(Paper #1196-25)

As with most words used in A Course In Miracles©, their meaning is different than traditional, common usage.  It is certainly so f or LIFE and DEATH.  In fact, if these two words are totally understood from the concepts of ACIM©, they explain what and where we are and our problem in understanding our world.  We think that life means being born into this worldly experience and death means the release from it.  It is not so.  LIFE is our REAL condition as the Christ in Heaven.  DEATH is any experience (for instance, like being in a body in a world) outside that BEING of perfect Oneness in Christ with God in Heaven.

Heaven is not a place or a condition; it is a knowing of Perfect Oneness.  As such, it is not “somewhere” outside us, but deep within our holy Spirit Mind.  We already possess all peace, serenity, joy, happiness, and completeness possible within us.  Therefore, these things cannot be found somewhere outside our own SELF.  To think they can be achieved in any particular place, attitude, food, guru, discipline (either physical or mental) is to turn in the wrong direction and delude ourselves into believing that God is somewhere outside us.

The memory of God is only a thought away.  Therefore, it is but the shortest of all journeys and need not require hours, months, or years of introspection, contemplation, or meditation.  It is instantly available to the mind that awakens to it.

So LIFE is Being, within the thought of Christ in Heaven.  Any thought, action, or form outside That, is not Life but Death.  Even to have a thought of anything else at all, means that we have already left that State of Perfect Oneness and is some form of DEATH.

It is perhaps a startling thought to realize that anything of form, including ourself, our universe, or a new—born baby, is not representative of life, but of death.  However, we can use the form we have made to go deeply within and remember again our True SELF.  This has to be a conscious decision and choice, which must be undertaken with a total commitment to that one desire.  Other distractions which we are so good at seeing as real or important, must be set aside as we go into our Quiet Center to find our SELF.  It is within this Heaven in “mind” that WE as I AM of the Christ abide in perfect peace with God and all our brothers.

It is necessary to always keep in mind that we are all Aspects of God witnessing to God His Own Perfection.  That is why we are here.  We are all on a Divine Mission.  This whole thing is not without purpose.

We must remember that the essence of our Being is Love.  We are created that way by God and that is what we are.  Love, to be itself, must extend itself.  We extend the love of our true SELF to all our brothers and to every living thing.  The way we extend the Love that we are, is simply to shine.  When others see the happiness, joy and completeness we are, they will feel it in themselves.  We teach by our example.  That is the way our Love and Joy is extended.  The sense of perfect Peace and Oneness becomes all-encompassing and the world is changed to a place of love instead of one of fear.  That is what every instruction has been all down through time by everyone who has recognized his SELF.  “Love thy neighbour as thyself”; “Teach only love, for that is what you are”; “To thine own SELF be true”; and all the rest are all expressions of the same thought of extending the love that you are.

In Heaven, we are co-creators with God.  But we must remain so by our own choice.  That is why we were given free choice in our creation.  In our experience within our body in our world, we remember to forgive ourseif for thinking we were something else, and see our SELF and all our brothers as part of the Christ, and so remember God and our SELF, in perfect union with God in Heaven.  Then His Will is done in earth as it is in Heaven.  We have remembered and are Home at last to where we never really left at all.

ANY THOUGHT, IDEA OR EXPERIENCE AT ALL IS OUTSIDE OF THE MIND OF GOD IN UNION WITH THE CHRIST IN HEAVEN, AND IS DEATH IN SOME FORM.  LIFE IS ONLY AND ALWAYS WITHIN THE MIND OF GOD WHERE WE LIVE AND HAVE OUR BEING.

Physical death as we know it here is simply us giving ourselves permission to go on to another experience in search of LIFE, perhaps to continue wandering in darkness to look for the Light that we already are.  When we have finally had enough, we awaken to our SELF and are Home where Holy Spirit has been leading us all along.  We witness to the Glory of God, thus fulfilling our purpose, and awaken from our dream of specialness at last.

Whenever we have a kind or loving thought, help a brother, bake cookies for grandchildren, paint a picture, grow a flower we are experiencing and teaching love.  As we remember the Truth of God and live it, we must share it because we realize it is limitless and must extend everywhere.  We do not need to change or correct anyone, but simply want to share the joy we have found.

In A Course In Miracles©, Jesus says, “I cannot forget my need to teach what I have learned, which arose in me BECAUSE I learned it.  I call upon you to teach what you have learned, because by so doing you can depend on it.” (T 75/82)

Sometimes we are so excited about the Truth we have found, we want to go out and share it with everybody.  We say, “This is true, and you need it.” That is quite so, but we have forgotten one thing.  The brother we are offering salvation has to be ready to accept it.  If he is not yet in a place where he is open to it and desirous of it, our action is inappropriate.  We still shine our light, but let him decide when it is that he will see it.  Eventually, everyone will see that light but it must be up to our brother when that will be.  That is what the free choice we have been given in our creation is all about.  There is no question of what will be seen, that has already been decided.  When we choose to see it is up to us.

