Teachings of Christ Mind

Good evening. And welcome to everyone who is joining us on the Internet.

It is my intent to help promote a shift in your attitudes, specifically about healing. Whether you’re a student of the Course or not, one thing that, generally speaking, isn’t associated in people’s minds about A Course In Miracles is healing. If you hear the words “Christian Science,” immediately in your mind, you associate that with healings, physical healings among others. If you’re a student of the Course, because of the title, “A Course In Miracles,” you do immediately think of the word “miracles,” but that’s not even a traditional definition since a miracle is a sudden shift of perception. Obviously, then, a miracle is something that goes on in your mind. It is an experience of enlightenment, an “Aha!”, where you see something that you hadn’t seen before that is more closely in alignment with the Father’s Point of View, and you’re healed of an ancient hatred, we’ll say, or you’re healed of jealousy. But again these are, I’m going to say, psychological. They’re mental.

And I’m going to tell you something. The developing belief that A Course In Miracles doesn’t have anything to do with physical healing is exactly what keeps you from experiencing physical healing. Not only is the idea being expressed that it’s not essential for there to be a physical healing if there is a mental regeneration around the issue embodied in the disease or the injury, it is becoming a strong belief that physical healing should not be associated in your minds with what A Course In Miracles is about. Wrong!

What I want to express very clearly tonight is stop blocking the experience of healing, physically speaking, by adopting an attitude that such a thing has no relevance to what A Course In Miracles is teaching. You can block the experience of healing, but you cannot make it a fact that physical healing has nothing to do with sudden shifts of perception, miracles, and everything that the Course is illuminating. Begin to embrace the expectation of actual improvement, physically speaking, in your lives.

Let’s go into the book.

If you’re in the Sparkly Book, which is simply the Course as it was finished, we’ll say, by Bill Thetford, the subheading is:

And in the edited form of it, the First or Second Edition, it’s called:

When you hear that or read that, “The Willingness,” or, “The Invitation to Healing,” are you thinking the invitation to a changed mind? Well, let it be a little bit broader than that.

The willingness to experience the correction of whatever suggests or embodies imperfection.

It starts out:

… sickness. Well, you don’t usually think in terms of the sickness of the mind. It means whooping cough, and measles, and polio, and cancer, and a long list of things.

“Oh. Well, I don’t want healing. I mean, so what if cancer kills me. I know that I’m eternal and I know that this body that the cancer killed isn’t real anyway.” [small laugh]

… in other words, be an agent for change …

… to …

… of what? Of cancer, and diphtheria, and whooping cough, and so on …

Now I’ve been making it very clear in the last few weeks that when the word “attack” is used, it is with reference to your providing a definition of something out of whole cloth, out of pure imagination, and devoting yourself to your definition, rather than the direct Experience of What That Thing Truly Is as God Is Being It right there. And so, when you give preference to your definition, it is an attack on God. It is a denial of a direct Experience of What God Is Being there. That’s why it’s called “an attack.”

Mind you, it affects God not in the least that you’ve shaken your fist and denied Him. But it affects you, not just a little bit, but absolutely, because your commitment to any definition you have made-up about a thing, constitutes a withdrawal of your attention from What It Is, and it puts you into a spinning, little, private place that nobody else can get into and where you’re all alone, isolated from What Everything Is. It affects you absolutely.

… in other words, every act of devotion to your definition of What God Is Being there …

… which means every willingness to abandon the definition you’ve had, with a desire to see What God Is Really Being there …

What? Brings what closer? Your recognition of what you truly want. You truly want to be and fulfill What You Truly Are. That’s what you really want.

But right now you’ve gotten caught up in a commitment to be what you think you are, what you have made yourself up to be, and so you’re going after what you don’t truly want. You’re going after what you are not Divinely Designed to be experiencing.

This makes it really rather simple, doesn’t it? Sickness is the result of your devotion to your imagination and your commitment to definitions you have made-up about everything. And healing is when that devotion shifts from your own made-up definitions to a desire to see What God Is Being right there where you have given a different meaning.

What I want to affirm again is that when you begin to have a devotion to seeing What God Is Being there, you will experience an influx of inspiration and understanding provided from the level of Perfection, provided by the Father. And the part that has been neglected is that you will also experience the scales falling from your eyes, and you will see and be able to touch and feel and experience What God Is Being there in Perfectness, in Perfection. And as I said, you will be able to photograph it. You will be able to see it. You will be able to feel it.

… meaning one who is not an orphan …

… because God’s Fatherhood isn’t being denied …

… meaning the true realization of your, I’m going to say in quotes, “position,” because when you acknowledge your Father as your Father, you are acknowledging your Sonship. So your Sonship is no longer unavailable to you, shoved out of sight. And you’re not claiming to be something else—something you’ve defined yourself as.

God’s Gift to you is Himself, is What He Is. You are the Father embodied. And you are the Son because you are the Father embodied.

… and this is the part you’re having to learn to be, to play.

… instead of to your definition of yourself …

You see, a Singularity. And you’re not attempting to act at odds with It any longer.

… on the other hand …

… by creating a definition of your own …

You see, what you will as a private, separate, independent authorizer, has no result. Because you don’t exist as that and can’t exist as that. And therefore, whatever you attempt to will yourself will be lost to you, because there is nothing there. And that is why you experience this intense, ongoing addiction to expressing your will better and better—because you’re not getting anywhere.

Continuing.

… by having your own definitions …

Well, you could say, “Well, you know, I know a lot of students of the Course. I’ve even attended some of the conferences where people, students of the Course from all over the world, come and I’ve not heard anything about physical regeneration, healing, instantaneous healings of physical problems. So where am I going to go for a better witness?” Well, it’s a good question, and it’s a question that should be asked. And the answer is take the hint that I’m providing to you so that you might be the ones who allow the experience of healing to occur because you are embracing it within the context of what the Course is teaching, so that you might be the inspiration to others.

Now, you know what? I’m going to invite students of the Course who have experienced healings that they have refrained from talking about—because it doesn’t fit the current what? Definition of A Course In Miracles—to start speaking up. Express, share the healings that you have had. I don’t care whether you get responses that are negative that tell you that you’re missing the point of the Course if you think that a physical healing is what the Course is about. Do it anyway because the inspiration afforded by, for lack of better words, the testimonies of healing that are given, is sorely needed so that the concept and attitude toward the Course may begin to change quote “in the world.”

Now listen to this.

… which is another way of saying, which you allow to happen, which you allow to register with you.

And I’m going to give this a little more depth. It speaks to you of the fact that you have decided not to be an orphan anymore. When you decide not to be an orphan anymore, you must renew your acquaintance with the Father. Right? You must be willing to acknowledge that you have a Source, that you are not the source of yourself, and you must let yourself into active involvement with your Father as your Father, which necessarily means that you are inviting communion with your Father because you know you are His Son.

It’s only as an orphan that you have created definitions that you have committed yourself to, as though that is the sole purpose of your being.

So:

Instead of your autonomous authority.

… what?

You see? The realization of this, and the embrace of it, indicates that you’re coming back into your right Mind—a Sound Mind. A Sound Mind is a Singular (not fragmented) Mind.

On the other hand:

Why? Because the only place, or the only frame of mind in which that can happen, is when you are claiming to be an orphan. And that does not speak of the Fatherhood of God, and it does not speak of your Sonship. It doesn’t speak of Who You Really Are.

When I said that your decision to see things by yourself governs your experience absolutely, I was saying the same thing.

Now if you will pick a flower, or a paper cup, or some simple object in your house, and take the time, as I’ve talked about before, to be quiet and present with it, to have an intimate moment with it—a moment in which you are not projecting onto it, to the best of your ability, any beliefs you currently hold about it, and you at the same time desire to have revealed to you What It Divinely Is—you are setting yourself up for the experience, the direct experience of What That Thing Is—an Experience of Revelation.

If you let one simple thing be the thing you are willing to be completely undefended with, and you begin to experience a heightened awareness of it that goes beyond any of the definitions you’ve had, you will find that the, I’m going to say, blossoming, growing True Awareness of it will not be confined to that one thing. And even though you weren’t asking to have a True Experience of the couch across the room, or the walls, or the ceiling, because you were just letting yourself be intimate with one little thing, you will find that just as denial is absolute, Love is absolute.

You don’t have to somehow find a way to let the Meaning, the full Meaning of Everything in [finger snap] all at once. Start with something simple. Start with something you don’t feel defended against, because it will be the threshold, the spontaneous threshold for more. So, it may seem like a simple and maybe inconsequential thing to start with an object that you’re familiar with, but it’s a very practical practice because you can’t experience the intent of that object to convey to you its Meaning, with a capital “M”—What It Divinely Is—without at the same time having [finger snap] this light bulb go on that says, “Wow! Everything else must be doing this, too. Everything around me must have an intent to share What It Is with me.” You see? And it will be like dominoes falling, but all you have to attend to is one domino.

… by inserting in its place a definition you have made-up.

“Oooh. Wait a minute. That must be a typographical error because only little egos need healing. Right? Only God’s Son needs healing?” Oooh. Yeah, because you’re neither behind the Point of Perfection, nor advancing toward it; you’re at that Point and must understand yourself therefrom.

