Can you help me?

I would like to start sending the message of Gorgeous for God to as many people as possible, and I need your help.

At the bottom of every blog entry I write is a link that says “Like this blog post? Email it to your friends.” If I’ve written a blog post that inspires you or has helped you, could you please forward that post to your friends and family, or to someone who might benefit from it?

A lot of people are out there praying for help, right in this very moment. And no one needs to suffer, and no one should be alone.

So, let’s spread the Word of God.

I appreciate it.

Love, lisa

The power of decision is my own.

The only real requirement that is asked of you is unbroken communion with God the Father … your Father.

The revelation that you are one with God must come in time to you. It must come in time to every mind.

You are One with God. He is your Father. He loves you.

It’s the thing you have been searching for. You’ve spent your whole life searching for meaning and purpose, searching for love, searching for security, searching for happiness … and you’ve known all along that you misplaced something, forget something … and that “something” that you’ve been trying to find is the recognition that you are One with God.

That’s it.

It has nothing to do with A Course in Miracles.

I - I, Lisa, here at Gorgeous for God - teach A Course in Miracles and use it as a practical tool to help you find your inheritance from God, but only because it worked for me.

Any path will work for you.

The journey back to God has nothing, zero, zilch, nada to do with religions, paths, books, teachers, groups, A Course in Miracles or anything else you can think of that has an organized structure.

I just want to put that out there, for the record, lest you get trapped in thinking A Course in Miracles is the end all, be all.

Okay?

It’s not. This is the difficulty all religions have had throughout time - they get trapped in the very structures that were designed to lead back to God, and next thing you know: a church is built.

Don’t do that.

I am here to set you free. I am here only for this moment to help you remember what you forgot.

I teach A Course in Miracles because it worked for me. The practical lessons led me out of the hell I made for myself. I used to get frustrated by stories of people who had a spontaneous awakening experience through going into the light, through death, meditation, through some stroke of luck.

I tried for years to will myself to go into the light. Nothing worked. I spent years praying that I would have an experience. Nothing worked.

I was NOT one of those few individuals who spontaneously woke up.

Then I found A Course in Miracles, and it guarantees an experience from fear to love, an experience of joy, peace and happiness, and as I gave it a fair trial in my life, I saw that its promises are true.

So, as a teacher, I use it.

But the journey home to God is any path and every path and no path, it is with words and it is wordless, and it can happen at any time and any place, and all I’m here to do is to help you shorten time to come to that realization as quickly as possible.

There is no need to suffer.

The whole history of man is filled with brilliant expressions of awakening experiences, long before even Jesus came along, long before A Course in Miracles. Look at it. I invite you to write in the comment area all the brilliant minds that have expressed the truth, and you will see that since the beginning of time there have been individuals who came to know themselves as One with the power of universe, and had a dedication only to express this knowledge. Teachers are everywhere.

The teacher is within you. You have a Guide. You are not alone.

The power of decision is your own.

You decide when to wake up. You decide when misery, sorrow, suffering, pain and fear are over for you. You decide when to lay harmful toys aside. They have never served you and they have never given you anything but … well … misery, sorrow, suffering, pain and fear!

God’s Will for you is perfect happiness.

“No can suffer loss unless it be his own decision. No one suffers pain except his choice elects this state for him. No one can grieve nor fear nor think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants. And no one dies without his own consent.”

“Nothing occurs but represents your wish, and nothing is omitted that you choose. Here is your world, complete in all details. here is its whole reality for you. And it is only here salvation is.”

AND IT IS ONLY HERE SALVATION IS.

Once you know yourself, you will not need me, this blog, A Course in Miracles, groups, books, classes, or therapy or time itself. You won’t need any of it anymore because the goal will have been accomplished.

The awakening can take place anytime, and any place. It can happen now. Or it can take a year. Or it can take a million years for you.

You decide.

How long do you want to suffer?

The power of decision is your own.

I am going through every workbook lesson in A Course in Miracles in one year - I’ve started arching past blog posts - because I love you. I’m here to help. I’m here to represent Him Who sent me.

“You who are now the bringer of salvation of the function of bringing light to darkness.”

So, that’s what I do. That’s what you’re here to do.

Remember again: the only thing that is asked of you is UNBROKEN COMMUNION WITH GOD.

If you don’t feel like doing A Course in Miracles, don’t do it.

But if nothing else is working, I invite you to give it a try.

The practical training of the workbook lessons helped me (and I was a train-wreck of a case) but ascending to God happens because of Who you are, and by the simple fact that God created you as His Son.

The journey home is guaranteed by God.

But if you are suffering, and cannot seem to get out of your suffering no matter what you try, help is available.

I’m just saying!

So start by spending your days in unbroken communion with God, your Father.

Be in constant communion with God.

Keep remembering His Love for you, every moment of every day.

Do it while you are buttering your bread, making tea, typing an email, walking the dog, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, driving your car, getting dressed, taking a shower, shopping for groceries, talking on the telephone, paying your bills, and working a job.

You can remember God in every moment because “the power of decision is your own.”

