Just finished reading an article by David Hoffmeister… “acim 3 stages of undoing Specialness to Experience Enlightenment”… (link at the end of blog)
AND as with almost everything in my life… I want the ‘visual, experiential’ ‘cliff notes’… so I wrote them for me… and will Share with Our One Mind… I am using ‘David’s” Stages… and ‘I’ have done ‘my visual’ thing to it… (LOL)
Here is David’s short list of the stages from “special to HOLY”…
“The first stage is allowing the darkness of specialness held in mind to surface and to be exposed. The second stage is a stage of detachment in which specialness still persists in awareness and yet the practice of detached Observing is a very consistent perspective. The final stage is really nothing more or less than living in the Present Moment.” David Hoffmeister
At the first stage ‘I’ still believe in ‘others’ and ‘out there’ and ‘time’… I will use ‘my’ example… the ‘special relationship’ of ‘my’ beloved pet, Chester. Chester is ‘an other’… ‘out there’… in ‘my life’(time)… Chester is an apparently ‘old’ dog (time).
For most of Chester’s life… ‘our special’ relationship worked… I was ‘happy’ in Chester’s presence… He was a Wonder Full Projection… Ego can create some Fabulous Projections…and as Long as ‘I feel Fabulous’… No need to challenge ‘my thinking’…
Now in ‘my apparent life’… and my ‘special relationship’ with Chester… ‘I’ think he is ‘getting old and dying’. This ‘normally’ good feeling ‘special relationship’ has now turned to ‘fear of dying’…
I Must address My BeLIEf in ‘getting old and dying’… because… it brings up ‘fear in me’. This is stage 1.
And initially in this process…(for me) ‘saying’ I am not going to ‘grieve the loss of a beloved pet’… feels like ‘I’ am saying…”I am a Heartless and UnCompassionate person for Not Grieving the Loss of a pet I say I LOVE”…
With David’s stages… this is Stage 2… Continue to Challenge ‘my thinking’… I Love Deeply… and I Choose not to ‘suffer’ with ‘grief’. Holy Spirit.. Help Me See this Differently.
‘I’ must challenge any ‘special relationship’ … There is ‘love in the illusion’ (as good as it gets in the illusion) and there is God’s Love (incapable of grief). A Whole Other Way of Being is required ‘of me’. For ‘me to experience only Love’ in a process I am ‘refering to as loss by death’… I MUST Challenge ‘my beLIEf in death’… Challenge ‘my love of a pet’… only ‘my projection’…’my lesson’ to ‘SEE God Only’…’SEE LOVE ONLY’
So ‘I’ play a game (btw… I use the symbol ‘game’ for any of my ‘apparent life’… it often will keep ‘me’ from taking things too seriously!)… So this ‘game’ is to Ask God to See this relationship Differently!!!! How might the ‘love’ I hold for ‘Chester’ be a ‘block’ to Seeing and Being Eternal Light and Salvation!!!! (Challenging my special relationships)… ‘fear’ of ‘loss’ is a ‘special relationship. I Choose Only to Love as God Love’s… ‘fear’ is ‘impossible’.
Stage 2 of this process is to Practice the above mentioned ‘skill’…A lot…
And Now… I am ‘living with an apparently ‘old’ dog’… and ‘I’ am Learning New Tricks… What Fun Indeed!!! And this stage 2 leads to …
Stage Three… I Am… and this Moment is Love Only… Always… ‘grief’ is ‘my option’.. I can ‘choose’ what ‘i think’ only in this moment of now,,,and I Choose not ‘to grieve’ and only offer Love …
Much Love All!!!!
One Joyous Mind 