Saturday, August 30, 2014

Bedtime Forgiveness Habit

Yet another reason to practice forgiveness each night before sleep...

"The student or individual who wants to leap ahead in the progress of the Light should never enter sleep until he has consciously sent Love to every individual whom he feels has harmed him at any time.  This thought of Love will go straight as an arrow into the consciousness of the other individual because it cannot be stopped--there generating its Quality and Power which will as surely come back to you as you send it out."--The "I AM" Discourses
 
You get what you give.  It's a universal law.  When you give forgiveness and love to others, it comes back to you amplified.  It will show up in your life somewhere, someplace, sometime.  It may not relate to the actual person you have forgiven.  That relationship may or may not be salvageable.   It doesn't matter. If the love does not come to you through that relationship, it will find another way to express in your life.




Friday, August 29, 2014

You do not Know the Forces Playing on Another

More on judging, from the "'I AM' Discourses":

"I tell you frankly, Beloved Students and individuals, there is not the slightest hope for you in heaven or earth so long as you persist in holding within your consciousness thoughts and feelings of criticism, condemnation, or hate of any description, and that includes mild dislike.

This leads us to the very vital point that you are concerned only with your own activity and your world.  It is not your province to judge another, for you do not know the forces playing upon another or conditions. You know only the angle that you see of it, and I tell you that if an individual should be entirely innocent of any intent to wrong another, the individuals who send criticism, condemnation or hate to such an one are doing worse than committing physical murder.  Why is this so?  Because thought and feeling are the only Creative Power, and while such thoughts and feelings may not touch or harm their objective, they must return and bring with them the conditions sent out by the individual who sent them forth--and always with accumulated energy.  

So after all, the one who holds vicious thoughts to another is in reality but destroying himself, his business and his affairs.  There is no possible way of averting it, except for the individual to awaken and consciously reverse the currents."  

Judging is the opposite of forgiveness.  When we forgive we "flip the switch" from fear (anger, upset, annoyance, hurt) to love.   This moment when we forgive and flip that switch is what is called the "holy instant" in A Course in Miracles.  It is the moment when the miracle occurs.

On the other hand, when we judge, we are flipping the switch back in the opposite direction.  We are switching back to fear.  We judge because we are filled with fears.  We feel threatened by our world in some way, and so we judge.  In many cases, we don't even know why we feel fear.  Often, it is coming from our sub-conscious minds.

We have two kinds of work to do if we want to stop the habit of judging.  First, we must be vigilant always in guarding and protecting our minds from any vicious and judgmental fear thoughts.   As A Course of Miracles says, "choose again".  It is always within our power to choose again when we find our minds filling with fear and judgment.  When we see that we are starting to judge, we can make another choice, the choice for love.  

Our second work is that we must ask ourselves important examining questions when we find ourselves judging. What is this fear I feel in this moment?  Where is it coming from?  Why do I feel so threatened by this person?  What in my past is causing this moment to flare up so large in my mind?  If we are judging it is because we are feeling "little".  Why?  What about this person and this event is so threatening to our own sense of safety?  As we examine our fears, we can forgive and release them.

Again, as it says in the "I AM" Discourses, "the one who holds vicious thoughts to another is in reality destroying himself".  This is why as we learn to stop the ugly, destructive habit of judging others and we begin to give out love instead, the world around us changes.  It becomes a place of peace, first in our minds, and then that peace begins to out-picture in our worlds.  And when peace comes, we begin to find our happiness.

St. Germain--the source of the "I AM" Discourses

  

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

"Forgive the World" -- What Does it Mean?

Forgiving the world...it seems like a daunting task.  There's a lot of pain out there.  In fact, there's a lot of suffering close-by.  Where do we even start?



When it comes to forgiving the world, we need to look at how forgiving plays out in both our immediate world and the greater world at large.

Forgiving in Our Own Backyard   In our immediate world, we can forgive the things that come up on an every day basis.  Whenever we feel frustrated, angry or hurt by the people or events that surround us, we need to do a little forgiveness work.  This can be done right on the spot, or it can be saved for a quiet moment later.  I like to review my day each night in bed and forgive anything disturbing that happened.

Global Forgiveness   Forgiving the world at large is a different kind of forgiveness.  It means releasing attachment.  It means that we watch what is happening in Israel, in the Ukraine, in Syria or wherever, from arms length, yet with an understanding that suffering  is occurring.  As we observe, we do not allow our thoughts to mentally sink down with fear and angst for the events that we see.

