In my previous blog I wrote about purpose and the idea that our true purpose is Know thy Self. A Course in Miracles teaches us to seek within to find the barriers to the awareness of Love’s Presence. As we increase our willingness to look with Holy Spirit at the false beliefs of guilt, unworthiness, lack and separation that lurk within the recesses of our mind, we uncover the obstacles to Love. These false beliefs are the obstacles to knowing your Self as the Love that You are.
All the false beliefs in the mind are obstacles to living and knowing our true Self; however, the belief in separation is the umbrella belief in that, all false beliefs extend from the original error of believing we are separated from the Source of all living things.
Ego lives on through the belief in separation. Through the pages of NTI Luke I learned that this belief has a voice, and it’s the voice I think of as “my thoughts”. Now that was a rude awakening!
I began to view the voice that chatters incessantly about everything I see, think or do as the toxic Chatty Cathy. Once I began to see my thoughts this way, I became the observer, and in that respect I am no longer as identified with my thoughts as being the truth about me or anything else for that matter.
NTI Luke defines the belief in separation:
“Within your mind, there is a belief that is in opposition to God. …The belief that leads to this confusion is the belief that you are a separate entity. It is the belief that there is a you and a them. It is the belief that there is a you and that there is a universe of objects that are separate from you. This belief you accept as a fact and you do not question it, so it does not occur to you that it is a mistaken belief that can be given up.” (NTI Luke 1vs57-80)
That we fully believe in this illusory separation is evident in our daily lives in more ways than we realize, yet it is most readily seen in the ways humans separate from one another. I thought about this recently while on a morning walk. I observe on these walks how difficult it seems to be for humans to acknowledge one another. Rarely do people smile at me first, but when I smile at them their face lights up as they smile in return.
So, it’s interesting how we wear the belief in separation in our interactions with one another, yet it is also interesting that something as simple as a smile quickly reveals our deep connection. No matter where we are in the world, a smile is a universal gesture of greeting. With a smile we say, you exist, and you are worthy.
Before I began this writing session I had gone to the grocery store, and while I saw many more people there than I do on morning walks, I was inwardly reminded that I didn’t smile at anyone. I didn’t see this inner prompt as any kind of judgment, but rather another observation of the ways we walk in the world together and yet separate.
How do I let go of the belief in separation?
NTI Galatians tells us that judgment keeps the belief in separation alive. “Now I ask you to look at your mistakes and own up to them, not in guilt, but in relief. For the release you seek shall be yours through the surrender of your judgment. Through acceptance, not judgment, the Light of Heaven is yours. (NTI Galatians 2v17-21)
A few weeks ago I spoke and wrote on “acceptance.” It’s been interesting since then how many times Spirit Within has prompted me to remember some of the things I shared that day. Lately, it seems that my morning walks have been used to show me observations about separation and judgment, and so here is another morning walk story.
An event occurred in my life, one that has brought up a lot of judgment within me and I have had a very difficult time letting it go. So several mornings in this past week my mind was engaged in judgment and attack. I’ve also been aware that the whole situation is also stirring up feelings and thoughts stemming from the belief in unworthiness. So there are all sorts of things wrapped up in this particular event.
I have been involved in inner work for so long that usually I don’t have a difficult time resting my mind, but I have to say that for several weeks I have been literally obsessed about this particular situation. I told myself that I needed to let these judgments go, and as I tried to replace them with spiritual words I had to laugh at myself because I knew that in this situation I was merely putting whipped cream on crap.
The inner work that has been so up for me lately is the work of looking at false beliefs, and focusing on purpose and acceptance. The problem with practicing acceptance is that we can mistake it for being only about trying to accept something that we really find unacceptable, and this was certainly my dilemma on that day (and many days lately if I’m honest!).
I’ve noticed that toxic Chatty Cathy has multiple personalities. One of them was chattering away about how wrong this person was to do what he did, and another began to chatter about how I was not being very spiritual in holding onto this stuff.
In the midst of “my thoughts” I heard Holy Spirit say, “Let’s look at it.”
I heard this: "To 'let all things be exactly as they are' is also to accept that right now your mind is filled with judgment and attack."
Acceptance is accepting the thoughts in my mind now. Acceptance is accepting that this is the way I feel right now.
Acceptance is accepting the thoughts in my mind now. Acceptance is accepting that this is the way I feel right now.
I then remembered part of the message I shared in the blog and audio on acceptance, and it was essentially this: If you’re feeling hate, stop and look at it. If you’re feeling anger, stop and look at it. If you’re feeling judgment, stop and look at it. If you are attacking someone else or yourself, stop and look at it. Stop and look at it.
Ah…yes.
In regard to the event I am having a difficult time accepting, I had been thinking that I just needed to accept the situation, and that it is what it is. It’s done and there’s nothing I can do about it. This was not working for me, however, because truthfully, I do find the situation to be unacceptable.
It was a revelation to learn on a deeper level that acceptance is not so much about accepting the form, but about accepting what is in my mind now.
I am willing to accept these thoughts
without trying to get rid of them.
I accept that I feel judgment and attack
and unworthiness.
Holy Spirit,
I am willing
to let You
correct my mind.
Thank You
It’s been a long time since I’ve had something like this go on where for weeks I cannot tame my thoughts. And yet, I see now how this experience has been perfect practice to delve deeper into the belief in separation, which is held onto with judgment and let go of with acceptance.
I’ve wondered if I’ll ever be able to let go of all these false beliefs, and then I remembered that I don’t have to, I only have to be willing to let them go. Although it still seems somewhat impossible, but Holy Spirit has this to say through NTI Matthew:
“What seems impossible to you is not impossible. In fact, it is all that is truly possible, for the belief in separation cannot hold you prisoner, because it is not true. It is not real. It is nothing but a figment of your imagination in which you have placed your faith. Through this, you can see the power of your faith!
“But I ask you to remove your faith from what you believe now and place your faith in Me, that you may see through different eyes. Surely, you will see differently!” (NTI Matthew 21vs20-22)
Yes, we have placed our faith in the things of this world. We have believed that forces outside of us have power over us. We have believed that we have been at effect instead of cause. Release and freedom come through returning to cause. The cause of pain and suffering is “my thoughts”, and my thoughts come from false beliefs. Holy Spirit speaks to us through NTI Revelation:
Trust Me.
Hold to Me as we look at your false beliefs
together.
Guilt, unworthiness and separation are not real,
although they have been believed.
We must look at them and release them
together.
If we do not do this,
the beliefs remain,
and you cannot know the peace of
Knowing your Self as you are,
because you have chosen to know your self
as you are not.
There is nothing to fear.
By trusting Me to the end through all
that we seem to experience,
you will learn this is true,
and you shall rejoice
unto Heaven.
(NTI Revelation 2v20-25, paraphrase)
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The audio was recorded on Sunday, July 17, 2011 and is 59 min.
So much more was shared on the audio than in this post. Enjoy!
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