Almost everyone I know owns a flashlight. We keep them in our car, our home, our business, to shine away the darkness when the power goes out. And when we turn them on, darkness just disappears, as if it hadn't been there. No trace of darkness left after the light shines!
I don't know anyone, however, who owns a flashdark. You know, something like a flashlight, but where you pointed it would become dark. Flashdarks do not exist because darkness is the absence of light, and not a substance in itself. Light is real. Light waves can be measured and seen. Darkness is present only when there is no light.

Now, think about Love and Fear. Fear is the absence of Love. Fear, and it's variations of hate, resentment, anger, etc. only occur when Love is not being experienced. It is impossible to Love and Hate at the same time. If we equate Love with Light, and Fear with Darkness, then we must come to the conclusion that only Love is real. And that Fear is not real. That's the basic premise of A Course in Miracles, which teaches how to let go of the blocks to the awareness of Love's presence in your life.

Light shines away darkness. Love shines away Fear. What is "dark" in your life? What do you "fear"? Perhaps now is the time to shine some light on your fears in order to release them and move on in your life. Are you willing to give it a try?

Premise One:

Darkness isn't real, and therefore cannot hurt me unless I choose to stumble around in darkness without turning on the light.

Premise Two:

When I find myself in darkness about any situation in my life, all I need to do is find the light of the situation. That light involves changing my perspective from fear to love.

My fears, angers, hates, resentments are not "real" in the sense that no one else can see them directly. They are in my own mind and feelings, but cannot be seen by others except through the words I choose to speak and the actions I choose to perform.

Premise Three:

When I bring my fears out of darkness and into the light, I can see them and shine the light of Love on them. When I do so, they will disappear. I choose to do so now.
Practical applications of bringing light to darkness, love to fear.

Let's say you have a problem in your life - a spot of darkness. The darkness may be a health problem, a relationship problem, or a problem with finances. Those seem to be the big three in all our lives.

Look at your problem through loving eyes. View your problem as a teacher of a lesson. Don't get angry at the teacher, but instead, begin to understand the lesson. Perhaps stress has caused an illness. Look at your body as merely the evidence of your previous stress. Instead of giving your body the energy of anger and fear, begin to bless it with loving energy of faith and healing. Learn to relax and meditate and you will soon go through the pain and into the light. This light is a light of self-healing. Just as the body can heal a scratch, it can also heal an organ. But it cannot heal in darkness. It cannot heal until fear is transcended and shown the light. All spontaneous healing is accompanied by a deep sense of letting go and relaxing. Relaxing in the Light.

Easier said than done, you say. And you are right! It takes mental work and self-control to face the darkness and not be afraid. It takes faith and awareness of a Source or Power greater than the small ego. It takes trust in your life and in the abundance life of the universe. And it takes a firm decision to be happy regardless of what you are feeling or sensing. And that's perhaps the ultimate lesson. That we can transcend, overcome, go through darkness and return to the source of light. We are energy beings, inhabiting physical bodies for a temporary amount of time. You (and I, and everyone) are eternal. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Find your connection with your eternal You and you will find the Light that makes darkness disappear. Choose words and actions that are loving in place of resentful, that are giving in place of needing, that are releasing in place of controlling, that are peaceful in place of stress. Then use these words to describe your problem, your particular darkness. Change your perspective to allow more light in. A head cold now becomes an opportunity for the body to build up its immune system; rather than a difficult illness. Lack of finances become an opportunity to practice patience and faith, rather than a disaster. You are building up your confidence in the Light in your life every time you rephrase your problems into lessons and opportunities.

You are only a victim when you choose to hide in the darkness. You are in absolute control of your mind and emotions. And through them you have the ability to bring light and love into every problem in your world.

Don't believe me. See for yourself. The next problem you experience, reframe into a lesson and bring it into the light. No matter how tempted you are to react with anger, fear, or negativity, don't! Instead, ask yourself how a person who was totally safe, abundantly happy, and compassionately loving would respond, and then do the same. Shine your light so others may see, and darkness will disappear in your life.