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SearchHow should I deal with a constant sense of guilt around roles such as wife, mother, etc.?
Question:
The hardest thing for me is the constant sense of guilt. Would you speak about that?
Answer:
The ego always believes that sins are in bodies. So there are all these memories in the mind of things that you seemed to do that you shouldn't have done, or things that you didn't do that you should have done. The human condition is always based on comparison. Guilt comes from accepting ego roles. Let's take the role of mother. How good is a good enough mother? There is this ideal in the mind of a "good mother", and the mind is always measuring itself against the ideal. It never feels good enough.
You could take the role of wife. How good is a good enough wife? There are always guilt thoughts about: Could I have done more? Am I giving enough attention to my husband/child? When I get involved in other things, am I neglecting my husband/child? So the ego has set up a world of many roles, and it always tries to make the mind feel guilty about not fulfilling those roles. The Holy Spirit brings the end of guilt, because the Holy Spirit gives the mind healing as its role. There is never any guilt in healing. So as you advance as a miracle worker, your self-concept will expand. You may have started out as a wife and mother, or as a math teacher, a gardener, and a good cook. Now Jesus is training you to be a teacher of God. As you work more with Jesus, you will realize: I am more than a woman, a wife, a gardener and a cook. I am more than all of these roles. Your consciousness will expand. You will be used in situations that you could not have imagined, as your circle grows bigger; just as when your circle grows by coming to Course groups.
The Holy Spirit knows that the mind is afraid of letting go of these roles, so He does not yank them away all at once. That would be too frightening. Step by step, as you get into your function, your view of yourself will expand as you take your part in God's plan. What the Holy Spirit is really doing is widening your perception. Most people live their lives with blinders on. They think of every decision in terms of their family and loved ones. They think of each decision as to who will benefit and who will be harmed. Christ teaches that every decision you make is for the whole universe, because your mind contains the whole universe. This is how you learn to let go of guilt or unlearn guilt. You let the Holy Spirit move through you and your vision expands. You think of every decision in terms of how it will help you and how it will help everyone. You learn that the words that you are speaking are really for everyone. You learn that you have no secrets. When you follow the Holy Spirit, you have much energy! You can seem to do more in one day than you did in one week, and everyone is included. If you have loved ones who say: "I don't understand what you're doing; I like the old self better than the new self; I want the old self back," you will realize that these are just ego doubt thoughts, and you are saying "bye-bye" to these doubt thoughts. So it is important to say to everyone in your circle: "This is my journey and I must follow it. You are invited to come with me, or not come with me." The second part is very important, because without it you would be trying to change them.
This is a Course in changing your own mind. As you let go of being concerned about others and experience many miracles, you will find that some of those who turned away now turn back. But even this is not your concern. When I was going through my awakening, I had many struggles with relationships. I asked the Holy Spirit what I was to do. He gave me the metaphor of a deck of cards and told me: All of the relationships in your life were dealt by the ego. The ego picked your parents, your friends, your teachers. During the unholy instant all "relationships" of bodies were spun out. The ego's goal was guilt, and therefore you have experienced guilt in all of these relationships. Now bring all of the cards together in one deck and hand the whole deck over to me. Let me deal the deck. Some of the old cards will come back, but they will be brand new relationships, freed of the past, with no guilt. I will deal you many new cards. Many will come to witness to the love in your mind. The old dealing was the purpose of death. The new dealing is for your resurrection. Just remember, you must give me the entire deck. You cannot keep a few cards for yourself. If you still cling to a few of the old cards, you will still feel guilt and still feel limited.
So that was my big leap, to hand the whole deck over to the Holy Spirit, and it was the greatest thing I've ever done in my life! I cannot begin to tell you all of the people I have met from letting the Holy Spirit guide my life. There is never a sense of attachment, never a sense of expectations.
