Gaia: A Course in Miracles

Re: special relationships

http://onemind.gaia.com — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:03:11 GMT

Victoria.....

In the Course, a special relationship is by definition unholy. Something which is unholy is rendered holy only in the context of a complete transformation. Because what makes any relationship holy or unholy in the Course's teachings as I understand them is not the relationship itself but what each participant brings to the relationship. I commend your reading Chapter 22 of the Course. In the introduction, we read:

For an unholy relationship is based on differences, where each one thinks the other has what he has not. They come together, each too complete himself and rob the other. They stay until they think that there is nothing left to steal, and then move on. And so they wander through a world of strangers, unlike themselves, living with their bodies perhaps under a common roof that shelters neither; in the same room and yet a world apart.

A holy relationship starts from a different premise. Each one has looked within and seen no lack. Accepting his completion, he would extend it by joining with another, whole as himself.

What makes a relationship special in the teachings of the Course is the notion of separation; we love this one more than that one or more than ourselves. As long as we see another as separate from us, we violate a key teaching of the Course, namely the essential Oneness of All That Is. Nobody understands this better or writes more eloquently about it than Marianne Williamson. In her book A Return to Love, she says (p. 95), "God created only one begotten Son and He loves all of us as one. To Him, no one is different or special because no one is actually separate from anyone else." That only begotten one, the course teaches, is us. "The special relationship," she says on p. 97, "makes other people too important. The special relationship is a device by which the ego separates rather than joins us."

The ideal, then, is to love all of our brothers (and sisters) equally. We can then make a choice to love or to demonstrate love in a different way to some individuals, provided we don't single them out for a special brand of love itself.

This is one of the Course's most difficult -- and, I believe, most important -- teachings. It is enormously difficult to integrate into our lives of seeming separateness from our innate divinity and from those who seem separate from us. I commend you for bringing the light of Spirit to your relationship and encourage you to experience it as a joining together of two complete peole for the greater glory of God and not as what Marianne calls "the joining at the hipof two emotional invalids."

Peace

special relationships

http://morethankelli.gaia.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:56:59 GMT

last week i read about "special relationships" and how they are full of sorrow, guilt and pain. i have had multiple experiences to justify that statement. i am in or was in or in but not really?.....a relationship AMCI would classifiy as a special realtionship. we (he and i) asked the holy spirit to enter into our relationship to transform it from an unholy to a holy relationship. in ACIM it says the holy spirit (in chapter V. The Healed Relationship) will "come in very rapidly, but it makes the relationship seem distubred, disjunctive and even quite distressing." and my relationship has become just that. the only thing to do is to have faith in the holy spirit in accepting the new goal of the relationship as the "only way out of conflict."

does anyone else have experience in this manner?

I'm Offering a Book & Teleclass on the Course

http://onemind.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:48:14 GMT

I just wanted to let you know that starting in August, I'll be conducting a 13-week telecourse on the Text of the Course. The format will be a weekly phone conference in which I'll share some thooughts for 15-20 minutes before opening it up to discussion. Lessons will be based on the Text and my Journal/Commentary. Email me for details.

New to the Course and this pod.

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:42:55 GMT

Greetings,
I have been studying the Course since February of this year.
It is the most magnificent book I have ever read. The energy
fills me with divinity and joy that I have never experienced
before. I do the daily lessons and attend a weekly gathereing
here in North Hollywood.
I am truly grateful and rejoice in the Oneness of Spirit.
For the first time in my life I feel like I have found my niche!
Blessings,
Navah

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://jahara.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:11:21 GMT

Bruce,

You list of 50 miracles from ACIM, but I have not seen all of them in the text. Can you tell me the page numbers that you found these, and what printing of the course you are using?

Thanks.

New publication of original ACIM

http://jahara.gaia.com — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:02:06 GMT

I thought some of you might be interested in this since K. Wapnick has been changing the Foundation for Inner Peace version of A Course in Miracles.

