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A little
about our journey -- by Mary & Robert Stoelting
from: http://www.pathwaysoflight.org/
We would like to begin our journey through the Text of A Course in Miracles®
by giving you a little background regarding our lives leading up to and
including our experience with ACIM®.
As children, we (Mary and Robert) both had an awareness of an inner Source of
Wisdom and help. In our own ways, we both felt a guiding Presence in our lives
that we went to for understanding and comfort. Mary was raised in Catholic
schools in southern California, where her training included silent retreats at a
young age and the habit of going to Jesus with her concerns. Robert had a wise
inner companion, who his parents encouraged him to ask for insight about his
concerns. Both of us experienced family environments which were peaceful, happy
and supportive of remembering our spiritual nature and inner resources of help.
We met in the 70's through our participation in a spiritual growth program that
focused on helping people open to and receive Inner Guidance. It soon became
clear from Inner Guidance that we had a shared purpose that we needed to fulfill
together. We saw we had both been on a carefully guided training program in our
lives, preparing us for what we needed to do together.
We were introduced to A Course in Miracles in 1984 in an unusual way. One
Sunday morning, Mary got the urge to read the religion section of the Sunday
Arizona Republic, a very conservative paper. No longer interested in the thought
systems of traditional religions, she had never read that section before. She
was drawn to an article featuring A Course in Miracles. By the time she
was finished reading the article, she knew she wanted to read this book. She
ordered it and, together, we started reading it daily.
At first we had great difficulty with its seemingly traditional religious
terminology. Terms such as Atonement, sin, salvation and the last judgment were
uncomfortable to us because of the meanings we had learned in the past. The
writing style seemed very difficult to understand. We felt that this book had
something we wanted, but we wished there was something that would lead us to a
clearer understanding of its message. We were about to give up on the Course
when lo! A dear old friend from the Midwest dropped by and gave us nine 90
minute cassette tapes from a Kenneth Wapnick workshop she had recently attended.
Shortly after we got the tapes, we decided to drive from Phoenix to Sedona and
back, listening to the tapes as we drove. We ended up driving on many back roads
for nearly 12 hours, listening to those tapes. We then understood that the
Course redefined the Christian terms it used. Its new meanings were actually the
opposite of the old traditional definitions. With this understanding, the Course
began to make more sense to us. We felt we had a better foundation with which to
go back to reading the Course.
Ken's overview of the key message of the Course resonated with us strongly.
Intuitively we knew that this was to be an important part of our spiritual
journey. Of the broad spectrum of spiritual literature and teachings we had
encountered in our lives, this seemed to surpass them all. We were drawn
strongly to continue working with the Course every day.
In 1988 we were guided to move to Wisconsin to take care of Robert's aging
father. We continued to study the Course daily and practice applying it's
thought system in our lives. We eventually became directors of the spiritual
retreat center that Robert's parents had started on the same grounds as their
home.
In 1989, Spirit led us to start a spiritual training program for ministers,
founded on the principles from A Course in Miracles. In 1993, there were
about eight of us living at the retreat center. We decided to dedicate a year to
studying the Course together, morning and afternoon. Together we went deeply
into the Course, applying the Workbook lessons through the day and studying the
Text and Manual for Teachers. As we met resistance, fears and guilt, we
supported each other in walking through them. We were consistent in taking every
apprehension and resistance to the Holy Spirit as they came up. It was truly a
life changing year for us all.
This transforming experience built a strong foundation, strengthening the habit
of not deciding what anything means on our own and stepping back to let the Holy
Spirit guide every part of our lives. This did not mean that we did not have
problems or fears come up again. But it did mean that we knew what to do with
each "problem" as it came up: We would not try to solve it on our own, but take
it to the Holy Spirit to have our minds healed, to receive a new perception.
During those early years we did not know where all this was going, but Spirit
led us, step by step, to provide avenues by which many people could join
together and support each other in fulfilling their deep inner spiritual
purpose. Pathways of Light is now a growing community of people from around the
world, dedicated to following the lead of Holy Spirit and being messengers of
forgiveness and healing.
By the end of 2003, over 150 ministers had completed the Ordained Ministerial
Counselor training. These ministers can follow their Inner Guidance to serve
their true life purpose with a network of support to do their part in God's plan
of awakening. These ministers know they are not alone. Not only do they know
they have the Holy Spirit in their mind, but they have the support of fellow
travelers who have the same goal of healing their minds on our journey Home.
As part of this support system, people from around the world can go to the
Pathways of Light web site to find these Pathways ministers for counseling or to
facilitate Pathways correspondence courses and groups. The Minister's E-mail
Forum gives these ministers a means to exchange ideas and insights with other
Pathways ministers and to share their growth with each other. Their ministry is
not limited to their community, but reaches out world wide through the Internet.
They also have the option to share their miracle stories in Miracles News
magazine. In addition, they can share their journey of awakening with others
through Inner Healing Journals on the Pathways of Light web site.
In 2003 we were guided to host a forum on the ACIM Workbook lessons. As we
worked with each lesson, we asked for healing insights and posted them on the
forum. Others added their insights and experience. These healing perspectives
can now be found on the Pathways of Light web site through the ACIM Daily
Lessons link.
Now we are journaling here on the healing insights we receive as we go through
each part of the Text. We have been consistently working with A Course in
Miracles for close to 20 years. Over the years, each time we reread the
Text, we are able to go a little deeper because our resistance to its message
gradually lessens as we continue to stick with it. We are seeing that as we make
applying the principles of the Course our highest priority, there is a
cumulative effect and what seemed difficult to understand before now appears
clearer and easier.
Over the past 10 years we have also studied the Course daily with groups of
fellow students. We observed that the group interaction, with the questions that
came up and the personal experiences people shared, brought greater enthusiasm
for applying the material we were studying.
Here on this forum we have the opportunity to join with you to study the Text
together. We are enthusiastic about walking this journey with you. We know that
we do not heal alone. We invite you to add your healing perspectives or comments
as we go along, as you are guided by the Holy Spirit. We have one goal, and that
is to let the Holy Spirit be our Guide with this shared mind healing process.
© 2004, Pathways of Light.
http://pathwaysoflight.org You may freely share copies of this with your
friends, provided this notice is included.
Posted by: Pathways of Light Staff
on Jan 01, 04 | 4:13 pm |
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