A universal assembly for true discernment
By Karen Worth
Find a place where you will be undisturbed. If it is comfortable, put on headsets or earbuds. Relax, and enjoy this meditation.
Accept all things given
as a gift from our Holy Spirit
for the purpose of peace
and awakening to love.
~From our Holy Spirit .
NTI opens with some practical advice about following guidance. I am not going to elaborate on that advice. I encourage you to spend time with the simple advice given. Marinate in it until it is absorbed, so you can live from that advice.
That takes me to what I do want to focus on in today’s tip.
The opening chapters of NTI refer to John the Baptist as “the observer, the one who told you sorting of thought is necessary. He is the one that called upon you to pay attention and choose a different way of thought.”
And then NTI goes on to say, “With the Spirit, you shall examine your thoughts. It is your true Spirit that will guide you to choose truly.” The opening chapters also refer to “the Son of God” as the one who will “perform the sorting for you.”
So what is the “observer,” “Spirit,” and the “Son of God”?
The observer is a conscious aspect of wisdom. It is often called the conscience. It is that twinge of knowing that every human is familiar with, whether they listen to it or not. Historically, John the Baptist encouraged people to repent. Our conscience does the same thing. It points out what is bad for us, and it encourages us to drop unwholesome habits and take up better ones. Although many people feel guilt when they do not listen to their conscience, guilt does not come from the conscience. The conscience is non-judgmental wisdom. Any sense of guilt comes from mind’s interpretation of you in relationship to your conscience.
“Spirit” and “Son of God” are synonymous in NTI, and they point to spiritually awake-consciousness, which is beyond the human conscience. “Spirit” or “Holy Spirit” is used in NTI in the context of divine Other, and “Son of God” is used to refer to you. However, ultimately the divine Other and you are the same one, so the terms are synonymous in the end.
It is fair to say that the aspect of wisdom known as Spirit or the Son of God is not conscious in most humans. It becomes conscious gradually when we are called to awaken. As we follow its guidance, it becomes more and more conscious. It is what I often call “spiritual intuition.”
One of our primary goals this year is to bring spiritual intuition more and more into our conscious experience by listening to it. Since it comes from awake-consciousness, it knows how to lead us to our awake-consciousness. Without spiritual intuition, you are left with only your conscience to guide you. Your conscience can help improve the human experience by removing many causes of suffering (if you listen to it), but it cannot take you beyond separation-consciousness (duality) to awake-consciousness (unity).
Here is a story from the Bible that represents the difference between conscience and spiritual intuition:
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ …
People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. …
[He said,] “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ~ Matthew 4:1-3, 5-6, 11-17
Join us in the Awakening Together Sanctuary this coming Sunday, January 28, at 7pm ET for an Awakening Together Minister’s Ordination Ceremony. The following eight members have completed the two-year Minister’s Preparation Program (MPP) and will be ordained Sunday night.
Barbara Cooling
Barbara Deurwaarder
Mary Fonseca
Connie Frazier
Marisol Landin
Meg Reinhart
Gerry Scott
Billy Sintiris
Our Vice President-Minister, Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert, will lead the ordination ceremony. Our President-Minister, Rev. Regina Dawn Akers, will share a special talk for this important occasion.
Please come and welcome our new Awakening Together Ministers!
Regina Dawn Akers guides a group of committed students who would like to make consistent, gentle progress toward genuine peace, joy and love.
The reading tonight was from The Transparency of Things by Rupert Spira, p. 34-39.
Homework for the upcoming week:
Homework Assignment A: Practice daily meditation for 30-60 minutes each day. Practice the “Loving All” Method.
Homework Assignment B: Thoughts of Awakening, 1-7
Homework Assignment C: Read NTI Matthew, Chapters 1-10.
