This is a beginning, not an end.
You are not alone. Your Friend goes with you. I go with you.
Whatever troubles you, be certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him.
How simple! Just know your problems have been solved. Turn to the Holy Spirit with all your troubles and talk to Him, ask Him for help and He will answer you.
Could anything be simpler?
We have learned now to communicate with what is real, and what the body’s eyes will never see. This is fun! It is fun to interact with another world that is seemingly invisible, but truly there.
You are not alone.
No more specific lessons are assigned, for there is no more need of them. Henceforth, hear but the Voice for God and for Your Self when you retire from the world, to seek reality instead.
He will direct your efforts, telling you exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certain Word.
As always, if this seems like it is not working for you and if miracles are not occurring for you … it is for one simple reason: you don’t want it.
And there is nothing in the universe that can help you. I’m sorry. Until you make a decision that you want to be happy, that you want to be at peace, that above all else you want to see differently … no one can help you.
But from the moment you make a decision that you want to see a different world, you will see it because it’s been right in front of you all along. Parallel universe. You can see it when you desire to see it and step right into it.
The end is certain, and the means as well.
To this we say “Amen.”
You will be told exactly what God wills for you each time there is a choice to make.
And so we walk with Him from this time on, and turn to Him for guidance and for peace and sure direction. Joy attends our way. For we go homeward to an open door which God has held unclosed to welcome us.
We trust our way to Him and say “Amen.”
In peace we will continue in His way, and trust all things to Him.
In confidence we wait His answers, and we ask His Will in everything we do.
God loves you. I love you.
God’s angels hover near and all about. His Love surrounds you, and of this be sure; that I will never leave you comfortless.
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
Here we are. On the last lesson. Lesson 365. This concludes one year.
It is accomplished. The human idea of time and space is to continue to sequence: to start fresh in the new year 2009, to make changes, to make resolutions, to try to get it right this time, to do things better, to make improvements.
But be honest. Has that ever worked for you?
Gurdjieff says an interesting thing (in the 1920s). Someone was questioning him why some people seem to have no problem manifesting and with abundance while others continue to struggle. Sounds like the question people raise with “The Secret.” How come some people have miracles happening all the time while others can’t seem to make it anything at all happen.
For very simple reasons:
a. they don’t really want it
b. if they don’t use the power that it is given to them, then it is wasted and those that do want that power can now take it for themselves since it is not being used.
It’s like if you walk into a room and you see everyone slouched in a chair, confused, tired, bored, lonely … there is a lot of wasted energy in that room!! You can take it for yourself. When you do this you will become instantly vibrant and energized. I am sure you have been in situations like this where there are 1-2 individuals in a room that are filled with light and joy and happiness, overflowing with enthusiasm and energy while everyone else seems depressed. That’s because they know the secret! They are using all that wasted energy.
What energy you don’t use, others who want it are free to take it and use it for themselves. This is the reason there seems like there is only a handful of elite individuals who seem tapped into “The Secret”.
Being able to awaken and work consciously on oneself requires energy.
The best”resolution” is to become conscious, to become aware from now on when you are wasting the energy that has been given to you.
A lot of people are “waiting” for something to happen, waiting for new energy to energize them, waiting for new things to occur, waiting for a miracle …. which is hilarious when know the truth because that energy is available for you to use right in this very second. You can just grab it and use it.
When you start bringing in new energies it disrupts old habits and this can be very fearful. Most people have a tendency to contract when this begins to occur and this will result in you feeling tired, angry, or frustrated. It’s energies being mixed up.
The awakened state stimulates energy, and starts shaking out old energy. This typically causes anxiety and discomfort and the tendency is always to try to restore balance by going back to the old habits, and familiar comfort zone.
But this is just delay. The energy then settles back down – like dust that settles when you stop kicking it around – and you will find yourself even more uncomfortable than before the whole process started.
If this kind of thing interests you and you would like to learn more, I will be hosting weekend retreats. Please write to me at: lisanatoli2@gmail.com
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
I read something really spectacular last night from Deepak Chopra’s book “The Third Jesus”:
“It’s impossible to quantify if you are on the spiritual path or how far along it you may be. But progress is always marked by transformation. The path isn’t about feeling better. It’s not about knowing who you are, or ending your suffering, or finding peace, or healing your deepest wounds. It’s about a transformation so profound that illusion is traded for reality. Jesus survives to this day as a force in the world because he embodied that truth completely. As we are headed for God-consciousness, our own transformation cannot stop halfway; we can’t settle for a better life or even the best life, for a glimpse of God, or even for God as a daily companion. The state of God-consciousness represents a leap in human development that you and I must be prepared to make personally. The middle of the path brings us to the leaping-off point. The end of the journey will look nothing like the world we took the leap from.”
