Help Turn Lives Around

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Sunday, Jan. 31

Too often we underestimate
the power of a touch, a smile,
a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment, or the
smallest act of caring, all of
which have the potential to
turn a life around.

Leo Buscaglia
comment by Ron:
Help Turn Lives Around - You do help turn lives around, Jeanne, especially when you live as this day is your last day. deep metta, ron

Comment by Jeanne:
Thanks Ron... as do you.

Your vast experiences inspire me often... and your continuing growth and increasing inner richness keeps you perpetually fresh and interesting.

My Hobbes has been gone now for 7 months... and I still wake up and think of our regular morning places and activities.
And this morning, I thought of Hershey... and then I thought of you... and I remembered how I've been in the past few months without my Hobbes. I've learned so much about myself in his absence. ...with the most glaringly obvious being, that I loved being loved by him.

Fear not - Receive!

Fear not, little flock: for it is your Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. --Luke 12:32

It is God's "good pleasure to give us the kingdom". It is our business to receive it. "Today, I accept this kingdom, and I accept it in its fullness. Because of it, the day contains joy and happiness and is filled with peace."

Ernest Holmes

Never Too Late - No Compromise!

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Saturday, Jan. 30

It is never too late
to become what you might
have been.

George Eliot

"If you limit your choices
only to what seems possible
or reasonable, you disconnect
yourself from what you truly want,
and all that is left is a compromise."

Robert Fritz (thanks to my friend, Javier)

Comment by Jeanne: Thats just what I needed to hear, Capt. I'm embarking on a long shot...

Comment by Ron Alexander: "Freedom means having nothing left to lose." Janice Joplin

We are really free when we lose our feeling of self-importance/ appearance. I see you and hope to mirror your growing freedom, Jeanne. Thank you! Metta very much.

Joy Pleasure Happiness

"Joy is what happens to us when we
allow ourselves to recognize how
good things really are."
Marianne Williamson


Joy - Infinite & Eternal -
"Joy is the realization of our oneness, our soul's oneness with the supreme love." Rabindrath Tagore

"Be still, and the world is bound to turn herself inside out to entertain you. Everywhere you look, joyful noise is clanging to drown out quiet desperation."
Barbara Kingsolver
High Tide in Tucson

Pleasure - short-lasting - ephemeral
- addictive

Joy - from Being
"Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this from deep within you." Eckhart Tolle

Pleasure - to escape, numb


For happiness one needs security,
but joy can spring like a flower
even from the cliffs of despair.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy." James 1:2

Creating Capacity to Receive

Creating Space - Another Benefit of Meditation

Creating Space to Receive

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Wednesday, Jan. 6

Everything comes to us
that belongs to us if we
create the capacity to
receive it.

Rabindranath Tagore

.. . Comment by Jeanne
Nature abhorring a void?

Great quote... and especially meaningful for me today... as I prepare for the silence of a sattipattana (vipassana meditation) retreat I'm leaving for tomorrow. I'm going to 'create capacity.'

I've noticed a pattern of the most unique and meaningful experiences occurring following these retreats into silent meditation. Perhaps by letting go of the busyness, I am creating capacity or space for that which truly belongs to me.

Ron Replies:
Also, besides the combination of silence and meditation, fasting creates space to receive for me. Formerly, I fasted 40 hrs. straight 8pm Monday to 12pm on Wed. Now, it is more convenient for me to fast 20 hrs 2x per week. My best days are 6pm Mon. to 2pm on Tues. and then again 6pm on Tues. to 2pm on Wed. I drink mostly green tea with lemon juice on those fasting days. Everyday I fast 12 hours per day (8pm to 8am) - making it a real break fast.
may everyone be happy and free and have a lot of capacity to receive, ron

Love Manifesting as Spontaneous Service

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Tuesday, Jan. 26

Just as a flower gives out
its fragrance to whomsoever
approaches or uses it,
so love from within us
radiates towards everybody and
manifests as spontaneous service.

