1993-06-02-Body, Hope, Prayer, ACIM – Sessions 1-13
Halfmoon Bay #3
Contents
• 1 Heading
o 1.1 Topic: Body Perceptions, Hopefulness
o 1.2 Group: Half Moon Bay TeaM
• 2 Facilitators
o 2.1 Teacher: Olfana, Tarkas
o 2.2 TR: Susan Kimsey
• 3 Session 1
o 3.1 Lesson
3.1.1 Faith
• 4 Session 2
o 4.1 Dialogue
4.1.1 Body, Health, ACIM
• 5 Session 3
o 5.1 Lesson
5.1.1 Hope
o 5.2 Closing
• 6 Session 4
o 6.1 Lesson
6.1.1 Prayer
• 7 Session 5
o 7.1 Lesson
7.1.1 Joy
• 8 Session 6
o 8.1 Lesson
8.1.1 Gratitude
• 9 Session 7
o 9.1 Lesson
9.1.1 Mystery
• 10 Session 8
o 10.1 Lesson
10.1.1 Peace, Harmony
• 11 Session 9
o 11.1 Lesson
11.1.1 Mercy
• 12 Session 10
o 12.1 Lesson
12.1.1 Patience
o 12.2 Closing
• 13 Session 11
o 13.1 Lesson
13.1.1 Acceptance
Topic: Body Perceptions, Hopefulness
Group: Half Moon Bay TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Olfana, Tarkas
TR: Susan Kimsey
Session 1
June 2, 1993
Lesson
Faith
OLFANA: We have a short lesson tonight. Our lesson is on faith. What does the commitment of faith mean for you? Ponder this. Faith rings like a silent bell in your heart. It resonates with vibrations of the Father’s love. Faith is never an unconscious effort. It requires conscious attention to the perception of all you understand, coupled with your trust that the design of events is woven with a greater beauty than your earthly perceptions can comprehend. Faith efforts are those which bear your creator’s mark. They are the motivation of the Thought Adjuster coupled with your freewill heart’s desire. How often do you truly reach out to the experiences of life with this “Hallmark of the Father” as your guiding light? Realize that such efforts ennoble your character greatly. This lesson is complete.
Session 2
Sept. 10,1993
Dialogue
Body, Health, ACIM
T: The first question I have is regarding my background in Christian Science. I’m having trouble understanding what I perceive to be a contradictory emphasis in books like Keys to the Scriptures and A Course in Miracles with books like the Urantia Book. On the one hand, Christian Science and ACIM seem to emphasize to me a very high level of understanding of a spiritual world, and seem to denounce the reality of a materialistic world. Yet books like Kryon’s book and the Urantia Book seem to indulge in endless speculation about energy forces and material forces. The involvement that S has with the healing energies, including her involvement with the flower essences and the gem elixers, imply these are crucial to her background in spiritual evolution and her understanding of healing. Can you clarify some of this for me?
OLFANA: You touch upon issues of great importance. We understand your confusion regarding these many questions. Let us digress for a moment. Can you allow the use of symbolism, symbolic images, to help you, perhaps, to comprehend?
T: If you think these symbolic images will help, yes.
OLFANA: If you place a rock in water is it not true that your perception of the rock can change when you view it, looking downward into the water? And then shift, and perceive the rock from, let us say, the side of a container that holds this rock and water. Also, if you placed your face into the water, would you again see the rock from a slightly changed perception? Do you understand the image we create here?
T: Yes, I’ve experienced those different perceptions a number of times.
OLFANA: Then please hold this image in your mind as we proceed to discuss concepts of the body. The physical, bio-chemical mechanism, or instrument, you are housed in, is now, indeed, like the rock of material substance. Yet, your perception of this body you inhabit can change depending upon your perspective. Sometimes you feel you are the rock in the water. Yet this is only one perspective. When you look from outside the cylinder, through the water, does not the rock appear magnified, greater than its original image?
T: Yes.
OLFANA: Your consciousness is not only connected to this physical being. Much of your perceptions of your consciousness as limited to this body is illusory, just as the rock appearing magnified is an illusion of light waves affected by the water. Lessons learned from the perspective of being in the body are a necessary part of your experience in this lifetime. However, you are indeed, so much more than what the body appears to limit you to, that teachings such as the Course, or the doctrines of Christian Science, encourage you to expand your perceptions past these body limitations.
True essence of the rock is not modified by these perceptual changes caused by different viewpoints of it. Just so, your being is not limited by body perceptions. Higher truths surrounding the complete make-up of your being are not fully understood or widely taught on your planet. I might say, you have seen the rock from many different angles in the this cylinder of water. But, thus far, you have not reached in, and pulled out the rock, in order to gaze upon it, alone.
The water surrounding this rock is representative of the many illusions or beliefs that exist in your philosophical doctrines. ACIM encourages you, as does the work of Mary Baker Eddy, to see that these illusions can be penetrated, and, through inspiration, a clearer perspective–perception–of the true entity that you are, can be discovered. However, doctrinaire interpretations that the body has no existence on the physical plane are also incorrectly stated–perceived.
You cannot deny that one is seeing an aspect of the rock, even when viewed through water. Just so, seeing the body as a physical entity has some accuracy. Adjustments to the vibrational manifestation of your entity can indeed take place. And physical imbalances do occur. These teachings of such matters as flower essences, energy transmissions, and adjustments are appropriate to one level of perception of your being. You are not removed from the water yet! Therefore, within the boundaries of this perception, the body needs to be dealt with. Indeed, the time comes when you are truly released from any limiting perceptions of your being as connected to a physical manifestation. But, it is the ideal which is striven for in ACIM or the Christian Science teachings.
Those who can release themselves from illusions of body boundaries can indeed create new perceptions of themselves–healed perceptions of themselves. But most mortals need to begin their comprehension of themselves at a level much more connected to the physical world. In the Course, Jesus says, “If taking a pill allows you to feel less anxious, then, by all means, take this pill.” There is much truth in this teaching. It encourages you to see that leaving behind your illusions of the body is a process that builds toward a final moment of clarity–just as one realizes by shifting positions and observing the rock, that these changing perceptions of the rock in the water are more the result of the water, than the rock.
That moment of clarity liberates you to reach in and remove the rock from the water, to see it free of the substance which clouded your true perception of it! Just so, your release from illusions surrounding the body will come at the point you choose to remove your perceptions of your being from the body, which seems to contain it. We hope our attempt to elucidate your concerns regarding these issues has been helpful. We thank you for your patient attention.
Session 3
Oct. 15, 1993
Lesson
Hope
OLFANA: Hopefulness is a condition of the heart and mind combined in trust that God’s love inhabits the plans of your life. Hopeful actions are those done in trust that God’s will envelops the outcome of your efforts. Hopefulness is a state of mind which can be conveyed to others by encouraging their increased perception of the benevolent, tender supervision of our lives by those who serve Deity.
Such trust springs from the innocent and sure faith we have in God’s love for us. Being deserving of this love, we develop expectations of its evidence in our lives. Demolished hopes are those which have fallen prey to the belief in our unworthiness for such love from the Father. Efforts on your part to encourage this sense of innocent trust in God’s love help create the environment for such innocence to thrive or grow, unobstructed by cynicism, doubt, and harsh perceptions of life’s struggles.
“Hope Reigns Supreme” is a statement which conveys much truth. For, indeed, hope is the crowning gem worn by the Supreme Being in the evolving display of mortal efforts to know and understand God. Let your thoughts turn hopeful with intention! Allow all possibilities for God’s benevolence and beneficence to flow throughout the experiences of your life. Trust that there is a protective design to the natural outworking of events. Strive to perceive the good that occurs, and remain hopeful of all which has not yet been experienced. Allow for the possibility that angels work with you as you strive to do what you consider to be rightful actions.
