I AM the Light of the World!

In your mind, picture the scene on the evening of April 21, 2005, pre-Conference opening night of the Course in Miracles Tribute and Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sitting on a stage in a glitzy Sheraton Hotel conference room before a large and eager audience are seven teachers of A Course in Miracles. Imagine you are there.

Which of the seven sitting up there is an ascended master with as much to offer as Jesus himself?

Among the seven, which one can say speaking from far above this world out of a radiant glowing experience of living heaven: "I AM the Light of the world!"

Who of the seven can really, really, REALLY help you reach your goal?

Because engaging the intellect is a defense against the light, and because the light is your only real teacher, the one on the stage who is least established in intellect and most established in high bright light would reasonably be your teacher, wouldn't you say?

The other 6 are, as they say ... sixes. Why would anyone want to sit and listen to a teacher who is not already enlightened and already living mostly far beyond this world?

Some might ask why the organizers of the Miracles Conference neglected to invite the one highly enlightened teacher who has done more to advance A Course in Miracles than any other teacher, namely the Master Teacher who has been the inspiration behind Endeavor Academy, Miracles Healing Center, A Course in Miracles International, and many other teaching ministries; the one Course in Miracles teacher who has facilitated literally unimaginable spiritual opening in many hundreds of brothers.

Since letting go of all defenses against the light is the essence of forgiveness, it can be said that still-unforgiving Miracles students might be deathly afraid of as much love and as much light as the Master Teacher would bring. "The unforgiving mind is torn with doubt, confused about itself and all it sees, afraid and angry, weak and blustering, afraid to go ahead, afraid to stay, afraid to waken or to go to sleep, afraid of every sound, yet more afraid of stillness; terrified of darkness, YET MORE TERRIFIED AT THE APPROACH OF LIGHT." (A Course in Miracles; Lesson 121)

Could it be that the Holy Spirit told the organizers of the Conference not to risk triggering all those terrors by inviting the overwhelming out-of-this-world light and love of the Master Teacher? Ask inside, and see what you hear.

Yet even without inviting the Master Teacher, in the eyes of angels and guides from the heavenly realms the Miracles community made great progress with this Conference. Two other teachers from the Miracles Healing Center, Alden and Darla Hughes, were invited to teach at the Conference and they in turn influenced another 32 brothers from Endeavor Academy to attend, some of whom are eons more advanced spiritually than those officially invited teachers who were sixes.

Thus the Holy Spirit used the Conference for two great purposes: First, those who were less afraid of the light had a chance to join with highly advanced teachers who were not officially featured teachers. Second, the unholy judgment that Endeavor Academy brothers constitute a cult to be feared was largely dissipated.

Of course someday Miracles students are going to have no choice but to give up their irrational fear of cults. Ultimately one's fear of cults is really one's fear that one will not have enough integrity to hold to one's own truth in an environment where one fantasizes there might be peer pressure to conform. Fear of cults is really suspicion that one might surrender to pressure and conform against one's will. It is strange that a Miracles student who desires to feel such a fear would use as an excuse Endeavor Academy where non-conformists thrive as no others and where the supercharged spiritual energy creates an environment which renders it extremely difficult to do something against one's true and real will.

Setting aside the obvious observation that Endeavor brothers exhibit no more cult-like behavior than Democrats, Republicans, Gary Renard worshippers, or Kenneth Wapnick worshippers ... why would it be such a big deal if one's perception of these brothers did happen to project a little cult-like behavior? Are we to let a little cult-like behavior on the part of a few of our projections keep us from joining with the greatest light and love possible? The New Testament tells us that lesser developed disciples of Jesus in Galilee exhibited some obvious cult-like behavior. If you had lived in Galilee, would you have used such a perception to keep you from being in the presence of Jesus?

Even today would you allow your perception of what is commonly called "organized religion" to keep you from joining with Jesus?

Most of those attending the Conference did not really want to be the blind being led by the blind. It's just that the attraction to teachers who intellectualize and write books and are fashionably thought of as popular is a very strong addiction to overcome. It's called letting yourself be guided by peer pressure.

One way to bust the addiction to such earth-bound teachers is to really, really, really join with Jesus himself. But for many Miracles students there is a built-in resistance to such a deep and complete joining with Jesus. Many Miracles students still hold on for dear life to grievances against organized religion. And because most of organized Christianity teaches totally and thoroughly not defending against Jesus, the hardest thing in the world for some Miracles students is to absolutely and completely let go of their defenses and let Jesus overwhelm them, take them over, and live through them as their all-in-all savior. It's easier for them to look up on a hotel conference room stage and tell themselves a half-baked teacher can somehow help.

Although Miracles students believe they have the truth and nothing but the truth, many have little more than a set of three books dictated by an ascended master, a weakness for sidetracking books written by unenlightened earthlings, and a ridiculously heavy burden of intellectual concepts. Of course, there is no great race up the spiritual mountain and into the highest light, but on a nearby path there is a grace lifting a hundred thousand Christians from organized religion far, far higher than Miracles students who insanely chase around like Hollywood groupies after the latest pop Miracles teacher or pop Miracles author.

Bill Clinton once looked out at all other politicians, shook his head at their silly distracted focus and made famous the phrase: "It's the economy, stupid!" Of course no politically correct Miracles student would ever call a brother "stupid," but we patiently wait for a future Miracles Conference producer to loudly proclaim to the junkies: "It's the light, beloved!"

Yet the Salt Lake Conference offered at least a partial awakening to the all-importance of light and the defensive, sidetracking nature of intellectualism. The producers of the Miracles Tribute and Conference worked extremely long and hard with incredible dedication to produce a huge and wonderful Conference, the real lessons of which they could never have guessed in advance. Clearly they trusted that the Holy Spirit knew what the Holy Spirit was doing ... and the result was marvelous movement within the Miracles community. These Conference organizers deserve our deepest gratitude.

Perhaps the next Miracles Conference will finally invite more really truly enlightened teachers and less Miracles pop stars; and seek out deeply devoted Christians from all denominations who are more interested in experiencing the glorious light than interpreting the Bible with their little human intellects.

Maybe the next Conference will be the unimaginably bright light conference angels are waiting for ... a Miracles are Natural Expressions of Love Conference for every Jesus lover, which will advertise not only among Miracles students but among all varieties of Christian ministers, pastors, and priests; so Miracles students can learn not to fear and judge mainstream Christians and mainstream Christians can learn not to fear and judge Miracles students; and all will finally merge together and instead of singing "this little light of mine" will let their ascended being shout as one with great joy: