in the updraft,
swirls towards Heaven

Light snow, overnight
sunlight attempting to pierce
marshmellowed skylight

Black limbs, layered snow
Bird lands, “Poof,” white crystals fall
miniature storm

Twenty degrees, rain
Forcing the snow from the leaves
raindrops and snow flakes

Opportunity
“port,” harbor; “tune,” fortunate
sailing in, good wind

No Ifs, Ands, or Buts about it

2015-12-28T14:07:00.001-06:00

Reading Lessons 361-365, I was reminded that for a good part of my life I was caught up in the idea that I was alone, and IF anything were to be done, I would have to do it.

In an English class in my senior year in high school, I came across Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If.” I found it very inspiring and taped it to my portable Remington typewriter case as I went off to Kalamazoo College in 1959. It gave me courage as I faced the immense challenges of college life, and after all, I wanted to be a “manly man.”

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Much later, 1986, I came across A Course in Miracles, and I learned that I was not alone, experiencing my true dependence.

from Lessons 361-365:

And IF I need a word to help me, He

will give it to me. IF I need a thought,

that will He also give. And IF I need

but stillness and a tranquil, open mind,

these are the gifts I will receive of Him.

He is in charge by my request. And He

will hear and answer me, because He speaks

for God my Father and His holy Son.

from the Epilogue:

You do not walk alone.

God's angels hover near and all about.

His Love surrounds you, and of this be sure;

that I will never leave you comfortless.

My Early Years: The Store, The Schools, The Swamp

2015-12-13T11:47:00.000-06:00

(Note: The most recent assignment in our Writing Class was to write a narrative describing our activities during our early childhood. This was inspired by the sharp contrast with the childhood experiences of this generation, particularly because of the immersion in technological devices.)

In 1947, when I was six years old, my parents moved from Three Rivers, Michigan, ten miles north to Moorepark, a village of 500 people located 15 miles south of Kalamazoo on old Highway 131. They wanted to make a go of it running a General Store, selling basic groceries. Across the Highway to the east was a Methodist Church; (My family never went to church); across the street to the south was a gas station and Gunsmith Shop run by Bergie Hughey. To the west was a Post Office, and across the street from the Post Office was a one-room schoolhouse.

Our living quarters were located just behind the store, separated by a curtain. We lived in one big room. My parents’ bed was in the northeast corner; my sister, Jean, three years younger, and I slept in small cots in the southwest corner, next to the couch, easy chair, and big, wooden radio. In the northwest corner was the kitchen with a hand pump over the sink because we had no running water. Next to it was an ice box that used ice blocks delivered once a week. Next to it was a primitive stove .Near the kitchen were two large, lead tubs for laundry and our baths. My mother hung clothes on a clothes line. The two-seater outhouse was just outside.

At night, we huddled around the radio listing to series like “The Shadow,” “The Lone Ranger,” “The B Bar B Ranch,” and “Amos ‘n Andy.”

During this time, I attended a one-room school, Grades 1-8; I was a student there from Grades 1-4, when my parents gave up, and we moved back into town, Three Rivers.

Mrs. Steininger, a tall woman with gray hair and glasses, masterfully taught us, about 45 kids in one room. There were 5-6 kids in each grade; she made it work by having the older ones teach the younger ones. I looked forward to going to school.

(Incidentally, years later I went to a Psychic Reader who said that in my former life I was a Jewish professor at a German University, and I in the late 30’s, I was caught in a round-up by the Nazis, placed in a truck with other people, and a gas hose was attached to the back of the truck, and we were asphyxiated.

She said that several of my family immigrated to the United States. She said that I came back rather quickly (1941), and one of my sisters became my teacher. I often think that Mrs. Steiniger was my sister in my former life.

Yet, when I think about it now, I do not recall that she had a German accent, and how could she have gotten certified to teach so quickly?)

