Day 135: If I defend myself I am attacked.

What defenses would we need in Heaven?

We wouldn't, of course, need any.  Defense, A Course in Miracles tells us in today's lesson, is just another means of attack:

If I defend myself I am attacked.  But in defenselessness I will be strong, and I will learn what my defenses hide.

Think about all the war raging in the world right now.  It's hard to discern who threw the first punch.  Which soldiers are on the offense, and which are on the defense?  Ultimately, it does not matter, for all are attacking one another.  And any form of attack is a grievances that has been held.  Each form of attack is another step backward, another wall we build between ourselves and one another - between ourselves and our salvation.

As I meditated on the lesson today, I also thought about personal defense.  Is it ever acceptable to defend oneself?  What if you are attacked on the street?  Is today's lesson teaching us that we must lie down and take whatever kicks and punches come our way?  Isn't this a scenario in which we need to defend ourselves?

Here is the answer I received in response to these questions: 

Reflect back whatever your attacker throws your way.  This is a nonviolent approach.  To "defend" as you define it would be to attack back.  Yet this does not show your attacker what he has done.  This merely broadens the sense of separation between you both and encourages further attack.  Do as Jesus did, and turn the other cheek.  By doing so, you stand in Truth, and your attacker will See himself and know the error of his ways.

It's hard to picture this tactic being effective unless we find ourselves in such a predicament.  But we cannot deny that there is an unparalleled strength in someone who simply holds their ground without exerting force upon another.  You cannot show anyone the Truth by using force.  You can only leave an open door for them to walk through.  The Truth, of course, is that they are Divine (just like you and me and all of us).  The open door is their reminder of this fact.  That is what Jesus meant by turning the other cheek.  It was not an invitation to further attack, but a reminder that He could not be harmed, and that His Purity was also His attacker's.

When we react wildly, what else can we expect but yet another wild reaction?  Violence begets violence, unless we choose to stand for Peace.  This by no means is an easy choice, for it would seem to go against our natural instinct.  Our fight or flight response kicks in as soon as we sense the presence of danger.  But to know that nothing could ever really harm us places us above our animal instincts.  It also places us above any perceived attack which could come from another; for in knowing that nothing could ever really harm us, we also know that all attack is but an illusion.

Today's idea also comments on the general attitude of "being on the defensive."  If you are someone who operates on always needing to defend yourself, you are attracting attack into your life.  If you have a defensive personality, what choice do you have but to always be on guard?  You must build walls around yourself in false belief of your protection, when in actuality you are cutting yourself off from the very thing that will save you.  Your connection to the Whole is where your true protection lies.  In defense you but attack this notion and hold yourself hostage from the Truth.  You play into to your fears instead of seeking good within your brother.  This is no way to live, but a sure way to die.  For what is death but separation from everything that brings you Joy?

There's a type of martial arts that came to mind while meditating on today's topic.  Aikido requires very little physical strength and uses non-violent tactics to diffuse attack.  As Wikipedia states, "Aikido is performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on."  This fascinated me, because for anyone who doubts the idea that "to defend is to attack," Aikido is proof that there is another way to protect oneself from physical harm; and it's by using spiritual principles (of course).

Let us try then, today, to be aware of our own defensive impulses - whether they be mental, verbal or physical.  To stand in Truth is the only sure way to end the cycle of violence that comes with attack and defense.  This is Real Strength, and we all have the ability to tap into it by simply remembering Who We Really Are, and leaving the door open for all others to remember it as well.  Again, We are All One, so there can be nothing to gain from attacking another in the name of "defense."  Redirect that energy, as an Aikido practitioner would advise.  Surrender the slings and arrows to God so that we may recognize them for the illusions they really are.  See your Holy Brother in your enemy, and he will be an enemy no more.  This is the only way we will achieve Peace.

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman

Day 134: Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.

As A Course in Miracles tells us, forgiveness is our sole function in this world.  It therefore follows that we should have a clear grasp of what forgiveness is.  Today's lesson further explains this concept to us.  As long as we perceive sin as real, we will not know how to forgive.  As Children of God, we are all sinless.  Anything we perceive as such is an illusion, and therefore nonexistent.  Yet if we perceive sin as true, then forgiveness would seem a denial of truth.  The Course clarifies what True Forgiveness entails:

Forgiveness is the only thing that stands for truth in the illusions of the world.  It sees their nothingness, and looks straight through the thousand forms in which they may appear.  It looks on lies, but it is not deceived.  It does not heed the self-accusing shrieks of sinners mad with guilt.  It looks on them with quiet eyes, and merely says to them, "My brother, what you think is not the truth."

