Raveena Nash’s book “Rise Above” offers helpful advice during these challenging times

By Raveena Nash

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One important concept of ACIM is that we need to try to “rise above the battleground” in order not to become embroiled in the problems of the world. That is why her second book is called "Rise Above - How to rise above the problems of the illusory world through the lessons of A Course in Miracles."

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The following are a few short excerpts from Rise Above:

Chapter 23: Feeling sad and upset because of all the cruelty in the world (Excerpt)
“There is no doubt that there are a lot of horrible things going on in the world. Some of us seem capable of unspeakable cruelty to others. We are also capable of inflicting great suffering upon the animal kingdom, and we aren’t always too careful about the plant kingdom either….
What does A Course in Miracles, tell us about the world? A great deal!
Our world, we are told, is not our natural environment; we are like a fish out of water. It is, therefore, not surprising that things in our world get us down. “…The world goes against your nature, being out of accord with God’s laws…A Son of God is happy only when he knows he is with God. That is the only environment in which he will not experience strain, because that is where he belongs…” ACIM, T136. [Note that we are all considered to be sons of God according to ACIM]
…A good lesson to use when our world makes us feel sad, angry or depressed is Lesson 23: “I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.” It was the attack thoughts of the ego which made this world in the first place. By accepting the Atonement (which is how we abandon our attack thoughts) we can reach the state in which we will be ready to live in the real world, which is a stone’s throw away from Heaven, we are told…”

Chapter 5: Feeling weak and vulnerable (Excerpt)
We are at the mercy of the whims of fate, and we have no option but to deal bravely with whatever is dished out to us. We experience happy times and then, inevitably, things go wrong in one way or another or, at least, they change quite dramatically. A lovely child grows up to be an awkward teenager; a healthy bank balance can disappear overnight if we are suddenly made redundant; a sudden and debilitating disease can bring our active lifestyle to an abrupt halt; a fulfilling relationship can be destroyed in an instant by infidelity; an earthquake or tsunami can wreak havoc in a few minutes and destroy complete towns and everyone and everything in them—and for those who survive such a catastrophe, their whole way of life can change in an instant. Those are just a few examples of how life in the world of the ego can make us feel weak and vulnerable…
The only way to overcome feelings of weakness and vulnerability is to rise above the ego’s world altogether. Fortunately, ACIM has given us a number of useful lessons to help us with this. We could start with Lesson 47: “God is the strength in which I trust.” It is made clear in this lesson that if we rely on the ego we cannot help but feel powerless. “If you are trusting in your own strength, you have every reason to be apprehensive, anxious and fearful. What can you predict or control? What is there in you that can be counted on?”
…As Lesson 41 reminds us, “God goes with me wherever I go.” Jesus starts off this lesson with the following: “Today’s idea will eventually overcome completely the sense of loneliness and abandonment all the separated ones experience. Depression is an inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering and intense fear of loss.”
It is not surprising, then, that depression is a major health problem causing people to turn to tranquilizers for solace. Perhaps they should turn to God instead and remember, “You can never be deprived of your perfect holiness because its Source goes with you wherever you go. You can never suffer because the Source of all joy goes with you wherever you go. You can never be alone because the Source of all life goes with you wherever you go. Nothing can destroy your peace of mind because God goes with you wherever you go.” ACIM, W63. It is sometimes difficult to remember this when we are suffering or going through challenging times, but we need to because it will give us inner strength.
So, whenever you feel unhappy, lonely, weak or vulnerable it would help greatly if you stopped, took a few deep breaths and recalled that God has not abandoned you and that Christ is by your side all the time. Turn within for a few moments and say: “God goes with me wherever I go”…

For more information on Rise Above, please visit: http://allanillusion.com/books/rise-above-excerpts/