THE GIFTS OF GOD — Sondra Ray and Markus Ray on A Course in Miracles

Pain is an illusion. This statement is made in this lesson #190 in A Course in Miracles. Pain does seem real, but what is the "cause" of the pain? A thought in the mind of the ego has not accepted it's wholeness and oneness with the Absolute Life of our Creator. This thought is a thought of pain.

We accumlate pain and then choose death to escape from it.

We can be hurt by nothing but our thoughts. What are they? Are we willing to let them go? Change them into thoughts of Joy?

Can we bring the healing, the dropping of the illusion, in the present. This is where and when the healing can take place NOW. The solution is in the present. We choose the Joy of God in this holy instant.

What are God's Thoughts? And How do we hear them and apply them in our Life? We have to silence all of our other erroneous and conflicted thoughts. Fear, guilt, and anger thoughts are OUT!

We cannot hear God's Thoughts as long as we maintain the ego's thought system of fear, guilt and anger. Death is not God's will for us. The ego leads to death. ETERNAL LIFE and JOY are God's Will for us.

But to hear this Truth, we have to silence our ego. IN QUIET, then, is the condition we need to be in to receive God's eternal Word of Love. In the quiet is the Love Given to us, in full measure.

THE GIFTS OF GOD are given to us. Can we COMPLETELY FORGIVE and receive them? Can we let go of our girevances? our attack thoughts? Can we "completely let go?"

This is the doorway into Heaven. The sign over it says "total forgiveness." We have to forgive ourselves and everyone completely. This is the key to happiness. Are we willing to do this?

The Garden of our Heaven is held out to us for our care. Will we nurture these Gifts of God? Will we exercize good gardening practices to nurture our garden to reap the fruits of this Holy Home?

Who do we "hold out" undeserving of our forgiveness? Who is the enemy who has "hurt us" beyond our absolution of them? Could it be ourself? Is it someone we once considered close, whom we feel violated our trust?

The challenge is in our lap. And the Heaven is awaiting our complete forgiveness. It offers all the Gifts of God—everything we say we "want." Forgiveness is the only Answer that will provide the solution to our one Question.

When we are healed, we are not healed alone. This is Lesson #137 in the Workbook. There is a belief in sickness and death, which are but "illusions" introduced into the mind by our ego, the "separated self."

Healing is Life, and Life encompasses everyone. Ultimately healing is the overcoming of all forms of death by our True Self, the Christ. This Truth is strengthened in us when we share this immortality, as a fact, with all of our brothers and sisters.

When we let ourselves be healed, all those around us, and those whom cross our mind, are healed along with us. "Legions upon legions of people will be healed" when we open our minds for a new possibility for total healing, even of death.

We defend against the truth by thinking that "pain and suffering" are more real than a Heavenly State of Being. 

We have violated our Peace of Mind as the Truth, over which God has given us Free Will. We rule our Mind, and to think thoughts that contradict JOY, such as "sickness," then we get the results that proceed from those thoughts. 

GOD's Will for us is perfect happiness. To think thoughts that go against this happiness is a "defense against the truth.” 

What is the main Goal we have? The main "problem" we need to solve? There is the Truth that we are given, that we will not fail to reach when we truly seek this unchanging Love of our Creator for us.

Heaven is given to us and is our inheritance. We will enter into it when we are ready to claim only that. We cannot fail.

The Truth is synonymous with perfect happiness. What God Wills for us is now, outside the aquisitions set in time. Heaven is here now. Are we willing to accept it naturally, and let go of everything not Heaven?

Life presents us with many "problems"—unresolved issues that seem to cry out for solutions. This Lesson #79 indicates we only have one real "problem" and therefore one real Answer.

"Separation" from an awareness of our Source is the one problem. And this Source is defined as the state of being free of all problems. There are various movements and energies in our lives, requiring response, but these are by no means a "problem" when we are acting consistently with our guidance from this Source.

How do we know this is our real Contact? When the Gifts of this Divine Connection are apparent, then we can be sure of the Connection. Are we Happy? Peaceful? Feeling Good about our actions? These elevated states of feeling accompany our movements when we are Unified, (not "separated") from our Source.

We are as God created us. As holy children of God, we are entitled to miracles. God's Will for Perfect Happiness is our inheritance, and we can claim it. Perfect Happiness is our right. We are "entitled" to have and experience this Perfect Happiness. 

The heavenly state of being is my right to claim. I am entitled to the miracles that will show me a different reality. I have a different "Divine Logic" in which I can "see things differently." I can see my Heaven instead of the "hell I made up." 

We are assured that Heaven is our right, and we are entitled to the miracles that will bring this Heaven to our awareness. And, these Divine Conditions give us the demonstrations that Perfect Happiness is ours to claim. 

PEACE is our inheritance when we align with the Will of our Creator. When two minds join in unequivocal intention to manifest this Peace of God, it is inevitably given. 

Can we really mean these words beyond our thinking? 

"I WANT THE PEACE OF GOD." We must go beyond small goals, wishful thinking, and aspirations unattained. 

We discover a truth, we bring it into application in our life, and we speak and act upon that truth. This can produce Peace in the evolution of our soul. Truth would always be resulting in Peace. The Peace of God is applied to all of our affairs, even when we are facing the Unknown Will of a Larger Force. 

Forgiveness is total or not at all. Can we let go of all attachment to grievances and wanting things to be different than what we are given? The best way to let go of what we do not want is to stop fighting it, and focus on the good conditions of Grace that hold out the peace and joy of God for us. 

Can we "completely let go?" Total forgiveness lets us receive the Grace God has in store for us. As we enter into the realm of the Silent Mind, Grace comes rushing to us. Then we are certain that Life Takes Care of us. We must completely forgive everyone and everything to receive this total, Divine Care.  

Our mistakes have no conesequence when we let Forgiveness rest upon all of them. We see the face of Christ in us and others instead of our mistakes. We cannot blame others for getting results we deem undesirable. These results are Lessons we would learn to release and forgive. 

Grace is our natural inheritance. But we have to put in our diligence to master complete forgiveness. AMEN.