FREEDOM 9

 “The golden moments in the course of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.” George Elliot

P. 67-76

“What is claimed in the energetic field must become manifest through form.”

This is an expression of Universal Law of Creation. Another way it is sometimes stated is, “Energy follows thought(always).”

ACIM points out that we are always creating—we are either creating consciously or creating by default (unconsciously). Our unconscious creations are usually produced from the perspective of our ego/personality/ limited consciousness. So we look at the world around us  and think—“I don’t want this! How could I have created this mess?” 

Well, you see, it is your semi-conscious self that is observing and asking these questions. It is an awareness, albeit limited, that is aware of your soul’s longing and realizes that this creation made manifest by default, from our limited self, is NOT what I truly desire.

So here is the continuing challenge, If you do not like what you see (what you have created by default) then you must commit yourself to creating from conscious awareness, through your true identity as a Divine Being. Now the catch is that I must KNOW myself as that Divine being, really Know myself, be aligned to the truth of who I am, before I am going to be able to create from that Infinite Power of Love. 

That is what we are working on here, not transforming ourselves so much as stripping away all the stuff that clouds our vision of Truth.

And, yes, the claim of worthiness shows up here again. I must know and claim that I am worth to be recognized as a Divine Being—as a unique expression of God, through my body (bodies), mind, and Spirit.

 “And these choices set ramifications through the world. The child named Sarah behaves rather differently than the child named Cassandra. Sarah may do one thing. Had Cassandra been named, she would have done something rather different. You bought this house and not that house, and the infidelity with the neighbor’s wife would not have happened if you had bought the other house.”

Would having a different name make a difference? That seems to be a rather silly observation, yet as we explored that a little bit more fully we discover that it might really be so. Suppose I was named  after my Uncle Fred. throughout my little existence whether for good or bad I am going to be oared to him; I am going to be continually reminded of characteristics that Uncle Fred has or doesn’t have. Obviously, my name can influence my life in some ways more deeply than I can imagine.

Personal history—My mother had three miscarriage before I was born, and she was pretty much told by physicians that she would not be able to carry a baby to term. This was devastating news. Mom loved kids and wanted a bunch of them. About this time, she came cross this  Catholic saint named Gerard Majella, who, according to Catholic tradition worked a number of miracles for expectant mothers. He was even referred to as the “patron saint of expecting mothers.” Mom prayed to him and promised that if her child lived, she would name it after him.

Well, not too long after that, along I came— 8 weeks premature and weighing about 2 pounds. In the mid 1940’s there was not much hope for a baby that size. Obviously, not expected to live, but here I am, carrying the name of my mother gave me Gerard Majella Boylan. 

My mother told me her story any number of times and I cannot say how much of an influence that had on my life, but I do know that Gerard was a Redemptorist Brother. Do you think that had influence on my life; on my chosen vocation? When I took vows in the congregation I joined, the religious name I chose was Bro. Majella, do you think that influence on my life? (Interestingly enough, the founder of the Xaverian order that I was to join after high school received his novitiate training at a Redemptorist Monastery!)

I am simply suggesting that what might seem to be overly simple might also have profound consequences on our lives. 

The second part of that short paragraph about buying a particular house and the consequences that flowed from that still rests in mystery, but is a little more understandable.

What if I missed the bus today; how will my life be different if I turn left instead of right? What accident did I miss because I had to spend an extra five minutes hunting for my car keys?

This passage is out of sequence, but I think it fits ( from p. 73):

“The claim “I am here” is such a name. That is an utterance of the Divine Self in its claim of you, or you as the idealization of the small self that you have come to know yourself as in a lifetime. The Divine as you knows his name, and because he knows his name, he may be reunited with the Source of his being. But if you believe your name is Sam the accountant and Betty the homemaker and Frieda the attorney, you will be stuck in that parking lot for a very long time, and if you are lucky you will be returned to your home or your attorney office only to be left back in that parking lot again.”

****************

Just sit with this following paragraph from moment. It is absolutely profound in its message that every thought, every action is of absolute importance. 

“Every trajectory of every choice ripples beyond the obvious. The spouse of your neighbor, who releases his wife and then goes off to have three more children with yet another spouse, claims other people into manifestation on this plane, and then the world is changed by their presence. You don’t understand, yet, that even when you smile at a stranger, you may have changed the course of history. You do not see this, but you will when this life is ended and you witness your life as you have claimed it. You will realize that the response to that one smile saved someone’s life, offered him an opportunity, perhaps, to make a different choice than he would have. He was going to leave his spouse. The smile reminded him of his spouse’s smile, and they stayed together forever after.”

