ACIM Mentor

Truth, being All, cannot have an opposite. But, being All, It must consider the idea of Its Own opposite. However, the moment the idea of not-Truth arises, it is undone by Truth’s All-encompassing nature. Since Truth is Eternal (Timeless), Infinite (Limitless), and Formless the idea of not-Truth is time-bound, limited form. So within the idea of not-Truth it seems like not-Truth, or time and limited form, arose long ago and will be undone in some indefinite future. This is what you seem to be experiencing as a self. The unfolding story of the universe of form is the instant of the idea-of-not-Truth/the-undoing-of-the-idea-of-not-Truth expressed as the story of time. Realizing this means turning your mind around to understand that all you see as the universe of form is an expression of that moment of undoing. The undoing is over and you are just watching it play out as a story of time. You don’t have to make the undoing happen. It is already happening through the self with whic...

This intersection of perimenopause in the self’s life with the falling away of the belief in guilt from this mind has made something very clear to this mind: Much of my sense of personal identity was determined by hormones. Much of what I thought of as “me” was just mere moods passing to and fro because of chemicals washing over the brain. Of course, I am simply describing the human female experience. Before this stage in this mind’s awareness there was no disentangling itself from the human experience. And the belief in guilt rode the hormonal ride, compounding the darker aspects of it. Only without the belief in guilt can I (this mind) see this, because the hormones are still there causing occasional darkness of varying degrees, but there is no belief in guilt to convince me there is something inherently wrong in me that needs to be fixed. At first, especially when it hasn’t happened for a while and/or it is subtle, I am sometimes deceived. But I always return to the awareness t...

All is well and perfect and always has been. I have resisted this experience from the beginning for many reasons. For one thing, it was too good to be true. I didn’t trust it, though it was something I had always sensed. For another, it obviously did not apply to the self and its world—or the self’s thought system’s (ego’s) interpretation of the universe of form. So I didn’t want it. What good was this idea to me in my identification with the self? The personal thought system in my mind was saying, as always, “What’s in it for me?” and, because I identified with it, those words were my own. I wanted it to be well and perfect according to my definition of well and perfect at the level of form. Of course, what I couldn’t see was that the personal thought system would never, ever see things that way. It is a thought system of lack, guilt, and fear. And, of course, there was my belief in guilt in the way. How could I accept that all is well and perfect when guilt was real to me? ...

“In section T-22.III.1.4-6, it reads: ‘You can see reason.  This is not a play on words, for here is the beginning of a vision that has meaning.  Vision is sense, quite literally.  If it is not the body’s sight, it must be understood.’ My question lies with Vision, and what it actually is.  For years as both a devoted student and teacher of ACIM, I have been aware that the body’s eyes were made to hide what could be seen.  So my understanding is if what we believe we see is not there, than it is Vision, the Holy Spirit’s sight, in which is gifted us through our practice of willingness and forgiveness.  (along with reason, being HS’s knowledge)  The above readings say; “Vision is sense, quite literally.”  I am a little confused.  If I try to understand, it is telling me that Vision is to sense or experience that which the Holy Spirit sees and knows—beyond the body and the world of form.  It cannot be “sense” as we know it in the world...

This mind wondered, what happens when the belief in guilt falls away? Well, first the self- concept fell away. This mind sometimes wonders if this is the same as saying self-identification has fallen away. After all, what is the self but a concept? Sometimes this mind is comfortable with that. Sometimes it feels it is not quite accurate to say, yet, that all self-id has fallen away. It sees evidence that this is not yet so. After the self-concept fell away this mind spent a good three years in a type of limbo or stasis. The personal thought system (ego) was very loud, insistent, and persistent. Of course, there was also always a present Peace. This mind could do nothing but allow the noise and wait and see what would unfold. And, frankly, that is what is left after the belief in guilt has fallen away! There is nothing to do but watch. Everything is automatic and the mind only needs to observe the undoing of the part of it that no longer has a use. Mostly, for now anyway, this ...