Just as we forgive the bullies in our immediate world, we also need to forgive the bullies of the world at large. And this we can add to our nightly forgiveness work.

Mind Work   However, when we think about the victims, we must not become upset and focused on the unfairness of it all.  Thoughts are creative and this kind of thinking holds the victims down.  If we want their lives to improve, we need to see them in their strength and truth.  We must hold the mental high ground with images of their higher source and true potential.  (Of course, this doesn't mean that we refrain from providing the help needed.  If there is something we can do, whatever it is, we can feel free to contribute.)

Remember that forgiveness happens on the mental plane.   We must hold a vision that helps the victims and sufferers to rise up.  It is our job to find the vision for peace.  It is our job to forgive and to see love as a real possibility.

World Peace Starts at Home, Inside   Of course, our biggest contribution to the healing of the world is the work we do on our very own minds.  We must release our habits of judging others.  If we want to heal the world, we must heal our own thinking first.  When our minds become a place of peace, the world will reflect that.  When we stop the attack thoughts that frequent our minds, when our minds become gentle, the world will too.

Remember that all minds are joined.  We can lift others up.  By filling our minds with love, we are showing others the pathway to peace.   And loving thoughts have so much more power than fearful thoughts.  It starts right here, right now, with us.  Each of us has the opportunity to contribute to the forgiving and healing of the world.




Monday, August 25, 2014

Do you wish people well when they walk through the streets of your mind?

Or is your mind a mind field?

When you think of others, do you think with attack or love?

















Is your mind a dangerous place for others?  If so, it is also a dangerous place for you.

What you give out, you get back.
If your mental habit is to attack and judge others, then...
you will be attacked and judged by others.

What are you offering to the world?
When your mind is a dangerous place, you are creating a world of fear.

When your mind holds love, you are creating a world of love.

Your thought is under your own dominion.
You choose your thoughts.
Don't let them choose you.
When attack thoughts come...
Choose again.  Make a choice for love.

Again and again.  Make another choice.
Create the habit of choosing love.  Always.
Let love and a better world be your legacy.

This is how you create happiness.
Happiness in the world around you.
And happiness in your own mind.




Saturday, August 23, 2014

Look Up














Look to the higher place.
Whenever you meet someone, be sure to cast your eyes upward.

Upward to the place where the soul dwells, that higher self.
See only the beauty, the love, the truth in everyone you encounter.


Don't ever look down.

No matter what happens.
No matter what they do.
No matter what you do.


It's all only a dreamscape anyway.

But where you cast your gaze is how you shall dream...
Look down and you will dream of suffering.

But look upward and you will live the happy dream.
When you look for the beauty, the love and the truth in others,
you will live in that very same truth yourself.




Thursday, August 14, 2014

"Seeing the Soul"

"One of the greatest gifts we can bring to every person we meet today is to look at them beyond the personality level. We don't just see them as their history or what they look like at a physical level.  But, let's bring the practice--and perhaps it might be the highest practice of our day--to practice seeing essence.  Practice seeing the real being, the real person.  Practice seeing the great soul in the amazing disguise of the human flesh that we see with each and every person we meet this day." --Mary Morrissey

This is what real forgiveness is about.  Forgiveness happens when we look beyond the "human flesh" of this 3D earthly world (and the occasional misguided and confused behavior that accompanies it), to the soaring soul essence beyond.  Learn to cast your gaze to a higher place, the place where Spirit is the only truth.  It is in that place that we can find forgiveness for what happens on this lower plane where many of us "know not what we do".



When we look upon our trespassers, let us look with the eyes of Spirit, not with our human eyes.  This earth can be a hard, confusing place of suffering for many.  Let us just acknowledge that their bad behavior is often simply coming from that place of fear that each and every one of us knows far too well.  Let us see their bad behavior as we are advised to in A Course in Miracles, where we are asked to see "everything as either an expression for love or a call for love."  Fear acts are merely misguided calls for love.  Yes, sometimes they can be very misguided.  But it is important to remember that they come from a place of fear, and fear is always suffering.

Look beyond that suffering to the love that is ultimately at the core of the higher essence of each and every one of us.

