Interesting article today in the New York Times about passing on books to change lives. Sounds fun and interesting. So, I’m releasing Gorgeous for God out into the world to see what happens.
So, I’m looking for one person who has not yet bought the book and wants to be the first to read it … AND PASS IT ON.
The key is, this book has to keep being passed on. Once you read it, you post a short (or long) review on the Book Crossing website, and then pass it on.
So, if you want this book, write to me at lisanatoli2@gmail.com
First message to arrive in my mailbox, wins.
UPDATE: We’ve got a winner. Off she goes – Gorgeous for God on her first big adventure. Bon Voyage!
*** To follow the life of this book, you can check for updates at: http://www.bookcrossing.com/959-5731513
Noel. Josh Groban. This is amazing. Plus the song contains my all time favorite sentence ever written, ever …
Christ is the Lord.
You gotta see this:
I got a great question from Hayden Tompkins over at Persistent Illusion (a blog I love). The question/comment is:
“So, how are you in daily service? I am very curious to see how you have been called to express the divine.”
To me, answering this question means to flip all ideas of what “service” means. A Course in Miracles is the practice at looking at everything in a brand new way. For years I was in service to my fellow brother. Raising money. Making meals for home-bound people with AIDS. Reading to children in the hospital. Giving out my phone number to anyone who seemed to need help, telling them they could “call me anytime.”
This is what we are taught to believe “service” is. Right? It’s all about helping people. Doing good works. Helping out where there is a need. Giving when we are asked.
Service.
In the dictionary it says “the act of helpful activity, aid, providing, supplying”
You immediately think of other people, right?
One person or company giving to another.
Service also usually implies a block of time – like from 2-4pm on Tuesday and Saturday and every other Wednesday evening. Like there is “service work” and then the rest of your life.
But what is this exactly?
Compartmentalized.
Daily service means every moment of every day. I am glad for the reminder. Real service is in the small details. It’s every day action. The way I treat the gas station attendant. The way I treat myself. The way I treat my cats. The way I answer the telephone. The way I write a letter. The way I am quick to forgive. The way I conduct myself. The way I dedicate my mind to God. True Service.
The funny part is that I don’t actually think anymore in terms of “daily service” or how I express the divine. I don’t think like this anymore.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m just being myself.
My happy helpful self … as God created me.
I am here as the physical demonstration of the Love of God on earth. To “be” the laws of Heaven. Thy Will be Done.
To try to be in service any other way is to think you have something to give to others, rather than realizing you are only giving to yourself. As long as you think there are other people who need help, you are screwed.
This doesn’t sound like very Christian behavior, but if you think there are people who are in worse position than you … YOU are really the one who needs help.
In most movies, you’ll notice that the homeless person or the dying person is an angel in disguise, actually sent in to help you.
The only person that really needs help is me. And the way I help myself is by helping others. And if this sounds like a paradox, it is.
Trying to solve the world’s problems is like putting a band-aid on an amputated arm. The world’s problems are too overwhelming & huge. How much money do we actually have to raise until we find a cure for cancer? To end war? To end hunger? To end sickness? To heal addiction? To heal loneliness? To make our children safe? Every time we solve one problem, another problem is right there already demanding our attention. There is no end.
No wonder Mother Teresa was frustrated.
You try to be “in service” and there’s no end to the insanity.
The only way to solve the world’s problems is to remember there is no world.
Of course, you can’t really know about this frustration until you’ve actually tried to solve the world’s problems as I have attempted to do. Only then will you realize that there is, in fact, no solution in the world.
BUT THERE IS A TRUE SOLUTION. THERE IS SUCH A THING AS TRUE SERVICE. DEDICATING YOUR MIND ENTIRELY TO HEALING.
Getting out of the conflict by aligning your mind with God, which means to be perfectly present in the now where there are no past problems and no future anticipation.
Being in Heaven means to be entirely in this moment, with your full awareness squarely on what is directly in front of you.
Practicing wholeness. Remembering your holiness. Recognizing your perfection.
From this point, you become automatically helpful to everyone and everything.
Underneath the appearance of your body and all your ideas about yourself is perfect innocence, sheer loveliness, no sin, no mistakes, no need for correction. Just pure light.
