God in a box

Some time ago I was listening to someone discussing "A Course in Miracles" in connection with receiving guidance from spirit. He said, "You need to ask the Holy Spirit about your problem, and when you do, this is what the Holy Spirit will tell you . . . ." He then proceeded to repeat his carefully memorized two-minute elevator speech consisting of his condensed theoretical understanding of the Course.

At this point I tuned out. I have encountered this general attitude many times among certain fundamentalist Christians who are convinced they know what message spirit has for you. Among many Christians this manifests as a desire to post the Ten Commandments in public places, as if doing that would actually cause anyone to change.

With Course students it seems very similar. Many Course students like to boil the vastness of the Course's message down to a handful of over-simplified and easily remembered slogans, but this is just a way of stuffing spirit into the ego's own straight-jacket. It is a way of appearing to be in touch with spirit without actually doing the inner work required to actually reach communion with spirit. It is mainly a self-deception.

It is a method putting God in a box.

I suppose the problem is based upon a belief that asking for spirit guidance results in the words from "A Course in Miracles" being echoed back, but that is not the case. The words from the Course you have been studying these many years are now part of the past that binds you. The innocent vision of spirit "serves a wholly open mind, unclouded by old concepts, and prepared to look on only what the present holds." (ACIM Text)

Indeed, there comes a time when the words of the Course become "old concepts."

The ability and habit of coming to spirit with an open mind and heart, and empty hands, is what the training leads to. It is a great misunderstanding to think, "I have studied the Course and so I know what message spirit has for me, and for you too." It is not this at all. This is a way of keeping judgment by using the words of the Course as the basis for judgment. You can memorize the words of the Course and be able to repeat it backwards in your sleep, but that will not improve your ability to judge in the least. Knowledge of the Course does not result in good judgment.

"It is necessary for the teacher of God to realize, not that he should not judge, but that he cannot. In giving up judgment, he is merely giving up what he did not have. He gives up an illusion; or better, he has an illusion of giving up. He has actually merely become more honest. Recognizing that judgment was always impossible for him, he no longer attempts it."

(ACIM Manual for Teachers)

This takes us back to the beginning, and the miracle worker's prayer:

"I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do, because He Who sent me will direct me."

(ACIM Text)

To seek guidance from spirit requires, at minimum, enough self-honesty to admit that you do not know in advance what answer you will receive. Otherwise, it is not asking spirit for an answer, it is telling spirit what answer your little self feels comfortable with.

Copyright status of A Course in Miracles

This is an issue that I am frequently asked about, as just recently happened by email. It is time that I start posting this information more publicly.

An email from M & P -

Dear Tom: Am an avid practitioner of ACIM and Voice for God. First let me bless you for having the 1972 version, I love the fact that it is the pure version from Helen and Thetford There is also a www site that gives us free texts from ancient and modern books called "Sacred-Texts.com". They say they haven't included ACIM because of copyright problems; I didn't know that the 1972 version was on line then. Since the 1972 version is excellent, can they be given that text? Would you be willing to contact them about it?

. . . and my answer:

Not really, in my opinion. I am familiar with sacred-text.com (and love it). Some time ago I studied its copyright policy, and it takes a conservative, and safe, approach to copyright issues.

There is considerable ambiguity about the copyright status of the 1972 version, and I am taking a calculated risk by publishing it online, as is anyone else who does so. Actually, in my opinion, the ultimate copyright status of the 1975 version is also quite ambiguous. One Federal judge in New York city has very limited jurisdiction, and it is conceivable (however unlikely) that a different judge in another jurisdiction could be prevailed upon to make a different ruling on the 1975 copyright, if anyone is interested in going to the considerable expense of litigating the issue again. Not only is the validity of the 1975 copyright and the copyright on the 1972 version in legal limbo, there is considerable doubt about actual ownership of those copyrights, to the extent that they remain valid.

My admiration for the Course, and my special fondness for the 1972 version of the Course makes me brave, I guess. Or foolhardy, perhaps. Some unknown heir of Helen Schucman could pop up unexpectedly and assert a copyright claim to the whole thing. This involves an undeniable risk of being sued out of the blue.

If I understand sacred-text.com's attitude correctly, this is not a risk they would be willing to undertake, but that is just my guess.

Community Miracles Center website

The website of Community Miracles Center in San Francisco has been around forever, it seems. I don't know exactly when Rev. Tony and Rev. Larry started it, but I'm sure that it was going strong well before 1998, when I first noticed it, if I remember it correctly. Over the years, it has always been a source of information and inspiration for the Course community. In recent years, the website's 1990's origin and design began to show, as other sleeker Course websites came online. The explosion on online Course activity that has taken place since the removal of ACIM copyright and trademark restrictions in 2004 almost threatened to leave the CMC icon in the dust.

For those of you who do not know, or who chose not to remember, fear was intentionally fostered by the self-appointed "guardians of the faith," starting with FACIM's acquisition of all legal rights over the Course in 1999 and ending with the intervention of a higher power in 2004. Scores of fledgling Course-related websites bit the dust during that period. Tony, Larry and the San Francisco Community Miracles Center were always there on the front line, standing up for freedom. They shall forever have my gratitude and appreciation.

