All One Mind

Hell or Heaven - Your Choice

A Course in Miracles presents a profound distinction between "This World" and the "World Beyond."

This World is described as an illusion—a realm of suffering, instability, and fleeting attachments. It is governed by ego, separation, and fear, where love is conditional and loss is inevitable. The teachings emphasise that this world is not our true home but rather a projection of mistaken beliefs.

The World Beyond is the reality of eternal love, peace, and unity—a state of pure awareness beyond time and space. It is where true happiness resides, free from conflict and limitation. This world is accessible through forgiveness, spiritual awakening, and the recognition that separation never truly occurred.

The course encourages students to exchange the illusions of this world for the truth of the world beyond, leading to a life of inner peace and divine connection. The ‘workbook’ contains 365 days of lessons, each of which asks us to meditate on the central theme of that day.

Essentially, it’s all about becoming present and opening your mind to the possibility of leaving “This World”, or hell and entering “The World Beyond”, or Heaven. There are many ways of becoming present, and I refer to these as presence techniques.

Presence Techniques

Short meditation practices that we can use anytime, anywhere to get us into the present. Being present gives us access to the complete range of being human, rather than the limited range associated with the ego. These techniques use the body's senses - feeling, seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting. They are not an end in themselves. They give us a moment to assess what is going on within and allow us to choose peace. These techniques are usually practised in a space where we feel we are in charge. Please do not do them while driving or doing anything that requires your full attention.

Scan the Body

Take your awareness and go through your body, moving from head to toe, toe to head, left to right, or right to left. It does not matter as long as you go through the whole body. The faster you can do this, the better it works. The idea is to allow our all-knowing mind to release the energy blocks that result from the memgrams we are running. Scanning aims to bring the body to a neutral state, with no aches, pains, or feelings anywhere in the body. Usually, three scans are enough.

There are a few pitfalls to avoid when learning this technique.

No-go zones - these are areas of the body that we avoid or can't scan. To get over these blocks, try coming at them from different directions or pressing around them to see if you can feel anything, and then scan again.

Naming - we become stuck in painful areas of the body and assign mental, emotional, or medical labels to them. The problem here is that we analyse or diagnose, and feel that we have to do something about our pain. Be more descriptive and more specific with each scan. This only applies to the first few scans. If you are doing this on an ongoing basis, give scanning up for a while before trying again.

Trying to—we get to an area in the body where there is pain or ache, keep our awareness centred in it, and try to move the blocked energy.

Watch the Screen

Close your eyes and see what you see. You may see a blank screen or a blank screen with basic geometric patterns or colours. It does not matter what you see; just look. This is not a visualisation technique; you are not trying to project anything onto the screen.

Look in the Doorway

Open a door and look into the space of the doorway. It works better if the colour behind the doorway is darker than where you are looking from. Again, it does not matter what you see; it’s the looking that gets you present.

Look at a Blank Scene

No matter where you are, there is always something blank. It may be a wall, a door, a hedge, a field, or the gable end of a building. Just look and enjoy the view. This is particularly useful when queuing, as it allows you to become present and, rather than focusing on when you'll arrive, you realise that you are always here.

Listen All Around

We tend to focus on specific sounds. Close your eyes, and instead of concentrating on any particular sound, allow your attention to broaden until you can hear everything that is going on around you.

Listen to Music

Listen to a specific instrument, a group of instruments, or a voice in the music. Again, allow your concentration to defocus so you can hear it all together.

Listen to Noise

Stand under a bridge and listen to the motorway traffic overhead. Listen to the sounds of the trees, grass, or wires in a strong wind. Listen to the sound of the rain. Listen to the traffic. In a crowded place, listen to the sound of all the people. Listen to the waves. The sound of noise is nearly always the same, regardless of what makes it.

Activate Acupoints

Acupoints are located throughout the body, primarily in the valleys between bones, muscles, or tendons. They may be tender to touch. While holding any acupoint gently, scan through your body.

Feel the Pain

This one is not recommended. However, if you have a tendency towards pain, you can always use it to become present. Scanning, releasing the blocked energy, and letting the pain go is better.

Smell the Roses

We are constantly bombarded with an array of smells. Focus on any particular one you like and centre on the scent.

Taste the Food

While eating your food, take a moment to taste what you are eating.

This was abstracted from notes for the Peace of Mind Healing Course that I once taught. Please develop your techniques to enter this Precious Present, this Momentous Moment, or even this Holy Instant.