Divine law is that giving and receiving are the same; what you give is what you get. You are love, simultaneously extending and receiving love. But in this world, there appears to be a time delay between giving and receiving. Nonetheless, it is you who are bringing what you think about into awareness, now. If you think an unhappy thought, you are holding that thought now. This is present cause. You manifest your present thoughts. You can release your mind by releasing your thoughts. You have been completely mistaken about everything. So surrender, forgive your false thoughts, and move toward the true meaning of love.
Awareness
Non-Dualism
In this session, David Hoffmeister shares his experience that everything is mind. Projection makes perception. ACIM teaches that all is thought and unified awareness. We are not the victims of the world we perceive. If there is no inner or outer, nobody is doing anything to anyone. The world is forgiven. What we experience is an outside picture of an inward condition. When we go into hypotheticals is when we go into error. Scenarios of past or future take us out of the present moment. Trust would settle every problem now.
Undoing Altruism
It’s altruistic to want to be an agent of healing in the world, still believing that change can happen. There is an assumption that the world changes, and if you follow the world’s thinking then this is the conclusion you get. Jesus addresses “The Golden Rule” in ACIM where he says that “doing unto others…” is still dependent on your perception of yourself and of others. Right perception must be a result of healing the perception that one is having. Attack is impossible in corrected perception.
The Impossibility of Manifesting
Should I try to manifest abundance in my life? Is manifesting possible? In response to a question about the movie, “The Secret,” David Hoffmeister explains that the mind is very powerful and a movie such as “The Secret” can be a useful launching pad to go deeper. Early in the Workbook, “A Course in Miracles” daily lessons guide the mind to look at perception, and then look at thoughts. The purpose of the Workbook is to lead the mind into an experience that the thoughts the mind thinks it thinks, and the world that it thinks it sees, are actually the same. There is no world outside the mind.
Denial and Suppression
If you notice the mechanism of denial and suppression, you’ll notice the ego uses it to hold on to secrets and private thoughts. You can smile, put on a happy face, have a stiff upper lip. You can maintain a facade of dignity and peace, and even have a pride about the surface level things. But if you have an inner churning, the thoughts surrounding that upset need to be expressed and released. Jesus points the mind towards a purified state of being. Healing takes place as you clean and clear the mind.
Ideas Leave Not Their Source
There is no world apart from thought. Everything is Mind. There is no world apart from what you think. Ultimately, there is no world. But until we have a consistent experience of that fact, we need to look at all that is not that. We’re not asked to look at these blocks alone, but with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s perspective is that this world and all its happenings are the past. The more we join in this state of mind, the more the Healed Mind is reflected.
How to Simplify Your Decision-Making Process
In Heaven, or pure Oneness, there are no decisions to be made, for there is nothing to decide between. But to the sleeping mind which has denied Oneness, decision-making is a constant process made very complex by the ego. The Holy Spirit, however, can simplify our decision-making process by undoing the false belief system that underlies it. We need merely be willing to step back and let Him “decide for God for me” (T-5.VII.6:11) each time a decision is to be made. This prayerful practice is not only practical on the level of form, but will undo the ego layer by layer, leading the mind back to choiceless awareness and ultimately, back into God.
You Are Not the Thinker
As you watch your thoughts and judgments, you can feel small. It is freeing to realize that you are not the thinker of those thoughts. This realization frees you from identification with your thoughts. Your mind is full of impostor thoughts trying to convince you that you are not really you. Your real thoughts are those you think with God.
Ego Backlash
The more you make major steps forward in a loving way, the more the ego rises up in defense. It’s like two steps forward, one step back. Just watch the one step back, the attack thoughts. The ego backlash can seem very dark. It’s the same old pattern. Don’t draw any conclusions. Then find a pick-up, a reminder, such as, “Dream softly of your sinless brother.” (T-27.VII.15:1) You have never been unfairly treated; that was just a misperception. Don’t allow yourself to keep falling for defenses, for drama, or for games that would distract you.
Awareness of Dreaming
Awareness of dreaming is your function! Through “A Course in Miracles,” Jesus is teaching a state of mind: awareness of dreaming. In this state of mind, you look on the dream as a dream without needing to fix or improve it. You are aware that a plane crash into the ocean is the same as a walk in California on a sunny day; a dream is a dream is a dream. There is no difference. This state of mind doesn’t even feel stuck in the dream! It is more like a lucid dream. This is a dream!