Dr. Skalicky was not particularly ordinary. He remains one of my most significant mentors. And so it was with certain delight that I recently discovered his photo on the front page of our local newspaper.

My mentor was interviewed for his newest curriculum combining Psychology and Religion, or the place where Psychology and Spirituality meet. It pleased me to realize how very Course in Miracles this concept is. Perhaps this educator prepared me for my journey in the Course more than I have acknowledged! So I joyously recall one of my favorite (and oft repeated) Skalicky stories from my college days. The story follows:

Our "Personal and Social Adjustment" class was indeed personal, yet I never quite related to the socially adjusted aspect. Our humorous professor amused us regularly with attention-getting and often poignant examples of life. More often than not, these demonstrations were life changing. This particular day Dr. S began with a brief lecture on living in the moment. He told us, "We really weigh ourselves down with our past experiences. It’s like this…"and he walked over to an empty desk in the front row and hooked one of his arms through it. He lifted the desk off the floor letting it hang clumsily off his bent arm and he laboriously dragged it across the front of the classroom. With each dramatic step he groaned, "My past… My past…", until he reached the other side of the classroom. Then he continued by saying "…and as if that’s not bad enough, we worry about the future, too", at which time he bent over and with his free arm picked up a second desk. He struggled back across the room once more. This time it was "My Past…" as he dragged one desk forward, then "My Future…" and he struggled with the 2nd desk, repeating his burdensome technique. He stopped abruptly and shouted "ENOUGH!" He threw both of the desks to the floor in front of him. They hit the floor hard and seemed to vibrate the entire room startling everyone. "SET YOURSELF FREE!" He stood tall and raised both his hands into the air in a beautiful gesture of liberation.

At that moment I began to cry. It was clear how much I had burdened myself by clinging to my past experiences and old beliefs. I recognized also, how invested I had been in worrying about the details of my future (and everybody else’s). I felt immediately lighter, merely with the recognition. I think I understood for the first time, that all we ever have is now. This was the beginning of my awakening.

What joy comes to our sense of living when we revere the present moment. A repeated theme of the Course that augments this point, is "I am as God created me". In workbook lesson #110, this passage continues, "In this one thought is all the past undone; the present saved to quietly extend into a timeless future." When we truly absorb the present moment, there simply is no such thing as time. It ceases to exist and we experience eternality. Purposefulness of now casts a hue of beauty on our entire world and paradoxically, from one tiny moment we comprehend meaning in the whole. The task is a non-task. We simply release and disallow anything other than the immediate.

The lesson then concludes by stating "this is the truth that sets you free." When I fully grasp, experientially, this one truth, I am indeed free. I don’t believe we stay in that freedom, however. In our humanness it can feel complicated to simplify. Letting go often feels more like work, than work itself. Nonetheless, it remains a meaty possibility. And we should never feel like we’ve failed when we catch ourselves outside of now. When we can resist the temptation to breathe life into demons we think we remember or expect to come, we are accepting the potential of timelessness, we experience the eternality of NOW!

My mentor Dr. Skalicky taught me about timelessness, and he led me to the path that continues to set me free. I am grateful for the way these gifts have enriched my life. It is true that he could never be described as ordinary. But then again, neither could you.

Namaste’ dear Ones.

KAREN RICE facilitates A Course in Miracles study group on Monday eves at Kindred Spirits in Claremont & Tuesday's at 2 pm at the East San Gabriel Valley Church in Covina. For information: (626) 339-6336

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