Our delay means nothing in eternity, but is tragic in time.  How long will we hit our head against the wall before we see that it hurts?

The teacher of God, then, offers the truth he has found, when he is asked.  Until then, he feels his own inner peace and shines.

In A Course In Miracles©, most of the “Manual For Teachers” is concerned with the description, qualities and function of God’s teachers.  That is ALL of us.  When we choose to begin teaching is up to us, as guided by our own Holy Spirit.  What our teaching/learning involves, how it is accomplished and common pitfalls encountered are described.  Method and means, goal and result are shown.  Most of the information is in question and answer form as that is how we are used to learning.  The Manual takes us through the curriculum of the “plan of the teachers”, brings us to the surety and oneness of ALL.

If we weren’t supposed to hear our brother’s truth, it wouldn’t have come to our attention.  At some level, we must have needed it.  To ignore or criticize it is to postpone the lesson in it for us.  It will then come up again later, perhaps in some other form, until we pay attention and learn our lesson.

So as we see the great number of “channeled” works, all with their own viewpoint, saying, “Listen to me!  You need my truth.  It comes directly from Brother, or Gabriel or Jesus.”  We have to know they are right, even when the content is different than we might get.  They are all aspects of God’s rainbow expressing that particular part of it.

The test for the validity of truth is always only one thing.  Is it centered in love?  Many expressions have claimed to be divinely inspired but are clearly centered in some form of fear, not love.  So, we must make our choice carefully, thoughtfully and sincerely to see the love in the transmission and expression.

When the rainbow hues are reversed, and passed back through the prism, they again join back into One and become the Unbroken Song the Son sings to the Father as the Father sings to the Son when He transmits His Unbroken Song of pure silver light to the prism of our holy mind.  Our truth is what we offer to God in love and gratitude and becomes our prayer and the way we live.

Always remember, it is a beautiful rainbow and ours to enjoy as we feel the expression of God’s unconditional and total love.

I realize, as well as learning the Road to Truth for myself, I am being used as a Teacher of God to lead to that Truth.  With many others down through time, I hear the words: - “You, who have heard the Call of The Christ, and have dedicated your heart and your mind to the intention and desire to share that Call with your brothers, know this.  You have been chosen to spread the message of Truth.  For you will help show the Reason and the Way for those sleeping ones sent to you and explain the reason for that experience and condition which they have chosen to discover their real purpose.  You have been told wherein you may help, and instructed to carry out My Will.  The time has now come when you will understand and see My Plan and Purpose in your life and work, and looking back, will see how all the events of your life fit together to make the picture complete and bring you to where you are now."

As you recognize this process, you will see how All has led you to the place where you can now fulfill My Purpose.

And Who am I? I AM your own true SELF, One with God, the Call you heard.  I AM The Christ Mind within you, not separate, but the real YOU, your SELF, one with God.  I am not a separate part of you dwelling somewhere within you, a separate part of you that you are observing, but YOU, the very Christ Mind of You, your true SELF.

When you hear only this VOICE, think only this MIND, it is God within your TRUE SELF leading you and giving you the oneness of Purpose to go on.  1t will start for you only as a still, small voice and increase to be I AM, the Only Voice you hear, the Only Desire you have, the Only Guidance you follow.  You are not yet free of ego, so there will be much chatter and misdirection along the way.  Pay no attention except to the One Voice for God.  I will lead you over all the rough spots along the rest of your journey and bring you, at last, to that place of perfect peace beside the still waters where you will be your TRUE SELF IN ME, at One with All That Is.

Perhaps you have wondered what it is that has so motivated you in your search for ME for so long.  Even at times, it has seemed you have acted, thought and been aware of a force within you that has caused You to take directions and come to awareness that seem strange and foreign to you.  Patterns seemed to be different and outside your “normal” modus operandi and thought.  You may even have said, “That’s very odd, I know that such a thought or idea is outside me; not like me at all.”  You may have concluded this Force was therefore not of you, but from outside you.  It is not so.  It is ME, the REAL YOU directing you from within.  It is enough that I provided that intangible intention in you to go on in the direction I have chosen for you.

As the serenity of your heart-mind so increased, the innocence of all your brothers became more and more apparent as your love for them, and all living things flowed from that center within you.  As you caught radiant glimpses of ME, whether awake, asleep or in meditation and recognized the Great Truth within and have allowed this to so dominate your life as to want to join this Truth to others you recognize as seeking or possessing this same Truth, attend this: - Draw on My Love, My Wisdom, My Power so as to further enter into My egoless life, to join with those others and so lead on to the Place appointed for you from before time began.  Live only the Great Truth, and so in your heart and by your example know that I AM the Way and the Only Way.

It is now My Purpose for you to understand these things to the extent that nothing else matters or has any reality for you.

