#25 (17:12 – 17:53)

“If you are engaging in addictive behavior of any kind, the most effective way to rid yourself of the addiction is to go directly to your higher Self and turn this problem over to God. That’s right, just turn it over, surrender knowing that the highest force in the Universe is within you. Simply say, ‘God, I am turning this addiction over to you. I have tried everything else, now I am trying you’. And allow the higher part of yourself and allow God in to help remove those temptations of the senses that you think you can’t live without.”

In listening to this lesson this morning, the twelve step program game to mind and I understand why the 12 step program has been so successful. It allows us to understand a fundamental principle, that there is a higher power greater than ourselves, that could restore us to sanity [STEP 2]. It is no coincidence that this step comes after admitting that one was powerless over one’s addiction [STEP 1], and before making a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understand God [STEP 3]. Isn’t this great? There is so much power in the 12 step program, power I am yet to fully comprehend, but it was designed in such a way that it brings forth a healing power that is at a very high level. I believe the key to it is the belief in a power higher than one’s own will, and when one admits that, through humility, then the blockages of the ego are removed somewhat, allowing the healing or recovery process to occur spontaneously.

We do not have the power within ourselves to bring forth this sort of energy, but once we surrender to the Source of All, we access the unlimited potentiality of the Universe. Therefore, if there is any addiction that you are suffering from, surrender to God as you understand God and repeat the mantra “God, I am turning this addiction over to you. I have tried everything else, now I am trying you” and watch the healing process occur. Amazing isn’t it?

#21 (14:41 – 15:53)

“Put this affirmation in as many places as possible; write it down. ‘In my world, nothing ever goes wrong’. Look at it each day and let it remind you that everything that has happened to you is in divine order and comes with a lesson. If you can live your life in the spiritual world as a spiritual being having a human experience, you become the witness to your life. And as you witness it, you say, nothing is going wrong, these aren’t problems that I have to be absorbed with, these are not things I have to be neurotic over. I am the witness. I am going to watch them, learn from them and understand that they all are in order; even the ones that I don’t understand and I don’t like. In my world, as Nisargadatta Maharaj said in I Am That, nothing ever goes wrong meaning, if you live in the spiritual world, you are the observer, and you are not all the boundaries, and all of the forms and all of the things we call problems.”

This is a very important message. It really talks about surrendering and faith. If you truly believe in a superior being, then you are able to see that the world and all occurrences are divine. What can go wrong if the world is divine and perfect just the way it is? The events that occur in the world around us are given the respective meanings by us. They do not mean anything in and of themselves; our minds project a meaning unto them, sometimes collectively, sometimes individually. Why do you think two different people can observe and event and experience two different things? The meanings of the events are merely self-projected.

However, surrendering your thoughts to the will of the Infinite Source allows you to see the perfection in the Universe. Everything is exactly where it is by virtue of what it is. Everything expresses its own divine nature. Therefore, nothing can go wrong. Everything will just express its divinity under given conditions. It can be no other way. Once you understand this, you see and experience the world in a totally different way. The great thing is that being the observer, you have total control over your perception. Therefore, create the Universe that you want to experience. You have an innate power to do so.

I conclude with an affirmation provided by Napoleon Hill:
”Oh Divine Providence, I ask not for more riches, but for more wisdom to use wisely the power I was given at birth in the form of the power to control and direct my mind to whatever ends I desire.”

God bless.
Frank

#6 (5:40 - 6:30)

Forgive yourself for your transgressions. See that mistakes are lessons for you to transcend. Release yourself from the tyranny of self-incrimination; make the decision to be free. Everything that ever happened to you in your life, has happened for a reason and when you are filled with an absence of self-forgiveness and you are full of recriminations about what you did and what you shouldn't have done or what you should have done; all of these kind of things are really a message that you are sending to the Universe saying that God's plan does not work and mine does. That is really an insidious thing to say. Everything that you've done or experienced is over and you had something to learn from it, so forgive yourself and move on with your life."   

The most important message I got from this lesson is to forgive myself. We have a tendency to be our own strongest critics at times, however, we must also be our strongest supporters as well. We must really learn to forgive ourselves because everything that happens are not because of coincidence, but all for a reason. The important idea to comprehend is that we must learn from these experiences and allow them to change the way we see things. I assure you that once you learn to do this with all of your life's occurrences, your entire experience of the world, will change as well. It is a beautiful thing. One of Dr. Wayne Dyer's new books portrays this message using the ancient teachings of Lao Tzu in Tao te Ching called "Change your thoughts, Change your life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao". This is a great book; I recommend reading it and trying the lessons each day; amazing changes will start to occur in your life once you change the way you think.

Only when we learn to forgive ourselves, can we learn to forgive others. How we treat others is merely a projection of our own thoughts and ideals. It is what's inside of us that is expressed externally. Therefore, if we can't forgive ourselves, this is what we will project unto others. It all starts from within; it all begins with going inside ourselves as we learned in a previous lesson.

One of the affirmations in The Course in Miracles states that "I can choose peace over this". This is a very important lesson in forgiveness. We all have a choice to react in a particular way; we can choose to hang on to guilt, shame, apathy or fear, or we can choose to forgive and surrender to God. We all have the choice to "Let go and let God" as Dr. Dyer always says. This is truly a great lesson in forgiveness; it is ultimately a huge lesson we have to learn in life; just forgive. This, I believe, is one of the secrets to life.

[image credit - www.christinepeloquin.com]