Trust that your decisions, your choices, can be made with the loving input of the Thought Adjuster. These perceptions create a frame of mind which we identify as hopeful. It identifies you as one who perceives yourself as a valued child of God. This is sufficient effort on your part to then allow the workings of other beings in your life.
Closing
We thank you for your attention to this lesson.
Session 4
Oct. 31, 1993
Lesson
Prayer
OLFANA: Prayer touches the Father’s heart. Praying uplifts the soul, allowing moments of ecstasy, connection and serenity. Prayer binds you to the Father, allowing your petitions. Prayer binds you to the Father in a relationship of trust. Your petitions are heard. Never doubt this. They are received and recorded faithfully.
Much prayer from mortals reflects your imperfect state, yet we see the innocent trust of your prayers as edifying. Prayers to the Father are a component of the music of the spheres. Prayers to the Father reverberate throughout the universe as music of the spheres. Praying allows you moments of contemplation of the many ways in which God moves through your life. It marks the events of your life as directed by guidance from the Thought Adjuster.
Praying for God’s guidance in your life opens opportunities for much intervention. Pray with intention. Pray with trust. Allow for the possibility of answers to your prayers coming from many sources. Reach out to the Father with courage. Pray for strengthened desire to do his will. Pray for patience. Pray that your motives in life can evolve with love and support from the Thought Adjuster. Rededicate yourself in prayer to follow the Father’s will. Pray for the support of angels in your efforts to do this. Realize your prayers create a music in the heavens. Faith-filled exhortations to the Father are indeed a chorus of trust, and love, and praise.
Render your desires and hopes to the oversight and supervision of God’s counselors. Pray that your life can demonstrate to others a model of inspiration. Pray that you demonstrate yourself to be a faith-filled child of God. Then allow time for reflection that your petitions to God are indeed being delegated to beings whose desire is to help you fulfill your stated requests.
Realize how prayer can be a steadying influence on your emotional nature–that the guidance you seek is from a higher source than your own emotional nature. Prayers of thanksgiving are beautiful gifts to God. Imagine your words of praise and thanksgiving flowing to the Father. He hears these expressions of your faith as joyful notes of your soul’s music.
Pray for God’s support of those you see in need. Realize your requests, indeed, create opportunities for God’s intervention in their lives. Pray for peace. This is a balm to soothe your weary planet. Your requests for peacefulness for yourself and others indeed encourage this atmosphere. Prayers for peace encourage such an atmosphere to be created among you. Recognize the many ways in which you, indeed, are empowered to ask of God for blessings in your lives. This is how it should be. You are his children, deserving of his protection and his bounty.
Always pray with a trusting heart, yet realize that answered prayers may not demonstrate themselves to you immediately. Time and patience are a part of this process. Pray first for the knowledge to know God’s will. Pray second for courage and faith to carry out this guidance. Rest your trust in the knowledge that your petitions are valued and deserving of attention. Remain hopeful that all sincere prayers rise heavenward, with your hopes.
Session 5
Nov. 17, 1993
Lesson
Joy
OLFANA: Let us give you a lesson on cheerfulness. Cheerfulness comes easily when one remembers one’s destiny is Godward. “Be of Good Cheer” is an encouragement to exist with God in your every effort in life. Cheerfulness can be infectious. It spreads enthusiasm for life from one to another. People need this powerful ingredient in their life. We weep to see those whose lives lack all cheer, or hopes of God’s comfort. Reestablish your faith in the power of God’s love to envelop you and raise your emotional balance, so that you can take with equanimity the experiences of life. Exuberance, the energy of God, life’s vital force, flowing through your actions, is testimony of a cheerful nature.
Greet the day with cheerful thoughts, such as: “My Father loves me.” “Blessings come to me with ease.” “I make my life a demonstration of God’s power to heal.” “Angels work with me in my every endeavor.” “Christ Michael walks with me and guides my every step.” “Lessons of love will come to me this day” “Angels are my friends in today’s experiences.” All these statements, thoughts, give one a thematic approach to their life. The theme is, “I am God’s child, cheered by his great love for me, and all my brothers and sisters.”
