In the midst of a difficult conversation years ago, the spirit within whispered “invulnerability lies in total vulnerability.” So I said the hard parts out loud. It is the only way we can truly SEE one another and see our SELF in the perceived other. (Not that I do this all of the time or even most of the time, LOL, and there are some situations with certain people in which vulnerability is ill-advised — but Spirit usually raises the red flag in those if we are attentive.)
But authentic vulnerability with those we sense we can trust opens us to connection and connection naturally makes space for simple acts of kindness. A sense of “otherness” gives way to the feeling of “ah. You, too.” Loneliness abates. Love grows.
Thank you, Sean, for saying the hard parts out loud. Your ACIM writing feels like a safe space where one can be open or be broken or just be.
Thank you for sharing, Cheryl, and for the kind words. I mostly just feel a lot of "yes" to this - especially the phrase "authentic vulnerability," and the idea of the sense of otherness dissolving in shared identity. Saying the hard parts aloud - bringing the thornier material to the light - is very much the practice. Thank you for being here, Cheryl. I'm very grateful.
Sometimes we are so profoundly moved that about the most we can say is wow! You said wow on the park bench years ago and I said wow reading this just now. I never fail to find a connection to your experiences and I see that our struggles are the same - even though our paths are different. I have been on the ACIM journey, dare I say seriously, about 18 months now and you spoke to me from the very beginning. You have and continue to inspire me to put one foot in front of the other and stay connected to the journey. Thank you Sean for your vulnerability and your honesty. Wow!
I am very grateful for your sharing. We all have stories filled with many different experiences and along the way there are instances when the light goes on and you realize I can choose another way. There is another way of looking at ‘this’. There is a Guide that you need nothing to do just merely ask and listen. Stories….
M. 29 .2. 4- “No one should attempt to answer these questions alone. Surely no teacher of God has come this far without realizing that. The curriculum is highly individualized, (for all the individualized stories) and all aspects are under the Holy Spirit’s particular care and guidance. Ask and He will answer. The responsibility is His, and He alone is fit to assume it. To do so is His function. To refer the question to Him is yours.”
When I am with another and I hear them say “ I never thought about it that way” I realize they have had a change of mind. I have no idea what I had said that caused that because Spirit ‘whispered through me. Works the other way too when the light goes on for me and I had a change of thought. We are here as brothers for each other. And
T2. 18. 8. 2-6
“I am here to be truly helpful.
I am here to represent Him Who sent me.
I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do, because He Who sent me will direct me.
I am content to be wherever He wishes, knowing He goes there with me.
I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.”
Thank you Sean for sharing. I have received lights from you on the road we share to Emmaus. 🙏
Sean now I know where you're gentleness originated,thank you for that. I can't find the words to reply to this post adequately, but it touched me deeply. Thank you Sean
On Saturday evening I had an argument with my Wife. It was one of those petty escalations out of nothingness that hit upon a sensitive issue for my wife that neither of us had addressed appropriately. A few words were said, some feelings were hurt. It was late. 'Right, I'm off to bed' I huffed. And off I went.
I've been making a habit of reaching out to the Holy Spirit. More regularly than ever before. As I got into bed full of rage, I reached out. In less than an instant my pent up anger and rage, my affronted self dropped away. Without another thought I got back out of bed, went downstairs and sat next to my Wife. And all that childish resentment and anger was no longer there and we talked peacefully and reconciled.
That was it. A forgetting, a grievance, an instant of remembrance. Forgiveness experienced as love and a coming back to sanity.
You'll may never see this, Martin, because I'm coming to it late, but I want to tell you anyway how beautiful I think this is. I'm so grateful to people like you who boldly "witness" and "testify" to their personal experiences with the healing love of the Holy Spirit. Thank you so much!
Your comment is not lost, Nancy. Thank you. And also thanks for reminding me of the power of forgiveness, as I cannot claim to demonstrate this amount of awareness as often as I might like!!
You remind me that miracles, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are, in themselves, lessons in what humility really is. Nothing is too small for them to heal with love and love is always maximal. When they say to bring everything to them, they MEAN IT. It's only ego that stops us, fooling us into believing we shouldn't "bother them" over the small stuff.
I know a woman who thought it would be absurd for her to ask the Holy Spirit to help her find a grocery store with a wide selection of cake decorations. She asked anyway, feeling embarrassed, but she did it. The next thing that happened was that she felt a strong urge to go to a grocery where she had never shopped before. You know the ending: that store had a long shelf full of exactly what she needed.
Remembering that Love is always maximal and always freely given is oddly difficult. It seems so reasonable to try and measure it, parcel it out, decide who is worthy and unworthy, and all of that. The knots we tie! The complexity we consent to, over and over and over! So I am learning - slowly but surely - to remember how to let go and to accept - in whatever dose I can manage in the moment - love.
Thanks for being here, Nancy. I am deeply grateful 🙏🙏
I loved your honesty Sean, and I loved your appreciation of us as well. You are beautiful and sensitive soul Sean, and we appreciate your love so very much. I truly hope you are always walking with us on the road back to Love. Blessings as always, Suzy xxx
What words can I use to even address you after reading and rereading this incredilbe sharing where you lay yourself naked, raw and vulnerable and say "here I am - the IAM" having a very very human experience. Hafiz, the Persian poet who arrived 100 years after Rumi, dedicated his book of poetry 'GIFTS' - "To God, masquerading as us." You truly did this masquerade with excellence Sean and you are forever deeply embedded in my heart. I cannot thank you enough for walking the planet with all of us at this great time of change.
In the midst of a difficult conversation years ago, the spirit within whispered “invulnerability lies in total vulnerability.” So I said the hard parts out loud. It is the only way we can truly SEE one another and see our SELF in the perceived other. (Not that I do this all of the time or even most of the time, LOL, and there are some situations with certain people in which vulnerability is ill-advised — but Spirit usually raises the red flag in those if we are attentive.)
But authentic vulnerability with those we sense we can trust opens us to connection and connection naturally makes space for simple acts of kindness. A sense of “otherness” gives way to the feeling of “ah. You, too.” Loneliness abates. Love grows.
Thank you, Sean, for saying the hard parts out loud. Your ACIM writing feels like a safe space where one can be open or be broken or just be.
Love,
Cheryl
Thank you for sharing, Cheryl, and for the kind words. I mostly just feel a lot of "yes" to this - especially the phrase "authentic vulnerability," and the idea of the sense of otherness dissolving in shared identity. Saying the hard parts aloud - bringing the thornier material to the light - is very much the practice. Thank you for being here, Cheryl. I'm very grateful.
Love,
Sean
Sometimes we are so profoundly moved that about the most we can say is wow! You said wow on the park bench years ago and I said wow reading this just now. I never fail to find a connection to your experiences and I see that our struggles are the same - even though our paths are different. I have been on the ACIM journey, dare I say seriously, about 18 months now and you spoke to me from the very beginning. You have and continue to inspire me to put one foot in front of the other and stay connected to the journey. Thank you Sean for your vulnerability and your honesty. Wow!
Thank you Frankie - I appreciate the kind words and the good company. We are in this together 🙏🙏
Love,
Sean
JANICE
I am very grateful for your sharing. We all have stories filled with many different experiences and along the way there are instances when the light goes on and you realize I can choose another way. There is another way of looking at ‘this’. There is a Guide that you need nothing to do just merely ask and listen. Stories….
M. 29 .2. 4- “No one should attempt to answer these questions alone. Surely no teacher of God has come this far without realizing that. The curriculum is highly individualized, (for all the individualized stories) and all aspects are under the Holy Spirit’s particular care and guidance. Ask and He will answer. The responsibility is His, and He alone is fit to assume it. To do so is His function. To refer the question to Him is yours.”
When I am with another and I hear them say “ I never thought about it that way” I realize they have had a change of mind. I have no idea what I had said that caused that because Spirit ‘whispered through me. Works the other way too when the light goes on for me and I had a change of thought. We are here as brothers for each other. And
T2. 18. 8. 2-6
“I am here to be truly helpful.