Forgiveness does not mean we must excuse the dark images we have made.  Forgiveness is not saying, "It's okay."  Is it okay that there is genocide in Africa?  Was the Holocaust "okay?"  Was 911?  Absolutely not.  Forgiveness is looking past these dark illusions and recognizing that they are not Real.  In so doing we dispel of these grim nightmares and pave the road to a brighter world where history no longer repeats itself.  What is Real is the Truth beyond, the Truth we had forgotten, the Truth hidden beneath the shadows of our world.  The Truth is that we are All One.

Along these lines, the Course tells us, "When you feel that you are tempted to accuse someone of sin in any form, do not allow your mind to dwell on what you think he did, for that is self-deception.  Ask instead, 'Would I accuse myself of doing this?'"  This question is a gentle reminder that we are One, for when we accuse another, we are really accusing ourselves.

As I meditated upon today's lesson, I thought of all the people who are imprisoned behind bars.  Many of them certainly have committed heinous crimes, so what is the solution?  How do we forgive them?  What came to me was this:

How can we expect anyone to rise above their errors if we continue to persecute them for what they did, if we continue to see them for their crime instead of the Child of God they are?

This arose more questions for me.  Does this mean we shouldn't detain people in prisons?  Does this mean we shouldn't have laws by which we govern ourselves?  In an ideal world, we wouldn't need prisons nor laws.  But at our current stage of development, it seems to be a ridiculous notion to do away with them.

As a teaching artist for theatre programs conducted in under-served communities, including prisons, I regard such places as "correctional facilities" - a term many use themselves.  This, to me, is precisely what all prisons should be.  Those who commit crimes have merely forgotten Who They Really Are, and only by reminding them will the error in their minds be corrected.  Heal the mind, and you shall heal the rest.  If this was the approach taken to all laws broken, there would soon be no need for laws.  Once every one of us recognizes and understands with unwavering certainty that we are all connected, that we together are all God's Only Begotten Son, the temptation to commit any crime would vanish.

In order to reach such a harmonious state of being, we must continue to forgive one another for the dark illusions we have made.  This is a weighty task the Course asks of us, but it is a necessary one if we are ever to find eternal peace on this planet.  The power exists in us all.  Let us ask God for His Guiding Hand, and we shall be led along the path to See the Truth, even amidst the darkest of shadows we may encounter.

Let us perceive forgiveness as it is.

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman

Day 133: I will not value what is valueless.

What is it you value in this world?  Perhaps it's your car?  Perhaps it's the food you eat?  Perhaps you value your children, your family?  Is it your home?  Do you value the trips you take?  The vacations away from home?

A Course in Miracles teaches us that this world has no Real value.  In describing today's lesson, here is a portion of what the workbook says:

You do not ask too much of life, but far too little.  When you let your mind be drawn to bodily concerns, to things you buy, to eminence as valued by the world, you ask for sorrow, not for happiness.  This course does not attempt to take from you the little that you have.  It does not try to substitute utopian ideas for satisfactions which the world contains.  There are no satisfactions in the world.

The Course goes on to describe "the real criteria by which to test all things you think you want."  Below is a simplified version of that list:

1. If you choose a thing that will not last forever, what you chose is valueless.  A temporary value is without all value.  Time can never take away a value that is real.  What fades and dies was never there.
2. If you choose to take a thing away from someone else, you will have nothing left.  This is because, when you deny anyone's right to everything, you have denied your own.
3. Why is the choice you make of value to you?  What attracts your mind to it?  What purpose does it serve?  Be wary of false appearances which the ego may lead you to believe.
4. If you feel any guilt about your choice, you have allowed the ego's goals to come between the real alternatives.  There are but two:  All things are valuable or valueless, everything or nothing.

The things of this world - including our bodies, including our families, our spouses, our friends and even our children - are at best representations of what Really awaits us in the world beyond this one.  Our bodies will wither, our families will fade, our spouses will pass on, along with our friends and, later on, our children.  It is inevitable that this will happen in time.  Yet the connections we have, the meaning we extract from these relationships - this is where the Real value lies.  When we shift our value away from the physical presence of a person and onto the relationship; when we value another person's spirit, the eternal part of their being, and the love and joy and peace they stir within us; then we have learned to place value where it is due.

