Course in Political Miracles

The Invisible Rhythm of Politics

2012-02-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

Newton's Third Law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What if this is true in politics as well as physics?

The coming movie "Cristiada" chronicles the three year Cristeros War in Mexico when the government attempted to secularize the nation, much the same as the Obama Administration is working to secularize America. This was a shooting war, a people's war against a Utopian government. The movie trailer states: "When the government outlawed faith ... the faithful became outlaws," which is meant to be understood as "the faithful became freedom fighters." An equal and opposite reaction?

The Obama Administration's headlong plunge into leftist Utopian dictatorial policies, which in another time and place would have been called "fascism," has given rise to it's own equal and opposite reaction: many people joining liberty movements and freedom causes. Tea Party gatherings. Passionate crowds at Ron Paul rallies. Mushrooming sales of guns and ammunition. Popular authors turning to themes of American societal collapse and/or even coming civil war.

The prolific author, William Johnstone, published in 2011 the first in a planned fictional series about America after an Obama-like President allows the country to degenerate and be attacked by Islamic nukes. This first book in the series is entitled Phoenix Rising, with the subtitle statement "When freedom's under fire, America fights back!" An equal and opposite reaction?

"Newly elected U.S. President Ohmshidi is sharing the wealth, rewriting the Constitution, and changing the National Anthem. But when he begins to implement his agenda - banning oil production, slashing military budgets, and establishing a 'New World Order' - our nation becomes the target for a new wave of Muslim extremists, who rename America 'The Islamic Republic of Enlightenment.' Enter Jake Lantz, a seasoned army major and ace helicopter pilot who assembles Firebase Freedom, a ragtag team of action-ready soldiers and patriots in order to take on the violent 'Army of Allah.' Jake's mission: Take back America." (Amazon.com review of Phoenix Rising)

Best selling author, Brad Thor, writes in his 2011 novel Full Black:

"What we discovered was that beginning in the 1940s, radical elements inside the United States had recognized that there were these huge piles of money just sitting inside multiple large foundations and endowments all across the country. These big government collectivists, globalists, socialists and communists realized that if they could get into positions of power, say on the boards of directors at the foundations or the endowments, they could steer the money any way they wanted. And that is exactly what they did.

"On top of indoctrinating kids, Standing wanted to get as many people dependent upon the government as possible. Government handouts, even for corporations, are like heroin. Most people, once they're hooked, remain hooked and don't even realize it. They rationalize that they are entitled to the handouts.

"History also shows us that once a democracy goes down this road.... Each and every single time, the democracy collapses. It always happens. Democracy is always followed by dictatorship. And guess what the dictator promises?"

Is Brad Thor one of many making up an equal and opposite reaction?

Maybe Newton's Third Law helps us understand Lesson 23 of the Course in Political Miracles: "I see my enemies working for my success."

Never despair when progress seems to be made by those with false ideas. For every action by those with false ideas there is an equal and opposite reaction of truth.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

The Winning Message of Ron Paul & Mitt Romney in New Hampshire

2012-01-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

"I make an offer which can't be refused."

Liberty cannot really be refused ... not really. Because liberty is my inner state of being and try as I might I cannot ultimately refuse myself.

So when I offer liberty to someone, that person could reply, but can't really mean it: "What in hell would I want to be free for!" Therein lies liberty's assurance of success.

If I offered a million billion dollars, I could be refused.

If I offered cradle-to-grave security provided by stealing from more productive workers and giving to less productive workers, I would certainly be refused by any moral person.

But no one can ultimately refuse one's natural state of being. So all I have to do is offer freedom and keep offering freedom.

Do I have to produce freedom to back up my offer? Not hardly. Why would I have to produce something that already exists inside of people?

Obviously I might be guided to work for political freedom, but it is the act of offering freedom that really does the work. Ronald Reagan stated to the American public, "I want to give you back what America once had ... freedom!" He won elections by landslides.

Did people actually experience more freedom when Ronald Reagan was president? After all, the government continued to grow, taxes increased, and there was little perceptible movement toward more political freedom.

The answer is people did feel freer. They had voted for freedom. They had chosen the natural state of their spirit. Having so chosen, their predisposition is now to be open to feeling more of their natural state regardless of conditions outside themselves.

Strange as it might seem, the dictator who offers freedom does, at least in people's subconscious minds, get taken up on his offer.

Whatever is being experienced in the subconscious mind gets reflected in the outer world, doesn't it? So the same dictator who had no intention in the first place of actually granting freedom ends up being the facilitator of freedom after all, either by voluntarily surrendering or by subconsciously setting himself up to be taken down.

Whoever offers freedom, by virtue of the offer, ends up facilitating freedom.

During the 1998 elections, the Libertarian Party chose one of the weakest possible campaign themes. The one consistently publicized campaign issue favored by the party leadership was, "We offer an alternative to Republicans and Democrats."

Big deal! Joseph Stalin would be an alternative to Republicans and Democrats. Adolph Hitler would be an alternative to Republicans and Democrats. Not voting at all would be an alternative to Democrats and Republicans.

The truth is Democrats and "go-along-to-get-along" Republicans might have forgotten their source, but will someday remember that they too are libertarians down deep. To offer merely an alternative to Democrats and "go-along-to-get-along" Republicans is to offer no clearly defined opening into people's deepest desires. Is it any wonder that most libertarian candidates got a mere 3 or 4 percent of the vote?

This week I want to check my premises and check what I am offering. When I waken each day I ask myself a few times:

"What am I offering and how clearly does my offer call upon people's natural desire for freedom?"

During my daily meditations, I specifically search my mind, asking, "What issues are my ego's favorites and do my ego's favorite issues really awaken the desire for freedom in most other people?"

If I find myself focusing on positions which do not serve my overall purpose more than the position of merely offering a little something other than "go-along-to-get-along" Republicans and Democrats, I ask myself inside:

"What issues would really, really, really resonate with people's inner desire for freedom?"

This week during my meditations I listen inside and allow my inner voice to tell me what I really need to be focusing on and I make a list of issues that just about everyone is going to respond favorably to, at least on a spiritual level. I remind myself that issues given by my inner voice are issues worth campaigning for because these are issues that are going to open people's inner desire for freedom.

Before retiring each day, I practice feeling what it feels like to be offering freedom in ways which will really open people ... instead of in ways my ego might have preferred. What does it feel like to be offering something people really cannot refuse? Before sleeping I let myself feel one last time for the day the joyful certainty of this week's lesson:

"By offering freedom, I am making an offer which really can't be refused."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Ron Paul and the Sentinels of Liberty

2011-12-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

In a so-called "democratic" political system, a political power-monger is one who seeks political power ostensibly to "serve the public," but actually to pass and enforce man-made laws which further the agenda of a particular man-made political philosophy. In other words, a political power-monger is a dictator hiding behind the facade of democracy.

In such a system, one who involves himself or herself in politics solely to defend against such disguised dictatorship, solely to facilitate basic natural laws (some would say God-made laws) and otherwise protect individual liberty might best be called a sentinel. Sentinels are the real defenders of the public.

A problem arises in such a system. The attackers almost always win, while the defenders almost always lose. There is a reason for this.

Political power-mongers have an all-consuming ego-vested interest in becoming super experts at gaining and maintaining power. They live and breathe political strategy (and are usually not beyond lying, cheating, fraud, and other corruption). They will bend every truth and buy or blackmail every possible vote in order to win elections. They are masters at appearing self-righteous and above reproach while secretly operating in the deficit-morals zone of "anything to win."

Sentinels, on the other hand, have no ego-vested interest in politics. Politics is unnatural to them. They engage in politics solely to defend themselves, their families, and society in general. But because politics is uncomfortable to them, and their natural inclination would be to put their energy elsewhere, they rarely put their entire heart and soul into politics ... at least not until the attack on political liberty has reached the point of desperation.

But when it does reach that point, when liberty is reeling from the punches and about to be counted out, the sentinels suddenly start manning the ramparts as never before. Having no natural attraction to politics, they haven't spent years preparing themselves, majoring in political science, working the precincts, focusing on politics 24-7, "learning the ropes," so to speak. But they do have the Spirit of Liberty working for them, and they do have A COURSE IN POLITICAL MIRACLES.

Ron Paul is one such sentinel. But many more are awakening. Charles Dickens began The Tale of Two Cities with the line: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." Take heart, Ron Paul supporters. If, under the Obama administration, it is the worst of times for liberty, it is also the best of times. So many sentinels are right now taking up the shield of liberty.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"My inner voice guides me perfectly."

How a Ron Paul Supporter Climbs to the Top in Politics

2011-11-10T18:54:00.000-08:00

"I experience invulnerability when I surrender outcomes."

Just as the ultimate goal of a libertarian activist is far beyond the intermediate issues talked about in a particular election cycle, so the ultimate goal of this course is to benefit me far beyond the realm of politics. The principles I am learning with these lessons work for business or work situations, relationships, indeed all areas of life.

There is nothing I cannot accomplish if I live by these principles.

In fact, the more I learn about spiritual opening ... not religious beliefs, but true spiritual opening beyond any particular beliefs ... the happier and more efficient my life becomes. When I release guilt, fear, anger, wanting, fixed belief systems, and other pain-causing habits; what remains is love, joy, and inner peace. Why wouldn't my whole life be more efficient?

Does this mean a spiritually opened person can live within the depressing gray cloud of a Marxist society or the prohibitive darkness of any kind of dictatorship and still thrive and be happy? Yes. Because a spiritually opened person is in touch with inner happiness which does not depend on external circumstances.

Does this mean I can still feel free in an unfree world? Yes ... if I'm seeing clearly that an unfree world doesn't have to affect my freedom. But such clear seeing requires being open spiritually. A truly free person, a person in touch with inner freedom, does not need to worry about external circumstances.

In a political activism context, does this mean I can be joyous and happy and not the least bit depressed even if libertarians or libertarian-leaning candidates lose everywhere in an overwhelming election landslide? Why not? Who decides whether I am happy or not? Some voter external to me? Or am I myself in charge of how I feel?

If I am in charge of how I feel ... if external events or circumstances cannot really affect my inner happiness ... then I am in a very, very strong position indeed.

If the only way I can become depressed or unhappy is to allow external events or circumstances to have more importance in my mind than they need have, then I can choose to see specific outcomes as nowhere near as important as my inner state of being. What an incredible position of strength! Now I'm like Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, living for the sake of my spirit ... not for the sake of external events.

Recognizing the possibility that Ron Paul might fall short, my task with these lessons is to fortify in my mind the idea that external events, external circumstances or external outcomes do not really matter because I can choose to be happy no matter what.

To this end I start each day with an affirmation of reminder such as:

"No matter what's going on in the world ... I'm the one who decides whether I am happy or not! Knowing this, I am invulnerable."

"My strength today comes from my choice to stay happy in the face of any and all outer occurrences."

"Today my priorities are: (1) choose happiness, (2) choose happiness, and (3) choose happiness. What power this gives me!"

It doesn't matter what affirmations of reminder I use. My inner voice may give me very powerful statements indeed. The important thing is to allow my imagination to give me mental pictures while using the affirmations and then to use the statements until I feel the truth of them.

As always, I also take at least 20 minutes during the day for meditation, quieting my mind, and really feeling the peace and joy of my inner being.

When I retire each day, I rejoice in my strength and power. I rejoice that I do not give away my strength by thinking that externals are so important as to affect my happiness. I rejoice that there is nothing that can get in the way of my achieving my goals precisely because their not being achieved couldn't hurt me in the least.

Before going to sleep with a smile on my face, I might say aloud to myself one last reminder:

"Having surrendered the need for particular outcomes, I am invulnerable."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"My inner voice guides me perfectly."

Space Visitors to Earthlings: "Work to Evolve Political Liberty!"

2011-10-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Have I fully considered whether by focusing on politics I am "selling my soul to the devil"?

In other words, what if in a manner of speaking my real kingdom is not politics and by focusing on politics I am distracting my attention from my real kingdom?

Perhaps the best way to answer this question is to play a game of pretend, pretending that we are not alone in the universe and in fact there are beings infinitely more intelligent than earthlings.

Since they are infinitely more intelligent than earthlings, these beings would have advanced far beyond ego-vested interests such as conquering others or ruling others. They would in fact be interested in raising the level of consciousness of every being on all planets, and eliminating pain, fear and guilt in all the universe.

To the extent that such advanced beings could influence earthlings, they would influence earthlings to love rather than fear, be at peace rather than war, and establish political systems based on universal principles and the enlightened self-governance of every individual rather than the ego-vested interests of some group or collection of groups.

In other words, if politicians and political activists of the past have served "the devil" so to speak, or the worst in mankind, this does not mean that politicians or activists of the future cannot serve the best in the universe.

This month let me remind myself that I am active in politics for one reason only: to serve the light.

Each day I use my awakening meditation to see myself serving the highest in the universe. I visualize the light of a brighter consciousness than my own and I say aloud to myself several times over:

"I am serving higher principles than old-style ego politics."

"I am serving the highest in the universe."

"I am serving enlightened self-governance ... political liberty."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"My inner voice guides me perfectly."

Libertarian Government and Spiritual Fullness

2011-09-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

We say about human beings things like, "she's full of spirit" or "he doesn't have any spirit." Such statements refer to being in touch with great inner energy and power. Our spirit, quantum physicists might say, is energy we share with all the universe. If such physicists are open-minded enough to use religious language, they would say we are one in spirit with God. ("God" was originally an ancient term referring to "all being.")

People in communist countries are said to be "spiritless," in socialist countries "spirit-drained," and in free market countries "full of spirit." Why is this?

Since our spirit is all being, it is not inappropriate to consider our spirit "holy" and say our holy spirit guides us individually to the greatest possible well-being, This includes at a minimum: (a) inspiring us with inventions and breakthroughs; (b) inspiring us with course corrections when we've drifted off base (i.e., teaching us lessons we need), (c) inspiring us to be in the right place at the right time to benefit ourselves and everyone; and (d) inspiring us to help others open spiritually so they can also hear their inner spiritual voice guiding them.

From the perspective of the human condition, it can be said to be all about spiritual guidance vs. ego guidance. Spiritual guidance leads to the fullness of life; ego guidance leads ultimately to destruction and death.

This entire inspiration and spiritual guidance process works best (for example, inventions can be developed most easily, lessons can be learned most quickly, being in the right place at the right time is most facilitated, etc.) when we are free of political coercion, free of a political system trying to FORCE us to do something different than our spiritual guidance would have us do. Maybe this can be summed up by a statement such as "Our spirit is free and wants us to live in a political system which reflects that freedom."

Quieting your intellect for a moment and listening to your holy spirit, you can ask inside if there is a need for government. And if the answer is "yes," then what purpose would that government serve and what would spiritually guided government look like?

The answer is something like this: In earth many individuals will be tempted to let their ego guide them rather than their spirit. So there is a chance they would initiate killing, destroying, fraud, etc. out of ego-vested interests. So as a REMINDER of spiritual laws, and as in infrastructure for RESPONSE to such violations, the establishment of a government is spiritually guided.

Such reminder and response benefits EVERYONE, regardless of whether they support the government intellectually or financially ... much the same principle as a church doesn't hesitate to help and benefit even those who do not support the church intellectually or financially. Possibly this can be summed up in the statement: "Although government reminds people what are rights violations and responds to apparent rights violations, the government does not force people to support it and therefore does not itself violate any one's rights."

A government which allows political liberty best serves your holy spirit ... and is the government which is proper for a people full of spirit. In current modern language it's called a libertarian government.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"My inner voice guides me perfectly."

Sarah Palin's Spirit Speaks to People Full of Spirit

2011-09-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

We say about human things like, "she's full of spirit" or "he doesn't have any spirit." Such statements refer to being in touch with great inner energy and power. Our spirit, quantum physicists might say, is energy we share with all the universe. If such physicists are open-minded enough to use religious language, they would say we are one in spirit with God. "God" being simply an ancient term referring to "all being."

People in communist countries are said to be "spiritless," in socialist countries "spirit-drained," and in free market countries "full of spirit." Why is this?

Since our spirit is all being, it is not inappropriate to consider our spirit "holy" and say our holy spirit guides us individually to the greatest possible well-being, This includes at a minimum: (a) inspiring us with inventions and breakthroughs; (b) inspiring us with course corrections when we've drifted off base (i.e., teaching us lessons we need), (c) inspiring us to be in the right place at the right time to benefit ourselves and everyone; and (d) inspiring us to help others open spiritually so they can also hear their inner spiritual voice guiding them.

From the perspective of the human condition, it can be said to be all about spiritual guidance vs. ego guidance. Spiritual guidance leads to the fullness of life, ego guidance leads ultimately to destruction and death.

This entire inspiration and spiritual guidance process works best (for example, inventions can be developed most easily, lessons can be learned most quickly, being in the right place at the right time is most facilitated, etc.) when we are free of political coercion, free of a political system trying to FORCE us to do something different that our spiritual guidance would have us do. Maybe this can be summed up by a statement such as "Our spirit is free and wants us to live in a political system which reflects that freedom."

Quieting your intellect for a moment and listening to your holy spirit, you can ask inside if there is a need for government. And if the answer is "yes" then what purpose would that government serve and what would spiritually guided government look like?

The answer is something like this: In earth many individuals will be tempted to let their ego guide them rather than their spirit. So there is a chance they would initiate killing, destroying, fraud, etc. out of ego-vested interests. So as a REMINDER of spiritual laws, and as in infrastructure for RESPONSE to such violations, the establishment of a government is spiritually guided.

Such reminder and response benefits EVERYONE, regardless of whether they support the government intellectually or financially ... much the same principle as a church doesn't hesitate to help and benefit even those who do not support the church intellectually or financially. Possibly this can be summed up in the statement: "Although government reminds people what are rights violations and responds to apparent rights violations, the government itself does not violate any one's rights by forcing people to support it."

A government which allows political liberty best serves your holy spirit ... and is a government of people full of spirit. That is surely what Sarah Palin's spirit is saying to those who are attracted to her spirit.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"My inner voice guides me perfectly."

The Secret Shared by Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin ... and George Washington

2011-08-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

What is the secret of success in politics ... or any other area?

Think of George Washington, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin. Not that these leaders have been mistake free. But they have each at one time or another been highly successful with counter-intellectual approaches. What is their secret?

It's a secret you also can use.

Due to the fact that the overall consciousness of mankind is evolving there are times when things work themselves out perfectly without you putting forth any effort at all.

Other times you sense you must get involved and become active.

You have to know when to fold, when to hold, and when to be bold, so to speak.

In the realm of politics, sometimes political freedom is enhanced when you do nothing. Other times, liberty calls for an involvement or activism on your part.

How do you know when to be at peace, wait, and see what happens ... and how do you know when to shift into high gear?

The answer is "inner hearing."

No amount of intellectualizing can tell you when to be active and when to be still, when to wait quietly and when to jump into the fray, so to speak.

Your human viewpoint is extremely limited and you do not have all the facts upon which to judge the past or attempt to figure out the future, never mind even know everything that is going on in the present. You need guidance from beyond such a limited viewpoint.

Science has taught us that all minds are interconnected and communicative at some very unconscious level, as if at some very unconscious level there is only one mind. What if that level could be experienced more consciously? Couldn't your guidance then be based on much more complete information?

So you want to develop what is known as "inner hearing."

During this month, each day as you wake up remind yourself that this day you want to listen inside and hear clearly inside. You might use this sort of statement to start the day:

"My inner voice guides me perfectly. Today I want to hear my inner voice clearly."

As you go through the day, listen inside to inner promptings, to inner inspirations saying "yes" or inner guidance saying "no", to inner knowings of "true" or "false", even to words from "out of the blue."

Each hour take time to remind myself once again:

"My inner voice is guiding me perfectly this hour. I quiet my intellect and listen inside to hear my guidance."

When you retire each day, rejoice in the knowledge that you are listening to and following the guidance of your inner voice more than ever before and this is leading to undreamed of success. Before you go to sleep, remind myself once more:

"I am so happy that my inner voice is guiding me perfectly."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"My inner voice guides me perfectly."

Ron Paul Libertarian & Michele Bachmann Tea Party Coyote Campaign

2011-07-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

The truth that taxation (holding a gun to your neighbor's head and demanding money for your purposes) is immoral and criminal is not sellable to the general public who have been carefully brainwashed to believe that paying taxes is their "duty."

Only among people highly dedicated to reason can I point out that taxation is extortion and even hope to be heard. If I campaign in public on the immorality of taxation, I will be crucified.

How then can I hope to spread the truth about taxation without being attacked or with any attack against me working in my favor?

The answer is: my campaign has to cause the issue to be looked at without specifically raising the issue. This is accomplished not by campaigning against taxation but by campaigning against retaliation for taxation and in favor of forgiveness of tax advocates.

Such a campaign also serves to head off a future possible threat to freedom. With taxes continuing to decimate paychecks and more people than ever furious about taxes, what if a charismatic leader came along who said, "It's okay to trick the tricksters! Those who are taxed would be within their rights to tax the taxers! Politicians who steal from the people have no moral claim to immunity from theft of their own personal property!"

If such a leader were to influence even a few followers, it would not be long before we would see the spectacle of misguided vigilantes taking upon themselves a self-appointed mission of conducting midnight sneak attacks stealing the personal property of politicians who favor taxation and the personal property of those who call for assertive government programs requiring taxation.

Only a handful of such attacks would lead to the noisiest cry ever for more protection for politicians and those in cahoots with politicians. A noisy cry by politicians and their cohorts for protection would lead to more oppressive legislation and expansion of police-state powers than ever before.

To head off such a disastrous chain of events, advocates of freedom serve their cause doubly, burning the candle from both ends so to speak, by campaigning long and loud against retaliation for taxation.

Citizen's committees should be set up in cities all over the United States for the specific purpose of opposing retaliation for taxation. There should be thousands of letters to editors and hundreds of news media contacts regarding this issue. We need to "head off at the pass" any tendency people have to begin retaliating against politicians who tax or people who favor taxation.

Freedom advocates themselves should have as one of their important campaign "platform planks" an unequivocal stand against retaliation for taxation.

Bumper stickers should be printed up stating: "No retaliation for taxation!" and "Forgive the taxers!"

Petitions should be circulated for people to put their names on record favoring: "Clemency for politicians and others who vote for taxes!"

Issue ads should be purchased with bold headlines stating: "Retaliation for taxation is not the answer!"

All tools of the trade of issue-oriented campaigning should be used for this issue.

The public already knows that punishing politicians and others who vote for taxation ... other than voting such politicians out of office ... is not the way to go. But by continuing to state the obvious, I invite the public to look deeper at the immorality of taxation itself.

One of my goals for this week is to imagine the value of a campaign opposing retaliation for taxation. Each day this week I will attempt to list all the positive effects that come to my mind which could possibly come about as a result of such a campaign. My list should have at least 100 possibilities by the end of the week. Some positive effects on my list might be:

(1) More people than ever would be inclined to think about the fact that taxation could not work except for threat of force against innocent victims, which is in itself immoral.

(2) Many people would come to question their previously unquestioned belief that taxation only hurts people if it is excessive.

(3) People would at least subconsciously be in rapport with me since their inner spirit really does teach non-retaliation and forgiveness.

A second goal for this week's lesson is to telephone all the freedom advocates I know and attempt to fire them up regarding the benefits of this campaign.

My third goal for this week is to ponder the value of these special kinds of issue campaigns in general. What if an issue campaign was launched which had no other purpose than to get people to thinking differently than they have ever thought before? I am teaching myself that causing a change in people's way of thinking causes changes in the world.

Finally, my last goal this week is to be happy, enjoying the knowledge that taxers and their allies really are getting what is coming to them ... not by citizen vigilantes, but by the inevitable "what goes around comes around" effects of their own actions.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin? Who Will Bust the Libertarian-Conservative Ego?

2011-06-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Many freedom lovers constantly sabotage their efforts and their cause with impatient condemnation of those who don't yet understand every freedom principle in the light of their own viewpoint. This is of course simply immature ego at work. But it must be busted. Freedom lovers must learn the very important practical political lesson of emphasizing areas of likely agreement in order to work together toward common goals.

Nine people out of ten will say they favor political liberty but if you question them further they adamantly argue that some form of government control or intervention in people's lives is beneficial.

Conservative-leaning people will rally to my cause if I emphasize generalities like freedom, liberty, limited government, and free markets. But I will thoroughly alienate some of these same conservatives if I mention specifics such as the possibility of a free market in some object they consider to be highly dangerous.

Liberal-leaning people will rally to my cause if I emphasize generalities such as freedom, liberty, free speech, and basic human rights. But some of these same liberals will scream bloody murder if I mention that an employer has a basic right to hire and fire who he chooses for any reason he chooses.

Most people are willing to live with such contradictions and I need to learn to gain their support irrespective of their current mind-set, knowing that someday they will decide to clear their minds of contradictions.

Gaining the political support of a large number of people means learning to stay quiet concerning issues many would disagree about while heavily emphasizing positions most people would agree with.

This week I want to train my mind to always emphasize areas of agreement. I want to reinforce the habit of not getting into areas of discussion where disagreement is likely to occur.

To this end, when I waken each day I will take a few minutes for visualization and picture myself repeatedly emphasizing points where agreement is likely, and gently avoiding any topic which is likely to be an area of disagreement.

I visualize myself being tempted to go into topics which are dear to me, but heatedly controversial ... and not yielding to the temptation.

With each visualization, I repeat to myself words which relate to this week's lesson, such as:

"I emphasize points of likely agreement only. I steer clear of areas where there is great danger of disagreement."

I already do this in many areas of my life. I sometimes call it, "Getting along with others." It's the old principle embodied in, "We get along fine! We just don't talk about politics or religion."

As a freedom facilitator, I have no choice but to talk about politics. Yet I don't have to talk about areas of politics where people are likely to react with violent disagreement. If there is an attempt to pin me down on controversial specifics, my cause is better served if I laugh and say something like, "Now that's an area I have no interest in getting into."

During the day each hour I take a few moments for visualizing myself operating in a way that serves my cause and repeating to myself some variant of the words of this week's lesson such as:

"My focus is on areas of likely agreement."

"Nothing can sidetrack me from staying on areas of likely agreement."

"I'm riding home on areas of likely agreement."

As I retire for the day, I rejoice that I am mastering this principle of gaining my goals by staying with areas of agreement. I might say to myself something like:

"When I know what I am doing, even politics is fun."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"I emphasize areas of likely agreement."

All-Time Worst? Hamilton or Obama?

2011-04-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

Perhaps no man is more responsible for the mess the world is in today than Alexander Hamilton. As George Washington's first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton schemed to short-circuit the influence of the several states and accumulate power in the offices of the federal government.

It was Hamilton who championed an official federal government mint and an official federal government Bank of the United States, which effectively removed the checks and balances of private mints and banks. These initial federal institutions were precursors of today's U.S. Mint and Federal Reserve System which print money and manipulate the money supply totally divorced from any foundation in reality, allowing for the misery of modern price inflation and economic crises.

The fact that Hamilton wasn't born in the American colonies doesn't bother us in the way we would be bothered if we found out President Obama wasn't born in America. Yet maybe even more than Obama, Hamilton's image stands for insane out-of-control government. The first thing liberty lovers should do if they ever gain control of Congress and the Presidency is remove Hamilton's picture from America's $10 bill.

On the other hand, an ironic twist could be that because of Obama the U.S. $10 bill will soon be worthless and Hamilton's image forgotten. Until we can start forgetting Obama also, maybe we can enjoy a fun novel which weaves a cute story around Hamilton and the patriot opposition to Hamilton: "The Whiskey Rebels" by David Liss.

To understand the evil psychology of modern "liberal progressives," read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

How Freedom Lovers Sabotage Themselves

2011-03-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

In politics, freedom lovers are often heard saying things like, "The lesser of two evils is still an evil. I'm not voting for a 'half-way to freedom' candidate."

This is called self-sabotaging arrogance.

It is the height of arrogance to assume you know in advance that a half-way candidate cannot be taught, cannot change his mind, and will never fight for freedom.

It is the height of arrogance to assume you know for sure a politician will not shift his thinking in the direction of his supporters. In the real world, politicians pay attention to who is supporting them, and they shift toward supporting freedom if they are being supported by freedom advocates.

"But it gives me ego satisfaction to know I am supporting only perfect candidates."

Yes ... and the road to hell is paved with ego satisfactions. Stubbornly hold onto purism, and let candidates who are the greater of evils win and spread their evil all the faster, all the deeper, making it even harder for freedom to win.

Let's suppose the most expert doctor in his field said to you: "This medicine is not the final cure. It will only slow down the spread of the illness. If you don't take this medicine, you will die very quickly. If you do take it, you might live long enough to see a real cure developed."

For sure, you will be a purist and decline the medicine ... right?

To understand the evil psychology of modern "liberal progressives," read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

The Bloody Greed of Public Employees' Unions

2011-02-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

It's always the same with leftist unions and misnamed "progressive" politicians: bleed the real creators of prosperity to feed their own greed. Greedy public employees' unions are the worst. Public employees already make far more money than their neighbors across the street who do a better job at the same tasks in the private sector (not to mention receiving far greater benefits and more vacation days). Yet if these unionists fear they might not be able to continue feeding their greed by a more legitimate political process, they do not hesitate to resort to mob rule and blood in the streets.

"Sometimes it's necessary to get out on the streets and 'get a little bloody,' a Massachusetts Democrat (Rep. Michael Capuano) said Tuesday in reference to labor battles in Wisconsin." http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/145627-dem-lawmaker-on-labor-protests-get-a-little-bloody-when-necessary

Of course no one should be surprised that a Democrat would favor mob rule. Democracy has long been recognized as tyranny of the majority. But modern unions and Democrats can't be bothered with gaining the support of a majority. Their greed comes first, even if it means blood in the streets.

To understand the evil psychology of modern "liberal progressives," read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

Atlas Shrugged Shows Misery From Business- Government Alliance

2011-01-22T09:53:00.000-08:00

One of the characteristics seen in a fascist state is business leaders jumping in bed with government, making deals to receive political favors which other businesses do not receive. The history of economics shows us that such business-government marriages have always been prosperity-killing, since those businesses who do not enjoy government favors are penalized.

Nowhere is the misery produced by business-government marriage so vividly portrayed as in Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged," which should be purchased and given away as gifts to every person on your gift list, especially young people whose future is being destroyed by Barack Obama's philosophy of government.

To understand the evil psychology of modern "liberal progressives," read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

Could Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney Ever Stop Bloodthirsty Democrats?

2010-12-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

Think deeply about what kind of society you want. Do you want a society which practices human sacrifice? Or can you imagine a society which doesn't engender pain, or fear, or guilt, in which spirits are free to soar?

Does it make any difference whether it is the stone knife of ancient priestly rulers taking one’s life, or the tax knife of modern political rulers taking your livelihood? Isn't the principle and practice the same: human sacrifice?

Obama Democrats chant their bloodthirsty mantra: "More taxes! More taxes! More taxes!" Will they ever recognize what they have become - high priests of human sacrifice?

Sarah Palin Republicans, or Mitt Romney Republicans, typically say "Slow down! Not so much!" But is there anyone who will put a stop to the gory practice altogether?

When human sacrifice ends, there may finally be a moral political system, wouldn't you say?

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

Sarah Palin and Liberal Slave Masters

2010-11-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

In a Politico opinion article, entitled "How Liberalism Self-destructed," Joel Kotkin of Chapman University writes of liberalism: "If this defines success, you have to wonder what constitutes failure."
(To read entire article click Politico article.)

The above author holds to the pipe dream that liberalism could succeed, but momentarily took a wrong turn. He fails to look deeper and see that liberalism cannot succeed but can only self-destruct. Why? Because liberalism is based on force. Somebody has to be forced to pay for all the liberal pie-in-the-sky programs which people have not chosen voluntarily to pay for. Somebody has to be forced to comply to liberal mandates. A society of rulers forcing people is a society of slavery. Liberalism ... at least Pelosi, Reid, Obama liberalism ... is a form of slavery. A society of slavery cannot last long. Movements like the Tea Party and champions like Sarah Palin never fail to arise to free the slaves.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

Democrats' Evil

2010-10-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

The Honorable James David Manning teaches why redistribution of wealth from the "haves" to the "have nots" is not the plan of Jesus. Thank God for this church man who understands and does not ignore the teaching of Jesus.

But Rev. Manning does not go far enough. We call all church men and women to stand up fearlessly and teach loudly and clearly that using government force to redistribute wealth is evil. Forcibly taking wealth from those who have earned it and channeling it to those who have not earned it is not only destructive to the souls of both the takers and undeserving receivers, but disastrously dispirits (and reduces the overall wealth of) the entire society.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

Unholy Government Redistribution of Wealth

2010-10-02T13:52:00.000-07:00

"It is an essential unalterable right in nature ingrafted into the British Constitution, as a fundamental law and ever held sacred and irrevocable within the Realm, that what a man has honestly acquired is absolutely his own, which he may freely give, but cannot be taken from him without his consent." -Samuel Adams

How in the universe or all the heavens could justification ever be found for a second-hand man (or his allies) to take by force or threat of force what a first man has rightfully earned? Samuel Adams was far ahead of his time. Only now, over 200 years after Sam Adams, are men and women beginning to recognize clearly that taxation is theft, and those who scheme for evermore taxation are thieves who belong not in plush political offices, but in primitive prison cells.

The basic truth which angels are attempting to teach mankind is this: It is appropriate to voluntarily contribute to government as guided by your spirit. But what a government cannot accomplish with voluntary contributions ... it has no business attempting.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

2010 Elections? Rise Up Against Dictatorship of "Progressives!"

2010-09-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Freedom lovers ... do not sit on a bench and moan, with your head hung in despair like the forgotten man in this painting, thinking politics is hopeless!

The spirit of freedom is alive within you. Let it lift you off your bench and inspire you to fight "Progressive" dictatorship. Start by absorbing the lessons of the Course in Political Miracles. Next, go out and work for the new Republican "young guns" who may not always be perfect libertarians but are dedicated to restoring the original U.S. Constitution. Eventually your time will come and true freedom will be experienced.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

Rescuing America From Obama

2010-08-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

Let's suppose you personally decide to put a stop to this insanity in Washington? Where would you begin? How about starting with A Course in Political Miracles? Click on the lessons to the right. The course is free of charge.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Introduction

2008-01-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Course in Political Miracles recognizes that if the political system of one's surroundings is not reflecting the natural freedom of one's spirit, then one's spirit calls from inside oneself evermore loudly for freedom.

If government presence in one's life is rampant and based on seemingly insane decisions being made by out-of-touch or corrupted leaders, those with means and possibilities might be guided by their spirit to drop out of the system altogether.

Others will feel guided by their spirit to become active in bringing about change in the system. Such change might seem to require a miracle ... but it can be done.

Course in Political Miracles recognizes that the only honest path available to many is what we call: "being in the system, but not of the system."

This is a path of spiritual opening, inner listening to one's spirit, and allowing one's words and actions within the system to be guided by one's spirit.

It is a path of political campaigners who speak not to voters' fears or pains or whims, but to their spirit and reason.

It is a path of teachers who are not afraid of the opening minds and spirit of their students.

It is a path of company managers who treat their lower level employees not as expenses and expendables, but as individuals who are valued for their human spirit.

It is a path of those who are choosing to "be in the system, but not of the system," following the instructions of their spirit which has no other interest than to ultimately free them from political insanity.

Course in Political Miracles is interested in helping you blast through the limitations of ego-style politics and ego-style political activism, allowing you to operate on a level of efficacy which could almost be called "miraculous," as you follow your unique spirit-directed path to change the system. To this end, we offer what might be the most life changing course you will ever take.

YOUR PRACTICE OF THE LESSONS OF THE COURSE

There is no charge for the Course in Political Miracles ... except the price you set for yourself in dedication and commitment. The Course, like life itself, gives back what you put into it. Pay a high price in dedication and commitment, and the rewards will prove to be far beyond what you could have imagined beforehand.

The Course may be practiced in two ways:

Those who benefit from schedules and scheduling can concentrate on one lesson a week. The Course's 52 lessons make it a perfect one year course. Those who survive a year in the Course in this manner will feel a strong desire to retake it a second year and a third ... because it does bring results.

Those who feel the need to not move on until they have really grasped a given lesson in all its depth and breadth can stay on the same lesson week after week until it is fully learned and integrated deeply inside oneself, then move on to the next lesson. This is perhaps the best way to learn the lessons.

To gain the most benefit from the course, do not read ahead in the lessons. Stay with the lesson you are on until the one week or longer you have allotted yourself for the lesson has passed.

Under no circumstances should anyone ever spend less than an entire week on a lesson. You may be greatly tempted to say to yourself, "Oh, I already know this lesson," and move on to the next too quickly. Do not submit to such temptation.

It's okay to say, "Oh, I already know this lesson." But remember the goal here is to integrate the lesson fully, fully, fully deep inside oneself. If you really knew the lesson in all its fullness, we would already be living with political freedom and have no need for a Course in Political Miracles.

Finally, some lessons you will find hard to believe or even jolting to your old belief system. Do not judge the lessons. You need not believe the ideas, or accept them, or welcome them. Some of them your old belief system may resist. Your initial reaction does not matter. Simply apply the lessons as instructed.

One week is not enough time to integrate a lesson thoroughly, but it is the minimum amount of time to get a good start on a lesson which when thoroughly learned will improve your life a billion-fold.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

The Spiritual Foundation of Liberty

2008-01-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

You are a spiritual human being. You experience a physical body, feelings, thoughts, and spiritual impulses. You may have denied your spiritual impulses from time to time, but they are present inside you ... and you know it.

It is your spiritual nature which moves you to do marvelous things. You might be moved to write a wonderful novel, discover a cure for cancer, be a good mother, build a business that produces goods, or rescue a little animal who is trapped. Maybe you are moved to do something you can't even see the value of at first, but you do it because something deep inside you tells you it is right for you to do. That something deep inside you is your spiritual nature.

It is your spiritual nature which speaks to you from deep within saying, "We are all in this together ... every living being. What is truly good for one is good for all. What is truly good for all is good for one."

It is your spiritual nature which also says deep inside you, "It is I who will show you what is truly good."

YOUR THINKING MIND CANNOT SHOW YOU WHAT IS TRULY GOOD

Your thoughts are based on limited information and limited perception. In order to make a correct judgment as to what is truly good, you would have to be 100% completely aware of an inconceivably wide range of factors; past, present, and future. You would have to have certain advance knowledge of all the effects of your judgment on everyone and everything. You would have to be absolutely sure that you didn't have the slightest slanted angle of perception. Who could possibly have this magnitude of information? Who except in the height of fantasy could imagine themselves to have such a totally all-seeing and all-knowing viewpoint? How many times have you been so thoroughly sure you knew the facts upon which to base correct judgment, only to find out later how wrong you were?

Because philosophers and lawyers are just like yourself, subject to limited information and limited perception, neither can you rely on even the very best of scholars using intellectual reasoning to help you discover what is truly good.

YOUR EMOTIONS CANNOT SHOW YOU WHAT IS TRULY GOOD

Your emotions are brought about by your thoughts and ideas. Since your thoughts are based on very limited information and a very limited viewpoint, so are your emotions. Should your thoughts not serve you well, neither will your emotions serve you well, even unto breakdown.

YOUR PHYSICAL BODY CANNOT SHOW YOU WHAT IS TRULY GOOD

Your physical body is literally only a servant doing the bidding of your thoughts and feelings. Would a man ever risk bodily danger for a higher good if his body was his guide?

ONLY YOUR SPIRITUAL NATURE CAN SHOW YOU WHAT IS TRULY GOOD

Your spiritual nature on the other hand, because it is shared with every living being, knows what is truly good for all. Your spiritual nature is present inside you to influence, teach, and guide your thoughts, emotions, and physical body. Whether or not you listen inside yourself to your spiritual nature is another story, but your spiritual nature is inside of you waiting to be heard.

In any situation, if you quiet your thoughts, quiet your emotions, quiet the urges of your body, and listen inside yourself to your spirit, you know what is the truly right thing to say or do. You don't need a legislature, or a philosopher, or a psychologist, or a church authority of any kind to tell you what is right. If you are honest with yourself, you know the answer is inside of you. Your spirit is your guide.

THE BEGINNINGS OF LAW

But you don't always listen inside yourself to your spirit, do you? Maybe sometimes you listen to your thoughts, emotions, or even the urges of your body, instead of listening to your spirit. Does your spirit know that you are not going to always listen deep inside? Of course. Your spirit knows about human shortcomings and mistakes.

