A Simple Technique to Move Beyond Judgment
Charity is a way of looking at another as if he had already gone far beyond his actual accomplishments in time. Support the show
Jan 30, 2020•2 min•Ep. 198
ACIM Inspiration with Anthony Gold
Each week Anthony shares an inspirational quote from A Course in Miracles along with some brief commentary on what it means and how we can practice the teachings of the Course. You can see all posts and essays on Anthony's site, Live Beyond the Illusion: www.LiveBeyondTheIllusion.com
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Episodes
Lesson 37: My holiness blesses the world
When we choose the mind of spirit, our bodies take on the holy purpose of channeling love and recognizing the sameness in everything. https://livebeyondtheillusion.com/acim-lesson-37/ Support the show
Jan 25, 2020•1 min•Ep. 197
Lesson 36: My holiness envelops everything I see
Whenever we find ourselves judging anything, that's a reminder that we aren’t seeing the holiness that envelops everything around us. In which case, we can make a different choice in our mind and experience a completely different outcome. https://livebeyondtheillusion.com/acim-lesson-36/ Support the show
Jan 21, 2020•1 min•Ep. 196
The Value of Giving Up Competition
When I first started in the business world, I was taught (and I believed) that the pie was limited. If I didn’t take my slice, then someone else would. For instance, each year there was a limited pool of money for salary raises. Every dollar one person received meant there was one less for everyone else. Only a certain percentage of people could be rated a one - which was the top rating. This obviously cultivated a culture of competition. And while it may have produced increased output, it certa...
Jan 16, 2020•2 min•Ep. 195
Lesson 35: My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.
In this lesson, we are asked to search our mind for how we see ourselves. For instance, we might say: *I see myself as imposed on. I see myself as depressed. I see myself as failing.* Or, *I see myself as charitable. I see myself as victorious.* And so on. And then what we’re taught is that those are all unreal. We only believe we are those things because we’ve surrounded ourselves with an environment that seems to prove it. In other words, we made it all up. All our experiences, day-in and day-...
Jan 14, 2020•1 min•Ep. 194
Lesson 34: I could see peace instead of this
This is one of the most commonly practiced lessons in the workbook. The reason is that it can be used in every single situation in which we’re upset. On the surface, it’s hard to imagine how we could see peace in the midst of a challenging experience - especially if we are clearly being victimized. How could I see peace when this awful thing is happening to me? But what this lesson is teaching us - and these lines are right at the beginning of the lesson - is that “peace of mind is an internal m...
Jan 14, 2020•2 min•Ep. 193
How I Succeeded in Business Yet Failed In Life
I used to measure my success as a businessperson by how well I could outsmart the market and competition. Armed with sufficient data and an understanding of human nature, it wasn’t too hard to create winning solutions. Yet I wasn’t happy. Instead, I was filled with dread and anxiousness. The source of which would elude me for many, many years. I eventual learned that what I valued as one of my most finely-honed skills was actually my biggest deterrent. And that’s judgment. My ability to judge ev...
Jan 11, 2020•2 min•Ep. 192
Lesson 33: There is another way of looking at the world
Looking is one of the most prominent themes in A Course in Miracles . In fact, the book could easily be called "A Course in Looking." But, like so many other things in the Course, there is another interpretation for the concept. Looking does not mean seeing with our eyes. In the same way, vision is not about what our eyes see. Looking has everything to do with observing our thoughts - and, ultimately, understanding our mind. Or, more specifically, which mind we've chosen. So, today's lesson of t...
Jan 10, 2020•1 min•Ep. 191
The Best Way to Make Tough Decisions
Whenever I needed to make a tough decision, I would weigh the various pieces of data I had in order to drive to what I felt was the best conclusion. If the topic was something I considered to be substantial in nature, then I would often create a pro/con list for each choice I was considering. That would help me rank the better options over the lesser ones. And if I still couldn't come up with a final decision, then I would go with my gut. So how has that worked out for me? Well, in retrospect, d...
Jan 09, 2020•2 min•Ep. 190
Lesson 32: I have invented the world I see
Just when we thought it couldn't get any more challenging than yesterday's lesson - which was "I am not a victim of the world I see" - comes this lesson. There are multiple layers to this concept that the world isn't real. On the metaphysical level is the idea that in reality, we are at home in heaven. There's isn't even a "we" since heaven is a state of undifferentiated oneness, infinite love. But even on the level of the illusion - where we believe we are - this lesson truly means what it says...
