larutan.blogspot.com: More From David Hoffmeister: The Simplicity of Being Present

Beloved One,

Today I am Guided to write some words about the simplicity of the Present Moment and the ego's vain attempts to obscure the plain and simple Truth. When the mind is drawn to thoughts about the past and future it is literally blank and sound asleep. As these thoughts are not keep hidden and freely given over to the Spirit, they disappear from awareness, opening the mind to the Present. Darkness, unprotected and undefended, must give way to Light. Yet nothing can be kept hidden from awareness in the mind for the Light to shine unencumbered. Without being exposed, the ego will seem to rule one's state of mind.

In A Course In Miracles Jesus says:

"You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of yourself, the little thought that seems split off and separate, the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. Yet this wild and delusional thought needs help because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery. This is the little part you think you stole from Heaven. Give it back to Heaven. Heaven has not lost it, but <you> have lost sight of Heaven. Let the Holy Spirit remove it from the withered kingdom in which you set it off, surrounded by darkness, guarded by attack and reinforced by hate. Within its barricades is still a tiny segment of the Son of God, complete and holy, serene and unaware of what you think surrounds it." (T-18.IX.1)

Protect an attack thought and it seems real and justified. Expose it to the Spirit and it dissolves instantly. The reason forgiveness seems to take so long in time is that the difference between what is the same and what is different is still obscured. No attack thought has a foundation or a real cause, so judgment of the effects of the world has no meaning in Reality. Yet to a sleeping mind that believes in real effects and specifics, the Spirit offers another Way of looking at the world. This Perspective is the Answer to every seeming specific problem that arises in awareness.

Jesus also says: "You have been told to ask the Holy Spirit for the answer to any specific problem, and that you will receive a specific answer if such is your need. You have also been told that there is only one problem and one answer. In prayer this is not contradictory. There are decisions to make here, and they must be made whether they be illusions or not. You cannot be asked to accept answers which are beyond the level of need that you can recognize. (SOP-1.I-2)

Guidance must come from the Spirit and reach the mind when and where the mind believes it is. Most of the Guidance the mind receives from the Spirit is specific, since the sleeping mind believes in specifics and could not understand an abstract Answer. So this means it is extremely important to follow the intuitive steps which are Given for Awakening. All the steps aim at the washing away of the addiction to specifics and linear believing and thinking and perceiving. When eventually distractions disappear, the Truth is beheld and accepted exactly As Is, and this is the simplicity of Being Present. Now is a moment in which one receives and gives perfect communication with the entire universe, and nothing is kept hidden or seperate or apart. A Course In Miracles is a tool for experiencing this moment.

Jesus says this about A Course In Miracles: "The reason this course is simple is that truth is simple. Complexity is of the ego, and is nothing more than the ego's attempt to obscure the obvious. You could live forever in the holy instant, beginning now and reaching to eternity, but for a very simple reason. Do not obscure the simplicity of this reason, for if you do, it will be only because you prefer not to recognize it and not to let it go. The simple reason, simply stated, is this: The holy instant is a time in which you receive and give perfect communication. This means, however, that it is a time in which your mind is open, both to receive and give. It is the recognition that all minds are in communication. It therefore seeks to change nothing, but merely to accept everything." (T-15.IV.6)

Is there any way that could be simpler and more direct than complete acceptance Now. How simple is the obvious. Jesus continues:

"Being so simple and direct, this course has nothing in it that is not consistent. The seeming inconsistencies, or parts you find more difficult than others, are merely indications of areas where means and end are still discrepant. And this produces great discomfort. This need not be. This course requires almost nothing of you. It is impossible to imagine one that asks so little, or could offer more." (T-20.VII.I)

and...

"Think not that happiness is ever found by following a road away from it. This makes no sense, and cannot be the way. To you who seem to find this course to be too difficult to learn, let me repeat that to achieve a goal you must proceed in its direction, not away from it. And every road that leads the other way will not advance the purpose to be found. If this be difficult to understand, then is this course impossible to learn. But only then. For otherwise, it is a simple teaching in the obvious. (T-31.IV.7)

A Course In Miracles points to a living experience, not another set of self-concepts. Christ asks for trust in the Inner Guidance so that all self-concepts and specific images can be laid aside forever. What you seem to do comes from what you seem to think, and what you seem to think comes from what you seem to believe. So you must learn to systematically, with the Spirit's Help, question EVERYTHING that you seem to believe. The miracle offers a replacement to false identity dependency. When the mind clings roles and concepts and rituals it remains defensive and fearful, even if it is unaware of the depth of the fear that lies beneath. Yet the unconscious guilt and fear and hatred must come to the surface before they can be released forever.

It is an art to let the Spirit use the symbols of the world without identifying with them. One seems to write a book and yet cannot identify with the image of being an author. One seems to speak and yet cannot identify with the image of speaker. One seems to teach and yet cannot identify with the image of teacher. One seems to 'have' a child and yet cannot identify with the image of parent. There is no 'doer' in Being Present. The ego made the 'doer' so it could project the ontological guilt stemming from the belief in separation onto the bodies and images of the cosmos. Yet Divine Presence is without guilt and projection. Presence simply extends Love. Presence is universal and impersonal, Being Pure Love.

If you feel an emotion that doesn't feel simple, be humble and willing to let go of the self-concepts and images of complexity. Who is this 'doer'? All stress and anxiety and fear and guilt and anger come from identifying with the 'doer.' When I say let the ego be undone, I am refering to the identification with the 'doer.' In unified perception (forgiveness) there is no 'doer.'

There is tranquil Stillness in the Present. There are no controversies or distractions or dramas or self-concepts right Now. The concept of a 'doer' but seemed to thrive in the concept of a story. The story was fictitious because it was linear. The story was based in time, and depended upon it. Yet time is simultaneous, not linear. Rejoice and be glad! Remember this one insight and you will never thirst again for another story. :)

In Love & Gratitude,

David