My mistake for so many years was to try to accept that I wasn’t what I was experiencing myself to be. In other words, I felt I was a self, but I tried to get myself to realize that I was Truth or Spirit or Mind or whatever you want to call It. It would have been better to allow myself to feel I was a self and to also invite Truth into my awareness. In practice, of course, this is what eventually occurred. I would, time and again, say, “This is what I experience, dammit, and I’m not going to deny it anymore.” But it would have been a lot less painful if between those moments of honesty I didn’t fall back into guilt and feel I had to try to accept what was unacceptable from the point of view that I was a self. There was no reconciling my experience as a self and my experiences of Truth. I really just had to experience each apart from the other. This is the experience of the split mind. But mind seeks to be whole. So it seeks to reconcile its parts. However, Wholeness is . It is not ...

There are two approaches one can take to a spiritual teaching. In one the teaching is an end in itself. The goal of the student is to master the teaching. The emphasis of study for them is to find the “right way” to understand the material. Therefore, they often engage in arguments with other students over the correct way to interpret the material. They are often unhappy with teachers they feel are not “right” in their interpretation. In the other approach, the Awareness of Truth (Holy Spirit) is the Goal. And the teaching is seen as an instrument that the Awareness of Truth in the student’s mind uses to help them reach that Goal. So the student does not seek the “right way” to read the material, but rather asks the Awareness of Truth in their mind for the most helpful way to understand it. The student emphasizes their experiences of Truth over the material they study, which they recognize are just symbols on a page. They have no reason to argue with others over the correct inter...

“I was doing my morning reading of the Course when I came upon this statement in  Text-4.7.5: 'God Who encompasses all being, nevertheless created distinct beings who have everything individually, but who want to share it to increase their joy. Nothing that is real can be increased except by sharing it.' This confuses me a bit...thinking we need to lose the individual…” – JW Yes, it is a confusing quote out of context and seems to contradict much that A Course in Miracles says about Oneness. And it certainly contradicts the experience of Oneness! Oneness means one and the same throughout. There is no distinction to be made in What is One. The conversational nature of ACIM, especially in the first few chapters, also makes it confusing because there is an implied understanding between the Voice and Helen so there is a lack of helpful elaboration for the rest of us. But that quote is understandable if you remember that in ACIM “to create” means “to extend” rather than “to b...

“…I try to follow your descriptions when you refer to the mind but it seems there are so many versions of “mind” I wondered if you could find an easy way for the very simple person (me) to explain so I can understand? So for example in your last mind you mentioned--Universal mind--Universal split mind--hybrid mind, and simply mind. Is this linked to the ladder of the split which Kenneth Wapnick referred to?” - CL There is only one Mind (Truth), but we experience Mind as though It is split between Truth and not-Truth. The part of Mind where the idea of not-Truth seems to occur I refer to as the one or universal split-mind. (In A Course in Miracles this is called the “Son of God”).  It is this split-mind that projects the universe of form, including billions of versions (“sons of God”) of itself. You experience yourself as one of these projected split-minds. The split in you shows up as two thought systems, the Awareness of Truth (Holy Spirit) and the personal thought system (...

Last week I wrote about an experience of the Light of Love coming into my mind and the product, a lesbian romance novel, which came about because of it ( http://acimmentor.blogspot.com/2017/11/an-interesting-thing-happened-this.html ). (The “Light of Love” can also be called the Vision of the Holy Spirit, the Vision of the Holy Relationship, Spiritual Vision, the Real World, True Perception, etc.) There was also a great deal of personal psychological processing that occurred when it began. I noted that the novel was not “channeled”, though it “rode in”, on the Light. So where did it come from? It came from what I call the “hybrid-mind”. This is a blend of this split-mind and the universal split-mind. Both of these contain the awareness of Truth. To explain: This split-mind is a singular expression of the universal split-mind. The Truth in this split-mind is universal. But not-Truth in this split-mind is unique. Not-Truth is this particular personal thought system (ego) and the...