"What was so powerful about the ministry of Yeshua ben Joseph, who became Jesus, the Christ, was how people felt in the way in which he saw them.  He saw them in their wholeness  He saw them in their natural beauty.  He saw them in their wonder."  --Marry Morrissey

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Forgiveness and Travel

I just got back from a short trip for a friend's daughter's wedding.  In looking back over my trip I see that there were a few forgiveness opportunities given to me and I'd like to share my thoughts with you about them.



Judging   Traveling provides us with ample opportunities to observe ourselves in judgment.  Airports, big cities and crowds of all sorts are full of every kind of person imaginable.  Observing our thoughts and judgments as we watch the crowds around us allows us to see our judgment habits in action.  Are we looking critically at people's appearances and behavior?

I confess that I love clothes and it's something that's just been a part of me since I was a little child.  I often find myself thinking, "Oh, isn't that person beautifully dressed", or "Yikes!  What is that person thinking, wearing that in public?"  It's a bad habit I have always had and I need to rid myself of it.  As our forgiveness lifestyle grows, we should be starting to see humanity with love and in appreciation of the equality and oneness that is an inherent part of each person's higher self.  I know that I need to let go of my attachment to beauty and my difficulty in accepting things that are not beautiful. I'm much better than I used to be at this and I am grateful for my progress, but this is an area I must grow more in.

People do the craziest things and once we observe odd or difficult behavior, we must find forgiveness for it.  While relaxing by the pool at our hotel on one of our travel days, I watched a woman sit minding her children swim while dangling her feet in the pool.  She actually pulled out a pair of toenail nippers and began to give herself a manicure and pedicure flicking all the bits of nail and skin into the pool water!  Yes, she did!!!  It's a little hard not to judge something like that when you see it, and yes I did judge it, but I have now performed one of my forgiveness processes on her.

Feeling Victimized   Traveling can be so trying at times, that it can easily throw us into victim-mode.  Are we feeling put upon, hemmed in or herded around by the experience of traveling, the waits, the lines, the delayed schedules and traffic jams?  If we do, feelings of frustration, anger and hostility may be rising to the surface.  These are feelings that need to be accepted and then released and forgiven.  Sometimes these feelings flare up so quickly because we are re-experiencing feelings of victimization or being out of control that come from events in our childhood.  If you find yourself getting upset while you travel, do some thinking about what situations in your past felt similar to your current situation and then do a little forgiveness work on whatever comes up.

Insecurities   Being in new places and situations can sometimes be stressful and even a little frightening.  Even being in old familiar situations can be upsetting if we are feeling worried about how we will be perceived or accepted.  I found myself falling into this trap.  I worried that the shoes I had brought to wear were not right for the wedding so I went out and bought a new pair.  Moments after I paid for them, my back went into spasm and I had to spend the next three days in discomfort and moving with difficulty.  When something like this happens, take a moment to reflect on its meaning in your life.  As I looked at my feelings about seeing old friends, I realized that I was worried about how I would be accepted.  We may be tempted to dismiss the importance of our feelings because we believe them to be irrational, and yet, if we are feeling them, they are important.  Whatever happens in our world is always created in the mind first before it out-pictures into our lives.  I realized that my insecurities had triggered the episode with my back.  This gave me the opportunity to look into my mind and forgive myself for the fears that lurk there.

Getting Buttons Pushed   Of course, our biggest forgiveness work usually has to be done on the person that we spend the most time with.  On this trip my husband was doing the driving while I was doing the navigating with the GPS on my ipad.  It always feels to me that he is not listening to my instructions.  This pushes my buttons and I had to do a little forgiveness work on him for it.  One of the ways I forgive him is to see the situation from his point of view.  I'm sure that from his standpoint it feels like I am nagging him.  Plus I appreciate that it is difficult to drive in new places while dealing with heavy traffic, busy freeways and lots of confusion and stimulation.  It probably simply takes him a few moments to process the instructions I am giving him while he attempts to deal with all of this at once.

As I start to recognize my husband's feelings and his humanity, I am ultimately recognizing his truth.  He is just as much a creation of the Divine as I am.  When I acknowledge that, he is forgiven, and I am also forgiving myself.  After all, his truth is my truth.  We are both perfect spiritual beings.

Growth Opportunities   Remember that we can choose to see everything that comes up in our lives as an opportunity to forgive.   The more we forgive, the more we purify and grow on our pathway to love and peace.