Amy Torres and Bill Free had a chance to interview Rupert this week while on a Retreat in Burlingame, CA.

Contemplating the Nature of Experience.

Hear Rupert offer a few insights to specific content from A Course in Miracles that was delightful to hear expressed from this Advaita Teacher and new friend of Bill and Amy. Enjoy!

Chop wood carry water

This week I was at a seven day retreat with Amy Torres to see Advaita Teacher and Mystic Rupert Spira effortlessly open the mind of understanding to support the claims of A Course in Miracles, Advaita and all the non dual paths pointing to Enlightenment that says we all have it right Now! It’s under our nose and in the breath.

Chop wood carry water is not a joke… If you pause for a moment and ask yourself. What is aware of this that is being experienced you will notice it is the I of the I AM with no person identity. It is the Self that God created.In this interview you will watch in 40 minutes Rupert Spira unpack a few ideas and clarity around ideas offered in the Course and Advaita that will literally blow your mind (Nirvana) as you see the simplicity of Enlightenment explained by a Master Advaita Teacher. Enjoy this interview with Rupert.

I saw this poster on Facebook this morning – “Perspective 101” – and it perfectly sums up life in 4 short sentences.

It also happens to be the entire message of A Course in Miracles condensed in 4 quick easy to remember bullet points.

This week I invite you to LIVE and PRACTICE these 4 sentences in your life – to watch how drastically your experience changes.

First, think about the “something happening” part. Think about events and circumstances in your  life that seem to be happening. It could be your health, things involving your relationships, your work or money. It could be someone said something to you that caused a chain reaction of other events.

Jesus in A Course in Miracles uses the word “seem” a lot – and that’s because everything that happens to you is actually not happening at all, it only SEEMS that way.

And then the mind automatically makes up a story. Pay extremely close attention this week to the swiftness of how fast the mind starts telling details of what just happened.

See if you can go a whole week and not tell any details of the things you think are happening. The ego goes nuts on this one! It has to tell someone! But see if you can just observe and be aware this week of the play of the mind. Pay attention to your emotional state. Pay attention to the thoughts you’re having. Pay attention to how often the mind goes to the past and replays what it thinks happened back then. Then pay attention to how often the mind goes to the future and thinks about what will happen out there.

Remember Workbook Lesson 5 in A Course in Miracles: “I am never upset for the reason I think.”

That’s astonishing! You are never upset for the reason you think.

You think you are upset because of A, B, C, D or E. Your mind can absolutely pinpoint a specific reason why it’s upset.

Then it goes on to say in Workbook Lesson 6: “I am upset because I see something that is not there.”

You think people are doing things to you. You think life is doing something to you. You may think you are being punished or tested, but nothing at all is going on! This is A Course in Miracles.

You are “training your mind in a systematic way to a different perception of everyone and everything in the world.”

What’s amazing to me is that these lessons are given to us on Day 5 and Day 6 of the one-year mind-training! Jesus gives them to us right in the very first week of the workbook lessons.

And yet, how many of us have completed the one year training of the workbook lessons (or 20-year training for some of us!) and still we believe that things are happening to us that shouldn’t be happening. I AM NEVER UPSET FOR THE REASON I THINK.

Jesus is quite clear when he says: “Nothing at all has happened but that you have put yourself to sleep and dreamed a dream in which you were an alien to yourself and but a part of someone else’s dream.”

Whenever I feel upset, the way I find joy and freedom is with this thought: Everything is FOR me.

I think things like: Everything is for my good. Everything is a gift from God. I love life. I love what is happening. How exciting change is occurring! I asked for change, and here it is! It’s not happening the way I expected or anticipated, but I am rejoicing that everything is for my good and the good of the world. Let me remember the truth. Let me remember that I am the light of the world. This event (the situation that seems to be happening) does not have the power to pull me into darkness. It does not have the power to disturb my peace. I am the holy Son of God Himself and I absolutely can remain in joy because is God is here with me, now.

Today – and for this week – I invite you to live the above poster and the 4 steps.

1. Pay close attention – be aware! – to the things you think are happening in your life. (see #1 in the poster above)
2. Realize nothing is happening (#2)
3. Be aware of how you tell stories about what you think is happening (#3)
4. Realize that the story you tell (even quietly in your mind) is creating your reality as you think you experience it. (#4)

You might want to buy a new journal this week and keep track of the thoughts and stories and situations that pass through your mind.

You can choose to see everything differently.

If you are new to this kind of thinking, I encourage you to get a copy of A Course in Miracles.

Also check out our online programs – Living in Purpose and ACIM 365 – if you would like to make a commitment to LIVE in a new way with these principles guiding your life and would  like additional support and encouragement to stay on track.

Imagine if you were to LIVE the above poster for one week – as a science experiment in your life.

I encourage you to do it. For one week, pay attention to the “something happening”.

Then realize “nothing is happening.” Watch how the ego goes ballistic over this one because it means the game is over, and the ego goes absolutely nuts when your mind tells it that nothing is happening when SO CLEARLY SOMETHING IS HAPPENING. Just try this one on and see what happens.

Then watch how you tell a story to yourself and to others about what you think is happening. Watch how the mind scrambles to find a solution to your pain and problems. Watch how it makes you and others a victim.

Then realize you can simply let it all go. You can trust that everything that seems to happen to you IS FOR YOUR GOOD.

Everything that seems to happen is attempting to wake you up, so you remember your wholeness and perfection.

“The miracle does not awaken you but merely shows you who the dreamer is. It teaches you there is a choice of dreams while you are still asleep, depending on the purpose of your dreaming. Do you wish for dreams of healing or for dreams of death? A dream is like a memory in that it pictures what you wanted shown to you. An empty storehouse with an open door holds all your shreds of memories and dreams. Yet if you are the dreamer, you perceive this much at least—that you have caused the dream and can accept another dream as well. But for this change in content of the dream, it must be realized that it is you who dreamed the dreaming that you do not like. It is but an effect which you have caused, and you would not be cause of this effect.” -A Course in Miracles

Try this for one week.

