Everything is just an illusion anyway

There was a time when I was so overwhelmed and distraught by conditions in my life-- over which I had no control --that I actually lost big chunks of my waking hours. 

In fact, I don’t remember days or even weeks during that time. 

My marriage was falling apart—truth be told, it was over.  I took it very hard.  I was very young and very hurt and emotionally devastated. 

I had a seven-year old to care for and because of my emotional state, wasn’t capable of caring for myself, let alone a seven-year old.

However, I didn’t think I had a choice in the matter. 

After all, there was a child depending on me.  I carried on, went into what you might call auto-pilot for the sake of my daughter, and existed in a sort of half-life for a while. 

Finally, one day, while walking to work, I heard a bird singing. 

Then I noticed flowers that were growing in gardens along the way, and realized the sun was shining and the sky was blue. 

 My sepia-tone world was transformed to Technicolor. 

 I felt like Dorothy entering the Land of Oz.  As emotionally bruised and battered as I still was, I had a rather enormous realization.  Awakening from my pain in such a beautiful way was truly a blessing.  After a time, I realized I was doubly blessed, and that sense of gratitude has stayed with me ever since.

Recently, someone reminded me of how important it is to give thanks even when you think you have nothing to give thanks for. 

 Hearing this, reminded me of a time when I did just that.  I gave thanks for awakening to life.  I was in pain and I gave thanks anyway and I continue to give thanks every day. 

It’s been 40 years since my divorce.  I’m still grateful for my awakening. 

I’m a relatively new student in The Course in Miracles, but anyone who has studied that course knows it teaches that everything is just an illusion anyway.  The only thing that’s real is love. 

Love leads to forgiveness. 

Love leads to gratitude. 

God is love and love is all there is. 

That old saying, “We’re spiritual beings having a human experience” is much easier to say than to live.

And, because I can be categorized in that statement, sometimes the going gets tough for me.  When that happens, I remind myself to keep it simple and bring it back to gratitude. 

Whatever is happening in my life I say to myself, “embrace it and be grateful anyway . . . forgive yourself and be grateful anyway. . . love yourself and be grateful anyway”.  Wake up in the morning and be grateful . . . go to sleep at night and be grateful. 

 Whatever is happening in your life right now, whether you see it as good, bad, beautiful, or ugly, love yourself, forgive yourself, and be grateful anyway.

Lesson . . . I am much stronger than I ever thought possible, and I am blessed with the awareness of all of God’s blessings.

Thank you God; thank you God; thank you God, and so it is.

---Kate Morgan for Unity of Charlotte

Amplifying God's Attributes

When we serve others, we are amplifying the "givingness" of God. When we express love to family and friends, we are amplifying God's Love. When we engage in creative expression such as art, writing, singing and dancing, we are amplifying God's creativity. Every "Aha!" moment we experience is amplifying God's Light.

So, the sacred activity of meditation likewise allows us to amplify God's Peace. Let us permit the practice of being "an instrument of peace" to become part of our daily activities. Let us demonstrate more Love for Peace in this manner. Loving the attribute of Peace enables more of it to show up on our planet.

 --Lawrence J. Toliver

Four eyes are better than two

If you wore glasses as a child, you might have had the experience of being called 
“four eyes.”

Now, as adults, we can realize that we do have four eyes.

We each have 2 pairs of eyes, our physical eyes and our spiritual eyes. 

Our physical eyes are uniquely ours by their shape, color and vision.  We use our physical eyes to see in the world we live in, the world of time and space and form.

We use our Spiritual eyes to see into the realm of possibility and potential. 

Our 2 sets of eyes were given to us by God so we could live in the world as the Divine expression of God.

When we use our physical eyes to see what is as it is, without evaluating, analyzing or judging what we see, our Spirit is open. 

We now can see into the Spiritual realm.

 When our 2 sets of eyes are open and working together, we see as God sees with eyes of compassion, caring and kindness.

 We see the Spirit of God in each person and experience the great joy of seeing God at work in our life.  

--Nancy Ennis for Unity of Charlotte

The Gift of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a gift given to us by God to heal the hurts of the past, and to give us the hope of a better past.  Forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves and the world.  It keeps our Spirit open, flowing and growing into greater awareness and experience of God’s goodness and abundance.

  When our Spirit is open everyone benefits.

The act of forgiveness is said to be one of the most difficult things life asks of us.

 Yet it is one of the most necessary things we can do.

 

When we don’t use our gift of forgiveness, it hurts us on every level of our being: body, mind, and Spirit.

Our creative power of thinking is used to relive past events so often making them worse than they were.

Our emotion are frozen in unprocessed anger and resentment as we try to suppress the pain of the past.

This can eventually cause disease in our physical body.

  

Our Spiritual arteries are clogged with the accumulation of unprocessed emotions. Our Spirit is constricted and our heart is closed so we don’t get hurt again.  When we go through years of carrying baggage from the past, we can often become bitter and hardened against life.

 

Probably the best way to understand our gift of forgiveness is to change FORGIVE to GIVE FOR.

  When we forgive, we give up  that something that blocks our Spirit for something that opens our Spirit.

When we forgive, we give up Resentment for Good Will; Revenge for Kindness; Blame for Understanding; Separation for Oneness; A Closed Heart for an Open Heart; Criticism for Support; Doubt and Fear for Faith and Courage; Anger for Love; Self condemnation for Self esteem.

-- Rev. Nancy Ennis for Unity of Charlotte