New Age Myths

Arten and Pursah's take on some popular New Age concepts

At the end of my last post I mentioned that I wanted to share what Arten and Pursah have to say about certain New Age topics that so many people are 'ga-ga' over. A&P are very blunt in putting these many popular New Age concepts in their proper perspective - as well as putting the entire universe in its place! How can somebody not love these guys? They really hold back no punches! As an idealist, I was so excited to read what A&P had to say when I read DU for the first time in the spring of 2007. I'm now on my seventh reading - no such thing as too much repetition! Anyway, their message is intended for those ready to take full responsibility for their life's experiences - not always easy, especially when it feels like the world is being done to you rather than being done by you. In this post, we'll review what Arten and Pursah have to say about the following hot topics in the spiritual community: energy, consciousness, evolution, reincarnation, body-mind-spirit, karma, and 'being in the now.'

A note before I get started: the study of the aforementioned topics were once very helpful to me and were an important part of my spiritual path for many years. Without having studied that stuff, and applying it into my life, I would not have been able to go beyond them - and get to the point where I could accept Arten and Pursah's teachings as being true. I know ten years ago I would not have been able to accept A&P's teachings - as Pursah says on page 127 of DU, '.....not due to a lack of intelligence, but because of an abundance of unconscious resistance.' Fortunately, enough of my ego was undone during the years of my prior studies that I was able to accept Arten and Pursah's teachings without hesitation. But Arten and Pursah say that this path is not for everyone, or at least not for everyone all at once. So, I am certainly not putting these concepts down. But Arten and Pursah bluntly point out to us that we need to go beyond them if we want to go Home, and experience what we really are.

So, let's get started, shall we?

What about energy?

DU p 104
Energy cannot seemingly be destroyed on the level of form because it is not really energy, it is thought. Or more accurately, it is mis-thought, which will eventually be changed over to the eternal. In the meantime, there is a very simple criteria that the Course gives you to distinguish between the real and the unreal:

Whatever is true is eternal, and cannot change or be changed. Spirit is therefore unalterable because it is already perfect, but the mind can elect what it chooses to serve. The only limit put on its choice is that it cannot serve two masters.

So the fact that energy can be changed means that by it's very nature it is untrue. It is not our intention to deflate the enthusiasm of your New Age buddies who are so ga-ga over energy. But energy is nothing. It's a waste of time, a trick, just another device for building your house upon the sand instead of on the rock. Sure, it may be a helpful idea for some people to be interested in the unseen instead of the seen. But we came to help you save time. The good news isn't that energy can be changed, the good news is that the mind that made it can be changed.

DU p 129
Try to remember that energy is not spirit - spirit being your unalterable, true reality. Energy, which changes and can be measured, exists within the domain of perception.

My note: I used to be pretty obsessed about energy myself. Arten and Pursah really cleared this whole thing up for me. They really simplify the whole process of enlightenment, while many other authors whose books I read prior to this point really complicated the hell out of it - making every single cell in the body real! Energy really is nothing! Just practice true forgiveness and the rest will take care of itself. What a relief!


What about consciousness?

DU p 129
Consciousness is yet another thing you foolishly value highly. In order to have consciousness you have to have separation. You've got to have more than one thing. You have to have something else to be conscious of. This is the beginning of the split mind. As the Course teaches in no uncertain terms:

Consciousness, the level of perception, was the first split introduced into the mind after the separation, making the mind a perceiver rather than a creator. Consciousness is correctly identified as the domain of the ego.

DU p 214
In Heaven, you don't have to think at all. In fact you are thought by God.

My note: So consciousness is not of God. Which means, the popular term, 'Christ-Consciousness' is actually an oxy-moron. Christ is of God, while consciousness represents separation from God.


What about evolution and reincarnation?

DU p 145,146
Since everything happened all at once, then doesn't that mean evolution is also an illusion, kind of a smokescreen?

Congratulations to the one who knows that. Your generation worships evolution, thinking that you're on the way to creating some kind of new, hot consciousness. You value evolution almost as much as you value energy. What is called evolution was merely the ego separating all at once by seemingly dividing and sub-dividing cells over and over again in order to make bodies and brains that appear to be more complex - and thus more impressive. Yet all bodies are the same in their unreality.

DU p 328
Some people believe reincarnation leads to the evolvement of the soul. True?

Your soul is already perfect, or otherwise it wouldn't be a soul; it would just be something you're mistaking for a soul - like your mind, which people do mistake for the soul, or a projection of your mind, which includes bodily-shaped ghostly images that people think are souls. Evolution is something that appears to happen on the level of form, but it's just a dream. Once your mind has learned all its forgiveness lessons, then it awakens to spirit or soul, and everything else is gone except Heaven. Most people think of their soul as being an individual thing because they can't help but think of themselves as individuals. When that false belief is gone, then you know that there is really only one soul - which is our unlimited oneness as spirit.

DU p 179
We should emphasize something about the subject of reincarnation. We talk about it as though it actually happens. Yet just like everything else, it's only a dream. Yes, it appears that you incarnate into a body, and your experience is that you are a body - but as we like to point out, the Course says that what you are seeing is not true.

What about body-mind-spirit?

DU p 76
Today, many believe in the existence of a trilogy - body, mind, and spirit. The 'balance' of all three is important in your philosophy. But you, the seemingly separated mind which makes and uses bodies, must choose between the changeless and eternal reality of spirit - which is God and His Kingdom - or the unreal and ever-changing universe of bodies - which includes anything that can be perceived, whether you appear to be in a body or not.

Are you saying that giving equal value to body, mind, and spirit actually contributes to me coming back here over and over again as a body, rather than being free?

Yes, but this doesn't mean that you should neglect your body. We're speaking of another way of looking at it.

My note: This means using the practical forms of judgment when it comes to the body. We are still gonna bathe it, dress it, feed it, and exercise it - hopefully! The point is your salvation is dependent on what's going on in your mind, while you go about living your daily life; it's not about giving up anything.

DU p 293
You may hear from those seeking balance: the balancing of body, mind, and spirit, or balancing dual forces like yin and yang, or balancing 'the force' itself. Balancing illusions is not forgiving them.


What about karma?

DU p 116
Karma is just an effect. We're going to change the cause of everything by changing the mind. The effect on the level of the physical is not something to be concerned about, because it isn't real. The real things you should be interested in are inner peace and returning to Heaven.

My note: In other words, karma is the result of the unconscious guilt in the mind. Once the guilt has been healed and removed by your forgiveness, then the so called karma no longer exists. Whatever 'bad' things you have done in the past are only karmic if you have yet to truly forgive yourself for doing them.


What about 'being in the now?'

IR, p 27
Where the practice of 'be here now' will get you is here. Sure, it will relax you, but it won't get you home. One aspect of that kind of a system is to watch your judgments. But watching your judgments is not forgiving them. And the now that is experienced is not the eternal always of Heaven, which can only be consistently experienced when the ego has been completely undone by the Holy Spirit. That requires that you do your part to forgive, and the Holy Spirit takes care of the part of the job you can't see, deep within your unconscious mind.

IR, p 193, 194
Keep in mind that we're not saying there's anything wrong with the idea of 'being in the now,' - there may be some good in focusing on the now rather than the past or the future - the quality of life would be improved. The problem is that doing so cannot remove the unconscious guilt over the original separation from God that's still hidden in the deep recesses of the mind. Because of that, it makes each experience of being in the now temporary by definition, because it fails to remove the blocks that prevent that experience from being permanent. All of which is to say that there's not just a minor difference between the approach of The Power of Now and the real power of A Course in Miracles. It's the difference between being temporarily in the now of an illusion, or being permanently in the presence of reality.

It's absolutely essential to remember that unless and until all unconscious guilt is removed from the mind, you cannot stay in the endless present on a permanent basis - it's impossible. Any attempt to remain in the now is doomed to failure without doing the work of true forgiveness. Until you've completely forgiven that which you made and projected outside of yourself, you are not forgiven in your own unconscious mind, and until you are, the cycle of birth and death cannot be broken. Being in the now does not heal your unconscious guilt and undo the ego. True forgiveness, on the other hand, removes the blocks to the awareness of love's presence that is your natural state of being, undoing the ego completely and making it possible to remain in the eternal 'always' simply because that's all that's left.

Remember, that any attempt at eternity is a nonstarter as long as there's any unconscious guilt in the mind, period. That guilt must be healed before you can permanently stay free of the past or future. And the way to undo it is not to ignore it, which is exactly what's going on when you shut off and deny the past or future. It's when you forgive the past and your concerns about the future that they are undone, and the endless present becomes truly available to you. That forgiveness always takes place now. Remember that there's no difference between forgiving the original separation at the time it appeared to happen, and forgiving it right now, for they are one and the same.


Ok, I covered everything I wanted to for this post. So what's in store for my next post? As Gary says on page 132 of DU, 'I have not a freakin' idea.' I'll come up with something. Stay tuned.

God Is

Keys to Understanding A Course in Miracles

Arten and Pursah's Keys to Understanding A Course in Miracles

In this post, I'll be addressing some of the things that Arten and Pursah point out as being trouble areas and pitfalls that some Course students run into, and I'll go into a little detail about each one. This is written with the assumption that you have some familiarity with A Course in Miracles and/or Gary Renard's books. I'll be quoting often from The Disappearance of the Universe aka DU, as well as Your Immortal Reality aka IR in this post, while covering the following topics: Why the Course seemingly contradicts itself; what should and should not be taken literally; why Christian terminology is used in the Course; the use of judgment, discernment, and common sense; the proper use of denial; and getting caught up in over-analyzing and nitpicking the Course.

Before I get started, I should admit that I'm not as heavily into A Course in Miracles as I am into Gary Renard's books. Gary's books are what keep me focused and motivated on the task at hand. With the exception of some of the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, humorous rhetorical questions, reading from the Course can nearly put me to sleep at times. With that said, however, I have a great appreciation and respect for the lofty goal the Course has to offer. The Course is all about the healing of one's unconscious guilt by the Holy Spirit and the return to Heaven through the dynamic of forgiveness, (DU p 92.) Despite the fact that A Course in Miracles is very much about the healing of this unconscious guilt, most of the teachers of the Course never even mention it, (DU p 143.) This is why I love Gary's books so much, his teachers let you know what you are really up against, and do so in such a blunt way, and put in everyday human language and in no uncertain terms. And at the same time, there's no pressure or guilt trip being laid upon the reader, which was a breath of fresh air for me, as I have encountered this in other spiritual teachings on ascension and enlightenment prior to reading Gary's books. In fact, Pursah specifically quotes J as saying that we shouldn't feel any pressure, and that salvation would come to each mind when it was supposed to, (DU p 402.)

One big issue that some Course students have encountered, according to Arten and Pursah, that over the years there have been a number of people who gave up on A Course in Miracles because they incorrectly thought the Course was contradicting itself. A&P point out, however, the reason the Course seems to contradict itself is because it is speaking on two different levels. Jesus, as you know is the voice of the Course, speaks to us on both the level of the world, as well as the level of absolute truth, and does so interchangeably throughout the Course. The key to understanding the Course in regards to this matter is that anything that expresses the absolute truth, the level of non-duality, the level of oneness, should be taken literally. On the other hand, Jesus also speaks to us in the Course on the level of the world. The reason being for that is he is meeting us where we think we are, which is in the world. If he spoke to us just on the level of absolute truth, we wouldn't get very far due to the very complex nature of the ego. So anything in the Course that speaks on the level of the world, the level of duality, the level of separation, is not intended to be taken literally but to be taken as metaphor, (DU p 92.)

In Gary's audio series, The Secrets of the Immortal, Gary gives a good example of what should be taken literally, and what should be taken as metaphor: Here is an example of a statement from the Course that should be taken literally, as it speaks the absolute truth:

God knows not of separation.

Here's an example of a statement that should be taken as metaphor, as it is speaking on the level of the world:

God weeps for his children.

Now, without understanding that not everything in the Course should be taken literally, one may incorrectly see the Course as contradicting itself with the two aforementioned statements. However, if you properly make the distinctions of what should be taken literally, and what should be taken as metaphor, you'll understand that the Course is speaking on different levels, and that it is indeed, not contradicting itself. So when something like 'God weeps for his children' is read in the Course, it should be taken as a metaphor as the Holy Spirit wanting us to choose His voice rather than that of the ego. Ultimately, everything but God is metaphor, (DU p 92.)

So moving on to the use of the Christian terminology in the Course, some people may be turned off by it, and others may see the Course as being a continuation of Christianity like it's the 3rd Testament or something. But A Course in Miracles should not be confused with Christianity. The foundation of Christianity is based on Jesus suffering and sacrificing himself for other people's sins, and despite Jesus supposedly doing this, Christianity goes on to give you a million reasons why you're still guilty anyway, and gives you a God that loves you one day, but seeks vengeance on you the next day, apparently all depending on what kind of mood He's in. All the while the devil is just waiting for you to slip up so you can spend all of eternity burning in Hell - now that's nine years of Catholic school talking! The thought system of A Course in Miracles, on the other hand, is consistent in its message, as it is all about love and forgiveness, and give us a God that is perfect Love and sees us all as being innocent no matter what we dream up here in the illusion of time and space. In the mean time, our memory of God, the Holy Spirit, is with us to help us return our awareness to our natural state of peace and bliss while we appear to be here, and ultimately being one with God in Heaven. The terminology may be the same but that's where the similarities of Christianity and A Course in Miracles end, as the Course is much more Eastern than Western in its approach, as it gets in touch with the power of the mind - which makes sense since Jesus was from the Middle East, not Massachusetts.

Now, according to Arten and Pursah, Jesus uses Biblical, metaphorical language in the Course in order to correct Christianity, (DU p 97.) So when Jesus uses the word He to describe God, J is not suggesting that God is some old white guy with a long gray beard sitting on a throne up in Heaven while judging the hell out of us. In fact, you could just as easily substitute the word She for He, but that would not be any more accurate than using He. Technically, It is the proper word, but Jesus is speaking as an artist correcting the Bible which was allegedly based on his teachings, so that's why he uses Biblical language, (DU p 319.) There is no concept of male or female in Heaven; (DU p 5) - only God, Love, and Spirit, which are all synonymous.

