A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #313 - Now let a new perception come to me.

 Lesson #313

Now let a new perception come to me.

The “new perception” is the understanding of Oneness of non duality as compared to separation and division. It is impossible for us to grasp the Oneness but we can guess at it, we can intuit it, we can attempt to imagine it. As John Lennon sang in his song, Imagine, “Imagine all the people living life in peace.” “The world will live as One.”

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested, in step eleven, that we improve our conscious contact with God. This “conscious contact with God” is the “new perception” being referred to today in today’s lesson.

In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This “inherent worth and dignity” is not a common perception in our very judgmental world which seeks to separate, divide, exclude, subjugate, oppress, and dominate. UUs are very counter cultural in the principles that UUs covenant together to affirm and promote.

Today is is suggested in lesson #311 that we let a new perception of the Oneness come to us in which the holiness of the world is recognized, acknowledged and deeply appreciated.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #312 - I see all things as I would have them be.

 Lesson #312

I see all things as I would have them be.

The comedian, Flip Wilson, when he did his Geraldine routine, would have her say, “What you see, honey, is what you get.” “Perception is reality” as they say, and perception comes from judgment. What will you judge today that will lead to your perception which will contribute to what you experience? We can choose the things of the ego or the things of the Spirit (Love).

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested in step eleven that we improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation. Good suggestion, yes?

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person and in this affirmation and promotion we look for the divine spark in every person.

Today, it is suggested that we accentuate the positive and minimize the negative. We can remind ourselves that I see all things as I would have them be.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #311 - I judge all things as I would have them be.

 

Lesson #311

I judge all things as I would have them be.

A Course in Miracles makes it very clear that the world of the ego is bull shit. The only thing true is our Oneness with our Divine Source. Our separation from our Divine Source is not real but an illusion and at some point we will realize this and when we come to know this we will judge things as I would have them be in alignment with the world of Spirit (Love).

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested in step three that we make a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God. Is this turning over how you judge all things should be or do you want to continue to manage things on your own terms?

In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and in so doing we seek to judge all things as we would have them be, one with truth, beauty, and goodness.

Today, it is suggested that we turn our lives and judgement over to our Divine Source so that they would be as God would have them be since God created them in the first place.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #310 - In fearlessness and love I spend today.

 Lesson #310

In fearlessness and love I spend today.

The choice is ours between fear and love in how we spend our day. Could it be that simple? Is it easier said than done? Is today’s lesson merely wishful thinking that does not correspond to reality?

We cannot control the external circumstances of our lives but we can always control our response to them. In that distinction there lies the awareness of our choice. Can we decide to make the best of a bad situation? Can we get things in perspective and find a more positive view?

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested, in step eleven, that we seek to improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation. How about trying that?

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and where are we to find this truth and meaning: in fear or in Love? The Universalists are clear in their answer, in Love.

Today, it is suggested that we repeat this mantra often, “In fearlessness and love I spend today.” Say it especially when fear, anger, resentment, guilt starts to arise into our awareness. At that point we can make a choice. Which will I choose? The Beatles said it best when they sang, “Love, love, love, love is all there is.”

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #309 - I will not fear to look within today.

Lesson #309

I will not fear to look within today.

John Bradshaw taught that the basis for addiction is shame. We believe that deep down there is something wrong with us, that we are deficient or inadequate in some way and it is only a matter of time before what we believe is our inadequate nature is found out.

The truth, on the contrary, is that deep down within us is  a brilliant diamond illuminated by a Divine Spark which is perfect. And yet our ego doesn’t want us to believe this Truth that our essence is Divine and so instigates fear and tells us not to look because if we do we will be horrified by what we see. Today’s lesson counters the fear driven suggestion of the ego not to look within and suggests that we say to ourselves, “I will not fear to look within today.”

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested, in step eleven, that we improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation which involves a looking within. If we find the courage we will be delighted by what we find when we see the Divine nature from which we arise.

In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. The Universalists knew about the Divine Spark within and taught that we are all loved unconditionally by our Creator because we are the extension of God’s Love.

Today, it is suggested that we say, “I will not fear to look within today,” many times during the day. We will like what we see and it will feel like a miracle. This is, afterall, lesson #309 from A Course In Miracles.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #308 - This instant is the only time there is.

 Lesson #308

This instant is the only time there is.

Have you ever felt that time stood still? We get caught up in an activity and we lose track of time. It is the experience that enthralls us and time disappears. There is no past and no future, only the experience we are experiencing.

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested, in step eleven, that we improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation and being present. The past is gone, the future yet to come, all we have is our current experience. The wonderful AA slogans of “One day at a time” and “Easy does it” serve us well.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence which brings us into the experience of the non dualistic Oneness which is the Ground Of Our Being. In this experience there is no time. Time has vanished and we become part of the eternal Now.

Today, it is suggested that we rise above time by ignoring the past and the future of the ego and instead allow ourselves to experience the Holy Instant. You will know when you arrive in that place by the experience of peace and bliss.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #307 - Conflicting wishes cannot be my will.

 Lesson #307

Conflicting wishes cannot be my will.

If a person has been raised in a Christian denomination they undoubtedly have learned or at least heard “The Lord’s Prayer” which reads in part, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We willful  humans want our will to be done not Thy will and so there exists in our lives conflicting wishes and at the end of the day we recognize that these conflicting wishes cannot be right and it is in aligning our will with God’s will that peace and happiness lie.

In Alcoholic Anonymous, right in the very first step, it is suggested that we admit that our lives are unmanageable. In the second step we recognize and acknowledge that there is a power greater than ourselves running the Universe of which we are just a part, and in the third step, we make a decision to turn our unmanageable lives over to the will and care of that Higher Power whatever we choose to call it.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are just a part. We come to realize that whatever is going on it is far beyond our control and we are wise to turn our will over to the flow of the Universe which some call Tao.

Today, we rise above the conflict of my will and the will of Tao and go with the flow and become one with the Universe of which we are a part.