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?
Little by little you must create a fog around yourself; you must erase everything around you until nothing can be taken for granted, until nothing is any longer for sure, or real. Your problem now is that you’re too real. Your endeavors are too real; your moods are too real. Don’t take things so for granted. You must begin to erase yourself.
You’ve said that you want to learn about plants. Let’s put it this way then. If you want to learn about plants, since there is really nothing to say about them, you must, among other things, erase your personal history.
Begin with simple things, such as not revealing what you really do. What’s wrong is that once people know you, you are an affair taken for granted and from that moment on you won’t be able to break the tie of their thoughts. I personally like the ultimate freedom of being unknown. No one knows me with steadfast certainty, the way people know you, for instance.
From now on you must simply show people whatever you care to show them, but without ever telling exactly how you’ve done it. You see, we only have two alternatives; we either take everything for sure and real, or we don’t. If we follow the first, we end up bored to death with ourselves and with the world. If we follow the second and erase personal history, we create a fog around us, a very exciting and mysterious state in which nobody knows where the rabbit will pop out, not even ourselves.
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.”
My mind holds only what I think with God.
(127) There is no love but God’s.
(128) The world I see holds nothing that I want.
“Call to your Father, certain this His Voice will answer. He Himself has promised this.”
“The world in infancy is newly born. And we will watch it grown in health and strength, to shed its blessing upon all who come to learn to cast aside the world they thought was made in hate to be love’s enemy. Now are they all made free, along with us.”
Isn’t that nice? We’re standing in the new world … while still believing it is the old world we knew from last week. Be careful not to drag old ideas into new moments.
Stand in a state of Uncertainty and Not Knowing.
It’s a great place to be, where you have ZERO IDEA what you next step will be.
Just be alert.
With you is One, a perfect guide who knows the whole overall picture, Who will show you where to go and what to do … and whatever needs to be done, He will do it for you.
Simply show up, here and now. Be present. Allow the Holy Spirit to move and work through you.
Father, I am Yours.
There will always be a tendency when there is a disruption to try to glue the pieces back together again. But remember, a disruption is a disruption for a reason. It breaks up the old. Don’t bother picking up the pieces. You will be momentarily fearful to stand in a new place with no idea what to do next. You’ll be homeless for a while. Jesus in the bible says “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)
This world is not your home. Don’t worry about it. Everything you need while you are here to fulfill the Holy Spirit’s purpose will be given to you, as long as you don’t use it to linger in time.
“The world I see holds nothing that I want.”
This is a true statement of fact. Everything here eventually turns to dust and disappointment. Bodies get sick & die. Relationships end. Friendships crumble. The world offers you nothing of lasting value.
But behind appearances is reality, and your salvation lies in relating only to what is eternal and changeless.
“Let nothing that relates to body thoughts delay your progress to salvation, nor permit temptation to believe the world holds anything you want to hold you back. Nothing is here to cherish. Nothing here is worth one instant of delay and pain; one moment of uncertainty and doubt.
“Today, we hold the world purposeless within our minds, and loosen it from all we wish it were. We leave it free of purposes we gave its aspects and its phases and its dreams.”
I love it. I can loose every idea about purpose and function, and simply be present.
Pause.
Pause and be still a little while, and see how far you rise above the world, when you release your mind from chains and let it seek the level where it finds itself at home.
Your mind will be grateful to be free a while.
Your mind knows where it belongs.
But free it’s wings, and it will fly in sureness and in joy to join its holy purpose.
!!!!!!
My mind holds only what I think with God.
(125) In quiet I receive God’s Word today.
(126) All that I give is given to myself.
“Let this be a day of stillness and quiet listening.”
“Only be quiet. You will need no rule but this, to let your practicing today lift you above the thinking of the world, and free your vision from the body’s eyes.”
“Only be still and listen.”
“As every hour passes by today, be still a moment and remind yourself you have a special purpose for this day; in quiet to receive the Word of God.”
My mind holds only what I think with God
(123) I thank my Father for His gifts to me.
(124) Let me remember I am one with God.
And now the paradox …
When you give your life to God to guide, when you “stand still”, when you “draw your circle”, when you “do nothing” … your life becomes more active than ever!
Everything in time & space is loaded with symbols/meaning that you have attached to it. Lesson #1 says you have given everything you see all the meaning it has for you. Most people equate “doing nothing” and “standing still” with being lazy, sloppy and bored.
So when you read “stand still” and “do nothing” and “draw your circle” and “wait for things to come to you”, be vigilant not to add your own past learning to it.
What this means is stop driving your own agenda. Stop searching for people to heal. Stop running your own show. Stop trying to make the world a place that helps you fulfill a function that will help other people.
There are no other people.
There is only YOU in service to God.
And the paradox is that remembering this will place you in service to other people.
So today’s lesson is important: Let me remember that I am one with God. Remember that there are no other people to heal or help, remember your gratitude, thank your Father for His gifts to you … and then you will be able to help other people. It’s a paradox.
There are not millions of people to heal. There is only you aligning your mind with God, remembering the unreality of this world. Remembering that you are the light of the world.
Simply stand in a blank space where you have a little willingness to follow Jesus.
