WE ARE ALL STUDENTS

• I have been studying A Course in Miracles for over 25 years.  For many years, I was a spiritual seeker and read everything I could get my hands on about various different spirituals ways and paths.  It is not until a few years ago, after some direct contact with the Divine that I knew A Course in Miracles was my path for life and I stopped searching. 
• I had a dream where I was shown my life as a book.  The dream showed the first part of my life as “Part I: The Search”.  When I turned a page it said: “The Search is now over”.  I turned the page and there it said: “Part II: The Application”.

A JOURNEY BACK HOME TO OURSELVES 

• After leading study groups in my home for over 25 years and coming to my own spiritual path slowly, I want to share what I have learned with others. I believe A Course in Miracles is a journey back home to ourselves - a constant remembering of who we really are: eternal, perfect spirit. For me, as my dream said, the real work is in applying the course in our daily lives. My desire is help people remove the blocks to the presence of love in their lives so that they too can live more miraculous wonder-filled lives.

• Here is my story of when I first received the course, to where I am today.

DIANE’S DIVINE JOURNEY

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

• The course came into my possession in the early 1980’s through a friend. 
• A friend had given it to her and she thought I might like it, since I liked spiritual things.  I was intrigued.  When I received the book, I opened it up and could not believe what I saw.

• The book was difficult.  It looked like the bible with onion-paper-thin pages.  And the language – oh my god!  Reading the text felt like reading Greek.  It totally made no sense to me.  In addition, there were so many references to Jesus and God. I thought I had walked away from the church long ago.  Overall, I was not impressed. So, I put the book down and closed it firmly.

3 TO 4 YEARS LATER

• The next time, I picked up the book I knew I could not read this book alone. So, I signed up for a study group where they read the course out loud.  Oh my, I was so right. The course did not make any sense to me.  I thought, “This really is difficult.  I can’t understand a word.”  But, my fellow group members urged me to stay.  They said, it was a common experience and I should not try to understand the text.  Just listen.  Let the words go in and connect inside.  It sounded strange.  But, I am happy to report, they were right. 

• One day after listening to person after person read the text suddenly the words spoke to me. Not all the words. Not all the time.  But, there were passages and messages that seem to “ring true”.  Like a bell deep within my being had been rung and my whole body was resonating with the vibrations of truth. 

• It was enough to keep me going. Eventually, my teachers left and I started my own group in my home.  None of us in the group thought of ourselves as teachers.  We were all students, teachers and seekers. 

I STARTED AN ACIM STUDY GROUP

• My group leaders left the area where I was living. I looked around for other A Course in Miracles (ACIM) study groups. I went to a couple of different meetings but nothing resonated.

• So, I started a group in my own home with a few friends. None of us thought of ourselves as teachers, we really thought of ourselves as seekers. We were all students of the course looking for spiritual answers together.

• My home study groups have taken many forms over the years. And today, I still hold these groups in my home. Many people have come and gone but the thirst to understand has never changed for me. Many more people have contacted me and wanted to attend the groups but schedules, children, distance, shyness and other responsibilities have gotten in their way. None of this bothered me. I figured the people who were meant to be there would be there.

AND THEN SUDDENLY, SOMETHING MIRACULOUS HAPPENED…

• Along the way, I was not necessarily committed to A Course In Miracles. I loved to cruise the spiritual smorgasbord. I have read many different spiritual books, gone to many different spiritual groups and tried on the philosophy of many different paths. I enjoyed most of them, but I never found one path that really stuck. I could always find something I didn’t like or did not agree with or did not truly embrace. Then out-of-the-blue things shifted.
• Jesus appeared to me on the inner, consistently for one year. Each time he appeared he said the same words, “Rest in Me”.

• I was shocked. Why was Jesus appearing to me when I closed my eyes? I did not attend a Christian church. I was not a true believer. I thought the folks who attend the United Church just down the road were surely more qualified for just such a visit. Surely, Jesus had the wrong person. It seemed more plausible to me that perhaps Quan-Yin or Buddha would come to me. After all, most of my home was covered in spiritual statues of these other teachers. So, I was shocked and a little uneasy with these visions at first.

WHY ME?

• When these visions started appearing, I wondered all the time: Why me?
• And why did Jesus only say three words: “Rest in Me”. To understand it all, I want to give you a little of my personal background.

TIMES THEY WERE A CHANGING

• In my day-to-day life, I was struggling with a business decision. I had owned a communications and advertising company called Creative Wonders Communications for 20 years and I had been successful – winning many creative and business awards. I loved what I did for a living but my world was going through a massive shift. The market crash of 2008 had cut my business in half. My dad had died of cancer the year before. My sister had a brain aneurism. And the Internet was on the rise and so was social media. My business and personal landscaping was changing rapidly. My family was telling me it was time to downsize. My husband would retire in a few years and he wanted me to be free, “to be available to pick up and just take off and travel.” I was struggling with the idea. My husband is ten years older than me. He was ready to retire – I was not. But, internally, I knew everyone was giving me good advice. It was time to downsize. But, I was scared and fearful.

• And so the words: “Rest in me” seemed to be an answer to an internal question. In my mind I thought the answer was whether or not “to move or not to move”, but my internal teacher calmly repeated his advice for a year.

THEN I HAD A DREAM…

I dreamed I was looking at a book of my own life. I saw a page turn and on the next page it was written:

THE END OF PART ONE: THE END OF SEARCHING.

Then that page magically turned and I saw written:

PART TWO: THE APPLICATION.

• I woke up laughing. I was not a fast learner. I had been a spiritual seeker for over thirty years: could this be the end of the road – my moment of choice?
• I knew deep within I had already made a firm choice: a life-altering choice.
• Metaphorically, I put my hand in Christ’s hand and I answered my own internal call.

I decided to finally do what I knew I had always been called to do: I acknowledged and accepted I was truly a teacher for God. Not that I had not been this before.  As the course says:

“The course on the other hand, emphasizes that to teach is to learn, so that the teacher and learner are the same. It also emphasizes that teaching is a constant process: it goes on every moment of the day, and continues into sleeping thoughts as well.”

• Manual for Teachers Introduction 1:5-6

WE ARE ALL TEACHERS. WE ARE ALL STUDENTS.

• The difference was now I fully consciously embraced this role. And because my background is in communications, I knew I had to use my craft of writing, communications and design to reach as many people as possible that were waiting for the information the course offered. Consequently, this website, online courses, inspirational cards, and much more were set to be born.
• In closing, just let me say, that my great wish is not that this website and the things that are offered here answer all your questions, but simply that they provide both students and teachers alike a jumping-off point for deeper learning and discussion.

• Everyone must find their own path.  And I believe there are many paths. This has simply been my journey to now. My hope is simply that I can help to light your way on your journey home to God.

With love and blessings,

Reverend Diane C. Lund