Jan 07, 2020•2 min•Ep. 189
Lesson 31: I am not the victim of the world I see
This is yet another very challenging concept that is so hard to accept. What this lesson is teaching is that the world - and other people - cannot victimize us. One of the more popular lines in the Course is this: "Beware the temptation to perceive yourself unfairly treated." And then it goes on to say, "You cannot be unfairly treated." Clearly we experience ourselves as being unfairly treated. We have plenty of examples and lots of people who will agree with us. But that's the point of grievanc...
Jan 06, 2020•1 min•Ep. 188
How to Effectively Deal With Our Problems
Going through life has taught us plenty about grievances. All the times we’ve been trampled by the world can leave us weary. Bank account not where we’d like it to be. Bodily health not ideal. Family challenges that seem to regularly persist. Relationship problems. Fear or anxiety about the future. Anger or regret or shame over the past. The list goes on and on. Just when one problem seems to be solved, another one quickly takes its place. But what we’re missing is this: our pain is not coming f...
Jan 03, 2020•2 min•Ep. 187
Lesson 30: God is in everything I see because God is in my mind
This is a very radical concept to those of us who grew up in any western religious culture. “God is in my mind.” We think of God as some powerful entity residing in Heaven who brought the universe into existence and somehow oversees the goings-on of various things - perhaps even including the fate of our lives and the entrance criteria into Heaven. But what if we have it all wrong? A Course in Miracles (and many other spiritual thought systems) teach that God is not an entity. Just try imagining...
Jan 02, 2020•2 min•Ep. 186
Lesson 29: God is in everything I see
This is such a beautiful lesson. Like many of the lessons we’ve studied so far, and many yet to come, it is difficult to accept. “What do you mean, ‘God is in this table?” In fact, the lesson suggests we will likely find the idea not only hard to grasp but even silly and senseless. But what we are asked to do is “to begin learning how to look on all things with love, appreciation and open-mindedness.” The fact is, we don’t see things as they are now - we only see them through our filter of judgm...
Jan 01, 2020•1 min•Ep. 185
How to Change What We See
As we’ve discussed before, seeing in the course is not what our eyes see. Rather, it’s the meaning we give what our eyes see - and what our ears hear, and what all our other senses inform us about. And the meaning we give things is based on which teacher we’ve chosen in our mind: ego or spirit. We’re always choosing one or the other. The ego will always judge and give everything a meaning from the perspective of lack. Is what my eyes are seeing (for instance) helpful or harmful to me? If helpful...
Dec 31, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 184
Lesson 28: Above all else I want to see things differently
In this lesson, we’re now getting specific. From the last lesson we learned that when we have chosen the ego mind, the meaning we give what our eyes see will always be some form of lack and fear. But when we change to the mind of spirit, we no longer judge what we see and instead experience the peaceful oneness in everything. This lesson uses the example of a table and teaches us that when we say “above all else I want to see this table differently” that we are “making a commitment to withdraw o...
Dec 30, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 183
Lesson 27: Above all else I want to see
The Course is teaching us that what our eyes see isn’t true seeing. In fact, our eyes see what our ego mind instructs them to see. True seeing is when we choose against the ego and for the mind of spirit. When we do that, then our seeing completely changes - but not in the way we might think. When the course talks about seeing - it isn’t the physical images we see. Rather, it’s the meaning we give whatever our senses sense. So, seeing from the right mind means that our eyes still see what is aro...
Dec 26, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 182
How to Choose a Happy Day
A great technique for starting the morning is to decide for a happy day. When I first heard of this concept many years ago, I thought it was silly. “What do you mean, decide for a happy day? How do you decide something like that?” My confusion was due to the belief that the quality of my day had less to do with me and much more to do with what was going on around me. If circumstances went the way I wanted, then I would be happy. Otherwise I would be disappointed, frustrated, angry, sad, or whate...
Dec 23, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 181
Lesson 26: My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability
This lesson is teaching us that by having attack thoughts - which we’ll discuss in a moment - but having attack thoughts is what makes us vulnerable. And what is an attack thought? Not just a thought of negativity toward another person. An attack thought is any thought that is not filled with peace. So when we’re concerned about something. Or when we’re afraid of something. Or sad. Those are all attack thoughts. This lesson is also teaching us is that our non-peaceful thoughts always attack ours...
Dec 22, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 180
Lesson 25: I do not know what anything is for
Today’s lesson is setting the stage for meaning or purpose. One of the recurring themes throughout the Course is the question: “What is it for?” In other words, in every situation, we’re asked to consider the purpose behind our actions. But as this lesson points out, while we may think we know the “why”, we really don’t. Consider this passage: “You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego goals. These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests, because the...