With that it mind, here are our reminders for today.  The first is our fifteen-minute meditation, which the Course instructs us to practice once in the morning and once in the evening.  The second is to be used "should you begin to let yourself collect some needless burdens, or believe you see some difficult decisions facing you."

I will not value what is valueless, and only what has value do I seek, for only that do I desire to find.

I will not value what is valueless, for what is valuable belongs to me.

My hope today is for you and I and all of us to withdraw our values from the temporary appearances which are of this world.  Let us place our values upon only that which is eternal.  In so doing, we will also recognize that we, too, are of timeless value.  Lift up your gaze and behold a whole new world whenever you see another living being.  See their soul, and not their body, and you will See yourself there too.  In so doing, we shall be able to discern between the Truly Valuable and its mere representation.

I value each and every one of you, as I value myself and our Creator Who connects us all.

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman

Day 132: I loose the world from all I thought it was.

In preparation for today's meditation, A Course in Miracles tells us:

The world is nothing in itself.  Your mind must give it meaning.  And what you behold upon it are your wishes, acted out so you can look on them and think them real.  Perhaps you think you did not make the world, but came unwillingly to what was made already, hardly waiting for your thoughts to give it meaning.  Yet in truth you found exactly what you looked for when you came.

There is no world apart from what you wish, and herein lies your ultimate release.  Change but your mind on what you want to see, and all the world must change accordingly.  Ideas leave not their source.  This central theme is often stated in the text, and must be borne in mind if you would understand the lesson for today.  It is not pride which tells you that you made the world you see, and that it changes as you change your mind.

The Course also reminds us today of a lesson already repeated in the workbook: I am as God created me.  This is in direct alignment with the statement "Ideas leave not their source."  You and I and every living creature in the world are all ideas in the Mind of God.  Therefore, we have not left Him, our Creator, Who is our Source.  As we have not left God (nor could we ever), our Holiness is unchanged, and we forever remain as God created us.  With that in mind, here is the full meditation we are asked to practice for fifteen minutes twice today:

I who remain as God created me would loose the world from all I thought it was.  For I am real because the world is not, and I would know my own reality.

In Day 129 I mentioned that the foundation of this world has become quite shaky for me, which perfectly suits today's lesson of "loosening" the world from all we thought it was.  Indeed, once we begin to think differently, our world will start to transform.  What we see is a reflection of the thoughts we think.  We all know that this is true.  Someone had to think about inventing a computer before you could read the words written on your screen right now.  Someone had to think about inventing a bed before you could lie down and sleep upon your mattress every night.  Even the mountains and the rivers and the very planet we live upon was thought up, whether by God Himself or another of His Creations greater than ourselves alone.  Ultimately, because we are All One, we all share in the responsibility for the manifestations of our world.  Changing what we see begins with changing the way we think.  Don't wait for someone else to do it, for we're all in this together.  Change your own thought about the world, today, and watch as True Beauty breaks through the ugly cracks to reveal a world unlike any we've ever known.

So let's shake things up a bit, shall we?

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman

Day 131: No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.

Tonight I had a stupid argument with my partner.  Moments before, I had become frustrated while trying to connect our TV antenna to an RF modulator to the VCR so that we could record live television.  I know, I know, we need to get cable.  But really, talk about being overly concerned with matters of the physical world.  Anyway, it was a huge waste of time, and it set off a chain reaction of "bad luck."  In between my electronic cable-connecting fiasco, I was making frequent trips to the laundry room to wash and dry about a month's worth of clothes.  While bending down with a heavy sigh to pick up some shirts that had fallen on the dirty floor, I came up with a WHACK as I hit my head on the metal coin slot protruding from the machines.  Not too long afterward, and I can't even say for sure how it happened, my partner and I were shouting at each other - judging one another, placing undue blame, digging up the past (all the things you're not supposed to do).  Both of us were more concerned with being "right" than being loving.  So far today's lesson was going great (note the sarcasm).

Now, being right is not the same as being truthful.  Being right implies that someone else is wrong, which stems from the thought of separation.  And separation is false, any way you look at it.  The only Truth is that We are All One.

After our argument, I thought about today's lesson: No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.  I also considered the content for today's fifteen-minute meditations on the lesson:

I ask to see a different world, and think a different kind of thought from those I made.  The world I seek I did not make alone, the thoughts I want to think are not my own.