“Decide but to accept your rightful place as co-creator of the universe, and all you think you made will disappear.”

Amazing, right? Decide to to accept your rightful place as co-creator of the universe and the hell you made (you thought you made) will disappear.

“As God created you, you must remain unchangeable, with transitory states by definition false. And that includes all shifts in feeling, alterations in conditions of the body and the mind; in all awareness and in all response.

The power of decision is my own. This day I will accept myself as what my Father’s Will created me to be.

In patience wait for him throughout the day (UNBROKEN COMMUNION WITH GOD), and hourly invite Him with the words which the day began - The power of decision is my own - concluding it with the same invitation to your Self. God’s Voice will answer, for He speaks for you and for your Father. He will substitute the peace of God for all your frantic thoughts, the truth of God for self-deceptions, and God’s Son for your illusion of yourself.

You are the light of the world.

All things are echoes of the Voice for God.

It should be evident to you by now that your senses do deceive you. And that there is massive amounts of false perception and bad communication in practically everything you do, see and hear.

It’s impossible to see the whole picture in any situation. Even if you followed me around all day long, listened to my conversations, watched the way I interact with people, witnessed the way I am, read every single blog entry I’ve ever written, read my old love letters, read my book, private journals, looked at my photo albums, watched how I cook a meal, how I drive my car, how I shop for groceries, how I talk on the phone, looked at my bookcase, my movie collection, my music CD’s, and how I interact with the cashiers at Walmart and the baristas at Starbucks, it’s still only a partial picture.

This is why judgment is impossible. You cannot possibly know what is going on at any given time with anyone, because everything is based on senses.

“You place pathetic faith in what your eyes and ears report.”

Knowing this, judgment becomes impossible.

You would be in state of acceptance, that everything is exactly the way it is, and nothing needs to be changed.

All things are echoes of the Voice for God.

The easiest simplest way to undo all that you have learned is to be willing to be wrong about everything. Let go of every idea that came before this moment. Wipe the slate clean. Open up your mind - ever so slightly - to see that maybe the situation did not happen the way you thought it happened. Maybe your judgment was based on partial evidence. Maybe what you thought was attack was actually a gift. Maybe the person who pisses you off actually has something important to tell you.

In my marriage I used to constantly react to things I heard and saw. I was a hot little firecracker, constantly exploding in emotional outbursts. One little word could wreck my whole day. Back then I used to break things. Then I would calm down and silently hold a grievance for weeks, and sometimes months. Then one day I realized that my body’s eyes and my body’s ears do not show me anything. They report nothing. They literally show me what is false.

Suddenly I saw clearly that my husband is my Friend and Savior. He’s here to help me, he’s me, and I constructed a story in which I was the victim.

Oooooooooooooooooooooops.

Knowing this, how could you judge anything anymore?

How could you be upset anymore?

If you were wrong and the situation did NOT happen the way you thought it happened … how could you hold a grievance?

How could you stay angry?

You would see your childish antics for what they are, and then you would laugh like crazy.

As a practice, I started to pause a moment before reacting. I would stop. I wouldn’t smash the water glass. I wouldn’t start yelling. I would pause. I would stand still. I would ask to see this situation/person differently. I would ask for Christ vision. From here, it is the easiest thing in the world to give the thought to God and ask Him to purify it.

“And as each thought is thus transformed, it takes on healing power from the Mind which saw the truth in it, and failed to be deceived by what was falsely added. All threads of fantasy are gone. And what remains is unified into a perfect Thought that offers its perfection everywhere.”

Gorgeous for God was born from this idea, as a 3-word phrase in my mind to help me to remember to pause a moment and let my thoughts be purified by God.

from the Introduction:

When I first started Gorgeous for God my idea was to “inspire and motivate individuals to be as God created them … perfect.” I knew my own life had been transformed by A Course in Miracles and I also knew that many people (myself included) were turned away by religion. I had an idea that people would return to God if He became contemporary and practical. Not something based on old outdated rules that old strict men had passed down for centuries. What could be more exciting than knowing that you could change any aspect of your life simply by changing your mind?

When I returned to my own innocence, it was not just a nice idea in my head, it was a real experience. I would look in the mirror and be blown away by my reflection staring back at me. HOW and WHEN did I get so beautiful? How? When? My whole body was transformed. Literally and Physically.

I never thought I was pretty. Growing up I always compared myself to other people. I compared myself to models in magazines. I compared myself to people in movies and on television. I was never good enough. I was always too fat. I was constantly on a diet. I was always thinking “someday”. But there was always someone better than me. “Someday” never seemed to arrive. I kept striving to make my body better.

“If only I was thin and beautiful” was the soundtrack playing in my brain.

If only I was thin and beautiful, I would get the love and attention I desire. If only I was thin and beautiful, people would pay attention to me and listen to what I have to say. If only. If only. If only.

But then I got thin and beautiful, and nothing changed. I didn’t get the love I desired. I didn’t get the attention I craved. I still felt lonely. I still felt afraid. I still felt worthless.

