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For me, an extremely low point in my life came for me when I divorced my children’s father. I was very disappointed in myself for not being able to make my marriage work, and for not keeping my children’s father with them. All in all, I know I made the right decision, but I still took it pretty hard emotionally. I felt like something was wrong with me and was feeling very disillusioned. I didn’t put two and two together at the time, but I also started to get really sick at that time too. I was constantly at the doctor’s office, on medications, in bed, unable to enjoy my children and my life. It was at this time that I was also coming to terms with being gay, and coming out to the world. Times were tough that year, but I also made some big changes in how I perceived myself and in what I wanted for my life. I remember sitting down with my sister one day, discussing the nature of life and saying “I want to know the truth! How can I find out the truth?” She mentioned quantum physics and I vowed to look down that path.
I found myself at the bookstore sorting through the books in the quantum physics section.
Lots of books caught my eye, but I was on a budget. I was about to leave when one book caught my eye, and I read its back cover. It was The Disappearance of the Universe: Straight Talk About Illusions, Past Lives, Religion, Sex, Politics, and the Miracles of Forgiveness This sounded like what I was looking for but didn’t seem to belong in quantum physics. Well I bought it anyway and I am glad that I did because it changed my life! Be careful what you wish for because I asked for the truth and I got it! From the second I started reading The Disappearance of The Universe I couldn’t put it down. When the book got down to the truth of the nature of existence, I cried - because the truth is undeniable. The truth has been in front of us the whole time and we just don’t see it like that.
Here is the basic message of the book as found on Wikipedia:
…categoric forgiveness is the key to ontological understanding and escape of a birth-death-reincarnation cycle. …the world is fundamentally an illusion of human ego outside, as it were, of an unbroken perfect spiritual reality in unity with God. Rather than stressing understanding as such as the tool to return or putting off of the illusion, however, this book stresses forgiveness itself as the critical linchpin, based on the idea that all human identities are really one, divided only by a belief in separation, and that all sin and wrong is an outward projection of a subconscious inward guilt at having "left" perfection in sin against God. To forgive others from this basis is therefore actually to forgive oneself, undo the ego and its seeming separation, achieve atonement, and put off an unreal universe. Unlike some similar teachings, it argues all individuated human identity is also illusory.
Gary Renard has since published another book, Your Immortal Reality: How to Break the Cycle of Birth and Death, which is an expansion of what readers call ‘The Disappearance’ or DOU. The basic premise for Gary Renard’s books is another book called A Course in Miracles. Many followers of A Course in Miracles consider The Disappearance of The Universe to be an introduction to ACIM and after reading about A Course in Miracles from Gary Renard, I went back to the bookstore and bought it.
Here is what I learned by reading the Preface:
A Course in Miracles was created by Helen Schucman and William Thetford, Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Aside from their professional ties, these were two average, everyday American people who “had considerable investment in the values of the world.” For unknown reasons, William became tired of the “angry and aggressive attitudes” they were reflecting and concluded that “their must be another way.”Helen and Bill joined forces and around three months later Helen began to receive what she refers to as “inner dictation”. She began recording what she called ‘The Voice’ in her shorthand notebook at Bills’ suggestion. Working united, Helen would read her notes aloud and Bill would type them. The whole process took about 7 years. (You can read more about her journey in the book Absence from Felicity : The Story of Helen Schucman and Her Scribing of A Course in Miracles) The Course is a teaching device consisting of a text, workbook, and manual for teachers. ACIM is a self study course, and the way you study it is up to you. The Course emphasizes application and experience, and the reader is "left in the hands of his or her own internal teacher".
The course makes a fundamental distinction between the reality of knowledge and the unreality of perception.
The Course maintains that knowledge is truth and truth is unalterable. Perception is alterable, fragmented, and is based on interpretation rather than facts. The Course states, “from knowledge and perception respectively two distinct thought systems arise which are opposite in every respect. “ One thought system believes in opposites and perpetual conflict with each other and with God. This thought system leads to an experience of a world of illusions. When caught in the thought system of perception you are caught in a dream. You need help to escape the dream and wake to the reality of the thought system of knowledge. This is because everything your senses show you is a witness of the dream, and believes it is real. (For more on True Reality, visit the Spiritual Apostle Blog post “Quantum Reality”) The only way out of the dream is the function of The Voice of Knowledge, which mediates between the two worlds.
ACIM states that The Voice that this task is given to is The Holy Spirit.
“It is the Holy Spirits goal to help us escape from the dream world by teaching us how to reverse our thinking and to unlearn our mistakes. Forgiveness is the Holy Spirits great learning aid in bringing this reversal about.”
Forgiveness is the main focus of ACIM, and The Course has its own definition of what forgiveness really is, just as it defines the world in its own way.