“What will it feel like to finally arrive in God-consciousness? Anyone traveling the spiritual path will naturally ask this question. The middle of the journey isn’t the same as the destination.”
I repeat:
“The middle of the journey isn’t the same as the destination.”
“The mixture of old and new self must eventually resolve into a completely new self. Sin will no longer exist. God’s grace will be abundant, and his presence will guide our every action.”
That’s Deepak Chopra. Amazing, right?
So, if you are in the middle of the journey, all I can say is: Keep Going. Don’t give up. The middle of the journey isn’t the same as the destination. In one stroke of brilliant light, you will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. You will not get a continuation of small miracles and minor transformation (which is what the middle of the journey offers), but in one sudden motion, you will be entirely brand new. That’s the destination.
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
I love you. I would do anything for you.
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
It must be no accident that I am supposed to practice this lesson for 5 straight days in a row. It must have been designed this way – not because of laziness in the final stretch – but rather because this lesson needs to be reinforced so I learn it. Amazing.
These are the final lessons. We are in our final days. It says “Our final lessons will be left as free of words as possible. We use them but at the beginning of our practicing, and only to remind us that we seek to go beyond them. Let us turn to Him Who leads the way, and makes our footsteps sure.”
I love this: “For we would not return again to the belief in sin that made the world seem ugly and unsafe, attacking and destroying, dangerous in all ways, and treacherous beyond the hope of trust and the escape from pain.”
I love it.
I am not going to blog about the lessons in 2009 because I did that in 2008 and I don’t need to repeat what I have already accomplished. All the lessons are archived and they are there for you if you make a decision to complete the workbook in 2009.
If you need additional help, you can purchase my book Gorgeous for God from bookstores or Amazon.
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge.
For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
Yes.
Following God’s Plan is the ONLY THING that will give you consistent peace. It is the ONLY THING. I’m telling you. Nothing else will give you peace. Nothing. You can try as many things as you like – new relationship, new job, more money, moving to a new location, changing your body, losing weight, changing your hair color, redecorating your house, taking a vacation – do as many things as you like. I’m telling you. Following Jesus will make you CONSISTENTLY happy.
It’s quite amazing.
If you are not consistently happy, then you must be following your own will.
Because when you follow God’s Will, you will be happy all the time.
Guaranteed.
No exceptions.
Our final lessons!
Oh my God. We did it. There’s the finish line. One whole year. Ha!
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
There is nothing left to do but share in the celebration.
From A Course in Miracles:
We are forgiven now. We are restored to sanity, in which we understand that anger is insane, attack is mad, and vengeance merely foolish fantasy.
His is the only way to find the peace that God has given us. It is His way that everyone must travel in the end, because it is this ending God Himself appointed. In the dream of time it seems to be a far off. And yet, in truth, it is already here; already serving us as gracious guidance in the way to go.
Let us together follow in the way that truth points out to us.
And let us be the leaders of our many brothers who are seeking the way, but find it not.
And to this purpose we dedicate our minds, directing all our thoughts to serve the function of salvation. Unto us the aim is given to forgive the world. It is the goal God has given us.
It is the goal God has given us.
God has given me a goal. To forgive the world.
It is His ending to the dream we seek, and not our own. For all that we forgive we will not fail to recognize as part of God Himself. And thus His memory is given back, completely and complete.
Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace be to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with your peace through us.
Father, it is Your peace that I would give, receiving it of You. I am Your Son, forever just as You created me, for the Great Rays remain forever still and undisturbed within me.
I read something interesting in Carlos Castaneda’s book “Journey’s to Ixtlan” that I would like to share with you.
Don Juan says that this moment may very well be your last moment. Your death is stalking you. He, your death, is standing behind you on your left side, within arm’s reach and you never know when he is going to tap you on the shoulder and take you. This is not to be feared because in truth there is no death. But here in time & space, no form lasts and death is your wisest companion and you should be become best friends with him.
When you know your death is stalking you, then you will change.
Here is an exchange between Carlos Castaneda and Don Juan:
“You have never taken responsibility for being in this unfathomable world,” he said in an indicting tone. “Therefore, you were never an artist, and perhaps you’ll never be a hunter,” said Don Juan.
“This is my best, don Juan.”
“No. You don’t know what your best is.”
“I’m doing all I can.”
“You’re wrong again. You can do better. There is one simple thing wrong with you – you think you have plenty of time.”
He paused and looked at me as if he was waiting for my reaction.
“You think you have plenty of time,” he repeated.