“You are beautiful, my love, there is no flaw in you.” – Song of Solomon
The world is healed when you smile at a stranger. When you say hello to the cashier and actually make eye contact and really look at them. This is daily service. The world is healed when I’m nice to myself. The world is changed when I listen to someone speaking. The world is healed when I let go of a grievance.
My entire life I’ve worked in the service industry, right down to my college degree which is in hotel/restaurant management. My whole life I wanted to make people happy. To give. To serve.
The only time I’m really satisfied is when I am giving of myself. When my heart is open. When the door to my life is open. But it no longer has to do exclusively with ideas of other people. Now service mean giving myself some quiet time to read the bible or go for a walk.
My light is on a candlestick, and not under a bushel. I’m visible, and if someone needs to find me, or needs a friend, they can reach me directly.
The only real true service is to dedicate your mind to remembering the truth, and to be available. That’s all. It’s much simpler than people would have us believe. Be present. Be available. DAILY SERVICE.
This is what heals the world, because there is no world outside of your thoughts about it.
There are no other people.
There are only your ideas about yourself.
We are going to the CORE of what is real, the cause of everything you see: YOUR OWN THOUGHT SYSTEM.
Real service is where you catch every thought as it crosses your mind and look at it. See if it is judgment. See if it is truth. See if it is looking as if there was a world of separate bodies. See if it reminds you of your own wholeness.
Real service, true service, is being in the constant recognition of yourself as WHOLE, meaning that you see everything as ONE with you.
Then “service” becomes automatic because suddenly you recognize that everything you see is you, so you give freely and fully because you know yourself.
So how am I in daily service?
I can’t even begin to count the ways. I’m grateful upon waking. I give my full attention to my cats who are walking all over me. I say a morning prayer. I read A Course in miracles. I read the bible. I check my e-mail and really focus on what’s being written. I write something on this blog and give it 100% of my attention and love. I stay in the moment. I remember how much has been given to me. I remember how much I have to give.
And this is all before 7am.
Would most people call this service? Probably not. People want to say, but how do you help others?
I just told you. I’m nice to myself. True Service. I remember God. I recognize you as a perfect part of myself. Daily service.
It’s in the small details.
My phone was shut off this afternoon for non-payment and I don’t know what anything is for. I’m back in the 1800′s now, before telephones.
What a trip. I haven’t worked a “job” since July in the usual sense of a job that pays green paper strips. This was a conscious decision. I decided I wanted to write a book to inspire people. I made a conscious decision to follow Jesus. Before July I had jobs – waitressing, working in a factory – jobs that I took to pay the bills, to sustain myself here in the world … but … there came a day this summer when I couldn’t see the point of that anymore. Don’t I trust Jesus?? I know, I know. It seems drastic. And probably a little stupid also.
But in my mind it was entirely rational … Lesson 132 says “Loose the world” so I did. Jesus says: Love and Follow Me and Give everything away, so that’s what I did.
Physically took off all the heavy garments.
One day I just wasn’t afraid anymore. I decided I wasn’t going to worry where my next meal came from, or what I should wear, or what my needs were. Suddenly it become entirely logical to “put down my fishing nets” and follow Jesus as his disciple. I am here as a light in the world.
The Year of Living Biblically by Lisa Natoli.
How awesome.
Jonathan Fields over at Awake at the Wheel wrote a great blog post yesterday about “the passive income scam” how people want to quit their day jobs and make money easily. He says “passive income” is a big scam, and he’s absolutely right.
There is only one way to become rich or great and that’s to work at it really hard. You can only achieve a goal by going the full distance and putting your whole heart into it. It’s the only way. If you feel passionate about something, or if you want to make a difference in the world, then you will do it for the love of it … and not for the money. I feel passionate about A Course in Miracles. I write and teach because it’s what I’m designed to do. It’s my purpose. It’s my function to be happy. The only time I feel totally alive is when I am being helpful. I feel “off” when I don’t give of myself.
I spent my whole life searching for what I was supposed to be doing with my life, and having finally found it, you think I’m going to give it up just because there’s not a steady paycheck behind it?? Not a chance. I’ve been looking my whole life for meaning. I came for this and herein lies all my joy and freedom. I’ve found my place in life, the one thing that makes me happy … making you happy.
