A State of Grace

When you have forgiven everything, you are in a state of Grace.  Life is happy and free.  You are at peace.  You have found the Heaven that resides within.

This is a state that happens when you live a forgiveness lifestyle.  You forgive the daily annoyances and hurts that come your way.  You stop judging others.  You go into your past memories and you release and forgive everything you are aware of.

You remain constantly on alert, looking for anything you can forgive.  Something will show up, it always does. After all, we are here to learn and grow...a new forgiveness opportunity will always show.  And when the opportunity comes to you, you set aside the time to do your forgiveness work.

When you live like this day after day, week after week,  year after year, the joy in you slowly builds.  A feeling of love floods into every aspect of your life.  Until one day, you look around and you say to yourself, "Wow, I am actually living the "happy dream".  It's here in my life now.

Then maintenance is your job, being ever vigilant to stay in that perfect state of Grace, forgiving everything that comes your way.

"Forgiveness turns the world of sin into a world of glory, wonderful to see.  Each flower shines in light, and every bird sings of the joy of Heaven.  There is no sadness and there is no parting here, for everything is totally forgiven  And what has been forgiven must join, for nothing stands between to keep them separate and apart.  The sinless must perceive that they are one, for nothing stands between to push the other off.  And in the space that sin left vacant do they join as one, in gladness recognizing what is part of them has not been kept apart and separate."       --A Course in Miracles, Chapter 26, IV, 2

Well, what are you waiting for?  Happiness is yours for the taking.

 "This tiny spot of sin that stands between you and your brother still is holding back the happy opening of Heaven's gate.  How little is the hindrance that withholds the wealth of Heaven from you.  And how great will be the joy in Heaven when you join the mighty chorus to the Love of God!"   --A Course in Miracles, Chapter 26, IV, 6

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“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act.  It is a permanent attitude."

"Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness."

"I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, for changing our world!

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When Other People Disappoint

We all do it.  We get attached to the idea that other people in our lives will be a certain way.  Perhaps we expect our spouses or lovers to be strong, beautiful and infallible. Or we might expect our children to be happy, liked and well-adjusted.  Or our friends to be easy-going, loyal and available.  And maybe we want our parents to be fair, loving and supportive.   

The expectations may differ from person to person or situation to situation, but one thing never changes...we get attached to wanting our family, friends and associates to be a certain way. 

Unfortunately, the world often does not meet up with our decisions about what it should be.  We get attached to these decisions and since we are attached to them, we feel disappointed and hurt when the world does not meet them.  

Releasing attachments to our decisions about what life should be like is a form of forgiveness.  Accepting others as they are, knowing that whomever they are and whatever they are doing is the right thing for them at this moment, is the most loving thing we can do. 

 

We are each here with our own unique set of lessons.  None of us know the entire truth about anyone else's overall soul intentions and pathway.  Forgive and accept the people in your life when they fail to be what you want for them.  Allowing the world is the key to your own peace.  

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A Little Slide Downward

I usually forgive just about everything as soon as I am aware that I am feeling annoyed, hurt or upset.  After all, I have a forgiveness lifestyle.  Forgiveness keeps me happy and it keeps my world easy and comfortable to live in.  So I value and appreciate my life lessons and try to forgive my world each day.  

But last week I had a little slump.  Here's what happened.  Right before bed one evening, my husband snapped at me when I was trying to tell him about our plans for the next day.  Instead of overlooking and forgiving him, I got annoyed.  And I kept feeling annoyed because...I LIKED IT!  I indulged myself.  I let myself get good and angry with him.    

And here's what happened next...

I woke up at 3 AM and was unable to go back to sleep. The next morning as we were trying to meet our friends to ski together, we missed the bus they were on.  Then we went to get my iphone out of our ski locker so we could make a plan to meet up with them later.  We found my phone submerged in an inch of vegetable juice in the bottom of my purse (I had tossed in a plastic bottle of the stuff on the run to meet our friends... smart?)  I turned it on and shorted it out, killing it permanently.

