anyhow cheers..fromjohan..[one under good] dont take it too serious...i make most of this stuff up as i go
The Weird Diseaseby Robert Perry
Imagine that you have contracted..a really weird disease, unlike anything you have ever heard of... This is how it progresses: First,..you notice that your eye-sight..starts going blurry..and then you go blind.
You can't see a thing...But you are really okay,..because you can still hear, you can feel,..you can move around...Ultimately, you would adjust..and you would still have your same basic sense of self..although you would feel..as though a chunk had been taken out of it.
But the disease is a lot weirder than that,..so after a while you go deaf. Now your main ways of gathering information about the world are gone—you can't see and you can't hear...But you still have touch and smell… and taste, which works for things..that allow you to get close,..but doesn't tell you where the telephone poles are.
[ok pause this here]the first two...happen..to everyonewhen we..'die'...it stays with those..who have no concept..of after lifetill they finally get..they are materially...dead..but spiriually...still livethe deaf/blind..thing is because they havnt developed..their spiritual sight/hearing ...yetthe taste thing...[or rather]..tastlessness/smell..thing..is only in hell
but thats another story[but..on with the topic]
Then the weird disease progresses one step further..and you become paralyzed.
You can't get around..[no those without sight/sound..still are able to move arroundoften seeing faint shadows..hearing faint sounds..smelling smells...etc.
these are attempts by other spirits..to wake us up
continue..and gather information about your world.
But what do you still have?..[life]..dead aint 'dead'..
If someone touches you,..you can feel him or her.
You have a sense of smell...[still have loves/hates..emotions
nothing has changed..except the body..your now in..ie your soul body
or your astral body...[were you in your light..[spirit bady]..you would have attained heaven...[ie your works..in the 'real'/material world..have born their fruits/reward
often many are in twilight..or darkend realmsthese are astral realms
meaning you will be tested..to see if ...you deserve the light..or the darkness[ie reject the light].. If someone shoves something..in you mouth, you can taste it...as either bitter or sweet fruitsremember...that we taste..is all by our earthly decisions
but fruit dosnt spoil..here...thus...juice either is god/bad..but not fermented into alcohol...[whatever its taste..is what it is..it cant rot/ferment..into booze] those yearning..for booze
will be tempted to gratify their need for drugs
by haunting the living..do this and you eventually get to go to hell
on the other hand..if you reject this
and actually try to help others
the light often appears
those not good
but not..'bad'often go to the twilight..[astral area..to get tested/sorted.. However,..the weird disease progresses..one step further and you lose all..that—no sensation, no smell, no taste. You can't move, you can't see, you can't hear.
At this point, how do you know where you are? [if you can still feel/emotions...have desiresyour in the stral twilight zone] How do you know..if you are in a car? How do you know if you are at the hospital? How do you know if they are amputating something from your body? How do you know you are not falling out of a plane..at that moment,..or hitting the ground?
You wouldn't know any of that....but you would feel that..if you were really...materially dead..but not spiritually awake..You've lost all contact..with your environment.
But what about your sense of self? It's still pretty much there.it will allways be
You have your memories. that will haunt you..or reward you..as in karmic..balance..you will feel the opposing feelings..of that you sought to feel in the material realm...[or made others feel]..nothing hidden that will not be revealed..for all to see../hear/feel..know..
You know who you are.
You have that whole mental world..you've built up...from the life..you just lived..[here]
But then the weird disease..goes one step further and you get a profound case of amnesia...
You have no clue who you are. You've forgotten everything.
Now you are in this weird blank state: you don't know who you are; you don't know where you are. And in this state you start to dream....imagine...not knowing what is real from that of dreamingyour subconsience..and conscience..are joining together...all your mind recalls
that conscienciously..as well as unconscienciously..at least your mind..is finally becoming 'one'.. Now most dreams last a short time and they are full of all sorts of chaotic elements.
Things switch around rapidly and bizarrely.
But the weird disease is such..that it induces a very different kind of dream—a dream that is consistent. It just keeps going and going. And it's more internally logical..than most dreams.
Things just don't happen,..where something turns into something else immediately. It's a lot more logical,..sequential..and it doesn't stop.In this dream,..you are maybe..some sort of rodent creature on some other planet.
And in this rodent society, you are one of the lower caste rodents—you are homeless; you don't have any family. You are a worthless, miserable rodent..or whatever else it takesfor each to wake-up..to the new reality. Meanwhile,..in real life,..[spirit-life]..you have been hospitalized and the doctors..[spirits]..are trying to figure out what the hell you have.and by what means its best to save you...help you chose..one love over another love[even if the love is a love of hate..
