What is the Body?

Our special theme says, “The Son of God extends his hand to reach his brother, and to help him walk along the road with him. Now is the body holy. Now it serves to heal the mind that it was made to kill.”

This is what I wrote this morning as I contemplated that excerpt from our special theme:

I am free to let my brother be as he is, and to love him without interference. What would interfere with my open love? Believing judgments would interfere; holding expectations would interfere; being self-centered and self-absorbed would interfere with my open love for my brother. Therefore, I am free not to believe the judgments that appear in this mind. I am free not to expect anything from my brother. I am free to remove attention from my mind and pay attention to who ever (or whatever) is in front of me.

I realize that what I have written may seem different than the words that are written in the special theme. In my experience, that sometimes happens when I contemplate the written word with the right mind.

For me, “extends his hand” is an image that represents open love. “Help him walk along the road” is an image that represents allowing him to walk his path his way, without interference from me. “Now is the body holy” represents peaceful presence rather than a mind that thinks it knows how everyone (and everything) else should be. Being in peaceful presence returns me to the remembrance of myself as presence, which the judging mind was made to hide.

Let all things be exactly as they are.

Today’s lesson confirms the interpretation I received from my contemplation of today’s special theme. Although the words contemplated from the special theme could have been interpreted differently, … for example, one might think that s/he is to help others along this path by teaching them to follow this path, … the lesson is clear that acceptance and allowance are the right-minded way to be. Since “fixing” a brother is not the same as allowing him to be as he is, only one of those two interpretations can be right-minded. The other demonstrates how the wrong mind thinks.

As you go through the day today, focus on the Loving All Method, especially with the people that you encounter in person, through television or online media, and in your thoughts.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation:

Being in Love

What is the Body?

Since we have been contemplating this special theme, we have looked at several ways the body deceives:

• It seems like life-awareness is a byproduct of the body’s physical processes.
• It appears that “my awareness” and “your awareness” are separate.
• The body dies, which seems to prove that we are not the one awareness that is eternal nature.
• The body emphasizes duality and differences because it can be healthy or sick, fit or injured, strong or weak, etcetera.
• The body acts out thoughts that are believed, which gives those thoughts more apparent reality.
• When we are identified with the body, it seems like we experience the world and duality directly, and we are affected by them.

Our special theme says, “Made to be fearful, must the body serve the purpose given it.” And in most cases, it does.

However, our special theme goes on to say, “But we can change the purpose that the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.”

Today, please contemplate the purpose you would like the body to obey. Also, contemplate how the body can be used/moved differently in order to follow that purpose.

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

Earlier in Gentle Healing, we created visualization plans for ourselves. We contemplated those plans for 6 weeks. Similarly, today’s lesson is a visualization plan. Notice it is written in present tense, as if it is already lived.

“Peace fills my heart, and floods my body with the purpose of forgiveness. Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world is given me. … I am the messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held forever quiet and at peace within His loving Arms.”

If this vision feels right for you, contemplate today’s lesson throughout the day as it is written. However, if you feel called to a different vision, write your own vision, and contemplate it instead. You might feel called to spend a day with the vision that you wrote previously, when we spent 6 weeks with our visualization plans, or you might feel called to a completely new vision that feels right for you now.

Remember to write your visualization plan in present tense language. A vision might arise as you contemplate the purpose you would like the body to follow.

Note: We will not spend six weeks with this visualization plan, so be with it lovingly today.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation:

Awareness in the Body

What is the Body?

Our special theme says, “The body is a dream. Like other dreams it sometimes seems to picture happiness, but can quite suddenly revert to fear, where every dream is born.”

Two days ago we looked at the duality of the body itself. For example, it can be healthy or sick.

Yesterday we looked at how the body acts out the fearful thoughts that we believe. For example, it can become angry, deceitful or violent.

Today, let’s look at the dream of the body as me.

When we believe the body is me, we are affected by the duality that the senses perceive. We appear to experience the world directly. It seems to have a direct effect on us.

Is that true? Do we experience the world directly?

Let’s investigate and see what we discover.

I am going to lead you in an inquiry exercise. Some of you have experienced an exercise similar to this with me before. Read through all of the instructions, and then practice the inquiry on your own.

1. Find a sensitive spot on your finger and pinch it. Feel the pain. Notice that it appears you are directly experiencing the pain.
2. You can stop pinching your finger.
3. Close your eyes. Get in touch with awareness, that which observes, looks or sees.
4. Once you are in touch with awareness, pinch your finger again, but this time look at the pain from the position of awareness.
5. What is your experience when you look at the pain from awareness? Do you directly experience the pain or do you see the body experiencing pain?

Many of you will be able to see that you do not directly experience the pain. As awareness, you do not feel pain, but you can see that the body does feel the pain. It is as if you are one step away from the pain. The pain is an indirect experience for you.

(Note: This is the way I typically feel pain now, which is why pain is not as bothersome to me as it is to some people. I am certainly aware of the pain that the body feels, but I relate to pain from one step away. I see the pain. It isn’t a direct experience.)

When we identify with the body as me, we project attention into the body. With attention projected into the body, we appear to directly experience what the body experiences. We feel pain; we feel emotions; etcetera.

However, when we identify with awareness, attention is naturally with awareness. From the position of awareness, we witness the body and its experiences. As the witness, we are aware of the body’s experiences, but we are one step away from those experiences. We don’t have the sense of experiencing them directly.

That means that our experience of life will be more fearful if we identify with the body, because the experience will seem more direct. It will seem as if we are at the mercy of duality.

However, if we identify with the witness, we do not feel affected by duality. The experience is one of equanimity. Our happiness or contentment is untouched by the body’s experience of duality.

My holy Self abides in you, God’s Son.

The unaffected awareness that witnesses the world’s duality but does not experience it directly is the same unaffected awareness for everyone. Although the body’s “fence” creates the experience of “my awareness” and “your awareness,” it is the same awareness.

One way to see this is to listen to another person describe awareness. His/her experience is the same as your experience. The experiences are not different, because you are both looking at and describing the same awareness.

Today, we contemplate ourselves as awareness. As often as you remember, take a few moments to notice yourself as the witnessing presence. If needed, pinch your finger and look at the pain. Notice over and over throughout the day that you see the pain, but you do not experience it directly.

Each time that you notice yourself as awareness, remember that everyone is that same awareness. It is one light, shining through many minds and bodies. Today we focus on the one light, not the many forms.

If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation:

Loving Consciousness Description B