Dec 19, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 179
The Most Challenge ACIM Concept
The single most challenging concept related to A Course in Miracles is the idea that the world is not real. It’s a projection from our thoughts. The reason that it’s nearly impossible for us to grasp is because our experiences suggest otherwise. All our senses convince us that the world, our bodies, and everything going on around us is very real. But our senses lie. Everything in our body and the world has one purpose - and that’s to keep us mindless. By remaining mindless, we believe that all o...
Dec 18, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 178
Lesson 24: I do not perceive my own best interests
The beginning of this lessons explains why we don’t know what’s best - for ourselves or for anyone else. "In no situation that arises do you realize the outcome that would make you happy. Therefore, you have no guide to appropriate action, and no way of judging the result. What you do is determined by your perception of the situation, and that perception is wrong." The reason our perception of any and every situation is wrong is because we’ve chosen the ego as our guide. The course teaches us th...
Dec 17, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 177
Lesson 23: I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts
While all 365 lessons are powerful, this one is instrumental in helping us understand the relationship between thought and experience. “Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see.” In other words, things don’t “just happen” in the world. We create our experiences with our thoughts. Just like in dreams at night. The drama doesn’t randomly occur - we make it up in our mind, project it into the dream, and then totally forget we set it all up. That’s why this lesson goes on to...
Dec 16, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 176
Escape From Anger
Today let’s unpack anger a bit. Every one of us feels justified in our anger. Meaning that when we get angry, we feel there is a good reason for it. Somebody did or said something they shouldn’t have. A situation didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. Or maybe we even got angry at ourselves for our own misstep. The why we’re angry doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we are angry. This question from A Course in Miracles makes it so clear: “When you are angry, is it not because someone h...
Dec 13, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 175
Lesson 22: What I see is a form of vengeance
In this lesson, we’re asked to say to ourself the following thoughts: I see only the perishable. I see nothing that will last. What I see is not real. What I see is a form of vengeance. Is this the world I really want to see? Thankfully, as we’ve been learning in these lessons, we can see differently. We can see from “above the battleground” as the Course says. From this perspective, we don’t feel any negative emotions. In fact, all we experience is peace - and what we see is either love being e...
Dec 12, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 174
Lesson 21: I am determined to see things differently
This lesson asks us to search our mind for anger. And it introduces a very challenging thought: there is no difference between a mild twinge of annoyance and murderous rage. The reason they are the same is because they are both the result of the choosing the ego mind. We think there is a hierarchy - rage being “worse” than annoyance. But everything of the ego is a projection of sin, guilt, and fear - regardless of the form it takes. So as this lesson asks us to focus on a willingness to see thin...
Dec 11, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 173
Seek Not Outside Yourself
Year ends and year beginnings are times many people think about goals and what they want to accomplish in the coming weeks and months. And goals essentially suggest that there is a desired state we haven’t yet achieved - but with careful planning and execution, we can make it happen. But as we think about what will bring us happiness, we want to be sure we are looking in the right place. If we think that a certain level of money, health, societal position, family relationships, or anything else ...
Dec 10, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 172
Lesson 20: I am determined to see
An important thought in this lesson is this line: “Your mind is totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, love and fear.” That is very hard for us to accept. We believe we can definitely tell the difference between happiness and sadness. Yet the Course is teaching us that these are two sides of the same coin. What we consider to be “good” is a result of the world and our body being in a certain state where our needs and desires are met. It’s a c...
Dec 09, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 171
Lesson 19: I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts
There are two important lines I want to share from this lesson. The first is this: “Thinking and its results are really simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate.” Our experience always reflects whatever we are thinking. There is no exception to this. That’s why the Course puts all its emphasis on changing our mind, not on changing the world or bodies or situations. The second line I want to highlight is this: “Minds are joined.” It goes on to say “This may even be regarded as an ‘in...
Dec 06, 2019•2 min•Season 1Ep. 170
Differences Don’t Matter
A prominent theme in A Course in Miracles is that we are all the same. The challenge is that it doesn’t seem that way to us. When we look at other people, we see them as separate from us. We are “here” and they are “there”. We have “this” combination of personality, skillset, dreams, and fears. And they have “their own” way of relating and being in the world. And most significantly, we are “we” and they are “they”. But as the Course points out, “differences are only of the body.” We all share th...
Dec 05, 2019•1 min•Season 1Ep. 169
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