When you're in the Spirit, nobody can let you down. You are not looking to your brothers and sisters to meet your needs. The only purpose you come together for is to share the joy of the present moment. Now your purpose is to give, and that's why you're not looking to get anything back. This is also why I could never charge any money for anything that I do, because that would be an expectation. What I find is when I give everything away, the Holy Spirit handles everything and I never want for anything. The Spirit is always giving. So this transforms all the relationships. It gives you great trust in Divine Providence.
Love,
David
How can I help my drug-addicted son without "enabling" him?
Question:
I've been studying ACIM for about four years and I thank Jesus every day for ACIM. Here is what seems to be my last "stumbling block": My precious son (David) is an alcoholic and drug addict. He wants to stop and tries again and again. He's been in and out of AA many times, he has OD’d and almost died, and has recently seen a new counselor but now he feels that everyone is “fed up" with him.
Everything seems to smooth out if I follow God, and I know the course says that all struggle is the attempt to deny One's True Identity as Christ. But I am ready for this to end and I don't know how much more David can endure. I would love to hear from you. Thank you for BEing there, thank you for sharing.
Answer:
Thanks for writing and opening to the Holy Spirit to unburden your mind. You have seen the Call for Love in David and have allowed the Holy Spirit to Answer in Love. Now you are ready to see that the Call for Love is always one's own Call to release all little concepts and tiny, mad beliefs and accept the Atonement or Correction of the Holy Spirit. The one "addiction" of the mind asleep and dreaming is judgment, and this stems from the belief in private minds with private thoughts. Judgment is an ego device for ordering illusions, in order to bring a sense of calm to what seems to be chaos. Your encounters with David have offered the ongoing opportunity to release the sense of personal responsibility you feel toward him. The ego made the roles of wife and mother and child to contain What cannot BE contained. They are but concepts, garments made to cloak the belief in private thoughts and private minds. The responsibility to be accepted is for the state of mind God Wills for You as the Christ: Peace.
Pain, no matter what the form, no matter if it seems physical or psychological, no matter if it seems "here" or "there,” is always a wrong-minded perception. Pain is the misperception that comes from the belief in private minds with private thoughts. Pain is the belief that One Mind can be broken apart and divided into pieces. True empathy comes from aligning with the Holy Spirit and seeing the impossibility of separation, of judgment, of sickness. It is humility to accept the wholeness of mind which reflects the Oneness of God's Mind. What is the same cannot be different, and what is one cannot have separate parts. The simple logic of the Holy Spirit is as follows: If God is real there is no pain, and if pain is real there is no God. Forgiveness returns the awareness of wholeness to the mind which, for an instant, seemed to doubt. Atonement is the Correction to the struggle of false identification with the ego, and as you shared: "all struggle is the attempt to deny One's True Identity as Christ."
I have received 2 songs from Resta that address the opportunity which is now presenting itself. By releasing the concept of David the mind simultaneously is freed to release its tiny self-concept and accept itself as the Living Christ. The I Am Presence is far beyond the roles and distinctions and demarcations of "identity" that the ego sponsors. It cannot be difficult to "let go" what never was. This final "leap" or "surrender" entails no loss, for the acceptance of Christ as Christ is the recognition of Spirit, Which is ever the Same in God's Love. Here are the helpful songs:
I RELEASE YOU
You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not, a puppet who moves on the strings of my thoughts. The role I've assigned you has cheated us both of the light and the glory that lives in the soul, but patiently yields to each mask we put on that proclaims we're not children of God.
I release you, my brother, to be who you are, my savior, the Christ who abides in God's heart. And I'll be there with you, for we're truly one, beloved of the Father, His Son.
You don't have to be little, unloved and unknown, clothed in a body that you call your own. You're not a husband and I'm not a wife, for mind has no gender and form has no life. It's time to remember what we always knew, that God has one Son, and not two.
You are not a person and neither am I. We forgot we were dreaming and living a lie. Now Spirit is calling, My dear child, awake, let God's sweet love heal you, correct your mistakes. Be married to all, for the all is just One, God's holy and blessed Christ Son.
