ACIM Mentor

...Having accepted (maybe as blind faith) that this material world in which we ‘dream’ ourselves is an illusion, I find myself looking with wonder at the natural world around me, here in the peaceful country close to the sea. Everything seems miraculous...I could go on marveling for pages and only touch the edges of the wonder. But then I tell myself this is all illusion. That God ‘doesn’t know about it’. So how did all this amazing design come about?...I had to visit the nearest city. As the bus took me further and further into the busy streets, the grubby buildings, the crowds blind to each other as they rushed in and out of shops‑the illusion idea wasn’t hard to grasp… ‑MDT The universe of form is projected by what A Course in Miracles calls the son of God . This is the part of Mind that contains the idea of not-God (illusion/ego). It is split between God and the idea not-God. Your seemingly-individual mind is made in the image of this split mind. When you see beauty and ugliness i...

I wonder exactly what is meant by "extend love" or how one extends love. Is it a loving intention toward the person, or a wish for them, or what? Can you give an example? – JO “Extending love” means replacing unloving thoughts in your mind with the awareness of Love in your mind. For example, your peace of mind is disturbed while watching something on television. Your peace is gone because you believe that what you see is reality. You extend Love in this situation by turning inward to Truth (God), feeling Love’s Presence within you, and remembering that It, not the images appearing, is What is Real. It may take you a while to accept that only your own thoughts cause you pain. So at first you may feel that you need to extend Love “out there” to the images that seem to be causing you pain. Or you may extend Love to another who is sharing their painful story with you. You can do this by imagining the situation or the person in a Loving Light. Or you may use some other image to ...

Can you please explain further these comments you made? What do you mean by "victimhood"? What do mean that I am attached to a role I play? What is my personal story? I have to look at the story I have about myself. What does that mean? - JJ The personal thought system (ego) in your mind has a story for you. A Course in Miracles refers to this as your individual or personal past. This story begins with your birth into the world and includes your childhood, adolescence, etc., all the way up to now. This is your “personal story” and it is not an obstacle to peace in itself but functions as one when you identify with and are attached to it because it is not reality. In Reality you are One with God, so you are formless being. But you have an idea in your mind of a form (body) in a universe of form. It seems like this idea began at the “birth” of the body, but really it is just an idea in your mind right now. In itself this idea is not an obstacle to peace. You can choose to sim...

As a student of the Course , I've learned that you'll need your learning the most in situations that appear to be upsetting rather than in those that are already calm and quiet. Why is that? Can you explain for me? - JJ It’s not that you need your learning only when confronted with discordant appearances, but, perhaps, that you choose to use your learning only when confronted with discordant appearances. The only way to lasting inner peace is through an awareness of Truth (God), but when one first becomes aware of Truth and experiences peace, they are not likely to accept yet that this is the only way to lasting peace. So, at first, when you are in pain, you are likely to turn to Truth only after you have exhausted all of the other ways that you have sought to relieve yourself. Then, when Truth brings you the relief that you want, you let It slip from your mind until you find yourself in pain again. In other words, at first, you use an awareness of Truth as a band-aid, rather...

Lesson 65 of ACIM - Workbook for students says: "God gives only happiness, therefore, my function is happiness." Speaking for myself, after witnessing the March 11th, 2011 Japan's massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake followed by 30 feet high tsunami… I am wondering just how can people be happy and fulfill their goals and function of happiness under these devastating situations? I've been pondering on these probing questions while practicing the daily lessons of the Course: Does God really love us? Does God have a different plan of survival for us? Does God exist? Does God have a different Will than what we will for us? Does God have nothing to do with what we will in life? Does God not want us to make this world a better place to live? Does God have nothing to do with such disasters? Can you please explain for me? – JJ I addressed the specific issue of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in an earlier article, and that answer ties into the answers for your other questi...