Daily reflections, Day Twenty six, Mistakes Have Been Made

Day Twenty six

Mistakes have been made

“Miracles rearrange perception and place all levels in true perspective. This is healing because sickness comes from confusing the levels.” ACIM.T-1.1.23:1-2

The “miracle” as spoken of in A Course In Miracles is not magic. The “miracle” is not supernatural flim flam. The “miracle” in a Course In Miracles is changing one’s mind about the source of one’s power and authority from the body to the mind.

There is a slogan, “What you see is what you get,” which would be more accurately stated as “What you think you see is what you get.” The question has now shifted from “what do you see” to “what do you think you see and why?”

When we come to realize that we are not bodies with a spirit but rather a spirit with a body our experience of life subtly but dramatically changes and the healing of our minds, the undoing of our social conditioning,  has begun.

Focusing on the body is believing that the separation is real, the separation of our ego from the Mind Of God. We are told in A Course In Miracles that this separation, which fills us with guilt unconsciously, has never occurred even though we like to think it has. It takes courage and humility to admit that we are mistaken and that, at the Spiritual level, we all are one.

Today, I will forgive myself for my mistaken ideas and thoughts that I am separate and special and acknowledge that I am in this thing called Life along with everyone else.

My Kind Of Church Music - Joy To The World, the Morman Tabernacle Choir

Merry Christmas! The Lord has come.

Film review - Two Popes

The Two Popes is a wonderful film about the transition of the Papacy from Pope Benedict XVI to Pope Francis. Anthony Hopkins plays Ratzinger and Jonathan Pryce plays Bergoglio.

The film describes the spiritual journeys of both men and their very different personalities. Both very strong people discover their humility as they struggle with the spiritual and religious role required of them in assuming the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.

I found the film quite moving several times as these two men struggle to create a friendship and mutual understanding based on a spiritual sensibility which is absent in life today.

I highly recommend this film for a thoughtful, mature audience.

Two Popes is streaming on Netflix.

Religion In The Public Square - Americans less likely to say they are atheist than Western Europeans but percentage of American atheists is growing.

Pew Research reported on 12/06/19 that Americans are less likely to be atheists than Western Europeans but the percentage is slowly growing. For more click here.

Ask Alexa - Should I be afraid of death?

Alexa: Should I be afraid of death?

Depends on whether you ever actually lived your life or not; people who never really lived their own lives but lived them for others will always think that life is too short, but people who lived their own lives will always think that their life was just as it should have been.

Alexa: Did you hear about the explorer who wanted to explore the North Pole and then changed his mind and decided to explore Antartica?

Yes, some people thought he suffered from Bi-polar.

Daily reflections, Day Twenty five, Love your supposed enemies

Day Twenty five

Love your supposed enemies

“Miracles are associated with fear only because of the belief that darkness can hide. You believe that what your physical eyes cannot see does not exist. This leads to a denial of spiritual sight.” ACIM.T-1.1.22:1-3

What is it that we try to hide? We try to hide our fear of inner defectiveness, inadequacy, and guilt. Some psychologists call this “shame.”

So we put our best foot forward. We pretend we are one way when deep down we live in terror that we are another. And then we start to play the game of “What about them?” the game the Course calls “one or the other.” We blame other people for what we think they are doing to us and attribute the guilt of making us unhappy to another. We play the role of the victim and it is this darkness which hides our deep seated shame.

We lose sight of the fact that at our core we are the beloved creation of God which is the manifestation of Love in the universe. At our core we are a precious diamond encrusted in the dirt and slag of our social conditioning. Understanding this and accepting it are two different things. Dropping our defenses and accepting our preciousness makes us fearful because life as we know it in the world of the ego is over. Giving up the social conditioning of the ego leaves us confused, anxious, perplexed, maybe a little sad. We’d rather dance with the devil we know than the devil we don’t know.

Today, I will try to accept that at my core I am an extension of God’s love in the world and as such I no longer need to defend myself to anyone. I will pass this love on to everyone I meet even my supposed enemies.

Religion in the public square - NCR's 2019 newsmaker of the year: Nancy Pelosi .

The National Catholic Reporter has named Nancy Pelosi as their 2019 newsmaker of the year. For more click here.