Please take time this morning to read, “What is Salvation,” to contemplate Lesson 237, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation:

Time With Your Self

Now would I be as God created me.

Today, as I write this tip, a number of events are in the American news:

Hurricane Harvey recently stalled over southeast Texas resulting in the worst rainfall disaster in US history. Approximately 20,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by flooding, and tens of thousands of people were displaced.

Hurricane Irma, the largest and strongest hurricane to ever form in the Atlantic Ocean, has just pummeled islands in the Caribbean Sea and is heading straight for Florida.

An 8.1 magnitude earthquake just struck southern Mexico. It is the strongest earthquake to hit Mexico in a century. Tsunami warnings have been triggered.

North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, is obsessed with the development of a nuclear warhead that is able to strike US soil.

On the day when you read this tip, there will be something else in the news, but there will be something. There may also be a challenge occurring in your personal life.

I am reminded of something Ramana Maharshi said when bandits broke into his ashram to rob it. In the process of the robbery, they beat Ramana Maharshi. One of his devotees, upon seeing what the men had done to Maharshi, grabbed an iron instrument lying near by and wanted to go after the robbers and get revenge. Ramana Maharshi replied, “We are sadhus [spiritual disciples]. We should not give up our dharma [way of being].”

This, I feel, is the meaning of today’s workbook lesson.

Now would I be as God created me.

“Now” implies now, regardless of appearances and events. Even if I am being robbed and beaten, I will be as God created me. I will be the peace of God, because that is what I am. Through being peace, I “allow the light in me to shine upon the world throughout the day. I bring the world the tidings of salvation which I hear as God my Father speaks to me.”

Remaining as the peace that I am under all circumstances is the meaning of Jesus’ statement, “Turn the other cheek.”

Today, as you go through your day, there will be events in world news and circumstances that arise in your personal experience. As these things occur, remember to be the presence of peace. Even if you find yourself getting upset, remain the presence of peace throughout the upset by practicing rest-accept-trust or the Loving All Method.

Now would I be as God created me.

This is what the world needs from us. This is what we need from us. This is the practice of our truth, our dharma.

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Salvation,” to contemplate Lesson 236, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description N

I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.

The Teachings of Inner Ramana says, “Mind is like a tool that must be used if one is to experience this world in any way. Mind is the tool of perception. Perception can only be experienced through mind. But this is not the same as saying that mind controls perception or that one must listen to the chattering or problems and solutions of mind.”

The human mind is an incredible thing. It is also an integral part of the experience of human. This really stood out to me when I saw the movie, Jungle Book. The boy, Mowgli, thought differently than his animal friends did. His mind thought of tools that would help solve everyday challenges, like getting honey from a beehive without being stung. Some of his animal caretakers thought his human contraptions were foolish, until he was able to devise a way to rescue a baby elephant from a large hole that it had fallen into. That’s when the other animals accepted the usefulness of the human mind.

The human mind has value. The problem isn’t the human mind. It’s a neutral tool. The problem is that we’ve forgotten what we are. We aren’t the mind, and we certainly aren’t slaves to the mind’s chatter. We are awareness-life-presence.

It’s just as Michael Langford has written in The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss:

“As an example for clarification, you could view thinking and memory as something like a computer program. Within that computer program is a virus. The virus is called the ‘I thought’. The virus controls the program. The I thought controls all thinking. The virus pretends to be your self. The I thought pretends to be your self. The virus creates tremendous sorrow and suffering. The I thought creates tremendous sorrow and suffering. None of the sorrow or suffering is needed. What is needed is to delete the virus that pretends to be ‘I’. What is needed is to delete the imposter self. “

In other words, we need to remember what we are and what the mind is. It is a tool available for our use, but it is not our ruler.

Reflect frequently today on what you are and what the mind is. Notice when you are using the mind (just like you use a computer), and when you are allowing the mind to use you.

When you notice that you are allowing the mind to use you, step back into your Self. Remember your Self. You are primary to the mind. Abide as your Self.

If you need help shifting from identification with the mind to Self-realization, rest the mind and let help come to you. Help will come from the “Thought of peace” which “was given to God’s Son the instant that his mind had thought of war. There was no need for such a Thought before, … But when the mind is split there is a need of healing. So the Thought that has the power to heal the split became a part of every fragment of the mind that still was one, …”

If you have time for a second meditation today, you might enjoy this meditation:

Respecting Humanness

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Salvation,” to contemplate Lesson 235, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth

AWA Description M

God in His mercy wills that I be saved.

