Is there a better way? YES
Is guilt a package-deal with one’s faith? NO. IT DOESN’T
HAVE TO BE.
There is a better way.
But you have to be ready to completely change the way you perceive
yourself, others and the world.
Not to mention Heaven. And
yes, Hell, yet another name for guilt and fear.
I recall writing a letter to the editor of our local
newspaper. The topic of my essay
was about the inherent identity of people. Because judgment leads to
discrimination, which I had experienced too many times and which runs rampant throughout so many
cultures, I felt compelled to take a stand. I wrote:
If the true essence of
a person is his/her soul and not the color of his skin, her body weight, the
accent of his native language, or his/her gender or sexual orientation, then aren’t we all
alike? Essentially, aren’t we each
our spirit, which has no color, weight, accent, gender or sexual orientation? So, if our real identity is that of our
soul, how then can we judge and discriminate against another when there is
truly nothing to judge and we are all the same?
I was on to something, but not receiving any feedback on my
contention (and feeling a little uneasy about even having it published), I
abandoned my stand. I put my premise
out there and then walked away from it, not fully developing my thoughts. Yet,
something deep within my being was calling out to be recognized, if not by
others, then surely myself.
So, what is this better
way? Why isn’t it making
headlines? How come people haven’t
heard about it? Why are we suffering when there’s no need to?
The better way
isn’t just one way. There are many
paths out there and one must choose that which calls to them; that resonates
with them. My better way is A Course in Miracles. The Course first caught my attention in
1996 when I picked up my sister’s ACIM
book. The Introduction hooked me,
and I quote it here verbatim from the Combined Volume, Second Edition,
published by the Foundation for Inner Peace:
This is a course in
Miracles. It is a required
course. Only the time you take it
is voluntary. Free will does not
mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a
given time. The course does not
aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be
taught. It does aim, however, at
removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural
inheritance. The opposite of love
is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.
This course can
therefore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing
real can be threatened.
Nothing
unreal exists.
Herein
lies the peace of God. I-1-2
You want to know what first caught my eye in this beautiful
introduction? The statement, The opposite of love is fear… That is pretty darn powerful. Had I been asked, What is the opposite of love? prior to reading that line I would
have answered: hate. But guess what? Hate is based on fear. So is envy, spite, jealousy, animus,
ridicule, bullying, discrimination, anger, resentment, abuse, repugnance,
attack, repulsion, abandonment, enmity, hatred, hostility, loathing,
antagonism, rancor, revenge, guilt, shame, disgust, aversion, disgust,
animosity, grievance, revulsion, scorn, war. And yet the list is not complete. But how easily these synonyms came to mind.
Er-r-r-r!
My challenge:
Would words and actions, which compliment LOVE burst forth as easily?
I knew that I had found my path, away from fear and toward a
remembrance of Divine Love.
But it would take me another sixteen years until I found the connection to my Inner Teacher.
Photos by Barb Adams (c)2014
This is what I understand today.
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