I started this blog 3 years ago because of my deep desire to know God. In the beginning, it was like a puzzle I was trying to solve. It was my secret. I didn’t tell anyone I was writing. I simply wanted to know that A Course in Miracles was true … and writing every day was like a big science project with me looking at every angle and seeing where there was a need for healing in my mind. It was like trying to put the pieces together. Figure out which pieces where missing. Looking for any places where I was compromising the message, or not following instructions.
**WARNING TO READER: this does NOT mean you should quit your job. This simply was my path, and I’m describing what has happened to me. It’s been 3 years in the making. This post is in NO WAY, SHAPE, or FORM instruction about what anyone else should do. I’m just telling you what happened to me.
So slowly, over time, I’ve been putting my body, mind & soul into the water, taking the plunge. Getting closer to God. It’s been baby steps. One toe in. Ooooooh, that’s cold. Ouch, that hurts. And one step back onto dry land.
One month passes. Two months pass. Then one toe in again. Take a risk. Okay, that’s not so bad. Two toes in. Okay, that’s a little much. Back on dry land.
And slowly over 3 years, I’ve lost much of my fear. I’ve got almost my entire body in the lake of truth now. It can still be scary – I have days when I wonder WHAT AM I DOING – but most days I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, doing exactly what I am doing. It feels good. Refreshing. Liberating. Clear.
It’s total freedom to be out in the middle of the lake … free at last.
I’m standing in the NOW.
I have no idea what will happen next. I’m here only to be truly helpful. I am here to demonstrate how much God loves us. He’s right here. It’s marvelous.
What will happen next? I HAVE NO IDEA, but it’s gonna be good.
I love you.
If you need help, or have a question, I would love to hear from you.
And if you feel like giving, here is the magic button:
I’d be like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. He realizes he can’t die so he’s free to let every day be his first and last day, giving all to all, with no cares, no worries. He keeps repeating the same day over and over again until he gets it right. Living life like there’s no tomorrow.
Click the movie poster to watch a clip:
“Life has a funny way of repeating itself.”
I love how the question uses the word ATTEMPT. What would you ATTEMPT to do if you knew you couldn’t fail? What would you try?
i got the most awesome gift in the mail yesterday from my dad. Fruit from Hale Orchard in Florida. Oh my God. I never would have thought I would like FRUIT as a gift. But WOW! Awesome.
Here’s the link. Definitely you want to make sure you order something with the grapefruit and pears. Hale Groves claims their fruit is the “freshest and best tasting. Guaranteed.” And I can tell you, this is absolutely true. Better than anything I’ve bought in the stores around here.
Click to buy:
PRAYING
Most people either don’t pray, or don’t know how to pray, or somehow tie it up with religious ideas and discard it entirely, or only pray when they are really in trouble and use it as a last resort.
But what if you were to get rid of all your old ideas and hear something new as you read this blog post?
What if you erased all your ideas about everything?
What if starting today you decided to give a little time to being quiet, getting on your knees and giving some time to God?
Already we are in the difficulty, because now we are raising ideas about God.
Almost immediately, you probably had another reaction. Just from reading one sentence. Can you see how LOADED all our words, symbols and ideas are? Can you see how everything is based on perception based on the past, on something you learned?
But what if you were willing to suspend all your ideas? Just for today?
For about all your past failures. Forget about past unheard prayers. Forget about religion. Forget your ideas about God.
Just ask yourself: am I willing to have a new experience? Do I want something new to occur in my life?
If you can answer those questions, then most likely you will be willing to give prayer a new chance.
So. It can be a little scary to think you are about to start praying. What will people think? What will people say? Maybe you are thinking “how can I do it so no one knows?”
Even in Christian households, some people are embarrassed to get on their knees and pray in front of their loved ones. They think it should only be done in church. Or done by someone else leading a prayer while you just follow along. Or only on Sunday.
But prayer – EVERY DAY PRAYER – will change change the quality of your life.
So, how to pray?
1. Get quiet.
2. Put your hands together (not entirely necessary, but I find the channel opens faster when I put my hands together – like a key opening a door)
3. Give thanks – either to God or for certain people in your life, or for your health, or for clarity, or whatever else comes to your mind. The key is, spend the first few minutes in gratitude.