News from my friend and fellow teacher Denis Moore:

Here is the web address for ordering the new "original edition" of A Course In Miracles from the Community Miracles Center. This is a brand new publication of the Hugh Lynn Cayce version of the Text along with the Urtext version of the Workbook and the Manual for Teachers. The only thing missing from this edition is the "clarification of terms," which remains under copyright. The Community Miracles Center offers the best price. I got it for just under $28.00 including postage.

http://www.miracles-course.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=bookstore&Product_Code=Ori0010&Category_Code=Ori

On the "copyright page" in the new edition, it reads:

"A Course In Miracles is a public domain document, and the reader is free to read, enjoy, and share all or any part of it without the permission of any person."

A refreshing change!

Re: "create" vs. "make"

http://jahara.gaia.com — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:56:20 GMT

Hi, I am wondering, though, if it is God's play-doh, (being picky about words). The course says God has nothing to do with anything physical or related to the manifestation of the universe, so isn't it really the separated mind's play-doh? Seems to me we are being told that our idea that God created anything impermanent (the universe) is wrong. Even energy as we perceive it and think of it is an illusion. In other words what we call God, or have been told is God, is not.

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://jahara.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 23:31:39 GMT

Skydancer,
I like the way you put that - "that we imagine that someone has done something wrong that we excuse". Usually when I catch myself feeling hurt or angry about something someone did/said it turns out that on closer examination I am really angry at myself for my part in it. So, of course it seems harder to forgive self than some imagined external, but in reality it is part of the illusion as well, so the 'right view' includes ourselves as well.

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://jahara.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 23:26:24 GMT

Elena,
"As with any new profound insight, I am seeing reflections everywhere. The most entertaining parallel is in the methods of Cesar Millan, the "Dog Whisperer". He says that dogs live in the moment, that any dog can be rehabilitated/healed, and he does this by helping them return to their natural state of being! Something I have noticed in nearly every show is him teaching the people to cease nurturing an anxious mind (petting and giving affection while the animal is nervous, scared, aggressive, etc.), and instead to encourage and reinforce a calm-submissive state of mind. He says that the human being must be the pack leader and be calm-assertive. Calm-assertive is an apt description of my state of mind when I feel balanced!"

This is a great example. It also works with children. Thanks for putting it into this perspective. We can do the same things with our own anxious mind.

JahaRa

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://jahara.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 23:19:47 GMT

The best way to find the un-edited books is to look at used bookstores for versions published before 1992. The old 3 book hard back is probably the best bet if you can find it.

Re: ACIM

http://jahara.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 23:04:24 GMT

P.S. Thanks for starting this pod Bruce.

Re: ACIM

http://jahara.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 22:57:37 GMT

Adapted from "A Course in Miracles"

"There is no sin but a mistake and no punishment but an inevitable consequence. Wrong doing must be punished, for the Law of cause and effect must be eternally operative. Right doing must be rewarded for the same reason.

We do not say that man cannot sin; what we say is, that he does sin or make mistakes and that he is thereby automatically punished, AS LONG AS HE CONTINUES TO MAKE MISTAKES. This does not mean that there is an evil power in the Universe; but it does mean that there is an immutable Law of cause and effect running through everything. Sin is its own punishment and righteousness ITS OWN REWARD.

The age-long discussion of the problem of evil will never be answered until we realize that it is not a thing of itself but is simply A MISUSE OF THE LAW OF FREEDOM. The problem of evil will be met only to the degree that we cease doing evil and do good, for evil will disappear when we no longer indulge in it. When the whole world sees the right and does it; then, and not until then, will the problem of evil be solved for the entire race.
How do you feel about this? Cause and Effect - Good vs. Evil. How do we get there? "

Where did you get this? This is not in the "A Course in Miracles" I have read. Bruce's reply is a good reponse to this.