What will happen is that the Holy Spirit will begin to work through you, and you will realize that you are “doing nothing” except going with the flow.
Your body becomes a perfect vehicle of communication for God.
You begin to witness light coming through you and reaching to others. It will probably shock you initially. This is true service. Total God dependency. You let go of your agenda, and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you.
“It’s our final happy game on earth.”
When I find myself trying to set things up or do things, I stop. I step back. I take a breath. I remember God. I ask the question: Father, what would You have me do? What would You have me say? Where would You have me go?
I ask the question: WHAT IS THIS FOR?
Then I get right out of the way. And if something needs to be done, it is done for me by the Holy Spirit. He does everything.
My life is His to guide.
And if nothing comes in for me (in the way of instructions), I do nothing. I don’t go looking for people to make happy. I don’t go looking for people to heal.
But what I have found, as I practice being present, is that THERE IS ALWAYS INSTRUCTIONS. Sometimes the instruction is to for a walk, or play with the cats, or go to the movies, cook a meal, relax, read a book.
The point is: don’t be too strict with your plans.
Be willing to have them disrupted.
Relax. Be gentle with yourself.
Good simple advice is to spend your days in gratitude and love.
The way you help others is by staying connected to your Source, which is God.
And this makes me tremendously happy. The gifts begin to flow. “Miracles” begin to occur, and you’ll realize the power in today’s lesson:
My mind holds only what I think with God
(123) I thank my Father for His gifts to me.
(124) Let me remember I am one with God.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
(121) Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
(122) Forgiveness offers everything I want.
Your only purpose is to keep aligning your mind back with God. There is no other purpose here in the world .. because the ONLY THING that needs to be accomplished is to “accept Atonement for yourself.”
That is your only function.
You don’t have to go anywhere. You don’t have to “do” anything. There is no location in time that is any better than another, because all places are unreal and God is in your mind.
Everything is happening in your mind!
And it’s all happening right now!
Year ago, as an experiment, I decided to “draw my circle” (as Jesus did in thd desert for 40 days) and not move from it. I was curious to see what would happen. It was an extreme experiment where I decided not to call anyone, to not write anyone, no emails, no driving my car, nothing. The experiment consisted of me being present. I would wait expectantly and not push my agenda (as I was often famous for doing back then). Back then, I was constantly networking, constantly on the telephone, constantly leaving messages on internet chat groups, emailing, trying to get my life MOVING. I thought I could move the energy in my body and that’s what I attempted to do. I didn’t realize the MAGNITUDE, back then, that God is in my mind. I didn’t realize that “My mind holds only what I think with God.
And so there was a tremendous amount of “activity” in my life, which I now can see was wasted time & wasted energy. I was trying to heal things, to be a teacher of A Course in Miracles, using a lot of “mindless magic” to produce “miracles.”
Then it occurred to me that I should just STOP.
I wanted to see what it was like to be “lifted and transported” without me making any plans.
What happened is that eventually someone called, or stopped by.
And I would think: okay, look at this. This is the first person to appear in my brand new life. My first friend! Okay! Look at this!
Because when you stand still, SOMETHING will happen. Guaranteed. I don’t know what it will be exactly for you, in the specifics. But I guarantee something will happen. If you make a decision to be still today and “do nothing”, just keep practicing the lesson in your mind – TO FORGIVE – and to “make a decision to not make a decision,” I guarantee something will happen.
Because the only thing you are asked to do now, in time & space, is forgive.
Forgive yourself. Forgive others.
Spend today doing nothing except practicing today’s workbook lesson. Drop all your plans. Just “be here now” in a state of forgiveness for all your own insanity, and forgiveness for your brother’s insanity. Forgive yourself all your grievances.
You cannot change anything at all in a body HOWEVER everything is changed by the power of your mind, which happens as you sit anywhere. Your mind holds only what you think with God.
This is a fact, and represents the truth of What you are and What your Father is.
“Your self deceptions cannot take the place of truth. No more than can a child who throws a stick into the ocean change the coming and the going of the tides, the warming of the water by the sun, the silver of the moon by night.”
Nothing you do or say changes reality. All your good deeds simply remind you of the truth. That is all. Nothing is affected by what you say or do. Everything you do in time & space either brings you closer to God OR it’s a lot of frantic hurrying and planning. These are your choices.
This knowledge will save you a lot of effort.
You can relax today. You can stop all your planning and let yourself be SHOWN what to do. Or better yet … let the Holy Spirit do it for you, while you observe.
This is A Course in Miracles.
Today is when everything is given to you, as your practice these lessons of forgiveness:
“Each hour of the day, bring to your mind the thought with which the day began – MY MIND HOLDS ONLY WHAT I THINK WITH GOD – and spend a quiet moment with it. Then repeat the two ideas you practice for the day unhurriedly
1. Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
2. Forgiveness offers everything I want.
and spend enough time to see the gift they contain for you, and let them be received where they were meant to be.
“We add no other thoughts, but let these be the messages they are. We need no more than this to give us:
1. happiness
2. and rest
3. and endless quiet
4. perfect certainty
5. and all our Father wills that we receive as the inheritance we have of Him.
God offers thanks (!!) to you who practice 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.
Amen.