4. Ask to be shown what you should do, where you should go, what you should say.
5. Ask to be truly helpful. Ask to be guided, and used in such a way for the greater good of all people.
Now, you can pray any way you like. Talk to God like you would talk to your best friend because HE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. He cares for you. He loves you. And he wants to give you everything. You can ask for things but be aware God knows what you need. He does not need to be told that you need more money to pay your bills. He knows you want to be loved.
You can ask for things, but it’s kind of a waste of time. There is a better way to pray and a new way to think about praying.
Here is a new way to think about praying: GOD KNOWS THE FASTEST ROUTE TO GET YOU WHAT YOU NEED OR TO GET YOU TO YOUR DESTINATION.
God can see the whole picture, and so He can tell you where to go, what to do, what obstacles to look out for so you can avoid them. That’s why He’s called THE SOURCE. You go back to the source to get valuable information. Why try to figure things out on your own when all your need do is ask God and He’ll tell you?
He’s like the CIA with surveillance cameras on everything. He can see the whole picture. He can tell you, okay, go here. Okay, don’t make that phone call just yet. Wait. Ask in an hour. Okay, call so-and-so.
That’s why in the bible it says: PRAY WITHOUT CEASING because you really need to check in with God every hour. Just to see how things have changed. You will constantly get new information.
A good prayer is:
God, I am here only to be truly helpful.
I am here to represent you who sent me.
What should I do?
Where should I go?
What should I say? And to whom?
Or something like this:
Max said to me yesterday that not everyone will make it to the top of Mount Everest. He said most people never make it past base camp. Or they make it halfway up the mountain and find it too difficult, and start making their way back down. They find they cannot push past their comfort and safety zone. They decide that making it to the top is not really all that important. They just want to be warm and safe.
I really love this observation. It pushes me be to honest. Do I want to go all the way as the Savior of the world? Or have I stopped short of the goal and found a comfort/safety zone where I am warm and safe?
People say it is the journey not the destination which is the important thing. What a bunch of hogwash! What a load of crap. The destination – THE GOAL – is important. Who wants to run the NYC marathon and stop in the last mile? Who goes for a big promotion and then loses interest in the last week? Who goes on American Idol to get kicked off? Who goes on a diet only to quit without losing any weight?
If you do anything, you want to finish. You want to take it to completion. In your heart of hearts, you want to go the distance.
Having said this, you now realize there is work to do.
You can’t make it to the top of the mountain without climbing there. It means your active participation and effort is necessary. You can’t wish a miracle to come into your life to make you miraculously appear at the top of the mountain, or at the finish line, or to accomplish your goal. You have to make a decision that you are going the distance.
You have to lose some baggage that is weighing your down.
You have to change your priorities, and quite often, you have to change your direction.
It will definitely be uncomfortable at times.
You’ll be cold, probably miserable and in pain, and there will most definitely be times you’ll wondering why you did not stay at the base of the mountain, or better yet … at home.
You’ll think: Who’s brilliant idea was this?
You’ll think: Who am I to think I am the savior of the world? Heal the whole world by changing my mind? That’s crazy. What? Am I nuts? What the hell am I doing out here??
You’ll realize how lonely you are. You’ll be aware of your own physical limitations. You’ll constantly be plagued by the idea that you might not make it. That you might fall short of the goal.
But you push yourself.
Onward.
Because you have sat at the bottom of the mountain long enough. You have sat in the comfort of your home long enough. Or in front of the computer screen long enough. Finally, the stirring in you to move becomes so insistent that you can no longer ignore it.
You realize if you want to go to the top of the mountain, you can’t take much with you. Only the bare essentials. You and your determination.
I’m Morpheus.
Take the test:
You will LOVE this site. Click DaySpring logo to go to their website:
The holidays (and life in general) bring up all sorts of crap. Don’t waste the emotion. It’s great energy. Don’t waste it. Use it.
If you are frustrated, that’s good energy. Use it.
If you are bored, that’s good energy. Use it.
If you are fearful, that’s good energy. Don’t waste it. Use it.
If you are pissed off and want to break things, don’t suppress the energy by taking a pill. Totally feel it. Be in it. Use it.
Most people try to find a solution to get out of the “bad” emotion. They try to reorganize their life so they are happy again. If you are doing this, you are missing a whole lot of great experiences.
We have been badly taught to strive for the “good” times and get out of the “bad” times.
But it’s all just energy. When you are frustrated, sad, lonely, bored, pissed off, angry, in terror … you are having an experience. It’s as valuable as the “good’ times when you are joyful, happy and at peace.
A Course in Miracles asks for you to say: “I will accept everything exactly as it is.”
What does this mean? It means you will stop trying to reorganize things to suit your liking. It means that when you are frustrated with your boyfriend or job or living situation, you will not substitute for another person, place or event and you will not try to fix the situation … you will simply STAND IN THE FUTILITY and really feel it.
This is how healing is accomplished.
It’s not about getting what you want because there is nothing outside of the thoughts you think about yourself. You are getting exactly what you have asked for.
Chapter 12 of A Course in Miracles is amazing. I read it last night. It says that “fear is a symptom of your deep sense of loss.”
Everyone knows loss. No one is really aware of the magnitude of “your deep sense of loss.” It was your first change in the separation, before time began. You’ve been afraid ever since. Buried within you, you know you are not meant to be alone. You know you are meant to be loved and safe and protected. You know this because thousands of years ago, before time began, you were One with everything including God. You were God. You were One. You had no needs. You had no cares. You had no worries. You carry this memory within you.
But then … into the mind of man … into my mind … into the Mind of God … crept a tiny, mad idea that I could be separate, that somehow I could exist just fine without God and do it by myself.
We wandered away from our home.
That’s why we search and strive. We are searching to get back to that place of perfection and wholeness.
But we search outside ourselves for our home. But it’s not there. You’ll admit you’ve tried a hundred different homes, and a hundred different relationships and none content your restless mind.
You’ve had moments (and years) of rest and good times, always followed by loss and chaos.
Life here on earth is never consistent. But each and everyone of us has the memory of HOME – that place of comfort, peace, and joy – within us.
And so we search, search, search. Looking for ourselves. Looking for our rightful place. Looking for meaning and purpose. But you never find it while you are looking outside. This is because your home is within you. The Home you have been searching for is right where you are, inside of you. It’s in you. You have to turn your vision inward, and look there … and you will find the keys and Kingdom right there in your own mind.
Time stops when you do this. Space stops when you do this. Just be still.
If you have fear, raise it to your awareness. Just observe it. Don’t try to fix it. Just look at it. Show it to the Holy Spirit.
“Yet we have repeatedly emphasized the need to recognize fear and face it without disguise as a crucial step in the undoing of the ego.”
Chapter 12 says: “Little child, you are hiding your head under the covers of heavy blankets you have laid upon yourself. You are hiding your nightmares in the darkness of your own false certainty, and refusing to open your eyes and look at them.”
What this means is: LET EVERY EXPERIENCE BE WHAT LIFE IS.
Use it.
Most people strive only to be happy, meaning they miss more than half of their life. They spend the boredom waiting for it to pass so they can be happy again. Rather than totally using the boredom to raise the fear to their awareness and have it be undone, they sit around waiting, dreaming, wishing their life would be better.
They think: if only, if only, if only.
Meanwhile wasting a perfectly good opportunity to heal the boredom, to heal the pain, to heal the world.
You are the savior, and it is given you to undo everything that keeps this world in chains.
Instead of dreaming and making creative visualization lists so you can have a “good” life, OPEN YOUR EYES.
You are having an experience when you are angry. That is awesome energy. Don’t waste it. All healing lies in that moment.
Do you realize that most people who are angry are simply blind?
But you … you who have now been told … can heal this for the whole world.
Get with God. Don’t try to fix the problem. Recognize it’s not real. Just raise it to your awareness. Be conscious of it, and then go beyond it. Leave it behind. Give it to the Holy Spirit and promptly forget about it.
This is how healing is accomplished.
There has been a change over on Marianne Willliamson’s website. It used to say that starting January 1, 2008 she will be doing the workbook lessons of A Course in Miracles, for 365 days on Oprah & Friends Radio. Now it says, that starting January 1, 2008 she will be doing her “daily reflections” on A Course in Miracles.
??
So, I’m not entirely sure what is happening. I’m not sure if she is still planning on doing the lessons from the workbook every day. I hope so. I wrote an e-mail and hopefully I will get a response.
No matter what happens, I’ll be blogging about the lessons here at Gorgeous for God.
We might even be able to set up AUDIO where you can listen in for 15 or 30 minutes. We’ll see.
You will still need to do the lessons on your own. I’ll be just a happy helper, reminding you to go pick up the book every day and DO THE LESSON. You will still need a copy of A Course in Miracles. I suggest if you have an old marked up copy to get yourself a clean brand-new copy to work with. We’re throwing out old wine bottles, and filling the light of Heaven into new wine bottles.
And mostly, DO NOT FORGET, we’re not waiting for January 1st for our lives to begin. They begin now. Today. Right here.
I suggest you buy a copy of Gorgeous for God from Amazon.
You might think: I don’t need the book. I’ll just come to the blog every day. To which I say: no, no, no. What is in the book is not here on this blog. It’s my best writing from the last 3 years, and those blog entries are no longer on the internet.
For less than $20, you will receive all my love & joy along with practical information and funny stories in one tidy little package that you can take with you wherever you go.
I know I wrote it, and I know it sounds like shameless promotion … but trust me when I tell you this book will make things easier for you. I loaded it with love, and I organized it in a way that you can keep it by your bed and open it up anywhere and be reminded of your perfection and purpose.
It will help you on the journey.
I got an amazing message yesterday from someone who was “completely disinterested” in me and thought: WHO THE HECK DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?
(Be aware that people will think you are being arrogant when you begin proclaiming your perfection. Don’t be concerned. Remember that only God’s opinion’s matter.)
I met her last weekend and she bought my book, and here’s what she wrote yesterday:
“I am so in awe and amazed to have met you. ok – Confession. I was completely disinterested in your book. I saw all that hoopla on line but I thought – who the heck does she think she is. I don’t need that. I just need my Course. I DID watch your youtube quickie before i came (to Wisconsin) and read some of the blog but I was TOTALLY into rejecting you. Ha ha ha ha. Then there you were so pure and loving – my teacher and my sister – WOWIE ZOWIE of ALL the people there it was YOU!!!”
“I have been reading and loving the course for 25 years – now it is time to DO it, and I intend to be right there with you”
“I intend to do the lessons with you – but starting today!!! I read a ton of Gorgeous for God – it is GREAT!!! I watched your quickie again, and have been listening to Master Teacher’s CD’s. I GET IT and I am there!”
“Thank you so much for being my friend and teacher. I intend to make a schedule – to surrender – to become teachable. I will write every morning after my prayers, and when Jan 1 comes we will continue in truth.”
Isn’t this amazing
“I intend to make a schedule – to surrender – to become teachable.”
I SO LOVE THIS MESSAGE.
It’s is the only requirement. To intend to make a schedule – to surrender – to become teachable.
THANK YOU. We always find mighty companions along the way, and we help each other. How simple. I’m so grateful. These are instructions to myself: I intend to make a schedule – to surrender – to become teachable.”
What a great reminder.
I also like that she wrote what I feel a lot of people think: “I have the Course, I don’t need anything else.”
I’ve heard that a lot.
But finally, comes the realization: I will use all the help I can get!!!!
That’s how I feel. I remember reading in The Millionaire Mind book by T. Harv Eker that it is the richest successful people who take all the classes, always spending more money to learn something new, always knowing there is more to learn. They never say “oh, I already know that” or “I already have what I need”. The successful ones are the ones signing up for all the classes, and buying new books all the time in order to learn more … while the “poor” ones say: I don’t need that. I know that already. I have everything I need (meanwhile they struggle).
Finally, you come to a place where you are quite literally ready to scrap all your old ideas, and TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES to have a new experience.
I love you.
I woke up this morning thinking: Today I’m going to do God’s work. I’m going to be the Mind of God, I’m going to be the light of the world because in truth it is what I am. It’s what you are. The goal has been accomplished. I don’t need more “process” or “more transformation”: I am whole and perfect as God created me, now.
I don’t need more situations to forgive. I can be in Heaven starting right now, and never participate in conflict ever again. I don’t need it and I don’t want it. I want the peace of God and so it is given to me. Today.
