School for A Course In Miracles

"The universe of learning will open up before you."

School for A Course In Miracles

“The universe of learning will open up before you in all its gracious simplicity.” T-14. II. 6:4
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Musings: The Myth of “Personhood”

The  problem with being human is that everything seems to be personal when it is not.

Suffering is the result of the personal self interpreting things in terms of itself: if it benefits “me”, it’s good; if it doesn’t benefit “me” it’s bad.

To the non-locatable Self, nothing is wrong; everything is as it is– no problem. Thoughts are just thoughts. Feelings are just feelings. Sensations are just sensations. They don’t belong to anyone. They are simply present without the interpreting mechanisms of the separate self. Just as the sky would not complain about clouds that appear in it, the Self cannot personalize nor object to what is still part of itself.

Miracles gradually shift our awareness from the body, that locatable, personal sense of a “me”,  to spirit, that impersonal awareness that is Self. It is a gradual process so as not to arouse too much fear in the ego, causing it to turn suspicious and vicious. We are told early on in the text of A Course in Miracles that we will not be “hurled into reality.”

“Miracles transcend the body. They are sudden shifts into invisibility, away from the bodily level. That is why they heal.” – Miracle principle 17.

The belief that it is a sacrifice to give up the personal is based upon the belief that the personal actually exists. In fact, personhood is a mind-constructed fabrication of a separate self in relationship with other separate selves. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing is given up; there is only an illusion of giving up. The personal self never existed.

In writing about this I hope that some of the resistance to engaging in the lessons of the Course will be recognized, understood, and not made a big deal of. Perhaps you might even welcome the shift from the personal reference point to an all-encompassing awareness of what is. Instead of either pathologizing this shift or making it a special experience that belongs to a “someone” you may see this as natural, effortless, and available equally to everyone. This could be very helpful.

Relationships for a non-personal purpose are particularly confounding to the ego to which everything is “useful” for the purpose of validating the existence of personhood. “Me”, “I”, and “mine” make total sense to it. From the point of view of a separate self, love is the fulfillment of a longing to merge with another separate self.

Intimacy is the natural state of all relationships when the sense of a personal self is no longer believed. The non-locatable, impersonal Self recognizes itself everywhere in everything. Every encounter is a meeting with one Self directly, without any of the interference of personal interpretation. This is intimacy. It is devoid of the specialness that a personal point of view gives to everything.

To discover that joy and love are not personal and never did belong to someone is an extraordinarily liberating awareness. There is nothing to be gotten from anyone. Everything we could ever hope to find is already available. Clinging to our self-constructed sense of separateness that perceives through the body’s senses is all that keeps us from freedom. We cling because, in believing what we have made of ourselves, we also believe it would be a huge sacrifice to give it up. Again, nothing is given up. It is all smoke and mirrors.

Usually a question arises about being able to function without having a personal point of reference. The ego tells us that we will run amuck without its “guidance”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Life continues just as before only awareness of life is not through the sense organs of the body including the brain which interprets everything in a personal way.

Awareness is non-locatable and impersonal. It is. Everything gets done, only without the sense of a personal doer. The understanding that there never has been a personal doer does not suddenly interfere with functioning; it liberates functioning. The body proceeds  without personal involvement. It is an enormous relief from the burden of credit and blame that the ego placed upon everything.

For most of us the falling away of the false personal self is a gradual process. Each lesson of A Course in Miracles, applied to situations in our life, will chip away at our belief in a separate self without arousing too much fear in the ego. Of course, sometimes it happens that the ego does become suspicious then vicious, counseling us to abandon the lessons and their skillful undoing entirely. It is my hope that those who come to Becoming Learners Together (now School for A Course in Miracles) will come to understand that there is nothing to fear in awakening from the dream of separateness.

If you only knew the power of the miracle to free you you would want to offer them. You can learn how. Right here. They can be applied to whatever your circumstances are, no matter where you find yourself, no matter what your history is. The only requirement is to want to learn another way of perceiving. Think of it as a science project if that is your interest. “Humans find another means of perceiving that shows there is another world!!!!”

Or think of it as the greatest love story ever told. “Woman finds her beloved and He gives her the universe.”

Is not the end of seeking and the finding of a treasure beyond your most pleasurable and satisfying imaginings a worthwhile endeavor?

Is not finding the never ending supply of love that can be given without measure a worthy function?

This is an invitation to learn how to work miracles. The only qualification is the willingness to see that your interests are not separate from another.

“Miracles are a way of earning release from fear.” Miracle principle # 28

 “Miracles are examples of right thinking, aligning your perceptions with truth as God created it.” Miracle principle #36

Musings: An Invitation

Enter Here!

“The power of decision is your one remaining freedom as a prisoner of this world.” – A Course in Miracles, T. 12, VII.9:1

Welcome! This is an invitation to make a decision to take part in The Great Awakening that is occurring in all humanity at this time.

I know of no better teaching to facilitate this shift than A Course in Miracles. I have made the journey through the lessons of the Course with thousands of friends who have accepted its invitation to become miracle workers.

Miracles come from love that is not of this world. They are  a way of teaching us that we are both loving and lovable. It is through offering miracles that our minds will be healed of the belief in separation.

A Course in Miracles is very practical. It is for you and no one else. That may at first sound arrogant, but when you understand that when your mind is healed all minds are healed you will see it is both practical and efficient.

“The power of decision is your one remaining freedom as a prisoner of this world.”

Musings: The Seeker

There is something about a true spiritual seeker that sets them apart from everyone else, namely they are interested in going beyond what they presently know about themselves.

They are willing to pull up the anchor of history—their name, place, career, roles, and accomplishments up to now, and set sail across unknown waters for the Eternal.

Even the good days lived through the body’s senses are not enough to satisfy the seeker who more than likely has utilized them to the max, finally realizing that they change with the wind. Just a slight shift in the direction and a lovely mood is gone.  He has learned the hard lesson that no lasting happiness is available through the senses.

Another quality of a seeker is a loss of interest in his personhood, that character that the world refers to by some name. There is some tarnish showing around the edges of his self concept, and some patches on his self esteem. No matter how lovely, successful, or happy his image appears to be there is a hollowness in it that he longs to have filled.

A true blue seeker is disillusioned with his plans for happiness for himself. Tired of convincing himself and others that his plans are working there is a weariness that tells the story of the many failed attempts. Perhaps there is another way to lasting happiness?

I set out on that journey almost as soon as I got here. I was very uncomfortable in my “skin suit” and didn’t much like the conditions. Of course, just like everyone else I didn’t know why until much later.

Becoming a learner is nothing more than admitting the following:

“I do not know the thing I am, and therefore do not know what I am doing, where I am, or how to look upon the world or on myself.” ACIM

 “There is no statement the world is more afraid to hear than this.”

Many hands have been extended to help the seeker navigate the journey from here to here. A Course in Miracles, an invitation from the heart to the heart,  is one of those hands.  It takes us on a journey without distance, to a place we never left.

By the way, you already may know if you fit the profile of a seeker. You have a slight gentle smile on your face.

Musings: Three Things

Kenneth WapnickI am not a scholar of A Course in Miracles. For a while I thought I might be but that’s not “the way of Lyn”.  I’m glad to get that out of the way.

The scholar for the Course, in my opinion, is Dr. Kenneth Wapnick. His brilliance and dedication to the principles of the Course are unparalleled.  He is the Founder of the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, along with his wife Gloria. Extensive scholarly material is offered at their website at FACIM.org.

Even though I am not a scholar I do not underestimate the importance of understanding the theoretical foundations presented in the text of the Course. Once you understand the two thought systems the Course presents—the ego’s and the Holy Spirit’s (The Teacher)—and their respective implications, you will be able to open to any page in the often complex material and know exactly what is being said. I owe that understanding to Dr. Wapnick.

Beyond the metaphysics, the more important awareness is on the content of the mind. Is it love? Or is it fear?

If it is love, the intent is to be truly helpful, to join with the other person on common ground, and to look beyond separate interests.

If it is fear, the intent is to attack or to defend (which is an attack), to separate, or to makes oneself special or different in some way.

It is easy to tell what our motivation is by how we feel. If we are basking in peace it was love in action. If we feel anxious and uneasy, then it was fear in action.

Although I have studied, taught and practiced the Course for 35 years all I can say with certainty is that I am a more willing learner now than when I began. That may be my sole qualification for offering our School for A course in Miracles.

Lyn is sort of a combination inviter/pointer with a little bit of cheerleader mixed in. I am not The Teacher. The 365 Lessons make way for The Teacher and I am inviting you to consider doing the lessons.

 

1. It takes humility to be a learner. Humility is for the ego, not spirit. A meaningful message from the Course in that regard is:

“Humility will never ask that you remain content with littleness. But it does require that you be not content with less than greatness that comes not of you.” – T. 381

These are a few things that seem to have disappeared  from my résumé in recent years:

I can’t find personal ambition any more. The possibility of being helpful to those who want to find inner peace is enough reason for doing this.

I don’t waste time and energy making sacrifices. I do what I am inspired to do.

Pessimism. Can’t find it any more. I always think things are going to work out, even when I know they are not. “A happy outcome to all things is sure,” just not according to my plan.

I am not “against” anyone or anything. I find being wholeheartedly “for” something to be much more invigorating.

2. Is the Course for you?

My intention is only to be truly helpful but I can’t guarantee that you won’t be offended by what you read and hear in these pages.

Spiritual paths are often treated like hobbies, pulled out of a drawer when you have some spare time. This just means that the learner hasn’t really decided what he wants to learn yet.

A Course in Miracles offers a real alternative and I hope to make that choice clear so that a would-be-learner can decide if he wants the outcome the Course is leading him toward. It is not for everyone. There are many paths that lead to truth.

No one can give you the desire to turn your back on the conventional wisdom of the world with all of its pains and pleasures. You have to see for yourself that it is the only answer that will save you and the world simultaneously.

How many teachers (learners) does it take to save the world? One. That would be the impersonal you, the one the Course is taking you to.

3. Bad Habits and Cures

Humans have bad habits that are inconsistent with what they say they want. If we knew what our bad habits were, they wouldn’t have us anymore. They are hidden and buried in someone else just so we might keep them. That’s how the fictitious ego preserves itself.

To recognize the illusions in which we believe, we need husbands, wives, parents, children, friends, lovers, authority figures, and enemies to show them to us. Salvation is a collaborative venture. We awaken “together or not at all.” For this reason we should be fully appreciative of everyone, our enemies as well as our friends.

I believe it is in our nature to lean ever so slowly toward love. We are terribly threatened by it for many reasons, one of them being that love is indiscrimate. It is given equally, to all, without exception. The ego only approves of special love.

I feel some urgency to share anything that can help us let go of our self-centered ideas of love and move on to the real thing. I also want to invite others to do the same. It does appear that time has about run out on our learning opportunity as a species.

We have the potential to transcend our self-centered viewpoint but it remains to be seen whether we will just continue squabbling as individuals and as nations.

The perpetuation of our species, another specialness idea, is not the goal here. It is the idea of separate interests in our mind that must be undone in order to save a world that exists only within our minds. I would prefer not to annihilate another thing.

Another bad habit of humans is that they always think it’s about the other guy. If these other folks would just change, the world would be a better place. No. It’s just you. When you leave separate interests behind and awaken to reality you may find that nothing needs to be fixed.

You can’t fix what isn’t real. What’s real doesn’t need fixing.

The behavior that follows a mind that has transcended separate interests is loving and kind to everyone. It doesn’t walk away from the chaos. It shines its loving light for all to see. That certainly can’t hurt the world. Then we will be able to say and mean “a happy outcome to all things is sure.”

School of Reason

“Above all else I want to see.”

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Like any course A Course in Miracles offers an opportunity to learn something that is considered to be of value. The similarities probably begin and end there.

Unlike most educational opportunities it is not aimed at improving who you are or the world you seem to be living in. It may have those residual benefits but that is not the goal.

Changing the way in which you see is the aim of the Course. Most of humanity does not currently believe there is another world to see. Only by transforming the one looking is that shift accomplished. A student first has to decide if he or she wants to become a learner in this particular way—a way that has no particular gains to the personal self. Peace of mind and vision are attained by transcendence of the personal.

 If you feel called to make this kind of change you won’t be able to stop your Self from following it. The “you” who thinks it is living in a world and likes it (sometimes), may resist. On the other hand no teacher can give you this desire. You have it or you don’t.

“The invitation” goes on all the time. You choose when you are ready to hear it. “Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what to take at a given time.”

The curriculum is the miracle. “It is a required course”.
The miracle is the “awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance.”

The Course undoes the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence. “It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to…….”

The Lessons, all three-hundred and sixty-five, do the work in a realm that you are not even aware of. Your contribution to the process is to learn how not to interfere.

Pursuing this calling can feel like turning traitor to the conventional wisdom of the world. It is of a different order in which we acknowledge we are all learners together, leaning toward love while discovering our equality.

The peace any one of us experiences is shared by all since minds are already joined. While it appear that one is turning  his back on the world it is from a selfless and transcendent view that we can bring the inner peace and love to the world that it needs so badly.

In 2009 a small enthusiastic group of student/learners in the way of the Course joined together to start a school for serious students. Collectively, we logged well over 100 years of devotion to the Course’s teachings and the practice of forgiveness. We called it the School of Reason (now School for A Course in Miracles) . I am currently its Director.

A word about the faculty of the SFACIM: Each of the teachers has pursued their calling vigilantly. They have direct experience of the miracle that the required course promises.  Each of them engaged in a two-year process of unlearning so that they could learn to see differently. They know what takes to sincerely practice forgiveness and to receive the benefits of peace. They can help you make the best use of time.

If you are undecided about your spiritual goal and whether our School might help you attain it, you may find it valuable to attend an event sponsored by the SFACIM, or drop in to one of our teacher’s classes. You will find these events and classes posted here on our website.

You may also find a purposeful conversation with any one of faculty helpful in clarifing your interest in attending.

We go together or not at all.

Musings: The True Shape of Being

The shape of our character in the dream is the expression of our intimate inner conversations.

Nothing borrowed will do.

The true shape of our own being must be the result of the laborious excavations of our depths and the treasures we find there.

In our giving ourselves away there is more at stake than just the possibility of the recognition of others. We work for our own sake.

The way in which we raise our family, tend our garden, compose a song, or manage an office is the way we teach ourselves that the God we have met within is not capable of anything but love.

Musings: The Decision Maker

IMG_0300That night Deepak Chopra was speaking to 2400 people in Calgary on non-violence. His goal was “to have at least 100 million people join him in a vow of non-violence in thought, speech and action”.

This is a worthwhile goal and I support it. But let’s be clear what that would mean for each of us if we really were to join him.

“The ego uses the body for attack, for pleasure and for pride”. Text, p.105.

The relationship between attack and who uses the body is the significant part of that statement. The ego uses the body for attack. There is another possibility.

There are two possible commanders of the body. You are not the body. You are the one that chooses the commander. That “you” is in the mind and to make it a little more palpable we’ll give that “you” a name. I’ve heard many names but none has really appealed to me. For now we will refer to it as The Decision Maker. If you come up with one that works better for you, be my guest.

The Decision Maker is your self just prior to the insane choice you made for the ego and its symbol—the body. You still are the decision maker. Instead of being the one run by the needs of the body you are the one who decides if you want to continue in that way.

Just to flesh this out a little more so you understand the choice, the ego is:

a  false sense of self

the you that you think you are

the one that likes being an individual,  self-centered, separate

the one who sees the world in terms of what it means for you

the little self– the one who is needy and afraid of just about everyone and everything

The false self (ego)  uses the body for pleasure, pride, and for attack.

If the ego were not using your body attack, pleasure and pride would not be useful or appealing.

The other option is to put the body in the hands of The Teacher. The Teacher uses your body for another purpose, but you need to become a learner first. This is a good time to point out that “Humility will never ask that you remain content with littleness. But it does require that you be not content with less than greatness that comes not of you.”  Text, p. 381.

Who/what is using your body?

Without changing the voice in command of the body, violence will continue. This is very important to understand because not seeing it is what it means to be caught in the dream of perception. You don’t think there is an alternative.

This is a decision that each of us eventually will make. All other attempts to bring peace to the world will fail.

More than likely if you are hearing this you are beginning to feel the disillusionment of being identified with the figure (body) in the dream. It’s not so hot being you anymore. You may even be a little bored with your self concept.

In letting go of our attachment to it there is nothing to defend.

When we stop defending we cannot be attacked. ( The famous relevant  lesson in the Course is “If I defend myself I am attacked.”)

We only appear to be attacked because we are defending something that isn’t real. That is the meaning of:

 “Nothing real can be threatened.

Nothing unreal exists.

 Herein lies the peace of God”.

When we know God’s peace, we also know it envelops the world. The problem was only one of a false sense of self.

Musings: Teaching Love

Happy Valentine’s Day!

  Teaching love would be an appropriate thought for that day. What does it mean to teach love?

A Course in Miracles tells you to teach only love for that is what you are. You can’t teach anything else without being false.

I started thinking about the time when I made Valentine cookies with my grandchildren. It was sweet in more ways than one. The cookies were beautiful but what I learned was even more delicious.

That day in the kitchen with the grand girls we made one hell of a mess. It could have offended my sense of order and challenged my ideas of how I should best spend my day. (After all it took an entire afternoon.)

To get the whole project up and running took considerable organization, and once all the decorating paraphernalia was laid out before us it took considerable patience to train the workers. In the end production was poor and there weren’t a lot of cookies to show for the effort. But there was love and there was laughter.

Why is it that our attitudes can remain so generous in one situation and not in others?

Teaching love does not equate with making valentine cookies any more than it does with having the perfect romantic dinner with your lover. You could do either and teach guilt the entire time. You could also do either and teach love. It’s all in the attitude. Teaching is attitude. It has nothing to do with the form of the relationship or the activity engaged in.

Teaching love means not being inconvenienced, burdened or offended in any way by the needs and actions of someone else. Not by the messes they make, the needs they have or the time they demand. Love sees that not the slightest bit of harm came to anyone. This leaves no cause for anything but love and laughter.

Annoyance or upset teaches guilt. It says I am not having a good time because of what you did. The mess you made, the time you took, the demands you made, the things you needed took my peace away. You hurt me. You are guilty and therefore not worthy of love so I’m going to withhold it from you.

Teaching love is a full-time job that goes on in every encounter.

I am using the harmless activity of baking cookies with my grandchildren as an example of how we might see all our relationships. Harmless. No one is trying to take our peace away. Yes, they make messes, want our time and attention, and need our help. We have the opportunity to teach love instead of guilt by seeing them worthy of it.

Helpful reminder from the Course: “Beware the temptation to perceive yourself unfairly treated.”   

Musings: Becoming a Learner

 The pleasure of helping others learn started in first grade. I attended a one-room schoolhouse/church/town library combined in rural New Hampshire. A huge black wood-burning stove was the unifying amenity in an otherwise stark room that housed 21 students, grades 1 through 4, and our little desks along with 1 teacher and her very large library desk.

Mrs. Amos, my teacher, was a tall, thin, very erect woman with flame red hair that she wore in a sausage roll at the nape of her neck. Gold wire rim glasses magnified her large, soft brown eyes making them appear to be out of proportion to her thin face. The low heeled lace-up brown shoes on her feet were practical and sturdy like Mrs. Amos herself.

Mrs. Amos gave me my first experience of loving to learn. She innately knew what each child needed to contribute to be an active participant and she gave them that chance. Pudgy Goodwin brought in the fire wood and stoked the stove satisfying his need to move a lot and also to offset his lack of interest in academics. Georgiana Greenwood had a garden in the south facing windows where she was experimenting with sprouting seeds under different conditions. Janet Pierce, trouble maker that she was, got the perfect job for her—taking care of the stinky pens that housed the mice, hamsters and gerbils.

You would think our humble little school would have lacked opportunity, but Mrs. Amos had a huge bag of tricks at her disposal, and she used them all. We listened to classical music on Friday afternoons (music appreciation) , followed by all 21 of us playing our Tonettes (band practice). Our art room consisted of a closet with an easel and shelves filled with paints that Mrs Amos bought with her own money. The art closet was a special place because we could only get 2 or 3 “artists”  in there, and only if we shut the door. Once that was accomplished it was more like a hideout and it was here that I heard some things I had never heard about before.

Mrs. Amos gave me the task of tutoring classmates in reading. I loved words and they co-operated by almost never stumping me as to their pronunciation and meaning. It was here on the back stairway that led to the library on the second floor that I first felt the pleasure of helping others learn.

I am still a learner. What I want to learn has changed however. Thirty or so years ago  A Course in Miracles showed up in my life. It told me that I didn’t know what I was. It seemed to me that was a pretty important thing to know and a serious question to ask. “What am I?”

Most of us ask a question having already decided  the answer so we are not really learners at all. To ask this question sincerely we have to come to it with empty hands—no prior understanding, no intended outcome, no idea of how or when the answer will arrive and what it will mean for us.True humility calls for the reliquishment of all our assumptions. It is the admission that I do not know.

The most important question is “What am I?” Living in the mystery, not knowing the answer is an exercise in trust.  This holy ground is where God has His Way with me and I experience the ultimate pleasure of His Will of perfect happiness for me.