The only problem with being human is that everything seems to be personal when it is not.

Suffering is the result of the personal self interpreting everything in terms of itself: if it benefits “me”, it’s good; if it doesn’t benefit “me” it’s bad.

To the non-locatable Self, nothing is wrong; everything is as it is- no problem. Thoughts are just thoughts. Feelings are just feelings. Sensations are just sensations. They don’t belong to anyone. They are simply present without the interpreting mechanisms of the separate self. Just as the sky would not complain about clouds that appear in it, the Self cannot personalize nor object to part of itself.

Miracles gradually shift our awareness from the body: that locatable, personal sense of a “me”; to spirit, that impersonal awareness that is Self. It is a gradual process so as not to arouse too much fear in the ego, causing it to turn suspicious and vicious. We are told early on in the text of A Course in Miracles that we will not be “hurled into reality.”

" Miracles transcend the body. They are sudden shifts into invisibility, away from the bodily level. That is why they heal."  Miracle principle 17.

The belief that it is a sacrifice to give up the personal is based upon the belief that the personal actually exists. In fact, personhood is a mind-constructed fabrication of a separate self in relationship with other separate selves. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nothing is given up; there is only an illusion of giving up. The personal self never existed.

In writing about this I hope that some of the resistance to engaging in the lessons of the Course will be recognized, understood, and not made a big deal of. Perhaps you might even welcome the shift from the personal reference point to an all-encompassing awareness of what is. Instead of either pathologizing this shift or making it another special experience that belongs to a “someone” you may see this as natural, effortless, and available equally to everyone. This could be very helpful.

Relationships for a non-personal purpose are particularly confounding to the ego to which everything is “useful” for the purpose of validating the existence of personhood. “Me”, “I”, and “mine” make total sense to it. From the point of view of a separate self, love is the fulfillment of a longing to merge with another separate self.

Intimacy is the natural state of all relationships when the sense of a personal self is no longer believed. The non-locatable, impersonal Self recognizes itself everywhere in everything. Every encounter is a meeting with one Self directly, without any of the interference of personal interpretation. This is intimacy. It is devoid of the specialness that a personal point of view gives to everything.

To discover that joy and love are not personal and never did belong to someone is an extraordinarily liberating awareness. There is nothing to be gotten from anyone. Everything we could ever hope to find is already available. Clinging to our self-constructed sense of separateness that perceives through the body’s senses is all that keeps us from freedom. We cling because, in believing what we have made of ourselves, we also believe it would be a huge sacrifice to give it up. Again, nothing is given up. It is all smoke and mirrors.

Usually a question arises about being able to function without having a personal point of reference.  The ego tells us that we will run amuck without its “guidance”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Life continues just as before only awareness of life is not through the sense organs of the body including the brain which interprets everything in a personal way.

Awareness is non-locatable and impersonal. It is. Everything gets done, only without the sense of a personal doer. The understanding that there never has been a personal doer does not suddenly interfere with functioning; it liberates functioning. The body proceeds  without personal involvement. It is an enormous relief from the burden of credit and blame that the ego placed upon everything.

For most of us the falling away of the false personal self is a gradual process. Each lesson of A Course in Miracles, applied to situations in our life, will chip away at our belief in a separate self without arousing too much fear in the ego. Of course, sometimes it happens that the ego does become suspicious then vicious, counseling us to abandon the lessons and their skillful undoing entirely. It is my hope that those who come to BecomingLearnersTogether will come to understand that there is nothing to fear in awakening from the dream of separateness.

If you only knew the power of the miracle to free you you would want to offer them. You can learn how. Right here. They can be applied to whatever your circumstances are, no matter where you find yourself, no matter what your history is. The only thing that is required is to want to learn another way of perceiving. Think of it as a science project if that is your interest. “Humans find another means of perceiving that shows there is another world!!!!”

Or think of it as the greatest love story ever told. “Woman finds her Beloved and He gives her the universe.”

It is the end of seeking and the finding of a treasure beyond your most pleasurable and satisfying imaginings. It is finding the never ending supply of love that can be given without measure.

This is an invitation to learn how to work miracles. The only qualification is the willingness to see that your interests are not separate from another.

 “Miracles are natural. When they do not occur something has gone wrong." Miracle principle.” #6

 “Miracles are a way of earning release from fear.” Miracle principle # 28

 “Miracles are examples of right thinking, aligning your perceptions with truth as God created it.” Miracle principle # 36 

 Visit Lyn's blog at: www.BecomingLearnersTogether.com

A happy outcome to all things is sure. Certainty is yours because forgiveness is the only function given you by God. It is simultaneously your reason for being here and your special function.

