Practice and the Real Thing
Ultimately, a Holy Instant is a direct revelation of God. Ultimately, a miracle is an experience of Oneness. Ultimately, a Holy relationship, which is a miracle, is also an experience of Oneness with what seems like another outside of you. But many students haven’t yet experienced Oneness, and there is a difference between the experience of actual Oneness, and the everyday practice of the Holy Instant, the miracle, and the Holy relationship. The practice is to prepare and open you for the actual experience of Oneness with God (revelation), or with the part of your mind that seems “out there” as a world (miracle).
As A Course in Miracles says, God is in charge of revelations, and your Christ Mind is in charge of miracles. Only God and your Christ Mind can recognize when you are open to experiencing Oneness, either through a revelation or through a miracle. You cannot force the experience of Oneness. But by practicing the Holy Instant, by extending God’s Love in your awareness, and by taking responsibility for your perceptions in your relationships with others you set your mind in the direction of Oneness – God and your Christ Mind do the rest.
It is important to know that the experience of Oneness is a shift out of the world so that you do not confuse the practice with the “real thing”. While practicing any of these things will improve your experience and bring you a measure of peace, they are not enough to show you that the world is not real. The experience of Oneness with God, or with what seems like an “other” in the world, shows you Reality, and reveals the world as an illusion. Without the experience of Reality you cannot know that what you are experiencing is illusion, and you will not let it go because it’s the only “reality” that you have. If you aren’t sure if you have experienced Oneness, then you probably have not. You will know without a doubt when you have because it is not of the world, or in the world, but it is more familiar than the world.
As A Course in Miracles says, God is in charge of revelations, and your Christ Mind is in charge of miracles. Only God and your Christ Mind can recognize when you are open to experiencing Oneness, either through a revelation or through a miracle. You cannot force the experience of Oneness. But by practicing the Holy Instant, by extending God’s Love in your awareness, and by taking responsibility for your perceptions in your relationships with others you set your mind in the direction of Oneness – God and your Christ Mind do the rest.
It is important to know that the experience of Oneness is a shift out of the world so that you do not confuse the practice with the “real thing”. While practicing any of these things will improve your experience and bring you a measure of peace, they are not enough to show you that the world is not real. The experience of Oneness with God, or with what seems like an “other” in the world, shows you Reality, and reveals the world as an illusion. Without the experience of Reality you cannot know that what you are experiencing is illusion, and you will not let it go because it’s the only “reality” that you have. If you aren’t sure if you have experienced Oneness, then you probably have not. You will know without a doubt when you have because it is not of the world, or in the world, but it is more familiar than the world.
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