To see your  life transform dramatically in a few days by doing thing differently will make you want to make a life-time commitment to living in a new way. You will realize that while you are never in control of the circumstances that seem to occur, you ALWAYS have the power to control your attitude, emotions & responses. 

If you want to participate in this GREAT EXPERIMENT with me, please leave a comment to let me know you are in.

I love you.

Lisa

Recently, I read a sentence that knocked me off my feet.  It is surely the most profound sentence I’ve ever read and I had to share it, and I had to understand it fully.

Here goes:

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you change and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18.3 and Jesus, ACIM)

Do you get how HUGE that is?  This is so huge, that I’m going to say it again with more clarity.

It will be impossible for you to experience the indescribable Love, Joy and Peace of Heaven, where all things fall into place, unless you become like a child.   

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO HEAVEN!

Let me remind you that Heaven is a conscious choice that must be made by us.  It’s not some walled off place up in the clouds where “good” people get to go when they die.  Heaven is not a reward that you get later, if you’ve earned it.

God’s Love is Heaven.  And it is yours for the taking.

I love clarity and I love simplicity so please allow me to continue breaking this down.  It is the most important choice there is – so we should get really, really clear, don’t you think?

Heaven is available RIGHT NOW but I must become like a child to enter.

Do this ONE thing and you get to live in Bliss-town!

OK, YOU’VE GOT MY ATTENTION!

I want Heaven!  I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m declaring this my #1 priority.  If this is a choice I must make then I’m making it!

I will live like a little child.

I’m just not sure what that really means??????

I’ve heard it 100X but never put it into action in my life.  I forgot how to be a child!  I’ve stuffed my “innocence” into my “big girl pants” and it vanished!

We’ve squeezed our “wild selves” into business suits and grew up like we were told.

We now wear this protective shield of unawareness.

Jesus is telling us that we have to undo that in order to expose Heaven which is within you at this very moment, waiting, WAITING, on your decision.

Yes!  I’m deciding today.  Will you join me?  Will you decide for Heaven with me?  Let’s stop waiting.  What, in hell, are we waiting for?  LOL  Jesus tells us that if we practice becoming childlike together, it’s extra potent and He promises to be right there beside us.

If you’re ready to join me, keep reading.

But let’s keep it simple and, most of all, let’s have some fun.

Start with this:

Think of YOU and God as you would think of a child and parent.

Got that?  Now let’s move on.

Children trust their loving Mother and Father to completely take care of them, to protect them, to provide for them, to correct them when they’re wrong, and to love and cherish them.

Jesus is telling us that we need to have this same type of trust and faith in God. After all, we are His children.

Let’s examine the qualities of a child so we know what we have to un-do.

TRUSTING

A child doesn’t know how to get where it’s going.  The child needs to be led and the child follows, sure he is safe. There is something in the child that recognizes his inability to follow a path on his own which is frightening to him. A CHILD NEEDS SOMEONE TO HELP THEM FIND THEIR WAY BECAUSE HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHICH WAY TO GO.  And if the child stumbles, we raise him up.  If a child wanders off, we call him back

How to practice this quality:  Stop thinking you know how ANY of this should go.  You have no idea what is Real and your plans are frightening.  Let yourself be led by your Father who knows the way. Trust God with everything.  100%!  He will not let you fall or let you wander off and get lost.

BELIEVES WITHOUT COMPLICATION

A child takes what his father says to heart and without any doubt.

How to practice this quality:  Ask and listen.  The Truth is always simple.  Stop analyzing God’s word and please, stop doubting.

UNTOUCHED BY CONCERNS OF THE WORLD

We have become cynical.  We’ve invented judgments and grievances that close down our radiance. We’re taught to worry and fix because we’re told that everything is NOT how it should be.  A child has yet to be touched by the concerns of the world.  Jesus is telling us we can let that all go!  Whatever it is, we can let it be.

How to practice this quality: Remember that the Truth of you is unlike the world in every way.  Your meaningless thoughts have created a meaningless world.  To release this world is to accept everything just the way it is.  (Jesus calls this forgiveness).  Then, our childlike radiance is returned. 

RECEIVES WITH JOY, FORGETTING HERSELF WITH ABANDONMENT

Children are never self-conscious.  They are wild!  Children let ecstasy fill them to the tips of their fingers and toes.  They see no limitations. 

How to practice this quality:  Stop cautioning yourself to be careful or realistic!  Unleash your joy and wonder.  If anyone tells you that you’re “out there”, say “Yea!  Thank you!”

HUMBLE

Little children recognize that they don’t understand what they perceive, and so they ask what it means.

How to practice this quality:  Don’t assume you know what’s going on here.  Regardless what you’ve been taught, you don’t know what anything means.  Rejoice in the freedom of that!  Look on everything with wonder and ask the Holy Spirit to look with you.   

CONTENT IN THE LITTLE THINGS

Kids will play for hours with a rock or a box. A child will have a blast with a pile of dirt.

How to practice this quality:  Stop trying to fill your God sized hole with material possessions, relationships, busy-ness, prestige, etc. The simplicity of the present moment is the place where you experience God. 

AND THAT’S IT!  The most fun practice EVER.

This is so cool!  Take a look at these 2 definitions of the word “innocent”:

Webster’s Dictionary:  The state of being not guilty of a crime or wrong act.  Lack of experience with the world.  Lack of knowledge about something.  BOOM!

A Course In Miracles:  Innocence is wisdom because it is unaware of evil, and evil does not exist.  DOUBLE BOOM!

So thanks for being here with me.  Let’s be kids.  If you slip back into adulting, just bring yourself back.  Make Heaven your #1 priority!  Climb out of the driver’s seat and into the Toddler Seat in the back.  Kick your feet, grab a juicebox and joyfully go wherever God leads you.  Keep it simple.  Take a nap.  Accept everything just the way it is and look upon all of it with fresh new eyes and wonder.