An interesting thing happened in this mind this summer. But first, some background: As many of you know, I have published five books and written many articles, all non-fiction, all with spiritual themes. But my writing began with fiction at the age of ten. All my life I have devised plots in my mind, inspired by any number of things. It’s just the way this mind often occupied itself. I finished two novels, one in my early twenties and one in my early thirties. Both were love stories. The first was heterosexual. The second, more authentically for me, was between two women. Though both were submitted to publishers, neither was published. I did not consider myself very good at writing fiction, though I loved the process. Eventually, fiction writing fell away naturally, though my mind continued to produce plots and characters. My non-fiction, spiritual writing began in my early forties, as my blog. I have not stopped writing spiritual themed books and articles since (I am fift...

“i am currently reading 'The ACIM Mentor Articles: answers for students of a course in miracles' and as some of the entries are from 2006 etc, i am wondering if they are still relevant to your current teachings now, as you seem to have developed and sometimes have different ways of perception.” – HE Yes, I have evolved and much of what I wrote back then I would not write now. However, what I wrote then was authentic to where I was then. So many readers still find those articles relevant to where they are now. I get a lot of positive feedback about that book's practical approach. Also, working one-on-one with others, I try to meet them where they are, not where I am. So with clients I teach what was relevant to me when I was where they are now. In that respect I still teach some of what I wrote back then. FYI: The last article in that book was April, 2010. For articles written since then you can go to my blogsite, www.blogspot.acimmentor.com. >>>>   ...

Continuing with the themes of “the way out is through” and “the fear to look within”… I have found that grief is the emotion that is most often resisted and repressed. It is also often unidentified. All loss entails feelings of grief, to varying degrees. Sometimes we go through it quickly. You miss a phone call and you experience denial (“I can’t believe I missed that.”), anger/depression (“Oh, I really wanted to speak with them.”), and, finally, understanding/acceptance (“Oh, well, they’ll call back.”). In other situations these stages take longer to process. Sometimes, in the case of a major loss, it can take years to fully reach understanding and acceptance. Grief is painful, sometimes excruciating, but it is not really a negative emotion. It is the process our minds use to heal. The way out of grief is to go through the process. We repress grief because it is so painful and/or because we don’t want to acknowledge the loss. But when we don’t go through the process we d...

Last week I wrote about how the way out of emotions that are obstacles to being aware of Truth and being at peace is not to deny or repress them but to go through them. But many people struggle to do this. And that’s because the first obstacle you encounter is a belief that if you look inward you will not be able to cope with what you find. Sometimes it seems you fear you will be overwhelmed by your emotions, but what you really fear is to see the guilt that you believe is there. “…Loudly the ego tells you not to look inward, for if you do your eyes will light on sin, and God will strike you blind. This you believe, and so you do not look…” (T-21.IV.2) Guilt is what sustains the ego (personal thought system) in your mind. It wants you to believe in guilt. So as much as you might not want to look at the guilt in your mind, the ego is not threatened by you doing so. What it really fears when you look inward is that you will see past it. You will see that there is no guilt. ...

When I started out on this path to Peace I was very young. I was drawn to Truth, but I was also hoping to avoid pain. I wanted to use my growing spiritual awareness to do so. But it quickly became obvious this was not going to happen. Pain did not go away. But it was my fear of denial that had set me on this path in the first place, so I was not going to use the path for another form of denial. If I found I was doing so, I’d pull myself back and face whatever I had to face. Not only was I not going to avoid the pain of the personal life, but there was the pain of the spiritual path to deal with, too. It is not that it has to be painful. It is just that it is inevitably painful to look into one’s mind at one’s obstacles to peace. If I didn’t think they were painful, they wouldn’t be obstacles! The only way to overcome obstacles and get out of the pain is to go directly into and through the ideas and beliefs that cause them. And that is experienced as painful until I am through th...

