True kindness has no fear in it. It wants nothing from the other because it knows the other is its own self. There is no compromise in kindness, no negotiation. It knows what is true. And because what is true is not separate from it, it is kind.
If I feel fear, then I cannot be kind. If I perceive differences, then I am fear-filled, regardless of whether I describe my feelings that way or not. Perception of differences drives a way of thinking that produces fear and fear does not question the appearance of differences. It just defends itself.
So we need to get a handle on fear, not kindness. Kindness is easy; kindness is what we are. But fear stops us from practicing kindness. It stops us from extending what we are.
We are fearful because we believe we are guilty. The guilty expect punishment because they believe they deserve punishment. The guilty wait on death. Their whole life is death row. They cannot be anything but fearful.
Therefore, in order to end fear, we need to recognize and accept our guiltlessness. We need to realize that our innocence is established in Creation, and is a fact of life that includes all life, not just “Sean” or “Cheryl” or whatever.
The reason this is not perfectly clear to us right now is because we have forgotten what it means to be one with God. We like parts of our life just fine – the dog, walks on the beach at dusk, coffee with friends. And we think that by joining with our brothers and sisters in God – a joining in which differences lose their value – then we will lose all those things.
We do not trust God. We do not trust Love.
We are attached and invested in this life, and when it is threatened – by rain, by a stranger or by the Love of God – we defend it. We’re like the one who says they’ll follow Jesus right after they bury their father. It’s no skin off Jesus’s back – it’s not a crime against God or Nature. But there is a better way, and the better way is to say “yes, Lord,” drop everything and follow.
For you and me, as nondual-minded Christians studying A Course in Miracles, this means letting go of differences. Which really really means letting go of their value. Notice when you are valuing differences and just stop.
If it sounds too hard then you haven’t tried because when you actually try it you realize it’s not hard at all – it’s impossible.
That’s why we need a spiritual practice like A Course in Miracles. That’s why we have to chill out about ascended masters and awakening and all that and just, you now, follow Jesus.
This is not a spiritual accomplishment, the fruits of which await us in the future. Disciples are disciples now. Fear of God and Love is a habit we can break today. It is a joy we can feel right now.
Let the dead bury the dead, said Jesus. He means that we don’t actually live in the world. Life is not in differences – like bodies that are dead vs. bodies that are alive. Life cannot be judged because it is one-without-another. Its value is not set by us.
Life is kind. It will take nothing from us. It will only give us what we already know is ours in Creation. It does nothing but make what is true clear: we remain as God created us, and our long suffrance believing otherwise is over.
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