And while you are lying there in the state induced by the weird disease, years pass—years of this dream of being some sort of intelligent rodent creature on some other planet. It just keeps going and going.till you decide..love good[god]or reject good..thus reject the light..and dwell in the darkness...[with those of the same loves..of the same hate/hurt...vice...as you truelly love,..in you..
but its getting..[pretty nutts in these words]..i hope its going somewhere?
Finally, in real life, they hire an amazing psychic who can project his mind into your dream, and appear as another creature, say a robed rodent. And this robed rodent walks up to you in your dream and says, "Listen, I've got some really startling news to tell you: You are not actually this homeless rodent on Planet X...You are actually a thing called a human being named such-and-such on Planet Earth and you've been in a hospital in Cottonwood for ten years."Would you believe this messenger?
What reason would you have to buy a crazy story like that? Workshop participant:..It depends on how much pain you had. If you were in a lot of pain,..you might want to believe whatever came out of the blue.In a sense, that is exactly the condition..we are in now.
We are not anything like these creatures. And in a very literal and real sense,..we are not here.
From the Course's standpoint, we are no more here than you are on Planet X. It's just a dream.We all know that you are not literally in the places that you experience yourself in..*when you are dreaming.
When you wake up from a dream..that you were in Europe, you don't think, "I need to go to Europe and find out more about..where I was,..and find evidence of my being there."..You'd be labeled crazy.
So from the Course's standpoint, we very literally aren't these people. We are another kind of creature..dreaming we are these people. And we very literally..are not in this place. We are in a whole other place..simply dreaming we..*are..in this place. And we are not..*in these bodies.
Participant: Is there anything the robed rodent could tell the rodent to convince him he is only dreaming?I think that there are a lot of things that might be somewhat persuasive. The Course is one long series of things like that.
One thing it tells us is: You've never really felt at home..here. You've always felt..as if you were from somewhere else. Another thing it tells us is that it really is no fun ..being this rodent creature.
It also tells us that if we quiet our mind, we can directly..experience who/where.. we really are. Everything the Course tells us, to one degree or another, has some power..to open our mind..to that..*possibility.
When I've shared this story in the past, people have often responded,..
"It's like an out-of-body experience!"
What the Course would say is:..*not at all.
From the Course's standpoint,..you were dreaming..about being*..in your body, you dreamt about leaving it,..and then you dreamt you were floating around..in this world. But all that's still a dream. Being out of your body..is no more real..than being*..*in your body, because the only real..out-of-body experience..is the experience of being..*in Heaven.
You could say..that our presence in this room here is very much..as if we had all made a pact to have a group dream where we would all be in the same dream room and experiencing the same dream situation, but from different vantage points.
If that were true right now, I could say, "Hey guys, remember that plan we had? We did it!..What is happening right now is just the group dream we set up."
Then if I were to ask you, "Where are you really right now," you would say, "I am in bed, dreaming."..You would know..that you were not here.
The Course says that if I were to ask you that same question right now,
the correct answer would be,.."I am not here.
I am asleep in Heaven,..'at home..in God, dreaming of exile'"..as a test of freewill...as a test..of being seperate..from the one good..[god]..having a life experience...with a life sentance..in this sepperation materialistic realm(T-10.I.2:1). And let's say..that we also planned..that we would show up in this room as different people.
Somebody would show up as Saddam Hussein and somebody else would show up as Franklin Roosevelt. And I would look at somebody who looks like Franklin Roosevelt and say, "Who are you really?"..And he would say, "I am so and so, lying in bed in my home,..dreaming that I am Franklin Roosevelt..in this room."
Similarly, the answer for the real life version is, "I am God,..lying asleep in Heaven,..dreaming that I am Janet Miller [a workshop participant]..or whoever,whenever/wherever..we are..in this room,..on this world."
The reason that this is so important is that it is our ticket to limitless self-esteem...There is no.."this"*IS.. me, there is just..God experiencing..itself as "this" me. Then all of my low self-esteem is my own delusion and who I am..is something of infinite worth..and possability..with only the probability..
we accord it... but dont judge it...except for the fruits that come..with testing..the theory the following is the left over bits from a topic..posted..at on line opinion forum..that i didnt get to postbecause i got banned from posting...talk about a reality check..]
xmass card topic
it was great when it lasted.was funny..but pushed the envelope too far..and my account suspended for on month...anyhow..for the topic that means life...it expires..before its end gets inspired
As with all of these passages, the evangelists' celebration of the birth of Jesus has been transformed into a celebration..of the birth of Christ..in us. Jesus' reversal of Christianity's reversal As I reflect on all we have just examined,..I am struck by the tension between Jesus' view of himself..[and us]..and Christianity's view of him.