We grow wise by extending ourselves into the world with faith. Christ Michael showed you, as Jesus, a cheerful demeanor in all his efforts to do good in the world. He looked for the opportunities to bring happiness to others. Encouragement was in all his words to others. Hopeful expectation of the adventure of life marked his every movement, effort. Let good cheer be the aroma, the perfume, of your soul. It infuses the atmosphere surrounding you. It truly is a vibrational response of your soul to the experiences of life. Spread this perfume to others. Glory in the environment you create when many come together with a cheerful demeanor. Imagine your soul’s light glowing brightly at these moments.
Session 6
Jan. 13, 1994
Lesson
Gratitude
OLFANA: Gratitude is as a flower blooming in your heart, the petals opening to receive the blessed light of God. Think of this image when you feel your heart swell with gratitude. The flower blooms. The beauty of its petals reflect the light of God. Grateful hearts are like a beautiful field of flowers to the Father. He sees the light shining from these petals, and knows his garden of created souls flourishes. Turn your attention to the many ways in which you are blessed in your lives.
Think on these things with sincerity, and you will discover an endless stream of blessings that come to you. Realize that you can encourage this gratitude in others, in many ways.
First, speak of the gratefulness you have for your own life’s blessings. Others hear these words, and are cheered.
Second, encourage those you see who struggle in negative thoughts to turn their thoughts with intention to the blessings which come to them. Speak yourself of blessings you see coming to them. This is a model of encouragement which will heighten their own perception of these blessings.
Third, give thanks always for the good that shows itself in your life: the love you receive from others, the beauty you perceive in the world, the comfort you obtain from your relationships, and your physical surroundings. Recognize the many ways in which heavenly beings provide you with protection and care. Their unseen efforts must be a part of your perspective if you are truly to see yourself on a path toward God. Thankfulness in your heart is the soil from which the flower of gratitude grows and blooms.
Session 7
Jan. 26, 1994
Lesson
Mystery
God’s mystery enfolds his truth. Your purpose as ascending mortals is to delve into this mystery with faith, hope, and clarity in your belief that the understanding of this mystery will promote growth in your soul. Remain humble in this path. We will never truly comprehend all that is God. We can only hope to see God’s beauty in those experiences which are part of our soul’s path. Let yourselves reach out with expectation! The mysteries of God’s ways are like hidden treasures that lie waiting to be found as you explore in this life. We all search for the Father.
Knowing Him causes us to seek him even more. Is this not also the experience you have? This beautiful attraction we have to God is somehow a beautiful, and yet unexplainable, part of the mystery itself. We move Godward by design! Relish where you are in your own pursuit of this power and love of the Father. The mystery, the unknowable part of our own creation, is known only to God. Perhaps in our own evolution, someday we too will know with clarity the relationship between God, the Creator, and all of his creation. For now, be a part of this beautiful movement toward the Father!
Help to draw others toward Him also. We increase the power of this attraction as we grow in number. I speak of something that yet remains mysterious to all of you, but trust that this movement of our energy back to its source is, in itself, an overwhelmingly glorious expression of his mysterious purpose!
Session 8
Feb. 12, 1994
Lesson
Peace, Harmony
OLFANA: Inner peace and harmony with others are two attributes of your emotional make-up which mesh together easily. Inner peace comes from contemplation of goodness–the love sent to you by God, the blessings that come to you in life, the love you give and receive, the beauty of the world surrounding you, the experience of growth. Inner peace is the by-product of contemplation on these things. Your soul perceives truth, beauty, and goodness, and from this derives satisfaction.