Swami Ramdas

God sleeps in stone, breathes in plants, dreams in animals and awakens in man. ~Thomas Lavoie (thanks to Jeanne of Cronetothebone.com)

The ability to sincerely express gratitude is one of the surest signs of having achieved that balance of self confidence, empathy and humility which characterizes some of the noblest and greatest minds of our day.
(thanks to Javier Lopez's Facebook site)



WORD FOR THE DAY (gratefulness.org)

To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe --
to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it,
lungs that breathe it,
organs that draw nourishment from it --
is a wonder beyond words.
Joanna Macy
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The Healing Power of Forgiveness

The weak never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. Mahatma Gandhi

"God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." Forgiving takes the power of God for me. Also in the Bible: "Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive."

The Hawaiin prayer of forgiveness(Ho'oponopono) has really helped me: "I am sorry, please forgive me, thank you. I love you." I repeat this like a mantra with myself and my "enemy" in my mind, as we are one anyway. "Love your enemies." and "Be as one,as my Father and I are one."

Here is another mantra I use more regularly: "I choose to forgive, as all beings may be happy and free."

"...it is certain that those who forgive will find peace." w, 114 ACIM

Is the Ego the "New Age Satan"? Balance the Key?

Dear Tom, (question man in Unity Magazine) I am the one who started all of this after seeing the article about Marianne Williamson in the Unity Magazine, with a caption of her (under her beautiful photo) talking about "demolishing the ego." Isn't the problems here - dualism and fundamentalism. Unity principles are non-dualistic and non-fundamentalist.
Here are the definitions of the ego in the Webster Dictionary: 1. the self as distinguished from others (the boundary maker), 2. the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that is the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality.
Even if we take the first definition and call it the "separator", and decide to destroy it, we are still hurting ourselves. And the ego is part of our whole whether "shadow" or "conscious mediator".
Now when we start talking about egotistical, egoist, egomaniac, we are speaking of harmful personality traits, however, isn't it better to just be aware of them, embrace them and gently let them go - than violently demolishing them?
Even when ACIM principles include "follow the voice of Love and not the voice of fear", are we not still talking about dualism? As the voice of fear might be telling us to watch out for the car that is weaving in and out of traffic at high speed or for the poisonous snake in the bushes beside the path? Even if it is the "fearful child" within us, isn't it better to embrace it and whisper encouragement?
I was listening to my friend's Roy Eugene Davis's lecture on CD today traveling back from Charleston. He very clearly, simply stated that "we need the ego, and it is not the same as 'egotistical'." I think many of us have an unhealthy ego, which is weakness manifesting as egoism, narcissism, grandiosism, etc. We need a healthy ego that needs monitoriing, just as our body needs care of.... lots appreciation, ron
My friend recently spent five days at his Center for Self-realization, and really has high regard, as do ten of thousands for this direct disciple of Yogananda.

Last night, after listening to Roy Eugene Davis, I went to a waynedyercinema.com presentation at a local theater. What a difference. I feel sadness at what a "egomaniac" (I know it takes one to see one), Dyer has become. He was bragging about all of his books and how many millions of copied they have sold, his house on Maui overlooking the Whale breeding area of the Pacific, a new car he recently purchased, on and on, then he blasted the ego, as being the "seperator". I say a healthy ego is the bridge between spirit and the body. All the while, Wayne is quoting some beautiful words from ACIM. I say the most important healing for me and for some "miracle" teachers is healing the ego! At least, I don't claim to be a teacher (far from it). And some would say "Lets look at the whole and not the parts." And that would be true too, however some don't think the "ego" is part of the whole. & "I am not a victim of the world I see", on the other hand, maybe that is a problem with me? Can we just make up and KISS (keep it simple sweetheart)?

In a message dated 1/25/2010 1:00:33 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, info@fulfillyourdreams.com (Nick Arandes) writes:
We do not ask for a miracle, we simply surrender our thoughts to the Holy Spirit to undo our ego, and in due time, we will experience a miracle, also known as correction of thought. That's how simple the process is. All we need remember is that, as the Course states: "I need do nothing." T-18.VII
"Just tear out those pages" (Ron replies)

Nick, from my experience, most people do not have a healthy enough ego in order to not take things personally, to be "defenseless where my safety lies, or "to undo the ego"! A lack of a healthy ego is also called shame-based thinking. "I am not a victim of the world I see" is a great helpful stance, but not to be a victim takes a healthy ego. I do like "I need do nothing" and add to it "I need say nothing." However, from what I can see ACIM has been at the forefront at demonizing the ego and the body for that matter. As Bill Thetford said to us in our group with him, "just tear out those pages." Or better, unconditionally accept all parts of ourselves including the ego and our body, both of which we need in order to "Be Here Now"!
Lets stop making the ego our new age spiritual "satan" - that is dualistic thinking! Meher Baba says that we need a "provisional ego" as long as we are in our body. Lets lovingly unconditionally accept our ego and our body.

Fundamentalists take the "fun out of da mental" and that means they take the wonder, the mystery, the inquiry out of life. That includes people who take every word literally out of the Bible, the Koran, and even ACIM or any of the teachers/writers such as Eckhart, Dyer, and even Marianne Williams. And I really have learned so much from all the writings/writes above - at least 90%, but then there is the mistaken ideas that divide each other or our selves.

I believe that as St. Francis said, "dying to the self is being born to eternal life", and whether it is "self" or "ego", we need to be ready to let go of the body, and I think mine has a few more good years in it. Thank you!

To sum all this up, I think a weak ego hurts us as does too strong of a controlling ego (egoic or egocentric or egotistical). What we need is to be aware and keep our ego in balance, strong enough to receive and forgive(The weak never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. Mahatma Gandhi), but not too controlling of ourselves and others. At the same time, we need to care for our bodies with the same loving kindness we want to give our loved ones - good nutrition, rest and exercise.

I learned so much about my own egotistical self, while processing Wayne's statements & my statements about him. I have been living a lie much of my life, and I am saddened when I think of all the judgements that have been toxic to the world and me. I am definitely committed to living more humbly from Spirit. I am going to spend more time in meditation and prayer and live the Way of Love.
"I am filled with the spirit of love and gladness. I filled with the expectancy of good things. The energy of life flows through me. I have no anxieties for the future, no regrets for the past. Today is God's day in which I live and greatly rejoice." Ernest Holmes.
I am so grateful to Wayne Dyer. I have learned so much about "Spiritual Solutions", the "Sacred Self", & "dying to the self so I may be born to Eternal Life." (St. Francis) Thank you, Dr. Wayne Dyer
(Danny)i quit ACIM class, because your right, we do need a ego...and I was finding to much contradiction the way she teaches the class, I am going to try and keep doing the daily exersizes...but the class depresses the hell out of me...I am thankful that you brought that to me attention both in a direct and in a indirect way
Friends Are Important To Hear Ron Alexander February 16 at 10:09am
"Friends Are Important To Hear" - another good one - acronym for Faith
NO! I am not going back to class but watch that daily exercise - "I am not my body, I am not my body" The body is the "temple of our soul" and we cannot be present without it (or the ego for that matter)
faith : facing an inner truth helps = facing an inner truth hurts (too at first)

I think we need to get to the essence of ACIM or Echart or Marianne or Wayne and learn that and forget the rest. Jerry Jampolsky took the essence out of ACIM and the ego or body was not mentioned at all. I think most of their writings are helpful, but to believe all of them is just to be another fundamentalist - taking the fun (wonder) of da mental. Love is embracing the fear (not letting go of it).............best, ron

Margaret Mead's Wisdom - A Small Group

Constantly In the Divine

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Sunday, Jan. 24

If the past is unredeemable,
and the future unpredictable,
what more practical course is
open than to safeguard the present
by constant rememberance of the divine?

Paul Brunton Notebooks

A Greater Love (Mandala by Pearl S. Buck)

"following your sympathies rather than your antipathies." In this section, the grandmother talks about never giving up on love - to keep on loving till you leave your body.

A Greater Love:

Following up on the above, Brooke, the granddaughter, who is the leading character of this India- based novel follows her heart to a rich Rajah, who has lost his power as a royalty, but still is a leader among his former subjects. "Raj" is married , but he comes from a legacy of harem husbands. Jai, his son, is killed in a war with China, but Raj's heart-braken wife is, against all odds, convinced that their son is still alive. She notices the close relationship between Brooke and her husband (still unconsumated), and after several interviews with her, she is impressed with her intelligence and convinces her to join her husband in the search for Jai. Their daughter, antagonistic about her arranged marriage, warns her Mother about the 'too close" relationship, but Mom is more concerned about finding her son. Also, Mom has fallen for an idealistic young priest, who is devoted to his working with the lower caste and to his celibacy.
There is no body or really any hope, but a strong possibility for reincarnation of Jai is presented, and Brooke is very intriqued.
After the relationship, is consummated and an almost affair between the daughter and an young idealistic American hotel man, the priest is told about the affair. Since his people are subject to the Raj, and he knows that the adulterous husband will lose his leadership capabilities, plus he is concerned about his grieving friend the wife, the young priest decides to talk to Brooke about "greater love". At about the same time, Brooke is meeting a former "lover" of her grandmother, who lets her know that there was no sex, even though he would have been very happt to be her lover. And all this time, Brooke thought grandma was having a series of affairs as a widow. This was another presentation of "greater love" to Brooke at about the same time. Because she understood that the "subjects" would lose a leader that wants the best for them and still controls the economy, she decides to leave
India and love from a distance. Before she goes though, she finds an infant that is more than likely a reincarnation of Jai.

Oh yea, the daughter, is amazed when her arranged fiance, becomes jealous of the American , and does the unthinkable andcomes after her. The American realizes the hopelessness of a relationship with the daughter, and with relief steps out of the way of the now infatuated fiance (which in turn turns on the daughter).

Pearl S. Buck is a brilliant writer and a very wise person!

Thousands of Opportunities to Be Grateful

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Thursday, Jan. 21

We have thousands of opportunities
every day to be grateful:
for having good weather,
to have slept well last night,
to be able to get up,
to be healthy,
to have enough to eat. ...
There's opportunity upon
opportunity to be grateful;
that's what life is.

Brother David Steindl-Rast

Pets show us what love is = Angels!

myebook screengrabThe following screengrab was created from the The Value of A Life ebook by Tomaca Govan, it was sent with the following message:
What an insightful paragraph by Tomaca in her ebook:

Pets show us what love is. They will give their very lives to protect things that we may do to them out of ignorance. Their only expectation is love which they give to us throughout their lives totally unconditionally. You can't put a price on that. You can't measure the value of a life.

myebook.com

Strength to Love

One of the most inspirational books I have read is Martin Luther King Jr.'s STRENGTH TO LOVE! "Love your enemies" - possibly Jesus's most important "commandments"!
He studied non-violent resistance with Gandhi in India and then took it forward with his deep Christian beliefs.

Hershey Loses Her Puppy Eyes

All of the information on this photo above is now not valid, and unfortunately the book is Out of Print as the store is out of business. Click on to enlarge.




Hershey lost her puppy eyes today
Innocent, sweet, pleading, forgiving, wondering, loving
I swore I would keep her alive as long as she had her puppy eyes
The ones that can tell no lies.
I found her with those expressive eyes glazed over today
for the first time. Still warm but rigor mortis was setting in,
she left her body for greener pastures, on her own,
but not without surviving for 18 wonderful years
all with those expressive puppy eyes.
Tears come to mine, as I recall all those
adventures together from California to Carolina.
She will always shine in my heart, all ways
with those precious puppy eyes.

Jeanne has sent you a message on Crone to the Bone

Thanks Ron... as do you.

Your vast experiences inspire me often... and your continuing growth and increasing inner richness keeps you perpetually fresh and interesting.

My Hobbes has been gone now for 7 months... and I still wake up and think of our regular morning places and activities.
And this morning, I thought of Hershey... and then I thought of you... and I remembered how I've been in the past few months without my Hobbes. I've learned so much about myself in his absence. ...with the most glaringly obvious being, that I loved being loved by him

Dear friends, A close friend helped me realize how Hershey was an angel to me. My friend helped me realize that she stayed around for an extra couple of years, as I was going through a divorce and at the same time was estranged from my family. She observed me reconcile with my Aunt and her 3 dogs plus nephew Barry's dog, just in last few weeks, and decided she (Hershey) could leave, as I was not so isolated anymore. thanks for your compassionate support, ron



Reply by Arieljoy - see her piece about animals as angels below:
Ron,
What a beautiful tribute to Hershey. My heart goes out to you. I have burried far too many four legged friends with puppy eyes and I know the depth of my pain so I can imagine the depth of your's.

But on the other hand I am sooooo happy that the two of you shared 18 years worth of wonderful adventures that will fill your heart forever. And she loved you so much that she saved you from having to make the most difficult choice in the world.

In grief too, we are all related.

Aho! Mitakuye Oyasin,
Arieljoy

Thanks Arieljoy, I buried her in the families beautiful pet cemetery with a river stone (near the Savanna River/Lake Hartwell) as a marker. There is a statue of St. Francis overlooking and planted flowers on her grave. lotsaappreciation, ron

St. Francis (the patron saint of animals) Prayer: (from memory)
Dear Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is sadness, joy.
Where there is injury, pardon.

O, Divine One, help me to console rather than be consoled
To forgive rather than be forgiven.
To understand, rather than be understood.
For it is in giving , that we receive, and
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
it is in dying to the self, that we are born to eternal Life.

Count Your Blessings

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Saturday, Jan. 16

When I started counting my blessings,
my whole life turned around.

Willie Nelson

Share Happiness & Joy for Powerful Healing Gifts

Angel Stories by Arieljoy Fine

Angels: (Thank you, Arieljoy - you are well-named, ron)

Raven was my beloved Flat Coated Retriever. He succumbed to Lymphoma in May of 2002, 3 years after I had my left ovary removed; it had been overtaken by a huge cyst. The cyst turned out to be benign, however I had not felt well for several years before the surgery and after the surgery I had the very distinct feeling that the cyst had not always been benign.

Well, after Raven's passing I contacted an animal communicator to see how his spirit was doing and to check in on my other dog, and my horse. While we were talking I asked her why Flat Coats almost always seem to transition from some form of Cancer, regardless of the lineage. She said that Flat Coats come to relieve their caregivers of Cancer and they do this by transferring the disease onto themselves. To this day I am convinced that angel saved my life.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graycee II was a black, short haired tom cat with white socks and some white on the underside who showed up in my backyard one day in the Fall of 2003. At first I ignored him thinking he was probably ferral. But one afternoon as he was sitting on top of the old dog run I stood in the back doorway and began talking to him. Much to my amazement Graycee began chirping back at me and I must tell you I had never in my life seen a ferral cat sit down and have a conversation with me. Until then. And then he proceeded to eat from the horse's feed dish. Well, so much for my rules about not feeding ferral cats.

I could see that this little guy was (the vet figured) about 9 months old and he was hungry! So off I went to the store, came back with some Friskies and I set the rules. I told him he was absolutely not coming in the house; I was allergic to cats and there would be no discussing it. And by golly I stuck to my guns...for a whole week!

Nosiree I wasn't giving in and he wasn't giving up. At night while sitting at my computer I would hear him fling himself onto the window screen desperate to get in my office. This little guy was apparently on a mission and his orders were to penetrate the outer walls at all costs! Well, finally I relented; after all I am only a poor critter lover. Once inside, he couldn 't stay off of me. He would jump onto my lap, put his arms around my neck, cleave to my chest, and purr like a Harley.

Now the thing about this little guy that I found most interesting is that he was just about human. He could read me like a book. He knew I wasn't feeling well before I did. And when he picked up on anything at all he was "on it"! I mean he was all over me like a cheap suit! He could locate the problem like he had a built in GPS system. And then he would take an unusually scientific course of action to remedy the problem...He would lay his furry little body directly on the spot that needed tending to and that is where he would remain until he felt done. And believe me, there was no getting away from him until he had accomplished his mission.

I don't know exactly what this angel healed in me but I always felt better after one of his sessions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bridge-It (pronounced Bridgit)

My part-time niece, Bridge-It the Greyhound was, arguably, the most elegant member of my extended family. My husband was still working in California and commuting home on weekends, both my dogs had crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and my friend and Bridge-It's mom was out of town for a few days.

Now Bridge-It was an unusual Greyhound in that she had never raced. By some stroke of devine design she had been rejected at the track and adopted out immediately to my friend. She was not skittish in the least and could even be trusted to walk off-lead.

So here we were; just the two of us girls, and I had a very painful back ache. I laid on my side in bed debating a couple Advil when Bridge-It jumped onto the bed and pressed her spine onto my spine and proceeded to run Kundalini energy (it was very hot) into my spine. She stayed in that position until the pain subsided--for what seemed like an eternity--and then as quickly as she jumped onto the bed, she jumped off of it, layed down at the foot of the bed and went to sleep.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Manitou Springs, Colorado

I had time to burn before I was to return my rental car at the Colorado Springs airport. Upon inquiry I was told that Manitou Springs was not too far from the airport and that it was an interesting place to hang out and explore. So I parked my car and began trekking around town.

Now 10 years ago in Manitou Springs, the streets and sidewalks were neither even nor level. I was standing on a corner waiting for the light to change when I lost my balance and began falling backward. Suddenly, I felt a hand make contact with my right shoulder-blade and gently but firmly push me forward just enough for me to regain my balance. I turned my head around to see who had saved me but I WAS ALL ALONE. There was not another person on that section of sidewalk at that time.

And I knew, immediately, that my guardian angel saved me from falling over backward.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Roses and Chocolate

I smell them in my house, often, especially the Roses. I smell them even when I haven't had Roses in the house for months. I usually attribute the Roses to Mother Mary or to the Devine Mother. But I have no idea who gifts me with the heavenly scent of chocolate.

Take a Break From the Monkey Mind

Take a break - Meditate

WORD FOR THE DAY Thursday, Jan. 14(gratefulness.org)

There is no large and difficult task
that can’t be divided into little easy tasks.

Buddhist Saying (mindfulness resulting from a strong meditation practice )<em>

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Monday, Jan. 11

One single gift acknowledged
in gratefulness has the power
to dissolve the ties of our alienation.


David Steindl-Rast

Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer

Be Still and Hear

Be Still & Hear Joyful Noise
Saturday, Jan. 9(gratefulness.org)
Be still, and the world is bound to turn herself inside out to entertain you. Everywhere you look, joyful noise is clanging to drown out quiet desperation.
Barbara Kingsolver
High Tide in Tucson

Creating Space to Receive

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Wednesday, Jan. 6

Everything comes to us
that belongs to us if we
create the capacity to
receive it.

Rabindranath Tagore

.. . Comment by Jeanne
Nature abhorring a void?

Great quote... and especially meaningful for me today... as I prepare for the silence of a sattipattana (vipassana meditation) retreat I'm leaving for tomorrow. I'm going to 'create capacity.'

I've noticed a pattern of the most unique and meaningful experiences occurring following these retreats into silent meditation. Perhaps by letting go of the busyness, I am creating capacity or space for that which truly belongs to me.

A Goal to live a life of compassion and

WORD FOR THE DAY (gratefullness.org)
Friday, Jan. 1

If we make our goal to live a life
of compassion and unconditional love,
then the world will indeed become a
garden where all kinds of flowers can
bloom and grow.

Dr. Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross

Hi Ron
From Diane V. Cirincio… to You
Happy New Year, Ron.

Sending you rainbows of love for this coming year.

All our love, Jerry and Diane

Dear Diane and Jerry,
Thank you for all you both do for myself and many thousands of people - here is a great answer to my "send-out": Don;t you think? Sounds like "attitudinal healing" to me -

Thank you, Ron, for reminding me that the choices are mine. It is my place to ask the question, How Shall I Live? And, it is my place to answer the question, as well. The most important thing to acknowledge is that if I say, "I choose to grow flowers in my life garden", then I am the only one who can weed out the ungreatful, petty, and generally counterproductive attitudes in my garden. It is useless for me to choose a flower garden and then expect someone else to be the gardener.

In Love and Light,
Arieljoy

"Just Tear Out those pages..."

Comment by Steven Cox
The Course says there is only one decision to make, ask to see the real world, over the world that you see now.

Has anyone asked to see the real world? What has been your experience when you have done this?

I accept the world we see will never live up to the hype. I get that. But, if I give this up, then what? And, for what? Also, how do I give up this world? I do see it, just as I see it. It isn't like I can pull the cover off it and look underneath it to see something else.

Don't crucify me ACIM students and teachers, however Steven Cox has made some good inquiry points.

I admire and have learned so much from ACIM and both Marianne and Eckhart, and when studying I try to see the "whole rather than get caught up in the parts."

When I sat in a group with Dr. Bill Thetford (scribe of ACIM - yes he was the first to ask, Helen channeled and Bill insisted that the words were recorded), who I think had pretty much reached a near-Mystic state, which is beyond the ego and the body, he would tell us to "tear out those pages" which to me carries a dualistic message. To be here now, we need to be fully in our body and to be aware of our ego.
I think we need to come to the wonderful essence of teaching like ACIM and its proponents like Marianne Williamson and Eckhart Tolle and other ACIM teachers - look up definition of ego in the dictionary and in the Bible - "the body is the temple of the spirit."

To me that is everyone is innocent and loving the best they can, and an attack is a call for loving help, and forgiveness of all is essential to our own salvation. When any writing advises us to lose the ego and the body, they are informing us a "future" state, that keeps us out of the present moment, which all this writing tells us "now is the only time there is." Also, dualism is dualism whether satan, the body or the ego is demonized. In the ultimate state of Reality (big R), we are in Spirit out of our body and our ego. However, when here on Earth have "one foot on Earth and one foot in Spirit (Revelations) - the Middle Path as described by the Buddhists and by Mystics of every religion.

Fundamentalism is not just confined to the Sacred Scriptures. Anyone who believes every word in any text is a fundamentalist! And they take the "fun out of the mental" - inquiry is vital as ultimately Native Americans who call God & Spiirituality "the Great Mystery" have it right. Mystery helps us keep our sense of wonder and adventure. "just tear out those pages" and keep your peace, ron

P.S. I am glad to have my thinking challenged as "in my defenselessness my safety lies." & I like to think my mind and heart is open to Truth.
Soon afterwards in 1987, gentle peaceful joyous Dr. Thetford, told a friend "I have never felt so free,) and the next AM dropped his body on a street in Tiburon, CA.

Steven Cox said:
Thanks, Ron. And, I think I get your point. However...

To be really specific, I had an experience about 15 months ago. It will sound trite, but it wasn't.

It really, really, really hit me that nothing ever works out as one would want it to. No relationship, no job, no business project, etc. It isn't that it is bad, it just never satisfies.

Of course, this is trite because we all know this. And, this has certainly come to my attention before, but for some reason this experience went very deep and it left me in a state of very strange detachment. Nothing has grabbed me since then, (except for one thing which I am hanging onto for dear life, in a way).

It is sort of like something one would expect if you reached enlightenment, except without the good stuff.

At that time I picked up the Course to see what it says and, of course I read a section that said essentially what I was seeing was correct and this world never, ever will ever be quite right. Every relationship will leave me a little unsatisfied, every material thing will never quite live up to its advance billing, and so on. It then went on to give the next step for someone who has come to that.

The combination of the experience with the passage in the Course has left me somewhat apart from life. I'm not certain the Course had anything to do with it, but having something, or someone, say you've got it right, and here is the next step pointed me in a direction which likely exacerbated what I was feeling.

Which, as you point out, might be a philosophical trap.

However, it said, more or less, one should reject this world in favour of the real world, which we do not see.

This is very different from Eckhart Tolle, whom I don't think would say that. Maybe he would, but it is the opposite of being here, in the now.

I've spent the better part of my life learning to live in the now, I have, to a large extent, learned to be happy whenever I so choose, even when things aren't good on the surface. Even when I am sick, for example. And, I think that is a good thing to learn to do. But, I don't know whether that is the be all and end all. I'm not certain there isn't something over and above this.

But, again this might be a trap, that takes one away from a certain good, acceptance and being in the now. Most philosophies have a place they can lead you that can nullify what good they bring .Ron replies:
I say honor yourself with unconditional acceptance!
I include Eckhart and Marianne with ACIM because they say we need to become "egoless" which, to me, is impossible as long as we are in our body. I think unconditional acceptance of our bodies and egos and all of us and others is vital to experience Reality. In the Course, it is pointed out that we can have "Holy Instants" of complete Unconditional Love toward ourselves and others which I think is Real - Spirit - God as Love. I have these Onederful Instants more and more in meditation, which is why I am meditating one hour in AM and again in PM. I went for ten days of silent retreat learning Vipassana Meditation, which is Buddha's original meditation, and is very whole Body oriented and very calming. Ironically, the more I get completely into my body, the more I experience Spirit (which is Reality to me).
I have a powerful teacher, Byron Katie, who says "confusion is the basis of all our suffering". Again, the more I meditate, the more clarity and less confusion I have.
I changed the title to get away from the negative word "Satan" as of course, no one would like to think that some great teachers have been teaching us that the ego is the "new age satan"! After all, some metaphysicians insist that just the act of thinking places us in duality with Spirit. So if one can get to that place of non-thinking, say in like in meditation or any other way, one can get into that wonderful "Holy Instant of Oneness Love."
I hope I have not added to your confusion, Steve?
I honor your courage to ask very important questions, One Love, ron


Marvin Double said:
When I was a kid going to Sunday School I found the concept of Satan confusing. Long before I heard the term dualism or read anything spiritual the very idea of a devil seemed out of sync with my understanding of God. After all I was taught that God was all powerful all loving and ever present.

With that basic premise as a context I wondered why God would allow one of his angles to defy him in such a way. As God created heaven and earth could his power actually be challenged? More to the point perhaps, why would any being, angelic or moral chose to separate themselves from love which is absolute?

Questions of such fundamental childish simplicity are often the clearest. Confusion about such matters is not easily removed. We can get stuck in the wheels of deliberation and the minutia of constant debate.

We can debate the nature of reality endlessly. We can contemplate the course and consider every possible view as to it's meaning. For me at least the essence of all the lessons it contains forms one primary questions which each of us must answer. If you were God, what would be your intention?.
Ron replies:

I believe like Jesus, ACIM, and Marianne and Eckhart all believe, I think, that God is Love, and we are One in that Love, however, I think God gave us a free will, to find out for ourselves. Hence, that is why inquiry, dialogue, prayer, study and meditation are so vital to our growth.
The Buddhists use the word Beingness rather than "God", and not to believe anything unless we experience that joyful, peaceful "Beingness" ourselves.
Clarity, to me, is to experience what most of us seekers from the Christian faith, call the Inner Christ, and we all have It!
And to experience this "peace beyond all understanding" may be the Reality, that Steve questions above. What do you think? I hope we have many students reply and add their wisdom to this dialogue, as mentioned below, I had "rather be right than happy. thank you, Marvin for your reply! May all of our "Holy Instants" become "Holy Hours" then "Holy Days" then "Holy weeks" then "Holy years" and may our next decade be a "Holy Decade"! ron

WORD FOR THE DAY(gratefulness.org)
Saturday, Jan. 2

When before the beauty of a sunset or a mountain,
you pause and exclaim, "Ah,"
you are participating in divinity.

Joseph Campbell

A Goal to Live a Life of Compassion &

WORD FOR THE DAY (gratefullness.org)
Friday, Jan. 1

If we make our goal to live a life
of compassion and unconditional love,
then the world will indeed become a
garden where all kinds of flowers can
bloom and grow.

Dr. Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross