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Re: A + P used to mean something

 

Hello starchild1124@...,

In reference to your comment:

¨¨ This is a discussion list.... I was writing it in the spirit
¨¨ of? discussion.??? I didn't mean it personally against
¨¨ Ken and his judgement.? I was told he said to someone
¨¨ on the phone he was suing people over? the copyright
¨¨ because of an "agreement we made when we chose to
¨¨ be in? the world of form/illusion".

Hey Martha .. now I finally understand why this topic is not discussed ... LOL

and I should know better I work in a law firm .. and boy how stories abound when it comes to lawsuits and court trials.? LOL

I remember hearing said, not sure if it was Course related or not .. but the only way one can really "know" something is if they were there in the past, present and future.? Otherwise folks will only be able to tell from a certain perspective ... the past? and/or I heard from someone .... or the present ... and definitely not the future? ... and from within the frame work of their mindset.? Very faulty set of parameters if you ask me.? :-)

Another way to look at it is that two people can be at the same place at the same time, and walk away seeing different things and having different experiences.

I guess that is why Ken keeps saying, just be/act normal and just be sure you are seeing this insane world with the Right Teacher, because there is really no one out there, and because folks will look at what you do (the form) and make it special .. just like they made Jesus body seeminly dying on the cross special.

:::::sighing::::::

You guys are simpy marvelous.

LOL


Re: A + P used to mean something

 

In a message dated 7/11/03 8:02:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time, BBFBBN@... writes:

I just got back from vacation .. and I have bills galore, and now trying to get sick.? And I am not surprised ... because I had a couple of breakthroughs in Atlanta and I expect my ego to act out big time.? LOL


Hi Ossie,

I am smiling at parts of your post, because do you recall the state my body
was acting out towards the end of the workshop?? My resistance was coming
through full swing, and I was a little relieved that it was over.? Not that it was
not brilliant and very helpful, but that I was having a difficult time concentrating,
and walking through a two day cold.? I wanted to choke my ego, because on
the last day of the workshop, I had lost my voice.? I even watched myself getting
sick, for some strange reason to ensure that I would not hear what Ken was
saying.? This was actually prior to making a cold in my thoart.? A good part of
the experience is that a part of myself was watching the whole thing, and I
was reminded to do this by Ken's comments to use everything that happens
in our day as a way to get back to the mind.? He said that the purpose of my
day is to let Jesus help me see the world as the entree to getting back to my
thoughts.


<<>>

This is from my notes in the workshop, "Living a ACIM," (by the way, Ken
is going to change the name of this workshop to something else.? As
Martha pointed out earlier, this was the title of a workshop she has on tapes.):

Ken - "Just watch yourself, and be aware of the cost of choosing the ego.
Continue to observe yourself so you realize that your life is a dream.? It is a
stage.? Try to remember that Jesus tells you your whole life is made up."


Billy--











Re: curious here.

 

It could be something to do with Yahoo, or maybe the planets (moon
in Sagittarius and possibly full) but also this seems to be Freaky
Friday or something.

Weird stuff seems to be the norm today.

Or maybe it is now normal?

~ Carrie




--- In Disappearance_of_the_Universe@..., "mstreet"
<mastreet@t...> wrote:
I don't know what is happening, but a response I sent in to this
group, did not appear, or was not sent out to me from this group, but
then a post that I sent in later, did appear.

I am just wondering if this has something to do with my computer?
For some odd reason, it does appear to be playing tricks on me, but
there is probably a very logical explanation for all of this. Another
example is, I cannot post or even read back posts on the ng. And also
something I posted yesterday to this group, did not appear at all in
my personal "inbox" at all, but I did notice that Karen responded to
it, and then I noticed, it appeared on the Yahoo site.

Could this possibly have something to do with Yahoo? I sort of
like, a logical explanation. Don't suggest that I need a new computer
(lol) as right now that doesn't seem like an option.

Thanks Martha :-)

p.s. And Mercury isn't even retrograde. <g>


Re: A + P used to mean something

 

In a message dated 7/11/2003 6:24:48 PM Eastern Standard Time, BBFBBN writes:

One of the things the Ken kept emphasizing is "TO BE NORMAL"
I just got back from vacation .. and I have bills galore, and now trying to get sick. And I am not surprised ... because I had a couple of breakthroughs in Atlanta and I expect my ego to act out big time. LOL

Now I will not ask Jesus/HS to remove these problems or create situations that will make these problems go away.

But I am in touch with the fear that surrounds all these issues.

What I ask of Jesus is to see through his eyes ... show me what the fear is about ... because I know it is not about the form, even though it sure does feel like it.

In the meantime I will do what normal people do ... budget, rest, take medicine etc. But my prayer is to be able to do the ego things without all the fear that is attached to it.

Now I can intellectualize and say that it is about of lack ... fear of not being enough, etc., etc., ... but I want to experience ... if just for a moment "Peace"

The kind of Peace that is a reminder of who I am, and I cannot do that by myself ...

My fear that has manifested in the form of finances and illness etc., is really about something much deeper and that is why I need to see this with the Right Teacher.

What is fascinating is that this fear shows up no matter what ego problems shows up ... it all feels the same (my son dying, relationship breaking up, job issues, etc.) ... that is how I was finally able to understand that it is not the form of the problem but the content.

I set up these situations in order to not feel the Peace of God, and with continued practice and choosing the Right Teacher I will gradually stop doing things to sabotage myself, namely, undoing the ego.

My favorite statement that Ken makes (which I realize is not in the Course) but is about one of the Laws of Chaos .. attraction of pain. Ken uses the analogy of sending out vicious dogs to find people, situations, etc., that will keep me from experiencing Peace ... and when they come back with blood and flesh and see their gnawing teeth (and it is not a pretty sight LOL) I am in horror at what I am seeing ... forgetting that I asked for this.

In Gary's book, I think the one thing that stayed me is their persistence in telling Gary to Forgive, to continuing studying and keep choosing the Right Teacher and they assured him that he could not go wrong, and this is exactly what Jesus promises.

The more I choose the Right Teacher, the more opportunities I have to forgive ... thus undoing the ego ... thus removing the block to Love's presence.


"Ideas Leave Not Their Source"


Re: A + P used to mean something

 

In a message dated 7/11/2003 11:26:28 AM Eastern Standard Time, starchild1124@... writes:

Of course, then he might have to try and explain how his views
about suing people over the words in it relates to what it
says in it.
One of the things the Ken kept emphasizing is "TO BE NORMAL"

Just be aware of what you are doing and remember to have the Right Teacher with you.

We are getting content and form mixed up.

If you are sick, you do what sick people do, take medicine, go see a doctor

Do what normal people do, just remember to ask for help.



"Ideas Leave Not Their Source"


Re: [Long] What to do when all hell breaks loose

 

In a message dated 7/11/2003 12:10:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, lklanglois@... writes:

As I have mentioned, I have in my home a 25 year old young woman, a student of ACIM who came to me asking for help as she is involved in a relationship where there has been some
"seeming" <smile> lies and a feeling of abandonment, etc.

Now I see why Ken does not recommend the Course for young people.


"Ideas Leave Not Their Source"


curious here.

mstreet
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

I don't know what is happening, but a response I sent in to this group, did not appear, or was not sent out to me from this group, but then a? post that I sent in later, did appear.
?
I am just wondering if this has something to do with my computer? For some odd reason, it does appear to be playing tricks on me, but there is probably a very logical explanation for all of this. Another example is, I cannot post or even read back posts on the ng. And also something I posted yesterday to this group, did not appear at all in my personal "inbox" at all, but I did notice that Karen responded to it, and then I noticed, it appeared on the Yahoo site.
?
Could this possibly have something to do with Yahoo? I sort of like, a logical explanation. Don't suggest that I need a new computer (lol) as right now that doesn't seem like an option.
?
Thanks Martha :-)
?
p.s. And Mercury isn't even retrograde.


Something really weird...

 

Maybe another example of reality (as we know it) coming unglued...
or maybe just a fluke with the internet.

I'm not even sure I can explain it.

This morning I found in my INBOX a (new)email from someone I had
once been in an egroup with. Around 3 years ago.

At the time I was having a problem with some of the regulars, and
this person (who was more low key) wrote me a letter of "support"
saying how much she enjoyed my posts and how open and outspoken I
was, etc.

I wrote her back and we exchanged a few emails at the time.

I didn't notice this morning, as I clicked on REPLY and wrote
something back (to what I thought was another email from her- maybe
in support of what seemed to have happened here?) that the reply was
going to a group at "onelist" (which was later bought out and change
to yahoo egroups) and the date on it was 3 Mar 2096!

And on the bottom of it was a letter from me, it was in response
to, dated March 2000.

So, I wrote a response and sent it, and even though it was
to "onelist" which no longer exhists, apparently it was received by
the egroup and the person who's name was on it read it.

SHE THOUGHT I WAS WRITING TO HER NOW, responding to a letter from
2000! She wrote back and said it was good to hear from me after all
this time and answering a letter from 2000 sounded like something she
might do. And to refresh her memory, WHICH list was it referring to?

I had saved her origainl letter (of support) way back on the
earlier pages of my Yahoo email and I went to look and make sure it
was the same letter I had gotten this morning and it was no longer
there!

Thus, I received a letter in my IN BOX that I had orignally
received in 2003 (though it was now dated 2096- and I didn't even
have a computer till 1998) and thinking it was current, responded to
it- to an address of a group that was no longer "onelist". The person
got it, and wrote back, thinking I had just written to her after 3
years "out of the blue".

I just checked an the date on for the letter (unopenned) in my INBOX
says 1/27. The dates on the full hearder info say Mar 2000. Except
for the one place that says 3 Mar 2096.

I am waiting to see if she has any ideas about this, now that I've
written back and told her all this. And I hadn't written to her this
morning in response to the one I thought I had just received from her.

Maybe computers are really taking over and manipulating our lives?

More likely it's some sort of guidance to check out the egroup
(which I am still member of, and is now Yahoo egroups) that I haven't
thought about in a long time. Or else it's been stuck in a yahoo mail
bottleneck for 3 years and just go through!

Just thought I'd write about this here.

I mean Gary wrote a book based on conversations with ghosts (LOL)

~ Carrie


About Endeaver Academy and the book...

 

Gary's book that is.

I've been told the number of copies that were sold to Endeaver
Academy and have been getting email updates saying that they have now
bought (ordered) another large amount.

In Karen's post the other day (as "Zak") she said "you can ask Ted".

I don't mean this at all to question the truth of this, but since
Ted (Hector) is listed as a member here- thought he doesn't seem to
have ever posted, I thought maybe if he reads this he might explain
more about this.

Like just what they are finding so interesting about this book, they
ordered such a large number of copies and now have ordered more?

Someone mentioned (somewhere) that MT loves it and how it talks
about "forgiveness" which is something he hadn't thought about before
(rough quote from memory). How could someone who claims to be an
Enlightened Master, teaching ACIM have not thought about (or taught)
forgiveness, before?

This is strictly for the sake of discussion, and maybe if Ted
checks in here, and has some free time, he can tell us more about
this.

Also, how many people are actually at Endeaver Academy now?

So that they need such a large number of books (over 100 I think)
and couldn't just several copies around, between them?

Oh, changing the subject, while looking at the member list to see
who I might already know, I saw an email address "kelpiep" Nobody I
know (that I know of) but... we happen to have an Australian Kelpie
(dog) who's parents were imported from Australia.

I thought the name might refer to another kelpie owner?

Ours came to us more by accident than be choice and we'd never
heard of the breed before. If you don't have a 300 acre sheep farm
they can be trained to herd on, they are a challenge to live with.
But, aside from that.... this one is sweet and VERY smart.

I guess, like people no dogs come into our life by accident.


~ Carrie


Re: [Long] What to do when all hell breaks loose

 

What I thought when I read this is...

"We are all teachers to/for each other"

And "nobody comes into our lives by accident".

I have two young roommates (my daughter and her boyfriend, who was
an adopted/abused kid who left home as a teen and has a lot of issues
about living with "family")

Sometimes I remember the quotes I just told you, myself.

Thanks for sharing so much,

~ Carrie









--- In Disappearance_of_the_Universe@..., LindaL
<lklanglois@y...> wrote:
This one is lovingly for Red Pill (and anyone else who might want
it), because it is, I hope, practical ways to use the metaphysics of
the Course. An example or examples. I'm not sure what I'm going to
write yet.

As I have mentioned, I have in my home a 25 year old young woman, a
student of ACIM who came to me asking for help as she is involved in
a relationship where there has been some "seeming" <smile> lies and a
feeling of abandonment, etc. I am renting her a room for an
indefinite amount of time. Her fiance is also a student of ACIM, and
they are both friends of mine, although I have to admit that before
this happened, I hardly really knew them. Just had seen them at
discussion groups, and I go very infrequently (once every few months
maybe!), so you can see I didn't know her very well. So I feel she
has been sent to me to teach her and also to learn from. One thing I
am learning is how to help someone. Also, it is great, because we
have what amounts to at least one intensive study a day. Last night
and this morning after some things I told her, she says are a "huge"
help to her, so I am sharing. Mind you, this is an ongoing
experiment - this technique I have used on myself and which she
is trying. It's about how to perceive when you are so emotionally
involved in an argument or sorrow or whatever that you cannot get out
of the ego. It uses heavily the metaphysics of there not being a
world. I figure if you cannot use this in a practcal manner, what
good is it? Here is an example where it is used.

1) This first part is a good technique to use whenever - to get
into the habit of looking at the world this way. Take watching a
movie as an example. The projector is what projects the movie onto
the screen. And yet it "seems" as if the movie is real. In fact,
while watching it, I will forget it's not real sometimes and feel
emotional while identifying with the characters - who are not real.
To me, the projector represents the decision maker choosing to
project either ego or spirit thoughts onto the screen called the
world. The movie is the projection. I, sitting in the audience am
also the decision maker choosing to either believe it's real or not.
If I think it's real, I'm in the ego. If I know it's not real, I am
choosing to look with the Holy Spirit. So one thing I like to
practice doing is watch movies or TV or whatever and note when I am
perceiving whatever I am watching as real. If I find myself getting
emotionally involved in it, then I realize I am believing it is real.
I
find the Jerry Springer Show great for this, for example. See, I
think of it this way. Even scientifically there is no way at all to
prove that the world is real. The only way we could test to see if it
were real is to use the body. No matter what experiment used, it
would involve touching, seeing, hearing, etc. and there is no way to
get outside this world to observe. Scientifically speaking, too, it
has been found that dreams are just as real to a brain as reality. It
will react in exactly the same way. There has been exhaustive
scientific writing done on this, but no need for me. I am going to
assume that the world is not real, because I am taking ACIM to mean
what it says as an experiment. J didn't say we had to believe it;
just try it. So whenever I think of it, I practice this. Even not
watching TV, but while I am having a conversation with someone, for
instance, I will get in touch with the decision maker and while
talking, the part of me that is the observer, the part that
can stand back and watch, which is the decision maker will just
kind of note that what I am seeing is not real. I have found that
most times it is just about impossible to remaim emotional while
observing that it is not real, and what I am doing, too, is stepping
aside so that the HS can work.

The other part of this - going even further - is that I will
imagine that I am actually in a virtual reality movie or play - and
that I am one of the characters in the play. My part in the play is
the role of Linda Langlois (currently). So I act the role of Linda -
her personality - and practice, also, observing her playing this
role - just as I practice watching movies and observing that it is
not real. In the movies I thoroughly enjoy it and can laugh, cry,
etc. all the while knowing it is not real. The same with regular
life.

OK. So my roommate came to me last night and said she had been
feeling sad and was having trouble coping all day. She was upset and
angry and trying not to be. She told me all these things she had been
trying to get her emotions to do. Things she had been telling herself
in trying to see in another way. I asked her if she had tried asking
HS for help. In surprise she said, no! I suggested that might be a
good first step. LOL. But she said she was so tired of being
meditative of praying all the time. See, she had been trying so hard
to be holy that it was just wearing on her. That's a signal to me
that it's the ego. The ego makes everything so hard. So I suggested
she let herself experience all the emotions she wanted but while
doing so to be in touch with the decision maker and watching herself
at the same time. Just with interest - not trying to stop it, but
just realizing it wasn't real - it was the ego - even while allowing
full vent. Scream, cry, thrash around, whatever. (I'm
getting a little carried away here. LOL) I told her that it with
resistance that the ego keeps hold. The more we resist, the stronger
the ego will "seem". That if she practiced this, it is good, because
it is a way of getting out of the way and, therefore, allowing J or
HS to help. It is a way of sidestepping. She told me she was going to
go to her room and have a good cry. Well, amazingly, she came out
quite soon saying that well, that didn't take long. We talked about
it and she realized that she had been trying to change her behavior
by being spiritual and had instead started getting awfully serious
and not laughing so much. I suggested she have fun. All the fun and
all the crying and whatever she wanted to do. It is not the actions
we have to monitor, but the decision to look upon it as real. That is
the perception part. Then HS takes it from there. When we feel
immobilized and helpless, this is sometimes the only thing we can do.
Get in touch with the observer - the decision
maker.

2) Saved the best for the last. "I am not upset for the reason I
think." USE the upset for getting in touch with what is really
upsetting you. This is how I first started loving the disease of
unforgiveness - or upset. LOL. (Tongue firmly in cheek.) When I am
really, really upset, it is the PERFECT time to get in touch with
what I am really upset about - within the deep dark recesses of the
hidden ego. The ego uses the world to hide what I am really
frightened about, and, yes, it is all fear. I use the whole world
continually symbolizes the original upset or when we identify more
and more with the HS - with love. But when I am upset, it is
symbolilzing the separation, the creation of the world, etc. When I
can step back and see the symbolism "out there" and then realize that
it is really a projection of what I am feeling unconsiously, I can
change my perception from out there to looking at myself. I may have
some major resistance as I described in the lie story, but if I
persist and
am willing to "feel the pain", with the HS's help, I can do it.
For instance, my roommate's fiance will leave her to see another
woman. She feels abandoned and hurt and, therefore, angry. What to
do? Well, it doesn't matter what she does, I told her, and as I
illustrated above. Whatever she feels like. But if she can remove
herself from the situation enough to where she can ask herself, how
can I see this symbolism as being a projection of what is going on in
me - or What is this for? - then she can start to allow what is
buried deeply to come forth. I believe that all our longings in
relationships for love, etc. are really longing for the love of God.
WE MISS HIM WITH OUR WHOLE HEARTS whether we remember it or not. It
felt like her boyfriend abandoned her. Does it feel like God has
abandoned her? While she is open in pain about her boyfriend, she is
much more likely to get in touch with that - the real issue. As we
open up more and more like that, we can go deeper and deeper over
time actually feeling other parts like realizing that she feels
guilty because she believes she has abandoned God. I spoke with her
how in reality it is impossible that God could ever abandon her. I
posted the citation from Lesson 132 where it talks about how it is
impossible to tell where God ends and the Son begins. If that is so,
how could we ever be separate, and, therefore, how could we be
abandoned? What can be thrust off of God if it is impossible to
separate because there would be no "part" that is you AND God. That
part of me that God created as the Son is now part of the Son. How
could God cut off part of Himself, and why would He want to? I am not
speaking of the character in the play here, but much more. This
character here named Linda cannot even begin to imagine being larger
than the whole universe!

It has been my experience that as I have used these incidents of
pain to change perception, the pain disappears and there is peace,
but also I have developed more trust, because it is getting at the
root of the fear. Getting to the cause rather than to the effects.
What is out there is effects and not cause! Time to get to the root
of the matter, I say! Here, here!!

Way, way too much writing for me. Hope this helps.

Love,
Linda


---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!


Re: Re-Posting: FYI: I have no control over this board

 

--- In Disappearance_of_the_Universe@..., "mstreet"
<mastreet@t...> wrote:

What a slew of posts since last I looked. :-)

Hi Carrie, you wrote:

Some people seem to have a life and find ACIM and try and fit it
in. I found ACIM and now try and have a life that fits into that.<<

I am not exactly sure of what you are meaning, but I don't think
that any of us are asked to give up whatever our life's scripts are,
in order to practice the Course. In fact it is whithin our very life
situations (whatever they maybe) that we have the opportunites of
practicing forgiveness and following what the Course teaches. At
least this is my understanding.

BTW I am glad to hear that you resolved whatever problems you were
having.:-)


I'm not always quite sure what I mean, either (LOL)

Like I was always a housewife and mother and didn't go out to
work, and spent a lot of time either with the kids, or
reading/writing letters (or both) I led a kind of sheltered life
compared to some. And it was what I wanted.

I also spent the last 15 years reading and trying to apply what
ACIM says. And I know it doesn't say we have to "give up" the ego
world of form. In fact in the PSYCHOTHERAPY pamphlet it says "Holy
Spirit knows you have earthly needs, (need money for) since you have
choisen to live in a world of form" (paraphrased from memory).

Now that my kids are grown and gone (sort of) and my husband is in a
nursing home, and I'm pretty much on my own for the first time in my
almost 60 years, I seem to be more in a "making a life" type of mode.

More "doing" (though I don't yet have a car so can't go very far-
the computer more than makes up for that).

Thus, I am trying to make a life "around" my ACIM beliefs.

Some (probably the majority) who find ACIM and start to learn it,
already have more of an "out in the world" life. Going to work,
career, with or without kids.

So, they already have the life (set up) and try and fit ACIM into
this.

As I said, not that one is anymore good/better than the other. Just
different ways of looking at it.

As to resolving the problems I had (very briefly) here, that is
mainly Karen's doing. She emailed me and made the first move.

Making the second one is a lot easier if someone else has already
make the first (LOL)



~ Carrie


Re: A + P used to mean something

 

--- In Disappearance_of_the_Universe@..., "Jeanette"
<jeanettejoy@e...> wrote:
MessageJim,

When I see my brother, or a flower, or hear a bird's song, I know
Love is
there, only removing the obstacles to my view of Love, will offer
me The
World for which Jesus teaches.
So, you are saying that if I see a problem with my brother, it's
really only my own mind/perception and this is all that ever has to
change?

Not anyone else?

LIke there really aren't any mean,unkind people "in the world" who
lie and attack us- in need of defense and counterattack, including
calling them names, and ignoring/shunning them?

That's always how I saw what the course says.

It's never anyone else, only my own mind perceiving it, and
the "someone else" (something else) will change just as soon as I
change my mind.

And feel the joy of God instead of pain.

~ Carrie



We do disagree, and that's ok. Life is for learning, and I wouldn't
have it
any other way.



Jeanette


"My attack thought are attacking my invulnerability."

mstreet
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

I had not planned on sending in any more of the Lessons from Ken's tapes, as I think that any one that wants them, can get them for themselves. :-) However, I think this lesson should have been heard or read as whole, to get a clearer understanding of what Ken was meaning. At least that is what came to me, as I continued listening to it.
?
So I am hoping others too, well get a clearer understanding from this.
?
~ Martha :-)
?
Again ... this is from Ken Wapnick's Commentaries on the Workbook Lessons. Volume I. Tape(4)
?
LESSON 26. "My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability."
?
Ken: This is another important lesson. Obviously if I have attack thoughts then I must believe I am vulnerable. If I believe I am vulnerable, I cannot be Christ. Because Christ is invulnerable.
?
If I am as God created me - if my reality is pure spirit then I am one with everything and everyone. Therefore there is no one out there that could really hurt me. So, as long as I believe there is something out there that could hurt me, within my own body or someone else's body then I am saying that I am vulnerable. And if I am saying I am vulnerable, I am saying once again, I am right and the Holy Spirit is wrong.

(W-26.1-4)
"It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked you are not invulnerable. You see attack as a real threat. That is because you believe that you can really attack."
?
Ken: Well the very fact that I am here is proving to me I can really attack. Because - how did I get here? I can only have gotten here because I attacked God first.
?
"And what would have effects through you must also have effects on you."
?
Ken: Because it is all the same. As we have seen in earlier lessons, the inner and the outer are one and the same. There is no difference. So, if I believe I can attack, then I will also believe I can be attacked. That is why he said in the earlier lesson that we must understand that the thought of attacking and being attacked are one and the same. They all come from the same thought system. And whatever I believe is coming from outside, is inside.
?
"It is this law that will ultimately save you, but you are misusing it now."
?
Ken: It will ultimately save me, because its saying that everything is an illusion. What seems to be outside of me, seems to be an illusion. What seems to be inside of me, the ego thought system, is an illusion.
?
"You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests, rather than against them."
?
Ken: Again - so what the ego says, that the law that has effects on me, namely that I can attack others, also works the other way. That as I learn to forgive and let the love of God through me, then that love will come back to me as well.
?
So basically the laws of extension and projection are exactly the same. They just have different contents. What I believe is real inside of me as an ego, I project out, automatically. And then will believe it? is going to hurt me in return. That is what projection is. Extension is, I identify with the love of Jesus within me, and that love automatically comes through me and therefore its that love I have perceived all around me. Either expressions of it,? or calls for it.

"Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable."
?
Ken: That's what proves your right, and Jesus is wrong.
?
So, Jesus says, what are you so upset about? All this is a dream. And we say to him "What do you mean all this is a dream? Look at how I have been attacked. Look at how I suffer. Look at the pain I am feeling. Look at the pain other people other people are feeling. We are all vulnerable. Don't tell me this is all a dream." And that is how we prove that we are right and he is wrong.
?
And our pain - if we perceive it in others or ourselves - is what the final proof is, to the ego, that God is dead and we exist.
?
"Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the attack thoughts are."
?
Ken: If I perceive attack thoughts in you, and make them real, no matter what you are doing. And I make them real for me, then it is only because I have made them real inside myself.
?
"Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted together. They contradict each other."
?
Ken: That is another way of saying that God and the ego are mutually exclusive thoughts.

"The idea for today introduces the thought,? that you always attack yourself first."
?
Ken: If I perceive you as attacking me, and I react in that way, as if it were true, it is only because I attacked first in my mind. This has nothing to do with behavior. That is what the line at the end of "The Dynamics of the Ego" in chapter 11 says: "If he speaks not of Christ to you, you spoke not of Christ to him."
?
Again, we are not talking about what other people are doing. We are talking about what our perception of what other people are doing. And by this we mean, our interpretation ... that they are attacking us.
?
It doesn't mean that you don't see attack thoughts in other people. Jesus is seeing attack thoughts in all of his students. It is when you judge against them, your making them real.
?
"If attack thoughts must entail the belief that you are vulnerable, their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes. Thus they have attacked your perception of yourself."
?
Ken: And that proves that we are right, and the Holy Spirit is wrong. That we are sons of the ego, instead of Sons of God.
?
"And because you believe in them, you can no longer believe in yourself."
?
Ken: And here the "self" we are no longer believing in, would be the Christ, that the Holy Spirit is reminding us of.
?
"A false image of yourself has come to take the place of what you are."
?
Ken: And the false image again, is the special, unique, individualized self that we believe we are.
?
"Practice with today's idea will help you to understand that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you are vulnerable. And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not so."
?
Ken: So everything, again, is thought. So this is really, the early training that the workbook is giving us. To really realize that everything is thought. And we have already seen the clear implications that these thoughts are not the thoughts of the brain (a physical organ) but these are thoughts that are in the mind. That come from either identifying with Jesus, or the ego. And from these two basic thoughts - these two basic thought systems arises a whole world, and our perception of the world. So if I feel myself attacked, it is because I have chosen my ego as my teacher, and therefore believe I am vulnerable. And again, this has nothing to do with what the behavior is.
?
The end.


[Long] What to do when all hell breaks loose

 

This one is lovingly for Red Pill (and anyone else who might want it), because it is, I hope, practical ways to use the metaphysics of the Course. An example or examples. I'm not sure what I'm going to write yet.
?
As I have mentioned, I have in my home a 25 year old young woman, a student of ACIM who came to me asking for help as she is involved in a relationship where there has been some "seeming" lies and a feeling of abandonment, etc. I am renting her a room for an indefinite amount of time. Her fiance is also a student of ACIM, and they are both friends of mine, although I have to admit that before this happened, I hardly really knew them. Just had seen them at discussion groups, and I go very infrequently (once every few months maybe!), so you can see I didn't know her very well. So I feel she has been sent to me to teach her and also to learn from.?One thing I am learning is how to help someone. Also, it is great, because we have what amounts to at least one intensive study a day. Last night and this morning after some things I?told her, she says are a "huge" help to her, so I am sharing. Mind you, this is an ongoing experiment - this?technique I have used on myself and which she is trying. It's about how to perceive when you are so emotionally involved in an argument or sorrow or whatever that you cannot get out of the ego. It uses heavily the metaphysics of there not being a world. I figure if you cannot use this in a practcal manner, what good is it? Here is an example where it is used.
?
1) This first part is a good technique to use whenever - to get into the habit of looking at the world this way. Take watching a movie as an example. The projector?is what projects the movie onto the screen. And yet it "seems" as if the movie is real. In fact, while watching it, I will forget it's not real sometimes and feel emotional while identifying with the characters - who are not real. To me, the projector represents the decision maker choosing to project either ego or spirit thoughts onto the screen called the world. The?movie is the projection. I, sitting in the audience am also the decision maker choosing to either believe it's real or not. If I think it's real, I'm in the ego. If I know it's not real, I am choosing to look with the Holy Spirit. So one thing I like to practice doing is watch movies or TV or whatever and note when I am perceiving whatever I am watching as real. If I find myself getting emotionally involved in it, then I realize I am believing it is real. I find the Jerry Springer Show great for this, for example. See, I think of it this way. Even scientifically there is no way at all to prove that the world is real. The only way we could test to see if it were real is to use the body. No matter what experiment used, it would involve touching, seeing, hearing, etc. and there is no way to get outside this world to observe. Scientifically speaking, too, it has been found that dreams are just as real to a brain as reality. It will react in exactly the same way. There has been exhaustive scientific writing done on this, but no need for me. I am going to assume that the world is not real, because I am taking ACIM to mean what it says as an experiment. J didn't say we had to believe it; just try it. So whenever I think of it, I practice this. Even not watching TV, but while I am having a conversation with someone, for instance, I will get in touch with the decision maker and while talking, the part of me that is the observer, the part that can stand back and watch, which is the decision maker will just kind of note that what I am seeing is not real. I have found that most times it is just about impossible to remaim emotional while observing that it is not real, and what I am doing, too, is stepping aside so that the HS can work.
?
The other part of this - going even further - is that I will imagine that I am actually in a virtual reality movie or play - and that I am one of the characters in the play. My part in the play is the role of Linda Langlois (currently). So I act the role of Linda - her personality - and practice, also, observing?her playing this role - just as I practice watching movies and observing that it is not real. In the movies I thoroughly enjoy it and can laugh, cry, etc. all the while knowing it is not real. The same with regular life.
?
OK. So my roommate came to me last night and said she had been feeling sad and was having trouble coping all day. She was upset and angry and trying not to be. She told me all these things she had been trying to get her emotions to do. Things she had been telling herself in trying to see in another way. I asked her if she had tried asking HS for help. In surprise she said, no! I suggested that might be a good first step. LOL. But she said she was so tired of being meditative of praying all the time. See, she had been trying so hard to be holy that it was just wearing on her. That's a signal to me that it's the ego. The ego makes everything so hard. So I suggested she let herself experience all the emotions she wanted but while doing so to be in touch with the decision maker and watching herself at the same time. Just with interest - not trying to stop it, but just realizing it wasn't real - it was the ego - even while allowing full vent. Scream, cry, thrash around, whatever. (I'm getting a little carried away here. LOL) I told her that it with resistance that the ego keeps hold. The more we resist, the stronger the ego will "seem". That if she practiced this, it is good, because it is a way of getting out of the way and, therefore, allowing J or HS to help. It is a way of sidestepping. She told me she was going to go to her room and have a good cry. Well, amazingly, she came out quite soon saying that well, that didn't take long. We talked about it and she realized that she had been trying to change her behavior by being spiritual and had instead started getting awfully serious and not laughing so much. I suggested she have fun. All the fun and all the crying and whatever she wanted to do. It is not the actions we have to monitor, but the decision to look upon it as real. That is the perception part. Then HS takes it from there. When we feel immobilized and helpless, this is sometimes the only thing we can do. Get in touch with the observer - the decision maker.
?
2) Saved the best for the last. "I am not upset for the reason I think." USE the upset for getting in touch with what is really upsetting you. This is how I first started loving the disease of unforgiveness - or upset. LOL. (Tongue firmly in cheek.) When I am really, really upset, it is the PERFECT time to get in touch with what I am really upset about - within the deep dark recesses of the hidden ego. The ego uses the world to hide what?I?am really frightened about, and, yes, it is all fear. I use the?whole world continually symbolizes the original upset or when we identify more and more with the HS - with love. But when I am upset, it is symbolilzing the separation, the creation of the world, etc. When I can step back and see the symbolism "out there" and then realize that it is really a projection of what I am feeling unconsiously, I can change my perception from out there to looking at myself. I may have some major resistance as I described in the lie story, but if I persist and am willing to "feel the pain", with?the HS's help, I can do it. For instance, my roommate's fiance will leave her to see another woman. She feels abandoned and hurt and, therefore, angry. What to do? Well, it doesn't matter what she does, I told her, and as I illustrated above. Whatever she feels like. But if she can remove herself from the situation enough to where she can ask herself, how can I see this symbolism as being a projection of what is going on in me - or What is this for? - then she can start to allow what is buried deeply to come forth. I believe that all our longings in relationships for love, etc. are really longing for the love of God. WE MISS HIM WITH OUR WHOLE HEARTS whether we remember it or not. It felt like her boyfriend abandoned her. Does it feel like God has abandoned her? While she is open in pain about her boyfriend, she is much more likely to get in touch with that - the real issue. As we open up more and more like that, we can go deeper and deeper over time actually feeling other parts like realizing that she feels guilty because she believes she has abandoned God. I spoke with her how in reality it is impossible that God could ever abandon her. I posted the citation from Lesson 132 where it talks about how it is impossible to tell where God ends and the Son begins. If that is so, how could we ever be separate, and, therefore, how could we be abandoned? What can be thrust off of God if it is impossible to separate because there would be no "part" that is you?AND God. That part of me that God created as the Son is now part of the Son. How could God cut off part of Himself, and why would He want to? I am not speaking of the character in the play here, but much more. This character here named Linda cannot even begin to imagine being larger than the whole universe!
?
It has been my experience that as I have used these incidents of pain to change perception, the pain disappears and there is peace, but also I have developed more trust, because it is getting at the root of the fear. Getting to the cause rather than to the effects. What is out there is effects and not cause! Time to get to the root of the matter, I say! Here, here!!
?
Way, way too much writing for me. Hope this helps.
?
Love,
Linda


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Re: Re-Posting: FYI: I have no control over this board

mstreet
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

?
What a slew of posts since last I looked. :-)
?
Hi Carrie, you wrote:
?
>Some people seem to have a life and find ACIM and try and fit it
in. I found ACIM and now try and have a life that fits into that.<<
?
I am not exactly sure of what you are meaning, but I don't think that any of us are asked to give up whatever our life's scripts are, in order to practice the Course. In fact it is whithin our very life situations (whatever they maybe) that we have the opportunites of practicing forgiveness and following what the Course teaches. At least this is my understanding.
?
BTW I am glad to hear that you resolved whatever problems you were having.:-)
?
~ Martha??
?
?
?
?
?


Re: A + P used to mean something

 

--- In Disappearance_of_the_Universe@..., BBFBBN@a...
wrote:
Hello starchild1124@y...,

In reference to your comment:
¨¨ I think the world does exsist, because we are creating
¨¨ it with our minds. And choosing to be part of it.

¨¨ "Does this really matter"? and such... And *I* am the
¨¨ one who is hurt and/or benefits by which teacher I
¨¨ choose to listen to at any given time. Something to
¨¨ aim for anyway.

In the long run, it does not matter. :-)

This topic was somewhat discussed when I was in Atlanta. And one
of the
things that Ken cautions Course students is to judge or get into
debates about
the way people do the Course.
Of course, then he might have to try and explain how his views
about suing people over the words in it relates to what it says in it.

I recently read a quote from him about this, saying that he was
suing over it because of some agreement "we made" when we came to
earth to live in form. Maybe to go by the rules of the world, that
the people in it have decided on?

How does that relate to all the course says, like "to have, give
all to all" and we can only keep something by giving it away?

And "we are under not laws but the laws of God's?"

If he were open to debate about what the course says, he would be
asked those questions.

Good practice in not judging Ken, accepting him as he is, and
giving it to the HOly Spirit to take care of.

But for me, I have run into too many teachers over the years who
subtly in
one way or another try to make this world real, try to make this
world a better
place to live .. etc., etc., and that is not my goal. So when I
find myself in
that situation ... I just leave .. I do not debate or argue about
it.

Me too, I have a kind of bell that goes off in my head when I pick
up on this stuff. LIke making the body real, and offering ways to
then "heal" it.


I think it comes down to whatever feels "right" for each of us.

~ Carrie



He emphasized that the Course teaches that, even though it is not
our
experience, there is no world, we are not here (even though we
think we are), that
there is nothing good about this world, this world was made as an
attack, with
the ego's motto of kill or be killed which is reflected in
everything in form,
and that the only way out of it is through forgiveness. This is
reflected all
throught out the Course.

But if Course students start judging one another because of
differences on
how they perceive the Course, then the same thing will happen to
the Course as
did the Bible.

So I have learned when folks say something about the Course that I
know is
not in it, I just realize that is where they are and they are
receiving from the
Course exactly what they need.

But for me, I have run into too many teachers over the years who
subtly in
one way or another try to make this world real, try to make this
world a better
place to live .. etc., etc., and that is not my goal. So when I
find myself in
that situation ... I just leave .. I do not debate or argue about
it.

I try to find the Teachers that teach what is in the Course. Ken
is one,
Joe Jessup of the Course_talk is another one ... and after reading
Disappearance
... Arten and Pursah in their own unique style say the same
thing ... This
world is not here .. nothing is going on here ... they repeat that
over and over
again and they emphasize that the only way out of here, the way to
speed up
the process is through forgivness which is realizing that we never
left home,
the mad idea did not happen ... etc., etc.

So for me, I stick to groups and Teachers that do not in any way
make this
world real. I do that enough on my own and I need all the help I
get to
remember
that I am as God created me and my ultimate goal is to wake up.

Peace

All ignorance is actually repression that
exists in order to produce a particular effect
for a specific reason. :-)


Re: A Question

 


And don't you remember this whole mess started because we forgot
to
laugh?
Yup, I do. Just joking! As Pursah says on P.348
of "Disappearance," "One of the Holy Spirit's finest tools is
laughter, my brother. If you take the world too seriously, it will
take you." Love and peace, Gary.
Maybe you should have used this for a subtitle on the book, at
least before trying to discuss it on internet newsgroups (LOL)

I really can't get into the book too much, until I get it and read
it.

And I don't know much about higher math, physics and the how the
universe works (in the illusion) so I won't have a problem with that.

~ Carrie


Re: Re-posting: I have no control over this board

 

Salem, MA...

I just told someone in an email where all my kids live in MA and
forgot about my oldest son (and wife) who live in Salem.

I guess when you have 7 kids you tend to forget (LOL)

We used to look for apartments there, Beverly was much nicer but
more expensive.

Other kids live (one lives with me in VT) Peabody, Salisbury (in the
process of moving to FL (!) Saugus, Wakefield and Metheun.

where I grew up was No.Revere, on the Saugus line- by the marshes,
inlets to the ocean, etc. One thing I miss about living in VT is the
ocean, the smell, cool breeze on a hot summer afternoon, sound of the
gulls, etc.

But when we first left to move to VT (the first time- long story)
we also felt it was so overcrowded and polluted- and you had to be a
millionaire to live anywhere ON the coast (or live in a high rise
Condo on Revere Beach) we weren't missing anything by leaving.

Sometimes I think I can smell the ocean now- even though it's
almost 300 miles away. It's probably a combination of cow manure and
road salt (LOL)

We've looked into Lewiston/Auburn ME (years ago) as a possible
place to move to. Waterville was another one. One negative about it
is we hated that Maine Turnpike! Stephen King even mentioned it in at
least one of his books. It's so long and boring...