So your spirit says, "Here ... in case you forget to listen inside yourself, I'll let you know in advance that I, your spirit, am never going to guide you to murder, nor am I ever going to guide you to commit adultery, nor am I ever going to guide you to steal, nor am I ever going to guide you to bear false witness against your neighbor. If you want to, you can call these laws."

Thus laws are born. In the beginning, laws are born of the spirit ... as reminders.

LAWS NOT OF THE SPIRIT

After a long time, when the beginning has been forgotten, laws are born not of the spirit, but of the egos of men and women ... true or false?

Listen inside. Do not listen to your intellectual mind's reasoning. Listen to your spirit. What do you hear? The laws made up by men and women are not necessarily the laws of your spiritual nature, true or false?

Therein lies the first and main reason why governments, legislatures, and laws should always be suspect. They may not be in rapport with the spiritual nature inside of men and women. They may be instruments of men and women's egos and not instruments of the spirit.

GOVERNMENT GUIDED BY THE SPIRITUAL NATURE

Yet the spiritual nature of men and women could move them to set up a government, true or false? Listen inside, not to your intellect. Does your spirit inside say yes or no?

How many laws would a government need if it was based on men and women's spiritual nature? Three? Five? Ten, like the ten commandments? Probably very few, wouldn't you say? Listen inside and see what you hear.

How many laws would it take to assure that you would be a good citizen even if you didn't listen inside to your spirit at all times? A half-dozen basic laws having to do with stealing, murdering, raping ... that sort of thing? Or would it take 25 or 30 good laws written as basic principles to remind you? Listen inside to your spirit.

Would it take hundreds of thousands of pages of tax codes and regulations to make you a good citizen? Listen inside. What is your spirit saying?

NO NEED FOR A LEGISLATURE

So why not write up a constitution that outlines 25 or 30 good laws in basic principle and creates only two branches of government, the judiciary and the executive to make sure these few good laws are followed?

Another branch of government to invent new laws is not only unnecessary, but practically assures deviation from your original intent, true or false? Because if you set up a branch of government whose purpose is to make new laws, then when those law makers come to work in the morning, in order to feel good about themselves doing their job they are going to want to do what? Yes ... they are going to want to make up new laws.

What if no new laws are needed? No matter. Those law makers get paid to invent laws and they are going to want to do their job, right?

So if you are listening carefully inside yourself to your spirit you will hear that it doesn't take a lot of laws to keep you reminded to be a good citizen and once those basic few laws are identified you don't need a legislature making up new laws.

GOVERNMENT PROJECTS MOST PEOPLE WANT

But what about all the good things that governments claim they do? Let's look at building interstate highways, for example. Let's listen inside and see if your spiritual nature wants you to have interstate highways built by your government? Do you hear "yes"? Does that seem to be a good idea to your spirit? If so, now listen inside for a "yes" or "no" answer to these questions: Do you need a legislature to build an interstate highway? Do you need new laws to build an interstate highway? No. All you need is an executive branch which is given the authority to spend money for the projects earmarked by people when they voluntarily send in their dollars.

Suppose the executive branch of government broadcasts a notice that says, "All those in favor of interstate highways, please send in your money voluntarily and it will be earmarked for interstate highways." Your spiritual nature would not be offended by such a notice, true or false? Listen inside. For a little while, suspend any intellectual arguments your mind wants to make as to why such a system would be difficult to make work. Maybe it wouldn't. Maybe it would. Your intellect couldn't possibly know because it doesn't have all the information it would need to make a judgment. For the moment, just listen inside and see if your spirit would be offended by such a notice.

No, your spirit is not offended. Why? First, because your spirit lit up at the thought of interstate highways, so interstate highways must be serving the common good. Second, and very important, your spirit is not offended by voluntary donations. Nobody is being forced against their will to pay for the highways.

YOUR SPIRITUAL NATURE DOES NOT USE FORCE

But what if the executive department of the government tried to force people to pay taxes to pay for the highways? Now your spirit might be offended, might it not? Because your spirit doesn't ever force you to be good or do good things. Your spirit suggests. Your spirit guides. Your spirit urges. Your spirit might even give you a very strong nudge in some direction if it is really important. But your spirit doesn't force you, does it? Your spirit leaves you free to make mistakes and learn from your mistakes.

Any proper government, guided by your spiritual nature, would leave you free to make mistakes and learn from your mistakes just as your spirit leaves you free, true or false? Listen inside.

Would your spirit ever guide you to use force? Yes, it may so guide you in certain situations. Your spirit might say inside of you, "It is wrong for that bully to be beating up on those kids! Go stop him!" You could very well be guided to use force to stop someone when that someone is breaking one of the basic spiritual laws, true or false?

The same principle applies to governments. Your spiritual nature would not be offended if your government used force to stop someone from breaking the basic spiritual laws. In fact, your spirit might rejoice when force is used in this manner. Putting a stop to, let's say, a neighboring dictator's brutal initiation of force would be a spiritually appropriate response. For this reason you feel deep inside yourself that the establishment of responsive armies and police departments is moral, as long as there are safeguards against the abuse of power.

A THIRD BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT

What if the executive branch of your government began to use force not to stop others who had initiated force in the first place, but to further the ego-vested interests of men and women in positions of executive power? Or what if the judiciary branch of your government began to make judgments based not on the spiritual intent of the basic laws, but based on the ego-vested interests of men and women in positions to render ego-motivated judgments? In other words, what if your government started abusing its power?

Your inner voice, the voice of your spirit, might guide you thus: "In the hopes of guarding against the abuse of power, set up a third branch of government made up of elected representatives whose sole purpose is to monitor the activities of the other two branches of government to make sure they are not straying from their original mandates. Call this third branch of government ‘Congress,' if it pleases you. But, like the executive and judiciary branches of government, this third branch would have no power to make new laws. This third branch of government would only serve as auditor of the other two branches of government and as a 'Watchdog of Liberty'."

But a watchdog has a bite as well as a bark, true or false? So this third branch of government would be given authority to dismiss the officials who are abusing power and oversee their replacement through specified processes. Members of this third branch of government would not get bored from lack of work. They would be auditing everything the other two branches of government were doing, making sure there were no abuses.

YET ANOTHER SAFEGUARD

Remember, your spiritual nature is interested in you having a system of government which closely approximates the freedom that your spirit itself enjoys. If your government, which was created in the first place for the convenience of your spirit, began to take away freedoms that would rightly be yours if there were no government, then that government is no longer serving your spirit. So your spirit favors safeguards, true or false?

What if a particular political party became very adept at selling itself to the public and won effective control of all three branches of your government? Your spirit would see a problem with such a setup, true or false? Your spirit inside of you doesn't say, "The more the government is being controlled by one party, the better." Your spirit inside of you says, "The more safeguards against power accumulation, the better."

So in your original constitution you would be guided to include a clause that specifies that if a particular political party and its allies dominate the auditor/watchdog branch of government, then the executive branch of government must be operated by members of a different and opposing political party. The mechanisms for resignations and replacements of officials would be spelled out in your constitution.

SUMMARY

Your spirit wants liberty safeguarded with as many safeguards as possible, because freedom is who you are in spirit. Freedom is your spiritual birthright. Your spirit wants to be free and be in control of your life, not be dampened and controlled by the egos of others. Your spirit works to free you of pain, sickness, suffering, and death; and bring you the experience of happiness, and joy, and love. But your spirit needs freedom to do its work. A little bit of government is helpful and guided by your spirit. But a government that does not enhance your freedom cannot be tolerated by your spirit, true or false?

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free of charge online:
Course in Political Miracles

The Spiritual Basis of Free Markets

2007-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Economists have argued for many years that a free market, in which honest men and women voluntarily trade the results of their productive effort, inevitably provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

For two important reasons it cannot be proven that economists are correct. First, markets have never yet in recorded history been totally free of the intervention and manipulation of political interests, so there is no historical example to study. Capitalism untainted by politics has never yet existed. Second, nobody really knows what is the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Philosophers on the other hand have argued that a free market, even if it did not produce the greatest good for everyone, is the only moral means of production and distribution of goods, because intervention in the market or manipulation of the market by those with political interests necessarily involves the initiation of deception or force against innocent people to gain ends which may not have come to pass if people were left to deal with each other voluntarily. But not all philosophers think the same, do they? A philosopher like Karl Marx can come along and say, "Hey, what's wrong with using deception or force against innocent people?"

So if the arguments of economics and philosophy don't really settle anything, where can the average citizen of a democracy go to find answers that work for all places and all time? If the answers are not to be found in outside libraries or in outside intellectual arguments, maybe there is something inside of us that knows the answers. Maybe we can ask inside.

Isn't it true that the average Mary knows inside of herself that the one thing she wants more than anything else is freedom? Her desire for security is rooted only in her body's needs. Her desire for freedom is rooted much deeper in the needs of her spirit.

She may not always pay attention to the fact that political intervention in the marketplace always reduces somebody's freedom, and she might not see clearly that if somebody else's freedom is reduced ... so is hers. But the average Mary does know that she wants freedom. So if she could stay in touch with her own truest, deepest heart's desire, then she would really be in touch with everyone's deepest, truest desire, true or false? Don't ask your intellect. Listen deep inside. True or false?

Once you have learned to hear one basic truth inside of yourself, such as the truth that your desire for freedom is far, far deeper than your desire for security, then you might feel assured that other answers flow logically from that one basic truth. So it must be true that you can confidently look inside yourself for answers, wouldn't you say?

What if you could see with some kind of spiritual third eye and look at what might be called the "aura" of free markets and then turn and look also at the "aura" of markets manipulated or influenced by political interests?

If you could open some kind of spiritual eye and give yourself permission to look at the aura of a country, wouldn't you see that country glowing with brighter light if there is a free market? Wouldn't you see that same country's light clouded over if there is a politically manipulated market?

Listen inside. Free markets offer hope, true or false?

If you were listening inside carefully, you heard "totally." Why do free markets offer total hope? Because with a free market of only voluntary transactions there is nothing which can altogether shut down the possibility of you achieving your dreams. There may be obstacles, even great obstacles, but if you have something truly good to offer, your dreams can stay alive, yes?

Now listen inside and see if markets manipulated by political interests offer you anywhere near as much hope. Why do you hear inside an answer that is not the same as the answer you heard for free markets? Because in a politically manipulated market your dreams could, with little recourse, be squelched by force, right? You could do everything required in the voluntary association market to have your dream come true and still have a politician or a bureaucrat come along and pull the rug out from under you in such a way that you could not pick yourself up and make another try.

What about honesty? Honesty is a trait your spirit likes, true or false? Listen inside to your spirit. Avoid the temptation to intellectualize. Listen to your spirit.

With free markets you can be as honest as your spirit would prefer you to be, true or false?

With markets influenced or manipulated by political interests, it is much more difficult to be totally honest, true or false? The answer is obvious. Honesty has already been subverted in a market that is manipulated by political interests. Not being totally voluntary, such a market is already colored by dishonesty inserted by politicians. In such a market, you would always be aware deep inside yourself that as honest as you would like to be, there could come a point where dishonesty might be required of you just to survive.

What about good will? Your spirit likes the idea of good will among people, true or false?

In a free and voluntary market the possibilities of good will are endless, true or false? Listen inside.

In a politically influenced market, good will ends where? Listen inside. Good will ends the first time political laws attempt to force you to do something your spirit would not guide you to do. Or the other way around, good will ends the first time politics attempts to force you to not do something your spirit would like you to do.

Consider how good you feel when you are giving of yourself. That good feeling is of the spirit, isn't it? If you were a taker and not a giver, you could not feel near as good, true or false? Because taking derives from a sense of lack and inadequacy, while giving is of your infinite and endlessly benevolent spirit, right?

Politicians who favor what are called "social safety nets," subvert the natural flow of giving, don't they? They take from you in the form of taxation, justifying their actions with the argument that if left to your own choices you might not have given. They argue this way while conveniently ignoring the fact that they are robbing you of much more than your money. They are robbing you of the exquisite feeling and personal growth that comes from making the voluntary moral choice to be giving. They also conveniently ignore just how low an opinion of mankind they are teaching. To tell people they can't do well without "social safety nets," is to utterly suffocate their spirit.

What about trust? Your spirit likes nothing better than trusting, true or false?

In a free market the conditions are present for the building of trust. But what happens to trust in a politically influenced market? Feel inside and see if trust starts to shut down in a manipulated market.

I could go on like this listing various qualities your spirit loves and enjoys, and inviting you to look inside yourself at the "aura" of these qualities in one kind of market or another. But by now you can see that your chances of being wide open and allowing yourself to be spiritually guided are totally enhanced by a free market and in every respect hampered by a politically manipulated market.

You see "auras" by looking inside yourself, don't you? Unlike the arguments of economics or philosophy where proof is impossible, "seeing" this way, with your spiritual eyes ... spiritual knowing ... could in some cases be all the proof you need, true or false?

By way of illustration, I will tell a little story. But I will not tell the end of the story. Because you know the end of the story. Your intellectual reasoning might say, "No, I don't know the end of the story unless you tell me." But if you quiet your intellectual mind and listen deep inside yourself, you'll find that you know the end of the story. Here is the story:

Once upon a time, there were three little producers of goods and services: the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker. When they went to bed at night, each would say to himself, "Ah! I've produced something good for the world!" They felt very good about their work because they were responding to market demand and supplying what people wanted. All was well.

Each was giving to the world and each felt good about himself because giving feels good. Listen inside to your deepest inner voice and see if giving feels good. Actually, if you listen very carefully, you will probably hear inside that giving is the only thing that satisfies you.

In our story, there was also an enormous sense of good will between these three little producers and their customers. The little producers were providing something valued. Their customers were providing something valued in return. Can you think of a more efficient mechanism of good will among men?

See if you can feel what they felt. Listen inside to your inner self and feel what it feels like to experience the satisfaction of giving to others and the wonderful feeling of good will.

These three little producers of goods and their customers also felt substantial trust, true or false? Listen inside and see what you hear. Pretend you are a customer and see if you can feel what it would feel like to experience total trust that the things you need are going to be produced and made available to you when you need them. Pretend you are a producer and see if you can feel what it would feel like to experience total trust that your customers very much want to and will always pay you in return for the value received from you.

These three little producers and their customers also felt a sense of honesty inside themselves, true or false? If you feel total trust and you feel total good will, it's very difficult to be dishonest, isn't it? See if you can feel inside the kind of complete honesty it would be possible to reach if you were one of the characters in this story.

Now ... in our story a change happened. One day the butcher gathered the baker and the candlestick maker into a conference and said to them, "A lot of us have joined together and formed a government. You operate within what we are calling our borders, so you must obey our laws."

The baker and the candlestick maker didn't know how to feel about this idea. Nobody ever asked them if they wanted a government. But as was their habit, they withheld judgment and asked, "What laws?"

The butcher listed rules, and regulations, and laws by the millions.

Now here is the end of the story....

The baker and the candlestick maker lived happily forever after, true or false?

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Available free online:
Course in Political Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 52

1995-11-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

"Yes!"
This is the last of a long series of lessons and I happily congratulate myself on doing the work of these lessons. As I begin this last lesson I look back to when I started the course and see that the momentum of the freedom movement has increased dramatically since then.

Why shouldn't it have? The world is a reflection of state of mind and my powerful mind has chosen freedom as never before.

Before I begin this last lesson, let me remind myself that the most important benefit I have achieved with this course is my own spiritual opening that has occurred ... and my spiritual opening thus far is just the beginning.

Throughout these lessons I have sensed that although the exact wording of the lessons might not have been the wording I would have used, the principles in the lessons have come from inside myself, the source of all really important lessons.

I have learned that there are a million and one subtle lessons being taught by my own inner voice, the voice of my spirit, and that to hear my own highly personalized lessons it is only necessary to quiet my intellect and listen inside myself.

I understand that lessons heard inside myself have to do with every area of life, not just political activism or freedom-producing goals. My inner voice has only one goal: to guide me to success in every area of life.

This means spiritual opening, for only those who are wholly in touch with their spirit experience success in every area of life. My inner voice "works overtime," so to speak, to open me and keep me open spiritually. I have only to listen to my heart and soul.

With the lessons of this course I have entered farther than ever before through the door of spiritual opening and taken more steps than ever toward exploring the world of living by spiritual principles. At this point, my ego may caution me to go slow or even stop and turn back, but my spirit is rejoicing at my progress and calling me to move forward.

Since practice makes perfect, with respect to the realm of politics and serving liberty there might be great benefit in going back to lesson one and doing these lessons over again. Certainly my inner voice continues to guide me to work for freedom politically as well as internally.

I allow my inner voice to guide me. If I feel an urge to dedicate myself to more intense spiritual opening and more complete spiritual understanding, I can always see what happens if I click on: SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING.

The week of this last lesson is the perfect time to remind myself that as much as I would like to experience political liberty in it's fullness, I can survive and thrive under any political system for two reasons: (1) I have my inner voice to guide me and my inner voice keeps me protected and well-supplied; and (2) I am already free in spirit and I can look within myself and experience my inner freedom any time I choose.

So it's not the end of the world if I don't achieve political freedom within the next few weeks or the next few election cycles. But it is the end of my happiness if I let myself get discouraged or depressed about what I see "out there."

This is a good time to remind myself that the "out there" does not matter nearly so much as the "in here". If I am staying in touch with the joy and peace and good-will of my spirit, then all is well.

So this week I am going to spend reminding myself that all is well. When I awaken each day, I don't have to say to myself as some religious people do, "This is a day the Lord has made!", but I do want to use some statement which reminds me that truly all is well. I might say to myself one of the following statements:

"Yes! Another day for the spirit of man to raise up the whole earth!"

"Yes! Another day for light to overcome darkness!"

"Yes! Another day of progress!"

"Yes! Another day for happiness and joy!"

"Yes! Another day! Yes!"

Whatever statement my inner voice gives me to use will be perfect. There is nothing like waking up with "Yes!"

Then throughout the day I will look for signs and evidence of good. When I see darkness I will say to myself, "This is temporary and cannot last for long." When I see light I will rejoice.

Before retiring each day this week, I remind myself several times, until I feel the deepest peace:

"It really is true that all is well."

Then I plan to dream of heaven on earth and my last word is:

"Yes!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 51

1995-11-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

"When I'm serving liberty I'm at my best!"
There's nothing I need do but wait ... and see what happens. This has been the theme of many of these lessons, the idea being that there is a power at work for liberty which is far greater than I imagine.

Call it the power of an idea whose time has come. Call it the deepest desire of every human heart and soul. Call it angels at work. It doesn't matter what one calls it. Liberty always rises again stronger than ever.

Trying to contain liberty is like trying to contain love. Close it down temporarily in one area and it erupts in another area. Close it off as much as possible in all areas and it still finds a way to burst forth because not experiencing it is too painful. Human nature is love. Human nature is liberty.

If liberty cannot be contained, then to experience the fullness of liberty, I literally need do nothing but wait ... and see what happens.

Why then do I join the Libertarian Party or the Liberty Caucus of some other political party? Why do I work toward extracting myself from bureaucratic control of my life and establishing personal sovereignty? Why do I put all my heart and soul into selling and promoting the works of Ayn Rand?

I do these things because even though liberty is destined to prevail whether my efforts are involved or not, I'm feeling my best when I'm serving liberty. Serving liberty feels really, really good and right inside myself. No matter what the exact way I am guided to serve liberty, it is deeply soul-satisfying service.

Those who are serving the opposite of liberty: government expansion, government involvement, and government interference have sold out their souls and are feeling deeply dissatisfied.

These sell-outs, not understanding why they are feeling so empty, call for more of the same ... more government expansion, more government involvement, more government interference ... like asking the torturer to inflict more pain in the hopes of relieving pain.

There is no such thing as a truly happy government worshipper or a truly happy government-advocating socialist.

But my soul is intact and my happiness shining bright because I work for liberty and serve liberty.

Each day this week, I awaken with the glad knowledge that I could literally do nothing and liberty would win, but that in serving liberty I experience the fullness of my soul and the completeness of my happiness.

During my longer meditations each day I look within myself and try to get in touch with the feeling of personal liberty. I might ask myself a few times:

"Liberty, are you there? What do you feel like inside of me?"

I let myself enjoy the feeling of liberty for a few minutes ... or a few hours or a few days. I also ask inside myself a few times:

"Liberty, what does it feel like to serve you? Let me feel the feeling!"

Again, I spend as long as possible staying with the feeling that rises, not losing the feeling, enjoying the feeling.

Before retiring each day this week, I let myself feel really, really thankful that I am sensible enough to be in the service of liberty. I let myself feel gratitude like I've never felt before.

