“Creation’s gentleness is all I see.” ~ ACIM Lesson 265

Happy Sunday!

Last week in my ACIM FaceBook group, a member posted about a terrible experience that happened in her family. She asked for advice to return herself to Love and peace. In my mind I said, ‘don’t create the stories’. I thought of Michael Singer speaking of letting emotions move through you (as I’ve seen him describe when interviewed by Oprah as well as explain in his great book “The Unteathered Soul”). He would say to step our awareness back from the center of our body (he feels it is located behind the head) and allow the emotions to move up through the body, past the heart, without pushing them back down into the field of the body to keep from feeling, acknowledging them.

When a traumatic event occurs, I wondered if we can be open to just feeling our feelings. What might our future memory of the event be like? What if we did not make up the stories that follow about: who did what, who is to blame, who is the victim?

Our stories can get so expansive: how the community failed, how society failed, what can we change so no one is ever hurt again.

Stories.

So this has be my word of contemplation and mindfulness for the last few days. I’ve been watching for the stories that I make up.

A couple days ago, a fear got triggered in me by a text from a dear one. I told myself to watch out for the stories that were popping into my mind. Stories of everything that could go wrong. I was careful, and mindful of my responses I texted, but I still felt the familiar anxiety fill my body. Fortunately I slept that night, but was not happy to wake to the anxiety.

I called on Love to help me to see this in a loving way. The thoughts came to me to help me find Love and forgiveness. What happened fit perfectly with my ACIM lesson, so I wrote of the guidance I received in my 265 Lesson notes.

The stories we tell…

Our stories are not real or true. The rest of the day my heart felt full. The change of perception from from fearful stories to love, gratitude, forgiveness, and humility washed the anxiety away. I clearly saw the impact the stories of my mind have on my behavior which then impacts others.

I got to spend some time with my loved one yesterday. They are happy and confident in handling the situations in their life. This shows me that my stories are meaningless and are a wasted effort. Insanity ACIM might call it. Why do we do it?

I’m on the watch for stories; to stop mind before it goes too far down a misleading path.

Peace.