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SearchHow does one study the Course AND stay in a marriage?
Question:
When one is married or in a relationship and starts to study the Course, you change. How does one study the Course and keep on in a marriage?
Answer:
What you are raising is the question of union. Marriage in this world is an attempt to come to the experience of union. "A Course in Miracles" helps you discern between the true experience of union and the ego's make-believe union. The ego teaches: relationship or union is bodies together, minds apart. Maintain a sense of individuality yet be coupled as a union. The Holy Spirit teaches a different view of union: minds joined as one, bodies may come or go. The ego attempts to maintain a belief in privacy, where secrets are kept from husbands and wives. It is afraid of losing its individuality. Relationships therefore are best thought of as opportunities to unlearn the ego. The false sense of union will dissolve or fall apart. It is inevitable. It takes trust in all relationships to stay with the purpose of the Holy Spirit. The ego is appalled at the new purpose, so as you open to the Holy Spirit, sometimes it can seem like a very bumpy ride. You may be guided to stay in a relationship, to spend time being single, or perhaps guided into another relationship that will be another opportunity to unlearn the ego. Truly the only union that is real is the Christ mind, at one with God forever. This is union. This is what everyone longs for.
God has created us one with Himself. Only in Him we live, in His mind dwell. He calls to us, "My Child, awake, and seek no more the dreams of hate. My holy Son, My precious Christ, forever in My love abide."(From Resta's song, "We Can't Go Home Alone")
Is "positive thinking" helpful in making a better world?
Question:
Is "positive thinking" helpful in making a better world, just by having positive thoughts?
Answer:
Positive thinking always implies an opposite. This is why affirmations are not the complete picture. If you use positive thinking or affirmations and still have unconscious ego beliefs, it is like putting sweet icing on a cake of mud! This is why the path of the Course and all true spiritualities is bringing the darkness to the light - rather than trying to cover the darkness and push it down.
The journey is often wet with tears, and there are many intense emotions as you allow the feelings to come up. One of the things I am enjoying most here in Argentina is the willingness to express emotions and cry. In many gatherings I have in the United States, people do not allow themselves to cry. But this is very healing and cathartic. It is much more helpful than to wear a mask and pretend. A friend was noticing at the meetings that there are mostly women, and occasionally one or two men. We were discussing this last night and I was relating that in the sexual stereotypes it is more acceptable for women to cry. My friend’s husband stated that the "macho men" never come to these groups. This is just another demonstration that it is all based on beliefs and not really a male/female issue. Crying can be a symbol of openness.
Question:
Do you have more men in the American Course groups?
Answer:
There are places where there seem to be more men, but generally I don't notice. I've come to the place where I see everything the same—people, dogs, objects—the tapestry is whole. There are no animate versus inanimate objects, no organic and inorganic, big or small. I see no difference between the city and the country, or highly populated and rural. It is all a matter of purpose.
There is a wonderful section in "A Course in Miracles" called "Setting the goal." If you put your goal out front, it is like carrying a torch of light. When your goal is clearly set, you will perceive everyone and everything witnessing to the goal you have set. You will see no exceptions. When you do not set a clear goal, the situations in your life just seem to happen, and then the ego always looks back on what just happened and decides whether it likes it or doesn't like it. This is always very frustrating.
In the story of Lot's wife in the Bible, she was told not to look back or she would turn into a pillar of salt. Think of that the next time you start looking back on something that has already happened. That is the ego, and it freezes your mind in the past.
Love,
David
Practicing Holy Relationship Part 6 video: David discusses drugs and sex in relation to the "hippie" generation.
General description of video:
This topic is discussed at 28 minutes and 48 seconds into the video below. Part 6/7 from a three-hour gathering held on Feb 13th, 2011 in San Anselmo, CA with David Hoffmeister and friends. This joy-filled and insightful gathering was all about the practical application of A Course in Miracles to relationships, especially focused on "couple" relationships!
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_u3VIUX_cQ#t=28m48s
Do you recommend using the Urtext version of ACIM? Also, how do you explain some of the passages in the Urtext about sex?
Question:
It's really two questions.
1) Do you read or use the "Urtext" version of ACIM? Is it useful in any way or would you recommend sticking to the standard text?
2) There is an Urtext quote from Jesus to Helen and Bill that is troubling to us. It reads: As was said before, homosexuality is INHERENTLY more risky (or error-prone) than heterosexuality, but both can be undertaken on an equally false basis. The falseness of the basis is clear in the accompanying fantasies. Homosexuality ALWAYS involves misperception of the self OR the partner, and generally both. Jesus also mentions that sex is for procreation only and there are times when it is appropriate to use sex to allow room for more souls to come into the world. This feels like an unusual remark to make about a world that is illusory. I understand the idea of sexuality being body-focused and I can see how people evolve out of desiring sex. And, of course, sex between bodies is no more real than the bodies themselves. But I'm still a little troubled by the distinction made with homosexuality. I mean, aren't all preferences in this area different forms of the same mistake? We are troubled by the distinction/judgment Jesus seems to be making here.
Answer:
I have read the "Urtext" version of ACIM, and yet I still feel that most people should stick to the standard text. The ideas you mention from the Urtext are stepping stone ideas, and you are completely on track when you say: "I can see how people evolve out of desiring sex. And, of course, sex between bodies is no more real than the bodies themselves." The Course is all about allowing Holy Spirit to undo all preferences, which simply reflect the belief in a hierarchy of illusions and deny the miracle, which has no order of difficulty.
The body image is the self-concept that was made to take the place of Spirit, and that is why it is magic to engage in any form of body image activity at all. Healed perception or the forgiven world shows the sameness of all perception, reflecting the wholeness of the Christ Idea. What is the same cannot be different, and what is one cannot have separate parts.
All sexuality was made by the ego and based on preferences and a hierarchy of needs, yet this misperception of the body and relationships and levels of consciousness is corrected by the miracle. All real pleasure comes from doing God's Will. Christ Calls everyone to their function as miracle workers.
Much of the Urtext was edited out of the standard, published edition by Ken Wapnick and Helen under Jesus' instructions, and with good reason. I could write a whole book on that topic though. Ken Wapnick wrote the following in "Editing History" on http://acim-archives.org: "As is widely known, there was a court case involving infringement of the copyright by the Endeavor Academy in Wisconsin, an action brought about by the Foundation for Inner Peace, the publisher of the Course, and the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, its sister organization and copyright holder of the Course. This is not the place to discuss the details, except to say that they were doing inappropriate things with the Course and we were trying to stop them. As part of the proceedings, I was deposed by Endeavor's attorney, who asked me, among other things, about the manuscripts. I mentioned that the Hugh Lynn Version, the one that Helen and I edited, was in the A.R.E. Library.
Armed with that information, some people subsequently and unlawfully removed the manuscript from the A.R.E., copied it, and then returned it to the library. It was later published under the name "Jesus' Course in Miracles." The contention was that I Was the one who had changed Jesus' Course, and that the authentic Course was the Hugh Lynn Version that Bill Thetford edited. I was thus viewed as an upstart who came along with his own ideas about what the Course said and convinced Helen to make changes; a belief hard to understand because nothing was changed in terms of meaning and, as I have indicated, almost all changes occurred at the beginning of the text.
At any rate, the claim was that the Course published by the Foundation for Inner Peace was not the true Course. Then something happened I never would have thought possible: Under false pretenses, the notebooks and Urtext were taken from the Library of Congress and copied, a violation of federal law. We talked to legal authorities at the Library, who were outraged. However, it was clear that this case was very small potatoes for them. The Library of Congress is under the Department of Justice, which has other things on its mind besides someone taking a manuscript that is of no importance to anyone outside of a very small group. So nothing was ever done about it. We were assured by Library officials that this would never happen again, but of course, that was of no help in our situation. The people who were now in possession of the illegally obtained material—the notebooks, Urtext and Hugh Lynn Version—had it scanned or retyped, and have made it available on the Internet and elsewhere for purchase.
That, then, is how all this material got out. The court case was concluded in 2003 and the copyright was declared invalid. This, however, did not apply to the Course's Preface, the additional material added to the Second Edition, the Clarification of Terms, and the two pamphlets, Psychotherapy and The Song of Prayer. Moreover, the Foundation still owns the copyright to the notebooks, Urtext, and the Hugh Lynn Version.
As a result, when you go now to amazon.com and call up "A Course in Miracles," the chances are, if you are not aware of this background, that you may be selecting the Endeavor or some other version, which is being marketed as the original Course. The Endeavor group has also included Matthew's gospel in the Course, because they have always held that the Course and the Bible are the same. Thus, in that version you are not going to get the true Course at all, not even the Urtext or Hugh Lynn version.
Ken also wrote this about the Urtext: "Finally, there was, among other subjects, material on sexuality, statistics, and mental retardation; the last two being major interests of Helen's. For a number of reasons, none of this material belonged in the published version. First, much of it was personal to Helen and Bill, and had nothing to do with the teachings of "A Course in Miracles." Perhaps even more importantly, Helen was notoriously inaccurate when her own ego was involved. A great deal of this early material was colored by Helen. She was incredibly accurate when her ego was not in the way, however, and that is why the pure teaching of the Course is what it is. One could never imagine Jesus saying, for example, what is in the Urtext on sex—not that it was anything horrific, but it obviously reflected Helen's own values and biases."
Showers of Forever Love,
David
How can I release childhood memories of sexual abuse?
Question:
In my meditative state I sometimes am drawn to do forgiveness exercises using the lesson "God is the love in which I forgive ______ .” In these exercises my grandfather and uncle have come up in relation to sexual abuse. I proceed as usual in forgiving them and myself. I have no specific memories of abuse. I also have a memory of around 12 years old when I witnessed my brother and his friends having sexual relations with a young girl, and a vague memory of some sexual contact with my sister, probably at about 8 years old.
Is there anything specific I can do about these memories? How can I work in removing these blocks to love's presence?
Answer:
Sexual attraction and sexual abuse seem very different to the mind asleep and dreaming, and to the ego, attraction is often judged as positive and abuse as negative. Yet anything that is used to reinforce the "reality" of the body in awareness is an attempt to deny the Reality of Spirit. Memories are interpretations from the past that are called forth and experienced as if they are still present. Past associations can seem to offer pleasure or pain, and the sameness of these seemingly different experiences must be recognized before they can be released as one error.
In forgiveness the misperception of abuse is gone, for there is no longer a belief in opposites. The perception of a grievance requires a victim and a victimizer, and this perception forgiveness cannot perceive. The projection of attack thoughts produced the illusory interpretation of abuse. Once the projection is seen as the attempt to keep the attack thoughts, this defense will no longer seem helpful. Peace comes from the release of attack thoughts, and thus all ego attempts to repress or project attack thoughts are only ways of blocking inner peace from awareness.
There is a Perspective of the body and world that offers only blessings. This is holy relationship. The body is seen as a symbol of communication and has no value in and of itself. What is the body for? "Does it serve the Light?" is the only helpful question in any situation in which the thought of bodies has entered. Let the Spirit smile and laugh and hug through the body, and you will see the body in the Light of forgiveness. In this Light there is neither attraction or repulsion, for what is wholly neutral can merely serve the One Who brings healing. In this Purpose is the experience of Joy. Joy is ever fulfilling and offers the Perspective that all things work together for good.
Love,
David
What about the Holocaust? Couldn't ACIM be used to condone attack by saying "it never happened"?
Question:
I have got a big question. When we use Course principles, we say that what hurt us in the past never happened. What exactly does that mean? For example, if the Course is saying that the Holocaust never happened, this is shocking and can be used by certain groups to justify anti-Jewish feelings. Can you help me to understand?