On most summer days, my friend Nino, from a large Italian family down the street, and I would head for The Swamp. He often proudly told me that his name meant “young bull.” Across the street from the store behind the church were large fields, and behind them were woods and swamps and streams. We would head out with our bows and arrows, our knives in scabbards hanging from our belts, and small knapsacks on our backs, carrying our lunch—baloney and mustard sandwiches, Twinkies, and a canteen of water.

We hunted bullfrogs, shot at snakes, and threw rocks at the fish, and played cowboys and Indians. We swam at The Pit, an enormous sand pit, its large, almost vertical banks sloping into a warm pool.

Looking back, I realize that it was so much fun because we were free to do as we wished, no restrictions imposed by parents or teachers.

After four years, my dad and mom realized they just couldn’t make it running the store. People tended to go to the larger stores in Three Rivers for groceries, and only came into our store for a few items, like milk and bread and cold cuts.

We moved back to Three Rivers. My dad took a job as a butcher in a nearby grocery store, and my mother proudly became a secretary at Continental Can. She was proud because she had graduated from high school and had taken typing. I entered Huss Elementary School in the Fifth Grade. I was wondering how I would do in school, moving into a city of 10,000 people. I was amazed that I did perfectly all right, often raising my hand to answer a question. Mrs. Steininger did her job.

Although bullying was not widespread, as it seems to be now, a couple of guys messed with me because I had moved to town from the country. One day in the restroom while I was washing my hands, a couple of guys came in and called me “Country boy.” I grabbed the nearest guy by the front of his shirt, slammed him against the wall, and said, “You better stop fucking with me,” while the other guy took a step back and when I released the first guy, they were out the door. From that day forward, I was accepted and often picked early on for pick-up games in football, softball, and basketball.

On Saturdays, my sister and I would go to the movies in the Riviera Theatre in downtown Three Rivers. For 12 cents each, we saw a double feature, a serial, and cartons.

And so it went, almost 70 years ago.

Desiderata

2015-12-03T10:56:00.006-06:00

James Van Praagh ends his recent book, “Adventures of the Soul: Journeys Through the Physical and Spiritual Dimensions with this poem:

Desiderata

(Things I Desire)

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble,

it's a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann was an attorney turned philosopher-poet who live in Terre Haute, Ind. He spent his life wrestling with the realities of making a living and following his personal calling to a life of poetry, literature, and thought. He wrote A Prayer, which became a message of hope for thousands, but he is best known for Desiderata, which he wrote for himself, "because it counsels those virtues I felt myself most in need of." He died in 1945.

Sitting Quietly, Being Receptive: Receptivity and Creativity Rhyme

2015-11-25T14:24:00.003-06:00

Every day
early morning,
sitting in the living room,
reading the Lesson,
sipping coffee,
being still,
and often,
unbidden
the Haiku come.

On composing a Haiku

Wild exactitude
five-seven-five, exactly
wild imaginings

Pine branches, bouncing
like dog tails wagging with joy
“Good Morning” to you

Wings of glass angel
hanging in Eastern window
catching morning sun

Skylight, pale blue sky
Wispy, cottony clouds pass
moving so swiftly

A crispy brown leaf
strangely caught in the updraft,
swirls towards Heaven

Light snow, overnight
sunlight attempting to pierce
marshmellowed skylight

Black limbs, layered snow
Bird lands, “Poof,” white crystals fall
miniature storm

Twenty degrees, rain
Forcing the snow from the leaves
raindrops and snow flakes

Opportunity
“port,” harbor; “tune,” fortunate
sailing in, fair wind

Billy Fingers Ecourages us to Seek Peace During thesse Difficult Times

2015-11-23T11:22:00.000-06:00

Following this passage from the Course, is an inspiring letter from Annie Kagan, Billy Fingers’ sister.

But what of those whose dedication is not to live;

the black-draped 'sinners',

the ego's mournful chorus,

plodding so heavily away from life,

dragging their chains and marching in the slow procession that honors their grim master,

lord of death?

