A Course In Miracles - Lesson One

The book A Course In Miracles found me in 1985 on a spring afternoon while I was walking past a book booth on 60th and 5th Avenue in NYC. It's been a most amazing journey that's still in process. JOY!

If you are even considering doing Course, follow your inner voice, the one that speaks from love. I'm posting my lesson observations starting with the Workbook on this blog.

Nayer's Notes on Lesson 1

Lesson 1 is cute and to the point. It opens one's mind to the possibility that only God has meaning and all else is an illusion, a collection of protons, neutrons and electrons with soul(s). For example, a lamp can mean a source of light, a cause for worry about an electric bill, a design element in a room, a tool to hit another for some "reason", or parts for a new invention. Meaning becomes as seemingly (God is in charge) arbitrary as circumstance. I like cute and to the point.

I've bolded what I underlined in my book.

From A Course In Miracles - Workbook - Lesson One

"Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.

W-1.1. Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see:

2 This table does not mean anything.

3 This chair does not mean anything.

4 This hand does not mean anything.

5 This foot does not mean anything.

6 This pen does not mean anything.

W-1.2. Then look farther away from your immediate area, and apply the idea to a wider range:

2 That door does not mean anything.

3 That body does not mean anything.

4 That lamp does not mean anything.

5 That sign does not mean anything.

6 That shadow does not mean anything.

W-1.3. Notice that these statements are not arranged in any order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied. 2 That is the purpose of the exercise. 3 The statement should merely be applied to anything you see. 4 As you practice the idea for the day, use it totally indiscriminately. 5 Do not attempt to apply it to everything you see, for these exercises should not become ritualistic. 6 Only be sure that nothing you see is specifically excluded. 7 One thing is like another as far as the application of the idea is concerned.

W-1.4. Each of the first three lessons should not be done more than twice a day each, preferably morning and evening. 2 Nor should they be attempted for more than a minute or so, unless that entails a sense of hurry. 3 A comfortable sense of leisure is essential.

End lesson

Only the Lord has real meaning. He is the source of our breath, the coordination of our organs to provide life, and the source for all that is and will be. It's up to us to make the best of what we have to work with.

HOW MOSES PARTED THE RED SEA

How Moses Parted the Red Sea
A theory by J. Nayer Hardin

There is a technique I've observed that both Moses and Harriet Tubman used it in their work.

I've been using it since the 1980's and though the path is not always easy, it always works for the good works that I do, not try, do.

Through prayer and meditation they asked, listened for and responded to what the Lord wanted them to do...their lists. Both were instructed to get their people out of bondage.

They were guided to the resources necessary to complete their tasks.

They stepped out in faith and courage.

They got the job done, the Red Sea parted, Tubman never lost a passenger.

Here's some more detail using the original Moses as an example.

Moses had a job to do. He had to get his people out of slavery and into the promised land of freedom. To accomplish this task, he had to first go inside of himself, quiet his mind, ask for divine guidance and intervention, then stay alert for the Lord’s coincidence. Prayer is always answered, even when the answer is no.

All faith had to be replaced with the knowledge that the Lord is working in all things for the highest good.

Since Moses was raised in a wealthy home, he knew the people who traded silks and spices between the Far East and Egypt. He was guided to network his way back to them and asked them for advice about how to move a large population quickly and to where.

They told him about a route along the northern part of the Red Sea that had a big piece of land that was being used by a few 'no-mads'... perfect place for Moses to take his people. And since the Pharaoh was mad at Moses anyway, it seemed the easiest and best alternative available.

So Moses and his friends spread the word that he was going to the Promised Land. The people followed.

Because Moses was humble enough to ask for help, he was told and possibly lead to where to find food and water and safe passage over what was then rough terrain. After a bit of emotional drama, they arrived, only to find out forty years later that they had been there all the time.

Pharaoh’s boys on the other hand went into terrain that they were unfamiliar with and sustained substantial losses. The only thing the ego can be counted on to do is not admit blame for failure. They, Pharaoh's Possie, soldiers, because of their unacceptably high losses, came back with the story of the parting of the Red Sea in an effort to save face.

The drama concept was provided by reality. It did look like the Read Sea parted.

There is a place at the northern part of the Red Sea where it comes close to the Mediterranean Sea. This parcel of land has places that are below sea level. A search on Google Earth will show you current sea levels but it will give you a feel for the land.

Because of this above/below sea level, an optical illusion occurs. From one position the two bodies of water are separate, from another, the bodies of water seem joined. Looks real, yet, just an optical illusion. At the time many were uneducated, maps of that area were rare and there was no mass media. So the story grew.

Harriet Tubman did the same thing thousands of years later. She prayed and meditated, was led to the already existing Underground Railroad structure, did her job and let the Lord take care of the rest.

Remember, to part your own Red Sea, go inside first through love, prayer and meditation, ask for divine guidance, listen for the answers, and follow The Lord’s lead. It’s easy to find. It’s the one based on love and the highest good for all concerned.

REMEMBER TO TITHE BASED ON PRAYER.

Loving You Dead Or Alive!

LOVING YOU DEAD OR ALIVE
(A thought to help understand another's passing onto afterlife)

On the other side of the trauma,
Of my body passing away,
Please understand that
Death is only a transformation.

Like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly,
Like a hurricane becoming a breeze,
Like water becoming steam,
Like an egg becoming a human being,
I've become one of your angels.

Know that the soul part of me,
That which you cannot physically see,
Is with you all ways,
Loving you, like you love me.

So cry until the tears are gone,
Love and bless me with your song,
And know that in time,
Your sorrow will be washed away.

Continue to pray for every soul every day,
I know the Lord is showing the way,
For us to meet and laugh at Heaven’s Gate.

I love you in the eternal now,
Dead or Alive.

(c) Moses A Movement To Freedom,

Written in response to Harlem's Brad Duncan's 1997 death.

The piece was written/channeled in California in 1998

ALL AUTHOR FINANCIAL RIGHTS RESERVED

By: J. Nayer Hardin and Bradford Thorne Duncan, I

OTHERWISE, FREELY SHARE THE PIECE IF IT BRINGS PEACE