Simply think about how differently I would walk into a store or behind the wheel of a car; how differently I would recognize the presence of another being even if I don't know them. How every moment, in my consciousness I agreed operate with sacredness and love. 

The awareness that begins with my embracing of this Holy Instant, this sacred moment, is the beginning of the awareness of who I truly am and, of course, who you truly are as well.

“So much of our work with you has been in re-identification—“I know who I am” as the True Self—in order for this to occur. But you still insist in claiming the old names. “I am the one who was hurt,” “who was damaged,” “who is angry,” “who doesn’t want to deal with anything that he doesn’t want to deal with.” And then you say, “Well, I guess I am not a Divine Self after all. Look at the mess I’m in.”

The mess you claim yourselves in is simply separation from your true identity. Knowing your true identity does“not release you from the requirements of your past choices. It is not a free ticket to go murder someone and then remember who you are and assume you are off the hook. You are still claiming the ramifications of past choice, and you will continue to, but the good news is that as you rise above the level of claim that was present when those choices were made, you no longer align to them, and, consequently, even the repercussions will become transformed.”

********

“The realization of the True Self comes at the cost of the known, and the realization at the cost of the known renders past choices as released because you don’t need them anymore. When you no“longer need the approval of your community, you are in fact free of it. And because you no longer need the approval, you are no longer serving it out of fear, or seeking to appease or be approved of for being who you think you should be.”

Everyday I become aware of some attachments, patterns of thought and behavior that no longer serve me. Even when I realize their uselessness, they are sometimes difficult to let go of. In some ways I have come to believe that they are a part of me—of course, the “me” they are a part of is my limited personality self—not who I truly am. 

I am encouraged to know that I do not need to let go in anger or blame or frustration, but lovingly. My baggage probably served me in some ways and I can bless it for that. I am continually reminded of Jacob wrestling with the angel and saying, “I will no let you go unto you bless me.

Here’s a passage from The Book of Knowing and Worth:

“Now you ask yourself, “What things do I hold that I no longer cherish, that I no longer align to?” and it should not be very hard to create a list of things that no longer serve you. It may not be an easy list to make, but you must understand that by making the list, you are giving yourself permission to see yourself and to see yourself clearly. “I see myself as the one who created this and that,” “I see myself as cherishing this pain,” “As owning this decision that I made that I no longer want,” “That I am claiming my worth as the one who made the error so that I may rectify the mistake.” If you don’t claim the error, how can you make a new choice? How can you decide anew when you are pretending you are not who you are?

Now understand this please: You are not an error. We don’t say that you are an error. But you have made mistakes in your judgment because you have been frightened of yourselves and you have given permission to the world to tell you who and what you are. “I am the woman who lies.” “I am the man who cheats at cards,” “Who is an infidel,” “Who is boastful.” Whatever it is you claim as yourself that you wish to relinquish you may, but you must release the need for these things. There is nothing that you have created in your life, including your pain, that you have not chosen for one reason or another.”

The psychologist Robert Assagiolli would begin his mediations by going through an exercise of releasing ones identification with his/her body; emotions, and thoughts. “I have a body, but I am not my body; I have feelings, but I am not my feelings; I have thoughts and a mind, but I am not my thoughts, I am not my mind.” 

“The idealization of what it means to be in a body must be understood now. You have a body, yes, as a vehicle for experience, and—underline and—as a vehicle of your expression. Imagine a body without a soul. It doesn’t do much. There is no life to it. It lays in a coffin or upon a slab. But the soul itself is expression, and because the soul is expression at its essence, seeking to align and grow and evolve through every exchange or circumstance that she can claim, she must also understand that expression is her nature. You have a body, it expresses as you in form, and the soul that you exist through is in expression as it.

The separation of form and field is confusing to most of you, but if you can understand that Spirit permeates form and is form itself, you can begin to understand that even that separation is an illusion, and is simply an illustration of density and vibration operating in different octaves. The reclamation of the body in the Divine Self supports the body in becoming the vehicle of the expression of the high octave known as you for the good of the world. Underline the world. For the good of the world.”

Nothing is separate, everything is important. My body and much of what my thoughts create is what we call “matter” which is simply the “dense’” substance of the energy we align to. Because of its density it has tangible form that we can connect with through our senses, BUT as we learn here, we begin to realize that form does not have to be only that which applies to the senses. Love might show itself in a particular form, but we also know that it is much greater than the form we observe through our senses. 

In fact,, we can suggest this is true for all abstractions—freedom; compassion, joy, etc. We all know them; we all experience them in material form but also in form beyond the material.

Going “back” to the beginning:

“What is claimed in the energetic field must become manifest through form.”

Peace

In Love and Gratitude