“Plenty of time for what, don Juan?”
“You think your life is going to last forever.”
“No, I don’t”
“Then, if you don’t think your life is going to last forever, what are you waiting for? Why the hesitation to change?” Don Juan asked.
“Has it ever occurred to you, don Juan, that I may not want to change?”
“Yes, it has occurred to me. I did not want to change either, just like you. However, I didn’t like my life; I was tired of it, just like you. Now I don’t have enough of it.”
I vehemently asserted that his insistence about changing my life was frightening and arbitrary. I said that I really agreed with him at a certain level, but the mere fact that he was always the master that called the shots made the situation untenable for me.
“You don’t have time for this display, you fool,” he said in a severe tone. “This, whatever you’re doing now, may be just your last battle on earth. It may very well be your last battle. There is no power which could guarantee that you are going to live one more minute.”
“I know that,” I said with contained anger.
“No. You don’t. If you knew that you would be a hunter.”
I contended that I was aware of my impending death but it was useless to talk or think about it, since I could not do anything to avoid it. Don Juan laughed and said I was like a comedian going mechanically through a routine.
“If this were your last battle on earth, I would say that you are an idiot,” he said calmly. “You are wasting your last act on earth in some stupid mood.”
We were quiet for a moment. My thoughts ran rampant. He was right, of course.
“You have no time, my friend, no time. None of us have time,” he said.
“I agree, don Juan, but -”
“Don’t just agree with me,” he snapped. “You must instead of agreeing so easily, act upon it. Take the challenge. Change.”
“Just like that??”
“That’s right. The change I’m talking about never takes place by degrees: it happens suddenly. And you are not preparing yourself for that sudden act that will bring about a total change.”
I believed he was expressing a contradiction. I explained to him that if I were preparing myself to change I was certainly changing by degrees.”
“You haven’t changed at all,” he said. “That is why you believe you’re changing little by little. Yet, perhaps you will surprise yourself someday by changing suddenly and without a single warning. I know this is so, and thus I don’t lose sight of my interest in convincing you.”
And how is this like today’s lesson? Because you cannot change in degrees to be the holy Son of God. You cannot change little by little. It happens suddenly and swiftly and in one moment. Because I know this is true, I don’t lose sight of my interest in convincing you.
I always thought I was changing bit by bit, until one day I changed entirely. I was completely brand new. It didn’t happen in degrees. It happened in one second and all my old habits fell away and from that moment on, I thought and acted differently about everyone and everything.
The change that is being offered by Jesus is not self-help. It is not gradual. You will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, absolutely, and forever. You will not be changed a little. You will be changed entirely or not at all.
This is the real Christmas gift given to you by God Himself.
If this complete reversal has not yet occurred for you, I ask you to please stop trying to change yourself a little, and “prepare yourself for the sudden act that will bring a total change.”
We’re coming up on New Years where everyone makes resolutions to change – which are, of course, band-aid solutions. They have never worked before. Why would they work this year? You can’t change a little, and you cannot change one aspect of your life.
Either you will be changed entirely or you are not changing at all.
How do you allow this change to occur? Let this be your very last moment. Know that your death is stalking you. This moment, this one right now, may very well be your last act on earth.
“There is no guarantee that you are going to live one more minute.”
I don’t know about you, but this makes me very happy. It makes me alive. With my death standing behind me at all times, I don’t waste my life in stupid emotions.
My impending death has brought me to life!
A baby just like you by John Denver. Written by John Denver for his son Zachary at Christmas. Click link to listen.
Merry Christmas.
The season is upon us now
A time for gifts and giving
And as the year draws to its close
I think about my living
The Christmastime when I was young
The magic and the wonder
But colors dull and candles dim
And dark my standing under
Oh little angel, shining light
You’ve set my soul to dreaming
You’ve given back my joy in life
You’ve filled me with new meaning
A savior king was born that day
A baby just like you
And as the Magi came with gifts
I’ve come with my gift too
That peace on earth fills up your time
That brotherhood surrounds you
That you may know the warmth of love
And wrap it all around you
It’s just a wish, a dream I’m told
From days when I was young
Merry Christmas little Zachary
Merry Christmas ev’ryone
It was a cold winter’s night that was so deep, exactly like tonight.
O Come All Ye Faithful by Anne Murray:
O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.
O come let us adore Him.
O come let us adore Him.
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Born this happy morning.
God’s answer is some form of peace. All pain
Is healed; all misery replaced with joy.
All prison doors are opened. And all sin
Is understood as merely a mistake.
Okay, I have a really good story in connection with this lesson. I’m laughing like crazy.