Sometimes we experience resistance and frustration with the spiritual path and with ourselves as spiritual students. The superego (the self-criticizing part of the ego) is always ready to tell us how poorly we are doing on this path. It whispers that we will never awaken; we are not good enough to awaken.

The idea that we will never awaken is called “doubt.” Doubt is an ego preservation strategy, because if we believe doubt, we won’t fully dedicate ourselves to spiritual practice. Doubt, when it is believed, holds us back.

Ramana Maharshi said, “Realization is our true nature. It is nothing new to be gained. … Therefore there is no need to be doubting whether we would gain or lose the Self.” He recommended looking to see who or what doubts. When we look carefully, we notice the mind (the ego) doubts.

With right-reason, we can see that doubt benefits the ego. It is in our best interest to disregard doubt and continue with spiritual practice.

Doubt seems strongest when the ego is loud in our mind. That is when the superego is eager to tell us that we are spiritual failures. Interestingly, that is also when the ego is most vulnerable. That is when we have the best opportunity for healing the mind and transcending the ego. In other words, the ego attacks loudest when it feels itself losing control of our attention. It is fighting to “regain command and control.” (NTI Acts 14)

It has always been helpful for me to realize that when I appear to be failing, I am about to reach a break-through. The break-through will come if I do not give in to the ego voice. During the midst of the ego’s struggle, I choose to stick with my spiritual aspiration and with spiritual practice to the best of my ability (which seemed better on some days than others).

Today’s lesson says, “I need but look upon all things that seem to hurt me, and with perfect certainty assure myself, ‘God wills that I be saved from this,’ …”

That faith can be very important when the ego gets loud. We are not alone. The Self, with all of its knowledge, wisdom and love, is right here supporting us in our efforts to awaken to our Self.

Lesson 234

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Salvation,” to contemplate Lesson 234, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description L

Father, today I am Your Son again.

Today, we will notice our true Self throughout the day. Here are some questions you can use to help shift your attention for short glimpses of awareness throughout the day.

What is here, present, that has always been here and present?

What is constant (non-changing) as what I am?

What sees this sensation/pain?

What is aware of this sound?

What is here as I while this mood is present
that was also here as I when another mood was present?

What is giving attention to these thoughts?

What is aware of the body and the environment the body is in?

Also, here are some very brief exercises that you can try at different times during your day today. I recommend taking a break from whatever you are doing at 4 different times in your day, and giving your full attention to one video during each break. Each video is under 10 minutes long. Don’t just watch the video. Try the experiments as you watch or immediately after watching the video.

Loch Kelly – Awareness of Awareness

Richard Lang – Who are we really? (1B)

Douglas Harding – Out of Body Experiment

Greg Goode – A Guided Self-Inquiry Exercise

The videos above are for breaks during the day. This last video (14 mins) is for nighttime, just before going to bed:

Rupert Spira – How Do I Practice Self-Inquiry?

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Salvation,” to contemplate Lesson 233, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description K

I give my life to God today.

Nisargadatta Maharaj said that in order to realize the Self, you need the right teacher. He went on to say:

“Generally speaking, there are two ways: external and internal. Either you live with somebody who knows the Truth and submit yourself entirely to his guiding and shaping influence, or you seek the inner guide and follow the inner light wherever it takes you. In both cases your personal desires and fears must be disregarded. … If you are earnest, whatever way you choose will take you to your goal. It is the earnestness that is the decisive factor.”

Our way is a combination of the external teacher and the internal teacher. We have structure laid out by the external—by A Course in Miracle Workbook for Students, by Gentle Healing Homework Assignments, by Tips from Regina—but most of the time we are left alone with our internal teacher, inner spiritual intuition. Within the structure given by the external, it is the internal we need to submit ourselves to. We submit ourselves to its “guiding and shaping influence” by asking, “What am I to do now?”

Today’s lesson is very clear. An important part of salvation is surrender. We surrender our thoughts, we surrender our actions, and we surrender without questioning the guidance of the teacher. (Note: Nisargadatta does indicate that not all external teachers are trustworthy. Therefore, the wisdom of the internal must guide us in selecting the external.)

It’s important to notice that Nisargadatta said “your personal desires and fears must be disregarded.” If we let our personal desires and fears lead us to ignore the guidance of the teacher, we will remain attached to the ego.

True surrender transcends the personality-mind entirely.

There is a paragraph from The Teachings of Inner Ramana that has been coming to my mind over the last two days. That paragraph says:

“Watch the mind carefully. Notice how it wants to judge my words or judge my methods. Notice how it wants to choose against me and decide what is best for itself. That is the confusion-mechanism. That questioning and doubting feature, which is a core mechanism within the mind, is a separation-creation mechanism that keeps you blind to the truth.”