I liked the little towns like Biddeford/Saco and that area, too.

Thanks for the welcome and to those who have emailed me, with the
same.

I have to get offline right now (for a bit) so my daughter can do
her online college classes, and I can get at least something done
before another day is over.

It's cool and rainy today, peaceful and nice.

~ Carrie






--- In Disappearance_of_the_Universe@..., "garyrrenard"
<garyrrenard@y...> wrote:

Hey Carrie. Yes, I feel like things are being resolved in a
very
good way too, and I never thought you and I had a problem. Isn't it
interesting you grew up in Revere, Massachusetts? I grew up about
20
miles north of you in Beverly (I was born in Salem, the next town
over.) And you're right, my last name is French, Renard
meaning "fox".
Lewiston, Maine does have a large French population. A lot of
French people moved down from Canada about a hundred and fifty
years
ago and built up the place. But I never had any connection to the
area until I moved up here to Poland Spring (where the water comes
from) about 13 and a half years ago from Massachusetts. It's sunny
as
you say, but it sure is cold in the winter! The experiences
described
in the book started about 10 and a half years ago, about 3 years
after I moved here. I do live in the Lewiston area, but not in
Lewiston itself. Right now I'm in Auburn, still at the same place
that I moved to at the end of 1999, as mentioned in the book. I
never
actually said what town I was in for the book, (I think I had some
delusion about privacy, LOL) but most of it happened on White Oak
Hill in Poland, Maine.
It's great to have you here, and I hope you like the book. Let
me know what you think. Love and peace, Gary.


Hi Gary,

Sorry about last night, I kind of overreacted (I have all fire and
air signs and tend to combust)

But it all worked out, and I feel it's resolved (in a really good
way) with Patrick and Karen.

"All things are lessong God would have us learn", and such.

I don't know about you, I don't think you and I had a problem to
start with (LOL)

btw, are you originally from MA? You mentioned going there and one
of your emails (that Karen used) seems to indicate that. But then I
think your name is french, and Lewiston was a predominately french
area, at least at one time. We used to get the paper from there
(long
ago) and considered it as a place to move to.

For some reason I always think of it as sunny (don't know why, I
haven't seen it all that much)

Just wondering about MA because I grew up in Revere, North(Shore)
of Boston.

~ Carrie


Re: A + P used to mean something

sonnetone
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Hi Jim,
I liked your post and would tend to agree that we are kept in the dream because we still believe and treat it as real.
Douglas Harding developed an excellent way to show you there is no one there-it kind of freaks you a bit when you do it-www.headless.org?
David

----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Dunn
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 2:36 PM
Subject: RE: [Disappearance_of_the_Universe] Re: A + P used to mean something

?
?
?
Jim Dunn
-----Original Message-----
From: mstreet [mailto:mastreet@...]
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 10:21 AM
To: Disappearance_of_the_Universe@...
Subject: Re: [Disappearance_of_the_Universe] Re: A + P used to mean something

Jeanette wrote:
?
>>I do feel the world exists, and so does my brother. I feel it is my responses to my brother which are erroneous, and illusional, and how I see my brother is greatly misperceived.<<
?
??As Ossie pointed out, when I look in the mirror I still see me, looking back at me. So obviously I think I exist.
?
"Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God."
?
Dear gang,
??? All of us are"here" in the dreamscape we call this world simply because we have allowed our minds to cherish a hodge-podge of beliefs that are contradictory and self cancelling.? Lesson 307 tells us that "Conflicting beliefs cannot be my will."?
??????? We know instinctively that the process of "unlearning" is our true vocation, and that forgiveness is the task at hand. What we often fail to realize is how our languaging reinforces our attachment to the world. When we say, as Jeanette did, "I DO feel that the world exists, and so does my brother," we are unconsciously reaffirming a false belief.
??? Now it may sound like nit-picking, but I have found that ACIM has provided me a delightful word it uses so frequently when talking about the world of dreams.And i try to use this word in examining my beliefs..
One of my favorite course quotes is from chapter 21.. Responsibility for Sight...? "And everything that SEEMS to happen to me, I have asked for and received as I have asked."
???? So I might? loosen my grip on the delusion by saying,"I SEEM to believe the world exists, and my brother as well." This moves me to a position of not being so rigid, so stuck.
??? At a family reunion I was given a bunch of pictures of myself? from earlier years, and I started laughing at how I have "appeared" in so many excarnations. A skinny young boy, a yound? adult.. etc. etc. It occurred to me that all these images that I looked upon were not me. So I went to the mirror, and looked at my current presentation, and laughed outloud. IT WASN'T ME EITHER!
?
So, as to relanguaging.. I try to use the word "seems" more and more. It allows my mind to release the death grip it holds on so many cherished beliefs. It may portend the "little willingness" the course suggests.
"I SEEM to get upset. I SEEM to see you as confused. I seem, I seem.... I seem to be in this world."
?
I seem to be too wordy! But then again, I seem to know you all will forgive me.
?
Love and light to all. We walk hand in hand in our journey without distance to a place we never left.
?
Jim Dunn
?


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Re: A Question

 

And I loved it, too, in the book where Pursah or Arten said that Jesus (or J) had an irreverent sense of humor.

garyrrenard wrote:
Carrie wrote: --- In
Disappearance_of_the_Universe@..., "garyrrenard"
wrote:
> It seems to me there are an awful lot of people having an awful lot
> of FUN around here. What's the matter with you guys? Don't you know
> the Course is for SERIOUS spiritual students? LOL.

>And don't you remember this whole mess started because we forgot to
>laugh?

Yup, I do. Just joking! As Pursah says on P.348
of "Disappearance," "One of the Holy Spirit's finest tools is
laughter, my brother. If you take the world too seriously, it will
take you." Love and peace, Gary.


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