Happy to be here! I’m new to your group. I’ve been studying independently for about a year. It’s been a very slow process as I have only been able to digest a few pages at a time. A lot of confusion and questions and doubt arise- which I assume is my ego- but I continue on because I feel this is my life path.
Welcome! Confusion, questions and doubt are probably good signs, to be honest . . . The course is very much about prompting us to challenge ego's assertions, which we usually experience as discomforting . . . It takes a while to feel comfortable with the discomfort :)
So enjoyed your description Sean. As a lapsed Catholic, then Agnostic, then Baptist, then New Ager, then just disillusioned, the seeking and questioning has never stopped. Coming to a point of acceptance in each moment and seeing the opportunity to transform my distorted perceptions has and is a constant challenge but now, even the challenge and resistance I can see and smile at as the dust settles.
My question to you is…do you see the Scriptures of your Catholic upbringing in a different light now, or do you reject them outright, except for a few passages?
I ask because I’ve been drawn back into Christianity and can’t believe it so!! I fought so hard to not listen to that nudge. It caused long dark times of depression until I gave in to where I was being led. Surrender brought peace, such peace!!
Now I hear all scripture through the lens of Love and oneness but hit up against the wall of ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me’ to mean….become a Christian or go to hell.
To me that means…I (Jesus) am showing you that my example of Love is the only Way to connect and realise the Truth of oneness with God who is the very essence of Life.
Where this journey takes me only God knows because at times it feels like a fish out of water, and yet I’ve never had more peace in relationships. Go figure!!! ???
I hope you don't mind me jumping in here but while reading your comment a bell went off in my mind. and I rememberer the Course addresses and reinterprets the quote you mention. Here is what is said:
T-7.III.1. “The Holy Spirit teaches one lesson, and applies it to all individuals in all situations. 2 Being conflict-free, He maximizes all efforts and all results. 3 By teaching the power of the Kingdom of God Himself, He teaches you that all power is yours. 4 Its application does not matter. 5 It is always maximal. 6 Your vigilance does not establish it as yours, but it does enable you to use it always and in all ways. 7 When I said "I am with you always," I meant it literally. 8 I am not absent to anyone in any situation. 9 Because I am always with you, you are the way, the truth and the life. 10 You did not make this power, any more than I did. 11 It was created to be shared, and therefore cannot be meaningfully perceived as belonging to anyone at the expense of another. 12 Such a perception makes it meaningless by eliminating or overlooking its real and only meaning.”
I take it to mean that as Christ is, we are . . .thus, the only way to reach the kingdom — to Be peace, if you will — is through the “Christ” spirit in us . . .no matter what we call it. Sean, of course, might have a different take, but I thought this might be helpful.
This is my sense of that passage as well, and I'd only add that "Christ" is a shared experience - arising in relationships that are moving from special to holy - which is such a fundamental aspect of our ACIM study and practice.
One aspect of interior transformation is that everything perceived - be it a flower or a gospel text - becomes a witness for the peace and happiness that are inherent in letting go of fear and resting in love.
And healing the past is a nontrivial aspect of the overarching ACIM healing project. So my Catholic upbringing - and the many years spent in that church - are not a thing to reject but rather to integrate, accept, welcome, etc. It is a reformed relationship with the spiritual tenor of growing up.
So yes. I do perceive wisdom and light and nods to oneness in that material. Mostly I hear my brothers and sisters from long ago bearing witness to love so that I can - millenia later - remember the love as well. One Love with many fingers pointing to it!
Relationship with Jesus feels fundamental to me. Oddly, it is the one aspect of my spiritual life that never really wavered - I doubted the institutional church, I doubted God, I doubted Buddha etc - but Jesus always felt like a friend I could count on. I don't talk about it much because in many ways it is so deeply personal but the light that relationship brings - light of understanding, light of companionship, ight of Love - is beyond measure for me. I will never be grateful enough.
Thank you for being here and sharing your story. I feel like we would recognize a lot of one another's journey.
A Course In Miracles has completely changed my life because now I have inner peace. Every year end I ask myself if I have more peace this past year than the year before that... and every year I answer 'yes'. "The proof is in the pudding". Feeling love within is such a wonderful feeling, which helps me love others... even the 'worst' of human beings. As I forgive others, I am actually forgiving myself (because we are all one), and this brings more and more peace to my mind. Thank-you Sean for giving me an excellent newsletter every week!
You're welcome, Robyn. Thank you for being here and for sharing. I am deeply grateful to the course and to the community around it for being so patient and helpful. I'm glad we share this path 🙏🙏
Sean, this is so helpful. Just last week I asked a an Episcopalian priest and a fellow seeker if they were familiar with A Course in Miracles and when they said “no” I was asked what it was. I’ve been pondering lately how to ask that question and also came to the conclusion that the best way would be to talk about what it does for me. The words I’ve been using are “it makes the feeling of God’s love real to the point I can actually feel it and know it. It helps open the scripture of the Bible to a whole new level of understanding in my heart, beyond mere concept.
Also, last week my 88 year old Mother attended a Church session on the importance of laughter. It reminded me of a sense I’ve had, that I seem to be more serious these days. I appreciated your thoughts and ACIM readings on laughter. Though I may be very much in my head these days, the way is indeed easy and “the bridge where freedom lies within in the Peace of God is here....I only need to see it, feel it, live it.
When people ask me what ACIM is.... my answer is... "If I had to sum the whole course up in one word, then that word would be 'forgiveness'". I then go on and say what forgiveness does to me like giving me peace. I also like your answers too!
Ah, yes…forgiveness as well. Thank you, Robyn, for sharing this. Forgiveness of ourselves, of others…. As Sean wrote… It (love)undoes the poisonous tendrils of separation.” and forgiveness is an expression of that love. A kind of chicken and egg thing, love and forgiveness? Sean’s “ Love is real and its salvation is no joke.” states what I am finding out… this realness of Love and the power of forgiveness. So much more to unpack.
Thanks, Denise. Yes, my sense is that ACIM is better understood in terms of what it does for us - which is always very personal. The illusions of separate interests and separate stories is very pervasive, and the course works very closely and intimately with us in that regard. I like very much your sense of it as making the Love of God tangible and real, which in turn opens up traditional scriptures to something that transcends concepts. That makes a lot of sense to me.
And yes, laughter! It's not a happy dream if we aren't smiling :)
Thanks for reading and sharing, Denise. I'm glad you're here.
Hi Chrissie - I have personally met David Hoffmeister 4 times, when he came to Victoria (Canada) to speak and run workshops. 2 of those times were for weekend workshops. I really like what he says and how he says it. He is true to ACIM. I have had a few friends that have followed him to Utah and some come back and some move on. On questioning them about the book that just came out.... one friend said it wasn't balanced information... they left out the 'other' side of the conversations and happenings. I continue to receive their newsletters from David H, but I don't contribute or take their offerings. I personally think that David is not wanting to be their leader, nor does he insist on things being any such way. Even though he is considered the head or figurehead, I feel he is just bouncing on in life and not concerned about the money or how things are happening around him. I think it is the people that formed a group around him are the ones that are perhaps not 'pure ACIM'. I don't know. There is definitely a money aspect to the group, because that money needs to support the plane tickets, food and taxes of the people that live there. A very wealthy person left money in their will, and that is how they purchased some of the land here and there. Somebody else gave them the 'monastery' place in Utah.... so not all money is gleaned from the participants. I would like to think that they are doing good in the world. If you would like to contact one of my friends, Richard, who lives there for 4-6 months and then comes back to Vancouver to work and then goes back again.... just let me know and I can hook you up. I would like to believe your father is following his heart and is happy. And smart enough about his money.
For quite some time now, Sean, whenever I begin to think or write “pay attention,” nine times out of 10 I make the mental shift to “give attention” and feel a more expansive energy. . . the space of my awareness becomes kinder and gentler, if that makes sense. And I always remember that I have you to thank for that subtle yet significant change. 💖
Thank you Cheryl. I got it from David Bohm and Tara Singh and it has been a powerful shift for me as well. "Kinder and gentler" are the very words . . . thanks for being here and sharing. I hope all is well 🙏
"Study introduced me to the Holy Spirit but then I had to actually listen and obey. I had to do what the Holy Spirit asked me to do. And here is the thing. This "doing" scared me. For me, before Love appeared as Love, it appeared as monstrous and chaotic. It appeared impossible. I was terrified."
I resemble that comment! Although I seem to experience the "monstrous and chaotic" on a more regular basis. But then, at times, there is the delve into something that has a different quality; a moments peace, which to some extent seems to amplify the awareness of the 'monstrous and chaotic' experiences when they arise. There's a questioning of whether this moment of peace is true, but in the questioning is the losing!
In quiet moments, resolving becomes just a little easier. Just a little!
Thanks for sharing, Martin. As I said somewhere else in the comments (to Dan maybe?) I think concepts of "ease" and "just a little" are undersold as spiritual principles. I appreciate the distinction you draw - those moments of peace that somehow reflect back on the monstrous and chaotic. I experience this as well but find that the peace allows me to contextualize and understand - to forgive - the monstrous and chaotic. It is a process and nowhere near as quick or thorough as I'd like. But knowing the way is a big comfort to me, and having good travel companions helps as well 🙏
A beautiful description of the essence of the course, Sean. I believe everyone will have slightly different ways of looking at A Course In Miracles, because everyone’s awakening looks slightly different. In my “journey” I find it very important to hold on to the idea that in every moment I should be ready to leave the world behind. As the course states, “There is no world! This is the central thought the course attempts to teach.” (ACIM W-pI.132.6:2-3) ACIM is about waking up from the human condition, not trying to improve the human condition. Thank you for sharing your inspiration!
Before we wake up, our nightmares are translated to happy dreams. If our "happy" dreams include starving children, rape camps and war then my gentle suggestion is that we are doubling down on separation, not healing. There is a better way 🙏🙏
Yes, I agree, and every time more Light enters the dream, and miracles bring healing, this is truly beautiful. What I mean to say is that it can be a temptation to stop with the "happy dream," while the goal of A Course In Miracles is "no dream." Therefore I encourage everyone to be mindful of the goal of ACIM, which is resurrection. "Here the curriculum ends." (ACIM M-28.3:1) Having this goal will temporarily bring a happy dream, and this is beautiful. ✨ 🙏
One of the many gracious gifts you offer for which I am always exceedingly grateful, Sean--simplifying what my complicating mind/ego brain loves to make difficult or confusing. The peace of Christ flowed like a clear stream through your words, straight to where the HS is always waiting to say, "See, that wasn't so hard was it?"
Thanks Dan . . . I think "ease" is an unappreciated spiritual concept . . . this stuff doesn't have to be difficult! But we do love a problem :) Thanks for reading and being here. Hope all is well -
Sean, I want to acknowledge what a gift you share in responding to Spirit's inspiration of a topic, and weaving perfect ACIM quotes into a composition sparking with clarity and love. I am so blessed by our Holy Relationship!
Thankyou for this description of ACIM. I see the benefit of the ACIM self study lessons and how it can help people. What do you think about people who are teaching the course and say they are the voice of god? Is it true that the Holy Spirit asks you to abandon people you love and give all your money to one group that teaches the course? I feel like this is against certain course principles and quit harmful. I am curious what devoted ACIM students think about this.
Everything I learn about the course asks to be given away. Nor do I understand the focus of ACIM to be the founding of churches, non-profits, schools or other formal hierarchies of leadership.
So in general I am wary of profit-oriented models. But I've been this way since I was about five years old so . . .
I do understand the desire to make a living teaching the course! But I think many of us - I am one, certainly - are often confused about that. My life was changed for the better by the course and all I needed was a few books and a lot of willingness. Actual formal course teachers are pretty rare - and good ones even rarer. The transformation to which the course guides us is internal and - much like twelve-step models - we are called to give it away in order to know it at all, let alone keep it.
I wish our collective ACIM learning model was closer to sponsorship than teaching - the whole dynamic of "I've got it and you don't but I'll sell it to you" really clouds the radical healing potential of the course, which is about sharing and equality.
But of course that's all just my opinion, and I am not finished learning by any means. We are all responsible for our study and practice, and that includes who we accept in the role of guide/teacher/friend et cetera.
Thanks for being here, Chrissie. I'm glad we get to share this path.
Thanks for your response Sean. I agree with your view. I am especially wary about organisations claiming to be non-profit, however, sell workshops and retreates for expensive prices and buy large properties. Unfortunately, my dad had recently joined one of those communities in Spain, it is hard to reach him ever since. It is led by one of David Hoffmeisters messengers and he will be there soon. Have you ever heard about people who live in communities from Living Miracles, or are connected to any of those? I am interested to learn more about this.
Over the years I've run into folks who struggle with certain course teachers and communities, as well as folks who are really grateful for them. Is your father happy? Are you able to connect with him at all?
Again, for me, the course is about being present to my life in the most ordinary sense of the word - doing the dishes, talking to my kids, walking with Chrisoula after dinner, et cetera. The changes for me have mostly been internal, and they have mostly increased my devotion to the life that is in front of me.