Immediately after I thought of this, I took a deep breath to calm down, and I called my partner over and apologized.  "This is ridiculous," I told him.  And it was.  Neither of us had been coming from a place of Love, and the argument we had was completely meaningless.  There was no real "issue" there.  I was already pissed off, and it had nothing to do with him.  My frustration became his, and so an argument ensued - over nothing.

I was fortunate to remember today's lesson in that moment.  A miracle had happened, for my perception shifted instantaneously from fear to Love.  In that moment I was able to See a different world.  I was able to think a different thought from those I had been thinking in the minutes prior.  These new thoughts - these loving and forgiving thoughts - were not my own, but the thoughts of a higher Source.  In calling my partner to me, I was seeking to inhabit that other world, one of Love and Joy and Peace.  But without him, that world could not exist, for one cannot create such a world alone.  God's world is one of sharing.  The Gates of Heaven open only to those who carry with them their Brothers and Sisters, for in doing so they recognize the One Universal Truth that We are All One.

In the midst of all our silly confrontations, in the midst of all perceived competition, let us not forget these important Words of Wisdom: We are All One.  You may not yet understand it in its entirety.  But don't let that discourage you, for as A Course in Miracles tells us today, "No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth."

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman

Day 130: It is impossible to see two worlds.

Today's lesson in A Course in Miracles tells us simply, "The real and the unreal are all there are to choose between, and nothing more than these."  We are asked six times today to take five minutes meditating upon the following:

It is impossible to see two worlds.  Let me accept the strength God offers me and see no value in this world, that I may find my freedom and deliverance.

The world so commonly portrayed in our news reports is not the Real World.  Wars, famine, violence, abuse - these are the things of hell.  Yet the Course informs us that we can shift our perception and See something else beyond:

Accept a little part of hell as real, and you have damned your eyes and cursed your sight, and what you will behold is hell indeed.  Yet the release of Heaven still remains within your range of choice, to take the place of everything that hell would show to you.

This reminds me of a proverb I once heard.  The version below can be found in the book Peace Tales by Margaret Read MacDonald:

A man once asked to visit heaven and hell.  When he reached hell he was amazed to find people seated around a huge banquet table.  The finest foods were piled high on the table.  What a feast!  Perhaps hell was not so bad after all!

But when he looked closely at the diners he saw that they were all starving despite the food before them.  You see, each diner had been given chopsticks which were three feet long!  There was no way they could carry the food to their mouths with these long chopsticks.  No one could eat a bite.  What a hell indeed, to sit so close to a banquet and yet be unable to taste a morsel.

The man was then taken to heaven to observe life there.  To his surprise he saw people seated around a banquet table in exactly the same situation.  Each person had been given three-foot-long chopsticks in heaven too!  But here everyone was happily consuming the delicious food.  The residents of heaven . . . were using their yard-long chopsticks to feed each other.

What this story teaches us is that the difference between hell and Heaven is simply a matter of perspective.  Though the physical conditions of this world and the world of Truth beyond may be the same, our perception is what dictates which world we live in.  Ultimately, this will alter even our physical surroundings until all we see is a reflection of the permanent Joy and Love we share.

I meditated upon today's lesson while going for a run this evening.  It was what I like to call an "active" meditation.  While my feet hit the pavement of the cracked and crooked sidewalks, I listened to the harmonic string tones of Gustavo Santaolalla.  Making a turn into a brightly-lit park, I suddenly felt exposed.  Old men and women sat chit-chatting on the rusty benches near the tennis courts.  A little boy zoomed past on his scooter.  A tall and lanky girl danced carefreely in the middle of the grass.  And here I was, this outsider, dashing through their calm and cheerful evening.  I wanted to be part of it.  But I also felt the need to "stay in the zone" - keep my breathing even and my pace consistent.  As I made my round through the park and returned to the straight and narrow path along the street, something struck me.  Amid the cars zipping by and the headlights glaring at me, I had an epiphany.  To See the world beyond, to perceive Heaven here on earth, we must relinquish all control.

I'll say that again: To See the world we really want, we must relinquish all control.

This is the very reason we are afraid of the world beyond the one we know.  Yet our sense of security, of control, is a false one.  We have no ultimate control over what this physical world presents us.  We therefore do not know it at all.  Where Real Knowledge lies is in the world we do not see with our frail, human eyes.