Let yourself be held in the Loving arms of your Father. Let Him take good care of you.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”

If you’re still here and making this EPIC decision with me, I’d love to hear from you.  Let your child come out to play with me!  If you’re not ready, that’s totally ok!  I’d love to hear from you too.

I love you so much,

Linda

Often in life we think about what we are DOING.

If you thought about your life right now, you most likely would think about all that you are DOING.

It probably would include your work, children, partner, parents, friends, activities, traveling.

Doing.

But how often do you you think about how you are BEING.

How are you BEING while you do what you are doing? 

Many people ask others “How are you?”

Now, “How are you?” seems like a harmless question at first glance. It seems caring, like you are interested, right? But when you ask the question to someone, first consider: FROM WHAT PLACE AM I ASKING THIS QUESTION? Are you knowing yourself as the Christ, and seeing the Christ in this other?

If so, most likely you would not ask “How are you?” because you would BE relating to them as the Christ you are and the Christ they are or you at least would notice straight away they are not aligned/connected with the Christ they are. You would SEE it. 

You wouldn’t have to ask “How are you?” because you would be asking the ego how it is doing. You already know the answer to that one!

The starting point and practice for everything then is STILLNESS AND REMEMBERING: To pause and take a moment to be quiet and still (it only takes an instant) before you do or say anything so that you can identify completely with the Christ you are, therefore remembering your brother. 

This gets very basic. Who is the “you” (In the question “How are you?”) that you are asking how it is? Typically, it’s the ego who speaks and the ego who answers.

So when someone answers the question “How are you?” they can only answer from the “I” point of view from which they are hanging out – usually, from fear. 

Really take a moment to think about this. The question “How are you?” does nothing more than locate where a person thinks they are, at that time!

The answers range from ‘I’m okay. I’m tired. I’m sick. I’m good. I’m fine.”

Therefore, I mostly don’t ask the “How are you?” question anymore. Out of old habit, it slips out occasionally. 

It’s like asking someone “Are you a boy or a girl?” – it’s a meaningless question because all I have to do is look at you and I can tell immediately how you are.

Your state of being (what you are being) is something that you are in control of.

All that is required is readiness and willingness to shift your perception and know the truth. 

Often Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying: “Who you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say.”

I am not sure that Emerson actually wrote that specifically (even though it’s a good one!)

Here is what he did write:

“Let us not look east and west for materials of conversation, but rest in presence and unity. A just feeling will fast enough supply fuel for discourse, if speaking be more grateful than silence. When people come to see us, we foolishly prattle, lest we be inhospitable. But things said for conversation are chalk eggs. Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. A lady of my acquaintance said, “I don’t care so much for what they say as I do for what makes them say it.”. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, from his essay “Letters and Social Aims” 1875

Also from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“That which we are, we shall teach, not voluntarily, but involuntarily. Thoughts come into our minds by avenues which we never left open, and thoughts go out of our minds through avenues which we never voluntarily opened. Character teaches over our head.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson, from his essay “The Over-Soul”, 1841

I love that. We teach involuntarily, by our character of being.

A Course in Miracles puts it this way: YOU ARE TEACHING ALL THE TIME!

You are always “teaching” (by your demonstration and without words) by HOW YOU ARE BEING.

“To teach is to demonstrate. There are only two thought systems, and you demonstrate that you believe one or the other is true all the time. From your demonstration others learn, and so do you. The question is not whether you will teach, for in that there is no choice. The purpose of the course might be said to provide you with a means of choosing what you want to teach on the basis of what you want to learn. You cannot give to someone else, but only to yourself, and this you learn through teaching. Teaching is but a call to witnesses to attest to what you believe. It is a method of conversion. This is not done by words alone. Any situation must be to you a chance to teach others what you are, and what they are to you. No more than that, but also never less.” -A Course in Miracles 

So, take some time today to think on this:

WHO ARE YOU BEING?

HOW ARE YOU BEING?

For years, I doubted myself. This was my way of being. Back then, I didn’t realize I could choose differently. I was habitually judging myself, criticizing myself and wishing life would change.

It didn’t occur to me that I could change! I thought life needed to change. I thought other people needed to change. I thought I needed a higher-paying job. I thought “if only people would start recognizing my God-given talents, then someone would give me an opportunity and THEN I could shine and be brilliant and be happy.”

Did you notice the words I just used: BE

I could be brilliant and I could be happy.

I could teach and demonstrate the Love of God.

I could BE the light in the darkness.

I could BE joy in the middle of a world of sorrow and despair.

But instead, I just didn’t know any better. I thought I was a victim. This was who I was being. I felt alone, alienated and disappointed. I was tired a lot. I was associating and being the darkness. I thought this was normal, because everyone around me was also being the darkness.

I didn’t know it then, but I know it now – I was only seeing in others a reflection of my own state of mind.

Once I realized what was occurring – that I was literally causing my world of my lack and limitation and sickness with my thoughts – I snapped out of it very quickly!

It’s a good wake-up call – to see you’re causing all your confusion and problems – and to make a decision to teach love.

MAKE A DECISION TO IDENTIFY WITH THE SELF THAT YOU ARE – THE SELF THAT GOD CREATED.

It’s that simple.

You are the Presence of God. You are the Power of God. You are the Love of God. You are the Joy of God. You are the Peace of God. You are the Light of God.

You are not weak and small and powerless.

You can make this shift in an instant now.

In the 40-Day Program for Transformation, I offer an exercise which I offer here:

On a sheet of paper or index card, write your current way of being. If you do not know your current way of being now, then watch yourself for a day or a week. Watch your thoughts. Watch how you feel. Watch your emotions. Watch what you say to others. Notice how you are BEING. Pay attention to your “I am” – listen to yourself intently today and catch what you say when you say “I am …” Write it all down. Be ready to be shocked, because mostly we sleep-walk through life never taking time to pay attention to what we have been doing all along.

