“…If you place your faith in the past, the future will be like it. …ACIM

Nearly every Human being lives his or her life in two different aspects of time on a continuous basis. They oscillate between the past, which is a product of memory, and the future, which is an aspect of imagination. Hardly anyone ever consciously makes an effort to visit the present which is the only time there really is.

The past is over and cannot be revisited, therefore, except for a few bits and pieces you hold in your memory it doesn’t exist at all. Even so, most people are determined to live a huge part of their lives in this nonexistent aspect of time. And by doing so, as the above quote implies, they ensure their future will be similar.

That which you refer to as the future is no more than a product of your imagination, therefore, like the past, it doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as a past or a future, the former exists only in your memory and the latter exists only in your imagination. In reality there is only now but as long as we believe in time we can only explain its movement as the future. You, as a creator, are either creating or making your future, which is really your present, every moment from your imaginative thoughts.

If you’re determined to place your faith in the past then you’ll reach into that part of your mind where memories are stored and use those memories to make the present. The so-called future is simply your present created or made from your imagination. By focusing on the past you take away the creative aspect of new thought. Your imagination then becomes no more than a repetitive regurgitation of the past causing your present to be like it.

“God Himself orders your thought because your thought was created by Him.”   …ACIM

Those who place their faith in the past cannot hear God’s thought. For only the ego can live in the past and the Ego cannot know anything concerning God. This is the reason why most people’s future is a mundane regurgitation of the past. By dwelling on the past your attention is drawn to that part of the mind which is home to the ego. This blocks you from recognizing any new and creative thoughts that enter the higher part of the mind that holds both imagination and creative Power.

You are an extension of God, an extension of Love, and as such your purpose is to co-create new worlds of love, happiness, beauty, peace and joy. You did not come forth to make a world of fear, suffering, conflict, dullness and misery and then to keep on making the same type of world over and over and over again.

“Any decision of the mind will affect both behavior and experience. What you will, you expect. This is not delusional. Your mind does create your future…”   …ACIM

In The Course Jesus points out that thoughts can represent lower-order or higher-order reality. This is the basic distinction between intellectualizing and thinking. One makes the physical and the other creates the spiritual…

It’s impossible to intellectualize Love but it’s completely possible to think love-based thoughts. When you intellectualize about anything, it matters not what it is, you’re trying to satisfy the ego’s curiosity. In other words, you’re trying to make sense of, or to decipher the meaning of, something you’ve either heard, seen, felt, tasted or smelled. Therefore, to intellectualize is to use lower-order thoughts which are always based in the past. By dwelling on these past-based thoughts you’re guaranteed to make your future in their likeness.

I’m not trying to tell you that every and all aspects of your past were unhappy experiences. What I am trying to get across is that when we use the intellect to examine the past it seems to be in our nature to concentrate on the bad memories more so than the good ones. The Course provides the following remedy when this happens: “Let Him evaluate each thought that comes to mind, remove the elements of dreams, and give them back to you as clean ideas that do not contradict the Will of God.”

“And you will see the love beyond the hate, the constancy in change, the pure in sin, and only Heaven’s blessing on the world.”   …ACIM

By letting God evaluate your thoughts, or in other words, turning the negative, depressing, and fearful ones over to Him. He’ll remove all the elements of dreams from them and you’ll begin to perceive the visions mentioned above. You’ll begin to see a loving world more often than you see a hateful one. You’ll understand that all things physical must change and you’ll no longer be apprehensive of the bodily changes caused by time. You’ll realize that that which we call sin is simply the imaginings of a separated mind placed upon mistakes. Finally, you’ll realize that this new world you’re beginning to see is co-created by your Self and God and therefore, is completely Blessed by Him.

“What you perceive in others, you are strengthening in yourself.”   …ACIM

The more you can perceive the world and its inhabitants as creations of a loving Creator the more you are strengthening your relationship with Love. When you can look beyond hate and perceive only Love, you’re strengthening your understanding that you are only Love. When you understand that change is an aspect of the physical only and that you, as Love, are an eternal Creation that will never be physical, you’ll no longer fear old age and death.

When you can finally accept the truth that you were created as a part of God you’ll strengthen within yourself the truth that You could never sin. When you reach the point of understanding that you are either the maker or the Creator of the world you see you’ll realize that only you can create a loving world for yourself. You then understand that a loving world has to be created by you from Love. In other words, a loving world is your own creation and Heaven’s blessings are always and freely bestowed on creations of Love.

“From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from the past.”   …ACIM

I’m completely aware that I’ve been saying that there is no such thing as the future. So now the question arises; why does The Course talk about something that doesn’t exist? 

The Course was given for those who believe themselves to be in physical bodies. Therefore, there’s no way it could be understood unless it addressed illusions, of which time is one. The Course plainly tells us that time is an illusion and that the present is the only time there is. It’s titled A Course in Miracles; and what’s the purpose of A Course other than to teach? And how could it teach unless it uses language that can be understood by all?  When I say there’s no such thing as the future I’m visualizing a dimension that reaches beyond time, which is the present.

We either make or create our future which is actually our present. As far as I’m aware, except in movies, no physical body has ever visited the future for every instant is always the present; it is always now. The organization known as Alcoholics Anonymous uses this truth very beneficially in a phrase similar to the following: If you don’t take that first drink today you’ll never take it. 

A new perception of the world

In this physical world we cannot see beyond that which stops physical light. And this seeing is always accompanied by judgement from which perception follows. That’s why two people can look at the same object and see it completely different. One may very much like what they see while the other may not be a fan at all. The difference is caused by judging it as likeable or not likeable and then perceiving it as it’s judged to be. 

It’s the same with the world as you see it. Like everyone else you live in your own world. This world you live in can be a world of restrictions and limits. In other words, it can be a prison for you, which you have made for yourself. This type of world is usually made from thoughts of the past. Even though it’s a prison for you you hold the key to unlocking it in your hand every moment of every day.

The key is called perception and the thing about perception is, it can be changed at any moment by you. Perception comes from judgement and can be quickly changed by changing the way you think. When you look at the world, you look at it through judgmental eyes and then you perceive it exactly as you judge it to be.

I’m going to close this post with a quote from A Course in Miracles: “Do not look to the god of sickness for healing but only to the God of love, for healing is the acknowledgment of Him. When you acknowledge Him, you will know that He has never ceased to acknowledge you and that in His acknowledgment of you lies your Being. You are not sick, and you cannot die. But you can confuse yourself with things that do.”

————————————————————————-

Thank you for visiting this site. I am Blessed by your presence. May God richly Bless you.

“Love is your safety. Fear does not exist. Identify with love, and you are safe. Identify with love, and you are home. Identify with love, and find your Self.” …ACIM