Illusion VS. My Self
Shiranda Deerwoman ~ February 8, 2022
I have been aware that in every moment I am either choosing for truth or for illusions. Illusions are what our minds have made, contrasted with all God has created. Illusions are what my mind thinks and continues to recycle so I can never think as He would have me think and behold God's Love, Life, Beauty and Truth in the world I call "real". I remain blind to divinity, as well, in myself and in you. What a prescription for hell! It is the war between our authentic God Self and the self we think we’ve made.
The self we think we’ve made is our identity in the world; having a body, a range of thoughts, feelings, and experiences, all as a result of our belief we are separate from God. A companion experience is our belief we are separate from each other; having separate wills, separate interests, problems, talents, and gifts. Inherent in these beliefs is the idea we have to compete with each other because we experience a limited world. Furthermore, we should hesitate to trust or give our love, or employ our resources to help another. Life will tell us that what we give to another is lost to ourselves and we no longer have it. It’s gone. We further believe our worth is in our looks, our relationships, our accomplishments, our possessions, and wealth; when in truth, our worth is established by God who created and sustains us according to His Will. And at last, some are entitled or more entitled than others. Others still, are expendable, and “all is fair in love and war”. This is just the beginning.
In this quagmire, we have lost our focus on love and kindness, along with a striving to serve God and be of help to our brothers. Peace, contentment, and enduring joy have become illusive, and we struggle even to love ourselves. The world we see today, and perhaps have always seen, gives testimony to these missteps…these errors in our thinking. Haven’t we had enough? Let’s recognize “sin” as “error” and begin with correcting the errors in our own thinking for that is the only place they exist. Such correction, we are assured, will result in a more loving and life-sustaining world.
I recently had an eye-opening experience, while being of being of help to someone in the form of “sending” healing Reiki energy to help her restore balance to her mind, emotions, and body. While connecting with my friend I experienced an overwhelming joy. It was joy that had a quality or dimension that was new to me and beyond my physical sensing. It was amazing! Perhaps others experience this again and again. For me, it was a first.
In another instance of “sending” Reiki to support a friend in her healing, I experienced the cessation of what had been relatively persistent sinus and lung congestion, along with the bothersome coughing. Additionally, I enjoyed the calming of my own mind and emotions. This came after a mere twenty minutes of “giving to her”. In both these instances I received what to me is a testament to the spiritual teaching that “To give and to receive are one in truth” (Lesson 108, “A Course in Miracles”. That is, as I give, I too receive. Both experiences were indisputable.
Nelson Mandela is credited with telling us, “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living”. I believe we need to shake ourselves free of these universal beliefs that otherwise dominate our consciousness and run our lives. It is that whole thing about "playing small" and being afraid to declare our divinity in how we live in and for God. Do we think we can be happy while refusing to accept the role, the function God gave us? This, along with every spiritual teaching is given to ensure our happiness.
What God created is eternally one with Him because He willed it and because God is God: the One Cause. You and I are unchangeably perfect, complete, healthy, prosperous, resilient, and resourceful. There is no place we can suffer sickness, pain, lack or loss. Because there is no lack or loss there can be no deterioration even in our body cells, body functions, memory, and mobility. There can be no threat to long life. There is nothing to fear and nothing to grieve. The Allness of God is the Allness that lives our lives. This is great news! It's our choice to choose this picture of God's love and divine will over the routine experiences of pain and suffering that we otherwise accept as part of human life. There is no human life! All life is spiritual. Again, this is great news!
It is imperative that we accept this concept of ourselves in God and stop pretending to be sick, fearful, traumatized or victimized. These thoughts are never to “blame the victim” but to encourage each of us and each other to grasp and apply such life affirming principles in how we live. It is to choose again and to know that everything we are experiencing is changeable simply because we made it up and is opposed to the will of God. We must work to see others as perfect creations of God and no longer see them as sick, sinful, or in lack or loss. For myself, I can readily admit that I have become very skilled at pretending. I can also readily declare such pretending is not giving me the joyful life I desire. With that awareness, I find a willingness to change.
We can be encouraged to practice living according to the teachings of the masters. This involves being diligent in observing and disciplining our minds so we can withdraw from thoughts opposed to Love. With such observation, when we recognize our thoughts are unloving, we learn to replace them with thoughts and actions that reflect love. We join with each other in love rather than crucify our false perceptions in the other guy. And, foremost, let us remember the words of Jesus: “Fear not little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32). These gifts are assured as we grow in righteousness, honesty, decency, and virtue. For myself, when I pause and be with the beauty of these values, I know they are all I really want. Each one is an expression of our authentic Selves.
More on "Playing Small"
Marianne Williamson
If this, from Marianne Williamson on playing small is new to you, please read it in full. For many of us, her book, “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of ‘A Course in Miracles’", was our introduction to ‘Course’ which blossomed into a devotional study and spiritual lifeline.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"
