An illimited field of Variety & Beauty…

An illimited field of Variety and Beauty…_light1-full-size-cropped-for-webThe WORLD is not this little Cottage of Heaven and Earth. Though this be fair, it is too small a Gift. When God made the World He made the Heavens, and the Heavens of Heavens, and the Angels, and the Celestial Powers. These also are parts of the World: So are all those infinite and eternal Treasures that are to abide for ever, after the Day of Judgment. Neither are these, some here, and some there, but all everywhere, and at once to be enjoyed. The WORLD is unknown, till the Value and Glory of it is seen: till the Beauty and the Serviceableness of its parts is considered. When you enter into it, it is an illimited field of Variety and Beauty: where you may lose yourself in the multitude of Wonders and Delights. But it is an happy loss to lose oneself in admiration at one’s own Felicity: and to find GOD in exchange for oneself: Which we then do when we see Him in His Gifts, and adore His Glory.

By Thomas Traherne (1636-1674) in “Centuries of Meditation”

human knowledge or Divine Knowledge?

Paris in the
the spring

Most of us will not realize until it has been pointed out, that the word “the” occurs twice in the above phrase: “Paris in the the spring”. When we look again and realize there are two instances of “the”, we wonder how we could have possibly ever missed seeing both. Now, it is all we can see when we gaze back at the line – “…the the…” What could we have been thinking? It seems so obvious.

Now comes the challenge of seeing Divine Knowledge as something quite apart from worldly, human knowledge. Just as the lowercase “g” “god” is often applied to many mysterious or supernatural beings that impress and confound the human mind, and capital “G” “God” indicates a Oneness that has no beginning or end; the lowercase “k” knowledge is a synonym for facts or information, whereas the capital “K” Knowledge is a synonym for “Knowledge of God”. From A Course In Miracles, chapter 18:

What could God give but Knowledge of Himself?

Knowledge is a simple two-syllable word used quite frequently in A Course In Miracles (ACIM), yet its true significance can be elusive until and unless it is pointed out. We ask, what does the Course mean when it refers to the word “knowledge”? Does “knowledge” in the Course mean “facts and information” or does it mean “a means to directly experience the Eternal Oneness”?

The word “knowledge” is often underestimated by the reader or “the ego”, because the mortal human mind has a tendency to assume that most information or “knowledge” can fit within the human mind. The mind that has been trained to think of itself as the ultimate authority cannot imagine there is anything beyond mental comprehension. Mortal mind does not question its own authority and doubts there even exists a higher Authority. If mortal mind believes something, then it defines its belief as fact. Yet the realm of the mortal human mind is lowercase “k” knowledge, not uppercase “K” Knowledge. Divine Knowledge is the realm of Divine Mind and the finite mind comprehends it not. It is impossible to fit the ocean in a teacup.

Could the knowledge ACIM speaks of be the same Knowledge referred to in other scriptures? It appears to be. For instance, from the bible…

They will neither harm nor destroy
in all my holy mountain,
for the earth shall be full
of the Knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea. – Isaiah 11

Then shalt thou understand the fear [awe] of the Lord,
and find the Knowledge of God. – Proverbs 2

Be still and Know that I am God. – Psalm 46

The Kingdom of God is within you. – Luke 17

What could God give but Knowledge of Himself? – ACIM 18

In most instances, when the course refers to knowledge, it means Knowledge of God, Knowledge of the highest degree, the capital “K” Knowledge. The capital “K” Knowledge refers to “know-how” – how to access a direct experience of the power we call God, God as Light, God as Love, God as Life Everlasting, something far beyond the human mind, an experience the human mind cannot reach, imagine, remember, recreate nor speak of. Awe tends to leave one speechless.

How to tell the difference between knowledge and Knowledge, when reading the course? I suggest substituting “Knowledge of God” for the word “knowledge”. In most cases, “Knowledge of God” will fit perfectly. If you simply search ACIM for the word “knowledge”, you will find that statement after statement tie together to give you an increasingly clear picture of what Knowledge means and has meant throughout the millennia – and why it is vitally important for the word to be read with a capital “K”. On page 92 of the document known as the “Urtext” is a tiny line that says it all…

The purpose of this course is
to prepare you for Knowledge.

Knowledge is important enough to Jesus for him to dictate over a thousand pages which comprise the course. It is important to us because it fulfills the promise of Lesson 101…

God’s will for me is perfect happiness.

Does “perfect happiness” merely mean an upgrade to our mundane human lives? A better job, a better house, a better spouse? Or could “perfect happiness” mean that God’s will for us is to have ready access – through Knowledge – to heaven, so that at any moment, here and now, no matter who is with us or not with us, no matter what is going on or not going on, no matter where we are or where we are not, we can choose to feel the Divine Love within us – at will, here and now? Imagine having that ability at your fingertips, available to you on a daily basis. There is something huge within you that can lift you out of all mundanity:

Beyond the body, beyond the sun and stars, past everything you see and yet somehow familiar, is an arc of golden light that stretches, as you look, into a great and shining circle. And all the circle fills with light before your eyes. The edges of the circle disappear, and what is in it no longer is contained at all. The light expands and covers everything, extending to infinity, forever shining, and with no break or limit anywhere. Within it, everything is joined in perfect continuity. Nor is it possible to imagine that anything could be outside. For there is nowhere that this light is not. – ACIM Ch 21.I

This is the very Light John referred to when he wrote, “God is Light.”

The either/or nature of the course is due to the distinction between knowledge and Knowledge. We are either in the world, a fleeting dream comprised of the perishable – of people, places and things that come and go – or we are in this beautiful, exquisite, immaculate, perfection; endless living, loving, flowing, glowing Light that is God. God is light. The infinite and finite, light and dark, love and fear, peace and chaos, Spirit and ego, are mutually exclusive pairs. One is absolute – cannot be threatened. The other is temporary, a “reality show”. When you learn to turn off your mental chatter for a moment and be still, the Forever arises. Knowledge provides the know-how for taking a giant step outside the mortal mind on a daily basis.

We are fortunate indeed to have in ACIM a handbook that prepares us for Knowledge of God, of Reality. We all have learned that the happiness of this world can turn on a dime, while the perfect happiness that is God’s Will for us, is always there, constant, true, exceeding any and all human imagination and expectation.

Why is it important to discern between knowledge and Knowledge in our reading of ACIM and other scriptures? We have been taught that heaven is where you go after you die, so we need to learn that heaven is not “then and there”, or as Jesus said, ” but is indeed “here and now”, available to us – during this lifetime – that we don’t need to wait until we “die”. From ACIM Workbook Lesson 188:

The peace of God is shining in me now.

Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek the light are merely covering their eyes. The light is in them now. Enlightenment is but a recognition, not a change at all. Light is not of the world, yet you who bear the light in you are alien here as well. The light came with you from your native home, and stayed with you because it is your own. It is the only thing you bring with you from Him Who is your Source. It shines in you because it lights your home, and leads you back to where it came from and you are at home.

This light can not be lost. Why wait to find it in the future, or believe it has been lost already, or was never there? It can so easily be looked upon that arguments which prove it is not there become ridiculous. Who can deny the presence of what he beholds in him? It is not difficult to look within, for there all vision starts…

As spiritual beings having a temporary human experience, we need to have the means to visit our heavenly home. Otherwise our time here seems long and lonely indeed. We forget who and what we are and we forget that we are never alone. But fact is, we are not apart from our Source, nor can we be apart from it. Our Source, God, the Life Force, is the Reality that all things are made from – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. It breathes us. The Kingdom of Heaven is indeed within us – is us – and we just forgot where we misplaced the key that opens the door. When we are shown how, we are able to open the door within us, during the day, whenever we wish, for heaven is within you, not outside, somewhere else:

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. – Luke 17:20-21

 

Some still teach that you might go to heaven after you die if you do things just right while you are here – and if you don’t do things just right, then God, which is Love, will send you to hell. Many toe the line, hoping to please God and go to heaven; others have despaired and given up, thinking they could never do things perfectly. But is it true? Are “good works” the ticket to heaven? Or is a sincere desire to know the Truth – beyond the truth – the key to the Kingdom? Can someone help us unlearn what we have learned that stands in our way and to learn how to return to the Beauty within? From the ACIM “Urtext”, page 365:

The Kingdom of Heaven is the dwelling place of the Son of God, who left not his Father, and dwells not apart from Him. Heaven is not a place nor a condition. It is merely an awareness of perfect Oneness, and the knowledge that there is nothing else. Nothing outside this Oneness, and nothing else within.

Perhaps you remember that once upon a time there was a fox who was unable to reach the grapes that grew high on the vine, so he had never tasted them, yet he stated authoritatively that the grapes were sour. A camel came along and ate some of the sweet, sweet grapes, for he was tall enough to easily reach them and he kindly allowed the fox to climb on his back up to the grapes, so he could enjoy them for himself. Once the fox tasted the grapes, he gave up his sad song. “Belief is as good as it gets,” say some. “Believe and you will be saved.” Others say, “You can know and I can show you.” Do not settle for less than Knowledge of God.

About five percent of the people in the world have had a near-death experience (NDE) in which they tasted Heaven. Some say they wanted to stay there forever and were sorely disappointed when they were told they still had unfinished business here on Earth. When they begged to stay, they were told to come back and to “receive Knowledge”. Most heard the word knowledge with a lowercase “k”, so they came back and enrolled in college. But nothing you can learn in college could possibly compare to what they experienced in their NDE. They didn’t realize there is such a thing as an uppercase “K” Knowledge that allows them to see the pure white Light they saw, to feel the unconditional Love and Peace they felt, on a daily basis – to experience here and now, in the body, what they experienced in their NDE. And so, without Divine Knowledge, this capital “K” Knowledge, they still long for what they felt when they visited Heaven. They, of all people. are acutely aware of the difference between this world and Heaven. The good news is, they too can taste the grapes. They can have it all. They can have worldly knowledge and access to Divine Knowledge and live in this world with the Love they love and that loves them.

And Knowledge is not just for those who have had a near-death experience. All our hearts constantly work to turn us back toward the Light. I remember feeling so much pain in my heart when I was a tiny child, feeling so lonely for the quality of Love that I had come from but which was not accessible to me here on Earth. I could not understand where it had gone. I felt I had been rudely dumped and deserted. Loneliness was my primary emotion throughout my childhood, teens and early adult years until I received Knowledge. I was not a student of the course for another fifteen years, but I am endlessly grateful that the course prepares me on a daily basis to practice Knowledge. At times I wonder how people can peacefully grasp the core message of the course before receiving Knowledge. One woman I met said she has torn up, burned and thrown in the river, several copies of the course – yet she keeps returning to it again and again. I too might have felt her frustration if I had begun studying ACIM before I received Knowledge.

The Course does indeed prepare its students for Knowledge. Several students in my study groups have received Knowledge, thanks to the course. It prepares us to admit to ourselves, through our entrenched denial, that we want to live with Knowledge of God, not to wait until we “die”. We want to feel His embrace and see His Light now. ACIM inspires us to pursue Knowledge and then, once we have sought, found, asked and received Knowledge, to practice it, for the course makes it clear that we cannot take our baggage – fear, anger, sorrow, etc – with us into that Beauty. Oil and water do not mix. And the course helps us to release fear in all its forms, to remove the blocks to our awareness of Love’s Presence.

As long as anyone has a sincere desire to know the Truth, the Holy Spirit will guide them kindly to the grapes, the keys to the Kingdom, the Knowledge. When we begin to practice Knowledge, we find that everything in life has led us to where we are now and we are grateful for all that has occurred. In ancient times, they say aspirants had to climb mountains and swim oceans to receive Knowledge. In these very challenging times, in a world full of distractions, our job, (should we choose to accept it), is to clear away the barriers in our minds – pride, fear, judgment, etc. This is no small task. The course helps.

The value of practicing Knowledge on a regular basis is that we begin to release our false identities – as bodies, feelings, thoughts, personalities and stories – and instead begin to identify more with our true Identity as Light, Love, Spirit, Wisdom and Joy. Unconditional love, non-judgment, compassion and appreciation become our way in the world and the world reflects our new way of thinking and being, back to us.

