A guy is driving around the back woods of Tennessee and he
sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house:
"Talking Dog For Sale."

He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog
is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a
nice looking Labrador Retriever sitting there.

"You talk?" he asks.

"Yep," the Lab replies.

After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog speak,
he says, "So, what's your story?"

The Lab looks up and says, "Well, I discovered that I could
talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government,
so I told them. In no time at all they had me jetting from
country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world
leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.
I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years
running.

Newsgroups: talk.religion.course-miracle
From: "SMV" aol.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 11:06:37 -0700
Local: Thurs, Oct 4 2007 12:06 pm
Subject: hey there
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Hi there
Those of you who have listened to my acimgather talks over the past 6 months
or so , know that this is a year of transformation and digging deeper within
that I may move higher in my spiritual growth. Spirit has been working with
me this year to let go of some of the habits/additions/etc. in my life that
are no longer serving me or my spiritual growth...Alas! the ng is one of
them. Although I love many of the people here I no longer see a benefit to
myself or others by continuing to write in or read...

I never knew there were so many ways to use "but," but I have started
noticing it in the course, used with different meanings, and some I'm
not quite sure.

I think it's used as an equivalent of (if I interpret the meaning
right):

the normal way I used it in first sentence
merely
just
none other than
(filler word)
...and several other ways.

What do you think? I'd hate to have to translate course "but" phrases
into other languages. Is this poetic use of "but." --Tim923

ACIM Workbook Part II "Final Lessons - Introduction" ~ December 27

http://courseinmiracles.com/acourseinmiracles/workbook/acim/Final_Lesson.htm
http://www.acimradio.net/urwork/

" Final Lessons

Our final lessons will be left as free
of words as possible. We use them but
at the beginning of our practicing,
and only to remind us that we seek
to go beyond them. Let us turn to Him
Who leads the way and makes our footsteps sure.
To Him we leave these lessons, as to Him
we give our lives henceforth. For we would not
return again to the belief in sin,
which made the world seem ugly and unsafe,
attacking and destroying, dangerous
in all its ways and treacherous beyond
the hope of trust and the escape from pain.

ACIM Workbook Lesson 361-365 ~ December 30

http://courseinmiracles.com/acourseinmiracles/workbook/acim/Final_Lesson.htm
http://www.acimradio.net/urwork/

" Lesson 361 to 365

"This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace."

If I need a word to help me, He
will give it to me. If I need a thought,
that will He also give. And if I need
but stillness and a tranquil, open mind,
these are the gifts I will receive of Him.
He is in charge by my request. And He
will hear and answer me, because He speaks
for God my Father, and His holy Son. "

~ Urtext of ACIM

------------------------------------------
[ Hear Today's Lesson in Iambic Pentameter ]

http://www.acimradio.net/wkbk/361-365_ACIMRadio_UrWork_ThisHolyInstantIWouldGiveToYou...

Do not pretend that you love others as yourself. Unless you have
realized them as one with yourself, you cannot love them. Don't
pretend to be what you are not, don't refuse to be what you are. Your
love of others is the result of self-knowledge, not its cause. Without
self-realization, no virtue is genuine. When you know beyond all
doubting that the same life flows through all that is and you are that
life, you will love all naturally and spontaneously. When you realize
the dept and fullness of your love of yourself, you know that every
living being and the entire universe are included in your affection.
But when you look at anything as separate from you, you cannot love it
for you are afraid of it. Alienation causes fear and fear deepens
alienation. It is a vicious circle. Only self-realization...

As I watch this (TRCM) group's display of communication, I see so many
mind-games being played repeatedly - like endlessly circling around a
corpse, like vultures - and I laugh when I remember Neville, when
learning about boggarts, to see his indomitable grandmother's hat
bearing a vulture to replace an image he feared the most: Professor
Snape - yeah, JKR's books do contain lessons in healing of fear.

But the fear of love - the fear of healing - the fear of true union
with the Spirit - all this needs miracles, through Jesus and the Holy
Spirit. And they can be ours, just for the asking.

For a more detailed posting, please visit

http://tiny.cc/Cxhim

Flo W Lightly

Being only sincere Course acolytes here on this ng we know that each
seeming separate expression is just our mind presenting an outpicturing of
ideas that is an expression of the desire to express a will other than
God's.

Let's use the thought of Carrie. The mind projects the Carrie thought to
very effectively maintain the belief that there is someone outside of each
seeming individuality thought. She has to be outside -- look at all of her
"whatevers". She has to be outside she is nothing like me. This is the
mind maintaining a kingdom outside the Kingdom.

As long as we don't accept the possibility that we are the dreamer -- the
little willingness to allow that maybe what our senses seem to tell us isn't
reality --the acknowledgement that we are not cause in this temporal realm,
the dream seems real. Carrie, bad drivers, Iraqis, Ghandi, Tammy Faye
Baker, Course students, Jesus are all expressions of a mind or an aspect of
mind. They are thoughts that (who cares how they seem to be manifest as
form) are thoughts in a mind first then seemingly experienced outside the
mind projecting them.

Marianne Williamson is our Guest Teacher, Sunday Jan. 6th 8:30pm ET
JOYnUs for her Topic
The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife
It is also title of Marianne's new book
published by HAY HOUSE
www.marianne.com

Also, 250 NOW Registered for the 2009 ACIM Conference!
IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND, OR FEEL YOU MAY WANT TO BE THERE,
See ACIMGather's info on financial assistance or to register,
go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Peace_of_God/message/24470

OR, Register directly at:
The 2009 ACIM Conference in San Francisco
http://www.miracles-course.org/2009_conference.html

SEE IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW RE REGISTERING NOW & FINANCIAL HELP AVAILABLE

**************

Saturday Evening, Tonite
December 29th
8:30pm ET

I've opened a new yahoo groups where we can just hang out together and
share what ACIM means for us on an experiential level. Membership needs
to be approved but it will not be moderated. There will not be a focus
on personalities or what the (s)elf is doing wrong. It will be a place
where everyone can just be thems/Selves without criticism and name calling.

We will be able to post photos too .... so we can all share our hobbies
as well.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Awakening_Mind