ACIMblog bulletin for August 2013:
Circumstantial Evidence
This morning, I awoke (from my nocturnal dream into the usual diurnal dream), and noticed, just for a second or two, awareness unburdened by the ephemeral demands of the day ahead, or the surreal residual of what had preceded it the day before. The phrase that appeared for my consideration was “circumstantial evidence” and I’ve been mulling that over a bit today. Wikipedia defines circumstantial evidence as “evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact”, and inference as “the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true.” Isn’t that exactly what we do every time we take our interpretations of our space-time dramas we call life as fact and base not only our current state of well-being but our entire identity on this fraudulent evidence … really nothing but a massive collection of unchallenged assumptions?
Just after the introduction to Chapter 21 of ACIM, Reason and Perception, where we’re given the instruction that “Projection makes perception,” we find my favorite inspiring passage, The Forgotten Song. The first paragraph, upon which the later inspirational paragraphs rest, lays the foundation with these gently forgiving insights:
“Never forget the world the sightless see must be imagined, for what it really looks like is unknown to them. They must infer what could be seen from evidence forever indirect and reconstruct their inferences as they stumble and fall because of what they did not recognize, or walk unharmed through open doorways which they thought were closed. And so it is with you. You do not see. Your cues for inference are wrong, and so you stumble and fall down upon the stones you did not recognize, but fail to be aware you can go through the doors you thought were closed but which stand open before unseeing eyes, waiting to welcome you.”
Aren’t we all a bit – or more likely a lot! – like Mr. Magoo, unaware of our real circumstances, making up stuff in our minds as we go along, using our myopic glimpses of partial, very limited contexts, madly trying to guess what reality is like, and through grace beyond our comprehension, miraculously guided to true safety by Kindness and a charitable heart. When we look at our lives this way, and see how silly it is to assume we understand anything about ‘the big picture’, we can afford to laugh at our attempts to second-guess what’s Really True as we trust the guidance we all share, inexorably leading us from the dark and fearful dreams of our faulty inferences, interpretations and … circumstantial evidence.
We can afford to throw the case of unconscious guilt – that ego persistently and vehemently demands punishment for – out of court by forgiving ourselves each time we indulge in the folly of believing our own stories and equating our identity with them. That pure awareness, undistorted by personal predispositions, prejudices, and partialities, is our truly honest judge, seeing our dreams for what they are, of no consequence in truth. We can laugh gently at our blind escapades and see how hilarious our attempts are – as seeming individuals – to find solace in the fantasy land hallucinations we hang on to. By resigning as our own teacher, our Inner Kindness Teacher – there all along – suddenly appears (from our perspective) to pick up where we left off in our ‘choosing once again’ process of undoing what never was.
Sacred Geometry Webcast Event
Next Thursday (5Sep2013) starting at 7PM (Eastern), I’ll be sharing a conversation with colleague Rob G. Sacco and moderator Chris Russo. Although we’ll be talking initially about another interest of mine, sacred geometry, I inevitably end up talking about how we can use all symbols in our dreamscape – when handed over to Holy Spirit – as reminders to forgive the dreamer of separation. Why not use the ubiquitous shapes and metaphors in form as well as every other event, circumstance and actor on the stage of our mind as an emissary for inclusion, shared interests and undoing ego. Here is a link to the live event; join us if you can, and I’ll post the link if you want to watch/listen later.
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Upcoming Interviews / Webcasts / Videos / Meetings / Conferences / Presentations/ Classes / Resources
Online ACIM study groups and presentations
There are several ongoing ACIM Hangout study groups and meetings; here’s a link to the ACIMExplained YouTube Channel (which has LOTS of wonderful videos) including regular interviews, presentations and online study group meetings. Enjoy, and join in if you feel inspired to share in the fun. Check back regularly on the calendar of upcoming online ACIM Hangouts for new events to participate ‘live’ in, and/or watch later. Here’s a how-to page with best practices for participating in these Google+ Hangouts.
ACIM-related websites and blogs of interest
Karstein Bjastad Talk ACIM with Dan Rosey – Two friends who I have yet to meet ‘in person’, but spent many enjoyable video conversations with online – isn’t everyone a friend in the virtual mindscape of non-duality? – talk about Karstein’s new book: The Naked Truth: Seven Keys for Experiencing Who You Are. A Practical Guide. I’ve enjoyed the first few chapters of Karstein’s book, and look forward to reading the remainder.
Healing the Real Cause of any Problem – a FB post by Nouk Sanchez
I recently savored these words by Nouk in her FaceBook post:
Lately, I’m learning that if I believe the CAUSE of my suffering is outside me, in the body, in another, in the world or in the past…then I’ve separated CAUSE (my mind) from EFFECT (out there). While ego claims my problem is ‘out there’, and my solution is to problem-solve independently from Spirit, then I reject the miracle. When I feel threat I ask myself this, “Where I have I mistakenly placed the cause?” And then I bring this fear back to Spirit within, exchanging my ego perception for the miracle…the Atonement.
MY FORGIVENESS PRAYER: “Spirit, please help me to forgive myself for using____(pain, sickness, financial scarcity, anxiety, another, the world, the past, etc.,)____to attack myself and to separate from your Love as my Holy Self.” ~ Nouk Sanchez
My response was:
A perfect reminder; thanks, Nouk! If this whole surreal world is nothing more than a projection of my unconscious belief in separate interests – and the guilt attending that silly unfounded crime against perfect Oneness, then the only place to undo my identification with that dysfunctional belief is back in my mind, the CAUSE I always have complete access to, if I’m willing to examine it with my Inner Kindness Teacher and release my personal investments in specific outcomes in this amusing dreamscape parody of life. :-)
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Eternal smilezenhugs to all! :-)