Facilitated by Rev. Jacquelyn Eckert, Tom Conway & Connie Poole
Listen to this recording
This is an off day after finishing the Final Lessons and Epilogue
In the second year of Gentle Healing, we will focus on Thoughts of Awakening: 365 Thoughts for Contemplation. Originally these thoughts were called “Single, Quiet Thoughts.” These thoughts started coming to me during my morning contemplation while I was scribing NTI. They did not come at the rate of one per day. In fact, these 365 thoughts came to me slowly over about 4 years. I don’t really know why that is, but my guess is that I had to mature to a specific point spiritually in order to receive higher levels of thought, so there were delays between one group of thoughts and the next group.
Each of the 365 thoughts is intended for a full day’s contemplation. They are to be read and contemplated repeatedly throughout the day. If you read and contemplate each thought deeply for a full day, you’ll experience shifts towards true perception this year.
The best way to devote yourself to each thought is:
In addition to contemplating the Thoughts of Awakening, we will read a short amount of supporting material each day this year. We will read the three books that I was focused on during the time when the Thoughts of Awakening were received. Those books are NTI, The Teachings of Inner Ramana and The Direct Means to Eternal Bliss. We will begin with NTI. We will read NTI at the rate of about 2 pages per day.
During Year 2, I will not assign extra videos or audios. We will focus solely on the Thoughts of Awakening and the reading material just mentioned. I would rather spend more time with the inner teacher this year and less time with outer teachers.
As the facilitator for Gentle Healing, I would like to hear more about your process this year. During the first year, 45 minutes of our 2-hour weekly meeting was devoted to your sharing. In the second year, I will increase that to at least 1 hour per meeting, and if there is a lot of sharing, we may go longer. You are also invited to use that time to ask me questions. I always prefer that you ask your inner teacher before asking me, but if there is a question you don’t receive an answer to or if you have some doubts about the answer you received, you can ask me at the Gentle Healing meeting.
I will continue to write tips in our second year of Gentle Healing. I won’t write tips about each day’s thought for contemplation; I want you to write with your inner guidance without being influenced by me. My tips will focus on the reading material. You might find it helpful to read my tip before you read that day’s material. My tips will help focus attention for the reading.
Ken will post each day’s thought from Thoughts of Awakening as the Daily Contemplation on the Awakening Together website. It will come out each day on the Daily Update email. Also, you can download the Thoughts of Awakening ebook. I have saved the ebook to the Kindle on my iPhone for easy repeated access.
On Monday through Saturday, Karen Worth will post a 30-minute guided meditation based on the current day’s Thought of Awakening. Those meditation audios will come out on the Daily Update email. You can also access them by going to the Awakening Together website. They will be posted under Audios & Videos, Meditation Audios.
On Sunday, Karen will lead a meditation in the Sanctuary at 9:30am ET, just before our Weekly Gathering. The meditation will be based on the current day’s Thought of Awakening. The Sunday morning meditation will be replayed in the Sanctuary on Sunday evenings at 10pm ET.
Chapter 2, Page 44 from “The Importance of Practice and Effort” was read and discussed
Listen to the audio
This course is a beginning, not an end. Your Friend goes with you. You are not alone. No one who calls on Him can call in vain. Whatever troubles you, be certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him. He will not withhold all answers that you need for anything that seems to trouble you. He knows the way to solve all problems, and resolve all doubts. His certainty is yours. You need but ask it of Him, and it will be given you.
You are as certain of arriving home as is the pathway of the sun laid down before it rises, after it has set, and in the half-lit hours in between. Indeed, your pathway is more certain still. For it can not be possible to change the course of those whom God has called to Him. Therefore obey your will, and follow Him Whom you accepted as your voice, to speak of what you really want and really need. His is the Voice for God and also yours. And thus He speaks of freedom and of truth.
No more specific lessons are assigned, for there is no more need of them. Henceforth, hear but the Voice for God and for your Self when you retire from the world, to seek reality instead. He will direct your efforts, telling you exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certain Word. His is the Word that God has given you. His is the Word you chose to be your own.