Just before going to sleep I give myself the exquisite pleasure of really feeling how much I love liberty and how much liberty loves me. I help myself feel these feelings simply by stating what is really true inside myself:

"Liberty I love you with all my heart and soul! I live only to serve you! Serving you I am serving myself and everyone! Serving you I am at my very best!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 50

1995-11-14T10:59:00.000-08:00

"I join Ayn Rand, educating spiritually!"
Government worshippers are in control of most universities, virtually every public school system, and almost every major media market. The general public has been thoroughly brainwashed to believe that if there is a problem, or the illusion of a problem, government solutions are the answer ... a new government program, a new government bureaucracy, more power to government.

Because almost all avenues of education and information have been under the control of government worshippers, the vast majority of people are stuck in thinking habits which will never for long periods of time serve liberty.

Because people's underlying thinking habits will rise to the surface again and again, any libertarian political victory can only be short-lived ... unless people's underlying way of thinking is changed.

As much as I might hate to admit it, thorough re-education of the public cannot not be a number one priority for libertarians.

The question is: what to teach?

The answer is given by Ayn Rand. It's not about politics or economics. It's about mankind's life-enhancing spirit vs. mankind's death-serving ego. It's about Ellsworth Toohey's ego trying to utterly destroy Howard Roark's creative spirit. It's about James Taggart's ego trying to belittle as "old-fashioned" his sister's innocent and wondering spirit. It's about Lillian Reardon's ego trying to twist the laws of nature 180 degrees and somehow render immoral Hank Reardon's benevolent and heroic spirit.

It's about life vs. death. Religious people would have allegorically identified the issue as God vs. Satan or the Christ vs. the Devil. But there is no reason to be allegorical. Mankind does have a heroic spirit and egos are determined to diminish this spirit and destroy it altogether if possible ... whether these egos be government henchmen, union henchmen, corporate henchmen, or just plain thugs.

Can I hope to educate the vast majority of people to the truth of the real battle going on using intellectual articles or philosophical treatises? Only in my dreams!

Can I expose ego destroying spirit as Ayn Rand did with novels, plays, and screenplays made into movies? Now I'm being realistic!

Do I need to myself become a novelist or playwright? Not unless this is my truest heart's desire and my guidance from within. Ayn Rand has already done sufficient work for starters. I can make a huge difference for liberty in the world, lighten and enlighten the world, merely by selling and promoting the work Ayn Rand has already done.

It's not that Ayn Rand's philosophy is 100% correct. When she philosophizes she sometimes gets herself trapped in the same cobwebs spun by all intellectuals. My purpose is not to create a million and one robotic Objectivists who lock step to the same tune and end up being stumbling blocks to the cause of true freedom.

It is not Ayn Rand's philosophizing that makes her work valuable to my cause but her sense of life and spiritual seeing. My purpose is to sell her sense of life and her vivid understanding that the forces opposing the spirit of mankind are the forces of death itself.

With an earlier lesson of this course, I spent an entire week coming up with novel ideas for selling liberty. This week I want to expand the same exercise. I want to come up with 101 fresh ideas for selling Ayn Rand's work, especially her greatest novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

As I did with some earlier lessons, this week I retire each day with pen and paper by my bedside. Before retiring I ask my subconscious mind to give me new or rejuvenated ideas for promoting the work of Ayn Rand. I might say to myself aloud a few times a statement like:

"As I sleep, I am open and ready to receive a dozen possible ideas for promoting Ayn Rand's work."

Whatever ideas come to mind during my sleep I add to my list. I'm shooting for 101 different ideas this week.

During each day I take my usual 20 minute meditation breaks, more and longer if possible. Again I ask my subconscious mind to give me novel ideas or enhancements of previous ideas. I might even start my meditations by saying aloud to my mind:

"Subconscious mind? Are you listening? You KNOW the best way to educate people is to sell Ayn Rand's work. Give me even more new ideas about how to accomplish this goal."

Nothing is more sure than that my subconscious mind will do my bidding if I ask with sincerity, putting all my heart and soul into my asking. Obviously if I were to ask with no great expectation, I would not get the results I really want.

All during the day each day this week I want to use a mantra, which is merely a statement used to focus the mind. In this case I want to focus on the goal of this lesson, so I might use statements like:

"I'm going to educate the public by really selling people on reading Ayn Rand's work."

"For most people, Ayn Rand's work is like a course in miracles. It will change their thinking and their lives."

"I am not going to let the ego defeat the spirit. I am going to use Ayn Rand's work to teach people the difference."

Using these kinds of statements I will begin to feel a sense of wonderment as I prepare for the next night and the next day. I will have found an added purpose in life which fits perfectly with my other life's purposes.

Each day this week I allow myself to feel immense gratitude that I do not have to be like the mythical Atlas, weighed down by a heavily pressing world. Instead, I can think of the world as being like a beach ball. It is light and fun. I throw it around, shape it, play tag with it, and use it to chidingly bounce off the heads of a few stuck-in-old-thinking liberals and conservatives, maybe knocking some old ideas loose ... with Ayn Rand's help.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 49

1995-11-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

"I am in your service!"
The French master painter Eugene Delacroix portrayed Liberty as a female angel leading the people during the French Revolution. It might be fun for me to think of Liberty this way. It might be fun to let her be in my imagination an angel who guides me and shows me always even the seemingly most insignificant ways I can be of service.

A major theme of these lessons has been that there is nothing to worry about ... nothing to fear. Nature abhors a vacuum and when Liberty has been imprisoned she cannot be kept from breaking free and rushing back at the least little opening.

Every least little opening counts, doesn't it?

Just as government worshippers use every least little opening, every least little opportunity, to tread on Liberty until the day arrives when she is almost dead, so must libertarians use every possible chance, no matter how seemingly insignificant, to bring her back to life.

Every little circumstance counts, doesn't it?

Suppose I found myself in a position to have an influence in a very small way ... maybe my mother-in-law would vote libertarian if I would just ask her to ... maybe I can work toward a slight reduction in government spending ... maybe I can mention some Freedom Technologies to co-workers.

It all adds up and accumulates, doesn't it?

Perhaps I could talk to a man who has grown old with liberal brainwashing, treating him as a brother or best friend, mostly agreeing or staying out of disagreement with him, but gently mentioning that instituting compulsory programs to get people to do things "quality citizens" are supposed to do causes both the resistance and apathy he hates.

Maybe I could write to a woman who is a known firebrand conservative, tell her how much I appreciate her work, really stay in fine rapport with her, and in a soothing way slip into my writing that the American Founding Fathers could not have seen in the 1700s what we see now, even though theirs was the most wonderful vision.

Every tiny seed planted in some one's mind helps that mind to change, doesn't it?

Is there any little action I can take to help liberty which I'm not already taking?

This is my question to myself during the remaining few weeks of these lessons. At the end of each day this week, before retiring and sleeping, I take the time to ask myself this:

"Is there ANYTHING I can do to help liberty that I'm not already doing?"

Perhaps while I'm sleeping at night my inner voice will give me possibilities. Maybe I'll be guided to talk to someone. Maybe I'll be guided to show something to someone. Maybe I'll be guided to take some action which gets people's attention. I keep a pad and pencil by my bed in case ideas arise while I'm sleeping.

When I awaken, I give thanks for a new day and immediately say to myself:

"If there is any little activity or slightest deed I can do today to be of service to liberty, let it be shown to me."

Let me remember throughout each day this week more than just "little things mean a lot". Little things could mean everything. Said another way, what I am tempted to think of as insignificant could turn out to be the biggest factor of all. Every hour throughout the day this week, let me say to myself aloud a few times some such statement as:

"The littlest thing could turn out to cause the whole success or failure of my projects."

"What I perceive to be no bigger than a mustard seed could end up moving mountains for me."

"I don't know in advance what is going to have little impact and what is going to have enormous impact."

"I don't know what anything is for, so I have to treat the little as if it were big."

Reminders such as this keep me honest and train my mind not to judge situations when I couldn't possibly have all the facts in advance. In a sense my mind thus begins to decide subconsciously that each moment presents the possibility of a "miracle" and no one miracle is any different than any other miracle.

With these reminders, Liberty now counts on me as a perfect servant. Now Liberty can use me to the fullest. Now Liberty can lead in assurance that I follow. Throughout the day I repeat many times this week's lesson statement:

"I am in your service!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 48

1995-11-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

"My patience and common sense assure success."
Even though some of the positions I hold in my mind are very "far out," and even though I might want to see extreme changes politically over time, my success in the political realm depends on not projecting an image which could easily be labeled "extremist."

To take one issue as an example, if philosophically I support legalized drugs because nothing ought to be illegal except the initiation of force or fraud, then I'd better find out if people in the district or area where I'm working to win an election consider legalized drugs to be "too extreme" a position. Otherwise I'll forever be getting a very small percentage of the votes and I'll be doomed to "unrealistic third party" status.

With respect to the legalization of drugs, most people can only see in their imagination the devastating damage drugs have done to the lives of somebody they have known or heard about. To their "un-libertarian" way of thinking it does not seem compassionate to allow a free market in drugs. Their limited human seeing can only see the unhampered flow of drugs as murderous and depriving of life and well-being.

Just as Native Americans taught us to walk a mile in the other's moccasins, I must consciously "get into other people's thinking" for awhile to see how they think. I must find out where the thinking of the average Joe or Mary is simply not yet ready to open up to new possibilities, and I must steer clear of what they would consider extreme positions. This is known as "being in touch with common sense."

The same principle applies to other libertarian ideas such as the funding of roads. The ultimate libertarian goal of having no government funding of roads unless voluntary contributions were so earmarked cannot be advertised in an election campaign until enough preparatory work has made people ready to hear it as a campaign issue.

"Middle of the road" wins in politics at any given time. Yes, the middle of the road shifts over time, which is to say "common sense" shifts over time, and I absolutely must work for shifts in people's thinking toward the directions I favor. Otherwise I'm not true to myself. But during an election campaign I'd better present an image not too far from the middle of the road if I hope to gain large numbers of votes ... which is being true to my election goal.

Government worshippers, various kinds of socialists and "progressives," have during the twentieth century caused enormous shifts in people's way of thinking and in the way governments operate. They have done this by working with tireless patience to institute one little shift after another, first in people's minds ... then in politics.

These government worshipping elitists haven't called themselves "Radicals for Socialism." They have called themselves "Progressive Democrats" and "Moderate Republicans". No matter how extreme their philosophy has been when compared to the ideals of freedom, they have endeavored to make themselves sound very close to being middle-of-the-roaders. This has been the key to their success.

Perhaps with enough patience, some libertarians will infiltrate the Democratic Party and call themselves "Progressives" while other libertarians will infiltrate the Republican Party and call themselves "Moderates." On the other hand, most common sense libertarians will present a picture of themselves as willing to move close enough to the current middle of the road at any given time that the Libertarian Party itself, as well as declared libertarians in other parties, can begin winning elections.

This week my goal is to find out if I am patient enough to really win elections. I do this by finding out if I am patient enough to put on the back shelf for awhile my positions that are "extreme" in the eyes of the majority in order to further my goals which are not so "extreme" in the eyes of the majority. If I'm not willing to do this, I don't really belong in politics.

As I awaken each morning this week, I greet the new day with optimism and say to myself a few times this important reminder:

"The proof of success in politics is not getting a few percentage points of the vote! The proof is winning elections!"

Having reminded myself of this truth, I set about to search my mind to see if I hold any extreme positions which the general electorate is just not going to go for at this time. There is no question that I will find in my mind a few "extreme" positions. I am opposed to all taxation. I favor legalization of almost everything. I'm working ultimately toward making nation states obsolete. And philosophically I do not support the idea of "majority of voters rules".

My goal this week is to find positions that I can temporarily live with which are (1) different than these "extreme" positions, (2) working in the direction of my ultimate goals, and (3) close enough to the middle of the road that the majority of voters could possibly vote for them.

During each day this week make a list and add to my list of "political positions" or "expedient positions" which are not my ultimate positions but in the short term serve my ultimate goals. I make absolutely sure that it's clear in my mind that operating this way is not "selling out" my ideals, I am merely being in touch with my inner patience and common sense.

I can even remind myself aloud often, until I really grasp the truth of this idea:

"Being true to my inner patience IS being true to my ideals."

During my meditation periods this week, 20 minutes or longer each day, I visualize my ultimate goals. I visualize a society which has adopted all my "extreme" positions so they are no longer extreme. I see it happening. But then I let myself feel thankful that I have the patience to not sabotage these ultimate goals by pushing too hard too soon.

Before retiring for the day, I "count my votes" so to speak. In my mind's eye, I see many, many people responding positively to my political messages and seeing me as not overly extremist or not at all "out of touch with the real world." I see voters voting for me or my candidates or my ideas by the droves.

Last but not least, I affirm one last time with great gratitude:

"Patience is my true nature and holding my patience assures success."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 47

1995-10-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

"I make an offer which can't be refused."

Liberty cannot really be refused ... not really. Because liberty is my inner state of being and try as I might I cannot ultimately refuse myself.

So when I offer liberty to someone, that person could reply, but can't really mean it: "What in hell would I want to be free for!" Therein lies liberty's assurance of success.

If I offered a million billion dollars, I could be refused.

If I offered cradle-to-grave security provided by stealing from more productive workers and giving to less productive workers, I would certainly be refused by any moral person.

But no one can ultimately refuse one's natural state of being. So all I have to do is offer freedom and keep offering freedom.

Do I have to produce freedom to back up my offer? Not hardly. Why would I have to produce something that already exists inside of people?

Obviously I might be guided to work for political freedom, but it is the act of offering freedom that really does the work. Ronald Reagan stated to the American public, "I want to give you back what America once had ... freedom!" He won elections by landslides.

Did people actually experience more freedom when Ronald Reagan was president? After all, the government continued to grow, taxes increased, and there was little perceptible movement toward more political freedom.

The answer is people did feel freer. They had voted for freedom. They had chosen the natural state of their spirit. Having so chosen, their predisposition is now to be open to feeling more of their natural state regardless of conditions outside themselves.

Strange as it might seem, the dictator who offers freedom does, at least in people's subconscious minds, get taken up on his offer.

Whatever is being experienced in the subconscious mind gets reflected in the outer world, doesn't it? So the same dictator who had no intention in the first place of actually granting freedom ends up being the facilitator of freedom after all, either by voluntarily surrendering or by subconsciously setting himself up to be taken down.

Whoever offers freedom, by virtue of the offer, ends up facilitating freedom.

During the 1998 elections, the Libertarian Party chose one of the weakest possible campaign themes. The one consistently publicized campaign issue favored by the party leadership was, "We offer an alternative to Republicans and Democrats."

Big deal! Joseph Stalin would be an alternative to Republicans and Democrats. Adolph Hitler would be an alternative to Republicans and Democrats. Not voting at all would be an alternative to Democrats and Republicans.

The truth is Republicans and Democrats might have forgotten their source, but will someday remember that they too are libertarians down deep. To offer merely an alternative to Democrats and Republicans is to offer no clearly defined opening into people's deepest desires. Is it any wonder that most libertarian candidates got a mere 3 or 4 percent of the vote?

This week I want to check my premises and check what I am offering. When I waken each day I ask myself a few times:

"What am I offering and how clearly does my offer call upon people's natural desire for freedom?"

During my daily meditations, I specifically search my mind, asking, "What issues are my ego's favorites and do my ego's favorite issues really awaken the desire for freedom in most other people?"

If I find myself focusing on positions which do not serve my overall purpose more than the position of merely offering a little something other than Republicans and Democrats, I ask myself inside:

"What issues would really, really, really resonate with people's inner desire for freedom?"

This week during my meditations I listen inside and allow my inner voice to tell me what I really need to be focusing on and I make a list of issues that just about everyone is going to respond favorably to, at least on a spiritual level. I remind myself that issues given by my inner voice are issues worth campaigning for because these are issues that are going to open people's inner desire for freedom.

Before retiring each day, I practice feeling what it feels like to be offering freedom in ways which will really open people ... instead of in ways my ego might have preferred. What does it feel like to be offering something people really cannot refuse? Before sleeping I let myself feel one last time for the day the joyful certainty of this week's lesson:

"By offering freedom, I am making an offer which really can't be refused."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 46

1995-10-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

"I look inside for novel ways to sell liberty."

Ayn Rand literally wrote novels to glorify her heroic sense of life and perhaps as an unintended service "sell" liberty, the political condition required by true heroes. Future libertarian fiction writers also will probably "sell" the ideas of liberty in novels for a long time to come.

But libertarians who do not write fiction can still listen inside to their inner voice and come up with a million and one novel ways to sell liberty.

One valuable way to sell liberty is to float proposals which sound reasonable to the public but would surely have the old-guard going on defense. Remember, whoever is defending is really attacking oneself.

James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg floated such a proposal in their book "The Sovereign Individual". It was a proposal to pay all political office holders straight commission based on the growth of after-tax per-capita income.

If libertarians were to introduce this proposal in Congress or even into campaign debates, the old-guard would surely scream and cry, tear their clothes, throw fits and fly into temper tantrums.

Is it to liberty's advantage for the public to watch the old-guard acting this way in the face of a reasonable sounding proposal?

I'm hearing inside, "Yes!" Anytime one goes into resistance against a reasonable sounding idea, or even against a cherished traditional idea, the resistor loses. The old-guard screaming and crying, ranting and raving about school vouchers has worked in liberty's favor.

What about "selling" liberty in other realms besides art and politics?

What if an insurance salesman included a paperback copy of something short and easy to read such as Ayn Rand's "Anthem" as a complimentary gift to his customer with each policy delivered?

What if one sold a product that included in the packaging a short, easy to read, non-offending primer on freedom ideas like the truth that taxation is immoral?

What if someone sold small business owners on the idea of reprogramming their sales receipts printout so that the line after the subtotal which for years has said "Sales Tax" now says "Government Theft"?

What if one came up with a product priced to appeal to minimum wage earners and at the same time serve as an entry point or "foot in the door" to the longer-term creation of individual sovereignty?

What if marketing schemes of various freedom technology products included this Course in Political Miracles as part of their distribution?

When it comes to novel ideas which promote liberty ... the sky is not the limit. There are no limits.

This week I give myself an assignment to use my meditations constructively ... coming up with 25 novel ways to sell or promote liberty.

Each night before retiring, I ask my inner self very seriously, and with great desire, to give me during my sleep some wonderful novel ideas in selling liberty.

I go to sleep with a notepad and pencil nearby, happy in the knowledge that losing a few minutes sleep in the middle of the night is a small price to pay for establishing liberty.

Each morning with great gratitude I review the ideas given to me during the night and ask that even more good ideas be given during the day.

During my 20 minute or longer daily meditations this week, I specifically ask to be shown novel ways to sell liberty.

Some of these ideas will make me a great deal of money and work toward assuring my own individual sovereignty. Some ideas I will share with others and everyone will make money.

I will be happy in the knowledge that whether the novel ideas make money or not, all will promote liberty. And because we are all connected on psychic levels, the ideas will have their effects in the minds of others.

Throughout this whole week I remember that an idea held in mind produces after its kind. I remember that novel ideas selling liberty are infecting all minds very powerfully.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 45

1995-10-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

"I want nothing and gain everything."

In last week's lesson I learned that not wanting particular outcomes or circumstances, in the sense of not considering them so important that my peace is in jeopardy, actually puts me in my power in an enormously strong position.

But being in my power in an enormously strong position ... guess what? Everything I really want is gained.

In a way I could say that wanting nothing on earth gains me everything in heaven. But by "heaven" I don't have to mean some place in the sky, do I? I could merely mean that I haven't "sold my soul", so to speak. I'm intact. I'm whole. I'm my own person. I'm Howard Roark all over again, if you will.

Howard Roark lives by his spirit. If outer circumstances do not seem favorable, he laughs. If everything seems to turn against him, he laughs. If people declare they are out to destroy him, he laughs.

Roark's joy cannot be touched because he has chosen to stay in touch with the joy inside himself.

If I were to want something outside myself more than I want my joy, then I will experience the pain of wanting when I could be experiencing the joy I already have inside myself. I experience what I choose to experience.

Does this mean I don't have preferences? Of course not. My spirit has many preferences. But my spirit is not attached to any of them. My spirit prefers the challenge of freedom over "guaranteed" security. My spirit prefers that I earn my way rather have some government providing my welfare with stolen money. My spirit rejoices in an economically free society and does not favor government manipulation of the economy.