Answer:
Miracles collapse time and offer a Correction for all misperception. The ego is the belief that it is possible to be unfairly treated. It matters not whether the error of abuse seemed to take the form of mild annoyance or mass murder, for there are not different forms of the same illusion. Forgiveness lets go of all illusions together, and in forgiveness Innocence is recognized. Forgiveness is always a gift to One Self, for only the error of attack seemed to veil the Love within. The Spirit teaches that pardon is always justified, and peace and understanding go together. Pardon what never happened and accept What Is is the pathway to the Happiness of Being Present.
The ego may seem to quote scripture and justify an "anti" feeling or opinion, yet the ego has no seeming existence or power or life unless it is believed. It is helpful to question the unconscious ego belief system in abuse and victimhood, for once it is exposed as false it disappears from awareness.
I am joined with you in forgiveness, and complete forgiveness is the awareness that the separation from God never happened. Indeed only forgiveness is a worthy goal for your time and effort, for forgiveness yields peace of mind. Nothing can prevail against a Child of God Who knows of God's Eternal Peace.
Love,
David
Can you talk about "separation anxiety"?
Description of video:
David Hoffmeister fields questions from Christine & Evelyn about separation anxiety in this 2004 New York City gathering.
Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GGSCZzp8YA
How much can I give of myself without being a "doormat" for people?
Question:
I have been a student of ACIM for 9 yrs; I live my life as God as my guiding light. I have a friend with two cats who I “took in” when she lost her home and job. Six months later, she was still in my home. When I told her I had helped as much as I could, she started ranting and retreated into her room, and left during the night with no thank yous or goodbyes. I guess my question is how much can you give without being a doormat?
Answer:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings and for your desire to learn how to be truly helpful and giving. In true Giving, as God Gives and as the Holy Spirit offers through whole perception, there is never a feeling of being taken advantage of or manipulated. The Holy Child of God is never a "doormat." Your recent encounter, like all encounters of mind, is the opportunity to see the impossibility of what I will again call "people pleasing." Your deepest desire is to extend God's Love and be truly helpful, yet the ego has its own "version" of helpfulness. The ego's "plan" for helpfulness would have a body get something from another body. It does not matter whether this getting" seems emotional, psychological, or physical, for reciprocity is the ego's basic rule of existence. If you are honest with yourself you will see that the world of separation was based on the lie of scarcity, needs, and exchange. The world of the past, seen as if it were still present, is the misperception of time that the Holy Spirit Corrects. The acceptance of the Correction is our only function now, for the world of opposites and conflict was purposeless.
Irritation and anger seem to arise when the mind expects a "form” outcome to be a certain way, and perceives that it has not turned out as it "should." All expectations arise from unreal ego goals that have nothing to do with the Reality of the Present Moment. True giving is a state of acceptance of the Holy Spirit's Perspective, in which it is apparent that all things work together for good. The Holy Spirit sees the situation as whole. The ego seemed to feel a lack of love and then called forth a witness to prove that lack is real and that upset is "justified." Yet you are not the ego, and mind is not dependent on the ego for the Life that God Freely Gives Eternally. The Holy Spirit offers another way of looking at the world that is based on an experience of wholeness and completion. The mind training exercises of ACIM are designed to flush up ego goals and expectations, to raise to awareness the make-believe self image that God did not create, and to help the mind accept the Atonement (which is the Alternative to the ego).
The only gift that can be truly Given through the Holy Spirit is the beatitude of peace of mind. Whatever seems to be done in form must come from a peaceful state of mind, for without peace the gift of the miracle is not apparent in awareness. Miracles are natural and evident in the absence of expectations and agendas. Each holy encounter is an opportunity to experience completion, to experience the folly of expectations. The mind which sees itself as whole makes no demands, for it rests content in its own completion. The Holy Spirit shows the mind its own completion, and in this experience the desire to "get" is completely gone from awareness.
