In the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken with many people who are having challenges, and who were upset.  It’s a very emotional time.

Maybe it’s all the intensity that we see in the world.  Maybe we’re getting triggered into healing old beliefs and patterns.  Maybe there’s something going on energetically, maybe it’s astrological, maybe it’s the shifting consciousness and the new age of Aquarius.

I don’t really care to spend a lot of time focusing on those kinds of details.

What I know is that the intensity is unfolding.
I know, and claim, that it’s for our good.

A Course in Miracles says “All things work together for good.
There are no exceptions except in the ego’s judgment.” 

In other words, everything works together for good, regardless of people’s opinions.  All exceptions are a delusion.

Things work together for good.
This doesn’t mean that everything IS good.  
Rape, murder, and natural disasters, these things are not “good.”  

A Course in Miracles would say they’re neutral, and that we’ve given everything all the meaning that it has for us.

“I do not know what anything is for.”  Workbook Lesson 25

They’re not bad either, but they FEEL bad because of our thoughts about them.  

Things work together for good.
To me, that’s God’s infinite grace and goodness.  

A classic example is the story in Garth Brooks beautiful song, Thank God For Unanswered Prayers.  In the song he tells the story of attending a football game with his wife and running into an ex-girlfriend.  The ex was the one he’d “wanted for all time.”  He prayed and prayed to be able to be with her and marry her, but he didn’t get his wish. 

Seeing the old flame next to his wife, he realized what a blessing it was that his prayer didn’t get answered in the way that he wanted it.  It’s a beautiful song and a story that we can all relate to in one way or another.

And this is the nature of prayer.
In the song, the young man thinks that being with this woman will bring him all the Love and happiness he could hope for.  She symbolizes that for him.  He thinks he wants her specifically, but in truth, it’s what she represents that he desires.

Now, all these years later, he sees that he found what he desired so fervently and he has it with the woman he’s married to.  His prayer was actually answered – just not in the way he wanted it because the way he wanted it wouldn’t bring him the result he wanted.

It’s so helpful to realize that things are symbolic.

Jobs, bodies, fame, fortune, homes, cars, and even relationships, they’re all symbolic.  We’ve given them all the meaning that they have for us.  

So, in these current times, we think we’re upset because of what we see in the world, but we’re actually upset by our thoughts about the world and the meaning we’ve given to what’s happening.  

Many people feel they have some big problems.  And most of them are probably looking to solve their perceived problem by trying to rearrange things in the world.  

The world hasn’t made any problems.
It’s our stinking thinking that made everything that now looks like a problem.

A Course in Miracles says, “Let me recognize my problems have been solved.”

How can that be true if my roof blew off in a hurricane?

How can that be true if my cousin was just killed in the Ukraine? 

ACIM says that it’s true because everything we perceive as a problem is the result of feeling guilty and for believing that we’re separate from everything and unworthy of Love.  Someone who has a true awareness of the unity of all life can experience the dramatic ups and downs of life and stay peaceful.

Ernest Holmes said, “There is a Power in the universe greater than you are, and you can use it.”

The power of God is greater than our personality.

We’re not at the mercy of the energetic weather or the weather on planet earth.  These are expressions of the one mind, and we can rise above the battlefield.

We can be in the world, but not of it.  We can rise above it.

And to maintain our equilibrium, our Peace and Harmony, we must be mindful.  We must rise above the battlefield by harnessing the mind.  Not believing we’re victims of the world is required for us to do the harnessing.

Working at the level of the mind, doing this mind-healing work, sometimes it can feel like we’re drowning in it.  We can get swept away in emotion and hormones and forget what the real goal is.  

The real goal is to remember the unity of all life.

It’s not easy doing this.
And it’s harder doing it alone.
It’s harder to remember to laugh when we’re alone.  

When we feel alone and separate, we’re desperate to change things in the world instead of remembering to change our mind about the world.

Our willingness is all that’s required.  It’s easier than we think, but only when we’re truly willing to let go of our attachments to perceptions and projections, interpretations and what we think things mean.

If changing your mind about the world, your body, your relationships or your fate is something you’d like help with, consider taking my My Finding Freedom From Fear spiritual bootcamp ONLINE program which starts Monday, October 10. 

TODAY:  Sundays With Spirit, our online service is today and I am the speaker.   I hope to see you on ZOOM!  Click here to learn more and register if you’re not already.  Of course, there’s no charge and ALL are welcome!  Register now to get the zoom link.

If you’re thinking of joining my Masterful Living Program next year, Finding Freedom From Fear bootcamp is a great way to introduce yourself to the ways we grow spiritually and become a part of this dynamic community.  Are you ready to have more spiritual friends?  We’re ready to welcome you and play in the Light of Love together – let’s weed the garden!

MY LATEST ACIM PODCAST EPISODE:  We’re still challenged to get it uploaded.  I hope that will happen today.  My topic is Fear & Weakness Transformed. Looking at one of the most basic teachings of A Course in Miracles to help us rise above the battlefield of fear and hopelessness.