And now I place you in His hands, to be His faithful follower, with Him as Guide through every difficulty and all pain that you may think is real. Nor will He give you pleasures that will pass away, for He gives only the eternal and the good. Let Him prepare you further. He has earned your trust by speaking daily to you of your Father and your brother and your Self. He will continue. Now you walk with Him, as certain as is He of where you go; as sure as He of how you should proceed; as confident as He is of the goal, and of your safe arrival in the end.
The end is certain, and the means as well. To this we say “Amen.” You will be told exactly what God wills for you each time there is a choice to make. And He will speak for God and for your Self, thus making sure that hell will claim you not, and that each choice you make brings Heaven nearer to your reach. And so we walk with Him from this time on, and turn to Him for guidance and for peace and sure direction. Joy attends our way. For we go homeward to an open door which God has held unclosed to welcome us.
We trust our ways to Him and say “Amen.” In peace we will continue in His way, and trust all things to Him. In confidence we wait His answers, as we ask His Will in everything we do. He loves God’s Son as we would love him. And He teaches us how to behold him through His eyes, and love him as He does. You do not walk alone. God’s angels hover near and all about. His Love surrounds you, and of this be sure; that I will never leave you comfortless.
The Epilogue
This isn’t an end; it is a new beginning. I have stated before that Year 2 will be focused on following the inner teacher. The Epilogue shares this same emphasis. Before we close A Course in Miracles and move on to our next step, let’s contemplate some final ideas from the Epilogue.
Whatever troubles you, be certain that He [the inner teacher] has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him.
As we move forward with Gentle Healing, let’s embrace the opportunity for purification and clarity. Whenever you are upset, turn to your inner teacher. Ask questions in trust that you will receive answers from within. Even if an answer does not come right away, trust that it will, and wait for it. You might sit and wait, as Adyashanti did when he wrote with inner wisdom, or you might go to other things while leaving the question open in your heart, knowing an answer will come in a form that you will recognize. Do not to try to figure out or think up an answer for yourself. Wait for the gift of an answer, and an answer will come that is beyond the limited mental self, an answer that will take you further into healing and awakening.
You are as certain of arriving home as is the pathway of the sun laid down before it rises, … For it can not be possible to change the course of those whom God has called to Him. Therefore, obey your will, and follow Him Whom you accepted as your voice, to speak of what you really want and really need.
The confusion that we suffer from is confusion regarding what we are. When we listen to our mental self and believe our emotional self, that confusion continues. When we trust our intuitive self and follow it, we walk away from confusion and into clarity.
If we feel that the mind and emotions are “me”, and we fear that following intuition may result in some sacrifice of what “I” want, we are still very confused about what we are. If we believe that idea and listen to our thinking over intuition, we cling to confusion.
Before beginning our second year of Gentle Healing, it is good to contemplate what we want now. Are we ready to lean on intuition instead of our thinking and emotions? Do we want to listen to the Subtle Within and follow it as we let our familiar self squirm, weaken and fade?
Let Him prepare you further.
There is more to come for each of us on this journey of awakening. None of us know what lies ahead, nor do we know the experiences we need to prepare us for the next shift or realization. Therefore, it is helpful to trust everything that comes while leaning on the inner teacher completely.
You will be told exactly what God wills for you each time there is a choice to make.
We do not need to make choices anymore. This is good news! However, if you are anything like me, you will need to learn not to make choices. We were taught how to think and make choices; no one taught us how to not make choices. However, the universe will take care of itself, and our role will be given to us through intuition if we give up making choices and become the observer of everything that unfolds.
… ask His Will in everything we do.
Of course, to move beyond choice completely, this is the habit we need to cultivate. We need to remember to ask, “What am I to do now?” Guidance can become a new habit, but we need to put effort into cultivating that habit first.
As we go forward, we will most likely listen to the mental and emotional, familiar, self-centered self sometimes, and to the mysterious, intuitive self other times. Our goal is to live from the former less and less while learning to depend on the latter more and more. Let’s commit ourselves to this goal today, and let’s work towards it in Year 2 with conscious effort.
Meditation Options
Note: This is the last time I will put the meditation options at the bottom of the tips. For easy access, please bookmark the following links:
