Being an anxiety sufferer, Easter, from a Course in Miracles point of view, has always given me a profound sense of comfort because it teaches that Love cannot be destroyed.
“There is no death. The Son of God is free.” – Lesson 163 in A Course in Miracles
I’ve always felt that a lot of my anxiety stemmed from a deep existential fear that came from way deep down inside of me. I always used to think that it was linked to a fear of death, and so the Course’s message that there is no death was an idea that soothed my frightened self.
This Easter, circumstances worked out that my husband and I were to spend the holiday alone at home. We were thrilled! I had a deep inner pull to spend a large part of the day in silence, practicing being in stillness.
Although the idea that “there is no death” is still comforting to me, this Easter held a slightly different meaning for me. The Course teaches that J. (the voice of the Course is Jesus – and I’ll be calling him “J.”), is like our elder brother. He struggled with the same ego temptations as we do, and he always worked his mind back into a place of remembering his true identity as the Son of God (and we’re all part of that same Sonship too). According to the Course, we are capable of remembering the exact same thing that he did. J. was just the first one to do so perfectly. He remembered his true identity and so became one with the Sonship (i.e. Christ, Oneness, Creation, Kingdom). He didn’t need to come back into another dream to keep learning because his need for learning was over, although his Voice is still very accessible to us.
As Course students, we’re asked to work our minds into a place where this remembering can flow across our open minds. We can’t do this alone, however. We have to ask for help from our Inner Guide (aka the Holy Spirit), or another symbol that we’re comfortable with (maybe J., angels, our Higher Self, etc.).
When we place our minds under the guidance of our Inner Teacher (Holy Spirit, J.), we are allowing our mind to be guided to our True Thoughts, rather than to the ego muck we usually have on the surface of our minds. This is what the Course refers to as “Christ Guidance.”
This Easter, the new meaning for me was that I touched the deep desire and willingness to place my mind under this “Christ Guidance” and to experience it. I wanted to remember what J. remembered, and know what J. knew. For me, this Easter was beyond just the comfort surrounding the idea that there is no death, but that we have real tools, right now, that we can use if we want to KNOW who we truly are. In sitting with this in meditation, my mind was still for long periods of time, and I simply felt pure Love. ♥
Easter is just a day (although it brings with it darn good treats like the one above!). But practicing the peace of Easter is our task every day.