SHADOWLAND
"Be willing to forgive the Son of God for what he did not do. The shadow figures are the witnesses you bring with you to demonstrate he did what he did not. Because you bring them, you will hear them." - ACIM
Shadows dwell in Shadowland and you can never understand their shadow talk and shadow deeds, their shifting thoughts and shadow needs. They tell you all about their hurts, how they are victims of this world. They search for other ghosts to blame the ones who caused them so much pain.
Shadowland, so sad and desolate. Shadowland, where all are separate. Where nothing lives and nothing dies. Nothing is. There's only lies in Shadowland.
Pain and pleasure, guilt and sin: the bait they use to pull you in. From God they say you've gone apart, and He has cast you from His heart. Shadow figures from the past steal the moments from your grasp, hide the lovely and the real, fill your mind with spiteful dreams.
Let them go. Turn to the Light. Shadows cannot bear the sight, the Face of Christ that is revealed when you let your mind be healed. Although they seem to really live, they'll disappear when you forgive to be replaced with happy dreams where only peace and love are seen.
No more Shadowland, sad and desolate, Let go of Shadowland, and be not separate. In joy you'll live, and you can never die, when you forgive, laugh at the lies of Shadowland.
Blessings of healing be upon you. Nothing can separate Whom God created as One in Spirit. I suggest you let the Holy Spirit nourish and nurture your holy mind through the songs on this website: http://musicofchrist.net
Everything that comes from the Holy Spirit is freely Given and freely Received. You are deeply Loved!
Love always,
David
Why are sexual relationships so seemingly complicated?
Question:
I have been reading "A Course in Miracles" for six months and am also doing the lessons in the workbook. When I received this book I knew that the words within its covers were meant to be read by me, and its message resounds clearly with the light within.
However, I am particularly confused about the area of sexuality at the moment. I find myself in a situation where I have begun a sexual relationship with a married man who is also sexually involved with my friend, who lives in the same house as me. This *appears* to be a particularly complicated situation, with a man who is now sexually involved with three different women and married to one of them. It is very hard to believe that there is no judgment placed upon me for getting involved in such a situation. I am also finding it difficult to maintain a friendship with my housemate when we are both involved with the same man.
As the Course is all about relationships, I am sure that this is a gift to all of us involved in this strange situation, but at the same time, I consider the possibility that I am just deluding myself into believing that I want something other than the truth. I would be so grateful to hear some words from you brother.
Answer:
Thanks for sharing what is on your heart. The ego is flushed up and exposed in relationships, and aligning with the ego brings illusory experiences of pleasure and pain. Distorted miracle impulses reach awareness as cravings, and in this regard, sexual cravings are the same as cravings for food, drink, temperature, stimulation, etc. Cravings always involve lack and preferences, and the miracle leads past this distorted perception of the world. As the ego belief system is questioned and exposed and released, the "lens of lack" is cleared of all obstacles to peace. When this happens, miracle impulses are experienced directly in awareness as Love and Calls for Love. Wholeness and completion are the natural characteristics of the mind, and the miracle returns these characteristics to awareness.
Complexity is always of the ego. The ego uses relationships for gratification and the ego, being impulsive and unstable, has no conception of commitment. Commitment to a monogamous interpersonal relationship is a step that the Holy Spirit can use (as with any commitment or discipline) to open the mind to the sole or ultimate commitment that one can make: accepting the Atonement or Awakening to God's Love. I have referred to the ego's purpose for relationships as "dixie cup relationships." The ego seems to throw its relationships away once it seems to get what it thinks it wants and moves on to the next relationship for another drink. Simultaneous sexual relationships, or "open" relationships as they have been called, seem to add to the complexity. A monogamous interpersonal relationship can offer a full plate of opportunities to expose and forgive the ego, and the undoing of the ego (forgiveness) is the only Purpose for all relationships. The ultimate realization (Self-realization) is the recognition that Creator and Creation share the same Spirit of Love. At best all perceptual relationships reflect the Love of God, and this Agape Love inspires forgiveness and miracles.
The Holy Spirit Guides surely. Simplicity is of God, and the illusion of complexity is the error to be forgiven.