Around this time is when “Gorgeous for God” popped in my mind. I decided instead of trying to change my body (which I had been trying to do, unsuccessfully, for 30 years) I would simply be Gorgeous every day. I would focus on qualities like INNOCENCE, GRACE, BEAUTY, PATIENCE, HONESTY, GENEROSITY, JOY and HAPPINESS.

Gorgeous for God began, really, because I needed a constant reminder of my own function in the world. It began as 3-simple-words, a phrase in my mind, to help me remember my purpose on earth. I was constantly forgetting that I’m the light of the world. I was forever getting sidetracked, forgetting that I’m here to represent God.

I am here only to be truly helpful. I am here to represent Him who sent me.

I would momentarily forget that I am spirit, and these moments (of being a contained limited human being) would sometimes extend into days and weeks. This is the real reason I started Gorgeous for God … as a way for me to REMEMBER and NOT FORGET.

Every time I would begin to judge something, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.

Every time I would start to gossip, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.

Every time I wanted to hold onto a grievance, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.

Every time I would begin to defend myself, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.

Every sigh and frown was replaced by my own self-imposed constant reminder: Gorgeous for God.

I couldn’t get away from it. Every day GORGEOUS FOR GOD was staring me in the face. I definitely didn’t feel Gorgeous in the beginning but here is a proven method that works: “FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.”

Act gorgeous and you will become gorgeous. Act perfect and you will become perfect. It’s no coincidence that things began to change for me. I actually started to look better. I began to feel better. I could feel life creeping back into my body. THE LIGHT DOES THE WORK. It makes you look good.

How do we begin to change the world standard? I have no idea. I suppose it would start with a few good role models. People who would say, “I’m going to be myself” and let this be enough.

It starts with me. To demonstrate that I am good enough. Not later, but now. I am whole and perfect as God created me. There is nothing physical that needs changing or improving.

There is only your own recognition of what is already true.

All things are echoes of the Voice for God.

I drink fruit smoothies every single day.

My favorite ones - because they are so easy to make - I call “Pink Ladies”:

Throw all this in the blender (for those of you who don’t currently own a blender, when you finally put down the $15 it costs to buy one, you will wonder how you ever managed to live without one):

canned mandarin oranges with juice
canned pineapple with juice
frozen strawberries
water
ice

My mind holds only what I think with God.

(139) I will accept Atonement for myself.
(140) Only salvation can be said to cure.

Today is the last day of review, so let’s review!

Please reread the Introduction to Review IV by clicking the link:

Introduction to Review Lessons 141-150 

“Now we review again, this time aware we are preparing for the second part of learning how the truth can be applied. Today we will begin to concentrate on readiness for what will follow next.”

God offers thanks to you who practice thus the keeping of His Word. And as you give your mind to the ideas for the day again before you sleep, His gratitude surrounds you in the peace wherein He wills you be forever, and are learning now to claim again as your inheritance. 

An Evening with Eckhart Tolle

An exclusive interview from Unity Village

Eckhart Tolle (www.eckharttolle.com), spiritual teacher and author of A New Earth, recently visited Unity Village for an exclusive interview with Mindy Audlin, Unity.FM network producer and host of The Leading Edge.

Beginning May 29, 2008, at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Eastern, you can tune into www.unity.fm to see this three-part video series where Eckhart shares his thoughts on prayer, presence and peace.

• Life in the Now – Do your thought streams ever take you away from living in the present moment? Eckhart shares with us his advice on how to be in this moment - not the past moments or the future moments, but how to truly experience and enjoy the present moment.

• Finding the Stillness - Do you feel like your life experience repeats itself again and again? Eckhart suggests that repetitive, negative thinking recreates the same madness in our lives time after time. When we enter the divine presence, we can realize our Oneness with all that is, quiet our thoughts and release our judgments. In this stillness, there is peace.

• Your Inner and Outer Purpose – Have you ever wondered, “What is my life’s purpose?” Listen and learn as Eckhart sheds light on the subject and asks, “Are you honoring this moment?” If we make friends with the present moment we open the way for expressing our life’s purpose with ease and grace.

• After the Show: The Unity Perspective – After the interview with Eckhart Tolle, a group of leading Unity ministers expand on how Unity principles and A New Earth align with one another. Tune in to hear Rev. Patricia Bass (www.ucop.org), Rev. Robert Brumet (www.unityinstitute.org) and Rev. Kristin Powell (www.unitycolmo.org ) share their insights and observations on spirituality and living in the now.

Following the premiere presentation on May 29, 2008, the video and audio will be available via the Unity.FM archives for on-demand listening or download.

All programming on Unity.FM is made possible through the tithes and love offerings of our listeners. If you are inspired by this interview and would like to contribute, please visit our website at www.unity.fm and click on the donate button.

My mind holds only what I think with God.

(137) When I am healed I am not healed alone.
(138) Heaven is the decision I must make.

When I am healed I am not healed alone. “Today’s idea remains the central thought on which salvation rests.

It’s a CENTRAL THOUGHT, so please pay attention.

Please read Lesson 137: When I am healed I am not healed alone.

“Healing is the opposite of all the world’s ideas which dwell on sickness and on separate states.”

1. Sickness is a retreat from others, and a shutting off of joining.
2. Sickness is a door that closes on a separate self, and keeps it isolated and alone.
3. Sickness is isolation.

In the past few weeks I’ve been receiving a lot of messages from blog readers who have been quietly reading this blog for months and who are now reaching out and saying “I’m so tired of my life. I’m tired of my depression and loneliness. I need help.”

That’s great. That’s a terrific first step. You’re coming out of your isolation. You’re coming out of hiding. Having the courage to write an email is the courage to let down your walls, and invite someone in. It appears like you are writing to me, but in truth, it is an invitation to the Holy Spirit to enter into your life.

This website/blog is an invitation for you to start communicating.

If you’ve ever wanted to talk with God, or write a letter to God, write it to me, and He will hear it.

lisanatoli2@gmail.com

The whole universe hears it, because there is nothing outside of your most holy mind, and the action of reaching out to another human being is the entire action of healing.

Don’t be concerned with “how” it is accomplished.

And remember, I am not a therapist and I am not here to solve your problems. It is the action of reaching out beyond yourself that help is given to you.

Just have a little willingness to open the door, and invite someone in. It could be me, it could be anyone.

You can leave a comment (with your email) on this blog, and angels will rush in.

Chapter 4 in the text of A Course in Miracles says “you retain thousands of little scraps of fear that prevent the Holy One from entering. Light cannot penetrate through walls you make to block it, and it is forever unwilling to destroy what you made. Watch your mind for scraps of fear, or you will be unable to ask me (the Holy Spirit) to do so.”

Got that?

You have free will. You are responsible for the scraps of fear. You are responsible for stepping into the fear. No one can do it for you, not even the Holy Spirit.

“Light cannot penetrate through the walls you make to block it, and it is forever unwilling to destroy what you have made.”

Light cannot penetrate through a brick wall. You gotta let the wall down.

In the 12 Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous:

1. First, you admit you are powerless (over alcohol, over an addiction, over your life) and that your life has become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than yourself could restore you to sanity.
3. You make a decision to turn your life and will over to the care of God.
4. You make a searching moral inventory of yourself
5. Admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of your wrongs.

So, you see? Step 5 forces you out of your isolation. Most people talk to themselves and God all the time, and they think this is sufficient. They pray in silent.

But now, you are being asked to come out of the closet. For me this was the scariest thing I ever did. My entire adult life I kept all my thoughts secret. I let everyone know that I was “doing great” and that “life was good” and that “I was fine.”

In secret, I was crying my eyes out that my life was unmanageable. I was praying fervently (behind locked doors, in the privacy of my own home) for a relationship, to quit alcohol, to be happy, and to find peace.

And then the next morning, I would put on my best clothes, a happy smile, and do my best to blend in with those around me, and tell myself that my life was not that bad, and that I was doing okay.

And finally one day, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I opened the dark dungeon to another human being. I said: I need help. I don’t know what to do. My life is a mess. Everyone thinks I’m so successful, but I am a complete and utter failure and I’m lonely, and I’m scared, and I’m tired.”

And that was the beginning.

This other person never gave me a single bit of advice - she just listened to me - and that was the new beginning for me, a definite turning point, because I opened the door to let some light in.

I made a decision to stop isolating myself. I invited someone (other than myself, other than God) to have a look at the mess that I’d made.

I decided that I wanted to be happy, and I realized that I needed help.

Lesson 138 says: “Heaven is the decision I must make.”

“Of all the choices you have tried to make this is the simplest, most definitive and prototype of all the rest, the one which settles all decisions. If you could decide the rest (how to make money, how to live, who to love, what to do for work, how to pay your bills, what you need, what you want, what you should do), this one remains unsolved. But when you solve this one, the others are resolved with it, for all decisions conceal this one by taking different forms. Here is the final and the only choice in which truth is accepted or denied.”

Heaven is the decision I must make.

Let your walls crumble in. Be willing to let the house you built fall apart. Let some light in.

My mind holds only what I think with God.

(135) If I defend myself I am attacked.
(136) Sickness is a defense against the truth.

This is one of those great lessons you can practice in your daily life and see that it is true. Next time someone is attacking you, do not respond. Just be still. Don’t do anything. Be like a child, totally defenseless.

You’ll probably feel like an idiot the first few times you attempt this - like you are retarded just standing there with no reaction - but you’ll see instantly that when you don’t defend yourself, the attacking stops immediately.

When you don’t enter into a discussion with someone, the conversation comes to an abrupt end. When you listen, truly listen, to what someone else is saying, really hear them, give them your full attention, and then don’t participate with defense or attack … something truly miraculous happens.

Try it.

Just be present with someone. Start to listen.

Once thing you will start to notice, as you begin to practice in this way, is that the majority of your time before was spent in formulating your own ideas while someone else was talking. You’ll realize that you were never fully present. You were in your own head, thinking about what you’ll say next.

Most people spend their time in conversations waiting for another person to end a sentence, so they can say something back.

Try this for an experiment: Just be present. Don’t formulate sentences in your head while someone else is talking. Really listen. Be still. Be focused on what the other person is saying.

THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO YOU!

That is the Christ Himself speaking.

Even when someone is attacking you, just listen. Accept it with gratitude. This is the reason you will not need to defend yourself. Because you’ll be open to this new information that is being given to you.

If they demand a reaction out of you (”what do you have to say for yourself??” ), you can say: “I’m listening.”

Just be present and open. That’s the key. The key to salvation is this: “Your doing this to yourself.”

You will quickly realize that the person “out there” is not out there at all. He is you. He is an image, a reflection of your own inner state of mind. You’re doing this to yourself. Nothing at all is happening.

So you don’t have to react to figures in your dream anymore. “Let them be as hateful or as vicious as they may, they could have no effect on you unless you failed to recognize it is your dream.”

There is no need to defend yourself.

The other day when my friend was yelling at me to get a job, I really listened and took it into consideration. There is no need to defend myself. I’m always open to another possibility, and my brother is always offering me a new bright solution.

EJ said it best: “Think of the healing that occurs when you say ‘paper or plastic?’”

That’s so awesome.

It’s true. There is nothing separate from function, as if there is one path more special than another path.

“A healed mind does not plan. It carries out the plans 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.”

I love that.

“It does not depend on 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.”

Let every action “serve the greater plan established for the good of everyone.”

Tony Parson says: “One moment of presence brings more light into the world than a thousand years of “good works. In presence, all action is uncluttered and unsullied. It is spontaneity born from stillness.”

Eckhart Tolle talks about the waiter who is completely present as he puts a plate on the table in front of a customer. Pure presence. That is the function of a Teacher of God. To be totally present in every situation, not waiting for some “far off” future moment in which your life will begin.

Your life is happening now. This is it. This is all there is. Are you here? Or is your mind elsewhere? Bring yourself back into this moment, back into this day.

Be here, be now.

You who are now the bringer of salvation:

This is the day of full accomplishment. This is the day you fulfill your function by bringing light to darkness. The darkness in you has been brought to light. Carry it back to darkness, from the holy instant to which you brought it. You are made whole in your desire to make whole. Let your light encompass all of your actions. This is the only day you have. Give it your 100% full attention.

Amazing, right?

Look at the simplicity.

Salvation is not complicated.

“Try not to shape this day as you would believe would benefit you most. For you cannot conceive of all the happiness that comes to you without your planning.”

“Learn today. And all the world will take this giant stride, and celebrate your Eastertime with you. Throughout the day, as foolish little things appear to raise defensiveness in you and tempt you to engage in weaving plans, remind yourself this is a special day for learning, and acknowledge it with this:

“This is my Eastertime. And I would keep it holy. I will not defend myself, because the Son of God needs no defense against the truth of his reality.”

And of course, that leads to the 2nd lesson of the day: If you don’t defend yourself, sickness becomes impossible.

The only reason you get sick is because you defend yourself. Sickness is a defense against the truth.

So, don’t defend yourself and watch what happens. You’ll be amazed by the healing that occurs, in you and for the world.

It’s over there in the Blue Talkshoe Box

Just click the play button.

Enjoy!

from A Course in Miracles:

As the light comes nearer, you WILL rush to darkness, shrinking from the truth, sometimes retreating to the lesser forms of fear, and sometimes to stark terror. But you WILL advance, because your goal IS the advance from fear to truth. YOU KNOW THIS. The goal which you accepted IS the goal of knowledge, for which you signified your willingness. Fear seems to live in darkness. When you are afraid, YOU HAVE STEPPED BACK. Let us then join quickly in an instant of light, and it will be enough to remind you that your goal IS light. Truth has rushed to meet you, since YOU called upon it.

If you knew Who walks beside you on THIS way, which YOU have chosen, fear would be impossible. You do NOT know, because the journey into darkness has been long and cruel, and you have gone deep into it. A little flicker of your eyelids, closed so long, has not yet been sufficient to give you confidence in yourselves, so long despised. You go TOWARD love, still hating it, and TERRIBLY afraid of its judgment upon you. And you do NOT realize that you are NOT afraid of love, but only OF WHAT YOU MADE OF IT.

You are advancing to love’s MEANING, and away from ALL illusions in which you have surrounded it. When you retreat to the illusions, YOUR FEAR INCREASES, for there is little doubt that what YOU think it means IS fearful. But what is that to us, who travel surely and very swiftly AWAY from fear? You who hold each other’s hand also hold mine, for when you joined each other, you were NOT alone. Do you believe that I would LEAVE you in the darkness you agreed to leave WITH me? In your relationship is this world’s light. And fear MUST disappear before you now.

Be tempted not to snatch away the gift of faith you offered to each other. You will succeed only in frightening yourselves. The gift is given forever, for God Himself received it. You CANNOT take it back. YOU HAVE ACCEPTED GOD. The holiness of your relationship is established in Heaven. You do not realize WHAT you accepted, but remember that your understanding is NOT necessary. All that WAS necessary was merely the wish to understand. That wish was the DESIRE TO BE HOLY. The will of God IS granted you. For you desire the only thing you ever had, or ever were.

