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SearchCan you explain to me the meaning of the "tears of Christ"? How does it save me?
Question:
Whenever I read the guidance that you impart I cannot help but cry with bliss and joyful heart. Can you explain to me the "tears of Christ"? How does it save me?
Answer:
The tears of Christ are tears of bursting happiness and joy. They come from a growing inability to contain a Love so Great that It cannot be held back any longer. They are symbolic of the Holy Spirit raining down showers of gratitude and glee for the willingness to remember the Love of our very Being. The showers wash and cleanse the mind of scraps of judgment, making clear and clean the mirror of mind that reflects the Light of Christ. Salvation is remembering the Spark of God Which the Holy Spirit represents to a mind dreaming of exile from the One Who created It Perfect and Eternal.
Be Still an Instant and happily see that acceptance of Christ brings healing to the mind which seemed mistaken in its Identity. All that God creates lives forever in the heart of God. Nothing can change Eternal Love.
The One is Shining! The One is Singing a Song of Gratefulness. The One is showering tears of Glory to God for creating All as One.
Love forever and ever,
David
Am I at the mercy of the "Dreamer" who will decide when to wake up?
Question:
I’m confused about certain things in "A Course in Miracles." I live in a past dream, dreamed by "the dreamer of the dream." Since I cannot change the dream, all decisions I experience in the dream, including the experience of awakening, already occurred. I therefore do not have free will to choose what to do in the dream, although the little “i” believes he does. Given that this little “i” has no real free will to act, then it's obvious that there is no real guilt either. If all I see and experience are illusions from the past dream of the "dreamer,” including my thoughts, logic, and rationale, how can I ever learn to hear the Holy Spirit, which is also some voice within the dream?
Given the above, the Course says "I need do nothing,” but then presents a whole book of lessons to follow every day of the year. There seems to be something to do in the dream to provide the illusion that we are going towards awakening, yet there also seems to be nothing to do except watch it happen.
Answer:
Thanks for your questions and the willingness to Awaken. To help clear up any confusion and illustrate what I am sharing, I will use the metaphor of three states of mind: a dream of conflict (the ego), a happy dream of non-judgment (the Holy Spirit), and Mind Awake in Absolute Bliss (the Christ Mind in the Mind of God).
In the first state the mind is identified as a dream figure and sees the cosmos through the "personal perspective" of the ego. In this state the mind is either entirely unaware that it is dreaming or sees itself as a part of someone else's dream. This state is a decision.
In the second state of mind the dreamer of the dream is aware of dreaming and knows the content of the dream is not true, and therefore has nothing to judge. Since the dreamer is completely aligned with Holy Spirit there is indeed "nothing to do except watch." This state is also a decision.
The third State of Mind is Christ, Pure Abstract Light, Awake forever in the Mind of God. This State of Mind knows Oneness as Divine Love and has no opposite. Love simply Is. This State is not a decision for Heaven, it is a Fact and Oneness does not involve the illusion of "choice."
One cannot be a dream figure AND simultaneously be the dreamer of the dream, yet every instant a sleeping mind makes the choice between these options: ego or Holy Spirit, wrong mind or right mind. The ego "i" is not Life and is not Alive. The ego "i" is the belief that the past is NOT over, for to it the past is retained in memory as if it were still present. The Holy Spirit is the decision to Awaken by realizing that the past is over, and the ego is the decision to continue sleeping by retaining the past in memory. These are decisions of mind and are not decisions in the dream. These are decisions regarding which "lens" is being used to view the cosmos/self. The Holy Spirit's lens is a present moment decision and opens the way for "...God to take the final step." In Reality God does not take steps, yet this is but another way of describing remembering Creation or remembering Knowledge or remembering Oneness.
You are correct that "there is no 'real' guilt,” yet this is experienced only in the decision for—or alignment with—the Holy Spirit. The mind identified as a dream figure, as a body or in a body, IS the ego, and the ego is synonymous with guilt. The Holy Spirit's Perspective represents or reflects Eternity, God, and Christ (or Pure Oneness) and thus the Holy Spirit represents the choice for guiltlessness. Free Will does not involve choice, Being a State of Mind of Pure Oneness in Which there is literally nothing to choose between. In creating Christ God gave Christ Free Will, and this Free Will is Eternal Happiness.