Love always,
David
Dismantling the Ego: David discusses how we can be Guided to release the "biological family" concept, as illustrated in the movie, "The Ultimate Gift"
Description of video:
A discussion with David following the movie "The Ultimate Gift". We don't have a clue where the spiritual path will lead. It is like a ride at an amusement park where the floor keeps dropping out. Free falling until there is nothing left to grasp. At times many memories surface, childhood memories, dark closets, closed doors. It is about opening these doors until there is nothing left. In some cases certain relationships and even families may fall away. If relationships don't serve the awakening they have no real purpose. It is not for anyone to decide, the Holy Spirit leads this.
If you wish to skip to the part of the video in which David discusses the "family concept", it begins at approximately 2 minutes and 50 seconds into the video.
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6hX0R2XbQs
How do I deal with an abusive friend at school? (From a 13-year old.)
Question:
This year has been absolutely terrible for me—there's been so much I just don't know where to start. I have had an abusive friend for about three years now. She has been physically and mentally abusive to me, which has made me pretty unstable. I believe that I am a warm and caring person who tries to understand everyone, and even THAT she makes fun of. It's completely frustrating the way she plays this game-teasing with me one minute and turning around and showing the world a nice girl who couldn't hurt a fly. I'm sorry that this letter is pretty stupid David, but I had to tell someone.
Answer:
Thanks for sharing what is running through your mind. It may not seem like it for you, but at 13 years old you will be experiencing a fast track in spiritual awakening if you are able to apply these ideas. People-pleasing is a favorite ego device for inducing guilt and emotional pain. For the ego "likes" and "dislikes,” "friends" and "enemies" are the thoughts that occupy the mind. Your "abusive friend" is acting out the attack thoughts that arise in awareness, and through the ego's lens she seems to be attacking you. This is truly a Call for Love, and the only way to be consistently aware of the love within your mind is to recognize these Calls for Love and extend Love. It is as if your friend were saying from deep inside: "Please teach me, please remind me who I really am." Whenever you are offended by anyone it is an opportunity to pluck the offense from your mind and kiss it good-bye. The temptation to blame can seem very intense when the underlying motivation is to be liked and accepted. Peer pressure reflects the "looking for acceptance" that is characteristic of the ego's drive to seek outside for validation and approval and worth. The journey inward shows that this feeling of lack, and the need to be accepted, is based in a deep-seated feeling of unworthiness.
You are receiving your training in miracle-working very early in your life. Already the world is being shaken at its foundation, which is always the ego in the mind. Be gentle with yourself as you walk through each day. You have such a light to share with everyone you meet, and the ego cannot distract you from this, unless you choose to let it. Don't buy the bait of attack, for when you come back within you will feel a calmness that can neither attack or be attacked. Rest in this calmness and return to it as often as you can.
I am joined with you every step of the way. Think of peace and know that I am with you in every situation.
Love overflowing,
David
Is the ego less resistant to ACIM in children and teens?
Question:
Is the ego less resistant to the Course in children and teens?
Answer:
One thing that is wonderful about "A Course in Miracles" is that it makes no distinction between children and adults. It sees everyone as a brother or sister and keeps the focus on one's own mind and thoughts. Children can be witnesses to your mind of innocence and playfulness and spontaneity when you are in the miracle. Yet to the ego, they can seem to offer a struggle.
Children are wonderful for undoing what the Course calls the "authority problem." The mind that tried to make itself denied that God was its author and made up a world in which there were many authority issues: issues seemingly between children and parents; between citizens; between belief systems; between citizens and government; between nations. So all of these present opportunities to hand the situation over to the Holy Spirit and see that there is no struggle between persons. The struggle is trying to hold on to the ego.
Question:
Can you talk about forgiveness and what we need do to let go of in this world?
Answer:
Jesus says in "A Course In Miracles" that forgiveness involves letting go of all judgment, emptying the mind of all it thinks is good and bad, right and wrong, pleasurable or painful, and letting the Holy Spirit wash the mind clean of everything it thinks it believes and knows. The real miracle happens when you trust in the Holy spirit to handle all things. To the extent you try to retain some control, you will still experience conflict and distress. The Course teaches: Let go and let God! When we align with the Holy Spirit, all of our problems disappear. They were figments of our ego imagination.