The next thing I want to discuss is the concept of judgment. When the Course talks about not judging your brothers and sisters, what it's really saying is that you should not condemn them, (DU p 116.) The Course is not asking you to give up the practical forms of judgment you need just to be able to function in the world while you appear to be here. You have to make judgments just to cross the street, get out of bed, and decide what to eat, etc. As Arten goes on to say "One thing the Course has nothing against is common sense,' (DU p 116.) I'd also like to add that using discernment is part of having common sense. Yes, it is your job to save the world, as the world can not be saved without you - since the world is just a projection of your own mind - however, you saving the world is done so at the level of the mind, and never at the level of the physical. For example, it may be late at night and you're walking through what some may consider to be an undesirable neighborhood. Now, there could be some people hanging around and perhaps you see them carrying guns. On the level of the mind you can see them as innocent, but that doesn't mean you have to prove a point and go walking up to them trying to save them, or to prove how invulnerable you are. It would be in your best interest to get the hell out of there, and as quickly as possible, as Pursah says 'If you're a woman and a man is trying to rape you, kick him in the balls,' (IR p 177.) Forgiveness can always be applied later.

The Course is not about you trying to be Superman. And while we're at it, you don't have to give money to every homeless person you see out there on the street either, and if you do, it's best that you are not doing that out of feelings of guilt. This path is not about being a do-gooder, not that there isn't anything wrong with doing good deeds if that turns you on; but the Course is about being a right minded thinker, (DU p 218.) When the Course talks about being a teacher of God becoming perfect here, it is referring to perfect forgiveness, not perfect behavior, (DU p 234.) Forgiveness has to do with what you think. What you do isn't the important thing, even though it is a result of what you think. It's what you think that wil either keep you dreaming or help get you home, not what you do, (DU p 218.) And as J says in the Course, 'I do not call for martyrs but for teachers.'

Now, some students new to the Course might think that practicing the true forgiveness that the Course talks about is a form of denial. Well,in a sense it is - but in a different way from what the world commonly views as denial. Here's what Gary's teachers have to say about that: The thought system of love and the thought system of fear are both forms of denial. One of them, the Holy Spirit's teaching, leads to Heaven by uncovering and reversing the ego's denial of the truth, as the Course says, 'It denies the ability of anything not of God to affect you. This is the proper use of denial,' (DU p 113.) The Atonement principle undoes denial and projection at the level of your mind by forgiving what you perceive, and the Holy Spirit undoes the denial and projection at the metaphysical level of your mind at the same time - as well as undoing the whole idea of separation right along with you. You must practice forgiveness on the level where your experience is. So your forgiveness is done here, which means you should be practical - and respectful of other people and their experience. In other words, when you're living your everyday life, be kind. Your job isn't to correct others. Just help the Holy Spirit clean up your wrong mind by switching to your right mind, (DU p 166.) When we say you should be kind to others, it doesn't mean you should be in denial about the ego thought system. But don't try to change others; change your own mind instead, (DU p 193.)

Another stumbling block that some Course students may get caught up in is in overanalyzing the Course. Pursah cautions us not to nitpick the Course to death. She goes on to say that all the details of the Course's teachings should be put within the context of its larger teachings on forgiveness, (DU p 329.) I would add that you don't need to sit there dissecting and analyzing every sentence in the Course. If you don't understand what a particular sentence or paragraph is saying, its not something to get all frustrated about and beat yourself up over - just move on. What really matters, as far as I'm concerned, is that you continue to practice taking full responsibility for your life's experiences by remembering to apply the concept of true forgiveness on anything that pushes your buttons on any given day. If you are doing this, rest assured you are making spiritual progress, regardless of how well or how much of the Course you understand. Oh by the way, speaking of analyzing things, ever notice that the first four letters of analyzing spell out anal? It could be a coincidence, but the only problem is that I don't really believe in coincidences. Just like Arten points out that the last four syllables of the word individuality spell out duality; that's not just a semantic accident, (DU p 141.)

Just a quick note here, Gary mentions on The Secrets of the Immortal CD that the person with a low IQ who is going around just being love is probably making more spiritual progress than the intellect who uses the Course to make other people wrong and himself right. I listen to Gary's CDs quite a bit so when I hear him say that, it always reminds me of my favorite movie of all time, Radio - about a man with the low IQ who is just being love. I highly recommend this movie - starts Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding Jr. Check out the deleted scenes on the DVD too.

So before I wrap up this post, here are some other quick random notes that may be helpful in studying the Course:

On disc 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal audio series, Gary advises that you can replace the word but with only if that helps you to understand a particular section better. For example, here are a couple of lines in the Course with the word but in it, 'For time but seems to go in one direction. We but undertake a journey that is over.' So if you replaced the word but with only, it would go like this, 'For time only seems to go in one direction. We only undertake a journey that is over.' For me personally, I find this suggestion to be very helpful at times. Another thing Gary mentions too is that the Course uses the word make or made in association with the ego - while using the word create in association with God or Spirit.

On page 265 of DU, Pursah says that it may be helpful to remember that the words 'heart' and 'mind' meant the same thing two thousand years ago. When J said 'look into your heart,' he meant your whole being. He wasn't referring to how you feel about worldly behavior or current theology. He was telling you to examine your mind, forgive your brothers and sisters and remember God.

Lastly, as Arten says about their teaching style and A Course in Miracles, 'We've never said that A Course in Miracles is the only way to God, and we've never said that our words are the only way to A Course in Miracles. Ours is one approach. It's for some people - not for everyone. Having said that, let me remind you that we've come here to help you save time. If you really want to know God, then we want you to find the way to your experience of the absolute truth as soon as possible. The Course teaches that the miracle minimizes the need for time,' (DU p 162.) Arten also states, in reference to the Course's introduction where it says that 'It is a required course': 'The Course is required because it expresses the truth. I'm sorry if that sounds arrogant. It doesn't mean that the Course is the only way for anyone to ever find the truth. The truth is an awareness - not a book,' (DU p 108.)

Ok, so I think I have covered everything I wanted to in regards to understanding certain aspects of the Course, and hopefully it has been of help to someone. For my next post, I want to get into what Arten and Pursah have to say about some of the popular new age topics that so many people are 'ga-ga' over - I used to be - including energy, consciousness, evolution, karma, and 'being in the now.'

God Is

The Three 'Rules' of Spiritual Healing

The Three 'Rules' of Spiritual Healing as described in Chapter 10 of DU:

#1 Its' not about the patient.
All healing is a result of some kind of forgiveness, and all forgiveness leads to self-healing. So even when it comes to healing the sick it's really about forgiving your own dream, and forgiving yourself for dreaming it. As it states in the Psychotherapy pamphlet in the Course, '...The process that takes place in this relationship is actually one in which the therapist in his heart tells the patient that all his sins have been forgiven him, along with his own. What could be the difference between healing and forgiveness?' And as DU goes on to say, 'So who is being healed - the patient or the healer? The forgiver or the forgivee? The answer is both, for they are one.'

To word it any other way, there is no patient! Not really. There's nobody else out there, so its your own seemingly separated mind you are healing when you perceive somebody else's sickness and forgive it, as it is really your own sickness you are forgiving, that sickness being your own guilt that's buried deep in your subconscious mind over the seeming separation from God.

#2 Pain is not a physical process. It's a mental process.
Healing requires a shift in perception, and as the Course asks and answers for you, 'What is the single requisite for this shift in perception? It is simply this; the recognition that sickness is of the mind, and has nothing to do with the body. What does this recognition 'cost'? It costs the whole world you see, for the world will never again appear to rule the mind. As the Course also states, 'the guiltless mind cannot suffer.'

Another thing to keep in mind here too is that we are not in bodies, although it sure as hell feels like it most of the time, so that's our experience. However, the body you appear to be in is just like every other body you see out there; it's a projection of your own mind. So you're not in a body, your body is in your mind.

#3 Ultimately, the universe itself is a symptom that will disappear.
When you really wake up, what appeared to be real before is now recognized as the idle dream that it is. Then it is forgotten, or at least rendered meaningless. Your present lifetime and all of the others will disappear, and when everyone reaches the same state of enlightenment, the universe will disappear - leaving only God's universe of Heaven. (DU p263)

The universe will disappear because there will be no need for it any longer. Once there is no need to perpetuate unconscious guilt, there will be no need for a universe of time and space. The universe of time and space exists in its unreality as a hiding spot from our unconscious guilt; it's a symptom of separation from God and the projection of unconscious guilt. We created this universe - God certainly did not - where our guilt can be seen as being outside of ourselves, rather than within, and we go on to judge and condemn others. But when we judge and condemn others, what we are really doing is judging and condemning ourselves, as the 'others' we perceive as being out there are really just symbols of what's in our own unconscious minds. But once we stop reacting with condemnation, and start forgiving and seeing everyone as totally innocent, which in reality we all are - then all of the guilt will eventually be removed, and we will then simply return our awareness to our natural and original condition of being one with God.

So with all that said, that means we'll be having one big Heaven on Earth, Happy Dream party, giddy up!!!

God Is

What Makes Gary's Stuff Different From Everything Else Out There?

A lot of spiritual, new age material out there is geared towards fixing up one's life. I'm certainly not knocking that approach as I have been down that road myself. However, Gary's material and the correct interpretation of A Course in Miracles, gets to the one root cause of all the problems in the world - the unconscious guilt buried in the mind that runs the world. The material in Gary's book is not designed to help you dress up your life, rather it is about waking up from what you think is your life. Here's an excerpt from page 16 of DU:

Perhaps the most overlooked error of all religions and philosophies, including the New Age models, is the failure to understand that although doing things like thinking positively, being 'in the now,' saying prayers, affirmations, denying negative thoughts, and listening to famous speakers may have a temporarily helpful impact, they cannot release that which is locked in the deep canyons of your unconscious mind. Your unconscious mind, which you are completely oblivious to or else it wouldn't be unconscious, is under the domination of a sick thought system that is shared on both a collective and individual level by everyone who comes to the false universe - or else they wouldn't have come here in the first place. This will remain the case until your thoughts are examined, correctly forgiven, released to the Holy Spirit, and replaced by His thinking instead. Until then your hidden beliefs will continue to dominate and assert themselves in a predetermined way. The world is merely acting out a symbolic scenario that each one here agreed to participate in before they ever appeared to arrive.

God Is

Meeting Gary Renard - Gary visits the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon

So, Gary came to the Rogue Valley this past weekend for a 2 day intensive workshop. My mom came out from Klamath Falls for it, and some of the people from the two Course groups I attend were there as well. The venue was originally scheduled to take place at the Christ Unity Church. however, due to air-conditioning concerns, the workshop got moved to the Rogue Regency Inn at the last minute; it was a good thing, because it was a wicked hot weekend! It had hit 108 in Medford for the two days prior to the workshop, and hit 105 on Saturday and upper 90s on Sunday.

Anyway, about a month or so ago, I had e-mailed Gary and told him I was going back to Massachusetts for the first time since I left four years ago. I told him I would pick us up a couple of Masshole t-shirts and that it would be cool to have a picture taken together wearing them. He replied to my e-mail saying that he would consider doing so after the book signing. Well, sure enough, on Sunday, we got the picture done after the book signing, and it came out pretty damn cool! But I didn't actually pick up the t-shirts in Mass. I wasn't sure if I would actually find a Masshole shirt there, so I designed it at www.customink.com.



So on Sunday evening, a woman who attended the workshop hosted a potluck at her home in Ashland. Fifteen of us attended the potluck, including Gary. There were about eighty people or so at the workshop so it was nice to get into a small group. Anyway, we hung out for a few hours, eating and conversing, and I got to share with Gary and the group, my impersonation of him. On his Secrets of the Immortal audio series, Gary talks about going to see the movie The Passion of the Christ while visiting Southern California, in Temecula. Gary describes the scene of a bunch of people lined up around the block while bringing their 9 and 10 year old kids to get tickets to see this bloody, horrific, and torture chamber of a movie. So when these people are walking out of the movie theatre afterwards, Gary describes the look on the parents' faces, and this is what I impersonated: 'There you see, you see what Jesus did for you, you see how he suffed and sacrificed himself for you, you guilty little bastids.' Gary's a funny dude, and that's one of my favorite lines from him, so it was cool for me to share that with Gary and the rest of the group, especially since Gary and I speak the same language, Masshole! Of course, Gary said that on the CD in jest, as the Course in Miracles version of Jesus' message would have nothing to with suffering and sacrifice.

FYI - I spelled the words suffered and bastards incorrectly on purpose, to reflect the Boston accent.

So anyway, at the workshop Gary announced that the release of his new book, Love Has Forgotten No One - The Answer to Life, had been pushed back to January 13th due to many books being released at the same time at Hay House. Gary did list the titles of the chapters in his new book, here they are:

Chapter 1 What Would You Rather Be
Chapter 2 Tour of the In-between Life
Chapter 3 The Script is Written but not Etched in Stone: The Nature of Dimensions
Chapter 4 Bodily Healing for an Enlightened Mind
Chapter 5 Lessons of Thomas
Chapter 6 Lessons of Thaddeus
Chapter 7 Lessons of Gary
Chapter 8 Lessons and Identity of Arten in this Lifetime
Chapter 9 Final Lessons of Pursah
Chapter 10 Final Lessons of Arten
Chapter 11 Love Has Forgotten No One

***Update 9-25-08: The release date of this book has been pushed back to March 10, 2009***

***Update 5-13-10: We don't know when this book will be released - all in good time***

God Is

More favorite quotes from DU and IR

Its fun to know the truth, you don't have to take everything so damn seriously!

Humility is the way - not a false humility that says you are inadequate, but a real humility that simply says God is your only Source. You will realize that except for His Love you need nothing, and he who needs nothing can be trusted with everything.

You are Spirit. Whole and innocent. All is forgiven and released.

Every act of forgiveness undoes the ego, and the Holy Spirit removes the blocks to the awareness of God, or spirit's presence. The blocks are those walls of guilt in the mind that keep you from your awareness of what you really are.

True forgiveness means you don't judge and condemn another.

All healing is a result of some kind of forgiveness, and all forgiveness leads to self-healing.

The purpose of time is to forgive.

As you forgive, you may find yourself to be more at a loss for words than you used to be. Don't worry about that. This isn't about looking smart; it's about being healed by the Holy Spirit.

Forgiveness is the only thing that can really change the world, and that isn't even the purpose of forgiveness! The real benefits of true forgiveness go to the forgiver.

The thought system of love and the thought system of fear are both forms of denial. One of them, the Holy Spirit's teaching, leads to Heaven by uncovering and reversing the ego's denial of the truth. As the Course says about the peace that results from the Holy Spirit's teaching: It denies the ability of anything not of God to affect you. This is the proper use of denial.

God Is

Latest Gary Renard Update

Gary Renard will be here in Southern Oregon for a two day intensive workshop, on the weekend of August 16th & 17th. The workshop will be held at the Rogue Regency Inn in Medford. Saturday the 16th goes from 10 - 4 followed by a book signing; then from 1 - 5 on Sunday the 17th. Tickets are $150. You can contact Dain Pape at 541-324-4900 or email him at 24gvall@gmail.com for tickets and further information.

Also, Gary's new book, Love Has Forgotten No One - The Answer to Life, and new audio CD, Fearless Love - The Answer to the Problem of Human Existence, will be released on Novemember 11th.

God Is

Some of my favorite quotes from DU

Forgiveness is where the rubber meets the road. Without forgiveness, metaphysics are useless.

Money won't buy you happiness. But it will buy you food, shelter, clothing, methods of communication, and a whole lot of others things that aren't bad.

Do you prefer that you be right or happy?

The world is not left by death, but by truth.

Forgiveness and arguing are mutually exclusive. And forgiveness is always the way.

J considered himself to be totally dependent on God, yet this dependence was not weakness, as the world usually views dependence. Rather, the result was a state of unbelievable psychological strength. Things that would scare the stuffing out of strong people meant nothing to him, because they were nothing to him. Fear was not a part of him. His attitude was the same as if you were having a dream last night asleep in your bed, except you were totally aware of the fact that you were dreaming. And because you knew you were dreaming, you also knew that absolutely nothing in the dream could possibly hurt you, because none of it was true.

This isn't about trying to save a world that isn't really out there. You save the world by concentrating on your own forgiveness lessons. If everybody concentrated on their own lessons instead of somebody else's, the collective, prodigal Son would be home in a New York minute.

J had forgiven the world - his mind had been returned to the Holy Spirit where it belonged. That's where you mind belongs. You took it, and you have to give it back. And I've got a message for you: You'll never really be happy until you do. No matter what you imagine you have accomplished in any lifetime, there will always be a part of you that feels like something is missing - because in your illusions something is missing.

You have often thought you had to try harder to be a more loving person, so you could exemplify the love of J. That's not true. If you really want to be perfect Love like him and God, then what you need to do is learn how to remove, with the Holy Spirit's help, the barriers that you have placed in between yourself and God. Then you will naturally and inevitably become aware of what you really are.

As far as wisdom is concerned, the world believes that wisdom is having good judgment and being right. That's not true. All being right will do is keep you stuck here forever.

God Is

Best Selling Author Gary Renard coming to Medford, OR

Best selling author of The Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality, Gary Renard, will be appearing for a two-day intensive workshop at Christ Unity Church in Medford, on August 16th & 17th. The workshop goes from 10 - 4 on the 16th, immediately followed by a book signing. The workshop resumes on the 17th, from 1 - 5. Tickets are $150.00. Email 24gvall@gmail.com or call 541-324-4900 for info.

Gary's material is all about the healing of the subconscious mind through a process called 'quantum forgiveness.' This requires taking full responsibility for your life's experiences, by forgiving everything, and everyone, that disturbs your peace of mind and pushes your buttons on any given day. Anything that generates any uncomfortable-ness within you are all symbols of the muck buried deep in the subconscious mind. As you practice true forgiveness of these symbols, you are really forgiving aspects of yourself, and thus freeing yourself from these illusions, while gradually returning your mind to its original condition to that of total peace and love. It is all so simple really, but not necessarily easy, as we all have this thing called 'the ego' and it would much rather you be right, than be happy and at peace. But as it states in The Disappearance of the Universe, '...forgiveness is where the rubber meets the road. Without forgiveness, metaphysics are useless.'

Of the many books I've read on spirituality over the last thirteen years, nothing has explained the truth about God and our existence, and why we appear to be here, any clearer to me than Gary's books. These books address heavy subject matter, while cutting to the chase in no uncertain terms, and doing so in a very entertaining and humorous fashion. I highly recommend them, though they are not intended for the squeamish nor the faint of heart, as the material is not sugarcoated:

The Disappearance of the Universe - Straight Talk about Illusions, Past Lives, Religion, Sex, Politics, and the Miracles of Forgiveness

Your Immortal Reality - How to Break the Cycle of Birth and Death

For more about Gary and his books, including excerpts of the aforementioned Disappearance book, visit his website at
www.garyrenard.com

Gary's Event Poster

God Is

Comments from Amazon Review

Recently, a woman posted a review on Amazon.com for Gary's second book, Your Immortal Reality. She seemed to be taken aback by some of the comments made by Gary's teachers, Arten & Pursah, about other spiritual authors and Course teachers. Here is what she wrote, followed by my comments:

Amazon Review:
I LOVED Gary Reynard's first book. I read it cover to cover in no time and all of it rang true for me. This book gave me pause, however.

I couldn't decide if the veiled and not so veiled criticisms of other ACIM and New Spirituality teachers was based on a legitimate difference of opinion. The work of some of those other authors (Marianne Williamson, Eckart Tolle, and Neale Donald Walsch) has changed my life for the better 100%. The idea that they are somehow "doing it wrong" and that Reynard's way is the only right one really grated on me. A forgiveness lesson for me, I guess!


My Comments:
I can understand why you feel that way, as I have read much material by various new age authors including Louise Hay, The Celestine Prophecy series, Wayne Dyer, and Neal Walsch's CWG books etc. back in the 90s and they were all very helpful to me at the time, as they got me to change some ways of looking at things. However, I have found they were all just stepping stones to prepare me for more advanced teachings.

Arten's intention was not to put people down for what they believe to be true. He does say that he only points these differences out in order to be helpful for people who may be confused by the contradictions amongst Course teachers. He just wants to make it clear that what is being said in Gary's material is not the same thing as what other new age authors are saying, which I'm very grateful that he did, for my own clarity.

The one distinction that can be made between what's mentioned in Gary's material and that of other ACIM teachers and new age authors, is that Gary's material addresses the one and only problem that drives people in this world, that most spiritual teachers (including Course teachers) don't even mention: the unconscious guilt that runs us. And until all that guilt is completely removed by correctly forgiving it rather than continuing to project it, it is impossible to experience who you truly are on a permanent basis. As the Course states in the Text, 'No one can escape from illusions unless he looks at them, for not looking is the way they are protected.' And in the Introduction '....The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is your natural inheritance.' Gary's material is in total alignment with how to go about obtaining the objective of the Course, remvoing the blocks, which is your unconscious guilt, if you so desire.

God Is

True Forgiveness

God will never forgive you because God has never condemned you. You need only forgive the people, places, and things that disturb your peace of mind, as they are all symbolic of what's in your own subconscious mind. And as you do so, you are forgiving yourself for making it all up in the first place.

God Is

Why Forgive?

Forgiveness is a gift that you always give to yourself. There are people and situations out there (seemingly) in the world that may push your buttons, and generate some uncomfortableness within you (anger, jealousy, resentment, fear, guilt, feelings of inferiority/superiority etc.) These type of people and situations that come into your life are symbolic of what's in your own unconscious mind. And until all that is healed through the process called 'true forgiveness' you will continue to experience these feelings. As you forgive somebody or something, you are really forgiving an aspect of yourself that needs healing by your forgiveness. Whether you realize or not, its always yourself you're really forgiving. So the benefits of forgiveness always go to the forgiver.