With regard to learning, I described three states of mind above. The first (ego) was learned and now must be unlearned so that the second (Holy Spirit's Perspective) can be learned. One cannot learn contradictory thought systems, and the ego and the Holy Spirit have no meeting point. The ego's purpose is death and the Holy Spirit's Purpose is forgiveness. To learn forgiveness is to unlearn or release the belief in death. The third state, called the State of Heaven, simply Is—and has nothing to do with learning. Yet Heaven cannot be remembered until the ego has been unlearned and thus forgiveness has been learned.
The lessons and study and practice of "A Course In Miracles" are one way of unlearning the ego and forgiving the past. If the mind is fearful, it is not ready or willing to forgive completely, and thus the Holy Spirit uses time to undo the belief in time. This seeming "process" appears to include actions, yet the "I need do nothing" solution is ever available. As trust seems to grow, the mind is closer to the Holy Instant. Salvation takes no time. The acceptance of Salvation only seems to take time. Salvation requires no compromise, and time could be viewed as a compromise attempt. Atonement is therefore the acceptance of Correction without compromise.
Love & Blessings,
David
Story of Jesus in Urantia book: fact or fiction?
Question:
I love the section, The Life and Teachings of Jesus in “The Book of Urantia.” I was turned onto this book by your website. Here is my question however. I sometimes get confused by the truth in the book. I am not sure if I am reading a great story, or the true life as Jesus lived witnessed by other intelligence. I understand that either way I can learn many valuable lessons as supported by this story. If this is just a great story that is not true, then that is great, I can learn from it, and you will have answered my question with that. But if this is the true story of Jesus' life, then I run into this: this book places Jesus up on a platform as this being his universe. If this is a true story, then what I am gathering is that this is a personal account of the resurrecting mind of Jesus as witnessed by another intelligence. Therefore the reason to me that Jesus is placed on a platform as being "his universe" is that because this is completely personal. For instance, as I go through time and more and more align my thoughts with the thoughts of God, I would start my ascent to Heaven. And at the final moment where I have realized Who I Am, this would be my universe, and I could have a book about my life and my ascension to God. This is the only way I can put what they are trying to say together. That this is his personal story, and since we are all living within our Singular Reality, that we all have our own stories and universes that live within. Am I close? Or am I way off? I hope I explained this correctly, because I am not sure that you will get my meaning. Please write back with any thoughts you have on this subject. Thanks again David for all you do!
Answer:
Truth is Abstract Oneness, Eternal, Changeless, and Infinite. Truth is Spirit. Truth has no beginning or end, It simply Is. Truth is far beyond form, specifics, stories, and perception. Truth is beyond the belief in time-space. The words "I and the Father are One" point to a State of Mind Which has been called the Kingdom of Heaven, Nirvana, the Absolute, Eternity, Divine Love, etc. The story of Jesus is helpful in that it points beyond all stories to the Truth of Eternal Oneness. "My Kingdom is not of this world" and "I am calling you out of the world" and "the Kingdom of Heaven is within" are all sayings which point to a State of Being Which is Reality. Just as Eternity knows not of time, Truth knows not of illusion.
The story of Jesus, like all stories, is a parable. The value of a parable rests in its ability to point to that which is everlasting and true. The present moment "the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" is the closest approximation of Eternity with regard to this world, and the story of Jesus offers a model, an example, of how words and symbols are used by the Holy Spirit to make ready the willing mind to accept the Holy Instant of Atonement. The words of the Holy Spirit and the words of Jesus are synonymous. The actions of Jesus represent the unconditional Love of God. Stories and behaviors are representations or symbols and as such are subject to interpretation. May the prayer always be to behold the Meaning, the Light, to which the Holy Spirit points. The words and actions and attitudes offered in the story of Jesus are examples and demonstrations of the Christ Mind, Which is One with the Mind of God. The story of Jesus is a witness to the Reality Which is Eternal and exists forever beyond the seeming veil of time-space.