Love,
David
Is it possible to study the Course and be happy even in a country like Argentina which has deep poverty?
Question:
Is it possible to live in a struggling country and at the same time read and practice the Course?
Answer:
Yes, it is inevitable to practice the Course wherever you seem to be. Take for example poverty. That was part of the transformation that I experienced. I used to believe that poverty was tied into material conditions. Jesus taught me that poverty was the same as ego thinking. There are many people that have much wealth and possessions that truly live in poverty because of a sense of lack and ego thinking. To the ego there is never enough. So this helped me realize that poverty was a state of mind. In trusting in the Holy Spirit, everything I seemed to need to share the message is provided effortlessly.
Love,
David
How can I let go of relying on a job for income, or of hoping for an intimate partnership and just trust things to work out?
Question:
I know—because you have told me—that there are no problems apart from one's mind, and the one solution to the problem is within one's mind and available this instant. I love that. Now as to what seems very real—my job, and living paycheck to paycheck and seeing this as my source of income. How does a person remove their self from that picture and trust things will work out? I also would like to share my life with someone but it’s not happening. Sometimes I feel it's because I am always waiting—waiting for something to change. I know this is what I created, and it’s an illusion. I need some help here to see my way out of it, if you could give me some insight on this. Thanks.
Answer:
Thanks for writing and sharing what is on your mind. It does seem to be a big turn around—seeing the many "problems" of the world as one distorted perception based on one erroneous belief. Looking in a darkened glass for such a long, long time, illusions can seem to be fixed and accepted as reality to the mind conditioned to the darkness. The early lessons of the ACIM Workbook are designed to loosen this fixed and distorted perception so that the miracle, a new perception, can be grasped.
It is always helpful to be reminded that things are never what they seem to be in this world. The purpose you hold and bring with you each day determines the experience you have. To the ego a job is for money and survival and self esteem, and two bodies living under one roof are for intimacy and privacy and getting needs met. To the ego there is fear associated with the loss of a job or a spouse, because they seem to be "sources" for getting important "needs" met. Yet as the mind opens to miracles, the mind receives a fresh new Purpose for everything. The focus shifts from "what can I get" to "what can I extend." This shift of purpose opens up a storehouse of miracles that have remained inside, waiting to be given away. It feels wonderful to be loving and kind and nonjudgmental, and a momentum begins to build in the expressions of love. The Holy Spirit Guides the Awakening mind inward toward an experience of wholeness and a feeling of completion. The movement of Awakening dispels feelings of scarcity and need and lack as the Joy of Giving as God Gives takes over.
Each job and each relationship is nothing more than a learning opportunity. And regardless of the duration of the specific assignment, learning is always maximal. The most that can be learned is learned, and the seeming "end" of a relationship or job is not a real "ending." Decisions are continuous and flow from the purpose the mind hold out front. It is really helpful to ask yourself "What is this for?" with the ways you use time. This is a way of getting in touch with what you value and believe is worthwhile. The Holy Spirit Helps the mind save time by offering a completely different Purpose for time. The Holy Spirit's focus is always the present, for the present is the point of decision and the point of power. The ego ignores the present and stays fixated on the past and the future. The ego offers the mind goals that can never be attained and distractions and side roads that lead nowhere. When you consider a goal, be open to the "goal" of present peace. Be open to the experience of Divine Ease.
Abundance is peace of mind, and the goals of the ego follow a different definition of "abundance." Bigger, better, faster, and more are ghosts in the ego's glitter of deception, yet by releasing the pursuit of these ghosts the mind comes to a genuine state of rest and calm. The Lord restores the tranquility of mind that is natural to the Child of the Living God. The pursuit of specific forms is a wild goose chase that never offers lasting satisfaction. As the mind ceases the pursuit and the chase, the witnesses and symbols to the Light within appear in awareness.