That said, I do know folks for whom the course necessitates bigger changes - they leave relationships et cetera. It's hard to judge from a distance. But generally it's good to be transparent and dialogic. Secrets are not the way.
I do think we as a community get confused a lot by the course - there's a lot of drama associated with ascended masters, the historical jesus, past lives, complementary channeled material and so forth. My own study and practice leads me away from that sort of activity, but the potential for grift and other forms of error is real.
There isn't just one or two 'teachers' of the voice for God. Everyone has the voice of God within them and true teachers admit this and say the way to God/ Holy Spirit/ Jesus is from within. There isn't just one person, like the pope, that is in charge of A Course of Miracles. It is a self study book.... where I believe that most people have to do the lessons themselves to gain the benefit. The Holy Spirit would never ask you to abandon others, it would say to love others, because they are you. ACIM is a non duality course... meaning there is only one of us, which is God.
Thanks for your response Robyn. This is also how I understood ACIM to be, however, I have read and learned about many communities that have one or two leaders that are in charge of the other people in the community. Do you know David Hoffmeister? It seems that he is upholding a hierarchical structure of him being the true voice of god, with different ranking messengers. People live with them and get told to release themselves from family ties. I know this, because my dad just left us to live there and I've been researching ever since. There is also a clear financial component to it. How describe it
Your opening reminded me of this poem by Symeon, one of the desert fathers:
We awaken in Christ's body,
As Christ awakens our bodies
There I look down and my poor hand is Christ,
He enters my foot and is infinitely me.
I move my hand and wonderfully
My hand becomes Christ,
Becomes all of Him.
I move my foot and at once
He appears in a flash of lightning.
Do my words seem blasphemous to you?
--Then open your heart to Him.
And let yourself receive the one
Who is opening to you so deeply.
For if we genuinely love Him,
We wake up inside Christ's body
Where all our body all over,
Every most hidden part of it,
Is realized in joy as Him,
And He makes us utterly real.
And everything that is hurt, everything
That seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,
Maimed, ugly, irreparably damaged
Is in Him transformed.
And in Him, recognized as whole, as lovely,
And radiant in His light,
We awaken as the beloved
In every last part of our body.
I love this Jenine and it is so on point. Thank you for sharing 🙏🙏
~ Sean
I appreciate your ability to put into words what I feel but don’t know how to say.
Thank you Kate - I appreciate you being here and sharing - we are in this together 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Happy to be here! I’m new to your group. I’ve been studying independently for about a year. It’s been a very slow process as I have only been able to digest a few pages at a time. A lot of confusion and questions and doubt arise- which I assume is my ego- but I continue on because I feel this is my life path.
Welcome! Confusion, questions and doubt are probably good signs, to be honest . . . The course is very much about prompting us to challenge ego's assertions, which we usually experience as discomforting . . . It takes a while to feel comfortable with the discomfort :)
Thanks again for sharing and being here!
~ Sean
So enjoyed your description Sean. As a lapsed Catholic, then Agnostic, then Baptist, then New Ager, then just disillusioned, the seeking and questioning has never stopped. Coming to a point of acceptance in each moment and seeing the opportunity to transform my distorted perceptions has and is a constant challenge but now, even the challenge and resistance I can see and smile at as the dust settles.
My question to you is…do you see the Scriptures of your Catholic upbringing in a different light now, or do you reject them outright, except for a few passages?
I ask because I’ve been drawn back into Christianity and can’t believe it so!! I fought so hard to not listen to that nudge. It caused long dark times of depression until I gave in to where I was being led. Surrender brought peace, such peace!!
Now I hear all scripture through the lens of Love and oneness but hit up against the wall of ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me’ to mean….become a Christian or go to hell.
To me that means…I (Jesus) am showing you that my example of Love is the only Way to connect and realise the Truth of oneness with God who is the very essence of Life.
Where this journey takes me only God knows because at times it feels like a fish out of water, and yet I’ve never had more peace in relationships. Go figure!!! ???
