Wednesday, April 18, 2012

REFLECTIONS ON THESSALONIANS 2

THESSALONIANS II
“I am your heart, because I am you.”
Of all the many ways I can translate that idea in my mind, the most meaningful one to me right now is, “You are what you have always been looking for.” 
There is nowhere else to go, no other book to read, no other teacher to seek out, nothing more to be done. “You are it!”
Ah, but that is not where we live. We continue to cling to the filter, the mask of unworthiness. The essence of the pain we suffer in life is to yearn for something so deeply and then to think we do not deserve it.
How long do we need to hold onto that old, limited, destructive idea of self? Not only does it cloud how we perceive ourselves, but also how we perceive others and the world.
“(v 1 – 4)1Look now, deep within your mind and heart. 2We are looking for a false god that you have erected before your truth. 3This is a false image made of yourself through your own judgment that you could be that which is other than That Which you Are.  (p. 370)
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3As a thought comes up in your attempts to rest, look at it gently with no attachment to what it says. 4Ask only this question, “Have you come to me from the Heart? “ 5You will feel the answer immediately. 6Do not doubt what you feel. 7It is the Heart that answers this question in judgment. 8When the answer is no, ask the thought to pass by in peace. 9Feel no resistance to that which you‘ve asked to fade away. 10When the Heart answers yes, relax into listening. 11Relax fully, as you need not question this thought anymore. 12Let your questioning turn to trust. 13Let listening be the practice of the quiet mind. 14You are listening to your true Voice, and it is teaching you who you truly are. P. 372
(v 16)1Peace is always within you, as I am in you and I am you. 2Rest within the gentle knowledge of this as you follow the restful work of ridding yourself of the false. 3What you see cannot disturb your peace, because your peace cannot be disturbed. 4So look within, remembering what it is that you do. 5You have my blessings, as I am joined with you. (v 17)1I leave you now to do the silent work that I have asked. 2But I do not really leave you, as I am the one within that does this work in confidence. (v 18)1Grace be in your mind as well as your Heart. 2Amen. P. 372