Death is defined in the dictionary as, “the permanent ending of vital processes.”

Vital is defined as, “full of energy, lively.”

Process is defined as “a natural series of changes.”

This means that death would be the permanent end of life-energy in all of its forms. Anyone who is willing to look with reason can see that death has never occurred. Life-energy in all of its forms has never ceased. It is just as the old saying says, “Life keeps going.” It’s true that transitions occur. Change is always happening at the level of form. But life itself cannot end.

Awakening is realizing that all of life is life itself, ongoing, and not the temporary form.

Today’s workbook lesson defines death as an idea, and nothing more. It says this idea “underlies all feelings that are not supremely happy.” That is because happiness is a natural characteristic of life aware of itself. Whenever we are not supremely happy, our attention is distracted from our truth as life.

Let’s look at how this is experienced.

Imagine I am unhappy because my daughter prefers to stay in her room instead of joining the rest of the family for a day of activity. First, I look to see what I am feeling specifically. I notice that I feel a sense of loss, like something is missing from this day. In my perception, the day is not perfect because of my daughter’s decision.

I recognize that the idea “today is not perfect” is the wish for something different. I continue the practice from yesterday’s workbook lesson, and I pause to appreciate awareness-life-presence. I let go of all thoughts about my daughter’s decision, and I reflect deeply on the perfection of awareness-life-presence as it is.

After a few moments of appreciating awareness-life-presence, I look back at the idea that there is loss today. Is that true? Did I find loss in awareness-life-presence as I reflected on it? No, there was no loss in awareness-life-presence. It was exactly the same as it always is. The idea of loss was just a thought in my mind. I was able to experience it to the degree that I let my attention focus on it, but that idea has no affect on awareness-life-presence.

Let’s practice in this way today. Whenever you notice that you are not happy, take these steps:

1 – Look briefly to get some clarity regarding the specific feeling of unhappiness. (e.g., In the example above, the unhappiness was specifically a feeling of loss.)

2 – Look at the specific feeling, and notice it is a form of the wish for something different. You might ask yourself, “Do I think I would be happier if this was different than it is?” If the answer is yes, it is the wish for something different.

3 – Shift your attention to notice and appreciate awareness-life-presence for a few moments. During this time, let go of your thoughts about the situation related to your unhappiness. Give full, restful attention to noticing awareness-life-presence as it is.

4 – Next, look with reason to see if the specific feeling of unhappiness is a fact that was noticed in awareness-life-presence or just a thought in the mind. (For example, if the feeling is rejection, is there any rejection found in awareness-life-presence or is awareness-life-presence the same as it always is? If the specific feeling is guilt, is there any guilt found in awareness-life-presence? Etcetera.)

5 – With the recognition that there was no affect on awareness-life-presence, say to yourself, “There is one life, and that I share with God.”

Note: If you feel you do not have time to look at unhappiness fully during the day, you may go back to it with your journal at the end of the day.

As mentioned during my tip for lesson 164, NTI teaches that the ego began with the wish for something different than what is. Because that is the basis of the ego, that is a key element of the ego thought system. If you pay attention to your mind, you will see that this idea shows up in one form or another multiple times each day.

Every time we think we do not have enough, there is the wish for something different.

Every time we complain about how things are, there is the wish for something different.

Every time we resist a task we need to complete, there is the wish for something different.

Every time we judge ourselves or someone else as not good enough, there is the wish for something different.

Etcetera.

Today’s lesson talks about he who “wanders on in misery and poverty, alone though God is with him, and a treasure his so great that everything the world contains is valueless before its magnitude.”

The treasure “so great that everything the world contains is valueless before its magnitude” is awareness-life-presence.

Reflect upon that for a moment. Without awareness-life-presence, nothing would be. The sound of a bird’s song or the sound of waves rolling onto the beach, the sight of a beautiful sunset or the sight of a herd of deer moving through the pines—nothing that symbolizes the treasure of life could be without awareness-life-presence. Awareness-life-presence is the basis of everything we treasure, and therefore it is the greatest treasure of all.

We wander alone “in misery and poverty” whenever we listen to the ego thought system with the wish for something different at its foundation. We are not satisfied with the treasure of awareness-life-presence. Instead, we choose unhappiness as we seek for something different. Even after change occurs, we seek for something different again. Therefore, one who is focused on the ego thought system is never happy for long, because the wish for something different continues to heckle him/her.

Today we will shift our attention from unhappiness to happiness, from the wish for something different to appreciation for the magnificent treasure that is always present.

