UNDOING CHURCH DOGMA

       I am stunned by the fact that my subconscious mind was still running me around on church dogma. Because my husband is such a gifted breathworker, he pulled it out of me. He was helping me complete my pattern of “taking on” stuff from people now and then. It has always been so automatic because in past lives I was a gifted healer who took through my body other people’s diseases in order to heal them. Back then, it was considered empathetic to do so. I wanted to eliminate this pattern completely forever in this life.
       Markus was giving me a session on this and he came up with the notion that it had to do with the idea from the Church that suffering is holy. And then every single church service it was mentioned that Christ died for our sins. Markus said I wanted to be like Jesus (or at least the Church’s version of Him),  so I would take on suffering of others to help “bear the burden” of their suffering.
       In ACIM Jesus corrects all this and he says that was NOT the purpose of the crucifixion. The purpose was to show that there are no victims, and He was not even a victim of that. He also demonstrated total forgiveness by never blaming the perpetrators of his crucifixion. The old idea of empathy is to join in the suffering.   I must have had this pattern for lifetimes. The reason I could never clear it until now is because I thought I was being “more holy” by sacrificing a piece of my well being for the sake of removing guilt and suffering from others. This is totally off now, in this day and age of Ho’oponopono and A Course in Miracles.  I never ever went that deep in my process before.
       When I wrote this post above on Facebook, I got a lot of comments. So many other healers were experiencing similar things.  I found out also that there is even a support group for empaths.  I have not yet checked that out but I should to see what they are recommending.

Here is what ACIM says about True Empathy

        • The capacity to empathize is very useful to the Holy Spirit.
        • His way is very different.
        • Healing pain is not accomplished by delusional attempts to enter into it, and lighten it by sharing the delusion.
      • To empathize does not mean to join in the suffering. That is the ego’s interpretation of empathy.
      • The ego always empathizes to weaken and to weaken is to attack.
      • You do not know what empathizing means.  
      • If you will sit quietly and let the Holy Spirit relate through you, you will empathize with strength.
      • All you have learned of empathy is from the past.
      • There is nothing from the past that you should keep.
      • Do not use empathy to make the past real, and so perpetuate it.  
      • True empathy is of Him (Holy Spirit) who knows what it is.
      • You will learn His interpretation of it if you let Him use your capacity for strength, and not for weakness.
      • Offer your empathy to Him for it is His perception and His strength that you would share.
      • And let Him offer you His strength and His perception to be shared through you.
      • Leave Him his function for He will fulfill it if you but ask Him to enter your relationships and bless them for you.
(This is summarized from ACIM Text, Chapter 16, Section I.)

It also says to focus your mind only on this:

I am not alone, and I would not intrude the past upon my Guest.

I have invited Him and He is here.

I need do nothing except not to interfere.

       So to summarize, lifting people up into your Divine Joy is more helpful than “sharing in their suffering.” And if they cannot join you there, then trust the Holy Spirit is helping them through you by your being quiet and fully present for them. You need “do nothing” to empathize. All you need to do to truly empathize is ask the Holy Spirit, or the Divine Mother, or Energy of your Spiritual Master to enter into the situation and “take over the healing.” 

Here is a great example of one of the Facebook responses: 

That is amazing, I have learned so much from your recent posts. For me my first reaction is the thought that I think I work toward forgiveness through empathy. Like, to forgive someone I first must imagine walking in their shoes and imagine what painful circumstances they must have endured to bring them to a place of ‘sin’. I have been thinking and wondering if I have been taking on others pain. These posts have been helpful, very helpful.  —Roberta Lynn—

Love, Sondra