There is ALWAYS a tendency to think some time later in the future our lives will begin. We’ll lose weight. Get a different job. Circumstances will be better. We’ll have more time. Etc. We think, “Let me get the holidays out of the way and then in January I can get down to the serious business of living my life on purpose.”
But look at it. You are here … today. Why wait for some time in the future? What exactly are you waiting for? What do you want to do “in January” or “2008″ that you cannot do today?
Today is a perfect day to be happy. Today is it. Here is the gift. Here is the new beginning.
Why wait for your life to start?
Why wait?
Best to begin it now.
The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in darkness.
See it not outside yourself, but shining in the Heaven within, and accept it as the sign the time of Christ has come.
-A Course in Miracles
The sun is a star. The Son of God is the Sun of God is a star … is you.
You are a star.
You are the Son of God.
You’re all light.
Have a great day.
Gorgeous for God is now available on Amazon UK. I would love if someone from Europe would order the book, and write to me and tell me your experience. How much in Euro? How long for you to receive the book, etc.
Click book to go to the Amazon UK site:
Okay. Here is the best Christmas present I ever received:
The Sunshine Family. 1976. Steve, Stephanie, and Baby Sweets.
I didn’t get the plastic house because my grandfather built a wood replica house of their own house:
So imagine the above family living in the above house – with me as creator of their destiny – and there you have some of my most precious memories of childhood.
I am always amazed how BEFORE Christmas (or any goal you have set), you think BIG. You want the big gifts. You want the expensive gifts. And not only that … you want a PILE of gifts.
But when you look back, in retrospect, AFTER THE FACT, you see that the small things made you the happiest. And that also, you didn’t need much.
The best things in life are $5.87.
Click the button to vote. In case you have never seen The Miracle Times, now is the time. It’s got links to practically every site and blog for A Course in Miracles. It’s one stop shopping.
There is a contest with only 2 more days to vote, and The Miracle Times has been nominated as “Likely to Make the World a Better Place” category, so it would be great if you could click on over there and vote.
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Yesterday I said to a friend: “I hate you that you live in sunny LA and I am stuck here in Wisconsin in deep snow and 21 degree freezing weather.”
!!
I hate you??? Where did that come from? I have not used or felt the word hate in over 10 years. Probably more like 20 years. Probably more like never. My sisters and I were taught not to say the word “hate” so it’s not in my vocabulary.
But there it was yesterday. It came out of my mouth unexpectedly. It shocked me to my core, and it felt terrible.
I was trying to be playful, but I ended up feeling horrible.
I am trying to imagine that people live with hate every single day. How can you stand it? It’s the worst possible feeling I’ve experienced in years. No wonder people get sick. It’s poison in your system.
All day long I felt like: “Something’s gone wrong. I’ve done something terrible”
Then I tried to justify it by saying to myself: oh no one reacted. It’s not a big deal.
Everyone who heard it (I was on the internet teaching A Course in Miracles) jumped in playfully with the temperatures of the locations they were in, in Florida and California.
So I could have easily said: it’s not a big deal. It’s over. No one got hurt.
But here’s the thing: I GOT HURT. I literally had poison in my system.
I couldn’t shake the horrible feeling. I could feel the darkness inside of me. How in the world do people carry hate around??? That’s the big question of the day. How can you stand it?
I knew I had to fix the situation, and not wait another day. I was no way going to bed with poison in my system. There was only one thing to do: forgive.
I e-mailed my friend with my deepest apologies, asking for forgiveness.
He wrote me back that he didn’t even hear me say it.
But that absolutely does not matter, because I felt the effects of it.
If you hate someone, it doesn’t matter if they know about it or not: YOU ARE AFFECTED.
INFECTED is a better word. When you hate someone, you are infected.
You’re not hurting them. You’re hurting yourself. Forgiveness is the only remedy to dispel the blackness.
There is no other way.
If you hate, there is poison in your system and that’s why you feel bad.
Again, that’s why you feel bad.
The good news is that the LIGHT OF FORGIVENESS washes hate away. It guts all the crap out of your system. You don’t need a doctor or a pill. You need to practice forgiveness. The light cleans your system and it might feel uncomfortable to say “I’m sorry. Forgive me” but you’ll feel a lot better.
Try it. You’ll be amazed.
