The Holy Spirit definitely has a sense of humor and if you open to that true intimacy of relationship in Christ, then you will experience it as yours!

There is great delight in being met intimately through what we are already attracted to, and the Spirit loves “happy learners.” So when we enter a season like Lent which seems to be synonymous with sacrifice, it is important to understand the difference between the idea of loss which causes suffering, and the voluntary relinquishment of something that has been seen to cause pain, for joy.

Preferences cause pain, because they are a delineation of when you will allow yourself to be happy and when you will not. Of course there seems to be degrees within this, but even a smidge of disappointment is death. Fear not, the goal is not to have no preferences, but rather to have One Ultimate Preference which can be out pictured multiple ways!

The peace of God is everything I want.
The peace of God is my one goal;
the aim of all my living here, the end I seek,
my purpose and my function and my life,
while I abide where I am not at home.
—ACIM (W-205.1:1-3)

Ironically one of the main blocks to hearing the Voice for God—our Guide to undoing this belief in preferences—is that it will entail sacrifice!

Fear of the Will of God is one of the strangest beliefs the human mind has ever made.

With preferences it is our fear to face our chosen consequences of letting an idol go. Preferences are actually a set of rules that we have randomly established for ourselves—with self imposed punishments. No need to focus on when and where you adopted them, once you begin to notice there randomness and actual inconsistency in offering what they promise, then it becomes easy to question them.

The joy you feel when experiencing a preference is authentic, it is the false cause the meaning you have given it that must be questioned and relinquished. The belief that you have stolen or grabbed this moment of triumph for yourself is also what allows the fates to shift whereby at other times, you seem to loose. And so delight becomes fickle and fleeting, and must be earned or won, but never freely Given.

Reality cannot “threaten” anything except illusions, since reality can only uphold truth. ⁴The very fact that the Will of God, which is what you are, is perceived as fearful, demonstrates that you are afraid of what you are. ⁵It is not, then, the Will of God of which you are afraid, but yours. —ACIM (T-9.I.1:1-5)

Tranquility is a state without restraint, of total receptivity and peace with “what is.” When it entails a sense of discipline even mindfulness, then it means some “other” will is at war and there is a constant fear of disruption and loss of control. This is the attempt to maintain a faux peace and “the face of innocence.” It is understandable to infer this after millennia of church, state propaganda and now new age propaganda yet that is not The Way, Jesus taught.

Forgiveness is a process of remembering our true Undivided Identity in Christ. That is why A Course in Miracles’ focus is on “removing the blocks to the awareness of loves presence.” There is nothing to intrude on this Peace. Awareness would have no need to grab and get, to fill perceived lacks! It is pure Giving and so Eternally renewed, being correctly Sourced. Having a singular Cause (God) there is no interruption of Blessing, in Awareness.

The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. ⁷It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. ⁸The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite. —ACIM (T-in.1:6-8)

Chocolat (2000) invites us into “the all-encompassing” and envelopes us with the potency of desire that the Spirit needs to harness for Awakening. In our willingness to hand over these preferences and passions to the Spirit for Forgiveness (remembering our Identity in Christ) we can be gifted with the kismet of divine providence: every seemingly separate need met in the instant it arises, without reinforcing false cause and effect for the Awakening Mind.

In this way our one preference for “The Peace of God” is met through Forgiveness, again and again and again in the release of ideas that limit joy. This is guaranteed by God. “Forgiveness offers everything I want.” Where as the temptation of the ego’s multiple preferences is “seek and do not find”!

Josephine is a good demonstration of this seeming journey from faux peace, or as the movie calls it “tranquil” to Christ control, which is an experience of divine safety, release and joy.

I’m weak.
I don’t love my husband
and I lie! 
—Josephine, in Chocolat (2000)

For the character of Josephine it is a movement in the mind from kleptomania level getting, to Giving joy and love for life to all she encounters. Awakening can be messy when you are very identified with the character self. Once you become more interested in the experience of “watching” it is a symphony of undoing, perfectly synchronized to relieve attachment to false cause and effect while simultaneously Remembering our true Identity in Christ.

In this post World War II austere French village community a regimented discipline of another time has outlived its value. Enter our two miracle workers: Vianne and her daughter.

Our Josephine (not the main character) is drawn in to authenticity by a preference, yet offered only the Holy Instant by Vianne “the face of innocence” quickly slips and the shameful desire for something more than the marital role is exposed. In admitting to desiring joy, and a life for herself beyond the marital bed she is invited into honesty and companionship in Christ, her true Identity. Delight dissolves unworthiness and the need for self deception falls away.

Whatever your mirror is showing you is the reflection you are choosing for your self. Choose wisely with whom you do “time” for “there you are” by your own decision. She even becomes a demonstration to Vianne that it is safe to follow what you preach, and to depart from all you know because there is a greater force at work. It is not personally up to us to even mindfully guide the day. We are merely asked to be happy learners, and follow!

So in terms of TEMPTATION, It is vital that we feel safe to become aware of our desires so that they may be used for not against us! For Forgiveness under the Guidance of The Voice for God, The Holy Spirit (a nonjudgemental voice, if you are having trouble recognizing it!)

The real TEMPTATION is to handle healing ourselves. And again that is just a misguided miracle impulse. After all: All real pleasure comes from doing God’s Will. So keep the pleasure under Christ control, and loose the belief in false cause by choosing your new one preference fits all—Peace!

Your distorted perceptions produce a dense cover over miracle impulses, making it hard for them to reach your own awareness. ²The confusion of miracle impulses with physical impulses is a major perceptual distortion. ³Physical impulses are misdirected miracle impulses. ⁴All real pleasure comes from doing God’s Will. ⁵This is because _not_ doing it is a denial of Self. ⁶Denial of Self results in illusions, while correction of the error brings release from it. ⁷Do not deceive yourself into believing that you can relate in peace to God or to your brothers with anything external. —ACIM (T-1.VII.1:1-7)

So I guess the Spirit decided that for Day-3 of Lent what better way to look at the idea of temptation than with a Miracle movie, Chocolat! As I’ve shared all interest in film had fallen away, but when something starts to auto play on YouTube each time you sit to pray on a subject for contemplation, then you happily follow. Especially when it turns out the story is set during Lent, and is freely available so that you can share it.

Love, Sarah

Free to watch with minimal ads right here 🙂 on the page – support This Mystic Life’s site rating!

https://youtu.be/t2leO_V1Ph8

ABOUT THE MOVIE: You can enlarge the player to view full screen without leaving This Mystic Life
Nobody could have imagined the impact that the striking Vianne (Binoche) would make when she arrived in a tranquil, old fashioned French town. In her very unusual chocolate shop, Vianne begins to create mouthwatering confections that almost magically inspire the straitlaced villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness! But it is not until another stranger, the handsome Roux (Johnny Depp), arrives in town that Vianne is finally able to recognize her own desires! #ThankYouYoutube

For more on the movie and to recognize many of our favorite awakening actors visit:IMDB
faux peace, fasting, fast, lenten fast, fast from judgement, fast awakening under Christ control, 

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