Each time you notice the wish for something different in your mind today, pause. Shift your attention to awareness-life-presence, and spend a few moments appreciating it. Be as vigilant in this practice as you can be. I say this, because the wish for something different is a strong habit; it could occur many times during the day without you noticing it.

For example, the wish for something different may show up as the wish for more time to get things done, or as the wish for fewer things to do. It may show up as the wish for less traffic or a shorter line at the grocery store. It may show up as the wish that someone around you were different than he/she is. It may show up as the wish that you were different or that your body was different. It may show up as the wish that the world was different than it is.

Pay attention today for the wish for something different in whatever way it shows up in your thoughts, and then shift attention to notice the treasure. Let yourself feel appreciation for awareness-life-presence. Follow that by slowly saying to yourself, “I am entrusted with the gifts of God.”

Since Lesson 156, I walk with God in perfect holiness, we have spent the majority of our days noticing awareness-life-presence. We have noticed it is always present. We have noticed it is what we are. And yet, most of us do not fully realize our Self as awareness-life-presence. Why?

The answer is, the mind denies truth, and we continue to believe the mind.

Here are some common doubt thoughts that arise in the mind of a spiritual aspirant:

~ I do not want truth enough.

~ I do not practice well enough.

~ The truth is out of reach.

~ I do not give enough time to practice in order to realize truth.

~ I do not know what truth is.

~ I will never realize truth.

~ I am not good enough to realize truth.

~ Truth does not exist.

All of these doubt thoughts deny truth. When any one of these thoughts is believed, it keeps us from noticing awareness-life-presence now. And as yesterday’s lesson said, “What time but now can truth be recognized? The present is the only time there is. And so today, this instant, now, we come to look upon what is forever there.”

Today’s workbook lesson encourages us to practice with hope, because hope counteracts doubt.

What if we replaced every thought of doubt with a thought of hope? For example, we could replace, “I do not want truth enough” with “I must want truth more than I think, because spirituality is an ongoing focus in my life.”

Which do you think benefits the purpose of awakening more: negative thoughts of doubt or positive thoughts of hope? Which do you think benefits the ego more?

Let’s do two things today:

1 – Pay particular attention to discover the thoughts of doubt that you listen to. Look at those thoughts with reason, meaning notice that those thoughts serve the ego and discourage spiritual aspiration. Look for reasonable thoughts of hope to replace them with, thoughts that encourage you instead of discouraging you.

2 – Continue to notice awareness-life-presence. Throughout the day, each time you remember, take a moment to notice that you are aware and you exist. Even when you are distracted from awareness-life-presence by doubt, you are still aware and you still exist. Doubt does not change the truth; it only denies it.

Yesterday we compared the impermanence of problems with the eternal nature of the Self. Today, we will continue to focus on the Self. Today, we will let our desires remind us to turn our attention to life-presence.

Today’s lesson encourages us to be faithful in our practice. It says, “Faithfulness in practicing today will bring rewards so great and so completely different from all things you sought before, that you will know that here your treasure is, and here your rest. Now is the balance righted, … The valuable and the valueless are both perceived and recognized for what they are. … Open the curtain in your practicing by merely letting go all things you think you want. … Is not Christ’s vision worthy to be sought above the world’s unsatisfying goals? Let not today slip by without the gifts it holds for you …; you can exchange all suffering for joy this very day. Practice in earnest, and the gift is yours.”

Here is how we shall practice in earnest today:

Whenever you notice that attention has gone to a desire, whether it seems to be a small, insignificant desire or a bigger, seemingly more important one, pause. Turn attention inward to life-presence. Be aware of awareness. Look at it. Does it have a desire now or is it simply presently being? Rest with attention on awareness-life-presence, noticing it for a few moments.

After spending a few moments noticing life-presence, notice that desire comes from attention on thought, not from awareness-life-presence. Notice that awareness-life-presence simply is. Notice that thought wants something different or something more.

Earlier this year, we read NTI Romans, Chapters 2 & 3. These chapters described the beginning of the ego as the wish for something different than what is.

As you look, notice that wish for something different than what is, is in thought. And then look again at awareness-life-presence. Notice that awareness-life-presence is what is. Notice it is always present, simply being what it is.

Notice thought is an object that you can be interested in or not interested in, but either way, thought is not you. You are the one interested or not interested in thought. Notice you are awareness-life-presence. Say to yourself slowly, “Now I am one with my Source.”

Everything that is born, dies. This is the law of impermanence. Yet, today’s lesson says that death is a false belief. It says that we are mistaken when we believe that death holds “all living things within its withered hand; … it alone will surely come.”

So which is a statement of truth? Impermanence or ‘there is no death’?

