A COURSE IN MIRACLES teaches (among many other lessons) that
"giving and receiving are the same"
"love is letting go of fear"
and
"our safety lies
in our defenselessness"
... three powerful and humbling ideas when allowed to settle into our psyches and guide our decisions. These teachings bring to mind the idea of "Do onto others what you would have them do unto you" that comes from my Christian roots. Of course, today's Zen Cards present the following three ideas for consideration:
"HARMLESSNESSALL beings fear violence.All beings fear pain.When you see YOURSELF in allyour brothers and sisters,then how can you bring harm to them?"
How indeed? Sometimes we create harm out of thoughtlessness ... failing to pay attention to the effects of our actions and/or the chaos we leave in our wake. Sometimes it's through selfishness ... believing there's not enough for everyone, so the need to "get our share" (no matter what) drives us to make foolish choices. Sometimes we believe we deserve to be "punished" for our "sins" ... whether consciously or buried deep in that place of embarrassed self-loathing we've locked away in the depths of darkness (and, all too often, thrown away the key). And sometimes our "defensive behaviors" (designed to protect ourselves from real and/or perceived dangers) are seen as "attacks" by others ... who then respond in kind, causing situations to escalate and spin out of control. If what we think about expands in ours lives, then "harmlessness" seems worth some mindful meditation. How to be harmless ... good question to consider ... for sometimes it's hard to predict outcomes ahead of time.
"HARMONY
Restore harmony.
Create PEACE in all situations.
Rather than
pushing the river,
FLOW with it."
Daniel Levin
Smiling with recognition here because for me, the choice for peace in all situations remains an on-going challenge. I learned from ACIM (or perhaps from the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh in PEACE IS IN EVERY STEP?) ... to stop and say to myself (in moments of anger, frustration, pain, irritation, fear, self-doubt, confusion, etc.)
"I could have peace instead of this" ... and the thought would stop in in my tracks. I'd realize I'd been holding my breath ... so I'd exhale ... allow myself to take a few deep, relaxing breaths ... realize we all make choices all the time (some better & some worse than others) ... consider my options along with lessons from the past ... and choose my next step more mindfully ... at least for the moment. This practice taught me about ...
HUMILITY
The way of the EARTH
is to empty
that which is full,
and fill that which is empty.
True HUMILITY
brings great fortune."
Daniel Levin
The Universe brings us many opportunities to learn and to teach what we need to know. In the early 70s I happened upon a book by Jerry Jampolsky entitled TEACH ONLY LOVE. I've been working on that lesson ever since. Simple ... not always easy ... but certainly worth the effort required, and I'm grateful.
Blessed be ... and so it is.
4 comments:
Thank you so much for all these wonderful signposts pointing the way.
Kikipotamus
You're quite welcome. Thanks for stopping by ...
Hugs and blessings,
"giving and receiving are the same"
"love is letting go of fear"
and
"our safety lies
in our defenselessness"
These are wonderful words to live by. thank you so much for sharing them.
Annie
xxx
You're quite welcome Annie,
Sorry to be slow in responding. Somehow this comment didn't come to my attention until today while I was trying to figure out what happened to my SiteMeter icons (missing on both of my blogs after the after Thanksgiving slowdown here in the Blogosphere).
Those three lessons from A COURSE IN MIRACLES changed my life in more ways than even I might realize. All it takes is "a little willingness to see things a little differently" ... and long-standing beliefs get blown out of the water in the best ways imaginable :)
Hugs and blessings,
st
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