Bøker av Donald James Giacobbe

In Aesop's fable a fox comes across grapes that are so high he cannot reach them, so he walks away muttering that they must be "sour grapes." Likewise, many beginning students find no nourishment in "A Course in Miracles" because they cannot grasp its lofty spiritual principles. The Course presents spiritual principles in a Western framework, yet includes important Eastern influences along with deep psychological insights. Many seekers have transformed their lives through learning the Course and applying its principles. Nevertheless, newcomers won't want to study the three volumes and the 1249 pages of the Course unless they know it will be worth spending the time and effort required. Furthermore, the beginner invariably needs practical help in actually comprehending the Course. After all, the Course quite literally turns the normal perceptual thinking process upside down by offering surprising and profound answers to the most meaningful questions of life. If you are a beginner, this overview comes to your aid by letting you know in advance that the spiritual principles can be grasped and are as nourishing as sweet grapes, as they weave together to unify and heal the mind. This introduction to the Course helps you by providing clarity and conciseness, enabling you to make the difficult step-by-step transition to a new way of thinking about the world and about yourself. This overview prepares you for studying and applying the Course, which teaches how to perform "miracles" of changing fearful perceptions into loving perceptions. Your mind can find peace and wholeness through practicing true forgiveness that reminds you of the divine presence within others and within yourself. This brief introductory overview provides an inexpensive and efficient way for you to determine for yourself if the path of forgiveness presented by the Course is right for you to pursue in greater depth.

Miracle Yoga helps you to make progress in learning how to love, serve, meditate, understand, and forgive. Also, Miracle Yoga includes learning body postures and breathing practices. If you correctly define yoga as "union" that transcends the body, you will understand Miracle Yoga as a marriage of yoga and "A Course in Miracles." Miracle Yoga is a path toward awakening to your own true spiritual nature in God, which you have not lost, but which you have forgotten. You cannot "force" yourself to wake up to God, yet you can prepare a solid foundation for this final awakening through practicing Miracle Yoga. This involves paying careful attention to the body, mind, and spirit as you prepare to uncover your divine oneness with God.Miracle Yoga includes the four traditional aspects of classical Hindu yoga: Miracle Raja Yoga involves meditation practices and also all the basic hatha yoga body postures and breathing practices as a preparation for inner attunement. Miracle Bhakti Yoga includes the opening of the heart, devotion to the divine presence, and expressing love. Miracle Karma Yoga emphasizes service to others through your work and your actions in the world. All aspects of Miracle Yoga are influenced by Miracle Jnana Yoga, which is the study and practice of the principles of "A Course in Miracles." This aspect focuses on the application of forgiveness that overlooks the unreal illusions of the ego and affirms the divine reality in everyone.¿Awakening to your union with God also involves awakening to your union with all of your brothers and sisters in Christ, and your relationships can help you awaken. Thus the fifth aspect of Miracle Yoga is Miracle Relationship Yoga. This aspect is about fostering holy relationships in which two people join for a common purpose. Miracle Relationship Yoga also emphasizes that all relationships, whether casual or long-term, offer you ways to realize that you are already joined with all of your brothers and sisters in Christ and in God right now and forever.

This Course book offers a new theory of dimensions in relation to the whole process of awakening. You are on a journey of awakening from the earth to Heaven, from the concrete to the abstract, from illusion to truth, from time to timelessness, from separation to Oneness, and from the self to the Self."A Course in Miracles" Dimensions of Awakening is primarily about this transition from the illusory three-dimensional world of form to the formlessness of Heaven. The Course uses many different names to identify and emphasize the importance of a specific place of transition between the earth and Heaven. Some of these names are "the bridge," "the real world," "the borderland," "the altar of God," "the holy meeting place," "the vision of the Son of God," "the happy dream," and "the face of Christ."The Course never employs the word "dimensions" to describe this journey of transition. Yet reason will tell you that the transition from form to formlessness must involve changes in dimensions. There are two dimensions of light that enable you to make the transition from the partial awareness of your three-dimensional perception to the total awareness of knowledge in Heaven. This book focuses on these two light dimensions that help you to awaken to the truth that "you are light." When you see "the blazing light upon the altar to the Son of God," you will awaken to your light and remember your Father and your Self. "Who could behold the face of Christ and not recall His Father as He really is?"Your transition is from nightmares to the happiness of Heaven, but "Be not content with future happiness." Your purpose is to remove the illusory separation between your brother and you so you can both experience happiness not just in the future, but also now. "The Holy Spirit's purpose now is yours. Should not His happiness be yours as well?"

Christian Meditation is a sacred activity nourishing your faith that "the Kingdom of God is within you." This comprehensive instruction manual presents unique meditation techniques inspired by yoga that include coordinating the breathing and focusing on different parts of the body. These meditation methods are integrated into an entirely Christian context in which the number one priority is reliance on the action and grace of the Holy Spirit. This book is divided into four parts: Part one describes clear and structured practices of Christian meditation, including the option of a 28-day meditation schedule for beginners to make a specific commitment to their inner spiritual growth. Part two provides guidelines for how intermediate meditators can deepen their meditation experience. Part three focuses on meditation related to overall spiritual growth. Part four shows how to practice meditation as a way of inwardly forgiving yourself as it is described in the philosophy of "A Course in Miracles." Although the word "yoga" is usually translated as "union," it can also be interpreted as "integration." The overall effect of combining traditional Christian attunement methods and nontraditional meditation techniques inspired by yoga is to bring about an integration and unification of the various levels of your being and to deepen your meditation experience. However, these methods are only the beginning of this integration and unification process. The purpose of these meditation techniques is to prepare you for entering wordless contemplation, which is an experience of resting in the embrace of divine love. During contemplation there is an overshadowing of the Holy Spirit in which the mind becomes still without needing a specific focusing object. Through contemplation the Holy Spirit can lead you to a greater degree of integration and unification that will transform you and lead toward your ultimate destiny of awakening to divine union with God.