How to Be a Mystic – Mystic David Hoffmeister talks about the importance of seeing what you value and whether it’s more important than remembering the Love of God. Becoming a mystic means valuing the Love of God above all else and releasing all worldly forms, desires, and expectations in order to live a simple life of mysticism.
Contentment and Happiness
Let Go and Let God
Miracles are involuntary and they cannot be controlled. This is how a joyful life is lived, by letting go and letting God; by not trying to control the world, and not trying to plan for the future. It’s okay to let go, you will not die by letting go of control, you will actually live!
Forgiveness Is the Now Plan
The plan is always now and the plan is forgiveness. When we focus our attention on this single purpose, anything is possible. The Course teaches that in this illusion of time and space, there is only one tool that will lead us to salvation, and that is forgiveness. This in turn leads to the Holy Instant.
The Gift of Happiness
The way to receive the gift of happiness is to make a habit of living a Spirit-guided life. To do this we must recognize that the mind, not the body, is the decision maker. Our current perception shows us a fragmented world of fear and rage. So when confronted with a decision it is helpful for us to step back and ask “What is it for?” Then we can choose the Spirit’s purpose of forgiveness or undoing. We can choose to serve something bigger than our self. David and Frances continue on to tell enlightening parables about: opening to love, our one responsibility, Siddhartha and the movie, “Sully.”
Forgive What the Ego Made and Be Free
The goal of spiritual practice is to be in the flow of presence, to be tuned in to Spirit. Here we learn to forgive all perceptions of suffering and lack we have placed upon the world. Decision-making becomes simple and easy with the Spirit. It only seems difficult when we attempt to run some aspects of our lives by ourselves. This is where all sense of struggle comes in. When we completely let go and let God, all struggling comes to an end. In its place we find happiness, joy and freedom.
Plan Bs or Present Trust?
Jesus will guide us so our journey is smooth and joyful. We only feel pain and sacrifice when we resist. Plan Bs are resistance, used to support the self-concept rather than the Christ Self. Yet the Holy Spirit and Jesus show us that trust is justified. Are we willing to trust so much that we let go of our plan Bs? Our problem is that first we decide what we want, and then we ask for guidance. The asking needs to come first. When we are identified with a self-concept we don’t know our best interests; we are completely lost and need the help of the Holy Spirit. Thankfully, that help is available to us anytime we ask for it
Give up Your Plan B
A plan B is anything we have in mind for our future happiness while ignoring the present moment. We are fighting ourselves with these distractive plan Bs. To be happy we need to trust the present Love of God, to trust it so much that we give up the plan Bs. In no situation do we know our own best interests. Yet we think we do. We tend to first decide what we want and then ask Spirit for direction. Instead, by deciding not to decide, we can open ourselves to let Spirit decide for us. In this way we come to experience that all real pleasure comes from doing God’s will.
Death Is Impossible – An Actual Experience
David Hoffmeister shares an experience he had while practicing A Course in Miracles workbook lesson 163, “There is no death. The Son of God is free.” He had the experience that there truly is no death and that death is the ego. A woman in front of David had collapsed on the ground and stopped breathing in the grocery store he was in while practicing the ACIM lesson. When David had the experience that there truly is no death, the women seemed to be a reflection of mind and simultaneously began breathing again. What does Jesus mean by, “There is no death. The Son of God is free”? He’s really saying, “There is no ego. The Son of God is free.”
Our Divine Life Insurance Policy
Accepting the Atonement for ourselves is the ultimate insurance policy. The Atonement is the perfect solution to the belief in separation. It will always bring us to safety. It will always bless us and lead us towards God’s Will for us, which is perfect happiness. Whenever the ego appears to tempt or threaten us, we don’t need to try to change or fix anything in the world. All we can do is change our mind about the world.
Problem with Self-Help
There is only one problem with self-help—the Self that we are doesn’t need any help. As we move towards the Atonement, we move increasingly to the awareness that we have been wrong about everything, and towards the realization that, “my mind holds only what I think with God.” Our purpose is not to create a utopia on earth, but only to open our minds to a state of deep love and gratitude for the One, our Creator. Many of us were taught that it’s not wise to become too happy, but Love invites us to be divinely and fully happy now.