A Course In Miracles

So, for a long time now, in addition to my journey as an artist, I have been seeking spiritually as well. I have a small library of books on religion, God, spirituality, theology, and the soul. I love these books. I carry them around with me, fall asleep reading them, and return to them over and over. I should make a list of them on the sidebar---maybe at some point I will. Anyway, I am not an fundamentalist anything, in fact, I think one of the reasons I became so obessed with a spiritual path is because my own religious upbringing really created all sorts of problems for me internally, in that it wasn't inclusive of others and other religions. It's not that I was taught to be intolerant, but that I was taught that THIS IS THE WAY.

I couldn't reconcile that. I don't agree with it. I know too many people who, even if they didn't "accept Jesus as their savior"--there's just no way they could even be condemmed to hell. And what's with this just accepting him and then no matter what you do for the rest of your life, your "saved"? Forget that. Even as a child I knew there was something fundamentally wrong with that concept.

Anyway, one of my favorite books, is called "A Course In Miracles". It was actually written down by a self-declared athiest. It's main theme is about love. I first heard of it through the book "A Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson (an excellent book that discusses authentic love and the spiritual nature of such love). I know this all sounds so new-agey, but it's quite real. It's a huge text.

I wanted to post some excerpts from another book based on the course. It's called "Gifts from a Course In Miracles". Here they are:

It is the nature of love to look upon only the truth, for there it sees itself.

You are only love, but when you deny this,
you make what you are
something you must learn to remember.

Let us forget the purpose of the world
the past has given it.
For otherwise, the future will be like the past,
and but a series of depressing dreams.

The strong do not attack
because they see no need to do so.
Before the idea of attack can enter your mind,
you must have perceived yourself as weak.

Make way for peace
and it will come.

The essential thing is learning
that you do not know.

Teaching is done in many ways,
above all by example.
Teaching should be healing,
because it is the sharing of ideas.

Would you not go through fear to love?
For such the journey seems to be.

Peace.