Here's an example of what will happen if you don't forgive. Say your in a work place and you are intimidated by your boss and he or she is a insensitive jerk and mistreats you, and on the level of form you may very well be right. But would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy? As it says in DU, there are only two things you can do, see the problem as being outside of yourself and judge, or correctly forgive it. As Pursah says '....those are the only two choices no matter how complex the world may seem.' So if you decide to quit your job because you hate your boss, and move on to another job, well, guess what? You will attract another boss just like that previous boss (if not sooner, than later) unless true forgiveness has been applied. We can't runaway from these things, wherever you go, there you are! This path puts us in the driver's seat, all we have to do is choose that voice of the holy spirit, or higher self, and we can't lose!

The biggest thing on this spiritual path is that we have to take full responsibility for everything we experience. There are no victims in this world! Whatever we experience in our lives that we do not like is of our own making; we do this to ourselves, including the things that are not seemingly our fault. As we take full responsibility for everything we experience, and forgive, there will be less and less things that can push our buttons, because the buttons will have been removed by our forgiveness. You will then find certain things that once disturbed your peace of mind, to be easily laughed at! An that alone makes this spiritual path worth doing. And then eventually we'll get to point where we can be like J, and laugh at anything that comes our way!
: )

What is Forgiveness?

From A Course in Miracles

What is Forgiveness?

Forgiveness recognizes what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It sees there was no sin. And in that view are all your sins forgiven. What is sin, except a false idea about God's Son? Forgiveness merely sees its falsity, and therefore lets it go. What then is free to take its place is now the Will of God.
An unforgiving thought is one which makes a judgment that it will not raise to doubt, although it is not true. The mind is closed, and will not be released. The thought protects projection, tightening its chains, so that distortions are more veiled and more obscure; less easily accessible to doubt, and further kept from reason. What can come between a fixed projection and the aim that it has chosen as its wanted goal?

An unforgiving thought does many things. In frantic action it pursues its goal, twisting and overturning what it sees as interfering with its chosen path. Distortion is its purpose, and the means by which it would accomplish it as well. It sets about its furious attempts to smash reality, without concern for anything that would appear to pose a contradiction to its point of view.

Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and judges not. He who would not forgive must judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he who would forgive himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.

Do nothing, then, and let forgiveness show you what to do, through Him Who is your Guide, your Savior and Protector, strong in hope, and certain of your ultimate success. He has forgiven you already, for such is His function, given Him by God. Now must you share His function, and forgive whom He has saved, whose sinlessness He sees, and whom He honors as the Son of God.

God Is

About Gary's Material

So what's Gary's stuff all about and why do I love it so much?

Gary's Material:
The Disappearance of the Universe - Straight Talk about Illusions, Past Lives, Religion, Sex, Politics, and the Miracles of Forgiveness
Your Immortal Reality - How to Break the Cycle of Birth and Death
Secrets of the Immortal - Advanced Teachings from A Course in Miracles (Six disc audio series)
The End of Reincarnation - Breaking the Cycle of Birth and Death (Two disc audio series)

To be released - September 2008
Love has Forgotten No One - The Answer to Life

Back in the early 1990s, Gary, who made a living as a musician, had moved from the fast paced, sophisticated society of the Boston metro area (although from my personal experience of Beantown, sophisticated was sometimes debatable) to the peaceful, simple state of Maine. This is where he started having visitations from two ascended masters who called themselves Arten and Pursah. They said that in a prior incarnation they were two of Jesus' disciples, Thaddeus and Thomas, respectively. They came to Gary to help him on his spiritual path, with the intention of having him write a book based on the conversations that the three of them had.

So Gary is actually the student in his books, with Arten and Pursah being his teachers. Gary always wanted to know what it would be like to learn from Jesus firsthand, well, J couldn't make this gig so two of his disciples came on his behalf. The conversations get into what the non-Christianity version of Jesus was like, and how his original message has been drastically changed by organized religion. They also cover the topics mentioned in the sub title of DU - illusions, past lives, religion, sex, politics, and the miracles of forgiveness. They also discuss spiritual healing, money, 911, baseball, as well as future events. Also, in the IR book, they make it very clear that what they are teaching is much different than a lot of what is out there, and compare their teachings to that of some other well known authors of spirituality. A & P also introduce Gary to the spiritual text called A Course in Miracles, which was often quoted from in Gary's books. We'll get more into ACIM in a future post.

So what's so great about Gary's books? Well as far as I'm concerned, they speak the absolute truth about God, our existence, and why we appear to be here; nothing else I've ever read on spirituality over the last thirteen years has been so consistent and uncompromising in its message. What I also love about Gary's stuff is that the material is presented in very down to earth, human language, and you'll laugh your ass off with reading some of this stuff. As Pursah says in DU, "....it's fun to know the truth, you don't have to take everything so damn seriously!'

Gary's material has been very motivating for me. After 'goofing around' for a couple of years and establishing some roots here in Ashland, Gary's books came to me in good time, when I was need of something new to get me refocused on my spiritual path. When I read DU for the first time last year, it was if I was reading my own thoughts and feelings of what true spirituality is all about. And Gary's stuff just simplified it all for me, while tying up some loose ends. Gary's material makes many references to A Course in Miracles, which is J's message on how you can be like him, and it is all about removing the blocks to the awareness of who we truly are, immortal spirit, rather than who we subconsciously think we are, the body. Gary's material goes heavily into the subconscious mind, and how to go about removing those blocks through a process called true forgiveness. The application of true forgiveness will gradually undo the blocks (the ego) and will eventually result in the experience of permanent peace and happiness, which is our natural inheritance. Yes it is this simple, but it is far from easy.

But I absolutely love it! I was fortunate that when I read it for the first time, that I realized that I already knew this stuff. And iit didn't come with all the 'new agey' and 'airy fairy' terminology I had grown accustomed to reading on the topics of ascension and enlightenment for the past several years. The stuff I was into previously on this topic, particularly Joshua David Stone's books, really seemed to complicate the hell out of it all!

Gary's stuff isn't for everyone, it's not intended for the squeamish nor the faint of heart, as the material is by no means sugarcoated. The teachings presented in Gary's books, as well as The Course, are what Jesus practiced in his lifetime where he achieved enlightenment. One's fears and illusions will not go away on their own, they must be looked at, examined, and eventually forgiven, in order to be free of them. This stuff is very threatening to one's ego, because practicing true forgiveness will eventually lead to the ego's demise. And it takes courage and much vigiliance to move forward on this spiritual path. You have to be wiiling to look at everything, and eventually forgive it. For me personally, I know that I would not have been able to handle this stuff ten years ago that's for certain. Fortunately, I have come to a place in my life where I just want the peace of God, and wanting to be happy is now more important to me than wanting to be right.

The ego is not natural, not real, and it is a symptom of incorrect thinking, and only love, peace and happiness are real. But in order to experience that on a permanent basis, the ego must be undone. Jesus did it, and he'd be the first to tell you he's not special. As he states in The Course '....be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world,' meaning that we can all do that too. You may be ready to do it during your current incarnation, or your next, for others it will come after many more lifetimes. The message of The Course is that if you work at undoing your own ego by forgiving everything, and start thinking like J, then you can be like him; fearless, peaceful, and unconditionally loving.

