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Teaching is essentially a listening Art much in the same way that great musicianship is expressed in the ability of the performer to listen deeply to the interaction occurring with the other musicians and the audience; while simultaneously responding appropriately in the moment. It is an impossible feat for the worldly mind given the volume of information that is being shared and yet this creative capacity, Communication itself, is a natural attribute of whole or Christ Mind. The Teacher that makes this creative interaction possible is the Holy Spirit who is the Voice for God expressing Whole or Singular Mind whose function it is to unite all the apparent separate parts of God's Creation into the glorious whole that it truly is. Teaching is most effectively accomplished by demonstration and it is only when and as the mind is relieved of the troubling and conflicting influence of fear that we are free to fully express our true Self who is the Holy Son of God. The training or preparing of our minds to recognize, accept, and identify with Divine Reality is the experience of becoming disabused of our false and fearful thinking. This necessitates, first, becoming aware of the fearfulness inherent in the human condition or the self concept, and, second, consciously and actively choosing to no longer identify with the phenomena or experience of the separate and beleaguered self which must result in fear. According to our readiness, which is expressed as willingness, the Holy Spirit leads us to an ever widening arc of authentic learning that brings us into a deeply felt experience of intimacy with our Self which results in a genuine sense of closeness with others. This unique and essential learning is occurring in all aspects of mankinds consciousness and at all times whether a Course student or not. All forms of true learning are aspects of the Universal Curriculum and they occur independently of any particular system of enlightenment. Obviously, and in many cases, ACIM can dramatically accelerate and encourage this natural return to Reason and Meaning. In my many years of hosting/facilitating/teaching a regularly meeting group, the phenomenal dynamics of this learning and teaching opportunity never cease to amaze and inspire me. There has been a steady progression towards an unusual yet highly desirable and stable experience of my Self. I now can see that this vital restoration was occurring at all times whether I was aware of it or not and in most instances I was not! I also see that this transformation or metamorphosis was taking place independently of my likes or dislikes regarding my personal evaluation of the evening. I now regard my self critiquing of the groups communication as remnants of old biases that were clouding the greater goings on. I am very aware of my biases and the conditioning out of which they arise and seeing this provides the enormous opportunity to consciously choose to not act out of them. This is an unbelievable accomplishment that I accept full responsibility for but one that clearly originated from a thought system beyond the self I call Jeffrey! The importance of this can not be too often repeated because as students, facilitators and teachers we are often overly influenced by the traditional patterns of our old thoughts and emotions because they still get triggered and then seem to flare up in our human system in the form of upsets. I am suggesting that we are actually being trained by the Holy Spirit to become aware of these disturbing thoughts and emotions while choosing to not identify ourselves with them. In other words, we can experience the upsetting emotions and thoughts and not 'be them' or lose ourselves in them. In this highly individualized form of mind training we are essentially being weaned off of being identified with and limited by our ego thought system. As we gain the miraculous ability to be present to and witness the repetitive and chronic patterns of emotional upset stemming from the personality self, we begin to experience freedom from this debilitating and demoralizing self made identity. Jesus suggests that we can use him as a role model as he clearly reminds us that there is nothing that he learned that is beyond our own learning. And his masterwork of healing thought further reminds us that the Strength of Christ, an attribute of God's Power and Glory, is forever ours and that we have a Teacher who cannot fail in His function to remind of this stunning fact. So we need not wait for the fading embers of ancient discontent to accept and fulfill our part within the Atonement. And as we exercise this right of passage from old and false thinking we are simply exiting illusion and returning to our common sense... to the natural inheritance that is God's Will for us. In this transition we are simply accepting our Rightness as Co-Creator Sons and allowing or accepting the Gifts of the Kingdom Here and Now which is where our Father wills for them to be. In this way we are guided up and out of the perplexing and paralyzing ego identity even as we seem to be in it... yet we must consciously elect to follow such sound Guidance and Direction for ultimately our escape from fear is only thwarted by our own hesitancy and reluctance, but forms of procrastination. We need not wait for all delay is of the ego and God waits not on time... nor need His Son who is your very Self. This essentially means that we are empowered to shine brightly in the Light of God's Love... to share the Self that is His Son who awaits only our recognition and acceptance to bring forth the abundance of Spirit. As teachers of God we can stand in the midst of our human dilemma while consciously choosing to know thy Self who is God's Son. We can speak the Word of God in our groups and gatherings and bare witness to the Miracle of His Creation which must be Now and Always. Such a conscious choice is likely to raise an eyebrow or two for sure, both in and out of your group... but more importantly, it will activate the dormant or unconscious aspects of our consciousness and raise all of our attention and vibrations to the enlightening frequency of God's Presence. This will result in wonderful gatherings which surprise, delight, and heal as Love is allowed its inevitable yet gentle confrontation with the resistance and doubtfulness we falsely call our self. Our groups can be powerful and miraculous interactions rather than fatiguing and repetitive dialogues oriented in and around the belief that release and healing is a future possibility rather than a Present Opportunity. God's Teacher makes all things possible and His Strength and Clarity are ours for the accepting. Love waits not... neither need we to receive and share the Bounty of the Miracle of God's Love which in effect is what we are. I am presently teaching a class Wednesday evenings, 7-9PM, in NYC. We meet at 140 Riverside Drive #15F, entrance on 86th street at the corner of 86th street and Riverside Drive. The 1/9 subway stops at 86th and Broadway and we are 3 blocks west. Call Jeffrey Mironov at 212-595-0723 for information or in regard to any questions.
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