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Miracles in Buenos Aires
By Sebastian Blaksley
[Editor's note: On Monday, March 28, we received an email asking how to "do whatever we can to share the words of Love of ACOL to others in Argentina." Following a conversation, he agreed to write of his experience, which, lightly edited, is as follows.]
Buenos Aires, Argentina
In the Holy (Easter) week just finished (2016), I took the entire week to be alone, completely dedicated to prayer and communion with Jesus. Easter and Christmas are times of great spiritual sensibility within; it is for this reason that I have the habit of dedicating the complete week to living in solitude and prayer. In consequence, I was alone, without friends, without relatives, without work. Just alone. Taken out of the world. Dedicated to nothing but prayer and devotion.
Very early before dawn on Thursday of Holy Week I went to the (Catholic) temple near to my house, where there is a Chapel of Perpetual Adoration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The world was asleep. Early dawn is a most admirable time for me. Dawn comes to my being in silence and prayer—the most joyful experience I have in a day. Is there anything more lovely than to absorb the beauty of the dawn in silence and prayer? For this reason, I have a habit of beginning very early, before dawn, to submerge in contemplation and to be with Jesus. Fortunately I can do this almost every day.
I was alone in complete silence and prayer in the Chapel of Perpetual Adoration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Eucharist, when I saw that a book was there. There was nothing else, just the book. In other words, there was only Jesus, me, and the book. I surprised to see a book in this chapel of adoration where there is never anything incidental, only the Jesus Eucharist and those who go in to pray, those who go in Love. But there was a book! I looked immediately at the cover and saw that it said, A Course of Love.
As soon as I read the title, I felt a great peace and certainty. A happy intuition came, "This sounds like A Course of Miracles." Then I thought, "Can something like that be possible?" Many other things happened in my heart that cannot be said but certainly can be felt.
I opened it and read: "This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. The time for you to take it is now." Immediately a whole series of interior feelings arose. I felt the perfect connection of the sequence with A Course in Miracles.
Immediately I remembered another significant fact in my life. Exactly five years ago, also during the time of the Holy Week, in exactly the same circumstances and alone in the same Chapel of Adoration early in the morning, I had found another book in front of me—A Course in Miracles. From that time and for the last five years I dedicated every single day of my life to living, reading, practicing, thinking, feeling, and praying A Course in Miracles. For me, A Course in Miracles was a point of no return, a pivotal moment in the path of my Soul. It was a pivotal moment in my very existence. It changed all my ways of conceiving everything. I remained a devote Roman Catholic that loves my church and my religion, but with a new spirit. A Course in Miracles was "the call into The Call" for me. A Course in Miracles is my Guide, to whom I have devoted myself with attention, seriousness, respect, worship, and devotion for exactly five years from Easter, 2011.
Instantly I did not have any doubt that it was this same Jesus who had dictated A Course in Miracles to Helen Schucman. I immediately recognized that now a new "course" had been dictated with a title of A Course of Love. I did not have any doubt then or now. The perfect connection or synchronicity is evident to my heart and my mind.
Then I thought, I have to have this book, but I will not steal it. So, I continued waiting for several hours for the priest or anyone else to appear, to ask if I could take it or know who it belonged to. But nobody ever appeared. Finally I went outside and saw a sign saying "temple is closed for the week." So I said to myself: "Well, nobody is going to come and I am not going to be able to ask anybody. But I know that I have to have this book." So I took the book and went to a store and made a photocopy of the whole book. I did! Then I returned to the temple and stayed with it there.
I could not stop pray-reading A Course of Love from the moment that it came to me, just as had happened to me five years ago with A Course in Miracles. I sat down again in the room alone for pray-reading A Course of Love. And in a moment I realized that already it was time to have lunch. And I thought, "Well, I´ll take a break and get back shortly." And then I realized that thirty-six hours had passed! I started pray-reading A Course of Love on Thursday morning and it was already Friday. Time had collapsed (or however this phenomenon must be named); for me it had not been more than few minutes, yet almost a day and a half had passed. I simply could not stop pray-reading. That time was such a pleasure, a happiness, and a longing that I could not restrain. I felt an immense peace and interior happiness, and then rested serenely.
Early on Sunday I went out to walk because I needed to re-process very much. And I had the clear sensation or certainty of the following: I heard The Word but I did not understand what my Soul saw. My heart heard and understood, but my mind did not understand. There was a disconnection that was becoming evident between my mind and my heart. That evidence was never so clear before.