Anyway, if you're looking for something with a strong spiritual message that comes with a healthy dose of humor, these books may be for you. Gary is right up there with Wayne Dyer aka 'The Wayner' as far as spiritual comedy is concerned. Gary comes out with some wicked funny shit! I mean, how many speakers or writers of spirituality would say that they would rather stick pieces of broken glass up their but than to speak in public? Or would admit to driving down the highway with his middle finger pointing up in the air aimed at the tailgater behind him. And he seems to love using terms such as "guilty little bastards' and 'crap a brick!' Gary's just a regular, guy who digs hot women, music, movies, sports, and beer (and not necessarily in that order!) But none of that distorts the message of what Gary's stuff is all about, the practice of true forgiveness.

We'll get more into what true forgiveness is all about in my next post, and how you can apply it into your everyday life, and why it is so important. Giddy up!

God Is

Gary Renard Announcements

Gary Renard will be here in Ashland, OR August 16-17, 2008. Time and place to be announced.

Gary's new book, Love has Forgotten No One - The Answer to Life, will be released on September 9, 2008. Here's the Editorial Review:

In this fascinating book, Gary R. Renard and his Ascended Master teachers, Arten and Pursah, guide you through a way of dissolving the illusions of time and space and returning to Reality, which is Perfect Love. This is not love in the way the world commonly thinks of it. It’s an all-encompassing kind of love that is perfect spirit: innocent, unflawed, immortal, invulnerable, and forever fearless.

Real love, which is Divine in nature, must be experienced, for it is beyond words. Yet words and practice are needed to help lead you to that experience. The knowledge of what it’s like to be one with your Source is the awesome mystical experience that’s been described by Masters throughout the ages. It’s the greatest sense of awareness anyone can have while still appearing to be in this world. This book will teach you exactly how to get to that experience, which upon the end of your physical existence will become your permanent reality. You will find that, indeed, love has forgotten no one.

About Gary, from his website, with my two cents inserted:

Gary Renard, the best-selling author of The Disappearance of the Universe and Your Immortal Reality, was born on the historic North Shore of Massachusetts (he's a former Masshole just like me!) He became a successful professional guitar player, but during the harmonic convergence of 1987, he heard a Calling and began to take his life in a different direction. At the beginning of the 1990’s, he moved to Maine, where he underwent a powerful spiritual awakening. As instructed, he slowly and carefully wrote Disappearance over a period of nine years. In the fall of 2003, after much encouragement from other speakers and students, Gary began to present talks and workshops in public. His speaking career took off remarkably fast, and today he lectures internationally.

Combining a disarming sense of humor with radical, cutting-edge metaphysical information and experiential exercises, Gary has been described as one of the most interesting and courageous spiritual speakers in the world. He has spoken in 40 states, Canada, Australia, England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal and Costa Rica; and was the keynote speaker at the International A Course in Miracles Conferences in Salt Lake City and San Francisco (Gary's the freakin' man!)

My next post should be out this week. It'll be about why I love Gary's stuff so much. Future posts include What True Forgiveness is All About, and My Catholic School Days. Stay Tuned!!!

God Is

What's Missing?

There is an audio version of The Disappearance of The Universe with Doreen Virtue playing the role of Pursah, Gene Bogart playing the role of Arten, and Gary playing himself. However, this audio series is abridged so there is a lot of good material from the book that is not included on the CD series. A few months ago, I went through all six CDs to find out what was missing. So here it is case you'd like to know:

Chapter 2 - p 33 - 36; p 41 - 53; p 57 - 71
Chapter 3 - ALL of it p 87 - 118
Chapter 4 - p 119 - 121 p 136 - 137; p 145 - 151
Chapter 5 - p 153 - 162; p 165 - 202
Chapter 6 - ALL of it p 205 - 225
Chapter 7 - p 227 - 232; p 257 - 258
Chapter 8 - p 259 - p 264
Chapter 9 - p 275 - 280; p 283 - 290; p 297 - 298
Chapter 10 - p 306 - p 313
Chapter 11 - ALL of it p 315 - 332
Chapter 12 - ALL of it p 333 - 344
Chapter 13 - p 345 - 350
Chapter 15 - ALL of it p 367 - 379
Chapter 16 - ALL of it p 381 - 392
Chapter 17 - p 400

God Is

Abbreviations

Here are some abbreveations that will be used throughout my blog:

DU - The Disappearance of the Universe
IR - Your Immortal Reality
SI - Secrets of the Immortal (audio series)
LF - Love Has Forgotten No One
ACIM - A Course in Miracles
The Course - A Course in Miracles
J - Jesus or Jeshua
A&P - Arten & Pursah
The G Man - Gary Renard

God Is

Intro to Mikey - Relocating to the West Coast - A Leap of Faith

So, it has been just about one year since a friend of mine told me about the books of Gary Renard. When she told me what they were all about, I knew immediately they were for me. That in itself was very odd, as no one outside of my mom had presented me with something in spirituality that I would feel drawn to explore. And it turns out, this is the best stuff I've ever come across in my thirteen years of studying spirituality and metaphysics, and is the path I will be following until I'm fully awakened.

I have been on a spiritual path since the mid 90s, feasting in what Gary's books refer to as 'the spiritual buffet line.' You know what I'm talking about, reading the books of all those well known spiritual authors, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Neale Donald Walsch, James Redfield, Shirley MacLaine etc. They were all very helpful to me at the time, as they got me to break free from some of my old ways of thinking. However, in the summer of 2002, my life had come to a cross roads, that coupled with seeing signs of '11:11' that really freaked me out, while doing some soul-searching away from home down on the Florida gulf coast, going through what some may call 'the dark night of the soul.' I had come to a realization that it was time for me to 'grow up' in the spiritual sense; and my life hasn't been the same since.

From that time on, my life has been all about achieving ascension, enlightenment, mastery, (whatever you want to call it) though I didn't realize it right away. I started furthering my studies of spirituality by reading the Life and Teachings of the Masters of Far East books by Baird T Spalding, as well as the "I AM" aka Saint Germain Series of books by Godfre Ray King.

By the end of 2002, I started working with an audio series called Pathways to Mastership by Jonathan Parker. My mom had loaned the tape series to me back in 1997. Every once in a while I would play the first tape and just found I couldn't get into it. Little did I know at the time I was subconsciously resisting it, as the message was very threatening to my ego. Jonathan's stuff is pretty heavy, it's all about looking at the things within one's self that nobody wants to look at; or what A Course in Miracles refers to as 'the secret sins and hidden hates' we all have about ourselves and are usually in total denial of. Yes, we all have them, we wouldn't appear to be here in a body otherwise. But much more about that in a future post.

So anyway, in 2003 I attended several of Jonathan's workshops in Sedona, Arizona. Much like Mount Shasta, Sedona is a great place for meditating and doing inner work. The vortex energy in these places amplifies everything, which makes your subtle feelings about everything feel much stronger. So much so that when you leave these areas, you feel a great sense of relief, at least that has been my experience. It brings out the stuff buried in the subconscious mind; all the guilt, fear, anger, resentment, insecurities etc. that we all have, but most are oblivious to. Jonathan's guided meditations are designed to bring that stuff to the surface to be healed once and for all, rather than continuing to suppress it. And from my experience, it works. It's just a matter of taking the time to do the work. But I'm certainly not an enlightened being at this time (far from it) but I know I have less ego than I used to have.