Enzo went missing again yesterday for 24 hours and all I did yesterday was wait around, call for him, take long walks with a coffee cup and a fork (the sound of which he recognizes as me, and usually comes running) trying to locate him. No such luck. I even drove my car up and down the road thinking he might be able to recognize the scent of the tires (because it was snowing and I figured he lost the scent of his trail)
Mostly I was worried because:
A. I’m a nut case
B. the immense amount of snow
So all day long I did nothing but look out the damn window like a lost puppy dog. When it comes to this cat … I’m totally insane, I know it.
So around 7pm last night, I finally calmed down. In a flash of recognition I realized that all my worrying was not going to bring the cat home and it was only wrecking my day along with my peace of mind.
So I got a fire going (with a flick of the switch), and settled in with a coffee and Carlos Castaneda who is always terrifically amusing to me. Turns out, it was the perfect remedy because his stories are always about animals being Spirit guides.
So, that was the first miracle. A form of peace. I actually forget about my worrying as I entered into the story. Don Juan is so hilarious. He is a tough, uncompromising teacher, my favorite kind of teacher.
“Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan” is definitely the best in the series because it contains all of Don Juan’s lessons from the other books … all nicely packaged in this one book.
It’s got everything. This one line was cracking me up for 10 minutes. Carlos Castaneda is a know-it-all and never listens and never learns and he thinks he is better than Don Juan, and that Don Juan is just an old stupid Indian. And Don Juan asks if he thinks they are equal and Carlos says “yes, of course we are equals” even though he was quietly thinking to himself: “no, I am better than you because I am a university student, a man of the sophisticated Western world and superior to an Indian.”
And Don Juan says: “No, we are not equal. I am a hunter and a warrior, and you are a pimp.”
LOL.
So, anyways. I’m reading, reading, reading. Still thinking about Enzo a tiny bit, but no longer obsessed. And then there is the Christmas tree with more gifts from my mom ….
I decided to open ONE MORE. No harm in that, right?
So I open a gift. It felt like a wood sign. It was a cutting board in the image of a cat. OMG. I nearly choked from laughing so hard. It was made in Vermont and it is the exact sillouhette image of Enzo.
Hilarious. God’s answer is always some form of peace.
My mom is an angel.
I opened it exactly after I read the part where Don Juan tells Carlos Castaneda that plants are alive and can feel, and that Carlos needs to learn how to talk with plants and treat them as their equals, mostly as an exercise to get rid of his own self-importance.
So there I am laughing like crazy. Without thinking about it, I start talking to the wood cat as if it was Enzo. I felt joy and peace. That crazy wood cat had the same effect on me as the real thing! I couldn’t stop laughing. I was giggling like crazy.
That’s today’s lesson! God’s answer is some form of peace!
His answer might not come in the form you expect, but it will leave you feeling peaceful and happy. In that way, you will know it was God’s answer. All pain is healed. All misery replaced with joy. All prison doors are opened. And all sin is understood as merely a mistake.
And 20 minutes later, I heard a real cat crying. And there is Enzo at the front door like nothing at all happened.
I just opened a Christmas gift from my mom – the sweetest little angel with a great reminder: Make every day count.
I am snowed in and bored and there was no one here to stop me. LOL.
My mom is the greatest. We do this every year. She sends Christmas gifts and I promise not to open them, but then i can’t help myself! I’m like 3-years old around brightly colored wrapping paper.
Anyways. This little angel brightened my whole day, so the timing is perfect.
Make every day count.
No call to God can be unheard nor left
Unanswered. And of this I can be sure;
His answer is the one I really want.
There is a bumper sticker/sign that says God answers all prayers:
Sometimes He says YES!
Sometimes He says NO!
And sometimes He says YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!
(to order one for yourself, click on the photo)
And that’s today’s lesson: HIS ANSWER IS THE ONE I REALLY WANT.
I don’t care if the answer is a “yes” or if it’s a “no” or if it’s a “maybe” or if He laughs His head off at me. I don’t care. His answer is the one I really want.
He knows what is best for me.
I have no idea what I need.
I have no idea what I want.
But God knows! He knows the whole plan! And I trust Him.
If I ask for something and I don’t get it straight away, I don’t sweat it. I don’t continue to ask like a bratty child. I don’t beg like a beggar. If I was meant to have the thing I prayed for, He would have given it to me immediately.
Either I’m not ready for it (like the child who asks for a knife) or it will delay me, or He’s got something better for me.
I trust God. His answer is the one I want.
“My Father, all I want is what You offer me, in just the form You choose that it be mine. Let me remember all that I do not know, and let my voice be still, remembering.”
