As we’re coming towards easter and turning our attention to resurrection and crucifixion, I can say that forgiving myself for my self-betrayals is one of the main things I’ve done that has helped me be happy, feel free, and transcend the limiting thoughts and beliefs that used to plague me.

For me, the biggest thing to move out of the way was the self-betrayal, because I did it so much. I joke sometimes that I cut my nose off to spite my face so many times I have no nose left. That’s how crazy I was!

But what IS self-betrayal, really?

A Course in Miracles tells us in Chapter 16, Section 6 – “The Bridge to the Real World” – that the special relationship is the ego’s primary tool for keeping us asleep. The special relationship is any relationship where we’re thinking, fundamentally, “You plus me equals shelter against the storm.”

It could be a romantic partner. A job. A friend. The underlying belief is: without this, I’m without shelter.

In those special relationships, we betray ourselves in very specific ways. We try to manipulate others to fulfill us and complete us – tasks that aren’t even possible. Then we’re devastated when they don’t fulfill us, and we make it either their fault or our fault. Someone must be blamed.

Yet the task was never possible to begin with.

We enter relationships thinking someone is going to save us, rescue us, validate us. We give and give and overgive in order to get that love, that approval, that sense of safety and security. Essentially, we’re manipulating – or they are – to get the Love we desire, we need, we have to have. Then we feel like we’ve wasted our precious life when it doesn’t work out. It is so painful.

That pain of wasted investment is the guilt of self-betrayal. Be with that a moment. Self-forgiveness is required.

We will keep repeating those same patterns until we do the self-forgiveness work.
That’s just how it is. There’s no way around it.

ACIM tells us: “You could not long find even the illusion of love in any special relationship here, for you are no longer wholly insane, and you would soon recognize the guilt of self-betrayal for what it is.”

That recognition is actually good news. It means we’re waking up.

True forgiveness isn’t saying what happened was okay. It’s saying we’re not going to judge it as bad and wrong anymore.

We’re going to see it the way the Holy Spirit sees it. We’re going to harvest the learning and move on.

The way out of suffering is through taking responsibility. But many people, when they begin to take responsibility, get sidetracked blaming themselves – calling themselves a fool, an idiot, a loser, for letting themselves be taken advantage of, for delaying. It’s common, but it’s not necessary or helpful.

That’s just the self-betrayal continuing in a new form.

Here’s what made a difference for me: recognizing that the more I do this work, the more it propels me to do even more.

A Course in Miracles builds spiritual momentum. The period of disorientation that comes with deep forgiveness is far shorter than the time it took to fix our minds on illusions.

I went through a period that was very confusing and disorienting. It took me a while to get my footing because I was forgiving so much so fast. But I really wanted to move through it. I was willing to do the work.

Now, the older I get, the more I feel aligned in my true Self and the happier I am. My happiness isn’t conditional. It isn’t circumstantial. I don’t have to wait for it.

This is the moment of our liberation. It’s always this moment.

We can write a self-forgiveness letter for every special relationship that’s still eating up our bandwidth. That’s the extra mile – and it’s never crowded along the extra mile.

In my Masterful Living Program, we do this deep self-forgiveness work together all year long, gaining momentum and supporting each other through the transformation. And in my FREE Forgiveness Workshops, we practice these tools together.

It takes great courage to do this work. But anyone who decides to do it will receive extraordinary support and mighty companions to go with them.

There’s support in the visible and insible. This I know.

Why delay our happiness anymore? Let’s get to it!

TODAY – Sundays with Spirit – join me today for inspiration in word and song – register to get the zoom link.  Free for all!  I hope to see you today!  Click here to register.

Prayer Power Classes begin April 6 – There’s so much more available to us than struggle, and prayer can help you access it faster than you think. In these four online Prayer Power classes, we’ll strengthen your faith, deepen your spiritual practice, and help you remember how to partner UP with Spirit for healing, guidance, and true inner peace. We begin Monday, April 6th, and this is a beautiful moment to claim your place and receive the support that is already yours. Join me and let’s open the door to your blessing together. Click here to learn more. 

Monday, April 6 – Easter Monday –  FREE Forgiveness Workshop – register now. My FREE Forgiveness Workshops are a beautiful space to practice together – come join me on Friday.

I’m a guest speaker with Miracles Network on March 31st. In this online gathering, I’ll be sharing practical insights from A Course in Miracles to help us choose peace instead of fear and step out of the mental chaos that can feel so overwhelming. Together, we’ll explore simple, powerful ways to release painful patterns and remember the Love and sanity that are already within us. I would love for you to join us. Click to learn for more.

LATEST ACIM PODCAST EPISODE: I Am Healed – Not I Will Be Healed Are you still saying “I will be healed” – and wondering why healing never arrives? In this episode, I share something I’ve been practicing for nearly 20 years that changed everything for me: a small word change in how I pray. I explore Chapter 26, Section 9 of A Course in Miracles – “For They Have Come” – and what it means that our healing has already arrived, that we don’t have to wait. I also get honest about my own journey from believing I was evil and unredeemable to feeling lit up with love. And I share why the people who treated me the most cruelly may have actually helped me awaken. If you’ve been waiting for something to change, this episode might show you it already has. We’re rising up!