Anyway, I visit the CMC website regularly to stay informed about what is happing in the Course world. My last visit before yesterday was back on November 15th when the 2009 ACIM Conference was announced.

Sometime in the last two weeks, without any fanfare that I know of, the venerable CMC website underwent a total overhaul, both in structure and in appearance.

Community Miracles Center has not only totally re-designed the look of its classic ACIM website, it has also adopted the Open Source web content management system provided by Joomla.

Take a look. It is really nice. Twenty-first Century style and function, but still warm, friendly, funny, and informative.

Miracle Distribution Center 2008 ACIM Calendar

This ACIM wall calendar is available from the Miracle Shop at Amazon.com

Big bargains on used Course books

Sometimes there are some great one cent used book bargains available on Amazon.com.

You heard me right. One-cent books. A penny for a book. $0.01!

How is this possible? There has to be a trick, you think. No one would bother selling a book for a penny.

This is the way it works. Amazon.com allows its third-party used book sellers to charge $3.99 for shipping, so the total cost of a one cent book, including shipping, is $4.00. By using US Post Office "Media Mail" rates, it only costs about $2.00 - $2.50 to ship the book, so the used book seller makes its profit on the shipping! It's not a big profit, to be sure, maybe only a dollar or two, but it is still a really great bargain for you!

I've purchased dozens and dozens of hard-to-find used book through Amazon.com this way, and I've never had any problems at all. Media Mail shipping is a little slower to arrive than are other delivery options. Sometimes it can take 10 days to two weeks for a book to arrive, depending upon where the book was shipped. Obviously it takes something shipped from Oregon longer to arrive in Kentucky then it does for something shipped from Ohio, but it is well worth the wait in dollars saved.

These are books you'll probably never see at your local used book store. It's a really great deal, and you can save a tree in the process by buying second-hand books.

The book pictured above is "We Never Left The Garden" by Pamela Galadrial, 228 pages, and published in 1996. It is Pamela Galadriel's first book, with her own illustrations. It is an illumination of Course principles with deep heart.

As of this morning there were four copies available for a penny each. No, better make that three one-cent copies of the book. I just bought one for myself, but if you hurry, you might be able to get one here.

Inner landscapes - sexual attraction

The inner worlds can be pictured as intricate and varied as the geography of the outer world, and each life as a traveler through psychological landscapes. At some times it may seem the inner terrain is strewn with rocks and pot-holes that make froward progress difficult, that keeps our eyes focused upon the ground ahead. Other times we may fix our gaze upon the grandeur of distant panoramas without any thought about the ground under foot. The picture presents various aspects of life, and the mental habits we fall into and the confusions we have become comfortable with. From the wider perspective of the spirit, all approaching storms are seen far off and can be easily avoided, and the erroneous beliefs that so frequently cause us pain are readily recognized and can be corrected.

There is within each of us a divine desire to join with our brothers. It is a powerful and fearful impulse. It is powerful because it is the irresistible pull toward our reality as God created us. It is fearful because to join with another threatens the cherished self-image of independent autonomy. To resist the pull is like a stone resisting the pull of gravity, and not roll down hill. The pull cannot be resisted, but it can be deflected and distorted.

The impulse for minds to join is the miracle-impulse, as that terms is used in “A Course in Miracles.” The distorting force of false autonomy twists the divinely inspired miracle-impulse for minds to join into physical sexual attraction. As the Course states, “The confusion of miracle impulse with sexual impulse is a major source of perceptual distortion, because it induces rather than straightening out the basic level-confusion which underlies all those who seek happiness with the instruments of the world.”

Jesus compares being bound to inappropriate sexual impulses to one living in a desert. He is, of course, referring to an inner psychological state and not an outer environment. The main characteristic of a desert in the world’s environment is its lack of water. A psychological desert is an inner landscape starved of the living waters of spirit.

Jesus advises, “The thing to do with a desert is to leave.”

The power of attention

"The task for this period is not to let uncreative thought have lodging room. You say you make pictures, your mind conceives them like dark magic. Try not to do this, and the best way not to make negative pictures is to make spiritual pictures. Let into your mind the noble company of thoughts, thus will you keep out the rabble. Make your mental company glorious."

From: Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood

"To be IN the Kingdom is merely to focus your full attention ON it. As long as you believe that you can attend to what is NOT true, you are accepting conflict as your CHOICE. Is it REALLY a choice? It SEEMS to be, but seeming and reality are hardly the same. You who ARE the Kingdom are not concerned with seeming. Reality is yours because you ARE reality. This is how having and being are ultimately reconciled, not in the Kingdom, but IN YOUR MINDS. The altar there is the ONLY reality. The altar is perfectly clear in thought because it is a reflection of PERFECT Thought. It sees only brothers because it sees ONLY in its own Light."

From: A Course in Miracles Chapter 7, Section 3 - The Reality of the Kingdom

—oOo—

Tom Fox
Louisville, Kentucky

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Through Heaven's Eyes

from: The Prince of Egypt

A single thread in a tapestry,
though its color brightly shines,
can never see its purpose
in the pattern of the grand design.