Each instant that we spend together will teach you that this goal is possible, and will strengthen your DESIRE to reach it. And in your desire, lies its accomplishment. YOUR desire is now in COMPLETE accord with all the power of the Holy Spirit’s Will. No little faltering footstep that you may take can separate your desire from His Will, and from His STRENGTH. I hold your hand as surely as you agreed to take each other’s. YOU WILL NOT SEPARATE, for I stand with you, and walk with you in your advance to truth. And where we go, we carry God with us.

In your relationship, you have joined with me in bringing Heaven to the Son of God, who hid in darkness. You have been willing to bring the darkness to light, and this willingness has given strength to everyone who would REMAIN in darkness. Those who would see WILL see. And they will join with me in carrying THEIR light into the darkness, when the darkness in them is OFFERED to the light, and is removed forever. My need for you, joined WITH me in the holy light of your relationship, is YOUR need for salvation. Would I not give you what you gave to me? For when you joined each other, you answered ME.

You who are now the bringers of salvation, have the function of bringing light to darkness. The darkness in you HAS been brought to light. Carry it back TO darkness, from the holy instant to which you BROUGHT it. We are made whole in our desire to make whole. Let not time worry you, for all the fear that you experience is really past. Time has been re-adjusted to help us do together what your separate pasts would hinder. You have gone PAST fear, for no two minds can JOIN in the desire for love without love’s joining THEM.

Not one light in Heaven but goes with you. Not one ray that shines forever in the Mind of God but shines on you. Heaven is JOINED with you in your advance to Heaven. When such great light has joined with you, to give the little spark of your desire the power of God Himself, can YOU remain in darkness? You are coming home together, after a long and meaningless journey which you undertook apart, and which led nowhere. You have FOUND each other, and will light each other’s way. And from this light will the great rays extend back into darkness and forward unto God. To shine away the past, and so make room for His Eternal Presence, in which everything is radiant in the light.”

This is one of my very favorite blogs, but surprisingly, it seems like not too many people go there.  Check it out:

http://x.namastepublishing.com/blog/ 

It’s a thrill to me to stumble on new writers, that I’d never heard of before. He writes every single day, in a really clear and practical way - ABOUT JESUS! - and I hope you love him as much as I do. My favorite posts are the ones on relationships - a topic I don’t often write about - but which I secretly love reading about.

Here is his book (click image to order from Amazon.com):

YOUR FORGOTTEN SELF: Mirrored in Jesus the Christ

Description: If you are like millions of others who seek to understand Jesus, and perhaps hope someday to be like him, chances are you don’t experience the “peace that passes understanding” and “joy unspeakable” that his first disciples did.

The reason is simple-you think of Jesus as different from yourself.

In the view of Jesus’ early followers, we have no hope of enjoying the fulfilling life Jesus lived as long as we regard him as essentially different from us. To Peter, John, Mary, and Paul, Jesus was the embodiment of our true natural reflection of who we really are.

Your Forgotten Self invites you to experience yourself through new eyes. To be a believer is to see yourself mirrored in Jesus. To have faith is to understand yourself as Jesus understood himself.

When this happens, the power of the Christ floods your everyday life. You begin to live as Jesus in the present moment as the embodiment of our true natural reflection of who we really are.

Your Forgotten Self invites you to experience yourself through new eyes. To be a believer is to see yourself mirrored in Jesus. To have faith is to understand yourself as Jesus understood himself.

When this happens, the power of the Christ floods your everyday life. You begin to live as Jesus in the present moment.

218 pages
ISBN 978-1-897238-33-2

My mind holds only what I think with God.

(133) I will not value what is valueless.
(134) Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.

I had quite a day yesterday.

I am occasionally confronted with temptations to journey along another route.

They come in the form of people saying “Get a job!” to which I silently think “I have a job.”

It doesn’t pay any money, but it is my job to follow Jesus, and there is no other option for me.

I spent the entire day crying yesterday, tears of joy that I have been set upon this path. A lot of people simply do not understand the life I live. They think it is irresponsible.

Yesterday someone was yelling at me saying “I am so pissed off at you that you don’t have any money. You need to get a job.”

I did not speak. I was completely silent. All I could think was “I have a job.”

I have a full-time job. Following Jesus, and being available to Him.

I am in full time service to go wherever God would have me go.

When I didn’t speak, my friend calmed down and then said “Do you want me to read today’s lesson?” and I said “yes, please” and it was about giving up the world, and seeking only the truth.

Precisely. This is my path.

I will not value what is valueless.

The Last Temptation of Christ. Have you seen the movie? Or read the book (by author Nikos Kazantzakis). It’s so awesome. It’s about what would have happened if Jesus had turned right, instead of turning left. The first part of the movie is about Jesus’ life, as the biblical interpretation where he teaches, heals, then is crucified and resurrects after 3 days.

The last temptation is the story as it MIGHT HAVE BEEN if Jesus had decided to make other choices. He is faced by his greatest temptation: the normal life of a good man. What would the story had been like if he had married, had children, and made a comfortable living?

