Most if not all major religions teach the Golden Rule: “Love others as yourself.” “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.”
How can just one sentence be so hard to live?
The Course In Miracles says “The way to perceive for Golden Rule behavior is to look out from the perception of your own holiness and perceive the holiness of others.”
Step ONE is to realize our holiness. How many of us grew up believing that? I didn’t; between my family, teachers, piers and my church, I did not feel holy or worthy. I felt 
like love was conditional, even God’s love. One of the greatest awakenings for me was when one of my teachers helped me become aware that I had a CHOICE in what I thought and what I believed and how I perceived things.
We are in a continual state of creation. Every thought and action takes us closer to what we want or further away from what we want. And we get to CHOOSE what we think about and how we perceive it.
We are so powerful.
When we think of ourselves as separate or different from others, we can feel fearful or alone. When we feel in communion with others, we feel connected and loved. We are holy beings and perfectly made, that doesn’t mean that our thoughts and actions are always loving; nonetheless, when we remember and embrace our true nature of loving holiness, our self defeating thoughts and actions fade away.
Step TWO is to realize the holiness in others and that we are all connected. What we don’t like in others, we don’t like in ourselves. When we CHOOSE to have compassion and empathy for others, we gain compassion and empathy for ourselves. We are continually faced with the option of CHOOSING thoughts that are based in fear or in love, creating feelings of separation or communion.
As we CHOOSE to look beyond the ego level of judgments and criticism to the SOUL level of ONENESS and connection our world changes and becomes filled with miracles of endless possibilities. With this awareness we can begin the practice of RADIANT, RADICAL, REAL LOVE.
blessings & love,
