Acim Village

~ Peace to Such Foolishness Workshop, Temecula, March 2011 ~
Part 1
(Winnie’s notes posted at Acimvillage.com. Many thanks to Winnie from Bernard)

The title for this workshop comes from Lesson 190.

This Course is only about the mind. The “you” in the Course is your decision-making mind. To be told your pain and suffering is an illusion does not just make any sense, but is cruel, unless you understand that you are a mind and not a body.

The best purpose of the Course is to lift us above the battlefield. The problem is not our pain and suffering but the belief in our pain and suffering. Whenever we feel anxiety and pain, say “peace to such foolishness”. If pain is real then the world is real and God is not. If there is pain there is no God. Because we feel it, it does not make it true.
Bodies lie. Our brains cannot understand non-duality.
Nothing so blinding as perception of form. We stole life and then became overwhelmed with a sense of sin which led to our guilt. Not only have i done something horrific, I am something horrific.
When we experience pain and suffering, our unconscious mind interprets this as justification for our guilt. We made our bodies to feel pain and suffering. THINK NOT HE HAS FORGOTTEN. Dont think for one minute he has forgotten. An angry father pursues his guilty son.
None of us can live with that amount of terror. That`s why we are glued to the news. God is punishing them and not me. God has graced me. You can never judge, let alone attack someone you really understand. Underlying this is terror, fear and pain. If you really hear this call, you would never get angry with anyone or anything.

The terrible things that people do is just their overwhelming guilt that they are trying to compensate for. Only in our feverish dreams, does the thought system of the ego seem terrible. They are projections of the terrible thoughts in our mind.. They are resistance to Love.

I did not like the Love that created me like itself. But could Perfect Love turn to hate and cruelty? Peace to such foolishness.
The world is terrifying only because we gave it that power. You are never upset for the reason you think. You are upset because of something that is not there. The world is a delusional system of those made mad by guilt. I have erected a substitute for perfect love and worship at its altar. I believe the brilliant and learned brains throughout history that have explained the laws governing this world.

Two plus two does not equal four. Dont believe that. How can a world that doesn`t exist have laws? Euclid said that the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. That is not true. Everything we learned at school is wrong. Peace to such foolishness. This Course will help us navigate through the treacherous waters of the ego thought system.
Ideas leave not their source. The idea of guilt has not left the mind. It is a projection of a non-existent thought.
King Lear said that nothing will come of nothing. The mind is not trapped in the body. The body is in the mind because ideas leave not their source.
Each time you get upset, dont believe the lie. Peace to such foolishness. Of all the many causes of your guilt, never once did you think that your guilt was among them.
I am never upset for the reason I think. I can see peace instead of this. There is nothing out there that upsets me because there is nothing out there.

There is no other thought system that i know of that teaches a motivation for believing that the world of illusion has an effect on me. There`s lots of others that teach the world is an illusion. The Course teaches what it is for. Pain is a big focal point.

We take illusions and elevate them to truth. God will bring me lessons. He will answer my prayers. He has to, to preserve my identity. If there is no pain, there is no me.
The memory of God comes to a quiet mind, and we are always making a lot of noise. Even when we meditate, our heart is pumping away, our stomach is digesting and exchanging gases. Our lungs are working constantly. Our bodies were made not to find God. If I`m not quite there is no room for God. We have devised an incredibly elaborate sensory apparatus that collects information and sends it to the brain but the brain is not a fair witness.
Our memories teach us that there is a past. Memory is a present decision for a non-existent past. Peace to such foolishness. Jesus asks us “what are you upset about?” I will help you understand that you put it there to prove that you are wrong and I am right.

It is no longer okay to have delusional thoughts that plague you. Say to your projection, your mind-wanderings, that it is not okay.
To each and everything that upsets you daily say “peace to such foolishness”. It is not okay. Thoughts do not come unbidden. Projections in the form of our thoughts are not natural. Only Perfect Love is natural.
A world of differentiation proves that there is no God. The Course is difficult because it is absolute.