On second sheet of paper or index, write down your True Way of Being – the Self that God created. This is your true I AM. I am Love. I am Christ. I am a child of God. I am Spirit. It’s the way you are being in a state of joy and peace, when you know all is well and you know you are protected and loved and safe. It’s the Light you are.

Make a commitment to BE the Self you are. It’s the most natural thing in the world because how difficult can it be to BE what you Are in truth.

If this doesn’t work for you, you can get a copy of A Course in Miracles and begin it. Give yourself the gift of going through the transformation from fear to love. This is accomplished easily by making a commitment to do the workbook lessons which take one year (one lesson a day for 365 days), and reading the Text and Manual for Teachers.

Many people hope and pray for transformation and years go by and nothing much happens. But all you need to do is get a copy of A Course in Miracles and begin it. It contains everything you need to dismantle the thought system of fear so that you become aware of the light you are.

There is no need to suffer.

You are the light of the world.

I would love to hear from you! What’s your True I AM. Please leave a comment below!

Love,

Lisa

When you feel lousy or have problems, addictions, fear or guilt show up in your life, do you think,

“I’m not there yet. Things are a mess. I should be better off than this.  So and So is having profound shifts and I’m not!  What’s wrong with me? Shouldn’t I be doing better by now?  I try so hard but my problems are still here and I’m still feeling crappy!”

You convince yourself that you’d be better off in a state which is somehow different from the one you are in.

Listen and listen well, your PROBLEMS are not the PROBLEM.  Your “seeming” PROBLEMS are not a sign of failure.

Your PROBLEMS are the ANSWER.

But as long as you see your PROBLEMS as PROBLEMS, they’re going to keep looping back around at a deeper and deeper level. The very thought, “I’m not there yet” is the only thing keeping you from “there”!

Let me explain.

You are on our mailing list because you’ve asked, at some point, to have the blocks removed to the Love and Perfection that you already Are.  You asked to be shown exactly what thoughts and beliefs are keeping you from accessing the Truth that is True always.

Once you ask, He immediately provides you with the answer.  The underlying error belief rises up and plays itself out for your awareness.  Yes, it is that simple.  So why do we react by thinking something has gone wrong?  Why do we think,

“It shouldn’t look this way!”

THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT LOOKS, MY FRIEND.

Yes, I agree, it would be really cool if these answers came delivered by the UPS guy or if they were whispered into our ear by fluffy kittens.

It just doesn’t work that way.  Besides, that would certainly NOT get our attention in a powerful enough way to be effective.

The answers are sent to us immediately.

We are clearly…vividly shown.

The discomfort is revealing where healing is needed.

You are welcome!

All of your “stuff” will appear at the perfect time. The situations and people you need to help you REALize this are sent to you. When they show up, you’re simply asking the wrong questions!  Here’s the kicker.  This is the game changer.

Do not ask,

“What has gone wrong?”

Instead, ask,

“Where is the healing in this?  Where is my gift hiding?”

You see, Jesus clearly states that behind every problem and every discomfort there is a miracle.  They reside side by side-without exception.  The miracle, the way out for good, is nestled inside that seeming problem!  Your problem is given to you as the perfect tool for your awakening.  They are literally God tools.  How awesome is that?  Every disturbance is a gift.

You are living a charmed life.

But only if you DECIDE to see it that way.  If you, instead, DECIDE to see your problems as a result of not being good enough, victimized or guilty in some way, now, they become a means to maintain your investment in the world and keep you constantly occupied as you try to address one problem after another.  This is where all your sickness and unhappiness is. And the problem will continue to reoccur in another form until you recognize the source.

So, you see, there are 2 choices here.

One is loveless and the other is miraculous.

One choice will keep you in suffering and the other choice, Jesus says, will substitute for a thousand years of learning.

One choice is complete forgiveness and the other is for those who don’t want Peace just yet.

So, when you find yourself with a “problem” don’t resist it.  Stop analyzing it, attempting to fix it or exerting more effort.  Don’t disassociate and try to rise above it and certainly don’t blame anyone or anything.  This is ego trickery and will get you nowhere. NOT EVER.  Let everyone off the hook.  Stop yourself in your tracks and ask to be shown the miracle.

Jesus says that every problem you have is some sort of grievance of yours.  Once the grievance is released, the problem is GONE.  Do you see? Your problems are your whole way out!  They’re treasure maps!

Be grateful every time you’re shown a thought that needs forgiveness.  People and situations in your life don’t need forgiveness.  It’s your own thoughts about the people and situations in your life that you need to forgive.  They’re here to show you what grievances are still lurking in you and acting as blocks to the Heaven that is right here for you NOW.

Stop wondering what went wrong and look for the healing instead.  You have a guide ready to jump on this if only you’ll ask the right question.  This guide is way better at this than you so hand it over and get out of the way.  Then, don’t you worry about a thing.

And please, don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.  Its utter silliness to compare yourself to them.  They’re receiving exactly what they need for their healing and you’re receiving yours.  You’re merely wasting the time that you’ve been given for your own renewal.

Your job is to remember the Truth for everyone, not to measure and compare.

Can you imagine how different it will be when you see your problems as your answers?  When you give thanks for every discomfort?  This is what A Course In Miracles means when Jesus says he needs “Happy Learners”.  It’s all good.  What’s not to be happy about?

OH, one more important thing.  Now you can clearly see that you have 2 choices when reacting to a seeming problem.  But you can’t choose both.  It’s one or the other.  It’s like voting for both candidates.  A split vote doesn’t represent any real allegiance.  You simply cancel yourself out and nothing much changes.

Bottom line:  Nothing has gone wrong.  

Stop thinking anything needs to change and that you’re “not there yet”.  It is NOT more efforting that is required of you, but a simple shift in your perception that will LITERALLY TRANSFORM EVERYTHING!  But this is a choice YOU have to make. You must DECIDE to see that behind all of your difficulties is a grievance and the real solution is in addressing that first. Then, the answer is given immediately.

