CwG
Weekly Bulletin #178: The State of
Week of
My Dear Friends…
The President of the
Let’s look at this. And let’s begin by asking, “What IS the
‘union’ that we are talking about – or OUGHT to be talking about?”
I want to suggest that the
So here is the
It is the
It is the
It is the
Once we “get” that being inside, and
part of, THIS
It is the SEPARATION of humanity—from
life, from God, even from ITSELF—that has caused humanity’s downfall. And yes, for those of you who are wondering,
“downfall” is exactly the right word to use here…for
humanity is FALLING DOWN, not rising up.
Don’t agree? Pick up the morning paper.
But all is not lost. Our rising up is yet possible. We can, and I believe we will, rise to the
occasion…the occasion being our imminent collapse as a society. We can head off that collapse…but first we
must pay attention to the “State of the
So just what IS that “State of the
Do most human beings feel connected
with God, or disconnected? What is your
observation?
Do most human beings feel connected
with Life, or somehow disconnected? What
is your observation?
Do most human beings feel connected
with each other, or disconnected? What do
you see when you walk down the street?
What do you see when you turn on your television? What do you see when you simply look across
the dinner table?
My own observation is that the “State
of THIS
Which means that the
job is being left to us. If we want a different
kind of life…a global community more united than divided, families more
together than apart, hearts, minds and souls more integrated than DISintegrated…it’s up to us.
WE have to be the change we wish to see
in the world.
We have to decide that the “State of
the
Ah, yes….peace. The great dream. Inner peace, within the
body, mind and soul of each human being.
And outer peace, embracing our world at last.
Peace, the Great Dream.
Is it an “impossible dream”? Or can we
end our long global nightmare at last, and achieve it?
That is going to be up to us…and to the
State of the
Hmmmm.
Yes. Let’s all pay more attention
to the State of the
many blessings,
neale
------------------------------------------------------
THIS WEEK'S
READING SUGGESTION...
The Gift of Change : Spiritual Guidance
for a Radically New Life
by Marianne Williamson
From
the Publisher's Weekly review, as found on Amazon.com...
In this
relatable, down-to-earth book, Williamson explicates A Course in Miracles,
which she describes as "a self-study program of spiritual
psychotherapy." Both A Course in Miracles and Williamson's work
borrow heavily from the Christian lexicon: she refers to God as "he"
and speaks often of the Holy Spirit and Jesus.
Her take-home
message is that we must submit not to our egos, which tell us we are separate
from God, but instead surrender to God, of whom we are all a part. While she
does refer to all minds being joined and describes the world we know as a dream
from which we must awaken, she differs from other New Thought and New Age
thinkers by balancing an assumption that the negative things of this world (especially
illness and adversity) are illusory with the fact that they feel real to us and
that we must take practical steps to overcome them.
She recommends
embracing love and eschewing fear, arguing that we will encounter a loving
world when we stop assuming it is hostile. She says that while we are not
responsible for the bad things that happen to us, the universe is always primed
to give us a new beginning, if only we can forgive, atone and trust that our
loving attitudes and good works make a profound difference.
Copyright
© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A reader review
from Amazon.com...
For over a
decade, Marianne Williamson has been teaching principles from A Course In
Miracles (ACIM)--a channeled psycho-spiritual self-study work which shows
individuals how to create miracles by surrendering to love. Some scoff at the
notion that "love is the answer", but Williamson answers them by
saying: "It's amazing how much ridicule the topic of love can attract when
it does anything other than support the status quo." Make no mistake:
Williamson does not advocate what I call "sloppy agape". Rather, she
boldly challenges humanity to start getting with the Divine program and begin
to change from the inside out.
In her new book The Gift Of Change - Spiritual Guidance For A Radically New Life , Williamson
sounds a clarion call that now is the time to begin to look within for change.
Attempting to change the external world, she asserts, is akin to trying to change
a movie by altering the screen when dealing with the projector is what's
needed. Saying "hidden beliefs are dangerous beliefs", the reader is
challenged to examine personal beliefs and the attitudes they engender. Tracing
defensiveness--a form of "passive violence"--to the root of war,
Williamson demonstrates how our resistance to love and vulnerability keep us
enslaved to the ego. She writes:
"Whenever our outer world remains stuck, it is incumbent upon us to look,
not outward, but inward. It is a call to find the places in ourselves where we
are holding on to old ways--places where we blame others rather than taking
personal responsibility for our woes; where we judge others instead of blessing
them; where we are hard rather than vulnerable and open and kind. These issues
hold the hidden keys to unlocking our unsolved personal mysteries."
Williamson outlines ten bridges of transformation that can be crossed when we
fix our eyes and hearts on that which is unchanging--an eternal compass of
spiritual principles which can guide us on the personal and global path to
wholeness:
*From Forgetting Who We Are to Remembering Who We Are
*From Negative Thinking to Positive Love
*From Anxiety to Atonement
*From Asking God to Change the World to Praying That He Changes Us
*From Living in the Past and Future to Living in the Present
*From Focus on Guilt to Focus on Innocence
*From Separation to Relationship
*From Spiritual Death to Rebirth
*From Your Plan to God's Plan
*From Who We Were to Who We Are Becoming
Using personal anecdotes, Williamson delves into various life transitions such
as menopause, adolescence, and parenting--and how seasons of change are amazing
opportunities for not only growth and change, but also global transformation.
Saying that "our greatest contribution to the world at this time is not
just what we do but who we are becoming", she shows the reader that no
matter where we find ourselves, we can be a conduit for miracles. In fact, she
says that sometimes "being about our Father's business" is as much
what we're not doing, than what we are. That is, chasing a future dream of
spiritual ambition, we ignore life in the Present--which is the only place that
"I Am", and miracles, dwell:
"If I had simply allowed myself to enjoy my life more, I would have ended
up better off later on. And when I allow myself to simply enjoy my life right now, I'm giving myself the biggest boost for the future.
Every point in life's journey is inherently preparing us for our future in ways
the rational mind cannot possibly comprehend."
As an example, Williamson poignantly explains that she resisted some aspects of
motherhood when her daughter was a baby--often distracting herself from the
overwhelming insistent, needy demands of her daughter. Williamson recalls:
"I see now that the fact it was happening meant it was exactly what I was
supposed to be doing, and I wasn't losing out on anything by giving most of my
attention to her." As one who has had a similar experience with motherhood
versus aspirations for a "real life" (i.e., a spiritually fulfilling
vocation), I resonated with the truth that wherever we find ourselves, that is
exactly where we need to be. Our limitless and brightness can shine no matter
where we are at; in fact, when we shine, we can literally change the world--for
all minds are joined in the Mind of Christ.
The Gift Of Change provides us with a powerful
blueprint on transforming our lives--and the world--through transforming our
thoughts. Through the spiritual compass of the ten principles, we can at last
find our way to inner peace and miracles--which results in a world that is
healed and whole.
If you're disheartened at the state of global affairs--including war--this book
can show you how to replace thought forms of fear with those of love. If you're
desperately searching for your soul mate or the perfect job, The Gift of
Change lights the path to the miraculous Now. If you're experiencing
existential angst--free-floating anxiety that doesn't seem to have a cause--
Williamson says you are not alone...but there is a way through it by choosing
love over fear and trusting the Holy Spirit for a miracle.
= = = = = = =
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
WOULD YOU LIKE TO
Would you like to ask him anything at all about The New Spirituality, and how
it applies to your daily life?
Call him Wednesday at
CALL NEALE ON WEDNESDAY with any problem, question, or comment you have about
your life and your world!
This
Week’s Bulletin Topics:
- “Why does God let horrible things happen to people?”
- Visit our Webstore for Inspiring Ideas for
the New Year
- “I still find myself tripping over words…” Questions & Comments
- The New Spirituality and the News
“There was never more than one of Us here. Ever. Are you just finding
that out?
You mean I’ve just been talking to myself here?
Something like that.
You mean You’re not God?
That’s not what I said.
You mean You are God?
That’s what I said.
But if You’re God, and You’re me, and I’m You—then . . . then . . . I’m God!
Thou art God, yes. That is correct. You grok it in fullness.
But I’m not only God—I’m also everyone else.
Yes.
But—does that mean that no one, and nothing else, exists but me?
Have I not said, I and My
Father are One?
Yes, but . . .
And have I not said, We are all One?
Yes. But I didn’t know You meant that literally. I thought You meant that figuratively. I thought it was more of a philosophical statement, not a statement of fact.
It’s a statement of fact. We are all One. That is what is meant by “whatsoever
ye do unto the least of these . . . ye
do unto me.”
Do you understand now?
Yes.
Ah, at last. At long last.
But—You’ll forgive me for arguing this, but . . . when I’m with another—my spouse for instance, or my children—it feels that I am separate from them; that they are other than “me.”
Consciousness is a
marvelous thing. It can be divided into a thousand pieces. A
million. A million times a million.
I have divided Myself into an infinite number of “pieces”—so that each
“piece” of Me could look back on Itself and behold the wonder of Who and What I
Am.
But why do I have to go through this period of forgetfulness; of disbelief? I’m still not totally believing! I’m still hanging out in forgetfulness.
Don’t be so hard on your
Self. That’s part of The Process. It’s okay that it’s happening this way.
Then why are You telling me all this now?
Because you were starting
not to have fun. Life was beginning not to be a joy anymore. You were starting to
get so caught up in The Process that you forgot it was just a process.
And so, you called out to
Me. You asked Me to come to
you; to help you understand; to show you the divine truth; to reveal to you the
greatest secret. The secret you’ve kept from yourself. The
secret of Who You Are.
Now I have done so. Now,
once again, you have been caused to remember. Will it matter? Will it change
how you act tomorrow? Will it cause you to see things differently tonight?
Will you now heal the
hurts of the wounded, quell the anxieties of the fearful, meet the needs of the
impoverished, celebrate the magnificence of the accomplished, and see the
vision of Me everywhere?
Will this latest
remembrance of truth change your life, and allow you to change the lives of
others?
Or will you return to
forgetfulness; fall back into selfishness; revisit, and reside again in, the
smallness of who you imagined yourself to be before this awakening?
Which will it be?” - CwG, Book 3, pages
137-138
“Why does God let horrible things
happen to people?”
For it is not only a matter
of our intentions and choices, but of God’s. I mean, is it God’s will (even if
it is not ours) that these horrible things should happen? Philosophers and
theologians have been trying to answer that question from the beginning of
time.
I was given an extraordinary
answer to this question when I asked it in my dialogue. First, it was made
clear to me that there are no victims and no villains in life.
Now that was difficult for
me, because to my eyes so many of the things we have done to each other are
very cruel, very horrible, and to me the people who perpetrated these heinous
crimes certainly were the “villains” of our society. Still, God said in CwG,
Book 2, “I have sent you nothing but angels.” And the parable of The
Little Soul and the Sun in Book 1 explains how this could be true.
In brief (re-read the CwG
or children’s book material to get the full essence of this), the human soul is
an aspect of divinity, choosing freely to experience life in the Universe (and,
as part of that experience, life on earth from time to time) as a means of
recreating and experiencing itself as who it is.
Now in the realm of the
relative (which is the realm in which we live in the physical worlds), you
cannot experience that Which You Are except in the space of that Which You Are
Not. For in the absence of that Which You Are Not, that which you are—is not!
That is, in the absence of
“small,” the concept of “big” cannot be experienced. It can be imagined, but it
cannot be experienced. The only way to experience a purely conceptual idea such
as “big” is to experience a purely conceptual idea such as “small.” Now in very
elementary terms, this is why God created “evil.” For in order for God to
experience Itself as the all-consuming good, there had
to be something called the all-consuming evil.
Of course, there was not.
There was only God. God is all there was, all there is, and all there ever will
be. Yet God wished to know Itself in Its own
experience. This is the same wish we all have. Indeed, this “we all” I’ve just
spoken of is God Itself. Every part of life is an aspect of divinity, seeking
expression and experience of the divine. Yet that which is divine cannot know
and experience Its own divinity except in the presence
of that which is not divine. And the problem is, that
which is not divine does not exist. So, since we have the power to create
anything, we have simply made it up! That is to say, we have imagined it. We
have literally called it forth.
Now this whole process is
not one which any individual soul undertakes consciously. We set our agendas, long
before we enter the human body. We even make agreements with other divine
beings on how we might best create and experience ourselves as the aspect of
divinity we choose in this lifetime.
So, no, it cannot fairly be
said that, at a conscious level, people choose the horrible experiences to
which many of them are subjected. So what does that do to the theory that we
are creating our own reality by our thoughts, words and actions? It doesn’t
change it one bit. It just explains the mechanism by which that reality comes
to be experienced.
As CwG carefully
explains, the moment we think, say, or do a thing that initiates the process of
expressing Who We Really Are, everything unlike it comes into the space. This
is necessary, in order to create a context within which the experience of Self which we have chosen may be realized. For if that which is opposite to that which we have chosen does not
appear, that which we have chosen cannot be expressed.
It is for this reason that
masters judge not, and neither do they condemn. Not anything or anyone. Not
even those who persecute them.
Every religion on the earth
teaches forgiveness as the path to salvation. Most of them simply teach it for
the wrong reason, saying that we should forgive, and leave the judging to God.
Well, the news is that God will not judge, either. Would God ask us to do
something that God would not do? That would be asking us to be bigger than God!
Yet the reason God will
never judge, and asks us not to judge, either, will be made clear to us when we
return to the realm of the absolute. It is then we will understand again God’s
promise: “I have sent you nothing but angels.”
- NDW
CwG
Webstore
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with God: In a Life That Never Ends
The last book in the Conversations
with God series of dialogue books is now ready for presale.
This
is the book that readers of CwG have been waiting for…when Neale asks
and receives answers around the experience of death and dying.
The inspiring and poignant messages contained in this dialogue are
life-changing and life-renewing.
Order
your copy now and remember to order copies for those you love. What a wonderful gift of love!
Please
understand this book will first be available and ship the week of
Hardback. Our Cost $19/Your Cost $24
Upcoming Events
LEP in Australia March 17-25, 2006
The CwG Foundation is teaming up
with Embracing Change to host an 8-day facilitator training in
This experience
will provide you with an inspiring introduction to integrating and embodying
the concepts of CwG in your life, as well as offer some of the essential
skills necessary to be an effective messenger and facilitator of the New
Spirituality.
Experienced and
beginner teachers alike with be given some incredible tools and processes to
make their own retreats/seminars/workshops or programs more effective.
If you are
interested in jumping to the next level of your spiritual growth we invite you
to learn more about this event; click here or email Karen Coffey at Karen@cwg.org
To find out more about Embracing Change visit http://www.embracingchange.org
Questions
and Comments from CwG Readers
Dear Neale
Just writing
in to support the idea of a ‘Telling Others’ booklet.
I think it’s a wonderful idea.
Similar to Ellen (as expressed in her letter printed in last
week’s bulletin) I too sometimes find difficulty when trying to articulate the
New Spirituality and CwG material. The messages resonate so deeply with me and
I would love to be a better ambassador, both for the material and for
myself. At first I thought it might be a
lack of self-confidence, maybe a personality thing as even though I consider
myself to be a fairly intelligent, even articulate, person, I still find myself
tripping over words and not being ‘clear’.
I was present at your two-day seminar in Euston,
Much love
Dear
oh, by the way...
Sure would be nice to see you there with us this July! It's going to be a
WONDERFUL cruise to the Inland Waterway. Check it out today at www.nealedonaldwalsch.com and find
out more! Boy, we are going to have a fabulous time!
Now tell the truth...you've always wanted to see
===== ======
Neale...
I had a Catholic up bringing growing up on the South
side of
Here's the problem! If Christianity took 2000
years to catch on in society, does this mean Conversation with God books will
take that long? I hope not, I am tired of thoughts in some churches that
are poisoning the minds of many good people. I am ready now for the world to
change.
Thanks, Tux,
Dear Tux...What
makes you think that it took 2000 years for Christianity to catch on?
Christianity "caught on" almost at once. It has been one of the
largest religions on our planet now for many hundreds of years.
"Tomorrow's God" (an incredible book that I wish could be read by
everyone) flatly predicts that humanity is going to create a "new
God" within the next 25-30 years. I have a plan to bring the New
Spirituality to our planet within ten, kicking the door open to what
"Tomorrow's God" predicts. If you want to know more, send me an email
at TheGroupOf1000@aol.com.
Meanwhile, there
is something that you can do right now. Read "The New Revelations,"
"Tomorrow's God," and "What God Wants," if you have not
already done so. Then put these books into the hands of as many people as
possible, as fast as you can. Donate copies to your local library. Pass them
around among friends. Give them to others as Christmas gifts. "Accidently" leave them on subways, buses, and at the
hairdresser's. Spread the word. Share the concepts. Touch lives wherever you
are and wherever you go with the wonder of God's true and joyful message.
Be a Bringer of
the Light. Go to partofthechange.com and download the free booklet, PART OF THE
CHANGE: Ten Steps to Becoming a Spiritual Helper. Do what you can do. You say
you are tired of waiting for our world to change. So remember this: The time it
takes is the time YOU take. Take time now to become a spiritual helper and a
real messenger of the New Spirituality in our world. There are many ways in
which you can do that. For more ideas, go to www.nealedonaldwalsch.com.
THE
Observations and
Commentary by Neale Donald Walsch
PLEASE NOTE: The
following material contains information relating to certain topical and
political news of the day which may be considered by some readers to carry
negative, and therefore unwelcome, energy. Our purpose in reviewing these items
is to participate in Creationist Spirituality, by deciding what we would like
to create in our collective experience in light of these developments. We
believe there is value in this process.
Each week there is a
news story or two that provides us with a wonderful opportunity to look at the
world through the eyes of CwG and the New Spirituality. We are co-creating these events, of
course. So let’s take a closer look at…
WHAT
On Jan. 12, though, the Rev. Jason Janz, an assistant pastor at the independent
NEALE'S COMMENTARY...This is, of course,
another example of the homophobic wing of the Fundamentalist Christian
Community, and I know that we are all co-creating these kinds of experiences so
that we can heal this aspect of humanity's inhumanity to man. The best way to
heal it is to look at it. It feels almost impossible to believe that a
group of pastors who claim to represent Jesus' unconditional love and to be
sending to people the heart of the Christian message would actually condemn a
Christian film company for casting an actor in a Christian film because he is
gay---thereby demonstrating, for all the world to see, the height of
intolerance. It is profoundly sad. Yet we can change the
energy. We can work to shift the prevailing notion in so much of our
world about gays. There are many ways in which you can do this.
Look to see what opportunities might come up for you this week.
WHAT
For the past three years, a stranger has
anonymously dropped off nearly $23,000 to the Desert Mission Food Bank in
Secret Santa and his son, both residents
of
Remaining unknown is important to
"Secret Santa" and his son. "We don't do it for the press,"
said Santa's son. "We just hope that others will be inspired to
give." Along with helping his father raise money for the food bank,
Santa's son also runs the family business. Santa is a retired trucker with two
children. He has been an
NEALE'S COMMENTARY...Not much has to be
said about this. The purpose of life, says CwG, is to recreate yourself
anew in each golden moment of Now in the next grandest version of the greatest
vision ever you held about Who You Are. A couple
of guys in
If you would
like to send a comment or a question to Neale here at the Weekly Bulletin, you
may do so by addressing an email to: weeklybulletinresponse@cwg.org Please note that because of the volume of
mail that we receive, it is possible your letter will not get printed
here. However, we do our best to see
that all letters get a response, if not directly from Neale, then from a CwG
Foundation staff person, or LEP participant.
========================================================================
The CwG Weekly Bulletin is written by Neale Donald
Walsch. It is produced by Joanna Gabriel and edited by Rose Wolfenbarger with
technical contributions from Marion K. Black and Roger Mellon.
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