Sometimes something happens that is frustrating, irritating, or just plain awful. In the midst of crisis it can seem impossible to realize that everything happens for me, not to me. It's easier to look back and see the benefits once things are resolved. One of the first lessons in A Course in Miracles is “I can see peace instead of this.” I would rather find the turn arounds sooner than later, and save myself a lot of suffering.

For example, once I was expecting a big check in the mail. But alas! It was much smaller. I had plans to spend the money on a Hawaiian vacation, and now I'm disappointed, resentful, victimized and pissed off. Thoughts like “why me?” and “it isn't fair” looped through my mind. Instead of wallowing in those emotions, I got still. I asked myself, how is this “crisis” better for me? Here's what I came up with: 1. I can plan an inexpensive stay-cation. 2. I can explore many beautiful natural wonders around me. 3. I can treat myself with delicious healthy food and the company of loved ones. 4. I will grow in appreciation for what I have. Here, now. 5. I'm grateful for this opportunity to realize how everything happens for me, not to me. What a gift!

Acceptance is good, and loving what is-- is the ultimate peace.

                                       JUST TWO

The Maga Christians are passing laws requiring public schools to post the 10 Commandments in their classrooms. (So much for separation of church and state.) And you'd think as Christians they would know that Jesus left us with just two commandments: 1. that we love God with all our hearts and souls and 2. that we love our neighbors as ourselves. I think of those more as promises—the more we evolve in self-realization, the more we will love Great Spirit and each other.

God is Love and so are we.     

Thinking about forgiveness: the key to happiness, extremely important in our awakening process. A huge help to me is The Work of Byron Katie. As I fill out the Judge-Your-Neighbor worksheet about someone I think has hurt me, all my beliefs about that person pour out in six statements that I can work on. When I question those beliefs (ask 4 questions & turn it around) several truths surface to show me a kinder way.

I've also found it very helpful to contemplate what I might have done in past lives. Like, maybe I was male warrior who felt entitled to beat or rape women, maybe in front of their children. My soul knows what I need to experience in this life to balance, or to fully understand past karma. And forgiving a person in this lifetime means also forgiving that person I once was in a past life.

How do I know I'm arguing with reality? First I notice the feeling; if it's negative, like fear, anger, sorrow, etc. then I ask myself what am I thinking? Actually thoughts create the emotion, but the feeling is like an alarm clock that yells, “Wake up!” The thoughts that argue with reality are the “shoulds and shouldn'ts” like “He should___. She shouldn't___. They should___. I shouldn't.” See statement 3 on the worksheet. When I believe these thoughts, I cause my own unhappiness, and I may need to do a worksheet to get free from that.

I am reminded that “Is is, and all the rest is story.” There is one universal law—the law of cause and effect. If you believe in reincarnation, then you understand that karma is that same law at play in human lives. Rather than arguing with reality, and judging ourselves and others, we can balance our karma with forgiveness and love. Then, with a clear mind, we do what is ours to do to contribute toward a more just and peaceful world.

As Edgar Cayce in trance often counseled, “Do what your hands find to do today.”