If contemplating a change in a "job situation" or pondering feelings about a particular "relationship opportunity" bring feelings of lightheartedness and joy, be willing to step through the door and into the "new" opportunity. Over and over, be willing. The Holy Spirit offers the Awakening mind progressively expansive and flexible self concepts as it approaches forgiveness. Each shift and each opening toward the Light is experienced as fearful to the ego, for the ego and its artificial limits are being dispelled. Stay focused on what you want to extend and offer, and do not give faith to the past thoughts of "getting" and "achieving." Salvation is the restoration of the mind, and the means is always peace. Past memories and forms cannot be restored, for they were the ghosts that obscured present peace. Everything in this world is backwards and upside down. Future loss is not the fear; present joining is the dread. When the mind no longer buys the bait of ego pursuits and distractions, the simple Intimacy of Loving Thought remains. And the Grand Surprise of the inward journey is the recognition of One Self as the Christ!
Be active in questioning beliefs and fears and limitations, for the "inner work" of allowing the mind to be loosed is your full-time “job." Protect your peace by staying aware of the Holy Spirit's Purpose for every seeming situation that arises. This Purpose will grow and grow in awareness and completely Light your holy mind. I am joined with you in this Purpose, and Whom God created as One cannot fail to recognize Its Oneness. I am with you All the Way!
Love,
David
Can any "problem" be solved "in the world" through forgiveness? Can forgiveness be taught to others?
Question:
We think it is of the utmost importance that we do whatever is possible to free ourselves of ACIM's long-standing copyright dispute. Not only does that dispute draw our ACIM community away from its primary purpose—supporting God's plan as the "only" plan that actually "works" in the world—it perpetuates ongoing separation between us.
What we are asking of you at this moment is to seriously consider this approach: actively and systematically asking all members of the ACIM community to go within and find out whether or not their guidance tells them if it is now time to voluntarily and unconditionally relinquish the so-called Course copyright for the good of the world—and communicate accordingly in whatever ways that they may find themselves inspired to, from private conversations to discussion forums over the Internet—knowing that nothing less than miracles will result. We look forward to your response.
Answer:
Render our holy mind unto God, for only in God is Life and Meaning. Christ teaches resist not evil, precisely because there is no "evil" to resist. In ACIM Christ says:
“Recognize what does not matter, and if your brothers ask you for something 'outrageous,' do it because it does not matter. Refuse, and your opposition establishes that it does matter to you. It is only you, therefore, who have made the request outrageous, and every request of a brother is for you. Why would you insist in denying him? For to do so is to deny yourself and impoverish both. He is asking for salvation, as you are."
I share freely the Joy of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit uses the symbols of the world to lead to an experience beyond the symbols. There is no limit on the Holy Spirit's use of symbols. It is impossible to be limited in any way. I rejoice in this experience. Peace of mind is the outcome of non-judgment. Peace comes from the Holy Spirit's Purpose and not from any specific outcome in form. The ego seeks to promote a "plan of salvation" that requires something other than the mind to change to in form and in the future. Thus does the ego seek to make its salvation or forgiveness political or social by defining its "forgiveness" as within the dream. Yet forgiveness is simply the Perspective that sees the dream as a dream. Forgiveness does not require that anyone else act differently or change in any way. Forgiveness looks and watches and judges not, for from Its kind Gaze illusions are all the same. All form is the illusion of the past, and what is past and gone cannot BE changed.
Jesus is an example or demonstration of the beatitude of acceptance and non-judgment. To take a stand for or against a “real world" outcome makes the error of separation real in awareness, though not in Reality. There is nothing causative in form, yet to believe that some form outcomes are "better" than others is the attempt to deny that all illusions are the same. A change of purpose from a grievance to a miracle is meaningful, for it is another way of looking upon the world. Yet this shift makes no demands, for the mind is thus freed from the insane wish and attempt to make things be different and better than they already are. While the ego demands that the problem be defined in form (personal, societal, interpersonal, environmental, etc.), the Holy Spirit simply asks that the belief in separation be brought to the Light within. The problem is not in the world, for there is no world apart from mind. Forgiveness is not in the world, for there is no forgiveness apart from mind. If forgiveness is put truly first by valuing the Perspective of the Holy Spirit, there can be no wish to improve the dream. For the problem was never in the dream. It was only a problem of perspective, and the problem has been healed.