But preferences don't say, "I have to have it or I will die!" A preference says something more like, "If it doesn't work out .... Oh, well! Whatever! Not having it is not going to destroy my peace."

A happy laughing child has preferences. A spoiled child has wants. A spoiled child uses anger, depression, and various other painful mechanisms to prove that having one's way is more important than experiencing one's inner peace.

This week my goal is to teach myself as never before that by wanting nothing outside myself I have everything I ever really wanted.

To this end, as I awaken each day I feel glad for the new day and I give myself an order for the day, 10 or 15 times aloud:

"Want nothing, listen inside, do as told."

This is a spiritual order. My inner voice would like nothing better than for me to not have earthly wants getting in the way of my hearing inside what really serves me and how I can really serve my spirit.

During the day each day I use this same statement as a mantra throughout the day, reminding myself:

"Want nothing, listen inside, do as told."

In case I'm too busy to use a mantra, I designate a specific time each hour to say to myself aloud over and over for a whole minute:

"Want nothing, listen inside, do as told."

During my longer meditation period I let my mind show me how it feels to want nothing outside myself, how it feels to listen inside and do as my spirit would have me do, and what are the benefits of wanting nothing and doing as told.

Before retiring each day I consider the possibility that maybe my spirit, my higher intelligence, knows better than my intellectual mind what is good for me and how to produce conditions of freedom never before experienced.

I say to myself as one last reminder before my peaceful sleep:

"By wanting nothing, I am free! By being free, I have everything!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 44

1995-10-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

"I experience invulnerability when I surrender outcomes."

Just as the ultimate goal of a libertarian activist is far beyond the intermediate issues talked about in a particular election cycle, so the ultimate goal of this course is to benefit me far beyond the realm of politics. The principles I am learning with these lessons work for business or work situations, relationships, indeed all areas of life.

There is nothing I cannot accomplish if I live by these principles.

In fact, the more I learn about spiritual opening ... not religious beliefs, but true spiritual opening beyond any particular beliefs ... the happier and more efficient my life becomes. When I release guilt, fear, anger, wanting, fixed belief systems, and other pain-causing habits; what remains is love, joy, and inner peace. Why wouldn't my whole life be more efficient?

Does this mean a spiritually opened person can live within the depressing gray cloud of a Marxist society or the prohibitive darkness of any kind of dictatorship and still thrive and be happy? Yes. Because a spiritually opened person is in touch with inner happiness which does not depend on external circumstances.

Does this mean I can still feel free in an unfree world? Yes ... if I'm seeing clearly that an unfree world doesn't have to affect my freedom. But such clear seeing requires being open spiritually. A truly free person, a person in touch with inner freedom, does not need to worry about external circumstances.

In a political activism context, does this mean I can be joyous and happy and not the least bit depressed even if libertarians or libertarian-leaning candidates lose everywhere in an overwhelming election landslide? Why not? Who decides whether I am happy or not? Some voter external to me? Or am I myself in charge of how I feel?

If I am in charge of how I feel ... if external events or circumstances cannot really affect my inner happiness ... then I am in a very, very strong position indeed.

If the only way I can become depressed or unhappy is to allow external events or circumstances to have more importance in my mind than they need have, then I can choose to see specific outcomes as nowhere near as important as my inner state of being. What an incredible position of strength! Now I'm like Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, living for the sake of my spirit ... not for the sake of external events.

This week my task with these lessons is to fortify in my mind the idea that external events, external circumstances or external outcomes do not really matter because I can choose to be happy no matter what.

To this end I start each day with an affirmation of reminder such as:

"No matter what's going on in the world ... I'm the one who decides whether I am happy or not! Knowing this, I am invulnerable."

"My strength today comes from my choice to stay happy in the face of any and all outer occurrences."

"Today my priorities are: (1) choose happiness, (2) choose happiness, and (3) choose happiness. What power this gives me!"

It doesn't matter what affirmations of reminder I use. My inner voice may give me very powerful statements indeed. The important thing is to allow my imagination to give me mental pictures while using the affirmations and then to use the statements until I feel the truth of them.

As always, I also take at least 20 minutes during the day for meditation, quieting my mind, and really feeling the peace and joy of my inner being.

When I retire each day this week, I rejoice in my strength and power. I rejoice that I do not give away my strength by thinking that externals are so important as to affect my happiness. I rejoice that there is nothing that can get in the way of my achieving my goals precisely because their not being achieved couldn't hurt me in the least.

Before going to sleep with a smile on my face, I might say aloud to myself one last reminder:

"Having surrendered the need for particular outcomes, I am invulnerable."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 43

1995-10-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

"I plant positive associations
in people's minds."
Libertarians can easily discover all the usual political "tricks of the trade" by studying a number of highly successful political campaigns.

Additional "Freedom Technology" having to do with marketing products or services while teaching libertarianism in the process can be heard inside by libertarians who practice listening to the voice of their inner inventiveness.

The purpose of this course is primarily to give libertarians spiritual tools or abilities which most non-libertarian politicians or political activists have not developed.

In these lessons I have learned about inner hearing (which is enough in itself to bring amazing success), inner seeing, and the incredible power of holding thoughts and pictures strongly in mind.

Another powerful tool is saying things to others which juxtapose a positive for me and a positive for them in their minds.

For example, let's suppose I said to a non-registered voter, "You know if you register to vote as a Libertarian you can earn a ton of money."

In this example, having the person register as Libertarian might be my goal. Earning a ton of money might be very appealing to the person. By saying these both in the same sentence, I have placed two ideas in the person's mind at the same time.

Since ideas in mind associate with each other, I have literally caused an association in this person's mind between registering Libertarian and earning a ton of money.

"How does that work? How does this money come?" the person asks. Maybe I have an answer. Maybe I don't. Maybe I just walk away, like someone playing hard to get.

But the association is in the person's mind, isn't it?

Not to mention the fact that the association is in my mind every time I say it and I already know what happens when ideas are held in mind.

Will the person be able to shake the association out of mind? Not easily. There would have to be direct evidence to the contrary in order to wipe out the association.

Will the person be tempted to register Libertarian to see what happens? Definitely. A seed has been planted and the person's subconscious mind will want to find out one way or another, true or false.

If the person registers Libertarian just once ... are there benefits to the Libertarian Party or the libertarian cause? Yes, there are. In the first place, once associated always associated ... to some degree. Secondly, it is very hard to not do a little research on what you are getting into. Third, every Libertarian registration helps.

Will the person ever actually vote Libertarian? Yes, highly likely. To be associated, even in the slightest way, is to be associated. It would be hard for the person not to vote Libertarian at least once.

My exercise for this week is to train myself to plant associations in people's minds. I will spend the week listening inside during my daily 20 minute meditation sessions and coming up with statements coupling a goal I want to see accomplished with a hard-to-resist benefit to the one hearing the statement. Some examples might be:

"I read somewhere that people who vote Libertarian are having incredible miracles happen in their lives."

"I don't have the details with me, but if you register to vote and specify Libertarian, you can make tons of money."

"I heard that Atlas Shrugged is benefiting more people than any other book except the Bible."

"Anymore these days it's hard to get a good woman unless you are a reader of Ayn Rand."

The idea is to think of all kinds of people who I might run into and find myself talking to in different situations ... rich people, poor people, old people, young people, those interested in females, those interested in males, etc. ... and have fun creating a statement that will work for each different interest.

I also want to begin practicing with these statements this week, using them in real situations as often as possible. It doesn't matter whether I ever see positive results. I'm planting seeds that will sprout and grow and lead to blossoming in the future.

As always, when I retire for the day each day this week I am going to remember the darkness of the political scene only a few years ago and then the incredible light of how much progress has been made and is being made ... and allow this picture of darkness transforming into light to be planted in my mind next to incredible gratitude.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 42

1995-09-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

"Inner seeing shows me the way to freedom."
In last week's lesson I learned that the two main approaches libertarians have been using to create liberty, the political approach and the individual sovereignty approach, are complimentary. One cannot produce liberty without the other. Both are necessary.

Patriots have reluctantly been willing to think of a third approach: taking up arms and fighting for freedom.

Can the two peaceful libertarian approaches coalesce and produce true liberty before frustrated men and women start retaliating with violence against insane government organizations and against those who push for more government involvement in various areas of life?

Will there be civil war again in America, as some believe?

No.

Will there be organized gorilla warfare, as some figure?

No.

Will there be isolated incidents of retaliation against government officials or against those who support larger roles for government?

Yes. But the influence of these few incidents will be small and even ardent patriots will be able to see clearly that such retaliation is counterproductive to producing true freedom.

The answers to these questions cannot readily be deduced by logic. Anyone who has tried to handicap horse races or pick all the week's football scores knows that even the most perfect logic based on the most correct premises does not take into account the "unforeseeable".

We know the answers because of prophecy. There is a way to see future possibilities and there is a way to see the conclusion to which events are heading. "The future's not ours to see!" makes a cute song lyric but is not a true statement.

The "gift" of prophecy is not a gift but everyone's natural state. Most people have "closed down" their inner seeing since infancy and some people open back up more easily than others, but the ability to see what the future has in store is not a big deal.

Question: Would it benefit libertarians to be able to see the future?

The answer to this would be negative only if libertarians didn't want to come up with new products, new services, and new ways to secure freedom. If one wants to atrophy in the status quo, one can use the past for guidance.

But libertarians usually have future-oriented minds, don't they? The world's great readers of science fiction are really the world's great readers of future possibilities, aren't they?

So the real question is: What do I need to do to open up my future-seeing?

The answer is meditation and learning to see in a particular way during meditation.

There is a political party that advocates meditation, the Natural Law Party, but that party still supports government solutions funded by ... forcing people to pay taxes they wouldn't have volunteered.

Strangely, since meditators cannot long live with such contradictions, if members of the Natural Law Party could grasp the immorality of taxation, they would readily become libertarians.

At any rate, meditation is the key to seeing the future, and this week my assignment to myself is to begin the process of opening up my inner seeing. Each day as I awaken, I am going to say to myself over and over a few times aloud, until I begin to feel it as truth, some such statement as:

"More than anything else I want to be able to see the future."

"I want inner seeing in order to serve the cause of freedom."

"I really, really, really want to be able to see clearly."

Whatever statement comes to mind in this respect I will use. My purpose is to put myself in-touch with how deep my desire really is for clear seeing.

During each day this week I take time for at least 20 full minutes meditation. Meditation quiets my intellectual mind ... the prerequisite to seeing clearly. When I feel my mind is very quiet, with few or no thoughts cluttering the mental landscape so to speak, I simply ask of my inner being:

"Show me any pictures of the future I need to see."

Then I keep my mind relaxed. I don't try to see anything. Trying to see will block spontaneous inner seeing. I just wait with my mind peaceful and watch what arises.

These meditation periods are very valuable, not only for my own development, but for the creation of freedom politically. Essentially meditation frees my mind. But because the world outside myself is an outpicturing of my mind, I free the world as I free my mind.

Having practiced meditation during the day, at the end of each day I will feel clear of anger, clear of frustration, clear of mental confusion, and clear of uncertainty.

As a daily closing salute to my spirit and to the spirit of men and women who through the centuries have fought for freedom, I might thank my lucky stars with immense gratitude that I can look into the future, even as perhaps some of the founders of America were able to look into the future, and that I can see very bright times ahead for political liberty.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 41

1995-09-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

"I break the chains of bondage
by listening inside."

In last week's lesson I learned that willingness to join with ministers and church people, no matter how much a challenge such a step might be for me, is a first priority in achieving political success.

Another important step is willingness to create a rapport with small business men and women. This is much less a challenge for a libertarian like myself, but requires work ... and it is work that cannot be ignored if grass roots support is to be built.

I want small business people to help me towards two objectives: building political support for freedom and at the same time building freedom from political control. Thus, one business person renders powerless two bureaucrats, in a manner of speaking.

Until now small business people have been victims of government regulations and tax policies without understanding they do not have to be so victimized. Now the time is ripe to teach them they can start freeing themselves even before libertarianism once again becomes the dominant political philosophy.

Imagine myself approaching a small business owner and saying, "I have a way for you to make money over and above what you are already making in your business without any changes or added expenses whatsoever." Unless I've approached this owner at the wrong time on the wrong day, he or she is going to hesitate only a moment before saying something like, "How's that?"

I place a handsomely printed flyer in this small business person's hand and say with authority, "When you get a few moments to really concentrate on what this has to say ... read it carefully. In a week or so I'll come back to talk to you."

On the front leaf of the flyer is printed boldly: You can run your business without taxes, without licenses, and without Federal, State, or City rules or regulations or forms to fill out!

Then when the flyer is opened the front inside leaf is printed boldly with: That's how it will be when a libertarian government is elected.

Then at the bottom will be printed something like: Work toward true business freedom! Support and vote for libertarian candidates!

The third leaf of the flyer will also be printed boldly: Until then....

There is a way to become increasingly free while libertarian political influence is growing....

It's called Freedom Technology.

Then on the fourth leaf of the flyer will be bulleted a few short simple sales statements regarding Freedom Technology. These statements must highlight benefits so as to create interest in further investigation, but not tell the exact nature of the technology or plans of action, leaving some element of mystery. At the bottom of the leaf is my telephone number.

If one of these small business owners happens to get interested in one of the Freedom Technology plans of action, so much the better. The business owner will benefit and I will benefit. But whether interested in the Freedom Technology or not, the business operator will be introduced to the fact that there are libertarian candidates out there without having a lot of political statements and political arguments thrown in his or her face.

If a business owner is approached by a political activist solely for political purposes, there is not much possibility of planting seeds. Chances are this person has been supporting candidates for years who have been working to some degree against small businesses.

But if political seed planting is only part of a much broader opportunity being presented, then the person's focus will be somewhat diverted away from the political aspects and when focuses are diverted in this manner ... seeds get planted.

This two-pronged introduction to small business owners reflects the necessity to work both approaches of the libertarian movement.

Libertarian politicians and political office holders can make it easier for those creating true free enterprise structures, but can never themselves guarantee freedom as long as voting and "majority of voters rule" remains in effect.

Creators of individual sovereignty structures can create true freedom with their enterprises, but they can never guarantee freedom as long as powerful statist governments exist which could overnight turn hostile to their enterprises.

I am teaching that both approaches, the political and the individual sovereignty approach, must be used at the same time. There also may be other approaches. The key is to listen inside to guidance from my inner wisdom.

My exercise for this week's lesson is to take 15 minutes each day for a quiet meditation session during which I ask questions of my inner self about what approaches I personally should be using in creating freedom and wait peacefully to see if answers come. I should not be distracted during meditation. If I can do more than one meditation session each day, so much the better.

Questions I could ask myself inside might include but not be limited to the following:

"How serious am I about getting out there and working for the libertarian cause?"

"Am I willing to visit small business owners and follow the idea given in this lesson or something similar?"

"Am I willing to enlist the aid of others in visiting small business owners?"

"Am I willing to take part in the design, printing, or other production aspects of a highly appealing flyer which literally impels the attention of small business owners?"

"What kind of design would work best on such a flyer?"

"If I'm not to work this way, then in what manner should I be working for freedom?"

The exercise for this week is not necessarily about enlisting the support of small businesses. The possibility of enlisting the help of small business owners is an excuse and starting point for a week of meditative inner hearing practice.

I want to find out from inside myself what I should be doing more or different than I am already doing to further the cause of freedom.

If I hear inside that approaching small businesses is a good idea, then I will listen inside further for specific instructions.

If I hear inside that approaching small businesses is not something I am personally being guided to do at this time, then I will listen inside further for more instructions as to what I am being guided to do.

My inner voice, the voice of my spirit, will guide me very specifically. If I am not in the habit of meditating daily and asking inside, then this lesson provides not only a place to start but a way of beginning to prove to myself that if I listen inside my spirit will guide me perfectly in creating freedom.

At the end of each day this week, I rejoice in the knowledge that like a surfer on a perfect wave, I am riding the crest of an idea whose time has come. I relax in the knowledge that liberty cannot ... not prevail.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 40

1995-09-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

One of the themes of these lessons is that we are all in this together. I have to look far below surface appearances to see people's deepest interests, but at the deepest levels no one has any interests different than anyone else. As Ayn Rand points out, human beings are spiritual beings whose fundamental needs do not vary.

This course has repeatedly pointed out that every person's spirit wants and needs political liberty. Not only my interest but every one's interest is served most effectively if libertarians who happen to love God help libertarians who happen to be atheists, atheist libertarians help God-loving libertarians, and all to work together to produce political liberty.

With this in mind, it can also be seen that the process of creating political liberty will be enormously sped up when libertarians of all stripes enlist the aid of ministers and church people.

A very high percentage of Americans say they either believe in God on faith or have had experiences so amazing or miraculous that they absolutely know there is a higher power at work. This very high percentage of Americans is more deeply influenced by spiritual arguments than the arguments of economists or philosophers.

If the truth spreads among this very high percentage of Americans that their God wants them voting for and working for political liberty on earth, then political parties who want to rely on government for solutions will soon be relics of the past.

If this very high percentage of Americans becomes convinced that their getting into heaven is enhanced every time they bring a voter into the Libertarian Party or support a libertarian candidate from another party, it's not going to take too long for bureaucrats to start scurrying to obtain job skills that are salable in a free and honest market.

But to achieve this goal, libertarians need ministers and church people working for them. This requires three steps:

(A) Set Up Churches

Those libertarians who are more spiritually oriented should consider setting up churches which specifically teach that God wants political liberty on earth so that men and women can learn to make their own moral choices without some government trying to "save" them from mistakes and make their choices for them. The cause of liberty would be enormously enhanced if there were churches which specifically teach "Liberty in earth, as it is in heaven."

(B) Support Libertarian Ministers

Many intellectually inclined libertarians who don't like to think in terms of spirit could at least serve liberty's cause by recognizing that libertarian ministers are allies and deserve good will and moral support. There is no logical reason why even the most sinless Objectivist cannot cease throwing stones for awhile and say, "We are all in this together. Let's work together."

(C) Help Ministers Teach Liberty

Intellectually inclined libertarians have the intelligence to shift their thinking just enough to understand the language of ministers and then teach ministers in ministers' language why God would want people taking responsibility for themselves instead of having government assuming responsibility for people.

This week the goal of my lesson is to call upon libertarians to join with ministers and do what it takes to help ministers work for political liberty. I make this call by taking the first steps myself, leading by example.

My assignment for myself this week is to conduct a letter writing campaign. My goal is to write several letters each day, as many as my time will allow, to ministers of churches in my region. In these letters I will talk to ministers about freedom in general and ask them about political freedom specifically. I might write something like:

As you are well aware, Jesus taught freedom, promising his disciples, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." There seems to be the implication throughout the teachings of Jesus that the state of being he calls "heaven" is indeed total freedom. In light of the prayer given by Jesus, "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven," I find my mind constantly asking a question which maybe you can help me with: Should we be teaching that God wants us to have liberty on earth ... political liberty?

Ministers will usually respond to questions that sound sincere and humble, asking for help. The goal of these letters is not to convince ministers of anything, but only to plant seeds in their minds. Perhaps these ministers have never thought much about what their God wants for people politically. More likely, they have purposely avoided thinking any thoughts different than "mainstream" thoughts about politics in order to not alienate their congregations or bureaucrats who might be inclined to tamper with their church's tax-exempt status. Regardless of how they have thought in the past, my lesson to myself in this is that seeds planted DO tend to grow.

If some of the ministers respond to my letters by saying something like, "Yes, God wants us to have political liberty on earth," I might write a follow-up letter suggesting that a course on freedom be offered some evening at their church. I would emphasize that the course is non-denominational and non-partisan, just something everyone in the congregation could benefit from if they are interested. Ministers are always looking for course ideas to fill their church calendar.

But who would be the teacher of such a course? How about myself? I haven't lived until I've taught a course in a church, right?

If I myself am not ready for this kind of stretch, then perhaps such a course can be taught by one of the local libertarians who is not widely known to be affiliated with any particular political party.

But the best teacher of all would be the minister himself or herself. People often respect and revere their minister like no one else. I would only need to be artful in my suggesting to the minister that a course on the spiritual reasons why God wants political liberty would be best taught by the minister.

It might not seem by surface appearances that influencing a little class to start in a church would aid the cause of liberty very much. But who can judge these things? What if such a class lit a tremendous fire in just one person and that one person went on to be a great orator, a Martin Luther King, so to speak, for the libertarian movement? Then my efforts would seem worthwhile, yes?