As scholars have sifted through the Gospels..in search of the historical Jesus, the Jesus that has emerged..is a person who never spoke of himself..in exalted terms, but instead spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven..available..*to everyone. see that ye se me doye will do greater..[with the emphasis..on DOING..[loving activly..for other]
After his mortal-death,..however,..his followers did begin to exalt him, and the Jesus of history..was quickly overshadowed by the Christ..of faith. As we've seen,..the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke were part of this overall process...
As a result of this process, the focus of Christianity shifted..from Jesus' teachings..to Jesus..himself. It became a religion..*about him.but..he came to restore..his[our]..fathers house..*back to the father If the scholars are right..about the historical Jesus, then the Christian tradition's..exaltation of him is a profound reversal..of what he *actually taught.
And if the Course..is indeed written by Jesus, then it represents..a profound reversal..of that reversal. For the message of the Course is clearly not..*about him, but about..*all of us,..including him.
As we've seen,..one way..*he elevates all of us to..*the status..Christian tradition reserves..only for him..is through..his use..of the Gospel birth narratives. Throughout the Course,..he uses the very images..the Christian church created to exalt him..to exalt *everyone—to express once again his original message of the Kingdom of Heaven..that belongs to all of us,..
and is..*with/in..all of us.As Course students,..
we have a precious opportunity to participate in this..return to Jesus' original_message.
This holiday season,..whenever we encounter..the traditional Christmas story, let's infuse it..with the purpose Jesus has given it. Let's see it..as a celebration..not only of the birth..of Jesus, but of the birth..of Christ..*in everyone.
Let this be a season in which we celebrate our God-given equality*..with our beloved elder brother,Jesus. In equality..our union with God..and all our br-others lies in,..and as Jesus reminds us in the Course, "The gift of union* and is the only gift..that I was born..to give"..(T-15.X.3:4).
ok end quote..note*as to this days..baublei havnt a clue i think its about watersbaptism and such..but its all become..too much but it might be..the tree..that i lopped/chopped..or circum-scribedneeds only a good drink...to top up..the lop-top-off...juice[hey the 2 de miracle]plastic trees..dont drink..lol ..plastic spruce juice lol*love on lips!lips only lie?love only laughs?
well..thats my xmass card[lol]what did you thinki could keep on editing..for eve*r
oh well..never say never..isnt god clever..[lol]we're the problembut we are also..the only solutionhappy new earall the best..from the deer..who knows..our father within...allways is nearhere/hear?
How to Listen For Guidance
by Robert Perry
How many times have you heard,..or said,.."I ask for guidance, but I just don't hear anything"?. .Wouldn't it be great if A Course in Miracles gave us detailed instructions in precisely how..*to listen for..the Holy Spirit's messages?
Thankfully, it does exactly that. There is extensive training in Workbook Lessons 71-90..in how to receive..from the Holy Spirit...Significantly,every point in this training..is echoed by dictation Helen Schucman received..years earlier,on the day before..the Text started coming through. This dictation can be found in Ken Wapnick's Absence from Felicity..(p. 197).
I'll begin by commenting on this dictation, which was meant to help Bill Thetford..in his own listening..for guidance:QUOTE
1/..I can't answer..where he asks amiss.
2/..When he asks right..I have answered.
3/..He has a tendency..to get part of an answer and decide's for himself..when to disconnect...
He should ask..*if that is all. Since I don't know when he's going to ring off I have to be very short and even cryptic. It chops up messages..too much. Bill's first problem..is that he simply gives up..too soon. This forces Jesus..to make the messages.."very short and even cryptic,"
since he doesn't know..*when Bill will suddenly decide to quit (this is a brief reference to the power..of our free choice, which is so free that not even Jesus knows..what choices we will make).
4/..Bill simply needs to be more patient.
Jesus then goes on..to list "three major areas"..of interference..in Bill's reception of guidance:
1/..He doesn't have much real confidence..that I will get through.
2/..He never just claims his rights.
3/..He should begin with..much more confidence...I will keep my promises....
He has to learn..better concentration.
His mind..flits about too much..for good communication.[he needs to focus]..
i Suggest a very short phrase like "Here I am Lord" and then..*don't think of anything else...Just pull in..your mind slowly from that thought of everything and being..everywhere else and center it..on these words.
This will also give him..[bill]the realization that he..[Bill]..really is here. really is hearing from jesus..not his own thought...He's not too sure. Tell him..to be sure not to mistake your..[Helen's] role.