This is what it means to "let go."  When we give up control and let God take over, we place all values and all faith in Him, rather than on the things and circumstances which we were "controlling."  Our Trust in God will guide us through all situations, ensuring that we make the highest choice no matter what comes up.  This is the foundation upon which the brighter world beyond is built.

With this understanding, let us be aware today that at any given moment, we are perceiving either one of two worlds - that which is Real and Holy and True, or that which is unreal and degraded and false.  Perhaps both look the same in every way, with exception of the Joy only the Real world holds.  We recognize this by the Love with which our eyes can perceive, and by the sharing which is inevitable in such a place.  Shift your perspective now, give up all your false sense of control to let God take the driver's seat, and you will begin to see the Miraculous wherever you go.

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman

Day 129: Beyond this world there is a world I want.

Today's lesson in the workbook of A Course in Miracles builds upon yesterday's.  Our reminder throughout our day goes as follows: 

The world I see holds nothing that I want.
Beyond this world there is a world I want.

The first paragraph explaining today's lesson is important to note:

This is the thought that follows from the one we practiced yesterday.  You cannot stop with the idea the world is worthless, for unless you see that there is something else to hope for, you will only be depressed.  Our emphasis is not on giving up the world, but on exchanging it for what is far more satisfying, filled with joy, and capable of offering you peace.  Think you this world can offer that to you?

Today's meditation also iterates the importance of our willingness to see the world beyond.  We have a choice to see the one which currently surrounds us or the one invisible to our physical eyes.  One world imprisons us; the other frees us.  The choice is simple, but the process of Truly Seeing is a bit more difficult.

Of the world in which we live, the Course says the following:

The world you see is merciless indeed, unstable, cruel, unconcerned with you, quick to avenge and pitiless with hate.  It gives but to rescind, and takes away all things that you have cherished for a while.  No lasting love is found, for none is here.  This is the world of time, where all things end.

And of the world beyond:

Is it a loss to find a world instead where losing is impossible; where love endures forever, hate cannot exist and vengeance has no meaning?  Is it a loss to find all things you really want, and know they have no ending and they will remain exactly as you want them throughout time?  Yet even they will be exchanged at last for what we cannot speak of, for you go from there to where words fail entirely, into a silence where the language is unspoken yet surely understood.

We can have faith that as long as our willingness remains, we will see the world beyond, the world we really want.  I will freely admit that I am not there yet myself.  But in meditating upon these lessons, I definitely have begun to see the world differently than I once had.  The foundation has become quite shaky, and increasingly so as these lessons progress.  Something is breaking through.  I can feel it.  I hold onto my willingness to behold that wondrous day.

While meditating on the lesson for today, the film trilogy of The Matrix crossed my mind.  For those of you who haven't seen it, I highly recommend.  The basic premise of the story is that the world we live in is an illusion.  The real you and I are unconscious, as "machines" foist a dreamworld called "the Matrix" upon our minds, which is the world we believe that we are in.  Not too dissimilar from what we're learning in A Course in Miracles, is it?  Neo is the protagonist, and over the course of the trilogy he learns to dissociate himself entirely from the world of the Matrix.  In doing so, he appears to manipulate the laws of physics while in his "dream" state within the Matrix.

Now, I'm not saying that once we are able to See the world beyond, we will suddenly become imbued with superpowers (though we are told Jesus walked on water, so who knows?).  I believe we will, however, have the ability to look past whatever situation the physical world presents us, and See that where there once stood obstacles, there is only possibility.  Where there once was war and hatred and attack, there will be only Love.  Where there once was darkness, we will perceive instead the Light.  How do we get there?  When will this spectacular world jump through the seemingly concrete illusions of this place and become a permanent fixture in our awareness?  I honestly can't say.  I'm not there yet.  We're only on day 129 out of 365, after all.  But rest assured that when I get there, I will let you know.  And I'll tell you everything I possibly can so that you may join me there as well.  And if you get there before I do?  Well, do me a favor and let me know.

Let us be grateful today that there is a world beyond this one which offers us more than we could ever imagine possible here.  It is only a matter of time for us all until we rejoice together in this Land of Permanent Bliss.  Keep forgiving, keep loving, and keep following the path of your joy; and you will be there before you know it.  That I can say for sure.

Until tomorrow,
Journeyman