A few questions and requests for clarity came after last week’s article ( http://acimmentor.blogspot.com/2017/10/finally-real-choice.html ). Also, I have something to add. So I will try again: The body’s eyes report what it sees to the mind. It sees forms that have no meaning in themselves. So the universe of form is like a blank screen with regard to meaning. Your mind always perceives inward. If you are in the Holy Spirit (Awareness of Truth in your mind) you know this and you see Real Perception, or what A Course in Miracles calls the “real world”. This is a Vision of Love or Light within. This inward Vision extends outward to the universe of form. This “colors” the way you see form, but you are aware of this. You do not have the illusion that how you see form comes from the forms the body’s eyes report. You know you are seeing your own mind. In the ego (personal though system) you also always perceive only inward. However, you project your perceptions away onto the u...

A Course in Miracles teaches that we always look inward before we look outward. And it has always been easy for me to see True Perception (the Real World, Christ’s Vision, Holy Spirit’s Vision, etc. in ACIM) as a wholly inward Vision. When I experience It I also see the universe of form is meaningless. It is a blank canvas. The Vision may extend to form but I know the source is me, not the forms the body’s eyes report. In a way, I see a world overlaid over the world of form and I know that “real world” is in me. This overlaid world actually overlooks form because it is meaningless. But the ego’s (personal thought system’s) perceptions are harder for me to see as only an inward perception. And that is because it always projects its perceptions away. Even though I have learned to take back my perceptions by practicing sorting out facts in form from my projection of meaning onto them, still there has always been an attachment between my perceptions and the universe of form. This ...

“Lately, through spending much more time in meditation (not necessarily stillness!), I seem to be able to “drop into” a space of deep quiet and a new kind of being (knowing??) for brief periods of time. My question is this: What does the Holy Spirit ‘feel like’?  I would love to think I’m finally able to experience my own Teacher, but my mind (no surprise) kicks up a fuss and tells me this is just brain waves, nothing special, don’t be silly, etc. etc.  I do seem to get responses to sincere requests for clarity, answers to questions and so on, but again my mind tells me I am making everything up on my own.  How would I know the difference?” – MG You have experienced the Holy Spirit (Awareness of Truth in your mind) in the quiet knowing you described as well as in the clarity and answers you received. You can trust this. You know it is the Holy Spirit when you feel set free from confusion, guilt, and fear in their various forms. There’s a lifting and lightening. ...

 “ An interesting follow-on topic in your blog may be specific examples that may be used to determine if you have outgrown your relationship…as it applies to ACIM followers…” – JW It does not matter if one is a student of A Course in Miracles or not. It does not matter the relationship, whether it be romantic, family, friend, to a job, to an object, etc. The determinant of when to leave a relationship is the same: When the pain of staying outweighs the pain of leaving. Some people are healthier and can recognize it is time to leave before it gets too painful. In their case, they recognize that if they stay the pain of staying will outweigh the pain of leaving. They do not wait for it to get too painful. >>>>>   Are you in a painful relationship and trying to determine if it’s time to leave? Email me at Liz@acimmentor.com to set up a telephone appointment. Learn more at www.acimmentor.com . If you have a question the answer to which you...

A common issue with my clients is the resistance they feel to practice, be it study, meditation, doing the lessons, making the Holy Spirit (Awareness of Truth in your mind) their Constant Companion, etc. But resistance is part of the process. It does not mean something is wrong. It does not mean you are failing. Resistance really means “not ready” or “not now”. It does not mean you have fallen off the path. For example, you may go through a hungry stage where you cannot study enough. But then you find one day that you do not want to study at all. Or if you try the words just seem to bounce of your mind and not penetrate. This is not necessarily resistance to further study. This can be that you are so saturated with what you have taken in that you need to process it before you can take in more. A lot of this processing is unconscious. It shows up as a lack of motivation to study. But when you are done processing you will find yourself motivated to study again. Sometimes you a...