Dear Miracle Worker,
Last weekend 200 of us were together at the CMC’s first live virtual event Unblock! Unlock! & Rock! It was terrific. I believe most got a lot out of it. I was so glad to be standing (literally) in the middle of all that miracle energy. The new ability to reach people from all over the world was demonstrated.
Rev. Deb (my event co-chair) and I truly saw how much people appreciated the break-out groups when they got opportunities to share. People so want to participate. They like listening to the speakers but then they want to add their own thoughts too. People have important things to contribute. They don’t just want to be little sponges soaking up the miracle “juice.” They want to be giving back the juice as well. One never knows when what one shares is just what someone else needs to hear.
We are all in this together and we all have a part to play in the world’s salvation. I was especially moved by long time Course student and CMC Supporting Member Ron Zaleski (pictured below) when he shared about his work with vets who have PTSD. He walked across the country barefoot with a large sandwich board sign strapped to his shoulders to bring attention to the fact that, “18 Vets a Day Commit Suicide.” That is a message that only he can give and he gives it in such a unique way.
Today’s Workbook Lesson #154 says, ”The messages which they deliver are intended first for them. And it is only as they can accept them for themselves that they become able to bring them further and to give them everywhere that they were meant to be." (OrEd.WkBk.154.6) We all have something unique and wonderful to share and the message is intended first for ourselves.
(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #289, Jun. 3 2021)
(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)
When I think of aliens, I think about how they’re portrayed in Hollywood movies. In many movies they look like fearsome, enlarged, insect-like creatures with really scary faces. The thought of making love to this depiction of an alien would repulse most people. A Course in Miracles describes an equally unpleasant image of the ego. It describes the ego using the imagery of blood, skeletons and pigs to name a few; still we often make love to its beliefs and idols. My talk will be about how we can use this imagery as a way to expose the ego and make love to the beauty, innocence, and oneness of our true reality. 26 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE
Dear Miracle Workers,
As I practice using the Course I sometimes forget why I’m doing it. Sometimes I get caught up in how often I have practiced and judge myself on whether or not I’ve had a miracle as often as I used to have them. All this is simply more madness from my ego. Recently, I was taking a walk and I was thinking again that I hadn’t had a miracle in a while. That’s when it popped into my head (thank you, Holy Spirit) that it was still important to practice the ideas. The ideas themselves are healing and upholding the One Mind. I had never realized that before. Simply repeating the ideas in my mind is helpful.
The miracle is always there, but I am still practicing whether I have a miracle or not. We are each here to help one another remember. My remembering is helping my brothers as well as myself. That thought has helped to release me from “trying” to have a miracle or judging myself about it. I know that’s my ego, but somehow I’ve been freed from all concern about it. Now I’m just willing to practice. “The overall aim of the exercises is to increase your ability to extend the ideas you will be practicing to include everything.” (FIP.WkBk.Intro.7) So, I am happy just to practice.
(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #288, May 25, 2021)
Dear Miracle Workers,
I have manifested a life where I frequently (always?) have a lot to do. Maybe that’s just the nature of church work in general. My usual activities of the day are always more than I can actually do. However I am an ACIM student and I believe in miracles. "The miracle is the only device which man has at his immediate disposal for controlling time." (OrEd.Tx.85.51) Sounds grandiose. The miracle that will allow me to control time itself is under my immediate disposal! “Immediate!?!?” Like right now!?!?
Last week the CMC’s checking account, payroll account, PayPal account, email account, and even our office phone lines were hacked and compromised. We’ll probably never know how this happened. Someone must have gotten into something of ours and was able to log into multiple accounts with passwords or password reset credentials. The resulting business chaos was “time consuming” to say the least. Can time truly be “consumed?” Yet miracles continued to happen. We were able to freeze everything before any money was lost. Considering the comprehensiveness of the situation that was amazing! “WooHoo!!”
There was all the time it took, and still is taking, and here I am “short on time” because our ACIM Virtual Event is happening next weekend. Could the event still happen? Was there enough time? Someone had definitely “consumed” my time. They ate it all up and left me with an empty time cupboard. But miracles give me time mastery. “Time is a trick – a sleight of hand, a vast illusion in which figures come and go as if by magic." (OrEd.WkBk.15.84) The miracle is happening. Our virtual event is progressing “on time” and I’ve had another opportunity to prove to myself how valuable it is for me to be a person who practices ACIM and produces time miracles.
(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #287, May 18, 2021)
Dear Miracle Workers,
Remember that John Mellencamp song, "Small Town"? It came out in 1985 and some of the lyrics are:
Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Probably die in a small town…
The point of the song is that there is a comfort and a familiarity and even a charm about his small town that makes him want to stay:
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And that’s probably where they’ll bury me.
It got me to thinking, don’t we all live in a small town? The people we grew up with, the experiences we’ve had, the limits we’ve learned, the memories we cherish, the judgments we’ve made – they are all still there – in the small town in our mind – where we still live.
Our habits of thought are comfortable and familiar. We like them. We believe in them. In fact, were we to suddenly have to give them all up, we would feel anchorless and fearful. That is why, in the Manual for Teachers, Jesus explains that most of us are given “a slowly-evolving training program.” (OrEd.Mn.9.1) We are also taught that how much time we spend in this training program before being born again, before we remember who we are and the innocent child we are, is up to us. We can choose to be buried in our small town, or we can choose to be born again into someplace really spectacular.
(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #286, May 11, 2021)
(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)
As Rev. Deb Canja and I prepare for the upcoming Live, Virtual event, I am taking a moment to pause and to express gratitude. Yesterday we hit over 100 registrants and the numbers have gone even higher since then. Midnight Sunday will be the end of the “Early Bird” price discount so I’m excited to see where we reach by midnight May 9. I am grateful to Rev. Deb who is the newest member of the CMC Board for all of her valuable training in organizing and marketing – plus her boundless positive energy, intelligence & creativity. I am grateful to our wonderful Presenters who agreed to participate and help with publicity – and basically to trust Community Miracles Center (and me Rev. Tony) one more time! Of course I am grateful to Holy Spirit for allowing us to change the “lemons” of the Pandemic and two canceled in-person Conferences – Los Angeles in 2020 and Washington DC in 2021 – to the wonderful lemonade of our upcoming Virtual Event: Unblock! Unlock! & Rock. ACIM teaches us "All things work together for good. There are no exceptions except in the ego's judgment." (OrEd.Tx.4.69) This has certainly proved itself to me during these last 14 months. 25 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE
Dear Miracle Workers,
Since becoming a published author I’ve heard a lot of advice on how to turn a book into “a money-making machine” and make “a six-figure income.” It always sounds so great until I remember I walked away from a six-figure income and a rewarding position because I’d had a nagging feeling I was being called to do something else.
And even though I didn’t know what I was being called toward, I knew what I was being called from. Jesus tells us there is a basic level confusion that underlies all attempts to seek happiness with the instruments of the world. He says, “A desert is a desert is a desert. You can do anything you want in it, but you cannot change it from what it is. It still lacks water, which is why it is a desert. The thing to do with a desert is to leave." (CE.1.43.12:2-5)
I left a desert for more alignment with A Course In Miracles. Even though I’d been studying the Course for years, I didn’t feel I was living its teachings. For starters, I hadn’t actually ever done the lessons the way they are supposed to be done. I’d read a lesson in the morning and not even remember it until the end of the day. And forget about that every half hour thing! I bought lesson cards and a reminder app for my phone. I taped things to my mirror. I’d like to say it all worked like a charm, but it didn’t.
Yet, one thing did –– the Community Miracles Center’s Workbook Lesson class. I almost didn’t take it. I remember saying, “There is NO WAY I am going to call a lesson buddy every day and do the lesson together! I am too busy! I don’t want to be that structured! I don’t even like talking on the phone!” But, folks, it’s the one thing that worked. And it was such a beautiful experience. I’m now on my third year of “lesson buddy-ness.” Looking for a fast track? This is it.
(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #285, May 4, 2021)
(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)
Are we off to see the Wizard? It takes courage to take on the world’s thought system. The “Sickness & Death” lobby do not accept being challenged. They fight back! The ego will be quite vicious when its foundations are shaken and we may often quake with "... the sweat of terror and a scream of mortal fear. " (OrEd.Tx.27.73) However courage does not mean the absence of fear. It means that we faced the terror and followed guidance regardless. "Yet God can bring you there if you are willing to follow the Holy Spirit through seeming terror, trusting Him not to abandon you and leave you there. ... He would lead you safely through and far beyond." (OrEd.Tx.18.87) Remember The Wizard of Oz? The Cowardly Lion thought he didn’t have courage because he was frequently afraid. However he learned that just facing his fears WAS the proof of courage. At the end the Wizard gave the Lion a hero’s “Courage Medal.” Let’s claim our own Courage Medal this Sunday at the Sunday Gathering! The Wizard will be there. 25 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE
(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)
ACIM tells us quite clearly, "The emphasis of this course always remains the same—it is at this moment that complete salvation is offered you, and it is at this moment that you can accept it." (OrEd.Mn.24.6) If it always "at this moment" then …it’s time for us all to do it. I still witness many students putting their healing off into the future. I still witness many students putting their happiness off into the future. "For the past is gone, the future but imagined. These concerns are but defenses against present change of focus in perception. Nothing more." (OrEd.WkBk.181.4) IT’S TIME! It is time to heal and be healed. It’s time to save and be saved. It’s time to extend peace and to embrace peace for ourselves. And it’s time to be happy and have fun – to be glad! Let’s stop refusing those moments to gladden ourselves. This week's Sunday Gathering will be one of those moments. Don’t refuse to experience it! IT’S TIME!
(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)
There are many synonyms for truth in A Course in Miracles. Essentially, Jesus wants us to seek for our reality which is based on the experience of peace, love, joy and oneness. This was his experience during his final lifetime. Our elder brother counsels us to repeatedly forgive the “tiny, mad idea, at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh.” (FIP.T.27.VIII.6.2) With this gentle, but firm encouragement, let us join on Sunday, recalling our silly follies and counter the foolishness of the ego with a hearty laughs. In this we realize our pursuit of truth is a joyous experience. Please join us on Sunday as we together “return the dream... unto the dreamer.’ (FIP.T.27.VIII.6.1), laughing as we go! 21 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE
(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)
The past year reminds me of the opening line in A Tale of Two Cities. “It was the best of time. It was the worst of times.” All over the media we hear continually how vulnerable we are, how we need to protect ourselves and stay “safe” with: masks, distance, vaccines, etc. Yet ACIM tells us, “Your safety lies in truth and not in lies. Love is your safety. Fear does not exist. Identify with love, and you are safe.” (WkBk.SpTp261.5) Identifying with love and keeping your heart open is the key. Those who have done this have connected, joined, and even prospered during this year. Now as the world begins to open up again we need these better tools to stay in our awareness of safety and even invulnerability. What are the main ways to do this? Rev. Tony shares his tips and tools for making this, and every time – “the best of times.”!! 26 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE
Rev. Tony Ponticello
Rev. Peter Graham
Deb Canja
Rev. Joanie Schaeffer-Goss
Rev. Paula Carpe
Rev. Kim Wilson