"create" vs. "make"

http://wholeographicself.gaia.com — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 04:23:57 GMT

"Since the separation, the words "create" and "make" have become confused. When you make something, you do so out of a specific sense of lack or need." T-3, 5.2:1

It's been years since I've done the workbook yet I often find myself thinking, "I create my own reality." Being that I am not at the stage of being consciously aware of my Christ Self, God Self, completely Integrated Self, Higher Self, Loving Self, Whole Self (whatever you wish to call it), I do not authentically feel that I "create" my reality out of the fullness, completeness, certainty, and loveness of God.

What is a more accurate statement is "I make my own reality" because I still live a life of fear, lack, and not enough. I still live a life from ego. Praise God for the moments when I lean more towards "creating" my day out of love and fullness, days when I can "see through the eyes of love."

"Generate" is another accurate term to me. "I generate my own reality." It's like I have God's Play-doh, His stuff of the universe. I "make" things out of It. I "generate" circumstances from It. But I don't feel that I "create" the Play-doh Itself.

On one hand it's good not to be picky about these things and just love. On the other, words carry a lot of weight, my life is all about constantly defining things, and this is a pod on ACIM's.

In Wholeness,

Mark

Re: Corrected time

http://IntuitiveCatalystForHealing.gaia.com — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 13:24:31 GMT

Before I go searching, I will ask you Bruce.... is this talk you gave archived? If so, do you have the link?

Thanks,
~Deborah

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 21:04:58 GMT

My partner and I have been attending counseling sessions with a student/teacher of A Course In Miracles (before this summer I had never heard of it). In conjunction with counseling I began reading Marianne Williamson's book, A Return to Love. The result so far, has been a transformation of my perception and the resurrection of my relationship.

In response to the question that began this discussion, how do we apply ACIM principles to the world, I call attention to myself as an example of a result of the application of ACIM principles!

Let me say a few words about my counselor: The first thing I noticed about his counseling style was that he is a participant in the process. He doesn't hold himself apart as an impartial observer as other counselors I've worked with have attempted, and indeed as they seem trained to behave/believe. From session one he said that our healing was his healing and that the energetic exchange was of value to him. Just this week I began to really get what he meant and believe, on a deep level, how this is true. He has embodied the lesson of separateness as an illusion - he walks his talk.

Second, the principle(s) that I have found most accessible and relevant is that in every moment we choose to respond out of fear or out of love, from judgment or from acceptance. Our perception of time plays into this insomuch as we bring the pain of the past to bear on the present. Carrying the past with us promotes a fear response and judgment. When we release the past and stand firm in the present we see through innocent eyes, accepting what is for what it is. Each moment is an opportunity to see through love, to respond from love, and love is total acceptance.

As with any new profound insight, I am seeing reflections everywhere. The most entertaining parallel is in the methods of Cesar Millan, the "Dog Whisperer". He says that dogs live in the moment, that any dog can be rehabilitated/healed, and he does this by helping them return to their natural state of being! Something I have noticed in nearly every show is him teaching the people to cease nurturing an anxious mind (petting and giving affection while the animal is nervous, scared, aggressive, etc.), and instead to encourage and reinforce a calm-submissive state of mind. He says that the human being must be the pack leader and be calm-assertive. Calm-assertive is an apt description of my state of mind when I feel balanced!

That's it for now, with one exception. To Alex: I appreciated your interpretation of the statement "In my father's house are many mansions." In addition to that, I'd like to add my take on it which has been that the many ‘mansions' refer to the many paths to god. Each holy book, each edition of each holy book, each religion, church, temple, etc. is a mansion. Only the difference in form leads us to believe that we are separate, or that we seeking a separate goal. Of course this is a false perception - every road leads to God. It matters not which road you choose, or how pockmarked or perfect the road may appear, as long as you get there.

Elena

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://IntuitiveCatalystForHealing.gaia.com — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 04:48:13 GMT

If I happen on Helen's notes Bruce, I certainly will circulate them to anyone who would like a copy.

Jesus tells us to never underestimate the power of denial of the ego. We know what happened to Jesus when he walked the earth. We know the corrections ACIM spells out of biblical errors. We also know Helen fought the course along her journey. It is no secret Helen's ego gave her great grief and challenge with regards to scribing of the course. I personally don't trust her ego any more than I trust my ego. :)

We know a one word error can change a meaning, totally. Even just proofreading the course shows many errors. No criticism intended. Facts are neutral, not negative nor positive.

I don't think divine guidance with regards to ACIM stopped with Helen. :) If some are guided to help Jesus make sure the word he wants delivered, is delivered as he intends, then I trust the work is all done to support Jesus rather than to criticize what was done by others. Just the facts. :)

One purpose is to have the manuscript Jesus fully intended us to have, complete and as accurate as can be. I would say that would serve rememberance, rather than separation.

In your explorations of ACIM in this pod, am I to understand discussions follow the blue book and no other editions?

Deborah

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://globalclarity.gaia.com — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 03:06:13 GMT

Hi Deborah,

Yes I am familiar with the earlier versions of the Course and the story of how the Course came to be rather fascinating and have read everything I can find on the subject.

I know some "students" have discredited some aspects of the Blue copy and yet I trust that Helen and Bill would have not compromised the teachings before it went to press.

I have a friend who was in the first ever ACIM study group many years ago and she tells many stories of the stuff the Course brought up for people.

I do wonder however what is to be found or uncovered by the reconstruction to it's original content and what purpose it would serve, rememberance or separation. I would only hope that it is for curiosity as opposed to finding fault or flaw in the current version.

Would appreciate hearing if you find any of Helen's notes!

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://IntuitiveCatalystForHealing.gaia.com — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:44:00 GMT

Hi Bruce,

I note you listed only 50 miracles. Are you aware of the HLC - Hugh Lynn Cayce edition of ACIM (Edgar Cayce's son) and also what is known as the Urtext ACIM? Both are early manuscripts and show much editing has been done to the blue book material.

There are actually 53 miracles. The ACIM blue book resulted from material, Helen Shucman's notes, which material had been edited although Ken Wapnick and others made claim it hadn't been.

Btw, I am in search of Helen's notes. Apparently there are copies circulating the internet. Please anyone who may have a copy, let me know. Some dedicated course scholars are working at reconstructing the original information back to it's original content. One of he ways I help is by proofreading.

One imporant line left out of the edited versions is the author saying "You will see miracles through your hands through Me"

The HLC is one of the early manuscripts. It a manuscript of the scribed material, that was given to Hugh Lynn Cacey. This copy was discovered in the Cayce Library when the court battle over copyright was in process.

Deborah

Corrected time

http://globalclarity.gaia.com — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 23:13:03 GMT

5:30 Pacific Daylight Time

(LA and Vancouver Time)

Re: Applying ACIM Teachings

http://skydancer.gaia.com — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:49:43 GMT

To me the central teaching of the course is that we should practice forgiveness, not in a traditional sense in which we imagine that someone has done something wrong that we excuse, but in the course's sense that sees that no wrongdoing ever truly occurred. Maintaining this "right view" to use a Buddhist term, is my daily practice. Or really I should say my daily effort, since I actually hit upon it so rarely. But I do try, and see myself improving in the frequency with which I succeed. The more I am able to remember that we are all innocent the more I contribute my light to the world and effortlessly refrain from spreading ill-will.

By the way, I want to let members of this pod know that I recently started a new pod called Lose Your Mind which you can check out at http://pods.zaadz.com/lightvision and I hope you will. It's brand new so of course I'm the only member right now, so I'd really love it if you would join, especially if you have an interest in discussing certain aspects of ACIM with people who might be interested in using it to dismantle their mental constructs but who may not already understand that it does that. I find that it does that for me anyway, though my primary practice is still Buddhism.