Your happiness is based on this choice.

All is well,

Linda Leland

Don’t miss the boat. The 40-Program is FREE, but it’s only offered 3 times a year – January, May & September.

The next start date is Sunday January 15th 2017… Register today and we’ll see you then:)

We will open the private Facebook page for the current 40-Day Members on September 9th 2016.

Register here: https://www.teachersofgod.org/40day

What is your practice for remembering that all your problems have been solved.

Do you HAVE a practice?

I think the most RADICAL PRACTICE OF ALL is to KNOW YOURSELF AS GOD CREATED YOU.

To know yourself as Spirit, to know yourself as Love, as Light. Do what Jesus did 2000 years ago and completely identify yourself with Christ.

A Course in Miracles says in the first 50 miracle principles in Chapter 1 of the Text: “Deny body-identification. Affirm spirit-identification.”

Do this, and all problems, difficulties and pain fall away.

Do you know your Self as God created you?

Do you remember on a consistent basis?

In the middle of difficulty, pain, upset, grievances and hell, what is your practice to bring yourself back to a state of mind of peace and joy?

If you have A Course in Miracles this idea that all your problems have been solved is contained in workbook Lesson 79 & Lesson 80

Lesson 79: Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.
Lesson 80: Let me recognize my problems have been solved.

I have always loved how Lesson 79 uses the singular “problem” and Lesson 80 uses the plural “problems”.

Have you ever noticed that? Let me recognize my ONE PROBLEM (singular – we only have one problem – a belief in separation) so that I can recognize that all my PROBLEMS have been solved.

I love that. All my problems have been solved!

I also love how both lessons (79 & 80) say in the title: “Let me recognize.”

That is a direct instruction that you give to yourself. LET ME RECOGNIZE.

This is mind-training, discipline and commitment that is needed every day – constant daily vigilance to remember the Truth.

I am often curious how many people have taken the 40-Day Program (or completed A Course in Miracles) and have had amazing life-changing experiences but then fall back into old habits and patterns? It happens. It’s normal. It’s like working out consistently with a trainer 40-days – being totally dedicated – it’s a great jump-start but you have to continue in the practice when the 40 days is up. Then it requires self-discipline once the trainer is gone.

It requires reliance on your Inner Trainer, Inner Guide, Inner Teacher.

1. Make up your mind NOW that you will remember the Truth of your Identity as Christ and not forget.
2. Know that you are not alone.
3. Make a commitment to “watch yourself like a hawk” – to watch your thoughts, emotions, language, words about yourself and others, attitudes, responses, reactions during the day to see that you are not inviting unwanted experiences. (your thoughts are powerful!)
4. Make up your mind to not tolerate lack of love in yourself or others.

If you feel that you DO have problems or if you are struggling, you can join the 40-Day Program which starts up again on Tuesday, September 6th. It’s totally free.

Sign up here: The 40-Day Program for Transformation 

CAN YOU REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE?

You are the light of the world.

Hope to see you in the 40-Day Group. Remember we have a private Facebook group for 40-Day Members that is a place for support, encouragement and inspiration.

I bless with you the Love of God that you are.

Love,

Lisa

A Course in Miracles says “There is no order of difficulty in miracles.”

And yet … it doesn’t always seem that way, does it?

Often we experience problems, sickness, fear, no money, confusion and doubt and it seems like there’s a HUGE order of difficulty!

You probably have noticed that if you have ever been sick or with a health-related issue, suddenly you are completely self-absorbed.

All you can think of is the pain or problem.

During these times, all your thoughts are spent trying to heal – either trying to heal the body or trying to heal the mind if you are on a spiritual path: A totally vicious cycle that goes nowhere!

You spend your time searching to find a solution and you don’t really think about other people too much.

It’s like being in a self-contained bubble, that excludes everyone and everything.

In times of sickness, you can’t think of much else besides the sickness and life gets put on hold.

Jesus says: “Sickness is isolation” and boy is this true! We just mostly want to be left alone!

You think “When I am well and feel better, then I will …”

Then I will go outside and be active.
Then I will connect with people.
Then I will start that creative project I have been thinking about.
Then I will be in service and help people.
Then I will go back to school.
Then I will travel.
Then I will be alive.

This self-isolated bubble also holds true for when you have very little money.

“When I have more money and my bills are paid, I will …”

Almost no one really sees “trying to heal” and “trying to think of ways to improve/change your life” as an ego-trap.

These attempts seem innocent enough, but they are actually an attack on yourself. They keep you isolated in the same stuck place, in the hell of your own thinking.

SO WHAT’S THE solution?

Remember the truth:

God goes with you wherever you go.
You are whole and perfect.
You are not weak, but strong.
You are not helpless, but powerful.
You are not limited, but unlimited.

Most people (myself included for years) do not know how to move out sickness and limitation, because they have given the sickness and limitation power over them. No one does this consciously, but it is precisely what happens.

And yet … right now… You are Spirit.

“Spirt am I, a holy Son of God, free from all limits, safe and healed and whole, free to forgive and free to save the world.” -A Course in Miracles, Workbook Lesson 97

“Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you out into the world. It will cure all sorrow and pain and fear and loss.” -A Course in Miracles, Workbook Lesson 41

“The separated ones have invented many “cures” for what they believe to be “the ills of the world.” But the one thing they do not do is to question the reality of the problem. Yet its effects cannot be cured because the problem is not real. The idea for today has the power to end all this foolishness forever. And foolishness it is, despite the serious and tragic forms it may take.”

For years, I used to wait, pray, hope, ask, wish, wonder, intend and visualize for change to occur. Not much happened. I would beg, plead, make promises to God, along with promises to myself. I would stare at Jesus’ photo for hours on end. I am not kidding. I tried to bargain. You give me this and I’ll do that. I would meditate, read books, take classes and buy lottery tickets. This was my great formula for success.