… behaving like an orphan …

You see? And the way for God’s Son to be healed is to abandon the claim of orphanhood.

Of course, it goes a little deeper than that, doesn’t it, because you have to be willing to abandon the well-established right you think you have to think on your own and define things on your own. And you have to give up the right you think you have to be independent. And you have to be willing to let in, share, embrace, not be alone.

… or Daughter …

… not just of your mind, but of the body …

… the Son of God …

… what?

Not to further establish separation. Not to further establish difference. Difference from what? Difference from What Is.

… what? …

… which is nothing more than your right Mind …

Because its intent is to return you to your right Mind, and to help you see that which is useless which it is appropriate for you to abandon so that you don’t continue fragmenting your experience of your Indivisible Mind. You see?

… the Holy Spirit …

You see? All that’s really required of you is a little willingness—just to take a little flower, or a little thing, knowing that if there’s anything there at all, it has to be God Presencing Himself there, fully as What He Is in His Fullness—and then becoming undefended enough, meaning as definitionless as possible, so that you can be receptive to the natural desire of that thing to share its Meaning with you, because God’s Will is in place in that thing and God’s Will is to share What He Is. So, when you have that little willingness, it enables you to go far beyond the healing you would undertake, far beyond the desire to see just this one little thing in its True Meaning.

… he Holy Spirit—that which is nothing more than your right Mind …

… “Well, let’s see. I’ve got a dinner date tonight. And after that, I’ve got to take care of balancing the books, and then it’s going to be time to get a shower.

And then I’ve got to get up early in the morning, and if I don’t get to bed early enough, I’m a wreck the next day; I can’t function well. So I don’t have time to make the invitation tonight.” [audience laughter]

Okay. Dream on. Sleep a little longer. Don’t experience your True Will, and don’t experience your True Function. Oh, I agree with you. All of these devotions to all of the things that you’ve made-up is far more important than your Sanity, far more important than your Fulfillment.

“Oh, but I am fulfilling myself. If I don’t take care of these things, I won’t be a success, and people won’t recognize who I am, and they won’t know what my will is. I’ve got to do all these things so what my will is will be perfectly clear to everyone, and they will know that I am a worthwhile and real presence. I don’t have time to make an invitation.”

And yet it says:

The company you’re entertaining is the company you’ve invited.

Is the encounter a pleasant one? Are you blissful? Are you really happy? Are you free of stress? Are you free of the threat of grief?

So who are you going to send out invitations to?

Now:

Do you think the Holy Spirit grieves over this? No. Because the Holy Spirit knows that you, even though you’re entertaining a false guest, aren’t actually accomplishing anything, and knows that because you are the Christ, you cannot dally indefinitely in ignorance of Who You Are.

But you know what? I want each of you to understand that if the Holy Spirit cannot speak to an unwelcoming host because He will not be heard, and there’s nothing He can do about it, and there’s nothing He needs to do about it, then you cannot speak to an unwelcoming Brother or Sister because you will not be heard. And that’s just the way it is.

If you are not speaking to someone who desires to know the Truth, if you are not speaking to someone who is already in a process of abandoning his or her devotion to his commitment to his made-up sense of himself or herself, then don’t grieve over it. Find those who are stirring from their dreams and imaginations. Does that constitute abandoning a Brother? Not at all.

A Brother who cannot hear, because that Brother is so committed to his or her definitions, has abandoned the Truth in favor of illusions. But—and here’s the important part—they cannot abandon What They Truly Are. And so there is a point at which What They Truly Are will speak up and say, “Enough of this suffering. I wish to see the Evidence of Love, and I wish to be the Evidence of Love, and I rejoin my Father. I reach out to my Father. I reach out to the Truth that my Father is.” Only then will your extension and sharing of the Truth be able to be heard.

Until that happens, stop trying. Stop trying to accomplish the impossible. When you stop trying to do the impossible, resentment, that would build up in you because you are not being able to be an agent for change, will diminish. And you will find that in the Peace that follows, you will be available when that one begins to stir and reach out and say, “Help,” and mean, “Help me abandon my illusions,” instead of “Help me reinforce them.”

Again, take this to heart.

… the Holy Spirit remains …

But that won’t happen until the invitation is extended. And the invitation won’t be extended until you no longer find value in the ethic, the grand ethic that you have made-up of attempting to successfully establish yourself independent from any other Source.

Now:

Meaning the Holy Spirit’s—your right Mind.

… it will remain …

And what have you allied yourself with? Imaginations! Imaginations which you have adopted and have become beliefs—beliefs that you have made commitment to.