It is no longer okay to to invest illusions with truth.
It is no longer okay to choose to be a dedicated student of ACIM and not practise it.

This book will give me joy that will never end. This book will give me peace that will last forever.
It is no longer okay to be tolerant of mind-wandering. Peace to such foolishness.

~ Peace to Such Foolishness Workshop, Temecula, March 2011 ~
Part 2
(Winnie’s notes posted at Acimvillage.com. Many thanks to Winnie from Bernard)

It is a big mistake to believe the Course is saying not to get angry. You were born angry. You cant help being angry.
Jesus is authoritative not authoritarian. He is gentle, kind, loving, patient and clear.

He is not saying not to take pain pills, or to deny your pain. Just dont justify it. Dont believe it. Do magic and at same time practise miracles. Be kind, sane and thoughtful. At same time, recognize it is not real. This is the positive sense of having a split mind. Dont force yourself. You can cultivate that level of awareness. It is hard work. You have to apply yourself. Be diligent, dedicated and patient.

Apply it when you are sitting watching a movie. You know you identify with your guilt because you feel emotions. You feel good when good triumphs over evil. You know they are actors but it doesnt stop you from identifying with them.
The peace of God doesnt have searing highs and lows. Ego thoughts separate.
If your heart goes out to some who suffer but not all, this is not ok….Why ? – because it hurts you.
If you make comparisons real and dont recognize universal suffering, you are saying God is not real. Your motivation should be to relieve your pain.

We are aliens trying to make the best of a bad situation, a dry and dusty place where tired and thirsty creatures come to die.
Step back with Jesus and say, peace to such foolishness, enough already.

Ken then shared how his four year-old grandson kept repeating something told to one of his classmates at Pre-school by the teacher… “stop with the baby business, Beckett, Stop with the baby business”.

That`s what Jesus keeps saying to us. He`s trying to convince us that it hurts us to hold onto judgement and hold onto memories either of pain or pleasure.
If there is a memory, there is no God.

You remember the “positive” things of the past because the present is so horrible. Linear time and space is an illusion.
Memory, anger judgement, bodies – these are all defences against the Truth.

Dont give the world power over the peace of God in your mind. No matter what your brother has done, he has not taken the Peace of God from you. This is not okay. I am tired of indulging myself.
Illness is external searching. My body can`t be sick. How can a puppet be sick? Peace to such foolishness.
The Course is not advocating that you dont use magic. Be kind to yourself.
However the Course does call a magical spade a magical spade.

The cause of your suffering is the mind`s decision for guilt. That is why it makes no sense to ask Jesus or God to heal your body or anyone`s body. They dont know what you are talking about. What body?

The body is a delusional system manufactured by those made mad by guilt.

Lesson 106 – “Be not deceived by voices of the dead, which tell you they have found the source of life and offer it to you for your belief. Attend them not, but listen to the truth.”

Stop denying who you are. Stop arguing. Dont listen to the voices of the dead, that say life comes from a sperm and egg. How could life come from two separate things. Life is perfect unity.
We are not asked to accept the truth until we are ready to hear it.
At the middle of the ladder we recognize right-minded thoughts more and more frequently but we are terrified because we know it is only a hop, skip and jump to Heaven. If i go back to my mind, I will see the choice clearly. The memory of God comes to a quiet mind, not brain. So i stay mindless.
Jesus does not drag us up the ladder but He is relentless at asking us to choose again.

We cling to our specialness to keep us rooted firmly on Terror Firma [ Winnie-note – > Do ya like my spelling of Terra Firma [tee hee}?]

Look at every single moment. Spend the rest of your life practising. Practise not giving credence, validity to something outside of you.

I`m too afraid of making my way up the ladder but at least I know I know that. That is very helpful. You will smile more frequently. As you slowly make your way up the ladder you will become more peaceful and you will set the tempo.