The forgiven world is not personal. "God is no respecter of persons." Forgiveness is the Perspective of the Holy Spirit in which all stories collapse in a single moment "in the twinkling of an eye." All questions are Answered in this single Atonement. The illusion of the "personal perspective" gives way to the illusion of universal forgiveness, making way for the remembrance of God. God and Christ are Real, for Eternity is Reality.
Persons do not awaken, yet the mind which dreamt of persons gives way to the Holy Spirit's unified Perspective. The story of Jesus is the story of one's own Awakening to the Spirit beyond the body and time and space. The story of Jesus, like all stories, is not special. Yet it was used, like all symbols, to lead beyond the need for stories and symbols. When Atonement is accepted, the need for stories and symbols is over.
"As you sow, so shall you reap" means the mind always perceives what it believes. The ego belief inevitably was released entirely and replaced by the Holy Spirit's Perspective. There is nothing "else" to accept. The story of Jesus was a witness that this is ALREADY accomplished. Atonement is thus the acceptance of what is always available right now. Sin was interpreted as an error to be corrected, and the good news is that forgiveness has taken the place of the stories of the past. The story "line" has been replaced by the forgiveness "point." Now forgiveness gently looks upon that which is over and done and gone, and only a blessing remains.
I love You forever and ever Holy One of God,
David
Please explain the statement, "God is a Pure Idea as is Christ."
Question:
I'm having a problem with the statement, ”God is a pure Idea, as is Christ." God is "I AM" or pure awareness, or the ability to know, or the knower. An Idea, however pure, is something that is known. It is not itself a knower. So if God is a pure Idea, it suggests that there is something else that is the knower of this Idea. This is not to say that the knower cannot be known; just that an Idea is itself not a knower. The knower, awareness, can know itself. But awareness is not an idea; awareness is that which can know an idea. OK, you see my problem and I trust, as usual, you'll straighten me out.
Answer:
Thanks for your subtle question. God, the Known, Wills to be Known. To Know Christ is to Know God, for They share the same Will. Pure Awareness is another term for the Known. They are the Same.
In this world, awareness is synonymous with consciousness. Awareness can be trained to reach the forgiven world, which is the gateway to the Known. To the ego, God is the great Unknown, yet in Knowing Christ in God it is apparent that there is no ego. The ego was the doubt about self, yet Knowing Self in God is Certainty. In Certainty, there is no doubt. This is another way of saying "Perfect Love casts out fear."
Love always,
David
Should we EVER plan for the future?
Question:
Do we ever plan for the future, or are we certainly led without any input? I understand free will, but then what about our "path" and thus being led? You know, "let go and let God".
Answer:
Here is a passage from ACIM Workbook Lesson #135 that addresses your question directly. Happy intuitive listening!
"A healed mind does not plan. It carries out the plans that it receives through listening to wisdom that is not its own. It waits until it has been taught what should be done, and then proceeds to do it. It does not depend upon itself for anything except its adequacy to fulfill the plans assigned to it. It is secure in certainty that obstacles can not impede its progress to accomplishment of any goal that serves the greater plan established for the good of everyone.
A healed mind is relieved of the belief that it must plan, although it cannot know the outcome which is best, the means by which it is achieved, nor how to recognize the problem that the plan is made to solve. It must misuse the body in its plans until it recognizes this is so. But when it has accepted this as true, then is it healed, and lets the body go.
Enslavement of the body to the plans the unhealed mind sets up to save itself must make the body sick. It is not free to be the means of helping in a plan which far exceeds its own protection, and which needs its service for a little while. In this capacity is health assured. For everything the mind employs for this will function flawlessly, and with the strength that has been given it and cannot fail.
It is, perhaps, not easy to perceive that self-initiated plans are but defenses, with the purpose all of them were made to realize. They are the means by which a frightened mind would undertake its own protection, at the cost of truth. This is not difficult to realize in some forms which these self-deceptions take, where the denial of reality is very obvious. Yet planning is not often recognized as a defense.