Peace & Blessings,
David
What distinguishes an authentic spiritual path from that of a cult? What exactly is a cult?
Question:
What distinguishes an authentic spiritual path from that of a cult? What exactly is a cult?
Answer:
The best indicator of an authentic spiritual path is one that instructs that responsibility for your state of mind at any given moment rests with you. The truth is within and cannot be found in persons, places, or things outside.
Truth is not something that can be found in a book or object. Truth is an experience of the living moment that will dawn of Itself. The Spirit uses the symbols and sights and sounds of the world, including people and music and words of inspiration (sometimes thought of as scriptures), to help the deceived mind to the point of Realization or Recognition. These are all stepping stones or metaphors, and they all dissolve at the point of Recognition, which is an experience within!
True spirituality rests on open communication, the release of all attack thoughts (and the fear, guilt, and anger that they produce), non judgment, true humility, defenselessness, gentleness, and divine mercy. Any authentic spiritual path will promote forgiveness and advocate laying aside grievances. All are included in the experience of love, for it is unconditional and impersonal, and everyone is equally loved and appreciated.
A cult is a symbol or representation of the belief that your state of mind is dependent on a person, place, event, or circumstance and is not a decision of your mind. Faith is placed in "external authorities and forms and rituals,” and the underlying experience will always be based on fear, no matter how endearing or adoring the devotion seems to be. Ultimately you can never really love, or adore, or be devoted to anything specific. Ultimately, you cannot successfully follow anything in form, for truth cannot be found in images and symbols. When you attach to the form, like a scenario or script you believe will make you happy, a substitute or idol image has been made— and accepted as real—and is being worshipped. Truth is denied in such an attempt. And the pseudo "love" will turn to hate and anger in the mind of the leader or follower.
What can turn to hate was never the Love of God, but was instead the desire to be special and "loved" in a personal sense. There appears a "holier than thou" mentality in cult-thinking, which attempts to raise some people up and put other people down and perpetuates a "we/they" division. Hence, there is always a fear of an external enemy.
In true spirituality everyone is always welcome, for it becomes apparent that we are always meeting our Self. No one is turned away or judged against. Acceptance of the truth is an experience in which no one is labeled and dismissed, for the experience of truth is vast and expansive and All-inclusive! The experience is freely given by God, and the Peace and Joy and Love of God is beyond the possibility of commercialization. There is no reciprocity (giving something to get something), and authentic spirituality cannot be bought or sold. Love is freely given, and by giving it, it is retained in awareness. What you share is strengthened in your awareness, so by giving love you become aware that you have love and are love. This is how the mind is awakened by the Holy Spirit from the dream of scarcity, guilt, fear, and death. First you learn to forgive, and then you are awakened unto Eternal Life!
The opposite of a life of love and forgiveness and trust in God is a seeming condition of fear, guilt, scarcity, and anger. This "condition" is the simplest way to define cult-thinking. Because of intense fear and suspicion, cult-thinking involves threats, privacy, secrecy, hierarchies and chains of command, attempts at control and manipulation through breaking off communication, or using communication to make someone “guilty." It may seem to manifest as scarcity (hoarding of food, money, possessions, and supplies out of a fear that they may run out). It may also manifest under the guise of abundance (power, wealth, fame, psychic powers, energy experiences and phenomena that are valued in and of themselves). These pursuits, under the guise of spirituality and religion, are distractions and detours to true peace and happiness. When the ego is highly threatened, it may even resort to confrontation, the use of firearms and weapons, violence, or suicide as an "escape."
