Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

Available:

reflecting back on 5 years without my father, as Friday marked the date of his passing - and my deepest realization is that my father is as present now as always. There's an availability here, an openness, that keeps me anchored in his presence. So really, a short reflection:

there is no absence....

only love.

always available.

~
I love you, Eric

21 hours ago | [YT] | 29

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

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1 day ago | [YT] | 2

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

My path:

so forgiveness is becoming more my path than ever before now, and I don't just mean as a spiritual practice that's growing in depth and meaning. Beyond all that, it's a moment to moment choice for awakening. It's a path because I walk it sincerely through life and it leads directly to the experience of God's love. That's the carry over,

a holy instant extending past a moment's choice

and all the way to heaven.

my path.

my awakening.

forgiveness takes me home.

~
I love you, Eric

1 day ago | [YT] | 44

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

A more loving world:

it's a very gentle mindfulness, just an easy note of attention and then each thought forgiven. There's really no effort here, not even a practice or formal meditation. Life reveals the content of my mind, ego's projections or the loving thoughts of God.

I've become mindful of the choice between the two.

at least sooner than I have before.

and now my life reveals....

a more loving world.

~
I love you, Eric

2 days ago | [YT] | 15

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

Teaching:

Who would profit more from prayers alone? ³Who needs but a smile, being as yet unready for more? ([ACIM, M-29.2:2-3](acim.org/acim/manual/as-for-the-rest/en/s/844#2:2-…)

I love these simple instructions on how to teach, how not to be forceful in the message but gentle in all that is offered. A prayer will suffice. A smile might heal. These can be miracles given from a heart joined with the Holy Spirit in council.

may my life be gentle today, my message quiet and clear....

I love you.

and may that help heal us both.

~
I love you, Eric

3 days ago | [YT] | 18

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

God is in everything I see because God is in my mind. ([ACIM, W-30](acim.org/acim/lesson-30/god-is-in-everything-i-see…)

sometimes I think that any one lesson is enough, that nothing more than the above statement is really needed to awaken. God is indeed in my mind, and life now reveals this to me daily. The question is, do I wish to deny this, even occasionally, or to fully accept it as reality?

so I ask myself that question every day now.

and life reflects my answer.

it's a beautiful morning.

I love you.

~

Peace, Eric

4 days ago | [YT] | 33

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

just write something soft and lightly beautiful this morning. That's all the page is asking of me right now—and even a few words will do. The world doesn't need my opinion or another lengthy explanation on any matter of current concern. Just write the briefest love note to whoever happens to find these words...

so I love you, always now, forever,

simply because I do.

and you were meant to read these words.

~
I love you, Eric

5 days ago | [YT] | 35

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

Only revaluation:

a very sincere question was asked of me yesterday: can A Course in Miracles be used to bypass trauma? And, more personally, had I ever used the Course that way—as an emotional escape route? It's a great question, and my answer is yes: I believe the Course can be used to bypass trauma, and yes, I had used it that way myself—but I didn't do it for very long, and I never actually escaped anything. What I tried to avoid simply remained there until I was willing to look at it. What I love about working with the Course is exactly what I once feared. Everything, eventually, is brought to light in order to be healed.

nothing can remain hidden.

at least not if healing is the only priority.

and this is a deep healing that the Course offers, the kind that sets us free.

liberation.

for me it's been a process, a slow unwinding of the past to reveal its illusory presence. Forgiveness shows that I've been reopening my wounds, keeping them presently fresh, alive, and bleeding in the shadows. I was unaware of this because so much of my pain was projected onto other people. I didn't recognize it as my own. The Holy Spirit shows me the shadows I've placed on others.

and then very gently asks if I'd like to heal.

eventually,

I do.

so far, shadows keep appearing....and light continues to be offered.

it's a lifetime of forgiveness.

no bypassing.

no escape.

only revaluation.

