ACIM Mentor

“…How curious that the text says ‘remembered not to laugh’ instead of ‘forgot to laugh’ (because it is impossible to be separate from God).  Since it was such a mistake, what’s with ‘remembered’???” – KA  Actually, it is “remembered not ”. The “not” is what makes it mean “forgot”. Here is the phrase you referenced: “Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny, mad idea, at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh. In his forgetting did the thought become a serious idea, and possible of both accomplishment and real effects.” (T-27.VIII.6) Well, you want to remember to laugh? It is all because Helen Schucman had a love for iambic pentameter, the meter in which Shakespeare wrote. A Course in Miracles was dictated to her in this beat so that she would be more open to and comfortable with it. She would find it beautiful. Unfortunately, this led to some awkward passages, just as you shared. Instead of “forgot” we get “remembered not”. However, the next line clarif

  Meditation is the core practice of a spiritual path. (By “meditation” I mean sitting quietly and simply being with Mind, not reaching for an altered state). Why and how you meditate evolves over time, but its centrality to gaining inner peace cannot be overemphasized. Unfortunately, it is also the most difficult practice because your mind’s resistance to it is strong. You are mind and meditation should be natural. And it will become so as you become more aware that you are mind. But in your unnatural state of identification with a self (body/personality) you (a mind) find unnatural what is natural. The driver of your identification with a self, the personal thought system (ego), is threatened by anything that turns you inward to the mind. This is the source of your resistance (and why so many give up on meditation). When my clients complain about their resistance to meditation I suggest that they pay attention to the feelings and thoughts that come up when they try to meditate

“I hope this isn't a silly question but listening to the Holy Spirit entails what? Are we listening to an audible voice, or a deep knowing of what is right, our intuition etc. How does it actually manifest when we've heard the Holy Spirit?...” – AS This is most definitely not a silly question. It is an essential question. We speak of “hearing” the Holy Spirit (the part of your mind that is aware of Truth) but It does not always come into your awareness as a Voice. (If you do hear a Voice It is, of course, within your mind. If It seems to come from outside of your mind and no one is actually speaking to you, you are hallucinating!). Often the Holy Spirit’s answers and guidance come in unformed thoughts, or, as you said, a deep knowing or intuition. The Holy Spirit is in every mind and people hear or feel It all the time without identifying It as the Holy Spirit. The ego (personal thought system) in your mind has many voices and causes many feelings so once you m

One of the common things I hear from clients and readers is, “I do trust the Holy Spirit. I just don’t trust myself to hear the Holy Spirit.” “Trust not your good intentions. They are not enough. But trust implicitly your willingness, whatever else may enter. Concentrate only on this, and be not disturbed that shadows surround it. That is why you came. If you could come without them you would not need the holy instant.” (T-19.IV.2) You have only two thought systems in your mind: The ego (personal thought system) and the Holy Spirit (Awareness of Truth). At any given moment you give your attention to one or the other. And that will be whichever one you trust at the moment. (For a long while you will trust both and vacillate between them). When you put your attention on your ability to hear you are thinking with the ego. It is what tells you to focus on your own abilities. It is what tells you to doubt your own abilities. But the Holy Spirit knows that you can hear It because