It is also helpful to be reminded that Giving is not a matter of degree. The miracle is always totally Giving and expectations of any kind offer not the slightest hint of True Giving. Peace and Giving are the same, just as upset and the desire to get are the same. Decide with the Holy Spirit and peace ARE the resulting state of mind. Decide to expect a "form outcome," and upset IS the illusory state of mind which seems to be experienced. One may ask how it is possible to survive in the world without basic assumptions and expectations, yet pause to ask if Spirit could ever be FOUND in the “world” the ego made. It takes trust in the Holy Spirit to Wake Up from the dream of separation to the Oneness of the Spirit. It takes willingness to accept forgiveness in place of a past grievance.
Happily there is no person, place, or thing that can take away the Peace of God. "God is no respecter of persons" means that Love cannot be held hostage to misperception; Love is Universal and never personal. The personal perspective of the ego never brought a feeling of peace and happiness and contentment. The Holy Spirit ALWAYS brings a feeling of peace and happiness and contentment. The decision for Heaven is not a difficult choice to make once the alternative thought systems are brought together. Perfect Love casts out fear because darkness vanishes in the Presence of Light. We are the Living Christ. Make our invulnerability manifest by accepting our Magnitude. This is true humility. Spirit Gives and Extends because this is What Spirit Is. Let no images conceal the Spirit from awareness.
In Love with You forever,
David
Undoing the concept of "teacher" and "student", "leader" and "follower".
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
I am afraid of people and stuck in isolation... please help.
Question:
I have been reading ACIM on and off since 1995, but it's only since 2 months ago that I started to put the lessons and reading text into a daily routine, mostly out of desperation. You seem to have a real handle on the principles of ACIM, like you are really, truly living it. What was your life like before ACIM, and how is it different now? Was there some negative circumstance that brought you to ACIM first?
I really don't know how to help myself anymore, because I feel like my own worst enemy. I have felt like something is "wrong" with me since childhood. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to study the Course every day and still on some level be resisting its teachings. Do I just keep studying the Course and hope that someday it will work on me? Or is there something more I need to do? I am afraid to take action. I am afraid to reach out to people. The longer I live in isolation, the harder it gets. I feel like I am really missing the boat here, just not getting it. Any insights you could offer me would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
Thanks for pouring your heart out and sharing your thoughts, for not protecting them is a big step toward healed perception. The willingness to ask for Help is a reflection of the desire for healing. I came to the Inner Voice for God long before ACIM came into my awareness, and now I experience Life as Oneness with God and All. The Principle of Love is Alive Now as a State of Being! Initially the Holy Spirit used the contrast between fear and love as a way of showing that there must be a better way than the past seemed to offer. As the willingness to follow as Guided seemed to grow in strength, the happy lessons of forgiveness followed and link in a circle of Atonement. In Atonement Now I am aware that the separation and the story never happened. Love simply Is.
First it is important to be open to the idea that it is impossible not to know God's Will for Perfect Happiness. Hesitation offers nothing. Delay is futile. Love is inevitable. You have gifts to give over to the Holy Spirit to use for Awakening. It will increasingly seem more and more impossible not to use these talents for the Glory of God. Anything that does not Glorify the Creator is a wisp of illusion that will pass away from awareness.
Open your heart to allow the Holy Spirit to make contacts for you, and bring holy witnesses into your awareness. The path will be rich with holy encounters and opportunities to brighten your attitude. Simplify your world as a reflection of the desire to simplify your thoughts and align with the Holy Spirit. Take time to read and practice ACIM and do the Workbook lessons. Let it be a path of devotion. You are not alone, for God goes with you everywhere you seem to go. The Presence of God is unmistakable for a willing mind and thankful heart.
The illusion of isolation will begin to fade in awareness as you trust the Holy Spirit with each small step you take. You have taken a big step by writing this email. Your seeming "problem" is not private anymore, for you have opened it up to the Holy Spirit. All of the legions of angels await your tiny nod of willingness to spring into action on your behalf. Jump in, for Love is the "safety net" underneath the seeming leap, and the Holy Spirit will surely carry you through the darkness to the Light! No one can fail who seeks to reach the Truth.
Blessings raining down,
David