Not much changed. No big surprise!

Transformation is inside job that must work within my own thought system, removing the blocks obstacles to the awareness of love’s Presence. I was acting like there was a God or a Jesus outside of me that could help me, and give me a happy life without my involvement.

I wanted my life to change without me needing to change. haha!

A few years ago (in 2012) I made a decision to LIVE A Course in Miracles – to practice and apply – you know like actually “DO” what it says – and I moved out of poverty in less than one day.

It actually happened in an instant because I felt the change occur immediately. I made a decision that I was no longer a victim, no longer a person in lack and that instead I was an active worker for Jesus, the richest, most generous person in the world and it happened in that instant. I literally felt my entire vibration and thought system change.

It felt like walking away from a bad neighborhood and saying “goodbye” to it and never looking back. It was that simple.

Here is the Formula for Freedom. I MADE A DECISION AND MOVED FORWARD.

What’s interesting is that you’re not actually going anyways. It’s a journey inward, to a place you never left.

There are so many great lines in A Course in Miracles that point to MOVEMENT: Ascend to the Christ, Rise Up. Lifted and carried. Look up! Go within.

Here are the simple steps I took:

I acknowledged that God goes with me everywhere I go
This was a big one. Before I was acting like God was separate from me. I thought had to do the right thing, behave properly, be good, be nice, be kind, be generous to get His attention. I didn’t realize that God went with me everywhere. God is one with me. I am one with God. I am one with everyone and everything. This changed my whole life when I “got” this.

I questioned the “reality” of the problem.
I had been living in debt with no money for so many years, that I never questioned the “reality” of the problem. I kept thinking “oh well, I just have to accept that life is a struggle.” It was when I questioned it that everything changed. I realized that I am a child of God, with everything that is perfect is within me, ready to radiate out to the world.

I changed my story.
I did this in an instant once I saw that it was possible. I didn’t ever have to say again “I have no money.” I started feeling like the richest person on the planet, for real. I could feel the light in me that wanted to radiate out to the world. I knew that I wasn’t alone. I felt daring, strong, confident, excited.

I watched my mind like a hawk for limited fear-based thoughts that were keeping me in hell and I was determined to choose true thoughts of love, gratitude, appreciation and joy.
The reason I’m so in love with A Course in Miracles is because it’s a systematic way to “train your mind” to a different perception of everyone and everything. Most people are not aware of the thoughts they have all day long and how these thoughts make the world you seem to live in, and if you wish to change your experience, you must change your thoughts. If you would like to give yourself a big gift of a 40-Day challenge to watch yourself like a hawk, you can sign up for the 40-Day Program which begins on Tuesday September 6, 2016. It’s free. Click here: https://www.teachersofgod.org/40day

I made a daily commitment to ascend to meet the Christ in me.
Another big one. I made it my #1 priority to get still every day to allow myself to be lifted up to the place where I AM abides. I would meet my Self every day, the place in me of joy and love. Don’t know how to do this? Sign up for the 40-Day and and I will show you how: https://www.teachersofgod.org/40day

Here is Workbook Lesson 41 from A Course in Miracles, in entirety, because there is no need to wait for a cure for even one second longer because you are whole and perfect.

***If you are ready to see changes as soon as today, make sure to do the 3-5 minute practice period that is described in this Workbook Lesson 41 It can bring startling results even the very first time it is attempted and eventually it’s always successful.

Workbook Lesson 41

God goes with me wherever I go.

Today’s idea will eventually overcome completely the sense of loneliness and abandonment all the separated ones experience. Depression is an inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering and intense fear of loss.

The separated ones have invented many “cures” for what they believe to be “the ills of the world.” But the one thing they do not do is to question the reality of the problem. Yet its effects cannot be cured because the problem is not real. The idea for today has the power to end all this foolishness forever. And foolishness it is, despite the serious and tragic forms it may take.

Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you and out into the world.

It will cure all sorrow and pain and fear and loss because it will heal the mind that thought these things were real, and suffered out of its allegiance to them.

You can never be deprived of your perfect holiness because its Source goes with you wherever you go. You can never suffer because the Source of all joy goes with you wherever you go. You can never be alone because the Source of all life goes with you wherever you go. Nothing can destroy your peace of mind because God goes with you wherever you go.

We understand that you do not believe all this. How could you, when the truth is hidden deep within, under a heavy cloud of insane thoughts, dense and obscuring, yet representing all you see? Today we will make our first real attempt to get past this dark and heavy cloud, and to go through it to the light beyond.

There will be only one long practice period today. In the morning, as soon as you get up if possible, sit quietly for some three to five minutes, with your eyes closed. At the beginning of the practice period, repeat today’s idea very slowly. Then make no effort to think of anything. Try, instead, to get a sense of turning inward, past all the idle thoughts of the world. Try to enter very deeply into your own mind, keeping it clear of any thoughts that might divert your attention.

From time to time, you may repeat the idea if you find it helpful. But most of all, try to sink down and inward, away from the world and all the foolish thoughts of the world. You are trying to reach past all these things. You are trying to leave appearances and approach reality.

It is quite possible to reach God. In fact it is very easy, because it is the most natural thing in the world. You might even say it is the only natural thing in the world. The way will open, if you believe that it is possible. This exercise can bring very startling results even the first time it is attempted, and sooner or later it is always successful. We will go into more detail about this kind of practice as we go along. But it will never fail completely, and instant success is possible.

Throughout the day use today’s idea often, repeating it very slowly, preferably with eyes closed. Think of what you are saying; what the words mean. Concentrate on the holiness that they imply about you; on the unfailing companionship that is yours; on the complete protection that surrounds you.

You can indeed afford to laugh at fear thoughts, remembering that God goes with you wherever you go.

