I want to thank Jason, and everyone at the Monastery again for welcoming me with such openness. I’m still amazed that I was granted this opportunity to see shining examples of the teachings of A Course in Miracles, and for the first time in a long while, I do not feel alone.
Part of me wanted to stay longer, but beneath that desire was the thought that I would be doing so for the wrong reason; as a way to avoid my problems. The stronger feeling was, and is, that my travels will continue.
Before I left, Jason asked if I had had any insights. What I’m about to share was not yet clear at that time; only on the drive away did it coalesce.
That morning, several lines from a Vance Joy song kept running through my head, “I never should have told you, never should have let you see inside. Don’t want it troubling your mind, won’t you let it be?” This confused me as I could not think of anything that I had said that I felt regret for.
Eventually, the phrase, “don’t want it troubling your mind” stood out. This reminded me that the most prominent fear I had in coming to the Monastery was that I would somehow interfere with its residents’ peace of mind, simply by my presence alone. This belief that I could negatively affect other people’s state of mind has been with me for many years, and has colored many of my past experiences and relationships.
This fear left my awareness soon after I arrived. On the drive away it rose again, but I remembered David saying in one of his videos that minds cannot attack. I cried and laughed, and now feel as if the belief is being (has been?) released.
There are other things that happened that felt important, but I can’t think of them right now.
From the time I first turned alert to the majestic and awe-inspiring presence of Lord, I have enjoyed reading many wonderful religious works such as the Bible (my beloved areas will be the Sermon on the Support and Psalms), the Bhagavad-Gita, the Upanishads, the Koran and the poetry of Kabir and Rumi. None of them come close to the greatness of a Program in Miracles. Reading it having an start mind and center, your doubts and troubles rinse away. You become alert to a wonderful enjoy strong within you – greater than whatever you knew before. The future starts to seem so bright for you personally and your liked ones. You are feeling love for everybody else including those you formerly have attempted to keep excluded. These activities are extremely strong and sometimes throw you down balance only a little, but it’s worth every penny: A Course in Wonders presents you to a enjoy so peaceful, so powerful and therefore general – you’ll wonder how therefore lots of the world’s religions, whose goal is allegedly the same knowledge, got so down track.
I want to claim here to any Christian who feels that his church’s teachings do not truly satisfy his thirst to understand a kind, merciful and supportive Lord, but is relatively scared to learn the Course due to others’ statements that it’s sporadic with “true” Christianity: Don’t worry! I have see the gospels often times and I promise you that a Program in Wonders is totally consistent with Jesus’ teachings while he was on earth. Don’t fear the fanatical defenders of exclusionist dogma – these poor persons believe themselves to be the sole carriers of Jesus’ information, and the sole people worthy of his blessings, while other should go to hell. A Class in Miracles reflects Jesus’ true meaning: unconditional love for *all people*. While he was on earth, Jesus believed to determine a pine by their fruit. Therefore give it a decide to try and see the way the fruits that ripen in your lifetime taste. Should they taste poor, you can abandon A Course in Miracles. But if they style as sweet as mine do, and the millions of different true seekers who have found A Class in Miracles to be nothing less than a beautiful prize, then congratulations – and might your heart often be abundantly full of calm, warm joy.