First, we can ask ourselves if we are remembering to seek the guidance of the inner teacher by asking, “What am I to do now?” Next, we need to ask if we are following the intuition we receive, or are we judging for ourselves whether we want to follow or not?

Yesterday we recommitted to following the instructions laid out by one of our external teachers, A Course in Miracles Workbook for Students. Today, we recommit to seeking guidance from the inner teacher, and we commit to follow the guidance we receive.

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Salvation,” to contemplate Lesson 232, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description J

Be in my mind, my Father, through the day.

Throughout this section of A Course in Miracles Workbooks for Students, we are using this process:

1 – Each day read and contemplate the “special theme” that we are currently working with. Currently that theme is, “What is Salvation?”

2 – Contemplate the day’s workbook lesson.

3 – Spend time in meditation.

4 – Recall the day’s workbook lesson hourly.

5 – Spend at least a brief time with the workbook lesson and/or meditation before going to bed at night.

Maybe you’ve remembered to follow all five steps in this current process, maybe you’ve forgotten part of it, or maybe you decided to skip part of the process because you thought it wasn’t important for you. Today is an opportunity to recommit to the entire process that is requested in this section of the workbook.

I look at it this way: We have been vigilant for the ego. However, we joined this group because there is a calling in us. The calling is to be vigilant for salvation. It’s what we want. That’s why we’re here, so let’s do it.

NTI Luke, Chapter 5 says:

“Old habits must be let go, for old habits will not usher in a new day. With old habits, all things remain the same. But with new habits, all things are possible.

I have come to teach you new habits. You will learn these habits by practicing them as I ask. Remember Me, and practice.

You will catch yourself practicing the old habits, for this has been your way until now. Slipping into old habits does not ruin the new ones. So when you find yourself doing this, forgive yourself your attraction to the old by stepping away from the old and stepping into the new. Each time you do this, you help yourself to unlearn the old and to learn the new.”

So today, let’s remember our desire for salvation and recommit to practicing the workbook lessons in the way the workbook asks us to.

Today we begin a new special theme, “What is Salvation?” Salvation is an idea that has no meaning in truth. Awareness-life-presence is unchanged, so it does not need salvation.

At the same time, attention, which is the moving aspect of presence, has the ability to taste anything it dips into. Since it has dipped deeply into thought, emotion and appearance, it has become confused about what it is. It is like sunlight that shines through a stained glass window. It has taken on the appearance of red and green and blue. However, attention has identified with the appearance, thereby forgetting that it has no color at all.

Salvation is undoing this misidentification. The means of salvation is “failing to support” the misidentification. We do that in two ways:

1. Forgiveness. Instead of believing thought, emotion and appearance, and instead of acting based on belief, we watch thought, emotion and appearance without acting from it. We abide as presence. When we are not able to do that easily, we use inquiry or another forgiveness tool to help us see through and detach from mistaken beliefs.

 

2. Awareness-watching-awareness meditation. Instead of going out into appearance, attention is brought back to its source. When attention pays attention to presence, it sees that it is one with presence and the same as presence. It therefore remembers itself as presence and drops the confusion that it is appearance.

Father, I will but to remember You.

Appearance is full of variety. Therefore, it is tempting to mind and attention. When mind and attention are unleashed, they jump around from one desire to another.

There is nothing wrong with experiencing temporary appearance. Attention was created so that we can experience appearance. However, the grasping energy of desire is a distortion of this ability. I call it a distortion because it is based on a sense of lack. It is based on the idea that I am not fulfilled within my beingness, so I need something else from outside of me to fulfill me.

When we looked at Lesson 185, we looked carefully at our desires. We asked, “Why do I want this thing that I desire? What do I expect to get from it?” We saw that what we really seek is the peace of truth realization. We seek the fulfillment of knowing our Self. That is our true desire.

Today, we remember this again.

If you have 30-minutes for meditation today, and you would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation:

Desire for Truth

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Forgiveness,” to contemplate Lesson 230, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description I

Today is our last day with the special theme, “What is Forgiveness?” If you have time during the day today, listen again to the audio teaching on “What is Forgiveness?”.

Now will I seek and find the peace of God.

The peace of God is not found in thought. Also, thought is not what you are. These statements are keys to finding the peace of God.

The peace of God is not found in thought. – If you observe thought, you will notice there are some joyful, peaceful thoughts, but those thoughts are not constant. All thoughts come and go. When attention is focused on the movement of thought, you experience change. If thoughts are currently joyful or peaceful, you have those experiences temporarily. However, when they are replaced by worrisome thoughts, thoughts of guilt or unworthiness, blame, annoyance, anger, etcetera, you experience loss of peace.