Ha!
Let me remember all that I do not know, and let my voice be still, remembering.
In other words, let me not continue to pray/beg/plead in different words so I can get my way.
The choice is between MY WAY vs. GOD’S WAY.
I choose God’s Way.
One prayer is sufficient. He answered it already.
God answers all prayers.
“Father, let me not forget Your Love and care, keeping Your promise to Your Son in my awareness always. Let me not forget myself is nothing, but my Self is all.”
Truth answers every call we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself.
Today’s lesson, if you haven’t noticed already, is a repeat of yesterday’s lesson. The miracle IS the call to God and this is the reason why truth answers EVERY call we make to God with miracles.
Because the miracle is the turning your attention and focus toward God. Being with God, communing with him, being in that space, forgetting about your problems, and talking with God is the miracle.
In God consciousness, miracles happen naturally.
AND THEN … truth returns unto us to be itself.
See that? Part two. You call God up by turning to Him and truth answers every call you make by first responding with miracles (admit it, when you get quiet to talk with God you immediately feel relaxed and better, that’s a miracle) and then truth returns itself into your mind to be itself.
The whole thing is accomplished!
Now, please go open your book and read Lesson 357. It will astonish you in its simplicity. Plus ADDED BONUS: it tells you how to be healed.
I got a great message yesterday from a guy named Steve and while responding to his email I was reminded of the immediacy of what is being offered here by Jesus. Just know yourself as light, and you will be light!
For privacy purposes, I will not post his message, but I will post my response:
Hi Steve!
Thanks for writing to me.
Before I even got to the sentence that you wrote you probably think
too much I thought too myself “wow, this is all just a little too
complicated for me!!”
LOL. It’s all good.
Honestly, I don’t know how it works. Personally, I think each of us is
asked to take that leap of faith and stand in a place of certainty,
perhaps before true certainty arrives. I write in my book Gorgeous for
God about how everyone has experienced the light – those moments when
you have no problems, when you are first in love, when everything is
happy and peaceful – and so I KNOW you have experienced that place
the Course promises: where there is only love. But the difficulty is
almost no one knows how to stay in that place, in that frequency, in
that energy, in God consciousness. They immediately dip back down into
lower frequencies where there is pain, suffering, sorrow and
limitation and time and space.
So A Course in Miracles is a systematic mind training. You are
training your mind to stay in God consciousness, to stay in that place
where there is only love. Carlos Castaneda talks about this as
assemblage point where a teacher or warrior (or yourself) has the
ability to shift you into a high consciousness where the world
disappears but always always always always that point shifts back to
its original location because of bad habit, laziness and routine. So,
you have to keep shifting the point, and when it slides back again to
time and space and limitation and doubt, you shift it again. It slides
back. You shift it again. All day long you keep catching yourself when
you are sliding, and you get back on the mark with God. You keep doing
this.
The is The Work.
This is accomplished through the practice of the workbook lessons, and
through the simplicity of your own willingness.
You are all light. This I know to be true. I am here to remind you of
this fact. I am here to save time. The Master Teacher said this to me
one time, and it was revolutionary in my mind when he said it. He
said: This one over here, she is all light. There is no darkness in
her.
and even though i think at the time he was making it up, and didn’t
really mean it, it actually changed me, because I started to think of
myself that way. I would wake up in the morning and say “I am all
light” and I literally could feel all my cells vibrating as I thought
it!!
And very shortly after this it became true and I really experienced
myself as having no darkness in me and as not being an ego anymore,
but simply being all light. And in this recognition, I realized
everything is all light and there is no darkness anywhere.
you would probably enjoy my book if you like the audios. It’s got all
my stories. LOL. A tell-all book.
Yes, I will continue with the audios. I am going to do a radio show
starting in January, and hopefully radio interviews.
i am happy to receive this message from you.
Love, lisa
PS:
The ego. LOL.
Whenever someone says the word ego in a sentence or uses the word ego
in an email, my mind kinda goes blank. Sorry!!!
My advice to whatever questions are in that paragraph concerning the
ego is this:
take the word “ego” right out of your vocabulary. Just stop using the
word. You’re not an ego. Your brother is not an ego. You’re the light
of the world. To look at the ego and try to figure it out – or to call
yourself one – is a massive delay tactic. So the easiest thing is to
just to wipe the word and idea from your vocabulary altogether.
Every time you start to think about yourself:”I am an ego”, just go,
no, I am the light of the world.
Any time you think your brother is an ego, stop yourself and go, no,
he’s the light of the world along with me.
And remember from the Course: what is not love is a call for love (and
there’s no ego involved in that).
I love you.
lisa
