I am a prince of peace sitting on the throne of poise,
directing the kingdom of activity.
I will cultivate calmness of mind,
knowing God is ever with me.
I am Spirit!
—Paramahansa Yogananda,
on Self Realization
In the Bible the “three wise men” were astrologers drawn by a star, in a convergence of curiosity and calling from all over the eastern regions to Bethlehem, to bare witness to the birth of the Christ Child. The first recognition of the long promised Light of the world.
I am the light of the world:
he that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.
—John 8:12 (KJV)
Today that Calling to discover the Truth of Whom We Are and the rebirth to “Know Thy Self” remains the single biggest gift we can offer the the world, for peace.
According to Socrates, true wisdom is knowing what you do not know. So for the Greeks an essential part of knowing yourself must be recognizing the limits of your own wisdom and understanding.
And do I want to see what I denied
because it is the truth?
—ACIM (T-21.VII.5:14)
Only God is Cause, and Christ is His effect!
This undoes all the false cause and effect to which we imagine we are subject in the world. Our true safety lies in our identity in Christ and as miracle workers that is essential as we must be without fear to allow the Miracle to be performed through us. So as we embrace the Reality of our true nature we are invited to be at once the wise man, and the Christ child. This adventure of Forgiveness allows us to focus solely on the Guiding Light of the Holy Spirit to best illuminate our highly individualized way while simultaneously demonstrating The Way by our devoted following.
the Atonement restores spirit to its proper place.
The mind that serves spirit is invulnerable.
—ACIM (T-1.IV.2:10-11)
This is where our true Invulnerability comes from: Only God is Cause, and Christ is His effect!
While we experience ourselves to be in the world, yet begin to understand we are not of it, the body remains a learning device. And the worst a faulty use of a learning device can do is to fail to facilitate learning. It has no power in itself to introduce actual errors.
The body, if properly understood,
shares the invulnerability of the Atonement
to two-edged application.*
—ACIM (T-2.IV.3:4-6)
Eventually this perspective shifts to witnessing the world (the past) as Spirit, and so our experience becomes one of being “Passers-by.” Our faith in sin as a guide to behavior drops away and Forgiveness becomes our foundation. Here we become very mindful of condemnation of our own judgements, our apparent body, or seeming “others.” [ASK]
Yet hate must have a target.
There can be no faith in sin without an enemy.
—ACIM (T-21.VII.5:1-2)
It is here that the test of truth must be applied: Do I want to see what I have denied because it is the Truth? This is the choice for ultimate power!
Forget not that the choice of sin or truth,
helplessness or power,
is the choice of whether to attack or heal.
For healing comes of power,
and attack of helplessness.
—ACIM (T-21.VII.7:1-2)
We must choose once again what we wish to see. This is the choice for Invulnerability. Which only comes when we ask to see the Innocence for all, rather than the balancing scales of justice which offer only condemnation; whether guilty or not guilty. If there is a scale of evaluation, there is judgement.
This is your one decision;
this the condition for what occurs.
It is irrelevant to how it happens, but not to why.
You have control of this.
And if you choose to see a world without an enemy,
in which you are not helpless,
the means to see it will be given you.
—ACIM (T-21.VII.9:1-4)
This is Christ Vision this is the merge, where the humble demonstration becomes: I am the Way the Truth and the Light! Devoid of arrogance being what it is. Acceptance of the atonement for ourselves means accepting forgiveness has already happened, and in gratitude living this Way.
No thought but has the power to release or kill.
And none can leave the thinker’s mind,
or leave him unaffected.
—ACIM (T-21.VII.13:7-8)
Each moment becomes a Holy Instant of release, where pardon for perception offers innocence and peace. Each millisecond an Epiphany, of freedom from all possible harm!
Just as the three wise men offered gifts to the new King. So the traditions of all the pathways of the world offer a golden thread of Truth, “for those with the ears to hear.”
The 3 Wise Men visit the Christ Child bearing gifts
By the Middle Ages, most believed that the three Magi* who visited the Christ child were kings who symbolized the three ages of man. In keeping with Matthew’s** account that the Magi journeyed from the East. Some share they represented a confluence of the continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. Later tellings of the story name them as Melchior (from Persia) Gaspar or “Caspar” or “Jaspar” (from India), and Balthazar (from Arabia) and describe how their gifts had special symbolic meaning: gold signified Jesus’ status as “King of the Jews;” frankincense represented the infant’s divinity and identity as the Son of God; and myrrh touched upon Jesus’ apparent mortality.
Today the gift of “Forgiveness offers everything I want.” And yet in realizing this identity the Spirit can use a myriad of symbols to draw us toward our awareness of Invulnerability. Many have come; by Astrology to see it is “all the past” and that the plan of awakening has been accomplished, others by the pain of slavery, as the Hebrews in the old testament desiring release from outward imprisonment, many through the unconditional love of a carer, as symbolized by Mother Mary, or the wisdom of a teacher who encouraged questioning of what seemed plain as with Ramana Maharshi, or Rumi, the Sufi mystic through Muhammad’s earliest sayings on the Oneness God:
(112:1) Say:1 “He is Allah, 2 the One and Unique; 3 (112:2) Allah, Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need; 4 (112:3) He neither begot any nor was He begotten, 5 (112:4) and none is comparable to Him.” (Reference)
However you got here, I am glad you came: For we go together, you and I!
Enemies do not share a goal.
It is in this their enmity is kept.
Their separate wishes are their arsenals;
their fortresses in hate.
The key to rising further still in prayer
lies in this simple thought; this change of mind:
We go together, you and I.
Now it is possible to help in prayer,
and so reach up yourself.
This step begins the quicker ascent,
but there are still many lessons to learn.
The way is open, and hope is justified.
—ACIM (S-1.IV.1:4–2:3)
DAY 12: #40DaysOfReflenction on Christ Presence
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[Notes]
*** “two-edged application”
The Atonement as the only safe “defense.”
The Atonement thus becomes the only defense that is not a two-edged sword. It can only heal. —ACIM (T-2.II.4:8-9)
7. The Atonement is a total commitment. ²You may still think this is associated with loss, a mistake all the separated Sons of God make in one way or another. ³It is hard to believe a defense that cannot attack is the best defense.
⁴This is what is meant by “the meek shall inherit the earth.” ⁵They will literally take it over because of their strength. ⁶A two-way defense is inherently weak precisely because it has two edges, and can be turned against you very unexpectedly.
⁷This possibility cannot be controlled except by miracles. ⁸The miracle turns the defense of Atonement to your real protection, and as you become more and more secure you assume your natural talent of protecting others, knowing yourself as both a brother and a Son. —ACIM (T-2.II.7:1-8)
The body properly seen as a communication device is experienced as Invulnerable. Where as personal attachment to the body, identifies it with the pain of vulnerability.
⁴The worst a faulty use of a learning device can do is to fail to facilitate learning. ⁵It has no power in itself to introduce actual learning errors. ⁶The body, if properly understood, shares the invulnerability of the Atonement to two-edged application. —ACIM (T-2.IV.3:4-6)
** Epiphany
The name Epiphany comes from the Greek epiphaneia, meaning “appearance” or “manifestation,” and refers to the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Theophany, or Three Kings’
Feast date: January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi
Dictionary: an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being
(1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
(2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking
(3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure
* The 3 Wise Men
The magi knelt down for the baby Jesus and “offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Their gifts are possibly an allusion to Isaiah’s vision of nations rendering tribute to Jerusalem: “A multitude of camels shall cover you. they shall bring gold and frankincense, and proclaim the praise of the Lord” (Matthew 2:11, Isaiah 60:6)
Who were the Magi, three kings in the Christmas story? —National Geographic
On Lucas Emil Vorsterman, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens, The Adoration of the Magi, 1620 —National Gallery of Art
Matthew 2:1-15 (KJV) [full passage]
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
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