Both. It is true that everything that is born, dies. If something has a beginning, it will also have an end. But it is also true that what has no beginning, has no end. The question becomes, which are you? Were you born? Or are you that which always existed and always will?

Today’s lesson says, “Either all things die, or else they live and cannot die. No compromise is possible.” Yet, you can watch a flower come into being, live a short time and then wither and die. What is this lesson talking about?

Today’s lesson is looking beyond form, which is temporary, to the spirit of all living things, which is eternal. Life itself, which is God and is all things, has no beginning and no end. For life, death is impossible. You can see that if you look beyond specifics.

For example, one flower may blossom and then wither and die, but if you look around, can you find life elsewhere once the flower dies? Is there life in the tree? In the insect? In you? Did life die when the flower died?

We all experience the death of loved ones in our lifetimes. This is a very sad event when it occurs. Yet, has life died when the loved one died? Or can we still find life living?

Temporary form comes and goes. That is the law of impermanence. But life lives. That is all it can do. That is its nature.

Awakening is the realization that you (and other living things) are not the temporary form. You are life itself.

It’s true that the temporary form of the body-personality that you experience now will end, but you cannot die. Life has no end.

Today we will continue to practice Self-inquiry by looking throughout the day to notice life-presence as what we are.

Today, when your mind thinks about a problem that you are facing, try this exercise:

Look at the problem that the mind is thinking about. Ask yourself, “Has this problem always been here? Will this problem, in one way or another, have an end?” And then notice that as an example of impermanence.

Next, shift attention to your Self. Ask, “What am I? What is aware of these thoughts about a problem?” Look carefully to notice the life-presence that is aware of thought. Notice that in your experience, you, as life-presence, has always been constant. You have experienced the coming and going of many problems, but this life-presence has remained the same. Reflect for a few moments on the continuous nature of life-presence, and then say to yourself, “There is no death. The son of God is free.”

For another effective method of noticing your free Self today, instead of being identified with thoughts about temporary problems, watch this 5-minute video by Loch Kelly:

There are two sides to the coin of awakening. One is letting go of the false self through self-inquiry, which is questioning the false self in order to recognize that it isn’t you; it is merely attachment to thought. The other is recognizing and embracing the true Self through Self-inquiry, a form of devotion where you repeatedly focus on the true Self until it is your only experience.

Yesterday we focused on self-inquiry by looking at our anger. Today we will focus on Self-inquiry.

The lessons says, “I am as God created me. This single thought, held firmly in the mind, would save the world. …. There is no dream these words will not dispel; no thought of sin and no illusion which the dream contains that will not fade away before their might. They are the trumpet of awakening that sounds around the world. … And those who live and hear this sound will never look on death.”

The single thought that has the power the Course speaks of is not the intellectual idea, ‘I am as God created me.’ It is the realization ‘I am as God created me.’ Today we seek to have many glimpses of this realization. “Holy indeed is he who makes these words his own; arising with them in his mind, recalling them throughout the day, at night bringing them with him as he goes to sleep.”

Take many pauses today to notice life-presence in yourself. Pause and ask yourself, “Do I exist now?” And then relax and notice that you do. Ask, “Am I aware now?” And then relax and notice that you are.

When you have a few minutes for a little deeper practice, sit quietly and notice how much awareness can be aware of at once. Notice that it is aware of sounds ahead of you, behind you and to each side simultaneously. Notice it is aware of sensations in the body. It is aware of thoughts in the mind. Notice it is aware of both the outer world (sights & sounds) and the inner world (sensations and thoughts) simultaneously. And as you notice this, notice you are awareness. You are that which is aware of the outer and inner world. Stay a few moments more, resting as awareness.

If you would like some coaching about how to experience many glimpses of the Self throughout the day, consider watching this 11-minute video by Bentinho Massaro. This is a video that I have shared before, but you may be ready to notice more in it now:

In yesterday’s tip, I said that anger is one form of fear. Today’s workbook lesson begins by saying, “Today we practice differently, and take a stand against our anger, that our fears may disappear and offer room to love.”

What does the Course lesson mean when it says, “Today we practice differently?”

Over the last several lessons, we have been generalizing. For example, we spent a few days focusing on life-presence in everything that we saw. Yesterday we inquired into fear regardless of the form it took. But today we will practice differently by being specific. Today we will look specifically at anger.

Why is this helpful?