Consider the concept of satisfaction in connection with the concept of inner peace. When one is satisfied, one has no further expectations of more. One rests content in the moment. This is the experience of inner peace–resting in the moment, satisfied that all God provides to you is sufficient. Here your faith sustains itself. You are all that you need to be in these moments, in your eyes, and the eyes of the Father.
You know this with your heart, at these moments. When you present yourself to others in this state of mind and heart, you show them a Child of God! They see in you a reflection of His Love, and this creates expectations of peacefulness in themselves. Is it not true that when you see a person serene and peaceful, that you identify with the potential for this in yourself?
Student: Yes.
OLFANA: This, then, is the harmony that can be created. Remember again that love is a power, is a vibrational frequency. You can emanate this to others, and indeed, tune them to this beneficial frequency. When people sing in harmony, move in harmony, think in harmony, feel in harmony, there is a shared serenity, a shared ability to be in the moment of this experience together. I promise you that this potential of the shared experience of harmony and inner peace will come more and more to your planet as we proceed together in this work!
Session 9
Feb. 24, 1994
Lesson
Mercy
OLFANA: Now, we turn our attention to a lesson on mercy. “Mercy falleth like the rain.” How often this symbol of mercy flowing down upon our lives is used. This an appropriate image, for God’s mercy showers down upon us unannounced, just as the spring rains refresh the flowers. This nourishment of His Love, indeed, increases our growth. Mercy comes as a part of the natural pattern of growth, just as the rains nourish the flowers. The turmoil, the challenge, the difficulties of life, are like the winds of March which buffet the new growth of spring. After these winds, come the gentle rains, which cause blossoming to occur.
We also recover from the experience of defeat, demoralization, and thoughts of failure, by the reviving energy of God’s love, which strengthens our resolve to continue on in life. This mercy from the Father allows for change in our lives, which opens up new possibilities of choice and direction. The waters flowing from the sky are indeed an image of this merciful love flowing down upon the events of life, causing new growth to come forth in our souls with this infusion of changed opportunities. Mercy alters attitudes, feelings, and beliefs also. When the cold winds of life’s difficulties buffet and sweep us into attitudes of fear and defensive protection, again the rains of God’s mercy soften the earth and allow for new growth to move through our beings, opening our minds to changed direction, new goals, and safe possibilities.
This, then, defines mercy as the power of change, the possibility of forgiveness of yourself and others, the possibility of trust rising anew in your soul, the attitude of hopefulness and resolve to attempt again those things which have thus far meant defeat. Mercy provides forbearance in your emotional make-up. It is God’s way of allowing transformation to continue in your lives when you would otherwise feel defeated. Mercy may be passed on from God, through you, to others. You become a means by which His mercy can manifest itself in others’ lives. These times when you feel moved to mercy in your attitude toward others, never doubt that this is the Father working through you. Make yourself available to him as a conduit for this beautiful possibility of merciful change!
Session 10
Apr. 3, 1994
Lesson
Patience
TARKAS: Patience is a virtue so desired by those of you who struggle with the difficulties of life. Patient actions are those which evoke a sense of relationship between you and those you wish to synchronize your efforts with. Imagine the image of those who work as a team gliding those beautiful boats…racing sculls…used by men at institutions such as Harvard, where they have teams which row together. Imagine the development of patience and coordination which comes from such an effort, working with your teammates to synchronize and coordinate the efforts that you make to move with the water.
Patient actions are those which develop such a sense of consciousness–that your efforts, synchronized with those of others, will cause the entire activity to move with more quality, synchronized effort, and power of the combined energy working in unison. There is a laying aside of one’s own agenda, or sense of timing, in this effort. You become conscious of your role as a team member. This patient sense of activity also recognizes the efforts of those around you as coordinated with you. You see their desire to work with you, not making the judgment that they are the adversary, to be somehow conquered or subjugated to your own sense of timing.
Now consider patience from the broader perspective of God’s timing. When you allow yourself to see that the best outworking of events comes with guidance from God, then you hold lightly to your plan, your expectations of how things may go. It is not an abandonment of your schedule. It is merely an open-minded attitude that perhaps alterations to your timing schedule are the Father’s; and therefore, most welcome in the events of your life.
