Waking from Disaster

" The most revolutionary act one can commit in this world is to be happy." ~Patch Adams

We are living in chaotic times.

There have been crises of varying types at different periods throughout history: social,
economic, national, global, political and personal. There are natural disasters of every
conceivable kind - hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, and global warming. There is mass
devastation all over the world - airplanes crashing, ships sinking, people killing each other
- but perhaps because it is not physically affecting you and your life, maybe you think you
are exempt? Surely the earthquake in Pakistan that killed 20,000 people on Saturday
doesn't really have anything to do with you or your life in Topeka, Kansas or wherever you
live.

Lots of times we convince ourselves that what is happening "out there" has nothing to do
with us, and doesn't affect us very much. We have been taught to lull ourselves to sleep
and quickly adjust to whatever events are occurring, no matter how devastating. Wars.
Murder. Terrorists. Suicide bombers. Hunger. Poverty. These are global problems and the
headlines change so quickly that most people don't even register the violence and chaos
that is occurring in the world. Instead, they have their own daily routine and bills and
problems to think about.

You may think, "well yes, there are terrible things happening in the world but what can I
possibly do to help? And besides, those world events, tragic as they may be, don't really
affect me or my family."

This is the thinking of most people in the world.

But here is the fact of the matter:

You are continually and constantly losing the things you love. If you can be honest with
yourself, you will agree that this is true. Everything is changing all the time - there is no
constancy whatsoever. There is no safety or security anywhere you look. I don't know how
anybody can stand it.

Perhaps.

You are in a great relationship, or have a "perfect" marriage, and the next minute your
spouse tells you they don't love you anymore (not happy, in love with someone else, wants
something more exciting and different) and they want a divorce.
OR
You have a thriving business, you're making lots of money and you think you are safe,
until the day someone close to you deceives you, or the economy changes, and years of
hard work are gone in a matters of days.
OR
One day you are perfectly healthy and the next day the doctor informs you your body is
filled with cancer.
OR
You learn that the bank is taking your home away from you and you have nowhere to go.

Tragic events happen unexpectedly and without warning. They happen in your personal
life as well as on a global level. The reason this is true is because there is no difference
between a personal crisis and a global crisis. They are identical. Did you hear that? THEY
ARE IDENTICAL. What is happening "out there" (bombing in New York city, flooding in New
Orleans, a war in Iraq) is literally nothing more than a projection of the drama that is going
on in your own mind.

Maybe you don't yet realize that the way you are handling your marriage or finances is
EXACTLY the reason there are wars and earthquakes and hatred in the world.

The chaos of this world IS the conflict of your own mind.

Here is where a true revolution can occur.

There is a solution and there is work to be done.

My safety lies in God.

I believe the current crisis this world is facing is unprecedented. It is unprecedented
because a vast majority of people justify their actions and blame someone else. They
blame the government. They blame the economy. They blame their neighbor. They blame
God. Once upon a time, in a magical faraway place, people took responsibility for what
was occurring in their lives. When a person made a mistake, they admitted it. Perhaps not
promptly (and maybe not publicly) but deep in their heart and mind they knew they'd done
something wrong. Now? There is no responsibility for actions. In its place are justifications
and excuses.

So we have an unprecedented crisis in the world that obviously calls for unprecedented
action.

Unprecedented means "no previous example". Here are some "solutions" that have already
been tried before in attempt to solve world and individual problems: raising money, giving
money, asking for donations, volunteering, new taxes, new technology, new research, a
bigger military, more machines, and creating more task forces and humanitarian
organizations.

We've done all these things in the endless search for peace and yet . the problems of the
world are only getting more chaotic and destructive. Doesn't this seem a little odd to
anyone?

What would be an unprecedented action? Something that's never been done before?

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Here is the solution. Say only this, but mean it with no reservations, for here the power of
salvation lies:

I am responsible for what I see.
I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide upon the goal I would achieve.
And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have asked.

If you accepted this prayer for yourself, you would never again blame anyone else for your
problems. You would recognize that you are the cause of everything that is happening to
you. Your days of attack and defense would be over.

All is takes is ONE teacher of God to heal the world. One wholly perfect teacher, whose
learning is complete, suffices.

All it's going to take is ONE mind who has decided to take the leap into the unknown and
not judge, not blame, not moan, not give in to "the slightest sigh or the merest frown" .
and this world will be saved. One teacher who has made a decision to be happy and BE the
demonstration and extension of the Love of God on earth, and this world of chaos and
pain is over.

You'll be back home in Heaven, which is your home.

The decision to be happy all the time might sound like a difficult task, but it's actually
quite simple once you realize that it is God Himself who is asking you to let go of every
grievance that this world be saved.

It is a mighty task indeed.

Waking from Disaster.

I can always only tell my own experience and how I awoke from my own dream of disaster.
I am a practical person. I needed clear-cut practical tools that I could begin to apply in my
life. That's just how it worked for me. I honestly can't say how it will work for someone
else. I can only express what worked for me. Thinking that the problem didn't exist or
wasn't real did not create miracles in my life. Thinking about God did not make my
problems disappear. Sure, I would be happy for a time, all light and airy, but that did not
pay the bills and it did not fix my relationships. Love was not my only emotion. I would
still find myself swinging from frustration to joy and back to frustration again. What finally
caused me to SEE CLEARLY and TO RISE ABOVE THE CHAOS (to a place where miracles
actually were occurring) was my dedication to come into a new level of maturity and to be
responsible for EVERY action and thought.

I made a decision to be responsible for everything that occurred to me, with no
exceptions.

Put simply, I finally stopped blaming other people for my problems.

I placed my faith in God and took total (not partial) responsibility for everything that was
happening to me.

A Course in Miracles teaches quite simply that if you do what Jesus' asks you to do,
miracles will occur for you. If you are not seeing miracles, it is because you are not
following his simple instructions. It means you are either compromising Jesus' message or
interpreting his instructions.

"Either God is mad or this world is a place of madness."

These are the choices that were presented to me in Chapter 25, The Rock of Salvation.
Either God is mad or this world is a place of madness. When I read this, I suddenly didn't
care about being right in the world. I didn't care about justifying my actions. I didn't care
about defending my position. Why would I waste even one second of my time worrying
about anything once I had come to the sane conclusion that this world is a place of
madness???

This world is a place of madness.

If you can accept this one sentence, then I assure you that you are on your way to waking
from whatever problems and disasters you currently face. I promise you this is true.

Who cares about being right in a world that is crazy, insane and chaotic?

I used to spend hours and days and weeks trying to solve my problems as well as the
problems of the world. I'd worry and think and scheme and plan and organize. I'd wrack
my brains thinking of new ways to improve my life, my work, my marriage, my appearance
and my finances.

But this world is a place of madness. Who cares about improving anything at all?? Why fix
anything in a world that is flat-out crazy and will eventually fade away anyways? This
world is a place of madness.

Having accepted this simple statement, I don't worry about anything anymore. I don't
waste a second of my time wondering what someone meant by a passing statement. I
don't analyze glances, or obsess over nonsense.

I've been sent here by God Himself and there is work to do. I don't have time for problems.
I don't have time to waste worrying about disasters and chaos. It's all just madness
anyway.

This world is a place of madness.

Now, I'm simply free to do the work of my Father. I am here ONLY to be truly helpful. I am
here to represent Him Who sent me. I am here, in a body, as the total demonstration of
Light of Heaven on earth. I am here solely to extend the Love of God in the world.

And THAT makes me very happy.

Love,
Lisa Natoli
http://www.gorgeousforgod.com

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