The mind thinks in specifics. If you look at the room you are sitting in right now, awareness can immediately be aware of everything the eyes see, but the mind looks specifically. It may think, for example, “I see a chair, a wall hanging, my shoes that I didn’t put away last night, a carpet that needs to be replaced, a wall, a heater vent, …”

As mentioned when we started Gentle Healing, a part of what we are doing is reprogramming the brain. In order to do that, we need to get down to the brain’s level. That is, we need to work in specifics.

So today we will focus on anger.

Depending on your personality, you may experience anger in one way or another. Some people allow themselves to experience outright fury and hatred. Others repress that, so that anger might be experienced as mere annoyance. The first practice of the day will help you tune into your anger, regardless of how you experience it. You are asked to “Select one brother.” Let that one be one that you feel some grievance with, and this will give you a chance to look at your anger.

The lesson asks you to “See his face, his hands and feet, his clothing.” Etcetera. I ask you to go a little further. Look at what angers you about him/her. Let your mind temporarily dwell on those characteristics, but as you do, keep one eye turned inward so that it is looking at your thoughts and noticing they are your thoughts. Let me demonstrate:

I am thinking of Cassie. She is big in size. Tall and over-weight. She smiles all of the time, like she’s happy to be better than everyone else, happy to know more than others know. She talks all of the time as if she’s right about everything. She never listens. Whenever I try to speak, she cuts me off after half a sentence. She thinks she knows what I was going to say, and then she goes on to tell me how I’m wrong. She doesn’t ever listen to me. She’s wrong about everything because she never listens to anyone else. She only knows her point of view, which is extremely narrow-minded. I really don’t like being around her at all.

Okay, now looking back at what I wrote: I see that I focused on her as a body, “tall and over-weight.” From there, I went directly into her smile, and I interpreted its meaning. I decided she smiles because she thinks she is better than everyone else. I see that I believe this. I see that I think I know what she is thinking. I see that I believe I am right. I see that when I look at her in this way, I think I am better than her. I notice that I feel annoyed by how much she talks. That is my anger. I’m also angry that she never listens to me. I must be afraid of something there. What am I afraid of?

Why am I angry at Cassie? Because she talks all of the time as if she is right about everything, and she never listens to me even when I know more than she does.

Why does that bother me? Because I think she should listen to me.

Why does it anger me (scare me) that she doesn’t listen to me? I’m afraid that I am not as valuable or as important as I would like to appear. Maybe I am meaningless, not needed.

Through the process of looking at anger with one person, we can uncover fear thinking that we are identified with. For example, “I’m afraid that I am not as valuable or as important as I would like to appear. Maybe I am meaningless, not needed.”

The lesson asks us to say to this one, “Give me your blessing, holy Son of God. I would behold you with the eyes of Christ, and see my perfect sinlessness in you.”

I ask you to go a little further. Ask yourself, “What is really upsetting me? Is it him/her or is it the thinking that I have just uncovered in my own mind?”

I recommend journaling to look at your thoughts in the way I just demonstrated. I think it is easier to see thoughts clearly when they are written down.

It’s also possible that it will be helpful to journal twice today. Journal once in the morning using the person that came to mind when the lesson said, “Select one brother, …” And then, throughout the day be alert to when you get angry. When it’s convenient, possibly at the end of the day, journal about the times that you were angry throughout the day.

This type of looking is very important to the process of purification. The process of purification is the same as the process of reprogramming the brain. The thoughts you find when you inquire into anger are thoughts that have been believed over and over again. They are well defined in the brain and run automatically whenever an outer situation triggers that line of thinking.

Through careful looking, like I just demonstrated, we uncover background-thinking processes. Through seeing those thoughts and choosing not to believe them again, the brain is reprogrammed. It is brought back to a state that does not include mistaken programming.

This corrected state enables us to perceive with clarity instead of misperceiving through false ideas that are programmed into the brain. That takes us back to how today’s Course lesson began:

“Today we practice differently, and take a stand against our anger, that our fears may disappear (correction of mistaken programming) and offer room to love.”

Over the last few days we have been focusing on truth, life-presence. Focusing on life-presence is Self-inquiry, a form of devotion where we continually focus on our true Self.

Today, we are going to shift to self-inquiry. That’s questioning the false self in order to recognize that it isn’t our truth. It isn’t what we are. It is merely the effect of attention attracted to thought.

Today’s lesson asks us to question fear. Fear takes many forms. Sometimes it is easily recognized, like when we are afraid of not being safe, but at other times we may not recognize fear as fear. For example, I could feel angry and think I am angry because another person has done something unreasonable. However, if I look deeply into my anger by asking why am I angry, I might find that I am afraid that person’s action is making me look bad. This is an example of when fear takes the form of anger.