If he overreacts to..or over-evaluates you..as a person,..both of you will be in danger. The first of the three areas of interference is that Bill listens..without real confidence..that he'll actually hear. Receiving guidance..is one of his God-given rights.
Bill, however, "never just..claims his rights." When I first read that line..it hit me like a ton of bricks: "So I have a right..to God's guidance,..and I should claim that right." What a refreshing and empowering idea!
Asking tentatively and sheepishly..may seem courteous to Jesus, but it's actually a subtle accusation..that he is a liar,..for he has promised that he will be there..to answer us. If we believe that Jesus keeps his word, then we will listen..*with confidence.
The second area..is that Bill..has poor concentration. "His mind flits about too much." He needs to learn..how to still his mind so that it becomes truly receptive. Hearing the still,..small voice..with a mind full of chatter is like trying to hear someone whisper to you..*in a noisy room while you are still jabbering away.
Bill needs to learn..how to quiet his inner chatter, learning..the art of listening..[johan has the same problem..in verable conversation]but has learned to listen..as he reads...so that the room..of his mind gets so quiet he could hear a pin drop...[and occasionally the penny drops]
To help him..enter this state of inner silence, Jesus gives Bill..a meditation technique—one,in fact,..that was used by the famous seventeenth—century monk Brother Lawrence,..author of the spiritual classic..The Practice of the Presence of God.
The third problem area..is that Bill is over-estimating Helen's role. I assume this means..her role as receiver of Jesus' guidance...Certainly, he needs to respect her role,..but if he lets himself..get too dazzled by her ability to hear Jesus, this will simultaneously undermine his confidence..in his own ability,to focus on just listening..as well as weaken his motivation to try.
Overall,..Bill's approach seems to be,his belief/faith..this material realityto put it simply,..he is too weak....to have faith...in that he cant see/hear/smell/touch..materially.. He gives up too soon,..has little confidence that he'll hear,..doesn't concentrate enough,..and leans too much on Helen.
When it comes to listening for guidance,..in other words, he's a bit of a materialistic control freak...That sounds harsh until you realize that Jesus' critique applies to virtually every one of us...Surely you saw yourself in at least some of the above points...What,..then,..can we do to stop being "materialistic..guidance wimps"?
The answer is to really go through..the training provided in the Workbook. not just mouthing..the concepts..by rote..but practice..like any learned skill..The Workbook has a bank of lessons,..71-90,..designed to teach us how to listen to..and receive from..the Holy Spirit..(almost all the quotes below will be drawn from these lessons).
What I find amazing about the instruction..in these lessons is just how closely it reproduces..the private counsel given to Bill..nearly four years earlier. Except for the caution..about over-evaluating Helen's role,..every single point in Jesus' counsel to Bill..shows up as a main theme..in these lessons.
I'll list the points in the same order as we discussed them above: Listen in patience;..with expectation..not antisipation..paying attention..only to that good/pure/loving..[gracefilled..mercyfull].. don't give up too soon..!
to ask is to recieve..in fact the question..is often the result of percieving..the answer
you have allready recieved..the answer...thus knowing the question..its only a matter of recalling the answer..you allready have...[stored..in your unconscience]..
Once you have asked the Holy Spirit your question, "wait patiently for you to recall..the answer allrwady sent to you..from Him"..(W-pI.75.7:8). And while you wait,..periodically repeat your question...your re-quest[ion], not to remind..a forgetful Holy Spirit,..but to renew your own recall into attentiveness and your confidence..that you'll hear....that you allready recieved..[be..re-lieved]..
Whenever you feel your confidence wane..and your hope of success flicker and go out-side of the limitations of the question's bounds,..repeat your question..and your request...[re-call]..re-quest-[ion]..(W-pI.72.12:1)
While you wait,..repeat several times, slowly and..in complete patience..[your re-quest]...staying within the topic/relivive to the question..(W-pI.75.6:7)
Listen with confidence; claim your rights..to remembersee how..the thoughts you get relate to the topic..being questioned an egsample is worth a thousand wordssay you ask how should i react..[to this..'event'..or thingand all you..'get'..is say a kitten playing..the answer is of course...react playfuly
if its positive..its from godif it was say a kitten..eating a ratwell that cant be from god...its not good..[for the rat]The instructions for listening..repeatedly emphasize being confident that you'll hear....[but often...this hearing..is heard by..'seeing'
The lessons are full of language..designed to instill this confidence that the answer..is heard..but see hearing...is relitive as a measure of certaintywether you heard it or seen its image...in your minds reciever..regardless how it gets in you.
hear something...your mind pictures what its hearingthus even in hearing...your mind recierves it by images..it 'sees/hears..fels/smells...knows by recieption..into your minds awareness
They assure you..that you have a "claim/reasoning..to God's..[good]..answer"(W-pI.71.9:10)knowing, that.."He will answer"..or you couldnt have framed the question..(W-pI.72.12:5),
knowing that.."you heard..[thus dared to ask]..and you will be..[have allready been]..answered"(W-pI.79.10:6).