“Through forgiveness the thinking of the world is reversed. Holding no one prisoner to guilt we become free; forgetting all our misperceptions and with nothing from the past to hold us back we can remember God. “
Gary Renard does an excellent job of introducing ACIM to the world in his book ‘The Disappearance of The Universe’, plus expanding on what forgiveness truly means in his book “Your Immortal Reality’. In September of 2007 I was able to attend the Gary Renard Workshop here in Southern California. Gary has an excellent grasp of the principles of A Course in Miracles and I wanted to share my notes from the workshop with you, so that you will have even better insight into The Course and what it really means.
Here are the key ideas I noted from Gary Renard’s workshop, in order:
-The Holy Spirit is in charge.
-Don’t worry about what to say or do.
-Don’t be so serious; Jesus was not morose.
-Seek to reach an experience not words or symbols.
-Seek an experience of reality, of ‘who’ you really are ‘where’ you really are.
-Seek an experience of happiness or satisfaction.
-The ego asks questions that the course can’t answer; there is no answer only an experience.
-Don’t let theology delay you. The experience is the answer.
-A universal theology is impossible; A universal experience is necessary.
-What facilitates this experience is a certain kind of forgiveness.
-Its not about what it means, it’s about taking your understanding and using it to apply forgiveness.
-The wrong kind of forgiveness holds certain ideas in place.
-Right or true forgiveness has you knowing that this is a false experience, that it’s not true.
-The world is a projection – an optical delusion of consciousness.
-With True Forgiveness, you are not denying your experience. You just know that the world is not done TO you its done BY you.
-You are forgiving others not because they’ve done something, but because they haven’t done anything.
-Shift to the reality of spirit.
-Be the cause not the effect.
-Anger is never justified, practice forgiving.
-Heaven=awareness of perfect oneness.
-This life appears to happen.
-Truth is not ever in the dream but can be heard in the dream.
-The content of the dream is unimportant. Just wake up.
-Listen to the right voice to change the atmosphere of the dream.
-Safety and home is there. It’s just out of your awareness - you’re scaring yourself!
-There's nothing to be afraid of. You were wrong. You are doing this to yourself.
-God doesn’t share your ideas of illusion; perfect love only loves.
-Salvation is undoing, forgiveness undoes. UNDO the ego
-Remove the blocks to the awareness of god’s presence. Do this with forgiveness, true prayer, or ask the Holy Spirit for help and put Him in charge.
-Stay connected to your source. The Holy Spirit will guide you to what is best for everyone.
-Take responsibility for your life and change your unconscious mind.
-A successful relationship= a holy relationship where either you have forgiven or are forgiving the other person.
-It doesn’t matter what people think.
-Jesus understood the nature of your subconscious mind that it is one ego appearing as many and that True Reality is God.
-The unconscious mind knows everything, including that we are all ONE.
-If you are judging or condemning others, you are really judging and condemning yourself.
-You are sending message from me to me about me.
-What goes around comes around because it comes from within.
-As you see others you will see yourself.
-Innocence is not a partial attribute; Jesus says wisdom is seeing innocence everywhere.
-Without forgiveness metaphysics is useless.
-Right minded leads to one minded automatically.
-Adhere to a thought system of forgiveness.
-Separation ideas create a difference in experience.
-There are two ways of looking at separation ideas, you can listen to the Ego or you can listen to the Holy Spirit.
-Ideas leave not their source. Seek to change your mind about the world.
-Use the mind to choose between body and spirit.
-Think beyond what appears to be a body and recognize perfect spirit – flawless, perfect, whole, and unchanging. Truth is holographic.
-The mind judges automatically; retrain it to forgive automatically.
-You cannot analyze the dark to find the light; if they are spirit you are spirit.
-True Forgiveness thought system “You are spirit whole and innocent, all is forgiven and released.”
-Two types of forgiveness – forgive yourself and forgive others.
-See others as invulnerable.
-He who would not forgive judges. It takes more time to judge than to forgive.
-The guiltless mind cannot suffer. Don’t withhold love and forgiveness or it's a compromise.
This is very powerful information!
I also want to mention the work of a few of the original teachers of ACIM, Kenneth Wapnick and his wife Gloria. Gary Renard learned from Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick when he first began studying ACIM, and The Wapnick’s have put together some very good materials for students. One book that gives added insights on life and reality is New Model of The Universe by P.D. Ouspensky. Yet another book you will want to make sure to read is Take Me to Truth which explores undoing the ego.
Here is a list of all the related A Course in Miracles items that you should consider:
You can expect to read more about A Course in Miracles here on this blog in the future in our ACIM Talk blog posts by Renee' G.
For more information on A Course in Miracles, please visit the Foundation for a Course in Miracles. For more information on The Disappearance of The Universe, please visit Gary Renard.com. Thank you very much for taking time from your day to visit this blog and read this post.
About the Author: Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her and view her photos by visiting her page on MySpace.
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