Love's Vision: A Healing Journey of Remembering Love's Truth

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Part 3: Who Did I Become in Order to be Loved?

“The self-concept is made by you. It bears no likeness to yourself at all.” (ACIM T-31.V.2)

All of our labels and roles are self-concepts; the caretaker, the achiever, the rescuer, the strong one, the invisible one, the unloved, etc. ad infinitum…ad nauseam! Not a single one is “bad” or “wrong”. They are all, every single one, simply a mask that is worn to serve a purpose.

Do you know when a miracle occurs? When we realize we are not the roles we play, the masks we wear, we are not these self-concepts we made. We always, and this is ALWAYS and ALL WAYS, remain as GOD created us!

How did God create us?
Apart from this world. Underneath the chaos, the division and separation, each of us, you, me, every single being is PERFECT, WHOLE, & COMPLETE! Let us remember and Celebrate today!

Keeping it simple today. I love you!

© 2026, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Part 2: The Ego Was Born to Protect You

“The ego is a device for maintaining separation.” (T:Ch 11-V.1)

Recently I found myself reflecting on a difficult interaction at work.

The situation itself wasn’t extraordinary. It was one of those moments that many of us experience—a comment, a tone, a misunderstanding. Yet my reaction felt larger than the moment itself.

As I sat with it, I began asking a deeper question:

“What exactly am I protecting?”

That question changed everything.

Like many people, I spent much of my life becoming competent. I learned how to manage, teach, lead, solve problems, and care for others. I became someone people could depend upon.

From the outside, that looks like confidence.

But spiritual growth has taught me that confidence and protection are not always the same thing.

Sometimes what appears to be strength is actually armor.

The more honestly I looked at my own life, the more I realized that many of my defenses had once served a purpose.

The desire to do things well.

The tendency to work harder.

The need to be prepared.

The wish to be appreciated.

The discomfort when I feel misunderstood.

None of these qualities are inherently wrong. In fact, many helped me build a meaningful life and career.

Yet beneath them, I sometimes discover a part of myself that still wonders:

“Am I enough?”

“Am I valued?”

“Do I belong?”

The ego was born to answer those questions through achievement, approval, control, and protection.

But the soul seeks a different answer.

A Course in Miracles teaches that fear is not our natural state. Love is.

When I look honestly at my own perfectionism, people-pleasing, or desire to be understood, I no longer see flaws.

I see a self who was trying to stay safe.

And rather than judging her, I have learned to thank her.

Thank you for protecting me.

Thank you for helping me survive.

Thank you for getting me here.

I don’t have to carry this burden anymore.

God is carrying me now.

Healing began for me when I stopped treating the ego as an enemy and started seeing it as a frightened protector.

The ego built the armor.

Spirit invites us to lay it down.

Not all at once.

Not perfectly.

But gently.

One layer at a time.

“You will defend the ego because you believe that it is you.” (T:Ch 6:IV)

The miracle occurs when we stop asking, “How do I get rid of my ego?” and begin asking, “What fear is this defense trying to protect?”

The answer is almost always some version of the same ancient wound: the belief that we are separate from Love.

Yet the Holy Spirit continually reminds us that separation never truly occurred.

Our task is not to become worthy of God’s love.

Our task is to remember that we have never been without it.

As the ego softens, something beautiful begins to emerge.

We become less defensive.

Less controlling.

Less concerned with approval.

Less attached to being right.

And more available to peace.

The armor begins to fall away.

What remains is not weakness.

What remains is truth.

The truth that beneath every defense, beneath every fear, beneath every story of inadequacy, there remains the radiant Self God created—whole, innocent, and forever loved.

That is the Self that was waiting beneath the armor all along.

© 2026, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Who Is the Inner Child?

Almost everyone has heard of “inner child” work. But what does it actually mean? Who exactly is the inner child?

I remember when I first heard the concept—I’m pretty sure I rolled my eyes. To me, it seemed like a way of holding onto the past, which I already had a difficult enough time letting go of. I was not a fan.

Until I was.

My inner child, it has been revealed to me, is not a spoiled brat sucking her thumb and throwing fits until she gets her way. Rather, my inner child is full of wonder, innocence, creativity, and trust. My inner child is my beautiful, authentic, emotional self. Why would I not want to connect with that truth?

This world teaches us fear and self-protection. The ego develops as a survival mechanism. It is not “evil”; it is the frightened protector of the wounded child within us. The ego is our armor. The inner child is the one wearing it. To heal our inner child, we must remember who we were before fear taught us to hide.

I recall that as a small child, I lurked around silently, observing. I was meant to be seen and not heard—and probably not seen too often either. I had a biological mother who did not want me, a father who was out to sea, and aunts and uncles who were forced to help care for us against their will. There was definitely a thread of “unlovable” and “unwanted” woven through my childhood.

So, the armor went on.

When you are a child navigating a world where you feel like a burden, you quickly learn how to survive. My ego stepped in to protect that unwanted little girl. It told me to stay quiet, stay strong, not need anyone, and never let them see me cry. For decades, that armor served me. It kept me safe.

But eventually, the armor gets heavy.

You realize that while the suit of steel keeps the arrows out, it also keeps the love, the joy, and the wonder from getting in.

For a long time, I carried that thread of fear into adulthood, tightly knotted inside me. That is exactly why I rolled my eyes when I first heard about “inner child” work. I thought looking back meant drowning in those old feelings of rejection all over again. Why dig up the ghost of a little girl who wasn’t wanted?

But my turning point came when I realized that ignoring her did not make her disappear. It only kept her trapped in that silent room, still waiting to be seen. Healing did not mean wallowing in the past—it meant going back to rescue her, setting her free.

The world lied to me back then. The narrative that I was “unlovable” belonged to the adults who could not show up, not to the child who was surviving. Beneath the heavy silence of my childhood, that little girl was still a creature of immense creativity, observing the world with deep intuition.

When I finally stopped looking at her through the eyes of the people who did not want me, and started looking at her through the eyes of truth, I saw her for who she really was: whole, resilient, and ready to create.

Ahhhh… freedom.
Join me next week when we explore the ego as a defense mechanism.

© 2026, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Training in Forgiveness

For years now I have considered ACIM a training in forgiveness. I know it is not necessary “in the moment”, but in this world it is a mind-training of consistently letting go, over and over again. In the letting go, we are returned to sanity, to peace. We cannot let go if we are unable to forgive. It took me years and years and years of painfully gripping onto my story as shame and guilt consumed me. I did not feel worthy to be free, but that too is of the ego. I was not consciously aware that I was proclaiming by my actions that I knew better than God, than the Truth. It was a living hell. I also felt that if others could not walk the path with me, you know, those that I harmed, I had no right to walk it alone. I must wash their feet and remain lowly. Balderdash! In attaining personal freedom, setting the world free isn’t about imposing my state on others, but rather about how my freedom allows me to interact with and influence the world around me: shining my light, living authentically by example! Ahhh, and there it is. So simple, but not easy. I think I will continue this training and some moments will be better than others, but I will not give up!

© 2025, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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It’s All The Same

“Your Son is safe wherever he may be, for You are there with him. He need but call upon Your Name, and he will recollect his safety and Your Love, for they are one.”
ACIM Workbook Lesson 244

And with the above all is released and let go of. I am returned to truth. My soul tingles with delight. This one thought alone is my salvation. All is wonderful & right in this instant.

With gratitude I dance with my beautifully aching feet on my indoor/outdoor Florida Room carpet with all my (I use this next word very loosely) little potatoes. Myrtle & Lillie continue to be the show stoppers in their consistent mood of glee & celebration! They are the best examples of pure love!

With gratitude I inhale deeply & exhale slowly—-mindfully speaking words of thankfulness to the magnificent One — knowing all is perfect and does not require my manipulation or control.

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© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Awakening to Love: Finding Gratitude in the Present Moment

God is but Love, and therefore so am I. (157) Into His Presence would I enter now.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I. (158) Today I learn to give as I receive.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.  (ACIM, W-174.1:1–2:2)   

“³Nothing is needed but today’s idea to light your mind, and let it rest in still anticipation and in quiet joy, wherein you quickly leave the world behind.” (ACIM, W-157.4:3)  

“We practice seeing with the eyes of Christ today. ⁴And by the holy gifts we give, Christ’s vision looks upon ourselves as well.” (ACIM, W-158.11:3-4)  

I am grateful…so grateful. Pausing in A Course in Miracles makes my heart sing. Today’s ACIM workbook lesson reminds me that even amidst the chaos and challenges of this world, LOVE is a constant force that joins us all…even when we are unaware…it’s there, always. Pausing for a moment to acknowledge this love can shift all perception and fill us with gratitude for the gift of being alive in the here and now. It’s this moment that it exists, only this moment. Feel it. Let it fill you up and transcend you. Now, what exactly is it filling up? It is your energy that you are transforming and extending. There’s not much that is more beautiful than that, am I right? It is in projecting this love, this Love-Energy, that we receive it back (doubled & quadrupled, etc.!).

The above defines the “Law of Attraction” to me…whatever we are extending is that which we receive/attract back to ourselves. There’s no magic, no hocus pocus…nothing weird, and no voodoo. It’s pretty simple. Love Begets Love!!!! I can choose it in any moment! God’s presence IS love’s presence! What a gift. He is all encompassing, so what is all encompassing cannot possibly be separate. So, no one I judge as separate is actually apart from me…it’s an illusion made possible by our bodies (“meat suits” as a dear friend calls them), which are NOT who we are! What a gift. Whew. Why would I want anything else? I don’t, not really, but no doubt my ego self will keep pushing to be Queen…ha! Queenie is that inner voice that seeks validation and power. However, by recognizing and transcending those egoic tendencies, I can tap into the deeper truth of our connectedness and experience a profound sense of love and gratitude.

Love you…with all that I am! 
I hope that you will share your gratitude with me!

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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How Gratitude Journaling Became Like Brushing My Teeth

Back in 2009 or so, we (a group of women in recovery) started a Women of Gratitude daily gratitude sharing Yahoo Group. I feel like we “stole” the idea from a group of men that were doing similar amongst themselves in our NC city via email. We one-upped them by starting an “official” Yahoo Group (just playing, no one upping!)! Having the Group enabled women to join from all over the world. It was pretty cool (Yahoo no longer supports Groups anymore).

Gratitude journaling became a lifeline for me personally, for many years. I wrote through 2014, when I stopped due to egoic issues. I did not feel safe being vulnerable at that time. Of course, it was all in my head and had absolutely nothing to do with me but stinking thinking is stinking thinking (as most thinking is!)! “³The remembrance of love therefore brings invulnerability with it.”(ACIM, T-10.III.3:3) I forgot Who I was temporarily. Nevertheless, this group, and the act of writing daily became so ingrained in me that if I skipped a day I would feel as I would the few times in my life when I left my home in such a hurry I forgot to brush my teeth…totally off kilter and, well, gross.
It’s time…the time is now…time to get back at it. I know that doing that work on a daily basis (sometimes for hours), soaking in the positivity of “life” and its occurrences, etc., totally and completely set me up for this BEAUTIFUL “world” I live in today, chock full of joy and love…no matter what is going on around me. 

Will you join me?

Today I am grateful for the rain. With our, um, eight dogs, it can mask as a pain (“I don’t want to get my paws wet though…”) but it is a delight. Rain is a beautiful reminder of renewal and growth, especially when it awakens the grass and brings new life to the landscape. It’s a perfect image of how gratitude can nourish our own inner gardens, helping us to flourish and thrive.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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