Even though I am a student of A Course in Miracles, I regularly attend a Science of Mind church. My minister there, Rev. Liz Luoma, loves to refer to us all as adorable little packages of God. We're all in different adorable packages, but underneath, we're really all just the same thing.
Last month when everyone was thinking about Halloween and costumes, she likened these packages to costumes. When we come here to live on earth, we take on a costume (or a role or character), and we develop it and refine it throughout our lives. In fact, our entire lives become about creating every little facet, characteristic, preference and circumstance for that very character.
The Course likes to call these costumes the "ego". The ego is our creation, not God's.
Take away the costume, the role, the character, the ego and what is left underneath? Why God stuff, of course. That's all we really are.
We are really only playing a game of Charades. We fool ourselves into believing that our costumes are who we really are, but underneath the costume is actually our Truth. Underneath the costume is the part of us that God created. That part is timeless, endless, unlimited and perfect. It is all that is and it is One with God. And everyone of us shares in this. We are all together, exactly the same, and One in God.
It all boils down to this...underneath our costumes, we are each actually only Love.
But...we get so busy living in our costumes, playing our roles, being that character, that we forget who we really are. We are so good at it, in fact, that we've convinced ourselves that we actually really are our costumes.
Think of it like going to the movies. The lights go out and if the movie is good, it becomes our world. We are utterly lost in it. It is everything to us for that brief ninety minutes or so. We are completely consumed and we know nothing else.
Our lives here on earth are just like that. We get caught up in the fantasy and we forget who we really are.
Drop the costumes to forgive-- Forgiving requires that we simply drop those costumes for a moment. There is a larger part of us and it is not here in this silly playground of costumes. We must back up for a moment and see both ourselves and our trespasser in our true states. We must know that both of us are really only Love. We are exactly the same and we are always One in God.
Forgiveness is the act of accepting that people come here to this 3D earth and put on a costume and do silly things. They are deluded, they have simply forgotten who they really are. When we forgive, we remember for them, who they really are.
We raise them up in our minds. We know that they are really always with God, in God, One with God. We see that truth.
Words for forgiveness:
I often start my forgiveness process with the words above. But then I go deeper. I have developed a set of words that walks me mentally through the process of seeing the higher truth for someone whom I am forgiving. It takes me about five minutes to do this and when I am finished I am able to see anyone for who they really are.
And I really do mean anyone. No matter how personally harmful or globally destructive their actions may seem, it is possible to shift your feelings about a trespasser from egoic fear feelings to those of Love.
The words I use are in my book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness. There is an entire chapter on this process. If you'd like to be able to change your thinking, see through the costumes of this temporary world and focus on the bigger picture and the higher truth, I encourage you to get a copy of the book and practice this process for yourself. You have only your happiness to gain.
Last month when everyone was thinking about Halloween and costumes, she likened these packages to costumes. When we come here to live on earth, we take on a costume (or a role or character), and we develop it and refine it throughout our lives. In fact, our entire lives become about creating every little facet, characteristic, preference and circumstance for that very character.
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| Which costume have you chosen? |
The Course likes to call these costumes the "ego". The ego is our creation, not God's.
Take away the costume, the role, the character, the ego and what is left underneath? Why God stuff, of course. That's all we really are.
We are really only playing a game of Charades. We fool ourselves into believing that our costumes are who we really are, but underneath the costume is actually our Truth. Underneath the costume is the part of us that God created. That part is timeless, endless, unlimited and perfect. It is all that is and it is One with God. And everyone of us shares in this. We are all together, exactly the same, and One in God.
It all boils down to this...underneath our costumes, we are each actually only Love.
But...we get so busy living in our costumes, playing our roles, being that character, that we forget who we really are. We are so good at it, in fact, that we've convinced ourselves that we actually really are our costumes.
Think of it like going to the movies. The lights go out and if the movie is good, it becomes our world. We are utterly lost in it. It is everything to us for that brief ninety minutes or so. We are completely consumed and we know nothing else.
Our lives here on earth are just like that. We get caught up in the fantasy and we forget who we really are.
Drop the costumes to forgive-- Forgiving requires that we simply drop those costumes for a moment. There is a larger part of us and it is not here in this silly playground of costumes. We must back up for a moment and see both ourselves and our trespasser in our true states. We must know that both of us are really only Love. We are exactly the same and we are always One in God.
Forgiveness is the act of accepting that people come here to this 3D earth and put on a costume and do silly things. They are deluded, they have simply forgotten who they really are. When we forgive, we remember for them, who they really are.
We raise them up in our minds. We know that they are really always with God, in God, One with God. We see that truth.
Words for forgiveness:
You are Spirit,
Whole and Innocent,
I forgive you.
I release you.
I bless you with Love.
And I really do mean anyone. No matter how personally harmful or globally destructive their actions may seem, it is possible to shift your feelings about a trespasser from egoic fear feelings to those of Love.
The words I use are in my book, Forgiveness is the Key to Happiness. There is an entire chapter on this process. If you'd like to be able to change your thinking, see through the costumes of this temporary world and focus on the bigger picture and the higher truth, I encourage you to get a copy of the book and practice this process for yourself. You have only your happiness to gain.