The mind engaged in planning for itself is occupied in setting up control of future happenings. It does not think that it will be provided for, unless it makes its own provisions. Time becomes a future emphasis, to be controlled by learning and experience obtained from past events and previous beliefs. It overlooks the present, for it rests on the idea the past has taught enough to let the mind direct its future course.
The mind that plans is thus refusing to allow for change. What it has learned before becomes the basis for its future goals. Its past experience directs its choice of what will happen. And it does not see that here and now is everything it needs to guarantee a future quite unlike the past, without a continuity of any old ideas and sick beliefs. Anticipation plays no part at all, for present confidence directs the way.
Defenses are the plans you undertake to make against the truth. Their aim is to select what you approve, and disregard what you consider incompatible with your beliefs of your reality. Yet what remains is meaningless indeed. For it is your reality that is the "threat" which your defenses would attack, obscure, and take apart and crucify.
What could you not accept, if you but knew that everything that happens, all events, past, present and to come, are gently planned by One Whose only purpose is your good? Perhaps you have misunderstood His plan, for He would never offer pain to you. But your defenses did not let you see His loving blessing shine in every step you ever took. While you made plans for death, He led you gently to eternal life.
Your present trust in Him is the defense that promises a future undisturbed, without a trace of sorrow, and with joy that constantly increases, as this life becomes a holy instant, set in time, but heeding only immortality. Let no defenses but your present trust direct the future, and this life becomes a meaningful encounter with the truth that only your defenses would conceal." (ACIM, W-135.12-19)
Thank You Christ for shining Your Light.
Love,
David
If my mind is like a mud cake covered by sweet icing, how do I uncover the mud?
Question:
I seem to have much willingness to uncover the darkness, but occasionally realize how little that I’m uncovering. What is the best way to go about uncovering it? I feel like I'm not making much progress.
Answer:
Much of the sweet icing is affirmations and positive thinking and what I call "people-pleasing"—walking on eggshells to smooth things over in the family, or Course group, so as not to rock the boat. So the sweet icing and the people-pleasing seem to serve the purpose of keeping things rolling smoothly. Then you call on the Holy Spirit, and He forces all of the darkness up into awareness, like a giant glacier of light, forcing thoughts into consciousness. This is much more helpful than the people-pleasing.
Question:
Why do we always doubt that others love us?
David Hoffmeister: That is how special relationships came to be. There was a deep sense of incompletion and lack in the mind. Instead of going deep within the mind and facing this lack, the ego said, “Run away from it.” So the separation was forgotten and pushed out of awareness, and God's Answer, which was given immediately and solved the problem in an instant, was pushed out of awareness also. And the ego said: "Run! You have done something terrible. Run out into time and space. God will not chase you there. God will not come into the darkness. You will be safe in the darkness."
And the ego says to the mind, "You have thrown away heaven. God is angry. You cannot go back without being punished. You can't think that God will let you rip your mind away from Him without a price to be paid. So hide in the dust." Now, the turnaround comes when you take the hand of Jesus, go down in the dark basement, step by step, and realize that none of this darkness is true. The ego says to the mind: "You made a bargain. You cannot change your mind now. You are stuck." The Holy Spirit assures us that is not a real bargain telling us, “God has nothing to do with the bargain. Come with me to the final cornerstone on which this whole cosmos is built. We will lift it together. You will see that God loves you. He is not angry.”
So, in answer to your question, let your feelings come. Realize your power of interpretation. See that by being honest with yourself and your feelings, you will speed up the awakening for everyone. Where the mind anticipates loss of love, it will find a blessing instead. The people-pleasing is like false contracts that have been made to keep the illusion of love in place. When you let go of these contracts, you find enormous blessing, beyond what you could imagine. You no longer hold your brother to expectations and therefore your mind is released.
Love,
David
Letting Go of the Human Condition video: David discusses accepted beliefs such as the "laws" of health, sleep, nutrition, etc..
General description:
David talks about the undoing of accepted beliefs such as the laws of nutrition, health, and sleep. As we unwind from long-held beliefs about what our needs are as humans, we begin to feel the inspiration of the Spirit and trust that all of our seeming needs are always met. We are free to live in the joy!