This article is to make clear that Knowledge is beyond knowledge, Truth is beyond truth, the Word is beyond words, that the Name is beyond names, Love is beyond love, Light is beyond light, and so on. From ACIM Ch 18.IX:

This course will lead to Knowledge, but Knowledge itself is still beyond the scope of our curriculum… Nor is there any need for us to try to speak of what must forever lie beyond words. We need remember only that whoever attains the real world, beyond which learning cannot go, will go beyond it, but in a different way. Where learning ends, there God begins, for learning ends before Him Who is complete where He begins, and where there is no end…

The readiness for Knowledge still must be attained… Love is not learned. Its meaning lies in Itself. And learning ends when you have recognized all it is not. That is the interference; that is what needs to be undone. Love is not learned, because there never was a time in which you knew it not. Learning is useless in the Presence of your Creator, Whose acknowledgment of you, and yours of Him, so far transcends all learning, that everything you learned is meaningless, replaced forever by the Knowledge of Love and its one meaning.

~~~~~

Patricia Robinett is a student of A Course in Miracles and of Knowledge. She has facilitated ACIM study groups for over 25 years. Her website is www.ACIMessentials.com and contains videos of the workbook lessons – and more. Patricia is the author of Knowledge, The Essence of World Scriptures, which is a compilation of quotes extolling the beauty of Knowledge, a book designed to help trigger our memory of what was, is and always will be within us, as well as inspire us to aspire to receive the Knowledge that is our birthright.

Zen story – “No amount of thinking…”

A student watched as his master sat on the ground and rubbed a large stone with a smaller one.

Curious, he finally asked, “Master why are you rubbing that large stone so vigorously with the smaller one?”

The master looked up and said, “I am polishing the large stone with the smaller one too make a mirror.”

“But master,” the student replied, “no amount of rubbing those stones together will make a mirror.”

The master smiled and said, “Quite right! … Just as no amount of thinking will ever make you see your true nature.”

Demonstration by Mary Baker Eddy

MBE with white hairSomething that I find goes quite well with A Course in Miracles, is Mary Baker Eddy’s work. The Christian Science Church is based on her text, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. The two books fit together and each helps make sense of the other.

In Christian Science Reading Rooms all over the world, you can find thousands of testimonials validating the type of healing work in Christian Science – and the potential of ACIM.

I highly recommend a visit to a reading room for every serious ACIM student.

This is a sweet little essay Mrs. Eddy wrote explaining the secret of healing…

Search online for Demonstration by Mary Baker Eddy. We can learn much about healing from people who have studied the subject all their lives.

Open letter to Electrosensitivity Committee

ddees palm tree cell tower

Letter written by Eileen O’Connor, Director of EM Radiation Research Trust – www.radiationresearch.org

For the attention of UK and Ireland members representing the European Economic and Social Committee TEN Section on electrosensitivity,

I am contacting you after receiving a copy of the opinion on Electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) report recently adopted by the EESC’s TEN section: https://toad.eesc.europa.eu/ViewDoc.aspx?doc=ces%5cten%5cten559%5cES%5cEESC-2014-05117-00-00-AS-TRA_ES.doc&docid=3045930

The reports main purpose is to protect people suffering with electrosensitivity and your important work will hopefully lead towards suggesting binding EU legislation on EMF. I am grateful to all members for allocating almost five hours towards this important debate on 7th January, 2015 and appreciate the voting has been close in the final text along in the voting on each of the amendments. I understand that the next plenary session is due to take place on 21st January, 2015 to finalise the report and therefore call on all members to review the evidence and information contained within this letter.

I am the founder and Director for the UK EM Radiation Research Trust. I am also founding member and Board member for the International EMF Alliance and member of the EU Commission Stakeholder Dialogue Group on EMF.

I can assure you that EHS is very real. It is a physiological condition, not a psychological one. Some studies have been published by psychologists who are not qualified to establish physiological causality, and funding from the telecommunications industry has also created a literature bias as evidenced in published figures by Henry Lai and Anke Huss.

