We have no neutral thoughts (ACIM 3)

This is the latest in a series on A Course in Miracles, the self-study program that teaches us to view the world in a more forgiving light. The object of course, is create Inner Peace by doing away with those pesky thoughts, fears and imaginings that stir us up. You can follow the entire class at the ACIM website here. 

Today I will post my general impressions on the last week, rather than go through of the lessons one by one. There was one lesson that grabbed my attention: 

We have no neutral thoughts

This phrase takes me back to the concept of optimism and how tempting it is to force negative thoughts out of your mind and keep only positive ones. Can we do away with one false reality without getting rid of the other? This week, A Course in Miracles tells us that all of our thoughts lead to either fear or love - there are no neutral thoughts. If fear and love are two sides of the same coin, ACIM might have us throw it out. What do you see when the filters for optimism and pessimism are gone? Hopefully peace.

My favorite lessons this week was "We have no neutral thoughts" with "I am determined to see things differently" coming in a close second. I'm hoping ACIM will have us choose the loving thought. At this point I'm not sure where it leads. If you're not familiar with A Course in Miracles (ACIM), the class consists of 365 lessons that you study for a year until you miraculously change your outlook. Gabby Bernstein has written loads on ACIM and she highlights the benefits of choosing love and forgiveness so I hope that is where we are headed. We can choose to see peace instead of what we think we see.

 

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Thank you, Regina 

Do assumptions get in the way of our Intuition?

A few years ago I attended a fantastic Medical Intuition workshop. It was during my student days at the School of Intuition and Healing and our tutor, Sue Allen, taught us how to connect with the Chakras and the organs. It sounds crazy but the body has messages for us - most of the day we carried out hands-on-healing sessions where we would silently chat with our classmates body. So for example, you could ask the liver what their diet was like and if they had too much (or not enough) of a particular food. The cool thing about this, was you could check your answers with your classmate when the session was over. I sensed that she didn't eat red meat and her liver craved it, only to discover that my classmate was a staunch vegetarian during the feedback session. She reacted strongly to the suggestion and we left it at that.

Then she tuned into my energy, and it threw her off completely. Believe it or not, my favorite foods are cheeseburgers, potato chips, salads, and veggies. When she asked what I had too much of, she saw brown liquids like coffee and Coke. Her assumptions about me as a "Healer" kicked in and she thought - no, Regina can't eat like this! One more food item came up as a question mark: tomatoes. Was I supposed to stop eating tomatoes? We laughed about it afterwards because I really do love veggies and chips in equal measure. I used to drink loads of coke and coffee and I love tomatoes. The tomato threw us off - it's a veggie and why would it come up as problematic? It had both of us stumped. 

Four years later I finally have the answer. I went to the doctor with a chronic sore throat thinking I'd have my tonsils removed. Instead, I have been put on a diet to calm down my digestive system: no more coffee, no spicy food (torture for a Mexican), fizzy drinks, fatty or fried foods, chocolate, nuts or nut butters, citrus, oranges, grapefruits, and no raw tomatoes. The funny thing is I walked past Starbucks on my way into the doctor's office and had planned on grabbing a latte when I was done. Its been a month now and I'm getting used to my bland diet. I used to carry either chili powder or hot sauce with me everywhere I went, so I'm not all that surprised. The thing that made me laugh were the tomatoes, of course. I finally understood my classmates vision, who knew?!? Anyhooo, read about the Medical Intuition class here. Tomorrow I'm attending an astral traveling class, so next week's posts should be fun!

***

Regina Chouza is an energy healer, angel medium and the author of A Personal Guide to Self-Healing, Cancer & Love and Chakra Healing & Magick. Blogging at Diary of a Psychic Healer since 2010, her passion is bringing the qualities of love, joy and empowerment to healing pursuits. Read her books to unlock your intuition. 

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> Español: @AngelMedium33

Image: canva.com (added 2023)

Week 2: A Course in Miracles

Welcome to the second in a series of posts on A Course in Miracles! If you missed last week's entry, ACIM is a self-study program that  teaches your mind to view the world in a more forgiving and peaceful light. It consists of 365 lessons that we meditate on every day for a year. Two years ago I tried going through it on my own but I got lost. 

Now I've joined a study group with a great teacher, so fingers crossed I'll be able to see it through  - all 365 days of ACIM! 

With that note behind me, I should confess that I didn't follow any of the lectures during the week and instead of studying them one day at a time, I am going through them now. I know, it's  awful, ACIM works best in bite sized chunks. But anyhow, let's get started with Week 2. 

The quotes are on the A Course in Miracles website but the interpretations are my own. If you missed my first post READ IT HERE. Here are highlights from the week. 

Day 8: My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. 

Last week we ended with the concept that wherever we look, we see the past whether it's pink nail polish taking you back to your first school dance, tardiness taking you back to a mom who was always running late, and even happy memories like icing on the cake reminding us of birthdays. Our experiences start to condition our thoughts and our expectations, so that in time we look at a person's appearance and make assumptions about them. Our thoughts lend a voice to those assumptions and for this reason, our mind is preoccupied with thoughts about the past. We can remove this filter by taking a step back and realizing that our thoughts about X, Y or Z are really about the past.

Day 9: I see nothing as it is now. 

One of the things I love about energy healing, is how each session is unique. I tend to tune into my client's energy field clairvoyantly to get a sense of what needs to be healed or cleared. The impressions come as pictures, feelings or even cartoons, illustrating the world that they live in. Every healing is a surprise, it's own movie starring John or Sally. Pretty soon it also becomes apparent that we all have different filters, based on our experiences. Some people see love through rose colored glasses, other have a cynical filter. We can each be presented with the same opportunity and nevertheless have completely different reactions to it: hope, excitement, cynicism or apathy. We don't see the world objectively; instead we see what our experiences led us to expect.

 

Day 10: My thoughts do not mean anything. 

I could interpret this one one of two ways - my study group is tomorrow so we'll see what the teacher has to say about it. The more obvious meaning (pardon the pun) is that our thoughts don't have the significance we think they have, because we're viewing the present through the lens of our own assumptions.

Let's give an example: 

Your friend Mary cancels dinner plans yet again and you think "oh, she always has something better to do" But maybe this time, her babysitter  did cancel last minute. Or she's been so stressed at work that her social life has been put on the back burner, it's not personal. 

We don't know the reason for things, so our thoughts about those things are at best irrelevant and at worst, damaging. This brings me to the second way of interpreting today's phrase: are our thoughts significant? On any given day, the average human has 50-70 thoughts. How many of them are significant? How many of them are true? How many of them are products of the subconscious?

Day 13: rephrased but, a random or uncertain world creates fear.

 

A few years ago I applied for a job as a Global Brand Manager. The interviewer told me that in order to do well, the candidate had to feel comfortable with high levels of uncertainty. In their environment plans changed all the time, projects were abandoned at the last minute, goals would change. You'd never know if the thing you were working on today would be useful or meaningful tomorrow. The only solution was to accept that uncertainty and live with it. Today's phrase reminds me of that interview (I didn't get the job). If living in a chaotic world is stressful, your best bet is to learn to live with it and find a way to trust. Otherwise we end up anxious, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. A Course in Miracles tells us to trust that there is a reason, one we don't see. 

So that's a wrap! 

Come back next week for the third installment on A Course in Miracles. You can read the whole course for free on the ACIM Website Here. It's worth doing for a whole year so that you get the full benefit. I’m going to blog about it just this month.

Study groups help a lot, though there are also plenty of online videos and interviews explaining ACIM. Reiki hugs, Regina

  

Image: canva.com (added 2023)

Armando's Astrology Reading (A Case Study)

As you may know, this summer I signed up for a fantastic Psychic Astrology class. I understand the basics now and I'm keen to practice with loads of charts so that it will sink in, rather than memorize it all. For the next few months, anyone who purchases a 20 Minute Tarot Reading will also get a Natal Chart Interpretation (see here for details).  

If you'd like me to zoom in on a specific part of your chart we can try that as well. At the moment my focus is on making sense of the natal chart and soon I'll look at predictions, especially how our "yearly" return evolves with us as we grow up. Today I'm doing a practice reading for Armando, born in Mexico, 1974. 

 

An Introduction to Birth Charts … 

Let’s start with the shape of the chart. In the picture, you will see a circle with black lines crossing it, like a pizza with 12 slices. Each of these represents an aspect of life that we can choose to prioritize, though it could also be highlighted by outside events. These include personal identity, belongings, early education and siblings, home life, hobbies, work ethic, relationships, higher education, public life, social causes and spirituality. The zodiac signs in each house tell us about our approach in that area. For example, Aries in the 2^nd House of personal belongings and earnings indicates a fiery, intuitive and driven approach to work (the zodiac sign of entrepreneurship). 

Then come the planets. The birth chart looks at where the planets were at the time of our birth, if we took a snapshot of the sky. If you have lots of planets in one zodiac sign, that sign's traits will be prominent in the personality. Too many planets in one house and we might be overwhelmed by that house, it overwhelms or even pushes us away. We can learn a lot about a person's inclinations by looking at the inner planets: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars: 

• Sun: Our essence, life force energy and soul's path. 
• Moon: Feelings, emotional life and relationship with mom. 
• Mercury: Thoughts, ideas and communication style
• Venus: Love, personal values, prosperity and social life. 
• Mars: How we get from Point A to Point B.

Most of us are familiar with Sun Signs, but all of the personal planets influence our character, beliefs and how we view the world. Say for example that your Sun is in Capricorn but you have three planets in Libra. The charming and diplomatic traits of Libra will come through, giving Capricorn's ambitious and hardworking personality added social skills. 

Then there's a whole other layer to look at: Aspects. If you look at Armando's chart below you'll see blue and red lines drawn across the wheel. These indicate the degree formed if we trace a line from Planet A, to the center and out to Planet B. Squares and oppositions (in red) are known as tense aspects, with the planets at odds to each other. These so-called hard aspects bring creative tension, often in the shape of internal or external challenges. Easy aspects are shown in blue, making 30, 60 or 120 degree angles. They make things easier, letting us coast in certain areas of life. We need both kinds of aspects in our chart to be productive individuals.

Here is Armando's Chart

Sun in Gemini

The sun represents our essence, the energy that drives us forward and to an  extent, the path  we are on in this life. As an air sign, Gemini is associated with thought, intellect and curiosity. Armando's energy could be described as dynamic, multitasking, captivated by a variety of interests. Gemini loves learning, often by talking to different people (it's ruled by Mercury, the planet of ideas, thought, communication, learning and logic). Mischief and laughter can be a factor, the word that comes to mind is "prankster". 

Moon in Leo

The moon rules our emotions, how we see our mother and the influence that our early upbringing has on our instincts and inner self. Armando's moon is in the fiery and regal sign of Leo.  Think Mufasa in Lion King (Simba's dad). The lion is a fierce protector, commanding, proud and loving, who also needs to be adored by those around him. With the Moon in his 4th house of home life, Armando may need respect and adoration from a loving family to feel secure. 

Taurus Rising (Ascendant)

The Ascendant is the sign that was rising over the horizon at the time of our birth. It's what I like to call our user interface, how we interact with the world, especially when we are on unfamiliar ground. Taurus is an Earth sign: practical, down to earth and capable. It is ruled by Venus, the planet of love, prosperity, material comforts and friendships. Taurus values these aspects, as well as the hard work that goes into maintaining them. Taurus doesn't sacrifice beauty or quality. 

Mercury in Cancer  

Mercury is the planet of communication, thoughts and ideas. Its how we learned growing up and how we share our ideas with others. Cancer is an intuitive sign that's self-aware to the point of being defensive (the crab hides its soft interior behind it's hard shell) and guarded. It's likely that Armando is transparent with those he trusts, and a little bit guarded with others. The visual that comes to mind is of a poker game where we don't show our cards until we know what the other person is thinking. 

Venus in Gemini

The planet of love, money and beauty has a special place in Armando's chart. With Taurus rising, it's the ruler of his natal chart, and it's also conjuct his sun (only 3 degrees apart) so that the energies mix. This aspect (the proximity between the planets) indicates that Armando's sense of self is closely linked with this relationships, and potentially with the divine feminine. Gemini is endlessly curious and adaptable, which could lead to relationships with a wide variety of people, whether romantic or platonic. 

Mars in Cancer

Mars is the planet of action, progress and ambition. It's how we go about getting what we want: do we fight for it, do we think it through and then act, or do we rush in without thinking? In the empathic and sensitive sign of Cancer, Mars treads carefully. Armando may have a heightened awareness of how his actions affect other people. This can be helpful if he takes on the role of protector, though it can pose a problem if "the best defense is a strong offense." The question then becomes, when is it OK to ruffle feathers for a good purpose?

North Node in Capricorn

The Moon's nodes are mathematical points that can be found by tracing the Moon's orbit and finding the points where they cross the Earth's orbit around the sun (or the sun's around the earth, from our point of view). This is where we can find our karma, whether you call it Past Life or Ancestral Astrology. If you believe in reincarnation, the theory is that over the course of many lives we've developed strengths (our comfort zone) and weaknesses (things we'd love to do if we weren't so scared to jumping out of our comfort zone). The South Node is the past, the North Node is the future. Jan Spiller's theory is that when we move into our North Node we find joy, happiness and personal fulfillment. Our South and North Nodes are always opposite each other on the zodiac, so it means learning to do the exact opposite of what feels comfortable and natural (ouch!)

With North Node in Capricorn, Armando would need to dial up the goal-oriented qualities of Capricorn (an earthy, business sign), and move away from the sensitive, nurturing and endlessly caring sign of Cancer. The traits to dial up are self-control, self-respect, ambition, sensible problem solving (how to do you fix and get from Point A to Point B), keeping promises to others, and accepting responsibility for his  success. As a matter of fact, it's OK to chase that success, even if it doesn't feel natural. (For some reason, I'm thinking of that feeling you get when someone scratches their nails on a chalkboard).

It's also interesting to see that Armando's North Node is in the 10th House of Career and Public Life. Armando may feel  comfortable quietly caring for his community (3rd House South Node), but his destiny is to take a leadership position on a wider scale, as long as it is focused on results, progress and change. Though Capricorn is on the cusp of the 10th House, most of the house is filled with Aquarius energy and it makes me think that his public life could be linked with technology, social issues and the greater good. 

 Stay Tuned for Part 2! 

That's it for today! Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll look at the aspects formed in Armando's chart (those are the red and blue lines crossing the circle). There are two triangle formations that I'm drawn to, touching his 2nd house of earnings potential and personal belongings, and the sixth of work ethic and values. The post will be ready in a few weeks, follow the links below to get updates. 

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Reiki hugs, Regina 

Week 1: A Course in Miracles

It's hard to tell you about A Course in Miracles when I'm barely on Day 7 of 365, but I feel like I have to write about it to understand it. So first of all, what is this miracle class? It's a brick of a book, a self-study program where you read a single passage everyday and gradually retrain your mind to view the world in a more forgiving light. ACIM (for short) has been covered brilliantly by Gabby Bernstein and also by my former classmate at psychic school, Kenneth Bok. Ken is how I discovered the course.

A Course in Miracles lasts one year, and I'll post a summary just this month, with my take on the concepts. Please read the original text here. Each entry has a headline, a long explanation and homework to go with it. I'll paraphrase the headlines to reflect my understanding of the lesson; share your thoughts below! 

Introducing A Course in Miracles!

A unique, universal, self-study spiritual thought system that teaches that the way to Love and Inner Peace is through Forgiveness *

Day 1: None of the things I see in this room mean anything.  

As I'm typing, I take a moment to look around me. My tea has gone cold on the table. I see a pile of books that I haven't read, homework for my new planetary magic class. My Netflix account is switched onto a daytime drama (background noise for blogging). And all the while, the time stamp on my last blog post tells me it has been a month since I last published anything. What a disaster! 

A Course in Miracles tells us that none of this means anything. The pile of books does not mean anything. My tea has gone cold, meaningless. Netflix playing in the background is meaningless (and not a distraction or procrastination). On Day 1 we tell ourselves that X,Y or Z doesn't mean anything. The same is true for office politics, mommy wars, or that look your in-laws gave you, etc.

Day 2: I've given these things the meaning that they have for me.

If you've watched The DaVinci Code, the film starts with a scene where Tom Hank's character is lecturing on symbols, and how the same symbol can have a completely different meaning from one culture to the next. The same is true for hand gestures and sometimes even for words. For example, in my native Mexico cajeta is a delicious food item, in Argentina it's an expletive (of sorts). The two countries have given the word completely different meanings. We can take this concept down a notch to think about emotional responses in our personal lives. I might look at the pile of unread books on my desk and think "I'm falling behind!" or look at that cup of tea that's gone cold and say "what a waste." 

Instead, ACIM tells us to look at that everything in our lives (from pencils, to vacations, to Granny's earrings, to relationships) and think: I have given this the meaning it has for me. Your husband showing up (or not) to a family recital can mean everything to you, and not quite so much to the mom next door. Our experiences influence these meanings, but I'm getting ahead of myself ...

Day 3: I don't understand any of the things that I see in this room. 

This concept reminds me of a Buddhist parable where we're taught to eliminate the words good and bad from our vocabulary. It goes something like this: boy breaks his leg (bad), the boy isn't in school to catch swine flu (good), but his friends get sick and are held back, so he's friendless the following year (bad). All of this means he graduates from college on time during and economic boom and get's a good job (good!) at Lehman Brothers in 2006 (oops) and two years later he's unemployed (bad). We can't really say if isolated events are good or bad, there is so much going on in the background. Instead, keep calm and carry on.

  

We can also use this concept to give others the benefit of the doubt. Once upon a time, my spiritual psychology teacher yelled at one of my classmates for asking too many questions in class, telling her to be quiet. I remember being disgusted when I left, but no one else seemed to bat an eye. Why did it mean something to me when the rest of the class appeared to "take it?" Maybe he was just having a horrible day, and I didn't understand what I was witnessing, etc.

Day 4: My thoughts don't mean anything either. 

Let's go back to that pile of astrology books that I haven't read, from my planetary magic class. My thoughts about that (I'm  a bad student for slacking off, etc) are meaningless. Let's observe and dismiss them as meaningless, especially if the thinking gets you riled up. If this step is especially hard, try reading one of Echkhart Tolle's books, A New Earth is my favorite so far =)

Day 5: I'm never upset for the reason I think.

Next time you're ticked off, take a moment to ponder on this: you're not upset for the reason you think. This is where we become aware of our triggers. Why do we respond when someone pushes our buttons, is it because they were "out to get us" or because we have a button that other people don't have? It's likely that a certain events triggers an emotion, one that can be linked to the past...

 

Day 6:  I'm upset because I see something that is not there.

In Spanish we have a phrase called mal viajar which translates as a bad (mental) trip. This is when someone says or does something and we start to read between the lines. Then we react to what we think we saw, or what we think is going on behind the scenes. The term is usually used in reference to jealous girlfriends, but the concept is the same. We are upset because we see something that is not there, and we take it "the wrong way"

Day 7: Wherever I look, I see the past. 

This concept helps us make sense of everything that comes before it. Wherever we look, we see the past, and that is where our personal meanings come from. If I overreact to an event, that trigger reminds me of something that happened in the past and I can move past it by forgiving and releasing the past. The person or event in front of me is just a symbol for the root that needs healing. We can also use this train of thought (Day 1-7) to become self-aware, especially where attachments are concerned. Buddhism teaches that attachment, aversion and ignorance are the root of human suffering. We can still enjoy our personal relationships, our comforts and our lifestyle, without being so attached to it. Anyhooo, I hope this makes sense and come back next week for Part 2! The study group for A Course in Miracles lasts all year; I’ll post updates for four weeks.

Thank you for reading!

Regina 

Image Source: http://www.acim.org/