Cult-thinking rests on judgment, for it raises some people up as special "good ones" and lowers others as the "bad ones." The good ones are praised and loyally adored, while the bad ones are attacked, avoided, blamed, abandoned, excluded, or rejected. Cult-thinking involves forming cliques around worldly and historic beliefs and values of ethnicity or heredity. The clique may value a certain tradition or geography or nationality or race, or it may favor a certain gender or age or formal religious practices and rituals. Cult-thinking may involve anything specific in the world, as long as boundaries and differences are maintained at all costs. Uniqueness and a special "identity" must be maintained. Cult-thinking is quick to anger and accuse, sometimes as quick to flee, and is particularly threatened by open, direct communication.
Future loss is not the greatest fear of "cult-thinking,” for present joining and union is what it dreads most. Complete joining the ego sees as the abolishing of privacy and separation, and this it cannot tolerate. To protect itself, the ego will attempt isolation and rely heavily on "fight or flight" strategies. Decisions are made hastily and always based in fear. Reason and patience and cooperation and clear-thinking are de-emphasized; shared opinions, gossip, and grievances are rallying points against the perceived external enemy—hence the group-think mentality.
Moral and ethical standards of behavior (which are often focused on sexuality, money, and possessions, etc.) are often cited and defended as good reasons for attacking, condemning, avoiding, blaming, excluding, or rejecting the things that have been labeled "bad or wrong.” These may be particular persons, groups, institutions or even countries. This "judging against," based on perceived differences, is the rationale the ego uses for perpetuating the fundamentally separating quality that it so highly values.
All cult-thinking is based on fear, though members do not see that the fear is not really based in the images of the world (persons, places, things, events, etc.). The real, underlying fear is the fear of God and the Holy Spirit, which strikes terror in the ego. Darkness is afraid of the approach of Light. The opposite of love is fear, but love is all-encompassing and has no opposite! Cult-thinking is therefore no real threat to a mind that is devoted to loving. A clear mind, free of judgment, is very capable of forgiving, or seeing the false as false. The still mind rests in God. And who can fear when there is love?
I am so grateful to teach and learn that Innocence is real, and guilt and condemnation are false witnesses. I am so grateful to learn that nobody is ever to blame and that it is impossible to be unfairly treated. Cult-thinking is thus just another name for the ego or the world of darkness. Jesus tells us to be of good cheer and to be happy learners, for He has overcome the world! A misperception can always be corrected by a miracle. Cult-thinking and cults are errors, for they come not from our Heavenly Father. A Child of God need not seek outside and fall for the ego's games of attack and defense. "Judge not, lest ye be judged" is an instruction not to attempt something you are incapable of. A mind that values stillness and quiet and peace is a mind that does not attempt judgment. Forgiveness and non-judgment are synonymous.
If we want peace, we must hold every thought up to the Light of Truth. If a thought does not come from God, the only thing to do is to release it and harbor it no longer. Manipulation is of the ego, for God did not create it. Betrayal is of the ego, for God did not create it. Abandonment is of the ego, for God did not create it. Attack is of the ego, for God did not create it. Rejection, exclusion, avoidance, isolation, condemnation, scarcity, fear, anger, guilt, and even death are all of the ego, for God did not create them. If these or any of the fearful beliefs, thoughts, and emotions the ego sponsors are believed in as the truth, the world will outpicture or witness to this belief. That is why these beliefs must be questioned. When the mind clings to these beliefs, thoughts, and emotions, and protects them, upset is unavoidable. Forgiveness is the laying aside of all these transitory beliefs, thoughts, and emotions. Forgiveness of illusions brings peace, happiness, love, and freedom! How magnificent is the Perspective that simply sees the false as false! How glorious is the Mind that recognizes Itself as One!
The Mind that is shared with God is Pure Oneness and knows not of judgment. For in Oneness there is nothing to judge between! This Mind is forever Innocent, for Life and Being are in the Mind of God. Holy Child of God, You are Innocent forever! Hallowed be Thy Name and the Name of Our Creator God! Thy Kingdom has come! Thy Will is done!
Amen.
Love & Blessings always,
David