And the stone that sits up on the very top
of the mountain's mighty face,
does it think that it's more important
than the stones that forms the base?

So how can you see what your life is worth
or where your value lies?
Ohhhh, you can never see through the eyes of man.
You must look at your life
look at your life through heaven's eyes.

Lai-la-lai...through heaven's eyes.

A lake of gold in the desert sand
is less than a cool fresh spring,
and to one lost sheep, a shepard boy
is greater than the richest king.

Should a man lose everything he owns
has he truly lost his worth?
Or is it the beginning
of a new and brighter birth?

So how do you measure the worth of a man
in wealth or strength or size,
in how much he gained or how much he gave
the answer will come.
The answer will come to him who tries
to look at his life through heaven's eyes.

Lai-la-lai...through heaven's eyes.

And that's why we share all we have with you
though there's little to be found.
When all you've got is nothing
there's lots to go around.

No life can escape being blown about
by the winds of change and chance,
and though you never know all the steps,
you must learn to join the dance.

You must learn to join the dance.

Early Christian writings online

Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The mission of the CCEL is to build up the church by making classic Christian writings available and promoting their use. English translations of early Christian writing available online.

Something for the "no worlders" among you . . . .

I just couldn't resist the evil, but witty, spirits that sometimes
possess me. So, for all who live and breathe Lesson 132, and find
solace for every difficulty by repeating "There is no world!" from
Workbook Lesson 132, I have devised the perfect gift:

It is the There is no coffee! coffee mug.


You know who you are, and I made this just for you. Unless, of
course, "There is no money!"

Bon chance, mon cher.

The meaning of mind and editing changes

This article, The meaning of mind and editing changes was first published in the year 2000 by Gene W. Smith, within a few months following the discovery and general release of the earlier version of A Course in Miracles Text, known as the Hugh Lynn Cayce version.

Dr. Smith's fine article was the first to shed scholarly light upon the significance, and conceptual extent, of the editing changes that were imposed upon the Course prior to publication in 1975.

Letters of a Scattered Brotherhood

Inner promptings

Dear friends,

Let us consider again what our daily living is, this human living without thought; the conduct of people, the philosophy needed to live upon earth, to live intelligently, and the mystery of pleasure and pain. First it appears that we are spoiled from lack of discipline - self-discipline. We are ignorant, too, and full of wild emotions, savage dislikes, greed, and pride - pride of family, of race, community and nation.

This emotional fever-bag is our danger, for left to itself, inflated by angry argument, it is destructive and overpowers the balance of clear thinking. Through it we are influenced and swayed by passing events, the daily news and all the harm of misinformation. When possessed by states that are ungoverned, even while we carry our outward poise, there is a kind of lawlessness that swings to inertia, a what's-the-use attitude of mind, a refusal to make an effort which is a kind of lawlessness also. A child asks, Why is it necessary to have law and discipline? Because it is needful to establish a balanced order of conduct. Think for a moment of yourselves as raw material; through your acceptance or rejection of a thought, an idea, you establish your lives, your individualities. Emotion is as wild and unpredictable as the weather and must be faced and dominated. No wonder the ancients called it the devil, for at times it will run away with you, weaken your resolves, loosen your armor and plunge you into hell. Here is where pain often comes in and is indeed the drill sergeant. You have seen how many wild natures have been touched and softened by pain and sorrow. But why go that way to illumination? You who have started on this strange and beautiful journey, who have sensed immortality and touched it, have opened a door into a place where the mystery of life will be simplified for you if you will obey these promptings from within.

For many this is beyond understanding and they seek the satisfaction of penance in sacrifice and good works. That is not to be condemned, but it is only the first step, for as was said by one who lived in the thirteenth century, "Visible deeds do not increase the goodness of the inner life, however long and broad, whatever their number or dimension; its goodness is its own. The visible deeds of virtue can never be worth much if the inward process is small or has little life; but they never can be of little worth if the inner life is rich and great. The inner life goes on perpetually and draws upon God, from the very heart of Him, for the inner life of a man is His son."

Therefore obey the promptings that come to you from within when you have true communion with Him, and you will learn your requirements, your disciplines, renunciations as well as illumination and the peace that passes all understanding. With this knowledge you will find that it will be very uncomfortable for you if you get out of balance. This power held in stillness will go far toward stopping wars, for it will indeed move mountains and bring order out of chaos, as it is a living force. If you believe that character can be changed and transmuted, act on the promise. For to be freed from the laws of the material world we must pay the price, and the price is to make this instrument clean, pure, steady, vigilant, strong and faithful in little things.

Come closer to the center of all light; come freed from the ignorant emotional habits, from subtle appetites of prejudice and criticism. More is told you than by spoken words; only make way for the Light and you will be oriented and held in safety and great will be the results in your day, your hours, your seconds of time. The mystery of living will then be revealed to you . . . it is the transmutation of this living entity into the divine spiritual Man.

---

Published on Scribd.com - eBook in PDF format


Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood
House of Light digital edition

114 pages
11 x 8.5"

View on-line or download here.

—oOo—

Tom Fox
Louisville, Kentucky

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