Touch any one of them with the gentle hands of forgiveness,

and watch the chains fall away,

along with yours.

See him throw aside the black robe he was wearing to his funeral,

and hear him laugh at death.

The sentence sin would lay upon him he can escape through your forgiveness.

This is no arrogance.

It is the Will of God.

What is impossible to you who chose His Will as yours?

What is death to you?

Your dedication is not to death,

nor to its master.

When you accepted the Holy Spirit's purpose in place of the ego's you renounced death,

exchanging it for life.

We know that an idea leaves not its source.

And death is the result of the thought we call the ego,

as surely as life is the result of the Thought of God. (T-19.lV.C.2)

Dear Ray Comeau,

I've been stressed out lately. The news is daunting; terror attacks, families fleeing war torn countries, the environmental mess.

In my book, The Afterlife of Billy Fingers, How My Bad-Boy Brother Proved To Me There's Life After Death, my brother Billy teaches how to better navigate life on planet Earth. Amazingly, Billy began sharing this wisdom with me a few weeks after he died. Two years of our conversations are recorded in our book.

One thing Billy says is;

People spend lots of time on things that make them unhappy. To cultivate joy, pay attention to what you like.

So, with all the disturbance happening on Earth, I made a list of things Billy says can soothe the soul.

SPEND TIME IN NATURE

The light, colors, scents and sounds of the natural world bring pleasure to and heal the senses. Walking in the forest, planting a garden, or simply feeling the warmth of the sun on your face, help you tune to the miracle of creation.

SAY THANK YOU

Many spiritual paths promote the concept of gratitude. Saying "thank you" may be simpler than trying to feel grateful. Saying thank you to all the things that please you, silently or out loud, helps you notice the grace in your life. Thank you is an easy step down the road toward gratitude.

PAUSE FOR BEAUTY

Take time every day to admire something of beauty. Beauty is evocative; it awakens something deep inside and transcends the noise and static of the world. Beauty reminds you of the awe at the heart of life itself.

MAKE LIFE MORE MUSICAL

Singing, dancing and listening to music connects you to the special pleasure of being alive. Have favorite songs on standby to enhance your mood or change it. Some music could be bright and upbeat, some slow and melancholy, some designed for healing. Melody and rhythm turn the ordinary into the magical.

CHANGE YOUR VIEWPOINT

A change in perspective is powerful. According to Quantum physics, the way you see things can actually change them. If something upsets or frightens you, look for what you like about it. When it comes to people, focus on their deep voice, their sparkling eyes, their quick smile, their unique wit. When someone senses positivity coming their way, they may respond in kind.

CELEBRATE THE PURPOSELESS PURPOSE OF LIFE

Joy comes from doing what we love simply for the pleasure of it. Keep a journal, learn to surf, sing in a choir, bake bread, plant a garden, feed the birds. Everything you do doesn't have to lead to an outcome. The doing can be its own reward.

With Love
Your friends

Billy Fingers
Annie Kagan

Tapping into the FP, the field of potential,” with our Thoughts.

2015-07-19T14:42:00.000-05:00

I am rather enjoying Pam Grout’s book, “E Squared: Nine Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.” She makes it clear that there is an invisible energy field that flows through the universe, influencing the physical realm. She calls it the FP, the field of potential. She makes it clear that we can tap into the FP and transform this energy by using our thoughts. Every thought we have is an energy wave that affects everything else in the universe.

And from her book:

Dr. Fred Alan Wolf says it boils down to this: The universe doesn’t exist without a perceiver of that universe. A Couse in Miracles is a self-study program in spiritual psychology that I’ve been practicing and teaching for 25 year; it, has always advocated the idea that consciousness creates the material world. It says we humans decide in advance how we’re going to experience life, that we choose beforehand what we want to see.

Pam Grout continues:

The Dude Abides Principle: There is an invisible energy force or field of infinite possibilities.

