Once it's decided to hand things over to Holy Spirit, the loving, healing experiences just don't stop. If we can learn to understand and accept that all things happen for our good and stop attempting to attach our requirements on to how things should look and how they should be reflected externally, life really can become a happy dream!
There's a quote in A Course in Miracles that says, "forgetting helps us to remember better." I really love this quote because it's so true. How often we forget lessons that we've learned over and over only to have them deepen each time we remember them---and how often Holy Spirit gives us His loving reminders.
Of all of the loving reminders I've received over the last month, one really stands out. Probably because the healing it brought about has been so profound in my life that I truly hope not to forget again (at least not soon).
As a spiritual teacher, I've recently found myself on numerous occasions explaining the principle that healing in our minds doesn't always reflect in our external circumstances. The 'outside world' is an illusion and therefore living the happy dream simply means to recognize that it is not necessary to change the world, but to change our perception of the world.
Accepting responsibility for our thoughts (all of our thoughts) means acknowledging them honestly, and consistently handing them over to Holy Spirit for healing. This habit frees us to see only the love, peace and beauty of the real world that lies beyond the illusion. Thus we give up our attempt to make the illusion real and begin to experience our true reality now.
Eventually, I noticed that I was explaining this concept over and over with increasing frequency to others, but not making the connection that this was the very lesson that I needed to learn. I couldn't see it at the time, but I was really teaching myself!
This became evident during a spiritual relationships counseling session where I realized I felt stumped in my primary relationship because no matter what I tried, I could not get my partner to change his ways. In my mind, I saw the changes as for his own good. However, the Course says, Your interpretations of your brother's needs are your interpretations of your own (T-12.I.7:1). But what was I interpreting in him that I was actually interpreting for myself?
During the session, it seeemd that I was the one being reminded over and over that the external circumstances or perceived changes in others does not matter. Everything boils down to one question: what am I choosing to see? Am I choosing to see through the eyes of Christ Vision, or through my own? Was I giving every single thought over to Spirit or was I still trying to control the illusion by trying to make it real? Essentially I was hearing back the same thing I was telling others. I was trying to change the 'outside world' instead of seeking healing from Spirit for my perception that something needed changing.
With this recognition, by the end of the session, I firmly decided to give every single thought and concern over to Holy Spirit. I committed to holding nothing back. I handed over things seen and unseen, known and unknown, in this life or any others. I wanted all of the onion layers peeled back, and to leave no stone unturned. With all my heart and mind I asked Holy Spirit to direct every aspect of my life, and to help me forgive every unloving thought and memory.
The next day I walked on clouds of Love and Peace. It rained outside, but the sun shone brightly in my heart. Everyone radiated glowing white light and even my partner looked younger, stronger and happier. I felt 20 pounds lighter than I had in a while and no trace of fear, worry, or doubt entered my mind.
Last night my husband and I went out to dinner. As we sat at the table talking, he asked me the same question I had been hearing for the past couple of weeks: "If I'm healed in my mind, why isn't it reflected in my outer world?" I once again explained, 'that according to the Course, healing in our minds doesn't necessarily reflect changes in our external circumstances. Because the world of perception is an illusion the 'outer world' is not always an accurate reflection of our spiritual state of consciousness...'
All the while, I continued in my mind, "I give this all to You Holy Spirit, every piece of it. Let me open to Your Answers and not my own." As I lovingly continued to explain my point, I softly heard in my mind, "Tell him to just give everything over to me. Reality is within. Do not be mislead by illusions of forms. All is One and all is Well."
As I told him these reassuring words from Spirit, all tension left his brow and a gentle smile came across his face. In fact, we both smiled and sighed as we became filled with peace and light. At that moment, I realized that as my mind was healed so was his, and in his healing so was my mine. I had learned the very lesson I was trying to teach. We hadn't changed the world but simply changed our minds... Nothing externally changed, but we both chose to see differently and in that choice came peace.
Namaste
1 comment:
"Reality is within" These words to you from HS helped me overcome what has been a kind of block to my progress in how I was understanding and feeling about Christ Vision.
I had not been able to feel that I could ever see through (so to speak) the reality that my physical eyes revealed to the Reality that was true. So when I encountered a person, I was thinking I should try to see them with the Vision of Christ, but the way I was conceptualizing the process was keeping me from being able to get past "Go". I realize this was a hang-up that was ego-resistance in action, but nevertheless, it was hindering me.
But when HS told you to tell your husband, "Reality is within", it all fell into place. I did not have to see through the person to the Reality of their Holy Self standing right behind them as I've seen in drawn illustrations....or as in another example I've read, see through them as if I was standing in the front yard of a house looking through an open window on the front and on through an open door in the back into the back yard. Rather, it was an extension of what was in my mind, Holiness, to my brother.
Once I was able to turn lose of the two above examples I had learned early in my Course journey, I was able to unify my thinking behind my seeing God in everything, because God is in my mind....and that we either project ego 'stuff' or extend Love and Light. But it all originates within our own mind....it is not external to me, sitting somewhere in, behind or around what I see is some form that can only be detected by the X-Ray vision of Christ's Eyes. And there are many, many more teachings from the Course that apply here.
I just discovered your site and want to encourage you in your teaching efforts. I'm sure you are giving blessings to many more like me than you know. Please continue in this mission.
Luc
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