First, it is necessary that you understand and recognize your ego personality.  It is necessary that you understand its existence and insistence was necessary for you so that you might see the difference and know that I AM your True Self.  If you truly see, understand, and feel this to be so, you are ready for My next step.  Know that this part of your journey with all its difficult lessons is over as the pure light of Truth opens up before you.  Now having recognized your ego and its devious machinations, your path may be held straight and true as they re-appear from time to time.  You are now ready to have My egoless Life appear in and through you.

As you now go forward, make sure that the Love you express is Mine and not a seeking to glorify your own thoughts and ideas.  The test will always be to ask yourself, “What is this for?” What is its meaning?”  When the thought, the idea, the reply is only of Me, the Self of you will know it and be guided by My Mind.  Know that I AM doing it all and that you are in no way separate from Me.  As you learn and teach these High Truths you will recognize the oneness of All; that I, God, am All there is; that All there is you are; that I AM your Real Self; that there is no separation; that all you do God does; that you are One with God, and all God’s powers are your powers.  When you know that all you do, think, express, and live are of ME, your REAL SELF within, you will know no separation from GOD.  You are in ME and I AM in You.”

Now having heard these words and thoughts and being aware of their deepest meaning, I was ready to move on to the next steps prepared for me in my spiritual development.  In periods of introspection, meditation, and that absolutely quiet place deep within my soul, I met and dwelt with my SELF.  In that peaceful place, a deep sense of complete well being prevailed, as I realized I need do nothing except just BE.

It was in this quiet center of sweet silence that I finally found that “peace of God” I had studied about for so long.

It was like letting the breath out in one long, extended sigh and knowing a blissful sense of being home at last.

“Heaven is not a place or a condition.  It is merely an awareness of perfect oneness-” (T-359/388)

“Heaven waits for his (your) return, for it was created as the dwelling place of God’s Son.  You are not at home anywhere else, or in any other condition.”  (T-178/192)

--“You will accept the real world in place of the false one you have made.  And then your Father will lean down to you and take the last step for you, by raising you unto Himself.”
(T-199/214)

And so we have reached the end of our journey, back Home unto our Self as The Christ in Heaven, where we never really left.  This is that State of Grace, that continuous holy instant, the unbroken Song of Heaven which the Son sings to the Father and the Father sings to the Son for all eternity, that Peace of God that has been our goal and our one desire all along.

The Lifting Up has been completed as God promised He would do and we are back to that Heaven of our holy Mind that never left us as we never left it.

In our creation God gave us free will.  This was necessary, as He wanted us to be Companions and Co—creators by our own choice.  Being originally and always God’s Idea, a Thought in the Mind of God, we could not do otherwise than is His Will, which, of course, is also our will.  It is just that, for a time, we have forgotten this.  God knows we must experience our wandering journey into specialness because we are an Aspect of God experiencing to Himself His completeness and His joy.  When we experience this Divine Idea as well, we are automatically “back” in the Mind of God as His extended creation, The Christ.

Therefore, that Part of us is and always has been complete, perfect, joyous, and eternal.  We begin to attain and remember that state in a profound holy instant, where we have the absolute knowing of Being One with everything.  There is nothing outside this knowing and nothing else within it.  It is Total; there IS nothing else.  It is not even a feeling; there is no sense of body or time.  Although we are still in it, it can no longer contain us.  We have gone to that experience of rapture and bliss in perfect Oneness.

This is God’s Purpose in our whole journey from the beginning.  He has decided that we should experience our detour into specialness, go the full circle, and awaken to the fact of the perfect Oneness of our real SELF in God.

When He speaks to us (as we experience it) in dreams, meditation, “channeled” material, through “guides,” and a host of other methods, it is this indwelling I AM, this perfect SELF of us that has always been there that is addressed.  Our problem is that we have put “other gods” before our true SELF, wherein the Living God abides.  It is these false gods, these worldly idols to which we pay homage, and give our allegiance.  Since in the deep recesses of our mind we are seeking salvation, we think it is these that will save us.  And so we go on ignoring the Savior always within us, who is our True Salvation.

When we are ready to listen, we will.  It is then that we become aware of I AM within, the Presence of our true God SELF.  We can never do anything bad enough to kill the living God within.

It all starts with laying aside all judgment saying, “I do not know what this is for”, “offering a little willingness” with “great willingness”, and handing everything over to Holy Spirit for His guidance.  In everything, in all times, ASK, ASK, ASK!  ASK for His guidance, ASK to be shown, ASK for His peace.  Then, once having ASKED, let it go completely into His hands and KNOW it is being looked after.  Do not make a judgment as to what the answer should be, or when it should arrive.  You do not know.  “If you’re so good at making decisions and right choices how comes you’re in such a mess now?  Then smile, and KNOW it will all be O.K.  Remember, it was our “remembering not to laugh” that got us into this whole journey in the first place.  God is smiling.  He knows it is all only a dream we are having and that we will awaken when we choose to realize the One Truth, GOD IS.  He IS in me as in all living things, which are also proving to Him His Perfection and Completeness.

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