How beautiful, Sean! Thank you so much. I am so grateful for the community that gathers here. I’ve posted the ‘Rules for Decision’ (T-30.I) in front of me and read it every morning. There are a few points but it starts with “Today, I will make no decisions by myself”. Then, I tell myself what kind of day I want to have, the things I want to happen to me and the things I want to experience. “If I made no decisions by myself, this is the day that will be given me”. In this moment, I choose peace and I choose love. I know that I can be restored by the Holy Spirit if my day goes awry… I choose love and am so grateful for all of you.
Thank you Joanne - I appreciate this very much. The Rules for Decision is such a helpful part of the text, one of my favorites. And that simple declaration - I will not do this alone, I will ask Jesus and the Holy Spirit - is so so helpful.
And yes - knowing that if the day goes awry, if I make an error, even a seemingly big one - it will be used for good, albeit in ways I may not recognize or even see - is so helpful. That's a core concept of the course that I rely on a good deal - in truth, it is not possible to make mistakes. What a relief!
Thank you for being here and helping me remember 🙏🙏
Be "passers-by". Watch life unfold with no resistance, no judgements and trust that things are exactly as they should be. It takes radical faith and trust. The US government, especially, is giving us the greatest opportunity to choose fear or love. We are all in a major growth spurt.
I feel this so beautifully. Thank you. I don’t know what is possible for my life, and I don’t need to know. I am willing for it to show me itself. All I can do is say yes. YES!
Thank you, Kimberley. I appreciate that - life shows us itself, love shows us itself. When I am still and quiet and willing to get out of the way it's felt almost like a blossoming or becoming - an expressing - that I observe but do not direct, share but do not possess. Yes is the answer 🙏🙏
As always, thank you Sean. Lesson 47 comes to mind. “God is the strength in which I trust”. Not individuals. How do we know what the “big” plan is? I know I don’t. The world today seems messy but knowing that my strength comes from a much deeper place it relieves my anxiety and disappointment.
The life A Course in Miracles makes possible for me is that I can just trust to be guided in everything that I do. I do what "occurs to me", following the prompts of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, rather than figuring things out, reasoning about things. By doing this, I release a great burden, and my life becomes more and more miraculous. This is one of the great gifts A Course In Miracles has given to me. I wish the same for everyone who gets in touch with the course. Hallelujah! ✨
I've been using our current politics to practice leaning in, to surrendering, to bless those who persecute me or seemingly do. It's given me great opportunities to double down and practice everything the Course has asked me to practice. It seems like it's an extreme ask right now.
I am trying to figure out how to get groups of people together who I dont even know (neighbors), regardless of politics and begin "communicating" again, to just love them. Today's political climate is also giving me opportunity to reconnect with people who I haven't talked to in years and to help them through this time with my understanding of the course. These friends have never read it but are open to its ideas.
I think it's an opportunity to practice tolerance and patience, to practice the attributes in The Manual for Teachers. And it's pushed me to making sure I read you EVERY week because you always have awesome heartfelt takes on understanding Acim.
You're welcome, Jeannie - thanks for being here and sharing.
It DOES feel like an extreme ask - that's a good way to put it. I have been reading and rereading Mark's gospel during Lent, and reflecting on its theme of following Jesus.
Its message is very clear: following Jesus means following him to the cross, to a confrontation with the systemic forces of greed, evil, hatred, et cetera. The self dies on that journey, and the body might too! That, too, is an extreme ask. Just how much love am I supposed to offer?
And I think the answer is - I think I feel the Holy Spirit whispering in my heart - always a little more, always a little more.
Connecting and communicating, cooperating and coordinating . . . it seems to me that our survival, not to mention our happiness and inner peace, are going to depend a LOT on our ability to do this going forward. I don't really have answers so much as an "I hear you - I'm with you."
I think if we can start small - even if we're just aligning with fellow students online - it opens up some space in our shared heart, our shared world. There is a way in which it's about observing and witnessing, about simply being present to what happens without judging or intervening.
But, again, the Jesus in Mark's Gospel is bracing. Over and over he tells his disciples, get up and love your brothers and sisters, get up and get on the side of justice and peace. It won't be easy but the company is amazing :)
The disciples screw up all the time, by the way. I love that, too. The message is clear - progress and practice, not perfection, are the goal. There is no error that God will leave uncorrected, no sin left unforgiven, and no loneliness that will not be comforted. We just have to show up.
Anyway . . . thank you for sharing. I'm glad you're here, and I'm grateful for the reminder that I'm not shouting into the void but sharing with friends who walk the path with me 🙏🙏
Thank you Sean. Yes, if there ever was a time to live the Course it's now. Not that there is ever a "better" or "worse" time. There is only ever now. Thank you, your words hit home this morning!
You're welcome, Josef . . . yes, there is a palpable urgency to choose love over fear in ways that gather us all together to remember that separate interests are an illusion . . . It is a great opportunity to heal, I agree with this . . . Thank you for being here 🙏🙏
I joined the river of Pilgrims, walking my first Camino in 2023 and I leave to walk my second one today. This time round I am also volunteering at an albergue for two weeks as well as walking - so I can experience a different aspect of pilgrimage. The job of a Hospitalera/o is to offer hospitality to all pilgrims. At this stage of my life, this is the practice ACIM has led me to and I am so grateful and filled with love. Thank you Sean for your inspiring writing.
I keep hearing: love is silent. As the noise overcomes all my thoughts. Then again, in a soft, almost faint yet eternal whisper, again: love is silent.
You're welcome, Simona. I hear that too - Love is silent and Love is still. And given - always freely given.
And yet . . .
I, too, struggle with the noise, internal and external, rising and falling. Prayer and meditation help; for some reason, smiling helps too. And also realizing that silence does not mean the absence of sound, which sounds silly but for some reason has been very helpful for me.
Thanks for being here and sharing the way - we are in this together 🙏🙏
Loved your article as always Sean, thank you. Coincidentally, I have been agonising lately (well not quite agonising, but close!) on a paragraph from the course that fits well here: T-22.III.9:1-7. Then I remember to laugh, for awhile anyway!
That's an interesting paragraph and - for me - a good example of how the course sometimes gets a little convoluted. The last sentence could easily stand alone: "A holy relationship is a common state of mind where both give errors glad to correction, that both may happily be healed as one."
I loved what you wrote. Thank you. I went through ACIM when I was 19, and Elijah Wapnick was my teacher. I am 61 and working my way through the workbook again. Reading ACIM and practicing the lessons, even when they feel like such a reach, is grounding me through this time. Thank you for writing to us. I find your writing deeply comforting.
I'm glad it's helpful, Robin, and grateful that I can share it with folks. We are in this together, learning as we go. Thank you for helping me find and hold the light 🙏🙏
Very timely sharing Sean. I work every day on letting go of my need to think things should be different, it causes such tension and separation. Love is here right NOW in the midst of whatever is happening. ♥️🙏
How beautiful, Sean! Thank you so much. I am so grateful for the community that gathers here. I’ve posted the ‘Rules for Decision’ (T-30.I) in front of me and read it every morning. There are a few points but it starts with “Today, I will make no decisions by myself”. Then, I tell myself what kind of day I want to have, the things I want to happen to me and the things I want to experience. “If I made no decisions by myself, this is the day that will be given me”. In this moment, I choose peace and I choose love. I know that I can be restored by the Holy Spirit if my day goes awry… I choose love and am so grateful for all of you.
Thank you Joanne - I appreciate this very much. The Rules for Decision is such a helpful part of the text, one of my favorites. And that simple declaration - I will not do this alone, I will ask Jesus and the Holy Spirit - is so so helpful.
And yes - knowing that if the day goes awry, if I make an error, even a seemingly big one - it will be used for good, albeit in ways I may not recognize or even see - is so helpful. That's a core concept of the course that I rely on a good deal - in truth, it is not possible to make mistakes. What a relief!
Thank you for being here and helping me remember 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Be "passers-by". Watch life unfold with no resistance, no judgements and trust that things are exactly as they should be. It takes radical faith and trust. The US government, especially, is giving us the greatest opportunity to choose fear or love. We are all in a major growth spurt.
Yes to all of this - thank you Michelle - I am so grateful to pass by with such worthy and helpful companions - thanks for being here and sharing 🙏🙏
~ Sean
I feel this so beautifully. Thank you. I don’t know what is possible for my life, and I don’t need to know. I am willing for it to show me itself. All I can do is say yes. YES!
Thank you, Kimberley. I appreciate that - life shows us itself, love shows us itself. When I am still and quiet and willing to get out of the way it's felt almost like a blossoming or becoming - an expressing - that I observe but do not direct, share but do not possess. Yes is the answer 🙏🙏
~ Sean
As always, thank you Sean. Lesson 47 comes to mind. “God is the strength in which I trust”. Not individuals. How do we know what the “big” plan is? I know I don’t. The world today seems messy but knowing that my strength comes from a much deeper place it relieves my anxiety and disappointment.
Thanks, Dee . . . I appreciate this very much . . . we are never alone in creation 🙏🙏
~ Sean
The life A Course in Miracles makes possible for me is that I can just trust to be guided in everything that I do. I do what "occurs to me", following the prompts of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, rather than figuring things out, reasoning about things. By doing this, I release a great burden, and my life becomes more and more miraculous. This is one of the great gifts A Course In Miracles has given to me. I wish the same for everyone who gets in touch with the course. Hallelujah! ✨
🙏🙏
Thank you, Sean. Your words are beautiful.
I've been using our current politics to practice leaning in, to surrendering, to bless those who persecute me or seemingly do. It's given me great opportunities to double down and practice everything the Course has asked me to practice. It seems like it's an extreme ask right now.
I am trying to figure out how to get groups of people together who I dont even know (neighbors), regardless of politics and begin "communicating" again, to just love them. Today's political climate is also giving me opportunity to reconnect with people who I haven't talked to in years and to help them through this time with my understanding of the course. These friends have never read it but are open to its ideas.
I think it's an opportunity to practice tolerance and patience, to practice the attributes in The Manual for Teachers. And it's pushed me to making sure I read you EVERY week because you always have awesome heartfelt takes on understanding Acim.
You're welcome, Jeannie - thanks for being here and sharing.
It DOES feel like an extreme ask - that's a good way to put it. I have been reading and rereading Mark's gospel during Lent, and reflecting on its theme of following Jesus.
Its message is very clear: following Jesus means following him to the cross, to a confrontation with the systemic forces of greed, evil, hatred, et cetera. The self dies on that journey, and the body might too! That, too, is an extreme ask. Just how much love am I supposed to offer?
And I think the answer is - I think I feel the Holy Spirit whispering in my heart - always a little more, always a little more.
Connecting and communicating, cooperating and coordinating . . . it seems to me that our survival, not to mention our happiness and inner peace, are going to depend a LOT on our ability to do this going forward. I don't really have answers so much as an "I hear you - I'm with you."
I think if we can start small - even if we're just aligning with fellow students online - it opens up some space in our shared heart, our shared world. There is a way in which it's about observing and witnessing, about simply being present to what happens without judging or intervening.
But, again, the Jesus in Mark's Gospel is bracing. Over and over he tells his disciples, get up and love your brothers and sisters, get up and get on the side of justice and peace. It won't be easy but the company is amazing :)
The disciples screw up all the time, by the way. I love that, too. The message is clear - progress and practice, not perfection, are the goal. There is no error that God will leave uncorrected, no sin left unforgiven, and no loneliness that will not be comforted. We just have to show up.
Anyway . . . thank you for sharing. I'm glad you're here, and I'm grateful for the reminder that I'm not shouting into the void but sharing with friends who walk the path with me 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Thank you Sean. Yes, if there ever was a time to live the Course it's now. Not that there is ever a "better" or "worse" time. There is only ever now. Thank you, your words hit home this morning!
You're welcome, Josef . . . yes, there is a palpable urgency to choose love over fear in ways that gather us all together to remember that separate interests are an illusion . . . It is a great opportunity to heal, I agree with this . . . Thank you for being here 🙏🙏
~ Sean
My brothers and sisters...God's love...let it take you over. Thank you, Sean.
🙏🙏
Thank you Sean. You always have the words to collect my scattered thoughts. I am deeply touched by the connection.
You are welcome, Frankie - thank you for sharing and being here. My thoughts often feel like fallen leaves in a hard wind :) 🙏🙏
~ Sean
I joined the river of Pilgrims, walking my first Camino in 2023 and I leave to walk my second one today. This time round I am also volunteering at an albergue for two weeks as well as walking - so I can experience a different aspect of pilgrimage. The job of a Hospitalera/o is to offer hospitality to all pilgrims. At this stage of my life, this is the practice ACIM has led me to and I am so grateful and filled with love. Thank you Sean for your inspiring writing.
That's beautiful Claire! I love that. Thanks for being here and for sharing 🙏🙏
~ Sean
I keep hearing: love is silent. As the noise overcomes all my thoughts. Then again, in a soft, almost faint yet eternal whisper, again: love is silent.
I'm really trying... Yet the noise!
Thank you for this moment of silence
You're welcome, Simona. I hear that too - Love is silent and Love is still. And given - always freely given.
And yet . . .
I, too, struggle with the noise, internal and external, rising and falling. Prayer and meditation help; for some reason, smiling helps too. And also realizing that silence does not mean the absence of sound, which sounds silly but for some reason has been very helpful for me.
Thanks for being here and sharing the way - we are in this together 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Loved your article as always Sean, thank you. Coincidentally, I have been agonising lately (well not quite agonising, but close!) on a paragraph from the course that fits well here: T-22.III.9:1-7. Then I remember to laugh, for awhile anyway!
Thanks, Trish.
That's an interesting paragraph and - for me - a good example of how the course sometimes gets a little convoluted. The last sentence could easily stand alone: "A holy relationship is a common state of mind where both give errors glad to correction, that both may happily be healed as one."
Thanks for being here - hope all is well 🙏🙏
~ Sean
I loved what you wrote. Thank you. I went through ACIM when I was 19, and Elijah Wapnick was my teacher. I am 61 and working my way through the workbook again. Reading ACIM and practicing the lessons, even when they feel like such a reach, is grounding me through this time. Thank you for writing to us. I find your writing deeply comforting.
I'm glad it's helpful, Robin, and grateful that I can share it with folks. We are in this together, learning as we go. Thank you for helping me find and hold the light 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Very timely sharing Sean. I work every day on letting go of my need to think things should be different, it causes such tension and separation. Love is here right NOW in the midst of whatever is happening. ♥️🙏
Indeed, Glenda - I hear you. The work is to remember which, for me, is easier with fellow travelers sharing the path - thank you for being here 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Thank you.
🙏🙏
Dear Sean
Salvation comes from your one self. Lesson 96
Salvation and forgiveness are the same. Lesson 99
Forgive all thoughts that would oppose the truth of your completeness, unity and peace.
That love may find its rightful place in your mind and show you that you are the Son of God.
Thank you!
🙏🙏