Ask: From Lack to Abundance
I have a problem reconciling ACIM teachings with doing daily tasks making living in Commerce. Say, I am a salesperson. I need to be aggressive, persuasive, not take NO for an answer, follow up on my competition to know what they are doing to counter it to my advantage, maximize my profits by up- and cross-selling, etc, etc, etc. I do it honestly, delivering what’s promised, don’t lie and cheat etc, etc. Say, this is not coming from my greed or wanting to live a decadent life, but because I need to do it to stay in business and earn physical living i.e. pay the mortgage, taxes and the whole slew of other bills you are aware of, and the family/society is expecting/demanding me to deliver. But this feels and sounds like I am coming from LACK, or WORRY (FEAR) of not being able to make my living and fulfill the expectations of my family or society.
ACIM tells us to be/live in the Mind of abundance, but, as I mentioned before, it is hard for me to make that switch, from LACK to ABUNDANCE. – RM
God is formless being, extending infinitely and eternally. God is All, so God is Abundance in the truest sense.
The universe of form, which is not-God, is the idea of the opposite of God in every way: It is time-bound, limited form. It is the idea of lack, limitation, and loss given form. So, in the universe of form, you cannot have it all at once. You have to trade one form for another form: You have to trade the body’s attention, time, energy, education, skills, and experience for money, which you then trade for things that the body needs to live in the world.
So, when you look out at the universe of form and think that it is reality, you are indeed in a mind-set of lack, and you will inevitably worry. But this is not reality; God is Reality. The universe of form is only an erroneous construct of reality in your mind. So, you have the choice to attend to it, or to attend to the Truth (God) in your mind. When you bring your mind back to Truth again and again, you become aware that Abundance is Reality, and that the universe of form is only a bunch of meaningless images passing before your mind.
You cannot have two realities, so you have to decide to which you want to give your attention: The universe of form (seeming reality) outside of you or God (Reality) within you. You do not establish which is actually real, but you do make real to you that to which you give your attention. When you attend to form, lack and fear are real for you, but when you attend to God, you know that you have Everything. You experience within yourself a feeling of abundance, and an awareness that all is perfect, whatever is appearing in the universe of form.
Attending to God within you does not mean that you neglect the body’s life in the world. It simply means that you give your awareness of God priority. You take time to commune with God everyday, you return your mind to God again and again throughout each day, and you use every situation that you encounter in the world to remember that only God within you is real. This takes willingness, discipline, and time to become your way of being while you are still aware of a world, but the reward is inner peace.
Inner peace is an experience of wholeness, so it is an experience of abundance. When you have inner peace, you have no needs. Your awareness of Abundance within then manifests in the universe of form as everything the body needs showing up: loving relationships, meaningful employment, enough money, etc. So, give Abundance (God) priority in your mind, and abundance will show up in your awareness.
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Learn about The Plain Language A Course in Miracles at www.placim.com.
Get answers by topic at www.acimmentor.com/answersbytopic.html.
If you have a question that you want answered in the ACIM Mentor Blog/Newsletter, send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered here.
ACIM tells us to be/live in the Mind of abundance, but, as I mentioned before, it is hard for me to make that switch, from LACK to ABUNDANCE. – RM
God is formless being, extending infinitely and eternally. God is All, so God is Abundance in the truest sense.
The universe of form, which is not-God, is the idea of the opposite of God in every way: It is time-bound, limited form. It is the idea of lack, limitation, and loss given form. So, in the universe of form, you cannot have it all at once. You have to trade one form for another form: You have to trade the body’s attention, time, energy, education, skills, and experience for money, which you then trade for things that the body needs to live in the world.
So, when you look out at the universe of form and think that it is reality, you are indeed in a mind-set of lack, and you will inevitably worry. But this is not reality; God is Reality. The universe of form is only an erroneous construct of reality in your mind. So, you have the choice to attend to it, or to attend to the Truth (God) in your mind. When you bring your mind back to Truth again and again, you become aware that Abundance is Reality, and that the universe of form is only a bunch of meaningless images passing before your mind.
You cannot have two realities, so you have to decide to which you want to give your attention: The universe of form (seeming reality) outside of you or God (Reality) within you. You do not establish which is actually real, but you do make real to you that to which you give your attention. When you attend to form, lack and fear are real for you, but when you attend to God, you know that you have Everything. You experience within yourself a feeling of abundance, and an awareness that all is perfect, whatever is appearing in the universe of form.
Attending to God within you does not mean that you neglect the body’s life in the world. It simply means that you give your awareness of God priority. You take time to commune with God everyday, you return your mind to God again and again throughout each day, and you use every situation that you encounter in the world to remember that only God within you is real. This takes willingness, discipline, and time to become your way of being while you are still aware of a world, but the reward is inner peace.
Inner peace is an experience of wholeness, so it is an experience of abundance. When you have inner peace, you have no needs. Your awareness of Abundance within then manifests in the universe of form as everything the body needs showing up: loving relationships, meaningful employment, enough money, etc. So, give Abundance (God) priority in your mind, and abundance will show up in your awareness.
>>>>>
Learn about The Plain Language A Course in Miracles at www.placim.com.
Get answers by topic at www.acimmentor.com/answersbytopic.html.
If you have a question that you want answered in the ACIM Mentor Blog/Newsletter, send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered here.
Comments
"Your awareness of Abundance within then manifests in the universe of form as everything the body needs showing up: loving relationships, meaningful employment, enough money, etc.". I thought our script was relatively fixed so how does this actually play out?
Is your statement related to a change in perception, i.e., by pursuing inner peace our needs have changed and so we no longer really want those things OR are you saying spirit will actually change the world of form to suit our needs?
Just trying to understand...
Thanks
"The script is written" is merely a way of saying that the outcome is certain, not that literally what happens in the world is pre-determined. What is unfolding in your awareness right now is coming from your mind right now. What does or does not show up is an effect of your mind; the Holy Spirit does not go out into the world and make things happen, because the world is only an idea in your mind. As you become more and more aware of Truth as True, this is reflected in the world that you perceive as an effect of your awareness.