My final step, as I retire each day this week, is to imagine in my mind that my letters are going out and planting seeds which eventually are growing to influence future great champions of liberty. As I visualize someone arising from a dormant state and awakening, I might say aloud, "Liberty's champion has awakened!" Feeling brave I might also add, "If it turns out to be me ... so be it!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"I create liberty by joining with others."

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 39

1995-09-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

"Liberty's light is the light of love."
In the lessons of this course I have learned that liberty will increase if I am in touch with my deepest, truest desire, because the innermost desire of my spirit is for liberty ... and such an all-encompassing desire is a very powerful creative force once unleashed.

I have also learned I can help any organizations that are creating political liberty, such as the Libertarian Party, by using my imagination and my belief. If I strongly picture in my mind a goal being achieved and strongly believe it is being achieved, I soon start seeing evidence of it in reality.

Non-religious people might call this the "power of an idea held in mind." Religious people might call it "prayer." Whatever one calls it, religious and non-religious people have the same deep inner desire for liberty, use the same imagination and belief, and have nothing to fear from one another. Again, everyone down deep is a libertarian.

What if there is yet another way to help a freedom-facilitating organization such as the Libertarian Party? I know how to use the power of belief and the power of imagination. What about the power of emotion? What if I could harness the power of emotion and channel it into achieving my goal?

I know that at the deep root of emotions there are only two starting points: fear and love. Every emotion which can be named springs from either fear or love. Fear and fear's derivative emotions, such as anger, I use to sabotage my success. Love and emotions related to love I use to achieve everything good.

But just exactly how do I use love to build an organization that promotes liberty, such as the Libertarian Party?

The answer is the same for any liberty enhancing organization, but I declare it for the Libertarian Party: I declare the truth that the Libertarian Party loves everyone.

Wouldn't it be strange if there was a non-libertarian political party which never tired of crying, "We are the party of the people. We love people! We care for people!", but then when their politicians got into office they never tired of creating a tax and regulation slavery state that favored bureaucrats and special interest groups while making it impossible for hard-working down-to-earth people to rise above a spirit-suffocated chain gang existence? Wouldn't it be strange if such a political party called themselves "the party of the poor" but their policies guaranteed that the only way to not be poor is to be dishonest?

Would it be logical to conclude that the members of such a party secretly hate people and only say they care for people as a form of political double-talk designed to help them maintain power?

The members of such a party would certainly resort to screaming that the Libertarian Party is uncaring. But it pays to look deeper. Wouldn't libertarians give people what they really, really, REALLY want: freedom to learn from their mistakes and freedom for their spirit to soar? Who then really loves people?

It would work against my goals to go out in public and say that other political parties fundamentally hate people. But it is very much in my interest to see that the Libertarian Party ultimately comes from love.

My goal this week is to see the Libertarian Party as the loving party it really is. If I feel so inclined, I can do this by creating a poster or decreeing ... like I did with last week's lesson. But I want to have fun this week doing something a little more touching to others. As I declared for myself with last week's lesson, I'm willing to do whatever it takes ... even if the exercise is a stretch for me.

Each day this week, I am going to write one or more short "thank you" notes to acquaintances. I am going to express my sincere appreciation to them for being who they are. No matter what I imagine or know their political leanings to be I am going to end each thank you note by writing, "I want you to know the Libertarian Party loves you!"

The purpose of this week's exercise is twofold: (1) It gets me feeling gratitude and love toward people I may never have taken the time to feel gratitude and love toward, which opens me up spiritually; and (2) It helps others to feel good about themselves and about the Libertarian Party at one and the same time.

Something "magical" happens when people feel good about themselves and good about the Libertarian Party at the same time. I can call it "synthesis" at some deep level emotionally. Or I can call it "subconscious emotional rapport." Or I can forget about calling it anything and just be happy that it happens.

Before retiring each day this week I let myself feel the joy that comes from knowing I have done my part in spreading love ... and in spreading love in the name of the Libertarian Party, an organization which serves my goals.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 38

1995-09-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

"There is nothing more powerful than an idea held in mind."
Earlier lessons have made it very clear that everyone has spirit and one's spirit cherishes liberty. This means that deep down inside themselves every Democrat, Republican, Independent... everyone... is really a libertarian, although they might be out-of-touch with their libertarian inner desires.

Also in earlier lessons I received a glimmer-hint of how powerful my mind really is. Now it is time to put my mind to work on a deeper, more powerful level than ever before in creating political liberty.

For an initial experiment, without knowing the mechanisms at work, I might say to myself over and over again many times something like:

"I see the deep libertarian nature of every Democrat, Republican, and Independent rising to the surface ... now!"

With this lesson I will come to see that my mind has tremendous influence, and merely saying such a statement often enough begins to bring results.

But I want even greater, faster results. So I am going to use the power of my mind to help build an organization which will mightily influence everyone to get back in touch with their libertarian inner desires.

Whether I think of myself currently as Republican, Democrat, Independent, or none of the above, it is in the interest of the political freedom my inner being craves to see the Libertarian Party grow and prosper ... at least for awhile.

The Libertarian Party has often acted very foolishly and thus greatly limited their support among the public. Even if the Libertarian Party started acting with more common sense and became a more accepted party in the United States, it could not be the ultimate answer to securing political freedom. After all, organizations eventually evolve into devices for curtailing freedom, and the Libertarian Party is an organization. But for the moment....

For the moment, the Libertarian Party is the one political party on the American scene which recognizes clearly and teaches clearly that government forced upon individuals is intrinsically evil. For the moment, I want to build and strengthen such a clear seeing and teaching organization as the Libertarian Party.

Whether I think of myself currently as Republican, Democrat, Independent, or none of the above, I am going to use the power of my mind to build the Libertarian Party into a widely accepted political party in the United States.

What if I could accomplish this using a bare minimum of time and energy?

Jesus told his disciples they could literally move mountains with their minds if they knew how. Ayn Rand was not quite so mystical when she often quoted Victor Hugo's statement that there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. What if Jesus and Ayn Rand were recognizing a crucially important principle?

I am reminded of the old story of the girl who believed and believed and BELIEVED when nobody could see any proof or likelihood. Finally to every one's astonishment, what the girl believed in came true.

I'm also reminded of the old saying, "When I believe it, I'll see it!"

What if an idea held in mind ... held strongly in mind ... produces in the world after it's kind?

Once upon a time there was a young man who wanted to be muscular. On the wall of his room he hung a full-body picture of a renowned muscleman. Everyday he stood before the picture and imagined he himself was as muscular. He never lifted weights or did any muscle-enhancing activities or drugs. He simply imagined. Within a few months, his dream started to come true. His muscles grew. Just by contemplating the picture on his wall and imagining, eventually the young man became very muscular, his body imitating the body in the picture.

An intellectual might object saying: "We intellectuals will tell you mind over matter doesn't work. Or if it works somewhat with your body, it certainly doesn't work with external objective reality."

Certainly? What about Uri Geller who easily moved objects around and bent spoons merely by the concentration of his mind?

The truth is: ideas held strongly in mind do very much effect external objective reality. Belief appears to be a focusing mechanism for the mind's power, but to work this week's lesson it is not necessary to know the exact mechanism. My goal is simply to take advantage of the principle.

This week I will to do whatever it takes, no matter how unorthodox the exercise might seem, to open my mind from a low percentage of belief to a high percentage of belief.

Belief about what? About the Libertarian Party's size and influence.

It's artist time! Get out the paints, crayons, colored pencils! I'm going to make a picture poster which clearly shows the Libertarian Party as a major party in American politics exerting great influence on the Republican, Democratic, and other parties.

It makes no difference if I'm a good artist. I'm simply going to have fun pretending real hard that whatever I picture comes true. While making this picture, my goal is to believe that by painting it I am making it come true faster than anyone would have thought possible.

Not only will I spend a great deal of time this week working on and contemplating this poster, but I will also decree the wanted result to be true.

By "decreeing" in this sense I mean setting aside some meditation time each day to say aloud over and over and over again a statement of my choice that affirms the result I am creating. I might say the statement 100 times over. While saying the statement I endeavor to see the result as true in my mind's eye and also feel it as true. Example statements might be:

"The Libertarian Party is quickly becoming as politically astute as the Democratic and Republican parties."

"The Libertarian Party is increasing by leaps and bounds in its ability to gain votes."

"Thousands of people are joining the Libertarian Party every week."

"The Libertarian Party is exerting tremendous influence on American politics."

I can change my statement or make up a new statement as often as I like, but the idea is to spend time decreeing every day this week. The more time the better.

Finally this week I am going to find at least one opportunity each day to say to a stranger one of the statements I've been decreeing. Some examples might be:

I might get on a bus and say to the bus driver, "Did you know that the Libertarian Party is the fastest growing political party in America?"

I might say to a waitress, "It's not going to be too long before the Libertarian Party is having the Republicans and Democrats really look at their policies."

In a supermarket checkout line I might say, "It's amazing how many people are joining the Libertarian Party."

At the end of each day this week I am going to quiet my mind and ask my subconscious mind, my psychic mind, to give me a number from one to a hundred in my mind's eye. This number will represent how much influence the Libertarian Party is having on American politics as a percentage. I will be happily surprised to note that the number is increasing each day.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 37

1995-08-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

"Nothing works like non-resistance."
Mahatma Ghandi became famous for his leadership using "non-violent resistance". Of course "non-violent resistance" is a contradiction in terms. There is nothing that does more violence inside myself than resistance. All I have to do is feel inside myself with honesty to see that resistance is violence.

Despite Ghandi's popularity, his so-called non-violent demonstrations were nonetheless a form of resistance and since it is an immutable scientific law that resistance creates resistance many people were killed or wounded as a result of Ghandi's leadership. If I were to consider being killed or beaten bloody a kind of success, only then could I say Ghandi's resistance was successful.

As much as Ghandi was said to have admired Jesus, he never understood that Jesus did not teach the outer appearance of non-violence as much as he taught non-resistance altogether. Even a thinker like Ayn Rand who never meant to start a religion would admit that Jesus was recognizing something crucially important when he taught, "Resist not evil."

Like Jesus, Ayn Rand's ideal fictional heroes ... John Galt, Judge Narragansett, Midas Mulligan ... did not resist what they perceived as "evil". Like Jesus, they recognized that "evil" has no power of it's own. They recognized that "evil" is helpless in perpetuating itself in particular forms if those forms are not supported by men and women who are for the most part good.

John Galt might well have said, "We do not resist the looters and moochers. We simply withhold our sanction."

Jesus, when asked about paying taxes, was reported to have told his disciples something like, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's." He wasn't saying, "Pay your taxes because taxes are good." He was telling his disciples that they did not have to resist Caesar's evil. Jesus knew that the government's interest was not the same as the interests of the people. He also knew that resistance gives further power to the government.

Jesus was also subtly implying that Caesar is going to get what is coming to him. History has shown that those who use the government to further their ends, no matter how noble they believe their ends to be, end up being victims themselves to those who are far more unscrupulous in their use of force and fraud.

Eventually the worst thugs gain control and the system becomes brutal. This is inevitable because the government itself, unless voluntarily formed and consented to by each citizen, is nothing but legalized force and fraud.

Even the most well-meaning person who becomes willing to live by pointing a gun to his neighbor's head (taxation) dies with a gun pointed to his own head, so to speak. Ayn Rand showed this clearly in her novels, especially with the pitiful character of Dr. Robert Stadler. Jesus refers to the same principle when he teaches that your only escape from the world of attack is by giving up attack thoughts yourself.

Just as Jesus was dragged into court and did not attempt to defend himself, so did Ayn Rand's fictional heroes, Hank Rearden and John Galt, not defend themselves when brought before tribunals. Both Ayn Rand and Jesus recognized that those who rule by brute force will, if resisted, find within themselves excuses to use more force than ever. Resistance begets resistance.

It might be hard for my limited mind to believe that non-resistance works, so my goal for this week is to prove it to myself one way or another, experimenting by consciously choosing non-resistance in situations where I would normally have resisted.

I prepare myself at the start of each day by taking a few minutes to meditate on possibilities for non-resistance during the coming day. I ask my imagination to give me pictures of situations which conceivably could come up during the day where I would be tempted to be in resistance. Everyday situations with family members, co-workers, customers or others I come into contact with in the course of regular activities will afford me the best mind training.

With each such situation, in my mind's eye I see myself beginning to feel resistance ... then stopping ... and consciously choosing to not resist. I picture myself in each crucial turn-around moment looking inside for the non-resistant part of me and asking, "Non-resistance ... are you there? Non-resistance ... what do you feel like? Let me feel you." In my imagination, I persist until I feel myself switching from resistance to non-resistance.

During the day I play a game with myself. Each time I catch myself starting to feel resistance and stop myself, switching into non-resistance ... I award myself a point. But each time I find myself resisting someone or something without making such a switch, I loose all my points and start over again with zero points. I have fun seeing how many points I can accumulate each day.

Secondly, I watch the results of my non-resistance, remembering that the experiment is to see for myself if non-resistance works.

In each situation where I am shown clearly that my non-resistance brought benefits (including the benefit of feeling good inside myself), I award myself 10 whole points.

How many points can I accumulate in one week? It doesn't matter. Even if I revert all the way back to zero points 15 or more times, there are lessons to be learned with this game.

At the end of each day, I chuckle in joy at the process of learning the value of non-resistance and thank my lucky stars that I am not foolish enough to fall for arguments that say I should give government my sanction or moral support, nor foolish enough to resist ... which gives government a different kind of support. I might even say to myself for fun: "Non-resistance is liberty and liberty works."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 36

1995-08-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

"I find ways to trick the trickster!"

I’m beginning to understand that the reason I achieve my goals by not directly attacking political opponents is my creation of what might be called an “energy vacuum” which sucks in my opponents’ energy and uses it against them, as in soft martial arts: “With Tai Chi we never use force against force. We go with the flow of the other person, looking for where the energy is coming from, neutralizing, redirecting, and only then extending our own energy into the situation; never using strength against strength, never using brute force.”

Campaigning for non-retaliation and forgiveness, as I learned in the previous lesson, might be thought of as political Tai Chi. The statement “Forgive them, for they know not what they do,” is undoubtedly a very powerful campaign statement which can be uttered with regard to almost any government program or practice. If an opponent in a debate says something like, “a new government program is needed to...,” I can respond very effectively by making eye contact with the audience and saying, “I urge you to not retaliate against my opponent who would steal your money to pay for his program. I repeat, do not find out where he lives and steal from him. Do not lower yourself to his level.”

Maybe a news reporter asks me, “How do you respond to your opponent’s attack on you?” Without defending myself, I answer: “I hope everyone listening forgives him. He’s a good man. I would actually donate a bit of money if he wants to see a psychiatrist.”

If my political opponents exert energy favoring some government program, I sidestep and turn their energy against them. For example, if a government spending program is being advocated which I don’t approve of, whether or not I agree with the sentiment of the program, in a Tai Chi move I state agreement with the sentiment but question the funding: “What you want to accomplish is good. Are you planning to solicit voluntary donations to pay for it? Or do you have in mind forcing people to turn over their hard-earned money, as you do with so many other government programs.”

Looking at this response carefully, I can see the energy:

“What you want to accomplish is good.” (His punch lands in a vacuum, neutralized.)
“Are you planning to solicit voluntary donations to pay for it?” (I redirect the energy to a moral issue.)
“Or do you have in mind forcing people to turn over their hard-earned money?” (I extend my energy to put him on the defensive.)

But what if I’m only a telephone solicitor for a candidate? Or what if I’m only quickly touching on politics with co-workers at my place of employment?

The same principle applies. Agree, redirect, poke vulnerable spot: “Yeah, I agree with you. But I would like to see this other (moral) alternative. If you are forcing someone against their better judgment, then you’re no better than a dictator, don’t you think?”

But these Tai Chi moves, agreeing with my adversary quickly, redirecting to a different issue, and poking vulnerabilities, are not the only way to “trick the trickster.” I imagine there are many coyote approaches, ways to further my political ideas without ever entering into the self-sabotaging cycle of attack and defense, ways to trick my political opponents into sabotaging themselves.

This week I devote myself to making a list of “coyote tricks.” Each day I ask myself questions like:

“How can I lure my opponents into exposing their own insanity?”

“Is there a way I can respond which shows the death-wish my opponents are REALLY coming from?”

“Can I find ways to show love while my opponent reacts with anger, fear, or guilt?”

At the end of each day I rest with a smile on my face, reflecting on how good it feels to live above attack and defensiveness, enjoying how much fun it is to find ways to trick the trickster.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

"I find ways to trick the trickster."

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 35

1995-08-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

"I campaign for non-retaliation and forgiveness."
The truth that taxation (holding a gun to your neighbor's head and demanding money for your purposes) is immoral and criminal is not sellable to the general public who have been carefully brainwashed to believe that paying taxes is their "duty."

Only among people highly dedicated to reason can I point out that taxation is extortion and even hope to be heard. If I campaign in public on the immorality of taxation, I will be crucified.

How then can I hope to spread the truth about taxation without being attacked or with any attack against me working in my favor?

The answer is: my campaign has to cause the issue to be looked at without specifically raising the issue. This is accomplished not by campaigning against taxation but by campaigning against retaliation for taxation and in favor of forgiveness of tax advocates.

Such a campaign also serves to head off a future possible threat to freedom. With taxes continuing to decimate paychecks and more people than ever furious about taxes, what if a charismatic leader came along who said, "It's okay to trick the tricksters! Those who are taxed would be within their rights to tax the taxers! Politicians who steal from the people have no moral claim to immunity from theft of their own personal property!"

If such a leader were to influence even a few followers, it would not be long before we would see the spectacle of misguided vigilantes taking upon themselves a self-appointed mission of conducting midnight sneak attacks stealing the personal property of politicians who favor taxation and the personal property of those who call for assertive government programs requiring taxation.

Only a handful of such attacks would lead to the noisiest cry ever for more protection for politicians and those in cahoots with politicians. A noisy cry by politicians and their cohorts for protection would lead to more oppressive legislation and expansion of police-state powers than ever before.

To head off such a disastrous chain of events, advocates of freedom serve their cause doubly, burning the candle from both ends so to speak, by campaigning long and loud against retaliation for taxation.

Citizen's committees should be set up in cities all over the United States for the specific purpose of opposing retaliation for taxation. There should be thousands of letters to editors and hundreds of news media contacts regarding this issue. We need to "head off at the pass" any tendency people have to begin retaliating against politicians who tax or people who favor taxation.

Freedom advocates themselves should have as one of their important campaign "platform planks" an unequivocal stand against retaliation for taxation.

Bumper stickers should be printed up stating: "No retaliation for taxation!" and "Forgive the taxers!"

Petitions should be circulated for people to put their names on record favoring: "Clemency for politicians and others who vote for taxes!"

Issue ads should be purchased with bold headlines stating: "Retaliation for taxation is not the answer!"

All tools of the trade of issue-oriented campaigning should be used for this issue.

The public already knows that punishing politicians and others who vote for taxation ... other than voting such politicians out of office ... is not the way to go. But by continuing to state the obvious, I invite the public to look deeper at the immorality of taxation itself.

One of my goals for this week is to imagine the value of a campaign opposing retaliation for taxation. Each day this week I will attempt to list all the positive effects that come to my mind which could possibly come about as a result of such a campaign. My list should have at least 100 possibilities by the end of the week. Some positive effects on my list might be:

(1) More people than ever would be inclined to think about the fact that taxation could not work except for threat of force against innocent victims, which is in itself immoral.

(2) Many people would come to question their previously unquestioned belief that taxation only hurts people if it is excessive.

(3) People would at least subconsciously be in rapport with me since their inner spirit really does teach non-retaliation and forgiveness.

A second goal for this week's lesson is to telephone all the freedom advocates I know and attempt to fire them up regarding the benefits of this campaign.

My third goal for this week is to ponder the value of these special kinds of issue campaigns in general. What if an issue campaign was launched which had no other purpose than to get people to thinking differently than they have ever thought before? I am teaching myself that causing a change in people's way of thinking causes changes in the world.

Finally, my last goal this week is to be happy, enjoying the knowledge that taxers and their allies really are getting what is coming to them ... not by citizen vigilantes, but by the inevitable "what goes around comes around" effects of their own actions.