Patience requires a gentleness in your attitude, a willingness to allow for quiet moments of contemplation. This gives opportunities for your Thought Adjuster to speak to you, to impress you with an expanded perspective of how you perceive events. Then there is the patience you show to yourself. This can be a great challenge at times. We can be so harsh in our judgment of our own efforts. This is not of God. The angry, insistent voice saying, “This is not enough.” “This fails.” “This is inadequate.” This is not God speaking within you! This voice comes from pain, rejection, the inability to see you in your full capacity. Do not allow this voice to speak for you.
It is indeed a spirit poison which contaminates all that it touches. Let yourself realize that patience cultivates an attitude of good humor toward yourself and others. It is the desire to see your flaws, and others,’ as the weaknesses that create the challenge for you and others in life. It is as if God has put these vulnerabilities into our natures with the intention of allowing us to remain humble, and at the same time, recognize more clearly that we all, indeed, have growth yet to accomplish in our ascendant careers. You do not reject a blossom whose petals are only partially open.
You say, “Ah, there is beauty in this flower and more beauty to come as it continues to open to the light.” Take this attitude with your own closed petals. Say, “There is beauty here yet covered. But in time, with growth, this beauty will be exposed to the light.” This is an attitude of patience. If you can offer patience to the growth of a flower, imagine the quality of patience offered by the Father toward you as another of his beautiful, blooming creations! Does this hearten you to think of this example?
Student: Yes, it’s an appropriate image and helps a great deal in trying to focus my attention on what’s important concerning patience. May I ask another question?
Closing
TARKAS: Yes, but let me close this lesson first by saying that you can take this patient attitude of seeing all life as a garden which is slowly opening to the light. A patient attitude gives one an ability to appreciate what is in that moment! One no longer projects other perceptions, forcing them upon that moment. Instead, one remains an observer of what is, seeking the beauty there. Remember, that as you strive for patience, that you are seeking the beauty of that moment! Now my lesson is complete.
Session 11
Mar. 19, 1994
Lesson
Acceptance
OLFANA: I am Olfana. I wish to discuss concepts of acceptance. Turning your thoughts to God means allowing his peace to descend upon you. Only from this state of mind can his words ring clearly in your mind. Acceptance of this as a condition of communication with the Father allows you to proceed in peace. Acceptance can also mean a peaceful passivity, allowing those around you to express their own perceptions first. You become a repository for these perceptions of others. Only then, perhaps, comes the further insight from God, which allows you to form perspectives on what you have received from them. Acceptance involves bending, flexibility, a humble approach to the resistance you may feel from others.
[TR sees image of two men bowing to each other, dressed in beautiful robes]
We bow in respect to each other, acknowledging that neither is superior. This bowing is a mark of acceptance that each is a force, a unique personality of God, coming together and bending in unison. Such acceptance for each other’s path of growth toward God needs encouragement, development, promotion on your planet. Can you accept each other’s hearts? This is where the power of love truly resides. Acceptance from your hearts allows the energy of each to flow to the other in a balanced and harmonious pattern.
[Olfana touches her heart.]
Here is the brotherhood, here is kinship, here is the power of our at-one-ment! We can blend our energies in a beautiful, twining, cord of love which reaches toward God, made up of each unique fiber of individual spirit. Think of this cord of love bending, turning, twisting, combining in beautiful patterns of spiraling growth as we all move back toward God!
[TR sees image of a golden cord glowing with light, spiraling up into the clouds.]
This is my lesson for this evening.
Session 12
Apr. 5, 1994
Lesson
Truth
OLFANA: The lesson for this evening is on truth. “Truth” is such a noble word, almost sacred. Often, we hear an expression such as, “It’s the God’s truth, that such and such has occurred.” How do we know “the truth” is, indeed, of God? We know this by an interconnection between our minds and our hearts. Another expression we say is, “This rings true in my heart.” Indeed, it is as if the silent bell within our hearts reverberates when we experience truthfulness. Let yourselves trust in your capacity to know truth from this mind-heart connection.
