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Gentle Healing Year 1 Tip For Lesson 58

March 9, 2021

Tips From Regina – Regina’s Review, Lesson 58

Review 36. My holiness envelops everything I see. When I sing songs of devotion, the heart’s eyes look out on the world. The heart’s eyes are God’s eyes. They are one and the same. I can see the universe with God’s eyes because God is my truth. When I look with God’s eyes, I see God.

Review 37. My holiness blesses the world. Remembrance blesses the world. The only cause of pain is forgetfulness, so remembrance blesses the world. When I make the little bit of effort that it takes to stay in the heart, my mind is filled with remembrance. Remembrance communicates remembrance. The pain of the world is weakened as I abide in remembrance.

Review 38. There is nothing my holiness cannot do. I need not direct my holiness; it knows the way better than I do. I abide in the heart, remain there, dwell there, and the energy of holiness is released through the power of my willing attention. Holiness set free heals the world. Holiness set free reveals truth.

Review 39. My holiness is my salvation. One who has forgotten the truth is lost. One who abides in the heart is remembering. Remembrance is freedom. Be willing to remember. Sing the songs of the heart.

Review 40. I am blessed as a Son of God. There is unlimited power in the heart of God. That power is life-intelligence-love. That power is my gift, and it is with me now. By keeping my attention with the heart, I keep my attention with this gift. Attention is the energy that unwraps the gift. I live the gift by abiding with it. I give it attention, and I know it is what I am.

Homework for this week

Homework Assignment A: Workbook lessons 53-59.
Homework Assignment B: Read Regina’s for Lessons 53-59. The tip should be read after reading the lesson on your own. Here’s a direct link: Click Here
Homework Assignment C: Read NTI Romans, Chapter 8 – 16 (pgs. 270-285)

Introduction to Jesus of the New Testament

March 8, 2021

This class is 4 weeks long.

For centuries, Christian mystics have awakened to truth by contemplating the teachings of Jesus as written in the New Testament. What did they see in his teachings that traditional Christianity has been unable to see? Contemplate scripture as the mystics have, and discover the answer for yourself.

In this class you will:

1. Become familiar with the life of Jesus as told in the New Testament.

2. Let inner discernment bring forth clarity.

Individual Homework Time Commitment: 60-90 minutes per day, 4 days per week

Structure of Course in Forum Format: Four week’s including one introductory video and reviewing one participant’s homework, which will take about 1 hour per week.

Cost: $80

Texts required: The New Testament (any translation)

Course dates: April 12 – May 10

Registration closes on April 7, 2021.
For more information on this class, click here.

Click to register

Introducing this Month’s Movie: My Octopus Teacher

March 8, 2021

A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world. After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal. Watch this wonderful documentary that deeply touches the heart and then join us for the discussion of this movie on Sunday, March 28 at 8 pm ET/6 pm MT. Rev. George Maddox will be leading us for this month’s movie discussion group.

My Octopus Teacher is available to stream on Netflix.

Playsheet coming soon!

500 Days with NTI ~ Day 66

March 8, 2021

Day 66 Assignment

This evening (or tomorrow morning):

Read NTI Matthew 26 (v25) thru (v31-35).

Tomorrow:

Set a timer for 8 minutes and practice the appreciating life meditation.
Pay careful attention to your mind. Notice when you are thinking with judgment. When you see those types of thoughts, pay attention to the situation as if you will write about it later. After noticing what you notice, say, “I am willing to be aware of judgments without judging them,” and then relax and become the superconductor.

Gentle Healing Year 1 Tip For Lesson 57

March 8, 2021

Tips From Regina – Regina’s Review, Lesson 57

Review 31. I am not the victim of the world I see: Resistance may arise as I follow this commitment I have made to remain fully immersed in God, but I am not the victim of resistance. I am not the victim of my habits. I am not the victim of the apparent wishes of others. I can know and remember my heart. I can listen to and follow my heart. I can remain in my heart. The choice is mine, and there are no real obstacles.

Review 32. I have invented the world I see: My personal point-of-view is a box on my head. It is as meaningless as that. Give it no power. Forget the box. Live restfully, trusting in the heart with a not-knowing head.

Review 33. There is another way of looking at the world: Focus my attention on the songs of the heart. Let these songs whisper to me throughout the day. Sing with them, and the eyes of devotion will show the way to see.

Review 34. I could see peace instead of this: Stay with this simple practice. Focus attention on the spontaneous songs of the heart. Let them whisper the truth to me. Sing the songs as I work and as I play. Let the eyes of clarity show the way to see.

Review 35. My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy: I can trust the music as bad as the tune may seem to be, ~ha ha~, because the heart of the music is holy. The heart of the music is truth. The heart of the music is what I truly want, what I dearly desire, and what is true for me to know. Immerse myself in these out-of-pitch songs, and I live in harmony with my truth.

Homework for this week

Homework Assignment A: Workbook lessons 53-59.
Homework Assignment B: Read Regina’s for Lessons 53-59. The tip should be read after reading the lesson on your own. Here’s a direct link: Click Here
Homework Assignment C: Read NTI Romans, Chapter 8 – 16 (pgs. 270-285)

Gentle Healing 2 ~ Day 364- GH Year 2 Review: The Last Two Messages

March 8, 2021

Please read two excerpts from The Teachings of Inner Ramana today:

Moving from Resistor to Abiding in Self
&
The Missing Ramana Message

Contemplate today’s reading with your inner teacher. Follow inner prompting regarding the best way to contemplate the reading. If you don’t feel a specific prompt, ask the inner teacher to share whatever is most important for you to know, see or realize regarding this message.

If prompted, review the tips from Days 324 & 326.

For the remainder of Year 2, use each day’s Thought of Awakening as a prayer that you return to throughout the day in order to remain in a state of devotion.

~364~

I give my commitment
to inquire into all of my experiences
and all of my beliefs
until the spell of mesmerization is broken.

~A decision of awakening

Homework for this week

Practice daily meditation for 30-60 minutes each day.
Practice the “Loving All” Method.
Thoughts of Awakening, 358-364

*If you don’t already have it, order The Seven Steps to Awakening. That will be our text for Year 3.

Being Aware of Awareness Meditation 03-08-2021

March 8, 2021

In this program Anne Blanchard facilitates one of the core practices of the Awakening Together community. This program provides an opportunity to be in community with others who will to find that place of no-place, that attention to our natural attentiveness, that innate humanness that can often be overlooked. Anne Blanchard facilitates this program on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30 – 8:30 am ET/5:30-6:30 am MT by leading participants through gently guided Being Aware of Awareness meditation.

All are warmly welcome.

Listen to the Recording

Herein Lies the Peace of God ~ March 5, 2021

March 8, 2021

In this program, Reverends Jacquelyn Eckert and Glen Ganaway review and discuss A Course In Miracles from a non-dual, interfaith perspective. The two of them discuss the main themes and key principles of the Course and how they are lived in our shared lives.

Live in the Sanctuary Fridays 8 pm ET/6 pm MT.

Minutes for Member Board of Trustees Meeting ~ 3/2/21

March 8, 2021

Click the link below to read the minutes from this meeting.
(To learn more about the Member Board of Trustees, click here.)

Read this meeting’s minutes

Spiritual Counseling ~ What is it? Who can provide it? What do I need to know about it?

March 7, 2021

Here’s some important information about spiritual counseling.
We request that all members read this post carefully.

In order to protect public safety, states establish licensure or certification standards for health and human services professionals. Professional counselors are required by law in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to be licensed in order to legally practice as a professional counselor. Licensure laws establish minimum standards in the areas of education, examination, and experience. Each state has established a board responsible for issuing licenses, …

All statutes establishing licensure or certification requirements for counselors provide exemption from licensure for specific groups.

Commonly exempted groups:

1. Professionals licensed by other statutes

2. Students in graduate programs working under supervision

3. Members of the clergy in the performance of their religious duties in connection with a religious denomination

4. Employees of federal, state, and local agencies acting in an official capacity

5. Attorneys

(The source of previous information is the American Counseling Association)

Since Awakening Together is a legal organization, we abide by the law in how we operate. Therefore, our Sacraments of Grace policy defines spiritual counseling as a sacrament, or spiritual act, that can only be performed by an Awakening Together Ordained Minister. The Awakening Together Trustees are currently considering a proposed amendment to this policy. If approved, the amendment would permit spiritually clear guest teachers who are invited into the Sanctuary or to an Awakening Together retreat for Satsang to offer counseling as part of Satsang.

This begs the question, what is counseling? There are multiple definitions of counseling depending on the type of counseling you are referring to. However, counseling typically entails providing assistance and guidance in resolving personal, social, or psychological problems and difficulties.

Does that mean that if you aren’t an Awakening Together minister you shouldn’t advise your friends when they come to you with a problem?

That depends. Is it clear that it is friend-to-friend conversation and you have no authority as a counselor or guide, or are you perceived to have the authority to counsel? For example, if you teach in the Sanctuary and your teachings are clear, someone may perceive you as an authority and may seek you out for advice based on that perception. In that case, the advice giving could be illegal, depending on the state. You may say, “I was just helping a friend.” However, there is a test called the “assumption of responsibility” test. Here’s that test: Did you know or ought you to have known that the person to whom the advice was given would rely on that advice? If so, it is considered counseling, and if you aren’t board licensed or ordained, it’s illegal in most states.

It’s important to know that providing counseling online is even trickier if you and the person you are guiding are in two different states, because state law varies and the conversation would fall under the regulations of both states. What’s okay in one state may be illegal in the other state.

Not everyone who teaches in our Sanctuary is an Awakening Together minister, so it’s important to be clear on the difference between teaching and counseling. Counseling tends to be more personal than teaching. For example, if you ask a speaker in the Sanctuary to further explain a spiritual concept or practice that he or she teaches about, that is teaching and not counseling. If you begin to speak about a personal emotional or mental problem and seek personal advice regarding that problem, the conversation has crossed over into counseling.

Examples of teaching questions:

How do I practice root cause inquiry, or what do I do with the feelings I’m left with after root cause inquiry?
What is awareness-watching-awareness meditation?
What do you mean, ‘I am not the doer’?

Examples of counseling questions:

I think my husband is having an affair. What should I do?
I lost my job, and I can’t pay my mortgage. I worry about the future constantly. What do you recommend I do?
I hate myself. I eat too much. I watch too much TV. I don’t have any friends. What advice do you have to help me turn my life around?

If you are teaching in the Sanctuary and someone asks you a question that feels more like a counseling question and you aren’t ordained, let them know you aren’t able to address that question. Invite them to contact an AwakeningTogether Minister. If someone contacts you for a personal conversation that feels like a counseling session, refer that person to an Awakening Together Minister.

Churches are responsible to make sure that clergy members provide spiritual counseling according to the church’s guidelines. We teach a module on spiritual counseling in the Minister Preparation Program (MPP). In addition, beginning on March 25, 2021, we will offer a special 6-week training program for ordained ministers called