ACIM Mentor

“Re: Your last article (May 26) I am wondering ‘WHY Not EMPATHY as well as SYMPATHY’ in the last sentence of your paragraph #4 in this edition?” – MA “Empathy” means the ability to enter into what another is feeling because you feel or have felt that way, too. “Sympathy” can mean this or compassion or pity where you feel sorry for another without entering into their feelings. Because I was using them comparatively I meant sympathy as “compassion” rather than “empathy”. I was making the point that a shift had occurred for me. I could no longer step into the personal thought system (ego) without feeling disoriented. My awareness that the personal thought system does not make sense was no longer just intellectual but experiential. So instead of trying to empathize with my friend, or enter into her feelings as I once would have done, I could offer her only sympathy. >>>> A lot falls away as you get closer to Truth and your peace grows. It can be confusing. One of t...

When this mind entered the “period of undoing”, or the first period in the Development of Trust discussed in A Course in Miracles (M-4.I.A), I experienced spiritual Vision through the Holy Relationship. This Vision is what is called, among other things, the “real world” in A Course in Miracles . In my translation of ACIM into plain language ( The Message of A Course in Miracles) I called this Vision “Real Perception” because “real world” confused some students. They expected to see a different material world or for the material world to change. But Vision is a perception not of the eyes but of the mind. I can understand why It is called another “world” in that you perceive a different “reality”. But it is not concrete like what the eyes show you. It is, well, a perception . The best I can do is to describe It like a smile beyond the concrete world. But of course there is no smiling mouth seen! It simply cannot be adequately described. (To myself I just call It “the Vision thing”). But...

“ Liz, thank you for your recent post on what if I run out of time. It’s helped me to stop struggling and let things play out. My question is: Is there anything this separate sense of self is responsible for?...” – AS Yes: “The sole responsibility of God's teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself. Atonement means correction, or the undoing of errors.” (M-18.4) Now that you are aware of the Undoing of the idea-of-not-Truth (the “Atonement” in A Course in Miracles ) you are responsible for accepting the Undoing for yourself. This may seem to contradict what I wrote last week about the Undoing’s unfolding being inevitable. But “down here on the ground”, as it were, the Undoing unfolds through your taking responsibility for correcting in your own mind the error of believing in not-Truth. This shows up in your day to day life as whatever study and practice you feel moved to do. And also what you feel not moved to do, as well. From now on, however you feel moved, ...

A concern of many who work with or contact me is that they will “run out of time”, meaning, that they will die before they reach what they consider “enlightenment” or “awakening”. Some also are concerned about loved ones who have no interest in being enlightened. What about them? [Spiritual awakening or enlightenment can mean different things to different people. But I find in general that what spiritual students mean by these terms is a sustained awareness that only the Truth is true. This would be the highest level of awareness (consciousness, perception) one could attain. It is also known as Christ or Buddha Consciousness.] The question of running out of time is a personal one of course. There is fear behind it that one must attain enlightenment before they die or they will end up in purgatory or have to come back in another life. But both views represent a mistaken view of what life in the world is about. It is not a cause for a future effect, as in, if you do it right...

“In a recent mentoring session I spoke with you about a situation involving a woman I had been seeing who turned out to be a disappointment. Upon reflection I saw that she was a poor choice in the first place… I took what I considered to be a mountain of evidence to support my conclusion and thought I could call the whole thing a mistake on my part and simply walk away. While my feet did the walking, my mind continued to be haunted by the details with a vague sense that somehow this was my fault. I could see that this could be explained by the concept of “generalized guilt” that you often talk about, but the guilt remained. I had a chance to talk about this with a woman I met recently whom I would describe simply as a peer – someone with life experience, intelligence, insight, and credibility. She responded unequivocally that this woman was not for me and that I could do much better. I immediately felt a calming resolution from this interaction. (Whether it lasts time will tell.) I ...