Hi Liz,
I hope you don't mind me jumping in here but while reading your comment a bell went off in my mind. and I rememberer the Course addresses and reinterprets the quote you mention. Here is what is said:
T-7.III.1. “The Holy Spirit teaches one lesson, and applies it to all individuals in all situations. 2 Being conflict-free, He maximizes all efforts and all results. 3 By teaching the power of the Kingdom of God Himself, He teaches you that all power is yours. 4 Its application does not matter. 5 It is always maximal. 6 Your vigilance does not establish it as yours, but it does enable you to use it always and in all ways. 7 When I said "I am with you always," I meant it literally. 8 I am not absent to anyone in any situation. 9 Because I am always with you, you are the way, the truth and the life. 10 You did not make this power, any more than I did. 11 It was created to be shared, and therefore cannot be meaningfully perceived as belonging to anyone at the expense of another. 12 Such a perception makes it meaningless by eliminating or overlooking its real and only meaning.”
I take it to mean that as Christ is, we are . . .thus, the only way to reach the kingdom — to Be peace, if you will — is through the “Christ” spirit in us . . .no matter what we call it. Sean, of course, might have a different take, but I thought this might be helpful.
Cheryl
This is my sense of that passage as well, and I'd only add that "Christ" is a shared experience - arising in relationships that are moving from special to holy - which is such a fundamental aspect of our ACIM study and practice.
I do not reject them!
One aspect of interior transformation is that everything perceived - be it a flower or a gospel text - becomes a witness for the peace and happiness that are inherent in letting go of fear and resting in love.
And healing the past is a nontrivial aspect of the overarching ACIM healing project. So my Catholic upbringing - and the many years spent in that church - are not a thing to reject but rather to integrate, accept, welcome, etc. It is a reformed relationship with the spiritual tenor of growing up.
So yes. I do perceive wisdom and light and nods to oneness in that material. Mostly I hear my brothers and sisters from long ago bearing witness to love so that I can - millenia later - remember the love as well. One Love with many fingers pointing to it!
Relationship with Jesus feels fundamental to me. Oddly, it is the one aspect of my spiritual life that never really wavered - I doubted the institutional church, I doubted God, I doubted Buddha etc - but Jesus always felt like a friend I could count on. I don't talk about it much because in many ways it is so deeply personal but the light that relationship brings - light of understanding, light of companionship, ight of Love - is beyond measure for me. I will never be grateful enough.
Thank you for being here and sharing your story. I feel like we would recognize a lot of one another's journey.
Love,
Sean
A Course In Miracles has completely changed my life because now I have inner peace. Every year end I ask myself if I have more peace this past year than the year before that... and every year I answer 'yes'. "The proof is in the pudding". Feeling love within is such a wonderful feeling, which helps me love others... even the 'worst' of human beings. As I forgive others, I am actually forgiving myself (because we are all one), and this brings more and more peace to my mind. Thank-you Sean for giving me an excellent newsletter every week!
You're welcome, Robyn. Thank you for being here and for sharing. I am deeply grateful to the course and to the community around it for being so patient and helpful. I'm glad we share this path 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Sean, this is so helpful. Just last week I asked a an Episcopalian priest and a fellow seeker if they were familiar with A Course in Miracles and when they said “no” I was asked what it was. I’ve been pondering lately how to ask that question and also came to the conclusion that the best way would be to talk about what it does for me. The words I’ve been using are “it makes the feeling of God’s love real to the point I can actually feel it and know it. It helps open the scripture of the Bible to a whole new level of understanding in my heart, beyond mere concept.
Also, last week my 88 year old Mother attended a Church session on the importance of laughter. It reminded me of a sense I’ve had, that I seem to be more serious these days. I appreciated your thoughts and ACIM readings on laughter. Though I may be very much in my head these days, the way is indeed easy and “the bridge where freedom lies within in the Peace of God is here....I only need to see it, feel it, live it.
When people ask me what ACIM is.... my answer is... "If I had to sum the whole course up in one word, then that word would be 'forgiveness'". I then go on and say what forgiveness does to me like giving me peace. I also like your answers too!
Ah, yes…forgiveness as well. Thank you, Robyn, for sharing this. Forgiveness of ourselves, of others…. As Sean wrote… It (love)undoes the poisonous tendrils of separation.” and forgiveness is an expression of that love. A kind of chicken and egg thing, love and forgiveness? Sean’s “ Love is real and its salvation is no joke.” states what I am finding out… this realness of Love and the power of forgiveness. So much more to unpack.
Thanks, Denise. Yes, my sense is that ACIM is better understood in terms of what it does for us - which is always very personal. The illusions of separate interests and separate stories is very pervasive, and the course works very closely and intimately with us in that regard. I like very much your sense of it as making the Love of God tangible and real, which in turn opens up traditional scriptures to something that transcends concepts. That makes a lot of sense to me.
And yes, laughter! It's not a happy dream if we aren't smiling :)
Thanks for reading and sharing, Denise. I'm glad you're here.
Hi Chrissie - I have personally met David Hoffmeister 4 times, when he came to Victoria (Canada) to speak and run workshops. 2 of those times were for weekend workshops. I really like what he says and how he says it. He is true to ACIM. I have had a few friends that have followed him to Utah and some come back and some move on. On questioning them about the book that just came out.... one friend said it wasn't balanced information... they left out the 'other' side of the conversations and happenings. I continue to receive their newsletters from David H, but I don't contribute or take their offerings. I personally think that David is not wanting to be their leader, nor does he insist on things being any such way. Even though he is considered the head or figurehead, I feel he is just bouncing on in life and not concerned about the money or how things are happening around him. I think it is the people that formed a group around him are the ones that are perhaps not 'pure ACIM'. I don't know. There is definitely a money aspect to the group, because that money needs to support the plane tickets, food and taxes of the people that live there. A very wealthy person left money in their will, and that is how they purchased some of the land here and there. Somebody else gave them the 'monastery' place in Utah.... so not all money is gleaned from the participants. I would like to think that they are doing good in the world. If you would like to contact one of my friends, Richard, who lives there for 4-6 months and then comes back to Vancouver to work and then goes back again.... just let me know and I can hook you up. I would like to believe your father is following his heart and is happy. And smart enough about his money.
Peace be with you, brother!
and also with you 🙏🙏
For quite some time now, Sean, whenever I begin to think or write “pay attention,” nine times out of 10 I make the mental shift to “give attention” and feel a more expansive energy. . . the space of my awareness becomes kinder and gentler, if that makes sense. And I always remember that I have you to thank for that subtle yet significant change. 💖
Thank you Cheryl. I got it from David Bohm and Tara Singh and it has been a powerful shift for me as well. "Kinder and gentler" are the very words . . . thanks for being here and sharing. I hope all is well 🙏
~ Sean
"Study introduced me to the Holy Spirit but then I had to actually listen and obey. I had to do what the Holy Spirit asked me to do. And here is the thing. This "doing" scared me. For me, before Love appeared as Love, it appeared as monstrous and chaotic. It appeared impossible. I was terrified."
I resemble that comment! Although I seem to experience the "monstrous and chaotic" on a more regular basis. But then, at times, there is the delve into something that has a different quality; a moments peace, which to some extent seems to amplify the awareness of the 'monstrous and chaotic' experiences when they arise. There's a questioning of whether this moment of peace is true, but in the questioning is the losing!
In quiet moments, resolving becomes just a little easier. Just a little!
Thanks for sharing, Martin. As I said somewhere else in the comments (to Dan maybe?) I think concepts of "ease" and "just a little" are undersold as spiritual principles. I appreciate the distinction you draw - those moments of peace that somehow reflect back on the monstrous and chaotic. I experience this as well but find that the peace allows me to contextualize and understand - to forgive - the monstrous and chaotic. It is a process and nowhere near as quick or thorough as I'd like. But knowing the way is a big comfort to me, and having good travel companions helps as well 🙏
~ Sean
A beautiful description of the essence of the course, Sean. I believe everyone will have slightly different ways of looking at A Course In Miracles, because everyone’s awakening looks slightly different. In my “journey” I find it very important to hold on to the idea that in every moment I should be ready to leave the world behind. As the course states, “There is no world! This is the central thought the course attempts to teach.” (ACIM W-pI.132.6:2-3) ACIM is about waking up from the human condition, not trying to improve the human condition. Thank you for sharing your inspiration!
Before we wake up, our nightmares are translated to happy dreams. If our "happy" dreams include starving children, rape camps and war then my gentle suggestion is that we are doubling down on separation, not healing. There is a better way 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Yes, I agree, and every time more Light enters the dream, and miracles bring healing, this is truly beautiful. What I mean to say is that it can be a temptation to stop with the "happy dream," while the goal of A Course In Miracles is "no dream." Therefore I encourage everyone to be mindful of the goal of ACIM, which is resurrection. "Here the curriculum ends." (ACIM M-28.3:1) Having this goal will temporarily bring a happy dream, and this is beautiful. ✨ 🙏
🙏🙏
One of the many gracious gifts you offer for which I am always exceedingly grateful, Sean--simplifying what my complicating mind/ego brain loves to make difficult or confusing. The peace of Christ flowed like a clear stream through your words, straight to where the HS is always waiting to say, "See, that wasn't so hard was it?"
Thanks Dan . . . I think "ease" is an unappreciated spiritual concept . . . this stuff doesn't have to be difficult! But we do love a problem :) Thanks for reading and being here. Hope all is well -
Sean
Sean, I want to acknowledge what a gift you share in responding to Spirit's inspiration of a topic, and weaving perfect ACIM quotes into a composition sparking with clarity and love. I am so blessed by our Holy Relationship!
Thank you Deorah - I, too, am grateful. Thank you for being here and sharing the love 🙏🙏
~ Sean
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏......
Whole lotta gassho rei!!
Thanks for being here, Glenda. Hope all is well 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Thankyou for this description of ACIM. I see the benefit of the ACIM self study lessons and how it can help people. What do you think about people who are teaching the course and say they are the voice of god? Is it true that the Holy Spirit asks you to abandon people you love and give all your money to one group that teaches the course? I feel like this is against certain course principles and quit harmful. I am curious what devoted ACIM students think about this.
Hi Chrissie,
Everything I learn about the course asks to be given away. Nor do I understand the focus of ACIM to be the founding of churches, non-profits, schools or other formal hierarchies of leadership.
So in general I am wary of profit-oriented models. But I've been this way since I was about five years old so . . .
I do understand the desire to make a living teaching the course! But I think many of us - I am one, certainly - are often confused about that. My life was changed for the better by the course and all I needed was a few books and a lot of willingness. Actual formal course teachers are pretty rare - and good ones even rarer. The transformation to which the course guides us is internal and - much like twelve-step models - we are called to give it away in order to know it at all, let alone keep it.
I wish our collective ACIM learning model was closer to sponsorship than teaching - the whole dynamic of "I've got it and you don't but I'll sell it to you" really clouds the radical healing potential of the course, which is about sharing and equality.
But of course that's all just my opinion, and I am not finished learning by any means. We are all responsible for our study and practice, and that includes who we accept in the role of guide/teacher/friend et cetera.
Thanks for being here, Chrissie. I'm glad we get to share this path.
~ Sean
Thanks for your response Sean. I agree with your view. I am especially wary about organisations claiming to be non-profit, however, sell workshops and retreates for expensive prices and buy large properties. Unfortunately, my dad had recently joined one of those communities in Spain, it is hard to reach him ever since. It is led by one of David Hoffmeisters messengers and he will be there soon. Have you ever heard about people who live in communities from Living Miracles, or are connected to any of those? I am interested to learn more about this.
Hi Chrissie,
Over the years I've run into folks who struggle with certain course teachers and communities, as well as folks who are really grateful for them. Is your father happy? Are you able to connect with him at all?
Again, for me, the course is about being present to my life in the most ordinary sense of the word - doing the dishes, talking to my kids, walking with Chrisoula after dinner, et cetera. The changes for me have mostly been internal, and they have mostly increased my devotion to the life that is in front of me.
That said, I do know folks for whom the course necessitates bigger changes - they leave relationships et cetera. It's hard to judge from a distance. But generally it's good to be transparent and dialogic. Secrets are not the way.
I do think we as a community get confused a lot by the course - there's a lot of drama associated with ascended masters, the historical jesus, past lives, complementary channeled material and so forth. My own study and practice leads me away from that sort of activity, but the potential for grift and other forms of error is real.
Sean
There isn't just one or two 'teachers' of the voice for God. Everyone has the voice of God within them and true teachers admit this and say the way to God/ Holy Spirit/ Jesus is from within. There isn't just one person, like the pope, that is in charge of A Course of Miracles. It is a self study book.... where I believe that most people have to do the lessons themselves to gain the benefit. The Holy Spirit would never ask you to abandon others, it would say to love others, because they are you. ACIM is a non duality course... meaning there is only one of us, which is God.
Thanks for your response Robyn. This is also how I understood ACIM to be, however, I have read and learned about many communities that have one or two leaders that are in charge of the other people in the community. Do you know David Hoffmeister? It seems that he is upholding a hierarchical structure of him being the true voice of god, with different ranking messengers. People live with them and get told to release themselves from family ties. I know this, because my dad just left us to live there and I've been researching ever since. There is also a clear financial component to it. How describe it