All afternoon I continued to feel annoyed with my husband...so he, of course, began to act really annoying.  I went to bed feeling hurt and put upon.  The next morning was my birthday.  None of my friends and family called to wish me Happy Birthday.  Well, actually, they did, but my phone was dead, of course.  Now I began to feel sorry for myself.  Then I burned my hand cooking dinner.  Next, my husband, in an effort to repair a broken light sconce in our powder room, somehow shorted out the electricity in half our house.  I went to bed with business worries on my mind instead of my usually peaceful thoughts.

At this point I began to recognize that my switch from thinking with love to thinking with fear was beginning to do a little damage in my life.  I could get a new phone, my hand would heal, my husband could  repair the light fixture.  I figured I'd better stop while I was ahead.  If I didn't, I'd risk drawing some seriously bad stuff into my life.  

And so I forgave him.  I felt better.  He felt better.  A new phone arrived in the mail.  The light sconce got fixed.  My hand stopped hurting. I got a good night's sleep.  My clients all emailed or called with happy messages.  Best of all, there were Happy Birthday wishes waiting for me on my new phone.  

My world keeps reminding me that happiness is a choice.

This is often what actually happens in real life.  When we are acting with the ego and living in fear, we create problems and upsets in our lives.  When we forgive and choose to join our thoughts with the Holy Spirit, we create peace and happiness.  Watch your life and see if you don't see similar patterns emerging.

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Choose Again

A Course in Miracles tells us that in every moment we have the opportunity to choose again.  This means that we can always change our thinking.  It's only thought.

Thought changes surprisingly easily.  It really does.  But it requires a decision on our part to want it to change.  Try it sometime.  When you find yourself stewing about somebody or something, make a decision to let it go.  Send light and love to whomever you are annoyed with or hurt by.

You'll probably feel resistant to this for a moment.  That's because the ego loves to flare up the flames of resentment.  It's in the ego's best interest to keep you stewing.  Just push past those feelings and force yourself to change your thought.  Get past any feelings of distaste you have toward forgiving whomever is upsetting you and just do it!!

Surround your trespasser in light and then surround yourself, too.  Give these grievances over to the Holy Spirit.   In a few moments you'll be amazed at how differently you can feel.

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Another Quickie Forgiveness Process

Although I am primarily a Course of Miracles student, I love the way the Science of Mind folks pray.  They are so good with words and their intentions are so clear.  Just read some Ernest Holmes if you want to see what I mean.

This is a lovely little prayer which is commonly used in Science of Mind practice and can be directed toward another person.  It is often used for healing or aiding a prayer partner.  However, I think it also makes a perfect little forgiveness process.  Just insert the appropriate name in the blank.

Affirmation for Self and Prayer Partner

There is one life.  This life is good.  This life is God.  This life is my life now.  In knowing that I am one with the life that is God, I know that I am whole, perfect, prosperous and complete in Mind, Body and Spirit.  I rely on Spirit revealing a healing in my life and in the Life of __________.   I know for ____________ that s/he is an expression of the Divine and that Divine right action is the truth of ____________'s experience in all ways.  Gratefully, I release this word, knowing it is so.  And so it is.  

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Hmmmm....Grievances or God?

Which do you choose?

Do you want to hang on to your grievances?  Stoke the flames of resentment?  Keep the anger and the hurt going?

Or would you rather be happy?

"My Grievances hide the light of the world in me.

My grievances show me what is not there and hide from me what I would see.  Recognizing this, what do I want my grievances for?  They keep me in darkeness and hide the light.  Grievances and light cannot go together, but light and vision must be joined for me to see.  To see, I must lay my grievances aside."  --A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 85 

Let in the light and discover what true happiness feels like.  Start a regular forgiveness habit today and  swap your grievances for inner piece.

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