Below is another insight that I've been led to in my quest to heal my eyesight as those in Brazil did. For those of you following my blogs on My Vision Quest, you may recall that when I went to Brazil to see the healer/medium John of God, I learned of 4 individuals whose eyesight was restored and, in two instances their optic nerves were not functioning at all. They were not seeing by way of the usual mechanism of the eye. Consider what the following excerpts from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now say about who we are and the power of our consciousness.
Eckhart Tolle: "Highly conscious beings who are aware of their connectedness with the Source and with each other inhabit a world that to you would appear as a heavenly realm. And yet, all worlds are ultimately one. Our collective human world is largely created through the level of consciousness we call mind. Even within the collective human world there are vast differences, many different sub-worlds depending on the perceivers or creators of their respective worlds. Since all worlds are interconnected, when collective hhuman consciousness becomes transformed, nature and the animal kingdom will reflect their transformation. Hence the statement in the Bible that in the coming age, the lion shall lie down with the lamb. This points to the possibility of a completely different order of reality.
""The world as it appears to us now is largely a reflection of the egoic mind. Fear being an unavoidable consequence of egoic delusion, it is a world dominated by fear. Just as the images in a dream are symbols of inner states and feelings, so our collective reality is largely a symbolic expression of fear and of the heavy layers of negativity that have accumulated in the collective human psyche. We are not separate from our world, so when the majority of humans become free of egoic delusion [that we are primarily bodies, not primarily spirits with a thin veil we call a body], this inner change will affect all creation. You will literally inhabit a new world. It is a shift in planetary consciousness."
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Our Consciousness Creates Our World
Below is another insight that I've been led to in my quest to heal my eyesight as those in Brazil did. For those of you following my blogs on My Vision Quest, you may recall that when I went to Brazil to see the healer/medium John of God, I learned of 4 individuals whose eyesight was restored and, in two instances their optic nerves were not functioning at all. They were not seeing by way of the usual mechanism of the eye. Consider what the following excerpts from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now say about who we are and the power of our consciousness.
• Interviewer's first Question: "We believe in death and that's why the body dies, right?"
Eckhart Tolle: "The body does not die because you believe in death. The body exists or seems to because you believe in death. Body and death are part of the same illusion created by the egoic mode of consciousness which has no awareness of the source of life and sees itself as separate and constantly under threat."
Interviewer's nextt Question: "Why does an animal have a body? It doesn't believe in death."
Eckhart Tolle: "There's no world out there. We create what we see so animals appear to die, etc."
"One of the greatest insights that has come out of modern physics is that of the unity of the observer and the observed. The person conducting the experiment, the observing consciousness, cannot be separated from the observed phenomena, and a different way of looking causes the observed phenomena to behave differently.
"If you believe in separation and the struggle for survival then you see that belief reflected all around you and your perceptions are governed by fear. You inhabit a world of death and of bodies fighting, killing, and devouring each other. Nothing is what it seems to be. The world you see and create with the egoic mind may seem to be a very imperfect place even a vale of tears. But whatever you perceive is only a kind of symbol like an image in a dream. It is how your consciousness interprets and interacts with the molecular energy dance of the universe. This energy is the raw material of so-called physical reality. You see it in terms of bodies and birth and death or as a struggle for survival.
An infinite number of completely different interpretations, of completely different worlds, is possible and in fact exists. All depending on the perceiving consciousness. The being is the focal point of consciousness and every such focal point creates its own world although all those worlds are interconnected. There's a human world, an ant world, a dolphin world, and so on. There are countless beings whose consciousness frequency is so different from yours that you are probably unaware of their existence as they are of yours.
• Interviewer's first Question: "We believe in death and that's why the body dies, right?"
Eckhart Tolle: "The body does not die because you believe in death. The body exists or seems to because you believe in death. Body and death are part of the same illusion created by the egoic mode of consciousness which has no awareness of the source of life and sees itself as separate and constantly under threat."
Interviewer's nextt Question: "Why does an animal have a body? It doesn't believe in death."
Eckhart Tolle: "There's no world out there. We create what we see so animals appear to die, etc."
"One of the greatest insights that has come out of modern physics is that of the unity of the observer and the observed. The person conducting the experiment, the observing consciousness, cannot be separated from the observed phenomena, and a different way of looking causes the observed phenomena to behave differently.
"If you believe in separation and the struggle for survival then you see that belief reflected all around you and your perceptions are governed by fear. You inhabit a world of death and of bodies fighting, killing, and devouring each other. Nothing is what it seems to be. The world you see and create with the egoic mind may seem to be a very imperfect place even a vale of tears. But whatever you perceive is only a kind of symbol like an image in a dream. It is how your consciousness interprets and interacts with the molecular energy dance of the universe. This energy is the raw material of so-called physical reality. You see it in terms of bodies and birth and death or as a struggle for survival.
An infinite number of completely different interpretations, of completely different worlds, is possible and in fact exists. All depending on the perceiving consciousness. The being is the focal point of consciousness and every such focal point creates its own world although all those worlds are interconnected. There's a human world, an ant world, a dolphin world, and so on. There are countless beings whose consciousness frequency is so different from yours that you are probably unaware of their existence as they are of yours.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Ten Years Later: A Spiritual View of 9/11/01
A Native American Perspective on the Evil of 9/11/01 [The following is excerpted from A Matter of Love www.thespacebetweenstars.com]
If everything comes from the Divine, then why not evil? Can the Darkness somehow serve the Light? Are the calamities of life spiritual gifts? Is it that we can make some use of the tragedy, find a silver lining in the cloud? Or, is there a silver lining there already? Can what is unspeakably horrible from one point of view be something that is beneficial from another perspective?
Just days after the World Trade Center attack, I was e-mailed a copy of a statement by Jean Reddeman of the Mohican Nation. Her Native American name is Wasaki Emani Wi, which means Strong Walking Woman. Among her people, she is considered a seer, which I believe means that she is a prophet and a clairvoyant. She indicated that the tragedy had been predicted by the elders of her tribal nation many years ago. They foresaw a “massive spiritual exodus.” The elders saw that many “advanced souls” were going to sacrifice their lives to help shift the values and consciousness of not only America but the world from a materialistic focus to a spiritual one.
Jean indicated that the elders believed that this immense sacrifice would not have happened if America had already made the shift to the spiritual values of love, compassion, and peace. She went on to say that the elders “had predicted that great good will come after this tragedy especially if people recognize the teachings of the event and if they honor those who died during the tragedy.”
In speaking of those who died in the tragedy, Jean said that these “very evolved souls will be helping the major shift that the world so sorely needs.” She claimed that, “They came into this lifetime to give us this gift, the gift of their lives and of their love so that the world would change to a better place.” She emphasized that: “We must honor them, we must go forward. We must listen to their messages from the heavens.”
According to Jean, the role of women is especially important in moving on to implement the change needed. Jean quoted an old Mohican Proverb:
A nation is not lost as long as the women’s hearts are still high. Only when the women’s hearts are on the ground—then all is finished, and the nation dies. The women are the life carriers.
Jean proclaimed that women must, in effect, access the depths of their heart, and this will enable men to find what she calls “their original strength.” She specified that this is not the strength resulting from economic, political and military power but is from “spiritual strength.” The world needs this “nurturing energy.” And she goes on to emphasize the importance of this energy:
We cannot go on with wars; we will all die, if we do. We have to see in the middle of the pain and chaos the greater lessons.We must thank them [those who died at the hands of the terrorists] from the bottom of our hearts, with incredible love, for they are great people. We have to share this moment so that together we can go to this new consciousness, the female energy that is so much needed at this time.
From my perspective, we need to see through our heart with the eyes of love and compassion as we look at the areas of the world where terrorism breeds so freely. The deprivation and despair of such harsh living conditions like those in the Middle East are a fertile breeding ground for suicide bombers.
Future bombers are living at the level of the reptile as they struggle to survive such harsh conditions. Dropping care packages and not just bombs in Afghanistan and later in Iraq was a small step in the direction of addressing the underlying deprivation.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Recalling TV & Radio Spots I Did re: 9/11
How do you deal with such a massive terror attack? What about the stress? What about the anger some of us are feeling after the attack on New York and the Pentagon? This is the question we are going to put to Dr. Stephen Jackson this morning. Dr. Jackson do you have any answers for us?
—Rita Foley
[Note: To hear the interview with Rita Foley gp tp www.thespacebetweenstars.com and click on In the News and scroll down to Associated Press Radio. It is on the last few minutes of the 18 minute interview that starts with a discussion Talk America on dealing with anger, anxiety, grief and son rgarding September 11, 2001. See also TV clips on MSNBC clip with Rick Sanchez on talkng to your children and Iyanla Vansant. The following is an excerpt from the book A Matter of Love.]
Rita Foley of Associated Press Radio put this question to me just days after the tragedy that rocked our world. My answer, which I had to deliver in ninety seconds, can be summed up by saying we need to express rather than repress or aggress our stress over these horrific events and help others do the same. Emotionally, we can’t heal what we don’t feel. By feeling our pain fully and expressing it, we release our pain and foster healing. And yet, can we really heal our heartbreaking grief over the loss of loved ones?
222222
I explained on one show after another that we heal only as we keep ourselves from giving in to the tendency to repress our pain. Furthermore, I emphasized that we do this by continuing to express our painful feelings to ourselves and others. Eventually, we drain the pain from our heart by expressing all our feelings: our anger, fear, and grief. I told Rick Sanchez on MSNBC that we need to help our children fully feel and redirect the hate triggered by the murder of so many innocent people in New York, Washington, and Shanksville. I explained how the letters of the word heart reveal how we can redirect the hate. We need to hear and feel with our heart what our anger, fear, and grief are t—telling us about what we love, about what is important to us. If we repress or aggress our stress it will poison us with anger and rage, anxiety and fear, as well as with inconsolable grief and depression. Instead, we need to express our pain so that we can feel it and heal it.
We can find solace as we focus on the love in our heart. When we shift our focus to love we access the healing power of our heart and find some comfort. Though our loved one may be gone from this earth, our loved one will forever live on in our heart.
For our heart is the calm, caring, connecting, and continuous consciousness that is the core of our being. When our heart is open, it is like an endlessly flowing fountain. In the fountain of our heart, love flows freely and the poisons of our negative emotions cannot stagnate there. They are washed away.
Our heart can also be likened to the sun that continues to shine even as the clouds of our fear, anger, and sadness or grief hide it from our view. Just as the clouds can do nothing to harm the sun, so the poisons of anger and fear can only hide, not harm, our heart as the core of our being. Nonetheless, when the stress of holding on to our fear and anger is chronic, it may harm our physical heart.
Evil occurs when we allow the dark clouds of our anger and fear to block our access to the light of love in our heart. As we shall see, blocking out our pain is the mental and emotional basis of evil. When we block out our pain, we are in danger of being insensitive to the pain of others and we can more easily inflict pain on them. This is one of the reasons that adults who were abused as children often abuse their children. They don’t remember how it felt when they were beaten and humiliated.
By feeling and expressing our painful feelings of anger, fear, and grief, we can heal and eventually find inner peace and relief from our suffering. Expression and not repression or aggression keeps our heart clear and unclouded by the poisons of anger and fear. The letters of the word peace reveal the essence of inner peace:
P-peace, E-equals, A-acceptance, C-compassion, and E-empathy.
We heal as we feel by accepting with compassion and empathy our own emotional pain. And we help others heal as we help them accept with compassion and empathy their pain. Instead of defending ourselves against feeling our pain, we open our heart to feel and heal our pain. Inner peace is our reward.
The key to detoxifying our life and our relationships is to respond to the tests life gives us with acceptance, compassion, and empathy emanating from our heart. When I was in college we used to say we aced the test when we received a grade of A. Finding inner peace really involves learning to ace the tough tests of life. We do this by responding with acceptance, compassion, and empathy. Of course, we have to ace and then express our anger, fear, and grief arising from the stressful events taking place.
So many lost loved ones on September 11th and many children lost one or both parents. As individuals, and, as a nation, we got caught up in the illusion that retaliation was our healing balm. This instinctive reaction comes from our reptilian brain; the reptile in us is governed by fight and flight. Unfortunately, actor Richard Gere caught the rage of the reptile brains of the audience when he spoke at a rally in Central Park in New York City. Gere was booed when he conveyed how we needed to respond with love and compassion, not hate and retaliation. He was right. The audience was not yet ready for his beautiful message: it was too soon.
Many were still in the grip of heart-wrenching emotional pain. Nevertheless, we ultimately find inner peace as we feel acceptance, compassion, and empathy for our pain and the pain (even if based on delusions) driving our enemy to attack us. We can then begin to recover from such an immense tragedy as September 11, 2001.
—Rita Foley
[Note: To hear the interview with Rita Foley gp tp www.thespacebetweenstars.com and click on In the News and scroll down to Associated Press Radio. It is on the last few minutes of the 18 minute interview that starts with a discussion Talk America on dealing with anger, anxiety, grief and son rgarding September 11, 2001. See also TV clips on MSNBC clip with Rick Sanchez on talkng to your children and Iyanla Vansant. The following is an excerpt from the book A Matter of Love.]
Rita Foley of Associated Press Radio put this question to me just days after the tragedy that rocked our world. My answer, which I had to deliver in ninety seconds, can be summed up by saying we need to express rather than repress or aggress our stress over these horrific events and help others do the same. Emotionally, we can’t heal what we don’t feel. By feeling our pain fully and expressing it, we release our pain and foster healing. And yet, can we really heal our heartbreaking grief over the loss of loved ones?
222222
I explained on one show after another that we heal only as we keep ourselves from giving in to the tendency to repress our pain. Furthermore, I emphasized that we do this by continuing to express our painful feelings to ourselves and others. Eventually, we drain the pain from our heart by expressing all our feelings: our anger, fear, and grief. I told Rick Sanchez on MSNBC that we need to help our children fully feel and redirect the hate triggered by the murder of so many innocent people in New York, Washington, and Shanksville. I explained how the letters of the word heart reveal how we can redirect the hate. We need to hear and feel with our heart what our anger, fear, and grief are t—telling us about what we love, about what is important to us. If we repress or aggress our stress it will poison us with anger and rage, anxiety and fear, as well as with inconsolable grief and depression. Instead, we need to express our pain so that we can feel it and heal it.
We can find solace as we focus on the love in our heart. When we shift our focus to love we access the healing power of our heart and find some comfort. Though our loved one may be gone from this earth, our loved one will forever live on in our heart.
For our heart is the calm, caring, connecting, and continuous consciousness that is the core of our being. When our heart is open, it is like an endlessly flowing fountain. In the fountain of our heart, love flows freely and the poisons of our negative emotions cannot stagnate there. They are washed away.
Our heart can also be likened to the sun that continues to shine even as the clouds of our fear, anger, and sadness or grief hide it from our view. Just as the clouds can do nothing to harm the sun, so the poisons of anger and fear can only hide, not harm, our heart as the core of our being. Nonetheless, when the stress of holding on to our fear and anger is chronic, it may harm our physical heart.
Evil occurs when we allow the dark clouds of our anger and fear to block our access to the light of love in our heart. As we shall see, blocking out our pain is the mental and emotional basis of evil. When we block out our pain, we are in danger of being insensitive to the pain of others and we can more easily inflict pain on them. This is one of the reasons that adults who were abused as children often abuse their children. They don’t remember how it felt when they were beaten and humiliated.
By feeling and expressing our painful feelings of anger, fear, and grief, we can heal and eventually find inner peace and relief from our suffering. Expression and not repression or aggression keeps our heart clear and unclouded by the poisons of anger and fear. The letters of the word peace reveal the essence of inner peace:
P-peace, E-equals, A-acceptance, C-compassion, and E-empathy.
We heal as we feel by accepting with compassion and empathy our own emotional pain. And we help others heal as we help them accept with compassion and empathy their pain. Instead of defending ourselves against feeling our pain, we open our heart to feel and heal our pain. Inner peace is our reward.
The key to detoxifying our life and our relationships is to respond to the tests life gives us with acceptance, compassion, and empathy emanating from our heart. When I was in college we used to say we aced the test when we received a grade of A. Finding inner peace really involves learning to ace the tough tests of life. We do this by responding with acceptance, compassion, and empathy. Of course, we have to ace and then express our anger, fear, and grief arising from the stressful events taking place.
So many lost loved ones on September 11th and many children lost one or both parents. As individuals, and, as a nation, we got caught up in the illusion that retaliation was our healing balm. This instinctive reaction comes from our reptilian brain; the reptile in us is governed by fight and flight. Unfortunately, actor Richard Gere caught the rage of the reptile brains of the audience when he spoke at a rally in Central Park in New York City. Gere was booed when he conveyed how we needed to respond with love and compassion, not hate and retaliation. He was right. The audience was not yet ready for his beautiful message: it was too soon.
Many were still in the grip of heart-wrenching emotional pain. Nevertheless, we ultimately find inner peace as we feel acceptance, compassion, and empathy for our pain and the pain (even if based on delusions) driving our enemy to attack us. We can then begin to recover from such an immense tragedy as September 11, 2001.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
My Vision Quest: Mind Creates Body. . .
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new blog entry below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer the excerpted material for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now.
"What you perceive as a dense physical structure called the body, which is subject to disease, old age, and death, is not ultimately real, is not you. It [the bodily] is a misperception of your essential reality that is beyond birth and death and is due to the limitations of your mind which, having lost touch with being, creates the body as evidence of its illusory belief in separation and to justify its state of fear.
"But do not turn away from the body for in that symbol of impermanence, limitation, and death that you perceive as the illusory creation of your mind, is concealed: the splendor of your essential and immortal reality. Do not turn your attention elsewhere in your search for the truth for it is nowhere else to be found but within your body."
These passages are in line with the teachings of A Course in Miracles and the experience of those individuals in Brazil whose vision was restored while their optic nerves remainined unhealed, Last night I had one of those dreams in which I am suddenly able to see clearly both near and far. I was able read a passage in a book and I was also able to see across the street. When we dream, our body's eyes are closed. With what are we seeing? Certainly, it is not the body's eyes just as it is not with the mechanism of the body's eyes that the individuals whose vision was restored in Brazil now see.
• Today, reflect on what this may mean about who and what we really are. In line with St. John's claim that God is love, A Course in Miracles states, "God is but love and therefore so am I." From time to time today, take a deep beathe and, as you exhale, consciously let the tension drain from your body, and silently repeat these words. Notice how you feel in your body. I once received that when I can see through the eyes of God with total love and no fear, my vision will become clear.
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer the excerpted material for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now.
"What you perceive as a dense physical structure called the body, which is subject to disease, old age, and death, is not ultimately real, is not you. It [the bodily] is a misperception of your essential reality that is beyond birth and death and is due to the limitations of your mind which, having lost touch with being, creates the body as evidence of its illusory belief in separation and to justify its state of fear.
"But do not turn away from the body for in that symbol of impermanence, limitation, and death that you perceive as the illusory creation of your mind, is concealed: the splendor of your essential and immortal reality. Do not turn your attention elsewhere in your search for the truth for it is nowhere else to be found but within your body."
These passages are in line with the teachings of A Course in Miracles and the experience of those individuals in Brazil whose vision was restored while their optic nerves remainined unhealed, Last night I had one of those dreams in which I am suddenly able to see clearly both near and far. I was able read a passage in a book and I was also able to see across the street. When we dream, our body's eyes are closed. With what are we seeing? Certainly, it is not the body's eyes just as it is not with the mechanism of the body's eyes that the individuals whose vision was restored in Brazil now see.
• Today, reflect on what this may mean about who and what we really are. In line with St. John's claim that God is love, A Course in Miracles states, "God is but love and therefore so am I." From time to time today, take a deep beathe and, as you exhale, consciously let the tension drain from your body, and silently repeat these words. Notice how you feel in your body. I once received that when I can see through the eyes of God with total love and no fear, my vision will become clear.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
My Vision Quest: No One Fails to Heal if . . .
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new excerpt from A Course in Miracles below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions. Also, For those of you who are Christian as well as those of you who are not or may not believe in any religion, any terms typically associated with Christianity (Christ, Holy Spirit, Father, etc.) are not intended to promote a religion but are intended to provide a universal, spiritual experience beyond any creed or dogma. And for me, the terms point me toward an experience necessary for the healing of my vision.]
Excerpts from Lesson 185 I want the peace of God.
"To say these words is nothing. But to mean these words is everything. If you could but mean them for just an instant there would be no further sorrow possible for you in any form, in any place or time. Heaven would be completely given back to full awareness, memory of God entirely restored, the resurrection of all creation fully recognized. No one can mean these words and not be healed."
"The mind who wants peace must join with other minds."
"It is this one intent we seek toddy uniting our desires with the need of every heart, the call of every mind, the hope that lies beyond despair, the love attack would hide, the brotherhood that hate has sought to sever, but which still remains as God created it."
• Today, from time to time, consider what you believe will bring you "comfort and happiness," e.g., prized possessions, achievements, a perfect love partner, recognition, and so on. After each one, ask 'Is this what I would have in place of heaven and the peace of God? Remember, this lesson proclaims that "no one can mean these words and not be healed."
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions. Also, For those of you who are Christian as well as those of you who are not or may not believe in any religion, any terms typically associated with Christianity (Christ, Holy Spirit, Father, etc.) are not intended to promote a religion but are intended to provide a universal, spiritual experience beyond any creed or dogma. And for me, the terms point me toward an experience necessary for the healing of my vision.]
Excerpts from Lesson 185 I want the peace of God.
"To say these words is nothing. But to mean these words is everything. If you could but mean them for just an instant there would be no further sorrow possible for you in any form, in any place or time. Heaven would be completely given back to full awareness, memory of God entirely restored, the resurrection of all creation fully recognized. No one can mean these words and not be healed."
"The mind who wants peace must join with other minds."
"It is this one intent we seek toddy uniting our desires with the need of every heart, the call of every mind, the hope that lies beyond despair, the love attack would hide, the brotherhood that hate has sought to sever, but which still remains as God created it."
• Today, from time to time, consider what you believe will bring you "comfort and happiness," e.g., prized possessions, achievements, a perfect love partner, recognition, and so on. After each one, ask 'Is this what I would have in place of heaven and the peace of God? Remember, this lesson proclaims that "no one can mean these words and not be healed."
Sunday, June 26, 2011
My Vision Quest: Adjust Your Vision—Angel or Stone statue?
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new blog entry below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer the excerpted material for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now.
"The body does not die because you believe in death. The body exists or seems to because you believe in death. Body and death are part of the same illusion created by the egoic mode of consciousness which has no awareness of the source of life and sees itself as separate and constantly under threat.
"So it creates the illusion that you are a body, a dense physical vehicle, that is constantly under threat. To perceive yourself as a vulnerable body that was born and a little later dies, that's the illusion. Body and death, one illusion. You cannot have one without the other. You want to keep one side of the illusion [when you hold physical immortality to be true] and get rid of the other. But that is impossible. Either you keep all of it or you relinquish all of it.
"However, you do not escape from the body nor do you have to. The body is an incredible misperception of your true nature. But your true nature is concealed in that illusion not outside it. So the body is still the oily point of access to it. If you saw an angel and mistook it for a stone statue, all you would have to do is adjust your vision and look more closely at the stone statue, not start looking somewhere else. You would then find that there never was a stone statue."
• Today, consider how you as an observer of what you call reality is shaped by your inner conversatopm or what cognitive-behavioral therapy calles "self-talk." Consider how changing your self-talk can change your reality. Wayne Dyer put it this way, "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer the excerpted material for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now.
"The body does not die because you believe in death. The body exists or seems to because you believe in death. Body and death are part of the same illusion created by the egoic mode of consciousness which has no awareness of the source of life and sees itself as separate and constantly under threat.
"So it creates the illusion that you are a body, a dense physical vehicle, that is constantly under threat. To perceive yourself as a vulnerable body that was born and a little later dies, that's the illusion. Body and death, one illusion. You cannot have one without the other. You want to keep one side of the illusion [when you hold physical immortality to be true] and get rid of the other. But that is impossible. Either you keep all of it or you relinquish all of it.
"However, you do not escape from the body nor do you have to. The body is an incredible misperception of your true nature. But your true nature is concealed in that illusion not outside it. So the body is still the oily point of access to it. If you saw an angel and mistook it for a stone statue, all you would have to do is adjust your vision and look more closely at the stone statue, not start looking somewhere else. You would then find that there never was a stone statue."
• Today, consider how you as an observer of what you call reality is shaped by your inner conversatopm or what cognitive-behavioral therapy calles "self-talk." Consider how changing your self-talk can change your reality. Wayne Dyer put it this way, "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
My Vision Quest…"We give as we receive…"
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new excerpt from A Course in Miracles below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions. Also, For those of you who are Christian as well as those of you who are not or may not believe in any religion, any terms typically associated with Christianity (Christ, Holy Spirit, Father, etc.) are not intended to promote a religion but are intended to provide a universal, spiritual experience beyond any creed or dogma. And for me, the terms point me toward an experience necessary for the healing of my vision.]
Excerpts from Lesson 158 "Today I learn to give as I receive."
"Time is a trick, a sleight of hand, a vast illusion in which figures come and go as if by magic. Yet there is a plan behind appearances that does not change. . . ."
"Our concern is with Christ's vision. This we can attain. Christ's vision has one law. It does not look upon a body and mistake it or the son [daughter] whom god created. It beholds a light beyond the body, an idea beyond what can be touched, a purity undimmed by errors, pitiful mistakes, and fearful thoughts of guilts from dreams of sin. It sees no separation. And it looks on everyone, on every circumstance, all happenings, and all events without the slightest fading of the light it sees."
This you give today. See no one as a body. Greet him [her] s the son [daughter] of God he [she] is, acknowledging he [she] is one with you in holiness. Thus are his [her] sins forgiven him [her] for Christ has vision which has power to overlook them all. In His forgiveness are they gone. Unseen by one, they merely disappear because the vision of the holiness that lies beyond them comes to take their place. It matters not what form they took nor how enormous they appear to be nor who seemed to be hurt by them. They are no more and all effects they seem to have are gone with them undone and never to be done.
Thus do you learn to give as you receive. Adn thus Christ's vision looks on you as well. This vision is not difficult to learn if you but see yourself. For if he [she] be lost in sin so must you be. If you see light in him [her], your sins have been forgiven by yourself. Each brother [sister] whom you meet today provides another chance to allow Christ's vision to shine on you and offer you the peace of God."
• "We practice seeing with the eyes of Christ today."
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions. Also, For those of you who are Christian as well as those of you who are not or may not believe in any religion, any terms typically associated with Christianity (Christ, Holy Spirit, Father, etc.) are not intended to promote a religion but are intended to provide a universal, spiritual experience beyond any creed or dogma. And for me, the terms point me toward an experience necessary for the healing of my vision.]
Excerpts from Lesson 158 "Today I learn to give as I receive."
"Time is a trick, a sleight of hand, a vast illusion in which figures come and go as if by magic. Yet there is a plan behind appearances that does not change. . . ."
"Our concern is with Christ's vision. This we can attain. Christ's vision has one law. It does not look upon a body and mistake it or the son [daughter] whom god created. It beholds a light beyond the body, an idea beyond what can be touched, a purity undimmed by errors, pitiful mistakes, and fearful thoughts of guilts from dreams of sin. It sees no separation. And it looks on everyone, on every circumstance, all happenings, and all events without the slightest fading of the light it sees."
This you give today. See no one as a body. Greet him [her] s the son [daughter] of God he [she] is, acknowledging he [she] is one with you in holiness. Thus are his [her] sins forgiven him [her] for Christ has vision which has power to overlook them all. In His forgiveness are they gone. Unseen by one, they merely disappear because the vision of the holiness that lies beyond them comes to take their place. It matters not what form they took nor how enormous they appear to be nor who seemed to be hurt by them. They are no more and all effects they seem to have are gone with them undone and never to be done.
Thus do you learn to give as you receive. Adn thus Christ's vision looks on you as well. This vision is not difficult to learn if you but see yourself. For if he [she] be lost in sin so must you be. If you see light in him [her], your sins have been forgiven by yourself. Each brother [sister] whom you meet today provides another chance to allow Christ's vision to shine on you and offer you the peace of God."
• "We practice seeing with the eyes of Christ today."
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
My Vision Quest…"We Live in A Dream…"
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new excerpt from one of the latest presentations on the Maya and 2012 below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer the following excerpt from a presentation on The Eternal Maya (see YouTube): In all my time with the Maya, I never heard the following about the nature of what we call reality. It fits with what I am discovering on my vision quest.
"Life is not what it seems to be, not even close to what most of our pareatnes believed to be true. We live in a dream that our mind has crystalized into waht we call reality. We believe it is fixed and can only change according to the laws of physics. The Maya believe you will soon know a part of yourself that is so ancient that it goes beyond the stars and planets as fixed worlds. They are just a dream also, and just like a dream upon wakening, you realize that it was nothing but light, or, better still, nothing but pure consciousness."
• Today, go to a place where you can relax without any interruptions. Close your eyes and reflect on the idea of going back in time and remembring what the Maya refer to as "a part of yourself that is so ancient that it goes beyond the stars and planets as fixed worlds." Who are you beyond your body-based sense of self with a personal history who grew up in a family in specific time and place and so forth.
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer the following excerpt from a presentation on The Eternal Maya (see YouTube): In all my time with the Maya, I never heard the following about the nature of what we call reality. It fits with what I am discovering on my vision quest.
"Life is not what it seems to be, not even close to what most of our pareatnes believed to be true. We live in a dream that our mind has crystalized into waht we call reality. We believe it is fixed and can only change according to the laws of physics. The Maya believe you will soon know a part of yourself that is so ancient that it goes beyond the stars and planets as fixed worlds. They are just a dream also, and just like a dream upon wakening, you realize that it was nothing but light, or, better still, nothing but pure consciousness."
• Today, go to a place where you can relax without any interruptions. Close your eyes and reflect on the idea of going back in time and remembring what the Maya refer to as "a part of yourself that is so ancient that it goes beyond the stars and planets as fixed worlds." Who are you beyond your body-based sense of self with a personal history who grew up in a family in specific time and place and so forth.
Friday, May 13, 2011
My Vision Quest cont'd. Peace=Withdrawing Projection
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new excerpt from A Course in Miracles below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Lesson 108:
[The first part of lesson 22 is presented to provide you with a background for lesson 23's practice exercises. This is because the psychological process of projection is key to understanding how true vision involves wihdrawing the projection of our anger and grievances. We can then apply the way to inner peace and freedom from fear suggested by lesson 23.]
Lesson 22: "What I see is a form of vengeance."
[This] idea accurately describes the way ;anyone who holds attack thoughts in his [her] mind must see the world. Having projected his [her] anger onto the world, he sees vengeance abou to strike at him [her]. His own attack is thus perceived as self defense. This becomes an increasingly vicious cycle until he [she] is willing to change how he [she] sees. Otherwise thought of attack and counterattack will preoccupy him [her] and people his [her] entire world. What peace of mind is possible to him [her] then?
It is from this savage fantasy you want to escape. Is it not joyous news tohear that it is not real? Is it not a happy discovery to find you can escape? You made what you would destroy. Everything you hate and would attack and kill. All that you fear does not exist.
Lesson 23: I can escape the world I SEE by giving up my attack thoughts."
This is the only way out of fear. Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. The cause of the world you see is attack thoughts There is no point in lamenting the world. It is incapable of change because it is an effect. There is no point in trying to change the world. But there is indeed a point in changing your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effect will change automatically. The world you see is a vengeful world and everything in it is a symbol of vengeance. Each of your perceptions of external reality is a pictorial represnentation of your own attack thoughts. One can well ask if this can be called seeing. Is not fantasy a beter word for such a process and hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?
You see the world that you have made but you do not see yourself as the image maker. You cannot be saved from the world but yu can escape from its cause. This is what salvation means. For where is the world you see when its cause is gone?
[True] VISION already holds a replacement for everything you think you see now. Loveliness can light your images and so transform them that you will love them even though they were made of hate. For you will not be making them alone. The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in the world you see because its cause can be changed. This changerequrires first that the cause be identified then let go so that it can be replaced. The first two steps in this process requie your cooperation. The final one [step] does not. Your images have already been replaced [by your Creator and you are discovering it as you do today's practice]. By taking the first two steps you will see that this is so.
• Besides using the idea throughout the day as the need arises, five practice perriods are required in applying today's idea. As look about you repeat the idea slowly to yourself first. And then close your eyes and devote about a minute to searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as occur to you. As each one crosses your mind, say, "I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts about ————." [fill in the blank].
Hold each attack thought in mind as you say this and dismiss that thought.and go on to the next. In the practice periods be sure to include both your thoughts of attacking and being attacked. Their effects are exactly the same because they are exactly the same. You do not recognize this as yet and you are asked at this time only to treat them as the same in today's practice periods. for we are still at the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see. When you finally learn that thoughts of attack and being attacked are not different, you will be ready to let the cause go.
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Lesson 108:
[The first part of lesson 22 is presented to provide you with a background for lesson 23's practice exercises. This is because the psychological process of projection is key to understanding how true vision involves wihdrawing the projection of our anger and grievances. We can then apply the way to inner peace and freedom from fear suggested by lesson 23.]
Lesson 22: "What I see is a form of vengeance."
[This] idea accurately describes the way ;anyone who holds attack thoughts in his [her] mind must see the world. Having projected his [her] anger onto the world, he sees vengeance abou to strike at him [her]. His own attack is thus perceived as self defense. This becomes an increasingly vicious cycle until he [she] is willing to change how he [she] sees. Otherwise thought of attack and counterattack will preoccupy him [her] and people his [her] entire world. What peace of mind is possible to him [her] then?
It is from this savage fantasy you want to escape. Is it not joyous news tohear that it is not real? Is it not a happy discovery to find you can escape? You made what you would destroy. Everything you hate and would attack and kill. All that you fear does not exist.
Lesson 23: I can escape the world I SEE by giving up my attack thoughts."
This is the only way out of fear. Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. The cause of the world you see is attack thoughts There is no point in lamenting the world. It is incapable of change because it is an effect. There is no point in trying to change the world. But there is indeed a point in changing your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effect will change automatically. The world you see is a vengeful world and everything in it is a symbol of vengeance. Each of your perceptions of external reality is a pictorial represnentation of your own attack thoughts. One can well ask if this can be called seeing. Is not fantasy a beter word for such a process and hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?
You see the world that you have made but you do not see yourself as the image maker. You cannot be saved from the world but yu can escape from its cause. This is what salvation means. For where is the world you see when its cause is gone?
[True] VISION already holds a replacement for everything you think you see now. Loveliness can light your images and so transform them that you will love them even though they were made of hate. For you will not be making them alone. The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in the world you see because its cause can be changed. This changerequrires first that the cause be identified then let go so that it can be replaced. The first two steps in this process requie your cooperation. The final one [step] does not. Your images have already been replaced [by your Creator and you are discovering it as you do today's practice]. By taking the first two steps you will see that this is so.
• Besides using the idea throughout the day as the need arises, five practice perriods are required in applying today's idea. As look about you repeat the idea slowly to yourself first. And then close your eyes and devote about a minute to searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as occur to you. As each one crosses your mind, say, "I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts about ————." [fill in the blank].
Hold each attack thought in mind as you say this and dismiss that thought.and go on to the next. In the practice periods be sure to include both your thoughts of attacking and being attacked. Their effects are exactly the same because they are exactly the same. You do not recognize this as yet and you are asked at this time only to treat them as the same in today's practice periods. for we are still at the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see. When you finally learn that thoughts of attack and being attacked are not different, you will be ready to let the cause go.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Relieving the Stress of the Unforgiving Mind
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new excerpt from A Course in Miracles below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Lesson 121 Forgiveness is the key to happiness
Here is the answer to your search for peace. Here is the key to meaning in a world that seems to make no sense. Here is the way to safety and apparent dangers that appear to threaten you at every turn and bring uncertainty to all your hopes of ever finding peace. Here are all questions answered. Here the end of all uncertainty insured at last.
The unforgiving mind is full of fear and offers love no room to be itself, no place where it can spread its wings in peace and soar above the turmoil of the world. The unforgiving mind is said without the hope of respite and release from pain. It [the unforgiving mind] abides in misery, peering about in darkness, SEEING NOT, yet certain of the danger lurking there.
The unforgiving mind is torn with doubt, confused about itself and all it sees, afraid and angry, weak and blustery, afraid to go ahead, afraid to stay, afraid to waken or to go to sleep, afraid of every sound yet more afraid of stillness, terrified of darkness yet more terrified at the approach of light.
What can the unforgiving mind perceive but its own damnation? . . . It [the unforgiving mind] looks upon the world with sightless eyes and shrieks as it beholds its own projections rising to attack its miserable parody of life. It wants to live. It wishes it were dead. It wants forgiveness yet it sees no hope. It wants escape but can conceive of none because it sees the sinful everywhere, The unforgiving mind is in despair without the prospect of a future which can offer anything but more despair. Yet it regards its judgment of the world as irreversible and does not see that it condemned itself to this despair, It thinks it cannot change for what it sees bears witness that its judgment is correct. It does not ask because it thinks it knows. It does not question, certain it is right. . . .
Each unforgiving mind presents you with an opportunity to teach your own how to forgive itself. Each one [unforgiving mind] awaits release from hell through you and turns to you imploringly for heaven here and now. It [Unforgiving mind] has no hope but you become its hope. And as its hope, you do become your own [hope]. The unforgiving mind must learn through your forgiveness that it has been saved from hell. And as you teach salvation you will learn. Yet all your teaching and your learning will be not of you but of the Teacher [within] Who was given you to show the way to you.
• Today we practice learning to forgive. Today, if you are willing, you can take the key to happiness and use it on your own behalf. We will devote ten minutes in the morning and at night another ten to learning how to give forgiveness and receive foreignness, too. The unforgiving mind does not believe that giving and receiving are the same. Yet, we will try to learn today that they are one through practicing forgiveness toward one you think of as an enemy and one whom you consider as a friend. And, as you learn to see them both as one, we will extend the lesson and see that their escape included yours. Begin the longer practice periods by thinking of someone you do not like, who seems to irritate you or to cause regret in you if you should meet him, one you actively despise or merely try to overlook. It does not matter what the form your anger takes. You probably have chosen him already. He will do. Now close your eyes and see him in your mind and look at him a while. Try to perceive some light in him somewhere, a little gleam which you had never noticed. Try to find some little spark of brightens shining through the ugly picture that you hold of him. Look at this picture until you see a light somewhere within it, and then try to let this light extend until it covers him and makes the picture beautiful and good. Look at this changed perception for a while and turn your mind toward one you call a friend. Try to transfer the light you learned to see around your former enemy to him. Perceive him now as more than friend to you. For i that light his holiness shows your savior, saved and saving, hdared and whole. Then let him offer you the light you see in him, and let your enemy and friend unite in blessing you with what you gave. Now are you one with them and they with you. Now have you been forgiven by yourself. Do no forget throughout the day the role forgiveness plays in bringing happiness to every unforgiving mind with yours among them. Every hour tell yourself, "Forgiveness is the key to happiness. I will awaken from the dream that I am mortal, fallible and full of sin and know that I AM a perfect son [daughter]] of God."
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Lesson 121 Forgiveness is the key to happiness
Here is the answer to your search for peace. Here is the key to meaning in a world that seems to make no sense. Here is the way to safety and apparent dangers that appear to threaten you at every turn and bring uncertainty to all your hopes of ever finding peace. Here are all questions answered. Here the end of all uncertainty insured at last.
The unforgiving mind is full of fear and offers love no room to be itself, no place where it can spread its wings in peace and soar above the turmoil of the world. The unforgiving mind is said without the hope of respite and release from pain. It [the unforgiving mind] abides in misery, peering about in darkness, SEEING NOT, yet certain of the danger lurking there.
The unforgiving mind is torn with doubt, confused about itself and all it sees, afraid and angry, weak and blustery, afraid to go ahead, afraid to stay, afraid to waken or to go to sleep, afraid of every sound yet more afraid of stillness, terrified of darkness yet more terrified at the approach of light.
What can the unforgiving mind perceive but its own damnation? . . . It [the unforgiving mind] looks upon the world with sightless eyes and shrieks as it beholds its own projections rising to attack its miserable parody of life. It wants to live. It wishes it were dead. It wants forgiveness yet it sees no hope. It wants escape but can conceive of none because it sees the sinful everywhere, The unforgiving mind is in despair without the prospect of a future which can offer anything but more despair. Yet it regards its judgment of the world as irreversible and does not see that it condemned itself to this despair, It thinks it cannot change for what it sees bears witness that its judgment is correct. It does not ask because it thinks it knows. It does not question, certain it is right. . . .
Each unforgiving mind presents you with an opportunity to teach your own how to forgive itself. Each one [unforgiving mind] awaits release from hell through you and turns to you imploringly for heaven here and now. It [Unforgiving mind] has no hope but you become its hope. And as its hope, you do become your own [hope]. The unforgiving mind must learn through your forgiveness that it has been saved from hell. And as you teach salvation you will learn. Yet all your teaching and your learning will be not of you but of the Teacher [within] Who was given you to show the way to you.
• Today we practice learning to forgive. Today, if you are willing, you can take the key to happiness and use it on your own behalf. We will devote ten minutes in the morning and at night another ten to learning how to give forgiveness and receive foreignness, too. The unforgiving mind does not believe that giving and receiving are the same. Yet, we will try to learn today that they are one through practicing forgiveness toward one you think of as an enemy and one whom you consider as a friend. And, as you learn to see them both as one, we will extend the lesson and see that their escape included yours. Begin the longer practice periods by thinking of someone you do not like, who seems to irritate you or to cause regret in you if you should meet him, one you actively despise or merely try to overlook. It does not matter what the form your anger takes. You probably have chosen him already. He will do. Now close your eyes and see him in your mind and look at him a while. Try to perceive some light in him somewhere, a little gleam which you had never noticed. Try to find some little spark of brightens shining through the ugly picture that you hold of him. Look at this picture until you see a light somewhere within it, and then try to let this light extend until it covers him and makes the picture beautiful and good. Look at this changed perception for a while and turn your mind toward one you call a friend. Try to transfer the light you learned to see around your former enemy to him. Perceive him now as more than friend to you. For i that light his holiness shows your savior, saved and saving, hdared and whole. Then let him offer you the light you see in him, and let your enemy and friend unite in blessing you with what you gave. Now are you one with them and they with you. Now have you been forgiven by yourself. Do no forget throughout the day the role forgiveness plays in bringing happiness to every unforgiving mind with yours among them. Every hour tell yourself, "Forgiveness is the key to happiness. I will awaken from the dream that I am mortal, fallible and full of sin and know that I AM a perfect son [daughter]] of God."
Sunday, April 17, 2011
My Vision Quest cont'd. To Give is to Receive
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on my vision quest and the ones on giving up grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new excerpt from A Course in Miracles below.]
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Lesson 108: To give and to receive are one in truth.
• Vision depends upon today's idea. The light is in it for reconciles all seeming opposites. And what is light except the resolution born of peace of all your conflicts and mistaken thoughts into one concept which is wholly true. . . . And now you are at peace forever for the dream is over then. . . .
• True light which makes true vision possible is not the light the body eyes behold. It is a state of mind that has become so unified that darkness cannot be perceived at all. . . .
• This is the light that shows no opposites, and vision being healed has power to heal. This is the light which brings your peace of mind to other minds to share it and be glad that they are one with you and with themselves. This is the light that heals because it brings single perception based upon one frame of reference from which one meaning comes. Here are both giving and receiving seen as different aspects of one thought whose truth does not depend on which is seen as first nor which appears to be in second place. Here it is understood that both occur together that the thought remain complete. And in this understanding is the base on which all opposites are reconciled because they are perceived from the same frame of reference which unifies this thought. One thought completely unified will serve to unify all thoughts. This is the same as saying one correction will suffice for all corrections or that to forgive one brother [sister] wholly is enough to bring salvation to all minds.
• Today we practice with the special case of giving and receiving. We will use this simple lesson in the obvious because it has results we cannot miss. To give is to receive. Today, we will attempt to offer peace to everyone and see how quickly peace returns to us. Light is tranquility and in that peace is vision given us and we can see. So we begin the practice periods with the instruction for today and say, "To give and to receive are one in truth. I will receive what I am giving now." Then close your eyes and for five minutes think of what you would hold out to everyone to have it [be] yours. You might, for instance, say, "To everyone I offer quietness. To everyone I offer peace of mind. To everyone I offer gentleness. Say each one slowly and pause a while expecting to receive the gift you gave. And it will come to you in the amount in which you gave it. You will find you have exact return for that is what you asked. It might be helpful too, to think of one to whom to give your gifts. He represents the others and through him you give to all. Our very simple lesson for today will teach you much. Effect and cause will be far better understood from this time on and we will make much faster progress now. Think of the exercises for today as quick advances in your learning made still faster and more sure each time you say, "To give is to receive are one in truth."
My Vision Quest
On New Year's Day 2011, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the The Space Between Stars(see www.drsrj.com) ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these individuals had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual traditions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this spirit that I offer one of the daily lesson from the workbook section of A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "restored vision" back to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The words in brackets as well as the female-gender based words are my additions.]
Excerpts from Lesson 108: To give and to receive are one in truth.
• Vision depends upon today's idea. The light is in it for reconciles all seeming opposites. And what is light except the resolution born of peace of all your conflicts and mistaken thoughts into one concept which is wholly true. . . . And now you are at peace forever for the dream is over then. . . .
• True light which makes true vision possible is not the light the body eyes behold. It is a state of mind that has become so unified that darkness cannot be perceived at all. . . .
• This is the light that shows no opposites, and vision being healed has power to heal. This is the light which brings your peace of mind to other minds to share it and be glad that they are one with you and with themselves. This is the light that heals because it brings single perception based upon one frame of reference from which one meaning comes. Here are both giving and receiving seen as different aspects of one thought whose truth does not depend on which is seen as first nor which appears to be in second place. Here it is understood that both occur together that the thought remain complete. And in this understanding is the base on which all opposites are reconciled because they are perceived from the same frame of reference which unifies this thought. One thought completely unified will serve to unify all thoughts. This is the same as saying one correction will suffice for all corrections or that to forgive one brother [sister] wholly is enough to bring salvation to all minds.
• Today we practice with the special case of giving and receiving. We will use this simple lesson in the obvious because it has results we cannot miss. To give is to receive. Today, we will attempt to offer peace to everyone and see how quickly peace returns to us. Light is tranquility and in that peace is vision given us and we can see. So we begin the practice periods with the instruction for today and say, "To give and to receive are one in truth. I will receive what I am giving now." Then close your eyes and for five minutes think of what you would hold out to everyone to have it [be] yours. You might, for instance, say, "To everyone I offer quietness. To everyone I offer peace of mind. To everyone I offer gentleness. Say each one slowly and pause a while expecting to receive the gift you gave. And it will come to you in the amount in which you gave it. You will find you have exact return for that is what you asked. It might be helpful too, to think of one to whom to give your gifts. He represents the others and through him you give to all. Our very simple lesson for today will teach you much. Effect and cause will be far better understood from this time on and we will make much faster progress now. Think of the exercises for today as quick advances in your learning made still faster and more sure each time you say, "To give is to receive are one in truth."
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Giving up Grievances for Lent #2: Replace Grievances with Miracles
[Note: The same preface precedes all the blogs on grievances. It provides the personal context regarding the relationship of each piece to my quest to restore my eyesight since I've exhausted all that Western medicine can do to repair the damage done by my advanced case of glaucoma. Therefore, if you've read it before, you may want to refresh your memory or skip to the new section below on replacing grievances with miracles.]
On New Year's Day, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the book ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual tradtions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this sprit that will offer a daily lesson from A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "resotred vision" to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The headings and words in brackets as well as female-gender based words are my additions.]
Lesson 78 "Let miracles replace all grievances."
Perhaps it is not quite clear to you that each decision you make is between a grievance and a miracle. Each grievance stands like a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal. And as you raise it up before your eyes you will not see the miracle beyond. Yet all the while it waits for you in light but you behold your grievances instead.
Today we go beyond the grievances to look upon the miracle instead. We will reverse the way you see by not allowing sight to stopbefore it sees. We will not wait before the shield of hate but lay it down and gently lift our eyes in silence to behold the son/daughter of God [refers to each one of us when we seek to see the good within each other]. He/she waits for you behind your grievances and as you lay them down, he/she will appear in shining light where each one stood before.
For every grievance is a block to sight and as it ligts you see the son/daughter of God where he/she has always been. He/she stands in light but you were in the dark. Each grievance made the darkness deeper and you could not see. Today, we will attempt to see God's son/daughter. We will not let ourselves be blind to him/her. We will not look upon our grievances.
So is the seeing of the world reversed as we look out toward truth away from fear. We will select one person you have used as a target for your grievances and lay the grievances aside and look at him/her: someone, perhaps, you fear and even hate, someone you think you love who angered you, someone you call a friend but whom you see as difficult at times or hard to please, demanding, irritating, or untrue to the ideal he/she should accept as his/hers acccording to the role you set for him/her. You know the one to choose. His/her name hs crossed your mind already. He/she will be the one we ask God's son/daughter be shown to you. Through seeing him/her behind the grievances you have held against him/her, you will learn that what lay hidden while you saw him not is there in everyone and can be seen. He/she who is enemy is more than friend when he/she is free to take the holy role the Holy Spirit has assigned to him/her. Let him/her be savior unto you today. Such is his/heer role in God, your Father's plan.
Today's Practice Periods
Our longer practice periods will see him/her in this role. You will attempt to hold him/her in your mind first as you now consider him/her.You will review his/her faults, the difficulties you have had with him/her, the pain h/she caused you, his/her neglect and all the little and the larger hurts he/she gave. You will regard his/her body with its flaws and better points as well, and you will think of his/her mistakes and even of his/her sins. Then let us ask of Him [Holy Spirit] who knows this son/daughter of God in his/her reality and truth that we may look on him/her a different way and see our savior shining in the light of true forgiveness give unto us. We ask Him in the Holy name of God and of His son/daughter as holy as Himself. "Let me behold my savior in this one You [God] have appointed as the one for me to ask to lead me to the Holy Light in which he/she stands that I may join with him/her." [Note: this is similar to the idea that our tormentor is our greatest mentor which I first heard attributed to the shaman Don Juan in Carlos Casteneda's books].
The body's eyes are closed and as you think about him/her who grieved you, let your mind be shown the light in him/her beyond your grievances. What you have asked for cannot be denied. Your savior has been wwaiting long for this. He/she would be free and make your freedom yours. The Holy Spirit leans from him/her to you seeing no separation in God's son/daughter. And what you see through him/her will free you both. Be very quiet now, and look upon your shining savior. No dark grievances obscure the sight of him/her. You have allowed the Holy Spirit to express through him/her the role God gave him/her that you might be saved. God thanks you for these quiet times today in which you laid your images aside and looked upon the miracle of love the Holy Spirit showed you in their place. The world and heaven join in thanking you. For not one thought of God but must rejoice as you are saved and all the world with you. We will remember this throughout the day and take the role assigned to us as part of God's salvation plan and not our own.
Temptation falls away when we allow each one we meet to save us and refuse to hide his/her light behind our grievances. To everyone you meet and to the ones you think of or remember from the past, allow the role of savior to be given that you may share it with him/her. For you both and all the sightless ones as well, we pray, "Let miracles replace all grievances."
On New Year's Day, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the book ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual tradtions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this sprit that will offer a daily lesson from A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "resotred vision" to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
[Note: The headings and words in brackets as well as female-gender based words are my additions.]
Lesson 78 "Let miracles replace all grievances."
Perhaps it is not quite clear to you that each decision you make is between a grievance and a miracle. Each grievance stands like a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal. And as you raise it up before your eyes you will not see the miracle beyond. Yet all the while it waits for you in light but you behold your grievances instead.
Today we go beyond the grievances to look upon the miracle instead. We will reverse the way you see by not allowing sight to stopbefore it sees. We will not wait before the shield of hate but lay it down and gently lift our eyes in silence to behold the son/daughter of God [refers to each one of us when we seek to see the good within each other]. He/she waits for you behind your grievances and as you lay them down, he/she will appear in shining light where each one stood before.
For every grievance is a block to sight and as it ligts you see the son/daughter of God where he/she has always been. He/she stands in light but you were in the dark. Each grievance made the darkness deeper and you could not see. Today, we will attempt to see God's son/daughter. We will not let ourselves be blind to him/her. We will not look upon our grievances.
So is the seeing of the world reversed as we look out toward truth away from fear. We will select one person you have used as a target for your grievances and lay the grievances aside and look at him/her: someone, perhaps, you fear and even hate, someone you think you love who angered you, someone you call a friend but whom you see as difficult at times or hard to please, demanding, irritating, or untrue to the ideal he/she should accept as his/hers acccording to the role you set for him/her. You know the one to choose. His/her name hs crossed your mind already. He/she will be the one we ask God's son/daughter be shown to you. Through seeing him/her behind the grievances you have held against him/her, you will learn that what lay hidden while you saw him not is there in everyone and can be seen. He/she who is enemy is more than friend when he/she is free to take the holy role the Holy Spirit has assigned to him/her. Let him/her be savior unto you today. Such is his/heer role in God, your Father's plan.
Today's Practice Periods
Our longer practice periods will see him/her in this role. You will attempt to hold him/her in your mind first as you now consider him/her.You will review his/her faults, the difficulties you have had with him/her, the pain h/she caused you, his/her neglect and all the little and the larger hurts he/she gave. You will regard his/her body with its flaws and better points as well, and you will think of his/her mistakes and even of his/her sins. Then let us ask of Him [Holy Spirit] who knows this son/daughter of God in his/her reality and truth that we may look on him/her a different way and see our savior shining in the light of true forgiveness give unto us. We ask Him in the Holy name of God and of His son/daughter as holy as Himself. "Let me behold my savior in this one You [God] have appointed as the one for me to ask to lead me to the Holy Light in which he/she stands that I may join with him/her." [Note: this is similar to the idea that our tormentor is our greatest mentor which I first heard attributed to the shaman Don Juan in Carlos Casteneda's books].
The body's eyes are closed and as you think about him/her who grieved you, let your mind be shown the light in him/her beyond your grievances. What you have asked for cannot be denied. Your savior has been wwaiting long for this. He/she would be free and make your freedom yours. The Holy Spirit leans from him/her to you seeing no separation in God's son/daughter. And what you see through him/her will free you both. Be very quiet now, and look upon your shining savior. No dark grievances obscure the sight of him/her. You have allowed the Holy Spirit to express through him/her the role God gave him/her that you might be saved. God thanks you for these quiet times today in which you laid your images aside and looked upon the miracle of love the Holy Spirit showed you in their place. The world and heaven join in thanking you. For not one thought of God but must rejoice as you are saved and all the world with you. We will remember this throughout the day and take the role assigned to us as part of God's salvation plan and not our own.
Temptation falls away when we allow each one we meet to save us and refuse to hide his/her light behind our grievances. To everyone you meet and to the ones you think of or remember from the past, allow the role of savior to be given that you may share it with him/her. For you both and all the sightless ones as well, we pray, "Let miracles replace all grievances."
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Giving up Grievances for Lent
On New Year's Day, I began the 365-day journey through the dailly lessons in the workbook section of A Course in Miracles. Given all the amazing synchronicities (meaningful coincidences) I've had since completing The Space Between Stars, I am certain that the course holds the key to restoring my impaired vision, which currently fits the definition of being legally blind both in terms of severely restricted visual angles and visual acuity. The last line before the epilogue of the book ends with the words of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus, ". . . I was blind but now I see." This is the title of the book I am currently writing. The subtitle is: "A Miracle of Restored Vision Redefines Reality." The book chronicles my quest for rstoring my vision that began with events leading up to my first and second trips to see the healer/medium John of God in Abadiania, Brazil. What I been led to considier is quite remarkable. I have always seen the healing of my vision as a twofold process. First, I have done what medical science can do for glaucoma, namely, the reduction of the elevated intraocular pressures which have damaged the optic nerves in both of my eyes. Until encountering the redefining of reality in A Course in Miracles, The Disappearance of the Universe, a spin off of the course,, as well as on my trips to Brazil, I have always seen the second phase for healing my vision as regenerating my optic nerves. I have used the following metaphor to describe the damage: If a healthy optic nerve could be seen as a tree in summer with all its green leaves, my optic nerves are like a tree in late November with a few brown leaves left on their branches.
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual tradtions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this sprit that will offer a daily lesson from A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "resotred vision" to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
I found this an especially significant lesson to be falling on Ash Wednesday. It gave me an idea of what to give up: grievances. In anothr blog entry I will present lesson 69 which contiues the theme of giving up grievances and the clouds doing so clear from our vision.
[Note: The headings and words in brackets as well as female-gender based words are my additions.]
Lesson 68 "Love holds no grievances."
Background/Explanation
You who are created by love like Itself can hold no grievances and know yourself. To hold a grievance is to forget who you are. To hold a grievance is to see yourself as a body. To hold a grievance is to let the ego rule your mind and to condemn the body to death.
Perhaps you do not yet fully realize just what holding grievances does to your mind. It seems to split you off from your Source and make you unlike Him. It makes you believe that He is like what you think you have become. for no one can conceive of His Creator as unlike Himself. Shut off from yourself [true self or part of your mind governed by the Holy Spirit] which remains aware of its likeness to its Creator, your [true] self seems to sleep while the part of your mind that weaves illusions [your ego or little body-based sense of self] in its sleep appears to be awake.
Can all this arise from holding grievances? Oh yes! For he/she who holds greiveances denies he/she was created by love and his/her Creator has become fearful to him/her in his/her dream of hate. Who can dream of hatred and not fear God? It is as sure that those who hold grievances will redefine God in their own image as it is certain that God created them like Himself and deined them as part of Him. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will suffer guilt as it is certain that those who forgive will find peace. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will forget who they are as it is certain that those who forgive will remember.
Would you not be willing to relinquish your grievances if you believed all this were so? Perhaps you do not think you can let your grievances go. That, however, is simply a mater of motivation.
Today's Practice
Today we will try to find out how you would feel without grievances. If you succeed by ever so little there will never be a problem in motivation ever again Begin today's extended practice period by searching your mind for those against whom you hold what you regard as major grievances. Some of these will be quite easy to find. Then think of the seemingly minor grievances you hold against those you like and even think you love. For it will quickly become apparent that there is no one against whom you do not cherish grievances of some sort.
This has left you alone [feeling alone] n all the universe in your perception of yourself. Determine now to see all these people as friends. Silently say to them all, thinking of each one in turn as you do so, "I would see you as my friend that I may remember you are part of me and come to know myself." Spend the remainder of the practice period trying to think of yourself as completely at peace with everyone and everything, safe in a world that protects you and loves you and that you love in return. Try to feel saftey surrounding you, hovering over you and holding you up. Try to believe, however briefly, that nothing can harm you in any way. At the end of the practice period tell yourself, "Love holds no grievances. When I let all my grievances go, I will know I am perfectly safe."
The short practice periods should include quick application of today's idea in this form whenever any thought of grievance arises against anyone, "Love holds no grievances. Let me not betray myself." In addition, repeat the idea several times an hour in this form, "Love holds no grievances. I would wake [awake] to myself [true self] by laying all my grievances aside and wakening [awakening] in Him."
John of God speaks Brazilian Portuguese. So before going before him, you have to tell a translator 3 things you would like to have healed. Your requests are written on a small piece of paper which is read to John of God. I asked my guide if I should ask for the regeneration of my optic nerves. He instructed me not to ask for that but for restored vision. He recommended this because a woman who had "severed optic nerves" had her vision restored, and when doctors examined her optic nerve, they expected to see her nerve reconnected. But, to their astonishment, it was still severed.
Later, as the plane took off from Brasilia, my friend Rod was reading a book containing case studies of individuals healed by John of 'God. With a trace of excitement in his voice, he read aloud to me the case of another woman with completely "nonfunctional optic nerves." Her vision was restored, and guess what?
When doctors examined her, her optic nerves were still nonfunctional. Both of these had several trips to Brazil to see John of God before their sight returned. This got my attention. A Course in Miracles and The Disappearance of the Universe, as well as some sacred spiritual tradtions claim vision involves more than the "body's eyes." It is in this sprit that will offer a daily lesson from A Course in Miracles for your consideration and for your spiritual growth and "resotred vision" to what it was before you emerged from the womb.
I found this an especially significant lesson to be falling on Ash Wednesday. It gave me an idea of what to give up: grievances. In anothr blog entry I will present lesson 69 which contiues the theme of giving up grievances and the clouds doing so clear from our vision.
[Note: The headings and words in brackets as well as female-gender based words are my additions.]
Lesson 68 "Love holds no grievances."
Background/Explanation
You who are created by love like Itself can hold no grievances and know yourself. To hold a grievance is to forget who you are. To hold a grievance is to see yourself as a body. To hold a grievance is to let the ego rule your mind and to condemn the body to death.
Perhaps you do not yet fully realize just what holding grievances does to your mind. It seems to split you off from your Source and make you unlike Him. It makes you believe that He is like what you think you have become. for no one can conceive of His Creator as unlike Himself. Shut off from yourself [true self or part of your mind governed by the Holy Spirit] which remains aware of its likeness to its Creator, your [true] self seems to sleep while the part of your mind that weaves illusions [your ego or little body-based sense of self] in its sleep appears to be awake.
Can all this arise from holding grievances? Oh yes! For he/she who holds greiveances denies he/she was created by love and his/her Creator has become fearful to him/her in his/her dream of hate. Who can dream of hatred and not fear God? It is as sure that those who hold grievances will redefine God in their own image as it is certain that God created them like Himself and deined them as part of Him. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will suffer guilt as it is certain that those who forgive will find peace. It is as sure that those who hold grievances will forget who they are as it is certain that those who forgive will remember.
Would you not be willing to relinquish your grievances if you believed all this were so? Perhaps you do not think you can let your grievances go. That, however, is simply a mater of motivation.
Today's Practice
Today we will try to find out how you would feel without grievances. If you succeed by ever so little there will never be a problem in motivation ever again Begin today's extended practice period by searching your mind for those against whom you hold what you regard as major grievances. Some of these will be quite easy to find. Then think of the seemingly minor grievances you hold against those you like and even think you love. For it will quickly become apparent that there is no one against whom you do not cherish grievances of some sort.
This has left you alone [feeling alone] n all the universe in your perception of yourself. Determine now to see all these people as friends. Silently say to them all, thinking of each one in turn as you do so, "I would see you as my friend that I may remember you are part of me and come to know myself." Spend the remainder of the practice period trying to think of yourself as completely at peace with everyone and everything, safe in a world that protects you and loves you and that you love in return. Try to feel saftey surrounding you, hovering over you and holding you up. Try to believe, however briefly, that nothing can harm you in any way. At the end of the practice period tell yourself, "Love holds no grievances. When I let all my grievances go, I will know I am perfectly safe."
The short practice periods should include quick application of today's idea in this form whenever any thought of grievance arises against anyone, "Love holds no grievances. Let me not betray myself." In addition, repeat the idea several times an hour in this form, "Love holds no grievances. I would wake [awake] to myself [true self] by laying all my grievances aside and wakening [awakening] in Him."
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Calming Outer Turbulence: 2011 & 111
I received an email that was really thought provoking. Perhaps you have received it, too. However, I reflected on its possible meaning and came up with the explanation below the following instructions contained in the email. As you may already know, in this year of 2011 there are 4 unusual dates . . .
1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11.
NOW check this out. The mind-blowing thing is that it works for everybody born in the 20th century.
Take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be this year, e.g., born in 47+ will be 64= 111 or born in 54 + will be 57= 111.
I asked myself, "What might this mean in some ultimate, spiritual sense?" Then, it occurred to me that the Spiritual Gift of this might be a preparation for the Great Shift in consciousness predicted by the Mayans I studied with in at sacred sites set in the jungles and on the coast of Central America.
My guess: it points to the interconnectedness of us all no matter what our race, religion, creed or culture. It points to the Oneness beyond the apparent duality of self and other. This accords with the teachings of two sacred systems I have studied this past year: the Template & A Course in Miracles. Both point us to the truth underlying the world as it appears with various forms. Eckhart Tolle discusses this oneness with all of life very articulately in The Power of Now and A New Earth. The final point—there is no separation from each other and from God (the Trinity of 3 Gods in One, 111). This includes the trinity of the being of each one of us: body, mind (soul), and spirit. In other words, there is no separation from love as God is love and love is who we all really are in the core of our being.
• Today, consider the following. I mentioned this in an early blog posting. I was on a plane to Guatemala to study with the Mayan shamans. The plane started shaking, and a flight attendant announced that we would be flying through turbulence. He estimated that this would last for the next 50 minutes so we should buckle up and stay in our seats. I thought of how I was missing someone I loved. It occurred to me that even when we are physically separated from people we love, we are never separated from the love we feel for them. At that very moment, I felt a lovely feeling of inner peace. Instantly, the outer turbulence stopped. Only a few minutes had passed since the attendant had cautioned us. The rest of the flight was calm and smooth. I came up with an affirmation based on that experience. Breathe in and silently say, "I AM never separated from the expansive energy and peaceful power of love." Breathe out, silently say, "For in the core of my being, I AM the expansive energy and peaceful power of love." Try repeating this during your day, especially when you encounter outer turbulence.
1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11.
NOW check this out. The mind-blowing thing is that it works for everybody born in the 20th century.
Take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be this year, e.g., born in 47+ will be 64= 111 or born in 54 + will be 57= 111.
I asked myself, "What might this mean in some ultimate, spiritual sense?" Then, it occurred to me that the Spiritual Gift of this might be a preparation for the Great Shift in consciousness predicted by the Mayans I studied with in at sacred sites set in the jungles and on the coast of Central America.
My guess: it points to the interconnectedness of us all no matter what our race, religion, creed or culture. It points to the Oneness beyond the apparent duality of self and other. This accords with the teachings of two sacred systems I have studied this past year: the Template & A Course in Miracles. Both point us to the truth underlying the world as it appears with various forms. Eckhart Tolle discusses this oneness with all of life very articulately in The Power of Now and A New Earth. The final point—there is no separation from each other and from God (the Trinity of 3 Gods in One, 111). This includes the trinity of the being of each one of us: body, mind (soul), and spirit. In other words, there is no separation from love as God is love and love is who we all really are in the core of our being.
• Today, consider the following. I mentioned this in an early blog posting. I was on a plane to Guatemala to study with the Mayan shamans. The plane started shaking, and a flight attendant announced that we would be flying through turbulence. He estimated that this would last for the next 50 minutes so we should buckle up and stay in our seats. I thought of how I was missing someone I loved. It occurred to me that even when we are physically separated from people we love, we are never separated from the love we feel for them. At that very moment, I felt a lovely feeling of inner peace. Instantly, the outer turbulence stopped. Only a few minutes had passed since the attendant had cautioned us. The rest of the flight was calm and smooth. I came up with an affirmation based on that experience. Breathe in and silently say, "I AM never separated from the expansive energy and peaceful power of love." Breathe out, silently say, "For in the core of my being, I AM the expansive energy and peaceful power of love." Try repeating this during your day, especially when you encounter outer turbulence.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Relieving Pain with Focused Awareness
Cancer patients who have successfully used meditation to manage physical pain demonstrate just how powerful focusing our awareness can be. When I was in practice as a therapist, I adapted the meditation utilized by Stephen Levine in his work with cancer patients and described in his book, Who Dies. I found it useful with patients I saw suffering from physical pain while they were healing from an injury or surgery. It was especially helpful when their pain medication was not enough to ease their suffering.
By simply bringing their awareness to the area of discomfort and then softening the tense muscles around the pain, cancer patients could find pain relief. They could begin to stop tensing against the pain to block it out. Tensing to stop the pain only tends to increase the discomfort. They would then bring their attention to the area of discomfort as it is, without trying to change anything. By going beyond the concepts of pain and pleasure, the patients could experience the area as what it is, namely a mass of moving sensations. We can all manage pain by focusing on not labeling the area as pain, but instead by labeling it as sensation. The experience of the area changes and the pain either disappears, or decreases considerably. It is as if the concepts of pleasure and pain are like a pane of glass that we shatter. Then we are able to touch the true reality of the tingling sensations of the nerves.
• Today, sit or lie down for a few minutes. Focus on the sensation of the air entering your nostrils. Simply focus on feeling the sensations of the air passing over your nasal membranes. Then, as you exhale, focus on the feeling of the air leaving your body. After a few breaths, bring your awareness to any discomfort. Notice the tendency to tense against the pain or discomfort. Focus on softening the area around the pain. It is as if you are opening a closed fist clenching against the pain so that you open your hand and release the tension. Let the pain float free in the spaciousness of your awareness. You can find some relief as you stop fighting the discomfort, and sometimes the discomfort dissolves. Just as the penetrating rays of the sun melt the ice on the sidewalk, the rays of a relaxed spacious awareness melt the tension around your blood vessels increasing blood flow and bringing warmth to the area of discomfort.
By simply bringing their awareness to the area of discomfort and then softening the tense muscles around the pain, cancer patients could find pain relief. They could begin to stop tensing against the pain to block it out. Tensing to stop the pain only tends to increase the discomfort. They would then bring their attention to the area of discomfort as it is, without trying to change anything. By going beyond the concepts of pain and pleasure, the patients could experience the area as what it is, namely a mass of moving sensations. We can all manage pain by focusing on not labeling the area as pain, but instead by labeling it as sensation. The experience of the area changes and the pain either disappears, or decreases considerably. It is as if the concepts of pleasure and pain are like a pane of glass that we shatter. Then we are able to touch the true reality of the tingling sensations of the nerves.
• Today, sit or lie down for a few minutes. Focus on the sensation of the air entering your nostrils. Simply focus on feeling the sensations of the air passing over your nasal membranes. Then, as you exhale, focus on the feeling of the air leaving your body. After a few breaths, bring your awareness to any discomfort. Notice the tendency to tense against the pain or discomfort. Focus on softening the area around the pain. It is as if you are opening a closed fist clenching against the pain so that you open your hand and release the tension. Let the pain float free in the spaciousness of your awareness. You can find some relief as you stop fighting the discomfort, and sometimes the discomfort dissolves. Just as the penetrating rays of the sun melt the ice on the sidewalk, the rays of a relaxed spacious awareness melt the tension around your blood vessels increasing blood flow and bringing warmth to the area of discomfort.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Practicing the Intention to Understand
When I was in training at a major psychiatric hospital, the psychology department brought in Dr. Larry Rosenberg to teach us a psychologically oriented meditation called Insight Meditation, also called Mindfulness Meditation. Dr. Rosenberg was a former professor of social psychology from Harvard University. Unlike his contemporary, Dr. Timothy Leary, who used mind-altering drugs to expand his consciousness, Dr. Rosenberg followed the spiritual path of transformation through meditation.
At the time, another of his contemporaries, former clinical psychologist and Harvard professor, Dr. Richard Alpert, who later became known as Ram Dass, also turned to the spiritual step of meditation. Dr. Rosenberg gave us the following quote as an introduction to the essence of meditation. It is also an excellent description of what needs to happen to undo repression and open ourselves to our feelings.
"By watching ourselves in daily life with the intention to understand rather than judge, in full acceptance of whatever may emerge, we encourage the deep to come to the surface and enrich our life and consciousness with its captive energies. This is the great work of awareness and the door to freedom."
Meditation can help us find our power and freedom to truly love and enjoy life. Dr. Rosenberg also indicated that this type of meditation was also referred to as the practice of wholeheartedness. We can learn how to truly savor and enjoy every moment of our lives by being fully present in whatever we are doing. Thus, whatever we are doing, whether it is doing dishes, eating a delicious meal, working, or taking a shower, we do it wholeheartedly with full awareness. Living life this way involves living our lives with heart, spirit and soul. We embrace life and live it to the fullest, instead of living life half-heartedly as though we are half-asleep.
• Today, practice the notion of watching yourself in daily life with the intention to understand rather than judge and notice what happens. Direct this nonjudgmental awareness TWARD OTHERS as well.
At the time, another of his contemporaries, former clinical psychologist and Harvard professor, Dr. Richard Alpert, who later became known as Ram Dass, also turned to the spiritual step of meditation. Dr. Rosenberg gave us the following quote as an introduction to the essence of meditation. It is also an excellent description of what needs to happen to undo repression and open ourselves to our feelings.
"By watching ourselves in daily life with the intention to understand rather than judge, in full acceptance of whatever may emerge, we encourage the deep to come to the surface and enrich our life and consciousness with its captive energies. This is the great work of awareness and the door to freedom."
Meditation can help us find our power and freedom to truly love and enjoy life. Dr. Rosenberg also indicated that this type of meditation was also referred to as the practice of wholeheartedness. We can learn how to truly savor and enjoy every moment of our lives by being fully present in whatever we are doing. Thus, whatever we are doing, whether it is doing dishes, eating a delicious meal, working, or taking a shower, we do it wholeheartedly with full awareness. Living life this way involves living our lives with heart, spirit and soul. We embrace life and live it to the fullest, instead of living life half-heartedly as though we are half-asleep.
• Today, practice the notion of watching yourself in daily life with the intention to understand rather than judge and notice what happens. Direct this nonjudgmental awareness TWARD OTHERS as well.
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