I think she might have been an angel—the young woman who handed me my lunch at the Burger King drive-thru today. She was filled with happy energy. Smiling. Genuinely cheerful. But she seemed to be possessed with much more than that. I imagined she was filled with Spirit. I wanted to get out of my car, go inside and hug her, thank her, bless her, love her. She was that delightful as she did her simple task. I said, “Thank you, dear,” instantly realizing those words couldn't begin to express the joy I felt at being in her presence. Yes, an angel. I was seeing her with the Eyes of God, I think.
I pulled into a parking spot with the top of my convertible down to enjoy the warm air and sunshine. A flood of happiness filled me; it washed down on me from…where? Mama Cass was singing Dream a Little Dream of Me on the radio as I ate my sandwich. That flood became a tsunami of Love. “Filled me” is completely inadequate to describe the feeling.
Here's what I suddenly realized:
We struggle with the Course, hoping but fearing that we'll somehow, sometime, some way reach the Atonement—that Knowing (with a capital “K”) that separation never happened, that all this really is a dream no different that the dreams we have at night when we sleep. We struggle because we fear that if we were to truly reach that place of Knowing, our world would disappear. That strikes terror into our hearts and minds.
But suddenly, everything became clear. That angel woman at Burger King, Mama Cass's sweet voice, the sun shining down on me, the blue sky, the breeze wafting across my body, the beauty of the palm trees swaying, the ibis birds scratching for food…all of those things (and more) moved me to tears of joy. God was showing me the Happy Dream. He was showing me that even this dream world is filled with His Love, and that I was being given an opportunity to experience it. Or, maybe it wasn't the dream world filled with Love, but my mind instead. The Mind that is what I Am.
This world we live in? It is a psycho planet if we choose to see it that way. But it can also be the home of the Happy Dream if we choose instead to see with the Eyes of God. That Love He showers down on us surpasses anything this world can offer, and yet, He can show us the beauty of this place we seem to inhabit and give us joy even while we seem to be bodies living here. I am so grateful for this moving experience today. Thank you, Father.
My friend Harrison pointed this out as he read Chapter 12, Part III of ACIM recently:
Your fear of attack is nothing compared to your fear of love. You have built your whole insane belief system because you think you would be helpless in God's Presence, and you would save yourself from His love because you think it would crush you into nothingness. You are afraid it would sweep you away from yourself and make you little. You think you have made a world which God would destroy; and by loving Him, which you do,you would throw this world away, which you would. Therefore, you have used the world to cover your love, and the deeper you go into the blackness of the ego's foundation, the closer you come to the love that is hidden there. And it is this that frightens you.
But God washed that fear away for me today. He showed me how I can see this world through His eyes, even though this world is a dream and God sees it not. He showed me the Happy Dream. I am so grateful.
I pulled into a parking spot with the top of my convertible down to enjoy the warm air and sunshine. A flood of happiness filled me; it washed down on me from…where? Mama Cass was singing Dream a Little Dream of Me on the radio as I ate my sandwich. That flood became a tsunami of Love. “Filled me” is completely inadequate to describe the feeling.
Here's what I suddenly realized:
We struggle with the Course, hoping but fearing that we'll somehow, sometime, some way reach the Atonement—that Knowing (with a capital “K”) that separation never happened, that all this really is a dream no different that the dreams we have at night when we sleep. We struggle because we fear that if we were to truly reach that place of Knowing, our world would disappear. That strikes terror into our hearts and minds.
But suddenly, everything became clear. That angel woman at Burger King, Mama Cass's sweet voice, the sun shining down on me, the blue sky, the breeze wafting across my body, the beauty of the palm trees swaying, the ibis birds scratching for food…all of those things (and more) moved me to tears of joy. God was showing me the Happy Dream. He was showing me that even this dream world is filled with His Love, and that I was being given an opportunity to experience it. Or, maybe it wasn't the dream world filled with Love, but my mind instead. The Mind that is what I Am.
This world we live in? It is a psycho planet if we choose to see it that way. But it can also be the home of the Happy Dream if we choose instead to see with the Eyes of God. That Love He showers down on us surpasses anything this world can offer, and yet, He can show us the beauty of this place we seem to inhabit and give us joy even while we seem to be bodies living here. I am so grateful for this moving experience today. Thank you, Father.
My friend Harrison pointed this out as he read Chapter 12, Part III of ACIM recently:
Your fear of attack is nothing compared to your fear of love. You have built your whole insane belief system because you think you would be helpless in God's Presence, and you would save yourself from His love because you think it would crush you into nothingness. You are afraid it would sweep you away from yourself and make you little. You think you have made a world which God would destroy; and by loving Him, which you do,you would throw this world away, which you would. Therefore, you have used the world to cover your love, and the deeper you go into the blackness of the ego's foundation, the closer you come to the love that is hidden there. And it is this that frightens you.
But God washed that fear away for me today. He showed me how I can see this world through His eyes, even though this world is a dream and God sees it not. He showed me the Happy Dream. I am so grateful.