Then, inside myself there was a deep and non-stop thought: "What happened to me?" I knew that something happened but I did not understand it. I needed to go for a walk, alone, in order to allow everything to move into harmony. This experience of a clear, conscious disruption between my heart and my mind was very significant for me. Inside myself was a constant prayer of request as if to say:
"Jesus, I know that it is Your Voice. I cannot deny it. And I cannot keep silent about it. Inside me there is a strong need which is as a 'serene shout' that urges me to share this. I cannot turn off this interior fire which prevents me from being quiet. I do not know what happened, but I cannot stop this new feeling which impels me to shout what I have heard. You know that I am shy, that this is a new strong and yet peaceful feeling in me. I CANNOT REMAIN SILENT. But how can I speak if I do not know what to say, and do not understand what my heart heard and saw? Give me clarity. What shall I do, if I have to do something at all?"
This was critical for me because with A Course in Miracles, as with my spiritual path always, I have walked in absolute solitude. I never practiced A Course in Miracles with anybody. I have not taken part in groups. I have not shared in a community. I never felt the need to continue forward with A Course in Miracles by being close to another person, group or organization. I felt that A Course in Miracles, as my spiritual path, was a way to live in the most absolute Loving Intimacy between Jesus and my Soul: To walk alone with Jesus as if nothing and nobody else existed in the universe except for Him and my Soul. This has been the way that I walked so far. It was a part of the path that I always walked in my life in complete Intimacy of Silence and Love with Jesus Christ.
For the first time in my life I feel an impetus to speak. To share. To share with my brothers and sisters what I received. While walking with these feelings that were breaking my heart due to the inner fire that was burning, I suddenly heard a Voice that said:
"You ask yourself, what happened to you? I have come to answer. You have concluded the path of Forgiveness and have begun the path of Love. This is a path that will never end. We will walk it together for all Eternity. It is time that the sons of light come to the light. It is time to speak. It is time for Love. Come out and exult in your Glory, and you will reach the longings of your heart."
Then I understood! And because of this I contacted Take Heart Publications. And here I am, open wide and ready to join everyone that wants to join me and who accepts me to learn of A Course of Love.
What, for me, is A Course of Love? A Course of Love is The Word made written word. It is "The Word made flesh here and now." Thanks to all who receive A Course of Love to collaborate and learn in the Extension of the Incarnate Word, the extension of Christ.
Also thank you because you allow the fire that exists inside me to flow. A fire that burns and shouts serenely but that cannot be stopped. A shout that says: I CANNOT REMAIN SILENT. And I answer to this ineffable inner shout: I WILL NEVER REMAIN SILENT.
Respectfully,
Sebastián Blaksley
Buenos Aires, Argentina
[Note: I had a video Skype call with Sebastián shortly after Easter. In addition to the above story, he also told me that earlier that day his computer had crashed. He had hoped to have a video call with me, rather than just a telephone call, so he asked several friends whether he could borrow their computers for the day. But no computer was available. So early that afternoon he prayed—a general prayer of love, he said, not a specific request for a computer. Soon thereafter an acquaintance called, someone he was not regularly in touch with, who told Sebastián that he was leaving on a short trip that weekend and did not want to take his laptop on the plane – and would Sebastián mind it for him, please? Soon the friend showed up with the laptop. It had a camera. It had Skype installed. Twenty minutes later I called.—Glenn Hovemann, editor]
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Comments received recently
"I feel like a safe with a long combination and I have a sense of the clicks getting closer together now with ACOL. So far I read one chapter at least every morning, sometimes 2 or 3, I always just want to keep reading, but feel the need/guidance to sit in silence. It is my cherished time. When I have sorted the pets, (Lily the dog, Angel the cat and the 15 chickens), got my cup of tea, I then relish my 'spiritual practice/observance', listening to God, the springboard for the day."
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—ZL, Australia
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Hafiz's Songs
By Elliott Robertson
I could have been a bird
flying circles in the sky,
ecstatic to be God's adored,
Christ's friend.
I could have been a rose
unfurling petal after petal,
delighted by the texture
of God's scent.
Instead I was a prisoner
escaping from a cell,
an open heart receiving love,
released from fear and doubt.
Instead I was a firefly
enjoying light and dark,
a fountain saying, "Water,
you are mine."
Below me in the fields women
mourned under the sun,
the loss of one who once
had ruled their lives.
Above me on the mountain top
the snowflakes spoke in foreign tongues,
then landed on the ground
in silence and in song.
I could have been a bird
flying through the golden sky,
delighted to be whole within
the Christ.
Instead I drank a jug of wine
and fell upon the tavern floor.
I dreamed of angels joining me
and singing Hafiz's songs.
I spoke to God and heard him say,
"To me you do belong."
I spoke to God and noticed he was
winking in the sun.
He said, "You are the Christ.
You are my son."
Elliott Robertson lives in Philadelphia. His poems have been published in Daily Word and Unity Magazine. He has been reading ACOL for several years.
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