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 34

1995-08-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

"I release all resistance and all good rushes my way."
Resistance creates resistance. For every resistance on my part, there is an equal and opposite resistance to me or to the achievement of my goals. If I were to create achievements by resistance, I would at the same time be setting into motion a backlash which would have me lamenting like Dr. Frankenstein, "What have I done! I've created a monster!"

By the same principle, the release of resistance on my part releases resistance to me and to the achievement of my goals. The more I release resistance, the more my success and happiness is magnified.

My goal with this week's lesson is to practice releasing resistance. But I don't want to only occasionally release my resistance. I want to catch myself every time I go into resistance and release my resistance every time as fast as I feel it rising within myself.

To this end, I take a particularly long period of meditation each day as I prepare myself for the day. During my meditation, I ask myself: "What does it feel like to be in resistance?" and "What does it feel like to let go of my resistance?" In my meditation, I take the time to actually feel what it feels like to be in resistance and feel what it feels like to just let my resistance go and be at peace.

If my subconscious mind gives me any pictures of situations where I might be tempted to resist during the day, I visualize myself catching myself resisting, laughing at how silly such resistance is, and feeling the relief of letting go.

With each such visualization, I remind myself that release of resistance not only brings a feeling of relief but also creates a vacuum, so to speak, into which rushes tremendous good. I say aloud to myself a variant of this week's lesson statement such as:

"When I release resistance all good flows my way."

"The universe cannot resist me if I am not in resistance."

"My resistance would have worked against me. My release brings more good than I can imagine."

During the day I check in with myself each hour to review the previous hour and see if I've released resistance each time it has risen within me. I remind myself that the coming hour and every hour deserve the highest vigilance on my part against holding onto resistance.

At the end of the day, I relax and enjoy the prospect of enormous good heading my way as the result of resistance release. I might even ponder:

"I wonder how much good would come my way if I released all resistance forever?"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 33

1995-08-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

"I am serving the highest in the universe."
To this point in these lessons I have been opening myself up spiritually and developing certain mind-sets and habits which benefit me in the political realm. I have not yet fully considered whether by focusing on politics to such a degree I am "selling my soul to the devil".

In other words, what if in a manner of speaking my real kingdom is not politics and by focusing on politics I am distracting my attention from my real kingdom?

Probably I would not have progressed this far in these lessons if politics was a distraction to me, because the first few lessons would have "weeded me out" of politics and pointed me toward some endeavor my heart and mind could be fully into. Nonetheless, it benefits me to ask and have a clear answer to the question: would one's deepest spirit, one's innermost being, guide one to be involved in politics?

Perhaps the best way to answer this question is to play a game of pretend, pretending that we are not alone in the universe and in fact there are beings infinitely more intelligent than earthlings.

Being infinitely more intelligent than earthlings, these beings would have advanced far beyond ego-vested interests such as conquering others or ruling others. They would in fact be interested in raising the level of consciousness of every being on all planets and eliminating pain, fear and guilt in all the universe.

To the extent that such advanced beings could influence earthlings, they would influence earthlings to love rather than fear, be at peace rather than war, and establish political systems based on universal principles rather than the ego-vested interests of some group or collection of groups.

In other words, if politicians and political activists of the past have served "the devil" so to speak, or the worst in mankind, this does not mean that politicians or activists of the future cannot serve the best in the universe.

This week I remind myself that I am active in politics for one reason only: to serve the light.

Each day I use my awakening meditation to see myself serving the highest in the universe. I visualize the light of a brighter consciousness than my own and I say aloud to myself several times over:

"I am serving the highest in the universe."

As I go through my day, I repeat to myself many times over variations of this week's idea such as:

"I am in politics to serve the highest purposes."

"I live and work to serve only the light."

"I am serving higher principles than old-style politics."

As I am about to retire for the day, I feel a sense of satisfaction that I am not working for the narrow interests of one group or another, but rather for the highest principles in the universe. I say a few times to myself:

"I'm about as happy as I can be! I'm serving EVERYONE by serving only the light!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 32

1995-07-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

"I raise the world up from dictatorship."

My goal is not to create a new political majority and replace the dictatorship of the old majority by a dictatorship of a new majority. My goal is to raise the world above dictatorship altogether.

Political observers have noted that democracy (i.e., dictatorship by a majority of voters) always leads to deterioration of society as voters over time vote for ego-vested interests rather than sound and proven principles. Eventually everyone suffers.

History has shown that when democracies or republics deteriorate to the point where principles have been abandoned and reasonable life is sabotaged at nearly every turn, a call is made for strong-arm rule by a single powerful personality (king, dictator, emperor) and society sinks into rigid authoritarianism.

The only way out of this cycle is to abandon dictatorship by the majority as well as dictatorship by a minority and rise above dictatorship altogether, relying on the establishment of contractual relationships based on the principle of unrestricted individual property ownership and inviolate property rights.

Ayn Rand might have called such a voluntary contractual society "capitalism," in honor of the producers of goods and services who she considered to be the real foundation of any society. Unfortunately this is a dirty word in the minds of many because of industrialists and financiers who used state power to further their personal interests (a specifically non-capitalistic practice). These industrialists and financiers were statists, not capitalists.

The only form of society above and beyond dictatorship altogether is voluntarism ... meaning all associations, including the association of non-criminal individuals with government organizations, are voluntary.

As a freedom facilitator, my job is to keep in mind that democracy is a form of dictatorship that is not serving anyone's deepest and truest interests. What people really want and will eventually produce for themselves is not democracy, but voluntarism.

When I awaken each day this week, I devote a few minutes to visualizing a society which has progressed beyond the dictatorship of the majority which is democracy. I see a society based on contractual arrangements and inviolate property rights. I say aloud to myself:

"By the power of my mind, I am raising the world up from dictatorship."

During the day, I take time to say over and over to myself any statements which come to mind which reflect this week's idea. I say them until I begin to feel the truth of them within myself. Such statements might be something like:

"There is no longer any reason for some people to dictate to others. It is inevitable that democracy will be replaced by a volunteer society."

"Nothing is more immoral than 'majority rule'. I can see clearly that society will rise beyond such dictatorship."

"Political activity of the future will be based on rock solid principles and voluntary contracts ... not on votes."

As usual, I use the very end of the day for rejoicing and feeling good. I might tell myself something like:

"What a joy to create a political set-up that cannot be voted away!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 31

1995-07-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

"I emphasize areas of likely agreement."

This week's lesson is another practical political lesson.

Nine people out of ten will say they favor political liberty but if you question them further they adamantly argue that some form of government control or intervention in people's lives is beneficial.

Conservative-leaning people will rally to my cause if I emphasize generalities like freedom, liberty, limited government, and free markets. But I will thoroughly alienate some of these same conservatives if I mention specifics such as the possibility of a free market in some object they consider to be highly dangerous.

Liberal-leaning people will rally to my cause if I emphasize generalities such as freedom, liberty, free speech, and basic human rights. But some of these same liberals will scream bloody murder if I mention that an employer has a basic right to hire and fire who he chooses for any reason he chooses.

Most people are willing to live with such contradictions and I need to learn to gain their support irrespective of their current mind-set, knowing that someday they will decide to clear their minds of contradictions.

Gaining the political support of a large number of people means learning to stay quiet concerning issues many would disagree about while heavily emphasizing positions most people would agree with.

This week I want to train my mind to always emphasize areas of agreement. I want to reinforce the habit of not getting into areas of discussion where disagreement is likely to occur.

To this end, when I waken each day I will take a few minutes for visualization and picture myself repeatedly emphasizing points where agreement is likely, and gently avoiding any topic which is likely to be an area of disagreement.

I visualize myself being tempted to go into topics which are dear to me, but heatedly controversial ... and not yielding to the temptation.

With each visualization, I repeat to myself words which relate to this week's lesson, such as:

"I emphasize points of likely agreement only. I steer clear of areas where there is great danger of disagreement."

I already do this in many areas of my life. I sometimes call it, "Getting along with others." It's the old principle embodied in, "We get along fine! We just don't talk about politics or religion."

As a freedom facilitator, I have no choice but to talk about politics. Yet I don't have to talk about areas of politics where people are likely to react with violent disagreement. If there is an attempt to pin me down on controversial specifics, my cause is better served if I laugh and say something like, "Now that's an area I have no interest in getting into."

During the day each hour I take a few moments for visualizing myself operating in a way that serves my cause and repeating to myself some variant of the words of this week's lesson such as:

"My focus is on areas of likely agreement."

"Nothing can sidetrack me from staying on areas of likely agreement."

"I'm riding home on areas of likely agreement."

As I retire for the day, I rejoice that I am mastering this principle of gaining my goals by staying with areas of agreement. I might say to myself something like:

"When I know what I am doing, even politics is fun."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 30

1995-07-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

"I see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

This week's lesson is a very practical political "how to" lesson. I want my public image, the image that is going to help me further my goals, to be that of a totally positive person. The only way to honestly project such an image is for me to be totally positive.

The problem with being totally positive is it makes me feel really, really good, fills me with energy, and has me glowing with health. But that's a small price to pay for political freedom!

Earlier lessons in this course have dealt with seeing things differently or seeing things in a new and positive light. The effect of seeing clearly is a peaceful state of mind and an elimination of negative talk. The other side of the coin is: the conscious willingness to not talk negatively or make negative comments works wonders on one's state of mind.

This week the goal of my practice is to train myself to speak no negativity. I will hold my peace, speaking only to improve on silence when necessary.

As I wake up each day, I will program myself for the day by visualizing myself being silent unless it is absolutely necessary to talk and then saying only positive statements and comments. I might say to myself an affirmation like:

"Today I see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. I speak only when necessary and only to improve on the silence by being positive."

During the day, I watch myself to see if I am making progress or backsliding. I make an effort to go an hour at a time, then two hours, then three hours straight without speaking negatively.

Each hour at a time convenient to me, I repeat to myself:

"Every moment of silence is serving my goals and every positive statement I make is serving my goals a million and one times over."

At the end of each day, I smile at my progress and laugh at any slips I might happen to remember. I might say to myself something like:

"Being silent is a lot of fun and speaking only positively is the most fun of all."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 29

1995-07-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

"I think of myself as a freedom zealot."

This week's lesson is a political "how to" lesson.

I do not choose for myself the label "freedom fighter." In most people's minds someone who is fighting for something is in conflict. But conflict is the antithesis of freedom. Either I am experiencing freedom inside myself or I am experiencing conflict. Since I teach what I am, by zealously experiencing freedom inside myself I teach freedom and facilitate freedom outside myself.

Nor do the labels "politician" or "political activist" really serve my goals. These labels historically have referred to men and women in conflict: pushing one cause, resisting another cause ... always pushing and resisting.

If I am a candidate, I serve my cause best by having myself introduced as, "freedom zealot and candidate for ...." If I am an activist, I help myself by asking newspeople to refer to me as "freedom zealot."

I want to train my mind to think of myself in this new and positive light. So during this week I set the tone of my mind each new day by reminding myself:

"Since I am literally creating political freedom, today I remember to think of myself as a freedom zealot."

During my day I tell at least one person each hour, if at all possible, that I am a freedom zealot. My goal is to encourage other people to think of me in these terms also.

Then at the end of the day I review the day's progress in thinking of myself as a freedom zealot. Whatever images spring to mind I will use to feel happy about my goals and my progress.

My imagination might feed me what I could judge to be "silly" images. For example, I might see in my imagination an image of myself in a superman-like costume with "Freedom Zealot" written across my chest. But I refrain from judging the images my imagination gives me. Instead I give myself permission to enjoy the image to the fullest, knowing that my imagination is preparing me for a productive sleep during which sleeping dreams serve will my goals.

Just before falling to sleep, I might proudly state to myself:

"Yes! That's what I am! A freedom zealot!"

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 28

1995-07-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

"First things first creates the lasting."
To this point, the lessons of this course have not given specific political "how to" instructions because even with the greatest instructions in the world no truly lasting good can be built without a spiritual base. So these lessons have placed first things first: spiritual development before political success.

First things first means a foundation is built upon which later success is assured. Success without such a foundation is short-lived at most and invariably followed by a painfully disastrous fall. On the other hand, when a spiritual foundation is built first, then the inevitable political success that follows is of a lasting nature.

If the men and women who founded the United States had been spiritually open enough, they would have seen clearly that a government financed by immoral means fosters immorality, greed, hardship for its citizens, and eventual destruction and death. The founders accepted taxation as a necessary evil because they were not spiritually clear enough to see that government financed by evil cannot be non-evil.

No spiritually opened person would hold a gun to the head of a neighbor and demand the neighbor's money to spend on pet projects, even if such projects were perceived as most beneficial. On the same principle, no spiritually opened person would want a government financed by taxation.

Those who are highly interested in political freedom and those who are truly interested in morality have no separate interests. Their interests are one and the same. But a foundation needs to be built spiritually first, or what is being built politically will crumble.

This week I remind myself to always focus on first things first. I remind myself that I might feel inner guidance to be active in any number of ways politically, but all the activity in the world will gain nothing lasting unless preceded by spiritual opening.

When I wake up each day this week, I ask myself:

"What is more important to me this day? Political goals? Or the spiritual awareness that makes political goals worth achieving?"

Then each hour during the day I repeat to myself several times the statement of this week's lesson:

"First things first creates the lasting. I value my spiritual opening above all else ... and all else follows."

My task is to say this to myself so often that I put myself in-touch with a deeper inner desire than I've ever felt for spiritual opening.

Then each day before retiring for the day, I remind myself once more with great joy:

"I AM creating political freedom by opening to my spiritual freedom first."

The device which even more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 27

1995-06-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

"My inner voice guides me perfectly."
Because the overall consciousness of mankind is evolving there are times when things work themselves out perfectly without me putting forth any effort at all.

Other times I must get involved and become active.

I have to know when to fold, when to hold, and when to be bold, so to speak.

In the realm of politics, sometimes political freedom is enhanced when I do nothing. Other times, liberty calls for an involvement or activism on my part.

How do I know when to be at peace, wait, and see what happens ... and how do I know when to shift into high gear?

The answer is "inner hearing."

No amount of intellectualizing can tell me when to be active and when to be still, when to wait quietly and when to jump into the fray, so to speak.

Previous lessons in this course have taught me that my human viewpoint is very limited and I do not have all the facts upon which to judge the past or attempt to figure out the future. I need guidance from beyond such a limited viewpoint.

Science has taught me that all minds are interconnected and communicative at some very unconscious level, as if at some very unconscious level there is only one mind. What if that level could be experienced more consciously? Couldn't my guidance then be based on much more complete information?

So I am interested in developing what is known as "inner hearing." That is the focus of my lesson this week.

During the week each day as I wake up I will remind myself that this day I want to listen inside and hear clearly inside. I might use a statement of this week's lesson as an affirmation to start the day:

"My inner voice guides me perfectly. Today I want to hear my inner voice clearly."

As I go through the day, I will listen inside to inner promptings, to inner inspirations saying "yes" or inner guidance saying "no", to inner knowings of "true" or "false", even to words from "out of the blue."

Each hour I take time to remind myself once again:

"My inner voice is guiding me perfectly this hour. I quiet my intellect and listen inside to hear my guidance."

When I retire for the day, I rejoice in the knowledge that I am listening to and following the guidance of my inner voice more than ever before and this is leading to undreamed of success.

Before I go to sleep, I remind myself once more:

"I am so happy that my inner voice is guiding me perfectly."

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 26

1995-06-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

"The future will bring far more good than I can imagine."

Muslims at least indirectly responsible for the founding of America?

Well, the land which Christians called their "Holy Land" was occupied by adherents of the faith of Islam, so King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England led knights and soldiers off to Muslim lands on the Third Crusade.

In Richard's absence, Prince John taxed the English people so heavily that for the working man the only logical choice was to become an outlaw and rob the taxers. By robbing the taxers and giving back to the taxed, Robin Hood taught the English people that revolt against taxation is not only highly moral, but heroic as well.

Robin Hood taught this lesson so well that in the centuries that followed there were many tax revolts in England and hatred of taxation was almost "inbred" in the hard-working English colonizers of America. Rebelling against taxation, the colonists set up a country of their own, the United States, which many colonists originally thought would be free of taxation ... a true free country.

If Muslims hadn't occupied the Christian Holy Land ... if Richard hadn't left England in John's hands ... if John hadn't taxed ... if Robin Hood hadn't rebelled against taxation ... America might not exist.

Would a Muslim living in the Holy Land in King Richard's time have been able to imagine in his wildest dreams that such an almost free country would eventually be established?

Can I even begin to imagine the good that is coming in the future?

Even though mankind has experienced extreme growing pains, the overall consciousness of mankind is evolving to higher levels. Peace is now more than ever valued over war, and people are beginning to see more clearly than ever that governments or ruling elites are the cause of mankind's ills, and cannot be a solution. Such clear valuing and clear seeing can only lead to greater good than ever.

This week my task is to remind myself constantly that in the future there will be great and wonderful happenings that I cannot see at present. This week as I awaken each day, I greet the new day with a bright reminder:

"Today is bringing mankind a little closer to heaven on earth ... and today I choose to see progress even in what I might be tempted to judge as negative appearances."

As I go through the day, I will watch for evidence of mankind's progress and tell myself at least once each hour the statement of this week's lesson:

"The future will bring far more good than I can imagine."

If I see what I would judge to be negative appearances or hear what I would judge to be negative news, I will repeat to myself a statement such as:

"This appearance does not give me the true story. Actually, the future will bring far more good than I can see."

Likewise, at the end of the day when retiring I dwell a few minutes on this week's lesson and access the feeling of gratitude inside myself. I might say to myself something like:

"I am really, really grateful that Muslims were at least indirectly responsible for the creation of America ... and I am really grateful that the future will bring more good than I am able to see today."

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 25

1995-06-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

"By letting go of guilt I teach freedom."
There is no one more inspiring than a man who is free of pain, fear, and guilt. Such a man was Ayn Rand's ideal, so it's no wonder that dwelling on her fictional heroes is such an uplifting experience. No one teaches freedom more effectively than one who lives free of pain, fear, and guilt.

However, Ayn Rand never explains how I am to reach this ideal which could be called the true Home of my spirit, so there is a need for courses such as Course in Political Miracles and there is a need for spiritual teachers who are willing to do what it takes to influence me to go Home.

In this Course in Political Miracles, so far I have learned several methods to cease generating pain and fear within myself. But how do I keep myself from generating guilt?

Many people think that guilt is an automatic emotional reaction to the perception of oneself as having done something "wrong" or as having a personal shortcoming. But what if these many people are not seeing the whole picture?

What if a man thought of himself as not worthy of total happiness? Wouldn't such a man be tempted to create a set-up for himself to feel bad about himself, so he could prove himself right?

So for this week's lesson I am going to view guilt not as an automatic reaction over which I have no control, but as a choice. This week, I am going to teach myself I do not have to choose guilt, but can remain in my natural state at Home in peace.

In the first place, who is to judge whether I've made a mistake or not? Certainly I do not know all the effects of my thoughts and actions on the minds and bodies of every being in the universe forever into the future. What looks like a shortcoming on my part may very well benefit millions of people in ways I couldn't have imagined.

I simply do not know ALL the effects of my thoughts and actions, so do not have the knowledge necessary to make any judgments about the effects of my thoughts or actions.

Secondly, even if I was capable of logically judging the effects of my thoughts and actions to be negative, I can nevertheless experience an atonement which wipes out all such effects altogether and leaves the world better by far. Following the guidance of my inner spirit produces such an atonement.

So this week I am dedicated to letting go of guilt that I may teach freedom as never before.

This week each day as I awaken I will remind myself of the principle of the week's lesson, using whatever affirmations come to mind. Examples of statements I could use might be:

"Today I do not play the game of guilt. In my spirit, I am good. Nothing I could think or do can change that fact."

"I will not cave in to guilt today. With my limited viewpoint, I am not seeing all the good that is coming about because of my thoughts and actions."

"Guilt cannot hook me today. I am clean of the past and ready to move into the future with the guidance of my spirit."

During each day I watch for any sign of guilt arising within me. At the least inkling of guilt, I tell myself:

"No! I'm not going to sabotage myself with guilt! Either everything in the universe is just exactly as it should be, or everything is working toward self-correction. Why would I want to close my eyes to perfection by seeing guilt?"

Finally, when I end each day and I'm about to rest in joy, I give thanks that guilt is no longer in the repertoire of things I stage to make myself feel little. In place of guilt, I feel gratitude and say to myself as I retire something like:

"Guilt is gone now ... or leaving me ... and everything is exactly as it should be."