Also in 2003, I started reading the spiritual psychology and ascension series of books by Joshua David Stone. My mom had started reading them, and shortly thereafter told me about them. Once I started reading them, I knew there was no going back, and also knew I would not be doing some things in a 'normal' fashion from this time on. This, combined with the work I was doing with Jonathan's guided meditations, totally turned my world upside down. I knew I had I much work ahead of me, and still do to this day.

For some time, Joshua, who passed away in August of 2005, had held an annual event in Mount Shasta, California called
Wesak. The event was held every spring. I purchased tickets for the following spring event in July of 2003, and surprised my mom with them. I even half-kiddingly told her that maybe I would move there too. Well, one week later, not only I was committed to moving there within one year's time, but my mom was coming with me, and we were going to be 'roomies.' There was no doubt in my mind that this was the right thing to do. It was as if Jesus himself was giving me these thoughts, they sure as hell felt like they were coming from someplace else that's for damn sure!

So in January of 2004, we visited Shasta for the first time for a couple of weeks. And then came back in May for the Wesak event - which turned out to be the final one hosted by Joshua - as well as to find a place to live. Well, the Wesak event is a three day event, going from Friday afternoon into Sunday evening. I would say that the event ran for a grand total of thirty hours. Well, we spent maybe an hour or two there at most. Without getting into details, we just lost interest. But we knew it served a purpose in getting us out there.

So, Friday, June 18, 2004, we left our hometown, New Bedford, Massachusetts (and haven't been back since.) Our stuff was scheduled to arrive anywhere between June 26th and July 3rd, so we had to get there in about a week's time in order to make sure we got there before the movers did. We drove cross country in my Jeep Wrangler, not a comfortable ride for my mom. It was pretty cool to drive cross country, however, it was a bit tiring spending at least 8 hours a day on the road. But we got to see some cool places we've never seen before, Wyoming and Utah come to mind, while seeing some sites we could have done without, particularly the endless amount of corn fields from Indiana through Nebraska. Anyway, we arrived in Mt Shasta (in one piece, barely - long story) on the following Friday and checked into a suite at the Econo Lodge.

After settling into our duplex in the first week of July, and pretty much for the next 6 months after that, I would be saying to myself 'what the hell am I doing here?!' I gave up a pretty good salaried position, working for a bank doing money laundering investigations, with five weeks of vacation time and eleven paid holidays, as well as a pretty nice apartment that came with a very generous rent deal since my grandmother was my land-lady back east. Not to mention I had a reasonable amount of freedom on my job since I worked in Providence, RI my last year and a half there, while the department I worked for was located in Boston and I would only see those folks once every other month or so. And here I am in the small town of Mt Shasta, CA, population less than 4000 people, with no 'real' plan!

So, since my spiritual path and listening to that inner voice led me away from my aforementioned old life to this world of 'the unknown', I was pretty much expecting the following two things to take place: The first being that an ascended master would come knocking at my door and take me to the mountain, or better yet inside the mountain, for some wicked cool healings or something, and tell me how freakin' awesome I am for giving up everything to come out to Mt Shasta, and that I passed a test of faith by coming out here. I had read books about ascended masters appearing to people in Mt Shasta so I figured, 'why not me?' And the other thing I was expecting was a check from God in the mail so I wouldn't have to work and I could just focus on my spiritual path while having some fun too. Those weren't unreasonable expectations, were they?!?!

Well, I pretty much felt hung out to dry. Needless to say, no masters came knocking on my door, while no check from God arrived in the mail either. I had been tricked! Furthermore, all of my intuitions, gut feelings, and inner voices I was getting for several years prior, seemingly disappeared, so I didn't know what the hell to do! Well, after a while, I realized that the 'test', or initiation if you will, was just starting. Fortunately, I did have money to live off of, from stock options I cashed when I left the bank along with a pension. But living off of your savings is not necessarily healthy for one's nerves. And I had not a freakin' idea what I was going to do for work. I just woke up every morning not knowing what the hell I was doing, but making sure to catch my daily fix of The Price is Right, as well as Happy Days on TV Land! Yes, those were weird and perhaps even pathetic times.........and you don't know even know the half of it! Of which, I don't particularly care to admit to at this time.

Also, almost immediately upon settling into Shasta, my mom came across these brand spanking new books called Telos by local author Aurelia Louise Jones. She channels an ascended master named Adama. Her books are all about the Lemurians, people that came over from the lost continent Lemuria prior to its demise, and settled here. Except, that according to the books, they live in what is called the 5th dimension, as opposed to the everyday 3rd dimension we experience, and reside underneath Mount Shasta. One can not see them unless you match their level of vibration. Whether you believe all that or not is up to you, I for one believe anything is possible so what does that leave out? But the important message in these books for the serious spiritual seeker, is that you need to face all of your fears and learn to live from the inside-out. If you want to achieve enlightenment, you have to look at all your fears. Not looking at them, or being in denial of them, will just keep them in place. So I was into Aurelia's stuff for some time, and even attended a few of her channeling sessions in her home in Mount Shasta (in the town, not the mountain) in 2006 and 2007.

In January of 2005, I had a personal channeling session with Aurelia and had a conversation over the phone with the ascended master Adama. I figured, 'what the hell, why not?' It was pretty weird because it was still Aurelia's voice, but supposedly not her talking to me, but the ascended master Adama talking to me through Aurelia. So I let it all out there regarding my fears and all the things that I was feeling very unsettled about in my life, particularly about bringing in money. It was suggested that Ashland, OR would be a better fit for me, as they were more employment opportunities in the area. I had pretty much knew already that I wanted to be in Ashland, but hadn't acted on it since I thought I was supposed to be in Shasta, that's where I was guided to go after all. Anyway, I was told that I could still get the benefits of the Mount Shasta vortex energy, but that it's gentler in Ashland. I remember thinking why the hell am I paying money, as well as wasting my time, for advice on something I already knew the answer to, and that was hardly the first time I had done such a thing. "Tell me something I don't know!!!" was always my motto after such a session with somebody, whether it be a psychic, astrologer, channeler or what have you. A lesson in learning to trust my inner guidance, indeed.

Anyway, I was in love with Ashland before I even stepped foot in Oregon. Ashland is located eighty miles north of the town of Mount Shasta, just over the California border. I had picked up a copy of Ashland's annual publication, The Green Book Directory at a health food store upon my arrival in Mt Shasta. With all of the spiritual and holistic type services being offered there, I knew it would be a wonderful, open-minded community to be a part of. So since I wasn't working, I found myself taking day trips to Ashland over the next few months, and decided that when the one year lease I was in ran out, I would move there. I even started doing volunteer work as a librarian at the metaphysical library in town several months before moving here. The town just felt like a home that I never previously experienced in this lifetime. So on June 23, 2005, I got the keys to my new place here in the south end of Ashland, with a job starting in two weeks at Harry and David in nearby Medford.

So what does all this have to do with Gary Renard's books? Well, nothing really. I just felt a need give some background information before I get heavily into his stuff, to hopefully give you an idea as to where I'm coming from. More to come soon!

p.s. A lot of the semantics and verbiage I use in this post I wouldn't necessarily use now, but was using them here because that is where I was at, at the time....
Also, I know the opening of my blog leaves some unanswered questions so I hope to get into some of that in future posts.

God Is