Quite right Gene ... "suffering" is certainly a man-made illusion, has no
reality, but is unquestionably part of our experience of separation.

From the Sub-Urtext here: "T 9 K 9. If you will accept yourself as God
created you, you will be incapable of suffering. But to do this, you must
acknowledge Him as your Creator. This is not because you will be punished
otherwise. It is merely because your acknowledgment of your Father IS the
acknowledgment of yourself as you ARE. Your Father created you Wholly
without sin, wholly without pain, and wholly without suffering of any kind.
If you deny Him, you bring sin, pain, and suffering into your OWN mind,
because of the power He gave it. Your mind is capable of creating worlds,
but it can also DENY what it creates, because it is free."

"Doug Thompson" hotmail.com> wrote in
news:dqWdnYdZd5_I0UzbnZ2dnUVZ_gydnZ2d@golden.net:

The Course is very, very emphatic in rejecting the whole "I must share
your suffering" ploy as an ego maneuver:

To empathize does NOT mean to JOIN IN SUFFERING, for this is what you
must REFUSE to understand. This is the EGO

On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 16:16:09 GMT, Gene Ward Smith
chewbacca.org> wrote:

Deborah noemail.com> wrote in
news:s7b3d39smchp2m5nppupmasgn9lk4jve01@4ax.com:

It tells you how to do it in the cited passage. I think you are making it
out to be a lot harder than it is.

great post Doug! I agree with you that compassion does not come from
suffering, for me, it comes from the HS! In fact, as we witness in our
world many can use their 'suffering' to further distance them from others.
sheryl

--
www.SherylValentine.com
www.SherylValentine.blogspot.com
www.miraclescenter.us/valentine.htm
"Doug Thompson" hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:dqWdnYdZd5_I0UzbnZ2dnUVZ_gydnZ2d@golden...

On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 16:59:53 GMT, Gene Ward Smith
chewbacca.org> wrote:

"You do NOT know what empathizing means. But of this you may be sure;
if you will merely sit quietly by, and let the Holy Spirit relate
THROUGH you, you will EMPATHIZE WITH STRENGTH, and both of you will
gain in strength, and NOT in weakness."

How am I making it out to be harder than it is?

Deborah (BC)

Deborah noemail.com> wrote in
news:t9d3d3d7ba1o84romubgbso5b4rdge9crq@4ax.com:

It *tells* you, flat out, what to do and how to do it. Sit quietly by, and
let the Holy Spirit relate through you. I've done that at the bedside of a
dying person, and I recommend it highly.

deborah: I have nothing against the idea of empathizing with

Gene:It tells you how to do it in the cited passage. I think you are making
it
out to be a lot harder than it is.

sv: yes....we can only do it (imo) by allowing the HS to do it through us.
sheryl

On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 17:28:33 GMT, Gene Ward Smith
chewbacca.org> wrote:

So do I. What are we arguing about?

Deborah (BC)

gene:It *tells* you, flat out, what to do and how to do it. Sit quietly by,
and
let the Holy Spirit relate through you. I've done that at the bedside of a
dying person, and I recommend it highly.

sv: yes, as a doctor I've relied on HS to many times to count. I used to
think I had a compassion gene (ha no pun intended gene!) missing until I
found HS within. Of myself, that's still the case, but when we call on HS's
help in any situation, he truly does come through, and often, not in the
ways we'd think. sheryl

--
www.SherylValentine.com
www.SherylValentine.blogspot.com
www.miraclescenter.us/valentine.htm
"Gene Ward Smith" chewbacca.org> wrote in message
news:Xns99986A892DA5Cgeniechewbaccaorg@207.115...