The peace of God is constant. Since thought is not constant, the peace of God cannot be found in thought.

Thought is not what you are. – Today’s workbook lesson says, “In peace I was created. And in peace do I remain. It is not given me to change my Self.”

Peace is what you are.

Today, when you pay attention to awareness during meditation, notice it is perfect peace. Thoughts change, and thoughts come and go, but the awareness they arise in is perfectly open, changeless peace.

Also, as you watch awareness today, notice that you are not thought. You are the perfectly open, changeless peace that thought arises in. If an emotion arises, notice you are not emotion. Like thought, emotion comes and goes; emotions change. But you are the awareness that is aware of emotion. You are the perfectly open, changeless peace that emotions arise in.

To seek and find the peace of God is merely to seek our Self. To know the peace of God is to identify with our ever-present Self, instead of identifying with the moving show of thought.

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Forgiveness,” to contemplate Lesson 229, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description H

Love, which created me, is what I am.

Love is open, all-embracing, perfectly allowing and naturally accepting.

There is no judgment in love. It does not compare. There is no resistance in love. It does not wish for something that is different than what is. Love is not controlling. It does not manipulate. Love is quietly and peacefully present with what is.

Your true nature is love. The ego is not love.

Our purpose now is to live from our true nature, and let go of the ego illusion. I call it the “ego illusion,” because the ego pretends to be you, but it is not. Therefore, it is an illusion of you, but not the truth of you.

Today, while observing awareness-presence in meditation, notice it is love. Notice it is incapable of being anything but love. It has no judgment in it, no comparison, and no resistance. Also, notice it is what you are. This means, of course, that you are love.

Throughout the day today, remember to practice the Loving All Method. If you would like another review of the Loving All Method, read Chapter 12 of The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss again. Notice that when you practice the Loving All Method, you are practicing abiding as love.

Today, I practiced two meditations. First, I practiced AWA Description H (above). Next, I listened to an older mediation audio called “Love Meditation.” It is a fantasy meditation. I found the instructions from Description H naturally stayed with me as I listened to the Love Meditation. There were different feelings and a few thoughts that occurred during the Love Meditation, but as I concentrated on awareness in a relaxed manner, it was easy to see that I am the love that allowed the experience that occurred during the Love Meditation. There were a few thoughts; there were feelings; I am the openness (love) that allowed them.

The Love Meditation

If you would like to do both meditations, I recommend practicing Description H before listening to the Love Meditation. If you do not have time for both meditations in the morning, I recommend practicing Description H in the morning, and then listening to the Love Meditation later in the day.

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Forgiveness,” to contemplate Lesson 228, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 40-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation for today:

Am I the Body?

God has condemned me not. No more do I.

Each one of us identifies with a large number of ideas. For example:

• I am [name, age, & gender].
• I am [career or other role in life].
• I am good/bad with money.
• I am healthy/sick/in constant pain.
• I am smart/stupid.
• I am athletic/in poor shape.
• I am busy/bored.
• I am compassionate/uncaring.
• I am addicted/self-disciplined.
• I am outgoing/introverted.
• I am responsible/a procrastinator.
• I am detail-oriented/likely to make mistakes.
• I am outdoorsy/a couch potato.
• I am artistic/handy/unskilled.
• I am intuitive/confused.
• I am energetic/lethargic.
• I am blessed/unlucky.
• I am attractive/not much to look at.

I could go on all day, because we each carry so many identifications in our minds.

Today’s lesson points out that each of these mental identities condemns us to a limited view of our self. We overlook our truth and believe a limited self-identity whenever we identify with an idea, positive or negative.

If you look at the list above, you will be able to find some ideas that you identify with. However, is that what you are? For example, if you identify with smart, have you ever felt stupid? If you identify as one who is likely to make mistakes, have you ever been praised for a job well done?

It doesn’t matter what idea we identify with. When we identify with an idea, we put on blinders. We ignore our unlimited nature by thinking, “I am [this idea].”

Let’s pay attention to the ideas we identify with. When you notice an idea of identification, pause and look at it with inquiry. Is it true that you are that? Is that constant and unchanging, always you? Or is that a temporary experience that your mind has latched onto? Is it just a mental identity, or is it what you really are?

What are you? What can you find that is constant and unchanging, and clearly you? Can you find ‘you’ that is beyond all ideas?

Here is a message that I received from Holy Spirit in 2007 that further explores the point of today’s lesson:

If You Are Both