Fear is a basic characteristic of ego thinking. As today’s lesson points out, when we identify with the fear thinking in the mind, our truth is unknown to us. This is why we need to practice self-inquiry. We need to return to recognizing our Self as our Self.

The lesson says it would be easy to disregard fear thoughts by recognizing our Self, but we don’t do this. Why? The lesson says that we have “asked this stranger in to take your place, and let you be a stranger to yourself.”

How have we done this?

Attention is an aspect of awareness. I often call it the arm of awareness, since it can reach out and experience different things. When our attention is engrossed in fear thoughts, we are presently asking “this stranger” to appear as our self. In that way, we simultaneously deny our true Self.

Today’s lesson recommends that we ask, “Who is the stranger?” Another way to do that is to ask, “What am I?” Both questions help us to discern between what we are not and what we are.

Let me demonstrate. Let’s say I have a lot of work that needs to be done, and I begin to feel stress. In spite of all of the work, I am committed enough to the process of awakening to take a short break from work and do some journaling about the stress I am feeling.

I ask, “Why do I feel stressed?” The answer that is seen first is because of all of the work I have to do. However, I realize that is not the root of my stress so I look more deeply.

I ask, “Why do I feel stressed about having a lot of work?” I realize that I am afraid of what other people will think of me if I do not accomplish my work within a certain timeframe. I see that I think they will perceive me as unworthy. As I look deeper, I notice that I’m afraid that may be true. I’m afraid that I am not as good as other people.

Through this inquiry, I’ve identified a line of thinking that I am identified with. I am identified with the idea that I am not as good as other people. I am also identified with the fear that others may find this out.

Now it is time to practice self-inquiry on this thinking. I look directly at the thinking I have uncovered and I ask, “What sees these thoughts?” I shift my attention within to look in the direction of the looker, back towards the source of attention. I notice there are the thoughts and there is the looker looking at the thoughts.

Once I have the experience of noticing these two (thoughts and looker), I ask, “Which am I?” This leads me to see that I am the looker, life-presence-awareness. It is clear the thoughts are the stranger here. They are not me.

When we practice self-inquiry repeatedly, we become increasingly clear on the difference between identification with thought (the false self) and our true Self. This clarity is what today’s lesson calls a miracle. It says, “The miracle will come. For in his home his Self remains. It asked no stranger in, and took no alien thought to be Itself.”

Pay attention today. Notice when you are feeling fear in one form or another. Watch for things like annoyance, frustration, anger, worry, stress, avoidance, etc. When you notice fear, inquire into it in order to receive more clarity about the thoughts that are causing the emotion. Once the thoughts have been uncovered, practice self-inquiry in order to separate the false self (identification with thought) from the true Self (the watcher). Notice which one you are and which one you are not.

There is an interesting point in today’s workbook lesson. It says, “Receive [miracles] now by opening the storehouse of your mind where they are laid, and giving them away.” This means that miracles already exist in us.

How do we open the storehouse of our mind and access the miracles?

The lesson calls true vision “the miracle in which all miracles are born.” In other words, we open the storehouse of our mind by overlooking illusion and focusing on life-presence.

Focus on life-presence in nature.
Focus on life-presence in people.
Focus on life-presence in yourself.

When we focus on life-presence, we see and experience things differently, and so we also ‘be’ differently. Giving miracles is a natural outcome of true vision and the resulting beingness. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about how we will give miracles. All we have to do is practice true vision. Everything else will happen naturally. (That’s the miracle.)

Note: Awareness-watching-awareness is a method of focusing on life-presence in yourself.

Today’s lesson begins with, “What has been given you? The knowledge that you are a mind, in Mind and purely mind, …” Mind is synonymous with consciousness, awareness or life-presence.

The lesson is very clear that you cannot give truth. Truth simply is, and as such, it is beyond what can be given. Our concern is with vision. This we can learn, and this we can extend through practicing it.

The lesson tells us that true vision has one law. It does not look upon a body and mistake it for truth. It beholds life-presence, which is “beyond what can be touched, a purity undimmed by errors, pitiful mistakes, and fearful thoughts of guilt from dreams of sin.” We are also told that vision sees no separation. That’s because vision knows there is only one life. “And it looks on everyone, on every circumstance, all happenings and all events, without the slightest fading of the light it sees.”

As you come across people today, regardless of whether you meet them in person, over the phone, on the Internet or you simply think of them, take a moment to acknowledge them as the same life that you are. Take a moment to appreciate the life that we are. Every person provides an opportunity to practice and extend this remembrance. Life is always present and available to be seen, regardless of … whatever.