The Disappearance of the Universe, straight talk about A Course In Miracles and a 3-step process to undo the ego.
A Course In Miracles is a spiritual teaching of pure love and forgiveness, written down by Helen Shucman as she heard the words dictated by Jesus. It is 3 books in one: a text that offers the theory of pure non-duality, a workbook to apply it in daily life, and a manual for teachers. It was presented in classic Shakespearean blank verse with Christian references, partly, it is believed, to be legible for future ages, and also to offer correction to traditional Christianity. It uses the masculine to reference God, and the Holy Spirit–or the Voice for God–and Christ, only for purposes of consistency with the understanding that they are genderless and really all one.
Gary Renard became a student of the Course after numerous remarkable visitations by his teachers who helped him offer Jesus’ message from the Course in a modern conversational format and offers clarification to many of the common mistakes made by students and teachers. Gary’s sense of humor, and the lightness his teachers bring to this advanced form of spirituality is so refreshing that it slips in the keys to secret of the Universe as disarmingly as a good joke!
3-part spiritual practice:
In the “Disappearance of the Universe“, Gary Renard’s teachers, two of Jesus’ disciples, now ascended masters, describe a silent prayer meditation practiced by Jesus 2000 years ago.
They suggested this meditation as one of a 3-part practice designed to accelerate the undoing of the ego by releasing the unconscious guilt that keeps us stuck in the cycle of reincarnation, as a way of hiding in the Universe of form and the belief that we chose to separate from God.
The practical results to this doing this work become obvious when you realize that peace, love, and true forgiveness brought into any area of your life have immediate benefits, not the least of which being peace of mind and a renewed passion to contribute toward positive change in whatever walk of life you’re in. Obviously, the world could use some change for the better, but the true power that results from practicing the Course is changing how you see the world and the people in your life. The focus is on affecting change at the level of cause (the mind and your thoughts) rather than effect (the world of illusory form). This is the only place of true change, since it undoes the unconscious guilt where it originated.
Meditate morning and evening for just 5 minutes in silent joining with God and you may find, over time, that the results can lead to direct inspiration in regards to your life purpose and any major decisions. On a day to day practical level, you may find that committing to this practice helps you become more peaceful throughout the day, and the things that used to really get to you, just don’t upset you anymore.
When you notice this, you’ll have solid evidence that this is working to undo the guilt and anger in your unconscious mind, and it will have lasting effects in your daily life. Your interactions with people become more harmonious and you will feel directly guided at times as to the best course of action in every moment of the day.
It has been revealed in A Course In Miracles that prayer as Jesus taught and practiced it, was intended to be done in silence as a joining of your mind with God’s. Becoming one with His love answers all worldly problems. Thinking of your complete oneness with God, rather than seeing Him as outside of you helps to put you in ‘one-mindedness’ or right-mindedness, as the Course describes, by choosing the Holy Spirit as our teacher and interpreter.
Apply Advanced Forgiveness to whatever disturbs you during the day. This isn’t about forgiving some guilty ____ for what you think they’ve done, but overlooking it by seeing who they truly are in their innocence, and so forgiving what never happened. It is a quantum approach to applying non-duality to every situation recognizing that you are not a victim. Pure non-duality, as presented in the Course, is the awareness that what God created is whole, and completely perfect and so cannot have any counterpart or opposite. At this level of awareness, the truth is revealed that you, as Christ, are one with God and there cannot be anyone or anything separate from the one.
You can start practicing this true forgiveness now, even though you seem to be experiencing separation in a body, by letting the Course retrain the mind to recognize there’s really no one outside of you making you feel the way you do. Seeing with true spiritual sight means seeing everyone as innocent and everything in the world as meaningless, except to offer it to the Holy Spirit for reinterpretation. This is the keystone to the work of getting home, where you remember you’ve been dreaming and you are really safe at home with God. Peace is the result of practicing this level of forgiveness, returning your mind to heaven, where God’s Peace is always the natural condition.
Einstein understood that what we’re seeing with the body’s eyes is an optical illusion of reality. In short, the only real problem is the belief that we’ve separated from our Source and are wandering around inside a body observing a real world. The one correction is to forgive the images we’ve made up since the beginning of time, whether they are bodies, trees, or universes. Here, the cycle of birth and death ends, and your immortality is all that remains.
A Course in Miracles describes our particular dilemma in this way: “You are safe at home in God, dreaming of exile, but perfectly capable of awakening to reality.” The key that Jesus found to waking up was to choose reality instead of the dream. He thought of everyone he saw as perfectly innocent and whole, not a part of God, but one with God. Eventually the guilt that had him perceiving incorrectly and judging others as separate from him and God was undone and he was able to think of them as pure Spirit and eventually experience that reality for himself. This practice of advanced forgiveness he offers through the Course is designed to be a fast track home, to reawaken to what he is–perfect and constant love–and to our mutual inheritance.
A good forgiveness example was offered by Gary’s teachers for times when someone is pushing your buttons: “You are Christ, whole and innocent. All is forgiven and released.” See them released into the light of pure Spirit and you are also being released from guilt and separation.
Ask the the Holy Spirit to guide you through the day as the final part of the 3-step practice. It is very simple, but not always easy to follow. Every morning upon awakening, hand over your day to Holy Spirit (the Bridge between your mind and God’s) to guide you through the day. When you don’t have time to ask, trust that His Wisdom will be there to guide you.
The ego is based on the fearful belief that you separated from God, projecting itself outside God and into bodies, and holding on to the guilt of separation in the split mind at an unconscious level. Projecting this guilt on to others is the only way we can sense some relief from this condition. Unfortunately it doesn’t last. The ego will continue to try to place it’s terrible burden of guilt outside itself and so never bring healing to the split mind that created it. The only way out of this is to undo the ego by choosing true forgiveness with the Holy Spirit, overlooking the belief in separation, thereby returning your mind to God.
This is a life-long practice for most, since the unconscious guilt must be removed gently by the Holy Spirit or we would be overwhelmed. But the immediate results from practicing forgiveness–ever expanding peace and more awareness of God’s Love–are constant reminders that your mind is being healed–forever. I’ve noticed the benefits also include a feeling of taking yourself more lightly. May your feet tread softly through the dream as you become a passerby!
– Jonathan Joshua