… your right Mind. The Holy Spirit. The Eternal Guest …

But not impatiently.

And if you have to wait on a Brother or Sister who absolutely refuses, in spite of the great suffering they’re experiencing, to hear what would relieve them of their suffering, you must be with them, waiting. You must be willing to wait.

When I say, “Be with them,” I mean be present in the world with them, or be present in the Universal Brotherhood with them. I don’t mean be with them and live every bit of the misery they’re going through, because they want to tell you all about it and keep you preoccupied with it because it’s so important to them. And it’s important to them because it provides an incredible challenge to absolutely prove their capability to overcome it and be real, while being deluded.

Continuing.

… the Holy Spirit …

He can’t leave you.

… you won’t find peace. You won’t find success at demonstrating that you are so absolutely real that you are invulnerable.

… you see? Not just know it, but fulfill it. It’s like not just have a sudden shift of perception and say that you have had a healing about cancer, but you have the realization and the cancer is gone.

Another way of saying that is: And endorse it.

… what?

Not just capacities. Not just skills. He’s given to you Himself, given to you What He Is.

Where you are is God Presencing Himself. And when you dare to let Him be your Source, then all of the Capacities of Creation, you might say, you find to be yours—but not yours to exercise independent from Him.

His Gift of what? Of Himself.

… hear that word again, “invite”? You must make the invitation.

That means be present with things and don’t let your definitions get in the way. Be with every thing innocently, without projecting your own imaginations upon it.

… the Holy Spirit …

… what?

Is there anything fuzzy about this, anything unclear about this? It’s utterly simple.

What makes it difficult is that it’s much more exciting to cope with complexity, so that you can get the hit of successfully overcoming it and bringing it into order. And you’re not hurting enough yet at it, to say, “Maybe there’s another way to do this. Or maybe I need to abandon doing this completely, and give my attention in a new direction.” But at least, it’s put so simply here that you cannot claim ignorance of it because it’s too hard to understand and you can’t get your mind to wrap around it. What’s called for is a lot less, and I’ve said this before, is a lot less than anything you’re currently engaged in.

The next sentence is an oft-quoted sentence from the Course.

“Well, you mean I need to invite Him into my house for a dinner party, and host God?” No.

God is not a thing that can come into your presence that you can be host to. God is already All. And the only way you can be a host to God is to have a simple—and I mean simple—a simple desire to see Him in every thing you’re looking at. You become host to God when you wish to see Him in each and every thing—see Him in each and every thing instead of the definitions you’ve made-up. You also play host to God by being willing to say you are His Son, His Daughter, His Offspring, His Creation.

If you’re having a rough time, you’ve invited the ego. You’ve invited the mentality that you think you are that you think constitutes the clearest definition of your individuality that you have so far been able to express in the world.

If you want to have a better experience, you better invite another guest. And you only have two to choose from—God, or the voice for fear—the ego, which is just the sense of yourself that you have made-up and then committed yourself to.

Continuing.

Nobody else is. You are! No one else is free to determine for you who shall be your guest.

How you see it.

The Holy Spirit.

… again, you’re not behind the Point of Perfection or advancing toward it; you’re there already.

And the Comforter of God that is in you is nothing more than your right Mind.

And so, by letting It in, you are integrating yourself. You’re not letting in an alien. You’re not letting in a stranger. You’re not letting in anything that can have any other effect than integrating you, so that your experience of your Purpose and of What You Are doesn’t escape you any longer.

But I’ll tell you something, you’ve got to get sick and tired of trying to do everything by yourself for the thrill of taking the challenge and accomplishing what the challenge asks for.

Healing is of the Mind. But you know what? I’ve said before, there ain’t no matter. Nothing, the flower, the table, the trees—all of it is Mind. Every thing that you see are ideas in Mind. And ideas are mental [clapping sound], but [clapping sounds] when Mind touches Mind, [clapping sound] it makes sound. And when Mind, as a bow, touches the strings on a viola, you can hear the sound of Mind. And you get a bunch of instruments together, all of which are Mind impinging on Mind in one form or another, and the larger Intent of Mind called “Beautiful Music,” can be heard. It’s all Mind.

And so when there is a healing in your mind, a sudden shift of perception, a correction of a misperception—all of Mind is going to reflect that back you. And so it’s going to sound like a violist making beautiful music, instead of squawking, dissonant, shrill, difficult-to-listen-to sounds.

I love you all. And I look forward to being with you next week. Between now and then, send out new invitations. Send out an invitation to the only other Guest there is Who can show up. And be willing to let that Guest in. Invite that Guest in. Receive that Guest warmly, thoughtfully, kindly. And in every way, expect to see healing.

Okay.