~
I love you, Eric

6 days ago | [YT] | 39

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

How to forgive:

so the truth is, I don't know how to forgive, not really. It's a measure of grace far beyond my present capabilities right now. But what I do have is an abundance of willingness to no longer suffer, to not allow the ego total control over my capacity to receive this grace. Alexander Pope was correct with his statement that forgiveness is divine. It's simply beyond the nature of the ego. And yet this is fortunate indeed, because it allows me the opportunity to touch upon not just my own divine nature, but yours as well.

it's a blessing, really.

true forgiveness is not of the ego, and so, at least for an instant, I need to touch upon who I truly am. This is why that willingness is so important, vital. It's the small crack in ego's armor that allows the light to start pouring in. The first step in forgiveness is simply the recognition that I no longer wish to feel this way.

second is the realization that I don't want to suffer the effects of my own thinking.

there is no "out there" that has control over my inner condition.

that's a radical acceptance of self-responsibility.

and it begins to set me free.

however, honestly, forgiveness is still beyond me. My willingness to feel better is just not enough to completely free me from a lifetime of commitment to the ego's view of the world. Left on my own, I would continue with blame, judgment and a lifetime of resentments. And here's where grace comes in—I'm not on my own. Not ever. My willingness is the invitation for the Holy Spirit to enter. A Course in Miracles calls this receiving a wisdom that is not my own.

so I ask for help.

and it's given.

this is where I hand it all over to the Holy Spirit, keeping nothing for the ego's satisfaction. I ask for it to be taken from me so that I might be healed. I don't hold on to anything. That's sometimes a bit of a process as hidden resentments begin to rise to the surface. But I'm in no hurry. I only wish to heal. This can all start with a prayer—a small request to release blame, as well as ownership for all the suffering that occurs.

⁴I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it. (ACIM, W-34.5:4)

and I ask the Holy Spirit to show me how.

that's it.

my part is done.

my willingness to surrender the ego's hold on all my suffering is the only hard part in any of this. And now it's done and in the loving hands of the Holy Spirit. I repeat as necessary, sometimes often through the day—a formal forgiveness meditation, or just a small request to help me ease my mind. Forgiveness always takes place within an instant—but sometimes it takes me a little time to recognize the holiness of the present moment.

infinite patience produces immediate effects (ACIM, T-5.VI.12:1)

again, I'm in no hurry.

there's no rush for eternity.

it's here right now.

and here's the end result of all this—not just forgiveness, but what it actually shows me. It's revelation:

⁵It is a joke to think that time can come to circumvent eternity, which means there is no time. (ACIM, T-27.VIII.6:4-5)

healing takes place right now.

forgiveness shows me a glimpse of eternity, timelessness,

and that heaven isn't a place at all.

it's the present moment awareness of Christ within us.

everyone.

and seeing this...

the entire world's forgiven.

~
I love you, Eric

1 week ago | [YT] | 5

Just a Yogi: The Yoga of True Forgiveness

A healed mind:

A healed mind does not plan ([ACIM, W-135.11:1](acim.org/acim/lesson-135/if-i-defend-myself-i-am-a…)

and this is central to co-creating with God, recognizing that my own best plans have never led me anywhere of lasting value. This, of course, isn't the absence of action, but it's a guided idea or movement that always expands towards an ever greater love.

it's about becoming God dependent.

It carries out the plans that it receives through listening to wisdom that is not its own. ³It waits until it has been taught what should be done, and then proceeds to do it. ([ACIM, W-135.11:2-3](acim.org/acim/lesson-135/if-i-defend-myself-i-am-a…)

so I am blessed with a "wisdom not my own," a guidance system that never fails to lead me in the right direction, although I certainly might not recognize that at the time. My mind is certainly not healed, or at least not yet, it seems. But it is healing; through one forgiving thought at a time, it's being cleansed of the burden of its mistaken beliefs in ego's power and returned to its original sanity.

co-creating with God is always spontaneous, a present moment burst of inspiration that's endless in its flow—and that's maybe why it seems to happen through time. I'm limited only in how much I believe I can receive in any given moment. My only role, really, is to heal my mind. And that's actually easier than I once believed. Everything serves for the function of a miracle to take place. Everything. A miracle shifts my perception from fear to love.

within me, and you as well, is the presence of a wisdom not our own.

a miracle happens when we ask for one.

through this the mind is healed.

guidance received.

and our very next step is taken.

~

I love you, Eric

1 week ago | [YT] | 4