If you want more of this kind of practicing and would like to make a 40 Day Commitment to live in gratitude, love and appreciation, make sure to sign up for the 40-Day Program that starts on Tuesday, September 6, 2016. It’s Free! 

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT. I would love to hear from you!! I especially would love to have you do the 3-5 practice period that is described in Workbook Lesson 41 (above) and your experience with it.

As it says in A Course in Miracles, happiness is our birth right.

It’s just more fun to be happy, isn’t it?

Happiness is important to us. We always know when we are not experiencing happiness, when our peace is disturbed.

And we always know when we are in happiness, too.

And, when we are experiencing peace, we share it with those around us, and with all of consciousness.

So how we feel matters. How we experience ourselves matters.

Happiness is God’s will for us.

A Favorite Game Show

There was  a favorite game show popular about 10 years ago called ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’. This game was great!

All of us wanted to see others answer these seeming impossible jeopardy type questions or just to see someone win all that money right on national television.

It is the structure of the rules to play this game that struck me as metaphorical to our everyday life when we are stumped  or stuck and what we really want is to be happy. 

How Do We Get Back There?

In the game when you were stumped, you called a lifeline, polled the audience or called a friend.

Often you think if you are on the spiritual path and you’re stumped or you are in the middle of slippage, you must be doing it wrong. This shouldn’t be happening.

We begin looking for answers or trying to change the effects, or we freeze like the contestants in the game show and when you’re in it you can’t find your way out.

This is the time to go to your life line. Go within. Go within, be still and quiet, go within as pure presence.

In this place of quiet awareness, the answer can/will come.

The Course is really good at giving you a practice and a formula for getting unstuck but, unfortunately, when you’re in it you are so committed to the mindset of illusions that you won’t listen and you can’t see until you let go of the attachment of being right or letting go the attachment of victim-hood.

The secret of salvation is this:

I am doing this to myself. There is no other way to look at this and find Freedom.

Anything that is not joy, that is not peace, that doesn’t feel good is required to show itself so we can clean it up.

Like many of you, I’ve been doing the course for a long time, over 10 years, and last week I found myself right in the middle of Hell in the mind over nothing.

This is what I did to get out:

[embedyt] https://youtu.be/Wip0HxwjQ-8[/embedyt]

Going to Your Lifeline

We all have the ability to go to our ‘Lifeline’.

We all have the inner life line, the Holy Spirit, when we are still. We must be still to hear…

• First I became very quiet and went within to the quiet place. Watching the mind. I was reminded of Workbook 125. In quiet I receive God’s word today. This means, When I’m quiet the mind is no longer running the show but it (the mind – passing clouds, the audience) can be seen from this place of quiet awareness.
• From here I intuited to read workbook 44: God is the light in which I see. This one idea invites me to reach the light and I used it as a mantra over and over and over and it worked to bring me back into alignment and experience peace for a time but it came back when I picked the thread back up (not as strong but it was there).

Calling a Friend

• A long time Course in Miracles friend and Lisa (who reminded me of the Truth and invited me to say what I was fearful about or what I was believing that could disturb my peace) reminded me to allow the discomfort in and be vulnerable. She did not ask for or want to talk about the story at all.
• Then I was invited to be quiet like I was on a silent retreat, just watching the mind and being grateful for every thought that comes up for the rest of the night. Gratitude and appreciation became a mantra for the next several hours.

This was an overnight healing for me and in my mind and it came from the Lifeline. A willingness to go to the Holy Spirit in Quiet Awareness. Being told what to do and what to say to whom becomes very natural and easy now and this is how the blocks in my mind that I can’t otherwise see are removed.

Salvation is the only accomplishment that has any meaning, because it the only one that has any real use to you at all. ~ Jesus

If You Find Yourself in Times of Trouble

Here’s what I recommend:

• Have a friend you can call who will remind you of the truth, one who is not going to people please you but instead will hold you to a higher order of seeing without the story and will listen to their own inner Teacher to hold your hand in the discomfort (a miracle worker).
• Go often into Quiet Awareness to your lifeline and watch the mind that wants to fix it or figure things out and let the thoughts just pass by. Let them be passers by…

I recommend reading workbook lessons 44-47.

God is the light in which I see.

God is the mind in which I think.

God is the love in which I forgive.

God is the strength in which I trust.

This is the Great Awakening. This is what we signed up for. 🙂

If this is helpful for you, let me know.

If you would like to share your own practice for getting back to the Truth that has worked for you, please post in the comments and share it here for someone else. 🙂

I Love You,

Bill

p.s. Happiness is a decision. Are you ready for a life of joy?

Sign up here for The 40-Day Program.

It’s free and it starts September 1, 2016!

Are you ready to stop the war within yourself?

Then please join the Movement: Love Matters.

I made that up just now. But I’m curious to see what would happen if we joined together in love, beyond the color of bodies. What would the world be like if we moved above the battleground completely?

What would happen to your life if your stopped the war within yourself? What would your days be like if you made a deliberate decision to rise up out of conflict, and actually did it?

We keep hearing that Black Lives Matters and that All Lives Matter, and yes that’s true – but if you look closely, you’ll notice there is a tremendous amount of controversy and conflict in it. It’s still an us vs. them mentality. It’s still a victim state of mind. It’s still focusing on division.

If you are ready to acknowledge the Love of God in all things at all times, please post a comment so we know you are here at this party, in this celebration called the Great Awakening.

It’s important to remember that any conflict that you think you see outside of you in the world is NOT outside of you. It’s in you. The conflict isn’t out there. It’s within.

I was away from news media for the past 3 weeks and missed the events surrounding Black Lives Matter – until yesterday when I read about it: The shooting of two innocent men (separate incidents) by cops and the resulting situation of a man opening fire with a sniper and killing 5 police officers in Dallas.

Because of the color of the skin of the people involved, it’s turned into a racial issue.

Many people on social media are saying: “We are divided.”

We are not divided, because nothing is divided.

Any focus on division is what division is.

What we’ve got here is a confusion problem, in the hearts and minds of people who have no clue who they are or what they are doing.

Jesus said on the cross 2000 years ago and he’s saying it now: “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”

Jesus says in A Course in Miracles: “What is not love is murder. What is not loving must be an attack.”

What we’ve got is not so much a racial problem, but a hate problem.

What can you personally do?

Get above the battleground and love.

Stop the conflict within you.

If you want to see the conflict out there stop, then you must stop it within you. There is no other way.

Find out where you are still engaging in conflict in your own life, and stop it.

Find out where you are still divided with other people, and make a conscious decision to stop it.

Do you want to see the war “out there” stop? If yes, then stop the war within you.

Stop the struggle within you.

Stop dividing yourself from other people.

If there is hatred in your heart, cut it out.

It’s easy to look to the news and talk about how other people hate. It’s easy to talk about the insanity, the brutality, and about the unkind & unloving things that “other people” do.

But look in your mind today and see if there are any areas where you are being insane, brutal, unkind or unloving. Are there areas in your life where you kill?

You might not kill with a gun, but do kill anyone with your thoughts?

“What is not love is murder.” -A Course in Miracles

Is there hatred in your heart?

Is there a war in your mind? If  yes, then stop it.

There’s a lot of talk about stopping the wars in the world – which is nothing more than a distraction to keep you from seeing the war in your own mind – which you have the power to stop.

Is there cruelty in you? A wish to do harm on someone? A wish for revenge? A wish for punishment?

If you want to help and be part of the solution instead of being part of the problem, then end the war within yourself.

I love the section from A Course in Miracles “Above the Battleground”. It says to be lifted up and see all things from this place. Rise up out of the conflict. From here – from this new place – your perspective will be quite different and from this place you will see no bodies, from here there is only the Love of God.

Chapter 23 – IV. Above the Battleground
A Course in Miracles

Do not remain in conflict, for there is no war without attack. The fear of God is fear of life, and not of death. Yet He remains the only place of safety. In Him is no attack, and no illusion in any form stalks Heaven. Heaven is wholly true. No difference enters, and what is all the same cannot conflict. You are not asked to fight against your wish to murder. But you are asked to realize the form it takes conceals the same intent. And it is this you fear, and not the form. What is not love is murder. What is not loving must be an attack. Every illusion is an assault on truth, and every one does violence to the idea of love because it seems to be of equal truth.

What can be equal to the truth, yet different? Murder and love are incompatible. Yet if they both are true, then must they be the same, and indistinguishable from one another. So will they be to those who see God’s Son a body. For it is not the body that is like the Son’s Creator. And what is lifeless cannot be the Son of Life. How can a body be extended to hold the universe? Can it create, and be what it creates? And can it offer its creations all that it is and never suffer loss?

God does not share His function with a body. He gave the function to create unto His Son because it is His Own. It is not sinful to believe the function of the Son is murder, but it is insanity. What is the same can have no different function. Creation is the means for God’s extension, and what is His must be His Son’s as well. Either the Father and the Son are murderers, or neither is. Life makes not death, creating like itself.

The lovely light of your relationship is like the Love of God. It cannot yet assume the holy function God gave His Son, for your forgiveness of your brother is not complete as yet, and so it cannot be extended to all creation. Each form of murder and attack that still attracts you and that you do not recognize for what it is, limits the healing and the miracles you have the power to extend to all. Yet does the Holy Spirit understand how to increase your little gifts and make them mighty. Also He understands how your relationship is raised above the battleground, in it no more. This is your part; to realize that murder in any form is not your will. The overlooking of the battleground is now your purpose.

Be lifted up, and from a higher place look down upon it. From there will your perspective be quite different. Here in the midst of it, it does seem real. Here you have chosen to be part of it. Here murder is your choice. Yet from above, the choice is miracles instead of murder. And the perspective coming from this choice shows you the battle is not real, and easily escaped. Bodies may battle, but the clash of forms is meaningless. And it is over when you realize it never was begun. How can a battle be perceived as nothingness when you engage in it? How can the truth of miracles be recognized if murder is your choice?

When the temptation to attack rises to make your mind darkened and murderous, remember you can see the battle from above. Even in forms you do not recognize, the signs you know. There is a stab of pain, a twinge of guilt, and above all, a loss of peace. This you know well. When they occur leave not your place on high, but quickly choose a miracle instead of murder. And God Himself and all the lights of Heaven will gently lean to you, and hold you up. For you have chosen to remain where He would have you, and no illusion can attack the peace of God together with His Son.

See no one from the battleground, for there you look on him from nowhere. You have no reference point from where to look, where meaning can be given what you see. For only bodies could attack and murder, and if this is your purpose, then you must be one with them. Only a purpose unifies, and those who share a purpose have a mind as one. The body has no purpose of itself, and must be solitary. From below, it cannot be surmounted. From above, the limits it exerts on those in battle still are gone, and not perceived. The body stands between the Father and the Heaven He created for His Son because it has no purpose.

Think what is given those who share their Father’s purpose, and who know that it is theirs. They want for nothing. Sorrow of any kind is inconceivable. Only the light they love is in awareness, and only love shines upon them forever. It is their past, their present and their future; always the same, eternally complete and wholly shared. They know it is impossible their happiness could ever suffer change of any kind. Perhaps you think the battleground can offer something you can win. Can it be anything that offers you a perfect calmness, and a sense of love so deep and quiet that no touch of doubt can ever mar your certainty? And that will last forever?

Those with the strength of God in their awareness could never think of battle. What could they gain but loss of their perfection? For everything fought for on the battleground is of the body; something it seems to offer or to own. No one who knows that he has everything could seek for limitation, nor could he value the body’s offerings. The senselessness of conquest is quite apparent from the quiet sphere above the battleground. What can conflict with everything? And what is there that offers less, yet could be wanted more? Who with the Love of God upholding him could find the choice of miracles or murder hard to make?