Still the Pain 

In the stillness of meditation, a presence arrived—unexpected, yet deeply familiar. She was a woman, radiant in her grace, and as she drew near, she began to dress me in a gown, a garment not of fabric but of frequency, shimmering with light. Gently, she placed shoes upon my feet, and though no words were spoken yet, I instinctively knew her name was Mary. My heart stirred, so I asked, "Are you Mary Magdalene, or perhaps the mother of Christ?"

Her smile, soft and knowing, illuminated the space between us as she looked up and replied, "One and the same. But yes, Mary Magdalene." In that moment, I felt the deep, sacred bond she shared with her mother, Mary. It was clear why she answered as she did—they were united, not only in a lifetime shared between them, but in their current mission assisting in the Awakening. 

As she continued her work, dressing me not only in this gown but also in an energy that felt like a complete reweaving of my being, she spoke of my heritage. She saw what I had carried—disdain for my lineage, the belief that I was unworthy, that my blood was tainted, not fit to produce a woman worthy of a good man. Her voice was tender as she revealed that my mother, too, held this same burden, but she would not yet be ready to release it.

When she finished, I felt transformed, not just outwardly but deep within. She gazed at me and said, "There, you are now fit to be the bride of Christ." Her words resounded in my soul, and she invited me to speak them aloud: "I am a woman who is a fit bride for Christ."

At first, when she approached, I thought I should feel awe in her presence. After all, this was Mary Magdalene, a figure of such high reverence. Yet, curiously, there was no sense of inferiority, no weight of unworthiness. I realized in that stillness that she did not want me to feel lesser. In fact, it was essential that I stood equal to her, as she wanted me to know—deeply and fully—that I, too, am worthy. Worthy enough that Christ himself would choose me as his bride.

Then, her message became clear. "You will write a meditation about this experience," she said, her words flowing like a river through me. "This will be the first meditation in your course, but the course will be unlike anything you have planned. Discard what you have written. Start here, with this story, with this meditation. Each piece will come to you in its time, as you create what is given, and everything will flow in this way."

Her eyes softened, and she spoke of the healing that is needed, healing that can happen swiftly, if we let go of old tools and patterns born of human thought. "What is to come will be entirely new," she said. "More powerful, because it will flow directly from the Divine."

And with that, the space between us glowed with a knowing, a promise that what was unfolding was far beyond anything I had imagined—a new path, illuminated by the light of her presence and the guidance of something much greater.

~excerpt from the course