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 24

1995-06-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

It is one kind of new vision to realize that if my most adamant "enemies" release resistance to me, they are working for me without knowing it. It is even a broader vision to see that ultimately everyone is working in my favor. Finally, it is a totally enlightened vision which sees that all things are working together for my good ... no matter how situations might look when judging by mere surface appearances.

One of the most important principles a politician or political activist can learn is that all things work together for good.

Learning this principle, I am at peace inside because of the knowledge that everything happening is working toward my good.

Being at peace inside, I am able to show unbelievable strength in the face of adversity.

Showing unbelievable strength in the face of adversity, I attract the populace at large since people are attracted to the perception of strength in leaders.

Being attracted to my inner strength, people support my ideas and plans even if they are unsure how these ideas and plans will work. Thus my good is created.

As alien as the idea might seem to the not yet enlightened part of my mind, I nevertheless dedicate myself to learning this week's principle:

"All things are working together for my good."

Each day this week when I wake up I tell myself aloud several times:

"Today I am dedicated to seeing everything working together for my good."

As I repeat my awakening affirmations, mental pictures may come to my awareness of situations which I would not have judged to be working for my good. I allow such pictures to come to mind and say to myself with each picture a variant of this week's idea such as:

"This situation involving (specifics) is really working for my good."
Then during the day, if any situation arises which tends to pull me out of my peace, I stop and tell myself as many times as it takes to renew a feeling of peace:

"If I could see the whole picture ... past, present, and future ... I would see that this situation is working for my good."

Finally, as I retire each day I let my mind review the day's events and the day's news. If I find myself still believing that any of these things can work against me, I remind myself until I once again feel full peace:

"I'm not feeling peace, so I haven't viewed this situation with the broadest possible viewpoint. I KNOW this situation is working for my good and I'm ready to see the good in this situation."

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 23

1995-06-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

"I see my enemies working for my success."
I have learned that by listening to my worse enemies and treating them with respect while staying in rapport with their deepest inner spirit, I actually make them my allies ... although they would probably never admit it.

But what if I begin to see that each and every so-called "enemy" is working for me? This new way of seeing is the goal I am choosing this week.

In the realm of politics, it can be very difficult to see a political enemy as an ally unless I can see a much broader picture than most people normally see.

So my goal is to expand my way of viewing things until I see a more complete picture than ever before.

This new seeing will not be limited to viewing a historical perspective instead of a current events perspective, such as seeing the forest instead of the seedlings.

This unique seeing is much more like seeing an overall ebb and flow of interactive currents, like seeing the entire ocean instead of a single ocean current isolated from others.

Nothing is what it appears to be. Much more is going on than meets the eye ... until my way of seeing things is expanded.

It's been said that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. A principle much like this is at work in the realm of human energies.

Certain thoughts or actions on a man's part might at the same time: (1) tempt me to call him "enemy," and (2) set into motion an equal and opposite reaction which is ultimately going to have effects which will tempt me to call him "friend."

People who have lived many years often sense this principle at work.

For example, I hear people say things like, "You know, if this bad thing had not happened to me way back then, I would not be in the good position I am in today."

Likewise, I hear people say things like, "I once thought of him as my arch-enemy, but in retrospect his actions really caused a lot of good things to happen ... as if he were playing the devil's part in a play in which angels always win."

So my job this week is to remind myself again and again, until I begin to integrate the principle, that things are rarely if ever what they seem to be and seeing a bigger picture shows me that my "enemies" may very well be my friends in disguise.

To this end, as I wake up each day this week I will take a few minutes to remind myself of this week's principle. I will say aloud a few times:

"Things are NOT what they seem to be. If I could see the true overall picture, I could see that my enemies are my friends more than I suspected."

As I go through each day this week, I retrain my mind by asking myself many times through the day every time I think of some "enemy":

"What if I could see how (specific person) is unknowingly working FOR me?"

At the end of each day this week, I relax and enjoy the prospect that my enemies are probably unwittingly working for my success anyway, so I can afford to see everyone as an ally.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 22

1995-06-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

"I enjoy experiencing my enemies as allies."
Now that I have practiced for a week seeing things in a different light, I am ready for one of the most important lessons any freedom advocate could ever learn. I am ready to learn that my opponents, no matter how set they are against my ideas, can be experienced as allies.

The principle involved in this week's lesson is this: when someone who is in great resistance to me releases even a little of that resistance, a "spill-over effect" occurs which releases resistance in many more people than I can imagine.

Another way to state this principle is: it is infinitely more efficient to cause the release of a little bit of the resistance of my worse enemy than to cause the release of a great portion of the resistance of a minor opponent.

Translated into political terms, this week's principle tells me that I will achieve the greatest success selling my ideas or my programs if I concentrate first on causing even the slightest release of resistance in my most adamant opponents.

My opponents are in resistance to my ideas. If I can influence them to not resist me as a person in other ways, then their resistance to my ideas becomes far less effective and can even work in my favor.

An example of this principle occurred in the case of Ronald Reagan. Many people who hated his ideas were nonetheless attracted to him personally. Because they liked him personally, they could not fight against him in the realm of ideas with the full zeal of their full heart and soul. There was always a part of them which was held back from the fight.

Even more importantly, the inability of Ronald Reagan's opponents to resist him on a personal level had a "spill-over effect" into the minds of others. Many people found themselves surprisingly open to Ronald Reagan's political ideas precisely because his opponents found it impossible to resist every aspect of his being with every ounce of their being.

The principle worked in the opposite direction in the 1990s with Newt Gingrich. He was never able to diffuse the resistance of his opponents to him personally. His opponents were never able to say, "There are some good things about this guy even though I oppose his ideas." So the "spill-over effect" into the minds of others kept people from being open to his ideas.

This week, my practice will be different than it has been in previous weeks in this course. I am going to carry out an assignment this week which may have more effect inside the minds of my enemies than it does in the training of my own mind.

My purpose this week is to take some first steps toward mastering the mechanism of decreasing the resistance of my most adamant opponents. My goal is not to win them over, but to decrease their resistance to me as a person.

Who are my most adamant opponents? For the purpose of practicing the principle this week they do not have to be political opponents. I can use a mother-in-law who is unhappy with me. I can use a co-worker who is jealous of me. I can use anyone who is in substantial resistance to me.

My assignment to myself this week is to telephone each of these people who comes to mind, ask their opinion on an issue which I suspect is important to them, listen with respect to what they say, and then answer with a statement showing at least some rapport such as, "You know, I can really see your point of view."

Again, my purpose is not to win anyone over or debate with anyone, but simply to listen and stay in rapport, as if I respect their spirit no matter what their viewpoints, and as if being in rapport with their spirit is my first and foremost priority.

The results of this assignment will come in the future, so I will have to keep my eyes open over time and watch how things change over time and especially how my most adamant enemies just can no longer fight me with everything they have.

Knowing that this result is assured over time, this week each day as I retire I review my progress and say to myself with a smile:

"It's so much fun experiencing my enemies as allies!"

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 21

1995-05-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

"I open to love by seeing things in a different light."
I have learned that my truest, deepest nature is love. I have also learned that if I constrict my mind into the very unnatural state of holding resentments or grievances, I waste enormous amounts of creative energy as well as invite people to turn against me.

What I may not yet have mastered is the mechanism for re-expanding my mind from grievances and resentments back to my natural state of love. That mechanism is: seeing things in a different light.

With this week's lesson, I remind myself it is my mind that determines how I perceive and how I interpret what I perceive. My mind is capable of perceiving something a million and one different ways and devising a million and one different interpretations of each of those perceptions. My emotional reaction follows according to my perception and interpretation.

But I don't have to get caught up in any of the devices of my mind. I can literally train my mind to see things in a different light if I am starting to hold grievances or feel resentment.

This is the mind discipline I wish to practice this week. I am devoting this week to intense effort to catch every grievance or resentment and change my mind immediately.

When I awaken each day I will spend a few minutes visualizing situations in which I might be tempted to hold grievances or feel resentment. I see myself changing my reactions by instead asking myself such questions as:

"How can I see this in a different light?"

"How can I see this person in a different light?"

"How can I see this situation in a different light?"

During the day, every time I find myself beginning to hold a grievance or beginning to feel resentment, I ask very specifically:

"How can I see (name specific person) in a different light?"

"How can I see (name specific situation) in a different light?"

"How can I see (name specific place) in a different light?"

There is always another way of seeing things such that I am lifted out of resentment and grievances and back into my natural state of love. This does not mean I am pretending the mistakes of others do not exist. Nor does it mean I am condoning force, fraud, dishonesty or immorality. It means I am learning to keep my own consciousness in the most efficient and appealing state.

Then at the end of each day when I retire for the day I spend a few minutes rejoicing that I don't have to lower my level of consciousness based on what I perceive outside of myself. I rejoice that I can always see things in a different light.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 20

1995-05-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

"I see clearly we are all in this together."
Last week's lesson hinted more strongly than any previous lesson at the false dichotomy people try to create in their minds between egoism and altruism, between acting in one's self-interest and acting selflessly. Such a dichotomy does not exist in reality.

A split mind sees two possibilities: what is good for me or what is good for the society I live in; me acting in my own best interests or me acting in the interests of everyone else.

If such a concept as "evil" were to have any logical meaning or purpose, a mind so split that it sees such differences would be a truly evil mind.

A whole mind sees no such dichotomy. A whole mind sees that what is truly good for me is also truly good for society; and what is truly good for society is also truly good for me.

A whole mind knows we are all in this together, but sees clearly that the good of society cannot be defined separately from, or losing sight of, the good of each individual.

For example, if a government kills only one little child because the child's parents desired to live their own lifestyle without interference, then everyone inside themselves suffers the pain of being murdered.

If a government says to only one honest, moral, non-fraudulent woman that she cannot conduct her business because the state has legislated rules, then everyone inside themselves suffers the pain of slavery.

If a government tells only one man that he cannot keep the fruit of his productive work but must give it to the state in some form of taxation, then everyone inside themselves suffers the pain of extortion and theft.

None of us following our inner spiritual nature would steal, or murder, or enslave others. Yet we allow governments to commit these acts because we have been convinced by split minds that there is a difference between our own good and society's good as a whole.

No such difference exists. What is good for one is good for all. What is harmful to even one is harmful to all.

With this week's lesson, I practice seeing with my whole mind instead of through the filter of a split mind. In some areas of my life, this might involve seeing things differently than I have ever seen before. I am willing to see things differently.

In particular, I am willing to see that we are all in this together and this knowingness, when fully experienced, brings a feeling of love toward others ... a more universal love than I might have previously felt.

In the 180 degree backward thinking of today's world, it is not always easy to see that government interference in people's lives beyond the very basic laws of existence, statism, is actually based on fear and hatred of man's free spirit while libertarianism (see The Spiritual Basis of Liberty) is really based on universal love. I am willing to see this.

This week each day as I waken I spend a few minutes meditating on this week's lesson. I remind myself that if something is truly good for me, then it is good for everyone else. I remind myself that if ever I am tempted to think that my good contradicts someone else's good, I need only ask to see things differently.

During each day with respect to everyone I see or think of, whether near or far, I say to myself:

"We are all in this together. At the deepest human level, below all surface appearances, all our interests are the same."

My goal is to say this at least 100 to 150 times a day this week, many more if possible. I especially want to say it while focusing on those who I have considered "enemies" or "opponents." Somewhere deep down inside, as human beings, their interests are the same as mine.

Then before retiring for the day I spend a few minutes looking inside myself and feeling more love than ever for mankind and for the spirit which joins all of us.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 19

1995-05-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

"My love gives me everything that is really important."
In Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, John Galt speaks of the idea that love must be earned in much the same way as hate is in some cases thought to be deserved. Thinking in these terms, one might come up with the notion that love and hate use the same trading mechanism in reverse.

But in truth it is a different mechanism altogether, isn't it? When I look deep inside myself I see that hate is very unnatural and alien to my true nature, while love is the most natural thing in the world. A little baby loves naturally, but has to become older and learn conceptualization before it can be taught to hate.

Also when I pay attention inside myself I see that hating wastes enormous energy and engenders tremendous strain. Whereas love is fun and easy, saves energy, relieves strain, and attracts people.

The fact that love attracts people is of primary importance to me in achieving my political goals. It has been said that one of the shortcomings of democracy is vast numbers of people voting not on the basis of intellectual information but on the basis of impressions and feelings.

In other words, in a democratic political realm I could have all the most wonderful intellectualized premises and conclusions anybody ever came up with, but if people don't sense that I am loving then I am not going to be supported by vast numbers of people and my ideas are going to be sold short.

Clearly it is to my advantage to open my heart and extend love. But in doing so, do I run the risk of giving what Ayn Rand might have called "unearned love?"

The answer is it's not about the others who may or may not benefit by what I have to give. It's all about me and how I feel. I am the one who benefits. I am the one who gains. I am the one who has earned the experience of love.

I have earned the right to love. If love feels good, I have earned such a good feeling. If love is fun, I have earned the right to have fun. If love saves energy, I have earned the right to save energy. If love relieves strain, I deserve to be unstrained. If love attracts people to me and to my ideas, it is by right that people should be so attracted.

In other words, holding back my love for fear I might somehow love someone who has not earned love is not depriving the other person. It is depriving myself. And it's not depriving myself of some little trinket. It's depriving myself of everything that is really important.

Some who see that my love is a benefit to the entire society might think that my motive for loving rises out of altruism. Who cares what they think! My motive for loving is supremely selfish. Love is my own enlightened self-interest. Love is who I am when I am my true self. Love is who I am when I am enlightened.

Clearly I want to learn to be a really, really, really loving person and come across to others as the loving person I am. But how do I open up and love as I never have before? That is my goal as I practice this week.

This week during my morning meditations I am going to visualize myself loving all day long, loving when I'm walking, loving when I'm sitting, loving when I'm driving, loving as much as possible no matter what I am doing.

Each hour during the day, I will take five minutes to stop whatever I am doing and look at many things around me, near and far. Lovingly in my mind I say to everything I see, "I love you," specifically naming what I am looking at. I might say for example:

"Tree ... I love you!"

"House ... I love you!"

"Sun and blue sky ... I love you!"

"Earth ... I love you!"

"My spirit inside ... I love you!"

"The spirit inside that person over there ... I love you!"

"The power that is making my dreams come true ... I love you!"

During these practice periods, I say "I love you" to everything that comes to mind and everything that comes before my eyes.

If I find it difficult to say "I love you" to a particular person because I have judged this person so harshly, I remind myself that a person's mistaken belief or misguided action is not the same as a person's true nature ... and his or her true nature I can love. I remind myself that even my enemies can become my friends if enough change takes place ... and love brings changes.

Before I retire each day I review my progress in teaching myself to love. I ask myself if there were situations during the day in which I was unloving? With each such situation that comes to mind, I ask deeper inside:

"How can I see this in a totally new way that will give me a feeling of love?"

I do not let myself fall asleep until I have found a new way of seeing things and an increased feeling of love. And in this progress I rejoice.

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 18

1995-05-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

"In place of frustration or anger, I quickly substitute love."
There is never any reason to worry. There is never any reason to fear. These themes have been introduced in earlier lessons and were actually major lessons taught by Ayn Rand in her novel Atlas Shrugged.

But if there is never any reason to worry or fear, then there is never any reason for frustration or anger ... because just as night falls out of dusk, frustration and anger can only be the fallout of worry or fear.

In earlier lessons I have endeavored to eliminate or reduce worry and fear, thus reducing the possibility of creating feelings of frustration or anger inside myself, but how do I quickly get rid of anger or frustration if I happen to take the fall?

The answer of course is to rise back into my spiritual nature, which doesn't have feelings of frustration or anger. But how easy is it to return to peace when I am in the middle of anger? How easy is it to turn to joy when feeling frustrated?

The easiest way to return to my spiritual nature when I am feeling anger or frustration is to love. Love casts out anger and frustration faster than any other emotion.

No matter how closed-down I become, there is some place or something or somebody I can love. When I turn my attention to that which I love, it takes very little time for the love to burn up and dissipate anger and frustration.

This week I vow to practice utmost diligence in substituting love whenever I notice myself becoming frustrated or angry. To make this substitution, I merely think of whatever or whoever I really love and say over and over again:

"I love you (specific name of person, place, or thing). I really, really love you."

I don't merely say this once or twice with minimum feeling. On the contrary, I say it many, many times in an attempt to bring forth the deepest feeling of love. When love is felt strongly enough, frustration and anger disappear.

Each day as I awaken, I ask myself what situations might plausibly occur during the day which could engender frustration or anger in me. While visualizing each situation and imagining myself substituting love in the way mentioned above, I say aloud to myself:

"I quickly substitute love for frustration or anger in this situation. I love you (specific name of person, place, or thing). I really, really love you."

Similarly, each hour during my hourly five minute meditation I think of plausible situations which might possibly arise and engender frustration or anger during the next hour. Again, with each situation, while I am visualizing I declare aloud:

"I quickly substitute love for frustration or anger in this situation. I love you (specific name of person, place, or thing). I really, really love you."

At the end of each day this week, I review my progress. As usual, I do not dwell on the times I lapsed in my practice, but allow myself to feel happy and pleased with myself concerning the times when I remembered to quickly pull myself out of frustration and anger by substituting love. Finally, I might declare to myself a fun statement which summarizes this week's lesson, such as:

"This is a great lesson! Tomorrow and always, when I feel frustration or anger, I really love substituting love."

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles

Course in Political Miracles: Lesson 17

1995-04-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

"My belief brings me what I really want."
I have learned in earlier lessons of this course that merely saying I want something is a very weak approximation to really, really, really wanting something. Likewise, really believing that my goal is coming true is far more powerful than merely hoping it will come true. My belief has an effect.

My goal is to bring about a political freedom in the world which will reflect the freedom of my spirit. In other words, never again will governments be allowed without a citizen's specific permission to levy taxation, which in practice is a form of theft and in principle a form of slavery. My goal is to end theft and slavery perpetrated by governments.

Now if I sit around daydreaming, merely hoping my goal will come to pass, somebody will come along and say to me: “dream again!” But if I really believe my goal is coming true … it's going to be more than a daydream, isn't it?

What is it about belief that seems to cause the universe to re-arrange itself in order to make the belief come true? Do I act differently and more powerfully if I believe something to be true than I act if I merely hope something to be true? Do I have a vested interest in making it come to pass to prove myself right? Does my belief affect the minds of others, influencing them to work for me?

Whatever the mechanism, it is very clear that the stronger my belief the more powerful the influence working in my favor. He or she who believes powerfully ... makes things happen.

So the question is: how can I make myself believe very, very deeply in the accomplishment of my goal before there is much objective evidence to support such a belief?

This would be quite a challenge if I insisted on withholding belief until I could see compelling evidence for something. But the truth is there are many, many things I take for granted everyday for which I have no proof. So obviously I am willing to suspend the need for compelling evidence. I am especially willing if I think I can learn something from a fun experiment.

As a fun experiment, I want to find out what would happen if I said to myself:

"I really, really believe governments are going to stop stealing from people or enslaving people using taxation."

The first time I say it to myself I might not believe it. But what happens if I say it again ... and then again ... and then again? Pretty soon I'm going to start believing it, even if my initial belief is very weak.

But an initial belief is nonetheless a starting belief and belief is very powerful in at least one respect: I will start seeing evidence for my belief. That's the way perception works: I selectively filter reality and begin to see evidence for what I believe.

No matter how weak my belief, when I start seeing evidence for my belief it is strengthened. Then when my belief is strengthened, I see even more evidence.

So my experiment this week is to tell myself over and over and over again all day long, like a mantra being chanted:

"I really, really believe governments are going to stop stealing from people or enslaving people using taxation."

I want to say this at least 100 to 150 times a day this week, far more if possible, and try my best to mean it as I say it ... then laugh and wait and see what happens. After all, it's just an experiment, right?

The device which more deeply prepares freedom lovers for success, A Course in Miracles , talks about our ultimate need to free ourselves from every kind of slavery:

You have been told to bring the darkness to the light, and guilt to holiness. And you have also been told that error must be corrected at its source. Therefore, it is the tiny part of your self, the little thought that seems split off and separate, that the Holy Spirit needs. The rest is fully in God's keeping, and needs no guide. But this wild and delusional thought needs help, because, in its delusions, it thinks it is the Son of God, whole and omnipotent, sole ruler of the kingdom it set apart to tyrannize by madness into obedience and slavery.

Also available free of charge online:
Course in Relationship Miracles