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Gail flynn's avatar

I had forgotten how beautiful the quote 'There is a child in you ' was ,that's exactly how it feels , god is father to us all ,we are all his children ,and each moment we love our brothers ,we become closer to him

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Sean Reagan's avatar

It is one of my favorite lessons and sections of the course. Thanks for being here, Gail 🙏

~ Sean

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Gordana's avatar

Thank you for bringing this up!! I've been thinking about this for quite a while. I feel safe and used to exploring the inner child, a common method in trauma therapy. However, I have been unsure if ACIM thinks so... since we are not "born here" (me thinking…can there be some inner child then). For me, it has been a helpful way to feel love for other people, regardless of their "ego", because I "see their inner child". Even when I worked in prison as a therapist, I chosed to meet the guys there, based on their inner child, and the conection was much moore easy. So I thank you for this post, and rest safe in continuing to see my brothers' inner children. With Love♥️

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Sean Reagan's avatar

Thank you, Gordana. I was wondering if this would come up; I'm grateful it did.

I think it's fair to say that any canonical reading of ACIM does NOT include inner child language, at least in the Alice Miller/IFS/twelve-step vein. Lesson 182 is a bit of a textual aberration in this regard (but interesting to me for that very reason), in the same way that the Song of Prayer is feminine in ways the rest of the material is emphatically not. As Leonard Cohen says (here paraphrased), it's the cracks where the light comes in.

That said, if we come to the ACIM material with a background (professional or otherwise) in inner child work (or some other modality, like Buddhism or CBT or entheogens or whatever), then the Holy Spirit is going to use that language and mode to make atonement clear and actionable for us. We forget sometimes how eminently practical the course really is.

Your special function is the special form in which the fact that God is not insane appears most sensible and meaningful to you. The content is the same. The form is suited to your special needs, and to the special time and place in which you think you find yourself, and where you can be free of place and time, and all that you believe must limit you (T-25.VII.7:1-3).

The course community has really struggled with this issue - recognizing that the FORM our ACIM practice takes varies by both necessity and grace. Salvation is adaptive :)

Inner child work has been instrumental in my healing practices over the years and remains a vital way of relating both to my own inner life and my projection of the inner lives of my brothers and sisters. It is functional and helpful, and therefore neatly aligns with the Holy Spirit's goal of reinterpreting all the ego's works (collectively "the world") into a teaching device for bringing us home together (T-5.III.11:1).

Thanks for sharing and being here and for the work you are doing. I am very grateful.

~ Sean

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Kristine Kelly's avatar

I accept to nourish the Child within that grew up too quickly….a quote that I read but never really understood until now…thank you Sean💕

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Sean Reagan's avatar

You're welcome, Kristine . . . thank you for being here and sharing. The whole inner child/inner family/cosmic family thing feels important to me. Lesson 182 has always fascinated me for its brief (in the context of the course) integration of that them into the otherwise very patriarchal course.

~ Sean

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ICE Jack Tuckerjack's avatar

Sean

I missed you. I miss the way you bring this thing into a living thing instead of something. I just read on a sheet of paper. The idea that I’m able to realize even that my existence here is someplace where I’ve never really wanted to be and I think that God has given me this

ACIM thing to, put me in the right spot. I keep struggling. I have been for many many years trying to get to that point. Thanks for your explanation. I’d like to talk to you on the phone again. Would that be possible? Let me know thank you.

Jack T❤️🙏

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Sean Reagan's avatar

Thank you, Jack. I appreciate the kind words. ACIM is often confusing to me but I do feel it is a gift that allows me to shift away from a fear-based way of living in the direction of love. I've got miles to go but I'm grateful for the company.

Yes, I'm happy to connect. Let's figure out a time that works.

~ Sean

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suzy shepherd's avatar

Yes Sean you are so right, being grateful is definitely the desired place to be, always. As it is only when I am in a place of gratitude that I can appreciate the gift of possibility in every situation that I encounter, either pleasant or unpleasant, as an opportunity to see the Love that is always present and available to me and find peace.

All encounters give me the opportunity to leave the madding world behind and sit above the battleground where true vision is to be found. It is only there where I can finally see the truth of this world and its gifts to me. it is where fear leaves this fearful mind and peace and only Love return.

I am only unwilling when I am living in a state of fear. When I am above the battleground and back with Love I am in a state of readiness to return my mind to Home, knowing I am innocent, loved and at one with everything.

This was a lovely reminder of the importance of being in a constant state of gratitude today Sean, as I know that the more time I spend there the more time I spend with Love. I am ready and I am willing to be in that place of love in every moment, as only when I am in that place do I feel peaceful, without fear and know my true reality of God's perfect creation.

Thank you my friend, love and Blessings, Suzy xxx

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Sean Reagan's avatar

Thank you, Suzy 🙏🙏

~ Sean

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Thomas Fasth's avatar

Thanks Sean! Clarifying and inspiring, accepting Love Now, expressing unconditional gratitude🙏🏼👁️🗝️

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Sean Reagan's avatar

Thanks Tom - I appreciate the kind words - hope all is well 🙏🙏

~ Sean

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Mike Reidt's avatar

❤️

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Jennifer Smythe's avatar

Thank you, Sean. I am grateful to be a student 🙏

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Sean Reagan's avatar

Thanks for being here, Jennifer. I hear you - I am very grateful as well 🙏🙏

~ Sean

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Janice's avatar

Yes❣️ be as a child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (LOVE) being grateful for remembering the Child within opens the door. Be willing to merely forgive that you remembered not to remember I am grateful for your reMinder Sean 🙏🏻

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Sean Reagan's avatar

You're welcome, Janice - and thanks to you for being here and sharing. We are in this together 🙏🙏

~ Sean

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Sean Mc Geary's avatar

Thanks again Sean,you have covered a lot of ground in this post. I feel a little guilty for learning from your diligence to the course It takes me a long time to read it as my eyes are failing but that to is a blessing thank you Sean

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Sean Reagan's avatar

You're welcome, Sean. Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad it's helpful. I hope all is well on your end, Sean - I'm always grateful to share this space with you.

~ Sean

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