In spite of how complicated your life may be at this time; no matter how conflicted and confused you may feel; forgiveness assures you of happy outcomes. A happy outcome to all things is sure aligns your will with Unified Will of Heaven and it will show you that this is true whenever you aligned yourself with It.

Do happy outcomes mean that things work out in your personal favor? The ego is childish and can only think of things in terms of having its needs and wants met. Happy outcomes work for the good of all. Forgiveness opens us to God’s gifts which are given to all indiscriminately. As we resonate with love by letting go of fear the real world emerges. This shift may be reflected by changes in government, economics and health, but these are not important to the transformation that is occurring in the mind.  

In becoming a happy learner there is a humbling admission that what you think you are seeing with the body’s eyes and hearing with the body’s ears may not be the whole story. Only the ego needs to be humbled because it seeks to be right about what it has already decided out you. It is not a learner at all. Through the body’s senses it gathers proof of a separate self with separate interests and a plan of its own.

Waking up from this dream of separation is a psychological process in which you, as a decision maker, decide against the ego thought system by choosing for a new order—a unified perception—to replace separate interests. It is our personal responsibility to make a shift that will be beneficial to all.

At this particular time in the evolution of humankind there are lots of gloom and doom stories pointing to a cataclysmic event around 2012. This need not be. I invite you to think about this differently and not join with the fear mongering ego.

The shift from fear to love is one many of us have been consciously working with for most of this incarnation and many others for centuries. Love is all-encompassing and has no opposite and this is what we have signed on to learn. The ego, seeing the possible end of its rule, has begun to fight for its survival. But this doesn’t mean that you have to side with it. You have a choice to make and you are exercising it now.

This could look like turning your back on the problems of the world and leaving conventional wisdom behind because much of it is fear based. There is an important distinction that needs to be made here. Let me give you an example. Leaving a job that you hate because you see that you only stay out of fear and being drawn by love to do something new is a completely different thing. Leaving a job you hate won’t decrease fear. Forgiveness will. Once fear is lifted you will be drawn to what love would have you do. Love leads.

Another example would be leaving your body behind. When fear of being without a body is gone that’s when you can leave it behind without regret. In that situation there is really no death.  Again, you are following love’s directives. Love in action is your divine responsibility. When fear falls away your natural occupation arises. It may take many different forms.

 If you are reading this and are working with A Course in Miracles you have already chosen to be a part of the Great Awakening and the emergence of a  new nobility in which fear is relinquished and love emerges as the one reality we share.

It is very doubtful that God’s Plan for the salvation of the world will fail, but in the world of time/space, which is where this shift will be worked out this transformation will appear to take time. It is really only an instant. The instant when you are certain it is accomplished.

It is obvious that the celestial speedup that Jesus mentions in the Course is under way. What does that mean for those who have signed on to help in this transition? Here is what it means to me: Forgive, heal, and bless.

1. Do not doubt your function and its outcome, regardless of the appearances to the contrary. Your function is to forgive; the outcome is happy (not personal).

Let me refresh your memory as to what forgiveness does. It does nothing. It makes room for love. “Forgiveness is still, and quietly does nothing….It merely looks, and waits and judges not.” Not for a moment does it believe what the body’s senses tell it.

Your function is to allow love to embrace every conflict, heal all wounds, and end all wars. This must occur simply because you are certain of your function and the outcome.

This will remove all guilt in your mind because you are carrying out the one function given you by God. How can there be guilt when you take the one part given you by God in place of all the functions you have given yourself?

2.  Do not run from what you signed on for.

As the resistance of the ego becomes more intense, it will seem that conditions are worsening. Your part is not to believe it, and not to run from the chaos. This is your opportunity to discover the true nobility of your whole mind and loving heart. Running is fear; nobility comes from valor.

3. Do not resist anything.

It is tempting to fight against injustice when you see it. When you respond in that way (fighting against) you are functioning on the same level as the unjust. This will not bring about the shift to love within yourself that is needed to heal and bless the world.

Find out what you are for and commit yourself whole-heartedly to it in all situations. You don’t have to search far if you are working with the Course. It makes it very clear that forgiveness is your function as the light of this world. Forgive and this (insanity, fear, injustice) will disappear.

 “You will be bound till all the world is seen by you as blessed, and everyone made free of your mistakes and honored as he is. You made him not; no more yourself. And as you free the one, the other is accepted as he is.” Lesson 200

 You have made thousands of losing bargains in your life. If I do this, then, that will happen. The outcome of forgiveness is certain and because it is happy there can be no imagined threat. Do what is given you to do and safety is yours.