The attitude the course encourage's..is captured perfectly in this quote.. which sounds as-if..it could have been lifted straight from Jesus'..advice to Bill: There is a message/answer.. waiting for you. Be confident that you will receive..[re-call]..it's answer...even so..as you equally..framed the question...as you had gotten..allready..its reply
Remember that it belongs to you.to hear the answer..thus ask the question..(W-pI.rII.In.3:2-4) he gives only that we allready haveto ask means you allready recieved..think of it like teaching=learning..or what came first..god knows what we want..before even we do..he just likes..to let us think..we thunk it
Listen..[re-call]..in deep silence; wait for Him..in quiet expectancy..his reply preceeded..your asking the question...how amassing thou art lord..another preception..to frame into words
think of arnold...[different strokes]..asking 'say/what?'...mainly because he didnt comprehend...gods comunication fully..but did frame its question..
that arises from that..allready given...
thus we ask the question..to rehear..the answer..allready given
so god speaks...[we say]...'say what..ie frame the question
and our still quite [unconsience..gives its echo/reply]
According to the Workbook's instructions,..so much of the task..[gift] of hearing the Holy Spirit..comes down to..one..:the question: How still..can you get your mind?
SAY;..what?
The Course puts it plainly:.."Learn to be quiet, for His Voice..is heard in stillness"...[ie recall]..recollection..remembering...hearing the faint..[echo](M 15.2:12).
This stillness,..however,..should not be passive..and/or lax.
Rather,it should be an alert,..attentive,..expectant stillness. to recall..[that already given]..that framed the question..[echo]..in you Your mind should be poised,..recalling/remembering..that prior..the questionie the allready given...'answer'[in-spi-ration]....gods..still quite voice...gives us continually..waiting for the recall..[echo]..of the answer...with every ounce of your attention...that recalls that definitive...that brought about the question..[say what?]
think of it as a playback loop...Combining a quiet restfulness..with a poised alertness that is central..to the inner_art..of listening...that remembers
The following quotes..capture this delicate combination:..Spend the..*major part of the time listening quietly but attentively...knowing..to question..means a reply has allready been given..recall it..(W-pI.rII.In.3:1)
Hold your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice That speaks the truth to you....untill you dont even need the recall of a question to realise you allready have answer..(W-pI.76.9:2)
Wait in silent expectancy..for the truth...all the time..gods time..not thyne(W-pI.94.4:1)
he knows your ready..before you are...answers...that we question..
Of course,..holding your mind in a state of alert, receptive waiting..
is something most of us can't maintain for more than about half a minute...
but its simply being aware..
living in gods ever now moment...everything has meaning..just like every page of a book..tells the story of the life...progression..of the books life story..
Just like Bill,..our minds flit about..too much.living others stories...trying to be..'in'..their book.. This is why..the Workbook..instructs us to draw them back again and again..and again—..as often as we need to...to be in our own story book
Review II, in which we listen..for ten to fifteen minutes, this urges us to be absolutely determined to keep our minds on track: "Do not allow your intent to waver"..(W-pI.rII.In.4:1); "Refuse to be sidetracked"..(W-pI.rII.In.5:2).
you thunk it..means god sent it..
now just recolect it..till you get instant re-call
live time..all the time.....live in gods holy instant..[now]..
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I hope you can see just how serious the Course is about us learning how to receive guidance.
The last thing it wants us to do is fail to try in the assumption that we are unable to hear. Like Bill, we can be so dazzled by Helen's ability that we neglect to develop our own. True, some people do have more ability to hear the Holy Spirit, but presumably this is only because, like Helen, they developed their ability in the remote past.
We can develop ours in the present.
If we will train ourselves to listen in patience, in confidence, and in silence, we too can begin to hear that sublime Voice with increasing clarity and with greater frequency.
Hearing God's Voice Means Joining..the dots..filterd by love
if its of god..its all good..
We are simply reciprocating the move that God has already made.
We are simply turning in the direction of a Presence ..that has never left us,
that is always here, ...holding out His Hand in welcome.
Are we willing to step outside our ego's lonely hall of mirrors,
take this Hand, and be lifted into this eternal encounter?
other articles were from mainly the last few
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