I’m grateful to call myself one of Jesus’ disciplines. He is my teacher. My dedication is to the eternal.

I know that most days it looks like I am hanging off the edge of a cliff, with no direction. And that’s pretty much what it is! Having given my life to God, I live day by day, step by step. My life is not my own. I am here only to be truly helpful, and that often does not take the appearance of being a productive, successful human being.

But I exist that if someone needs help, I am here to help them.

God is my only goal.

The Holy Spirit needs my voice, my eyes, my ears, my hands, my feet, and my life.

And He needs yours too. He needs your voice, your eyes, your ears, your hands, your feet, and your life.

He needs helpers.

This path is not about being a spiritual person or a spiritual teacher who gives workshops, and fitting God into a slot when it is convenient for you. This path is about 100% dedication. Atonement is a total commitment.

It is about allowing your mind to remember the truth every second of every hour of every day.

Working for God (and being available to be helpful) is not a part-time job.

It’s not something you volunteer for 3 nights a week, with church services on Sunday morning.

It’s a full-time commitment. 24-7.

God needs teachers. “Except for God’s teachers there would be little hope of salvation, for the world of sin would seem forever real. This is a manual for the teachers of God. They are not perfect, or they would not be here. Yet it is their mission to become perfect here, and so they teach perfection over and over, in many, many ways, until they have learned it. And then they are seen no more, although their thoughts remain a source of strength and truth forever.”

God needs teachers. “Into this hopeless and closed learning situation (the world), which teaches nothing but despair and death. God sends His teachers. And as they teach His lessons of joy and hope, their learning finally becomes complete.”

So you see, I have a job.

It doesn’t fit into any description that the world holds, but I have a job: teaching God’s lessons of joy and hope, every moment of every day, to anyone who needs help.

Today’s lesson says: “I will not value what is valueless.”

There is no compromise in what your choice must bring. It cannot give you just a little, for there is no in between. Each choice you make brings everything to you or nothing.”

I will not value what is valueless, and only what has value do I seek, for only that do I desire to find.

Should you begin to let yourself collect some needless burdens, or believe you see some difficult decisions facing you, be quick to answer with this simple thought:

“I will not value what is valueless, for what is valuable belongs to me.

And then the 2nd lesson is “Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.”

I quickly remember that all the “attacks” and “temptations” to help me “find my way” are really coming from a place of total love, from people who really love me and who simply do not want to see me get hurt, or be homeless.

So, thank you for your concern. I really do appreciate it.

But I’m not worried or fearful, so you shouldn’t be either.

God goes with me wherever I go. I’m perfectly safe. And so are you.

God is with you.

Click to listen:

Remember me
In a Bible cracked and faded by the years
Remember me
In a santuary filled with silent prayers

And age to age
And heart to heart
Bound by grace and peace
Child of wonder, Child of God
I’ll remember you
Remember Me

Remember me
When the color of the sunset fills the sky
Remember me
When you pray and the tears of joy
fall from your eyes

And age to age
And heart to heart
Bound by grace and peace
Child of wonder, Child of God
I’ll remember you
Remember Me

Remember me
When the children leave
their Sunday school with smiles
Remember me
When they’re old enough to teach
Old enough to preach
Old enough to leave

And age to age
And heart to heart
Bound by grace and peace
Child of wonder, Child of God
I’ll remember you
Remember Me

Age to age and heart to heart
Child of wonder child of God

Remember me

Age to age and heart to heart
Child of wonder child of God

I’ll be on paltalk.com today at 2:00pm EST - Sunday - discussing Chapter 4 of A Course in Miracles.

The room is ACIM Gather

You can either download the free program at paltalk.com

OR

listen in (without downloading the program) at PaltalkExpress: http://www.paltalkexpress.com 

My mind holds only what I think with God.

(131) No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.
(132) I loose the world from all I thought it was.

The beauty of practicing the daily workbook lessons of A Course in Miracles is for the constant reminder of what you keep forgetting.

How often do you keep repeating the same routine every day? How many times do you tell (or think) a story or grievance that happened yesterday or a week ago? Are you being present? Who would you be without your routine or story? What would you do in this very moment if you loosed the world from all you thought it was?

Initially, you wouldn’t know what to do. You would simply be present, and allow yourself to be SHOWN where to go. You wouldn’t know how much money was in your bank account. You wouldn’t know about your past limitations. You wouldn’t have any fears if you just arrived here today. How could you? Think about it. All your fears are based on things you have experienced in the past. If you came here as a newborn baby today, with no ideas about this world, you wouldn’t have a single problem or a single plan.

Without the world you made, you would be in a present condition with no story.

If you just arrived here today, you would not have an identity. You wouldn’t be able to tell people you’ve been divorced, wounded, sick, hurt, depressed, angry, poor, or whatever story you’ve been dragging around with you.

This is the resurrection.

This is what it means to “loose the world.”

You loose your story. You loose your chains. You loose your tight grip on reality.

You let go. You surrender to this moment.

Think about it: without your story, without your time-based history … who are you??

Going forward, starting today, what would you tell people about yourself?

The practice of A Course in Miracles is to catch yourself when you drag a past story into the present moment.

“I went here…”
“I did this …”
“This happened to me …”
“I am this…”
“That person did this …”

Catch yourself as you tell your story. Realize how heavy this load is on your shoulders. Thinking your story in your mind is exactly the same as verbally telling it to someone out loud. So be consciously aware of what you are thinking and saying out loud.

Then loose the world.

Loose that story. Let it go. It never happened. You remain unaffected by your tales of service, glory, misery, pain or pleasure.

“Failure is all about you while you seek for goals that cannot be achieved. You look for permanence in the impermanent, for love where there is none, for safety in the midst of danger; immortality within the darkness of the dream of death. Who could succeed where contradiction is the setting of his searching, and the place to which he comes to find stability.”

Ha.

“Goals that are meaningless are not attained. There is no way to reach them, for the means by which you strive for them are meaningless as they are.”

Yet … searching is inevitable here. You came here for something. You’ve been looking for something, for meaning, for purpose, for happiness … something. Search you must.

You search for Heaven, and you will attain this goal because the ending is set. No one can fail to want this goal and reach it in the end.

“When he is wrong, he finds correction. When he wanders off, he is led back to his appointed task.”

I love these lessons.

This is a day of gladness, for we come to the appointed time and place where you will find the goal of all your searching here, and all the seeking of the world, which end together as you pass beyond this door.

John 10:7-9: Then Jesus said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. I am the good shepherd.

To read whole chapter, click here: Whole Chapter, John 10

“Today I see and find all that I want.
My single purpose offers it to me.
No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.”

I am Jesus’ sheep. He knows me and I know him. I hear his Voice - he is my shepherd - and I follow him.

My mind holds only what I think with God

(129) Beyond this world there is a world I want.
(130) It is impossible to see two worlds.

This is so true. I want the peace of God, and only that. I want the world that is beyond appearances, beyond what my body’s eyes perceive.

It’s impossible to see two worlds. Either I’m in Heaven or I’m in hell and I choose where I reside by every thought I think.

The “miracle” occurs in this splendid moment. It’s not in the future. It’s right here, right now, as you read and as I type.

There is no where to go, and there is nothing to do.

If something needs to be done, I will be told specifically at the appointed time … so I don’t have to worry!

It used to be that I could plan for the week ahead. At a minimum, I knew what the next day (or week, or month) held out for me, but I have lost that ability entirely. I have zero idea what the future holds for me, and it’s marvelous. I’ve been forced into a condition of God dependency! I used to think that I knew what “God dependency” meant, but this, WOW, this is a whole other ballgame. To simply let this shining bright moment be all there is, and not be concerned about anything else!

My mind holds only what I think with God.

This is something else entirely!

I’m here, right now.

Here I am, Lord!

The time factor is getting shorter and shorter for me. I used to be able to plan for a year in advance, then it was a “month by month”, then it was “week by week”, then it was “one day at a time” and now I don’t even know what will happen in the next minute! I have no idea! I am finding that I can’t even plan “step by step” anymore.

It’s all been taken away from me, and I love it. Consider the lilies. They neither spin, nor toil. All I can do is stand still and listen and let the Holy Spirit move through me. Wherever He wants me to go is where I want to go.

I don’t want to do anything anymore, unless it comes from Him.

And whatever He wants me to do, I WANT TO DO!!! Happily!

This is the place of the most concentrated brilliant power, here in this moment, not doing anything except being WILLING, PRESENT and ALERT.

Knowing this, what could I possibly be worried about??

I’m here, now.

I’ll be told what to do.

I don’t have to worry or be concerned about anything.

I’ve never been in this place before and I’m enjoying it immensely.

An invitation from Unity FM Radio:

I invite you to tune into www.unity.fm on May 29 to view our exclusive interview with Eckhart Tolle. It’s a fabulous experience - he talks about prayer and living in the present (of course). Also, be sure to check out our new online community - http://unityfm.ning.com/ - there’s more discussion about Eckhart’s book there.

with Alan Cohen, from Enlightenment Magazine. Click to read:
http://home.wanadoo.nl/prembuddha/tolle.html 

Great teaching from Juan Matus to Carlos Castaneda, as recorded in “Journey to Ixtan”:

“People hardly ever realize that we can cut anything from our lives, any time, just like that. For example, smoking and drinking are nothing. Nothing at all if we want to drop them. Only one thing is indispensable for anything we do; the spirit. One can’t do without the spirit.

I have no routines or personal history. One day I found out that they were no longer necessary for me and, like drinking, I dropped them. One must have the desire to drop them and then one must proceed harmoniously to chop them off, little by little. If you have no personal history, no explanations are needed; nobody is angry or disillusioned with your acts. And above all no one pins you down with their thoughts. It is best to erase all personal history because that makes us free from the encumbering thoughts of other people. I have, little by little, created a fog around me and my life. And now nobody knows for sure who I am or what I do. Not even I. How can I know who I am, when I am all this?

When nothing is for sure we remain alert, perennially on our toes. It is more exciting not to know which bush the rabbit is hiding behind than to behave as though we know everything.”