“Forget not that the healing of God’s Son is all the world is for. That is the only purpose the Holy Spirit sees in it, and thus the only one it has.”  ~ ACIM Ch.25,VI,4:1-2.

Happy Sunday!

As I had mentioned in my blog last Sunday, I am reading Chapter 24 in ACIM about specialness.  The lessons of this chapter are to make us recognize that specialness separates us from one another; it brings our minds to comparison and judgement.  As I would read each morning my mind would think of all those people who upset me by their ideologies being so different from mine – I am speaking mainly of politics. With my lessons I struggled each day with trying to accept those different from me, I just couldn’t find understanding, the “A-ha” I needed to know the Truth and be able to move into acceptance.
This morning I was continuing my reading of Chapter 24 when the statement that I used as my quote at the top of the page resonated with me.  Here is what this means to me:  ACIM’s role is to awaken each of us to who we truly are, I am acting for myself to be healed and aware, if that is my purpose then that is also my brothers’ purpose.  We are all here to become aware! So, I should help my brother.
I regularly think about how I am meant to serve others but I try not to get too caught up in this idea as I know it will just lead me bad habits of feeling guilt and shame.  I recognize that right now I am a student.  The Holy Spirit is bringing me lessons each day – I am at ‘Spirit University’.  I read the textbooks and view the lectures of masters, teachers, and upper class men as the Holy Spirit sends them to me.  I recognize that I am moving toward those lessons of seeing myself and my brother as the same; I have some hesitation as many teachers say that these lessons are the toughest.
Tieing this in another lesson of this week from the book 3 of Conversations With God, Neale Donald Walsche teaches that we can only gain what we want by giving it first to another.  Perhaps the coursework of service is underway?
So back to this morning’s lesson, I finished my ACIM reading, got my breakfast, and sat down to watch Joel Osteen.  As he does on so many Sundays, Joel brought me the understanding I was seeking to absorb the lessons on specialness.  He spoke on Unconditional Love.
He got my attention immediately with this title to his sermon because this has been my mantra for the last few months while relating to my two young adult sons.  I have been coming from this place for a while now with my sons but it was really emphasized in my psyche last month reading Book 1 of Conversations with God.  In that text it is conveyed on how we have chosen to put conditions on our love, so much so that we have created within our religions a “God” of conditions to his love and as parents we teach our children that love comes with conditions.
In Joel’s sermon he gave the tools to give Unconditional Love to everyone.  We need to remember that we are each God’s children and that we each have different experiences affecting our perception and placing us at different levels of awareness.  Our role to our brother is to Love Unconditionally.  Joel said to look at the Love we give as seeds.  The heart that receives is like the soil, if it is hard and infertile the seeds will not grow, but they are still alive!  The experiences our brother receives in his life may soften the soil of his heart and our seeds will then grow and bloom!
I understood from what Joel was saying  that we turn away from our brother who we feel won’t understand or accept if we do offer Love.  So good have we become in our judgement of those who won’t receive or will outwardly reject our offering that we quickly turn to condemnation to cover the hurt of rejection (a little Brene’ Brown insight here).  Now my knowing the Truth and standing in my Faith that giving Unconditional Love is the solution to all issues, and that maybe not today, but someday, somewhere it will be accepted.
I believe this is what is meant when said by teachers like Marianne Williamson when she says choose Love over fear.  (BTW, last week Marianne announced she will be running for Congress; to me a sign she is choosing Love over fear by entering into politics where spirituality has previously chosen to avoid.  Thank you Marianne for Daring Greatly (yes another nod to Brene’).  When I heard Marianne was to make a big announcement I first thought politics but pushed the idea aside thinking it was just high hopes on my part.  She is taking action to ‘be the change you want to see in the world’).
I laugh as I think of another phrase us spiritual people use all of the time “you reap what you sow”!  This ties back to Neale’s lesson of gaining by giving.  We will receive Unconditional Love when we give it!  (Now I am weeping!)
Amen

“And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth,

“You owe me.”

Look what happens with love like that.

It lights up the sky.”

~ Rumi