I am here to represent Him Who sent me.
I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do, because He Who sent me will direct me.
I am content to be wherever He wishes, knowing He goes there with me.
I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.”
Thank you Sean for sharing. I have received lights from you on the road we share to Emmaus. 🙏
You're welcome, Janice. Thank you for being here and for sharing - I'm very grateful.
Love,
Sean
Sean now I know where you're gentleness originated,thank you for that. I can't find the words to reply to this post adequately, but it touched me deeply. Thank you Sean
Thank you, Sean . . . I am always grateful that you are here reading what I write and sharing. Your kindness means the world to me.
Love,
Sean
On Saturday evening I had an argument with my Wife. It was one of those petty escalations out of nothingness that hit upon a sensitive issue for my wife that neither of us had addressed appropriately. A few words were said, some feelings were hurt. It was late. 'Right, I'm off to bed' I huffed. And off I went.
I've been making a habit of reaching out to the Holy Spirit. More regularly than ever before. As I got into bed full of rage, I reached out. In less than an instant my pent up anger and rage, my affronted self dropped away. Without another thought I got back out of bed, went downstairs and sat next to my Wife. And all that childish resentment and anger was no longer there and we talked peacefully and reconciled.
That was it. A forgetting, a grievance, an instant of remembrance. Forgiveness experienced as love and a coming back to sanity.
This is beautiful. Thank you, Martin 🙏🙏
You'll may never see this, Martin, because I'm coming to it late, but I want to tell you anyway how beautiful I think this is. I'm so grateful to people like you who boldly "witness" and "testify" to their personal experiences with the healing love of the Holy Spirit. Thank you so much!
Your comment is not lost, Nancy. Thank you. And also thanks for reminding me of the power of forgiveness, as I cannot claim to demonstrate this amount of awareness as often as I might like!!
Oh, this is lovely!
You remind me that miracles, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are, in themselves, lessons in what humility really is. Nothing is too small for them to heal with love and love is always maximal. When they say to bring everything to them, they MEAN IT. It's only ego that stops us, fooling us into believing we shouldn't "bother them" over the small stuff.
I know a woman who thought it would be absurd for her to ask the Holy Spirit to help her find a grocery store with a wide selection of cake decorations. She asked anyway, feeling embarrassed, but she did it. The next thing that happened was that she felt a strong urge to go to a grocery where she had never shopped before. You know the ending: that store had a long shelf full of exactly what she needed.
Love to you!
Remembering that Love is always maximal and always freely given is oddly difficult. It seems so reasonable to try and measure it, parcel it out, decide who is worthy and unworthy, and all of that. The knots we tie! The complexity we consent to, over and over and over! So I am learning - slowly but surely - to remember how to let go and to accept - in whatever dose I can manage in the moment - love.
Thanks for being here, Nancy. I am deeply grateful 🙏🙏
~ Sean
I loved your honesty Sean, and I loved your appreciation of us as well. You are beautiful and sensitive soul Sean, and we appreciate your love so very much. I truly hope you are always walking with us on the road back to Love. Blessings as always, Suzy xxx
Thank you Suzy 🙏🙏
What words can I use to even address you after reading and rereading this incredilbe sharing where you lay yourself naked, raw and vulnerable and say "here I am - the IAM" having a very very human experience. Hafiz, the Persian poet who arrived 100 years after Rumi, dedicated his book of poetry 'GIFTS' - "To God, masquerading as us." You truly did this masquerade with excellence Sean and you are forever deeply embedded in my heart. I cannot thank you enough for walking the planet with all of us at this great time of change.
Thank you Sandra 🙏🙏 Very grateful to share this path you . . . and thank you for the lovely reminder of Hafiz' words . . .
♥️
Thanks for being here Annie 🙏
Love,
Sean
…love this, Sean.
Thank you
Thank you, Jennifer 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Thank you for sharing, Sean.
Martin
🙏🙏