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!
Facebook comments:
Simply awesome . . .splendid thought. . . not one more moment to waste!
This is the moment I am here for…
I am prepared…
yes.
You are so good at what you do, teacher of God. I am amazed!
Your passage from Castaneda reminded of of this awesome section from the Course. I am so grateful for the reality of this amazing experience…WOW! I Love you beyond the beyond!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“I said before that God so loved the world that He gave it to His only-begotten Son. God does love the real world, and those who perceive its reality cannot see the world of death. For death is not of the real world, in which everything reflects the eternal. God gave you the real world in exchange for the one you made out of your split mind, and which is the symbol of death. For if you could really separate yourself from the Mind of God you would die.
The world you perceive is a world of separation. Perhaps you are willing to accept even death to deny your Father. Yet He would not have it so, and so it is not so. You still cannot will against Him, and that is why you have no control over the world you made. It is not a world of will because it is governed by the desire to be unlike God, and this desire is not will. The world you made is therefore totally chaotic, governed by arbitrary and senseless “laws,” and without meaning of any kind. For it is made out of what you do not want, projected from your mind because you are afraid of it. Yet this world is only in the mind of its maker, along with his real salvation. Do not believe it is outside of yourself, for only by recognizing where it is will you gain control over it. For you do have control over your mind, since the mind is the mechanism of decision.
If you will recognize that all the attack you perceive is in your own mind and nowhere else, you will at last have placed its source, and where it begins it must end. For in this same place also lies salvation. The altar of God where Christ abideth is there. You have defiled the altar, but not the world. Yet Christ has placed the Atonement on the altar for you. Bring your perceptions of the world to this altar, for it is the altar to truth. There you will see your vision changed, and there you will learn to see truly. From this place, where God and His Son dwell in peace and where you are welcome, you will look out in peace and behold the world truly. Yet to find the place, you must relinquish your investment in the world as you project it, allowing the Holy Spirit to extend the real world to you from the altar of God.”
A Course In Miracles , Chapter 12, III, 6-10
Lisa, Thank you for being Gorgeous for God! When I read your blog this a.m., and
read my lesson, I wanted to leave a reply, however, there were no words! Now, upon
retiring, I thought I would let you know…you are with me, as I am with you, always!
Love, Debi
The other day I was in a depression over my anger. Suddenly, I decided to walk, really walk with Jesus beside me from Lesson 354. I have been so happy ever since I remind myself constantly that it’s all or nothing and Jesus is right beside me. I can choose how I see everything. I don’t know if this is my “Sudden Awakening” but I am happier than I have ever been! Thank you Lisa, for the quotes from Carlos Castenada.
I am with you always,
Love,
Carol