A Course in Courage : Disarming the Darkness with Strength of Heart
The messages that follow were channeled through me from  my deceased father, John McKibbin, from the other side of the veil.  They compose the third of six books in the LifeLines Library that he  sent down between 1996 and 1999.The use of the term darkness in this book is not linked with the  yielding, interior feminine as it is defined in some spiritual  philosophies.  Nor is it synonymous with the Jungian shadow side.  Rather, darkness is defined here as the weakening of love and light in  any aspect of your life.This volume reveals the myriad detours darkness creates on your  journey to spirit.  Here you will find the information you need to  navigate minefields of darkness with courage and awareness.  You will  be able to recognize darkness and neutralize its influence more  quickly when it interrupts your life.Darkness is a sly adversary.  It disguises itself in many different  cloaks - anger, cynicism, arrogance, flattery - to access an area of  vulnerability within you.  Sometimes it attacks your sense of  inadequacy, sometimes your sense of superiority.Uncommon courage is required to move beyond the influence of darkness.  Courage requires enduring strength of heart - which is love, or  spirit.  The word courage derives from coeur, meaning "heart" in  French, from the Latin cor.The first step toward courage involves assessing your current reality.  You must name the unnamable, face your deepest fears, address your  most profound hypocrisies and unmask your most ingrained sources of  despair.  You cannot move through and then beyond these barriers to  spirit if you are not willing to see them exactly as they are.  More  courage is required in this initial phase than in almost any other, so  tenacious is the desire to deny the darkness rather than confront it.Next you must go deep within yourself to uncover the origin of your  most penetrating inner light.  Perhaps it emerges from a healthy  relationship with a spouse, partner, family member or friend.  Perhaps  it derives from an unshakable religious conviction.  Perhaps it arises  from your ability to love someone unconditionally.Whatever the wellspring, you must affirm your ability to love.  Recall  when you acted with courage against difficult odds.  Remember times  when your empathy and generosity led you to give selflessly to  another.  Remind yourself how the power of love has been a catalyst  for you to be and do far more than you had thought possible.Then, with the shield of your awareness of darkness and the sword of  your inner knowing, move into the darkness.  Acknowledge its  existence.  Recognize the role it has played in your life.  Declare  your decision to disarm its influence over you.Do not pretend that the darkness does not exist or shrink from its  threats.  Rather, remain true to your heart and your light-filled  self, no matter how lacking in light you find the people and  circumstances that surround you.* Be love, even when others refuse or do not know how to act with love.* Be love, even when others resist you with all their might.* Be love, even when your ego tells you that you are a fool.Your ability to be love amidst opposition is the measure of your  courage.Strength of heart is a gift of spirit.  Courage follows the path of  light - honesty, integrity and forgiveness.  For within the heart  dwells spirit.  And spirit-based actions prevail over spirit-less  ones, maybe not immediately or easily, but eventually - eternally.Act from that base of inner power.  Understand that courage ultimately  requires your refusal to participate in and perpetuate the dynamics of  darkness.  For to conquer through deviousness and force is to  strengthen the means of darkness.  When you see darkness for what it  is - the weakening of spirit - and choose to fill yourself with its  opposite, you negate its ability to limit and intimidate you.The fact that this book is in your hands is indication enough that you  are already committed to choosing light over its opposite.  May these  messages guide you and reaffirm your strength of heart.