I share this evening a reflection written by Lana Carolan, one that she recently shared on the Facebook page for the Foundation for Inner Peace. This foundation is dedicated to publishing, distributing and discussing the writings collectively known as A Course in Miracles (ACIM).
Such a choice, Lana says, means “keeping my mind present and mindful of what I am doing here and now, and being fully invested in this present moment. . . . It means bringing God with me in whatever I am doing. For me, that means bringing Love to everything I am doing.”
Beautiful and challenging words! Following are Lana Carolan’s thoughts on how to respond to “any perception that does not represent the Peace and Love of God.”
Mind Training is simply keeping the mind aligned with the Mind of God. That is where our power is found. For there we find the Truth of who we really are. For me, this is what the process looks like. It begins by becoming the observer of my thoughts rather than a participant. One learns to do this by practicing mindfulness, by maintaining a present state of awareness. Within this present moment, I am not time-traveling, that is thinking of past regrets or worrying about the future. ACIM says that the present (or now) is the closest approximation we have to eternity within the realm of time/space.
In practicing this over the years, I’ve come to recognize differences between the thoughts I think with God and the thoughts of the ego thought system. First and foremost, the thoughts I think with God are delivered to my mind via the Holy Spirit. It is not a "thinking" process. Rather, the stillness of mind allows their entry. They are welcomed and received. I notice their arrival and they are always accompanied with clarity, certainty, and peace. These are my real thoughts.
Ego thoughts are quite different. Thoughts of the ego do come about through what seems to be a "thinking" process. In fact, it is experienced as though I thought them up myself. Yet, they are entirely of the ego’s making. They are not only unreal, they do not exist at all. They are, for the most part, related to past regrets or present or future worries. Ego thoughts are accompanied by confusion, doubt, and conflict. In every way, they are the opposite of the thoughts I think with God.
Enter Holy Spirit, guardian of my mind. Holy Spirit sees only the true, the real, and the lovely within the mind I share with God. Holy Spirit discerns for me what is real and what is not, even when my mind is so confused it cannot see the difference between night and day. Holy Spirit looks beyond the ego thoughts just as if they were not there because they are not there. Holy Spirit sees but ONE Light shining in my mind and that Light of Love knows only what is like Itself.
There is but ONE mind. There is but ONE Power, the Power of God. We have made up a second power that is not real. It is held in place by our belief in it. You could say this is an "unGodly" power that could be called the Anti-Christ in the mind. It stands for anything that is in opposition to God and Truth. Since God has no opposite, we know this second power cannot be real. It is a counterfeit power whose sole purpose is its own survival, regardless of the horrendous misperceptions it makes up to secure its safety.
Our belief in a second power will of its own accord diminish as we consistently align the mind with the ONE Power that IS Real. These are our real thoughts. Our Power in God will validate itself in our experience and through its validation, a belief in a second power will naturally begin to dissolve.
Training the mind is like planting seeds in the ground. We don’t initially have any great sensation of anything happening, and it does not seem possible that the soil has any special power. But the seeds when planted, initiate a creative process that produces a plant. The plant is an effect of this creative process, just as Peace is an effect of the creative process in our mind.
To the degree that we consciously accept a true recognition of our perfection and are receptive to our Truth, we stay in right-mindedness which produces effects that reflect the attributes of God; peace, harmony, health, and security. We have discovered the portal to our Divine Nature and learned to live there. As Jesus taught us, "Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free."
It is our responsibility to train the mind to seek only the Power of God, to think only the thoughts of God, which is the same as saying to think thoughts that reflect only the Truth of who we really are. It is trusting in God and making God the Sole Authority of our mind and in our world. There is no limit to our mind training. There can be no limit to our devotion to the Truth. The more we train the mind, the more we experience an Awakening in God.
Over the decades I’ve learned that the one solution to any and all perceived problems is returning the mind to God. Whenever I bring all of my focus and attention to this present moment, I have made the choice to abandon the ego thought system and embrace the loving arms of my Creator. ❤
– Lana Carolan
via Foundation for Inner Peace Group
April 16, 2022
via Foundation for Inner Peace Group
April 16, 2022
Related Off-site Links:
How to Live in the Present Moment – Courtney E. Ackerman (Positive Psychology, January 30, 2021).
The Incredible Power of Being Present in the Moment – TheJoyWithin.org (May 31, 2019).
Being Present as a Spiritual Practice – Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat (Spirituality and Practice: Resources for Spiritual Journeys).
What Is the Present Moment? – MyrkoThum.com (August 31, 2008).
Freedom Is Being Present – InnerPeaceFellowship.org.
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• The Beauty and Challenge of Being Present in the Moment
• I Need Do Nothing . . . I Am Open to Living Light
• Cultivating Stillness
• Be In My Mind, Beloved One
• Your Peace Is With Me, Beloved One
• You Are My Goal, Beloved One
• A Sacred Pause
• Aligning With the Living Light
• Mystical Participation
• The Source Is Within You
Image: Michael J. Bayly.
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