Every thought we have impacts the field of potentiality. In fact, what we see is nothing but waves of possibility that we observed into form. This principle states that you impact the field and draw from it according to your beliefs and expectations.

She tells the story that convinced her of this truth—the “nail miracle:”

For years, I placed a calendar beside my bed, plucking it down from time to time to jot down important events. One night, I grabbed the calendar a bit too eagerly and pulled out the small nail that secured it to the wall. I looked all over for it to no avail. I gave up and decided I would just send out an intention for it to show up. The next morning when I woke up, the nail was in my hand nestled between my thumb and forefinger.

Most people associate the word abacadbra with magicians pulling rabbits out of hats. It’s actually an Aramaic term that translates into English as, “I will create as I speak.”

She employs the scientific method to demonstrate this, encouraging us to do experiments.

So, I decided to try Experiment 1: This is what I want to pull out of the field in the next 48 hours:

I want to see orange cars.

Well, Christine and I were driving to Michigan when I began seeing them everywhere—obviously, on the highway, in mall parking lots, in driveways, on the street, parked, and what really knocked me out was, after being gone for over three weeks, we drove into our driveway, and I looked across the street, and our neighbor had acquired in our absence, a new , shiny ORAANGE car.

And here is the incident that inspires me the most.

While we were in Michigan, I went into my hometown of Three Rivers, particularly, to go to a store on Main Street that featured only sunglasses. Actually, I had gone to that store several times, and each time it was closed. I tried it once again, it was closed, and I turned away, muttering to myself, “Damn it,” and just then I looked across the street and saw a new, beautiful ORANGE car. I actually walked across the street and patted it on the fender. Then, I looked at its license plate, and it said: URTOWN.

Now, that meant two things to me:

1) I was experiencing the results of my projection, “Damn it,” making up my world, “my” town, and 2) it was, indeed, the town I grew up in.

Pam Grout:

To change the world is a simple matter of changing our thoughts. To bring something into the physical world requires focusing not on what we see, but on what we want to see.

Doreen Virtue says in her book, “Healing with the Angels: How the Angels can Assist you in Every Aspect of your Life:”

Angels sometimes communicate with us by using license plates. In this way, the angels will actually give us detailed messages.

* * *

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting on our Patio, enjoying the warm, sunny July day, and a little bunny rabbit came to eat the black sunflower seeds on the ground underneath the bird feeder about 8 feet away from where I was sitting. Uncharacteristically, I looked at him full on, and because of macular degeneration, he completely disappeared. Usually, I l look at an object at 3 o’clock, or 9 o’clock, and my peripheral vision brings it into focus.

For a moment, I had this fear thought, “What will it be like in 10 years?” At that very moment, the little bunny rabbit hopped over and sat right in front of me, twitching its nose, and looking at me. I kept saying, softly, “Hi, little bunny rabbit.” After a couple of minutes, he turned and hopped back to his seeds.

I felt comforted and safe, realizing that the FP, the field of potential,” was manifesting, willing to enter in at any moment, attracted by my thoughts, winking at me, saying, “You’re going to be just fine.”

Prose and Poetry in A Course in Miracles

2015-07-17T11:59:00.001-05:00

Since James Twyman is reading the Lesson of the day in his mellifluous voice, emphasizing the rhythm of the iambic pentameter, I want to bring to your attention the extent of the iambic pentameter in the Course.

In Lesson 97, I am Spirit, the first three paragraphs are the last prose in the Lessons.

Today's idea identifies you with your one Self. It accepts no split identity, nor tries to weave opposing factors into unity. It simply states the truth. Practice this truth today as often as you can, for it will bring your mind from conflict to the quiet fields of peace. No chill of fear can enter, for your mind has been absolved from madness, letting go illusions of a split identity.

We state again the truth about your Self, the holy Son of God Who rests in you; Whose mind has been restored to sanity. You are the spirit lovingly endowed with all your Father's Love and peace and joy. You are the spirit which completes Himself, and shares His function as

Creator. He is with you always, as you are with Him.

Today we try to bring reality still closer to your mind. Each time you practice, awareness is brought a little nearer at least; sometimes a thousand years or more are saved. The minutes which you give are multiplied over and over, for the miracle makes use of time, but is not

ruled by it. Salvation is a miracle, the first and last; the first that is the last, for it is one.

The next stanza begins the iambic pentameter for the rest of the Lessons.

You ARE/ the SPIR/ it IN/ whose MIND/ a BIDES/

the miracle in which all time stands still;

the miracle in which a minute spent

in using these ideas becomes a time

that has no limit and that has no end.

Give, then, these minutes willingly, and count

on Him Who promised to lay timelessness

beside them. He will offer all His strength

to every little effort that you make.

Give Him the minutes which He needs today,

to help you understand with Him you are

the spirit that abides in Him, and that

calls through His Voice to every living thing;

offers His sight to everyone who asks;
replaces error with the simple truth.

In the Text, in Chapter 26, TheTransition, is primarily in iambic pentameter, but the last two prose paragraphs in the Text occur in Chapter 27, The Healing of the Dream, in the Section, Beyond all Symbols:

Power cannot oppose. For opposition would weaken it, and weakened power is a contradiction in ideas. Weak strength is meaningless, and power used to weaken is employed to limit. And therefore it must be limited and weak, because that is its purpose. Power is unopposed, to be itself. No weakness can intrude on it without changing it into something it is not. To weaken is to limit, and impose an opposite that contradicts the concept that it attacks. And by this does it join to the idea a something it is not, and make it unintelligible. Who can understand a double concept, such as "weakened-power" or "hateful-love"?

You have decided that your brother is a symbol for a "hateful-love," a "weakened-power," and above all, a "living-death." And so he has no meaning to you, for he stands for what is meaningless. He represents a double thought, where half is cancelled out by the remaining

half. Yet even this is quickly contradicted by the half it cancelled out, and so they both are gone. And now he stands for nothing. Symbols which but represent ideas that cannot be must stand for empty space and nothingness. Yet nothingness and empty space can not be interference. What can interfere with the awareness of reality is the belief that there is something there.

Here is the poetic stanza that begins the rest of the Text in iambic pentameter.

The PIC/ ture OF/ your BROTH/ her THAT/ you SEE/
or to deny; to love or hate, or to
kndow with power or to see as weak.
The picture has been wholly cancelled out,
because it symbolized a contradiction
that cancelled out the thought it represents.
And thus the picture has no cause at all.
Who can perceive effect without a cause?
What can the causeless be but nothingness?
The picture of your brother that you see
is wholly absent and has never been.
Let, then, the empty space it occupies
be recognized as vacant, and the time
devoted to its seeing be perceived
as idly spent, a time unoccupied.

Michael Russell was the first to bring this to the attention of the world in his magnificent book, “Rhythm and Reason: Prose and Poetry in A Course in Miracles.”

Becoming Aware of God’ PLAN

2015-06-07T12:03:00.002-05:00

I just came across a remarkable book by Tom Sullivan, “As I See It: My View from the Inside Out.”

Born prematurely in 1947, Tom was given too much oxygen while in an incubator. Though it saved his life, it cost him his eyesight.

I was particularly struck by his experience at the Sistine Chapel. He was frustrated to be there, unable to see Michelangelo’s masterpieces, and then his daughter, Blythe, approached a curator who had a loving heart, and opened it up to Tom to feel the sculptures.

Here is Tom’s loving account:

There are ultimate moments in a person’s life, experiences that transcend all others. For me, this moment—this singular hour on the clock of life—changed my life forever.

I was taken behind the ropes and allowed to touch the works of the artist. Under my hands—the hands that had been my eyes on the world—the masterpieces came alive, and in a moment of beautiful clarity I realized that I understood every nuance Michelangelo had hammered and chiseled into the Carrara marble.

I touched Moses, feeling the fullness of his beard, the tablets of the Commandments under his arm, the set of his chin, as if he were saying, “I will bring the people of Israel out of bondage.” There was the high forehead, the angle of his shoulders preparing to move, to reach freedom.

I was crying now, uncontrollably, the tears pouring down my face because for the first time I grasped, in this place—incredibly etched in my memory forever—that I was no longer really blind because I was seeing Michelangelo[s work inside out, as he had seen it in its creation.

From that day to this and on through the rest of my time on earth, I realize that my way of looking at the world will remain unique and, yes, unusual. I’m sure that in God’s essential PLAN I was chosen to be blind, and after many years of struggle I’ve come to terms with that remarkable truth. I now celebrate my own uniqueness with closed eyes and a completely open soul.

And this is beautifully echoed in these passages from A Course in Miracles:

A healed mind does not plan. It carries out
the PLAN that it receives through listening
to Wisdom that is not its own. It waits
until it has been taught what should be done,
and then proceeds to do it. It does not
depend upon itself for anything
except its adequacy to fulfill
the PLANS assigned to it. It is secure
in certainty that obstacles can not
impede its progress to accomplishment
of any goal that serves the greater PLAN
established for the good of everyone.
(Lesson 135.11)

Time is a trick, a sleight of hand, a vast
illusion in which figures come and go
as if by magic. Yet there is a PLAN
behind appearances that does not change.
The script is written. When experience
will come to end your doubting has been set.
(Lesson 158.4)

Saying “WOW.” A shift from in-time to out-of-time

2015-05-21T10:46:00.000-05:00

I often find myself saying, “WOW.” For example, I just walked into our living room, and I was stopped because I saw a bright light streaming through the skylights, throwing luminous rectangles of light on the wall, and I found myself exclaiming, “Wow.”

Soon after, I came across this passage in Doreen Virtue’s, “Healing with the Angels:”
Doreen:
The angels also show me that it would be a great idea for you to have pink roses around you.
Belinda, her client:
Oh, WOW! That opens my heart just thinking about it.
Often, in our Writing Class, a poem is read aloud, and guys say, “WOW.”

Then I thought, hmmm, I wonder if I can make up an acronym for WOW., and I did:

Without Ordinary Wariness

The word “wary,” comes from the Latin, vereri, meaning “to fear.”

Our ego consciousness is wary of seeing the light, fearful of its own continuing existence. When this wariness is suspended for a split-second, we can experience the light, Christ vision.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
William Blake

It is a WOW moment when Blake sees haven in a Wild Flower, and renders it into words, and a reader says WOW while reading it, and what is being communicated is seeing with Christ vision, stepping, for a moment, out of time and space and into eternity.

I asked my friend, Judy, to come up with an acronym, and she promptly did:

Work Of Wonder

When I mentioned this to Christine, she quickly said:

Wonder Of Wonders

The word “miracle” comes from the Latin, miraculum, meaning “to wonder.”

Miracle, of course, is defined in the Course as “a shift in perception.” In a WOW moment we are shifting from ego consciousness to light.

WOW expresses the synchronicity of the crossing of two vectors, out-of-time and in-time.

Expressed in general terms, we have these crossings:

forgiveness/grievance
remembering/forgetting
love/fear
love’s presence/blocks
waking/sleeping
resurrection/crucifixion
“Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?”/
“It is accomplished!”
atonement/separation
wave/particle
eternity/time and space.
The single condition that allows a WOW moment to occur is RECEPTIVITY to the out-of-time vector. As we become increasingly RECEPTIVE and gather together, the more these synchronistic moments occur.

A WOW moment brings to mind the memory of what always is,
using this memory as a springboard from what never was,
enabling us to dive deeply into what is, LOVE.

Now I’m found/I once was lost

And, of course, it all happens by the grace of God.

Amazing Grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I'm found

Was blind, but now I see