Many times those greatest truths are not substantiated by what we call “the facts.” Instead, the substantiation for our belief in a truth comes from the integrity with which we are drawn to accept it by our minds and hearts joined. Questions of the truthfulness of a concept need to be individualized–connected to the unique personality which conceives it. The truthfulness of a concept is best determined, not by the human mind alone–but when I speak of the heart connection, I speak of the Thought Adjuster, the input, the clarity, the wisdom of God operating with your mind to understand the truth.
Therefore, rest your faith in the truthfulness of a concept on this strong foundation of God’s guidance.
Facts can be deceiving. Your perceptions can be so clouded because of the animal nature that remains within you, the delusions of the ego–which draws you, pulls you away from truth. Deception from the ego will cause you to say, “My heart tells me this, but my mind cannot accept it.” When you find yourself in such a quandary, turn back to quiet contemplation. Recognize you are not ready to decipher truthfulness at that time.
Any time the conflict exists between your heart and your mind, that is the telling point that you need to turn your attention inward to the quiet contemplation of guidance from God. If you trust this process of seeking the truth with the mind and the heart joined, you will be in safe hands. You will be lead by God to the understanding that your particular soul, on it’s particular, unique, path, travels [toward.] Imagine, then, this image. See yourself as reaching out to grasp the hand of God–the Father, the Mother, the Protector, the Guide. Say, “Lead me to truth. I beseech you.” You can always trust that your supplication, your prayer for this assistance, will be heard.
Closing
This is my lesson for this evening.
Session 13
Apr. 25, 1994
Lesson
Intention
OLFANA: I will now present a lesson on heartfelt intentions. How do we decide that we are drawn to a particular path–compelled to seek out information, knowledge, sometimes at great effort on our parts? We search through life for those things which we truly desire from our hearts. If you establish, as a foundation for your searching, that you will be guided by God, you have created a foundation for your growth, your experience, which will always support you well. Lightly, we reach toward some experiences saying, “If this does not turn out well, it is no great cost.” Much of this type of decision-making affects our youth. There does not seem to be a great cost, a great price, to be paid for many of our choices.
However, as we pass through life we discover, “Oh yes, there is a price to be paid.”–sometimes a great price. Then we learn to value more carefully the choices that we make. We recognize our own limitations. We stabilize ourselves within an area of life which begins to feel comfortable, familiar, understood. The problem that can develop from this is that we begin to cling securely to these things and do not recognize the potential creativity that has been lost in this path.
Always, if you remain open in your lives to new experiences, you will find great potential and growth coming to you time and again. From these many choices, you must decide which ones call to you with the voice of God. This is not always an easily-arrived-at decision. Contemplation of these choices involves a calculation of what price is to be paid. “What will the cost be in terms of my effort, my commitment to others, my energies, my hopes?” All these attributes of your decision can, indeed, come with the counsel of God. Listen in your heart. Find those thoughts which ennoble you–tell you that you will be a better person for making this choice. That is the mark of God on your decision! You can proceed through life knowing that your heart leads you, when you feel a sense of open expectation!
Trust in the benign, loving plan of God for you, and a sense that [in] any risks taken, [you] will be protected by those beings who love you and support you on your path. Think of yourself stepping out, moving forward, with your heart as a glowing, pulsating, point of light within the many colors and patterns which charge your system. Visualize this heart center with a soft, glowing light, and realize that the energy which fuels this light is from God! This is the light which will, indeed, brighten your path, help you through the darkness of confusion, distrust, worry, or even fear. The ability of your heart to lead you into right choices is strong, powerful, capable of being a great guide for you. Hold to this image, then, as you seek to choose from the many opportunities which will, indeed, present themselves to you in your life.