The number of people suffering from EHS is increasing as the exposure to modern digital wireless technology increases at a fast rate. Wireless technology is currently being widely promoted and will greatly increase the number of pulsing RF sources close to people. Many homes, schools and offices now have DECT RF phone systems and WiFi. We believe that already the economic costs of people working less well due to EHS symptoms outweighs the apparent benefits of having everyone wirelessly connected. In most cases it is better, faster and certainly more secure to have properly Ethernet wired systems in homes and offices. The EESC should ensure that they are able to properly quantify these factors so that you can make a balanced judgement.

I am shocked to hear that UK EESC member Sir Richard Adams argued against the precautionary approach and apparently used denial arguments that are clearly modelled on telecommunications enterprise lobbies…

Please read the entire letter at Open letter to European Economic and Social Committee

Research: Some Cancer Diagnoses Kill Quicker than the Cancer

Fear kills faster than the world’s most dreaded disease.

A cancer diagnosis may be the most traumatic thing that can befall a patient within the contemporary medical system; that is, beyond the conventional cancer treatments themselves, many of which have life-threatening and even lethal side effects.

New research now indicates that a cancer diagnosis may be as fatal as the cancer itself, dramatically increasing the risk of suicide and heart-related death in the week following diagnosis.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month, researchers looked at data on more than 6 million Swedes aged 30 and older between 1991-2006 using the country’s health registries in order to determine how the psychological toll of cancer diagnosis impacts the risk for death. After analyzing over 500,000 people who were diagnosed with cancer during that period, the risk of suicide was found to be up to 16 times higher and the risk of heart-related death 26.9 times higher during the first week following diagnosis versus those who were cancer free.

Read more at Research: Some Cancer Diagnoses Kill Quicker Than The Cancer.

The widely unreported dangers of electromagnetic pollution

You know those vague, undiagnosable problems a lot of people have that incapacitate them? This is the key to understanding many of our modern ailments. Some people are more sensitive to electromagnetic pollution than others. I bought a simple “Ghost Meter” on amazon.com and started testing all my rooms, appliances, etc. You can learn a lot in that way. I unplug as many things as I possibly can where I sit during the day at my computer and also where I sleep at night. This is the modern world disease… electromagnetic radiation.

(NaturalNews) Since the 1930s, scientists have been concerned about the health risks associated with electromagnetic fields (EMFs). These electromagnetic frequencies can cause dizziness, headaches, blood sugar imbalances, anxiety and, even, cancer. In fact, is was Samuel Milham, MD, MPH — author of Dirty Electricity — who first alerted the world to the frightening links between occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic pollution and human disease.

Are you suffering with chronic disease? Obviously, a healthy diet and lifestyle are essential to reversing disease symptoms and completely healing the body. But, often overlooked in our immediate environment, the fact remains — wireless technology poses one of the biggest threats to human health. If you’re looking to resolve “unexplainable” health issues, don’t miss the next Natural News Talk Hour with Mike Adams and Jonathan Landsman.

Visit NaturalHealth365.com and enter your email address for show details + FREE gifts!

Microwave (cell phone) radiation has been used as a secret weapon against humanity

This is not a joke. Dr. Barrie Trower, a former Royal Navy microwave weapons expert, reveals that there are 8,300 military papers proving that microwave frequencies — which can be found emanating from wireless mobile devices — cause severe neurological and physiological damage. In fact, from 1953 to 1975, a once-secret experiment bathed U.S. embassy employees (and their children) in Moscow with beams of low-level microwave radiation — which caused an unusually high number of breast cancers, childhood leukemia and many other forms of cancer…

Learn more at: http://www.naturalnews.com/047629_electromagnetic_pollution_microwave_radiation_cancer_growth.html

6 Things You Must Know About Colloidal Silver

Great article from Wakeup-World.com – see their website for many more amazing articles…

1. Parts Per Million (PPM) is Mildly Important

When it comes to colloidal silver, don’t get caught up in how many parts per million — or PPM — a solution has. Although it’s not a mundane detail, what’s really important is the particle size.

Smaller particles can move more easily throughout your body and they’re more bioavailable. Particle sizes less than .005 microns are ideal. Sometimes this is indicated on the label, sometimes not. One way to tell if silver particles are too large is by examining the color of the solution. A dark or murky-color usually indicates large silver particles and other impurities.

2. Colloidal Silver Should Be Clear

A quality colloidal solution should appear clear. Other colors indicate additional chemical additives. Darker-colored solutions occur as a result of the presence of stabilizers, additives, salts, or proteins. These compounds are often used in many silver products to suspend larger silver particles. Products which need refrigeration or require shaking or those that develop a foam likely contain additional chemical impurities.

3. Silver Won’t Upset Beneficial Intestinal Organisms

A lot of people use silver as defense against harmful organisms. Unlike antibiotics, which wipeout both the “bad” and the “good” organisms present in the intestinal tract, silver maintains a balance of intestinal microorganisms. Silver absorbs quickly in the upper GI tract, and little gets through to cause problems for the beneficial bacteria in the small intestine and colon.

4. Good Colloidal Silver Won’t Turn You Blue

Occasionally you may hear of an individual who develops argyria, a condition that develops when silver proteins cause a blueing of the skin. (Do a Google search for Paul Karason.) While this may happen when people use ultra low quality silver solutions, pure hydrosol colloidal silver without additives, proteins, or salts does not cause this condition. [2] This is why it’s imperative to obtain the purest solution available.

5. Purity Matters

Colloidal silver isn’t just a mixture of silver and water; it’s a solution where the silver particles are suspended in water and have an electrical charge. This type of solution requires ultra pure water. It also requires special equipment necessary to create and maintain a constant charge.

Many colloidal silver home brew kits use salts or other compounds during the brewing process to suspend the silver in the solution. Products like this do not offer the same effect as colloidal silver produced with high voltage technology. The chances of argyria also increase with the consumption of these products.

6. Only Use the Best Quality Colloidal Silver

Not all colloidal silver products are created alike. First and foremost, choose a product that’s been produced using high voltage alternating current technology. This production method requires specialized equipment and produces a silver solution of unparalleled quality and purity compared to low-tech low voltage methods. Don’t be fooled by “concentrated” solutions of more than 10 PPM. In fact, a PPM of higher than 20 indicates the presence of a stabilizer or other protein that the silver is bound to as a means of suspension. That stuff turns you blue, it doesn’t provide any benefits.

Before you invest in a colloidal silver, do your research into any products you’re considering and make sure all these factors add up. I personally use and recommend Silver Fuzion.

Do you take colloidal silver? Why, or why not? Please leave us your answer in the comment section!

– Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM

References:

Morrill K, May K, Leek D, et al. Spectrum of antimicrobial activity associated with ionic colloidal silver. J ALtern Complement Med. 2013 Mar;19(3):224-31. doi: 10.1089/acm.2011.0681.

Chang AL, Khosravi V, Egbert B. A case of argyria after colloidal silver ingestion. J Cutan Pathol. 2006 Dec;33(12):809-11.

This and much more at 6 Things You Must Know About Colloidal Silver | Wake Up World.

The shocking truth about your health: Lissa Rankin

Lissa Rankin, MD is an OB/GYN physician, author, keynote speaker, consultant to health care visionaries, professional artist, and founder of the women’s health and wellness community OwningPink.com. Discouraged by the broken, patriarchal health care system, she left her medical practice in 2007 only to realize that you can quit your job, but you can’t quit your calling. This epiphany launched her on a journey of discovery that led her to become a leader in the field of mind/body medicine, which she blogs about at OwningPink.com and is writing about in her third book Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself (Hay House, 2013).

She teaches both patients and health care professionals how to make the body ripe for miracles by healing the mind and being healthy in all aspects of life, not just by promoting healthy behaviors like good nutrition, exercise, and adequate sleep, but by encouraging health and authenticity in relationships, work, creative expression, spirituality, sexuality, finances, and living environment. She is leading a revolution to feminize how health care is received and delivered by encouraging collaboration, fostering self-healing, reconnecting health care and spirituality, empowering patients to tap into the mind’s power to heal the body, and encouraging women not to settle for being merely well, but to strive for living vital, joyful, authentic lives full of “mojo.”

When not spreading the word, she chills out, paints, does yoga, and hikes in Marin County, CA with her husband and daughter.

via The shocking truth about your health: Lissa Rankin at TEDxFiDiWomen – YouTube.

Helping you heal yourself – body, mind, spirit