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8ttHQWmEnE
David, being so connected to that Unified Mind, have you had the experience of opening up to other abilities, like psychic abilities?
This question is asked at 24 minutes and 10 seconds into the following audio, which is part of an interview by David Hoffmeister, Paul & Candace Doyle.
Listen to the audio here: http://www.livingmiraclescenter.org/MP3/QandA_audios/DC11.mp3
What is the meaning of the ACIM passage, "Now you must learn that only infinite patience produces immediate results."
Question:
I long to be shown the meaning of the following passage in ACIM and know that the Holy Spirit in you will clarify its meaning for me:
"I have shown you infinite patience because my will is that of our Father, from Whom I learned of infinite patience. His Voice was in me as It is in you, speaking for patience towards the Sonship in the Name of its Creator. Now you must learn that only infinite patience produces immediate effects." (T-5.VI.12.)
Answer:
Patience is a time concept that rests content in the Thought of the certainty of Love. Infinite patience means unending patience, or patience without limit, and worry has no room to linger when a mind is content to wait with Love. Infinite patience is a way of waiting on the Lord without a sense of restlessness. Assured of the ultimate outcome in time, there is no worry or doubt that can disturb the mind that rests in the certainty of the Lord. Unending patience removes the last remnants of time and yields the experience of the holy instant, an immediate, deep peace of mind that passeth the understanding of the world.
Time is peripheral to infinite patience because infinite patience has its focus in the Present Moment. Time is perceived as a means of undoing time, and this Purpose produces immediate results because it shows that there is no gap between the past and future. Infinite patience does not see time as a means to a future end, therefore there is no stress or worry or anxiety in waiting on the Lord.
No circumstance already seen or yet to come can touch the infinitely patient Presence of the Holy Child of God. Holiness is always a present Blessing.
Love always,
David
Are "Jesus" and "Christ" synonymous or are we all the Christ?
Question:
Are "Jesus" and "Christ" synonymous? If so, isn't that redundant? Are we to worship Jesus? Is there an ultimate God, as in the one Jesus referred to as "Father" in English translations? Why does Jesus teach his disciples "The Lord's Prayer" in which Jesus is not prayed to? Is there any separation between God and us? What is the scoop?
Answer:
Thanks for your questions. Christ is a Perfect Divine Idea, and Jesus is the name of one who demonstrates or represents or symbolizes this Divine Idea. The Name of Jesus stands for a Love that is not of this world, for Love is Eternal and the cosmos is temporary. Jesus Christ is therefore a symbol and the Love the Name represents is the Spirit that is One with God. True Identity is the Christ. The Sonship is synonymous with Christ, and Jesus was the name of one who recognized the face of Christ in everyone and Awakened from the dream of the world. Jesus is a demonstration of the Love that is the Sonship. Jesus points to God, Who is deserving of Awe, and God is worshipped as the Spirit of God's Love is shared or extended. The attitude in which one treats one's brothers and sisters, and everything else, is the attitude one has with the Creator, for these attitudes are one. The One God might be referred to as the Creator and is the One referred to in the Bible by Jesus as "Father." This term can correctly be interpreted as our Spirit Parent, for God is neither male nor female.
The "Lord's Prayer" was taught as a model of prayer for generations beginning at the time of Jesus, though God knows the prayer of the heart before a word is ever spoken. Prayer is a medium of communication between the Creator and the Creation in which Answers and Divine Experiences come forth. To pray to Jesus is to pray to the Holy Spirit, for Jesus and the Holy Spirit are synonymous in function. They lead to Atonement or complete forgiveness and the happy dream that brings a close to all dreaming. In the Lord's prayer, Jesus is praying with everyone to the Creator. Even the Bible states "I and the Father are one" has two parts in that Christ is the Creation and God the Creator. Creation and Creator are One Spirit and share the same Will for Perfect Happiness. There is no separation between God and God's Creation. Forgiveness of illusion or error is its release, and this leads to Awakening or remembering God's Eternal Love.
Blessings be upon You Holy One,
David